Three women stand on Wilshire Blvd opposite the Beverly Theater in Beverly Hills, circa early 1940s

Three women stand on Wilshire Blvd opposite the Beverly Theater in Beverly Hills, circa early 1940sI look at photos like this circa early 1940s shot and wonder what those three women standing on Wilshire Blvd were talking about? Were they saying goodbye after lunch at Nate and Al’s or the Brown Derby? Were they saying hello and talking about where to luncheon? Or were they tossing up whether or not to go see the Fred MacMurray film at the Beverly Theatre behind them. It opened in 1925 and its striking onion dome was a Beverly Hills landmark until the theatre was raised in 2005. I wish I’d had a chance to see it in its original glory – the opulent interior decor included murals based on the Arabian Nights, and a proscenium arch in the circular shape of a Chinese moon gate.

A 1927 view of the Beverly Theatre:

Roughly that same view in April 2019:

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3 responses to “Three women stand on Wilshire Blvd opposite the Beverly Theater in Beverly Hills, circa early 1940s”

  1. Matt says:

    Never went when theater and, after reading above, now sorely wish I had – Did see it when Italian firm Fiorucci leased entire space as first retail tennant. Minus the seats, they kept most everything intact including the second floor balcony. After Fiorucci left Israeli bank leased space and obliterated everything original with garish polished brass (steel?) and marble finishes both inside and out. When I saw that knew it was the beginning of the end –

  2. Gloria Packard says:

    My friend and I climbed up on the roof of The Beverly when “That’s Entertainment” premiered there in 1974. We had a birdseye view of every movie star arriving from Liz Taylor’s diamond decolletage to the various toupees of Messrs Astaire, Ford, Kelly, saw Ava Gardner, Merle Oberon, many more. Wow did we have fun!

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