I know, of course, Los Angeles of a hundred years ago bears little resemblance to how it looks today. But I still went a bit bug-eyed when I came across this photo from 1920 looking east along Wilshire Blvd near La Brea Ave. I can see all of three cars on the road, the shoulders look like they aren’t even sealed, the only development is a billboard (for car tires, naturally), and in the distance are a couple of oil wells. If the caption to this photo hadn’t said it was Wilshire Blvd, I never would have known.
Looking east along Wilshire Blvd, near La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, 1920
Dad was born in 1919 on W. 8th St. In 1932 they moved to Sycamore St near this intersection. My grandfather had moved to L.A. in 1913 and in 1920 owned a chain of bakeries called Chattertons.
Ah, so this would have been a daily sight for your grandfather?!
Has Paramount expanded across Bronson? You say you can’t see the original single gate unless you’re inside the studio, which didn’t used to be the case.