Tobey’s Drug Store, at the northwest corner of Doheny Drive and the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, photographed here in around 1949, had all the trappings of its era: prescriptions filled, a soda fountain, liquor for sale, and of course the ubiquitous Coca-Cola sign. In 1953, it would become Gil Turner’s Fine Wine and Spirits, which it remains to this day.
How that corner looked in May 2019:
I’d like to have that clock above the window at right.
Interviewed with Gil Turner for a job in this building back in the early ’80s. Let’s just say he was looking for employees of a more personally accommodating nature than I was willing to offer….
OH MY!!!
Somewhere between what it was, and what it became is what this building should be; it and countless others. Something keeps getting lost in the updates, little bits of detail that shouldn’t have been removed or covered up, and along with it goes the soul of the structure. In SF we have an additional problem, not only is the detail removed but each neighboring business paints their section a different color, destroying whatever lines that remain.
Otherwise, that 1949 photo looks so fresh it could have been taken yesterday!