Where would Hollywood movie premieres be without powerful searchlights needling the night sky? This shot was taken at the premiere of Fanny Brice’s movie debut, “My Man” at the Warners Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. The movie opened during the messy transition from silents to talkies, so this movie had a silent debut (December 1928) and a talkie debut (January 1929) – this shot was taken on the night of the silent version. The neon blade sign on the far right intrigues me: “Postal Telegraph.” Was that a certain sort of telegraph, or is the sign advertising two different services?
The Warners Theatre is still there but it has stood empty for decades. On the plus side, there are now more trees along Hollywood Blvd!
The Postal Telegraph had several locations around LA at the time.
https://i.imgur.com/2CZUahs.png
It was a major communications company.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Telegraph_Company
Somebody told me that on Twitter, too. I was amazed that I’d never heard of them before!
The Postal Telegraph Company existed as a separate entity along with Western Union.They consolidated in 1943.
Thanks for this info, Katheryne. Until I found this photo, I’d never heard of Postal Telegraph.