This photo of a Red Car stopped out front of the Hollywood Hotel at the Highland Ave intersection with a 1950 Chevrolet and a 1954 Oldsmobile makes me want to climb through my computer screen and roam around in mid 1950s Hollywood for a day or two. In the background, we can see that Grauman’s Chinese Theatre is playing a movie in CinemaScope, so I’d probably head there first. And after the show, I’d go down the block for a hot chocolate fudge sundae at C.C. Brown’s.
A Red Car streetcar with a Chevrolet and Oldsmobile at Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave, Hollywood, circa mid 1950s
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The street car is headed for the Subway Terminal at 4th and Hill downtown.
I always stoped at CCBrowns before a movie.
I sure do envy you that, William. Was their hot fudge sundae as good as legend would have it?
Their hot fudge sundae was the best. It was one scoop (unless you asked for more) with a velvety, rich sauce and was served in little a silver bowl. Magic!
The photo could be 1955. The Olds is a ’54 or ’55. My guess is that it’s less than a year old because the license plate doesn’t have the renewal tag like the one on the older Chevy (maybe a ’51?). Hard to see what the movie was. East of Eden opened in 1955, but I can’t find out if it played the Chinese, and the font usually used for that movie was more formal than what’s on the side of the building… which may not be the movie title anyway. Great photo. Remembering the red cars–with their plush upholstery (dark green?)–and the day the fare went up to 17¢ and we had to redo the family budget.
Hollywood line eastside (to downtown via Sunset) abandonment preceeded opening of the freeway cut across Hollywood Boulevard. So this would have to be a very late running of a “Hollywood Car” by this point. Service would then be only freight movements on the westside on Santa Monica via Sherman, with overhead electrification terminated in favor of diesel-electric motors. This lasted two more decades. The Hollywood Boulevard route would be long gone. East of Eden was too late for East of Hollywood.