Driving down Broadway at night in 1956, when this photo was taken, was a wonderland of bright neon light. In this one view alone we can see: Silverwoods (menswear), Desmond’s (menswear, especially hats), the Palace Theatre, Hotel Lankershim, Bullocks (department store), Kress (five-and-dime), the Los Angeles Theatre, Swelldom (women’s clothing), and Hartfield’s (department store.) Even the dentist on that block had a neon sign—he probably needed one just to stand out!
Tony V. says: “Swelldom’s featured live models in its second story windows overlooking Broadway, wearing the latest arrivals in lunchtime and after work fashion shows.”
A daytime view of Swelldom:
Cool. I worked at that Bullock’s for Xmas 55 and 56.
If the photo was taken earlier in the day, we have have seen you in it!
I worked at Fourth and Spring during the latter half of the 1990s, while City Hall was being earthquake retrofitted. It’s shocking to see how alive this street was, not so many years before. Happily, the area is on the upswing these days.