This 1959 photo reeks of cruising down Hollywood Blvd on a Saturday night looking for trouble in all the wrong places—and probably finding it at the Movie Town Motel. Past the Hawaii Theatre on the right was the Florentine Gardens, home to one of the more risqué floorshows in Hollywood. Both the theater and the nightclub buildings are still there but neither of them have operated for years. The Chevrolet and Ford lots on the left is now a huge Toyota dealership, and the Movie Town Motel is now called the Vibe Hotel and Banana Bungalows—but it’s probably best not to ask why.
My thanks to Jim Lewis for these two photos of the Hawaii Theatre:
Roughly the same view in January 2017:
Sadly, Florentine Gardens and the Hawaii Theater are just shells of their former selves. This image is from December 2020:
Strange that I have no memory of ever seeing the Hawaii Theater. And for a long time I got off the red car at Bronson and walked down to school at LeConte. That ended, though, in ’56, so maybe the theater came after that? A mystery. I remember the drug store on the SW corner and the poor owners who used to stand guard over the candy as school let out….
The Hawaiian opened May 6, 1940 with “Abe Lincoln in Illinois,” so it was definitely there. You’re not alone, though. Someone on my Facebook page was marveling at how she couldn’t remember it either.
I can recall, in the late 1950s, when the Florentine Gardens building was being gutted to convert it into some sort of credit union. The Hawaii Theatre was running films until the Salvation Army purchased the property.
The Movie Town Motel had a Mob connection at this point in time. Owned by
Anthony “Tony” R. Pinelli, Sr. a member of the Chicago Outfit.
The Mob, Show Bidness and Hollywood Blvd. If those walls could talk.
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Certainly stands as the best “American Grafitti” shot of Hollywood Blvd. I believe the Chevy dealership was known as Don Hartunian’s (spelling?) in the ’60’s when muscle was on the rise. Do recall the new mustang (’64 1/2) on display, likely right down at the Ford dealer there. If someone built it, you could be sure to see one in Hollywood. Freeway on-ramps were like a car spotter’s paradise.
Al, That is when cars still had class. Nothing but trash on the roads these days. Give me those Free on ramps. Sounds like great fun.
It appears Hartunian was the owner of Hollywood Ford, right down that side. Can’t remember everything.
The original Toyota lot is just beyond Hollywood Ford. Hartunian worked for a Los Angeles dealership and opened this new one himself in 1959. It seems he had a son (Gary?) that owned a race horse in 2015 going by the name of Hollywood Don. (Amazing what you can find online.)
I worked at Hollywood Ford in the1960’s as a tuneup mechanic.