Most photos we see of the Crossroads of the World (America’s first outdoor shopping mall) are taken from the main entrance on Sunset Blvd, so it’s nice to find one taken at the northern end on Selma Ave, looking south. (We can see the entrance’s iconic globe peeking over the roof on the left.) Crossroads opened in 1936 and by the staged look of this photo, my guess it was taken around the time of the opening as a promotional shot. It does look like a tranquil oasis in the middle of busy Hollywood.
To see better what Crossroads of the World looks like, check out this 2021 video from “Mr. V”
This is roughly that same view in January 2018:
I think the autocolorizer did a pretty good job bringing this scene to life:
And here is a map of the whole complex:
And it will only get better as it becomes the centerpiece of a larger surrounding development being built over the next few years.
In the 70s my wife’s agent had an office next to Mel Blanc, who took a shine to my wife and signed one of his albums of voices for her. She still has it.
I’d hang onto it too!
This site refers to the pic as a “postcard view”. It does look staged. The site has an interesting history of the property, including the gangland murder that preceded the construction of the Crossroads.
https://jhgraham.com/2020/12/19/6665-sunset-charles-h-crawford-office-crossroads-of-the-world/