Sardi’s restaurant at 6315 Hollywood Blvd had no connection to the famous Sardi’s on 44^th Street in New York—except for hijacking the name, I guess. After the Montmartre’s Eddie Brandstatter opened it in 1932, it had quite a history, including a fire in 1936, Brandstatter’s suicide in 1940, and a few subsequent name changes, including Chi-Chi and Zardi’s Jazzland in the 1950s. The thing I like most about it is the choice of typeface in the sign. Next door, the Admiral Theatre is playing “Sun Valley Serenade” starring Sonja Henie and John Payne, which dates this photo to 1941.

These days, that stretch of Hollywood Blvd is occupied by the empty Vine St Theatre, a tattoo parlor, and a strip joint. Ah, progress! This image is from February 2021.