The Cahuenga Pass connects Hollywood with the San Fernando Valley. These days, it’s got an always-busy 8-lane freeway plowing through it (plus the two-lane Cahuenga Blvd on each side, but minus the streetcar track that used to be there), but back when this photo was taken (it’s undated, but I’m going to guess pre-1900) it was just a winding dirt road through empty scrub land – the sort of landscape that would have lent itself well for shooting early westerns.
This is the November 2021 view driving west on the Hollywood Freeway through the pass near the Hollywood Bowl:
And this is a bird’s-eye view of how the Cahuenga Pass looks (2022)
Just above that cabin-like structure, you can detect the narrow line of what was probably an earlier trace road that would have come out in front of the house to join the lower trail (which has been improved in this image). All of that upper section cutting a shelf along the hills is probably very much newer and there arrears to be some sort of wheeled conveyance on the right side about half way up (where the incline seems to be less steep). Wagon routes usually start closer to stream beds before they are shifted outward in big projects to widen the right of way. (Horses need sources-water.) All of this here was done to aid the new farms going in west of the Burbank-San Fernando alignment with the old Spanish access to the Pueblo center.
Great photo, Martin! Lots of history in the Pass. Do you have any pics or info about the 1950’s era cross-shaped church building that was on the north side of the freeway, near the Ford theater? Thanks!
I don’t really know much about the Hollywood Cross other than what’s on the Wikipedia page for it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Cross
Based upon this snaking curve, I believe a 1926 photo from Title Insurance & Trust (printed by Ira Swett in Interurbans Special 16, reprinted I.S. 60) is a view in opposite looking down the canyon in this section. The improved auto road remains on the West side generally in the same alignment. But the entire hillside area on the East (right in this image) was torn down to create the smooth descent for the Pacific Electric double track right-of-way. All of his made the canyon at least twice as wide in it’s base area. With the 1940 freeway project, the rails would be shifted in two phases opening up the full canyon to accomodate the wide freeway and side roads. Ultimate removal of the rails would permit the corridor to expand inward to create the modern full road surface. Wooden 800 series cars ruled the route until 1938, and were then replaced by rebuilt Hollywood Cars phased in by groups that started in the 700 series (735-749 first) with more to follow as converted.