Oh, what a different Beverly Hills it must have been back when people could ride their horses along the bridle path that used to run down the center of Rodeo Drive, replacing an old Pacific Electric streetcar line that had connected Santa Monica Boulevard with the Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Blvd. It also explains why these days that section of Rodeo is much wider than any of its neighboring streets. I don’t have a date on this photo, nor do I know when the Rodeo Dr. bridle path was closed, but I suspect it was late 1930s. If anyone reading this can correct or clarify, I’d love to hear from you!
Roughly the same view in June 2022:
I found one image of riders on the path which was being given the date of 1929. The hotel itself apparently changed hands due to the onset of the Great Depression, so this could be when the changes occured circa 1931-3? No doubt it couldn’t have survived into the war years. [And since you got me searching, someone online is selling copies of a photo of a Beverly Hills Police Officer standing next to his 1951 Ford..it’s a doozie of a cop shot!] And to top it off, I was able to place two vintage Beverly Hilton silverplated forks I aquired in the proper perspective. One with the Starblast logo is likely from the service of the rooftop restaurant. The other, with a Tonga-font “T” on top, is pointing to “The Traders” which was the original name from 1955 prior to switching it over to Trader Vic’s.