I think of these sorts of photos as slice-of-life shots. Nothing much is happening in this 1947 color photo looking north up Whitley Ave from Padre Terrace in Hollywood, but it does give us a glimpse into what the post-war Hollywood neighborhood looked like with lots of palm trees, green lawns, and well-maintained apartment buildings. On my time travel trip, I’d happily spend an hour or two wandering around this area (and then go to C.C. Brown’s for one of their hot fudge sundaes because apparently they were super-delicious!)
This is roughly the same view in May 2022. The apartment building on the right is still there, as is the large white house at the end of the street.
Currently on Google street view, the steep-roofed white house (second from right) was still there in November 2021, well-kept and apparently still lived in. But click south down Whitley Avenue and you get images from May 2022 and the house has been demolished.
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1059706,-118.3333863,3a,75y,110.68h,89.7t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1smFAGjl6LMyPRV8EOJ-osoQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
Whitley Heights is one of my favorite neighborhoods. It’s still like stepping back in time (if you ignore the modern cars on the streets) but it would have been amazing to visit back in the day. Gloria Swanson, Valentino, Irving Thalberg and Norma Shearer, Jean Harlow, Barbara Stanwyck, Louise Brooks, Donald O’Connor, William Powell and Carole Lombard, Lupe Valez, and Rosalind Russell all lived in the neighborhood at different times.
Yes, Whitley Heights is a hidden gem. There was a gate that kept you from going farther in when I used to live at the NW corner of Franklin and Whitley in that 10-story apartment monstrosity.
Current photo looks like they need a good landscaper to bring it back to it’s former glory days. Why is it that the home owners do not seem to care about keeping the property pristine as it was in the 30s and 40s. Seems to me folks just took more pride in what they had back then. Really ashame
My dad took me to C C. Browns many times and in the mid 60’s I lived on Hollywood Blvd west of LA Brea so hot fudge sundaes at C C.’s were a regular thing. It wasn’t the same when the kids took over. Smaller portions but the fudge was still the best.
I live on Padre Terrace, in a Mission Revival home built 1905. Love seeing this old image—and would be excited to see more. Have never found an a period image of our place…