These days, the campus of Fairfax High School on the south side of Melrose Ave at Fairfax looks nothing like this wide-open expanse of greenery. In fact, that building doesn’t look like that anymore; these days just the middle section with the tower remains. But it’s nice to know that once upon a time—in the case of this photo, 1931—the high school students had lots of elbow room. And although I’m sure they thought nothing of it, they also had a lovely dual-lamp streetlight out front.
Although there are more trees around the school now, there are also a lot more fences, concrete, and parking lots. This image is from May 2022.
Nothing better than a concrete jungle!!! Yuk to all those trees and concrete that seems to have taken over your city
There’s a lot more trees in the city than you find in many older photos, take Hollywood Boulevard for example. I happen to like trees. They produce oxygen!
Absolutely! I’ll all for more trees. The more the better!
Yes, and having worked for the Department of Public Works for 26 years, which includes the Bureau of Street Services that’s responsible for our city’s trees, I can vouch for the fact that the Board of Public Works takes very seriously the care and protection of those trees. Having lived years ago in New York City, where trees are a rarity outside of Central Park, I appreciate how many we have here.
Wow, Bill, that’s great to know. Everything is better with trees!
Do you have any inside info on the palm trees? I’ve heard that the non-native palms that were planted here in the early 20th c. have a life span of only about 100 years. That means a lot of them are dead or dying.
I’d be interested in knowing the answer to Paula’s question about the palm tress because what she said is all I know, too.
My dad’s high school! I think he graduated in 1937. Or was it ’39?
It looks awful now. Sad. I think it looked closer to its original look when I was in high school/college (except for a fence at the sidewalk) and hung out in that area. Aaron’s Records was directly across the street. He sold LPs for exactly $3, which included the tax. I bought my first Linda Ronstadt there — from when she was still with the Stone Ponys.
I also got the United States of America LP — one of the first pop? rock? albums to use a synthesizer. Look them up!
Mike Nesmith of The Monkees fame wrote “Different Drum”, the first big hit for The Stone Poneys. Now those chimps got started under the control of Don Kirshner and his Brill Building powerhouse on the east coast. Oddly enough, Phil Spector came from Fairfax High, and after the early days of The Teddy Bears he would pull together a then small cadre of local musicians that became The Wrecking Crew. Starting out on He’s A Rebel, they caused a massive shift of creative influence that boosted the west coast scene. (Meanwhile Berry Gordy was working to pull off the Detroit sounds of Motown.) Of course, the ape boys also revolted against Kirshner and changed the nature of what they were doing. But that Wall of Sound just blew everything out of the water from then on. Steve Douglas was the sax man (plus) and if you were lucky you could hear him up close right through the ‘80’s in a local venue like The Baked Potato out in the Val. He died fairly young in the ‘90’s. And, no doubt, we all know what happened to Spector in the end. Just keep on, prancin’ and a dancin’!