These days, the ironically circular Capitol Records Building at 1750 N. Vine St, north of Hollywood Blvd is a Los Angeles landmark. But when this photo was taken, it was a new and unusual addition to the skyline. The building was completed in April of 1956, and this photo was taken shortly after that. At this time, the big draw was the Du-Par’s restaurant, although I’m sure the neighboring Pacific Finance company also saw its fair share of foot traffic.
This is roughly the same view in June 2022. That row of businesses is south of the auto park have all gone. The whole area is now a gigantic parking lot, which is handy when you’ve got tickets to the nearby Pantages Theatre.
Notice the weiner dog in the billboard up the street by Capitol? Very unusual to see in ads in those days.