One of the first Safeway markets in Los Angeles at 5509 Sunset Blvd, near Western, 1936

One of the first Safeway markets in Los Angeles at 5509 Sunset Blvd, near Western, 1936Safeway supermarkets is a name I haven’t seen in Los Angeles for a very long time, but back when this photo was taken in 1936, it was brand new to the LA market. It was a 5509 Sunset Blvd, which put it just west of Western Ave. A far cry from the slick corporate uniformity of later decades, I love the charm of Spanish tiled roof which lends more of a local market feel, along with that sign standing over what looks like a wishing well.

These days, that site is home to a WSS shoe store. This image is from August 2022.

 

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3 responses to “One of the first Safeway markets in Los Angeles at 5509 Sunset Blvd, near Western, 1936”

  1. Deepy says:

    Before the WSS shoe store it was Orchard Supply and Hardware. I got my seedlings and potting soil etc. there. I later bought a great pair of (probably discontinued) leather shoes at WSS. Remarkable because they mostly sell cheap, junky stuff.
    I love the stand alone sign with wrought iron and floodlights in front of the original Safeway store. It must have looked alluring at night. A lot of former Safeways are now Von’s. I used to love Safeway supermarkets. Von’s? Not so much.

  2. Al Donnelly says:

    Notice the Sam Seelig signage about the right roof line? Here’s some back story on that: https://www.groceteria.com/store/national-chains/safeway/safeway-history/

  3. G. Stella says:

    Martin, there is some sort of cosmic energy that draws you once more to that particular intersection! It’s the corner that you posted with the olde timey, AAA-sponsored traffic signal that I commented on a while back, with the theatre that became a Pussycat Theatre, and the Sacred Heart College/The AFI Campus a few blocks north… Incidentally, this building was a DIY place called Builders’ Emporium in the 1980s, before it was an Orchard Supply Hardware. I’m not sure if BE built the structure, or if some other business did.

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