These days, what is known as the Sunset-Gower studios used to be home to Columbia Pictures. But back when this photo was taken in 1934, Columbia hadn’t yet swallowed up all the shooting stages between Gower St and Beachwood Drive. The sign atop this two-story building on Beachwood Drive reads “Western Pictures Corporation.” Before that it was called “California Studio” which was home to many, many film companies, most of them fly-by-nighters whom I’ve never heard of.

Philip M says: “I’ve stood in Harry Cohn’s old office and thought, “Man, all the stuff that went down right here!” I’ve also stood in the room right behind his office, which was his private dressing room, bath and shower. On the back wall is a short door with a little 2 or 3 step well in front of it. From inside the dressing room the door only looks 4 or 5 feet tall. But as you approach and walk down those 2-3 steps now the door is full sized. When you open it, you are suddenly in the long corridor of the building next door, which used to be the second floor starlets dressing room corridor. Since Gower St has a slight incline when going from Fountain Ave to Sunset Blvd, the dressing room building is about a half-story lower than the executive office building that Harry was in hence, the dugout and short door. You can see in the picture, the smaller window on the second floor to the left of the drainpipe was Harry’s dressing room. To the right of the pipe at a slightly lower elevation is the second floor of the dressing room building next door.”

Beachwood Drive south of Sunset Blvd is now a private road into Sunset-Gower Studios. This image is from June 2022.