In this circa WWII color photo, we’re looking east across Vine St to the NBC radio studios on the northeast corner of Sunset Blvd and Vine St in Hollywood. I’m guessing it was taken around WWII because of those sailors crossing the street (and that cute little kid in his dixie cup hat!) This era was the peak of commercial broadcast radio, and NBC was one of the most important studios, with many of the Top Ten shows in the country being made there. Many of those shows would have live audiences, so this corner was always busy with people eager to see their favorite stars.
Glen N. says: “The street light is no longer wearing its “blackout/dimout cap.” They lasted into mid 1944, so my guess is late 1944 to 1945.”
The NBC Studios were demolished in 1964. This is how that corner looked in June 2022.
I once read that some of the original recording rooms are intact in a basement there.
I don’t know why some buildings are more iconic than others, but this was one of them, and what came out of those recording rooms helped to inform my childhood: Fibber McGee and Molly, I Love a Mystery, The Great Gildersleeve, The Goldbergs, Henry Aldrich, Father Knows Best, Ozzie and Harriet, Roy Rogers, It Pays to Be Ignorant, Information Please, Terry and the Pirates, The Life of Riley, to name only a few.
Thanks for those shows, Mary. I looked for a list of show that came out of those NBC radio studios, but couldn’t find much of anything.
I found these on Wikipedia. They have lists for each of the networks. I remember the shows, but didn’t remember which networks they were on, of course. Interestingly, many shows are on more than one list. And I forgot Bing Crosby. For some reason I associate him with that building very strongly. He did do the Kraft Music Hour on NBC for many years, but that ended in 1946. The show I remember was sponsored by Chesterfield but according to the Internet that was on CBS. Anyway, a few other favorite shows on other networks were Sergeant Preston of the Yukon (who could forget “On King!”, that was his dog), Bold Venture (with Bogie and Bacall), Our Miss Brooks (with Richard Crenna playing the adolescent and adenoidal Walter Denton, and Jeff Chandler as Mr. Boynton), and a lot of great comedy from the likes of Fred Allen, George Burns, and Jack Benny as well as Bob (Hope) and Bing.
I love seeing photos I’ve never seen of the NBC Building! (And sailors, heh!) It’s interesting that so many of us love the art deco NBC building and wish it hadn’t been torn down and now there are people who are trying to keep that bank building from developers who want to build that corner up.
They want to save it, as the L.A. Conservancy page notes: “because of the huge mosaic mural of Hollywood’s greatest stars in their best-known roles, with black granite panels inscribed with other stars’ names running vertically behind the larger figures; a large fountain surrounding a 1920s Paul Manship sculpture of Europa riding Zeus in bull form sits in front of the bank, further marking the corner as a landmark and meeting place; another façade of the building features a set of elaborate stained-glass windows by Susan Hertel, depicting famous chase scenes featuring everyone from the Keystone Cops to Moby Dick. The Home Savings Bank on Vine Street is a real jewel of art and architecture, and a breathtaking tribute to the beautiful fictions of Hollywood.”
I used to go by one of these “Home Savings and Loan” banks in Studio City all the time and maybe it’s just me, but I don’t like them. I also don’t like the way they straddle the intersections at an angle. I find it annoying, so that, and the fact it replaced the NBC building, is probably why when I’ve been around that bank I’ve never really looked at it.
????? For those reading these comments, I (and Martin Turnbull, too) have been trying for years to locate a color image of the two-story mural The Spirit of Radio (sometimes referred to as The Genie of Radio) created by Edward Trumbull that was in the lobby of the NBC building, or even a person who remembers seeing it in color.
I have to believe there is one somewhere. Edward Trumbull was not some rather unknown artist. He was responsible for many murals, including the one on the ceiling of the Chrysler Building in NYC. I’ve probably mentioned this elsewhere on one of these comment sections, but I have to keep prodding!
One of these days, Mister Pal, one of these days…
When I glanced at the “NOW” photo just now, I noticed the traffic light on the left has five (?) lights.