I do love finding photos of drive-in restaurants in Los Angeles from back in the day (aka 1930s through 1950s.) They all had such atmosphere and character, and I especially love the cupola on the roof. This one had a great location: 8801 Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood at the corner of Horn Ave, which put it in the middle of the Sunset Strip. Apparently that dark car at the far right is a 1939 Mercury, so I’m calling this circa early 1940s.
Gary H. said: “That was actually the first Simon’s drive-in. Opened in 1935. Became Dolores in 1945.”
John J. pointed out that this place could have been the inspiration for Mildred’s restaurant in Mildred Pierce. (1945)
This is roughly how that view looked in May 2024. That site is currently occupied by a Supreme clothing store, but for a long while it was home to the always busy Tower Records.
This place looked familiar when I saw the recent picture, and then I placed it. Many years ago I was dating a girl who knew I liked classical music, so she took me down to Tower Records on Sunset because of their selection of classical tunes on CD. I checked the address, same location. Of course Tower Records is gone now.
There’s a shot in Aloha, Bobby & Rose where they drive the VW past the front of Tower Records. It was filmed in late 1973 so Floyd Mutrux had already spotted it as a classic area icon to be captured.