Here we have a vibrant circa-1950s photo looking east along Wilshire from the eastern end of MacArthur Park. Past the trees on the left, we can see the top of the huge sign for the Westlake Theatre (MacArthur Park was known as Westlake Park until 1942.) And in the center is one of those Wilshire Special streetlights which were designed for and installed only along Wilshire Blvd. But what I really like are these splashes of color of the (what we now call) classic automobiles.
Dave M. said: “My best guess is 1954. The blue convertible in the lower left is a 1954 Ford. Next light blue car is a 1954 Chevy. Next red car looks like another 1954 Ford convertible with the top up.”
This is roughly how that view looked in November 2023.
What happened to those beautiful palm trees? Current photo is so boring compared to the 50s photo!!!!
Unique juxaposition…directly above that red soft top we see a billboard with a red convertible apparently flying forward in front of what looks like a very large propellered air transport. Anyone recognize the ad?
The 1950’s photo is a scene my mom would remember well. She would walk through the park from her little apartment on S Carondelet, next to the Asbury Building, to some medical building where she worked. She did that up until 1958 when my sister was born this day. Happy Birthday Sis!
Thanks, Martin. Just beautiful Lots of memories there. That area of LA back in the teens and 1920s was also used for filming. The problem was the local residents weren’t too keen about trampling the park area. They wanted it neat and tidy, and I guess the film crews weren’t. Probably before the studios began building their own backlots. The area has a Hollywood connection, not often known. The WESTLAKE sign rules! Yes, they should have at least kept one or two palm trees. That defines southern CA. Preserve our beeeeeutiful palms.