This is one of those photos that reminds me that maybe parking wasn’t always easy in yesteryear Los Angeles. I don’t have much information about this photo other than it was taken in Malibu sometime in the 1930s. I’m guessing it must have been a warm and sunny beach day when this photo was taken, and every Angeleno with a car was determined to catch some rays…if only they could find a park, which for the latecomers on driving along the Roosevelt Highway (aka PCH) appears to be way too late. I’m fairly sure that large hillside home in the background is Villa de Leon, which puts the location of this photo east of the easternmost tip of Malibu.
How that view looks these days. The building to the far left is the one that once housed the cafe run by movie actress, Thelma Todd.
Somewhat off topic, but the state should buy up the land where the houses burned by the Palisades Fire stood between the Santa Monica Bay and PCH. That area should be returned to the public.
I am pretty sure this photo was taken from the pedestrian overpass over PCH adjacent to Thelma Todd’s Sidewalk Cafe Building. The road going up to the right from PCH fits. On second look, I am sure I am right. The death there of movie star,Thelma Todd, in 1935 was an early Hollywood sensation.
Yes, Gordon, I do believe you’re right about the overpass.
Thanks, Martin. Yes, that’s in the vacinity of Thelma Todd’s cafe back in the day. Aside from her mysterious death, the property had quite a history. Director Roland West, prime suspect in the case, later married actress Lola Lane and they lived there for many years. When West died in 1952, she married an aircraft executive and they continued to live there until the 70s when the property was sold to investors who redeveloped the site, although the infamous garage where Thelma Todd died outlasted everyone. I have seen pix taken around 2020 where it looked the same as in the 30s. Amazing Grace.
I love that you can see both Haystack Rock (the smaller) and Castle Rock (the larger which was flattened in 1945) in the distance. These landmarks appear in many silent movies- most notably Chaplin’s “The Adventurer.”