Author Archives: Martin Turnbull
Chotiner’s La Brea Theatre, 857 S. La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, 1926
Here’s a gem of Los Angeles architecture I didn’t know about until yesterday. Imagine this being your local movie house – it almost looks like a medieval church. It opened at 857 S. La Brea Ave (on the corner of … Continue reading
Color photo of an electric LA Transit Lines trolley coach approaches the intersection of 5th and Hill Streets, downtown Los Angeles, circa mid-1950s
In this colorful photo, we’re watching an electric LA Transit Lines trolley coach (a successor to the LARY streetcars) approach the intersection of 5th and Hill Sts in downtown Los Angeles. However, I’m more interested in the background – specifically … Continue reading
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Tagged Color photo, Downtown Los Angeles, Stores and Shopping, Streetcars
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Color photo of the Brown Derby restaurant, 1628 Vine St, Hollywood, with a 1955 Buick parked out front
I’ll gladly take any photo of a Brown Derby restaurant, but especially one in color. My friend who works at the Petersen Automotive Museum tells me that gorgeous blue-and-white car parked out front is a 1955 Buick, so let’s call … Continue reading
Pacific Electric Red Cars bound for Glendale and Hollywood sit on tracks below the Subway Terminal building at 4th and Hill Streets, downtown Los Angeles, undated
Though dimly lit and hard to make out, this photo glows with atmosphere. The (rather brave, I think) photographer was standing on the tracks that those four Pacific Electric Red Cars were about to take to Glendale and Hollywood. This … Continue reading
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Tagged Downtown Los Angeles, Streetcars, Trains and Railways
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Inside the original Central Casting office in the Hollywood & Western Building on the southwest corner of Hollywood Blvd and Western Ave, Hollywood, 1929
A couple of days ago, I featured a photo of Newman’s Drug Co on the southwest corner of Hollywood Blvd and Western Ave. What I didn’t mention was how the building was the Hollywood & Western Building, which housed a … Continue reading
Looking north up Broadway from 7th St during a Shriner convention, downtown Los Angeles, circa 1925
Back in the first half of the 20th century, the busiest intersection in Los Angeles was where Broadway meets 7th St. And so it make sense that a good number of photos from that era LA were taken at, around, … Continue reading
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Tagged Broadway, Downtown Los Angeles, Shriners, Stores and Shopping, Streetcars
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Newman’s Drug Co at the southwest corner of Hollywood Blvd and Western Ave, Hollywood, as seen in “Double Indemnity” (1944)
This image is actually a screengrab from a documentary called “Los Angeles Plays Itself” which is a 2003 film that looks at all the ways Los Angeles has been depicted (as itself and other locations) in the movies. I freeze-famed … Continue reading
Color photo looking north up Highland Ave past a Pacific Electric Red Car heading south, Hollywood, 1952
Oh boy, those Pacific Electric Red Cars sure packed a wallop of color, didn’t they? Or maybe it’s the vibrancy of the Kodachrome process? Either way, I suspect it was easy to spot on coming a mile away—literally. This one … Continue reading
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Tagged Color photo, Hollywood, Kodachrome, Restaurants, Stores and Shopping, Streetcars
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Los Angeles policemen ride their bicycles along Broadway at around 6th St, downtown Los Angeles, circa 1904
Here we see a concept that wouldn’t fly today: the Los Angeles police force on bicycles. But back in circa 1904, when this photo was taken, I suppose bikes were the quickest and most nimble way to get around town … Continue reading
Color photo of LA Railway Yellow Car streetcar heads along Broadway from 7th St, downtown Los Angeles, 1956
The Pacific Electric Red Cars get most of the attention in vintage photos of the streets of LA in the first half of the 20th century. But the LA Railway’s Yellow Cars also did their bit moving Angelenos around the … Continue reading
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Tagged Color photo, Downtown Los Angeles, Kodachrome, Stores and Shopping, Streetcars, Theaters
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