Category Archives: Uncategorized

Stan’s drive-in restaurant at the southeast corner of Sunset Blvd and Virgil Ave, as seen in “The True Story of Lynn Stuart” (1958)

Stan’s was a popular chain of drive-in restaurants in the 1940s and 50s with more than a dozen locations around Los Angeles—most of them formerly Simon’s. This image isn’t a photo but a freeze-frame taken from Columbia’s “The True Story … Continue reading

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Los Angeles Consolidated Electric streetcar, decorated for Washington’s Birthday, Pico Heights, Los Angeles, circa 1892

I’d never heard of the Los Angeles neighborhood known as Pico Heights until I found this circa 1892 photograph. Established in the 1880s, it was centered around Pico Boulevard roughly between Alvarado St and Normandie Ave, which puts it roughly … Continue reading

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Looking east along W. 43rd Place at Garthwaite Ave after the extreme rains that hit Los Angeles early March 1938

Three days ago, I posted a photo of the Los Angeles river as seen from the 9th St/Olympic Viaduct before it was concreted over as a consequence of the heavy rains that inundated Southern California in early March 1938. This … Continue reading

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Color photo of a newsstand with its own neon light in downtown Los Angeles, 1960

And from the “You Don’t See Many of These Things Anymore” file comes this photo of a newsstand. But not just any newsstand — the longest I’ve ever seen, and the only one to have its own neon sign. The … Continue reading

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Aerial shot of the Carthay Circle Theatre at 6316 San Vicente Blvd, Los Angeles circa, early 1940s

In a city of marvelous movie palaces (the Chinese, the Egyptian, the Pantages, the Million Dollar) one of the most famous and most loved cinemas in Los Angeles was the Carthay Circle Theatre, which opened in 1926. It stood at … Continue reading

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Looking north up an unpaved Los Angeles River from the Olympic Blvd Viaduct, Los Angeles, circa 1938

In early March 1938, Southern California endured four days of extraordinarily heavy rains that resulted in devastating floods. Consequently, Los Angeles decided to engage the Army Corps of Engineers to pave over the Los Angeles river so that it could … Continue reading

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Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra plays an Easter sunrise service at a packed Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, April 20, 1924

This rather dramatic shot show the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra playing an Easter sunrise service at a packed Hollywood Bowl. This was in 1924; that year Easter Sunday fell on April 20. The first time the LAPO played an Easter … Continue reading

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Parking is scarce for beach-bound Angelenos at the palisades below Malibu, Los Angeles, circa 1930s

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 … Continue reading

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New-fangled horseless carriages parked outside Rambler Bicycles at 209 W. 5th St, downtown Los Angeles, 1910

Obviously, them there new-fangled horseless carriages are never going to catch on, but don’t tell those three people who have parked their funny-looking vehicles out front of Rambler Bicycles at 209 W. 5th St, downtown Los Angeles, near the corner … Continue reading

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A streetcar rounds the corner of 7th St & Broadway, downtown Los Angeles, June 1919

The corner of 7th St & Broadway in downtown Los Angeles was not only LA’s busiest intersection, but also it seems its most photographed section, if my anecdotal experience is anything to go by. But here is an angle I … Continue reading

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