Category Archives: Uncategorized
Photo showing the removal of the Red Car streetcars tracks along the Hollywood Freeway heading into the Cahuenga Pass near the Hollywood Bowl, 1953
This photo shows us the end of an era: the removal of the Red Car streetcars tracks along the Hollywood Freeway in 1953. We’re facing north heading into the Cahuenga Pass and I suspect that offramp on the left leads … Continue reading
Color photo looking northwest across Pershing Square, downtown Los Angeles, 1965
Since its dedication in 1866, Pershing Square in downtown LA has been through many incarnations: La Plaza Abaja, St. Vincent’s Park, Los Angeles Park, 6th Street Park, Central Park, and then finally in 1918 Angelenos landed on a name that’s … Continue reading
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Tagged Biltmore Hotel, Color photo, Downtown Los Angeles, Hotels, Pershing Square
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Photo of the grand piano that stood near the 7th Street garden entrance of the Ambassador Hotel, 3400 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, circa 1920s
It’s not too hard to find photos of the exterior of the Ambassador Hotel at 3400 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, but interior shots are harder to come by. Well, apart from the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, that is. This photo’s caption … Continue reading
Oil wells blanket Venice, California, circa 1930
This photo is a reminder of two things that Venice, California used to have: canals and oil wells. To be fair, there is still a handful of canals left in what is known as the Venice Canal Historic District. But … Continue reading
One of Art Whizin’s Punch and Judy ice cream parlors converted from one of his Chili Bowl restaurants somewhere in Los Angeles (undated)
When I first saw this photo of a Punch and Judy ice cream parlor, it struck me how similar it looked to the one of the circular Chili Bowl restaurants that used to dot the LA cityscape in the 1930s … Continue reading
Color photo of the striking black and gold Selig Commercial Building on the northwest corner of Western Ave and 3rd St, Los Angeles (undated)
I can only imagine (with this help of photos like this) what it must have been like to drive around Los Angeles in the 1930s. This is the Selig Commercial Building that went up on the northwest corner of Western … Continue reading
Color photo of the Hollywood Hotel on the northwest corner of Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave, Hollywood, 1950
Most photos I’ve come across of the Hollywood Hotel on the northwest corner of Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave are in black and white, so I’m always happy to find a genuine color shot. This one was taken in 1950, … Continue reading
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Tagged Color photo, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood Hotel, Hotels
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A nighttime view of the newly finished Los Angeles City Hall 200 North Spring St, downtown Los Angeles, 1928
What a magnificent view of Los Angeles City Hall lit up at night. Standing at 200 N. Spring St in downtown, the building’s dedication ceremony took place on April 26, 1928. The caption for this photo pegged the date as … Continue reading
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
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