Yes, perhaps Los Angeles had outgrown it, and yes, perhaps it hadn’t been maintained well, or perhaps it was damaged by the Long Beach earthquake of 1933, but still, it’s a shame this magnificent building is no longer with us. It’s the Old County Courthouse at the corner of Temple Street and Broadway in downtown L.A., circa 1900. It really must have been a sight to see at the time.
The Old County Courthouse at the corner of Temple Street and Broadway, downtown Los Angeles, 1900
Aerial photo looking north up Ivar Ave across Hollywood during the construction of the Cinerama Dome, 1963
In this aerial photo, we’re looking north across Hollywood from roughly the intersection Ivar and De Longpre Avenues. That circular structure in the foreground is the construction site of the Cinerama Dome theater, which was announced in February 1963 and opened in November with the premiere of “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” It’s still there, as is the building on the north side of Sunset, which is also under construction. And the black tower at Sunset and Vine St is also still there, albeit with the shiny glass makeover it received a few years ago.
This is a satellite image image of the same area from January 2022:
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Tagged Aerial photographs, Cinerama Dome, Hollywood, Theaters
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Aerial view of the Los Angeles Riding Academy, Third St, West Hollywood, circa 1928
In this aerial photograph from circa 1928, we’re looking north across West Hollywood from Third Street. (Robertson Blvd is the main road on the left that takes a sharp angle northwest.) As we can see, there was still a lot of empty land in this part of Los Angeles. That main compound in the foreground was the Los Angeles Riding Academy, where Angelenos learned how to ride horses, and—I assume—where they stabled them. It looks like it covered quite a few acres, but it’s hard for me to imagine riding horses around L.A., especially as that same plot of land is now home to the sprawling Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Directly above the riding academy, in the center of the photo, the group of large buildings is the Sherman Rail Yards at Santa Monica and San Vicente.
Union Station in color, downtown Los Angeles, 1950
From the always-interesting Davelandweb site comes this color photo of Union Station at the edge of downtown in 1950. What I like about this photo is that the railway station looks practically the same now as it did back then. The main difference is that the palm trees are taller. I also like that car on the right. It’s not all sparkling and shiny new like in a 2022 movie set in 1950, but looks like it had a lot of miles on it and has gathered some rust along the way.
Roughly the same view in June 2021:
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Tagged Color photo, Downtown Los Angeles, Trains and Railways, Union Station
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Kaspare Cohn Hospital, 1441 Carroll Ave, Angelino Heights, Los Angeles, circa 1900s
This seemingly genteel photo is proof that great things can come from humble beginnings. This is the Kaspare Cohn hospital that started operations in 1902 at 1441 Carroll Ave in Angelino Heights. The 12-bed hospital was run by Dr. Sara Vasen, one of L.A.’s first women doctors, and treated tuberculosis patients. In 1910 it moved to Boyle Heights and evolved into Cedars of Lebanon in the 1930s, which itself evolved into the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, one of L.A.’s leading hospitals.
Astonishingly, that house, which was built in 1887, is still there. Or maybe not so astonishingly. It’s on Carroll Ave, which is filled restored 1880s homes and is worth stopping off at seeing if you’re in the neighborhood outside downtown LA. These images are from 2014.
The first car to drive through the Hill St. Tunnels in downtown Los Angeles, September 1913
Some intrepid early motorist was keen to nab the bragging rights of being the first person to drive through the Hill St Tunnels in downtown Los Angeles in September 1913. From what we can see in this photo, the tunnel was far from being finished. I can’t imagine the suspension on that automobile was great (or even existed) so that would have been one heck of a bumpy ride.
Tony V. says: “There were two Hill Street tunnels. Seen here is the twin bore tunnel that went from First Street to Temple Street; cars and pedestrians used one bore while street cars used the other. Another Hill Street tunnel went from Temple to Sunset Boulevard. It was a single bore tunnel.”
On Urban Diachrony I found this pair of images showing the Hill Street Tunnels, looking north on Hill Street from First Street in 1954 and 2014.
The Hotel Antler and the Venice Lagoon where the Windward-Main-and-Grand roundabout now stands, Venice, California, circa 1920s
This gently bucolic scene is what Abbot Kinney had in mind when he developed his “Venice of America” project in the early 1900s. It was quite a breathtaking vision with canals and gondolas and lagoons. This circa 1920s photo shows languid Angelenos enjoying an excursion on the Venice Lagoon in front of the Hotel Antler. These days, this area is a now a huge roundabout, where Main St meets Grand Blvd meets Windward Ave, so it’s been a very long time since this location was languid.
The Venice round about in February 2021:
“Shane” starring Alan Ladd plays at the Beverly Theater, 206 N. Beverly Dr. Beverly Hills, 1953
One of six theaters in Beverly Hills (at the peak of theater-going), the Beverly Theatre at 206 N. Beverly Dr. was arguably the most memorable with its striking onion dome. Opening in 1925, it featured an elaborate exotic Chinese design, but like most theaters, over the years it underwent renovations and name changes. By the time this photo was taken, when “Shane” was playing there in 1953, it had an Art Deco theme and was known as the Fox Beverly. In 1974, MGM held the world premiere of “That’s Entertainment” there, 3 years before the place shut down.
There is no trace of the the theater exists anymore. That land is now home to The Maybourne Hotel, formerly the Montage. This image is from March 2021.
Santa Monica celebrates “Pier Day” when the US Navy’s Atlantic fleet arrives, September 9, 1909
Santa Monica pier, which looks nothing like this today, celebrated “Pier Day” when the US Navy’s Atlantic fleet parked itself off the Los Angeles coast on September 9, 1909. They certainly got a decent turn-out. And it would have been a big deal because the Panama Canal wouldn’t open for another 5 years, which means these ships sailed all the way down to the tip of South America and up again. Although why they’d do that, I’m really not sure. A Navy P.R. exercise, maybe?
*** UPDATE *** – It was part of the Great White Fleet, consisting of 14,000 sailors on 16 battleships and accompanying vessels sent around the world for 14 months by President Roosevelt. The fleet’s journey started on December 16, 1907, and concluded on February 22, 1909. You can read more about it here.
The Clock restaurant, 6710 La Tijera Blvd, Los Angeles, built in 1951
I know nothing about the Clock restaurant other than it stood at 6710 La Tijera Blvd, Los Angeles, not far from LA International Airport, and was built in 1951. But oh my goodness, look at the sign at the front entrance. I bet it looked even better lit up at night. I don’t know if this one qualifies as a Googie-style restaurant, but it’s every bit as striking as the others.
** UPDATE ** – The Clock was a chain of restaurants throughout Los Angeles:
Menu from The Clock Supper Club, Long Beach, California:
Advertisement for The Clock’s Chubby the Champ hamburger:
Architectural drawing by Louis Armét, Eldon Davis, Clock Coffee Shop, Glo-Dial, Perspective View, Westchester, CA, Architects Armét & Davis A. I. A. (1947).jpg
The location is now home to Pann’s. This image is from February 2021:
