If they ever invent a time machine, I’ll be setting my destination for Hollywood’s greatest year, 1939, and this event is one I’d be trying to finagle my way into: the September 27 premiere of “The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex” at the Warner Bros. Theater, 9404 Wilshire Blvd in Beverly Hills. Not only would it be great to see this movie for the very first time, but perhaps also catch a glimpse of Bette Davis, who shaved two inches off her hairline to play Queen Elizabeth twice her actual age. I’d also love a chance to see inside Warner Bros.’ spectacular Art Deco Beverly Hills theater.
From Everett E: “The City of Beverly Hills made a stupid decision when they gave developer the OK to tear the theater down to build an office building. For years there was nothing but a hole in the ground. The developer used the usual excuses due to the poor economic situation, etc. Now just a parking lot. The Warner in San Pedro was designed by the same architect and is similar in design. The Beverly Hills version was bigger and more elaborate being a prime example of Art Deco. The architect was B. Marcus Priteca who also was the chief architect for the Pantages circuit and designed his crowning achievement, the Hollywood Pantages, in 1930-31.”
The theater is no longer around. This image is from March 2021:
In this circa photo, we’re looking north up a rather busy Flower St from around 8th St in downtown Los Angeles. In the background we can see the glorious 
In this aerial photograph, we’re looking north across the 20th Century-Fox movie studios in the Century City part of Los Angeles in 1954. (Originally the land was a ranch owned by movie cowboy, Tom Mix, but was later renamed after the studio.) The road running from left to right near the bottom of the picture is Pico Blvd. On the left we can see the soundstages and the big stretch of open land on the right is the backlot that would have to be sacrificially sold off to cover the ballooning costs of “Cleopatra,” whose production dates ran from September 1961 to July 1962. Albeit smaller now, the studio is still there.
To my way of thinking, this view looking north up Vine St from Selma Ave is one of those quintessential Hollywood vistas that I never tire of. Especially when taken at dusk and we can see the lights of the Equitable Building, the huge Miller High Life Beer sign atop the Taft Building, Western Air Lines, The Office (which was a bar) and the Brown Derby coffee shop. And it was taken some time in the 1950s, when you could still nab a parking spot close to your intended destination. Looks like bliss to me.
Here we have little Mary Pickford (and I do mean little, she was only 5’1’’) standing in front of a magnificent Cord L-29 that had been donated in 1929 as a fundraiser for a worthwhile and much-needed project Motion Picture Relief Fund which in turn built the Motion Picture Country House, which provides full-time living accommodation for older people who worked in the film and television industry. Mary spearheaded it (along with Douglas Fairbanks, D.W. Griffith, and Charlie Chaplin, with whom she created United Artists) when they saw a need for those working in movies who were down on their luck. Their slogan was “Taking Care of Our Own,” which shows us how Mary cared about giving back to the industry that gave her so much.
The photographer who took this shot in around 1950 was standing at the corner of Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave with the Hollywood Hotel behind him. That Red Car was heading north into the Cahuenga Pass en route to the San Fernando Valley. It’s a shame the photo isn’t in color because the streetcar would have been a bright splash of red. Behind it, we can see the “FA” in the sign for the Max Factor building. These days, it’s a wonderful museum to Hollywood’s history, but back then it was still an active makeup store and salon.
April 26, 1928 was a big day for Angelenos – their new City Hall opened at 200 N. Spring St. Not only did it become the tallest building in Los Angeles, but, by law, it remained its tallest skyscraper for the next few decades. The hundreds of people gathered out front watching the parade pass by probably didn’t know that their new city hall would become an icon of L.A.
I don’t know what the photographer was standing on when he took this 1939 shot looking north up Westwood Blvd from Wilshire Blvd, but I’m glad he did. Like most of Los Angeles, this area is a lot more built up now, but I love seeing how spacious and open it used to be before the high-rises took over. Before I came across this photo, I never thought of Westwood as a city of spires.
A visit to the Broadway-Spring Arcade at 541 S. Spring St in downtown Los Angeles in 1953 almost provided you with one-stop shopping. You could pick up clothes at Richards, shoes at Thom McAn, have some waffles at Dixie, then bowling where apparently you can have a cocktail too, then go upstairs for a Budget Loan to pay for it all!
From Dave DeCaro’s always-fascinating 