I’ve been blogging about vintage photos of Hollywood for nearly a decade and naturally, a sizable percentage of them have been about Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. But yesterday, I had never come across anything about their doorman who was over seven feet tall. His name was Lock Martin and according to Kurt Wahlner from GraumansChinese.org he worked there circa 1943 to 1949. (This photo is circa 1949.) That’s a lot of ducking his head to walk through the door and bending down to deposit tickets in that wooden ticket stub bin in front of him. His other claim to fame is that the played Gort in 20th Century-Fox’s “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” which had a two-week run at Grauman’s in October 1951. It must have been a thrill for Lock to see himself up on the screen at the theater where he used to work.
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre’s seven-foot-plus doorman, Lock Martin, stands ready to take moviegoers’ tickets, Hollywood Blvd, circa 1949
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Tagged Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Movie Stars, Theaters
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Looking west along Hollywood Blvd from Cherokee Ave, Hollywood, circa 1955
In this glorious color photo, we’re looking west along Hollywood Blvd from Cherokee Ave, Hollywood, circa 1955. These days, Hollywood Blvd has a lot more trees than it had back then (which, as we can see, was virtually no trees at all) so the same view looks different but a remarkable number of buildings are still with us: that office building on the south side of Hollywood and Cherokee, the Drake Hotel (which had been the Christie until 1945 and is now owned by the Church of Scientology), the First National Bank of Hollywood building (the while building with the turret) and, of course, the 102-year-old Musso & Frank restaurant.
Roughly the same view in February 2019:
The marvelous grill work on the office building on the southwest corner of Hollywood and Cherokee is still in terrific condition. This image is also from February 2021:
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Tagged Color photo, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Hotels, Restaurants
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Looking east along Hollywood Blvd at night from Las Palmas Ave, Hollywood, 1951
This Life magazine photo captured the neon glory of Hollywood Blvd looking east from Las Palmas Ave in 1951, when the theater at 6656 Hollywood Blvd was still showing news reels. Something must have been going on that week because there are banners stretched across the street and everything is lit up: The Broadway Hollywood department store, Kress, Goodrich Gym, Treat’s Burgers, the House of Magic. My favorite is the “Don Martin School of Radio Arts” which, I assume, taught people how to become radio announcers. In case you’d like to enroll, they were at 1653 N. Cherokee, or call them at HO 2-3281.
Man and women, AM and FM, and television – Don Martin covered it all!
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Tagged Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Night photo, Restaurants, Stores and Shopping, Theaters
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Panoramic view of Los Angeles Plaza and Old Plaza Church, downtown Los Angeles, circa 1869
Taken circa 1869, this is one of the oldest photos I’ve ever posted. It’s a panoramic view of Los Angeles Plaza and Old Plaza Church in what we now refer to as “downtown Los Angeles” but back then, of course, was just “Los Angeles.” That plaza is now circular and a popular place to sit and watch the world go by.
This 2021 satellite image shows the plaza and church today.
Miraculously, the church is still there and, last time I looked, still open and an active part of the local community. This image is from June 2021:
Looking north on Spring Street from 3rd St, downtown Los Angeles, 1902
This view looking north up Spring Street from 3rd St in downtown Los Angeles in 1902 is so alive with turn-of-the-century life, I can almost clip-clop of horses hooves on the asphalt, the clanging of the streetcar bells, and the bustle of all those pedestrians. I do wonder, however, if the owner of the store on the left ever repaired those awnings. Even though he doesn’t look like he’s short of customers, they’re both looking fairly shabby.
This is roughly the same view in February 2021. Compared with the 1902 photo, it’s so dreary and uninteresting that I almost didn’t bother posting it.
Volunteers paint the exterior of the Hollywood Canteen before the grand opening, 1451 Cahuenga Blvd, Hollywood, September, 1942
A big part of the WWII home front war effort in Los Angeles was the opening of the Hollywood Canteen at 1451 Cahuenga Blvd. Bette Davis and John Garfield came up with the idea, but it took months of work from hundreds of studio personnel volunteering their time and skills to make it happen. I’ve not come across many photos of the Canteen under construction, so it’s pretty neat to see these men painting the exterior. The big, permanent sign over the entrance “Hollywood Canteen For Servicemen” isn’t up yet, nor is the awning from the front door to the sidewalk. But the place is taking shape ahead of the October 3, 1942 opening.
I understand that an old wooden structure like the Hollywood Canteen wouldn’t be practical in this busy modern world, but if you’re going to build a parking lot where it used to be, surely a plaque commemorating what once was there would be a nice gesture…? (This image is from October 2019):
Looking east along Wilshire Blvd from Ridgeley Dr, Los Angeles, circa late 1950s
It wasn’t until I came across this photo looking east along Wilshire Blvd from Ridgeley Dr that I knew they decorated Wilshire for the holidays. These Christmas trees along the median strip aren’t a patch on the electric trees that used to line Hollywood Blvd in December, but it’s still a festive touch. I love seeing the sign for the Ontra Cafeteria on the left. Cafeterias used to dot the L.A. cityscape quite a lot back then. The Volkswagen Bug arrived in the US in 1949, so judging by that one in the foreground and some other cars we can see here, I’m guessing this photo was taken some time in the late 1950s.
Roughly the same view in April 2019:
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Tagged Christmas, Restaurants, Stores and Shopping, Wilshire Blvd
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Looking west along Wilshire Blvd from around Mansfield Ave, Los Angeles, 1951 (colorized)
This isn’t a photograph but a screen grab taken from footage shot along Wilshire Blvd in 1951 that has been auto-colorized, remastered, with sound added. It’s a remarkable 10-minute visit to 1950s Los Angeles and worth your while: https://youtu.be/5fL8n_aAisQ I freeze framed here because I became curious about this very modern-looking (especially for 1951) building on the right. My ever-knowledgeable friend, David, identified it as Googie-inspired coffee shop of the Carnation Building next door at 5055 Wilshire. Farther west, we can see a Standard gas station, and further along the E. Clem Wilson Building at 5225 Wilshire, which is pretty much the only thing in this image that’s still left standing.
Here it is from a different angle:
Here’s what the interior looked like:
And here is their kid’s menu. It looks like it folded up into some sort of box.
The Carnation building and its coffee shop is long gone. That stretch of Wilshire is now filled with apartment blocks. The following two images are from March 2021:
Here is a closer view of the E. Clem Wilson Building:
Aerial photograph looking northwest across Beverly Hills from Preuss Road, Los Angeles, 1926
In this remarkable aerial photo, we’re looking northwest from Preuss Road across to Beverly Hills in 1926. Without the distraction of homes, swimming pools, gardens, trees, stores, buildings, and everything else that blankets the L.A. cityscape these days, it’s a lot easier to see how clearly and cleanly the street grid was mapped out.
This 2021 satellite photo of roughly the same area shows how built up is now.
Melody Lane restaurant, 744 S. Hill St, downtown Los Angeles, 1943
Melody Lane was a mini-chain of restaurants around Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s. They had a number of locations along Wilshire Blvd, as well as the Pig ‘N Whistle next to the Egyptian. And from 1940 to 1955 one of the prime locations in all of Southern California: the northwest corner of Hollywood and Vine. But it wasn’t until I found this photo that I realized they also had a huge location in downtown L.A., at 744 S. Hill St. Get a load of those vaulted ceilings, and that counter must have 20 seats along it. At its peak, I bet this place was buzzing.
I love those booths in the photo below – they’re so high that they must have felt semi-private.
This ad features one of their most popular items: Little Thin Hot Cakes, which sound like crêpes to me.
