Taken with what I can only assume was a very slow shutter speed, this photo gives us a glimpse of how Hollywood Blvd was transformed into Santa Claus Lane each holiday season. This particularly atmospheric shot was taken in the early 1950s from Cherokee Ave looking east. Midway down on the right we can see the neon sign for Kress, which was a five-and-dime store like Woolworths. (In real life, the sign was bright can’t-miss-it red.) And farther down, the Hollywood-Broadway department store sign on the Vine Street corner. I do love how the lights of those electric Christmas trees are reflected on the cars parked along the street.
Looking east along Hollywood Blvd from Cherokee Ave, Hollywood at night, Christmastime, circa early 1950s
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Christmas, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Night photo, Stores and Shopping
2 Comments
The Goodyear blimp flies over Royce Hall on the UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) campus, Westwood, 1931
Was there ever a time when the Goodyear blimp didn’t fly over the skies of Los Angeles? In this shot it’s sailing over Royce Hall on the campus of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Westwood/Bel Air area. The university moved from its original location on Vermont Ave in 1929. This photo is from 1931, so the view up there in the blimp would have largely been of empty land, some of which we can see in the background.
Royce Hall really is something. This shot is from 1938:
This is a 2021 satellite image of Royce Hall today:
A pre-1918 view of L.A.’s Central Park before it was renamed “Pershing Square” in downtown Los Angeles
Bordered by Hill, 5th, Olive, and 6th Streets, Pershing Square has long been considered the center of Los Angeles, but it’s only been called that since November 1918, when it was renamed after General John Pershing, who rose to prominence during WWI. This photo was taken before that, when it was still called Central Park, which had been its name since the early 1890s. Look how peaceful and welcoming it is. Lots of grass and shade and that lovely fountain in the middle. It’s not like that now, but there are plans to give Pershing Square a makeover, so fingers crossed it they return it to a lush oasis in the middle of a bustling city.
This satellite image shows Pershing Square in 2021:
This auto-colorized version does a pretty good job of showing us what the park looked like in real life:
Looking across the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre forecourt to the Roosevelt Hotel at Hollywood Blvd and Orange Drive, Hollywood, July 1955
Most photos of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre are, naturally enough, taken from Hollywood Blvd looking. So after posting yesterday’s photo of their 7-foot doorman, I was pleased to find this one taken on the forecourt of footprints in cement looking out across Hollywood Blvd to the Roosevelt Hotel on the Orange Drive corner. We can see half of the sign for their “CINEGRILL” cabaret room, as well as the awning that used to stretch from Grauman’s front door to the curb. I also love seeing those long-gone stores that used to face the theater – one of them made custom lamp shades! From the back of the CinemaScope sign we can see that this photo was taken during the two-week run of “The Seven Year Itch” in July 1955.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Hotels, Stores and Shopping, Theaters
2 Comments
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre’s seven-foot-plus doorman, Lock Martin, stands ready to take moviegoers’ tickets, Hollywood Blvd, circa 1949
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.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Movie Stars, Theaters
2 Comments
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:
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Color photo, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Hotels, Restaurants
1 Comment
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!
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Night photo, Restaurants, Stores and Shopping, Theaters
Leave a comment
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):
