Jerry from the Netherlands alerted me to a Tumblr account that focused on photos of theaters and cinemas – https://theatretalks.tumblr.com/ – on which he found a bunch of marvelous snapshots by someone who visited Grauman’s Chinese Theatre with her friend Beryl in August 1927, just three months after it opened. This one in particular caught my eye. Beryl is standing near the Hollywood Blvd curb out front of Grauman’s and behind her is an employee dressed in (what I assume to be) traditional Chinese garb. I’ve ever heard of, read about, or seen photos of what I assume was one of Sid Grauman’s (many) PR schemes to publicize his grand, new theater. Which is fine, but pity the poor schlemiel whose job it was to stand there all day and…do what? Just stand there?
** UPDATE ** Andie P says: “Stand there to open the doors of autos driven by chauffeurs, to assist the people to exit. At the time they had matinees plus live dancers before the movie.”
Here some more photos from that visit:
Also included is a photo of what I assume is the program that the two women got when they took in a show at Grauman’s Chinese:
In this striking photo, we’re looking north up Vine Street across Selma Ave toward the Hollywood and Vine intersection. The caption of this photo said it was taken on May 24, 1930. But those extraordinary searchlights suggest to me that they’re celebrating the opening of the Pantages Theatre, which opened on June 4. It was a very big deal, playing MGM’s The Floradora Girl, starring Marion Davies, with Al Jolson serving as the MC that night. It was definitely 1930 because the Dyas department store hadn’t yet changed to the Hollywood-Broadway, which happened in 1931. And on the right, we can see a billboard for “Hell’s Angels” which had its legendary Hollywood premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on May 27. So whenever this photo was taken, there was a lot going on!
Montmartre Café, at 6753 Hollywood Blvd, half a block east of the Hollywood Hotel was tucked away on the second floor but is credited with sparking Hollywood nightlife. Opening in December 1922, the Montmartre was Hollywood’s first nightclub and quickly reached its zenith drawing both movie stars and movie fans during Prohibition. More than just a nightclub, though, it was also very popular a lunchtime venue where the newly arrived Louella Parsons wasn’t above eavesdropping on lunching celebrities.
This shot from 1928 gives us a glimpse of how Wilshire Blvd looked in the 1920s with its large homes on spacious grounds. This view is looking toward the northwest corner of Wilshire and Shatto Place at the Tudoresque mansion at 3143 Wilshire. I suppose it’s inevitable that the relentless march of progress would decree that a major thoroughfare like Wilshire would eventually give over to commercial interest, but how pleasant it must have been to motor along the boulevard at that time and gaze out the window at homes like these. There is a detailed history of that home here: 
I don’t know what was going on at the Santa Fe Railway’s La Grande railway station at 2nd St and Santa Fe Ave in downtown Los Angeles in this day in around circa 1910, but my guess is that someone famous and/or important was arriving and Angelenos turned out in droves to see him or her. Or maybe this is just the 1910 equivalent of going to the airport on Memorial Day long weekend.
This rather marvelous edifice was called the Looff Hippodrome on the Santa Monica pier, photographed circa 1920. It was built in 1916 by Charles Looff to hold a Looff Carousel. (Looff was a German-born builder of hand-carved carousels and built the first carousel at Coney Island in 1876.) I’d love to have seen this in color because it looks like those pointy doo-dahs on the turrets were different colors. And from the sign out front, I’m guessing rides cost 5 cents.
Here we see the main entrance to Universal Studios on Lankershim Boulevard in Universal City, which was the municipality that Carl Laemmle opened in March 1915 to house his new and expanded filming facility in the San Fernando Valley. The caption on this photo dated it at circa 1916, so what we’re seeing here is the original entrance. I’m surprised the words UNIVERSAL STUDIOS aren’t emblazoned across that archway, but you can bet that tower in the background was designed to be used in filming.
This nighttime view was taken looking north from the observation deck of L.A. City Hall in downtown Los Angeles. Those two streets are Main and Spring toward Chavez Ravine where Dodger Stadium would be built in the late 1950s. This photo was taken in 1943 when the city was under wartime dim-out restrictions. In reality, the streets wouldn’t have looked this well-lit, but with a long camera exposure, the streets of L.A. look like rivers of light.
The moment I saw this photo, a song started up in my head. “Clang, clang, clang went the trolley…” That song is, of course, from MGM’s “Meet Me in St. Louis” which is set in 1904. This photo was taken on July 4th, 1902, so I was close. What’s going on here is that Angelenos are boarding Pacific Electric’s streetcar #219 on its first day of service from Los Angeles to Long Beach. Maybe their Julys weren’t like our Julys, but I still pity the two women boarding the streetcar in floor-length dresses.
And from the “They Sure Don’t Make ’Em Like That Anymore” file comes this gorgeously ornate building that once upon a time stood at the northwest corner of Wilshire Blvd and Berendo St. It looks like it housed a group of stores with maybe a large one anchoring the corner block with perhaps second-floor offices? It must have been lovely to see in real life. And those decorative urns—they would have been quite large, probably taller than the average person.