I don’t know much about Taylor’s Café other than it stood at 6517 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood and it was open from roughly late 1920s to the early 1930s. This photo was taken in 1930. That’s quite an elaborate entrance: the detailing along the roof line, the side lamps, circular port hole windows, the zig-zag border, the (I assume) black (granite?) walls, and the white grillwork on the doors. I wish it were still around because I’d love to see what colors that neon tubing lit up at night.
Bill B. says: “It’s likely that the storefront is Vitrolite, a type of structural glass.”
6517 Hollywood Blvd is now occupied by Los Burritos. This image is from May 2024.
About a week ago, I posted a 
I have no information about this photo other than it was taken in 1927. Al D., who sent it to me, thinks these two are standing at the intersection of Sunset Blvd and Highland Ave in Hollywood, and that’s Hollywood High behind those short palm trees with the thick trunks. Wherever they are and whoever they are, I bet there’s a story behind it. And if it involves a pretty girl in a fur coat in Hollywood, chances are it was a publicity stunt for an aspiring actress. But I’m rather concerned for the traffic cop. That little wooden box is all that protects him from a wayward driver.
The caption for this photo said that this chap is standing the intersection of E. 42nd St and Long Beach Ave when this photo was taken in 1929. I’m not convinced because that corner is quite a distance from downtown Los Angeles. And yet in background we can see what back then was the new Los Angeles City Hall. But what concerns me more are all those power lines on the right. They’re leaning at an awfully dangerous angle. I can’t imagine it would take much to bring the whole lot of them down. It certainly isn’t where I would be standing if I were that guy.
About a week ago, I posted a 
Yesterday, I posted a 1924 photo of an experimental traffic signal being installed at the intersection of Adams Blvd and Figueroa St south of downtown LA. This photo, also from 1924, shows that same intersection and why a traffic signal was necessary. I pity those poor motorists who had to negotiate that intersection without the aid of any traffic lights—just a wing and a prayer. On the left, we can see the Automobile Club Building, and on the right the St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic church under construction.
Until I came across this photo, I’d only ever seen two types of traffic signals: the three lights in a vertical row that we’re all used to, and the semaphore type with the two lights and the alternating “STOP” and “GO” flags that popped up. But in this photo from circa 1924, we can see an experiment type with three bands of horizontal lights, which I can only assume were the traditional green, amber, and red. These men were on the busy intersection of W. Adams Blvd and S. Figueroa St, not far south of downtown Los Angeles and, quite fittingly and not coincidentally, near the headquarters of the Automobile Club of Southern California.
I love this atmospheric night shot of Du-par’s Restaurant. Part of the Du-par’s chain of diners, it stood at 12036 Ventura Blvd, Studio City in the San Fernando Valley near what was then known as Republic Studios (now the Radford Studio Center.) I don’t know when this shot was taken, but the restaurant opened in 1948, so I’m guessing not long after that. With its inky night sky and ‘40s cars parked on the side, it could be a shot from some film noir crime drama.
One of the most photographed buildings in Hollywood was the NBC Studios on the northwest corner of Hollywood Blvd and Vine St. And with good reason, too. It was a prime example of Streamline Moderne architecture on a prominent corner. But 99% of photos taken of it are of the main entrance. I like this photo because we get to see how the studios took up the whole block to Argyle St. Those rounded corners and parallel lines give the complex and smooth, sleek look. Going by the cars driving down Sunset, I’d say this photo is circa 1950s, but if anyone can narrow it down for me, I’d love to hear from you. Also, I assume those mustard-and-red banners stretched across Sunset meant something. Does anybody know about them?
