Pretty much every vintage photo I’ve seen of a streetcar line shows it traveling down the center of the road. But this photo of Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica in 1927 shows us a different, and perhaps more sensible way of laying things out. Placing the streetcar on the side of the road means that the overhead powerlines only extend part of the way over the street. It also means that the streetcars don’t interfere with traffic. And thirdly, passengers waiting for the next trolley don’t have to stand in the middle of the street where they’re vulnerable to inattentive drivers. This photo make we wonder why not all streets were organized this way!Aerial view of the Goldwyn Studios (later MGM) in Culver City, California, 1918
This aerial shot of the Goldwyn Studios was taken in 1918, the year that Sam Goldwyn bought Triangle Studios on Washington Blvd in Culver City. We can see that it was a significant studio with many filming stages and lots of room on the right-hand side to build a backlot. We can also see that around it was wide-open land, so expansion was not a problem. In 1924, this studio lot became Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In the bottom left corner was can see the famous Colonnade Building which for a long while was the main entrance to the studio.
The Colonnade Building on Washington Blvd in December 2018:
Looking east toward Highland Ave along a wet Hollywood Blvd decorated for the holidays, circa mid 1930s
There’s a reason why so many night scenes in movies are shot with wet roads – it add enormously to the atmosphere. As we can see in this circa mid 1930s shot, the slick sidewalk (note the gorgeous interlocking octagonal tiles!) reflects the electric lights on the Christmas trees strung up along Hollywood Blvd for the holiday season. This shot was taken on the south side of the boulevard looking east toward Highland Ave. We can just see the lit-up sign for the Hollywood Hotel on the north side of the street.
Andie P says: “When I first came out to California in 1952, there were still a few places along Hollywood Blvd (and quite a few in downtown L.A.) where there were glass tiles in the sidewalks, mostly they were purple though they didn’t start out that way. They were for illumination, to pass light into the “basement” rooms below. In a few places there were “hatches” in the sidewalk that could be opened and hydraulic “elevators” to bring in supplies. My dad said that the glass tiles, mostly installed in the 1930s, was originally clear but exposure to the sun turned it purple – just like the “desert glass” where discarded clear glass also changed color when exposed to the sun. I remember seeing similar glass tiles in the sidewalks in Chicago but they were all “clear” glass although the surface had become “frosted” from abrasive grit on the soles of shoes.”
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Tagged Christmas, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood Hotel, Hotels, Night photo
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Looking north up Vine Street from around La Mirada Ave past the Filmarte Theatre, Hollywood, 1937
In this photo we’re looking up Vine Street, Hollywood, from around La Mirada Ave. In the far background we can see the still-intact Hollywoodland sign on the hills. In the foreground, we can see the Maison Gaston French restaurant (at 1219 Vine) and on the right the Filmarte Theatre (1228 Vine) that in 1928 became a theater that showed “serious motion pictures” (which I assume meant European art films) and in 1957 turned into the home of Art Linkletter’s “People Are Funny.”
Here’s a shot of the Filmarte Theater in 1957, by which time it had become the Linkletter Playhouse:
Maison Gaston matchbook cover, 1219 Vine Street Hollywood:
Pacific Palisades Lighthouse with restaurant and bathhouse on the Roosevelt Highway (later Pacific Coast Highway), circa 1930
Yesterday’s photo of Carl’s Sea Air Lodge didn’t show the lighthouse that stood across the Roosevelt Highway (later Pacific Coast Highway.) Built in 1927, the Pacific Palisades Lighthouse had a working light but, unlike most lighthouses, it also had a restaurant which took advantage of the views of the water and coastline, as well as a bathhouse, and lifeguard headquarters. So it was a popular destination and not a lone light on an otherwise deserted and desolate coastline. In the early 1930s the whole place along with the beach was sold to Will Rogers, and later the beach was given to the state of California and renamed the Will Rogers State Beach, which is the stretch of coast directly north of Santa Monica.
This lighthouse was located near what is now the junction of Pacific Coast Highway and Chautauqua Boulevard, in Pacific Palisades.
Carl’s “Sea Air” Lodge Motor Apartments, Pacific Coast Highway, north of Santa Monica, California, circa early 1950s
This shot of Carl’s “Sea Air” Lodge on the Pacific Coast Highway roughly a mile north of Santa Monica is very 1950s – the eye-catching tower soaring above a one-story motel, those circa early 1950s cars parked out front, that signage “Motor Apartments.” But, in fact, this place was one of the oldest motels in California with a terrific location across the street from the landmark Pacific Palisades Lighthouse. It was around so long it went through several incarnations: Carl’s at the Beach, Carl’s Sea-Air Motel, Carl’s Sea-Air Lodge, and my personal favorite: the Sunspot Motel.
Susan said: “I remember this spot well. Just to the right here was the cafe/bar. The cafe would have been built a bit after this photo. There used to be a filling station that was part of Carl’s just to the right which was there in the late 30s and 40s. We used to have a summer place up the Hwy in the 30s. This was one of the first motels along this part of the coast Hwy. The first restaurants I recall that were part of this first structure, weren’t very good. My fav old time Hwy restaurant was up the Hwy called The Las Flores Inn. They had pens with seals in them you could feed.”
See also: Chance to Fix Up Pacific Palisades’ Fabled Sunspot Motel Slides Away
and:
“The Sunspot complex was closed in the 1980s and sat empty for nearly 10 years. The Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department, which owned the property, hoped eventually to renovate and lease the building as a motel and restaurant. However in 1994 a landslide crushed the westerly portion of the building—the part that would have been the restaurant. Since then the City has demolished what was left of the buildings.”
Restaurant at Carl’s “Sea Air” Lodge:
Matchbook for Carl’s “Sea Air” Lodge:
Several people stroll by the dance hall on the amusement pier at Venice Beach, Los Angeles, circa 1905
How different our towns and cities must have looked when they were dotted with places for people to dance away their evenings. The twinkle of the lights, the sound of sprightly music wafting on the air. In circa 1905 photo, people are strolling past the dance hall on the Venice Beach pier. It has a fairly large entrance way so I’m guessing that the dance floor had lots of room to waltz and foxtrot. And if you look closely, you can see the hundreds of light bulbs that cover the façade – it must have been quite a sight at nighttime.
** UPDATE** – here is an interior photo of the dance hall:
Glamourous Hollywood color picture postcards
Okay so firstly, that’s not how you spell the word ‘glamorous’ so if you’re going to print 50,000 picture postcards, you might want have someone check your spelling. And secondly – if you want to use a glamorous shot of Hollywood, don’t use a photo of a freeway. By all means use the Capitol Records building. It’s unusual, it’s striking, it’s iconic – especially lit up at night. But nobody finds a freeway glamorous. Or even glamourous, for that matter.
The Pacific Electric Old Mission Trolley streetcar makes a stop at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, northeast of Los Angeles, 1912
These days we tend to think of streetcars as being utilitarian methods of public transportation around a sprawling city like Los Angeles. But back around the turn of the century, some of them were tourist rides. One of them was “The Old Mission Trolley Trip” run by Pacific Electric. It started in downtown Los Angeles and took in Pasadena, the orange groves of Glendora, and the Cawston Ostrich Farm (free admission!) before arriving at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, where this photo was taken in 1912. If you could take that same trip today, the view outside the window would be quite different.
Here’s the full itinerary – all for $1!
Angels Flight funicular and Third Street Tunnel, downtown Los Angeles, 1935
These days the Angels Flight funicular is more of a tourist attraction and novelty ride (and occasional film set.) But back when it opened in 1901 at Hill and Third Streets, Bunker Hill was much steeper and presented more of a challenge to people, especially if they were weighed down with shopping. This 1935 photo shows Angels Flight in its original location, next to the Third Street tunnel. I’m a little surprised those cars were allowed to park near the mouth of the tunnel.
In the mid 1990s, Angels Flight was moved half a block south of the original site, where it remains today. This image is from 2017.
