Amelia Earhart became famous when she was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1928, so it was newsworthy when she landed an autogiro (which is kind of like a helicopter) at Grand Central Air Terminal, Glendale on June 7, 1931. At the time she was attempting the first transcontinental autogiro flight from Newark, NJ to Los Angeles, and landed at about 5 p.m. to replenish her gas supply. At the time, Grand Central was a busy and important airport, and due to its eye-pleasing design and proximity to the movie studios, was often used in the movies. It’s where Shirley Temple sang “On the Good Ship Lollipop.” (I guess technically she sang it on an airplane set at Fox, but the plane itself was at Grand Central.)Looking west along Wilshire Blvd from Lafayette Park toward the Town House Hotel and Bullocks Wilshire, circa early 1940s
The photographer who took this shot was standing at Lafayette Park on Wilshire Blvd as it curves gently to the left and heads west toward the Pacific. On the right we have the Town House Hotel and on the left rises the copper-topped tower of Bullocks Wilshire department store. Both buildings are still there. Judging by the cars, this shot was taken sometime during the early 1940s. Given how light the traffic is, I wonder if it was taken sometime after the spring of 1942, when wartime rationing meant that gasoline was in short supply.
Roughly the same view in March 2020:
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Tagged Bullocks Wilshire, Hotels, Stores and Shopping, Town House Hotel, Wilshire Blvd, WWII
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The wooden Rincon Parkway, Ventura, California, circa 1910s
It may seem an odd way to build a road, but back in the 1910s when we were still figuring out this whole idea of motoring around the countryside, a wooden parkway probably wasn’t so crazy. This is the Rincon Parkway, which formed part of California’s State Route 1 – the glorious coastal drive between San Francisco and Los Angeles – specifically halfway between Santa Barbara and Ventura. While very scenic, I’d imagine those eucalyptus planks weren’t altogether impervious to the vagaries of the weather and ocean tides. But it sure must have been a thrilling drive while it lasted.
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Looking west along Hollywood Blvd from Rexall Lee Drugs on the Highland Ave corner, Hollywood, circa mid 1950s
In this photo, we’re looking west up Hollywood Blvd from Highland Ave in around the mid-1950s. The store on the corner has changed hands quite a lot over the years. It’s usually a drug store of some type, and usually a Rexall franchise as it was when this photo was taken. I wish we could see more of the banner on the right – it’s something to do with the Chinese and Egyptian theaters. This was a time when you could actually park your car on this stretch of Hollywood Blvd, and also when men walked the streets wearing a jacket and tie. You don’t see either of those urban phenomenon anymore!
Roughly the same view in November 2017:
Johnny Weissmuller’s American Natural Foods store at 6719 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, circa 1970s
This photo shows us how the two extremes of circa 1970s California life lived side-by-side on Hollywood Blvd. At number 6719 was the health-food franchise started in 1970s by Johnny Weissmuller. He was no longer the big screen’s Tarzan, but he was a great promoter of a healthy lifestyle and played a role in the movement toward healthier eating. Right next door was a joint called Hal’s Nest. I never saw it for myself, but if the exterior is anything to go by, my guess is that it attracted bar flies from all over the neighborhood. I’m guessing there wasn’t a lot of customer crossover between these two places.
Here is a close up of Weissmuller’s store:
Here is some sort of listing (or advertisement, maybe?) for the store:
That building remains pretty much intact. This image is from April 2019:
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Tagged Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Movie Stars, Stores and Shopping
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The E. Broox Randall & Sons building, 5905 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood
It’s not often that you see an insurance office building with such beautifully eye-catching lighting. Then again, this is Hollywood where lighting is everything. The E. Broox Randall & Sons building stood at 5905 Sunset Blvd, which put it on the northwest corner of Bronson Ave, and cater-corner from the original Warner Bros. studios (where “The Jazz Singer” was filmed.) The building was demolished in 1991 but the company still exists. It’s now known as “EB Randall” which is probably a good thing because I’m sure everybody spelled “Broox” wrong.
This daytime photo was taken in 1966:
The car pictured here in front of the E. Broox Randall building is a 1935 Ford that had been restyled by prominent race car builder and car customizer Frank Kurtis. It was used by a chrome plating company as a delivery vehicle and/or a support vehicle for racing teams.
This is how that corner looked in May 2019. This building houses Netflix’s animation operations.
Promotional postcard advertising the 1939 DeSoto 4-door sedan (supposedly) in front of the Carthay Circle Theatre, 6316 San Vicente Blvd, Los Angeles.
To advertise their 1939 4-door sedan, DeSoto decided to go with the height of Hollywood glamor – a movie premiere at the Carthay Circle Theatre. In December 1939 it would host the mother of all Hollywood premieres: “Gone with the Wind.” I don’t they actually shot this at Carthay Circle – that tented walkway was much longer and I doubt that neon sign was green and pink, but for the uninitiated, it certainly looks like the real thing. But personally, I think their slogan – “The 1939 4-Door DeSoto – Looks Expensive – But it isn’t!” could have done with a bit more work.
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Tagged Advertisement, Carthay Circle Theater, Color photo, Theaters
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View of Hollywood in the time of Harvey and Daeida Wilcox, the founders of Hollywood, circa 1890s
In 1887, Harvey and Daeida Wilcox the founded the city of Hollywood. This photo gives us an idea of what the area looked like at around that time: lots of fruit trees, some shade trees, and every now and then a house pops up like the one being built in the middle of the photo. The orchard in the foreground is located at what would later become the intersection of Hollywood Blvd and Cahuenga Ave. It was Daeida who came up with the name Hollywood – one account I read said that Harvey favored the name Figwood, but “Hooray for Figwood” just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?
There is a Highway Marker in Ohio where Daeida was born honoring her accomplishments:
Looking east along Wilshire Blvd from Normandie Ave toward the Gaylord Apartments, circa late 1940s
This east-looking vista along Wilshire Blvd from Normandie was taken in the mid-to-late 1940s. There are some buildings that are still there, such as the Gaylord Apartments, and the Wilshire Christian Church (known today as Oasis Church) whose palm trees are still around. But others have gone, like the Brown Derby restaurant and those two radio towers. But can we talk about those storm clouds? The relentlessly sunny LA skies rarely see them!
On the radio tower we can see the call sign KFAC. Linda says: “The KFAC radio tower brings back memories. They played classical music. One of their hosts was Fred Crane, who was Brent, one of the Tarleton Twins in “Gone with the Wind.” KFAC was the only commercial classical music station until the Corporation for Public Broadcasting started giving education-affiliated radio enough money and NPR gave them programming.”
Roughly the same view in May 2019:
Stanley Kubrick filming a scene from “Spartacus” above Cahuenga Pass, Los Angeles, 1959
While watching Stanley Kubrick’s “Spartacus” I’m kind of glad I didn’t know that they shot part of the movie on the Cahuenga Pass. It made sense, though. They needed a hillside and the Pass is maybe a 10-minute drive from Universal Studios, where much of the movie was shot. But knowing that just out of shot was the Hollywood Freeway (seen here in the background) might have spoiled my suspension of disbelief that I wasn’t actually watching the Roman Empire, circa 100BC.
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Tagged Cahuenga Pass, Movie Studios, San Fernando Valley, Universal Studios
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