There’s nothing like a vivid Kodachrome photo to bring yesteryear Hollywood to life. In this circa 1960s shot, we’re looking east along Hollywood Blvd. Around the center of the photo, we can see the blade sign for the Vogue Theatre at 6629 Hollywood Blvd, which means the photographer would have been standing near the Cherokee Ave corner. The most ‘60s thing in this photo is the “HI-FI RECORDS” neon sign. The Hollywood Walk of Fame first started in February 1960 and so if the stars in the sidewalk have made it to the block between Cherokee and Whitley, I’m guessing this photo was probably taken circa mid 1960s.
Bill C. says: “It’s an August 1963 photo taken by Paul Penna.”
This is roughly how that view looked in December 2020. The stores aren’t as interesting, but at least there are more trees.
In this 1903 photo, we’re looking west along 3rd St. in downtown Los Angeles. On the left, we can see a sign for Desmond’s. They later evolved into a one of the nicer men’s clothing stores, but they started out selling men’s hats. Down the end of 3rd St, we can see the tunnel that was a boon to drivers wanting to get around town. It’s hard to see from this distance, but it’s also where the original Angels Flight funicular was located. When this photo was taken, it was barely two years old.
Have you ever wondered what Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley were looking at when they were shooting “I Love Lucy”? I have very little information to share about this, and I’m not even sure it’s a genuine color photo. But it does present us with a whole different view point with those three early television camera staring straight at us. The guy in the white, short-sleeved shirt facing the audience is Desi Arnaz. He usually warmed up the audience before each filming, so I assume that’s what he was doing when this shot was taken.
The Bryson Block was, at least to my mind, the most beautifully ornate Victorian-era (opened circa 1888) commercial building in turn-of-the century downtown Los Angeles. It is featured here in this circa 1900 photo in its location on the northwest corner of Spring and 2nd Streets. A lot of effort went into all that elaborate detailing on the exterior – all the more extraordinary to think that none of the passers-by would look up and see it. This photo also gives us an idea of the network of overhead power lines needed for the streetcars, but what I especially like is the horse-drawn carriage in the foreground. Is that a surrey? And if so, shouldn’t it have a fringe on top?
Here’s a parade I’d love to have seen just once: the annual Santa Claus Lane Parade down Hollywood Blvd. Beginning in 1928, Hollywood Blvd was dubbed “Santa Claus Lane” each December (primarily to boost shopping) and decorated with electric lights and culminated in a nighttime parade. The one we’re seeing in this photo was dated “circa 1945.” If it actually was December 1945, the Angelenos in this photo would have been celebrating their first peace-time holiday season in four long years.
A large proportion of the passengers who rode the streetcars of early Los Angeles were prospective property buyers or tourists. And one of the big tourist attractions in early Hollywood was the estate of French artist, Paul De Longpre. It stood on the corner of Hollywood Blvd and Cahuenga Blvd and was especially well known for its extensive gardens. (De Longpre was a gifted painter of flowers and reputedly had 4,000 rose bushes.) In this 1905 photo, we see tourists getting out of three streetcars (marked “Parlor Car”) to (I assume) tour De Longpre’s estate. Those gardens sure must have been something because that’s a lot of people.
In this 1905 photo, we’re looking east along Hollywood Blvd, then known as Prospect Ave. The streetcar at the center of the image is about to pass the Hollywood Hotel on the corner of Highland Ave. These days, of course, this stretch of Hollywood is packed solid with buildings, shops, theaters, and tourists, but I wonder if anyone moseying along the boulevard right this second knew that the south side of the street was once home to the huge strawberry patch that takes up most of this photo.
In this photo we’re looking at the original building that housed Hollywood High School at the corner of Sunset Blvd and Highland Ave. We’re looking north and in the background we can see the Hollywood Hills. This incarnation of the school (which has a different building now) opened in 1905, which is around the time this photo was taken. Back then, Hollywood was still largely rural, so this white two-story building (plus basement!) with enough room to accommodate 400 students must have really stood out.
Most photos of the iconic Capitol Records building are taken from the Hollywood and Vine intersection looking north, so this photo makes for a nice change. In this one, we’re looking east across the parking lot of the El Capitan Theatre (now known as the Avalon) and across Vine St to the Capitol Records building under construction. The building opened in 1956, so this was probably taken in 1955. On the right we can see the back of the Pantages Theatre which, back then, was still a movie house and wouldn’t be converted to live shows until 1977.
Most of us only get to see the Goodyear blimp when it’s floating thousands of feet over our heads. So this (undated) shot gives us a better idea of its actual size. Now that I can see if up close, the gondola at the bottom doesn’t look very big. Even if it’s cramped, I’d love to fly over LA in one. The caption of this photo said that the shot was taken at the Culver City airport. Tracking down the airport’s location proved to be harder than I expected, but it appears to have been in the vicinity of where Jefferson Blvd intersects with Mesmer Ave.
