I’m not sure why a 1961 Dodge Los Angeles police car is parked out front the Griffith Observatory and then cleared of all people. But it looked like the sort of crispy sunny day where the view from Mt Hollywood would have been pretty good. Or maybe not. If this was taken in 1961, the attempts to clear up the air would still have been ongoing.Metropolitan Airport, Van Nuys, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, disguised as Casablanca Airport, July 10, 1942
It’s amazing how little it takes to fool us movie audiences. On July 10, 1942, the cast and crew working on Warner Brothers’ “Casablanca” decamped to what was then called Los Angeles Metropolitan Airport (later renamed Van Nuys Airport) to film the arrival of Major Heinrich Strasser played by Conrad Veidt (who in reality was one of Hollywood’s staunchest enemies of the Nazi movement.) That tower we can see in the background was the Metropolitan Airport’s tower, but put an exotically shaped archway between it and the camera, add a sign that says CASABLANCA AÉRO-GARE and hey presto, we’re in Northern Africa.
This production shot taken a few feet back shows us how just a few well-chosen props can make a world of difference:
@ForeverHollywo3 says: “Big points for putting it at Van Nuys, so many have claimed Burbank Airport, however Burbank was the principle Lockheed Plant at the time and was shut down to civilian traffic in 1940. It bedeviled Warner Bros until the end of the war because departing P-38 and C-79 (Constellation) would halt sound recording. Sadly the old Moorish tower was demolished in the 1950s.”
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Tagged Airports Aircraft Airlines, Movie Studios, Warner Bros.
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Looking south down La Cienega Blvd at Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, 1935
In this photo, we’re looking south down La Cienega Blvd from Pico Blvd. What worries me is that there appear to be no lane lines painted on the road, which makes it look as though the prevailing law was “I’ll drive where I damn well please!” At least La Cienega Blvd appears to be very well lit with all those dual-lamp streetlights lining the both side of the street.
The same view in April 2019. Those nice streetlights are gone but at least the road lanes are painted!
Santa Monica Blvd, looking east near Beachwood Drive, Los Angeles, circa 1900
What a difference 120 years of rampant development can make. What we’re looking at here is the bucolic view looking east along Santa Monica Blvd from around Beachwood Drive. These days, the view is all auto repair mini malls and unremarkable offices but back then, it would have been a lovely place for a weekend stroll. Part of this land did remain open, however, as the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, which would have been brand new when this photo was taken circa 1900.
Out of curiosity, I ran the photo through one of those colorization website just to see how it would turn out. I think it did a pretty good job of giving us an idea of what this scene looked like to the photographer that day:
Aerial shot looking west along Wilshire Blvd to the Town House Hotel and Bullocks Wilshire department store
Ordinarily, I’d be looking at a shot like this one, looking west along Wilshire Blvd to the Town House Hotel and Bullocks Wilshire and I’d be thinking “Oh my, look at how light the traffic is along Wilshire!” But I’m posting this during the Covid-19 lockdown, during which the traffic along Wilshire is probably even lighter than this. I’m guessing it was taken during WWII, when gas rationing was in effect. Most of the traffic is heading east into downtown Los Angeles, so this is probably what morning peak hour looked back then, as, in fact, it probably does right now.
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Tagged Aerial photographs, Bullocks Wilshire, Hotels, Stores and Shopping, Town House Hotel, Wilshire Blvd
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Carthay Circle Theatre, San Vicente Blvd, Los Angeles as seen through the arcade of a nearby building
Soon after the Carthay Circle Theatre opened in 1926, it quickly became one of the theaters favored most by studios when it came time hold their premieres. The theatre’s soaring tower and stark white exteriors lit up beautifully amid all those searchlights raking the night skies. This artfully framed shot, taken through the arches of a nearby building (does anybody remember what that building was?) makes it almost look like it could have been somewhere in Europe.
A manufactured version of the 20th Century-Fox studio gate, Century City, Los Angeles, as seen in “The I Don’t Care Girl” (1953)
This image isn’t wholly real. It’s a screengrab I took while recently watching a 1953 movie called “The I Don’t Care Girl.” In this scene, Mitzi Gaynor’s character is entering the 20th Century-Fox studios. It looked suspiciously matted together, which surprised me. Even in a 20th Century-Fox movie they need to manufacture the entrance to their own studios? That white structure with the (fake-looking) logo on top is the administration building that Darryl F. Zanuck built near Stages 10 and 11. It’s still there but this gate is no longer accessible to the public, but at the time was a main entrance onto the lot. And if that part is real, it’s a surprisingly unremarkable gate for a Hollywood movie studio, don’t you think?
Here’s a satellite shot from 2020 showing the admin building (far right) and Stages 10 & 11 (top left corner.) It looks like the admin building is partially covered with filming facades.
Perino’s restaurant, 4101 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, circa 1950
One of the more upscale restaurants on the Los Angeles social scene was Perino’s. It started out in 1932 at 3927 Wilshire Blvd before moving up the street to 4101 Wilshire in 1950. The two cars we can see in this shot are a 1948 Cadillac and a 1950 Chrysler New Yorker, so I’m guessing this shot was taken not long after Perino’s moved. Perino’s served the finest French cuisine—but no garlic because Mr. Perino hated it—until 1969, which is a mighty fine run for a restaurant. It even survived a fire that broke out in 1954:
** UPDATE ** – Perino’s survived into the 1980s but Mr Perino sold his ownership in 1969.
That site is now an apartment block. This image is from April 2019:
Aerial view of Grauman’s Chinese Theater and Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, circa 1930s.
In this aerial view of Hollywood in what I’m guessing is the 1930s, of the three major buildings we can see—Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood Hotel, and the Hollywood First National Bank building—two of them are still with us, which is remarkable. Only the hotel is long gone; it fell to the wrecking ball in 1956. Also gone is Orchid Ave’s access to Hollywood Blvd – that’s the street immediately above Grauman’s. Once upon a time it connected Franklin Ave with the boulevard but these days it’s only half as long. The Dolby theater, where the Oscars are held, now stands on that land.
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Tagged Aerial photographs, Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood Hotel, Hotels, Theaters
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This photo shows us the relatively plain and unadorned entrance to the parking lot at Disneyland. In 1965, when this was taken (Disneyland was only 10 years old at the time), parking cost 25 cents. Today, it costs 25 dollars. If you look closely, you can just make out the Matterhorn underneath the “A.” I’m writing this on March 29, 2020, when Disneyland, like all theme parks in America, is closed down because of the Covid-19 coronavirus. So right now, the entrance to the Disneyland parking lot is as bare and forlorn today as it looked back then.