Looking north from Santa Monica Blvd, between Rodeo Dr and Beverly Blvd, Beverly Hills, 1921
I’m eternally glad that someone thought to bring along a camera or photographer when they went up in an airplane or the Goodyear blimp; aerial shots like this give us a whole different perspective. In this 1921 photo facing north, Santa Monica Blvd is along the bottom. Beverly Dr is running up the center of the photo, and Rodeo Drive on the left. Note the bridle path down the center of Rodeo. Prior to 1920, it was used as a one-trolley car system (known locally as “Dinky”) that took people from the Pacific Electric station at Canon Dr and Santa Monica Blvd) to the Beverly Hills Hotel, which we can juuuuust see in the background.
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Tagged Aerial photographs, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Streetcars
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Three women stand on Wilshire Blvd opposite the Beverly Theater in Beverly Hills, circa early 1940s
I look at photos like this circa early 1940s shot and wonder what those three women standing on Wilshire Blvd were talking about? Were they saying goodbye after lunch at Nate and Al’s or the Brown Derby? Were they saying hello and talking about where to luncheon? Or were they tossing up whether or not to go see the Fred MacMurray film at the Beverly Theatre behind them. It opened in 1925 and its striking onion dome was a Beverly Hills landmark until the theatre was raised in 2005. I wish I’d had a chance to see it in its original glory – the opulent interior decor included murals based on the Arabian Nights, and a proscenium arch in the circular shape of a Chinese moon gate.
A 1927 view of the Beverly Theatre:
Roughly that same view in April 2019:
Aerial photograph of Beachwood Drive leading up to the Hollywoodland sign, 1924
In this spectacular aerial photograph, we can follow Beachwood Drive as it meanders up into the Hollywood hills until it terminates near the Hollywood sign. The reason why the sign is so bright and clear is because the sign went up in 1923 and this photo was taken in 1924. We can see that development was still mainly on the level ground with only a few homeowners venturing further up into the hillsides to nab the best views.
Douglas W says: “The actress, Spring Byington, owned the last house up on Beachwood. More houses may have been added in later years.”
A streetcar approaches to the intersection of Boyle Ave and 1st Street, Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, 1895
Along with Angelino Heights to the north of downtown L.A., Boyle Heights to the city’s east is one of the places where Los Angeles’s 10-million-people sprawl first began. In this photo from 1895, we see a streetcar approach the intersection of Boyle Ave and 1st Street. The city is so far away that we can’t see it, which made the 1st St Streetcar a vital link to the people who lived here (as did the Temple St streetcar did for the residents of Angelino Heights) and allowed Los Angeles to spread further than the confines of downtown.
Roughly that same view in April 2019. Miraculously, the building has survived the ravages of 20th century redevelopment:
Mona Lisa restaurant and insurance building, 3343 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 1930
And in the “They Sure Don’t Build ‘em Like This Anymore” category, we’ve got this richly detailed office building that stretched the block of Wilshire Blvd between Kenmore Ave and Catalina St. This photo is from 1930, when the main tenant was an insurance company—boring old insurance and it looks like an upscale showroom in Beverly Hills! At the western end was a popular (Italian, I assume) restaurant called Mona Lisa, and on the far right we can see the Gaylord Apartments, which are still with us.
A closer view of the Mona Lisa from 1937:
This is the building that occupies that same block now. (Image from March 2020.) Feel free to sigh with nostalgic regret the way I did when I saw it.
Trinity Auditorium, the first venue of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, 851 S. Grand Ave, downtown Los Angeles, 1913
The Los Angeles Philharmonic has had several homes but its first concert was here at the Trinity Auditorium 851 S. Grand Ave in downtown LA. That concert took place in 1919; the building opened in 1914. It had more than just a 1600-seat theater. The place had 330 rooms “for single men.” The musicians? Philandering husbands thrown out by their wives? Perennial bachelors? It also had a roof garden, ladies parlor (where I guess the “single men” could entertain prospective beaux), social halls (your guess is as good as mine), and a library. Later, it became the Embassy Hotel and Auditorium, and is still around today.
This is how the building looked in April 2019. It’s getting swallowed up by the skyscrapers around it. There were plans to turn it into a new hotel but nothing came of those plans.
Queen Anne style mansion known as “The Castle,” 325 S. Bunker Hill Ave, Los Angeles, circa 1890s
This late Victorian mansion was built around 1888 and stood at 325 S. Bunker Hill Ave in downtown Los Angeles. Known locally as “The Castle” (it had 20 rooms and a three-story staircase) it took a battalion of staff to run, including a guy who looked after the horses and carriages, like the ones parked out front in this photo. The one at the front is highly decorated, so maybe it was taken for a public holiday? For the first couple of decades, this was a one-family home, but then, for six decades it was, like many of these large homes, a boarding house. In 1969, it was moved to Heritage Place to save it from demolition because of the coming construction of the Hollywood Freeway.
Interior of The Castle, circa 1913:
The Arthur Murray dance school on the corner of Wilshire Blvd and Stanley Ave, Los Angeles, 1948
Before television came along, causing us to spend most of our time sitting on the sofa, people would go out for an evening’s dinner and dancing. And where did Americans go to learn how to waltz, foxtrot, rumba, and cha-cha? Why, they went to Arthur Murray, of course! As you might imagine, Los Angeles had quite a few Arthur Murray dance schools but this one on the corner of Wilshire Blvd and Stanley Ave, along the “Miracle Mile” section of Wilshire. And with that tall sign over the building, you couldn’t miss it.
Roughly that same view in January 2020. The Prudential building in the background now houses SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union. (I also love the shadow of the palm tree against the wall of the old Arthur Murray building.)
Color photo of the Ambassador Hotel advertising the Cocoanut Grove’s house bandleader, Freddy Martin, Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, circa 1950s
Over the decades of its lifetime, the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Blvd had many bands and many singers play the famed Cocoanut Grove nightclub, but for the longest time its house band was led by Freddy Martin. His career started in the early 1930s but by the 40s he was playing the Roosevelt Grill in New York and the Cocoanut Grove. In 1957 he recorded a live album, by which time he had launched the career of a crooner named Merv Griffin. Judging from the missing “D” in the huge sign, I’m guessing this photo was taken late his career.
This is the cover of his live album:
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Tagged Cocoanut Grove nightclub, Color photo, Hotels, Nightclubs, Wilshire Blvd
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Try as they might, supermarket designers these days rarely create buildings as pleasing to the eye as this Thriftimart with its corner spire, its clean Art Moderne lines, and even the font they used on a signage. (Although at the time, they probably called it a typeface.) This Thriftimart stood at the northwest corner of Wilshire Blvd and Norton Ave, next to the Los Altos apartment building. I don’t know when it opened but this photo was taken circa mid 1930s.