The movie studio at 9336 Washington Blvd in Culver City has changed through many hands and been known as many things over the years. In 1927, Cecil B. DeMille sold his interest in a film company known as Pathé, which in turn was acquired by RKO in January 1931. The always-cashed-strapped RKO mostly profited from ownership of the lot by renting out the soundstages, occasionally using it themselves, which they did for “King Kong.” (1933) In 1935, film producer, David O. Selznick leased the studio for his newly formed Selznick International Pictures. This photo would have been taken sometime between 1931 and 1935, even though these days, movie fans are more likely to recognize the studio’s main building from Selznick logo.
This is how the main building looked when I took this photo in August 2023. The lot is currently known simply as The Culver Studios and is now the home of Amazon Studios.
Like most early studio heads, William Selig started making short silent films back east (in Selig’s case, Chicago) before moving to Los Angeles for the year-round filmmaking-friendly weather. Settling first in Edendale (near Echo Park), Selig eventually outgrew his original space and moved to the movie studio lot we can see in this undated aerial photo at 3800 Mission Rd, Lincoln Heights northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Somewhere along the line, Selig also built a zoo, which, when it opened in 1915, housed over 700 animals, most of which would be used for filming. By 1917, Selig was out of the movie-making business but his zoo, that was open to the public, stuck around until 1938.
In this circa 1930s photo taken outside the Hollywood 
In this 1934 photo, we get two L.A. Times buildings for the price of one. The street on the right with the streetcars is Broadway, and we’re looking south from First Street. The building on the left with the tower that looks like it was born in a 15th-century British castle is the building that the Times occupied until their new building was ready for occupation. We can see the Times’ new building behind it; it’s still under construction (is it Streamline Moderne?) and would open the following year. I wonder, however, was this photograph taken from? A low-flying airplane seems unlikely.
I count six spotlights crisscrossing Hollywood Blvd outside the Pantages Theatre (then still the “RKO Pantages”) the night that the 28th Academy Awards were held on March 21, 1956 to honor the films of 1955. This was the year that “Marty” picked up Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Screenplay. In the background, we can see the neon sign for Hody’s on the northwest corner of Hollywood and Vine. I wonder if they did a roaring trade that night after all the celebrities had gone in and the movie fans packing the Hollywood Blvd sidewalk had dispersed.
I do so love atmospheric nighttime shots in Hollywood—especially ones with blurred movement capturing the improvised nature of the image. This one was taken in the forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre as people were browsing the footprints and handprints immortalized in cement. The ever-resourceful Kurt Wahlner at
How different the view from the top of Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills looks today – with urban development as far as the eye can see – compared with when this early (and adventurous) motorist made his way to the panoramic vista in 1913. He (and his photographer pal) would only have seen a few scattered farm houses and probably the Hollywood Hotel. Let’s hope they didn’t get a flat tire driving back down the hill. AAA Southern California started in 1900, but good luck finding a telephone to call them on.
If what’s going on in the photo is what I think is going on, it’s a bit of a sad day, if you ask me. We’re looking toward the northeast corner of 8th Street and Vermont Ave on September 8, 1950. Those workmen look like they’re ripping up streetcar tracks, which means what we’re seeing is the beginning of the post-war dismantling of LA’s extensive streetcar network. For most of its existence, the streetcars failed to break even, much less make a profit, but gosh, wouldn’t it be nice if we’d found a way to retain them as a valid way to get around Los Angeles?
Back in the 1920s, apparently all you had to do was put up a life-sized camel out of the front of your house and you get to call yourself the Camel Inn. I found a listing for Camel Inn at 5732 Hollywood Blvd in a couple of Los Angeles City Directories from the late 1920s, so I’m guessing this photo was taken around them. But this photo does show us what homes along Hollywood Blvd looked like in yesteryearland.
Having created the Pacific Electric Railway in 1901, Henry E. Huntington open his streetcar line to Long Beach on July 4, 1902, and fortunately, a photographer was around to capture the moment its first passengers. The line started at the corner of 6th and Main Sts in downtown Los Angeles then headed south, terminating at the corner of Ocean Blvd and Pacific Ave. Does anyone know how long that journey was in 1902? I’d imagine that it would’ve taken quite a while, so I hope those Angelinos in their suits and neckties and floor-length dresses were comfortable in the July heat.