California’s plentiful sun and fresh sea air has long been a draw for ailing and half-frozen Easterners. So finally landing on California soil must have been a relief—especially if this is where they dug in their toes. This is the Hotel Arcadia, which was built by developer J.W. Scott, who, in the 1880s, set about building Santa Monica’s first luxury hotel. The site he selected was on Ocean Avenue between what is today Colorado Ave and Pico Blvd and he named his hotel after Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker, the wife of the co-founder of Santa Monica, Colonel Robert Baker. His ambitious project – the hotel had 125 rooms when it opened on January 24, 1887 – set the standard for upscale, beachside hotels. It’s long gone, of course, but was only the first of such places that now dot the Santa Monica shoreline.Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Hollywood Blvd, the year it opened, 1927
Click on the photo to see a larger view, then click again for an ever larger view.
Judging by the cars parked outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, I figured that this pristine photograph was taken fairly early on in the theater’s life. But then my friend Kurt from GraumansChinese.org told me the poster in the bottom left corner was of Cecil B. DeMille. This indicated that this shot was taken during the debut run of his film, “King of Kings” which had its premiere on May 18, 1927 ahead of an impressive 24-week run through to the end of October. Only one of the independent stores in the complex was open back then. On the right side was Lickter’s Chinese Smoke Shop. They specialized in hand-rolled, gold-tipped, monogrammed cigarettes and would later install a neon sign that said: “A Puff from Hollywood.”
Of course, the “puffing” that goes on in Hollywood these days is of an entirely different nature…
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Tagged Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Theaters
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Stores along Sunset Blvd. just off of San Vicente Blvd, West Hollywood, early to mid 1930s
As far as I can tell, this shot of a line of stores in the West Hollywood stretch of Sunset Blvd near San Vicente Blvd was taken in the early to mid 1930s, back when developers built stores with more individuality, like adding a turret or those triangular decorations above the doorway. It’s a sign of the times that Western Union has the biggest storefront of the lot. Next door is “Roberti French Dry Cleaners.” Does anybody reading this know if French dry cleaners differ from regular ones?
That same view in May 2019. A version of one of those triangular decorations above the door has survived:
Corner of Wilshire Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, 1934
This this photo, we’re looking at the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard in 1934. These days that corner is filled with an oval-shaped, brown glass skyscraper. But back in the 1930s, it was the location of a mini-golf course called the Wilshire Links, which was owned by Mary Pickford. It, of course, is long gone but at least the Fox Wilshire Theatre we can see in the background is still with us, albeit now known as the Saban.
The Wilshire Links were really quite remarkable. Here is a photo of the entrance but I have a page of photos of them on my website: Wilshire Links.
That same view in February 2017:
Looking down to the intersection of Broadway and 7th Street from the Loew’s State Theatre, downtown Los Angeles, 1943
This shot gives us a rare bird’s eye view of the busy corner of Broadway and 7th Street in downtown Los Angeles, anchored by the Loew’s State Theatre, which was MGM’s flagship theater. I wonder what was playing when this photo was taken in 1943: “Presenting Lily Mars”? “Lassie Come Home”? Or maybe an Andy Hardy picture? The war was on, which means gas restrictions were in place, which may explain the six streetcars lined up along 7th Street.
The Fred Harvey restaurant prepares to open with its staff of Harvey Girls at Los Angeles’s new Union Station, 1939
When Union Station in downtown Los Angeles opened on May 4, 1939, passengers on the Union Pacific, Santa Fe, and Southern Pacific railway lines arrived and departed from the same glorious station that combined Art Deco and Mission Revival with Streamline Moderne—AND a Harvey House restaurant. This photo shows us how the place looked just before it opened with those Harvey Girls (made (even more) famous by MGM’s “The Harvey Girls” (1946) starring Judy Garland) lined up ready to serve hungry passengers with a train to catch. You can see lots of color photos of it here: http://bit.ly/1yDmQlj
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Tagged Downtown Los Angeles, Restaurants, Trains and Railways
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Hollywood Blvd looking east from Western Ave, Hollywood, circa early 1950s
In the early 1950s, some adventurous person leaned out of a Red Car heading east along Hollywood Boulevard and caught the intersection of Western Ave and a Red Car heading west. Whoever they were, I’m grateful for the glimpse into 50s Los Angeles, with its then-ubiquitous Thrifty drug store. That red-brick building is no longer there but cater-corner to it is a building that was built by MGM’s Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg. Opening on December 8, 1928, it was the first location of Motion Picture Association of America, Central Casting, the Hays Office. So going into the 1930s, the decisions made inside that building determined the course of Hollywood filmmaking.
That same view in March 2019:
Historical note: that building in the background of the vintage photo – the one directly behind the Red Car – is the Guardian Arms Apartments at 5217 Hollywood Boulevard. The building is still there but does have a connection with infamy. Room 726 at the Guardian Arms was Elizabeth Short’s residence from October 10 though October 22, 1946. She lived there with her friend Marjorie, and two men, Bill Robinson and Marvin Margolis. Marjorie and the two men slept in the bed while Short slept on the floor. In January 1947, Elizabeth Short would die at the hands of a sadistic killer and the world would remember her as the Black Dahlia.
Grauman’s Chinese Theater showing “The Racers,” Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, February 1955
I love how the lights of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre throw a golden glow across a nighttime Hollywood Boulevard. This photo was taken in February or March 1955—that’s when Twentieth Century-Fox’s “The Racers” played Grauman’s. I’m surprised it lasted three weeks there because the picture was a huge and expensive flop. Maybe it’s because studio chief, Darryl Zanuck, foisted his … let’s be kind and call her his “protégé” … Bella Darvi on Kirk Douglas. I haven’t seen the movie so I’m not saying she was the reason why it flopped but I doubt she out-acted Douglas, Gilbert Roland, Cesar Romero, and Lee J. Cobb.
UPDATE – Robert Cullen says: “The back story is great. Fox wanted to get rid of all the used race cars. A guy wanted to buy one for $10k but Fox said, “No. All or nothing for $200,000.” He bought the lots and the cars ended up being worth many millions. The three drivers Douglas, Roland, Romero were pretty great.”
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Tagged Color photo, Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Night photo, Theaters
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Looking north up Main Street, Los Angeles, California, circa 1882
It looks like traveling up Main Street, Los Angeles in the early 1880s was a piece of cake. The street was wide with lots of room for everybody’s horses and carriages on their way to perhaps make a deposit at the Farmers and Merchants Bank or visit friends who have just checked into the Cosmopolitan Hotel. One store that caught my eye is on the right: Bright’s Cheap Store. Is that the 1880s equivalent of the 99 Cent Store?
Traffic on the corner of Fletcher Drive and San Fernando Rd, Atwater Village, Los Angeles, 1936
In this photo, we’re reminded that even L.A. drivers in 1936 had to deal with heavy traffic. This is the intersection of Fletcher Drive and San Fernando Rd in Atwater Village, south of Glendale. I guess it’s the morning rush hour, all controlled by two-light semaphore signals. We can also see the windmill of a Van de Kamp’s bakery and opposite it a sign for a “General Petroleum” gas station. Not much has changed for this intersection. These days, it has a Burger King, a Yoshinoya, an El Pollo Loco, and a Chevron gas station.
That same intersection in May 2019:
