When Mary Pickford was married to Douglas Fairbanks (1920 to 1936) their palatial estate, Pickfair, was filled with visiting royalty and A-list stars of stage and screen. After they split up, and Mary later married Buddy Rogers (1937 to her death in 1979,) Pickfair wasn’t nearly so often packed with luminaries. But if this photo is anything to go by, Mary did what she could for the servicemen passing through Los Angeles en route to the war by opening up the house for their enjoyment. This photo was taken in 1944 on a day when she entertained Royal Air Force students. What British trainee pilots would be doing in LA I’m not really sure, but they sure seem to be having a whale of a time.Staff (and children) in the rooftop garden atop Bullock’s department store, 7th Street, downtown Los Angeles, 1907
This photo was taken not long after John G. Bullock opened his luxury department store on 7th Street in downtown Los Angeles in 1907. Bullock provided a rooftop garden for his staff to relax in while taking their break. (The garden would later be open to the public.) I don’t know whose children are seated on those large chairs but I’m guessing they belong to one of the staff. In one account I found, the name “BULLOCK’S” was ablaze with electric lights could be seen for miles in the LA skyline.
Life goes on along the 200 block of East Fifth Street, downtown Los Angeles, circa 1952
In this circa 1952 shot, life is going on, raw and real along East Fifth Street in downtown Los Angeles. The 200 block isn’t a great part of town nowadays and wasn’t that great in the early 50s, either. Along that one block we’ve got a rifle range, a religious mission, a music company, Evans cafeteria and no less than three pawn shops. If the photographer had taken this shot at night, it could almost have been the set for a film noir.
The same block in February 2019:
Los Angeles Street Address Directory, May 1956:
Art Deco building housing the Hollywood Lighting Fixture Company, 662 N. Western Ave, Los Angeles, circa 1929
I do love me some Art Deco so if the exterior of the Hollywood Lighting Fixture Company at 662 N. Western Ave is anything to go by, I would have been a regular customer. The caption for this photo said that it was a business originally formed by a few creative designers on March 9, 1929 so I’m guessing this photo was taken right after then because everything looks pristine. The chandeliers in the window don’t look particularly art-deco-y but that signage alone would have drawn me in.
The Los Angeles City Directory of 1942 shows them at 662 N. Western Ave, Los Angeles:
David says: “The 1929 building depicted as it looks today is actually the one next door, not the colorful one. At some point, the owner extended the roof and added a usable second story with windows. The decorative pillars remain, but, like many buildings in LA, were re-plastered either as a “modernization” or after an earthquake or other damage. The address change is explained either by the 1945 street standardization ordinance, or, more likely, by the property’s subdivision into two or more smaller businesses.”
Ralph’s supermarket at Wilshire Blvd and Crescent Dr., Beverly Hills, 1949
One of my favorite styles of architecture that you see in some of the older buildings around Los Angeles is the soaring tower whose purpose is purely ornamental. It’s probably got an official name but I think of it as the “Here-I-Am-Notice-Me” style. This one on the Ralph’s supermarket on the northeast corner of Wilshire Blvd and Crescent Dr. in Beverly Hills in 1949 appears to have seven large glass blocks on each side of the tower, which makes it all the more wonderful, if you ask me.
The same view in December 2014:
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Tagged Beverly Hills, Color photo, Stores and Shopping, Wilshire Blvd
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Excited Angelenos pack a Los Angeles streetcar while celebrating the end of World War II, September 1945
My first thought when seeing this photo was “And I used to think my morning commute on the 405 Freeway was bad.” But then I noticed the joyful looks on the faces on these Angelenos as they packed the B Line streetcar. Turns out, they were celebrating the end of WWII in September 1945. No wonder they were so happy! And what a ride through the streets of LA (the B Line went to City Terrace 4 miles due east of downtown) they must have witnessed.
Students standing outside the Moorish style archway of the entrance to the Fairfax High School auditorium, circa 1931
They sure don’t make high schools like this in anymore. To be honest, I wasn’t aware they ever made high schools like this—except for perhaps in those Mediterranean countries the Moors invaded a thousand years ago. This circa 1931 shot shows Fairfax High School in the Moorish style archway of the entrance to the school auditorium. The school is still there, on the corner of Fairfax and Melrose Avenues. It looks pretty modern from what I can see so I doubt if this beautiful archway has survived the march of progress. Does anybody reading this know if it’s still there?
UPDATE: Daniel says: “Most of the original high school (built in the 1920s) did not meet up to earthquake safety standards and was demolished in the mid-1960s. In it’s place they built a really lovely mid-20th century campus. However, the rotunda and auditorium (which were built in the 1930s) were spared and retro-fitted. The archway is still there, I don’t remember if it looks exactly like this but I do know all the beautiful tile work is still there. I suggest going to the flea market in the parking lot some Sunday if you want a better view than you can get from the street, the campus sits a bit back on the property.”
The view of the Hollywood sign from Deronda Drive in 1950, after the LAND part was removed
This clear and uninterrupted view of the Hollywood sign was taken at (what is now designated as) 3307 Deronda Drive way up in the Hollywoodland hills. The year was 1950, which means had the photo been taken a year before, the sign would have still read Hollywoodland. Well, sort of. The sign had fallen into such disrepair that the “H” had fallen over. L.A. Recreation and Parks Commission wanted to raze the whole thing but thank goodness the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce intervened. In 1949 it removed the last four letters and restored the rest, which is what we’re seeing in this photo.
Roughly the same view in September 2009. The locals can barely see the sign now!
Bridge over Fletcher Drive on Pacific Electric Railway, Los Feliz, circa early 1950s
The Pacific Electric Railway’s famous Red Cars always provided a splash of vivid color around the Angeleno cityscape but even more so when they were 50 feet in the air. Here we’re seeing one cross the bridge over Fletcher Drive in Los Feliz en route to Glendale. This shot is circa early 1950s — check out that billboard to the right for RCA Victor television sets. It must be the most wanted TV because it says so right there in big letters. That bridge has now been replaced by a much lower overpass for the 5 Freeway.
The same view in March 2017:
Angels Flight funicular at the Third Street tunnel with an observation tower, downtown Los Angeles, 1907
I’ve seen lots of photos of the famous Angels Flight funicular at Hill and Third streets, downtown Los Angeles, but I don’t recall seeing one before with an observation tower. This photo was taken in 1907, which means there wouldn’t have been any skyscrapers so the view would have been pretty great – even better than the view from the front rooms at the Hill Crest Inn. As there don’t seem to be many photos of it, I’m guessing it wasn’t around for very long.
UPDATE: The observation tower came down some time in the 1960s.
Here is the view from the top of the hill with the observation deck in front:
