This photo lets us see what Los Angeles’s Broadway looked like in the first decade of the new century. As we can see, the two main ways of getting around town are horse-and-carriage and the streetcar. The one in the foreground was coming from Boyle Heights, which lays just east of downtown. This photo was taken in 1905 so the days of horse-drawn transport were numbered. Ten years later, most of them would be gone…and so would the smell and mess that accompanied them. Mind you, the motor cars would bring their own kind of smells and messes, wouldn’t they?
I don’t know much about cars but I even I could tell this one parked out front of the Pan Pacific Auditorium on Beverly Blvd was something special. I sent this photo to a friend of mine who works at the Petersen Automotive Museum and he told me that it was one of four experimental 1953 Cadillac Le Mans built for the auto show circuit. This particular one was modified by George Barris, who created the Batmobile. What a shame it isn’t in color because it looks pretty spectacular to me.
When I found this photo Oneonta Park Station, I had trouble locating where Oneonta Park was. Turns out that it was a development in South Pasadena centered where Fair Oaks Ave meets Huntington Drive. It must have been a fairly important stop on the streetcar line because you could get magazines, snack, and even sandwiches—not to mention shade from the unrelenting Pasadena summer sun.
Oneonta Park and Pasadena from the hill to the south Huntington Drive Fair Oaks Ave, South Pasadena ca, 1910:
Map of Oneonta Park being Huntington Land and Improvement Co’s. subdivision:
I always assumed that the top of Mt Lee, where the Hollywood sign sits, was naturally flat but that wasn’t the case. Mt. Lee had a peak until the early 1920s when the Hollywoodland real estate development gave comedy mogul Mack Sennett the idea to build a massive estate on the top of the mountain, where he bought an 18-acre parcel of land. So in this circa 1925 photo, we’re seeing a steam shovel shearing off the top of the mountain to prepare a level ground on which Sennett could build his dream home. Unfortunately for Sennett, he lost all his dough in the stock market crash, so that was the end of that.
Here is a concept drawing of Mack Sennett’s proposed mansion atop Mt Lee, Hollywood. What a view he would have had!
These days, the boardwalk from Venice Beach and Ocean Park (the beach directly south of Santa Monica) is a tumultuous carnival of barking street performers, hipster tarot card readers, henna tattooists, angry bible thumpers, dubious marijuana dispensaries, and barely-clad roller-bladers. But back when this photo was taken in (I’m guessing) the first decade of the 20th century, the locals were dressed from head to toe as they took in the fresh sea air. We can also see the large homes that lined the beaches back then, and even some open land. That vacant lot on the right would be worth millions now.
What that stretch Venice Beach looks like now. From the shadows, I’d say that the Google Streetview machine was there first thing in the morning, before the boisterous crowds and hawkers started appearing.
In this lovely snapshot, we see a Ford touring car with a four-digit license place parked on the west side of Vermont Ave near the intersection with Hollywood Boulevard in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles. It’s circa 1914 so there are very few cars on the road and therefore not many traffic lights. The photographer was facing north toward the Hollywood Hills, where we can see a large white mansion. It was the home of William Mead, the original developer of Los Feliz, located at 4533 Cockerham Drive. Though almost unrecognizably remodeled, the bones of the house remain standing at the foothill head of Vermont above Los Feliz.
In this circa 1920 photo taken near the intersection of Santa Monica Blvd and N. Beverly Dr in Beverly Hills, we can see the lily pond in Beverly Gardens Park with its original (electrified!) Beverly Hills sign. There is still a sign there, and that Tudor Revival house on the corner of Park Way and Beverly Drive is, miraculously, also still with us. But also being the early 1920s, we can also see that the development of Beverly Hills itself has only just started to get underway.
I don’t know what was going on in this colorized postcard photo when it was taken. It’s unusual to see traffic jams this thick but something was definitely going on—look at how crowded the sidewalk outside Bullocks Wilshire is. Given that this was circa early 1940s before America entered the war and gasoline went on strict rationing, this could well have been the last great pre-war L.A. traffic jam.
Judging by the vividness of this image, I’d say this circa mid 1950s shot of the Farmer’s Market on Fairfax Ave was taken using Kodachrome. Somehow that process really caught a feel for a time and place. Look at that gorgeous palette of blue and chrome of the cars parked near the Farmer’s Market tower. It’s still there, but these days, of course, the parking lot is much bigger and much harder to find a free space. The whole time I’ve lived here, I don’t think I’ve ever found a parking space and have had to go to the parking structure at the back. I also love how that guy walking away from the camera is wearing a jacket to go to the Farmer’s Market. You don’t see that often now, either.
There is a wreath around the clock, which suggests that this photo was taken at Christmastime. So perhaps this is December 1955?
I came along too late to experience any of the huge bath houses that dotted the Californian coastline, which is a shame because I’d love to have seen at least one of them. This was the bath house at Redondo Beach, which was one of three buildings that lined the seashore in the first part of the 20th century. The complex featured an auditorium/theater, a casino (this is back when casino simply meant a building used for social amusement), a dance hall, as well as the largest indoor saltwater heated pool in the world known as “the Plunge.” The project was developed by Henry Huntington to encourage use on his vast Red Car streetcar network. I guess his motto was “Give them a place to go to and they will ride.” I certainly would have.
That tall chimney is part of the system which provided heat from large boilers though an underground system of pipes from the Pacific Light and Power’s steam plant, which was used to heat the swimming pool – it was big enough to accommodate 1000 swimmers!
This photo lets us see what Los Angeles’s Broadway looked like in the first decade of the new century. As we can see, the two main ways of getting around town are horse-and-carriage and the streetcar. The one in the foreground was coming from Boyle Heights, which lays just east of downtown. This photo was taken in 1905 so the days of horse-drawn transport were numbered. Ten years later, most of them would be gone…and so would the smell and mess that accompanied them. Mind you, the motor cars would bring their own kind of smells and messes, wouldn’t they?
I don’t know much about cars but I even I could tell this one parked out front of the Pan Pacific Auditorium on Beverly Blvd was something special. I sent this photo to a friend of mine who works at the Petersen Automotive Museum and he told me that it was one of four experimental 1953 Cadillac Le Mans built for the auto show circuit. This particular one was modified by George Barris, who created the Batmobile. What a shame it isn’t in color because it looks pretty spectacular to me.
When I found this photo Oneonta Park Station, I had trouble locating where Oneonta Park was. Turns out that it was a development in South Pasadena centered where Fair Oaks Ave meets Huntington Drive. It must have been a fairly important stop on the streetcar line because you could get magazines, snack, and even sandwiches—not to mention shade from the unrelenting Pasadena summer sun.
I always assumed that the top of Mt Lee, where the Hollywood sign sits, was naturally flat but that wasn’t the case. Mt. Lee had a peak until the early 1920s when the Hollywoodland real estate development gave comedy mogul Mack Sennett the idea to build a massive estate on the top of the mountain, where he bought an 18-acre parcel of land. So in this circa 1925 photo, we’re seeing a steam shovel shearing off the top of the mountain to prepare a level ground on which Sennett could build his dream home. Unfortunately for Sennett, he lost all his dough in the stock market crash, so that was the end of that.
These days, the boardwalk from Venice Beach and Ocean Park (the beach directly south of Santa Monica) is a tumultuous carnival of barking street performers, hipster tarot card readers, henna tattooists, angry bible thumpers, dubious marijuana dispensaries, and barely-clad roller-bladers. But back when this photo was taken in (I’m guessing) the first decade of the 20th century, the locals were dressed from head to toe as they took in the fresh sea air. We can also see the large homes that lined the beaches back then, and even some open land. That vacant lot on the right would be worth millions now.
In this lovely snapshot, we see a Ford touring car with a four-digit license place parked on the west side of Vermont Ave near the intersection with Hollywood Boulevard in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles. It’s circa 1914 so there are very few cars on the road and therefore not many traffic lights. The photographer was facing north toward the Hollywood Hills, where we can see a large white mansion. It was the home of William Mead, the original developer of Los Feliz, located at 4533 Cockerham Drive. Though almost unrecognizably remodeled, the bones of the house remain standing at the foothill head of Vermont above Los Feliz.
In this circa 1920 photo taken near the intersection of Santa Monica Blvd and N. Beverly Dr in Beverly Hills, we can see the lily pond in Beverly Gardens Park with its original (electrified!) Beverly Hills sign. There is still a sign there, and that Tudor Revival house on the corner of Park Way and Beverly Drive is, miraculously, also still with us. But also being the early 1920s, we can also see that the development of Beverly Hills itself has only just started to get underway.
I don’t know what was going on in this colorized postcard photo when it was taken. It’s unusual to see traffic jams this thick but something was definitely going on—look at how crowded the sidewalk outside Bullocks Wilshire is. Given that this was circa early 1940s before America entered the war and gasoline went on strict rationing, this could well have been the last great pre-war L.A. traffic jam.
Judging by the vividness of this image, I’d say this circa mid 1950s shot of the Farmer’s Market on Fairfax Ave was taken using Kodachrome. Somehow that process really caught a feel for a time and place. Look at that gorgeous palette of blue and chrome of the cars parked near the Farmer’s Market tower. It’s still there, but these days, of course, the parking lot is much bigger and much harder to find a free space. The whole time I’ve lived here, I don’t think I’ve ever found a parking space and have had to go to the parking structure at the back. I also love how that guy walking away from the camera is wearing a jacket to go to the Farmer’s Market. You don’t see that often now, either.
I came along too late to experience any of the huge bath houses that dotted the Californian coastline, which is a shame because I’d love to have seen at least one of them. This was the bath house at Redondo Beach, which was one of three buildings that lined the seashore in the first part of the 20th century. The complex featured an auditorium/theater, a casino (this is back when casino simply meant a building used for social amusement), a dance hall, as well as the largest indoor saltwater heated pool in the world known as “the Plunge.” The project was developed by Henry Huntington to encourage use on his vast Red Car streetcar network. I guess his motto was “Give them a place to go to and they will ride.” I certainly would have.
