Aside
In this circa 1902 photo, we’re seeing a man parked on Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles at 8th Street. He’s sitting in a car called a Waverley Electromobile. I found it amazing that we’ve had electric cars all this time but went with the air-polluting gas-guzzlers—and look what that’s led to. In fact, according to my friend at the Petersen Automotive Museum, there were more electric cars on the road when this photo was taken than there were gasoline-powered vehicles. And typically these vehicles rode around on solid rubber tires because they shared the roads with horses and so horseshoe nails littered the streets, causing punctures to pneumatic tires. I’m also guessing it would have been a bumpy ride!Temperance Temple of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, 301 N. Broadway at Temple Street, downtown Los Angeles, 1890
In this photograph, we have the Los Angeles headquarters of an organization the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. It was founded in 1874, the stated purpose of creating a “sober and pure world” by abstinence, purity, and evangelical Christianity. Its constitution called for “the entire prohibition of the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage. This shot was taken in 1890, by which time it was the largest organization of women in the world. Their HQ was called Temperance Temple and stood at 301 N. Broadway at Temple Street in downtown LA. (That’s the horse-drawn Temple St Cable Railway trolley passing out front. It took commuters as far as Angelino Heights.) So I’m guessing that October 28, 1919 – the introduction of Prohibition – was a big day for these women. I wonder if they threw a party to celebrate their victory. And if they did, what did they serve? I’m guessing nothing stronger than sarsaparilla.
If I’ve got the corner right (northwest) that location now houses the County of Los Angeles’s Central Heating and Refrigeration Plant. (i.e. it’s LA’s air conditioning unit!) Photo taken June 2017:
Tree-lined Melrose Avenue at Western Avenue, Los Angeles, circa 1910
It’s hard to imagine now how Melrose Avenue could ever have been this tree-lined idyll that was a favorite street for Angelenos to take horse and buggy rides on Sundays. But those thick and leafy branches would have provided cool shade on long summer afternoons. But for how long? This photo was taken in 1910 where Western Ave met Melrose and we can see a house on the left and curbs on either side of the street. Civilization was starting to encroach!
The same view in July 2017 (assuming we’re looking in the same direction – it’s hard to know for sure…)
9100 block of the Sunset Strip, West Hollywood, circa mid 1930s
Judging from that white-topped 1935 Ford convertible in the foreground, I’m going to say that this shot of the Sunset Plaza section of the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood is mid 1930s. I haven’t been able to identify exactly where this shot was taken, but to my mind, that’s not the point. What I find striking are the buildings themselves, or more particularly the variety of architectural styles. Each one is different from its neighbor, which must have made driving around town a visually enjoyable experience . . . especially in that sporty little convertible!
UPDATE: It appears that the building on the right is 9109 Sunset Blvd. The photo below is from January 2019:
Actor Nick Adams in front of the Wiltern Theater at Wilshire Blvd and Western Ave, Los Angeles, circa 1958
In all the photos I’ve seen of the Wiltern Theater at Wilshire Blvd and Western Ave, I’ve never seen it called the Franklin Life building. It turns out that in 1956, the Pellissier Building was bought by the Franklin Life Insurance Company of Springfield, Illinois. (Although why an Illinois insurance company would want to buy a building in LA is beyond me.) This photo was most likely taken in 1958, when the Wiltern Theater was still a Warner Bros.-run movie house. “No Time for Sergeants” was playing at the time, and that’s one of the stars, Nick Adams, posing out front with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, bad-boy style.
Thanks to efforts from the LA Conservancy, the Wiltern was saved from decrepitude and is now a fully restored and thriving live theater. (This photo is from March 2018)
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Tagged Color photo, Movie Stars, Theaters, Wilshire Blvd, Wiltern Theatre
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Culver Hotel, 9400 Culver Blvd, Culver City, California, 1938
In 1917, Harry Culver incorporated Culver City (after all, if you’re going to build a city, why not name it after yourself?) halfway between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Harry wouldn’t have known it at the time, but it went on to become most famous as the home of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1924, Harry built and opened the Culver Hotel, which benefited from being just a couple of blocks from the studio. Consequently, a huge number of celebrated performers stayed there, including the 100 or so actors who played the munchkins in MGM’s “The Wizard of Oz.” This photo is from 1938, which is when that movie was in production (October 1938 to March 1939) so this is how it would have looked when they stayed there. Later owned by Charlie Chaplin, and then John Wayne, and then became a YMCA, the hotel is still around and is a 46-room boutique hotel and a thriving part of Culver City life.
The Culver Hotel in February 2017:
Simpson Furs, southwest corner of 7th and Figueroa Streets, downtown Los Angeles, circa 1933
The southwest corner of 7th and Figueroa Streets in downtown Los Angeles certainly doesn’t look like this anymore. Today it has just another generic skyscraper but back in circa 1933, the corner was occupied by a more interesting two story building that housed a business we don’t see much of any more: a furrier. Simpson Furs boasts that it is the “largest in the world” but biggest what? Showroom? Selection? The size of the coats? That’s quite a claim, Mr. Simpson, although I’m not sure it’s accurate. Its sign also says: “Serve yourself and save money back within 5 days.” I’m scratching my head to figure out how that system worked. If you have any theories, I’d love to hear them.
400 block of North Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, circa early 1940s
I’m posting this photo of the 400 block of North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills (circa early 1940s) because I happened to drive past this building the other day and was struck with the stark difference between how it looked back then, with its columns and arches and beautiful signage, and how the same building looks today (see photo below.) For some unfathomable reason (easier maintenance, maybe?) it’s been entirely stripped of its personality and could be any building anywhere. If you were going to tear the whole thing down and start again, that’s one thing, but to strip a building of everything that made it unique is unfathomable to me.
In this photo we can see a sign for “Sutherland-Rude” which was a dress shop. (From the Los Angeles Street Address Directory, May 1956)
Bill D says: “Entering adolescence, my neighborhood pals and I would wander on this same street – the photo is as I remember it. At that time I became aware of angled curbside parking – most parking over LA area was parallel. There was a hobby/novelty store in the area that featured a model steam engine (not a railroad locomotive) that a boy could assemble and run with a live steam boiler. Unfortunately I did not have enough money to buy it at that time.”
The same building in February 2017:
Beverly Hills Hotel under construction, circa early 1912
Here we have a rare glimpse of Beverly Hills before it became Beverly Hills, and long before the area became a famous celebrity enclave. This is a shot of the Beverly Hills Hotel being built. The hotel opened on May 12, 1912 so as construction looks fairly far along, I’d date this at circa early 1912. As we can see, there is nothing around (apart from lima bean fields) so we can understand more clearly how the Beverly Hills Hotel was marketed as a country retreat far from the crowded hurly burly of (downtown) Los Angeles.a
Brown Derby Restaurant at night, corner of Wilshire Blvd and Rodeo Dr, Beverly Hills, 1966
When most people think of the Brown Derby restaurant, they either think of the original one shaped like a hat or the one in Hollywood on Vine Street. But there was also one on the prime corner of Wilshire Blvd and Rodeo Dr. Opening in 1931, it was popular with the Beverly Hills crowd, especially on Thursday nights which was the traditional maid’s night off. According to a Vanity Fair article I read, in 1958 a Christmas dinner at the Beverly Hills Brown Derby cost $3.85, or around $35 in current dollars, which seems like a pretty good deal to me. This photo was taken in 1966 and the place until 1982—a pretty good run, don’t you think?
The same corner in March 2019:
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Tagged Beverly Hills, Brown Derby, Night photo, Restaurants, Rodeo Drive, Wilshire Blvd
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