After having researched the Garden of Allah Hotel for over 10 years, it’s not often that I come across a photo of it that I’ve not encountered before. So when I do, it’s always rather exciting. According to the caption, it was taken in 1927, which is the year the hotel opened. I’m not sure about that because Sunset Boulevard looks like it’s paved over and that didn’t happen until the early 1930s. Regardless of the actual date, it’s a glimpse into how the place looked early in its life. But what really catches my eye is that circular object standing on the curb to the right. It looks like it’s around two feet tall. Does anybody have a clue what it is?
It looks like a Rotary Club sign:
According to this article from the Los Angeles Times dated February 10, 1938, a Rotary Club meeting was held there. (Jump down to the final item.)
Most of the focus on the 3000 stretch of Wilshire Blvd get swallowed up by the Ambassador Hotel at 3400 Wilshire, but opposite it, at 3355 Wilshire is worth remembering too—especially as it has survived the years longer than the hotel. The Gaylord Apartments (named after Gaylord Wilshire) opened on April 29, 1924, three years after the Ambassador, to a crowd of 2000 Angelenos eager to see the marble floors, mahogany finishes, custom tapestries and furnishings, one of most beautiful lobbies in Los Angeles, barber shop, ballroom, retail space, AND a garbage chute from every apartment. This aerial shot is circa 1925 and that expanse of lawn at the bottom of the photo belongs to the Ambassador so the view from the south-facing apartments must have been pretty glorious.
Nothing can beat Kodachrome photography for clarity and vibrancy of color. In this photo, we can see some lucky girl drive her 1955 Thunderbird (look at that gorgeous blue!) along Ney Street in the beachside development known as Surfridge. Just south of Playa del Rey and on a stretch of prime ocean-side land, Surfridge had the misfortune of being located immediately west of LA International Airport. As the airplanes grew bigger, they required longer runways. So the grounds of the airport stretched farther and farther westward. Eventually, they reached Surfridge and so the poor residents suffered with huge aircraft coming in to land just above their roofs. Day and night! Eventually, it became unlivable and was acquired under imminent domain but from the looks of this photo, it looked like a charming place to live.
From these two satellite photos, we can see where Surfridge was, and how it’s now empty land:
These days, the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Ave is dominated by two gas stations, so it’s hard to imagine that this very busy, very urban, very concrete-and-asphalt intersection as the peacefully sleepy and pastoral scene shown in this photo taken somewhere near the Sunset/Fairfax corner in 1901. The field that that guy is standing in was apparently filled with sweet pea. I don’t know if fields of sweet pea give off a smell, but I bet it smelled better than it does now! (My thanks to LA Relics for this great photo.)
Californians are used to thinking of Knott’s Berry Farm as an old-school wild west theme park. Oh, and some Knott’s berry jams, too. So it can be hard to remember that 100 years ago, Walter and Cordelia Knott’s original business was selling boysenberries (a cross between a blackberry, red raspberry and loganberry) from a roadside stand. The stand did so well that they turned it into a restaurant, which sold Cordelia’s chicken dinners. Then Walter built a ghost town in 1940, using buildings relocated from genuine Old West towns. And before they knew it, they had a popular theme park ten years before their neighbor, Disneyland, opened its doors in 1955.
Knott’s Berry Farm have come a long way since 1920. This is their front entrance in March 2015:
I’m still scratching my head over why Stephen Spielberg feels the need to remake “West Side Story” but when I found this photo of the original version at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, I became curious to see how long it played there. The movie ran from December 14, 1961 until January 17, 1963, which is 57 weeks. Most movies at that time ran for about 6 weeks. In 1977, “Star Wars” ran 51 weeks, which makes the run of “West Side Story” nothing short of astounding. In fact, it’s the longest running movie in the history of Grauman’s.
In this photo, we’re looking north up Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles. On the left, we can see the awning of the Hotel Figueroa at 939 S. Figueroa St, which is one of the oldest continuously run hotels in L.A. More interesting than that, it opened in 1926 by the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA.) Not only was it the first establishment of its kind available exclusively to women, but it was owned, managed and financed entirely by women. Moreover, the Hotel Figueroa was one of the largest women-owned real estate investments in the United States. Across the street is the Times Theater, which started in 1924 as a live theater called The Playhouse but by 1940 had become a cinema, which offered seats at 20 cents per derrière.
Times Theater, Figueroa St, Los Angeles, circa 1941:
With its hard-to-miss red-and-white coloring, I’m sure this huge can of Reddi-Wip was a landmark that was hard to miss when passers-by passed by the corporate headquarters at 8025 Melrose Ave (on the northeast corner of Melrose and Laurel Ave.) This photo was taken circa 1957, by which time Reddi-Wip (which is whipped cream in a spray can) had been around for nearly 10 years. Judging by that woman on the sidewalk, I’d say the can must have been around 12 feet tall, including the stand. I doubt that anybody was going to miss it so I’m not sure that she needs to be pointing it out to anyone!
This image comes from the Food Field Report and is dated July 12, 1954:
That view as at November 2017:
My thanks to David G for discovering this photo and sharing it with me.
When I first saw this photo of the intersection of East Colorado Blvd and South Marengo Ave, Pasadena in 1936, I didn’t think there was much of interest to talk about. But then I spotted that lollipop-shaped contraption in the lower-right-hand corner and investigated further. Turns out it was a ‘banjo traffic signal’ and was used in LA county in several towns. It worked by rotating a disk inside a double-sided sleeve where the upside-down other direction (the STOP or GO) was covered until it rotated into view.
A banjo traffic signal in “GO” mode:
Susan M says: “That little horizontal bar below the circle had red and green lights in them as well as the red/green flipping go and stop signs in the circle part of the signal. I think the lights only worked at nighttime on most of them. They had a clang type of bell as well when the signal changed from go to stop.“
It looks like something big was going on at DeMille Field (later known as Rogers Airport) that covered a vast expanse of land anchored at the corner of Wilshire Blvd and Fairfax Ave, which was known back then as Crescent Ave. I’m guessing that all those cars parked on both sides of Wilshire Blvd were there to see an airshow of some sort. This photo was taken in the early 1920s, when such shows maintained an element of daredevilry and danger, so the turn out was usually pretty great. And at the top of the photo we can see the oil wells that punctuated the land that later became the Park La Brea apartment complex.
A wider view from even farther up, taken around the same time:
Looking west toward the general office and hangars of Rogers Airport, 1922:
After having researched the Garden of Allah Hotel for over 10 years, it’s not often that I come across a photo of it that I’ve not encountered before. So when I do, it’s always rather exciting. According to the caption, it was taken in 1927, which is the year the hotel opened. I’m not sure about that because Sunset Boulevard looks like it’s paved over and that didn’t happen until the early 1930s. Regardless of the actual date, it’s a glimpse into how the place looked early in its life. But what really catches my eye is that circular object standing on the curb to the right. It looks like it’s around two feet tall. Does anybody have a clue what it is?
Most of the focus on the 3000 stretch of Wilshire Blvd get swallowed up by the Ambassador Hotel at 3400 Wilshire, but opposite it, at 3355 Wilshire is worth remembering too—especially as it has survived the years longer than the hotel. The Gaylord Apartments (named after Gaylord Wilshire) opened on April 29, 1924, three years after the Ambassador, to a crowd of 2000 Angelenos eager to see the marble floors, mahogany finishes, custom tapestries and furnishings, one of most beautiful lobbies in Los Angeles, barber shop, ballroom, retail space, AND a garbage chute from every apartment. This aerial shot is circa 1925 and that expanse of lawn at the bottom of the photo belongs to the Ambassador so the view from the south-facing apartments must have been pretty glorious.
Nothing can beat Kodachrome photography for clarity and vibrancy of color. In this photo, we can see some lucky girl drive her 1955 Thunderbird (look at that gorgeous blue!) along Ney Street in the beachside development known as Surfridge. Just south of Playa del Rey and on a stretch of prime ocean-side land, Surfridge had the misfortune of being located immediately west of LA International Airport. As the airplanes grew bigger, they required longer runways. So the grounds of the airport stretched farther and farther westward. Eventually, they reached Surfridge and so the poor residents suffered with huge aircraft coming in to land just above their roofs. Day and night! Eventually, it became unlivable and was acquired under imminent domain but from the looks of this photo, it looked like a charming place to live.
These days, the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Ave is dominated by two gas stations, so it’s hard to imagine that this very busy, very urban, very concrete-and-asphalt intersection as the peacefully sleepy and pastoral scene shown in this photo taken somewhere near the Sunset/Fairfax corner in 1901. The field that that guy is standing in was apparently filled with sweet pea. I don’t know if fields of sweet pea give off a smell, but I bet it smelled better than it does now! 
Californians are used to thinking of Knott’s Berry Farm as an old-school wild west theme park. Oh, and some Knott’s berry jams, too. So it can be hard to remember that 100 years ago, Walter and Cordelia Knott’s original business was selling boysenberries (a cross between a blackberry, red raspberry and loganberry) from a roadside stand. The stand did so well that they turned it into a restaurant, which sold Cordelia’s chicken dinners. Then Walter built a ghost town in 1940, using buildings relocated from genuine Old West towns. And before they knew it, they had a popular theme park ten years before their neighbor, Disneyland, opened its doors in 1955.
In this photo, we’re looking north up Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles. On the left, we can see the awning of the Hotel Figueroa at 939 S. Figueroa St, which is one of the oldest continuously run hotels in L.A. More interesting than that, it opened in 1926 by the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA.) Not only was it the first establishment of its kind available exclusively to women, but it was owned, managed and financed entirely by women. Moreover, the Hotel Figueroa was one of the largest women-owned real estate investments in the United States. Across the street is the Times Theater, which started in 1924 as a live theater called The Playhouse but by 1940 had become a cinema, which offered seats at 20 cents per derrière.
With its hard-to-miss red-and-white coloring, I’m sure this huge can of Reddi-Wip was a landmark that was hard to miss when passers-by passed by the corporate headquarters at 8025 Melrose Ave (on the northeast corner of Melrose and Laurel Ave.) This photo was taken circa 1957, by which time Reddi-Wip (which is whipped cream in a spray can) had been around for nearly 10 years. Judging by that woman on the sidewalk, I’d say the can must have been around 12 feet tall, including the stand. I doubt that anybody was going to miss it so I’m not sure that she needs to be pointing it out to anyone!
When I first saw this photo of the intersection of East Colorado Blvd and South Marengo Ave, Pasadena in 1936, I didn’t think there was much of interest to talk about. But then I spotted that lollipop-shaped contraption in the lower-right-hand corner and investigated further. Turns out it was a ‘banjo traffic signal’ and was used in LA county in several towns. It worked by rotating a disk inside a double-sided sleeve where the upside-down other direction (the STOP or GO) was covered until it rotated into view.
It looks like something big was going on at DeMille Field (later known as Rogers Airport) that covered a vast expanse of land anchored at the corner of Wilshire Blvd and Fairfax Ave, which was known back then as Crescent Ave. I’m guessing that all those cars parked on both sides of Wilshire Blvd were there to see an airshow of some sort. This photo was taken in the early 1920s, when such shows maintained an element of daredevilry and danger, so the turn out was usually pretty great. And at the top of the photo we can see the oil wells that punctuated the land that later became the Park La Brea apartment complex.
