If you’re going to open a donut store, you should probably build the biggest donut you can and plonk it onto your roof so that there is mistaking what you’re offering. In this photo we’re looking north up Laurel Canyon Blvd past the Big Donut Drive-in. It stood on the northwest corner of Magnolia Blvd in North Hollywood. I don’t know when it opened, but this photo looks to be circa 1960s. Judging from the bus stop bench out front, I’d estimate that donut to be 20 feet high, which means I’m now on the hunt for a photo of the crane lowering it into place.
Jeff K. said: “’63-’64 Buick Riviera at lower left.”
Paul L. said: “The Big Do-nut Drive-in chain was founded by Russell C Wendell who would go on to found Pup ‘n’ Taco.”
This is roughly how that view looked in August 2022. A bank branch isn’t nearly as exciting as a ginormous donut, is it?
I do love the atmosphere of this night shot of the Rexall pharmacy on the southeast corner of La Cienega and Beverly Blvds. Being so centrally located, this Rexall would have been busy morning, noon, and night, so I like how the Life magazine photographer who took this waited until after closing. Without busy staff and milling customers, the place seems even bigger. I don’t have a date on this image, but it feels circa 1950s to me. What do you think?
The appeal of this photo, for me at least, is that it juxtaposes LA’s past alongside LA’s future. We’re looking south along Main St in downtown Los Angeles. In the earlier part of the 20th century, Victorian-era stores and offices lined many of LA’s streets. As we can see from the Spanish language signs, many of these particular businesses were catering to the local Mexican population. And right next door rises the then-new (this photo is from 1939) United States Court House on Main St looking south toward City Hall, downtown Los Angeles, 1939, and behind that, Los Angeles City Hall, which was, by law, the highest building in Los Angeles.
In my view, the Hollywood Bowl is fairly spectacular no matter which angle you shoot it from, no matter the time of day, no matter the season. But aerial shots of the place really do show how spectacular it is. This one was taken in 1929 after the Bowl got its 4th shell. That’s the one made of concentric circles that we all think of whenever we think of the Bowl. This shot also shows how far back the last row is and yet when you’re there, it doesn’t seem quite so far.
Let’s start off 2025 with a colorful photo of a float from the annual Tournament of Roses Parade at that takes place in Pasadena, California every New Year’s Day. This shot was taken on January 1, 1958, and shows a float called “Rocket Honeymoon” which had been entered by the fraternity organization, Odd Fellows, and their women’s auxiliary, Rebekahs. The stats on this float are amazing: 100,000 chrysanthemum blossoms, 4,000 vanda orchids, 5,000 poinsettia petals, 4,000 red carnations, and 30,000 stock blossoms. I’m not surprised this float won first prize in its division!
I thought I’d end 2024 on a vibrant color shot of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. This one was taken during the run of Warner Bros’ “Giant.” The film had a huge premiere on October 17, 1956. (Go 
Here we have a glorious example of how much care and thought went into commercial architecture in the 1920s. This is a United Cigar store (at the time, they were the largest chain of cigar stores in the US, though they sold more than just tobacco) which stood on the southeast corner of Colorado Blvd and Fair Oaks Ave in Pasadena. Look at all that detailing around the crown of the tower—just those windows alone are amazing. And behind one of those cars stopped at the corner, we can see some equally amazing detail around the arched doorway.
This circa 1910s shot treats us to an unusual angle of the Hollywood Hotel at the northwest corner of Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave. The hotel opened in 1902, so it had probably only been around for a dozen years or so. I love how that lone figure is walking alongside the streetcar tracks—and why not? It’s not like there was any great danger of being run down. We can see only one vehicle in the whole image. It’s also interesting to see what preceded the 13-story First National Bank building on the northeast corner. The modest two-story building with the awning housed the Bank of Hollywood, which went under in the 1930s.