Warner Brothers – First National Pictures Studios, Olive Ave, Burbank, 1936

Posted on December 18, 2018 by

This photo of the Warner Brothers – First National PicturesStudios on Olive Ave in Burbank was taken in 1936, the year that movies produced there were no longer either Warner or First National but were all credited as Warner-First National. The building is still there but is now covered with billboards advertising the TV shows currently in production. But it makes me wonder what films were in production when this photo was taken: “ThePetrified Forest”? “The Story of Louis Pasteur”? “Satan Met A Lady” (which was an earlier incarnation of “The Maltese Falcon.”)?

The same view in February 2018:

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Hollywood Boulevard at Highland Avenue, Hollywood, circa early 1920s

Posted on December 17, 2018 by

The caption to this photo says it’s Hollywood Boulevard atHighland Avenue. I’ll have to take their word for it because there’s no building or landmark here that I recognize. It shows how Hollywood has changed since the early 1920s. That street light with the four or five lights in the foreground is remarkably gorgeous. It looks like they had one in place at every third light with two singles in between. That’s kind of unusual and I don’t remember seeing that before.

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Exclusive Apparel Salon, 2nd floor, I. Magnin department store, Los Angeles

Posted on December 16, 2018 by
Exclusive Apparel Salon, 2nd floor, I. Magnin department store, Los Angeles

In 1923, I Magnin opened a department store at 6340 Hollywood Blvd, where they stayed before moving to Beverly Hills. The size of their Exclusive Apparel Salon and the style of décor suggests it’s the 9626 Wilshire Blvd store. Not that I’ve ever shopped in the Exclusive Apparel Salon, but what strikes me most is that the only clothes on display are in the glass cabinets dotted around the room. No racks, no shelves – just lots of room for the house models to swan around looking classy.

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Crosstown Suburban Lines’ Ford Transit coach, customized as a convertible, Los Angeles, circa 1950s

Posted on December 15, 2018 by

In what appeared to be fun idea at the time but what I suspect proved to be less-than-practical in real life, the Crosstown SuburbanLine bus company, which served South and Southwest Los Angeles, decided to introduce a roofless coach to its fleet sometime in the 1950s. If an idea like that was going to work anywhere, it would be in LA but I’m wondering how long this particular model stayed in circulation.

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The Free Talking Pictures traveling cinema bus

Posted on December 14, 2018 by

People living in small and remote towns weren’t deprived of movies – not as long as The Free Talking Pictures traveling cinema bus was around!

The Free Talking Pictures traveling cinema bus (2)

The screen was at the back of the bus. I assume it was a bring-your-own-chairs type of situation.

Inside, there were living quarters for about six people:

The Free Talking Pictures traveling cinema bus The Free Talking Pictures traveling cinema bus

According to one report I read, the Traveling Theater became the Esso Cruiser used by the Guy Lombardo Orchestra.

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Los Angeles City Hall and the Civic Center District as seen from Bunker Hill, 1940s

Posted on December 14, 2018 by
Los Angeles City Hall and the Civic Center District as seen from Bunker Hill, 1940s.jpg

Angelenos nowadays are used to a largely flattened downtown but twas not always thus. As we can see from this 1940s shot, the huge outcropping of rock known as Bunker Hill rose sharply and steeply at the top end of downtown. The view from the Victorian mansions that used to fill BunkerHill must have been amazing on those clear, pre-smog days.

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Looking north along Spring St from First St toward Hamburger’s Department Store, downtown Los Angeles, 1887

Posted on December 13, 2018 by

The Los Angeles we see in this photo is unrecognizable from the LA we know today. The year was 1887 so that electric streetcar we see amid the horse-drawn carriages would have been a brand-new sight for the Angelenos captured in this photo. The large building on the left is the Hamburger &Sons department store before it outgrew that location and moved to its Broadway and 8th Street location 21 years later. Today this view takes in the iconic Los Angeles City Hall building on the left, which means whereHamburger’s was is now Grand Park.

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Bullocks Wilshire under construction, Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, circa early 1929

Posted on December 12, 2018 by

The Bullocks Wilshire department store became an instant architectural icon when it opened on 1929. Being so picturesque, it has inspired many a photo, but this is one of the few I’ve come across taken during its construction. The store opened on September 26 so I’m guessing this was taken in early 1929 as they were getting close to reaching the top of the tower. At the bottom is the card of the architects, John and Donald Parkinson so it looks like this photo was taken as a way to keep track of the building’s progress.

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“The Fugitive Kind” plays Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, May 1960

Posted on December 11, 2018 by

This color photo of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre was taken when “The Fugitive Kind” starring Marlon Brando and written by Tennessee Williams was playing in May and June of 1960. That awning stretching from the front door to the curb looks to be quite elaborate, with ornamentation on the top and at the end, that white cross facing the street, and the way the roof curls up at the edges. Someone went to a lot of trouble!

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Los Angeles Theatre marquee, 615 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, 1933

Posted on December 10, 2018 by

The spectacular Los Angeles Theatre on Broadway had an equally spectacular marquee. This shot was taken in 1933 when tickets cost 25cents for the main floor and 15 cents for the balcony. The double bill was“Night of Terror” and “Forgotten.” It’s interesting that they put WallaceFord’s name on the marquee when the movie starred Bela Lugosi. Also – what do you suppose was an “organlogue”? I assume it was a pre-show program featuringNick Lukas on the organ, but that’s a word I’ve never encountered before.

Box office of the Los Angeles Theater, Broadway, 1933

Mystery solved! Looks like it’s a prologue performed solely with an organ – but it still smells like a made-up word, if you ask me.https://vimeo.com/196651946

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