These days, it’s virtually impossible to see where the streetcar line used to run down the middle of Santa Monica Boulevard but in this 1933 photograph, we can see how it cut a wide swath down the center of the street in West Hollywood. This was taken at around 8570, which put it approximately opposite where the Ramada Hotel now stands.
In the distance we can see a building on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Westbourne Drive that’s still there so I put together a side-by-side comparison:
My thanks to Bob Stock who sent me these two images. They appeared in a 1931 edition of “The Playgoer” program from his grandparents collection. I don’t know which I love more – the stunning artwork on the front cover or the back-cover ad for Gus Arnheim at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub at the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard.
It took 16 months of construction, but when the Santa Monica pier opened in 1909 it was a big deal. Thousands of people swarmed onto the 1,600-foot-long concrete pier to enjoy a festive day of band concerts, swimming races and the novelty of walking above the waters of the Pacific Ocean (which is something we just take for granted these days, don’t we?) And to celebrate, this colorized postcard was produced, showing people “the new” pier at Santa Monica. Look at how formally those people are dressed. I hope for their sake it was winter when this photo was taken.
It’s odd to think of the Hollywood Hotel as being a country resort but that’s virtually what it was when it opened in 1903. This photo was taken in 1907 when a little more development had taken place. (In the foreground we can glimpse the field behind Hollywood High School, which also opened in 1903.) But much of the surrounding space is still empty fields and farmland, especially south of Hollywood Boulevard, which back then was still called Prospect Avenue.
This photo was taken in 1903, the year the hotel opened. There is so much open land that you have to wonder why they built a hotel there at all. Who was going to stay there?!?!
Here we have a photo of the very first house in Hollywood. This adobe was built in 1853 by Don Tómas Urquidez near what is now the corner of Franklin Ave and Outpost Drive, which puts it a couple of blocks west of where the Magic Castle now stands. The house was known as The Outpost so I’m guessing that’s where the Outpost Estates to its direct north drew its name. Miraculously, the house lasted until 1924; this photo was taken around 1905.
Before The Hollywood Reporter’s owner, Billy Wilkerson, opened the Café Trocadero on the Sunset Strip on September 17, 1934, the place was a warehouse that he was using to store his alcohol after Prohibition was repealed (and perhaps before…?) He decided to turn it into a black tie, French-inspired nightclub and then claimed it was sold out for the weeks. The ruse took guts but it worked because the place soon became the hottest nightclub in town. Judging from the 1938 De Soto taxi out front, this photo is probably late 1930s, by which time Wilkerson had sold it to a gambler named Nola Hahn who relaunched the place with a gala dinner that included a performance by new singing sensation, Mary Martin.
Why, oh why do they not make markets with towers anymore? Sure, it would be more expensive up front, but it would create a landmark that potential shoppers could see for miles. I’m glad Jess Willard thought that way when he built his market at 1334 Vine Street, Hollywood, just south of De Longpre Ave. This photo was taken on October 30, 1931 just as the Depression was starting to really kick in. I wonder how long his market stayed open. It may have been a while—the building is there (without the tower, of course) and is now a post-production house.
Most photos of what’s thought of as “the original Brown Derby” is actually the rebuilt Brown Derby that stood at Wilshire Blvd and Alexandria Ave. But the original original Brown Derby was built at 3427 Wilshire between Mariposa and Alexandria, and that’s the one pictured in this photo. It opened in 1926; the car parked in front of the neighboring billboard is a circa-1929 Nash, so I’m guessing this photo is circa 1930. On the billboard to the right, I can make out “Richards”, “Distinctive”, and “Door” – does anybody know/guess what they were advertising?
This is the Baine Building 6609 Hollywood Blvd, at Whitley Ave, circa 1928. I wanted to highlight it for a few reasons. Firstly, because it’s a gorgeous Spanish revival building, full of character and appealing detail like the triangular cutaway above the doorway on the corner. Secondly, it’s still there which in LA is a minor miracle. But I also because it was built for businessman Harry Baine who was the guy behind the creation of the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade. During the holiday season of 1928, hoping to promote his business, Baine renamed Hollywood Boulevard “Santa Claus Lane” and hired real reindeer to pull sleighs down the street. Here’s what I want to know: where did he find real reindeer in Southern California?
The Baine building in April 1927, when the tailoring firm of Watson & Son was the main tenant:
The Baine building in April 2018:
For shots of inside the penthouse at the top of this building, go HERE:
Mimetic architecture—a novelty style in which the designs mimic the purpose or function of the building—was a very popular thing in LA during the first half of the 20th century. Most of them didn’t last long, mainly because they weren’t built stay the distance. But this gem was around from the late 1920s to at least the late 1950s. It opened in 1927 as a nightclub called the Pumpkin Palace at 3611 Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, although I’m not sure why anybody thought a pumpkin-shaped nightclub was the way to go.
In the early 1930s, it had become the Studio Club:
By 1935, the Pumpkin Palace had reincarnated into a church called the Valley Gospel Center:
By 1938, it was the offices Stan Summeril Real Estate:
In the 1950s the Pumpkin building had become the Magnolia Park Hardware store. (The car parked out front is a 1949 Chrysler.)
And by the late 1950s (this photo is dated 1957) it had become the Pumpkin Inn:
The owners of the Pumpkin Inn went all out in the publicity department!
And naturally, it’s now been replaced by a series of unremarkable stores:
These days, it’s virtually impossible to see where the streetcar line used to run down the middle of Santa Monica Boulevard but in this 1933 photograph, we can see how it cut a wide swath down the center of the street in West Hollywood. This was taken at around 8570, which put it approximately opposite where the Ramada Hotel now stands.
It took 16 months of construction, but when the Santa Monica pier opened in 1909 it was a big deal. Thousands of people swarmed onto the 1,600-foot-long concrete pier to enjoy a festive day of band concerts, swimming races and the novelty of walking above the waters of the Pacific Ocean (which is something we just take for granted these days, don’t we?) And to celebrate, this colorized postcard was produced, showing people “the new” pier at Santa Monica. Look at how formally those people are dressed. I hope for their sake it was winter when this photo was taken.
It’s odd to think of the Hollywood Hotel as being a country resort but that’s virtually what it was when it opened in 1903. This photo was taken in 1907 when a little more development had taken place. (In the foreground we can glimpse the field behind Hollywood High School, which also opened in 1903.) But much of the surrounding space is still empty fields and farmland, especially south of Hollywood Boulevard, which back then was still called Prospect Avenue.
Here we have a photo of the very first house in Hollywood. This adobe was built in 1853 by Don Tómas Urquidez near what is now the corner of Franklin Ave and Outpost Drive, which puts it a couple of blocks west of where the Magic Castle now stands. The house was known as The Outpost so I’m guessing that’s where the Outpost Estates to its direct north drew its name. Miraculously, the house lasted until 1924; this photo was taken around 1905.
Before The Hollywood Reporter’s owner, Billy Wilkerson, opened the Café Trocadero on the Sunset Strip on September 17, 1934, the place was a warehouse that he was using to store his alcohol after Prohibition was repealed (and perhaps before…?) He decided to turn it into a black tie, French-inspired nightclub and then claimed it was sold out for the weeks. The ruse took guts but it worked because the place soon became the hottest nightclub in town. Judging from the 1938 De Soto taxi out front, this photo is probably late 1930s, by which time Wilkerson had sold it to a gambler named Nola Hahn who relaunched the place with a gala dinner that included a performance by new singing sensation, Mary Martin.
Why, oh why do they not make markets with towers anymore? Sure, it would be more expensive up front, but it would create a landmark that potential shoppers could see for miles. I’m glad Jess Willard thought that way when he built his market at 1334 Vine Street, Hollywood, just south of De Longpre Ave. This photo was taken on October 30, 1931 just as the Depression was starting to really kick in. I wonder how long his market stayed open. It may have been a while—the building is there (without the tower, of course) and is now a post-production house.
Most photos of what’s thought of as “the original Brown Derby” is actually the rebuilt Brown Derby that stood at Wilshire Blvd and Alexandria Ave. But the original original Brown Derby was built at 3427 Wilshire between Mariposa and Alexandria, and that’s the one pictured in this photo. It opened in 1926; the car parked in front of the neighboring billboard is a circa-1929 Nash, so I’m guessing this photo is circa 1930. On the billboard to the right, I can make out “Richards”, “Distinctive”, and “Door” – does anybody know/guess what they were advertising?
This is the Baine Building 6609 Hollywood Blvd, at Whitley Ave, circa 1928. I wanted to highlight it for a few reasons. Firstly, because it’s a gorgeous Spanish revival building, full of character and appealing detail like the triangular cutaway above the doorway on the corner. Secondly, it’s still there which in LA is a minor miracle. But I also because it was built for businessman Harry Baine who was the guy behind the creation of the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade. During the holiday season of 1928, hoping to promote his business, Baine renamed Hollywood Boulevard “Santa Claus Lane” and hired real reindeer to pull sleighs down the street. Here’s what I want to know: where did he find real reindeer in Southern California?
Mimetic architecture—a novelty style in which the designs mimic the purpose or function of the building—was a very popular thing in LA during the first half of the 20th century. Most of them didn’t last long, mainly because they weren’t built stay the distance. But this gem was around from the late 1920s to at least the late 1950s. It opened in 1927 as a nightclub called the Pumpkin Palace at 3611 Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, although I’m not sure why anybody thought a pumpkin-shaped nightclub was the way to go.
