This shot of Simon’s Sandwiches Drive-In was taken at the northwest corner of Wilshire Blvd and Fairfax Ave where the Google-style Johnie’s Coffee Shop now stands. By the looks of this photo, I’d say that Simon’s lot took in the apartment building to Johnie’s north and the 99 Cent Store to the west. This photo was taken in 1939 so the now-iconic May Company department store building on the northeast corner wasn’t even there yet—or perhaps was being built when this photo was taken as that building opened in 1940.Brown Derby restaurant at night, 3377 Wilshire Blvd, as seen from Alexandria Ave, Los Angeles, early 1940s
A follower of this page, Linda Cervon, sent me some vintage photos of LA from her collection and kindly allowed me to post some of them. This one is my favorite: a circa early 1940s night shot of the Brown Derby as seen from Alexandria Ave looking south toward the Ambassador Hotel, where we can see the neon sign for the Cocoanut Grove. It’s so deliciously noir that I think I might faint.
The Hollywood Bowl with fountains at the front, 1962
During most of the 1950s and 60s (this photo is from 1962) the Hollywood Bowl had fountains in front of the stage. I assume they only ran before the show started otherwise they’d get in the way of seeing the act, wouldn’t they? Accordingly to one report I read, they were taken out in the late 60’s after concertgoers started jumping into them to get closer to the performers. That’s probably around the same time the Bowl’s managers figured they could charge primo prices for seats right next to the stage.
Daniel said: The fountains only ran before the show, then the pool became a “reflecting pool” during the performance. There was also a walkway that could be extended from the stage so that performers could stroll down the middle of the pool to get closer to the audiences. I had always assumed the reason they got rid of the pool had to do with increasing seating at a premium price. I had never heard about people jumping in to rush the stage but it wouldn’t surprise me, especially during pop concerts.
Alfred Dunhill Shop, 136 S Rodeo Dr, Beverly Hills, 1951
While I’m no fan of cigarettes or smoking or all-things-tobacco-related, I have to admit that the Alfred Dunhill Shop at 136 S Rodeo Dr. in Beverly Hills did make for a very smart store—especially with the way they’ve back-lit the famous ‘dunhill’ logo. This photo is from 1951.
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Tagged Beverly Hills, Night photo, Rodeo Drive, Stores and Shopping
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A publicity shot of the newly completed LAX Theme restaurant at Los Angeles International Airport, 1963
The iconic LAX Theme restaurant at Los Angeles International Airport was completed in August of 1961 (at a cost of $2.2 million) and heralded in the jet-set age of air travel. This is a publicity picture taken with an airline pilot, air stewardess, and a slick 1963 Corvette Sting Ray as futuristic is the building behind them. But look how empty the land behind them looks. All that space! These days, it’s almost lost amid the hubbub of LAX.
David said: “I believe it was taken as a Fall 1962 factory promo shot, as that is when the new model split-window Corvette was introduced.”
And here is the building under construction in 1960:
A Pacific Electric Red Car heads east along Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, early 1950s
I’m so glad this early 1950s shot was in color because we can see the splash of a vibrant Pacific Electric Red Car heading east along Santa Monica Blvd at Western Blvd. In this one photo there is a bunch of stuff we don’t see much of anymore: Red Car, Sears, Ace (Rexall) Drug Co. store, and a woody station wagon.
The big “V” advertising the Vinecrest development at the end of Vine Street, Hollywood hills, 1925
Most people think the top end of Vine Street in Hollywood ends at the Hollywood Freeway but, in fact, it continues north into the Hollywood hills. In 1925 some real estate developer decided to construct a huge “V” to publicize his Vinecrest development. I’d imagine he took his inspiration from the Hollywood sign, which was erected late 1923 and probably cemented Los Angeles’s reputation as The City of Big Letters.
The Brown Derby restaurant, Vine St, Hollywood, circa early to mid 70s
I normally focus on presenting photos of LA and Hollywood up to around the end of the 1950s, mainly because the Garden of Allah closed in summer of 1959 and that’s the focus of my research. But I have to make an exception with this circa early-to-mid-70s shot of the Vine Street Brown Derby because it shows us what that Derby would have looked like—in color, which a kind of rare—up until the time of the 1987 fire that ended its glorious 58-year run. I was surprised to see it painted a dark brown until I realized, “Well, it is the BROWN Derby…”
Looking northwest toward Hollywood from the roof of the Carthay Circle Theater, circa 1930
In this circa 1930 shot, we’re afforded a rare opportunity to take in the view from the roof of the Carthay Circle Theatre on San Vicente Blvd. The photographer was facing northwest toward Hollywood so that line of white buildings a couple of blocks away would have been Wilshire Blvd and we can see that the land south of Wilshire was still largely undeveloped—but not for much longer, I imagine.
See also: View looking northeast across Los Angeles from top of Carthay Circle Theatre on San Vicente Blvd, circa 1929
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Tagged Aerial photographs, Carthay Circle Theater, Theaters, Wilshire Blvd
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