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Here we have a panoramic view of Hollywood, California, circa 1910. I couldn’t find much information on it, but I’m assuming that is Hollywood Boulevard running down the middle. It was originally called Prospect Ave but got a name change in the early 1910s, around this time. But there doesn’t appear to be a streetcar line, which came in around 1911, so the 1910 date seems about right. I love how pastoral this scene is with a few scattered houses, some open fields, and what looks like an orchard there in the center.
The Essanay Film Co. was a big deal during the silent era, making films that starred Charlie Chaplin, Ben Turpin, Francis X. Bushman, and many others. They also made the popular Broncho Billy westerns and gave Louella Parsons her start as a scenarist. Evidently, they were also inundated with unsolicited film treatments because they came up with this form letter explaining why they were rejecting your idea. Imagine if they saw today’s movies—they’d only need #17 on their list!
I never tire of seeing vintage photos of Los Angeles that show us a time when it was mostly just empty land and dirt roads. In this one, we get to see what Sunset Boulevard looked like when it was just a dirt road in 1905 at the corner of Normandie Ave. On the left, we can see a low fence and a white pole, so I’m guessing that was somebody’s ranch. But I can’t imagine they had many passers-by!
In this photo, we’re seeing Pacific Electric streetcar #13 on Central Ave at around 56th Street in 1893. As we can glimpse in the background, there isn’t much development at 56th Street, so I’m actually kind of surprised the Central Ave line went down that far. Somebody was obviously thinking ahead!
From the light reflected on a wet Wilshire Boulevard, I’d say the “Lawrence of Arabia” premiere at the Stanley-Warner Theatre (formerly the Warner Beverly Hills Theatre) took place on a rainy day in 1962. Still, that movie was an event so I’m sure its Hollywood opening was wall-to-wall glamor, if this photo is anything to go by.
For the benefit of non-Angelenos, the El Coyote Mexican restaurant is a bit of an LA institution. Nearly everybody I know agrees that while the food is only okay, the margaritas are killer-good, and the colorfully kitsch atmosphere makes everything festive. Its current location on Beverly Blvd (where it moved in 1951) was not its original one, though. It opened in 1931 at the location shown here, 105 N. La Brea Ave at 1st Street. This shot was taken in the 1940s and interestingly, it advertises “Spanish Food.” Question: Is that what we called Mexican food back then?
I find some photos striking not because they’ve captured an event or person, but because they’ve encapsulated daily life that would otherwise have dissipated to the ethers. In this photo from June 1919, we see Angelenos go about their business at the intersection of 3rd and Hill Streets in downtown LA near the 3rd Street Tunnel. That cafeteria on the left offered only vegetarian fare, which I would think would have been rather unusual back then.
In this circa late 1930s shot, we’re looking east down Wilshire Blvd from the Rodeo Drive corner. On the right, we can see the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, and on the left, the Victor Hugo restaurant. Its listing in the Los Angeles Guide for 1941 said: “The Victor Hugo – 233 N. Beverly Dr, Beverly Hills. Couvert after 9pm. The continental lunch is a gourmet’s favorite. First-rate French cuisine. Advance reservations necessary for the movie star’s impromptu Sunday night shows with dancing to name-bands.” Sound fun to me!
In 1905, a tobacco heir opened what he called “Venice of America” but came to be known as “Coney Island of the Pacific,” which we now refer to as Venice. The development never quite reached the lofty plans that Abbott Kinney had for it, but Venice was a sight to behold when it was new. This photograph was taken outside Saint Mark’s Hotel on Windward Ave, circa 1906, a year after Venice of America opened. Some of those arches are still there, but not that wonderful detail we can see above that elderly gentleman with the snowy beard.
This aerial view of Beverly Hills was taken around 1918, which was 6 years after the Beverly Hills Hotel opened. By that time, as we can see, Beverly Hills was finally starting to kick in with a few homes and the lush trees that now line every street have been planted and are beginning to grow. This photo shows where Crescent Drive, Beverly Drive, and Sunset Boulevard.