Stan’s was a popular chain of drive-in restaurants that at its peak had over a dozen locations around LA. This one was at 2902 Wilshire Blvd at the southwest corner of Hoover St. It didn’t have a date, but going by those cars parked out front, I’m guessing mid 1950s. Drive-ins with a central tower to attract attention were a fairly common sight around LA in the 30s through 50s as were my favorite part of this photo: Those three phone booths tucked away in the background. I’m half-expecting Superman to emerge and launch himself into the air.
Mike F. says: “Stan’s was owned by Stan Burke. Who also owned a chain of Googies coffee shops.”
This is how that corner looked in November 2023.
This photo show us how quickly the Cinerama Dome was built. It opened at 6360 Sunset Blvd in Hollywood on November 7, 1963, however this photo was taken a scant 15 weeks before the opening, which dates this photo at around the beginning of August. I don’t know how long it takes to build a full theater from scratch these days – or even back then – but 15 weeks sounds like a short time to me. But I suspect that was the appeal of the concept: to have a fully functional movie theater up and running in a relative short amount of time. From this photo we can also see that Stanley Kramer’s “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” was already booked in to be the movie that opened the Dome. I love how you could call MAD.1100 for tickets!
A couple of days ago I posted a photo of the Universalist Church on N. Raymond Ave in Pasadena. A follower of my main Facebook page, Nick Lewis, posted this photo in the comments, which I felt was worth featuring. Known as the Wooster building, it was built in 1887 as the home of Throop University (forerunner to Caltech) and stands on the corner of Fair Oaks Ave and Kansas St (now Green St) in Pasadena. What a marvelous testament to 19th century architecture, and how builders back then took so much care to imbue their projects with texture, details, and individuality.
For nearly 30 years I’ve driven past the Casa de Cadillac showroom on the southwest corner of Ventura Blvd and Beverly Glen Blvd in Sherman Oaks and always admired its sleek 50s-era signage. But until I found this two-for-one image didn’t I think to look into its history. In 1948, a gas station opened up next door to Casa de Cadillac. Naturally it was called “Casa de Petrol” but not because of the dealership, but because that intersection was known as “Casa Corner” as it also included a Casa burger stand and a “Casa de Cascade” car wash. But even more interesting is that, Casa de Petrol was the final stop in Los Angeles that 24-year-old James Dean made on September 19, 1955. At around 2pm, he gassed up his new Porsche 550 Spyder before setting out on the drive up the coast that took his life.
What a remarkable building this is! I wouldn’t have even picked this as a church, but apparently it was the Unitarian Universalist Church located on the southeast corner of Chestnut and Raymond Streets in Pasadena. The photo was taken in 1890, and we can see the streets aren’t even paved yet – note the ruts in the dirt caused by the wheels from horse-drawn carriages. The detailing on the exterior walls is striking, but especially that domed tower!
I had never heard of the Angelus Hotel before I came across this sadly atmospheric photo taken in 1956, just before it was torn down. The hotel stood on the southwest corner of Spring and 4th Streets and opened for business on December 28, 1901 with a bowling alley, billiards room, buffet, and what was described as “a finely furnished ladies’ hair dressing parlor, with professional attendants.” It sounded like it was the height of 1901 elegance. How sad to see it like this with “Auction” and “Close Out Sale” signs and its entrance covered with grime and neglect.
The movie studio at 9336 Washington Blvd in Culver City has changed through many hands and been known as many things over the years. In 1927, Cecil B. DeMille sold his interest in a film company known as Pathé, which in turn was acquired by RKO in January 1931. The always-cashed-strapped RKO mostly profited from ownership of the lot by renting out the soundstages, occasionally using it themselves, which they did for “King Kong.” (1933) In 1935, film producer, David O. Selznick leased the studio for his newly formed Selznick International Pictures. This photo would have been taken sometime between 1931 and 1935, even though these days, movie fans are more likely to recognize the studio’s main building from Selznick logo.
Like most early studio heads, William Selig started making short silent films back east (in Selig’s case, Chicago) before moving to Los Angeles for the year-round filmmaking-friendly weather. Settling first in Edendale (near Echo Park), Selig eventually outgrew his original space and moved to the movie studio lot we can see in this undated aerial photo at 3800 Mission Rd, Lincoln Heights northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Somewhere along the line, Selig also built a zoo, which, when it opened in 1915, housed over 700 animals, most of which would be used for filming. By 1917, Selig was out of the movie-making business but his zoo, that was open to the public, stuck around until 1938.
In this circa 1930s photo taken outside the Hollywood 