As you may have heard, Los Angeles has been subject to a lot of weather these past few days: an atmospheric river that brought us nearly half a year’s worth of rain (if news services can be believed.) So I thought I’d post this photo taken in 1948, when LA also received unusual weather — snow! — outside 14248 Sylvan St, Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. Snowfall in LA isn’t unheard of, but on this particular occasion it looks like they got quite a coating. That layer on the hedge looks to be several inches deep.
For what it’s worth, this is what you see when you plug “14248 Sylvan St, Van Nuys” into the Google Machine. This image is from October 2022.
One of the comments on yesterday’s photo of the Chaplin Studios was from Andrew John Smith, who posted this photo taken the same year, circa September 1925. It’s the El Capitan Theatre under construction at 6838 Hollywood Blvd. These days, we know it as a movie palace, but when it opened on May 3, 1926 it was a legitimate house whose first stage show was “Charlotte’s Revue of 1926” starring Gertrude Lawrence. It didn’t convert to movies until 1937. But in this photo we can see the Masonic Temple, which had opened in 1921. And in the background we can see the Hotel Christie, which had opened in 1922. All three of these buildings are still around so, in a way, what we’re seeing is the Hollywood Blvd we know today starting to take shape.
This is the sort of photo (I’m guessing a postcard) that I’d love to dive into and take an evening stroll in. We’re looking west from the Warner Bros. Theatre at 6433 Hollywood Blvd. The year was probably 1962 because the movie playing at the time was “The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” – a Cinerama format picture (put out, ironically, by MGM.) In a street sizzling with neon lights, it’s the huge Coca-Cola sign that dominated the scene during this era.
** UPDATE ** – Apparently this photo was taken in 1954.
One of LA’s most popular streetcar routes was the one that took Angelinos along Hollywood Blvd. However when the original tracks were laid, Hollywood Blvd was still known by its original name, Prospect Ave. Lucky for us, some intrepid photographer captured this image of the Los Angeles Pacific Railway laying down the tracks on what looks to be a dirt road. Work on the route began on December 15, 1899, and took five months to complete. So I’m guesstimating this photo was taken circa early 1900. When I look at images like these, I can’t help but wonder what those road workers would think if they saw how Hollywood Blvd looks these days.
Two days ago I posted a photo from the 1920s 
Bob’s Big Boy was a chain of Southern California diners that was started by Bob Wian in 1936. There was 9 restaurants in total, only one of which remains in operation (in Toluca Lake, near Warner Bros.) The one pictured in this rather atmospheric night shot from 1948 was at 624 S. San Fernando Blvd in Burbank. From the look of the signage, it seems they served something for everyone: chili, steaks, sandwiches, salads, and of course hamburgers, known as the Bob’s Big Boy.
A couple of days ago, I posted a photo of 