The photographer who took this color photo was standing on Selma Ave and looking west across Vine St in Hollywood to two landmark buildings during the circa mid-1950s: the American Broadcasting Co’s studios, which by then would have been making television programs, and the Santa Fe Railway’s ticket office. But to be honest, the sign that intrigues me the most of the small one on the left: Sachson’s Mens Shop. I assume it was a menswear store, but I’ve never encountered it before. And neither has Google, which isn’t something I get to say very often.
** UPDATE ** – A couple of people on my Facebook page discovered that Milton Sachson’s first store was located inside the CBS Radio Theater (originally the Wilkes Vine St Theater) which Huntington Hartford bought in the summer of 1953. So I’m guessing Sachson subsequently moved down the street to the location we can see in the above photo, which was at 1523 Vine, which he opened on March 31, 1955 according to this Los Angeles Evening Citizen News.
This is roughly how that view looked in August 2022.
Here we have a photo of a movie house called College Theater (so named because it was around the corner from the State Normal School, which was a teaching college.) It was at 449 S. Hill St in downtown Los Angeles which also put in a block from Pershing Square right in the heart of downtown. The double bill at the time was “Blonde by Choice” and “Pretty Clothes” both of which came out in late 1927. By the time this photo was taken, “The Jazz Singer” had come out, so places like this were on the way out—even if all seats were 10 cents, as the sign says.
I could find very little information about this promotional advertisement for the merchants of Hollywood Blvd, other than it was placed by the Hollywood Blvd Association at 6605 Hollywood Blvd. The person who sent it to me says it’s circa 1930, which sounds about right. Among the merchants listed in the building on the southwest corner of Hollywood and Vine is B.H. Dyas, which opened their store in 1927 and lasted only until 1931, when it fell victim to the Depression, and became the Broadway-Hollywood department store. With its text that says “Drop in on the style center of the world – November 15th, 16th, 17th” I’d say the association was doing a special promo to attract customers to the boulevard. If had any empty wall space, I’d been tempted to print this out and put it in a nice frame.
In this photo, we’re looking up Hill St from 4th St in downtown Los Angeles. In the distance, we can see the arches of (I think) 2nd St before it angled up the Bunker Hill slope. This photo was taken in 1939, when the streets of Los Angeles featured at least three things we don’t see anymore: five-globe streetlights (far right), semaphore traffic signal (far left), and up the center, a streetcar. From the sign, it looks like it’s going to the corner of Adams (Blvd) and Alsace (Ave), which I had to look up. It’s the stretch of Adams Blvd as it starts to head into Culver City, which is quite a distance from where this photo was taken.
Yesterday, I posted a photo looking west along Hollywood Blvd from Vine in 1936. One of the comments on that post was from Quentin Hall, who posted this wonderful photo. It was taken maybe fifty feet from yesterday’s photo, also in 1936. The photographer of this night shot was standing at the semaphore traffic signal on the southeast corner of Hollywood and Vine, back when semaphores were a common sight around LA. In the background, near the center of the photo we can see the two-story lighting for Sardi’s restaurant. Opening in 1932, it was destroyed by fire on November 2, 1936, so we know this photo was taken before then.
Filming on the corner of Hollywood and Vine would be a lot more complicated these days, but back in 1936, when this photo was taken, all it seemed to take was a couple of cops. I’m exaggerating, of course, but it does seem low-key. The photographer who took this shot was standing on Vine St, looking west along Hollywood Blvd. On the far right, we can see the sign for the CoCo Tree Café, which stood on the northwest corner of Hollywood and Vine from 1932 to 1940 in what was then called the Laemmle Building. Carl Laemmle owned Universal studios, whose movie posters we can see lining the top of the building. At that time they were promoting “Dracula’s Daughter” which was released on May 11, 1936.
I willingly admit to being a fan of mimetic architecture, which is a term used to describe a building constructed in an unusual shape as a novelty, often reflecting the business it houses. Over the years, Los Angeles has had more than its fair share of mimetic architecture, but I think this one is my favorite. It was the office of Sphinx Realty, which stood at 537 N. Fairfax Ave. Why they chose to use the Sphinx as their logo, I don’t know. It’s not like permanence has ever been a feature of LA architecture. It was, however, memorable, and I guess that was the point. From the cars parked out front, I’d say this photo is circa mid-1920s.
Here we have a crisp color photo of the Hollywood Plaza Hotel taken from the eastern side of Vine St, south of the famous Hollywood and Vine intersection. The black and white car parked out front is a 1955 Plymouth which gives us a good idea when this photo was taken. The hotel opened in 1924, and was well placed to accommodate tourists and performers who came to LA to perform on the nearby radio studios of NBC, ABC, and CBS. We can see a yellow sign at the left-hand end of the marquee for The Westerner. Its full name was The Westerner Lounge-Grill and occupied a space that was known by 
I don’t know if Buckley’s at 5101 S. Figueroa St, south of downtown LA actually served the good food as advertised on their neon sign, but from the looks of their opening night on April 10, 1937, they gave it their best shot. Saving one spotlight to shine on the restaurant and staff gathered out front, they also had two other ones dramatically shining into the night sky that I’m sure people for miles around could see.
