I don’t know who Ken was, but between his hamburgers, his ice cream stand, and his Dinner Bell restaurant, he must have been a busy guy. I could find no information on this photo or on any of Ken’s businesses other than they were somewhere in California. But in a way, this photo is kind of timeless, like a scene from a film noir where a schmo meets a femme fatale and tomfoolery ensues.
Gregory H. of Facebook found this terrific advertisement for Ken’s Hamburger drive-in restaurant, Bixby Knolls, Long Beach, California, 1952:
Newspaper article about Ken (Kenneth McConnell) from 1958
In all the vintage photos I’ve posted over the last 10+ years, I don’t recall seeing a traffic signal that looked like this one in Pasadena in 1928. With that black chord hanging from above, I assume the signal was powered by electricity. Can we assume those two lights were red and green? Those two semi-circular sections above them — one of them reads “STOP.” So can we also assume that the back of the right-hand one says “GO”?
This circa late 1930s photo proves that modern-day Angelenos haven’t been the only ones who had to put up with heavy traffic. In this circa late 1930s shot, we’re seeing an Alvarado St clogged with automobiles and streetcars. According to the caption, this was taken at Wilshire Blvd, which means those palm trees on the right line what was then known as Westlake Park, but was later renamed MacArthur Park, where someone famously left the cake out in the rain.
Being the destination of choice for winter-fleeing Easterners, Pasadena also offered its residents this large and graceful library at 285 East Walnut St. And with the lot across the street empty, there was also easy parking for all those practically identical cars. This photo was taken in 1930, when among the most popular novels were Edna Ferber’s “Cimarron” and William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying”, and Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon.” I wonder if any of the drivers of those cars were in the library asking for a copy of any of those books.
Whoa! So much going on in this photo taken during the premiere 20th Century-Fox’s first CinemaScope film, “The Robe” ahead of a 13-week run. In addition to the searchlights and electric banner across Grauman’s Chinese, we can glimpse the Hollywood Hotel in the shadows, and past it, the tower of the First National Bank building. And on the right we can see a huge sign for The London Store, which was a mini chain of a chain of upscale menswear. And in the foreground is something I don’t recall seeing before: a drug store called Roosevelt on the Hollywood Blvd/Orange Dr. corner opposite the Roosevelt Hotel from which this photo would have been taken.
Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park near Disneyland in Anaheim started out as a berry stand, then added a tea room which became a chicken dinner restaurant, and eventually a theme park. We can see the sign for the restaurant in the background of this 1960 color photograph. But it’s easy to be distracted by the buffet of late-50s American cars in the parking lot. According to someone who posted in the comments of a Tumblr that featured this photo, the cars are:
Like most movie studios, MGM had several entrances. This one looks different than how it is now because it’s now contained within the studio lot, and not on its perimeter. It was called the Eastern Gate and is next to the Thalberg Building, which was behind and to the left of the photographer. This photo was taken in 1939, when that building would have only been a year old, and the studio was reaching its zenith during what we now refer to as “Hollywood greatest year.” Those buildings with numbers on them are soundstages, and of course that great Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer sign could be seen for miles around.
And from the “They Sure Don’t Built ’em Like That Anymore” file comes the Pasadena Athletic Club at 425 E. Green St, corner of Los Robles St. I couldn’t find when it was built, but this photo is from 1926, back when they made buildings with unique character and atmosphere. The sign on the ground floor reads “Pacific Mortgage Company” and it looks like there could be other businesses on the ground floor. If this building is anything like the Hollywood Athletic Club on Sunset Blvd, it’s probably offered rooms as well as athletic facilities.
I can’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like to witness this disaster unfold. At 4.10pm on the afternoon of March 5, 1929, an electrical circuit sparked a fire at the Los Angeles Auto Show, which was being held under four large tents at the corner of Hill St and Washington Blvd south of downtown LA. None of the 2500 people attending the show were harmed, but the nearly 400 cars were ruined beyond saving. I’d imagine the pall of smoke (and the smell) must have hung in the air for days.
