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This aerial photo gives us a taste of what it was like to fly over Los Angeles in 1933 (on May 3rd at 10:30 am, to be precise.) We’re looking down at the intersection of Adams Blvd and Figueroa St south of downtown LA near the USC campus. The church is St. Vincent de Paul, and across the street is the headquarters of the Auto Club. For 1933, I’m surprised this area is as filled in as it is, with lots and lots of trees. I do wonder what that long white building on the right is. I’m guessing it’s an oversized greenhouse, and perhaps connected to the nearby Doheny mansion, owned by oil baron Edward L. Doheny.
The church and the Auto Club HQ are both still there. But as we can see from this September 2022 satellite image, the 110 Freeway now cuts through this neighborhood.
1930s Los Angeles was knee-deep in cafeterias. They were everywhere: Ontra, Schaber’s, Clifton’s, Stillwell, None Such, and don’t forget the Vegetarian Cafeteria next to Angels Flight. One of the most well-known was the Boos Bros Cafeteria. There were four brothers in all, and their restaurant, pictured here, was at 530 S. Hill St in downtown LA, opposite Pershing Square. I especially love the vaguely Tudoresque architecture contrasting with the very modern typeface they used for their logo in the windows. And from those banners hanging from the second floor, we can date this to the Los Angeles Olympic games in August 1932.
In this beautifully crisp photo, we’re looking southeast across downtown Los Angeles past St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, which is the one with the pointy tower. Past it, that expanse of trees is what we now know as Pershing Square. This photo is from 1913, so it was then still known Central Park. But the detail that catches my eye is that pale building down in front – the “Young Women’s Boarding Home” which I had never heard of before. It stood at 514 S. Grand Ave, and was run by the Salvation Army, and was torn down to make way for L.A.’s Biltmore Hotel, which opened in 1923. It looks to be quite a large place and has me wondering if it housed any young and independent women who eventually made it into the flickers.
Most photos of the Carthay Circle Theatre at 6316 San Vicente Blvd are (understandably) taken much closer – all the better to appreciate that striking tower. But it makes for a pleasant change to see it more in context from farther back. We’re looking south from McCarthy Vista towards Henry Lion’s “the Miner’s Statue” in the triangular park across San Vicente boulevard. Even though it is an iconic Los Angeles movie palace, it’s nice to be reminded that it was also a neighborhood cinema, where local Angelenos saw movies that we now watch on TCM.
In this gorgeously gritty image, we’re looking west along the south side of Hollywood Blvd from Las Palmas Ave. On the corner is the ticket office for the Union Pacific railway, and past it we can see the blade sign for the Egyptian Theatre. Playing at the time was “Oklahoma!” which had its Los Angeles premiere on November 17, 1955, so I’m guessing this photo was taken later that year. And opposite it on the north side we can see Pickwick Books, an iconic Hollywood Blvd bookstore that was open from 1938 to 1995.
In this view, we’re looking east long Wilshire Blvd from Normandie Ave. It was taken on December 14, 1949 (note the Christmas wreath on the Wilshire Special streetlight on the right.) It reminds us how Wilshire Blvd wasn’t always a long corridor with tall buildings looming on each side. In fact, in this photo we can see one of the large homes that still stood on Wilshire. On the plus side, we can see Bullock’s Wilshire tower, the Immanuel Presbyterian Church, and the pylon at the driveway of the Ambassador Hotel, all of which are still with us. And a special shout-out to the driver of that two-toned Pontiac!
What looks like a bunch of people standing around in overcoats is actually moment of Hollywood history in the making. It was taken at the Selznick studios lot in Culver City, the night of December 10, 1938. Selznick and his crew had used some old movie sets (namely The Last of the Mohicans, King Kong, The Garden of Allah, King of Kings, and Little Lord Fauntleroy) to recreate the burning of Atlanta for “Gone with the Wind.” It was also the night that David Selznick’s brother, Myron, brought his newly-signed client, Vivien Leigh, to meet David for the first time. She’d been on his radar as an outside-chance Scarlett. That’s David Selznick near the center of the photo with a cigar in his mouth and Vivien Leigh standing next to him in a hat. He later said that that he took one look and knew she was perfect. And he was right.
Film promoters like Sid Grauman would resort to anything to encourage people to come see films at his Chinese Theater—including a statue. The movie he was advertising was Douglas Fairbanks Sr’s “The Gaucho” set in Argentina. It had its world premiere at Grauman’s Chinese on November 4, 1927 ahead of a 12-week run. We have two clues about where this statue stood. In the left background we can see the Fox Belmont Theatre, which stood at 126 S. Vermont Ave, and on the right we can see the massive El Patio Ballroom (later the Palomar) which covered a whole block on Vermont between 2nd and 3rd Street. I assume the statue was made of plaster and was disposed of after the run of the movie, but wouldn’t it be great if it was still around? Although where anyone would put something like this is a mystery.
This photo from 1947 gives us a glimpse of what Rodeo Drive used to look like before it became a mecca of high-end designer brands. That transformation started in 1961 with the opening of the first expensive boutique: Giorgio Beverly Hills, and then really kicked up a notch when Gucci opened in 1968. But back in the ’40s, Rodeo Dr. was just a local shopping strip. The London Shop and Walter-Morton sold clothes and someone told me that he thought Chapman-Pollock (whose typeface I love) was a realtor. I especially love the irony of the two American flags outside of a store called “The London Shop.”
