Since its creation in 1866, Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles has had many names and taken many forms. In the early 1950s, the whole thing was dug up so that a 5-level underground parking structure could be built. This photo was taken in 1968 by which time the grass and trees planted in the thin layer of top soil had had a chance to take root, but oh dear, the whole thing looks rather forlorn, doesn’t it?
This is how Pershing Square looked in May 2022. Not much better, is it?
In this color photo, we’re looking west along Hollywood Blvd from Cherokee Ave. This was taken in 1968 by which time the streetcar tracks had been ripped up and the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame had reached as far as Cherokee. There’s no telling what day of the week this photo was taken on, but the boulevard doesn’t look too busy. Musso & Frank Grill is still there, as is the Vogue Theatre (these days known as the Vogue Multicultural Museum, whatever that is.) And in the distance past the white building with the tower we can see a glimpse of the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Hollywood building, which opened in 1959, having replaced the Hollywood Hotel.
This is how that view looked in May 2022. The boulevard looks just as deserted but distinctly greener. We can’t even see the Musso & Frank sign!
On January 25, 1958, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz closed escrow on the Culver City studios and backlot that had once belonged to RKO-Pathé and before that David O. Selznick. After paying $6,150,000, they took possession of the property and hung out the Desilu shingle. After that, television soon became the primary business conducted on the site. You can always tell which studio this is by the iconic multi-columned admin building known as The Mansion, which Selznick used as his logo.
Here is a list of show made by Desilu Productions in 1964:
The studios are still there, now known as the Culver Studios and is where Amazon films most of its films and TV shows. This image is from a November 2021 article on Urbanize.
There’s something about (I presume this is) a Kodachrome photo that brings a scene to life with vibrant color. We’re looking north up Highland Ave from Hollywood Blvd. That light blue car on the left is a circa 1961 Porsche, so let’s call this shot circa early 1960s. That blade neon sign on the right: Power House Cocktails makes me wonder how strong those cocktails were! It’s also a little weird to see the Hollywood United Methodist Church without its huge red ribbon that it first erected in 1993 to honor World AIDS Day and is still there.
My thanks to David G. for finding this photo.
Ken S says: “I feel like I see black license plates, which would make it at least 1963.”
Bill M says: “The vibrant blues and slightly subdued reds make me think Ektachrome rather than Kodachrome.”
Johnny B says: “This is a digitally colorized image from a beautiful b&w original. I can tell right away by the pink roadway, but the other hues lack any subtlety (as well as mostly being guesses.)
This is how that same view looked in May 2022. All those stores on the right have now been replaced by apartment buildings.
I don’t normally post photos as late as the 1970s, but this one was too cute not to. The movie musical “Mame” starring Lucille Ball had its premiere at the Cinerama Dome on Sunset Blvd on March 27, 1974. (We can see the crowds gathered on either side of the entrance waiting for all the stars to arrive.) It was Easter time, so someone in the publicity decided to give the Dome an enormous Easter bonnet, which can’t have been easy or cheap, because it’s 70 feet tall.
William D says: “The installation was handled by the WB Drapery department!”
Mark W says: “The great WB press agent Marty Weiser thought this up. He was brilliant.”
I also found this daytime photo:
How cute is this? These kids gathered outside a Signal gas station at 2222 W. Florence Ave because they belonged to the Signal Tarzan club. It took me a while to figure out that Signal gasoline’s logo was of Tarzan fighting an alligator with the motto “The Power of Tarzan.” It explains why so many of those little boys are dressed up in their Tarzan outfits. I also love how Signal’s sign included a pair of semaphore traffic signals.
Maggie N says: “Exxon bought out Signal in the 1960s.”
Laura G says: “It was a great marketing ploy. Probably one of the earliest and one of the most successful. – “Warmly acclaimed by thousands of parents for its constructive program of healthful activity for boys and girls and for the ideals of respect and obedience, helpfulness and loyalty, the Tarzan Club has, perhaps, done more to build up goodwill for the Company and its products than any other one factor.” SIGNAL DEALER NEWS Vol. 2 No. 4 Published by the Signal Oil and Gas Co. in the Interest of its Dealers ~ May, 1933”
Here is a close up of some of those boys in Tarzan outfits.
They even had their own membership cards:
A collection of six advertisements in which we can see how Signal really leaned into the whole “Power of Tarzan” thing.
2222 West Florence Ave (not far from LA International Airport) is now home to something called Love of God Missionary Baptist church. This image is from January 2023.
Yesterday, I featured a photo of the Hollywood Freeway taken from the Pilgrimage Bridge in 1952. While researching the history of the Pilgrimage Play, I came across this photo of the stage of the outdoor theater where the play was mounted. After the original wooden amphitheater burned down in a brush fire in 1929, the place was rebuilt – this time, sensibly, with concrete – to resemble the gates of Jerusalem and the play went on until a lawsuit in 1964 forced its closure due to its religious nature. A 44-year run is pretty good by anyone’s standards.
This is how the stage of the Ford Amphitheater looked after its 2017 renovation.
If only the Hollywood Freeway was still like it was when this photo was taken in 1952. We’re looking north through the Cahuenga Pass (on the left are parts of the freeway is still under construction) when there were still streetcar lines running down the middle. This shot was taken from the Pilgrimage Bridge which takes drivers from Cahuenga Rd to the Ford Amphitheatre. It’s called the Pilgrimage Bridge because The Ford started out life in 1920 as a venue for “The Pilgrimage Play” which was performed every summer throughout the 1920s.
This satellite image from May 2022 shows us where the Pilgrimage Bridge is in relation to The Ford on the right and the Hollywood Bowl on the left.
I don’t have a lot of information about this photo (so if you have anything to add, I’d love to hear from you) other than this must be Wilshire Blvd because those street lights were made specifically for Wilshire and were called Wilshire Specials. My guess is that we’re looking east somewhere toward the downtown end of Wilshire. All I know for sure is that I’d love it if traffic along Wilshire Blvd was still like this.
Shawn B. says: “Well, that’s St. James Episcopal Church near the top of the picture on the right side of the street. It’s located at 3903 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, California. So maybe this picture was taken from the newly-finished Wiltern Theater (3790 Whilshire Blvd?” The year of the vehicles and the lighting suggest that this was a picture from the early 30s.”
This link says: “Traffic on Wilshire Boulevard west of Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 1932”
Following on from yesterday’s photo of the Hollywood gasometer next to the Goldwyn Studios, this aerial shot is of the same studios but from an earlier time. Before Sam Goldwyn owned them, they were known as the Pickford-Fairbanks Studios, and is where Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks Sr shot many of their movies. The road running along the left side is Santa Monica Blvd and the large set on the right is from “Robin Hood” which Fairbanks shot in 1922. Farther to the right (i.e. to the south of the boulevard) we see nothing but empty (and probably gloriously cheap) land.
Here is a close up of that awesome “Robin Hood” set:
