In case you’ve wondered of the origin of some of the more familiar and famous names around Los Angeles…
Sunset-Vista Market at 7415 Sunset Blvd and N. Vista St, Los Angeles, circa mid 1930s
I do love these shots of the open front markets that used to be ubiquitous around Los Angeles. The Sunset-Vista Market was at 7415 Sunset Blvd and N. Vista St, which puts it halfway between Crescent Heights and Highland. This shot is circa mid 1930s, when they were really pushing Ben-Hur coffee, a very popular brand at the time. I like their motto: “Save As You Buy” but I especially love that intricate grill work repeated along the entire length of the building. It’s an admirable effort for something that most people won’t even see.
The building is still there, but it is now a Guitar Center store. This is roughly how that view looked in May 2024.
Aerial photograph looking west across Los Angeles International Airport from a circular Chevron gas station, 1963
What was formerly known as the Mines Field municipal airfield underwent a name change in 1941 to Los Angeles Airport, and then in 1949, it acquired the name we know today: to Los Angeles International Airport, aka LAX. In this aerial photograph from 1963, we can see the addition of the iconic Theme Building, which opened in April 1961. But what caught my eye was the circular building near the bottom of the photo. I’ve been told it was a Chevron gas station, so now of course, I’m on a mission to find a photo showing us what it looked like at ground level.
This is roughly how that view looked in January 2024.
Two enormous residences on Figueroa St near 5th Street, downtown Los Angeles, circa 1905
This photo gives us an idea of the sort of mansions that used to fill the streets of downtown Los Angeles around the turn of the century (This photo is circa 1905.) Narrowing down their location is a bit tricky. They stood on Figueroa St, which back then was called Pearl St. That side street was called Bellevue Place, which no longer exists, and which connected Pearl (now Figueroa) with Beaudry Ave, which also no longer exists) between 5th and 6th Streets. Those streets do still exists but are no longer quite the same now that the 110 Freeway runs through that part of town. What I’d love to find is a photo taken from the top of either of those turrets. I bet the view would have been interesting.
Here is a circa 1890 photo of the Bellevue Terrace Hotel which stood next door:
The sparse intersection of Hilgard Ave and Lindbrook Dr in Westwood, Los Angeles, December 18, 1928
These days, the Westwood part of LA is highly developed, anchored by the campus of UCLA. But back when this photo was taken on December 18, 1928, it was mostly still dirt, dirt, and more dirt, with some houses interspersed around the open land. This house looks to be quite large—and why not? There was plenty of room. But if the people who lived there needed to borrow a cup of sugar, it looks to have been quite a hike!
I’m not 100% sure which direction the vintage photo was looking, but I think this is roughly how that view looked in October 2023.
The Bay Theater-Pharmacy-Market on the southeast corner of Sunset Blvd and La Cruz Dr, Los Angeles, 1953
Here’s a convenient one-stop-shop from 1953: Go see John Wayne in “The Fighting Kentuckian” at the Bay Theater, then pick up some Vitalis hair tonic at Bay Pharmacy, and then go next door to the Bay Market for some Wonder Bread. And it looks like parking is a breeze, too! This combo stood on the southeast corner of Sunset Blvd and La Cruz Dr. just north of Santa Monica.
Laura Beth W. said: “Behind the Bay was Hughes market and a car wash. My parents would drop us off at the Bay on Saturday mornings in the early 70s and we’d stay and watch a double feature. It’s walking distance from the high school, so the Pharmacy was our go to for candy and magazines. Norris Hardware was also a Palisades staple. It had been in a different part of the Village (on Swarthmore, if I remember correctly, which is ironically where the revamped Bay Theater now is.)”
Imagine my surprise when I looked up this location on Google Maps to find that although the theater-pharmacy-market have gone, the building is still there. Or at least that vertical whatever-the-word-is on the roof. This image is from May 2024.
Looking south down the island that separates Laurel Canyon Rd from Laurel Canyon Blvd at Kirkwood Dr, Los Angeles, 1928
When I moved to Los Angeles in the 1990s, I was amazed when I first drove Laurel Canyon Blvd from West Hollywood into the San Fernando Valley. Here I was in the middle 10 million people, and yet I felt like I was in the middle of bucolic and verdant hills, way out in the countryside. In this photo, we’re looking south down the island that separates Laurel Canyon Rd (a side street) from Laurel Canyon Blvd at Kirkwood Dr. It was taken in 1928, a year before a devastating fire burned through five acres. Behind the photographer would have been the former lodging place for hunters that later became the Canyon Country Store, where many 60s-era folk music stars often shopped as they lived in the nearby rustic hills.
This is how that view looked in August 2022 – a lot more greenery!
Early photograph of the Tam o’ Shanter Inn, 2980 Los Feliz Blvd, Los Angeles, circa mid-1920s
And from the Storybook school of architecture comes the charming Tam o’ Shanter Inn at 2980 Los Feliz Blvd, Los Angeles. There’s lots to love about this place, but my favorite detail are those crooked—I don’t even know what to call them. Poles? Posts? Rods? Antennae?—on the top of the turrets. They look like something out of Dr. Seuss. The menu of the Tam o’ Shanter is traditional British food. It opened on June 26 1922, and going by that parked car on the right, I’d say this photo was taken not too long after the opening.
Here is a color shot circa mid-1950s:
By the 1960s, they had a new sign:
I don’t know when the shot of this billboard was taken, but I love the “Home of Ham and Hamburger” slogan:
This circa 1924 aerial shot shows how empty the land was when the Tam o’ Shanter opened. The main road running along the bottom of this photo is Los Feliz Blvd, and we can see the roof of the inn below it.
Leonard W. said: “When it first opened it was named Montgomery’s Country Inn. The address was 4050 Tropico Blvd. I am not sure when they changed the street to Los Feliz Blvd. and did the renumbering. Here is advert from the Los Angeles Evening Citizen News from July 1, 1922:
The above ad shows that this place was opened by the people behind Lawry’s restaurant and the Van de Kamp bakeries.
The Tam o’ Shanter Inn is still going strong. This is how it looked in 2024:
Color photo looking west along Wilshire Blvd from around Cloverdale Ave, Los Angeles, circa 1950s
There’s something so striking about those old Kodachrome photos. The colors burst from the image so vividly that you almost feel as though you could jump right in. We’re looking west along Wilshire Blvd from around Cloverdale Ave, circa 1950s. That white building on the left is the Dominguez-Wilshire Building at 5410 Wilshire, which opened in 1930 and whose major tenant was Myer Siegel, a well-known women’s clothing store. According to one report I read, the building was named after its developers, the Dominguez family, the heirs to the first land grant given in California by King Carlos III of Spain. And in California, that’s about far back as it gets!
** UPDATE ** – We can also see a sign for Vic Tanny. John J. says it was: “A chain of luxurious health clubs founded in 1947 for men and women. Offering strength training and other health programs. Also in these clubs were swimming pools, skating rinks, movie screening rooms, bowling alleys, and ballet classes. They were aimed at middle class Americans.”
This is roughly how that view looked in November 2021.
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Tagged Color photo, Kodachrome, Stores and Shopping, Wilshire Blvd
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Aerial photo of Dodger Stadium under construction, Vin Scully Ave, Los Angeles, circa 1960
I’m no sports fan, but even I know that the LA Dodgers won the first game of the 2024 World Series at Dodger Stadium on Friday. Here we have an aerial photo of that stadium under construction. The project broke ground on September 17, 1959, and opened on April 10, 1962, so I’d say this photo was taken some time in 1960s. They sure knew what they were doing making space for all those parking lots.
Here is a concept image on a postcard for Dodgers Stadium from 1959.
This satellite image of Dodger Stadium is from December 2023.
