This is one of those photos I want to dive through my screen and plunge into. We’re looking north up Broadway from 7th Street in downtown LA. It was taken in 1939, when Broadway and 7th was one of the busiest intersections in the US. With all those twinkling lights glowing the night sky, I’d love to go stroll’n’windowshopping the whole length of Broadway. And those decorations suspended over the street suggest this photo was taken during the holiday season, so it would be a perfect time to do that.
This is roughly how that view looked in June 2024.
The fourth Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles opened in 1940 at 4500 Los Feliz Blvd, which made it a perfect place for a before-the-show dinner when going to the nearby Greek Theatre. I’ve seen photos of it before, but have never noticed that sign on the circular roof: CAR CAFÉ. I’m not sure how I missed it seeing as how those letters were probably 4 to 5 feet tall. But it does mean it was the only Brown Derby to be a drive-in. That sign on the left reads: “Drive-in Car Service – Always Open.” This photo is circa 1941.
I couldn’t find much information about this atmospheric photo. What I could glean is that we’re perched atop the bluffs overlooking Santa Monica beach facing south along the beach toward the pier. That’s the constellation of bright lights in the distance—we can even make out the slopes of the roller coaster. Evidently this photo was taken in 1929, when I would imagine there was nowhere near the development there is now, so what those very bright lights on the left were coming from is anybody’s guess. Headlights, maybe?
This photo captures a time when downtown Los Angeles wasn’t all shiny glass skyscrapers. Here we have the old Los Angeles County Courthouse (on the left) and the Hall of Records (right) dwarfed by the then-new Los Angeles City Hall. The courthouse was so atmospheric that it’s a pity it couldn’t survive the extensive damage it received from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. From the “Fire Prevention Year” billboard, we know this photo was taken in 1927, which means the new City Hall was probably still being finished as its dedication ceremony took place on April 26, 1928. When the light hits it just right, it sure stands out, doesn’t it?
The 3,000+ acres of land that industrialist Griffith J. Griffith donated to the city of Los Angeles makes a stark background for this striking photo of the Griffith Observatory taken at dusk circa 1937. The observatory had opened in 1935, so for Angelenos, it was probably still a new sight to see in the night sky. This photo was taken from the Los Feliz area which sits at the foot of the hills atop which the Observatory sits.
From the rather vague caption that was attached to this photo from 1941, it seems this crowd had gathered for an Easter Parade on what appears to be the grounds of the Ambassador Hotel. That road with the traffic is Wilshire Blvd and across the street are the Gaylord Apartments (named after Henry Gaylord Wilshire.) So these people have crowded together on both sides of—what do we call it? A runway? And did people walk down the middle showing off their Easter bonnets? Was that the whole show? Does anyone reading this know for sure?
Carpenter’s was a popular mini chain of drive-in restaurants around LA in the 1930s and 40s. Probably their best-known location was at the corner of Sunset and Vine. This one was at Wilshire Blvd and Western Ave. (The skyscraper in the background is the Wilshire Professional Building, which is still there. Across the street is the Wiltern Theatre.) A number of ads and postcards I’ve seen for Carpenter’s advertise their “Chicken in the Rough” which was a dish of half a fried chicken, shoestring potatoes, and a biscuit with honey. The vehicle in front is a 1937 Ford, so let’s call this photo circa late 1930s.
After yesterday’s photo of the so-called “safety zone” which was really just a rectangle of painted asphalt, I’m now starting to see them everywhere. In this one, we’re looking west along Hollywood Blvd from east of Cahuenga Blvd. This one has four little domes, which I’m guessing were for the benefit of errant drivers, alerting them to the fact that they had driven into the streetcar passenger waiting zone. This photo was taken in 1938, and from the metal Christmas trees mounted on the streetlights, it’s safe to assume it was December.
Photos like this give me the heebie-jeebies. We’re looking north up Vermont Ave toward a streetcar turning west onto 3rd Street. It was taken in 1939 when Los Angeles was spiderwebbed with streetcar tracks. But I fear for the safety of passengers. All that’s separating them from a collision course with a reckless driver is a stripe of white paint and that little barrier so low that it barely rates as a barrier. I know cars didn’t go quite so fast back then, but still. This sight make me slightly sweaty.
On March 21, 1958, Dean Martin along with a business partner and freshly split from Jerry Lewis, opened Dino’s Lodge in the building where a failed restaurant called The Alpine Lodge used to operate. Serving Italian food, evidently (and somewhat predictably) it had Rat Pack feel with dark wood and plush booths. It was also featured in the TV series “77 Sunset Strip” even though such an address didn’t exist. Dino’s Lodge was on the Sunset Strip, but this bright red 1959 Rambler station wagon was parked at 8524 Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood.
