Until I came across this circa 1920 photo, I never knew that polo matches were held in Pasadena. We’re looking at Brookside Park at the western end of Pasadena. It makes sense, though. Polo is a rich man’s game and back in the 1800s and into the turn of the century, Pasadena was one of the preferred destinations of well-heeled folks who has the means to escape the brutal winters back East. And I suppose the really well-heeled brought their polo horses with them. Brookside Park is still around. It has an aquatic center, a baseball diamond, tennis courts, and a children’s playground, but alas no polo field which, I’m purely guessing, went out with the Depression.
A polo match takes place at Brookside Park in Pasadena, California, circa 1920
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre at night during the run of “Prince Valiant”, Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, April 1954
After a splashy premiere on April 2, 1954, 20th Century-Fox’s “Prince Valiant” enjoyed a respectable 5-week run at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (in spite of Robert Wagner’s ridiculously embarrassing pageboy haircut.) As with all CinemaScope productions, it treated passers-by with a colorful neon marquee in which “CinemaScope” was bigger than the movie’s title.
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Tagged 20th Century-Fox, Color photo, Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Theaters
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Five Angelenos ride a flower-decorated car in the Hollywood May Tilting and Floral Parade, Los Angeles, 1908
Apparently Pasadena’s Rose Bowl parade in wasn’t the only one in LA that had floats decorated with flowers. These four delicate blooms and their driver were part of something called the May Tilting and Floral Parade. I couldn’t find much information on it (did “tilting” have a different meaning back in 1908?) other than people decorated their cars, carriages, and wagons with flowers and drove down Hollywood Blvd from Highland Ave to Cahuenga Blvd. I don’t know how long it would have taken them to decorate their car, but I’m sure it smelled pretty.
** UPDATE ** – In case you were wondering about tilting:
From the LA Evening Express, April 30, 1909.
Berl Berry Lincoln Mercury car dealership, 3700 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 1951
Lincoln-Mercury isn’t a make of car that I see much on the roads around Los Angeles these days, but back in 1951, when this striking photo was taken at the Berl Berry Lincoln Mercury car dealership, 3700 Wilshire Blvd, they would have been a much more common sight. I love the way the ceiling lighting reflect off the cars, and also those two dramatic semi-circular pylons. (They also make me think of a certain fast-food company’s golden arches.)
This is that site in July 2022. Unfortunately the building is gone, but at least there’s a nice green park there now (and not some hideous soulless eyesore.
A Boeing 247 at night in front of the United Airport Terminal, Burbank, California, 1933
This photo is so beautifully lit that it almost looks as though it could have come from a movie. I don’t know why a photographer was standing on the tarmac of the United Airport Terminal in Burbank when this Boeing 247 landed late one night in 1933, but it’s hard to imagine a more perfectly composed image—especially with a full moon shining through the clouds.
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Tagged Airports Aircraft Airlines, Night photo, San Fernando Valley
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Streetcar bound for the Bimini Baths runs along Broadway, downtown Los Angeles, circa 1907
Yesterday I posted a photo from 1907 of a sparsely populated Hollywood. I’m posting this photo today as it’s also from 1907, showing the contrast between bucolic Hollywood and bustling downtown Los Angeles. In this shot we can see a streetcar bound for the Bimini Baths running along a Broadway packed with pedestrians, horses, carriages, and streetcars. The Bimini Baths was a huge complex that included hot springs, public baths, swimming pools, and an inn. It was at Third and Vermont, west of downtown and you can see photos of it here: Bimini Baths.
Tony V says: “The building on the right side of the street with a pyramid on top of a tower was that era’s City Hall.“
Intersection of Hollywood Blvd (Prospect Ave) and Highland Ave, Hollywood, 1907
Without the usual early Hollywood landmarks like the Hollywood Hotel, the Hollywood United Methodist Church, or the Montmartre Café to orient us, I think we’re going to have to take it at face value that this photo is showing us how the corner of Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave looked in 1907. Back then, Hollywood Blvd was still called Prospect Ave and I’m not even sure which street in this photo it was. I’m guessing it’s the one running behind the white house on the right, and that Highland Ave is the street running from the bottom right corner and across the middle of the photo. At any rate, it’s been a long, long time since Hollywood was this sparsely populated.
Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, the year it opened, 1922
On October 18, 1922, Sid Grauman (who hadn’t yet built his famous Chinese Theatre) opened Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre at 6712 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood. King Tut’s tomb was discovered at around that time, so anything and everything Egyptian was all the rage. The movie chosen to open the venue was “Robin Hood” starring Douglas Fairbanks. This atmospheric photo was taken during the film’s six-month run.
Opening of Grauman’s Egyptian Theater, as reported in the Exhibitors Herald from November 14, 1922:
(Click on the image to see a larger version.)
This is that same view in February 2021. Until recently, the theater was run by American Cinematheque, but I believe is now owned by Netflix and is currently undergoing renovation.
MGM star dressing room building on the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio lot, Culver City, California, 1926
If you ever hear that I’ve gone missing after they announce the invention of a time machine, you might look for me in this photo. I’ll be the one loitering outside the star dressing room building on the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio lot. This photo was taken in 1926, when MGM was only two years old, so among the luminaries I’ll be stalking—er, observing would be Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Joan Crawford, Lon Chaney, William Haines, Lionel Barrymore, Marion Davies, Ramon Novarro, and Mae Murray.
This is how that building looks nowadays. I believe it’s now part of the sound department at Sony studios, which now owns what was the old MGM lot.
Looking south from the Hollywood Hills over the Sunset Strip toward Hollywood, undated
I don’t have a date for this photo looking south from the Hollywood Hills over the Sunset Strip toward Hollywood. However, what we do know is that the Sunset Tower, which is the white tower to the left of the center, opened in 1931. There are a few scattered large buildings in this vista, but not many, so I’m going to guess we’re looking at circa mid-to-late 1930s. Whenever it was taken, the view from that huge house in the foreground must have been amazing. And if it’s still there, it would be even more amazing.
This satellite image from January 2020 approximates that view:
**UPDATE** – The house in the foreground is at 8440 Carlton Way and is still there!
