This image is actually a screengrab from a documentary called “Los Angeles Plays Itself” which is a 2003 film that looks at all the ways Los Angeles has been depicted (as itself and other locations) in the movies. I freeze-famed on this shot from “Double Indemnity” (1944) when we could see Newman’s Drug Co at the southwest corner of Hollywood Blvd and Western Ave in Hollywood. I liked how it gave us a glimpse into what a corner drugstore in the mid-1940s looked like—as well as treated us to a semaphore traffic signal. (If you’d like to see “Los Angeles Plays Itself”, here’s the link on YouTube.)
Doug P. said: “The Acme Traffic Regulators still had the WWII blackout extensions on them.”
That building is still there and in pretty good condition. This is roughly how that view looked in July 2024.
Here we see a concept that wouldn’t fly today: the Los Angeles police force on bicycles. But back in circa 1904, when this photo was taken, I suppose bikes were the quickest and most nimble way to get around town in a hurry. This dozen or so cops are pedaling along Broadway in downtown Los Angeles at around 6th Street, but imagine them pursuing today’s criminals. I guess it would come down to who had the fastest two-wheelers!
The Pacific Electric Red Cars get most of the attention in vintage photos of the streets of LA in the first half of the 20th century. But the LA Railway’s Yellow Cars also did their bit moving Angelenos around the ever-growing city. This one was heading along Broadway from around 7th St in downtown Los Angeles in 1956. I am glad to see a passenger safety zone raised up off the road. (Most zones I see were just painted lines.) In the background we can see blade signs for Kress (five-and-dime), the Los Angeles movie theater, Richman Brothers clothing, Desmond’s department store, and Bond, which was a middle-level, men’s clothing chain whose flagship store was at 640 S. Broadway.
In this rather striking aerial we’re photo, looking west along Wilshire Blvd from Sycamore Ave. It was taken around 1930 when a good proportion of the land north and south of Wilshire was still undeveloped. In the top right hand corner we can see the oil wells pumping up black gold in what would later become the Park La Brea apartment community, which has over 4,200 residential units. These days, we call this section of Wilshire “Miracle Mile” known for its museums and department stores. But back then, it was all at least a decade in the future.
We have to take a long trip in the Wayback Machine for this one. This is the 600 block of Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, circa 1890s when LA’s streetcars were still cable cars. They don’t look like they had room for many passengers, but back before the turn of the century, there were far fewer Angelenos needing transportation as evidenced by zero pedestrians in sight. W.E. Coons & Co were at 611 S. Broadway. A couple of decades later, that address would be very well known as it became the side of the sumptuous Los Angeles Theater, which opened in 1931.
In this color photo, we’re looking at a restaurant called Nibblers, which billed itself as a “family friendly diner” which sounds about right because “Nibblers” sounds like a place that served comfort food. It sat on the southeast corner of Spring and 1st Streets in downtown Los Angeles. And, as we can see, it was across the street from LA City Hall, which means they probably had a steady streams of customers who worked for the city. This photo is from 1955.
If ever a photo demanded to be a setting for a film noir, surely this is it. This is a 1939 shot looking down Windward Ave toward the Pacific Ocean from Pacific Ave in Venice Beach. I don’t think I realized that all those arches running down this part of Windward were once lit up at night. How spectacular it must have been to stroll down to the beach under them.
On the night of September 25, 1932, a pageant of 30 floats paraded around the then-new Los Angeles Coliseum. It was called the “Motion Picture Electrical Parade” and each spectacular float was ablaze with lights. The five major film studios—Paramount, RKO, Columbia, MGM, and Fox—were represented, as well as some individual stars and famed cosmetologist Max Factor. 70,000 lucky Angelenos got to see the display, including soon-to-be-President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had held a presidential rally at the Hollywood Bowl that afternoon. Ticket prices were $2 for adults and 50 cents for children—not cheap, especially during the Depression, but the proceeds went to both the Motion Picture Relief Fund and Marion Davies Foundation.
