When Howard Hughes conceived the Hercules, it was the world’s largest wooden aircraft, which is why it was nicknamed the Spruce Goose—but don’t let Mr. Hughes hear you say that! This aerial photo, taken circa October 1947, shows how just how enormous the plane was. It had been built in Playa Vista, north of L.A. International Airport, then transported to Long Beach for its only flight later that year, on November 2.
Aerial photo of Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose wooden aircraft in Long Beach, California, circa October 1947
Garden of Allah Hotel model scan superimposed over former site at the southwest corner of Sunset Blvd and Crescent Heights Blvd, West Hollywood, March 2022
Today’s post is a departure from my usual daily vintage photo of Los Angeles. But first, a bit of backstory. Recently, I did an on-camera interview for a documentary about some of Marilyn Monroe’s effects found in a public storage facility in the mini mall on the former site of the Garden of Allah Hotel. I mentioned that there was a scale model of the hotel, and gave the filmmakers the details of the guy who has it. A couple of days ago, the cinematographer emailed me to say that they scanned the model using a special camera and have superimposed the image they took using a drone they sent over what is currently a construction site. I can honestly say that in the 15 years I’ve been researching and writing about this place, it’s the first time it felt real to me. Pretty amazing, huh?!
Horse-drawn streetcar in Lincoln Heights near Los Angeles High School, circa 1890s
I’m guessing this street car ride would have been a bit of a jerky, bumpy journey. Still, it meant that people living in Lincoln Heights, where this circa 1890s photo was taken, had a way to get into downtown Los Angeles without having to walk. It looks like this streetcar was headed for Temple St, which cuts across the top end of downtown, and then on to Downey Ave, which is quite a long way south of downtown, so those two horses (or are they mules?) had a long day ahead of them.
** UPDATE** – According to one source, this photo was taken in 1899 at the corner of Downey Ave and Pritchard Ave. As far as I can see, those two roads don’t intersect. At least, they don’t these days, but maybe back in 1899 they did.
Aerial view looking down at the Greek Theatre and the under-construction Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, circa 1934
Here’s quite a breathtaking aerial view. At the bottom we have the Greek Theatre on Vermont Ave (opened September 25, 1930). And perched atop Mt. Hollywood is the Griffith Observatory, which at the time was still under construction. That project broke ground on June 20, 1933 and opened May 14, 1935, so I’m going to say this photo is from 1934.
A view of from inside the Greek Theater in Griffith Park, 1931. Apparently it cost $205,000 to build, which seems inexpensive to me.
This image is from January 2020. So 80 years later, things haven’t changed much, which is something I don’t often get to say about Los Angeles:
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Tagged Aerial photographs, Greek Theatre, Griffith Observatory, Griffith Park, Theaters
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Angelenos attend the 17th Annual Candlelight Ball at the Cocoanut Grove in the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, December 12, 1952
It’s hard to tell in a black-and-white, photo, but it looks like the Cocoanut Grove nightclub at the Ambassador Hotel was decked out in white for the 17th annual Candlelight Ball. It appears to have been a fundraiser for the Juniors of the Social Service Auxiliary, which was a branch of The Sisters of Social Service which was a charity group originally founded in the 1920s by Hungarian nuns. All the women appear to be in their fanciest white and the nightclub was decked out with white streamers and 6,000 white balloons which were released at the end of the night. Which probably looked good, but I pity the poor person whose job was it get them all down again.
Red Car streetcar heading south on Highland Ave outside the Hollywood Bowl, circa early 1950s
This circa early 1950s photo shows what a vivid splash of color the Pacific Electric Red Cars added to the Los Angeles cityscape. This one was heading south at the top end of Highland Ave outside the Hollywood Bowl. The GRUEN TIME clock we can see behind it is long gone, but the iconic sculpture next to it is still with us.
The sculpture is called “Muse of Music, Dance, Drama” and was created by George Stanley, who also designed the Oscar statue for the Academy Awards. This image is from February 2021:
This is roughly the same view in February 2021:
Color photo of the Tea Room at Bullocks department store, 7th Street, downtown Los Angeles
Ah, the gentility of a bygone era when going shopping included pausing for an elegant afternoon tea. This photo (which is probably a hand-tinted postcard) is of the Tea Room at the Bullocks department store in downtown Los Angeles at the corner of 7th Street and Broadway, probably early 1900s. It was one of the big department stores at the time and I believe their tea room was on the top floor. Look at all those potted plants – someone had a busy job keeping them alive. But those scattered rugs worry me. It wouldn’t take much for a waitress with a tray of teapots, cups and saucers, and molasses cookies to trip on a corner and send the whole thing flying into the lap of some unfortunate socialite or movie magnate’s wife.
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Tagged Broadway, Color photo, Downtown Los Angeles, Stores and Shopping
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Aerial view of the Hollywood Bowl looking east toward Whitley Heights and Cahuenga Blvd, 1930
This aerial view from 1930 shows us how big the Hollywood Bowl actually is. The area in the center of the photo is Whitley Heights, which I posted about yesterday, and that major road snaking through the landscape is Cahuenga Blvd as it heads into the Cahuenga Pass and into the San Fernando Valley. It’s not quite so prominent now because the 101 Hollywood Freeway dominates the view.
Roughly the same view in January 2020:
Large sign atop Whitley Heights, Los Angeles (undated)
Sometimes it seems like every hilltop development in Los Angeles put up a sign. This one is new to me. Whitley Heights was a residential subdivision developed by Hobart Whitley in the hills opposite the Hollywood Bowl in the early 1920s. Its relative inaccessibility became a draw for privacy-hungry stars like Dietrich, Swanson, and Valentino, who helped turn Whitley Heights into the Beverly Hills of L.A. before there was a Beverly Hills. I don’t have a date on this photo, but the area looks very well developed, so I’m guessing circa 1930s but of course I’m open to being corrected.
The Bradbury mansion at Court and Hill Streets, downtown Los Angeles, early circa 1920s
A few months ago, I posted a circa late 1800s photo of the grand (and lamentably long-gone) Bradbury mansion near the corner of Court and Hill Streets in downtown Los Angeles. This one was taken 30 years(ish) later, and we can see how all the greenery around it made it look like a much more established and lived-in place. Plus, the world now had automobiles for the people who lived in this incredible home to get around a rapidly growing Los Angeles.
I think the auto-colorizer did a pretty good job bringing this photo to life:
