I love this wonderfully atmospheric nighttime shot from 1912 of the entrance to a place called Wonderland, at 315 S. Main in downtown Los Angeles. Opening on February 4, 1908, it was a combination moving picture theater, music hall, waxworks, and exhibit venue—something for everyone! That streak of light running through the middle of the photo was caused by a passing streetcar, and I assume that the “5” in front of the box office meant admission was five cents.
There’s no evidence of Wonderland left now. This is that same address in May 2022.
Imagine stepping onto your patio and looking out across Los Angeles and this was your view. This photo was taken from the home of Arthur Brent (sometimes listed as “Bent”) who lived at 620 Siena Way in Bel Air. This photo is dated 1927 and by the looks of things, it was probably one of the only houses around. (Bel Air was founded in 1923 by Alphonzo Bell, this house was built in 1926.
Even this color photo of the Gilbert 5 – 10 – 25 cent store at the corner of East I St and Avalon Blvd in Wilmington (near Long Beach) was taken 1977, it looks like something out of the 1950s—well, except for the sign for the $11 bean bags. That’s a bit of a giveaway, I suppose.
Yesterday I posted a 
This photo is almost painful for me to look at. In 1951, Pershing Square, which had long been considered the center of Los Angeles with its shade trees and lawns and fountain, was ripped up so that a five-level parking structure could be built underneath it. And because of that, when it came time to recreate the square, the amount of earth needed to support large, shady trees was no longer there, so instead LA got…concrete. I know that downtown needed more parking, and to dig down was a practical solution, but it seems an awful price to pay.
The workmen building the Janss Steps on what was then the new campus of UCLA (University of California Los Angeles) in the Westwood part of LA would probably never have guessed what would eventually come to fill that wide-open pastoral landscape stretched in front of them. The college’s early students and faculty must have felt they were out in the boonies.
The February 17, 1948 premiere of “Adventures of Casanova” at the Bruin Theater in Westwood attracted a huge crowd of movie fans, which is surprising because it wasn’t released by a major studio, nor did it boast any big stars. I guess the producers hired a very good publicity person. Or maybe those moviegoers thought the lead was played by Errol Flynn.
Even though I know The Owl Drug Co had locations across California, I tend to think of them as a very LA thing—maybe that’s because one of them featured in the film of “LA Confidential.” This one was on Main St in downtown Los Angeles on the corner of either 6th or 7th Street. I couldn’t find any buildings to match my favorite part of this photo, which are the gorgeous medallions and grillwork between the first and second floors. I also love that corner streetlight with the five lamps. I bet it looked rather film-noir-y at night. This photo is from 1941.
This rather atmospheric building was known as the Amestoy, and it stood at 260 N. Main St, downtown Los Angeles. Constructed in 1887, by the mid 1950s, when this photo was taken, seventy years of air pollution had blacked its walls—except on the first floor around Fagan’s Fountain, although it looks like Fagan’s is no longer open. On the other side of the street we can see the sign for a bar called The Stake Out. It was a favorite hangout for police officers as it was across from headquarters, which was then located in City Hall. Not surprisingly, this building came down within a couple of years of this photo being taken.
