Tag Archives: Aerial photographs

Aerial view of the Ambassador Hotel, Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 1940

This 1940 aerial view gives us a whole different perspective of the Ambassador Hotel which stood on Wilshire Blvd at Alexandria Ave. The hotel opened in 1921, when the land along that part of Wilshire Blvd was cheap and plentiful, … Continue reading

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Aerial photograph of Universal Studios backlot, Universal City, California, 1963

In this aerial photo taken by Life magazine, we get to see what a chunk of the Universal Studios backlot looked like in 1963. If you’ve not been to a movie studio backlot before, the castle in the bottom right … Continue reading

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Aerial view of Los Angeles International Airport, 1963

This aerial view of Los Angeles International Airport was taken in 1963, two years after the main terminal complex opened, and with lots of empty land around it. These days the layout is pretty much the same, except that the … Continue reading

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Aerial photo of the looking south across the Famous Players-Lasky Studios at Sunset Blvd and Vine S, Hollywood, 1918

Back in Hollywood’s heyday, one of the most well-known landmarks was the NBC radio (and later television) studios on the northeast corner of Sunset Blvd and Vine St, which opened in 1938. But on the site once stood the Famous … Continue reading

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Aerial photograph of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum under construction, south of downtown Los Angeles, circa 1922

Commissioned in 1921 as a memorial to L.A. veterans of World War I, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum quickly became one of those city landmarks that it would be hard to imagine L.A. without. Construction broke ground on December 21, … Continue reading

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Aerial shot of the intersection where Wilshire and Santa Monica Blvds meet, Beverly Hills, California, 1913

This aerial shot from 1913 shows the distinctive wedge-shaped corner where Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards meet at the western edge of Beverly Hills. The Beverly Hilton Hotel has occupied this land since 1955 (and more recently the Waldorf Astoria … Continue reading

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Aerial photograph looking northwest across Beverly Hills from Preuss Road, Los Angeles, 1926

In this remarkable aerial photo, we’re looking northwest from Preuss Road across to Beverly Hills in 1926. Without the distraction of homes, swimming pools, gardens, trees, stores, buildings, and everything else that blankets the L.A. cityscape these days, it’s a … Continue reading

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Aerial shot looking northeast along the Sunset Strip section of Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, June 1956

I would love to have been in the aircraft (or Goodyear blimp?) the day in June 1956 that this photograph was taken of the Sunset Strip section of Sunset Blvd. The Strip has changed significantly since then, of course, but … Continue reading

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Aerial view of United Artists Studios, Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, 1920

In 1919, four of the biggest names in Hollywood – Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, and director D.W. Griffith – formed their own production company, United Artists. They took over an independent studio on Santa Monica Blvd and dubbed … Continue reading

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Aerial photograph of Beverly Hills looking north from Lexington Road, 1920

This aerial photograph affords us a bird’s-eye view of what Beverly Hills looked like in 1920. Its reputation as a desirable address for movie people started in 1919, when Douglas Fairbanks bought Pickfair in 1919 for his bride-to-be, Mary Pickford. … Continue reading

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