Tag Archives: Beverly Hills

People gather outside the home of producer Mike Todd and Elizabeth Taylor at 1330 Schuyler Drive, Beverly Hills, on the day his private plane crashed, March 22, 1958

Actress Elizabeth Taylor had only been married to film and theater producer, Mike Todd, for a year when his private plane, The Liz, crashed in New Mexico on March 22, 1958. This photo was taken that day outside their home … Continue reading

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Farmers raising lima beans on the land that would later become Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, 1888

During the last couple of decades of the 1800s, the land that would later become Beverly Hills was far enough from downtown Los Angeles to be considered agricultural. The main crop was lima beans. They provided a good, cheap, and … Continue reading

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Color photo of the Roosevelt-Good department store, Beverly Hills, circa late 1940s

Until I came across this photo, I didn’t know Franklin D. Roosevelt’s youngest son, John, owned a store in Beverly Hills. Partnering with Leland Good, he opened Roosevelt-Good, a department store that mostly sold ready-to-wear women’s and men’s casual and … Continue reading

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Color photo of a train and streetcar approaching the Beverly train station at Santa Monica Blvd and N. Canon Dr., Beverly Hills, 1954

Here are two things you don’t see passing through Beverly Hills anymore: a train and a streetcar. But back in 1954, when this photo was taken, locals were used to seeing both stop at the Beverly station on the southeast … Continue reading

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The soaring tower of Beacon Laundry, 9134 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, circa 1940

You’ve got to love a city where a dry cleaning business called Beacon Laundry (of course that’s what they called it) builds a 50-foot tower to bring attention to themselves. Earthquakes be damned! We have to let passers-by that we’re … Continue reading

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Color photo looking west along Wilshire Blvd toward Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, circa 1950s

In this photo, we’re looking west along the south side of Wilshire Blvd past the Melody Lane restaurant coffee shop, over Beverly Dr. to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel at the Wilshire and Rodeo Dr. corner. This photo was taken in … Continue reading

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Hollywood film industry luminaries drive through Beverly Hills en route to Rudolph Valentino’s West Coast funeral service, September 7, 1926

This image (I suspect it’s a still or a freeze-frame from video footage) shows us a tender moment in Hollywood’s history. The cars in this long cortege belong to various film industry luminaries as they head to the West Coast … Continue reading

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Riding horses down the bridle path along Rodeo Drive north of Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills (undated)

Oh, what a different Beverly Hills it must have been back when people could ride their horses along the bridle path that used to run down the center of Rodeo Drive, replacing an old Pacific Electric streetcar line that had … Continue reading

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Looking north up Beverly Drive north of Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, 1923

It’s funny now to think that Beverly Hills ever looked like this sparse, but this photo was taken in 1923, the same year that Beverly Hills became an incorporated city. Maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised. After all, the official … Continue reading

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Last house on Rodeo Dr. in Beverly Hills at 371 N. Rodeo, southwest corner of Brighton Way, 1954

Here we have a little bit of nostalgia: this was the last house left standing on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills before the street completely gave over to commercial interests. (It didn’t become a luxury strip until the arrival of … Continue reading

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