Tag Archives: Brown Derby

Brown Derby Restaurant, Los Feliz Blvd, Los Angeles, circa 1947

Two of my favorite types of vintage Los Angeles photos are of a Brown Derby restaurant and of a terrific use of neon light. So finding this one makes my heart go pitty-pat. This is the Brown Derby restaurant we … Continue reading

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Two Brown Derby restaurants, Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, circa 1937

This is one of the most extraordinary finds I’ve come across in all the years I’ve been collecting and posting vintage photos of Los Angeles: TWO Brown Derby restaurants on Wilshire Boulevard! According to the research I’ve done, in 1926 … Continue reading

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Original Brown Derby restaurant and coffee shop, 3427 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles

Most photos we see of the first Brown Derby on Wilshire Blvd just show the most interesting part—the derby-shaped restaurant on the Alexandria Ave corner, so it’s easy to assume that’s all there was. In its original incarnation, it was … Continue reading

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Color slide of original Brown Derby Restaurant, Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles

The Brown Derby restaurant that we think of as the original— oriented to the northeast corner of Wilshire and Alexandria—was actually not the original location. It was first built facing due south at 3427 Wilshire between Mariposa and Alexandria. We … Continue reading

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Brown Derby at Wilshire Blvd and Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 1942

I would imagine that back in the day when most of LA’s buildings were only one or two stories, the tall derby-shaped signs for the Brown Derby restaurants really stood out. This is the Beverly Hills Brown Derby at the … Continue reading

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Brown Derby restaurant, Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 1954

There is something about the original Brown Derby restaurant on Wilshire Blvd that epitomizes golden-era Hollywood for me. And when I find a color shot of the place, it allows me to slip more easily into imagining what it must … Continue reading

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Brown Derby restaurant menu from 1941

Recently, David F wrote to me and said: “My mother passed away in 2008 and I was left among other things, a 1941 authentic Brown Derby menu. Her family went on a 3 week vacation out to the west cost … Continue reading

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Brown Derby restaurant, Vine Street, Hollywood, circa late 1940s

With all the photos of the Hollywood Brown Derby I’ve seen, it’s actually quite rare to see one that takes in the whole building. We can see there was actually parts to it – the restaurant, the Bamboo Room, the … Continue reading

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Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, circa 1930

In this circa 1930 view of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, we can see how undeveloped the land was around it. Lost of wide-open spaces and places to park. I’d say this was the view from Beverly Drive from which you … Continue reading

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Interior shot of the Hollywood Brown Derby

What I love about this shot of the interior of the Vine Street Brown Derby from Life magazine is that it’s completely unstaged. It shows the hubbub of waiters bustling around the restaurant, tending to well-dressed patrons huddled in booth, … Continue reading

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