Tag Archives: Nightclubs
Rainbow Gardens Ballroom, Vermont between 2nd and 3rd Streets, Los Angeles, 1930s
In the days before television turned us into a nation of part-time couch potatoes, going out dancing was a hugely popular pastime, and large ballrooms dotted cityscapes across the country. In Los Angeles of the 1920s and 30s, one of … Continue reading
Color night shot of Ciro’s nightclub on the Sunset Strip, circa 1950s
Ciro’s nightclub on the Sunset Strip. In color! The featured act was a singer called Dolores Hawkins who was around in the 1950s. She’s probably best remembered for singing with big band leader, Gene Krupa, who made his fair share … Continue reading
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Tagged Color photo, Night photo, Nightclubs, Restaurants, Sunset Blvd
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Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Blvd, featuring Ozzie Nelson, 1936
The Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Blvd in 1936. At the time, its Cocoanut Grove nightclub was world famous and one of *the* places to perform. In the mid 1930s, Ozzie Nelson was enjoying the height of his popularity as a … Continue reading
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Tagged Ambassador Hotel, Hotels, Los Angeles, Nightclubs, Wilshire Blvd
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Club Casanova, 8383 Sunset Boulevard, 1936.
Club Casanova opened at 8383 Sunset Boulevard in August 1936. I don’t know how classy it was, but they went to the trouble of putting twin topiaries outside the front door, so it must have been at least half classy. … Continue reading
Ciro’s on the Sunset Strip, featuring Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, circa late 1940s
A (rare color) shot of Ciro’s nightclub on the Sunset Strip. Looks like the featured act was Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. They were working the nightclub circuit in the late 1940s so I’m guessing this photo was taken around … Continue reading
Dezi Arnaz playing at Ciro’s on the Sunset Strip, 1948
Looks like Desi Arnaz is going to be playing at Ciro’s. Does anybody want to join me—we could put together a big table. We also must remember to tell the limo driver to drop us off at 1948.
Color photos of the Mocambo, 8588 Sunset Boulevard
In the next installment of the Garden of Allah novels I’m currently working on, I have a scene set at the Mocambo, which stood at 8588 Sunset Boulevard from 1941 to 1959, and was one of the clubs during Hollywood’s … Continue reading
Interior of Hollywood nightclub, circa late 1940s
This photo was labeled as being inside Ciro’s nightclub. But when I compared it to other interior photos of Ciro’s I have posted on my website – http://bit.ly/1qfAUe0 – I doubt that’s right. The ceiling looks too low and that … Continue reading
Los Angeles / Hollywood / Beverly Hills map, 1937
Confession time: I am a bit of a map fan (and by “bit of a” I mean “a lot of a”) especially if it’s an old one of L.A. and extra points if it’s an old Hollywood map. This one … Continue reading
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Tagged Beverly Hills, Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Maps, Movie Stars, Nightclubs, Restaurants, Stores and Shopping
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“Bright Spots of Hollywood” matchbook/map, circa 1940s
Lucky visitors to Hollywood in the 1940s had this handy-dandy map/matchbook showing them where all the “Bright Spots of Hollywood” were. On the other hand, maybe they weren’t so lucky—this map is far from geographically accurate and probably was responsible … Continue reading