Tag Archives: Nightclubs
Interior shot of Cafe Trocadero, 8610 Sunset Blvd on the Sunset Strip, West Hollywood, 1937
It’s not every day we get a peek inside one of the big Sunset Strip nightclubs during Hollywood’s heyday, and this was one of the first. It’s the Café Trocadero, a swanky, black-tie, French inspired nightclub opened on September 18, … Continue reading
A large crowd gathers in front of the Ship Café on the Venice pier, California, 1905
The idea of a café built in the shape of a Spanish galleon (a reproduction of the one helmed by explorer, Juan Cabrillo, when he discovered California) proved to be a very popular idea when Abbott Kinney’s “Venice of America” … Continue reading
Pacific Electric Red Car streetcar stops at the three-way intersection of Hollywood Blvd, Vermont Ave, and Prospect Ave, Los Angeles, circa mid 1950s
Those Pacific Electric Red Cars must have really packed a visual wallop as they rolled around the streets of L.A. This in circa mid 1950s photo, we see a pair of Hollywood Blvd streetcars at the three-way intersection of Hollywood … Continue reading
Dusk color photo of Frank Sennes’ Moulin Rouge nightclub, 6230 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, circa mid 1950s
After the unfortunate death of Earl Carroll in 1948, his eponymous nightclub – the largest in the world – at 6230 Sunset Blvd remained closed until Frank Sennes, former manager of the Hollywood Gardens (a nightclub where he gave Betty … Continue reading
The grand opening of the Hollywood Canteen, 1451 Cahuenga Blvd, Hollywood, October 3, 1942
This must have been an exciting night to witness: After months of fundraising, cajoling, recruiting, organizing, and building, Bette Davis and John Garfield’s pet project, the Hollywood Canteen opened at 1451 Cahuenga (on the corner of Sunset Blvd) on the … Continue reading
A color shot looking east along Sunset Blvd from Vine St, Hollywood, circa early 1960s
From our 21st century eyes, this photo looking east along Sunset Blvd from Vine St in Hollywood is filled with what we think of as classic American cars. But of course back in the early 1960s when this photo was … Continue reading
Montmartre Café, 6753 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, 1924
Montmartre Café, at 6753 Hollywood Blvd, half a block east of the Hollywood Hotel was tucked away on the second floor but is credited with sparking Hollywood nightlife. Opening in December 1922, the Montmartre was Hollywood’s first nightclub and quickly … Continue reading
Interior shot of the stage at Ciro’s nightclub, 8433 Sunset Blvd on the Sunset Strip, West Hollywood, Los Angeles
One of the stops on my (very busy) time travel machine trip will be to Ciro’s on the Sunset Strip. Hollywood in its golden-era heyday was liberally sprinkled nightclubs. From 1940 to 1957, one of the most popular with the … Continue reading
Looking west along Hollywood Blvd at dusk from Bronson Ave, Los Angeles, 1959
This 1959 photo reeks of cruising down Hollywood Blvd on a Saturday night looking for trouble in all the wrong places—and probably finding it at the Movie Town Motel. Past the Hawaii Theatre on the right was the Florentine Gardens, … Continue reading
Sherry’s Restaurant on the Sunset Strip, scene of an assassination attempt on mob boss Mickey Cohen, July 19, 1949
Sherry’s restaurant, at 9039 Sunset Boulevard was one of the Sunset Strip nightspots of the late 1940s, not just popular with movie stars, also with mobsters. In July of 1949, those movie stars learned that mixing with the mob was … Continue reading