Tag Archives: Restaurants
The Jumbo Lemon lemonade and orangeade stand, Los Angeles, 1925
What do you do when life hands you lemons (which, in Los Angeles in 1925, when this photo was taken, wasn’t hard to imagine)? You get some chicken wire and plaster of Paris and you make yourself an ginormous lemon … Continue reading
The Club Car restaurant, at Wilshire and San Vicente Boulevards, Los Angeles, 1938
Restaurants in a railway carriages aren’t unusual in Los Angeles—the Pacific Dining Car on the edge of downtown, and the Formosa in Hollywood come to mind—but this is one I’d never heard of before. The Club Car stood at that … Continue reading
King’s Tropical Inn, 5741 West Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA, circa 1926
Winner, winner, chicken dinner! I have an extensive list of restaurants and bars from L.A. in the 1920s through 1950s) on my website – https://martinturnbull.com/hollywood-places/ – but the one that gets the most reaction is this place: King’s Tropical Inn … Continue reading
Drive-in restaurant selling burgers, steaks, and Spanish (Mexican) food, Los Angeles, circa late 1930s
Going by the 1936 Dodge peeking out from behind the sign, this photo from Life magazine probably dates from the mid-to-late 1930s. This was a time when restaurants selling Mexican food called it “Spanish” because of anti-Mexican racism. You could … Continue reading
The Cream Can dairy café, Los Angeles, California, 1928
I couldn’t find out where the Cream Can was located other than it was somewhere in Los Angeles. This photo was taken in 1928, when L.A. was still fairly sparsely populated, so it’s fairly likely that this miraculous building really … Continue reading
The Gentleman’s Grill at the Hotel Alexandria, 501 S Spring St, Los Angeles
This color postcard gives us a glimpse of the Gentleman’s Grill at the Hotel Alexandria on Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles. In its early-20th-century heyday, the Alexandria was THE hotel in Los Angeles. It brings to my mind two … Continue reading
Fred Harvey Restaurant at the opening of Union Station, Los Angeles, May 1939
The May 3rd, 1939 opening of Union Station at the edge of downtown Los Angeles was a very big deal as it brought the country’s three main railway lines under on roof. It was also a big day for the … Continue reading
Twin Barrels café, 7227 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, circa mid 1920s
At first glance, you’d think that the Twin Barrels café served up a refreshing glass of beer or maybe wine. But judging from that circa 1925 Marmon parked in front, I’m guessing this place was around during the mid 1920s, … Continue reading
The Wilshire Coffee Pot restaurant, 8601 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 1925
If you were gagging for coffee in L.A. in 1925, all you had to do was look out for the HUGE coffee pot of Ben-Hur brand coffee on the roof of the Wilshire Coffee Pot café at 8601 Wilshire Boulevard. … Continue reading
Color photo of the Brown Derby restaurant, 3377 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 1969
We’re not often treated to a color photo of the original Brown Derby restaurant, the one actually shaped like a derby that stood at 3377 Wilshire Blvd opposite what was then the Ambassador Hotel. I wouldn’t have expected the neon … Continue reading