Tag Archives: Restaurants
Looking north from the Beverly Wilshire Hotel showing Beverly Hills City Hall in upper-left and the Victor Hugo Restaurant at center-right, circa 1938
If, for some reason, you were standing atop the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in 1938 and you looked north across Beverly Hills, this would be your view: the ornate Beverly Hills city hall rising like a lighthouse among a sea of … Continue reading
Carpenters drive-in restaurant at the corner of Wilshire Blvd and Le Doux Rd, Beverly Hills, October 1932
In this photo, we’re look at Carpenters drive-in restaurant at the corner of Wilshire Blvd and Le Doux Rd, Beverly Hills. Back then, Los Angeles was dotted with drive-ins like this one. This shot, taken in October 1932 show us … Continue reading
Van de Kamp Dutch Bakery at Ivar St and Yucca Ave, Hollywood, 1940
The windmills of the Van de Kamp bakeries and coffee shops were a common sight all over Los Angeles, starting in 1921. This shot is of the store at Yucca St and Ivar Ave, just a block north of Hollywood … Continue reading
Looking north up Vine St from Selma Ave toward Hollywood Blvd
These days, Vine Street between Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards is so packed and built up, it can be hard to remember this was once really just a busy local shopping street with a department store, a bowling alley, a theater, … Continue reading
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Tagged Brown Derby, Hollywood, Restaurants, Stores and Shopping, Theaters
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Brown Derby on Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, circa early 1940s
I’m a sucker for a good Brown Derby shot, especially if it’s the original on Wilshire Blvd. And thank goodness for cars to help us date photos like these. The car in the foreground is a 1937 Pontiac, darker car … Continue reading
Pig’N Whistle Cafe, Hollywood Boulevard, December 1948
It’s rare these days that I come across a vintage photo of LA in which we can see three things that are still with us. This photo of Hollywood Blvd is dated December 1948, and we can see the Pig’N … Continue reading
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Tagged Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Restaurants, Theaters
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Interior of Romanoff’s restaurant, Beverly Hills, 1952
I was recently researching Romanoff’s restaurant in Beverly Hills for a scene from my next book. Regular commenter on my Facebook page—Susan Milner—helped me out by finding this shot from 1952. For such a super-popular and super-famous restaurant, I was … Continue reading
Brown Derby restaurant, Vine St, Hollywood, 1929
The Hollywood Brown Derby on Vine Street changed over the years it was open (1929 to 1987) so it’s nice to able to see what it looked like when it first opened. This was taken sometime during that first year, … Continue reading
Beverly Wilshire Hotel with Brown Derby in the background, circa late 1930s
Considering how busy and built-up the area around the Beverly Wilshire Hotel is these days, it’s hard for me to wrap my mind around how empty that land was back in the 1930s. The car in the foreground is a … Continue reading
Roosevelt Highway (now the PCH) and pedestrian bridge at Thelma Todd’s Sidewalk Cafe, 1935
Thelma Todd was a popular actress in the late 20s to mid 30s. In 1934, she opened a place in the Pacific Palisades called Thelma Todd’s Sidewalk Café at 17575 Pacific Coast Hwy (then called Roosevelt Hwy) just north of … Continue reading