Tag Archives: Wilshire Blvd
Early dual-lamp streetlights running along a dirt-covered Wilshire Blvd somewhere in Los Angeles, circa 1931
I’ve been posting a vintage photo of Los Angeles every day for more than 10 years, and yet it still amazes me when I see photos of main LA thoroughfares with hardly any automobiles, buildings, or people in sight. Like … Continue reading
Color photo showing an Oldsmobile and a Buick parked at the entrance to the Ambassador Hotel, 3400 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, circa early 1960s
The two classic-era automobiles (an Oldsmobile on the left and a Buick on the right) we can see in this color photo (a postcard, is my guess) taken at the entrance to the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Blvd are both … Continue reading
Howard Ball’s sculpture of a mammoth is lowered via helicopter into the La Brea Tar Pits, Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, June 1968
This photo captures what I think of as being a very LA moment. In 1968, sculptor Howard Ball made a fiberglass mammoth to be placed into the La Brea Tar Pits, where natural asphalt has seeped up from the ground … Continue reading
Photo of the grand piano that stood near the 7th Street garden entrance of the Ambassador Hotel, 3400 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, circa 1920s
It’s not too hard to find photos of the exterior of the Ambassador Hotel at 3400 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, but interior shots are harder to come by. Well, apart from the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, that is. This photo’s caption … Continue reading
Looking northeast from Wilshire Blvd, from west of Figueroa St toward the Richfield Building in downtown Los Angeles, circa 1937
In this circa 1937, we’re standing on Wilshire Blvd—we know that from the Wilshire Special streetlights. The view is looking northeast from west of Figueroa St toward downtown LA. Back then, the skyline of that part of downtown was dominated … Continue reading
Billboard on the northeast corner of Wilshire Blvd and Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, 1938
Click the photo for a larger view. In 1940, the May Co department store turned the northeast corner of Wilshire Blvd. and Fairfax Ave into a landmark corner with its curved, gold-painted flagship store. As with most landmarks, it can … Continue reading
Sparse traffic passes by a branch of the Bank of America on Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 1932
I couldn’t find any details of this photo of Angelenos passing by a branch of the Bank of America on Wilshire Blvd, so I can’t even tell you the cross street. But it does strike me as somewhat unnerving to … Continue reading
Color photo looking west along Wilshire Blvd from Commonwealth Ave toward Bullocks Wilshire department store, Los Angeles, 1972
I don’t normally post images from as late as 1972, but I’m a sucker for color photos, especially if they’re of one of LA’s most iconic buildings: the Bullocks Wilshire department store. We’re looking west along Wilshire Blvd from Commonwealth … Continue reading
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Tagged Bullocks Wilshire, Color photo, Hotels, Stores and Shopping, Town House Hotel, Wilshire Blvd
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Color photo looking east along Wilshire Blvd from the eastern end of MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, circa 1950s
Here we have a vibrant circa-1950s photo looking east along Wilshire from the eastern end of MacArthur Park. Past the trees on the left, we can see the top of the huge sign for the Westlake Theatre (MacArthur Park was … Continue reading
Residence of General Harrison Grey Otis, 2401 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, circa early 1900s
In 1881, General Harrison Grey Otis (a Union Army officer during the Civil War) started the Los Angeles Times, and in 1898, built this home on the north side of Wilshire Blvd at Park View St. It overlooked Westlake Park … Continue reading