Tag Archives: Wilshire Blvd
Aerial view of the Melody Lane Drive-in restaurant on the southwest corner of Wilshire Blvd and Western Ave, Los Angeles, circa 1940s
The aerial shot really shows how Los Angeles was a horizontal city in contrast to the verticality of New York or Chicago. What we’re looking down at the Melody Lane drive-in restaurant on the southwest corner of Wilshire Blvd and … Continue reading
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Tagged Aerial photographs, Restaurants, Theaters, Wilshire Blvd
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Calpet gas station, 3237 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, circa 1928
When was the last time you saw a gas station with a roof tiled in a gorgeous geometric pattern, 15-foot gates with fancy grillwork, and attendants wearing some sort of harem-in-the-Arabian-desert uniform? I’m guess it’s been a LONG time. But … Continue reading
Van-Shire Florist, 4016 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, circa 1928
This photo gives us a glimpse of what florist shops looked like in the late 1920s. And guess what – they weren’t a whole lot different from how they look nearly 100 years later. A sign advertising flowers for weddings, … Continue reading
Looking east along Wilshire Blvd from Hauser Blvd, Los Angeles, circa 1953
If you stood at the corner of Wilshire and Hauser Boulevards and looked east as this photographer did, you’d see one clothing store after the other: Coulter’s, Mullen & Bluett’s, Silverwoods, and Myer Siegel. And on the other side of … Continue reading
Union Oil gas station, Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, circa early 1940s
Judging from the 1940 Chevrolet getting gas in this Union Oil service station, it’s likely that this oh-so-film-noir-ish night shot was taken some time in the early 1940s. If you look at the street lighting in this picture, you’ll see … Continue reading
Automobile entrance to Bullocks Wilshire department store, Wilshire Place, Los Angeles, 1935
The iconic Bullocks Wilshire department store on Wilshire Blvd didn’t have bad angle – it was and still is striking from every side. In this view, we’re seeing its all-important automobile entrance (Bullocks Wilshire was the first store to orientate … 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
Box office and foyer of the Fox Wilshire Theater, 8440 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, 1932
If you want to go to the movies in style, this is the way to do it: in a 1932 Packard Eight Deluxe. This lucky driver is parked outside the Art Deco palace otherwise known as the the Fox Wilshire … Continue reading
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Tagged 20th Century-Fox, Beverly Hills, Theaters, Wilshire Blvd
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Miracle Mile Easter Parade traffic heading west along Wilshire Blvd at Kenmore Ave, Easter Sunday, April 13, 1941
With bumper-to-bumper traffic inching its way along Wilshire Blvd, you’d think this photo was taken in 2019, not 1941. I doubt that Wilshire often saw traffic like that but this was taken on Easter Sunday in 1941 following the Miracle … Continue reading