Water and Power Associates Informing the Public about Critical Water and Energy Issues facing Los Angeles and California

Historical Notes

Grauman's Chinese Theatre opened in May 18, 1927, after a construction period of 18 months. Built to resemble a giant, red Chinese pagoda, the architecture features a huge Chinese dragon across the front, two stone lion-dogs guarding the main entrance, and the silhouettes of tiny dragons up and down the sides of the copper roof.*

Historical Notes

In 1927, Lloyd Wright (the son of Frank Lloyd Wright), built a pyramidal shell, with a vaguely Southwestern look, out of left-over lumber from a production of Robin Hood. This was generally regarded as the best shell the Bowl ever had from an acoustic standpoint; unfortunately, its appearance was deemed too avant-garde, and it was demolished at the end of the season. It did, however, get Wright a second chance, this time with the stipulation that the shell was to have an arch shape.*^

Historical Notes

The sunrise services began in 1919 as a gathering for silent film stars near the site of the Hollywood Bowl and moved to the facility in 1921. Back then, the bowl was basically a hillside blanketed with rocks and weeds, but the area had good natural acoustics.^^*

Historical Notes

For the 1929 season, the Allied Architects built the shell that stood until 2003, using a transite skin over a metal frame. Its acoustics, though not nearly as good as those of the Lloyd Wright shells, were deemed satisfactory at first, and its clean lines and white, almost-semicircular arches were copied for music shells elsewhere. As the acoustics deteriorated, various measures were used to mitigate the problems, starting with an inner shell made from large cardboard tubes (of the sort used as forms for round concrete pillars) in the 1970s, which were replaced in the early 1980s by large fiberglass spheres (both designed by Frank Gehry) that remained until 2003. These dampened out the unfavorable acoustics, but required massive use of electronic amplification to reach the full audience, particularly since the background noise level had risen sharply since the 1920s.

The appearance underwent other, purely visual, changes as well, including the addition of a broad outer arch (forming a proscenium) where it had once had only a narrow rim and the reflecting pool in front of the stage that lasted from 1953 till 1972.

Sculptor George Stanley designed the Muse Fountain. He had previously done the Oscar statuette.*^

Historical Notes

Opened in 1926, the current Shrine Auditorium replaced an earlier 1906 Al Malaikah Temple which had been destroyed by a fire on January 11, 1920. The fire gutted the original building in just 30 minutes, and nearly killed six firefighters in the process. *^

Historical Notes

The new auditorium was designed in the Moorish Revival style by San Francisco-based theater architect G. Albert Lansburgh, with local architects John C. Austin and A. M. Edelman associated.*^

Historical Notes

When built, the auditorium could hold 1,200 people on stage and seat an audience of 6,442. An engineer who consulted on the project said that the steel truss supporting the balcony was the largest ever constructed.*^

Historical Notes

In 1975 the Shrine was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No.139 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

The Shrine Auditorium has hosted a number of events, mainly for entertainment. The Academy Awards were held at the Shrine from 1947–1948 and for eight times between 1988 and 2001 until it moved to the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The Shrine has hosted several Grammy ceremonies until 2000 when it had moved to the nearby Staples Center. The Primetime Emmy Awards were also held at the venue for a decade beginning in 1998. However, the Primetime ceremony was moved to the nearby Nokia Theatre (which is next door to Staples Center).*^

For 33 years, Shrine Auditorium was home to the University of Southern California Trojans basketball team. The Trojans' home court was on the Shrine's stage. The Los Angeles Lakers also briefly played some playoff games in the theatre, when the nearby Los Angeles Sports Arena was unavailable.*^

Historical Notes

The architectural firm of Morgan, Walls and Clements designed the 1927 Mayan Revival style Mayan Theatre located at 1044 South Hill Street. Francisco Comeja designed the cast concrete sculptural facade which was originally grey, but has been colorfully painted in recent years.

In 1989 the Mayan Theater was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monumen No. 460 (Click HERE to see complete listing).*

Historical Notes

Originally a legitimate theater, the Mayan is a prototypical example of the many excessively ornate exotic revival-style theaters of the late 1920s, Mayan Revival in this case. The well-preserved lobby is called "The Hall of Feathered Serpents," the auditorium includes a chandelier based on the Aztec calendar stone, and the original fire curtain included images of Mayan jungles and temples.*^

Historical Notes

The Mayan Theatre opened August 15, 1927 as a legit theatre focusing on musical comedies. The opening attraction was the musical "Oh, Kay!" with Elsie Janis.

Morgan, Walls & Clements also did the Belasco Theatre (1926) just to the south of the Mayan. The project was financed by developer F.N. Stowall and oil magnate Edward L. Doheny. The Mayan and the Belasco were an attempt to get a new fashionable legit theatre district going west of Broadway.*^#

Historical Notes

In December of 1936 Los Angeles City voters approved a charter amendment authorizing the Bureau of Power and Light to issue revenue bonds in the amount of $46 million and purchase the electrical system of Los Angeles Gas and Electric Corporation. At that time, it was the last remaining privately owned system in LA.

In 1937, the Bureau of Water Works and Supply consolidated with the Bureau of Power and Light and became the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Click HERE to see more in Electricity in Early Los Angeles.

Historical Notes

Electric utilities use distribution stations to transfer power from the transmission system to the distribution system for a specific service area. It is uneconomical to directly connect electricity customers to the main transmission network, unless they use large amounts of power. Therefore the distribution station reduces voltage to a value suitable for local distribution. In addition to transforming voltage, the substations regulate voltage which ensures a smoother level of power as seen by the customer.

Click HERE to see more in Early Power Distribution Stations.

Historical Notes

In December 1926, Sears, Roebuck and Company of Chicago announced that it would build a nine-story, height-limit building on East Ninth Street (later renamed Olympic Boulevard) at Soto, in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles. The building, intended to serve as a mail order distribution center for the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast states, was constructed by Scofield Engineering Company. Architectural work was handled by George Nimmens Company.

The building was erected in just six months using materials that were all made in Los Angeles County, with the exception of the steel window sashes. To accomplish the feat, the contractor had six steam shovels and a large labor force working night and day shifts. It was reported that rock and sand for the cement work were being delivered to the site at the rate of twenty carloads daily. When the building was completed in late June 1927, the Los Angeles Times reported that the construction was believed to have set a record: “All records for the erection of a huge structure were believed to have been broken when last week the Scofield Engineering Construction Company turned over the new $5,000,000 department store and mail-order house at Ninth street and Boyle avenue to Sears, Roebuck & Co., having completed this height-limit project in 146 working days, or 171 days of elapsed time.” *^

Historical Notes

Sears, Roebuck & Company Mail Order Building was built in 1927 as a distribution center for the company's mail order department. The building served that function until 1992, when Sears closed its Los Angeles distribution center and sold the building. Though Sears still operates a retail store on the ground floor, the rest of the enormous complex has remained vacant since 1992. The 1,800,000-square-foot  complex, considered one of the iconic landmarks of LA's Eastside, has been the subject of several renovation proposals since the mid-1990s. In 2007 and 2008, Boyle Heights native Oscar de la Hoya made two bids to acquire the property, with plans to convert the complex into retail and residential space.

From 1927 to 1991, the building was operated both as a mail order distribution center serving the Western United States and as a retail store operating on the ground floor. The sprawling mail order distribution center was a marvel of modern technology when it opened, with employees filling orders by roller skating around the enormous facility, picking up items and dropping them onto corkscrew slides for distribution by truck or rail. The building was one of the largest in Los Angeles, and it attracted more than 100,000 visitors in its first month of operation, not including shoppers at the ground floor retail store.*^

In August 2004, the Boyle Heights Sears building was designated LA Historic Cultural Monument No. 788 (Click HERE to see complete listing). It was also listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 21, 2006.

Historical Notes

The Tower Theater was commissioned by H.L. Gumbiner, who would later also build the Los Angeles Theatre in 1931. The Tower was the first theater designed by architect S. Charles Lee. Seating 900 on a tiny site, it was designed in powerful Baroque style with innovative French, Spanish, Moorish, and Italian elements all executed in terra-cotta.  Its interior was modeled after the Paris Opera House.  Its exterior features a prominent clock tower, the very top of which was removed after an earthquake. It opened in 1927 with the silent film The Gingham Girl starring Lois Wilson and George K. Arthur.*^

Historical Notes

The Tower Theater was the first film house in Los Angeles to be wired for talking pictures, and it was the location of the sneak preview and Los Angeles premiere of Warner Bros.' revolutionary part-talking The Jazz Singer (1927), starring Al Jolson. It was also the first theater in Los Angeles to be air conditioned.*^

In 1989, the Tower Theater was designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 450 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

Alfred Schaber opened Schaber’s Cafeteria at 620 S. Broadway in 1928. Restaurants became an important part of Broadway, serving both the shopping and theater-going public. Besides full-service restaurants in all of the major department stores, Schaber's Cafeteria became a favorite destination after its opening in 1928 next to the Palace Theatre.*##*

Historical Notes

Today, the facade still looks great. Figaro Bistro opened in the building in December 2012.

Historical Notes

The Hall of Records was built in 1906 and demolished in 1973; the County Courthouse was built in 1891 and demolished in 1932; the Hall of Justice was built in 1922 by Allied Architects.*

Historical Notes

After authorizing a bond issue on June 5, 1923, the city commissioned John C. Austin, Albert C. Martin, and John Parkinson as architects in August, 1925.  Ground was broken on March 4, 1926 and the new City Hall building was dedicated on April 26, 1928.**^^

Historical Notes

Arcadia St. was just one block long, running between Main and Los Angeles Sts., and was named for Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker. She was first married to Abel Stearns, who built the Arcadia Block, and then after his death she married Robert Symington Baker, who built the Baker Block on the site of the former Stearns residence, a large and apparently lavish adobe (and he also co-founded Santa Monica, among other things). So both of the buildings that bordered the south side of Arcadia St. were built by Arcadia's husbands.**^

Click HERE to read more about Arcadia in Early Views of Santa Monica.

Historical Notes

The new 28-story Los Angeles City Hall was replacing a building on Broadway between 2nd and 3rd Streets that had been government headquarters since 1889. That building had replaced a one-story adobe City Hall, formerly the old Rocha House, on the northeast corner of Spring and Court Streets.**^^

Historical Notes

City Hall has 32 floors and, at 454 feet high, is the tallest base-isolated structure in the world.

The building underwent a seismic retrofit from 1998 to 2001. It is designed to sustain minimal damage and remain functional after a magnitude 8.2 earthquake.*^

Historical Notes

The concrete in its tower was made with sand from each of California's 58 counties and water from its 21 historical missions.*^

Historical Notes

Prior to the late 1950s the Charter of the City of Los Angeles did not permit any portion of any building other than a purely decorative tower to be more than 150 feet. Therefore, from its completion in 1928 until 1964, the City Hall was the tallest building in Los Angeles, and shared the skyline with only a few structures having decorative towers, including the Richfield Tower and the Eastern Columbia Building.*^

Historical Notes

City Hall's distinctive tower was based on the purported shape of the Mausoleum of Mausolus and shows the influence of the Los Angeles Public Library, completed soon before the structure was started.*^

Historical Notes

The big dedication, overseen by Sid Grauman and attended by an estimated 15,000 people, featured emceeing by Joseph Schenck and speeches by Mayor George E. Cryer and San Francisco Mayor James Rolph, Jr. After Rolph spoke, Irving Berlin sang, as did “Chief Yowlache, the Yakima Indian; Elsa Alsen, the grand opera singer; the Mexican chorus of Los Angeles, in costume; Virgil Johannson, and others." **^^

Historical Notes

An image of City Hall has been on Los Angeles Police Department badges since 1940.*^

Historical Notes

In 1928, the International Savings & Exchange Bank Building was dwarfed by the new 28-story Los Angeles City Hall, and soon after calls for its demolition increased, resulting in its razing sometime after 1954. The portion of Spring Street that its front entrance faced no longer exists.*^

Historical Notes

The International Savings & Exchange Bank Building (also known as the International Savings Building), was built in the Spring Street Financial District of Los Angeles in 1907. Standing ten floors, it was designed in the Renaissance Revival and Italianate styles by architect H. Alban Reaves, who had previously designed several structures in New York, including what is now the south building of the historic Schuyler Arms.

It stood at 226 North Spring Street, the intersection of Temple and Spring, (sometimes referred to as Temple Square) across from the Main Post Office and was featured in several postcards from the 1920s.*^

Historical Notes

Ralphs Grocery Company was founded in 1873 by George Albert Ralphs with the original store being located at Sixth and Spring Streets. The company employed notable architects in designing its stores.*^

Click HERE to see an 1886 photo of George Ralphs standing in front of his original store in the Early LA Buildings (1800s) Section.

Historical Notes

Located at 811 West 7th Street, just east of Figueroa Street, the Fine Arts Building was built in 1925.  It is a twelve story Romanesque Revival style building designed by Walker & Eisen.

The building appears in the film (500) Days of Summer, where the protagonist — an aspiring architect — describes it as his favorite building.*^

Historical Notes

In 1974, the Fine Arts Building (also known as Global Marine House) was designated Historic Cultural Monument No. 125 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

Architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue designed the original Los Angeles Central Library with influences of ancient Egyptian and Mediterranean Revival architecture. The central tower is topped with a tiled mosaic pyramid with suns on the sides with a hand holding a torch representing the "Light of Learning" at the apex. Other elements include sphinxes, snakes, and celestial mosaics. It has sculptural elements by the preeminent American architectural sculptor Lee Lawrie, similar to the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska, also designed by Goodhue.*^

Historical Notes

The sunburst image located directly above the globe chandelier mirrors the sunburst design of the pyramid on top of the building, a further illustration of the building's theme: "the light of learning".*

Historical Notes

The Central Library's murals were painted by Dean Cornwell, and the mosaic-like painted dome was done by Julian C. Garnsey. This entire area sustained some smoke damage during the fire that ravaged the upper levels of Central Library, April 29, 1986.*

Historical Notes

Designed by Goodhue Associates, the chandelier measures 9 feet in diameter, is composed of cast bronze, weighs one ton, and is part of a model of the solar system.*

Historical Notes

On the wall under the tower are the words "David .. St. John". Part of the printing lower on the building reads: "They Give To All Who Ask ... Serve Them Faithfully." *

Historical Notes

Originally named the Central Library, the building was first renamed in honor of the longtime president of the Board of Library Commissioners and President of the University of Southern California, Rufus B. von KleinSmid. The new wing of Central Library, completed in 1993, was named in honor of former mayor Tom Bradley. The complex (i.e., the original Goodhue building and the Bradley wing) was subsequently renamed in 2001 for former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, as the Richard Riordan Central Library.*^

Historical Notes

On March 1, 1967 the Central Library Building was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 46 (Click HERE to see listing). It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.*^

Historical Notes

The Bullock's Wilshire Building was designed by Architects Parkinson & Parkinson in 1928. The building was completed in 1929 as a luxury department store for owner John G. Bullock (owner of the more mainstream Bullock's in Downtown Los Angeles). The exterior is notable for its 241-foot tower whose top is sheathed in copper, tarnished green. At one time, the tower peak had a light that could be seen for miles around.*^

Historical Notes

In 1968, the Bullock's Wilshire Building at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 56 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

In 1978, the building was also listed in the National Register of Historic Places as No.78000685.*^

Historical Notes

Bullocks Wilshire's innovation was that it was one of the first department stores in Los Angeles to cater to the burgeoning automobile culture. It was located in a then-mostly residential district, its objective to attract shoppers who wanted a closer place to shop than Downtown Los Angeles.*^

Historical Notes

Traditional display windows faced the sidewalk, but they were decorated to catch the eyes of motorists. Since most customers would arrive by vehicle, the most appealing entrance was placed in the rear. Under the city's first department store porte cochere, valets in livery welcomed patrons and parked their cars.*^

Historical Notes

In 1994, the building was acquired by Southwestern Law School - its long-time neighbor. The school restored the building to its original 1929 state, adapting the building for use as an integral part of the school (adaptive reuse).*^

Historical Notes

Los Angeles was the principal center for the development of drive-in markets between the mid-1910s to the early 1940s.^^^

Historical Notes

The Mandarin Market with its unique Chinese profile, was designed by M. L. Gogerty and built in 1928-1929. It would later become the Hollywood Ranch Market.* Click HERE to see more in Early Views of Hollywood (1920 +)

Historical Notes

Leonis Adobe is one of only four surviving adobe residences remaining in the San Fernando Valley. When the Los Angeles Cultural Historical Board was formed in 1962, Leonis Adobe was the first designated as a Historic-Cultural Monument. By 2007, there were nearly 900 separately numbered sites that had received the designation, but Leonis Adobe has the prestige of having been designated as LA Historic-Cultural Monument No. 1 (Click HERE to see the complete list). In 1975, the adobe was also listed on the National Register of Historical Places.*^

For a number of years it was part of Warner Bros. ranch properties and resided in by actor John Carradine and family. In 1965 it was one of the few remnants of the San Fernando Valley's heritage standing in original form.*

Historical Notes

During the 1930s, the St. Charles turned into a low-budget-lodging house and served a poor and ethnically diverse population. It was demolished in 1940 to make space for a parking lot. In the 1970s, architect Robert Stockwell designed the subterranean Los Angeles Mall, where the oldest hotel once stood.^#*

The Bella Union Hotel site was designated as California Historical Landmark No. 656. Click HERE to see more California Historical Landmarks in LA.

Historical Notes

The Architects' Building was demolished in 1969 to make room for the ARCO Towers.*

Historical Notes

The Gaylord Apartment Hotel was named after Henry Gaylord Wilshire, who founded the famous boulevard; the 14-story building officially opened its doors in 1924. The entire area near the Gaylord became the site of New York style apartment buildings, and many film stars lived in these elegant high rises. Among them were the Ambassador, Asbury, Langham, Fox Normandie, Picadilly, and Windsor. In the mid-sixties, the Gaylord Apartment Hotel was converted into a charming apartment community.*

Historical Notes

In 1895, Henry Gaylord Wilshire began developing 35 acres stretching westward from Westlake Park for an elite residential subdivision. He donated a strip of land to the city of Los Angeles for a boulevard through what was then a barley field, on the conditions that it would be named for him and that railroad lines and commercial or industrial trucking would be banned.

In 1900, Wilshire was arrested for speaking in a public park in Los Angeles. A judge dismissed the charges, but the incident caused Wilshire to leave Los Angeles for New York.

Wilshire eventually returned to Los Angeles and made much of his connection with the now famous Boulevard that bore his name, although he had no involvement with its gradual expansion in the years while he was absent from the region. He made and lost several fortunes during his lifetime and died destitute on September 7, 1927 in New York.*^

Historical Notes

Richfield Tower, also known as the Richfield Oil Company Building, was constructed between 1928 and 1929 and served as the headquarters of Richfield Oil. It was designed by Stiles O. Clements and featured a black and gold Art Deco facade. The unusual color scheme was meant to symbolize the "black gold" that was Richfield's business. Haig Patigian did the exterior sculptures.*^

Historical Notes

The 12-floor Atlantic Richfield Building was 372 feet tall, including a 130-foot tower atop the building, emblazoned vertically with the name "Richfield". Lighting on the tower was made to simulate an oil well gusher and the motif was reused at some Richfield service stations.*^

Historical Notes

The Southern California Edison Company Building was one of the first all-electrically heated and cooled buildings constructed in the western United States. Now known as One Bunker Hill, the Art Deco building located at 601 W. 5th Street was designed by James and David Allison.*

In 1988, the One Bunker Hill Building was designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 347 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

In 1939, Southern California Edison (SCE) and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) completed negotiations on the division of territory between the two utilities. SCE would supply the unincorporated areas within Los Angeles County and all other municipalities except for Pasadena, Glendale, and Burbank, while the DWP became the sole electrical service provider for the City of Los Angeles.

Click HERE to see more in First Electricity in Los Angeles.

Historical Notes

In 1919 the school obtained university status and became the Southern Branch of the University of California, located at 855 N. Vermont Avenue. In 1927 the name was changed to the University of California at Los Angeles. On May 31, 1929 the university opened its new campus in Westwood on land sold for $1 million dollars. In 1958, the name changed slightly again when the "at" was dropped, and became simply University of California, Los Angeles or UCLA.*

Click HERE to see more in Early Views of UCLA.

Historical Notes

Westwood and UCLA were developed on the lands of the historic 'Wolfskill Ranch', a 3,000-acre parcel that was purchased by Arthur Letts, the successful founder of the Broadway, and Bullock's department stores, in 1919. Upon Arthur Lett's death, his son-in-law, Harold Janss, vice president of Janss Investment Company, inherited the land and developed the area and started advertising for new homes in 1922.*^

Historical Notes

In 1925, in a deal to get the University of California, Los Angeles built, the Janss Investment Company sold 375 acres to the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills at the bargain price of $1.2 million — about a quarter of its value. The cities, whose voters had passed bond issues to pay for the site, turned around and donated it to the state. While the UCLA campus was being built, Janss Investment Company went to work developing the Westwood Village commercial area and surrounding residential neighborhoods.*^

Historical Notes

The octagonal Janns "Dome" Building was designed by Allison and Allison and remains the dominant structure within Westwood Village. It is designated as Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 364 (Click HERE to see complete listing).*

Historical Notes

Built in 1929, Holmby Hall is a streetscape of six Spanish Colonial Revival storefronts and features a prominent white clock tower, capped by a green pinnacle.  It  was the first shop building to be erected in the architecturally significant cinema/shopping precinct of Westwood Village.

Holmby Hall’s history is tied in with that of UCLA, as the building was used as the first dormitory for female students of that famous university.*^

Historical Notes

Westwood Village was created by the Janss Investment Company, run by Harold and Edwin Janss and their father, Peter, in the late 1920s as an autonomous shopping district and headquarters of the Janss Company. Its boom was complemented by the boom of UCLA (which selected the Westwood Hills as its new home in 1926), developed as a shopping district not just for the residents of Westwood but also for the university.*^

Historical Notes

Until recently, this three-story Spanish Colonial Revival office building served as the headquarters for the largest Automobile Club in the country. The building reflects the importance of the automobile to Southern California. A century old Moreton Bay fig tree is placed at the Figueroa street entrance. Its drive-through courtyard displays plaques from each California county, and the interior rotunda features terrazzo tile imported from Mexico.**^^

The Automobile Club of Southern California, one of the nation's first motor clubs dedicated to improving roads, proposing traffic laws, and improvement of overall driving conditions, was founded on December 13, 1900 in Los Angeles. The Auto Club was responsible for producing state road maps, as well as posting thousands of porcelain-to-steel traffic signs throughout the state to create a uniform signing system - which it continued to do until the task was taken over by the State of California in the mid-1950s.*

Historical Notes

The building pictured here originally served as the Auto Club's main office. It was built between 1922-1923 by architects, Sumner P. Hunt, Silas R. Burns, and Roland E. Coate in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. Today, this building serves as the Los Angeles district office, but the administrative offices are now located in Costa Mesa.*

The Automobile Club Building was designated LA Historic-Cultural Monument No. 72 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

The University of Southern California (USC) was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university. USC's development has closely paralleled the growth of Los Angeles, and the university historically has educated a large number of the city's business leaders and professionals.*^

Historical Notes

USC Law School had its beginnings in 1896 when Judge David C. Morrison opened his courtroom for 36 law apprentices, among whom were future California Supreme Court Justice Frederick W. Houser and his wife, Sara Isabella Wilde; the couple would soon form the Los Angeles Law Students Association to discuss the concept of a formal law school. Their efforts resulted in the incorporation of the Los Angeles Law School in 1898.

The first law degree was awarded in 1901 to Gavin W. Craig. Over the next several decades, USC Law rose to become one of the most prominent national law schools, priding itself on an interdisciplinary form of study. 2002 saw the beginning of the USC Law Graduate and International Programs. It is an American Bar Association (ABA) approved law school since 1924. It joined the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 1907.*^

Historical Notes

In 1892, Edward Laurence Doheny Sr. struck oil in Los Angeles, setting off a major land boom. The Dohenys built a financial empire based upon their success in the oil-producing business. Their son, Edward L. 'Ned' Doheny Jr., studied at USC and remained involved in the university after his graduation in 1916. Tragically, he was murdered at his home in Beverly Hills in February 1929. As a memorial to their son, the Dohenys contributed the entire $1.1 million needed to build the Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library and actively participated in the design and construction of the facility.^

Historical Notes

The Times Mirror Reading Room is one of Doheny Library’s most popular study locations. The exquisite architecture includes bronze and pewter chandeliers as well as American walnut bookshelves. The room is 131 feet long, 46 feet wide, and 27 feet high. It has shelves for 6,000 books and accommodates 400 readers.^^

Historical Notes

Sinai Temple was the first conservative congregation in Southern California, established in 1906. For nearly 20 years, the temple was located at 12th and Valencia Streets. A second facility, the 1,400-seat structure shown here, was designed by S. Tilden Norton and the first services were held in 1925. The synagogue served the community until 1960, at which time a new temple opened in Westwood.*

Historical Notes

This building, which later became the Korean Philadelphia Presbyterian Church, was declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 91 on November 17, 1971 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

The Chateau Elysée was built as a luxury hotel/apartment house in 1929 by Eleanor Ince, the widow of Thomas H. Ince, the successful pioneer silent film producer.  Designed by eminent architect Arthur E. Harvey as a prominent seven story replica of a 17th Century French-Normandy castle, the Chateau Elysée remains as the most impressive of several Hollywood chateaux built during the area's booming 1920s.

The hotel provided a home for many of the artists that were then being drawn to Hollywood. Residents included some of the most famous names of the 1930s and 40s. Most notably Bette Davis, Errol Flynn (room 211), Edward G. Robinson (room 216), Carol Lombard (room 305), Edgar Rice Burroughs (room 408), Humphrey Bogart (room 603), Clark Gable (room 604), Ginger Rogers (room 705), Ed Sullivan (room 501), Gracie Allen and George Burns (room 609) along with Lillian Gish, Katharine Hepburn, George Gershwin, and Cary Grant.*^

Historical Notes

In 1969 the building began being used as the Church of Scientology's home for its Celebrity Centre; since 1973 the building has been owned by the Church. Several floors are now hotel rooms (for church members only), with the building's topmost stories serving as offices. Free guided tours of the historic building are available to the general public.

The Château's conservatory building houses the acclaimed French rococo-styled restaurant, Renaissance.*^

On September 23, 1987, the City of Los Angeles declared the building as Historic-Cultural Monument No. 329 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

Originally known as the Warner Bros. Theatre or Warner Hollywood Theatre, the Italianate beaux arts building was designed by architect G. Albert Lansburgh with approximately 2,700 seats. It opened on April 26, 1928, showcasing the studio's early Vitaphone talking film Glorious Betsy, starring Conrad Nagel and Dolores Costello.*^

It was sometimes called The Warner Hollywood Theatre to avoid confusion with another Warner Theatre in Los Angeles, known as "Warner Downtown Theatre" at 401 W. 7th St.*^

Historical Notes

Warner Bros. owned radio station KFWB positioned its radio transmitter towers on top of the building, which remain to this day. Though covered by "PACIFIC" lettering, the original "WARNERS" lettering can still be seen inside each tower.

The theatre finally closed its doors as a full-time cinema on August 15, 1994. This was mostly due to water damage to the basement caused by the construction of the Hollywood Subway Red Line and structural damage caused by the 1994 Northridge earthquake

The building now occupied by Ecclesia Hollywood Church. Given the recent revitalization of Hollywood Boulevard in the early 21st century, it is often speculated that the theatre will one day be restored as a film palace.*^

Historical Notes

Warner Bros. Downtown Theatre - Vaudeville Theater and Movie Palace - Located at 401 W. 7th St (northwest corner of South Hill and West 7th St). Opening on August 17, 1920, it was originally called the Pantages Theatre, but was renamed Warner Bros. Downtown Theatre in 1930 after the Hollywood Pantages Theatre was opened. The exterior has an imposing domed corner tower, flanked by twin facades on 7th and Hill. Later in the 1960s, it was known as the Warrens Theatre.*^

Historical Notes

Today, the building houses a jewelry mart and most of the chairs have been ripped out to hold jewelry booths, and its Deco luster has worn to a dull throb.*##

Historical Notes

The Pantages Theatre, formerly known as RKO Pantages Theatre was the last theater built by the vaudeville impresario Alexander Pantages. The palatial Art Deco theater opened on June 4, 1930, as part of the Pantages Theatre Circuit.

The original plans for the Pantages were for a 12-story building: 2 floors dedicated to theater and 10 floors of office space. Completion of the 10 upper floors was halted due to the 1929 stock market crash during construction.*^

Historical Notes

The grand lobby is a magnificent poly-chromatic fan-vaulted space, that is 110 feet wide and 60 feet deep. It is decorated in a zigzag geometric design in gold and henna shades. At each end is a 20 feet wide stairway, lined with vaguely Egyptian and Assyro-Babylonian styled statues, one of which depicts in an Art Deco style, a camera crew filming. The entire area was illuminated by three huge Moderne frosted glass chandeliers hanging from three star-shaped domes.^^#

Historical Notes

Alexander Pantages sold the Hollywood landmark in 1932 to Fox West Coast Theaters. In 1949, Howard Hughes acquired the Pantages for his RKO Theatre Circuit and moved his personal offices to the building's second floor. From 1949 through 1959, the theatre hosted the American motion picture industry's annual Academy Award Ceremonies.*^

Historical Notes

Now operated by an arm of the Nederlander Organization, the Pantages is one of Los Angeles' leading venues for live theater (the five highest-grossing weeks in L.A.'s theatrical history were all shows at the Pantages). The theatre has recently presented large-scale Broadway musicals such as Disney's The Lion King, which ran at the theatre for over two years, and hosted the long-running Los Angeles production of the Broadway musical Wicked.*^

Historical Notes

The site of the Hollywood Bowl was chosen in 1919 by William Reed and his son H. Ellis Reed, members of the newly formed Theatre Arts Alliance who were dispatched to find a suitable location for outdoor performances.*^

Historical Notes

The Hollywood Bowl is known for its band shell, a distinctive set of concentric arches that graced the site from 1929 through 2003, before being replaced with a somewhat larger one beginning in the 2004 season. The shell is set against the backdrop of the Hollywood Hills and the famous Hollywood Sign to the Northeast.*^

Historical Notes

In 1939, the Hollywood Bowl’s “Muse of Music” entrance statue was erected by the WPA at a cost of $100,000. It was designed by sculptor George Stanley, most noted for his design of the “Oscar” statuette.*

Historical Notes

The Greek Theatre was built in 1929 and is located in Griffith Park. Designed by architect Frederick Heath, the amphitheater's stage is modeled after a Greek temple.*^

Historical Notes

The Greek Theatre was paid for with a donation from Griffith J. Griffith, who also donated the land for the park, named in his honor. Although it is owned by the City of Los Angeles, the theatre is managed, operated and promoted by the Nederlander Organization.*^

Historical Notes

Established in 1897 as a substitute for the university education that women were largely denied, the Ebell club had 2,500 members in its heyday in the 1920s, and activities included Shakespeare, gardening and art appreciation.

The Ebell was named after Adrian Ebell, a German professor who traveled around California forming study groups for women. In the beginning of the 20th century, the Ebell was one of the largest and most elite clubs in the nation, rivaled only by the Friday Morning Club in downtown Los Angeles.^#^#

Historical Notes

The club’s home — not its original but by far the longest serving — is an enormous, meandering building designed by the architect Sumner Hunt. It has an elaborate coffered ceiling with gilded rosettes, a grand entrance on Wilshire Boulevard made from 200 separate pieces of wrought iron, and all sorts of fancy sitting rooms.

The stairs maintain their original risers, which were built to allow women to hold their dresses while climbing them with grace.^#^#

Historical Notes

Since 1927, the Wilshire Ebell Theater has hosted musical performances and lectures by world leaders and top artists. Among other events, the Ebell was the site of aviator Amelia Earhart's last public appearance before attempting the 1937 around-the-world flight during which she disappeared, and the place where Judy Garland was discovered while performing as Baby Frances Gumm in the 1930s.*^

In 1982, the Ebell of Los Angeles Building was designated LA Historic-Cultural Monument No. 250 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

Built in 1929, the E. Clem Wilson Building was designed by architects Meyer and Holler in Art Deco (Zigzag) Moderne style. It is also known as the Wilson Building.*

Elihu Clement Wilson was born on July 5, 1870 in Harrison, Darke County, Ohio to Andrew Porter Wilson, Jr., a farmer, and Arabella Josephine Wiley. He lived for a time, ca. 1880, in Parsons, Kansas, where his father was an insurance agent. By 1888, the family was in LA, where Andrew was a bookkeeper and miner. Elihu was also a bookkeeper, though briefly, in the early 1890s, was a professor at Woodbury Business College. After doing bookkeeping for an iron works, he became a manufacturer of oil well tools (Wilson & Willard Mfg. Co./Wilson Oil Tools Corp.), held several patents and became wealthy. In addition to erecting the Wilson Building, he built a lavish residence on Fremont Place.^**

The Wilson Building portrayed the Daily Planet building in the first Superman TV series.*^^

Historical Notes

Corporate names that adorned The Wilson Building included (in chronological order): General Insurance, Mutural of Omaha (until 1990), Asashi, and Samsung.

Historical Notes

In 1929, architect Claude Beelman designed the Eastern-Columbia Building (aka the Eastern Building, Columbia-Eastern Building, or Eastern Outfitting Retail Store Building) in the Art Deco Moderne stepped-back style and is clad in green and gold terra-cotta. The building, located at 849 South Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, was home to Eastern Outfitting Company and Columbia Outfitting Company.*

Historical Notes

In 1985, the Eastern Columbia Building was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 294 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

The Claude Beelman designed Bankers Building (now the International Center) was built between 1929-1930.  The Art Deco/Streamlined Moderne style leans slightly toward the verticality of Gothic.  The Moderne marquee has been removed, but the entrance and elevator lobby still retains its Moderne elegance.  The building is now used by jewelers.*#^#

Historical Notes

The Van de Kamp's Bakery headquarters, designed to resemble a 16th -century Dutch farmhouse, located at 2930 Fletcher Drive in Glassell Park, served as the headquarters for the chain of bakeries and coffee shops whose trademark "windmill" buildings and neon signs prevailed throughout mid-20th century Los Angeles. The building was designed by New York architect J. Edward Hopkins in 1930 in the Dutch Renaissance Revival style, reflecting the company's Dutch corporate image.

The building remains the only example of an industrial plant in the Dutch Renaissance Revival style. The bakery closed in October 1990 after Van de Kamp‘s filed for Chapter 11. The building was declared city of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 569 in 1992. Click HERE to see the Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monuments Listing.

This building underwent a $72-million renovation by the Los Angeles Community College District with the intent of being a Los Angeles City College satellite campus. The site is instead leased to charter school and job-training groups.*^

Historical Notes

Theodore J. Van de Kamp and brother-in-law Lawrence L. Frank were the owners and originators of the Van de Kamp Bakeries. Fondly known as the "Taj Mahal of all bakeries". Van de Kamp and Frank also founded both the Tam O'Shanter's (1922) and Lawry's The Prime Rib (1938) restaurants.*^

Historical Notes

The Pacific Mutual Building, located at 523 W. 6th Street, are actually three interconnected buildings built between 1908 and 1929. The original structure was designed and built between 1908-1912 by John Parkinson and Edwin Bergstrom.

The original structure has seen many changes over the years: a North Side addition was built in 1916 by William J. Dodd; a twelve-story structure was built in 1921 by William J. Dodd and his associate William Richards; the Garage Building was added in 1926 by Schultze and Weaver; and the West Side addition was erected in 1929 by Parkinson and Parkinson. The building underwent Moderne remodeling in 1936 by Parkinson and Parkinson.*

Historical Notes

In 1974, the building underwent an extensive restoration by Wendell Mounce and Associates, with Bond and Steward, which brought it back to its Beaux Arts revival. And in 1985, the entire building was renovated again by the Westgroup, Inc.*

The Pacific Mutual Building is listed as Historic-Cultural Monument No. 398 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

The State Building was completed in 1931 at a cost of more than $2 million. It was dedicated the day before the opening of the 1932 Olympics in a ceremony that featured Amelia Earhart.*#

Historical Notes

The State Building was damaged in the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, and in May of 1973 the state authorized an "orderly evacuation" after testing found the building unsafe. The empty building was torn down in early 1976.*#

Historical Notes

Originally built in 1931, the Wiltern was designed by architect Stiles O. Clements of Morgan, Walls & Clements, the city’s oldest architectural firm.

The Wiltern Theatre was originally designed as a vaudeville theater and initially opened as the Warner Brothers Western Theater, the flagship for the theater chain. Quickly closing a year later, the theater reopened in the mid-1930s and was renamed the Wiltern Theatre for the major intersection which it faces (Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue.)*^

Historical Notes

Both the Wiltern Theatre and the Pellissier Building have been named to the National Register of Historic Places and declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument by the City of Los Angeles (No. 118). Click HERE to see complete listing.

Historical Notes

Wilshire Boulevard Temple, founded in 1862 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles. One of the country’s most respected Reform congregations, Wilshire Boulevard Temple's magnificent sanctuary, with its famous dome and Warner Murals, is a City of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.*^

Historical Notes

The Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s immense Byzantine revival dome has been a Los Angeles landmark since 1929. It stands at 100 feet in diameter with its top 135 feet from the street, and was the grand vision of the building architect, A.M. Edelman (son of the congregation's first Rabbi, Abraham Edelman). Its base is flanked by 28 buttresses, or small towers, rising from the ring girder for support.*^

Historical Notes

Merritt Adamson established a dairy business in the San Fernando Valley, in Tarzana, known as Adohr Farms, the name representing his wife's name spelled backwards. The business became one of the country's largest dairies, operating one of the largest herds of Guernsey cows in the world.*^

Historical Notes

The Los Angeles Theatre, designed by S. Charles Lee working with S.Tilden Norton, features twin Corinthian columns which frame the central notched arch. Built in 1931, it was the last such movie palace built on Broadway, as the area began to feel the effects of the Depression and faced competition from Hollywood Blvd.*

Historical Notes

In recent years, the Los Angeles Conservancy has sponsored the showing of classic films at several of the Broadway theatres, including the Los Angeles Theatre. The Broadway Theater and Commercial District were added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1979.*

Historical Notes

S. Charles Lee is credited with designing over 400 theaters throughout California and Mexico. His palatial and Baroque Los Angeles Theatre is regarded by many architectural historians as the finest theater building in Los Angeles.*^

Historical Notes

On August 15, 1979, the Los Angeles Theater was designated LA Historic-Cultural Monument No. 225 (Click HERE to see complete listing).^^**

Historical Notes

The Pilgrimage Play Amphitheater resembled the architecture of the Holy Land for the purposes of the play performed there. The previous amphitheater on the site was built in 1920, but a brush fire in October 1929 destroyed that wooden structure. The religious-themed Pilgrimage Play, written by Christine Whetherill Stevenson, was performed every summer between 1920 to 1941.*

Historical Notes

During WWII the theater was deeded to Los Angeles County and converted into dormitories for servicemen. After the war, the play resumed until 1964, at which time it was legally ordered to close due to its religious content.*

Historical Notes

In 1976, the Pilgrimage Theatre was renamed the John Anson Ford Theatre in honor of the late L.A. County Supervisor's significant support of the arts. John Anson Ford (1883–1983) helped found the L.A. County Arts Commission, encouraged the Board of Supervisors to support the building of the Music Center and led the County's acquisition of Descanso Gardens, among many other achievements.*^

Historical Notes

The Egyptian Theatre was built by showman Sid Grauman and real estate developer Charles E. Toberman, who subsequently built the nearby El Capitan Theatre and Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. The Egyptian Theatre cost $800,000 to build and took eighteen months to construct.*^

Historical Notes

In addition to building the Egyptian Theater as well as both the El Capitan Theater and Chinese Theater, Sid Grauman had previously opened one of the United States’ first movie palaces, the Million Dollar Theater, on Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles in 1918.*^

Historical Notes

Constructed between 1906 and 1910, the five-story Romanesque Federal Building housed the post office, U.S. District Court, and various federal agencies, but it soon proved inadequate.  It was razed in 1937 to clear the site for the existing U.S. District Courthouse.*^

Historical Notes

Constructed in 1891, the Los Angeles County Courthouse stood where the city’s first high school, Los Angeles High School, had been located from 1873 until it moved to North Hill Street to allow for construction of the courthouse.

This building served as the courthouse until 1933, when it sustained damage in the Long Beach earthquake, and was demolished in 1936.*

Historical Notes

This building served as the courthouse until 1933, when it sustained damage in the Long Beach earthquake, and was demolished in 1936. It appears that in the above 1932 photo the tower has been modified and shortened prior to the earthquake.

The statue of Stephen White (1853-1901), who was a district attorney and US Senator, can be seen in the foreground.*

Historical Notes

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum originally was completed in 1923 as a memorial to veterans of World War I (rededicated to veterans of all wars in 1968). It was partially redesigned and enlarged for the 1932 Olympic Games. Both designs were by architects John and Donald B. Parkinson. It has witnessed some of the more important sports, political, and historical events in Southern California.*^

Historical Notes

When the games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad began here on July 28, 1984, the coliseum became the first stadium in the world to host the Olympic Games twice.*^

Historical Notes

The colonnade on the east end of the Coliseum is composed of a triumphal arch, flanked by 14 smaller arches and a central torch, rising 107 feet above street level. The torch, which was built for the tenth Olympiad, is constructed of concrete and capped with a bronze fixture that was kept illuminated throughout the games.*

Today, the world high jump record is held by Javier Sotomayor of Cuba at 2.45m (8.5 ft). Click HERE to see Men's high jump world record progression.*^

Historical Notes

The now-signature torch was added for the Olympics during the 1930 renovation. It is still being lit during the fourth quarters of USC football games.*^

Historical Notes

From 1928-1932, USC and Notre Dame combined to win the national title five straight years, with USC winning in 1928, 1931 and 1932, and Notre Dame winning in 1929 and 1930.

Notre Dame and USC have traditionally been counted among the elite programs in college football, with each school having won 11 national championships and 7 Heisman Trophies. This football rivalry, which began in 1926, is considered one of the most important in college football, and is often called the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football.*^

Historical Notes

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum has been designated California Historical Landmark No. 960 (Click HERE to see more in California Historical Landmarks in LA).

Historical Notes

Designed by Architect H. L. Gogerty, the Art Deco style Mountain States Life Insurance Building was built in 1928 on the northeast corner of Yucca and Vine with bas-relief emphasizing the lines of the windows and gaurdians leaning on their swords at the roofline.

Historical Notes

The Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul established the first hospital in Los Angeles - the Los Angeles Infirmary, in 1856. It was located in the Sonora Town adobe owned by then-Mayor of Los Angeles, Don Cristóbal Aguilar. Four years later, in 1860, the hospital relocated to 1416 Naud Street, between Ann (named for Sister Ann) and Sotillo Street (though other data indicates the location was 1414 Naud Street, between N. Main and San Fernando Road). In 1869, Daughters incorporated the Los Angeles Infirmary under their own ownership, the first women in the region to do so. In 1883 they purchased six and a half acres of land at Beaudry Park at a cost of $10,000, and a new hospital building was erected a year later at Beaudry and Sunset, on a hillside overlooking Sonora Town. By 1898, Los Angeles Infirmary had come to be known as Sisters Hospital, but both names were used interchangeably in reference to the same hospital; in 1918, the name was officially changed to St. Vincent's Hospital.

In 1924 a new building was erected on 3rd and Alvarado, which was built by John C. Austin and Frederick M. Ashley. For 47 years, the hospital had such a steady growth that they were forced to expand yet again, and groundbreaking for a newer, larger building took place in 1971 - this time, located at 2131 W. 3rd Street. With a "new" hospital came a new name, and in 1974, it changed again, this time becoming St. Vincent Medical Center.*

Historical Notes

After a new building was built in 1971, the name was changed to St. Vincent's Medical Center in 1974. In 1995, the Daughters of Charity National Healthcare System sold SVMC to Catholic Healthcare West. In 2002, CHW sold the hospital to the newly established Daughters of Charity Health System.*^

Historical Notes

Farmers Market started when a dozen nearby farmers would park their trucks on a field to sell their fresh produce to local residents. The cost to rent the space was fifty cents per day.

In 1870, when they moved west from Illinois, Arthur Fremont (A.F.) Gilmore and his partner bought two sizable farms, one of which was the 256-acre dairy farm at the corner of 3rd Street and Fairfax Ave. Gilmore gained control when the partnership dissolved later.

Gilmore Oil Company replaced the dairy farm when oil was discovered under the land during drilling for water in 1905. Earl Bell (E.B.) Gilmore, son of A.F. Gilmore, took over the family business. The younger Gilmore started midget car racing and brought professional football to Los Angeles. He built Gilmore Field for the Hollywood Stars baseball team, which was owned by Bing Crosby, Barbara Stanwyck, and Cecil B. DeMille.*^

Historical Notes

Farmers Market was created in July 1934 by Roger Dahlhjelm, a businessman, and Fred Beck, an advertising copywriter. They asked the owners of “Gilmore Island,” the former dairy farm at 3rd & Fairfax, if they could invite local farmers to park trucks on vacant Gilmore land to sell fresh produce to local shoppers.

Originally called the “Farmers Public Market,” the concept was so popular that within months, permanent stalls were erected to provide the farmers with a more convenient way to provide their produce. The “Public” was dropped from the name almost immediately.#**

Historical Notes

When CBS Television City opened next door in 1952, the Farmers Market provided those working or visiting that television studio a convenient place to shop or eat.

In the 1970s The Country Kitchen, a restaurant owned and operated by Jack and Eileen Smith (located next to the still-operating Du-par's), was popular with stars and their fans alike. Mickey Rooney could sometimes be found working behind the counter. Other customers included Elvis Presley, Regis Philbin, Rip Taylor, Mae West, Johnny Carson and even The Shah of Iran on his visit.*^

Historical Notes

Gilmore Field opened on May 2, 1939 and was the home of the Pacific Coast League baseball team the Hollywood Stars until September 5, 1957.*^

Historical Notes

Built by Earl Gilmore, Gilmore Stadium opened in May 1934 and was demolished in 1952. The first professional football team in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Bulldogs played at Gilmore. Before the neighboring Gilmore Field opened in 1939, the Hollywood Stars used Gilmore Stadium for their home games.*

Historical Notes

In 1952 CBS Television City was built facing Beverly Boulevard on the site of Gilmore Stadium. In 1958 Gilmore Field was also demolished and the studio expanded on the grounds where baseball was once played.**^#

Click HERE to see more in Baseball in Early L.A.

Historical Notes

Built in 1929, this C. W. Wilson and Sons designed L-shaped structure once housed a mom-and-pop market and one apartment. This last remaining example of a Wilshire drive-up market currently serves as a Porsche-Audi dealership.*^^#

Historical Notes

The Fairfax Theatre opened on March 26, 1930, and was a 1,504 seat single screen, designed for movies and vaudeville.

Laemmle Theatres purchased and reopened this former Loews Cineplex discount house on November 2, 2001 after an interior makeover with new seats and new carpet added. Extra wide seating was also added which reduced the cinema’s capacity to one screen with 400 seats and two others with 200 seats. The two smaller auditoriums were carved from the original auditorium’s rear, leaving the original screen and organ grilles intact within the largest auditorium.

Laemmle, which has always attempted to preserve the original historic elements of its acquisitions, retained the theater’s free-standing ticket window. The ticket booth is one of the last in the West Hollywood/Hollywood area.^^#

Historical Notes

The Fairfax Theatre was closed by Laemmle Theatres in September 2006. However it was taken over by Regency Theatres and operated as a second run art house. It was closed in late-February 2010, just short of its 80th birthday.

In 2013, a City committee approved plans for a 71 apartment complex to be built, preserving the theatre’s facade, marquee and terrazzo floor at the entry, but resulting in the loss of the rest of the theatre,^^#

Historical Notes

Sunset Boulevard was dedicated in 1888. Earlier called Bellevue Street--and with some small sections called Short, Bread and Marchessault streets (after Mayor Damien Marchessault)--it started on U.S. Sen. Cornelius Cole's hill in what is now Hollywood, which afforded a fine view of the sunset over the Pacific. By 1937, 11 streets in Hollywood were named after the Cole family.^*^

Fairfax Avenue was named for Lord Fairfax of Colonial America. Some parts of it were previously called Crescent Drive.

Historical Notes

Designed in 1929 by architect Leland A. Bryant, opened in 1931, the Sunset Tower  is considered one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the Los Angeles area. In its early years, it was the residence of many Hollywood celebrities, including John Wayne and Howard Hughes. After a period of decline in the early 1980s, the building was renovated and has been operated as a luxury hotel under the names The St. James's Club, The Argyle, and most recently the Sunset Tower Hotel.*^

Historical Notes

In 1933, the Los Angeles Times ran an article about the trend toward luxurious penthouse apartments in the city and noted that Sunset Tower boasted the city's highest penthouse: "It is the highest in the city and due to the location of the fifteen-story structure that supports it, its tenants live on a level with the tower of the Los Angeles City Hall. Imagine the view!" John Wayne, Howard Hughes, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Buss and novelist James Wohl lived in the penthouse at different times, and Hughes reportedly also rented some of the lower apartments for his girlfriends or mistresses. Other former residents include Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Caine, Quincy Jones, Roger Moore, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Billie Burke, Joseph Schenck, Paulette Goddard, Zasu Pitts, George Stevens, Preston Sturges, and Carol Kane.*^

Historical Notes

The Sunset Tower Apartment building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.*^

Historical Notes

In 1930, the cornerstone for the current Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center was laid and the hospital was completed in 1933.  The building was designed by architects: Edward Bergstrom, Myron Hunt, Perpont Davis, Sumner P. Hunt, William Richards.

The original county hospital was built in 1878 and became affiliated with the University of Southern California School of Medicine in 1885.  It then consisted of 100 beds, 47 patients, 6 staff members, and a $4,000 budget.*#*#

Historical Notes

Today, the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center is one of the nation’s largest public hospitals and the nation's largest medical training center. In one year, the hospital will treat close to 800,000 patients, deliver 10,000 babies, treat 250,000 people in its emergency room, treat about half of all AIDS and Sickle Cell patients in Southern California, and handle 5,000 outpatient visitors per day. As the largest single provider of health care in Los Angeles County, it provides more than 28 percent of the County's trauma care. Many of its patients are severely injured and almost half of them are poor and uninsured. It operates one of the three burn centers in Los Angeles County and one of the few Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Southern California. Its medical staff includes 450 full time faculty physicians, 900 interns and residents, and 1,500 other physicians. It is licensed for 1,395 beds and budgeted to staff 745 beds.*#*#

Historical Notes

Beginning in 1975, the ABC soap opera General Hospital began using the facility for its exterior shots, appearing primarily in the show's opening sequence, where it still remains. The lower floors of the show's Los Angeles studio are modeled after the actual hospital's emergency room entrance, allowing for the show to shoot outdoor scenes in their own parking lot.*^

Historical Notes

Little known fact: Marilyn Monroe was born in the charity ward of this hospital on June 1, 1926.

In 1995, the hospital had more square feet than the Pentagon, 9,000 employees and an annual budget of $803 million.*#*#

Historical Notes

The Leimert Theatre opened in 1931. It was a joint venture between neighborhood developer Walter H. Leimert and Howard Hughes.

It was designed to be operated by the neighborhood theatre chain Hughes-Franklin Theatres. The circuit was run by Hughes and Harold B. Franklin, a former president of Fox West Coast Theatres. Among other theatres, they also operated the Studio, later the Holly Theatre, in Hollywood.

The surrounding neighborhood was designed to resemble a European village. The design was partially by the Olmsted Brothers, a landscape architecture firm run by step brothers John Charles Olmsted and Fredrick Law Olmsted, Jr.  Their father, Fredrick Law Olmstead Sr., was the creator of New York's Central Park.

The Hughes-Franklin circuit was a short-lived entity and soon the Leimert Theatre was being operated by Fox West Coast. The last film to run in the theatre was "Bonnie and Clyde" in 1968.

In the 1977 the theatre became a Jehovah’s Witness chapel and was known as the Watchtower. The Witnesses, in their renovation fever, destroyed many of the art deco decorative elements of the building. But they perhaps get credit for saving the building.

Actress Marla Gibbs bought the theater in 1990 and renamed it the Vision Theatre, intending to make it a venue for African-American movies, live theater and dance productions. The 1992 LA riots and economic recession following the riots hit the area hard and the property was in foreclosure in 1997.^**#

Historical Notes

Stiles O. Clements of Morgan, Walls & Clements designed the building. The foundation was built to support a later 13 story addition, which never materialized. The auditorium, as can be seen even from the exterior, is a huge oval rotunda.

The City purchased the building in 1999. There has been only occasional use of the theatre as a live performance venue since that time. Performances take place on an added thrust stage as the venue was not constructed with a stage house.^**#

Historical Notes

3,015 acres of land surrounding the observatory was donated to the City of Los Angeles by Colonel Griffith J. Griffith on December 16, 1896. In his will Griffith donated funds to build an observatory, exhibit hall, and planetarium on the donated land.

As a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, construction began on June 20, 1933, using a design developed by architect John C. Austin based on preliminary sketches by Russell W. Porter. *

Historical Notes

Griffith Observatory was shaped not only by the minds of scientists but also by the times in which it was built. A major earthquake in Long Beach in March 1933 -- just as construction plans were being finalized -- led the architects to abandon the planned terra cotta exterior in favor of strengthening and thickening the building's concrete walls. Lower-than-usual prices caused by the Great Depression enabled the selection of the finest materials of the day for the interior walls, floors, and finishes, making the building both beautiful and durable.^***

Historical Notes

Griffith Observatory's unique architecture and setting, compelling programmatic offerings, and cinematic exposure have made it one of the most famous and visited landmarks in Southern California.^***

Historical Notes

Caltech and Mount Wilson engineers drew up plans for the Observatory's fundamental exhibits: a Foucault Pendulum, a 38-foot-diameter model of a section of the Moon sculpted by artist Roger Hayward, and a "three-in-one" coelostat (three tracking mirrors on one mount to feed three separate solar telescopes) so that the public could study the Sun in the Hall of Science. The Trust judged the 12-inch Zeiss refracting telescope as the best commercially available instrument of its kind and selected it to be used as the public telescope. A 75-foot-wide theater --one of the largest in the world -- was designed to hold a Zeiss planetarium projector.

The planetarium had been invented in 1923, four years after Griffith's death, and his family agreed with the Trustees that it more fully honored his intent than the originally planned cinematic theater. The Observatory's planetarium was the third to be completed in the United States.^***

Historical Notes

The observatory and accompanying exhibits were opened to the public on May 14, 1935. On that day, the Griffith Trust transferred ownership of the building to the City of Los Angeles; the City's Department of Recreation and Parks (called the Department of Parks at the time of the transfer) has operated the facility ever since.^***

Historical Notes

The Astronomers Monument on the front lawn of Griffith Observatory pays homage to six of the greatest astronomers: Hipparchus, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, and Herschel. Artist Archibald Garner designed the sculpture commissioned by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). Garner worked with five other artists (each responsible for sculpting one astronomer) including George Stanley responsible for the "Oscar" statuette. The monument was dedicated November 25, 1934, six months before the Observatory opened.*

Historical Notes

The first exhibit visitors encountered was the Foucault pendulum, which was designed to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth.*^

Historical Notes

Since opening in 1935, more than seven million people have put an eye to Griffith Observatory's original 12-inch Zeiss refracting telescope. More people have looked though it than any other telescope in the world.

The genesis of Griffith Observatory's public telescope occurred when Griffith J. Griffith was invited to visit to Mount Wilson Observatory, then home to the world's largest operating telescope, the 60-inch reflector. While there, he was given the opportunity to view a celestial wonder through the telescope. Profoundly moved by the experience, Griffith seized on the idea of constructing a public observatory with a telescope that could be used by all residents of Los Angeles. He specified in his will that the telescope was to be "at least 12-inches in diameter" and "complete in all its details" and was to be located "high and above the Hall of Science." In 1931, the Griffith Trust ordered the telescope from the Carl Zeiss Company of Jena, Germany; the $14,900 spent on the instrument was the first purchase of material for Griffith Observatory.^**^

Historical Notes

In 1976, the Griffith Observatory was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 168 (Click HERE for complete listing).

In 2002, the observatory closed for renovation and a major expansion of exhibit space. It reopened to the public on November 3, 2006, retaining its art deco exterior. The $93 million renovation, paid largely by a public bond issue, restored the building, as well as replaced the aging planetarium dome.

Since the observatory opened in 1935, admission has been free, in accordance with Griffith's will.*^

Historical Notes

Nestled between Farmers Market and CBS studios, shielded from public view by a fortress of foliage, the Gilmore Adobe dates back to 1852. Originally called the Rancho La Brea Adobe, it eventually became the home of rancher-turned-oilman Arthur F. Gilmore, whose son Earl turned the Gilmore Oil Company into a legendary part of America's burgeoning car culture.^^

Historical Notes

Earl Bell Gilmore (1887-1964), whose family had owned the land surrounding the corner of Third and Fairfax in Los Angeles since 1880, was a legendary entrepreneur who with his father (Arthur F. Gilmore) built Gilmore Oil Company, the largest distributor of petroleum products in the Western U.S.

Gilmore is noted with having invented the self-serve gas station, the "gas-a-teria", where customers saved .05 cents per gallon by filling their own tanks. He also built Gilmore Field, and Gilmore Stadium, as well as turning the family dairy farm into one of the world's most beloved destinations, the original Farmer's Market. In 1944, Gilmore's 1,200 filling stations became Mobil stations.*

Historical Notes

There were four theaters named Orpheum. The first at 125 S. Main Street; the second at 227 S. Spring Street; the third at 630 S. Broadway; and the fourth (and present one) at 842 S. Broadway.*

Historical Notes

Designed by noted theatre architect S. Charles Lee, the Vogue Theatre opened on July 16th, 1935 with a seating capacity of 897, all on one floor. The Vogue Theatre was run by Fox West Coast Theatres for many years until Mann Theatres took over in the early-1990’s.

One of the better mid-sized theatres on Hollywood Boulevard, the theatre is located on Hollywood Boulevard & North Las Palmas Avenue, across the next block from the Egyptian Theatre.^^#

Historical Notes

Legend has it this theatre is haunted by a former projectionist, named Fritz, who once worked at the theatre.
The Vogue Theatre closed in around 1995 and for a short time was used as a theatre for psychic performances. It then had occasional use as a film location space. In December 2001, the theatre fittings were stripped out and sold off.

In 2009, the building was fitted out as live performance space named the Supper Club, which caters for an adult audience.^^#

Historical Notes

The Los Angeles Times Building is an art moderne building located at 1st and Spring Streets.  It was designed by Gordon B. Kaufmann and is the current headquarter of the Los Angeles Times.

The architect, Gordon B. Kaufmann, also designed the giant, revolving globe that was mounted on a pedestal in the building's lobby.*^

Historical Notes

In 1935, when the first part of the building was opened, Harry Chandler, then the president and general manager of Times-Mirror Co., declared the building a "monument to the progress of our city and Southern California".

The building, despite its historic and architecturally significant appearance, appears not to be listed as a historic landmark. It does not appear in listings of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments, California Historical Landmarks, or U.S. Registered Historic Landmarks in Los Angeles.*^

Historical Notes

Built in 1929, Wilshire Tower was the first store and office building erected in the area. Developer A. W. Ross wanted to create the Miracle Mile out of a section of Wilshire used as a service road for nearby oil fields. He persuaded Desmond's, the largest men's clothing store downtown at the time, to open a branch on the tower's ground floor, and other fashionable stores soon followed (Silverwood’s, W. Jay Saylor and Phelps Terkel).

Historical Notes

The historic art deco Wilshire Tower was designed by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood and built in 1928-1929.  It is a Zig-Zag Moderne two-story building with an eight-story office tower.* The Wishire Tower was declared Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 332  in 1987 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

Silverwood's was founded in 1894 by Francis Bernard ("Daddy") Silverwood, Los Angeles clothier, merchant, and businessman, originally from Canada, near Lindsay, Ontario. The first store was located at 124 South Spring St. in Los Angeles, and soon moved to larger quarters at 221 South Spring St. The flagship store was established in 1904 at Sixth & Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.*^##

Hartmarx, one of the nation's largest clothing manufacturers and retailers, bought the chain in 1941 and kept the name. The Silverwood's chain of clothing stores folded in the 1990s.*^

Historical Notes

Originally named Agricultural Park in 1876, the 160-acre site was developed and served as an agricultural and horticultural fairground until approximately 1910, at which point it was re-named Exposition Park. On November 6, 1913, Exposition Park was formally dedicated, and became the home to a state Exposition Building and the county Museum of History, Science and Art, and was slated to gain a National Guard Armory.*

Historical Notes

The seven and a half acre Rose Garden, also called Sunken Garden, evolved from the redevelopment of Agricultural Park, and was completed in 1928; 15,793 rose bushes were in full bloom for the opening ceremonies. In August 1987, the Exposition Park Rose Garden was designated a Los Angeles County Point of Historical Interest. Through the years, the Exposition Building and the armory have given way to the California Science Center.*

On November 6, 1913, a celebration was held as a joint dedication of both the opening of Exposition Park and the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Click HERE to see more in the Opening of the LA Aqueduct.

Historical Notes

On November 6, 1913 the Museum of History, Science, and Art opened in Exposition Park. In 1961, it was "divided" into the Los Angeles County Museum of History and Science, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (known as LACMA, and since moved to new quarters on Wilshire Blvd). Years later, the museum was again renamed, becoming the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. The Beaux Arts/Romanesque style building, located at 900 Exposition Boulevard between Vermont and Figueroa, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Above the stone arches the words "Los Angeles County Historical and Art Museum" are etched into the facade.*

On the day before the museum’s opening, November 5, 1913, the Los Angeles Aqueduct was opened providing a new source of water for the City of Los Angeles.  This was one of the most significant events in the history of Los Angeles.

A dedication of the opening of both the Los Angeles Aqueduct and Exposition Park was held on November 6, 1913.

Historical Notes

The Pan Pacific Auditorium opened on May 18, 1935. Its green and white western-facing 228 foot long facade featured four stylized towers and flagpoles meant to represent upswept aircraft fins above the entrance.*

With all the many Streamline Moderne houses and structures popping up in the 30s, many say the Pan Pacific Auditorium really was the single most famous Streamline Moderne building in Los Angeles.^*^*

Historical Notes

The first event held at the Pan Pacific Auditorium was the 1935 Home Show. The show was aimed at hyping then-President Roosevelt's signing of the Title I legislative act "which authorized government loans" to aid homeowners with repairs and renovations.^*^*

Historical Notes

For 35 years, the Pan Pacific Auditorium was home to a multitude of events, ranging from auto, boat and home shows to sporting events like hockey games, basketball (Harlem Globetrotters included), concerts, and political events like a dinner for Eisenhower and Nixon, and many more.^*^*

Historical Notes

The Pan Pacific Auditorium was constructed by brothers Clifford and Phillip Henderson who were convinced that Los Angeles needed a convention or public facility to accommodate the annual automobile show and a wide variety of cultural, recreational and sports events. In 1937, Errett Lobban Cord purchased the Pan Pacific. He was
known for his prominence in the automotive industry who moved to Los Angeles to retire, halting production of his vehicles and shifting his focus to the Pan Pacific Auditorium and other entertainment and electronics industry endeavors.^*^*

Historical Notes

At its height, most major indoor events in Los Angeles were held at the Pan Pacific. Leopold Stokowski conducted there in 1936, 1950s actress Jeanne Crain was crowned "Miss Pan Pacific" there in the early 1940s, General Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke to a beyond-capacity crowd of 10,000 in 1952 a month before being elected President of the United States, Elvis Presley performed there in 1957 shortly before he was drafted into the Army and Vice President Richard Nixon addressed a national audience from the Pan-Pacific in November 1960.*^

Historical Notes

The exterior of the Pan Pacific Auditorium was a masterpiece in Streamline Moderne design with its four towers reaching skyward that resembled aircraft fins. Behind the glorious facade, however, was a more modest wooden structure that was more of a sprawling gymnasium; there was little remarkable about the design of the interior that was 100,000 square feet and could seat up to 6,000 patrons. The fact that it was wooden (highly flammable) is what eventually made its fiery demise possible.

In 1971, the Los Angeles Convention Center opened and essentially rendered the Pan Pacific Auditorium utterly useless. By 1972, the Pan Pacific Auditorium dwindled in use, and, after some small expos in the spring, finally shut its doors for good.^*^*

Today, you can see a re-creation of the Pan Pacific as the ticket office at Disney's California Adventures.

Historical Notes

The Coca Cola Building is a Coca-Cola bottling plant modeled as a Streamline Moderne building designed by architect Robert V. Derrah with the appearance of a ship with portholes, catwalk and a bridge from five existing industrial buildings in 1939.*^

Historical Notes

The Coca-Cola Building was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 138 in 1975 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

Phineas Banning (1830 – 1885) was an American businessman, financier, and entrepreneur.  Known as "The Father of the Port of Los Angeles," he was one of the founders of the town of Wilmington, which was named for his birthplace. His drive and ambition laid the foundations for what would become one of the busiest ports in the world.

Besides operating a freighting business, Banning operated a stage coach line between San Pedro and Wilmington, and later between Banning, California, which was named in his honor, and Yuma, Arizona.

During the Civil War, he ceded land to the Union Army to build a fort at Wilmington, the Drum Barracks. He was appointed a Brigadier General of the First Brigade of the militia, and used the title of general for the rest of his life.

Banning's chief residence, constructed in Wilmington in 1864, is open to the public as a museum devoted to the Victorian era in California.*^

Historical Notes

The historic Greek Revival-Victorian Banning House was built in 1863 by Phineas Banning near the original San Pedro Bay. It remained in the Banning family until 1925 and has been owned by the City of Los Angeles since 1927. The home, barn and gardens are now operated as a museum.*^

In 1963, the Banning House property, also known as Banning Park, was designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 25 (Click HERE to see complete listing).  It is also California Historical Landmark No. 147 (Click HERE to see more in California Historical Landmarks in LA) as well as being federally listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Historical Notes

Sam Seelig Company was founded in April 1912 by Sam Seelig, who had come to California from Arizona in 1911. Seelig opened a single grocery store in Los Angeles at the corner of Pico and Figueroa streets. The chain had grown to 71 stores by 1922. After World War I, the firm became deeply indebted to its main grocery wholesaler, a firm owned by W.R.H. Weldon. In a swap of stock for debt, Weldon assumed control of the chain, leaving Seelig in charge of retail operations. Seelig then left the company in 1924 to enter the real estate business, forming Sam Seelig Realty.

As a result of Seelig's departure, the company held a contest in 1925 to develop a new name, the result of which was Safeway. The original slogan was "an admonition and an invitation" to "Drive the Safeway; Buy the Safeway.” The point of the name was that the grocery operated on a cash-and-carry basis; it did not offer credit, as had been traditional for grocers. It was the "safe way" to buy because a family could not get into debt via its grocery bill (as many families did, especially during the Great Depression). By 1926, Safeway Stores had 322 stores centered in Southern California.*^

Historical Notes

In February 1932, the cornerstone for City Hall was laid. The local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution planted the new facility's first tree. In April 1932, The Citizen commemorated a City Proclamation that read:

On this day, April 28, 1932, this souvenir issue of The Beverly Hills Citizen is dedicated to the first completed unit of the magnificent civic center project. ...Such an edifice, heart of America's most perfect residential city is pride-inspiring. ...Crowned with the approbation of those it serves, the new civic building will stand through the years, a monument to the sterling foresight, solid principles and pride of its citizens.*^*^

Historical Notes

Beverly Hills City Hall is a fanciful Spanish Renaissance building known for its pale blue exterior paint accents, its blue, green and gold tile dome, gilded cupola and architectural elements representing government and commerce.*^*^

Historical Notes

Built in 1932 and renovated in 1982, Beverly Hills City Hall features a low base with an eight-story tower with marble walls, terrazzo floors and intricate ceilings.*^*^

Historical Notes

In December of 1936 Los Angeles city voters approved a charter amendment authorizing the Bureau of Power and Light to issue revenue bonds in the amount of $46 million and purchase the electric system of Los Angeles Gas and Electric Corporation, the last remaining privately-owned system in LA.

On January 29th, 1937 the Bureau of Power and Light completed the purchase of Los Angeles Gas and Electric Corporation. Click HERE to see more in First Electricity in Los Angeles.

Historical Notes

In 1902, Los Angeles formed its first municipal water utility and named it the Water Department. Nine years later the Bureau of Power and Light came along. A total of six different names have been used to refer to the two separate water and power organizations since that time. Not until 1937 did both organizations merge and become the Department of Water and Power. Click HERE to see more in DWP - Name Change Chronology.

Historical Notes

In 1923 E. M. Frasier built this 11-story hotel in Spanish Colonial style, which catered to Hollywood's film industry and was home to many stars throughout the years. This historic building began life as a luxury apartment building that was at the heart of Hollywood back in the 1920s, before becoming a hotel later in its history; its slogan was "Your home for a year or a day".

The building has been linked with tragic deaths and because of this, it is considered haunted by some. Some unfortunate occurrences: D.W. Griffith died of a stroke on July 21, 1948 under the crystal chandelier of the lobby; a costume designer named Irene Gibbons jumped to her death from a hotel window; William Frawley, who lived at the hotel for decades, died of a heart attack on the sidewalk in front of the Knickerbocker. Other stars that frequented the hotel with better luck were: Rudolph Valentino, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio, Frank Sinatra, Lana Turner, Mae West, and Cecil B. DeMille among many, many others.

In 1970 a renovation project converted the hotel into housing for senior citizens.*

Historical Notes

Before it became the allegedly haunted apartment complex it is today, this Hollywood hotel was a revolving door of A-list movie stars. Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio used to rendezvous at the hotel bar, and Elvis shacked up here while shooting his first film, “Love me Tender.” *#**

Historical Notes

Earl Carroll Theatre was the name of two important theaters owned by Broadway impresario and showman Earl Carroll. One was located on Broadway in New York City and the other on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood.

Earl Carroll built his second famous theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood that opened on December 26, 1938. As he had done at the New York theatre, over the doors of the entrance Carroll had emblazoned the words "Through these portals pass the most beautiful girls in the world." An "entertainment palace," the glamorous supper club-theatre offered shows on a massive stage with a 60-foot wide double revolving turntable and staircase plus swings that could be lowered from the ceiling.*^

Historical Notes

The Earl Carroll Theatre's facade was adorned by what at the time was one of Hollywood's most famous landmarks: a 20-foot high neon head portrait of entertainer Beryl Wallace, one of Earl Carroll's "most beautiful girls in the world," who became his devoted companion. The sign had long since vanished by the 1960s, but a re-creation made from photos is today on display at Universal City Walk, at Universal City, as part of the collection of historic neon signs from the Museum of Neon Art.

Another major feature at the theatre was its "Wall of Fame" where many of Hollywood's most glamorous stars had inscribed personal messages on individual concrete blocks, which were mounted on an outside wall of the building.*^

Historical Notes

The Earl Carroll Theatre  was sold following the 1948 deaths of Earl Carroll and Beryl Wallace in a plane crash. After a few changes in ownership over the decades, the building has housed the West Coast production of live-action original series produced for the Nickelodeon cable channel since 1997.*

Historical Notes

Designed by architect Percy Parke Lewis the Fox opened on August 14, 1931 part of a widespread cinema construction program undertaken by Fox West Coast Theatres. The Fox Theater quickly became the most recognizable symbol of the new Westwood Village, a Mediterranean-style village development adjoining the University of California Los Angeles planned by Harold and Edwin Janss of the Janss Investment Company.*^

Historical Notes

The Pico Drive-In Theatre was the first theatre of its kind built in the Western United States.  It was constructed in 1934 just one year after the first drive-in was opened in Camden, New Jersey (Hollingshead Drive-In).*^

Historical Notes

Early drive-in theaters had to deal with noise pollution issues. The original Hollingshead drive-in (Camden, New Jersey) had speakers installed on the tower itself which caused a sound delay affecting patrons at the rear of the drive-in's field. In 1935, the Pico Drive-in Theater attempted to solve this problem by having a row of speakers in front of the cars. In 1941, RCA introduced in-car speakers with individual volume controls which solved the noise pollution issue and provided satisfactory sound to drive-in patrons.*^

Historical Notes

Later known as the Pacific Drive-In, as it was operated by Pacific Theatres. By 1943, it was known as the Pico Drive-in, and was closed and demolished in 1947. The Picwood Theatre was built on part of the site.

Movies have always held a place at this intersection of West Los Angeles—from the 1948 built Picwood Theatre (which was demolished in 1990) to the 4-screen Landmark Theatre inside the Westside Pavilion, which opened in the 1980’s.^^*

Historical Notes

In 1926, a measure was placed on the ballot giving Los Angeles voters the choice between the construction of a vast network of elevated railways or the construction of a much smaller Union Station to consolidate different railroad terminals. The election would take on racial connotations and become a defining moment in the development of Los Angeles. The proposed Union Station was located in the heart of what was Los Angeles' original Chinatown. Reflecting the prejudice of the era, the conservative Los Angeles Times, a lead opponent of elevated railways, argued in editorials that Union Station would not be built in the “midst of Chinatown” but rather would “forever do away with Chinatown and its environs.” Voters approved demolishing much of Chinatown to build Union Station by a narrow 51 to 48 percent.*^

Historical Notes

Union Station was designed by the father and son team of John Parkinson and Donald B. Parkinson, and opened in May 1939. The structure combines Spanish Colonial, Mission Revival, and Streamline Modern style, with Moorish architectural details. It was named the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal (LAUPT), until it's owner, Catellus Development, officially changed the name to Los Angeles Union Station (LAUS).*

Historical Notes

When Union Station was opened in May 1939, it consolidated remaining service from its predecessors La Grande Station and Central Station. It was built on a grand scale and became known as "Last of the Great Railway Stations" built in the United States.*^

Historical Notes

Union Station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It also is listed as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 101 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

As Los Angeles expanded southward in the early twentieth century, the city’s banks and financial institutions began to concentrate along Spring Street.

Built in 1929, the eleven-story exchange building was designed by Samuel Lunden in the Moderne style. Ground was broken in October 1929, just as the Great Depression hit, and when the Los Angeles Stock Exchange opened its doors there in 1931, the country was deep into the Depression.*^

Historical Notes

Designed in the Classical Moderne style to impart a sense of financial stability, the building’s imposing, fortress-like street facade rises the equivalent of five stories. A slender twelve-story office tower clad in terra cotta is set back at the rear.

The Stock Exchange became part of the Pacific Stock Exchange in 1956, and it moved out of the building in 1986. In the 1980s, the building was converted into a nightclub called the Stock Exchange. After undergoing an extensive interior renovation, the building reopened in 2010 as Exchange LA, a nightclub and event venue.^#^

On January 3, 1979, the Los Angeles Stock Exchange Building was designated LA Historic-Cultural Monument No. 205 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

From 1899 a small medical library existed to serve the College of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) and the physicians of the city. In 1906 Dr. Walter Jarvis Barlow, a faculty member of the College of Medicine, deeded to the Los Angeles College Clinical Association (a non-profit holding corporation of the College of Medicine, USC) a new building erected to house the growing collection. The Library was named in his honor, and its governance was entrusted to the Board of Trustees of the Barlow Medical Library Association.

In 1932 the collections of the Barlow Medical Library were transferred to the Los Angeles County Medical Association, and in 1992 they came to the University of California, Los Angeles. The collection consists of financial records, correspondence and other documents concerned with the Library's operations, various printed materials, and photographs, all concentrating on the period of 1907-1934.^#

Historical Notes

The United States Court House is a Moderne style building that originally served as both a post office and a courthouse. The building was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood and Louis A. Simon, and construction was completed in 1940.*^

Historical Notes

Built between 1937 and 1940, the United States Court House was the third federal building constructed in Los Angeles. The first, constructed between 1889 and 1892, housed the post office, U.S. District Court, and various federal agencies, but it soon proved inadequate. A larger structure was built between 1906 and 1910 at the corner of Main and Temple Streets. The population of Los Angeles grew rapidly in the early part of the twentieth century, and a larger building was needed to serve the courts and federal agencies. The second federal building was razed in 1937 to clear the site for the existing courthouse.*^

Historical Notes

The U.S. Post Office - Los Angeles Terminal Annex was the central mail processing facility located on Alameda Street near Union Station in Los Angeles from 1940 to 1989. The Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival building designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Only ten years after its opening, the demands of the city's mail had already outgrown the facility. Accordingly, the Post Office announced plans in 1950 for a $12 million expansion, including an adjoining five-story parcel post building and other structures as well.

By the 1980s, the operations had outgrown even the expanded facilities at the Terminal Annex. The facility's volume had grown by the mid-1980s to 14 million pieces of mail per day, and the annex was plagued by inadequate space, overcrowding and inadequate work areas. Accordingly, the Postal Service Board of Governors in 1984 approved the construction of a new $151 million general post office in South-Central Los Angeles. Almost 50 years after Terminal Annex became the city's main mail-processing facility, the new processing facility in South Central opened in 1989. Despite the move of the processing facility, the customer service windows in the Terminal Annex's ornate lobby remain open.*^

Historical Notes

Seeley Mudd Memorial Hall of Philosophy is one of the oldest and most beautiful buildings on the USC campus. Built in 1929, this Romanesque structure features a cloistered courtyard, a 146-foot campanile, and the double-height library, as well as dramatic spaces filled with elaborate carvings and decorative surfaces.^##^

The famous clock tower stands 146 feet above the junction of the North and West wings, equipped with chimes manufactured by Deagan. Ornate sculptures, reliefs, and mosaics adorn the building. The Argonaut's Hall, in which many philosophy seminars and lectures take place, is also ornately decorated and depicts Jason's search for the golden fleece.^^^#

Historical Notes

Built in 1932 as the Valley Municipal Building and designed as a miniature of Los Angeles City Hall by architect Peter K. Schaborum, Van Nuys City Hall gained recognition as a Historic-Cultural Monument No. 202 in 1968 Click HERE to see complete listing).

Originally, it housed a Hospital in one wing of the base and the Police Department and Municipal Court, complete with jail, in the other. With the population growth in the fifties and sixties, the hospital and police station were eventually relocated to roomier sites, and the building was remodeled to house other City offices.*#*

Historical Notes

CBS Columbia Square, opened on April 30, 1938, was built for KNX and as the Columbia Broadcasting System's West Coast operations headquarters on the site of the Nestor Film Company, Hollywood's first movie studio. The Christie Film Company eventually took over operation of Nestor Studios and filmed comedies on the site, originally the location of an early Hollywood roadhouse. Prior to moving to Columbia Square, KNX had been situated at several Hollywood locations.*^

Historical Notes

Columbia Square was designed by Swiss-born architect William Lescaze in the style of International Modernism and built over a year at a cost of two million dollars — more money than had ever been spent on a broadcasting facility.

In early 2009, CBS Columbia Square Studios were designated as a historic-cultural monument by Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission.*^

Historical Notes

The five-story CBS Columbia Square complex was home to radio stations KNX 1070 and KCBS 83FM, as well as CBS Channel 2 television station.*^

Historical Notes

In 2005, KNX moved into new studios in the Miracle Mile neighborhood on L.A.'s Wilshire Boulevard which it shares with CBS Radio stations KFWB, KTWV, and KRTH. KNX was the last radio station to operate in Hollywood.

In 2007, KCBS-TV and KCAL-TV also left the building and moved their operations to the CBS Studio Center in Studio City, thus ending Columbia Square's status as a broadcast facility.*^

Historical Notes

Opened in 1926, the original restaurant at 3427 Wilshire Boulevard remains the most famous due to its distinctive shape. Whimsical architecture was popular at the time, and the restaurant was designed to catch the eye of passing motorists. It is often incorrectly thought that the Brown Derby was a single restaurant, and the Wilshire Boulevard and Hollywood branches are frequently confused.

The Brown Derby chain was started by Robert H. Cobb and Herbert Somborn (a former husband of film star Gloria Swanson). Bob Cobb is known as the inventor of the California Cobb Salad. He was also part owner of the Hollywood Stars baseball team.*^

Historical Notes

The original Brown Derby building was moved in 1937 to 3377 Wilshire Boulevard (as seen above) at the northeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Alexandria Avenue, about a block from its previous location (and about a block north of the Ambassador Hotel). After being sold in 1975 and renovated, was finally replaced in 1980 by a shopping center known as the Brown Derby Plaza. The domed structure was incorporated into the third floor of the building and accommodates a cafe. A Korean mini-mall occupies the site today.

The Los Feliz Brown Derby at 4500 Los Feliz Blvd is the last remaining branch of the chain still extant and in operation*^

Historical Notes

This streamline moderne design store was built in 1938. Designed by Stiles O. Clements, this classic Streamline Moderne building was first occupied in 1938 by Coulter's Dry Goods.*

B. F. Coulter was one of the earliest merchants in Los Angeles. The Coulter's Dry Goods business dates from 1878 and later was called Coulter's. Coulter was an ordained minister and founded the Broadway Christian Church. The business was continued by B.F. Coulter's son-in-law, R. P. McReynolds, and his son, James McReynolds.^^

Historical Notes

In the 1970s, the store changed hands and became a Broadway. After the building was demolished in 1980, the site remained vacant until the late-2000s, when a 5-story mixed-use structure was built.*

Historical Notes

The Carthay Circle Theatre was one of the most famous movie palaces of Hollywood's Golden Age. It opened at 6316 San Vicente Boulevard in 1926 and was considered developer J. Harvey McCarthy's most successful monument, a stroke of shrewd thinking that made a famous name of the newly developed Carthay residential district in the Mid-City West district of Los Angeles.*^

Historical Notes

The Carthay Circle Theater provided the "circle" for which Carthay Circle has come to be named.The auditorium itself was shaped in the form of a perfect circle, extended vertically into a cylinder, set inside a square that fleshed out the remainder of the building. McCarthy's development was called Carthay—an anglicized version of his last name. The theater was called the Circle Theater for its unique floor plan. Initially developed by Fox, it was called the Fox Carthay Circle Theater. The theater became better known than the development in which it was located, and this has led to confusion in the name of the area. The theater's name meant "the Circle Theater, by Fox, located in Carthay", but became incorrectly interpreted as "The Fox Theater, located in Carthay Circle." The misinterpretation has stuck, and now the region is more or less officially known as Carthay Circle, even as its theater namesake has been gone for half a century.

By the 1960s the Carthay was considered obsolete, overshadowed by modern cinemas; its customer base had also been sapped by suburbanization. The theater was demolished in 1969; today, two low-rise office buildings and a city park occupy its former site.*^

Historical Notes

In July 1994, a smaller-scale pastiche of the facade of the theatre (primarily the octagonal tower) was opened as the "Once Upon a Time" gift shop on the Sunset Boulevard section in Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

In June 2012, a fanciful larger-scale replica of the theater building was opened in the Buena Vista Street section of Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. Although this replica is larger than the Orlando version, it is still slightly smaller than the 1926 original building.*^

Historical Notes

Opened on November 7, 1939 and designed by architect S. Charles Lee, the Academy Theater, a classic Art Moderne style structure, was originally designed to house the Academy Awards. Sadly, however, the Academy Theater never did host the ‘Oscars’, but it was often the location of film premieres and served as a major suburban theater for the Fox West Coast Theatres chain.^^#

S. Charles Lee is credited with designing over 400 theaters throughout California and Mexico.

The Academy Theater continued to show movies until 1976, when it became a church.*^

Historical Notes

Architect S. Charles Lee was an early proponent of Art Deco and Moderne style theaters. The Bruin Theater (1937) and Academy Theatre (1939) are among his most characteristic. The latter, located in Inglewood, California, is a prime example of Lee's successful response to the automobile.

After World War II, Lee recognized that the grand theater building had become a thing of the past, and began to focus on new technologies in industrial architecture. His work in the field of tilt-up building systems was published in Architectural Record in 1952.*^

Historical Notes

The above Carpenter’s Sandwiches drive-in was located at 6285 Sunset Boulevard between Vine Street and Argyle in Hollywood. For 30 cents you could enjoy a hamburger and wash it down with a cup of beer while sitting behind the wheel of your car (5 cents more for the premium beer).

Historical Notes

Harry B. Carpenter founded the Carpenter's chain with his brother Charles and operated many locations in Los Angeles including: Sunset and Vine, Wilshire and Western, Wilshire and La Cienega, Wilshire and Vine, Pico and Vermont, Silver Lake and Glendale and Sunset and Virgil.

In 1936, after separating from his brother, Charles E. Carpenter opened three Carpenter's Cafes. A transitional project Carpenter's Village (606 E. Colorado) combined a Rite Spot Cafe and Carpenter's drive-in. Next he opened the Rite Spot Cafe in Pasadena, located at 1500 West Colorado Street (now considered Eagle Rock) and the Santa Anitan Cafe at Huntington and Colorado.*

Historical Notes

McDonnell's "Drive-Ins" were located at Beverly Boulevard & Western Avenue, Wilshire and Robertson Boulevards, Yucca Street and Cahuenga Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, and Sunset Boulevard and La Brea Avenue. The McDonnell's restaurants throughout Los Angeles were: McDonnell's Monterey (7312 Robertson Boulevard); McDonnell's Wilshire (Wilshire Boulevard and La Brea Avenue); McDonnell's Fairfax (Fairfax Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard); McDonnell's Gates Hotel (Sixth and Figueroa streets); McDonnell's Hill Street (454 S. Hill Street); McDonnell's Figueroa (4012 S. Figueroa Street); McDonnell's Adams and Figueroa (2626 S. Figueroa Street); and McDonnell's Pico Street (Pico and Hope streets).*

Historical Notes

L.A. restauranteur Sydney Hoedemaker opened Herbert's Drive-In in the early 1930s. It was designed by architect Wayne McAllister in circular Streamline Moderne style with a neon-ringed roofline and advertising pylon.*

CBS Television broadcasting studios currently stands at this site.

Historical Notes

Simon's Drive-In Restaurant was built in 1935 on the northwest corner of Wilshire Blvd. and Fairfax Avenue and looks very similar to the Herberts Drive-In as seen in the previous photo. Both were designed by architect Wayne McAllister.

At one time Simon's Drive-Ins dominated the Southern California drive-in restaurant craze. The Simon brothers had operated a chain of successful dairy lunch counters in downtown Los Angeles, and in 1935 decided to capitalize on the growing car culture of Los Angeles by opening auto friendly locations in the emerging commercial centers of Wilshire Boulevard, Sunset and Ventura Boulevards.^##

Historical Notes

In the 1930s, Wayne McAllister, the originator of the circular drive-in, designed circular Simon's Drive-in Restaurants in the Streamline Moderne style with a three-layer roof and neon advertising pylon; this style was copied throughout the country.*

The Chaplin Airfield was once located at this same Fairfax/Wilshire Simon's Drive-In site (Click HERE to see more in Aviation in Early L.A.).

Historical Notes

May Company California was established in 1923 when May acquired A. Hamburger & Sons Co.(founded in 1881 by Asher Hamburger). The company operated exclusively in Southern California until 1989 when May Department Stores had dissolved Goldwater's, based in Scottsdale, Arizona and transferred its Las Vegas, Nevada store to May Company California.*^

Historical Notes

In 1992, the Wilshire May Company Building was designated LA Historic-Cultural Monument No. 566 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

The Miracle Mile is an area in the Mid-Wilshire and Mid-City West regions consisting of a 1.5-mile stretch of Wilshire Boulevard between Fairfax and Highland Avenues. It sometimes also refers to the surrounding neighborhoods (including Park La Brea).  The old May Co. building, now LACMA West, marks the western border of Miracle Mile's "Museum Row".

Developer A. W. Ross saw potential for the area and developed Wilshire as a commercial district to rival downtown Los Angeles. Ross's insight was that the form and scale of his Wilshire strip should attract and serve automobile traffic rather than pedestrian shoppers. He applied this design both to the street itself and to the buildings lining it.

Ross gave Wilshire various "firsts," including dedicated left-turn lanes and the first timed traffic lights in the United States; he also required merchants to provide automobile parking lots, all to aid traffic flow. Major retailers such as Desmonds, Silverwood's, May Co., Coulter's, Mullen & Bluett, Myer Siegel, and Seibu eventually spread across Wilshire Boulevard from Fairfax to La Brea. Ross ordered that all building facades along Wilshire be engineered so as to be best seen through a windshield. This meant larger, bolder, simpler signage; longer buildings in a larger scale, oriented toward the boulevard; and architectural ornament and massing perceptible at 30 MPH instead of at walking speed. These simplified building forms were driven by practical requirements but contributed to the stylistic language of Art Deco and Streamline Moderne.

A sculptural bust of Ross stands at 5800 Wilshire, with the inscription, "A. W. Ross, founder and developer of the Miracle Mile. Vision to see, wisdom to know, courage to do."*^

Historical Notes

Built in 1935, this Art Deco structure has stood the test of time. It was originally the Sontag Drug Store, one of the largest drug stores in America at the time.  It was also one of the first to allow customers to browse and choose their own products rather than requesting them from a clerk behind a counter.

The building still stands, housing “Wilshire Beauty” and looking much like it did more than seven decades ago.*#*#

Historical Notes

Opened in 1931 by Blanche and George March, the tiny cafe was originally located at First and La Brea. In 1951 El Coyote moved to its present location on Beverly Blvd.

Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger and Wojciech Frykowski ate their last meal at the El Coyote, the night they were later murdered by the Manson Family.*^

Historical Notes

Clifford Clinton, founder of the Clifton's chain, opened L.A.'s first cafeteria, The Cafeteria of the Golden Rule, on Olive Street. In 1939, Cafeteria of the Golden Rule was transformed into the Pacific Seas and redecorated in the Polynesian motif shown above.*

The exterior was decorated with waterfalls, geysers and tropical foliage. Brightly illuminated in the evening, it became a mecca for tourists and Angelenos alike, often being referred to in the same category as other prominent landmarks of downtown Los Angeles, such as Angels Flight, Olvera Street, and Pershing Square.*^

Historical Notes

The name was created by combining "Clifford" and "Clinton" to produce Clifton's.

In 1960, although the three-story structure with its cascading waterfall facade had become a landmark over the preceding 29 years, the original Clifton's Pacific Seas was closed, the building was razed, and the location turned into a parking lot, which it has remained since then.*^

Historical Notes

Crossroads of the World has been called America's first outdoor shopping mall. Located on Sunset Boulevard and Las Palmas in Los Angeles, the mall features a central building designed to resemble an ocean liner surrounded by a small village of cottage-style bungalows. It was designed by Robert V. Derrah and built in 1936.

Once a busy shopping center, the Crossroads now hosts private offices, primarily for the entertainment industry. It has been used for location shooting in many films, including L.A. Confidential and The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, in TV shows including Dragnet and Remington Steele, and in commercials by McDonald's, Ford and Mattel. A reproduction of Crossroads' iconic tower and spinning globe can be seen just inside the entrance to Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida.*^

Historical Notes

Today, Crossroads is the creative home of a variety of music publishers and producers, television and film script writers, film and recording companies, novelists, costume designers, publicists and casting agencies.

The Crossroads can also be seen in the 2012 movie Argo when Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) and Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) go to an office there to buy the script for the movie Argo.*^

Historical Notes

Los Angeles Times publisher Norman Chandler funded the construction of the art deco Hollywood Palladium at a cost of $1.6 million in 1940. It was built where the original Paramount lot once stood by film producer Maurice Cohen and is located between Argyle and El Centro avenues. The style dance hall was designed by Gordon Kaufmann, architect of the Greystone Mansion, the Los Angeles Times building and the Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia. He was also the architect for the Hoover Dam and early Caltech dorms.*^

Historical Notes

The ballroom opened October 31, 1940 with a dance featuring Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra and band vocalist Frank Sinatra.  It had six bars serving liquor and two more serving soft drinks and a $1 cover charge and a $3 charge for dinner.

During WWII, the Palladium hosted radio broadcasts featuring Betty Grable greeting servicemen’s' song requests. Big Band acts began losing popularity in the 1950s, causing the Palladium to hold charity balls, political events, auto shows, and rock concerts. In 1961, it became the home of the long-running Lawrence Welk Show.*^

Historical Notes

This Beaux Arts live-performance theater was built in 1926-1927. The premier performance was “An American Tragedy” by Theodore Dreiser. The theater also had a memorable run of the play “Philadelphia” during its early years. The theater features orchestra, mezzanine, loge and balcony seating.

During the depression of the 1930’s, the theater was renamed the Lux Radio Playhouse and became a cinema. The theater was then purchased by the Columbia Broadcasting (CBS) for local affiliate KNX radio and was used as a live performance radio auditorium and local radio station.

In 1954, Mr. Huntington Hartford bought the building for $200,000 from Columbia Broadcasting and extensively remodeled and “modernized” the theater at an additional cost of $750,000. He streamlined the building from the facade, to the lobby and through the auditorium. Hartford ran the theater successfully for ten years.^^#

Historical Notes

In 1964 Hartford sold the theater to James Doolittle (owner of the Greek Theater in the Hollywood Hills) for $850,000. Cary Grant had tried to buy the building, but lost over Doolittle. The theater was (not surprisingly) renamed the Doolittle Theater.

Eventually, the theater would run down into disrepair. Until bought in 2000 by the U.C.L.A. performing arts group “Nosotros”, an organization founded in 1970 by actor Ricardo Montalban “to help fulfill the goals of persons of Spanish-speaking origin in the motion picture and television industry”. The founding board included members Desi Arnaz, Vicki Carr and Anthony Quinn.

This theater is often mistaken for other Hollywood theaters, most often with the Hollywood Playhouse at 1735 Vine Street, which in the 1960’s became famous as the Hollywood Palace TV show venue. That theater still stands one block to the north. The Ricardo Montalban Theater has even been confused with the former Jerry Lewis Theater and the El Capitan Theater, which are blocks away.^^#

Historical Notes

Pink's was founded by Paul and Betty Pink in 1939 as a pushcart near the corner of La Brea and Melrose. The Great Depression was still having an impact on the country, and money was scarce. People could purchase a chili dog made with Betty's own chili recipe accompanied by mustard and onions on a steamed bun for 10 cents each.*^

In 1946 Paul Pink traded his hot dog wagon in for a small building (constructed on the very same spot where the wagon had stood).*###

Historical Notes

Today, there is usually a long line of customers in front despite the lack of parking in the area. The often slow-moving line is viewed by some as part of the attraction at Pink's, especially on Friday and Saturday nights when the stand becomes packed with club and concert goers.

In September 2009, a location opened on the Las Vegas Strip at the Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino.

In April 2010, another location opened in Universal City Walk and introduced "The Betty White Naked Dog" (no condiments or toppings). In November 2010, a location opened at Harrah's Rincon in Valley Center.

Pink's hot dogs are also sold at amusement parks, including Knott's Berry Farm in Southern California, and starting in 2011, Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, the first Pink's location east of Las Vegas.*^

Historical Notes

Bob's Big Boy restaurant chain was founded by Bob Wian in Southern California in 1936, originally named Bob's Pantry.

The chain is best known for its trademark chubby boy in red-and-white checkered overalls holding a Big Boy sandwich (double-decker cheeseburger). The inspiration for Big Boy's name, as well as the model for its mascot, was Richard Woodruff (1936–1986), of Glendale, California. When he was six years old, he walked into the diner Bob's Pantry as Bob Wian was attempting to name his new hamburger. Wian said, "Hello, Big Boy" to Woodruff, and the name stuck.*^

Historical Notes

In 1918, the Brothers Warner (Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack) bought 10.2-acres of land in Hollywood from the Beesmyer family at a cost of $25,000. In 1919 they built a giant stage nicknamed The Barn, which measured 50-feet wide by 100- feet long. This stage was torn down in 1923 and was replaced by a collection of smaller stages and buildings.

In 1925, Sam Warner started KFWB radio station on the lot and In 1937, his brother-in-law, Harry Charnas, opened Sunset Bowling Center behind the old executive offices of Warner Bros. Studios. The Sunset Bowling Center was part of a "sports palace" that also contained badminton courts and a skating rink. The 52-lane bowling alley was the largest in the world at that time, with pin boys living in the loft of the building; it operated for ten years.*

Historical Notes

In 1954, Paramount bought the site to provide television production facilities for KTLA, which moved to the site in 1958. Gene Autry bought KTLA in 1964, and leased the space from Paramount for three years, after which he bought the property for a whopping $5 million dollars.

n 1982, an investment-banking firm bought the lot and KTLA, and three years later, sold out to the Tribune Company. In January of 2008, Hudson Capital purchased the landmark 1920s Warner Bros Studio for an astounding $130 million dollars.*

This beautiful building of classical design, which boasts of a big colonnade of Doric columns, was declared Historic-Cultural Monument No. 180 in 1977 by the city of Los Angeles (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

Van de Kamp's Holland Dutch Bakeries was a bakery founded in 1915 and headquartered in the Van de Kamp Bakery Building in Los Angeles. The company's trademark blue windmills featured on their grocery store signs and atop their chain of famous restaurants that were known throughout the region.

The bakery was sold by the Van de Kamp family and acquired by General Baking Co. in 1956. The company was sold to private investors in 1979, and closed in bankruptcy in 1990. The Van de Kamp's brand is now owned by Ralphs supermarket chain and used for their line of private-label baked goods.*^

Historical Notes

The first Hermosa Beach election for city officers was held December 24, 1906. On January 14, 1907, Hermosa Beach became the nineteenth incorporated city of Los Angeles County.*^
 
The name Hermosa comes from Spanish and means "beautiful."

Historical Notes

Opened in 1948, the S. Charles Lee-designed Bay Theatre was twinned in the mid-1970’s. The Bay Theatre was closed in late-1978 and was converted into a hardware store by 1980.^^#

Historical Notes

The Gilmore Drive-In was located near the Farmers Market in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles. It opened in 1948 with a capacity for 650 cars and lasted until the mid-1970’s. The drive-in sat for the next 5 years, before being razed.^^#

The site today is occupied by the south end of Gardner Park just east of the Grove-Farmers Market Shopping Mall.

Historical Notes

The Canter family originally opened up a delicatessen in Jersey City (New Jersey) in 1924. They came west along with many Jews from the northeastern United States in the early 1940s, and opened a delicatessen in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, which at that time had a substantial Jewish population. After World War II, the Jewish population of Boyle Heights left en masse for the Fairfax District, West Hollywood, and other West Side neighborhoods (as well as the San Fernando Valley) and Canter's followed the influx of Jewish businesses west, converting a movie theater which had previously shown Yiddish-language films to a delicatessen much larger than its previous spaces.

Canter's quickly became a hangout for show business personalities, given its location and its late hours. It has remained such ever since. In the 1960s, Canter's became a late night hang out for hippies, rock musicians, and other countercultural types, partially for the same reasons. Also, many rock musicians had grown up in Fairfax and West Hollywood, and the Sunset Strip was only a half-mile away. Canter's has remained a favorite of rock musicians to the present day, and is still open 24 hours as always. Canter's is open every day of the year except for the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.*^

Historical Notes

In 1952 CBS Television City was built facing Beverly Boulevard on the site of Gilmore Stadium. In 1958 Gilmore Field was also demolished and the studio expanded on the grounds where baseball was once played.**^#

Historical Notes

The Tropical Ice Gardens in Westwood Village opened in November 1938. It had a seating capacity for 10,000 spectators and could accommodate 2,000 ice skaters on its year-round outdoor rink. There were conflicting reports that Norwegian ice champion Sonja Henie had acquired the arena sometime in the 1940s and renamed it Sonja Henie's Ice Palace, but her actual affiliation with the establishment remains uncertain.*

Historical Notes

The Tropical Ice Gardens also hosted hockey games, ice dancing shows, comedy and animal ice shows, as well as skating clubs. In 1945 the Tropical Ice Garden merged with the Mercury Figure Skating Club to become the All-Year Mercury AFC. By 1949 it was the Sonja Henie Ice Palace, but was torn down to accommodate a UCLA expansion.*#^

Historical Notes

The building was built in 1879-80 in a Italianate style, and later remodeled in 1958.*

Widney Hall is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 70) and has also been designated California Historical Landmark No. 536. Click HERE to see more California Historical Landmarks in LA.

Historical Notes

From 1949 through 1959, the Pantages Theatre hosted the American motion picture industry's annual Academy Award Ceremonies. Click HERE to see more in Early Views of Hollywood.

Historical Notes

30th Academy Awards (March 26, 1958):

Best Picture: Bridge on the River Kwai;

Best Actor: Alec Guinness – The Bridge on the River Kwai

Best Actress: Joanne Woodward – The Three Faces of Eve

Historical Notes

The Lindbergh beacon was installed on top of City Hall in 1928. Originally white, the light was replaced with a red light in 1931 after the U.S. Department of Commerce deemed the bright beacon a hazard to air safety. During WWII the light was turned off, and relit just a few of times more before being removed in the early 1950s.

The Lindbergh beacon was rediscovered in the early 1990s. After restoration, it was put on display in the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX and relit for the first time in 45 years on April 22, 1992. The beacon was reinstalled on top of City Hall in 2001 and is lit on special occasions.*^

Historical Notes

One of downtown's most distinctive buildings, this 12-story building, constructed in 1924, was originally called the Mercantile Arcade Building.  An Architectural competition was held to find a design suitable to replace the famed Mercantile Place, which in 1924 had been a Los Angeles landmark for 40 years.  The San Francisco firm of McDonald and Couchot was selected and patterned the new building after London’s Burlington Arcade.  Originally the Arcade included space for 350 offices and 61 shops.^^##

Historical Notes

The Mercantile Arcade Building has an open, glass-roofed shopping arcade running from Broadway to Spring Street.  The mezzanine levels of the arcade are accessed via interior bridges.  The building consists of two 12-story towers, one facing Broadway and the other Spring Street, with both elevations having similar terra cotta detailing.  There are two radio towers, one on each tower roof, that once broadcast signal of radio station KRKD.^^##

Historical Notes

Richfield Tower, also known as the Richfield Oil Company Building, was constructed between 1928 and 1929 and served as the headquarters of Richfield Oil. It was designed by Stiles O. Clements and featured a black and gold Art Deco façade. The unusual color scheme was meant to symbolize the "black gold" that was Richfield's business. Haig Patigian did the exterior sculptures.*^

Historical Notes

The 12-floor building was 372 feet tall, including a 130-foot tower atop the building, emblazoned vertically with the name "Richfield". Lighting on the tower was made to simulate an oil well gusher and the motif was reused at some Richfield service stations.*^

Historical Notes

The company quickly outgrew the building, and it was demolished in 1969 to make way for the present ARCO Plaza skyscraper complex. The elaborate black-and-gold elevator doors were salvaged from the building and now reside in the lobby of the new ARCO building (now City National Tower).*^

Historical Notes

CBS Television City opened on November 16, 1952. It was built on the site of a former football field and race track, Gilmore Stadium. Before the stadium, it was an oil field.*^

While New York City and Chicago were the dominant production centers during television's early years, networks gradually saw the potential of Hollywood as a locale to make programs.  CBS initially used the facilities of its Columbia Square radio and television (KNX-AM, KNXT/KCBS-TV) complex on Sunset Boulevard, as well as some other locations scattered throughout Los Angeles, for West Coast network program origination. They then moved to the TV City facility once it was completed.*^^^

Historical Notes

Some of the more notable shows (there are too many to list all) that have come from TV City: "Playhouse 90," "The Jack Benny Program," "Burns and Allen," "The Judy Garland Show," "The Red Skelton Show," "Art Linkletter's House Party," "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," "All in the Family," "The Carol Burnett Show," "The (New) Price Is Right," "Match Game '7x" and "The Young and the Restless." Television City also was home to "The Ed Sullivan Show" when it visited California, and even to non-CBS shows such as ABC's "Three's Company" and numerous syndicated and cable series. It is considered by many in the business to be the best television production facility on the West Coast.*^^^

Historical Notes

The Taix families (pronounced ‘Tex’) are the third and fourth generations of a family of sheepherders and bakers from the Hautes-Alpes in southwestern France who immigrated to Los Angeles around 1870. In 1912, Marius Taix built a hotel called Champ d’Or in the Los Angeles French quarter. In 1927, Marius Taix Jr. opened Taix French Restaurant within the hotel, serving the “famous chicken dinners” for 50 cents at long tables “family style”.

The present location, 1911 Sunset Boulevard, opened in 1962.^###

Historical Notes

Van de Kamp's Holland Dutch Bakeries was sold by the Van de Kamp family and acquired by General Baking Co. in 1956. The company was sold to private investors in 1979, and closed in bankruptcy in 1990. The Van de Kamp's brand is now owned by Ralphs supermarket chain and used for their line of private-label baked goods.*^

Historical Notes

Designed by architect Milton Black, the stand opened at La Cienega and Beverly boulevards in June 1946 to luminary-studded, searchlight-lit fanfare. Eddie Blake purchased the Pup in the early 1970s from its celebrity owners, the dance team of Veloz and Yolanda.

Despite its appearance in countless movies and commercials, the stand faced demolition in the mid-1980s, creating an outcry that resulted in the stand being moved a few yards from its original location at 311 North La Cienega Boulevard, to 329 North San Vicente Boulevard.

In December 2005, the Pup was evicted and it moved into a Torrance warehouse after Regent Properties, a development company, purchased the Pup's site from landlord Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and announced plans to build 152 condominium and apartment units. As of December 2012, construction had not started and the site remained a parking lot.

Owners Dennis and Eddie Blake plan to reopen the Tail o' the Pup once a suitable location is found, possibly in West Hollywood.

The City of Los Angeles has since declared Tail o’ the Pup to be a cultural landmark.*^

Historical Notes

The original location was opened on May 15, 1946, by Tom Koulax, the son of Greek immigrants, on the northeast corner of Beverly and Rampart boulevards west of downtown Los Angeles. The stand, which still stands today, sold hamburgers and hot dogs topped with chili. At first business was slow, but started to pick up. During the 1960s, the entire lot at this intersection was purchased. Soon after, the northwest corner was acquired for expanded parking and storage of goods. Not long after that, a second service counter occupying the building at the perimeter of the northeast lot was set up. The food was essentially the same from both locations, except for longer lines at the original shack counter, perhaps for nostalgic reasons.

Koulax credited the students, both as workers and customers, from nearby Belmont High School for making Tommy's a success. He supported the school by placing advertisements in the school newspaper and yearbooks. In his last will and testament, he left a scholarship fund for Belmont.

In the 1970s, Tommy's initiated a conservative expansion plan, growing from the original location to 30 locations in 2006.*^

Historical Notes

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) was established as a museum in 1961. Prior to this, LACMA was part of the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art, founded in 1910 in Exposition Park near the University of Southern California. Early trustee Howard F. Ahmanson Sr. made the lead donation of $2 million, convincing the museum board that sufficient funds could be raised to establish the new museum. In 1965, the museum moved to a new Wilshire Boulevard complex as an independent, art-focused institution, the largest new museum to be built in the United States after the National Gallery of Art.*^

Historical Notes

The Crocker-Citizens Plaza, now known as 611 Place, was  designed by William L. Pereira & Associates and completed in 1969. The building was commissioned by the now-defunct Crocker Citizen's Bank, and served as its headquarters for many years before being bought by AT&T. It was the tallest building in Los Angeles upon completion, and the first building to surpass Los Angeles City Hall in terms of structural height (many buildings had surpassed City Hall with decorative spires, the first being Richfield Tower).*^

Historical Notes

The Crocker-Citizens Building (now known as 611 Place) consists of a cross-shaped tower clad in vertical aluminum beams, and supported on its west side by an immense, blank slab of concrete running the entire height of the building, which is used to display corporate logos.

The building appeared in several movies: it appeared twice in 2004, first in The Day After Tomorrow where it mysteriously appeared in shots of Manhattan, and later in Along Came Polly, where it was the starting point of an ill-fated BASE jump. 611 Place is also destroyed by an earthquake in the 2000 movie Epicenter.*^

Historical Notes

Construction of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion started on March 9, 1962, and it was dedicated September 27, 1964. The Pavilion was named for Dorothy Buffum Chandler who led the effort to build a suitable home for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and rejuvenate the performing arts in Los Angeles.*^

The 17-story Department of Water & Power Office Building (GOB) was constructed on Bunker Hill with the purpose of consolidating 11 building offices scattered across Downtown LA and was formally dedicated in June 1965. In November 2000, in honor of longtime council member John Ferraro, the General Office Building (GOB) was renamed the John Ferraro Office Building (JFOB).

Historical Notes

The Mark Taper Forum opened in 1967 as part of the Los Angeles Music Center, the West Coast’s equivalent of Lincoln Center. The smallest of the three, the Taper sits between the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Ahmanson Theater at opposite ends of a plaza. The three buildings of the Music Center were designed by Los Angeles architect Welton Becket.

The building bears an architectural resemblance to Carousel Theatre at Disneyland, also built by Welton Becket and Associates in 1967. It is similar in design concept and size to the Dallas Theatre Center, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and the original Tyrone Guthrie Theatre, in Minneapolis.

S. (Sydney) Mark Taper was a real estate developer, financier and philanthropist in Southern California. His 1962 gift to the Los Angeles Music Center resulted in the Mark Taper Forum being named for him in 1967.

Mr. Taper was born in Poland, moving to England at a year old, where he opened five shoe stores. In 1929, he began successfully investing in real estate and by the late 1930s, had retired and moved his family to Long Beach.*^

Historical Notes

The Sports Arena became a companion facility to the adjacent Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and home court to the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA from October 1960 to December 1967, the Los Angeles Clippers also of the NBA from 1984–1999, the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL from October to December 1967 during their inaugural 1967-68 season, the USC Trojans basketball team of the NCAA from 1959–2006, the UCLA Bruins Basketball team of the NCAA from 1959–1965 and again as a temporary home in 2011-2012, the Los Angeles Blades of the Western Hockey League from 1961 to 1967, the Los Angeles Sharks of the WHA from 1972–1974, the Los Angeles Cobras of the AFL in 1988, and the original Los Angeles Stars of the ABA from 1968–1970. The arena played host to the top indoor track meet on the West Coast, the annual Los Angeles Invitational track meet (frequently called the "Sunkist Invitational", with title sponsorship by Sunkist Growers, Incorporated), from 1960 until the event's demise in 2004.

Since the Trojans left, the arena has taken on a lower profile. The arena still holds high school basketball championships, as well as concerts and conventions. The UCLA men's basketball team played the majority of their home games at the Sports Arena during the 2011-12 season while Pauley Pavilion underwent renovations.*^

Historical Notes

While Dodger Stadium was under construction, the Dodgers played in the league's largest capacity venue from 1958 through 1961 at their temporary home, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which could seat in excess of 90,000 people.

Despite their inept play and seventh-place finish, the Dodgers drew a record 1,845,556 fans in their first year in Los Angeles when they played at the Coliseum.*

Click HERE to see Baseball in Early Los Angeles.

Hisorical Notes

A former door-to-door encyclopedia salesman, the Canadian-born Cooke bought the Lakers in 1965 for $5.2 million. After acquiring the rights to an NHL expansion team, Cooke couldn't reach a deal with the Sports Arena (where the Lakers played). He then built the 17,000-seat, $16 million Forum across the street from Hollywood Park; the Kings debuted there on December 30, 1967. In 1979, Cooke sold the Lakers, the Kings, the Forum (and his California ranch) to Jerry Buss for a reported $67.5 million.*

Historical Notes

The circular structure was designed by renowned Los Angeles architect Charles Luckman and was intended to evoke the Roman Forum.

The Forum was the site of the 1972 and 1983 NBA All-Star Games, the 1981 NHL All-Star Game, Basketball at the 1984 Summer Olympics and hosted the Big West Conference men's basketball tournament from 1983–1988 and also the 1989 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball tournament.

In 2000, it was acquired by the Faithful Central Bible Church, which used it for occasional church services, while also leasing the building for sporting events, concerts and other events.

In 2012, Madison Square Garden, Inc. bought the facility for $23.5 million and announced plans to renovate the arena for use as a top-niche concert venue.*^

Historical Notes

The distinctive white building resembles a flying saucer that has landed on its four legs. It was designed by a team of architects and engineers headed by William Pereira and Charles Luckman, that also included Paul Williams and Welton Becket. The initial design of the building was created by James Langenheim, of Pereira & Luckman.*^

The Los Angeles City Council designated the building a cultural and historical monument (No. 570) in 1992. Click HERE to see the complete LA Historic Cultural Monument List.

Historical Notes

The Capitol Records Building, also known as the Capitol Records Tower, is a thirteen story tower designed by Welton Becket – and one of the city's landmarks. Construction was contracted by British company EMI soon after its 1955 acquisition of Capitol Records, with completion in April 1956. Located just north of the intersection of Hollywood and Vine and consolidating the West Coast operations of Capitol Records, the structure is home to the recording studios and echo chambers of Capitol Studios — and is listed as LA Historical – Cultural Monument  #857 (Click HERE to see complete listing).*^

Historical Notes

The blinking light atop the tower spells out the word "Hollywood" in Morse code, and has done so since the building's opening in 1956. This was an idea of Capitol's then president, Alan Livingston, who wanted to subtly advertise Capitol's status as the first record label with a base on the west coast. The switch was initially activated by Leila Morse, the granddaughter of Samuel Morse.  In 1992 it was changed to read "Capitol 50" in honor of the label's fiftieth anniversary. It has since returned to spelling "Hollywood". A black and white graphic image of the building appeared on the albums of many Capitol recording artists, with the phrase, "From the Sound Capitol of the World".*^

Click HERE to see more in Early Views of Hollywood

Historical Notes

The wide curved awnings over windows on each story and the tall spike emerging from the top of the building coincidentally resembling a stack of records on a turntable. The rectangular ground floor is a separate structure, joined to the tower after completion. The tower incorporates 13 stories, to conform to the 150-foot zoning height limit that was in place at the time of its construction. Earthquake height restrictions were later lifted in 1964.*^

Historical Notes

At 35-stories tall, the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites is the largest hotel in the city.  It was designed by architect John C. Portman, Jr. and constructed between 1974 and 1976. The top floor has a revolving restaurant and bar. It was originally owned by investors that included a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation and John Portman & Associates. The building is managed by Interstate Hotels & Resorts (IHR).*^

Historical Notes

The Bonaventure is the largest hotel in Los Angeles, with 1,474 rooms (574 more rooms than any other hotel in Downtown Los Angeles).

Historical Notes

In February 1963, Cinerama Inc. unveiled a radically new design for theaters which would show its movies. They would be based on the geodesic dome developed by R. Buckminster Fuller, would cost half as much as conventional theaters of comparable size, and could be built in half the time. Cinerama's goal was to see at least 600 built worldwide within two years. The following April, Pacific Theatres Inc. announced plans to build the first theater based upon the design, and had begun razing existing buildings at the construction site.

Located on Sunset near Vine Street, it would be the first new major motion picture theater in Hollywood in 33 years, and would be completed in time for the scheduled November 2 press premiere of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. The design was adapted by the noted architectural firm of Welton Becket and Associates.*^

In 1998, the Pacific Cinerama Dome Theater was designated Historic-Cultural Monument No. 659 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

The DWP Building (John Ferraro Office Building) opened in 1965 and has been a Los Angeles icon ever since. In 2012, the Los Angeles City Council designated the DWP Building as an Historic-Cultural Monument.

The A.C. Martin and Associates designed building offered some unique high-technology features in that It was designed to utilize the pool surrounding the structure as part of the air conditioning system and to heat the building without the use of a boiler.

Historical Notes

Designed by Charles Luckman and opened in 1974, this shopping center later became Macy's Plaza.*

Historical Notes

Construction broke ground in 1998 and the Staples Center was opened a year later (October 17, 1999). It was financed privately at a cost of $375 million and is named for the office-supply company Staples, Inc., which was one of the center's corporate sponsors that paid for naming rights.

Staples Center is owned and operated by the L.A. Arena Company and Anschutz Entertainment Group.*^

Historical Notes

The arena seats up to 19,060 for basketball, 18,118 for ice hockey and arena football, and around 20,000 for concerts or other sporting events.*^

Historical Notes

The Walt Disney Concert Hall is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Avenue, and 1st and 2nd Streets, it seats 2,265 people and serves (among other purposes) as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

Lillian Disney made an initial gift in 1987 to build a performance venue as a gift to the people of Los Angeles and a tribute to Walt Disney's devotion to the arts and to the city. The Frank Gehry-designed building opened on October 24, 2003. Both the architecture by Frank Gehry and the acoustics of the concert hall (designed by Yasuhisa Toyota) were praised in contrast to its predecessor, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.*^