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

Historical Notes

Paramount Pictures dates its existence from the 1912 founding date of the Famous Players Film Company. Founder Hungarian-born Adolph Zukor, who had been an early investor in nickelodeons, saw that movies appealed mainly to working-class immigrants. With partners Daniel Frohman and Charles Frohman he planned to offer feature-length films that would appeal to the middle class by featuring the leading theatrical players of the time (leading to the slogan "Famous Players in Famous Plays". By mid-1913, Famous Players had completed five films, and Zukor was on his way to success.

Historical Notes

In 1916, Adolph Zukor maneuvered a three-way merger of his Famous Players, the Lasky Company, and Paramount. The new company Lasky and Zukor founded, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, grew quickly, with Lasky and his partners Goldwyn and DeMille running the production side, Hiram Abrams in charge of distribution, and Zukor making great plans. Famous Players-Lasky and its "Paramount Pictures" soon dominated the business.

Historical Notes

In September 1927, Famous Players-Lasky was reorganized under the name Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation, later becoming the Paramount Pictures Corporation (now a division of Viacom).

Historical Notes

Zukor signed and developed many of the leading early stars, including Mary Pickford, Marguerite Clark, Pauline Frederick, Douglas Fairbanks, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, and Wallace Reid. With so many important players, Paramount was able to introduce "block booking", which meant that an exhibitor who wanted a particular star's films had to buy a year's worth of other Paramount productions. It was this system that gave Paramount a leading position in the 1920s and 1930s, but which led the government to pursue it on antitrust grounds for more than twenty years.

Historical Notes

Paramount films emphasized stars; in the 1920s there were Swanson, Valentino, and Clara Bow. By the 1930s, talkies brought in a range of powerful new draws: Miriam Hopkins, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, W.C. Fields, Jeanette MacDonald, Claudette Colbert, the Marx Brothers (whose first two films were shot at Paramount's Astoria, New York, studio), Dorothy Lamour, Carole Lombard, Bing Crosby, band leader Shep Fields, famous Argentine tango singer Carlos Gardel, and Gary Cooper among them. In this period Paramount can truly be described as a movie factory, turning out sixty to seventy pictures a year.

Historical Notes

In 1933, Mae West would also add greatly to Paramount's success with her suggestive movies She Done Him Wrong and I'm No Angel. However, the sex appeal West gave in these movies would also lead to the enforcement of the Production Code, as the newly formed organization the Catholic Legion of Decency threatened a boycott if it was not enforced.

Historical Notes

Paramount is the fifth oldest surviving film studio in the world behind Universal Studios, Nordisk Film, Pathé, and Gaumont Film Company. It is the last major film studio still headquartered in Hollywood.

Historical Notes

The Famous Players Film Company was a film company founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor in partnership with the Frohman brothers, powerful New York City theatre impresarios.

In 1915, the company established Famous Players Fiction Studios at 5300 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. The new studio's first film starred Mary Pickford. The studio later became Clune Studio, then California Studio, then Gross-Krasne, followed by Producers Studios Inc., and is now known as Raleigh Studios. Raleigh Studios is known for being the site of Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, and currently Let's Make a Deal. It is one of the oldest studios in Hollywood.

Over the years, it has been known by various names, including:

1915: Famous Players Fiction Studios

1916: Clune Studios

1919: Fairbanks Productions

1922: CBC/Waldorf Comedies

1924: United Studios

1934: Prudential Studios

1941: California Studios

1946: Enterprise Studios (reverting to California Studios after bankruptcy)

1960s: Producers Studio

1979: Raleigh Film & Television Studios

Historical Notes

It's worth noting that the studio has been in continuous operation since 1915, making it the longest continuously operating studio of its type. The name "Raleigh Studios" came into use when Raleigh Enterprises acquired the studio in 1979. Throughout its history, the studio has maintained its location at the corner of Melrose Avenue and Bronson Avenue in Hollywood, directly across from Paramount Studios.

The twin street lights along Melrose were the Marbelite 1900 model, distinguished by its squarish base. The Melrose lights were removed around 1950, but there are a few survivors fairly close by.  Wilshire Boulevard on the west side also had similar streetlights in the 1930s.

Historical Notes

Since its founding in 1915, Raleigh Studios has evolved into one of the longest continuously operating studios worldwide. Initially established as Famous Players Fiction Studios, it saw multiple ownership changes and name variations, such as Paralta Studios and Douglas Fairbanks Studios. During the silent era, it built one of the first soundstages with a glass top. In 1928, Walt and Roy Disney started their sound recording company on the lot.

Raleigh Enterprises acquired the studio in 1979, expanding and modernizing it, including developing Raleigh Studios Manhattan Beach in 1998 and engaging in global projects. Adding Hollywood Rentals in 2004, it became a major lighting and grip equipment provider. Despite fluctuating global production incentives, Raleigh has focused on enhancing its Hollywood lot. Hosting numerous influential filmmakers and productions, it remains a modern facility with high-speed internet and contemporary amenities, preserving its historical significance in Hollywood

Historical Notes

Throughout the years, the Ravenswood Apartments housed several movie stars, including Mae West, Ava Gardner and Clark Gable.

Historical Notes

Mae West moved into Apartment #611, a 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit, shortly after her arrival in Hollywood in 1932. The apartment had been reserved for her by Paramount and she liked it so much she never left. Offered a lifetime lease, she eventually had a share in the building when she lent the owners some money and they used the building as collateral. West lived there until her death in 1980.

Historical Notes

The Ravenswood is a historic apartment building at 570 North Rossmore Avenue in Hollywood. Designed by architect Max Maltzman and built by Paramount Pictures in 1930, it is considered a landmark Art Deco masterpiece. It has been declared a Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 768) by the City of Los Angeles (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

The White Parade is a 1934 film that was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was written by Rian James, Jesse Lasky Jr., Sonya Levien and Ernest Pascal, from the novel by Rian James. The film was directed by Irving Cummings.

Dedicated to "the memory of Florence Nightingale", the plot concerns the travails and romances of young women as they study to become nurses. It stars Loretta Young and John Boles.

The only surviving print is located at the UCLA film archive, and can be viewed at the Instructional Media Lab, Powell Library, after making an appointment.

This is one of two Best Picture nominees that have never been released on home video. The other is East Lynne (1931 film). with Loretta Young and John Boles.*^

Historical Notes

Shirley Temple was, without a doubt, the biggest child star ever.  She was the number-one box-office star from 1935 through 1938. She once said her Mom took her to Bullocks Wilshire to meet Santa Claus. She stopped believing when she sat on his lap and Santa Claus asked her for an autograph. #**#

Historical Notes

Shirley Temple began her film career in 1932 at the age of three. In 1934, she found international fame in Bright Eyes, a feature film designed specifically for her talents. She received a special Juvenile Academy Award in February 1935 for her outstanding contribution as a juvenile performer to motion pictures during 1934, and film hits such as Curly Top and Heidi followed year after year during the mid-to-late 1930s. Licensed merchandise that capitalized on her wholesome image included dolls, dishes, and clothing. Her box-office popularity waned as she reached adolescence. She appeared in a few films of varying quality in her mid-to-late teens, and retired completely from films in 1950 at the age of 22.

As an adult, now Shirley Temple Black, she entered politics and became a diplomat, serving as United States Ambassador to Ghana and later to Czechoslovakia, and as Chief of Protocol of the United States.*^

Historical Notes

Riette Kahn is shown at the wheel of an ambulance donated by the American movie industry to the Spanish government in Los Angeles, California, on Sept. 18, 1937. The Hollywood Caravan to Spain will first tour the U.S. to raise funds to “help the defenders of Spanish democracy” in the Spanish Civil War.^##*

Historical Notes

A new police station building stands at this site today. Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

In 1937, renowned Art Deco architect Claud Beelman, a partner at Curlett and Beelman, was commissioned by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to design the Hollywood Post Office Building. A wooden bas-relief inside, titled "The Horseman", was carved by artist Gordon Newell as a WPA commission and still stands above a door.

Claud Beelman was a self-trained draftsman turned "moderne" architect in the early 20th century. He designed the Los Angeles County Fair Gallery, also commissioned by the WPA in 1937.*^

Historical Notes

The post office is one of the few governmental and historical structures left unscathed in Hollywood. It was dedicated as a LA Historic-Cultural Monument in 1985.  Today, the building is also a “dead letter repository for love letters to such Hollywood luminaries as Clark Gable, Judy Garland, and others”. *^

Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Constructed in 1930, the  art deco structure designed by architect Francis D. Rutherford was the production headquarters for the Hollywood Citizen News. The newspaper operated under various owners from the 1930s to the early 1970s. ^^#

Historical Notes

The building, which is located between Hollywood and Sunset boulevards, underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation in 2006 to cater to the tastes of tenants in the media and entertainment industries. It has high ceilings, skylights, operable windows and patios on the second floor.^^#

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

*The ornate two-lamp streetlights seen above were called "Metropolitan Streetlights" and were developed especially for Hollywood in the early 1920s. They ultimately found their way onto the "best" streets of surrounding communities.  The ‘Metropolitan’ is still quite common in Hollywood (Click HERE to see more).

Historical Notes

Opened in 1913, this was Hollywood's second theatre and had an initial admission price of 10 cents. The facade was of white glazed brick with marble tile in the lobby. The auditorium featured Corinthian columns and a coffered ceiling. The owner of the project was H.L. Lewis. The Idle Hour had been the first theatre to open in Hollywood, in late 1910 or early 1911 (Click HERE to see more).

Historical Notes

Designed originally in 1913 by architects Kremple and Erkes, the theater got a remodel in 1927 by Clifford Balch.  Another renovation and redesign by S. Charles Lee occurred in 1936 where the original white brick façade was replaced with a deco version. The signage currently on the building is from that remodel.  A final remodel took place in 1977.  In the early 1990s, the theatre became a venue for the Guinness Book of World Records. (Click HERE to see more).

Historical Notes

S. H. Kress & Co. was a national chain of 5-10-25 cent department stores. They operated from 1896 to 1981 but were most popular from the 30s into the 50s. This store stood on Hollywood Blvd right next to a “five-and-dime” competitor, J.J. Newberry. This Kress Building is still there, including the red neon sign at the top, and it’s been fully and beautifully restored.

Historical Notes

The chain’s founder, Samuel H. Kress (1863–1955), took architecture seriously. His Hollywood Boulevard store (1934) was a Hollywood spectacular, designed in an Art Deco style by S.H. Kress & Co. chief architect Edward F. Sibbert.^

Historical Notes

In 1946, Frederick Mellinger opened Frederick's Fifth Avenue in New York, a mail-order business selling products that his World War II Army friends told him their girlfriends would like. A year later Mr. Mellinger moved the store to the West Coast into the Kress Building, where the bright purple Art Deco-style headquarters on Hollywood Boulevard became a landmark.

Historical Notes

From 1949 to 2005, the building housed lingerie retailer Frederick’s of Hollywood. Within the landmark store, Frederick’s of Hollywood Lingerie Museum featured lingerie worn by celebrities in movies. The exhibit even included the bra worn by Tony Curtis in Some Like It Hot (1959).

In September 2005, after 59 years, the store moved to a larger space a few blocks away, near the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue.

Historical Notes

In 2008, after a multi-year restoration, the Kress name went back onto the building—but not as a sign for an S.H. Kress & Co. variety store. That chain disappeared from U.S. cities in 1981. The building became the short-lived Kress Hollywood nightclub and restaurant. Currently the building is unoccupied (Jan. 2019).

Historical Notes

Sontag Drug Stores was one of the largest drug store chains in the U.S. in the 1930’s & 1940’s.  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. 

All in all, there were 16 Sontag Drugs located in Los Angeles, and another 32 in other locations – for a total of 48 stores.  Their Los Angeles headquarters was located at the corner of Wilshire Blvd. and La Cienega Blvd. (torn down and replaced at one time with the Flynt Building).^

Historical Notes

M'Goo's opened in 1959 at the northwest corner of Hollywood and Cherokee.  M'Goo's Food 'n Fun - was a fun old time Irish themed restaurant.  Owner Marty Bryman sold beer by the pound (6 lbs for $2.50) and champaign by the bubbles - in a glass slipper.

Historical Notes

Though the Hollywood Hotel housed many of the great stars in its day, it was razed in August 1956 to make way for a $10 million development, with a twelve story office building for the First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Hollywood, a shopping center and parking lots. In 2001, the Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex, which includes the Hollywood and Highland Center, the current home of the Academy Awards, was constructed on the site.*^

After WWII, the Bernheimer home was remodeled and converted into apartments. Soon thereafter, Thomas O. Glover purchased the property and began the restoration of what was to become the Yamashiro restaurant.*

Historical Notes

The thirteen story First National Bank Building with Gothic/Renaissance elements a la Art Deco is one of a handful of structures in the city that is adorned with gargoyles. It was the tallest building in Los Angeles from 1927 to 1932.*

Historical Notes

Packard was an American luxury automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last in 1958.

According to many people the introduction of the Packard 120 (seen above) was Packard's savior in the '30's during the final years of the Great Depression.*^

Historical Notes

People still fondly remember the Currie’s chain and its “mile-high cone” whose replica was often displayed billboard-style on roofs. The chain was started in 1927 by three brothers named Kuhns. After WWII they sold it to the Good Humor Company who later sold it to Lipton in the 1960s. In 1964 the chain opened its 87th store, in North Hollywood. Although Currie’s anticipated launching units in every community in Southern California, only three outlets were listed in the 1967 Los Angeles phone book and the chain had disappeared by the 1980s. +##+

Historical Notes

Cord was the brand name of an American automobile company from Connersville, Indiana, manufactured by the Auburn Automobile Company from 1929 through 1932 and again in 1936 and 1937.*^

Historical Notes

Most of the buildings that housed Currie's Ice Cream had the larger than life cone on top of the building. These “hey-you-can’t miss-me!” buildings (referred to as Novelty or Programmatic Architecture) were made to pull automobile drivers right off the road.

Click HERE to see more examples of Programmatic Architecture.

Historical Notes

Carl Laemmle’s vision was to build a 900 seat theatre and office tower on this corner.  However, the depression thwarted his plan so he opened the CoCo Tree Café and used the top of the building to advertise his Universal Pictures.

Click HERE to see more in N/W Corner of Hollywood and Vine.

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 Prime Rib Restaurant (1938) restaurants.

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.

Former Los Angeles County District Attorney John Van de Kamp is a grandson of the baker's founder. *^

Click HERE to see Van de Kamp's 1st Windmill Bakery Shop.

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

More than six inches of rain fell on March 2, 1938 throughout Southern California, causing widespread flooding throughout Los Angeles County. Rain continued intermittently for several days.

Click HERE to see more Views of Flooding in Early L.A.

Historical Notes

This little nestle of buildings was known as the French Village. It was set on a triangular plot of land at the point where Highland Avenue and Cahuenga Boulevard converged as they entered the Cahuenga Pass. This puts it roughly across the street from the front entrance of the Hollywood Bowl. It opened in 1920, and throughout the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, the French Village was home to a revolving community of actors, writers, costume designers, dance instructors and singing coaches. #^^#

In 1937, to relieve traffic congestion at this busy Cahuenga and Highland intersection, a tunnel was bored under Highland Avenue. Note: A large construction boring tractor can be seen at center of photo.

Historical Notes

The seriously complicated solution to the traffic pattern was largely eliminated in the coming years through the realignment and widening of Caheunga.

Historical Notes

This entire area would change pemanently with the construction of the Hollywood Freeway. The first segment of the Hollywood Freeway built was a two mile stretch through the Cahuenga Pass. That segment opened on June 15, 1940. It was then known as the "Cahuenga Pass Freeway." Pacific Electric Railway trolleys ran down the center of this freeway until 1952.

Historical Notes

In 1953, the Cahuenga Tunnel would be demolished and built over for the construction of the Hollywood Freeway Extension (Cahuenga Pass to Downtown LA).

Click HERE to see more in Early Views of Cahuenga Pass.

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

Over the years, the Hollywood Bowl shell would go through a series of design modifications all in an effort to improve the acoustics. However, in the early years (1926-1929) the shell configuration was dramatically changed four times.*^

Historical Notes

The Richfield Oil Corporation was founded in 1905 and opened its first automotive service station in Los Angeles in 1917.  After quick expansion, Richfield Oil Corp fell to the Great Depression and went into receivership in 1931. 

Consolidated Oil Corp, in 1935, bought Richfield's eastern United States operations. This maneuver removed Standard Oil of California's interest in Richfield Oil. The east coast gas stations would later be rebranded as Sinclair stations.

Richfield Oil Corp emerged from receivership in 1936 after Rio Grande controlled by Consolidated Oil Corp and Cities Service Company agreed to a merger between Richfield Oil and Rio Grande.

The company merged with Atlantic Refining to form Atlantic Richfield Corp, also known as ARCO in 1966. ARCO in turn was purchased by BP p.l.c. in 2000. ^

Historical Notes

Union Oil (for many years based in El Segundo, California) introduced "76" gasoline in 1932. The name referred to the 1776 United States Declaration of Independence, and was also the octane rating of the gasoline in 1932. ^

Clcik HERE to see more Early LA Gas Stations.

Historical Notes

The Hollywood Brown Derby Vine Street building was originally designed and constructed as a studio office for Cecile B. Demille. It would open as the Brown Derby Restaurant in 1929.

Historical Notes

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

Despite its less distinctive Spanish Mission style facade, the Hollywood Brown Derby, which opened on Valentine's Day 1929 at 1628 North Vine Street, was the branch that played the greater part in Hollywood history. Due to its proximity to movie studios, it became the place to do deals and be seen. Clark Gable is said to have proposed to Carole Lombard there. Rival gossip columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper are recorded as regular patrons.^

Historical Notes

The building’s architect, Carl Jules Weyl’s, also designed the Hollywood Playhouse further up Vine Street (now home to Avalon nightclub), several other Brown Derbys, the Gaylord Apartments on Wilshire, and many other distinctive homes of the era. He later became a noted art director and went on to win an Academy Award for art direction on the classic 1938 Errol Flynn-Olivia de Havilland film, “The Adventures of Robin Hood.”*

Historical Notes

The interior walls were covered with famous caricatures drawn by an artist whose name was so long and complicated, he shortened it to Vitch. He originally approached the owners of the Brown Derby asking if he could draw the caricatures of diners in exchange for a bowl of hot soup and a cup of coffee. They became very popular and soon it became a “thing” to sit at the Brown Derby below your portrait.

Historical Notes

The Hollywood Brown Derby became part America's Culture industry.  Stars received fan mail addressed simply to:  The Brown Derby, Hollywood and Vine.

Historical Notes

The Brown Derby in Hollywood is where stars usually frequented, and was the place to see and be seen. Humphrey Bogart, Groucho Marx, Cecille B. Demille and other Hollywood legends could be seen eating here.

Historical Notes

The Brown Derby chain included restaurants in Hollywood, Beverly Hills, L.A. (Wilshire) and the Los Feliz area. The Los Feliz Brown Derby at 4500 Los Feliz Blvd is the last remaining branch of the chain still extant and in operation.

Technically there were seven different Brown Derby buildings: two in Hollywood including this one and later a short-lived one located on the NW corner of Hollywood and Vine; three on Wilshire, all within a few blocks of each other on the north side of Wilshire Boulevard (1st Location; 2nd Location; 3rd Location); one in Beverly Hills; and one in the Los Feliz area.

Historical Notes

The Brown Derby building was largely destroyed by fire in 1987. Only a small fragment of the restaurant's facade remains, and was being incorporated into a new W Hotels development. In the nineties, the building was home to a family of punk squatters.*^

After the fire, the Brown Derby re-emerged on the NW corner of Hollywood and Vine, but would be there for only a short period of time.

Historical Notes

Over the years, the Herman Building was home to many businesses, most notably a restaurant in the 1940s-1950s called the Ham & Egger. Johnny Grant, who went on to become the Honorary Mayor of Hollywood, broadcast a live radio show from the restaurant where he interviewed such famous celebrities of the day as Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante and Alan Young. Click HERE to see the Herman Building in 1950.

The building has been owned by the Blue Family since the 1970’s. Their business, Bernard Luggage Co., was originally located at the corner of Hollywood & Vine where 33 Taps is today. They moved into the Herman Building in the 1950’s and bought it 20 years later.

When the city sought to develop the area for the W Hotel & Residences project, son Bob Blue refused to sell the property and the city attempted to take it by eminent domain. After a contentious battle, Blue eventually won his case, and the W Hotel was built around the property which was reconstructed and restored to its original look. ^

Click HERE for a contemporary Google Street View.

Historical Notes

Stanley Rose was born in Matador, Texas. He served in the United States Army during World War I, and was said to have received an injury to his throat that necessitated treatment at a veterans’ hospital in Palo Alto, California, near Stanford University—from which, according to historian Kevin Starr, Rose “absorbed the atmosphere of books as if by osmosis.”  By the mid-1920s he had moved to Los Angeles and entered the book trade, most successfully as an itinerant supplier of books to writers and executives at the Hollywood studios; according to at least one account, he also operated as a bootlegger, smuggling his liquor deliveries into the studios in the false bottoms of the suitcases he used to make his book deliveries.  (Many accounts also claim that he sold erotic or pornographic literature as well.) By the late 1920s, he had become a partner in the Satyr Book Shop, which had opened in 1926 on Hudson Street and subsequently moved to a prime location on Vine Street near the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant. The Satyr partnership dissolved after Rose took the rap for his partners by pleading guilty to a violation of the Copyright Act related to their publication of a pirated edition of a popular risqué humor book of the day, The Specialist by Charles (Chic) Sale. After serving a short jail sentence, Rose opened his own bookshop, on the opposite side of Vine Street from the Satyr.

Rose operated his bookshop on Vine Street and at one other location (on Selma Avenue) for about four years prior to moving, in January 1935, to what would become its final and most memorable site, at 6661½ Hollywood Boulevard, a few doors east of the Musso and Franks Grill restaurant. Even before this time the shop had begun to attract many screenwriters and novelists, who came seeking not just books but also the congenial company of their fellows and of Rose himself. *^

(1930s)*^* – View showing the entrance to the Satyr Book Shop located at 1622 Vine Street in Hollywood. Books are stacked on display in front of the store.

Historical Notes

John Boles was a singer and actor best known for playing Victor Moritz in the 1931 film Frankenstein.*^

Historical Notes

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce created the Hollywood Christmas Parade in 1928 to boost shopping. Originally called the Santa Claus Lane Parade, the inaugural event featured only Santa Claus and the actress Jeanette Loff.

The parade continued to grow in scale with the help of local businesses and the community. In 1931 Santa Claus rode a truck-pulled float instead of the reindeer-pulled carriage of previous years. American Legion Post 43 marched with a color guard, drum line and bugle corps.*^

Historical Notes

Designed by S. Charles Lee, the Admiral Theatre opened on May 16, 1940. The building was originally a restaurant* before being remodeled into a theatre. The opening films were "His Majesty's Mistress" with Danielle Darrieux and John Loder along with "Torpedoed" starring H.B. Warner.

*In 1933 it was Henry's Restaurant. In March 1934 Henry’s was out and it reopened as Perry's Brass Rail, Perry having moved from three doors to the west. By late 1936 it had become the Weiss Cafe. ^

Historical Notes

In the 60s the theatre was known as Rector's Admiral and, at the end, played mostly revivals and sub-runs. Trans-Beacon (in association with New York's B.S. Moss circuit) gave it a $200,000 remodel in 1969 and re-named it the Vine Theatre.^

Historical Notes

Pacific Theatres acquired the theatre and operated it for years (with a yet another remodel in the 70's) as both a Spanish language house and a $2 grindhouse. At the end it was an independent operation with $7 double features. After 70 years of operation (with a few breaks) the Vine closed as a regular film theatre in October 2007.

Dolby leased the Vine in late 2013 and the theatre was gutted down to the bare walls in 2014. It was rebuilt as a private demonstration showcase for their Dolby Vision process, featuring laser-based projection.^

Click HERE for contemporary street view of the Vine.

Historical Notes

On December 28, 1938 businessman Frank Bruni opened a glamorous dinner theatre on Hollywood Blvd’s easternmost edge. Catering to Hollywood’s elite along with its working classes, the Florentine Gardens charged a $1.25 cover charge or $2.50 to dine and dance. The building was designed by architect Gordon Kaufmann whose other notable achievements were the Los Angeles Times building, Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, and Hoover Dam. The original structure, which cost $500,000 to build, was designed to resemble a Moorish palace and proclaimed itself as having the finest dance floor on the Pacific Coast.^

Historical Notes

Various performers made appearances at the Florentine Gardens including such big acts as the Mills Brothers and Sophie Tucker. Yvonne DeCarlo, or more famously known as Lily Munster, from the 1960s television show The Munsters, started as a chorus girl at the Florentine Gardens.^^

Historical Notes

The Florentine Gardens nightclub could hold 500 people, as much as Earl Carroll’s. It was a popular club featuring Italian food and an often risqué floorshow. By the late 40s/early 50s it had become known more for its scantily clad girlie shows. Probably its biggest claim to fame is that in 1942 Marilyn Monroe and Jim Dougherty held their wedding reception here.

The building is still there, complete with the same name, but now appears to be a Latin club.  Click HERE for contemporary view.

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." *^

Historical Notes

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.

Historical Notes

The Earl Carroll Theatre's sign had long since vanished by the 1960s, but a re-creation made from photos is today on display at the Museum of Neon Art in Glendale, as part of the collection of historic neon signs from the Museum of Neon Art.

Historical Notes

Another major feature at the Earl Carroll 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

Over time, hundreds of movie stars inscribed their signatures on the building’s concrete blocks. One of the great Hollywood mysteries is the fate of all those signed slabs.

Historical Notes

The Earl Carroll Theater was sold following the 1948 deaths of Earl Carrolll and Beryl Wallace in the crash of United Airlines Flight 624. It continued to operate but by the early 1950s it was falling on hard times.*^

Historical Notes

In 1953, Las Vegas showman Frank Sennes reopened the theater as a nightclub under the name "Moulin Rouge". The popular TV contest show Queen for a Day was broadcast from the Moulin Rouge during part of the show's 1956–1964.*^

Historical Notes

In late 1965 the theater became the "Hullabaloo", a minors-welcome rock and roll club, capitalizing on the popularity of the television variety show Hullabaloo.

For several months in 1968 it was the "Kaleidoscope" and featured many top West Coast rock acts, with an emphasis on local bands such as The Doors.*^

Historical Notes

In late 1968, the venue was redecorated in the psychedelic art style, renamed the "Aquarius Theater", and rededicated as the home of a long-running Los Angeles production of the Broadway musical Hair. It was still sometimes used for rock concerts on Mondays, when the Hair company had its day off, and as a result the Aquarius is famous as the place where The Doors performed on July 21, 1969, making live recordings that were later issued commercially.

In 1983, the Pick-Vanoff Company purchased the property and converted it into a state-of-the-art television theater that for nine years was the taping site of Star Search.  The Pick-Vanoff Company also owned Sunset-Gower Studios, formerly the home of Columbia Pictures. For many years, it was used for the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.  In the fall of 1993, the theater was the venue for Fox Network's The Chevy Chase Show under the name "The Chevy Chase Theater". The talk show was a disaster and was cancelled after five weeks; the theater reverted to its previous name soon after.*^

Historical Notes

In the late 1990s, the name of the theater was changed to "Nickelodeon on Sunset" and it became the headquarters for Nickelodeon's West Coast live-action television production after the theater was acquired by the cable television channel Nickelodeon. Some of the shows filmed there for Nickelodeon include the ten-season run of All That, The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, and more recently iCarly and Victorious.

In 2004, it was sold to a private equity firm as part of a larger parcel of property. As of September 2007, the City of Los Angeles Historic Preservation Board was working to assure that the theater is protected.*^

Historical Notes

Mark C. Bloome immigrated to Southern California from Canada in 1924 and parlayed a 15-cent-a-gallon Richfield gasoline station into one of the nation's largest chain of tire stores.  He survived the Depression years by offering glassware giveaways and other free premiums at his expanding chain of stations and at one point even had women on roller skates speeding among the pumps dispensing gasoline.

By the 1950s, Bloome's stations numbered an even dozen and they were selling a broad range of tires from nearly all manufacturers. Customers were waiting in air-conditioned rooms while their cars were being serviced in giant bays a few feet away, a system that was a forerunner of the modern tire store.

In 1972, the family sold the business to Petrolane Inc. and Bloome retired. In 1986, Goodyear purchased it. ^^#

Today you'll find a strip mall, which includes a Discount Tire Centers, where the Mark C. Bloom Service Station and Tire Shop once stood. Click HERE for Google Street View.

Click HERE to see more Early LA Gas Stations.

Historical Notes

From the building records, it looks like 6642 was built as a residence in 1921. The description of the Shulman photos names Rudolph M Schindler as architect, and it's his name that appears on the 1936 alteration permit. There also seems to be a demo permit dated as early as 1967. *#

The lot is empty today.  Click HERE to see contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Art Whizin established the Chili Bowl restaurant chain in Los Angeles in 1931, known for its distinctive shape in the form of a chili bowl. Whizin was a 25-year-old former amateur boxer when he established the business on Crenshaw Boulevard near Jefferson Boulevard with funding raised by selling "his wife's wedding ring and his roadster." Other businesses at the time were also modeled with architecture featuring eye-catching architectural depictions of the goods sold including ice a cream cones and coffee kettles. These are knows as Programmatic Architecture.

Chili Bowl restaurants were arranged with 26 stools around a circular counter (no tables) and employed college "kids" as burger flippers. The specialty dish was an open-faced burger smothered in chili and there were 22 restaurants within a decade of the eatery's opening.  After WWII many of the stores were converted into Punch & Judy Ice Cream Parlors that were later closed, and Whizin also built a mall in Agoura Hills that still bears his name.*^

Historical Notes

Four Chili Bowl structures survive, one in Huntington Park, Long Beach that is now the Guadalajara Nightclub, another became Kim Chuy Chinese restaurant on Valley Boulevard in Alhambra, the one on Pico Boulevard (that remained open 24 hours during the war effort for nearby workers), is now Mr. Cecil's California Ribs, and the one on San Fernando Road in Glendale is a used-car dealership.*^

Click HERE to see more examples of Programmatic Architecture.

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