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

Historical Notes

Beginning in the 1930s, Gower Street earned the nickname "Gower Gulch" because of the many extras in Westerns who would dress in their cowboy costumes at home, then walk south to Paramount and RKO studios, which were all located just off Gower Street south of Sunset Boulevard. Today, a strip-mall named "Gower Gulch", built to resemble a Western set, sits on the southwest corner of Sunset and Gower as a reminder of that era. The phrase "Gower Gulch" is painted on an actual chuck wagon that sits on the site of the old "Copper Skillet" coffee shop, where the cowboys used to have their breakfast.^

Historical Notes

Since the days of silent film, the surrounding area had contained several movie studios, including the Christie Studios (on the northwest corner) during the 1920s, then later, Columbia and Republic Studios to the south along Gower Street. Western films at both studios were extremely popular, especially from the 1930s through the 1950s, and actual working cowboys would come to Hollywood hoping to find work in the movies. They would congregate at that particular street corner, which is how it acquired its nickname. The Columbia Drug Store, which stood on the southeast corner for several decades, was a hangout for many western film extras in hopes of finding work, knowing the casting agents from the studio could reach them there. Indeed, John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers all got their start in this neighborhood, as did director John Ford. Columbia Studios was filming western films about every ten days for a time.*

Historical Notes

It was on this spot that movie "extras" lingered and waited for that lucky call from Columbia Studios casting office who turned out western movies about every 10 days. The cowboy extras were already dressed in their hats, chaps, and bandanas, prepared to act in a crowd scene in a saloon, or as a member of a posse, or a ranch hand. Pay was usually $5 a day, $10 for a speaking part. Hollywoodites later called it "Gower Gulch." *

Historical Notes

Drugstore cowboys awaited movieland employment at the corner of Sunset and Gower, where the manager of the Columbia Drug Co. let would-be extras use the phone booth. By the time of this photograph, in 1977, Sunset-Gower news had set up shop.^

Historical Notes

The Copper Skillet at Sunset and Gower was a popular place, open ‘til midnight, a movie cowboy’s hangout.

Historical Notes

A strip mall "paying homage to the past" and designed in the style of an Old West backlot was built in 1976 on the southwest corner of Sunset and Gower. The name "Gower Gulch" is painted on the side of a vintage western medicine show wagon. The strip mall remains unchanged as of 2016 and has been described as "Old West kitsch".^

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

CBS 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.*^

Historical Notes

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.*^

(n.d.)#**# - KNX Radio Control Room at CBS Columbia Square

.

Historical Notes

Radio broadcasts had studio audiences. They presented engineers and performers in a theatrical environment including lighting.  The CBS studio was lit for atmosphere. #**#

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

The West Coast Radio City opened in 1938, the same year as the CBS Columbia Square. It served as headquarters to the NBC Radio Networks' (Red and Blue) West Coast operations and replaced NBC's radio broadcast center in San Francisco, which had been around since the network's formation in 1927.*^

Historical Notes

NBC’s West Coast Radio City building had 8 large individual studios, four of which had capacity for several hundred people.  The technical facilities included the most modern RCA equipment.*^

Historical Notes

In the 1930’s, 40’s, and 50’s the NBC studio complex, coupled with CBS Columbia Square (located just down the street), was home to all the major radio studios that broadcast coast to coast.  It’s where the great personalities of the day, including Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, Al Jolson and many more assembled to entertain America.**^^

Historical Notes

The National Broadcasting Company originally used the phrase Radio City to describe their studios at Rockefeller Center in New York City.  When NBC opened their new Hollywood studios at Sunset and Vine in 1938, they placed the words Radio City prominently on the front of their new building.  However, the area between Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard on Vine Street became known as Radio City for tourists and locals alike who visited the many radio studios and radio themed cocktail lounges and businesses in the area.**^^

Historical Notes

The beautiful Streamline Moderne building was designed by Architect John C. Austin, who also designed many other impressive buildings including City Hall, Griffith Observatory, Hollywood Masonic Temple, and the Shrine Auditorium.

Historical Notes

Music City record store opened in 1940 on the N/W corner of Sunset and Vine.

(1942)#**# – View showing a STOP/GO Semaphore traffic signal at the corner of Sunset and Vine in the heart of Hollywood, with what looks like a half-chewed stop sign at the bottom, and a glimpse of Wallichs Music City in the background.

Historical Notes

Los Angeles installed its first automated traffic signals in the 1920s.  These early signals, manufactured by the Acme Traffic Signal Co., paired "Stop" and "Go" semaphore arms with small red and green lights. Bells played the role of today's amber or yellow lights, ringing when the flags changed—a process that took five seconds.

Historical Notes

The NBC studio complex stood until 1964 and then demolished to make room for a Home Savings and Loan bank (now Chase Bank).

Historical Notes

KNBH Television was launched by NBC in 1949 and the change of the call letters KNBH to KRCA in 1954. ^**

Historical Notes

Originally located near the northeast corner of Sunset and Vine (6265 Sunset Blvd), Carpenter’s would be torn down to make room for the new NBC Radio City building, constructed in 1938. Shortly thereafter, Carpenter’s was reincarnated across the street on the southeast corner of Sunset and Vine (6290 Sunset Blvd).

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.*

Click HERE to see more Early Views of LA Drive-in Restaurants.

Historical Notes

It has stood like a beacon on Sunset Boulevard at Las Palmas Avenue since 1936, welcoming visitors from all over the world. The massive 60-foot art deco tower with a blue and white globe turning slowly on its top, emblazoned with the words “Crossroads of the World,” is a well-known landmark to anyone traversing Hollywood. 

Historical Notes

To ensure people knew where the new Crossroads of the World shopping center was located, a soaring white tower stood at the front. On top of that tower sat a spinning globe of the earth.

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.*^

Historical Notes

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

Designed by local architect Robert V. Derrah, Crossroads of the World is one of Los Angeles' most recognizable properties. The Hollywood complex was completed in 1936 and conceived as a cosmopolitan shopping center featuring merchandize from around the globe.

Oriented around a centralized Streamline Moderne structure, Crossroads of the World was envisioned as a hub of pedestrian activity.

The complex features a programmatic nautical theme, paired with architectural styles found around the world.
Derrah designed the central building, which faces Sunset Boulevard, in the form of a ship, which "sails" down an international street lined with shops.

In addition to Crossroads, Derrah was responsible for a number of significant commissions in Los Angeles during the 1930s. Many of his buildings were designed in the Streamline Moderne style, including the Coca-Cola Building (1939). He also designed an addition to John and Donald Parkinson's Southern California Gas Company Complex (1942) and contributed to the Fairfax Farmers Market (1934).

In the 1940s and '50s, Crossroads began its transition from shopping center to office complex, housing such tenants as the Screen Actors Guild, Standard Oil, and American Airlines. (Los Angeles Conservancy)

Historical Notes

In the 1950s, the Crossroads of the World was converted into an office complex. The Screen Actors Guild, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jackson Browne and Alfred Hitchcock used to rent offices there*.

Historical Notes

The property was purchased in 1977 by the real estate investor Mort La Kretz and restored.  On June 1, 1985, Michael Perricone founded Interlock Studios, an audio post production facility, which was located in Bungalow 1522 of the complex, until 1998, when it relocated to 6520 Sunset Boulevard, and was sold to Rick Larson a few years later, who renamed it Larson Studios*.

Historical Notes

The Crossroads can 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.*^

In 1974, Crossroads of the World was dedicated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 134 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Today, the real 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.

Historical Notes

In January 2019, the Los Angeles City Council approved a project to revamp the Crossroads of the World in a move to revitalize the district. Three high-rise buildings are planned to bring 950 apartments and condos, a 308-room hotel, and 190,000 square feet of commercial space. Preservationists called the redevelopment project a "Manhattanization of Hollywood". Eighty-two Hollywood Regency garden apartments are to be demolished in the project.These rent stabilized apartments are occupied by a decades-old, tight-knit community of largely low-income, predominantly Latino residents. Over 100 apartments in the project will be set aside for very low-income families.*

Historical Notes

Max Factor & Company was founded during 1909 by Maksymilian Faktorowicz, Max Factor, a Polish-Jewish cosmetician from Poland. After immigrating to the United States in 1904 Max Factor moved his family and business to Los Angeles, seeing an opportunity to provide made-to-order wigs and theatrical make-up to the growing film industry. Besides selling his own make-up products he soon became the West Coast distributor of both Leichner and Minor, two leading theatrical make-up manufacturers.

In 1928 Max Factor purchased the four-story Max Factor Building, formerly the Hollywood Fire Safe Building, known as the Jewel Box of the Cosmetic World and began manufacturing his world-famous make up on the upper floors while transforming the ground floor into a grand salon where fashionable women and celebrities came to see and be seen, as well as to purchase his make-up.

Historical Notes

Famed architect S. Charles Lee designed the building in the so-called Hollywood regency art deco style. Lee was celebrated for his design of many of the grand motion picture theaters in Los Angeles as well as hotels and other signature buildings in the city and elsewhere in California and in Hollywood.

Historical Notes

In 1935, Max Factor opened the Max Factor Make Up Studio adjacent to his main four-story building. It was fondly nicknamed The Pink Powder Puff.

Historical Notes

By 1914 Max Factor had perfected the first cosmetic specifically created for motion picture use — a thinner greasepaint in cream form, packaged in a jar, and created in 12 precisely-graduated shades. Unlike theatrical cosmetics, it would not crack or cake. It was worn for the first time by actor Henry B. Walthall, who served as the model for screen tests.

In 1925 the company received its biggest order to date when it had to complete a rush order to supply 600 gallons of light olive makeup to the set of the movie "Ben-Hur" to ensure that the skin color of the extras used in filming undertaken in America would match that of the darker skinned Italian extras in the scenes filmed in Italy.

Historical Notes

Today, the four-story Max Factor Building can be found at Universal Studios Orlando, while the one-story part has a counterpart at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In the real Hollywood, the four-story part of the Max Factor Building is now Hollywood Museum, and the one-story part is now Mel’s Drive-In, a retro diner.  Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Declared L.A. Historic Cultural Monument No. 593 on April 26, 1994, this building eventually became The Max Factor Museum of Beauty. It closed its doors in 1996 but reopened in 2002 as The Hollywood History Museum. It is located at 1666 N. Highland Ave. just one half-block south of Hollywood Boulevard.

Click HERE to see complete listing of L.A. Historic Cultural Monuments.

Historical Notes

The Hollywood Professional Building is where the Screen Actors Guild was located (8th floor).  It's still there today. Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Completed in 1925, the Gothic Revival-style Hollywood Professional Building was designed by Architect Richard D. King. For years it housed the headquarters of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, and later the Screen Actors Guild. Ronald Reagan had an office in the building during his tenure as president of the Screen Actors Guild between 1947-1953.*

Louis Kroh Liggett was an American drug store magnate who founded L.K. Liggett Drug Company and then Rexall. He was later chairman of United Drug Company.*

Historical Notes

Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

The Owl Drug Company drug store was a subsidiary of Rexall stores at its peak in the 1920s through 1940s.

In 1912, Owl opened its fourth location in Downtown Los Angeles at Spring and 5th streets. Later branches to open in Los Angeles suburban districts included 6380-84 Hollywood Boulevard (at Cahuenga Boulevard). By the late 1930s, the company had dozens of branches across the United States, operating in major cities like New York and Chicago, and especially in the Los Angeles area.^

Historical Notes

The Gotham Delicatessen was a favorite spot for New York transplants ever since it opened in 1924. During the 1940s, when radio networks were located all throughout Hollywood, many of the radio stars would drop in for dinner.

Across the street from Gotham’s was the Hollywood Professional Building where the Screen Actors Guild was located (8th floor).  After late-night sessions at the Guild headquarters, Ronald Reagan and other board members would often walk over to Gotham to eat and drink and discuss Guild business. 

In Bob Thomas's biography on William Holden, actor Dana Andrews recalled one occasion when he joined Holden and Reagan for dinner at Gotham. "After a meeting, Bill, Ronnie and I went to the Gotham to continue our discussion. All three of us ordered drinks, and after we had talked for a while, the waiter came to the table and Bill and I ordered another round. Ronnie said with surprise, 'Why do you want another drink? You just had one.' See what happened: Bill and I became alcoholics and Ronnie became President of the United States." +###

Historical Notes

The original KFWB studios and transmitter location were at the Warner Bros. Studios, which is now KTLA, at 5800 Sunset Boulevard. One of the two original towers still stands prominently out front. Due to RF interference getting into the movie studio's "talkies" sound equipment, the transmitter was moved in 1928 to the roof of the Warner Theater, now the Hollywood Pacific Theatre, at 6423 Hollywood Blvd. Eventually the studios were also moved to the Warner Theater. Those two towers are still there, as well.*^

Historical Notes

The first “Smog Check” program in California wasn't implemented until 1984.

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

Historical Notes

The rectangular area it the middle of the street (at center-left) is where you waited for the streetcar.  It was called the “safety zone”.

Historical Notes

The first segment of the Hollywood Freeway built was a one and a half 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.*^

The cluster of buildings in the middle portion of this urban jungle are: KNX and CBS Radio Playhouse (short, windowless building mid-photo); Plaza Hotel; Broadway-Hollywood; Hotel Knickerbocker - which are all along the left side of Vine St.; and the Taft Building - across the street on the right side of Vine Street. The three large white buildings running in an east/west direction along Sunset Blvd. are: CBS Television (long horizontal windows on lower right); the famous Hollywood Palladium (semi-domed white roof, lower middle); and NBC Studios (white building with three long, vertical windows) located on the corner of Sunset and Vine.*

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. ^

Historical Notes

The Art Deco Hollywood Palladium opened on Halloween night, 1940. Built by film-producer Maurice Cohen, the building occupied the site of the original Paramount lot.

The million-dollar ballroom-cafe, which can accommodate comfortably 7500 persons, was literally packed to the rafters with Band Leader Tommy Dorsey blew the first blast from his trombone and his orchestra let loose with some jive and swing music.

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.^

Historical Notes

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.^

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

Charlie Spivak was an trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his big band in the 1940s.^

Historical Notes

Gene Krupa was a jazz drummer, band leader and composer known for his energetic style and showmanship. His drum solo on "Sing, Sing, Sing" (1937) elevated the role of the drummer from an accompanying line to an important solo voice in the band.

In collaboration with the Slingerland drum and Zildjian cymbal manufacturers, he was a major force in defining the standard band drummer's kit. Krupa is considered "the founding father of the modern drumset" by Modern Drummer magazine.^

Historical Notes

Opie Cates was a clarinet player and band leader in the 1930s and 1940s, during the swing era, who became a radio actor.

Historical Notes

Sonny Dunham was a trumpet player and bandleader. A versatile musician, he was one of the few trumpet players who could double on the trombone with equal skill.^

Claude Thornhill was a pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. He composed the jazz and pop standards "Snowfall" and "I Wish I Had You".^

Historical Notes

Freddy Martin was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist.

Historical Notes

Jerry Gray was a violinist, arranger, composer, and leader of swing dance orchestras (big bands) bearing his name. He is widely known for his work with popular music during the Swing era. His name is inextricably linked to two of the most famous bandleaders of the time, Artie Shaw and Glenn Miller.^

Historical Notes

By the early 1960s, swing and the big band sound was out, and on Friday and Saturday nights, from 1961 to 1976, Lawrence Welk and his orchestra played the Palladium, filling the huge place with his special brand of “champagne music.”

Historical Notes

The Lawrence Welk Show started in 1951 as a local program on KTLA-TV in Los Angeles. The original show was broadcast from the since-demolished Aragon Ballroom at Venice Beach. The show made its national TV debut on July 2, 1955, and was initially produced at the Hollywood Palladium, moving to the ABC studios at Prospect and Talmadge in Hollywood shortly afterwards. For 23 of its 27 years on the air, the show would originate there. The only seasons not produced there were 1965–66, 1976–77 at the Hollywood Palace and CBS Television City from 1977 to 1979.*

Historical Notes

In 2007, the owners agreed to a long-term lease to operate, manage and exclusively book the Hollywood Palladium with Live Nation, a Los Angeles-based company.

Historical Notes

The Palladium reopened with a Jay-Z concert on October 15, 2008 after a year-long, multimillion-dollar renovation by Live Nation. The renovation included an overhaul of the venue's interior and exterior, a new dance floor, expanded concessions, upgraded restrooms and improvements to the stage infrastructure. Jay-Z performed for nearly an hour-and-half, backed by an eight-piece band and DJ AM, who played his first show after surviving a plane crash in South Carolina. The Hollywood Palladium was also used as the memorial service site for DJ AM on September 3, 2009.^

Historical Notes

An expansion of the Palladium property parking lot was approved by the Los Angeles City council on March 2016. The plan consists of two 28 story residential towers that surrounds the historic music venue. Each tower will stand 350 feet tall and create 731 condominiums, 24,000 sq ft store front retail space and a below grade parking garage. The Towers were designed by Stanley Saitowits of Natoma Architects. The "L" shaped design resembles and echoes the Streamline Moderne - art deco design of the Palladium. The firm intends to break ground in 2018 as the site is prepped and lawsuits are settled.^

Historical Notes

A two-tower residential development, due to replace a parking lot, has been approved by Los Angeles' City Council. The proposed buildings will stand next to the Hollywood Palladium at 6215 Sunset Boulevard, a 4,000-seat theatre which has been hosting big-name performers since 1940. As part of the project, developer Crescent Heights is embarking on a restoration and rehabilitation program to enhance the theatre's defining attributes.

Historical Notes

The project is one of many that has received backlash from neighbourhood groups, particularly the Coalition to Preserve LA, which sought the adoption of a 'Neighbourhood Integrity Initiative' that would have placed new restrictions on city development. Despite the group's ongoing objection to the 'Manhattanization of Hollywood,' the Los Angeles City Planning Commission has maintained a favorable view of the development, applauding the much-needed housing stock that the project provides. With City Council voting 12-0 to approve Palladium Residences, work on the mixed-use development should begin soon.*

(1943)**** - Frank Sinatra's Hollywood Bowl debut on August 14, 1943 was the first appearance by a pop singer with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Historical Notes

The Wizard of Oz film was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and is the most well-known and commercial adaptation based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The film stars Judy Garland; Terry the dog, billed as Toto; Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, with Charley Grapewin and Clara Blandick, and the Singer Midgets as the Munchkins, with Pat Walshe as leader of the flying monkeys. Notable for its use of Technicolor, fantasy storytelling, musical score and unusual characters, over the years it has become one of the best known of all films and part of American popular culture. It also featured in cinema what may be for the time the most elaborate use of character make-ups and special effects.

It was not a box office success on its initial release, earning only $3,017,000 on a $2,777,000 budget, despite receiving largely positive reviews.  The film was MGM's most expensive production at that time, and did not recoup much of the studio's investment until subsequent re-releases.  It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture but lost to Gone with the Wind. It did win in two other categories including Best Original Song for "Over the Rainbow." The song was ranked first in two lists: the AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs and the Recording Industry Association of America's "365 Songs of the Century".*^

Historical Notes

When “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) was released, Judy and Mickey toured together to promote that film as well as their “Babes in Arms” musical. Mickey would present Judy with her very special Oscar for Best Juvenile Performance that year. They were at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre together when Judy set her hands and feet in cement in 1940.^#*#

Historical Notes

Ray Haller started the Seven Seas in the mid-1930s as a Polynesian bar and soon became a hot spot for Hollywood celebrities as well as the soldiers and sailors stationed in Los Angeles during WWII. The inside was decorated with tropical plants, nautical souvenirs, lava rocks and a faux corrugated metal roof above allowing for its most unique and original feature - a nightly tropical rainstorm inside the bar complete with authentic thunder sounds played from a record player.

Historical Notes

The first owner, Ray Haller, was inspired when his customers thought the building’s leaky roof during rainstorms was cute.  Haller installed sprinklers to create the effect nightly.  The next Seven Seas owner, Bob Brooks, added a full Hawaiian show headlined by Jenni “Na Pua” (Little Flower) Wood, the hula comic. Jennie remained here for twenty-five years.^

The Cinemart Building is still there today but now occupied by other tenants including a souvenir store (The Hollywoodland Experience) and a clothing store (Zara).  Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Lewis Dean Mosher worked here until 1942 when he moved the business to 12117 Burbank Blvd in North Hollywood. Click HERE to see new North Hollywood location.

Historical Notes

The Hollywood Canteen operated between 1942 and 1945, as a club offering food, dancing and entertainment for servicemen, usually on their way overseas. A serviceman's ticket for admission was his uniform, and everything at the canteen was free of charge.*^

Historical Notes

The driving forces behind its creation were Bette Davis and John Garfield, along with Jules Stein, President of Music Corporation of America. The Canteen was operated and staffed completely by volunteers from the entertainment industry. Stars volunteered to wait on tables, cook in the kitchen and clean up. One of the highlights for a serviceman was to dance with one of the many female celebrities volunteering at the Canteen. The other highlight was the entertainment provided by some of Hollywood's most popular stars, ranging from radio stars to big bands to novelty acts.*^

Historical Notes

The studios loved the Canteen concept because it put them in a good, patriotic light. The stars themselves were keenly aware of the positive PR their evenings at the establishment added to their images. An awful lot of people contributed several evenings of their week, every week for four long years, providing a touch of glamour to the lives of young men far from home and on their way to even farther places, dangerous places, from which many would not return. This kind of commitment from those serving at the Hollywood Canteen was no small thing. They were not donating a few hours to a Telethon and then back to their lives. They were giving of their time continuously without thought of reward or recompense for years! It was a unique moment in history that we shall never see again.*

Historical Notes

On September 15, 1943, the one millionth guest walked through the door of the Hollywood Canteen. The lucky soldier, Sgt. Carl Bell, received a kiss from Betty Grable and was escorted in by another beautiful star, including Marlene Dietrich.*^

Historical Notes

A Hall of Honor at the Hollywood Canteen had a wall of photos which honored the film actors who served in the military.

Historical Notes

By 1944, the Canteen had become so popular that Warner Bros. made a movie titled Hollywood Canteen. Starring Joan Leslie and Robert Hutton, the film had scores of stars playing themselves. At the time the Canteen closed its doors, it had been host to almost three million servicemen.*^

Historical Notes

During World War II, major Hollywood celebrities participated in many war bond drives, both in Southern California and on major national tours. The Hollywood Bond Calvacade was a 21 day nationwide tour for the Third War Loan drive.*

Historical Notes

From left: Judy Garland, Fred Astaire (face visible), Greer Garson, Dick Powell, Betty Hutton, Mickey Rooney, Kay Kyser and Lucille Ball.

Historical Notes

On June 14th, 1944, radio actors and actresses performed at the Hollywood Bowl during a war bond program.  CBS broadcast the event.^

Historical Notes

During World War II, Congress mandated that a certain amount of cigarettes per soldier/sailor/marine be sent to the various military units. Those who didn't smoke usually traded their allotment with others in uniform for food, guard duty, etc. At the same time, the number of people involved in the harvest of tobacco and manufacture of its products was greatly reduced because so many were in uniform. And "Lucky Strike Green has gone to war" was a major advertising slogan promising that when peace was restored cigarettes would again be easily available (until the Surgeon General's report, but the 1940s knew nothing of that).

Historical Notes

Today, a Rite Aid occupies the building on the southwest corner of Fairfax and Sunset.

Thrifty PayLess Holdings, Inc. was a pharmacy holding company that owned the Thrifty Drugs and PayLess Drug Stores chains in the western United States. The combined company was formed in April 1994 when Los Angeles-based TCH Corporation, the parent company of Thrifty Corporation and Thrifty Drug Stores, Inc., acquired the Kmart subsidiary PayLess Northwest, Inc.  At the time of the merger, TCH Corporation was renamed Thrifty PayLess Holdings, Inc. and Thrifty operated 495 stores, PayLess operated 543 stores.

In 1996, Rite Aid acquired 1,000 West Coast stores from Thrifty PayLess Holdings, creating a chain with over 3,500 drug stores.*^

Historical Notes

The A&P stores evolved from the Great Atlantic and Pacific (A&P) Tea Company, founded in the 1800s in New York by George Hartford and George Gilman. In 1912, John Hartford, son of the co-founder, came up with the idea of expanding and forming the A&P Econonmy Store chain which would rely on a business model that included standarization of layout and elmination of credit accounts and delivery.

The format was wildly successful, and the chain had grown from 585 stores in 1913 to more than 4500 stores by 1920, and to over 15,000 stores all over the east coast and Midwest by 1930. In the early 1930s, the first California stores were opened, adding some credibility to the company name.

By the 1960s, A&P stores were stale, sales were flat, and the midwestern and west coast divisions were struggling. A well-publicized corporate reorganization in 1968 and 1969 did little to stem the decline, and the next two decades were defined by declining sales, closing stores, and failed format changes. Among the stores closed were the entire Southern California operation, in 1969, which eliminated A&P as a contender in the fastest-growing market in the country. #^#^

Historical Notes

The 18-acre property on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Formosa Avenue was originally owned by Jesse Durham Hampton, and then became known as the Pickford-Fairbanks Studios. As United Artists began to lure independent producers away from the major studios, many of the producers like Samuel Goldwyn and Joseph Schenck rented offices and stages on the property.

In the early 1920s, the “lot” was renamed the United Artists Studio and in 1939 it was renamed again the Samuel Goldwyn Studio.**+

Historical Notes

The Formosa was founded in 1925 by 1920s prize-fighter Jimmy Bernstein. Bernstein operated his establishment initially in a Red Car trolley located just east of The Lot Studios. In 1945, Lem Quon went into partnership with Bernstein, taking full ownership in 1976 when Berstein died. The restaurant remains in the family with Quom's grandson, Vince Jung, managing it.

Generations of movie stars such as Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable have eaten meals at The Formosa. Frank Sinatra is reputed to have spent many nights at the Formosa in the 1950s, pining over Ava Gardner.
The interior and exterior of the Formosa Cafe can be seen in the movie L.A. Confidential. Other movies shot here include The Majestic starring Jim Carrey and Still Breathing starring Brendan Fraser.

In the past, the building housing the Formosa has been described as an "unimpressive, brick-red building with white & black striped awnings, it sits in a particularly faded section of Hollywood, near the corner of Santa Monica & La Brea Boulevards - a corner where hookers have been known to peddle their services even in broad daylight." The City of West Hollywood has since cleaned up the area and a new shopping complex, West Hollywood Gateway, opened in 2004 on the same block.*^

Click HERE to see contemporary view.

Click HERE to see more early views of the Formosa Cafe.

Historical Notes

Beginning in 1928, Hollywood merchants transformed a one-mile stretch of Hollywood Boulevard into "Santa Claus Lane" to boost shopping. Part of the promotion was a daily parade featuring Santa Claus and a film star.  Originally called the Santa Claus Lane Parade, the inaugural event featured only Santa Claus and the actress Jeanette Loff.*^

Historical Notes

The Hollywood Christmas 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

The Parade was suspended from 1942 to 1944 due to World War II, but reopened in 1945 with record attendance.
In 1946 Gene Autry rode his horse in the parade and was inspired by the children yelling "Here comes Santa Claus, Here comes Santa Claus," to write the song "Here Comes Santa Claus" along with Oakley Haldeman.*^

Historical Notes

The parade continued to grow throughout the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, adding floats, animals, bands and celebrities. By 1978, the parade had been renamed the Hollywood Christmas Parade in order to attract more celebrities, and was broadcast locally on KTLA-TV with the help of Johnny Grant. This change also coincided with the shift of the parade being held on Thanksgiving Eve to the Sunday after Thanksgiving.*^

Historical Notes

Designed and built 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

In 1945, the Hotel Christie was renamed the Drake Hotel and later became the Hollywood Inn.  These days, the structure is owned by the Church of Scientology..

Historical Notes

The 12-story Guaranty Building is a Beaux Arts office building built in 1923 and designed by John C. Austin.  It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.  The building is currently owned by the Church of Scientology.*^

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".*

Historical Notes

The intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood  became famous in the 1920s for its concentration of radio and movie-related businesses.

An historical marker plaque placed at the site by The Broadway-Hollywood Department Store (SW corner) reads:

Hollywood was given name by pioneers Mr. and Mrs. Horace H. Wilcox. They subdivided their ranch in 1887 and called two dirt cross-roads Prospect Avenue and Weyse Avenue. Prospect Avenue, the main artery, was renamed Hollywood Boulevard and Weyse Avenue became Vine Street. This was the origin of "Hollywood and Vine."

Historical Notes

On August 6, 1945 the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima and on August 9, 1945 on the city of Nagasaki. These actions shocked the country and prompted Emperor Hirohito to order the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War to accept the terms the Allies had set down in the Potsdam Declaration for ending the war. On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally. Both August 14 and 15 have been known as "V-J Day" or "Victory over Japan Day." The term has also been used for September 2, 1945, when Japan formally surrendered aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay.*

Historical Notes

The exact date of the war's end is not universally agreed upon. It has been suggested that the war ended at the armistice of August 14, 1945 (V-J Day), rather than the formal surrender of Japan (September 2, 1945); in some European histories, it ended on V-E Day (May 8, 1945). However, the Treaty of Peace with Japan was not signed until 1951, and that with Germany not until 1990.

Historical Notes

Click HERE to see more V-J Day celebrations in Downtown LA.

Historical Notes

The ten-story Broadway-Hollywood Building (originally B. H. Dyas Building) was constructed in 1928, It helped usher in a spatial shift that opened the doors for large-scale retail development outside of downtown Los Angeles. It also was the first department store to introduce women’s slacks (Click HERE to see more).

Historical Notes

A.Z. Taft, Jr. purchased the Hollywood Memorial Church on the southeast corner of Hollywood and Vine, tore it down, and built the 12-story Taft Building.  All the movie studios had offices in the building as well as actors Charlie Chaplin and Will Rogers. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also resided there. Even Clark Gable's dentist was located in the building.*^

In 1999, the Taft Building and Neon Sign were designated Historic-Cultural Monument No. 666 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

Historical Notes

Opened in 1927, the building was designed in Neo-Renaissance style by prominent architects Percy A. Eisen and Albert R. Walker, who are also known for designing the Fine Arts Building and the James Oviatt Building in downtown Los Angeles and the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills.

In 2014-15 the Taft Building got a $15-million makeover with a renovation that shored up its seismic strength and uncovered historic architectural details that were under wraps for decades.^^#

Click HERE to see more Early Views of the Taft Building.

Historical Notes

The intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood  became famous in the 1920s for its concentration of radio and movie-related businesses.

An historical marker plaque placed at the site by The Broadway-Hollywood Department Store reads:

Hollywood was given name by pioneers Mr. and Mrs. Horace H. Wilcox. They subdivided their ranch in 1887 and called two dirt cross-roads Prospect Avenue and Weyse Avenue. Prospect Avenue, the main artery, was renamed Hollywood Boulevard and Weyse Avenue became Vine Street. This was the origin of "Hollywood and Vine."

Historical Notes

Note the advertisement in front of the semaphore traffic signal: "Should Wives Hold Jobs"...a sign that things were changing.

Historical Notes

These early signals, manufactured by the Acme Traffic Signal Co., paired "Stop" and "Go" semaphore arms with small red and green lights. Bells played the role of today's amber or yellow lights, ringing when the flags changed—a process that took five seconds.

Click HERE to see more on Early LA Traffic Signals.

Historical Notes

The Owl Drug Company was a retailer with its headquarters in San Francisco.  It was a subsidiary of Rexall stores at its peak in the 1920s through 1940s. The founder of the Owl Drug Company was Richard Elgin Miller, R.E. Miller. The company sold medicines and pills, and later ventured into cosmetics, perfumes, and other goods. The firm organized "Beauty Weeks", which included a range of fashion-related entertainment such as beauty contests judged by Elinor Glyn, in which winners received a Hollywood screen test.*

Historical Notes

*The "Metropolitan" streetlights were developed especially for Hollywood, but ultimately found their way onto the "best" streets of surrounding communities.  They started to appear around 1924 but are  still quite common in Hollywood (Click HERE to see more).

(1944)**** - The corner of Hollywood and Vine. This location is noted for being the "DISCOVERY OF MOVIE STARS" location. The Owl Drug Store can be seen in the background (S/E Corner).

Historical Notes

It's been touted as the world's most famous intersection. Radio station KFWB boasted that it broadcasted from the corner, and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper popularized it as a prime location for celebrity sightings.

(1944)*# – View showing a woman in a fashionable dress walking west on the south side of Hollywood Boulevard just west of Vine Street (same location as previous photo).

Historical Notes

Note the sign pointing south down Vine to the Hollywood Victory House. Like the Victory House in Pershing Square, a central place to buy and sell war bonds. It opened in the forecourt of Graumann’s Chinese in May 1942, then moved near Hollywood & Vine.*#

Also note the Pilgrimage Play sign.  Click HERE to see more of the Pilgrimage Play Theatre (later the John Ford Theatre) located across from the Hollywood Bowl.

Historical Notes

Streetcars ran in both directions down Hollywood Boulevard until 1953. #*##

Historical Notes

Los Angeles installed its first automated traffic signals in the 1920s.  These early signals, manufactured by the Acme Traffic Signal Co., paired "Stop" and "Go" semaphore arms with small red and green lights. Bells played the role of today's amber or yellow lights, ringing when the flags changed—a process that took five seconds.

Historical Notes

In 1940, restaurateur Sidney Hoedemaker of the Pig 'N Whistle - Melody Lane chain, leased the northwest corner of Hollywood and Vine and transformed it into a Melody Lane restaurant. He hired coffee shop modern architect Wayne McAllister and S. Charles Lee to do the design. #^**

Historical Notes

By 1955, Melody Lane Restaurant, N/W corner of Hollywood and Vine, would be converted into Hody's Coffee Shop. This would be followed by Howard Johnson's in 1971, and the Brown Derby in the 1980s. The site became a slew of struggling retail and nightclubs such as; Premiere, Jack's Sugar Shack, the Deep, and finally the Basque nightclub. In April 2008 the building went up in flames and the lot has been empty since. #^**

Historical Notes

In 1946, United-Rexall Drug Inc. launched the Owl Superstores chain. In 1947, the company held a gala opening for their new headquarters and first store in Los Angeles, California. The new Hollywood Owl was reported in Life Magazine as 'the World's Biggest Drugstore'.

Rexall gained national exposure through its sponsorship of two famous classic American radio programs of the 1940s and 1950s: Amos and Andy and The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show. Both shows were often opened by an advertisement from an actor (Griff Barnett) portraying "your Rexall family druggist", and included the catch phrase "Good health to all from Rexall."

In 1958, the Rexall Drug Company was the largest U.S. drug store franchise, with 11,158 stores (for comparison, there are fewer than 12,000 McDonald's restaurants in the U.S. today).*^

Historical Notes

KNBH (standing for “NBC Hollywood”) signed on in January 1949. It was the last of NBC’s five original owned-and-operated stations to sign on. It marked the debut of NBC television programs from the West Coast. The station changed its call letters to KRCA (for NBC’s then-parent company, the Radio Corporation of America) in 1954. The call letters were changed again in 1962, when NBC moved the KNBC identity from its San Francisco radio station (which became KNBR) and applied it to channel 4 in Los Angeles.*#^#*

In the 1940s and 1950s when many broadcast studios were located on or near Vine Street the Hollywood Plaza Hotel became popular with radio people. George Burns even had offices at the top of the hotel. The popular radio DJ Johnny Grant did his show from the Hollywood Plaza Bar. Grant also did a radio show from midnight - 4:00 a.m. in the nearby Ham and Eggers Restaurant.

Historical Notes

Ivar and Selma Weid, two children that crossed Daeida and Harvey Wilcox's land to get to school. When Harvey developed Hollywood in 1887 he named the two streets after them.^

Historical Notes

In 1894 the oyster cocktail was dreamed up by waiter Al Levy, who later became L.A.'s preeminent restaurateur.

In 1916 Levy built a luxury restaurant in what was then the tiny farm town of Watts, so motorists could stop off to dine in grand style on their way to Long Beach. It evidently flopped. When Prohibition arrived in 1919, the country's dining habits changed, dealing a blow to old-fashioned dining establishments such as Levy's with their elaborate multicourse meals.

In 1922 he started two restaurants side by side on Hollywood Boulevard, made a success of them and then sold them off in 1924. He took the money and immediately started a new downtown restaurant, Al Levy's Grill , on Spring Street in Downtown LA.

Five years later, with his downtown chophouse well established, he was back in Hollywood with Al Levy's Tavern (seen above), which a contemporary described as "a Hollywood version of an English inn." It also featured a separate kitchen for kosher food. It was one of the three leading celebrity hangouts around the fabled corner of Vine Street and Hollywood Boulevard, along with Sardi's and the Brown Derby. ^

Historical Notes

Al Levy's Tavern was damaged by a 1941 fire and became a Mike Lyman's chain, which closed in 1959, according to an LA Times article from the same year.^#^#^

Mike Lyman was a former vaudeville entertainer from Chicago who opened his first Mike Lyman’s Grill in downtown LA in 1935. There he hired the chef from Maxim's in Paris hoping to ensure culinary success. Lyman opened a second Mike Lyman’s Grill in Hollywood and also created the Flight Deck, the first restaurant at what was then the Los Angeles Municipal Airport. Lyman’s restaurants were loyally populated by the A-Listers from the worlds of show biz and sports.^+^

Today, a multi-story parking garage is located where Al Levy's Tavern and Mike Lyman's Grill once stood, between the old Vine Street Theatre (Ricardo Montalbán Theater) and the Hollywood Plaza Hotel.

Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

In 1956, Capitol Records would move into its new 13-story Capitol Records Building located at 1750 N. Vine Street.

Alan Hess, the author of Googie: Fifties Coffeeshop Architecture, traces Googie Architecture back to three Coffee Dan's restaurants designed by John Lautner in the early forties.

"He selected the vaults and glass walls and trusses and angles of his buildings to fit the original, often unusual, concepts of space he favored," writes Hess.

Historical Notes

Tom Breneman was host of the show Breakfast in Hollywood which aired on the Blue Network, ABC, NBC and Mutual at various times from 1941 to 1948. His  program went through numerous title changes but was best known as Breakfast in Hollywood (1948-49). By the mid-1940s, Breneman had ten million listeners. The popularity of the radio program was such that he created his own magazine, and in 1945 he opened his own establishment that carried his name.*^

Historical Notes

At the age of 46, Breneman died April 28, 1948, in Encino, California, and other hosts, including Garry Moore, stepped in as replacements, but without Breneman, the ratings dropped, and the program came to an end in January 1949.*^

Later in 1949, American Broadcasting Company moved into the building with its AM radio station (KECA).

Historical Notes

Architect G. Albert Lansburgh designed the Renaissance Revival style Warner Brothers Hollywood Theatre, which opened in 1928. The office space on the upper floors of the building became KFWB radio studios, which used the two radio masts on top of the theater. The building has also been known as the Warner Cinerama Theatre and the Pacific Hollywood Theatre.*

Historical Notes

The southeast corner of Hollywood and Cahuenga boulevards was where the original old Hollywood Civic Center was located.  The old city hall was known as Wilcox Hall.  In 1933, the site was redeveloped with the entire block demolished and replaced with a streamline modern-style structure named the Julian Medical Building (aka Owl Drug Company Buidling).  The Beveridge family (Daeida Wilcox Beveridge), who built Wilcox Hall, financed the development.^

Historical Notes

The Herman Building (seen above) was part of a complex of Spanish Colonial Revival buildings designed by architect Carl Jules Weyl that included the Hollywood Brown Derby Restaurant, to the right and out of view.

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 what remains of the Herman Building today.

Historical Notes

In 1964 the West Coast Radio City building was demolished, as NBC moved more of their West Coast television operations to the Burbank facility. The site is now occupied by a bank.*^

Historical Notes

The building opened on August 18, 1948, as the headquarters of the Mutual-Don Lee broadcast empire. Designed by Claud Beelman -- the architect behind such local landmarks as the Hollywood Post Office, Eastern Columbia Building and the Culver Hotel -- and his associate, Herman Spackler, it was larger than its compact, three-story profile suggested. Inside were 14 separate broadcast studios, including four large sound stages with auditorium seating for live audiences.^^^#

Historical Notes

The Don Lee Mutual Building at 1313 Vine is an 118,000 square-foot building that was a state-of-the-art broadcast facility for radio and television. It was the culmination of a broadcasting dynasty begun by Don Lee, who held the franchises for California and Nevada Cadillac dealerships, fostered Los Angeles radio, and was a leading pioneer of television on the West Coast.+^^

Historical Notes

Though the building was never used for selling Cadillacs, the windows provided direct advertising for the latest models of the owner’s other business.+^^

Historical Notes

KCET was the first Los Angeles station devoted exclusively to educational programming when it signed on the air on September 28, 1964.  It was also among the city's first UHF channels. Other stations had already claimed the available VHF channels -- 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 -- and so KCET broadcasted at Channel 28 on a frequency not all television sets were then equipped to receive.

ABC acquired the facility in 1970 and produced such shows as "The Dating Game" and "The Newlywed Game" there. In the 1990s AIDS Project Los Angeles moved in, and since 2002 the historic Mutual-Don Lee Building has housed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science's Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study and the Academy Film Archive.^^^#

Historical Notes

Tiny Naylors was one of California's original family-style restaurants founded by W.W. "Tiny" Naylor. Naylor got the nick name "Tiny" because he was 6'4" and weighted 320 lbs. #^**

Historical Notes

Although Tiny Naylor was best known for his Tiny Naylors restaurant chains, his first restaurant was Biff's – named after his son, in 1948.  It was located on the corner of Cahuenga and Yucca in Hollywood.

Historical Notes

Tiny Naylor died in 1959. The Naylor family purchased Du Par's in 2004, which it still owns and operates. Du-par's expanded in 2009 to include several locations from the bankrupt Bakers Square chain.*^

Historical Notes

Designed by Douglas Honnold in 1949, this establishment remained open until 1984 when it was demolished to make room for a shopping center. Today an El Pollo Loco stands at the corner.*

Click HERE to see more Early Views of LA Drive-in Restaurants.

Historical Notes

Carolina Pines Jr. was a “Googie” style modern diner located near the northeast corner of Sunset and La Brea from 1952 until the early 1960s. The restaurant was flooded with lights at night and was open 24 hours a day. What distinguished this coffee shop from the others was their menu was all "Southern Style" cooking and you could order your breakfast eggs with grits and biscuits. The restaurant was named after the pine trees just a few yards north of the restaurant, which remain there to this day. In the late 1960s, the restaurant was remodeled and was a "Copper Penny" coffee shop, a chain owned by IHOP. The building was finally torn down for the present day mall.*^

There was also a second location at 525 South Vermont Ave.

Historical Notes

The menus at the Copper Penny Coffee Shop were printed on huge plastic copper pennies with a very good selection of breakfasts.

Click HERE to see contemporary view of Sunset and La Brea.

Historical Notes

Although Tiny Naylor was best known for his Tiny Naylors restaurant chains, his first restaurant was Biff’s – named after his son, in 1948.  It was located on the corner of Cahuenga and Yucca in Hollywood.

Tiny Naylor died in 1959. The Naylor family purchased Du Par's in 2004, which it still owns and operates. Du-par's expanded in 2009 to include several locations from the bankrupt Bakers Square chain.*^

Historical Notes

The Halifax was known for it's gangster clientel in the 1930's and 1940's. Across the street, on the north side of Yucca (next to the Richfield station) was the apartment building where Ed Wood lived when he filmed most of his movies.

The cool little Googie restaurant on the north side of Yucca Street was across from the Green Apartments, where Carol Burnett lived with her grandmother while attending Hollywood High in the 1950's.*#

Historical Notes

During the 1940s, Albert Kothe (the sign's official caretaker) caused an accident that destroyed the letter H.  Kothe, driving while inebriated, was nearing the top of Mount Lee when he lost control of his vehicle and drove off the cliff directly behind the H.  While Kothe was not injured, his 1928 Ford Model A was destroyed, as was the original 50 foot tall illuminated letter H.

The HOLLYWOODLAND sign was erected in 1923 to advertise a new housing development in the hills above the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. In 1949 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce contracted to repair and rebuild the sign. The contract stipulated that “LAND” be removed to reflect the district, not the housing development.*^

Historical Notes

When it officially opened on December 27, 1924, Mulholland Highway was 24 miles long, running from Cahuenga Pass to Calabasas. The name was changed to Mulholland Drive in 1939.

Historical Notes

The first segment of the Hollywood Freeway built was a one and a half 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

Snow is a rare occurrence in the Los Angeles Basin. While it's common in the region's mountains, the moderating effect of the Pacific means that at lower elevations temperatures rarely fall below the point necessary to create snow. Since records were first kept in 1921, snow has fallen on downtown Los Angeles only ten times—and not once since 1962.

Historical Notes

The view above is from the top of Barham Bridge which at the time had a stairway running down to the tracks.

(ca. 1948)++^ - View looking northwest showing a Pacific Red Car stopped at the Barham Station with the Barham Bridge in the background.

Historical Notes

1952 was the last year Pacific Electric Railway trolleys ran down the center of the "Cahuenga Pass Freeway", (Hollywood Freeway).*^

Historical Notes

The second section of the Hollywood Freeway that stretched from the San Fernando Valley to Downtown Los Angeles opened on April 16, 1954 at a cost of $55 million.*^

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