Random Vintage Los Angeles
I love pictures of Vintage LA. Part of the deal with this blog is that you have to be dragged along with me wherever I go! But I hope it won't be too awful for you.
Let's start with this photo of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, on Hollywood Boulevard. As you can see, SHANE was playing there - a seminal Western starring Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, and Van Heflin. There never was a picture like Shane! The official Grauman's Chinese Theatre website helpfully lists every film that was shown there, so I can tell you that this photo was taken somewhere between Thursday, June 4, 1953, and Thursday, July 30, 1953. The previous film was "Titanic", starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck, and the film following Shane was "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. Now you know.
Next I have two photos taken in the downtown area, with the relatively-new Hollywood 101 Freeway, which opened in April of 1954. I sure love the vintage cars! Traffic is light, but maybe it was always that way back in '54. It sure isn't light NOW.
Our photographer snapped a second picture, and, at the cost of millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours, I have labeled three of the buildings for you. Those of you who remember City Hall being blown up by Martians in 1953 might be surprised to see it looking just fine here, but it was rebuilt in record time. We're not gonna let any Martians keep us down!
And finally, here's a photo of two lovely young ladies. But this qualifies as a "Vintage Los Angeles" image because we can see the wonderful Griffith Observatory in the upper right! It appears that the women are possibly sitting somewhere near the intersection of Los Feliz Boulevard and Fern Dell Drive. I love this picture!
13 comments:
Major-
The always-beautiful Grauman's Chinese Theatre. We can see one of the [original] trees planted in the forecourt, the roots of which eventually played havoc with the 'precious' cement slabs, forcing the removal of both forecourt trees. Since Shane was released before The Robe, which had its West coast premiere at Grauman's on September 24, 1953 - (the 1st film to be released in CinemaScope, making true wide screen films practical) - for this engagement, Shane was touting its "... Gigantic Panoramic Screen and enriched with vibrant, thrilling STEREOPHONIC SOUND!" Clearly this presentation was influenced by the prior year's release of This is Cinerama - the granddaddy of wide screen capture, presentation and multi-directional Stereophonic Sound.
And driving west on Hollywood Blvd is a Studebaker - somewhere between 1950 and 1952 - perhaps in Maui Blue. It's too hard to ID from this angle. And in the far right lane is a 1950 or 1951 Hudson - probably in Corinthian Cream. Again, not enough info to pinpoint the model year.
Thanks, Major.
Major-
Also - a shout out to that sea of Iceland poppies, playing backstop to that pair of lovely gals.
Nice photo of the Chinese Theatre. Wow, they actually had a giant neon sign made for the movie! That must've cost a small, to medium size, fortune! I bet the theatre charged 20 bucks for a box of popcorn; 25 if you wanted it buttered. The two cars look like toys, especially the blue one, it looks like it was spray painted all one color.
In the cityscape pictures, the cars look anachronistic, like they should be more modern-looking models; maybe from the '60s or even from today. As far as City Hall being blowed up real good by the Martians, maybe Gene Barry got together with Rod Taylor and used his Time Machine to go back in time to prevent the Martians from causing all that ruckus.
Wow, the picture of the lovely lasses sitting amongst the poppies is striking! Beautiful flowers, beautiful ladies, beautiful greenery. The Griffith Observatory reminds me of da Vinci's Mona Lisa, with the fantastical, make believe background. Is the Hollywood sign just out of frame?
An interesting, and beautiful travelogue, Major.
Nanook, I see the tree you are talking about, but what is that growing over the entrance to the theater? Is there a giant flower box up there over the doors?
I recognize the Courthouse and the Hall of Justice buildings in the freeway photo, but not the Hall of Records. I just checked and apparently the building was built in 1911 and torn down in 1973.
Nanook (again), Poppies! Poppies will make them sleep! SLEEEEEEEEEP!
I cannot ever look at the LA City Hall and not think of WAR OF THE WORLDS!!….. as a kid I was obsessed with the film on re-runs …. There were no toys or collectibles for that film back then …. Growing up we had plastic camping / picnic plates with divided sections and to me they always looked like the Martin 3 lens probed and eyes ….
Yeah those cars don’t look like they belong on a freeway … too heavy and bulky for the sleek fast looking freeways of LA. I have to commute from Aliso Viejo to Glendale … only 56 miles one way … but it takes HOURS . Last Friday it took 2.5 hours going to work and three hours going home. I cannot imagine driving the empty freeways in these images.
What marvelous photos this morning. LA seemed so glamourous at the time...and even though I lived there: in a suburb: it was like being thousands of miles away. Grauman's (Mann's) became my old neighborhood (later in life) and what an important piece of modern architecture it is. I could see it from my high rise apartment on the other side of Highland, and when they had events/footprint things: I could hear Johnny Grant, and they would play "There's no business like show business" sung by Ethel Merman. It was very old school Hollywood, even in the mid 90's, with the neighborhood definitely showing it's age, and giving us "cool artsy people"inexpensive apartments. Hearing Ethel Merman blaring across the neighborhood was actually kind of sweet and I have many fond memories of that time, and lot's of great stories. I walked past the Chinese Theatre daily on my way to the gym which was around the corner, and no matter what time it was there were tourists there. When they built the Kodak...(now something else..) theatre and held the first Academy Awards there: That was quite the amazing "Hollywoodification" of that street: which is actually kind of seedy. The entirety of the block of Hollywood Blvd was wall to wall red carpet: an amazing shade of crimson red: with giant statues of "Oscar" and the most amazing floral arrangements. Even as an old cynic: I was impressed. The carpet made the street so quiet, as the camera crews, etc. were getting ready. Even though most pathways were blocked I bullied my way through. The Chinese Theatre never looked better. The photos of the 101 remind me of an episode of a TV show never to be mentioned on GDB: as the traffic looks similar, and it was shot at about the same time. The freeway never looks like this: ever. I know that spot on Los Feliz very well where the ladies are in front of the poppies: that is a lovely stretch of road and I drove it frequently to get from Hollywood to the eastern part of the valley: Glendale, et. al. There is also a short cut through the zoo, Griffith park, over the hills past the Observatory....etc. as Los Feliz during rush hour can be backed up all the way to Franklin. One night, driving home I saw a big swarm of Deer grazing on the side of the road: I had to do a double take as basically this area is downtown Hollywood. For Batman fans: if you go down Fern Dell: you'll find the Bronson Caves: also known as the Bat Cave. I did a show there emerging from it as a goon guarding drug lords. Don't poo poo it, it was stunt work, and I made a small fortune. Poppies grow like weeds in California and I am jealous. So very pretty- as you can see- when in full bloom. Thanks Major!
@ JB-
"... they actually had a giant neon sign made for the movie!" That sort of signage was done a number of times for films in the 1950's - especially when CinemaScope hit the street. (The CinemaScope portion of the signage remained while the lower portion was personalized for each film). HERE'S just one example.
@ TM!-
"Poppies! Poppies will make them sleep! SLEEEEEEEEEP!"
I believe those were California poppies.
@ TM!- (2)
"... but what is that growing over the entrance to the theater? Is there a giant flower box up there over the doors?"
Essentially - yes.
I remember seeing the theater once when very young, same trip as Universal Studios visit.
The photos of downtown remind me of Perry Mason.
The present Hall of Records, designed by Richard Neutra, was built in 1961 or ‘62. For various reasons I know a fair bit about that building. AMA
The pic of the girls on the lawn reminds me of a Maxfield Parrish painting with the gleaming alabaster temples in the background. Lovely photo.
Thanks Major!
JG
Nanook, funny, I was wondering if that tree had been there since the Chinese Theatre had opened, or if perhaps they periodically removed a “too big” tree and put in a smaller version. I guess it is inevitable that tree roots would not “play well” with cement slabs. Sid Grauman should have used his connections to have a studio make him a nice fake tree! It’s sort of fun to see the ballyhoo for things like the “new gigantic panoramic screen”, except that we also know that cinemas were desperately battling television for people’s eyeballs. Thanks for the car IDs!
Nanook, yes, those poppies are pretty, and so are the gals.
JB, it is pretty amazing to see the marquees that would be built for major motion pictures. I have another picture of the Chinese Theatre with a giant sign for “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit”, more neon. Seems hard to believe that it didn’t cost way too much! I’ve also seen famous pictures of a theatre in Times Square for “Psycho” (and other movies), HUGE neon and painted murals. Amazing. “It looks like it was spray painted all one color”, they must have gone to Earl Scheib! He’ll paint any car for just $29.99. I do love that photo of the girls (sorry, young women), seeing the Observatory up on the hill was icing on the cake. The Hollywood Sign is a mile or so to the west (left), and you might have to move up Fern Dell Drive a bit to be able to see it.
TokyoMagic!, that looks like a camellia? Maybe? There sure was a mania for camellias in SoCal, Descanso Gardens has a ton of them. I told Los Angeles to tear down the Hall of Records, they did not have any Oingo Boingo albums. I see poppies everywhere around here, but none of them are opium poppies, what a ripoff.
Mike Cozart, yes, obviously I think of “War of the Worlds” too, when I see LA’s city hall. I used to do regular work downtown, and would often walk right past City Hall, it sounds silly, but it was always kind of neat for me to be down there “in the thick of things”. I was there a lot during the O.J. trial, it was quite a scene! I love seeing those old cars on the freeway, like a movie. I’m sorry your commute is so long, I hope you listen to podcasts or audio books to keep yourself sane.
Bu, I have seen movies at the El Capitan and The Egyptian, but have never seen one at the Chinese Theatre. Years ago, when my niece and nephew were young and would have Spring Break, we would bring them down from where they lived and go on adventures (including going to the Griffith Observatory, which they loved). One time they wanted to “see Hollywood”, so we did lots of touristy things, like the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum and the Hollywood Wax Museum. The shopping center on the corner of Hollywood and Highland still had its DW Griffith “Intolerance” theme, which is now gone - I thought it was neat, and it’s a bummer that it was all removed, but I’m glad I saw it I guess. I think seeing the crazy people on Hollywood Blvd was eye-opening for my niece and nephew, they come from a quiet nice little town. Watching some guy shouting at nothing was a shock. I met up with a Junior Gorilla right around the corner from where those young ladies are so that he and I could hike up to the Observatory, which turned out to be not that far, so we kept going up and up WAY past it. It was fun, and this person also got to see the inside of the Observatory. Hey, it’s free, might as well go inside. Covid was still a thing so it was a process getting in. Seeing these photos reminds me that while many people despise LA, there are parts of it that I still find to be fun and interesting.
Nanook, see my comment to JB, I’ll share my photo of the Chinese Theatre with the “Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” sign one of these days.
Nanook, they should put up a giant Chia Pet of Sid Grauman’s likeness.
JG, Perry Mason, a show that I barely remember (I think I just didn’t get it as a child), but my brother now watches it, along with Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Rifleman, and more. I think he is reliving his own childhood. I’m glad the present Hall of Records was not designed by Richard Nutria, giant rodents should not be architects (that’s my hot take). I see the resemblance to Maxfield Parrish’s artwork!
Major, like the Grinch, my heart grew three sizes reading how you still find parts of L.A. "fun and interesting".
Van Heflin was a stool-pidgeon for the Nazi's...Robert Ryan said it was so
Thanks Major!
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