Vintage Los Angeles
Happy Fourth of July! I hope you have a nice picnic lunch with hotdogs, potato salad, and corn on the cob.
I decided to pay tribute to Vintage Los Angeles today - for the heck of it - with two nice old views. This first scan is from "sometime in the 50s", looking North on Vine Street in Hollywood (Sunset Blvd. is behind us). There's the old NBC Studio to our right. Other fun details, ABC/KXCA Studio to the left (CBS was just around the corner on Hollywood Boulevard), the Santa Fe offices, and if you look closely, you can see the sign for the Brown Derby above the gentleman in the white jacket. One interesting note... I frequent the "Vintage LA" Facebook page, and the woman who runs it owns the fraternal twin to this slide - taken moments apart, same cars on the curb, same clouds in the sky. Hers is better! Still, I'm happy to have this one.
Next is this unassuming photo of a place called the "Sidewalk Coffee Corner". Looking it up, I discovered that it was from the venerable Robinson's department store at Seventh, Hope, and Broadway. Robinson’s food service in its flagship store included the aforementioned roof-top tearoom, which was remodeled in 1955 and renamed The California Room. In 1954, a quick-service restaurant was built on the seventh floor and named The Round Robin, playing on its circular design reminiscent of a birdcage, and the store’s name as well. The California Room and Round Robin were exported to several of the branch stores as well. The downtown store also had a “Sidewalk Coffee Corner” for light snacks. I had to color-correct this one, with limited success, but I'm happy to have this rare interior from one of Vintage LA's important stores.
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EXTRA! EXTRA! I recently had lunch with my friend Mr. X, we met at the Smokehouse in Burbank. A good old-fashioned place with dark wood and red leatherette booths. X showed up carrying a long cardboard box. He then pulled out a genuine silkscreened attraction poster - America the Beautiful (circa 1967). And then he GAVE it to me! Incredible. It's one that I never owned. I can't even remember how long it's been since I acquired an attraction poster. Many years, for sure. Take a look, it's a beauty. I am very grateful to Mr. X for his generosity! And it's perfect for the 4th of July.
5 comments:
Major-
Based on the [one] visible license plate (although I can't explain why it has seven digits, rather than six), and the fact I can't ID any newer vehicles, I'd say the first image is from 1951.
It would appear the Sidewalk Coffee Corner is quite the going concern-! And just think... there wasn't an espresso, latte, or cappuccino, in ANY size to be had-!
NICE poster - and just in time for our 250th. Happy 4th to all.
Thanks, Major.
The "gentleman in the white jacket" looks to me more like a gentlewoman in a white jacket. ;-) Or maybe it's Albert Einstein with his bushy rat's nest of gray hair; hard to tell. I'm not sure, but on the left, it looks like there's a red, Flying Pegasus logo for Mobil Oil. Why is the Brown Derby sign red?
For a casual eatery, the "Sidewalk Coffee Corner" sure looks fancy! And of course, the people look fancy as well, as was the norm back then whenever one was out and about.
Wow, Mr. X sure is generous! No idea of the going rate for one of those posters but it must be in the hundreds, at least. And it IS a beautiful poster!
Thanks for the vintage L.A. pics, Major. And thanks to Mr. X. (Does Mr. X read GDB?)
These are really great vintage L.A. pics, Major!
Congrats on receiving such a wonderful gift! That poster is a beauty. I think I have the little mini-version/replica that they used to sell in The Disney Gallery initially for $25, and then later $30 and $35. I'm not sure if they still sell those or not. I bought so many of them (because they were more affordable than the real thing), but now I'm not sure which ones I have, since I never hung any of them!
Happy 4th, Major and all!
I would love to step into those images and eat lunch at the Brown Derby, and then later head over to The Sidewalk Coffee Corner for coffee. (Side note to Nanook and TM: Regarding the Brown Derby, I'm very surprised you didn't mention anything about William Holden.)
Happy 250th Birthday, U.S.A.! Happy [and safe] celebrating, everyone!
(BTW, there's even more celebrating happening on TokyoMagic's new blog post - HERE!
Thank you to Major and Mr. X! (Major, you have some really cool friends!)
Side note to Nanook and TM: Regarding the Brown Derby, I'm very surprised you didn't mention anything about William Holden.
Sue, I thought I would give Major the 4th of July off! But now that you brought it up, I believe that "Broadway Hollywood" sign can be seen out the window of of all the "Hollywood" episodes.
Now that you brought the subject up, I just bet that tour bus in the distance, was on it's way to the homes of Shirley Temple, Joan Crawford, Ava Gardner, and Richard Widmark!
And thanks for the shout-out on my latest post, Sue! It's a "Ralph and Florence Bicentennial Extravaganza"! Sort of.
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