Ah, Glendale. The setting for "Mildred Pierce."
"With this money I can get away from you. From you and your chickens and your pies and your kitchens and everything that smells of grease. I can get away from this shack with its cheap furniture. And this town and its dollar days, and its women that wear uniforms and its men that wear overalls."-- Veda from "Mildred Pierce," 1945
Was Glendale all that bad back then, Veda?
Brand Boulevard, Glendale, 1940
Supermarket in Glendale, 1940
Both pics from USC archive
Of course there's the Glendale train station used in the ultimate film noir, "Double Indemnity" (1944). The train station still exists, and is restored; it's now a Metrolink and Amtrak train station. The photo is from 1936.
From LAPL website