I thought this was going to be the first Julius Shulman photoset where I'd have to ask for help with the location. There are no readable street signs, and the two business names that can be seen didn't show up in the City Directories. However, a little more digging, and some guess work, led me to the corner of W Olive Avenue and W Toluca Lake Avenue in Burbank. This is
"Job 1177: Bank of America,1951".
The Union Oil Dealer on the left has the name Hank Reisner on the front. The 1934 CD lists Hank running a gas station at 6177 Santa Monica Boulevard, but that's the only listing I found.
A 1996 LA Times obituary to Hank Reisner says
"He met his wife, Ann, during the war. Afterward, he went to work for Union Oil Co. as a station manager. He also owned a parking lot in Burbank." The mention of Union Oil made me think this was probably the same person, and pointed me towards Burbank.
The street takes almost a 90 degree turn at this point. The building above the car on the right bears the name "Charm Studio Beauty Salon".
All from
Getty Research Institute
There's still a Bank of America in roughly the same location, but it's not the same building. Cafe Christina now stands on the corner of the old gas station site.
GSV
W Toluca Lake Avenue is no longer a through road, but the building behind the bank in the first Shulman photo is still standing.
GSV
One thing I've neglected to mention so far is that the bank was opposite Warner Bros' studios. Below, I've arrowed it in this enlarged detail from a mid-70s aerial view. The dark roof of beauty salon building can be seen to the right.
www.retroweb.com
LAPL has two variations of this image, one dated 1948 and this one dated 1958. W Olive Avenue can be seen curving below the sound stages, with the bank below the right end of the curve. The little triangle between W Olive Avenue, Warner Boulevard and Pass Avenue remained until a new building was constructed across the Warner Boulevard section sometime between 1989 and 1994.
"Aerial view of Warner Bros., home of the world's largest motion picture studio, located in Burbank. Area was once a diary farm in 1924. Photo dated: December 31, 1958."
LAPL
The views below are from a 1945 strike which saw picketing outside the studios. This photo, dated October 18, 1945, shows Angelo's Cafe opposite the studios, complete with an advert for "Ben-Hur delicious coffee". The "Liquor" sign on the far right can be seen on the left of the second Shulman image.
LAPL
This photo is from three days later. The bank is in the distance on the left side of the street.
LAPL
Here's an undated aerial of the studios with the backlots behind. Note that the current curve in W Olive is starting to form. One of the soundstages still has "First National" on the front, and another has an arrow to Mines Airfield on the roof.
LAPL
This photo is also undated, but is clearly even earlier. There's only four soundstages, and no backlots.
LAPL