Quote:
Originally Posted by Tourmaline
Regarding the Ballroom's original purpose, I do not know. Some light might be found by re-exploring the subject considering the dramatic changes to that neighborhood when the Hollywood Freeway was installed. The Tanner Livery was very close by. 5639 Sunset. http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/show...ostcount=17954 I suspect that HD may occupy the Ballroom's footprint but not much (if any) of the original construction. Home Depot's solid reinforced masonry is far more substantial than the Ballroom's primarily wood construction.
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Here's how the neighborhood changed when the Hollywood Freeway cut through the area. First, a view from 1948. I'm not sure what businesses were in either of the marked buildings in 1948 - I've included the outlines for consistency with my later aerial images.
Historic Aerials
I found this March 1953 picture on LAPL. It shows the new Hollywood Freeway looking south, and includes the northwest corner of the block we're discussing at the far left. I wish the picture extended a little further left so we could see the Rollerbowl/Stardust building.
LAPL
This 1972 image shows how the Hollywood Freeway changed a square block into a triangle. It looks like the area to the left of the Rollerbowl building was completely cleared, although some of residences on De Longre Avenue survive.
Historic Aerials
I've skipped forward to 2004 to show how the Home Depot building shares none of its footprint with the old Rollerbowl/Stardust building. By comparing the images on Historic Aerials with the historical images on Google Earth, it appears that the Rollerbowl/Stardust building was demolished between 1980 and 1989. The Home Depot building was built sometime between 1994 and 2002.
Historic Aerials