If the above photo from Wilshire blvd. says "Eat in the Hat."



http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/6...0813brneon.jpg

Where is this one from?
(it even says WILSHIRE in the brim)

This has become my favorite thread on this forum. Please keep the old photos coming.:cheers:

what a thread!

found this photo on flickr. it shows the area in front of city hall, where a couple of large older buildings used to be. one of them (municipal archives or something?) was aligned to the old street grid and stood directly between city hall and the rest of the civic center area, but the one which was further south, it's foundation can still be seen in this photo. it was aligned to the new street grid, but why was it demolished I wonder? would have been nice to have another older style building in the civic center.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/82/21...bc6b20a6_o.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8426355...7594215614353/

in this older photo we can see the two demolished buildings

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics48/00058615.jpg
from LAPL

The building which you see its foundation in the modern photo, that was the State Office Building. It was deemed unsafe for use after the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake, so it was subsequently demolished. The other older building that was at an odd angle because it followed the old street grid, that was the old Hall of Records and was demolished in the early 1970s after the Criminal Courts Building (the ugly grey box that looks like a huge A/C unit) was completed; it was built right up against it. I could be wrong but I think the Civic Center mall was supposed to be extended through that area, but instead of course it's been a parking lot since the old Hall of Records demolition. And of course now if the new planned Civic Center Park is going to be built, there'll be a park running through that Civic Center Area from the DWP building to City Hall. I'm hoping it does happen.

My guess is that it could be the Beverly Hills Brown Derby, which was located at Wilshire and Rodeo Drive.

There were 4 Brown Derbys, the original one that was shaped like a hat across from the now-demolished Ambassador Hotel, the Beverly Hills location, and a Hollywood location on Vine Street. That was the one where you could see the stars dine at. There was also a location in Los Feliz; this location was used for the establishing shot as Arnold's Diner in the opening of the "Happy Days" TV series. After the other locations closed, this one eventually was renamed "The Derby." It closed earlier this year. I don't know what's going to become of the building.

Ah, another shot of the Richfield Building, with its reflection in one of the pools outside the Main Library, 1952.
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics50/00074537.jpg
From LAPL

What is actress Debbie Reynolds doing on the corner of Hollywood and Vine in 1955? Notice the construction of the Capitol Records building in the background, the first circular office building in the world.

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/8...s1955holly.jpg
From USC archive

She wasn't far from the Hollywood Brown Derby, shown here in 1938.
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/3...nderby1938.jpg
From USC archive

I think I'll have a Cobb salad, please, it was invented at the Hollywood Brown Derby. Oh and Lucy, stop throwing pies at Bill Holden. "Excuse me miss, is that caricature of Shelley Winters or Judy Holliday?" "Neither, it's Eve Arden."

Hollywood and Vine, 1945
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics16/00007765.jpg

Hollywood and Vine, 1947
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics17/00008115.jpg
both pics from LAPL

Within 2 years, the older, spiky twin-lantern streetlamps would be gone, replaced by the taller, teardrop streetlamps. And going by the Debbie Reynolds photo, by 1955, the old ACME semaphore traffic signals would be replaced by the standard 3-colored light traffic signals. You can see the Brown Derby in the background of both pics.

sopas_ej
The Brown Derby sign on the Wilshire location said "Eat at the Hat",
that's why I was confused about the other sign with Wilshire on the brim.
Perhaps it's a later sign.



http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/3...ebrownderb.jpg



Below: I just found this from 1954. Indeed, a different sign on top.


http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/9...wilsonworl.jpg

below: Hollywood & Vine 1965.


http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/8...odvine1965.jpg
unknown



below: The Hollywood Bowl.
I never knew there used to be a fountain in front of the stage.


http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/9...odbowlwith.jpg





below: Hollywood Freeway, with a good view of the long gone Gas Tanks.
I especially like the row of old buildings center left.


http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/7...eastoverfr.jpg
unknown

^^^^
Cool pics! That one of Hollywood and Vine in 1965 really shows that Hollywood Blvd. was already going down the tubes at that point, it already looks rundown, even though they tried to jazz it up with the weird 3-light streetlamps and the Walk of Fame stars on the sidewalk.


I think you're right; in my subsequent searches for images of the Brown Derby I saw pics of the original hat-shaped restaurant with the sign that says "Wilshire" on it.

below: Hollywood with Capitol Records 1965.


http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/3...apitolreco.jpg
Julie Wilson

below: Here's another angle of the same intersection in 1965.


http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/3...ollywoodvi.jpg
Julie Wilson


A bit lackluster for being at the corner of Hollywood & Vine.

Indeed. But an interesting shot nonetheless. BTW, when I got my very first speeding ticket, I attended traffic school at that Taft Building on the southeast corner of Hollywood and Vine.

I like the T-bird in the other pic.

Here are some early Westwood photos from 1941.



below: Note the towering Bank of America sign on the left.
The building is still there, minus the sign.

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/2...41westwood.jpg
julie wilson



http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/6243/la0620wst2.jpg
julie wilson

Here's another one, Ralph's Westwood.


http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/2...hswestwood.jpg
julie wilson

Thank goodness those ugly lights shown there in the 1965 pictures of Hollywood are gone and the new ones replaced a few years back resemble the old.

Fortunately they're still there.

below: Hollywood traffic 1956.


http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/1...odtraffic1.jpg
shawnmebo

^^^Thanks for the info 'dktshb'.
I'm glad the building are still there.

:previous:
Yes, the buildings are still there. The cluster of shorter ones have been restored and even houses a Chinese-American museum. The taller one looks like it's being restored as well; as of a few months ago, it was covered in scaffolding and tarp.