[BifRayRock]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

Judging by the vehicles--I think both have Packard chassis--I'd say the image without the rooftop box is more mid-to-late 20s rather than 30s...but then again, it might have been taken right before the box went up...

Maybe this has already been discovered..can't remember--but here's a BP for a rooftop sign dated July 1, 1936...not much of a description, but perhaps it refers to the box.

If so, it didn't last long... as indicated by the sign on the second-floor corner, the owner was going to erect a new building... demo BP dated August 9, 1937







As seen in post 33863 the neutered Sontag store by S. Charles Lee was the replacement. BP dated August 13, 1937...

If I understand your point, I tend to think the date is later than the '20s and, as you suggest, a date possibly prior to the box, or maybe after the box was folded up and put in the closet.

These images are, as you know, from the LIFE archives. This version of the publication only started with a first issue in November 1936. Anecdotally, the credited photog, Alfred Eisenstaedt, seems to have taken most of his (unused) images (found in this collection) in '36 or later. Note the offices of United Air Lines or an agency advertising that entity in images with and without the box. United Air Lines was not a going concern until the '30s and beyond. Kebow's Gift Shop has a '32 listing at 6635 Hollywood. (Maddux Air Lines, a precursor to some of the other carriers, did have an office at 6407 Hollywood Blvd. in '32.) United has a listing at 6635 in '36 through '38. FWIW, there is a '36 listing for both United Air Lines and Western Air Express, albeit at 508 W. Sixth Street.

http://hollywoodphotographs.com/photos/lrg/RN-080-2.jpg

Couple of other thoughts. Eisenstaedt probably did not reach his stride as a commercial picture taker until the early '30s. And, it would not have been that surprising for a Packard chassis and running gear to be in use well beyond it's sell date considering the company's well known reputation for quality and durability. Just ask the man who owns one.