Saturday, June 22, 2013

A Quick Tour of Early Beverly Hills

Hi, everyone!
Things are starting to get back to normal here and everyone is recovering health wise and other family members and friends are working to get their homes and businesses rebuilt after the recent tornadoes.  Thank you so much for the well wishes and kind words.

I bought this wonderful set of postcards recently that gives us a peak at early Beverly Hills and I couldn't wait to share them with all of you.  (The informative captions are the descriptions of each on the back.)  If you're ready, let's take a trip down memory lane!

The cover

Located at 8556 Wilshire Boulevard, one block west of La Cienega the theater was once known as the Regina Theater which opened in the mid-1930s. The Fine Arts Theater has been a popular neighborhood theater, playing foreign and American films into the new millennium. The art deco style theater is a Beverly hills landmark, originally one of the five theaters in the city since 1925.


 Since 1920 there have been organized tours of the stars homes in Beverly Hills. Here is the Grayline-Anner Movie Tour bus at the Dr. Norman Sprague estate on Lexington Road. One of many grand mansions built in the early 1920s north of Sunset. 

 One of the more unique drive-in restaurant designs was new round Streamline Moderne Simon's Drive-In at Wilshire and Linden Drive that opened in December 1940. Over the years, Simon's was a popular hangout for Beverly Hills High School students; it was only a few blocks away.

 Motor officers and patrol officers were the backbone of policing Beverly Hills 'from the hills to the flats'. As early as the 1920s, a sign could be found at the city limits that said 'Burglars and Robbers--Stay out!"

 Warner Brother's Pictures brought the Night and Day production unit which included Cary Grant and Alexis Smith, to the George H. Lewis estate. Cary Grant played Cole Porter in the film and can be seen seated to the right of the umbrella. 



 The Flying "A" gas station was located at 400 Rexford Drive. Located at the northeast corner of Rexford Drive, across from the Beverly Hills City Hall. the station was built on a portion of the original Sun Lumber Company that once dominated the area. Today, the site is the south wing of the Beverly Hills Public Library.

 Located at 206 North Beverly Drive, at Wilshire Boulevard, the current film playing at the theater was Paramount's Incendiary Blonde, starring Betty Hutton. In 1925, real estate pioneer, Dan M. Quinlan constructed the theater, the first to be built with East Indian decor. The businesses in the theater building included Sally's Homemade Candies. 

 One of the most enduring Beverly Hills restaurants is Nate 'N' Al, located at 414 N. Beverly Drive since 1945. In May 2005, the restaurant celebrated its 60th anniversary. Al Mendelson and Nate Reiner opened the delicatessen for a celebrity clientèle typical for Beverly Hills.  From Jack to violinist, Jascha Heifetz, almost every celebrity resident or visitor has eaten at Nate 'N' Al over the years.

 Looking east down Sunset Boulevard from Whittier Drive is the Sunset Bridle Path. By 1938, with less horses in the city limits of Beverly Hills, the bridle path became more of a bicycle path, keeping the small town feeling of the town well into the 1950s.


 A new swimming pool was constructed at the Beverly Hills Hotel, at the beginning of 1937 in the beginning of a longterm renovation plan that ended in 1949. The swimming pool became a famous location for entertainment personalities to be seen and publicized around the world.

 Looking north, this is Beverly Drive from Olympic at the beginning of the Great Depression. Much of the residential development south of Wilshire was underway at the end of the 1920s on both sides of south Beverly Drive. With the coming of the 1930s much of the proposed construction of a commercial section was postponed until after the end of the Depression. 

 The Wilshire Links miniature golf course was once located on the southeast corner with the Fox Wilshire Theater a block east on Hamilton Drive.  In 1972, Great Western Savings opened it's new Beverly Hills headquarters on the site in a dramatic, oval-shaped building, crowned with a large bronze sculpture of John Wayne on horseback, in the forecourt.

 The intersection of Wilshire and Beverly Drive has always been the heart of the commercial triangle of Beverly Hills.  On the northeast corner was the Beverly Theater, built in 1925. It was the cities first theater. On the northwest corner was the parking lot of Adrian's Costume building. which was originally the Victor Hugo Restaurant in the 1930s.

The Beverly Hills Brown Derby is visible at Rodeo Drive and Wilshire Boulevard across the street from the Wilshire Hotel. Some of the stores on Wilshire just west of Rodeo Drive included Gordon's and Evan's. On the south side of Wilshire Boulevard stood the J.J. Haggarty department store.


Looking east towards Canon Drive, South Santa Monica Boulevard was an extension of Burton Way. On the right where the drugstore is located was the original shopping building of Beverly Hills, established in the early 1920s.

I hope you enjoyed the images and stay tuned for more on Mary Astor as well as my Hollywood at Home series which will be back soon (For now I'm keeping the stars that I'm featuring a secret but I think you're going to like who's up next on the home tour). So glad to be back blogging and I can't wait to get caught up with what all of you are writing about at your own blogs.

Have a great weekend!
Page

20 comments:

  1. Nice postcard collection you bought, Page. The Wilshire Blvd East one made me laugh--how it has changed!

    Glad to hear things are getting back to normal for you and your friends and loved ones.

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    1. Hi, Kim!
      Thanks so much. I'm really glad to be back to blogging and getting caught up on reading blogs again. It feels like six months for some reason. (Gosh, I hope it hasn't been that long!)

      These postcards were a steal at around $9.00. I think I'll send them to random strangers with just one greeting. "Welcome to Beverly Hills!" ha ha

      See ya over at your place! Now to get my header straightened out. Boy, was it about time to renovate this place.
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  2. What a terrific collection of postcards, Page! I always love seeing old-time movie theatres, and it's always fun discovering what film was playing at the time.

    When I go home to Florida, I always have to visit my favorite little drive-in restaurant. It's not nearly as fancy as the Simons, but high school kids loved it! Those little "greasy spoons" make some of the best hamburgers on the planet.

    Thanks for sharing...and I'm so glad that your family is on the mend.

    Have a great day,
    Patti

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    1. Hi, Patti!
      We used to have a lot of little drive-in restaurants here in OK and there are still a couple that aren't named Sonic. ha ha

      Coits is a good one and their root beer is the best. Served in the heavy frosted mugs. Of course I remember going to A&W when we were kids, visiting here in the summer. They had the Mama Burger, Papa Burger and Baby Burgers. ha ha

      I'm glad these postcards brought back memories for you to share.

      See ya soon!
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  3. Those were the days, weren't they? Lovely collection of cards, Page. Oh - and I love your new picture of Dorothy Lamour (although I kind of wish that it was Bing & Bob in the sand with her!).

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    1. FlickChick, are you suffering from a head injury or something? You would actually rather look at Bing and Bob than that gorgeous, Jon Hall? lol I hate that the image doesn't stretch side to side. Blogspot stinks or maybe I do but I got so frustrated after trying like 20 pics that were way too big. I'll probably change it from time to time now.

      I'm glad you guys are enjoying these postcards. Sometimes I wish we lived in simpler times. We certainly enjoyed family outings, road trips and playing cards, dice, dominoes when visiting the grandparents.

      See ya soon. I can't wait to see what you've been writing about over at your place.
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  4. Wow, Page, you've done it again. I LOVED this post! So many favorites to chose from...but I think I'll have to go with the Sunset Bridal Path. If only those people could see it now!

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    1. Martin,
      When it comes to images of that little plot of land in southern California, I know there is one person that loves seeing them more than me and it's you. ha ha

      Living out there and driving these roads, I can imagine how fun it is to come across old images then compare to have things have changed. (Not always for the best!)

      You mentioned the bridle paths and I've seen a few images of them when they were actually being used by horses. It really does give you a peak into just how small and rural BH was back in the day. And I love seeing the images of the Beverly Hills hotel with guests arriving via horseback.

      Thanks for stopping by. I hope you're enjoying your summer out there amongst the stars.

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  5. Love the Flying A gas station. One almost expects to see Fred and Ginger dancing amongst those gas pumps. Great photos, Page.

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    1. Ha ha Kev! I can picture Ginger and Fred midway through their routine then Cary Grant flying into the gas station in his roadster, infuriating the director and the crew.

      I'm glad you enjoyed these photos.
      See ya soon!
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  6. It's as if you put us all in your private time machine.

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    1. Hiya, CW!
      You gave me an idea, actually! I should go to Google Earth and take photos of what these areas look like today. Grrr I don't know why I didn't think of that before posting this.

      Thanks for stopping by!
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  7. Thanks for the trip through time in good ol' Beverly Hills. Page - you have to get a hold of one or more of John Bengston's books on the silent era film locations for the films of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. I know you would appreciate them. Great post as usual.

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    1. Hi, Christian!
      Thanks for the book suggestion. It sounds like one I must have. : ) I do have a couple on film locations on my Amazon 'to buy' list but I haven't run across that one and the fact that the subject is silent stars has really piqued my interest.

      I hope you're having a great week and thanks for stopping by.
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  8. I'm glad things are going well for your family!
    Loved all the postcards and also the new header. I watched The Hurricane recently and totally adored the film.
    Kisses!

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  9. I just stumbled upon you blog and LOVE it! I was even more thrilled to see it was an "Okie" blogger, I also live in Oklahoma and dream of old Hollywood. Wishing you the best for your family. Amanda

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  10. Hi Page, Glad life is coming back together for you and your family and friends. Love the postcards; you should organize a tour of "old" Hollywood. I would sign up!

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    1. CFB,
      If only I could get that arranged. I would give everyone a free tour. ha ha
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  11. I love this post, Page -- I could look at pictures of Hollywood forever. I always feel like I can step inside them, you know?

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    1. Thanks, Karen! So glad you enjoyed it. : )
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