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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 22h

This jaunty little fellow was known as the Laurel Canyon trackless trolley, an electric rubber-tired trolley introduced in 1910 to promote real estate development. It started at Sunset Blvd, then wobbled up Laurel Canyon Blvd to Lookout Mountain Ave. This photo was taken in 1914.

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 1d

And from “The Wonder of Kodachrome” file comes this glorious photo looking across Westwood, Los Angeles, in 1959. From left to right we have the Janss Dome, the tower of the Fox Theatre and Ralph’s supermarket with its distinctive rotunda. ("now" photo 2025)

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 2d

“The Poppy” observation parlor car of the Los Angeles and Pasadena Electric Railway Company, circa 1890s. It acquired that nickname because it crossed an area of the Mount Lowe Railway known as the “Poppyfields," a natural feature of the landscape north of Pasadena.

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 3d

The Garden of Allah Hotel closed in 1959 after financier Bart Lytton bought it, tore it down, and in 1960 built a branch of his Lytton’s Savings and Loan. At least he built a distinctive landmark at the gateway to the Sunset Strip. I’m guessing this photo is circa early 1960s. ("now" March 2016)

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 4d

Hollywood's reigning "it" couple of the 1920s, Mary Pickford & Douglas Fairbanks filmed “Taming of the Screw” in 1929 (the 1st feature-length, sound adaptation of any Shakespeare work.) It ran at the United Artist Theatre, 929 S. Broadway #DLTA. This photo is circa Nov 1929. ("now" photo May 2024)

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 5d

One of the most well-known homes in 1800s Los Angeles was the Crocker mansion. Built in 1886, it stood at the corner of 3rd and Olive Sts in downtown Los Angeles (or just “Los Angeles” as it was back then.) Sitting atop Bunker Hill meant its views were unparalleled.

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 6d

Magnus Root Beer Drive-in restaurant, 766 Vine St, Hollywood, circa 1929. Why so many waitresses for such a small restaurant? Was root beer the only drink they served? This photo is circa 1929, when Magnus Root Beer operated a chain of restaurants around California. ("now" photo May 2024)

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 7d

Here we have the Ocean Front Promenade near Market street, in Venice Beach, California, on what seems to be a busy winter day, circa 1911. There were all sorts of diversions: Hotel Oceanic, Cafe Pelican, Surf Bath House, Neptune Theatre, but esp those open-air electric trams. ("now" photo Aug 2022)

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 8d

Marti’s department store opened in 1929 at 411 Pine Ave, corner of 4th St, Long Beach. The Depression killed it but what beautiful display windows! In fact, they’re not so much “display windows” as “display rooms” where customers could walk around the merch for a 360° view. ("now" photo Dec 2024.)

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 9d

Mrs. Carl Christol poses next to her Studebaker coupe at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Center shopping mall, 3650 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. The center opened in 1947 which is when this photo was taken, so Mrs. Christol would have been shopping in a brand-spanking-new mall. What color is her car?

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 10d

I am very happy to announce that the audiobook version of “Selznick’s Spotlight” (book 2 in the Hollywood’s Greatest Year trilogy) is now available. You can find it via Audible on Amazon.
tinyurl.com/kcjca2np

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 10d

This Sontag drug store stood on the SW corner of Sunset & Vine, Hollywood, kitty-corner from the NBC studios. This photo is from 1949, the same year NBC converted from radio to television. But the crowning glory is the billboard for Camel cigarettes which blew actual smoke.

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 11d

The North Beach Bath House on Santa Monica beach does seem to have been popular with the locals. Given that this was taken in the late 1800s, they all would have been either fully dressed or wearing (probably uncomfortable wool) bathing suits that covered more than they exposed.

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 12d

The North Beach Bath House on Santa Monica beach a block north of the pier (1894 - 1911) had a saltwater plunge, 300 dressing rooms, a ballroom, a rooftop observation deck, the Pavilion Restaurant, and a bowling alley. A one-stop beach destination! ("then" photo 1905, "now" photo August 2024)

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 13d

This the living room and pool of the Lautner-designed Sheats-Goldstein House at 10104 Angelo View Dr, Beverly Hills (finished in 1963.) As we can see in this photo, the 4,500 sq feet home had lots of floor-to-ceiling windows to let in all that Southern California sunlight. ("now" photo: Wikipedia)

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 14d

I recently viewed the "Hollywood in Miniature" model of 1930s Hollywood now owned by Hollywood Heritage. It's really worth seeing for yourself if you get the chance, but for those who can't, you can check out my blog to see a collection of my photos.
wp.me/p5XK3w-8zo

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 15d

This is the menswear store Zachary All at 5467 Wilshire Blvd. It seems to be quite a large store with something for everyone, hence, I’m guess the “all." I believe that’s a mid-1970s Buick Riviera parked out front, which makes sense because this photo was taken in 1978. ("now" photo May 2024)

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 16d

It's actually quite shocking to see it still standing AND in such good condition.

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 16d

Goodrich could have built a utilitarian tire factory at Olympic & Goodrich Blvds but they went with Spanish Colonial Revival. This photo is from 1930 which makes me wonder how many of their factory workers still had jobs once the Great Depression hit. ("now" photo July 2022)

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 17d

Merced Theatre at 420 N. Main St #DTLA opened on January 30, 1871 and was only open for six years (thanks in part to a smallpox epidemic) but it remains the oldest surviving theater building in Los Angeles. ("now" photo May 2025)

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 18d

The nine concentric circles that make up the bowl of the Hollywood Bowl are so famous that it can be easy to forget that it didn’t always look like that. This is the Hollywood Bowl’s second shell, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and which only lasted for the 1927 season.

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 19d

A circa late 1940s photo of an LA Railway Yellow streetcar rolling along the “R” line. That route took Angelenos along 3rd St, 7th St, and Whittier Blvd. And going by that sign on the front – “Take This Car to Bullock’s Downtown” – I’d say it was en route to downtown Los Angeles.

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 20d

In this 1939 photo, we’re looking north across Wilshire Blvd toward the Brown Derby restaurant at 3377 Wilshire Blvd. I'm sure it was pleasant to eat in the extension to the east with the umbrellas, but if I’m going to eat in the hat, I want to eat IN the hat. ("now" photo May 2024)

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 21d

Back in the simpler, silent-movie days, before Fox Films merged with 20th Century Pictures, the William Fox Studios were at 1401 N. Western Ave. This 1925 photo reminds us how low-key movie studios were in stark contrast to the sprawling city-states they would later become. ("now" photo Dec 2024)

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Martin Turnbull @martinturnbull.bsky.social · 22d

What a genius idea to set up the Hollywood Photo Studios booth next door to the Hollywood Canteen during WWII. Every single day, 100s of men went to the Canteen. Why not get 3 portraits for $1 to send to the folks back home? I bet they did a roaring trade. ("now" photo May 2022)

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