In 1930, Frigidaire established its Hollywood showroom at Hollywood Boulevard and McCadden Place.

The start of the 1940 Hollywood Bowl season was heralded with the dedication of The Muse of Music, “a symbol of the arts within.” Located at the entrance along Highland Avenue, the 15-foot granite sculpture is mounted on a 220-foot-long Streamline Moderne pedestal and flanked by her sisters, the Muses of Dance and Drama, perched in lower niches of the four-tiered fountain. Symbolizing their respective genres, Music is strumming a lyre, while Dance sways and Drama holds the th

During World War II, servicemen on liberty passes in Los Angeles could stop by the Hollywood Canteen on Cahuenga Boulevard for a night of revelry — and plenty of star sightings. Hollywood Canteen, 1451 Cahuenga Boulevard (California State Library) Cofounded by Bette Davis and John Garfield, the Canteen was staffed entirely by volunteers from the entertainment industry (actors, directors, producers, writers, grips, secretaries). Everyone from Davis herself to Rita Hayworth, Ju

Earl Carroll built Hollywood’s premier entertainment palace for his princess: singer-dancer-actress Beryl Wallace — whom he immortalized with a 20-foot neon portrait along Sunset Boulevard. Designed by master architect Gordon B. Kaufmann (Hollywood Palladium, LA Times Building, Hoover Dam), the ultra-modern Earl Carroll Theatre was the first of its kind in the U.S.: an open concept with the lobby, bar, and auditorium separated by terraces. In the back of the room, a staircase

In 1933, little Norma Jean was selected by her elementary school to be one of the children who form the event’s “living cross.”

In Hollywood, the Crossroads of the World intersect at Sunset Boulevard and Las Palmas Avenue. Built in 1936, the multi-national market — considered America’s first outdoor shopping mall — was designed to feel like “a permanent world’s fair with a cosmopolitan atmosphere.” The Crossroads of the World (University of Missouri at Kansas City) Indeed, the miniature city exudes Old World charm (Spanish Colonial, French Normandy, and English Tudor architecture) with a Moderne cente

Los Angeles Gas and Electric’s sales office on Ivar Avenue was introduced in 1937 as “another bright spot in the incandescent radiance of greater Hollywood.” The Los Angeles Gas and Electric building on Ivar Avenue, 1937 (California State Library) The Art Deco building — a showcase for the latest in modern gas appliances — combined beauty, utility, and craftsmanship. Its striking facade was emphasized by contrasting black diamond granite and white metal. Similarly, the sidewa

Decades before Capitol Records arrived on Vine Street, the block north of Hollywood Boulevard was projected to be Peacock Alley, a high-class fashion district. Vine Street, circa 1940, looking south to Yucca Street Its trendsetter: Jean Swartz. The couturier — whose creations were “as modern as tomorrow” — opened her headquarters in 1931 at the southeast corner of Yucca Street.

Over the past century, 6720 Sunset Boulevard has seen murder, prostitution, rockstars … but it all began with a wife-swapping scandal! Denver transplants Edmund and Blanche Scholtz bought the home in 1921 and added a bungalow court of several duplexes to the property between McCadden and Las Palmas. Their 17-year-old daughter Jane enjoyed the Hollywood socialite scene. 6720 Sunset Boulevard in 1918 (USC) The next year, she married dancer-actor Walter Emerson, grand-nephew of

Henry L. Gogerty and Carl Jules Weyl left their architectural imprint all over Hollywood: the Baine Building, Yucca-Vine Tower, Hollywood Playhouse … and at the corner of Cahuenga and Selma. (The Library of Congress) In 1926 — two years before they built the Fred C. Thomson shops on Sunset — the silent film cowboy hired the duo to design a 33-room commercial space at 1600-1610 N. Cahuenga Boulevard (pictured above in 1942).

What better location for a funeral home … than directly across the street from Hollywood Cemetery, now known as Hollywood Forever. The Pierce Brothers Hollywood Mortuary, 5959 Santa Monica Boulevard, was situated on a block that conveniently also included two flower shops and headstone manufacturer Victor Granite Co.

The Circus Cafe was not for kids — the cocktail lounge inside Albert Sheetz Mission Candies at 6656 Hollywood Boulevard served up adult beverages in a whimsical atmosphere. Circus Cafe (The Huntington Library) According to the 12-page menu: “Our drinks, whether cocktails or mixed, are smooth enough for a lady, strong enough for a man, a velvety escape from stark reality; we mean, that they are like moonbeams of Romance.”

The “It Girl” created the “It” nightspot in Hollywood. It Cafe Clara Bow came out of a three-year retirement in 1937 to open the It Café, located in the lobby of the Hollywood Plaza Hotel, with her husband Rex Bell.

Kathryn Baird Sullivan realized her long-cherished dream to “launch brides and grooms happily on their marital ways” when she turned her home at 1927 Highland Avenue into the Hollywood Wedding Chapel. Hollywood Wedding Chapel (UCLA) The very first day of business in 1930, she solemnized six ceremonies. Billing herself as a “wedding consultant,” Sullivan’s services included planning of the decorations, music, reception, and catering — with the promise to make the big day “deli

Before the Hollywood sign or Walk of Fame, the first tourist attraction in town was Paul de Longpre’s enchanting gardens on Cahuenga. Paul de Longpre postcard (CA State) In 1901, the French painter built a Mission Revival mansion on his “Corner of Paradise,” three acres just north of Prospect Boulevard (later renamed Hollywood Boulevard), reportedly gifted by the Mother of Hollywood, Daeida Wilcox Beveridge, in a bid to bring world-famous culture to her blossoming community.

Hollywood queens trusted their faces to the makeup king, Max Factor. Max Factor (UCLA) From his Highland Avenue studio, the brilliant beautician transformed starlets into style icons: Lucille Ball’s false eyelashes and red curls, Jean Harlow’s platinum blond, Joan Crawford’s overdrawn “hunter’s bow,” and Clara Bow’s heart-shaped lips.

Esther Ralston Who wouldn’t want to look like a Hollywood star? Esther Ralston — “The American Venus” — cashed in on her famous face in 1931 with an eponymous beauty salon at Cahuenga Boulevard and Yucca Street. “The perfect shop for the particular woman,” Esther’s prided itself on being an expert in “all lines of beauty culture,” offering facials, massages (manual and electric), permanent hair waves, a marble plunge pool, gymnasium for weight reduction, and baths of all vari

Before Hollywood Boulevard catered to tourists, it was a destination for locals — and J.J. Newberry at the corner of Whitley Avenue was a one-stop shop. The Five-and-Dime chain popped up at 6602 Hollywood Boulevard in March 1930, inside a custom turquoise and gold Art Deco building that “presents a hint of magic in its decorative treatment,” noted the Hollywood Citizen News, “and more than a hint of modern efficiency in its general arrangement.”

At the Screen Stars Shop, you could pick up a gown worn by Vilma Banky, pair of Mary Pickford’s shoes, or a suit right off the back of Douglas Fairbanks. In June 1930, the thrift boutique opened at 1614 Cahuenga Boulevard, stocked with donated items from the closets of Joan Crawford, Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson, Mary Astor, and Gary Cooper — with all proceeds benefitting the Motion Picture Relief Fund.

The finest jewelry shop in Hollywood, Robert Gail was a cut above the rest. Its grand opening in 1929 was treated as a movie premiere — klieg lights illuminated the building on Hollywood Boulevard; inside, motion picture actresses served as hostesses, as a live band entertained. Every female in attendance received a French compact as a souvenir.