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.

NBC Radio City was one of Hollywood’s largest projects of the 1930s — and spectators were invited to watch its construction at the northeast corner of Sunset and Vine. The Streamline Moderne building, blue-green in color and trimmed with aluminum strips, opened its doors on October 17, 1938, as the west coast headquarters for the National Broadcasting Company.