Los Angeles Relics

View of the Flight Test Research, Inc. (mid-photo) located within the Long Beach Airport at 4100 Donald Douglas Dr. Also pictured is Airflite, Inc. at upper right, and several large hangars at upper left. Photograph dated December 22, 1967. Source: LAPL

Newlyweds William Sherry and Bette Davis cut their wedding cake together. They had one daughter, Barbara, but the marriage only lasted about five years, December 4, 1945. Source: LAPL

The opening celebration of the incredibly ornate and detailed Santa Claus display at a Van Fleet & Durkee Shell Station somewhere in the Los Angeles area in 1930. Source: LAPL

Join us for Part 2 of Old Hollywood Celebrity Ranch Homes in the Valley on February 23, 2020 at 6:00 pm!

P The two-story brick facade residence belonging to Joan Blondell, located at 711 N Maple Drive in Beverly Hills, ca. 1940. Source: LAPL

Stuart's Orchard on Washington Boulevard and the corner of Western Avenue, Los Angeles, ca.1899. Source: USC Digital Library

Several men stand and watch as numerous others work diligently digging holes, stringing trolley wire, and laying ties and rails for the Pacific Electric "Red Cars" that would arrive into Glendora a year later, in December 1907. The PE tracks entered Glendora from the west and generally paralleled those of the Santa Fe until reaching Grand Avenue, at which point they veered north and followed Electric Ave. (now Mountain View) to the Station. Glendora residents purchased the land for the right-of-way for $35,000; the PE served the city until service was discontinued in 1951. Photograph taken circa December 1906. Source: LAPL

Aerial view of the Statler Hilton Hotel (white building); view is looking north. Also visible are the Harbor Freeway (110), Barker Brothers building (middle right), and Rex Arms Hotel ('behind' the Statler). Photographed for Union Oil Company on October 25, 1955. Source: LAPL

Photograph caption dated December 8, 1960 reads, "Here's an exterior shot of Wrigley Field which will house the new Angel baseball team of the American League when it makes its local debut next year. The park, which has a present capacity of 22,500, may be expanded slightly. It is now city-owned, with 340 feet deep left field, 339 feet in right, and 412 feet deep in center. 'It's in good condition,' said officials." Source: LAPL Wrigley Field, built on 10 acres of land in So...uth Los Angeles between San Pedro Street (on the west), Avalon Blvd (to the east), E. 41st Place (to the north), and E. 42 Place (to the south), served as host to minor league baseball teams in the region for over 30 years, and was the home park for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. Chewing gum magnate, William Wrigley, Jr. purchased the Angels in 1921 for the (then) astronomical sum of $150,000 and then built a stadium for the team a few years later. Construction for Wrigley Field began in 1924 and the 21,000-seat, million-dollar stadium opened on September 29, 1925. For 33 seasons (1925-1957) the park was home to the Angels, and for 11 of those seasons (1926-1935 and 1938) it had a second home team in the rival Hollywood Stars. The Stars eventually moved to their own new ballpark, Gilmore Field. Prior to 1925, the Angels played at their former home at Washington Park, and before that, at Chutes Park. In February 1957, Phil Wrigley (heir son of William Wrigley), sold both the team and Wrigley Field to Walter O'Malley, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, for $3,000,000. The last Pacific Coast League game at Wrigley Field was played on September 15, 1957. In 1961, the Los Angeles Angels joined the American League as an expansion team and took residence at Wrigley Field for just one season. The Angels then moved into Dodger Stadium with the Los Angeles Dodgers, until 1965. In 1966, the Angels moved into their own home, Anaheim Stadium. With no minor league baseball teams left in the area, Wrigley Field was torn down in the mid 1960s; Gilbert Lindsay Park presently occupies the site.; The tower of Wrigley Field contained the Angels's offices and memorialized baseball players who were killed in World War I. See more

Ann Sheridan, 1942.

Congoleum rug windows, Broadway Department Store, Los Angeles, 1925. Source: USC Digital Library

Grace Nicholson's store and home at 46 N. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena, prior to 1924. Source: Huntington Digital Library

Large crowds can be seen enjoying this large outdoor ice skating rink, known as Tropical Ice Gardens, located in Westwood Village, ca. 1937. Photo by Herman Schultheis. Source: LAPL Tropical Ice Gardens located in Westwood opened its doors in November 1938. It was billed as "one of the biggest sports and amusement enterprises in Los Angeles annals," and could accommodate 2,000 ice skaters on its outdoor rink and could seat 10,000 spectators in its bleacher seats. Despite its popularity, the Westwood rink was torn town in 1949 to accommodate the expansion of UCLA.

View of the United Spanish War Veterans Memorial, also known as the Spirit of '98; a monument made of bright white marble showing three figures, that was completed by sculptor Roger Noble Burnham in 1950. The monument was destroyed during the 1971 earthquake, but was recreated out of concrete and plaster and reinforced with rebar, by sculptor David Wilkens in 1973. The plaque from the original sculpture survived and was imbedded on the new sculpture; it reads: "1898 - To Those Who Volunteered and Extended the hand of Liberty to Alien Peoples - 1902. Erected 1950 by United Spanish War Veterans. Louis Leonard McClary Chairman; Roger Noble Burnham Sculpture." Source: LAPL

Harris and Frank Clothing, Woolworths, corner of Lankershim Boulevard & McCormick Street in North Hollywood, 1950s.

Lena Horne, 1943.

Spotlights lights up the skies for the premiere of "The Heiress" at the Carthay Circle Theatre. Photograph dated October 23, 1949. Source: LAPL

A winding path leads past dwarf hedges and a small, landscaped pond with a birdbath to an arched entrance of a large, Spanish-style, two-story, stucco house in Long Beach that overlooks the ocean, ca. 1920. Source: LAPL

Interior view of the soda fountain at Phillips & Drumm Drugs, located at Vermont and Florence Avenues. Photo is undated. Source: LAPL

View of Eagle Rock Reservoir looking south, 1963. Source: LAPL

View looking north on Pasadena Avenue (formerly North Figueroa Street) in Highland Park from Avenue 51, ca.1905. Source: USC Digital Library