Nobody in this photo looks like they were going anywhere fast. Mind you, this image is circa 1886 when the pace of life was far more gentle than it is now. If the signage is anything to go by, they were on Vermont Ave and heading for the corner of Ninth St and Spring St #DTLA.

When the Janss Investment Co built its Janss Dome building at 1099 Westwood Blvd. A strikingly tall tower topped it, which lasted until either 1969 to 1977 (I found two dates.) I’d imagine it was quite a process to unbolt it from the building and lift it off with that crane.

The Janss Dome building was designated at Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1988, and is currently home to the Broxton Brewery & Public House. This image is from May 2024.

Looking north up Western Ave toward Griffith Park, Oct 20, 1924. Considering there are no lines on the road, traffic seems fairly orderly. I’m not sure what that object on the pole is in the middle of the intersection. I guess it’s some sort of device to control traffic?

Last night, I was watching RKO’s “Murder, My Sweet” (1944) and paused it at this early scene when Dick Powell gets out of his car because that amazing grill caught my eye. I wonder if it was made just for that shot in the movie? Or has anyone seeing this seen it on a real car?

In 1938, Judy Garland filmed "The Wizard of Oz" at MGM and also bought a plot of land at 1231 Stone Canyon Road, Bel Air, and hired famed architect Wallace Neff to design her home in which she would live with her family. All this while she was only 16 years old. (This photo 1940)

This is roughly how that view looked in February 2016. On my website you can see lots more photos of the house: wp.me/pgZAgz-cQn

Atmospheric night shot of Tiny Naylor’s first drive-in restaurant on the northwest corner of Sunset Blvd and La Brea Ave, Hollywood, 1949. There were around 8 Tiny Naylor drive-ins. Can’t you almost smell the burgers, coffee, cigarettes, and fries in this one?

This is roughly how that view looked in September 2025.

As the caption says, this is a photo of "Summer shacks on the beach - Santa Monica, Cal." I don’t have a specific date on it, but that large mansion on top of the hill is the Villa de Léon which was built in 1926, so I’m going to ballpark this as circa early 1920s?

I can’t duplicate the same angle as the 1920s photo, but this is how the Villa de Léon looked Pacific Coast Highway in September 2025.

Aerial view looking east across UCLA while the campus was under construction, Westwood, 1929. Only 5 buildings so far: Royce Hall, Powell Library, Haines Hall, Kinsey Hall, and the Bridge. But look at all that empty land. It must have been like driving through the countryside.

This is how UCLA looked from the air in January 2024.

Circa 1898 view of Mt Lowe Observatory (1894-1928) and Echo Mountain House hotel (1894-1900) atop Echo Mountain above Altadena, CA. As we can see, the 360° vistas from up there must have been remarkable.

Postcard showing the premiere of “Windjammer” at Grauman’s Chinese ahead of an astounding 37-week run in 1958. It was presented in an widescreen process called “Cinemiracle” which was a competitor to Cinerama. Does anybody remember seeing a movie in Cinemiracle?

A Union Pacific train awaits passengers at its station at 5480 Ferguson Dr. in Commerce, 1950. This was UP’s final stop before completing the last five miles into DLTA, which explains why it looks to be a very nice station with impressively detail decoration over the door.

The station still exists. Although it is longer used for passenger service, you can see (behind a fence) from Ferguson Dr. This image is from May 2025.

Someone in the Inglewood area of LA thought the law would be more efficient if an on-call judge could rush to the scene of the crime when an over-enthusiastic speed demon went over the limit and justice could be dispensed on the spot. This photo is from July 1926.

And the prize for Los Angeles’s Most Dramatic Ralphs Supermarket goes to this striking gem that once stood on the southwest corner of Buena Vista St and Victory Blvd in Burbank. This photo is circa 1963, when the Mid-Century aesthetic was in full flight.

There is still a Ralphs supermarket on that corner. Sadly, the mid-century one has been replaced with a far more conventional building. This image is from June 2025.