Travel back in time with Daveland to Hollywood's famed Sunset Boulevard, circa 1957. In this first image, you can see The Chateau Marmont on the left (still kickin'!) and The Garden of Allah on the right (bulldozed for a lousy strip mall).
This detailed view zeroes in on the Chateau, with the 6th Floor Penthouse suite visible on the right:
This detailed view shows a ginormous revolving Las Vegas showgirl statue that advertised the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from 1957-1966. She was eventually replaced by a Marlboro Man Billboard.
Across the street in 1961, this Bullwinkle and Rocky statue (inspired by the short-lived Vegas Showgirl) was unveiled by Jayne Mansfield for the opening of the Jay Ward offices. The statue was removed last summer for a much needed refurbishment. Hope it comes back soon!
Back to our initial image, here's a detailed view of the Garden of Allah hotel:
For a front view of the hotel, here's an image from the USC digital archives:
Down the street a bit is the Sunset Tower, seen in this 1957 view:
Gotta' zoom in for a detailed view of the vintage cars:
Today, the Sunset Tower is still in operation (albeit with a few name changes along the way).
I guess 2 out of 3 survivors isn't too bad for Hollywood!
See more vintage & current Chateau Marmont photos on my main website.
Fascinating! Where do you find these gems? KS
ReplyDeleteBTW...what's become of the building in pic 1...upper right? Love the billboard advertising Jai Alai. Bet that was in Tijuana.
ReplyDeleteThat beautiful spinning sex symbol in front of the MARMONT can be seen in a vintage trailer preview for MYRA BREKINRIDGE, the movie, on youtube. JUst look under 'Myra Brekinridge trailer (1970). It is a quick shot in the beginning of the trailer. This is also one of my all time favorite movies. It is available on Netflix. HAPPY NEW YEAR
ReplyDeleteTO ANONYMOUS, the building in pic 1 is still there and is as beautiful today as it ever was. It is located on Cresent Heights Blvd, just south of Sunset.
ReplyDeleteIn the first two photos in the upper left hand corner…isn't that Googie's Coffee Shop?
ReplyDeleteThanks Mike
ReplyDeleteKS - It is through diligent searching...and I'll leave it at that. I'll try to photograph the Crescent Heights building next time I'm up in LA. Mike - I believe Gore Vidal said that spinning statue gave him nightmares!
ReplyDeleteMartin - Yes, that is Googie's, which was bulldozed in '89.
I wish it was still there. now there is a giant beer bottle there, looks stupid and tacky. Martin Pal, that is Googie's. I would have lunch there in the early 70's. A few doors down the street, on Sunset, was the famous Schwab's Pharmacy. The legend is that Lana Turner was discovered there. The fact that holds more truth is that she was discovered across the street from Hollywood High School, on Highland Ave, in a café, or ice cream parlor. I don't know the name of the place.
ReplyDeleteMike - I believe it was the Top Hat Malt Shop.
ReplyDeleteBINGO, we have a winner. I believe that is it.
ReplyDelete