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Photography

September 2009

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Friday, September 18, 2009 – Skyline Assembly

Just walking down the street in Hollywood, and looking down… and there were these instructions. One should always follow instructions.

Sidewalk stencil by the Panavision building in Hollywood - "Assemble the Skyline"

Some assembly already underway at the Outpost Building on Hollywood Boulevard –

Outpost Building on Hollywood Boulevard
Outpost Building on Hollywood Boulevard

Assembly completed in 1927 – the Hollywood First National Bank, on the northeast corner of Hollywood and Highland was built in 1927 – until 1932 the tallest building in Los Angeles. It was designed by the architectural firm Meyer and Holler, who also designed Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Egyptian Theater.

Hollywood First National Bank, 1927, Meyer and Holler

Yeah, Grauman's Chinese Theater, built over eighteen months, beginning in January 1926, and opened May 18, 1927 with the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille's film The King of Kings, back when films were silent.

Grauman's Chinese Theater, 1927, Meyer and Holler

Ah, the old Christie Hotel from 1922, Hollywood's first luxury hotel, built by two brothers from London, Ontario – in spite of being from the odd little corner of Canada, Charles and Al Christie became two of Hollywood's most powerful movie moguls at the time. The architect for their giant fancy hotel was Arthur R. Kelly, and Kelly made it look quite Canadian. The Scientology folks own it now and have restored it perfectly, and use it for their offices.

Christie Hotel, 1922, Arthur R. Kelly - 6724 Hollywood Boulevard
Christie Hotel, 1922, Arthur R. Kelly - 6724 Hollywood Boulevard

The El Capitan Theater opened in 1926 as "Hollywood's First Home of Spoken Drama" – with its Spanish Colonial exterior designed by Stiles O. Clements of the architectural firm of Morgan, Walls and Clements. The Disney folks have restored it, for movies. Live theater was never big in Hollywood. Citizen Kane had its premiere here, and when it later housed some CBS television studios, Nixon gave America his Checkers Speech from here. It's still scary.

El Capitan Theater, 6838 Hollywood Boulevard - detail of Spanish Colonial exterior designed by Stiles O. Clements of the architectural firm of Morgan, Walls and Clements, 1926
El Capitan Theater, 6838 Hollywood Boulevard - detail of Spanish Colonial exterior designed by Stiles O. Clements of the architectural firm of Morgan, Walls and Clements, 1926

And down the street there's the Pig and Whistle –

Façade at the Pig and Whistle, Hollywood Boulevard

Hey! It's Janus!

Janus frieze, Hollywood First National Bank, 1927, Meyer and Holler

If you're going to assemble a Hollywood skyline, you just have to have something like this –

Neon Wings and Stars, Hollywood Museum, Highland Avenue at Hollywood Boulevard

Now, at the 1922 Egyptian Theater, where the first real Hollywood World Premiere was "Robin Hood" – the silent one with Douglas Fairbanks and Wallace Beery – things have calmed down. This day it was cool lanterns for a small party

White curled lanterns and red tile roof - courtyard of the Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Boulevard
White curled lantern and red tile roof - courtyard of the Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Boulevard
The World - Hollywood Wall

If you wish to use any of these photos for commercial purposes I assume you'll discuss that with me. And should you choose to download any of these images and use them invoking the "fair use" provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976, please provide credit, and, on the web, a link back to this site.

Technical Note:

These photographs were taken with a Nikon D200 – the lenses used were AF-S Nikkor 18-70 mm 1:35-4.5G ED, or AF Nikkor 70-300 mm telephoto.  The high-resolution photography here was modified for web posting using Adobe Photoshop 7.0 software.

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All text and photos unless otherwise noted, Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 - Alan M. Pavlik 

[September 2009] [Straight from 1924] [Lower Heliotrope] [Answers] [Mean Hollywood] [Venice Town Hall] [On Capitalism] [Art Truck] [Shooting the Sun] [Extreme Orange] [Odd Studio] [Pole Postings] [Owl and Skunk] [Local Business] [An Intersection] [No Accidents] [Almost Heavenly] [Chewbacca Time] [Eye on Hollywood] [Ribbons] [Stay] [Spooky Lamps] [Didactic Art] [High Contrast] [City of Angels] [Big People] [Hollywood Roofs] [Starring Pigeons] [Since Forever] [Hollywood Protest] [Beach Beasts] [Strangest Show] [Doors and Windows] [The Last Hippie] [An Arrest] [Tourist Shots] [Skyline Assembly] [Yellows] [Swirls] [Axle Symmetry] [Roses] [Nightmare Hollywood] [Read the Sign] [Just Street Life] [Hollywood Glass] [Thoughts on Sunset] [As for Perfection] [Surrogates] [Just Too Hot] [At the Bowl] [Hollywood Grays] [Thick Air] [Hot Nature] [Serious Tacos] [Heartbreak] [Animal Art] [Political Statement] [Disobedience] [A Street Scene] [El Conquistador] [Heliotrope Drive] [Odd Palms] [Upward] [Watching You]