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May 2010

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Monday, May 17, 2010 – Into the Past

Light rain in Hollywood, and if you duck into a lobby at Hollywood and Vine to keep dry, it is 1923 again –

Broadway-Hollywood department store, built in 1927 - architect, Frederick Rice Dorn

This is the lobby of the Taft Building, built in 1923 on the southeast of Hollywood and Vine on the site of the old Memorial Church. It's by Walker and Eisen, a Renaissance Revival thing, and at all of twelve stories it was Hollywood's first skyscraper. In Hollywood's golden age all the studios had offices here, as did Charlie Chaplin and Will Rogers. From 1935 to 1945 the offices of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were here. Who knew?

Lobby of the Taft Building, built in 1923 on the southeast of Hollywood and Vine on the site of the old Memorial Church - Walker and Eisen
Lobby of the Taft Building, built in 1923 on the southeast of Hollywood and Vine on the site of the old Memorial Church - Walker and Eisen
Lobby of the Taft Building, built in 1923 on the southeast of Hollywood and Vine on the site of the old Memorial Church - Walker and Eisen

And across the street, the former Broadway-Hollywood department store, built in 1927, the work of architect Frederick Rice Dorn. In 1927, while researching "The Skyscraper" for DeMille Studios, Ayn Rand visited the building and, while waiting for her contact to arrive, went to the nearby Hollywood Branch Library – she was bored. But at the library she ran into an aspiring young actor she's been pursuing, Frank O'Connor. They married shortly after that. All corners of Hollywood have their stories.

Broadway-Hollywood department store, built in 1927 - architect, Frederick Rice Dorn

Also across the street from the Taft Lobby, the former Hollywood Plaza Hotel, built in 1924 and home to silent film star Clara Bow's "It Café." She was The It Girl, of course. But that was eight-six years ago
Hollywood Plaza Hotel, built in 1924 and home to silent film star Clara Bow's "It Café."

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, 2010 - Alan M. Pavlik

[May 2010] [Secondary Suns] [Asserting Identity] [Only the Odd] [Stuck on LA] [The Lot of Life] [LA Lust] [Hollywood Square] [Americana] [Self-Portraits] [American Power] [Industrial Might] [Valley Gateways] [Not a Banana] [This Neighborhood] [Good Light] [Art Dog] [In the Sky] [Just Hollywood] [Possibilities] [City Beat] [At Wave Crest] [Essential Venice] [Beach Faces] [Roadside] [Into the Past] [Mean Hollywood] [Street Scenes] [The Forgotten Indian] [Whims of the Rich] [Flame Tree] [On Being Hip] [From the Sky] [Being There] [Odd Peace] [No Peace] [From Top Down] [Shooting Blanks] [From Bay Street] [Fish Walls] [Image Management] [Beach Blooms] [LA Faceoff] [Everyday Hollywood] [A Hollywood Lift] [Memento Mori] [Objectification] [At Random] [Flower Field] [Nile Shadows] [Memorial Day]

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