Guarenteed to blow your mind. Take a ride down Sunset Strip in 1964. Do you recognize anything? Do the Largo club and Villa Nova look familiar? I bet they do because today they are better known as The Roxy and the Rainbow. But they still looked incredble and colorful in 1964.
Now headed the opposite direction in the evening.
That was just the tip of the ice berg. Below are incredible gems I discovered years back on a project I was producing. Sunset Blvd in 1967! I believe this footage was shot for the MOD SQAUD. Gorgeous colorful day time shots of Dino's Lodge, The Plush Pup, The Sea Witch, Belinda Boutique, The Jay Ward Shop, the Fifth Estate coffee shop, Lyn Savings, and Padora's box to just name a few in this mind bending footage. I discovered this footage from a footage house called, PRODUCERS LIBRARY many years ago. I highly recommend checking them out for any projects that relate to this time.
Sunset driving east from Holloway to Crecsent Heights
I saw a link to this on Twitter and thought you might be interested in looking up Ed Ruscha's work. He lived in the area from the early 1960's to the 1980's I think. We just saw his exhibit at the Fort Worth Modern Art Museum. He made a book from photos he took with a camera mounted on a car around 1964. He shot the elevations of all the buildings on both sides of W. Sunset Strip early on a Sunday morning. The book reproduces them so you have both sides of the street. You get a better view of the fascades in elevation with his work.
ReplyDeleteThat is probably my favorite picture book of all time. I spent a pretty penny for it a while back. These vidoes do remind me of that book coming to life. :)
ReplyDeleteEd Ruscha's Book, EVERY BUILDING ON THE SUNSET STRIP is probably my favorite picture book ever. And I paid a pretty penny for it a few years back. These clips are like the book coming to life! :)
ReplyDeleteMy Dad was Allen Dale, owner of the Villa Nova. What great memories.
ReplyDeleteJim Dale
Newport Beach
I have vivid memories of the funky yet glamorous Sunset Strip when I was a young girl of elementary school age; in 1967, I was eight years old. My parents and I would drive the length of The Strip (from Crescent Heights traveling west) in order to get to The Bistro in Beverly Hills, Thank you for these wonderful videos; they revive the most delightful memories!
ReplyDeleteAlison: The last of the videos above (2:48) captures a scene of great interest to Criminal Procedure professors. The bank of phone booths shown at :49-:51 is very likely the scene of some government eavesdropping that led to an important United States Supreme Court case back in the mid-1960s. I explain at http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2011/12/the-phone-booths-in-katz-v-united-states.html. Thanks so much for posting this!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteFascinated by the Pandora's Box footage. I assume this was just prior to demolition. For some reason it has been very difficult to find any photos of Pandora's Box on the internet.
ReplyDeleteVery Cool really enjoyed it. Kinda sad L.A. is just one opf those places that seems to lose it's landmarks and memories.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting these! I came across your site from a friend's post on FB and came to look at your blog. The footage of Sunset Blvd. in the 1960s is GREAT! I always wanted to know where Pandora's Box was, and reading the descriptions I just couldn't picture it being there on the little island at Sunset & Crescent Heights, but the video showed it clear as day.
ReplyDeleteAlison Brown call me. Love ZERO
ReplyDeleteAlison Brown call me. Love ZERO
ReplyDeleteHey girl
ReplyDeleteIn the 1960s I lived on Carol Drive off of Sunset Blvd. just west of Doheny. Rented the whole upper floor of a house with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, a dining room, kitchen, a den and living room. Paid $200 a month and I thought that was steep. That was a great era for LA but all that has changed now and not for the better. I am so sad. Loved it.
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