Sunset Blvd 173 images Created 3 Oct 2019
Extending from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway, Sunset Blvd. joins the communities of Echo Park, Silverlake, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and the westside. The best-known section of Sunset Blvd is probably the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. From Harper Avenue to Sierra Drive, this portion of the street contains a premier collection of boutiques, restaurants, and nightclubs popular with the music and entertainment industry. Also known for its trademark array of huge, colorful billboards, the street has developed a reputation as a hangout for rock stars and entertainers. Historically outside of the Los Angeles city limits in an unincorporated area of the County, the area fell under the (perceived) less-vigilant jurisdiction of the Sheriff's Department rather than the LAPD. In the 1920s and 1930s, a number of nightclubs and casinos opened along the Strip, attracting celebrities and others to this less-restrictive entertainment area where gambling was legal. Glamour and glitz defined the Strip through the 1940s, as its renowned establishments like Ciro's, Mocambo, and Cafe Trocadero became a playground for the rich and famous. Other spots associated with Hollywood include the Garden of Allah Hotel (quarters for writers like Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, and F. Scott Fitzgerald) and Schwab's Pharmacy.
By the early 1960s, the Strip lost favor with the majority of movie people, but its restaurants and clubs continued to serve as an attraction for locals and out-of-town visitors. In the mid-1960s and 1970s, the street became a major gathering place for the counterculture and the scene of curfew riots in the summer of 1966. Bands like Van Halen, Motley Crue, Guns N' Roses, The Doors, The Byrds, and Frank Zappa played at clubs like the Whisky-A-Go-Go, The Roxy, Pandora's Box and the London Fog.
The 174 photographs in this collection provide a firsthand look at the storied boulevard and its establishments between 1906 and 1988.
By the early 1960s, the Strip lost favor with the majority of movie people, but its restaurants and clubs continued to serve as an attraction for locals and out-of-town visitors. In the mid-1960s and 1970s, the street became a major gathering place for the counterculture and the scene of curfew riots in the summer of 1966. Bands like Van Halen, Motley Crue, Guns N' Roses, The Doors, The Byrds, and Frank Zappa played at clubs like the Whisky-A-Go-Go, The Roxy, Pandora's Box and the London Fog.
The 174 photographs in this collection provide a firsthand look at the storied boulevard and its establishments between 1906 and 1988.
