Vintage Postcards
Then and Now
The archive contains nearly 1000 postcards, the majority of them being about California, leaning heavily toward regional places of interest that appeal to me; motels, coffee shops, and restaurants. One of the joys and disappointments of researching their history is discovering what remains. It’s understandable that for most places, very little does — too much time has elapsed, and inevitable development has replaced the past.
Many of these present day scenes are unrecognizable from their early counterparts — barely a hint of their past, the people, the stories. Nothing. And some have merely been cloaked in thoughtless corporate makeovers. Some are parking lots or strip malls.
Some of the “now” scenes were picked for aesthetics, either because the structure was blocked by a bus or an excess of foliage. It’s also possible the building in question no longer exists.
The charming ACAPULCO MOTOR HOTEL in West Los Angeles appeared sometime around 1951, and advertised they were "near everything beautiful". The demise came around the late 1970s. After demolition, the site was used as a Christmas tree lot until the entire space on Wilshire and Barrington became a massive office complex.
ACAPULCO MOTOR HOTEL
11737 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
ALVARADO PALMS HOTEL
931 South Alvarado Street, Los Angeles CA 90006
Dating back to the mid-1920s, the site was an array of stucco apartments or housing. The Westlake neighborhood structure was modernized around 1954 as a new motel with 12 units. By 1959, the building took shape as the Alvarado Palms and still stands.
Owing to a severe shortage of decent and safe rental housing, the 23-unit Alvarado Palms was part of the 2006 Los Angeles Housing Department's residential hotel unit conversion ordinance.
ANDRE’S STEAK HOUSE
8532 Sepulveda Blvd, North Hills, CA 91343
Diners looking for a spot of Peruvian Swordfish or Pacific Lobster did the right thing and headed to Andre’s.
Formerly the site of a produce store, the Valley spot had been in business since 1957. After closing around 1970, the site reopened in 1974 as “Dirty Pierre's - The Largest Jazz Club in the Valley”.
A year later, the venue became Wildwood Country ("Anyone on horseback will be admitted free"), and then Arches nightclub, where patrons had the chance to watch live sports on an 8 square foot color TV.
By 1992, the Van Nuys hotspot hosted exotic amateur dance contests under the name Oddball Cabaret. Two years later, it was simply a gentleman's club known as The Ball ($1000 cash prize for topless dance contest).
The place appears to be still in operation (presumably horses are turned away) and is situated next door to BJ Auto Body Shop… you can’t make this stuff up.
Built in 1961, the Pasadena establishment also went by the Arroya Sojourn Inn. The Arroyo Inn included a convention hall, restaurant and a piano and organ bar called the Matador Room.
A fire in 1974 damaged parts of the property, which soon after became a Comfort Inn. A major renovation took place in 2003 and while virtually unrecognizable, currently operates as The Pasadena Inn, under the Green Tree hospitality umbrella.
ARROYO MOTOR INN
400 South Arroyo Parkway, Pasadena CA 91105
ASTRO MOTEL
326 East Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles CA 91205
Glendale's first downtown motel was built in 1963. Each of the 40 units came with a TV, air- conditioning, and futuristic custom-made furnishings. The motel was operated by AstroMotels — a Glendale-based chain that operated properties in Blythe, Santa Rosa, and Arizona.
Parts of the original structure exist, and after doing business as the Glen Capri Inn and Suites, is now the upscale Xilo Hotel.
Built by National Autolodge Corporation in 1955, this was a fairly standard operation with free TV and air-conditioning. By the early 1970s, new owner Don Leon, a Hollywood attorney and adult motel pioneer, took his cue from a Japanese business model by adding waterbeds, mirrored luxury, and the ability to watch X-rated movies in bed. The rebranded motel became The Experience.
A stone's throw from the recently-opened Los Angeles Convention Center, the saucy motel appealed to groovy couples and business groups. The good times lasted until the late 1980s, and one of the last hurrahs for the seedy joint was appearing in the 1987 film Less than Zero — room 12 to be exact.
The downtown Los Angeles spot fell victim to rapid development in the mid-1990s and The Experience become a parking lot. A second location in Sacramento met its own fate in 2007 when the city purchased and then demolished the offending motel.
AUTOLODGE OLYMPIC
930 West Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90015
West LA’s version of Park La Brea, the new $14M Barrington Plaza was announced in 1958. Built around a central plaza, the bold, four-unit project comprised three luxury high-rise buildings, and an office building. The building was designed by architect Phillip J. Daniel (d. 1972), founding partner of Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall.
Parking for almost 800 vehicles would be provided on two levels beneath the plaza. At the time, the site was considered a blighted area… an eyesore of dilapidated buildings, run-down houses, and chicken coops.
Referred to as the largest apartment complex west of New York, the massive urban renewal project was developed by Ben Deane (d. 2005) and Louis Lesser Enterprises. The Plaza was bought by tycoon Ben Weingart (d. 1982), whose property holdings also included the city of Lakewood and its shopping center, to the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
Ready to house 2500 people, the crowning achievement in luxury living opened in January 1962, and came equipped with tip-top touches; uniformed doormen, valets, shopping complex, all-electric kitchens, and its very own Diamond Jim restaurant and cocktail lounge. In addition, the subterranean garage doubled as a fully stocked fallout shelter.
Normally touting its smog-free community, the Plaza suffered fire damage on New Years Eve in 1971, apparently caused by a Christmas tree catching fire in a unit on the fourth level of its tallest building.
In the wake of the blaze that took out the elevators, the building’s management offered a relay system to deliver packages; residents could simply phone in their orders to the lobby and a doorman would purchase the items. Employees stationed on every fifth floor would deliver the goods.
Fortunately, there was a Market Basket on the corner of Wilshire and Granville. The location closed in 1980 and was replaced in 1987 by the Landmark II highrise.
Additional troubles were ahead when the Plaza came under the radar of City Attorney Ira Reiner in 1983 for rent gouging, stemming from a number of tenants claiming their rent increased beyond the allowable seven per cent rate. Rents at the time ranged from $400 to $800 a month. Tenants were later awarded restitution in the amount of $100,000, plus a partial rollback of their 1980 rent.
Hoping to attract out of state faculty, UCLA expressed an interest in acquiring the prestigious apartment complex in 1984, now solely owned by Weingart’s partner, real estate investor, Len Friedman.
In the mid-1990s, plans for another high-rise building to be constructed on the corner of Wilshire and Barrington were met with disapproval from a coalition of locals and mostly elderly Plaza tenants. The 28-story structure would have required razing a two-story commercial property (which remains in tact).
The Plaza (then the 10th largest apartment complex in the city) was purchased by Douglas Emmett for close to $100M in 1998. Fifteen years later, a second fire broke out, this time on the 11th floor of a 25-story high-rise (Tower A). The building did not have a sprinkler system.
Given the building’s age, the Plaza didn’t fall under state regulations (later adopted) that buildings taller than 75 feet include fire-suppressant systems, unless granted an exemption. The much-maligned apartment complex sparked a tenant lawsuit that dragged on for years.
After a third fire in 2020, owner Doulas Emmet evicted the residents for a sprinkler upgrade. Tenants were removed under the Ellis Act, a state law that allows landlords to remove tenants from rent-controlled apartments if their building is taken off the rental market.
BARRINGTON PLAZA, WEST LOS ANGELES
11740 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
In 1958, Joseph Bulasky opened the Beverly Crest, a modern hotel designed by architects Palmer & Krisel. The hotel boasted the trendy Venetian Room lounge. Bulasky, a seasoned restaurateur famous for his Coffee Dan coffee shops and Diamond Jim's restaurant franchise, went on to establish the Beverly Hillcrest Hotel five years later. Furthermore, he collaborated with Yale Wexler to manage the Wilshire House in Beverly Hills.
Bulasky went on to form Associated Hotels around 1970, which comprised of The Century House, Portofino Room, Smuggler’s Inns, Westlake Inn, Ponderosa, and Bentley’s Steak and Chop House.
The Beverly Crest became the Beverly Inn around 1996, five years after Joe Bulasky passed away.
BEVERLY CREST HOTEL
125 South Spalding Drive, Beverly Hills CA 90212
Known as “Beverly’s biggest little hotel”, the Burton Way Hotel opened around 1941 and was owned by vaudevillian Ed Lowry — who sold the place in 1962. In his 2007 book Supermob, author Gus Russo includes a passage on Al Capone’s lawyer, Abe Teitelbaum,
After his brief prison stint, Teitelbaum stayed in California, where he lived in the $2.50 a night Burton Way Hotel, sharing a kitchen with twenty other forlorn men. Teitelbaum dies in 1980.
The hotel was swarmed by fire crews in 1964 when one guest slashed his wrists, ingested pills, and lighter fluid, passed out, and found his bed on fire. He was taken to Los Angeles County General.
Despite a remodel in the mid-1970s, developers Arnold and Severyn Ashkenazy opened the luxury European-style hotel L'Ermitage on the site in late 1976. The hotel was not connected to the famed La Cienega restaurant of the same name, which was opened in 1975 by Jean Bertanou. The eatery closed in 1991.
By 1985, when the new hotel received its first upgrade, the Polish-born Ashkenazy was behind a number of other hotels; Le Bel Age, Le Mondrian, Le Dufy, Le Parc, Le Reve, and Le Valadon.
The hotel, officially known as L’Ermitage Beverly Hills was sold in 1993 to a New York investment for a cool $12M.
BURTON WAY HOTEL
9293 Burton Way, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Known for its Southern fried chicken, the company was founded by Julius Davidson around 1923. Starting with a location on Melrose Avenue, they expanded throughout the Southland.
In 1955, Davidson opened a food shop at Farmer’s Market, as well as the very modern Jr Coffee Shop on La Brea. Built by architects Armet & Davis, the coffee shop offered round-the-clock service and was refurbished in 1966 to accommodate “booths only” dining.
In her book, Written in Stone. Making Cecil B. DeMille's Epic The Ten Commandments, author Katherine Orrison writes,
The Carolina Pines Coffee Shop on the corner of Sunset and La Brea was the hangout during these years. What it had that Schwabb’s Drug Store didn’t were two long phone banks just made for young, struggling actors.
People met, gossiped, hung out by the phones (giving casting agents a Carolina Pines public phone number as their own), ate fried, chicken and drank lots and lots of coffee.
A family restaurant chain in every sense, the coffee shop was run by the founder’s sons, Stanley and Marvyn — who also created the Fireside Inn Restaurant.
Another location at Vermont and 6th opened in 1961, followed by Encino four years later. Acquired by Hyatt in 1969.
In 1972, the La Brea restaurant became the Copper Penny coffee shop. Run by International Industries, the family-friendly chain had over a dozen locations including Wilshire, Hollywood, Glendale, Norwalk, and Van Nuys. The parent company also operated International House of Pancakes, and Orange Julius.
The entire corner was razed in 1986, two years after Tiny Naylor’s drive-in restaurant was demolished across the street.
CAROLINA PINES JR. COFFEE SHOP
1518 North La Brea Los Angeles CA 90028
CLOUD MOTEL
3400 West Third Street, Los Angeles CA 90020
New in town and looking for a place to stay? THE CLOUD MOTEL was just the ticket. Located near 3rd and Vermont, the 1958 motel was hailed as "L.A.'s largest ultra-modern hotel".
Not surprisingly, the Cloud Motel changed hands over the years and fell into serious disrepair.
In December 1977, two men were arrested after an employee of the motel reportedly saw a man carrying a woman out of a room wrapped in a blanket (no word if the motel charged for that item). Police initially labeled it a copycat crime based on the Hillside Strangler.
Regardless, the entire lot was demolished in 2011 and reborn as the Camino Nuevo Charter Academy — in what is now Koreatown.
The 14-unit Don Lowell had been around since the early 1940's and had ties to Hollywood. In 1953, the complex was sold for $110,000 to James Whale — and longtime companion David Lewis, director of the 1932 classic, Freaks.
By 1960, along with another motel that existed at this site (the Malone Motel at 12051), everything was demolished, making way for a “major shopping center”.
The site is currently occupied by Ralph's.
DON LOWELL MOTEL
12059 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90025
While the surrounding area has rapidly grown, the 1963 motel still stands. Today it's the TraveLodge Convention Center. The French Gothic building in the background is the Villa Riviera, which remains untouched — though converted to condos in 1991.
DOWNTOWN TRAVELODGE
80 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach CA 90802
The 1960 Westlake area motel was another in the TraveLodge chain. During its time as Budget Inn, the modest motel was the scene of an early morning drug raid in May 1989.
According to local newspapers, officers observed cocaine dealing from one of the rooms, attempted entry with a search warrant, and after being denied entry, smashed the door and were met with gunfire. The result; one dead dealer and two suspects wounded.
The downtown hostelry currently offers free breakfast as the new Hotel Solaire.
L.A. DOWNTOWN TRAVELODGE
1710 West 7th Street, Los Angeles CA 90017
Formerly the site of a Ford Motors dealership, the Travelodge opened in 1950 on the old State Route 134. The corner spot changed hands in the late 1970s. More recently, the 2-story, L-shaped motel became a Welcome Inn.
EAGLE ROCK TRAVELODGE
1840 Colorado Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90041
Owner Thomas F. Barton opened the Farmer's Daughter Motel on the site of small store owned by Marie Maxey (demolished in 1961).
Located across from CBS TV City, the hotel opened in late 1962, with design handled by Verge and Clatworthy. Guests could enjoy steaks and cocktails in the adjacent City Slicker Room.
Best Western took over around 1970 and by the mid-1980s, the City Slicker had been revamped as a “blend of New York’s Upper East Side and the relaxed comfort of Los Angeles.” — followed two years later by French eatery, Pigalle.
In the 1990s, the diminutive and painfully hip Olive (formerly “Tiny’s”), was opened by Sean MacPherson. The spot would later become Tart.
After a period of mediocrity, developer Rick Caruso opened the popular tourist spot The Grove across the street, and much of south Fairfax had changed. The Farmer's Daughter was refurbished.
Actor Billy Gray (not the guy from Father's Knows Best) opened a nightclub at 123 N. Fairfax called Band Box.
FARMER’S DAUGHTER MOTEL
115 South Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90027