Dangcil - Hollywood, 1900-1950 in vintage postcards

PALM DRIVE IN HOLLYWOOD. In 1904, there were only three automobiles in the city. Many people used a horse and buggy in Hollywood in this mailed card from 1907. Hollywoods transportation infrastructure was key to the citys success. The same year this postcard was mailed, a railroad with passenger service half-hourly, was secured for a period of 40 years on Franklin Avenue. It wasnt long before the sight of horses was replaced with trolley cars and automobiles. (No publisher given)

HOLLYWOOD, SHOWING LOS ANGELES IN DISTANCE. Hollywood was full of opportunities at this time, c . 1905. Homes are scattered far apart on huge lots. Ranches and farms with lemon and orange groves can be seen in this card looking from the Hollywood Hills. Los Angeles can be seen in the distance past the numerous trees that line the fields. This is most likely from Laughlin Park, at the bottom of Griffith Park. (Published by M. Rieder)

MOUNTAIN DRIVES. Here is a view from the Hollywood Hills looking down towards Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in the center. Hollywood High School and the Hotel Hollywood can be seen in the middle of the card. Numerous homes, along with signs of a growing population of about 700 in 1905, are sprouting up in pockets of the city. (Published by M. Rieder)

A CALLA LILY FIELD IN CALIFORNIA. This is a wonderful view of several children in a calla lily field in 1905. Open fields were a common site in Hollywood at the turn of the century and flowers were always mentioned in early Hollywood pamphlets. Tourists of that time period were enthusiastic about seeing homes surrounded by flowers partly because of the popularity of French painter Paul DeLongpre. (Published by M. Rieder)

GIANT LILY IN JOHNSON GARDEN. Here are two children small enough to sit down and float around on a giant lily from the Amazon, otherwise known as a Leaf of Victoria Regia. Laughlin Park was host to sites like these; the Johnson family owned this particular garden. Because of Southern Californias sunshine, watering holes continue to be popular. The clothes worn by these children suggest weekend attire. (Published by M. Rieder)

GATHERING FLOWERS IN WINTERTIME. These two women are captured here gathering flowers in Hollywoods mild wintertime when the sun is most tolerable. Early century fashion is depicted in this 1908 mailed card with either Mt. Hollywood or Cahuenga Peak in the background and a small stream in the foreground. (Published by Newman Post Card Co.)

POND LILIES NEAR HOLLYWOOD. This is Edmund Sturtevants garden of water lilies at his home near Franklin and Western Avenue, which was in a section of Hollywood called Laughlin Park (now Los Feliz). Sturtevants Cahuenga Water Gardens included rare species from South America, Japan, and Egypt, and was one of the points of interest along the Pacific Electrics car line beginning in 1909. (Published by Newman Post Card Co.)

BANANA TREES ON GENERAL OTIS ESTATE NEAR HOLLYWOOD. General Otis was the editor of the Los Angeles Times and an investor in the Los Angeles Pacific Boulevard and Development Company. He lived in Laughlin Park and along with Edmund Sturtevants, Otis home was a point of interest along the Pacific Electrics car line. (Published by The American News Company)

LEMON GROVE, NEAR HOLLYWOOD. Hollywood was not only known for beautiful flowers, but equally prevalent were the farms that provided turn-of-the-century industry. Lemon growing became so successful that in 1897 a large packinghouse was built at the southeast corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Cahuenga for the Cahuenga Valley Lemon Association. This lemon grove site is most likely located in Colegrove (South Hollywood). (Published by M. Rieder)

A PINEAPPLE FIELD IN CALIFORNIA. Here, a farmer looks over his field in the early stages of pineapples growing row after row. Mr. J.B. Rapp raised pineapples, tomatoes, and dates on his farm on Franklin Avenue and Beachwood. In 1889, the Cahuenga Valley Growers united and formed the Farmers League of Cahuenga Township because of the increased demand for vegetables and semi-tropical fruits in Los Angeles and San Francisco. (Published by M. Rieder)