Nostalgic Drive


Have you ever looked at your neighborhood and wondered how it may have looked twenty, thirty, or fifty years ago?  Well, I do... ALL THE TIME. In fact I take it to another level -  I fantasize about time travel. (Midnight in Paris... anyone???)

Van Nuys Blvd. 1912 
Looking up historic photos is not only a hobby of mine its a full on obsession. I enjoy looking at them and imagining how it must have been to actually live in that time.

My time travel musings are amplified by my current neighborhood. You see, I live near the L. A. River which is an exponent of classic Film Noir movies...

Photo of Drag Race at the L.A. River - 1950's
Currently I live in Studio City but it was originally Toluca Lake (and depending on the GPS its still listed as such).

This photo shows the area in 1936. 
Toluca Lake - 1936
These street lamps were installed in the 30's and 40's and they still line the streets today. Most of the houses (their exteriors at least) are all original as well. 


1940 Census Report
I am so enamored with my current stomping grounds that I immersed myself in old census reports; and you know what I found?  The demographics in the 1940 Census are eerily similar to the present day - this neighborhood was filled with writers, police officers, editors, gaffers and actors. These actors weren't "marquee names" but they were working. After searching Imdb I became acquainted with many forgotten actors like:  Frosty Royce, Norman Willis (I), and Wallis Clark who is only one of four people to have appeared in Five Best Picture Oscar winners (Btw, Wallis Clark lived just up the street from me).

If you have the time here's a full length movie Wallis Clark appeared in. The movie is called "The World Gone Mad" it was released in 1933 and is about a district attorney and a reporter trying to find the killer of a D.A. who uncovered a massive stock fraud. (Does this plot sound familiar?)




                                Ventura Boulevard

Studio City 1954 Ventura & Laurel Canyon 

But really, wouldn't it be great to go back in time - Wouldn't you like to do that?  I guess I should also add one caveat - I would like to travel back in time but I want to go there with the knowledge of the future  - so I could fully relish the moment.

Ventura Blvd 1960   

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