Category Archives: San Fernando Valley

The Floods

Posted on January 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 9-10, 1907 The worst storm in 23 years blew across Southern California with the force of a gale, dumping more than an inch of rain in Pasadena, killing an Orange County … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Studio City Motels, Then and Now

Posted on January 8, 2018 by lmharnisch

  The Carlton Motor Lodge, via Google Street View. The evolution of a community can often be acknowledged through the types of businesses along its main streets. Simple buildings from its days as an unpretentious neighborhood or small town often … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 20, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. I picked up “The Big Picture,” Melba Levick and Stanley Young’s 1988 book about Los Angeles murals, not realizing what a terribly sad book it would be. As Young notes: “Most artists … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Eaton’s Rancho

Posted on December 18, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2012. The area of Los Angeles now known as Studio City was mainly farm and ranch land up into the late 1920s, when investors founded the Studio City Business District and decided to … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Studio City Goes to the Dogs

Posted on September 25, 2017 by lmharnisch

  Matchbook courtesy of Mary Mallory. Pets bring happiness to people’s lives, giving unconditional love and support, truly man’s best friend. From the beginning of time, pets have served an integral part of people’s lives, shown off and treated as … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood’s ‘Five-Finger Plan’ Aids Traffic in the 1920s-30s

Posted on July 17, 2017 by lmharnisch

  A postcard of the Cahuenga Pass showing the cross erected in 1923 in memory of Christine Witherill Stevenson, one of the prime movers in establishing the Hollywood Bowl. Listed on EBay for $6.50. Throughout the history of Los Angeles, … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Second Universal City Celebrates Its Centennial

Posted on March 20, 2017 by lmharnisch

Universal City in the Washington Times, Feb. 10, 1915. Note: This is an encore post from 2015. In an age where businesses come and go, bought up by larger competitors or going under due to bad financial decisions, finding one … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Edward A.D. Christopher Home Witnesses History

Posted on February 6, 2017 by lmharnisch

  The Edward A.D. Christopher home, photograph by Mary Mallory. With the speed of change in technology, transportation, and society, it’s often amazing that something historic survives. The Edward A. D. Christopher home at 11015 Aqua Vista Street in Studio … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: North Hollywood Department Stores Appeal to Common Man

Posted on November 21, 2016 by lmharnisch

  Rathbuns enlarges its Baby Shop for new generation of Baby Boomers, Van Nuys News, March 8 1951. As a city or community grows more prosperous, so does its retail establishments. Simple businesses with few choices of product give way … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 4418 Vineland Ave., Yesterday and Today, Part 2

Posted on October 17, 2016 by lmharnisch

4418 Vineland Ave. in an undated photo, courtesy of Mary Mallory.   Two years can bring changes in life, whether to a person or building, and not always for the better. I wrote about the history of 4418 Vineland Ave. … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Two Chinese Restaurants in Studio City

Posted on August 1, 2016 by lmharnisch

A matchbook cover for Rickshaw Boy, Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Graphics, films, advertisements, music – all demonstrate values and cultures of the time and place in which they were created. Words, phrases, or images considered acceptable at that time can … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Hollywood Country Club

Posted on July 25, 2016 by lmharnisch

Editor’s note:  Mary will be giving a presentation on “Studio City Before the Studio: An Afternoon of Local History” on July 30 at 3 p.m. at the Studio City branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, 12511 Moorpark St. This post … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Parks, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: First National Studios, Now Warner Bros., Turns 90

Posted on June 6, 2016 by lmharnisch

  An aerial view of First National Studios in Burbank, Motion Picture News, 1926.   First National Studios, now known as Warner Bros. Studios, celebrates its 90th birthday on June 15, 2016. Basic construction was completed on the original studio … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Little Brown Church in the Valley

Posted on March 7, 2016 by lmharnisch

Photo: Republic Studios President Herbert Yates marries Vera Hruba Ralston in 1952. Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: The death of former First Lady Nancy Reagan has renewed interest in the Little Brown Church, where she and Ronald Reagan were married … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Republic Pictures Honors ‘The Little Girl With the Golden Heart’

Posted on February 1, 2016 by lmharnisch

Mabel Normand in a Hartsook portrait, courtesy of Mary Mallory.     Hollywood’s public acts of charity often come with an ulterior motive. Such is the case with Republic Picture’s magnanimous naming of its gigantic new sound stage in December … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: The Case of the Clicking Heels, Part 2

Posted on November 16, 2015 by lmharnisch

  Hazel Glab In later life as Hazel Stoddard This is Part 2 of the story of Hazel Glab, flamboyant flapper, whose husband, John, died under mysterious circumstances June 18, 1928, at 12744 Ventura Blvd., in Studio City. Murder charges … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Roy Harlow’s Pump Room Fills Up Studio City Residents

Posted on October 5, 2015 by lmharnisch

A postcard of Roy Harlow’s Pump Room, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Ventura Boulevard has been the dining and entertainment mecca of Studio City residents back to 1927, when the area was still part of North Hollywood. Originally a main highway … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: The Zulu Hut – Studio City’s First Programmatic Architecture

Posted on September 7, 2015 by lmharnisch

  The Zulu Hut, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Thanks to California’s inventive motion picture industry, eccentric, eye-catching examples of vernacular architecture took off in the 1920s. Though around for decades, vernacular or programmatic architecture hit its stride in the 1920s … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 4269 Lankershim Blvd: Evolution of an Address

Posted on July 27, 2015 by lmharnisch

Club Indigo matchbook courtesy of Mary Mallory. While some proprietorships remain in business for decades at one address, most often, occupancy at the site frequently changes due to economic and cultural cycles. Following owners usually continue in the same vein … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music, Nightclubs, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Second Universal City Celebrates Its Centennial

Posted on March 16, 2015 by lmharnisch

Universal City in the Washington Times, Feb. 10, 1915. In an age where businesses come and go, bought up by larger competitors or going under due to bad financial decisions, finding one in business for decades and at the same … Continue reading →

Posted in 1915, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments