Vintage Photo Friday

1964 - Pico Boulevard, looking east toward Roxbury Drive, L.A.
photo from Mid-Century Modern & Historical Los Angeles of the 60's, 70's and 80's on FaceBook

My little corner of the world has changed a bit since 1964. I grew up about a block north of this intersection on South Bedford Drive, just inside the border of Beverly Hills.

You can see from the photo above that the Super Drugs was on the N/W corner of Pico and Roxbury; the Standard Gas Station on the N/E corner., next to Owens Market. Crocker Bank was on the S/W corner and Westwood Nursery & Plants was on the S/E corner, next to Reiss-Davis Center. The grass parkway and a bit of the lawn is visible of the apartment complex on the right side of the photo. As a newlywed, my first husband and I lived in this 4-block apartment. in the mid-70's. Just west of Super Drugs were a few more small buildings and the Ranch Hotel was to the west a bit. It had a western theme with this big wagon wheel in the front. The logo looked like this: rancHotel in 50's script. We always used to call it the rank hotel!

Below is a current picture from Google Maps. The Super Drugs is in a new building that also houses some UCLA Medical offices; the gas station is still there, but it's a 76 station now. Crocker Bank is now Chase Bank; Westwood Nursery is long gone. That corner and the Reiss-Davis Center are now part of the giant Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Ranch Hotel became a large office complex, housing a gym, restaurant, post office and more. One of the only businesses still there is Owens Market! In the distance on the north side of the street, you can also see the towering Beverly-Hillcrest Hotel, now called The Tower Beverly Hills Hotel. Amazing!

2010 - Pico Boulevard, looking east toward Roxbury Drive, L.A.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone and snap some photos of your surroundings for posterity!