Christmas Past

Favorite Christmas lights display from 2011 goes to this elaborate display in  Beverly Hills

Imposing Erections: Architectural Division

A moderne-style gas station in Beverly Hills, CA. Designed in 1965 by architect Gin Wong.
Seen in the 1975 film "Shampoo"

Terrific apartment building on Wilton and 5th Ave in Los Angeles, CA

The Capital Records Building on Vine Street Near Hollywood Blvd.
Built in 1956. Designed by Welton Beckett

Graumann's Chinese Theater
Hollywood, Ca

los Angeles City Hall
Built in 1928. Seen as "The Daily Planet" on the "Superman" TV series

Highland/HollywoodTower
Built in 1927

  Hollywood Blvd Building Near Western. Seen in the 1997 film "L.A. Confidential"

Christmas in California



Christmas decorations. Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Looking West.  1984

Somehat unimpressive daytime view of DWP Christmas Tree Lane Griffith Park/Los Feliz

Christmas Tree construction at Los Feliz Fountain at Griffith Park

 

Greeting Snowman.  DWP Christmas Tree Lane Griffith Park/Los Feliz

Celebrity Sightings

Even a she-beast has to watch her figure.
The Bride of Frankenstein considers her healthy food options at a Fresh and Easy market in Hollywood

Off-season Santa Claus abandons the cold of the North Pole and settles into a modest home in Hollywood. The newly installed satellite dish assures of an entertainment-filled downtime until December 25th!

Flipper: The Retirement Years

Lady Liberty's shorter (about 30 ft), fatter sister, lives in El Monte, California and can usually be seen outside of the city's Civic Center. If the weather is good.

One of the stars from ABC's hit 2011 TV show "Pan Am" was so excited at the show's unexpected leap in ratings, she literally jumped out of her costume. That moment is commemorated in this bus shelter ad in West Hollywood, Ca,

After the flop release of their debut film "Doctor Dolittle" in 1968, beloved Hollywood power-couple, The Pushmi-Pullyu, soon divorced. Here is Pushmi (or Pullyu) at his retirement home in Chowchilla, Ca.

A Life in The Theater

The Pantages Theater

The Pantages Theater. Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, CA

Ceiling detail of the Pantages lobby

Outer foyer of The Pantages Theater.

  The Wiltern Theater

The Wiltern Theater. Western and Wilshire Blvds. Los Angeles, CA

Ceiling detail from The Wiltern Theater lobby

The Orpheum Theater

The Orpheum Theater. Downtown Los Angeles, Ca.

Vintage sign above The Orpheum Theater

The Rainbow Connection

The Waldo Tunnel as it enters onto the Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco, CA. Rainbows were painted on the tunnel entrances in 1970.

Photo is from 1984.

Valley of the Barbie Dolls: To the Mathmos Edition

Number 2 in a series of original Barbie Doll art pieces by Los Angeles artist, Bruce Zwinge, paying tribute to Hollywood sex symbols.

Barbie as Barbarella (Jane Fonda)

Based on the sexy French comic book by Jean-Claude Forrest, the 1968 film "Barbarella" starred Jane Fonda as the space-age heroine. In this recreation of the iconic Jacques Fonteray costume Fonda wears during her trip to the Labyrinth, artist Bruce Zwinge captures all of the futuristic pop/60s details: gartered thigh boots, fringed-rear skirt, and provocatively placed energy box.

Zwinge reconfigured Barbie's hair into a mammoth 60s mane, and her makeup was redone (darker eyes, paler lips) to reflect Fonda's look in the film.

Artist Bruce Zwinge recreated Barbarella's space-age weaponry and wrist-bracelet tongue box

 Jane Fonda as Barbarella