ON A CAROUSEL

Located near the Griffith Park Zoo and said to have been Walt Disney's inspiration for building Disneyland, the Griffith Park merry-go-round was built in 1926 (it was originally located at the Mission Beach Amusement Center in San Diego, but was moved to Griffith Park in 1937). The ornate carousel has 68 horses and contains a Military Band Organ that plays more than 1,500 songs. 

FACE-LIFTED FACADES

These Hollywood buildings are still standing, just no longer as the business pictured here.

The Ivar Theater on Ivar St. between Hollywood and Sunset Blvd - photo 1980
Opened in 1951 as a legitimate theater. Turned to a burlesque house in the mid-'70s.
Adjacent to it on the right is the old Hollywood Branch Library, which was torn down in 1985. In 2002 the facade of the Ivar was renovated and space operated by the California Youth Theater.

Hollywood Blvd Chicken Delight 

Morgan Camera Shop on Sunset Blvd near Vine

WINGING IT

Giant paper airplanes in Downtown Los Angeles' Grand Park 

Mesh-fabric paper airplanes serve as a shade structure in the Olive Court area overlooking City Hall

The winning choice in a design competition, the 11 enormous paper airplanes are the work of 

Elenita Torres and Dean Sheriff, and were unveiled in the park in September of 2016

UP ON THE ROOF

On the occasion of the 88th Annual Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theater on Hollywood & Highland on February 28, 2016, the iconic dinosaur perched atop the roof of Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium  donned a top hat and tie. Since 2014 the popular curiosity museum has been dressing the rooftop dinosaur in seasonal attire (surfboard and sunglasses for summer, Santa Suit, horns and pitchfork for Halloween).

The enormous marquee at the Highland/Hollywood complex housing the Dolby Theater. Chris Rock was the Oscar host that year

 This is what comes of taking photos and leaving them in your camera for six months.  A Hollywood restaurant whose name escapes me features a swordfish (shark?) crashed through its roof .

HOLLYWEIRD SCIENCE

Exterior of the Science Building at Hollywood High School on Sunset and Highland

THE LAST MOVIE HOUSE

The Sierra Theater, Chowchilla, Ca.
The Sierra Theater was the larger (474 seats) of two motion picture houses in the small town of Chowchilla. Built in 1941, the Sierra Theater closed in the mid to late '70s, but stood, abandoned until it was demolished in 2006. As you can see in the last B&W photo, there used to be an outdoor ticket booth.
The first three photos were taken by me in 1997. My partner was born and raised in Chowchilla, as was his father, who, as a teen, worked at the Sierra Theater.
The last to photos were found on the site Cinema Treasures

Rear view of the Sierra Theater

 

Cinema Treasures

THE MAGIC KINGDOM

I haven't visited in ages, but no blog devoted to California Koo Koo would be complete without a trip to Anaheim's primary attraction, Disneyland.