Hollywood Then and Now - February 2020

I am a huge fan of silent movie comedian/actor Harold Lloyd.   Back in the 1920s, the growing city of Los Angeles was one big studio lot for him.   It was not uncommon to see cameras and your favorite stars shooting out on the streets among everybody else.   

For instance, take a look at the legendary image from "Safety Last."   Now Harold wasn't really hanging high above the street.   There was some trick photography.   But this was all done outside without the benefit of...gasp...special computerized effects.

So what's the point of this?  Well, I happened to learn that a spot less than one  quarter mile from my apartment was the site of Harold Lloyd's film studio.

This studio was called the Harold Lloyd ranch and it was massive as seen in this photo from the 1930s.  How sparse is everything around this lot.   Look up at the top of the picture and you can see the steeple of what is still the Fox Westwood theater.   Thank God nobody has torn that down.

So what happened to Harold Lloyd's movie lot?

Well, eventually, all of the land was sold to the Latter Day Saints and they constructed the huge temple you see in this photograph.

Again, all of this is simply a stone's throw from my home.   

Hollywood and its environs change one more time.

Dinner last night:  Had a big lunch so just a salad.