I just discovered a post that Allison Martino (Martino's Time Machine/Vintage L.A.) wrote about three months ago:
8801 SUNSET STRIP
by Allison Martino
I've always been fascinated by the history of 8801 Sunset Blvd and Horn Ave.
Here's a 100 year old time line...
The timeline I have in post #58102 above for 8801 Sunset Blvd.:
• 1935-37: About this date Simon’s opens a sandwich stand here
• 1945: Dolores Drive-In opens here by this year
• 195?: Becomes Jack’s on the Strip drive-in
• 1970: demolished for Tower Records
Allison has this photo posted for what was located there in the 1920's:
Martino'sTimeMachine
Caption:
In the 1920's, 8801 Sunset Blvd was a dusty old structure that sold and repaired furniture called Venetian Studios. It looked like something straight out of the "Wild Wild West".
EDIT TO ADD: I also found this photo on the Dept. of Water & Power website. They have it dated as 1935 and the address as slightly west at 8811 Sunset Blvd.
Their source of the photo is the
USC Digital Libraries that has the same information. If the 1935 date is correct, Simon's was to have appeared at the 8801 address by then.
In the timeline this location was Dolores Drive-In by 1945. Allison has this photo of Dolores (posted previously on NLA at least once
HERE):
Martino'sTimeMachine
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Pal
I know [1114 Horn Ave.] was built as a Spanish style residence in 1932. In September of 1941 it opened as the Cafe Gala. No one's ever found a photo of it as either the Cafe Gala or the Spanish residence.
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Allison writes:
Check out Horn Ave. swooping down to Sunset Blvd. That building seen on upper right became Spago. In the 1950's, a Cuban restaurant occupied it and in 1961 it became Har-Omar. But it first started out as Cafe Gala, the very first gay bar in West Hollywood, graced with Cole Porter, Judy Garland, Cesar Romero, and where Bobby Short got his start. After Gala it was The St. Genesius.
Taking into "depth of focus" concerns, I'm not convinced the "building on the upper right" is the Café Gala, which it would have been when Dolores occupied that location. To me the building pointed out is up the road further than it should be, maybe. I don't know, what do you guys think? Are there any aerial photos available of this location?
The best I've discovered, the timeline for 1114 Horn Ave. aka 8795 Sunset Blvd. is:
1932: Spanish styled residence built (LoopNet has that date)
1941: Café Gala opens in September (John Walsh turned it into the Café Gala. He sold it to Jimmy Dolan in 1948 and it was open well into the 1950's.)
[Allison notes: In the 50's a Cuban restaurant occupied it. Har-Omar does not sound Cuban...?)
By 1957: Har-Omar and featured something exotic called "Cuisine Fantasia."
1966: There's an Ed Ruscha 1966 photo of this location as the St. Genesius.
By 1969: it was a Russian-Armenian restaurant called Kavkaz.
1982: Spago's
2001: vacant to present
Allison and my timelines need further info.