Thank you,
HossC! I even remember that image that
FredH posted...I can't imagine how I missed the Shane Building looming right there in the middle of the picture. I think I was fixated on the Supply Sergeant.
In my own search, I came across the following image at LAPL, which is rather absurdly dated 1955:
LAPL
It's captioned "Looking east on Hollywood Boulevard," presumably from/near Cherokee Ave, where the Shane Building is located. If I'm correct about the location, that Owl Drug is now the Geisha House.
GSV
I'm not entirely convinced I'm right, since there appears to be almost nothing to compare between the two shots (other than street alignment) but the search term that produced this was "Cherokee" so...?