[QUOTE=riichkay;8267167]
1953
Great photo and I remember all the shops and businesses in it. Andrew Castle's Camera, the Spotlight, before it moved to Cahuenga, the Santa Fe ticket office, which had an "O" Gauge Super Chief electric train in the window, the Plaza Hotel and coffee shop, the Broadway and more, not visible in the picture.
The bank at Selma and Vine had a plaque commemorating The Squaw Man, and inside there was a display of Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer's belongings, shortly after his murder in 1959. Across the street, on the southeast corner, was the old RCA building.
In 1953, the area shown was still referred to as Radio City, even though television was booming. Many radio stars still strolled Vine Street, on their way to perform or on their way to lunch.
William Frawley, Jack Bailey, Bob Barker, Steve Allen, Red Skelton, Percy Kilbride (Pa Kettle), Slapsy Maxie, Willard Watterman (the Great Gildersleeve) and many more could be seen daily.
By the late 1950s and through 1960s, the area was overtaken by television production. A new generation of celebrities filled the booths at the Brown Derby, Hody's and the Westerner.
ABC had a host of daily TV shows, from Steve Allen to Dinah Shore and Pat Boone. Buses outside the Vine Street studio would take people off the street to the Prospect location to watch programs such as Soupy Sales. Lawrence Welk took over the Palladium. Queen for a Day was at the Moulin Rouge and Bing Crosby hosted the Hollywood Palace at the old El Capitan.
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