Can you imagine driving down Sunset and seeing the spellbinding psychedelic mural above? It once welcomed visitors to the Aquarius Theatre at 6230 Sunset Boulevard. The historic structure was painted for the opening of Hair in 1968. Eric Clapton, Janis Joplin, and Sal Mineo caught performances of the play during its two-and-a-half year run from 1969-1971. The theater had many …

The Hollywood sign was conceived as an outdoor ad campaign for a suburban housing development called “Hollywoodland.” The original sign was first erected in 1923 and studded with 4,000 light bulbs! The sign would flash in segments; “HOLLY,” “WOOD,” and “LAND”. Establishment of the Hollywood Sign, 1923 The sign, which was designed to stand for only 18 months, sustained extensive …

The Tropicana Motel’s Totally Rocking Heyday. The Tropicana Motel in West Hollywood had a brush with celebrity even before it became a hangout for rock stars in the late ’60s and ’70s. Baseball Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax bought the inn—which was built in the 1940s and located at 8585 Santa Monica Boulevard in 1962. He was the motel’s fourth …

Remembering L.A.’s First Great Record Store, “Wallich’s Music City”. Bing Crosby shopped the aisles, Frank Zappa worked the floor. Before there was a Tower Records, before THE Capitol Records building was the Capitol Records building, L.A.’s coolest music-industry hub was Wallichs Music City. Glenn Wallichs opened the record store with his brother, Clyde, at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and …

Ok, Angelenos, I know you remember “Ship’s Coffee Shop” and those Toasters on the tables! Here’s an article I wrote for Los Angeles Magazine featuring all three ‘space age’ locations. Which one did you frequent? Westwood, Culver City or the one at La Cienega and Olympic? The boomerang shaped roof and atomic neon sign made the structures look like flying …