5th Street & Olive, 1938

1938, In this view of 5th Street across Olive St in downtown Los Angeles, we’re treated to the sign of the long-gone Biltmore Theatre. Attached to the Biltmore Hotel, the theater was a major stop on the national touring circuit. (Erlanger was a theatrical syndicate similar to Shubert.) This photo was taken in 1938 when “Room Service” was playing—the same “Room Service” that was made into a Marx Brothers movie at RKO. The Biltmore Hotel still exists, but an office tower replaced the theater after the Los Angeles . . . Thank you to Martin Turnbull.