Monday, March 31, 2008 – Blue Monday

Blue signs on Hollywood Boulevard

The Security Pacific Bank Building, 1921, John and Donald B. Parkinson – 6381 Hollywood Boulevard

Note this is also known as the Cahuenga Building.  In Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, this is where you'd fine the office of Phillip Marlow, the private eye – Humphrey Bogart in the movie.

The Warner Pacific Theater, 1926, G. Albert Lansburgh – 6423 Hollywood Boulevard

As a teenager, in 1951, Carol Burnett worked as an usherette here. Times change:

In the late 1920's, after a number of failures, the four Warner brothers, Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack, risked everything they had on the production of a new movie called the Jazz Singer. This risky venture would be the first talking film and would hopefully be instrumental in the development of sound in theaters. In addition to this uncertain project, the Warner Brothers were hurrying to complete their new theater, the largest in Hollywood. It was supposed to be finished before the release of the Jazz Singer and it would be here that the film would premiere. While the movie was being filmed, Sam Warner was personally supervising the installation of the sound system, all the while worrying over the rumors that were going around town about talking pictures being nothing more than a fad. Between construction delays at the theater and the production of the film, Sam barely had time to eat and sleep. It was said that when he realized that the theater was not going to be ready for the opening, he stood in the lobby and cursed the place.

The Jazz Singer opened in New York on October 6, 1927 to excited crowds and wonderful reviews. Unfortunately though, none of the Warner brothers were able to attend. Just 24 hours before the premiere, Sam Warner suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died in Los Angeles. His brothers hurried home from New York before the film ever opened.

The Warner Pacific Theatre opened six months later with a forgotten film called The Glorious Betsy with Conrad Nagel. In spite of this, Al Jolson emceed the night and a ceremony was held for Sam in which a plaque was placed in the lobby in his honor. It has been said that while Sam Warner was not physically present that night... he was undoubtedly there in spirit. A man like Sam Warner would never leave this world with his work unfinished!

Since that night in April 1928, random sightings of Sam Warner have taken place at the theater and in the administration offices above.

It's haunted.

The Warner Pacific Theater, 1926, G. Albert Lansburgh – 6423 Hollywood Boulevard

The Los Angeles radio station KFWB was started in 1925 by Sam Warner, the founder of Warner Brothers, then at 5800 Sunset Boulevard. The station launched the careers of Ronald Reagan and Bing Crosby. The call letters do not stand for Keep Filming Warner Brothers – the "K" indicates all stations west of the Mississippi and "FWB" stands for Four Warner Brothers. Due to RF interference getting into the movie studio's "talkies" sound equipment – the studios on Sunset is where they filmed The Jazz Singer, the transmitter was moved in 1928 to the roof of the Warner Pacific Theater, along with the studios in the basement below.  It's all gone now, but for the tower.

A blue hand on Cahuenga –

Your Hollywood photographer at work –

Another woman – detail of the Dolores Del Rio mural at Hudson and Hollywood –

Not Blue –

The Mark Twain transient hotel on Wilcox –

The wall of Hollywood Toy and Costume, Hollywood Boulevard –

If you wish to use any of these photos for commercial purposes I assume you'll discuss that with me. And should you choose to download any of these images and use them invoking the "fair use" provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976, please provide credit, and, on the web, a link back this site.

Technical Note:

Photographs after March 3, 2008, were taken with a Nikon D200 – or a Nikon D70 when noted. All previous photographs were taken with the D70. The lenses used are (1) AF-S Nikkor 18-70 mm 1:35-4.5G ED, or (2) AF Nikkor 70-300 mm telephoto, or (3) AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 55-200 mm f/4-5.6G ED. Photography here is modified for web posting using Adobe Photoshop 7.0.  The earliest photography in the archives was done with a Sony Mavica digital still camera (MVC-FD-88) with built-in digital zoom.

All text and photos, unless otherwise noted, Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 - Alan M. Pavlik