FOLLOW US ON:
GET THE NEWSLETTER
CONTACT US
Magical vintage photos of Hollywood Boulevard becoming ‘Santa Claus Lane’ in the 1920s and 30s
12.18.2015
11:19 am
Topics:
Tags:

Actress Mary Pickford affixing a
Actress Mary Pickford affixing a “Santa Claus Lane” sign on Hollywood Boulevard, 1928

The tradition of holding a Christmas parade on Hollywood Boulevard started 1928 as a way to encourage shoppers to spend money at the various businesses along the Boulevard of broken dreams. Known as the “Santa Claus Lane Parade,” the event also gave movie stars a vehicle to promote themselves and their latest pictures by featuring their glamorous head-shots in the middle of giant wreaths or riding in a car along the parade’s almost four-mile route.
 
The Marx Brothers in the Santa Claus Lane Parade, 1938
The Marx Brothers in the Santa Claus Lane Parade,1938
 
Claudette Colbert, Santa Claus Parade, 1932
Actress Claudette Colbert posing with her wreath along the Santa Claus Parade route, 1932
 
The parade took a break during WWII but then returned in 1945 and continued under its original name until 1978 when it was renamed the “Hollywood Christmas Parade” which is still happening every year. The massive metal trees lining the boulevard were over ten-feet tall, as were the equally huge Santas that dwarfed onlookers during the entire month of December. I’ve got a nice selection of captivating images from the early days of Santa Claus Lane that will hopefully give your spirits a much needed lift, as they did mine.
 
Santa Claus Lane Parade float, 1931
Santa Claus Lane Parade float, 1931
 
The first Santa Claus Lane parade, 1928
The first Santa Claus Lane parade, 1928
 
Santa Claus Lane Christmas tree, 1930s
 
More after the jump…

READ ON
Posted by Cherrybomb
|
12.18.2015
11:19 am
|
Giant, creepy papier-mâché masks from the Venice Beach Mardi Gras Festival in the mid-1930s
10.07.2015
10:07 am
Topics:
Tags:

Giant papier-mâché masks at the Venice Beach Mardi Gras Festival, 1935
Giant papier-mâché masks at the Venice Beach Mardi Gras Festival, 1935
 
On August 16th, 1935, California’s fabled Venice Beach kicked off its very first Mardi Gras Festival. The celebration (which was inspired by New Orleans’ Mardi Gras) included events such as parades, the Miss California Beauty Pageant, the coronation of Queen Venetia by King Neptune, and a gala ball that concluded the three-day celebration.
 
Miss California on her float surrounded by giant papier-mâché masks, mid-1930s
Miss California on her float surrounded by giant papier-mâché masks during the Venice Beach Mardi Gras, mid-1930s
 
Clark Gable mask at the Venice Beach Mardi Gras, mid-1930s
Clark Gable mask, Venice Beach Mardi Gras, mid-1930s
 
More masks after the jump…..
 

READ ON
Posted by Cherrybomb
|
10.07.2015
10:07 am
|
Like characters from a Graham Greene novel: Mug shots from 1930’s England
09.01.2012
07:09 pm
Topics:
Tags:

image
 
They look like characters from a Graham Greene novel, these mug shots of petty criminals from Newcastle, England. Each face suggests its own tale of hardship, poverty, seedy boarding houses, cobble-stone streets, smoky pubs, and fierce, grubby violence. One died in action, another in the Blitz. They dazed with need, or as William Burroughs once said:

‘The face of evil is always the face of total need.’

These mug shots came from a Newcastle Police ID Book, which had been discarded in a junk shop, where it was discovered and then donated to the Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums.
 
image
 
image
 
More mug shots of lawless Geordies, after the jump…
 

READ ON
Posted by Paul Gallagher
|
09.01.2012
07:09 pm
|
Page 2 of 2  < 1 2