10/31/2026
Santa Monica Boulevard Looking East, January 31, 1935
Imagine driving along a dirt road in Los Angeles before Santa Monica Boulevard was widened and paved. This photograph, taken by Charles C. Pierce on January 31, 1935, looks east along Big Santa Monica Boulevard toward the intersection with South Beverly Glen Boulevard and the railroad bridge.
The road disappears over a hill in the distance, with railroad tracks and utility poles running alongside it. An open grassy field stretches beside the road, several two-story buildings stand beyond it, and six early-model automobiles can be seen traveling along the unpaved route. The Fox Film studios are located on the right, while a sign for Fox Films appears on Little Santa Monica Boulevard near Fox Hills Drive.
The scene preserves a landscape in transition, when open land, developing roads, rail infrastructure, and the film industry existed side by side. A curator's note identifies a second photograph taken on September 14, 1937, showing the same view after the road had been paved.
Together, the two images offer a fascinating before-and-after record of Los Angeles's changing landscape.
**Which would you find more interesting to see in person: the unpaved road of 1935 or the same view after paving in 1937?**
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