Vikki Dougan in Black Backless Dress on the Streets of Hollywood in 1957, the Series Photo That Changed Fashion Forever

If you were to conjure an image of typical 1950s fashion, there’s no doubt the visual would be brimming with knee-length skirts and shoulder covering tops. It was an era, like most before it, of conservative clothing. The bikini had been invented only a handful of years before, and society was still grappling with theContinue reading “Vikki Dougan in Black Backless Dress on the Streets of Hollywood in 1957, the Series Photo That Changed Fashion Forever”

Portraits of Couples, Gangs, Children, Friends, and Carnival People at California County Fairs in the Late 1970s

Back in the 1970s, a young man went to work for a carnival concessionaire who, each summer, took a portable photo studio on the road to county fairs across California and the west. For a few dollars, you could have a portrait-sized or larger photo of you and your loved-one to frame and put upContinue reading “Portraits of Couples, Gangs, Children, Friends, and Carnival People at California County Fairs in the Late 1970s”

30 Amazing Photos of Hollywood, California During the 1950s

Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios such as Columbia Pictures, Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures are located near or inContinue reading “30 Amazing Photos of Hollywood, California During the 1950s”

Alice Cooper and His Monster Family Hanging Out by the Pool at His Home in Los Angeles, 1975

American rock star Alice Cooper at his home with his girlfriend wearing a mask imitating The Creature from the Black Lagoon, the low-budget film which was re-released in 1975. The photographs were taken by Terry O’Neill in August 1975. The house burned down later that month, while he was away in New York. The womanContinue reading “Alice Cooper and His Monster Family Hanging Out by the Pool at His Home in Los Angeles, 1975”

30 Wonderful Photos of Marilyn Monroe in a Black Swimsuit From the 1959 Movie “Some Like It Hot” Beach Scene

On Saturday, September 6, 1958, Marilyn Monroe and the 175-person company of Some Like It Hot arrived at the Hotel del Coronado to begin location shots, after filming in Hollywood the previous four weeks. The movie, cowritten and directed by Billy Wilder, is about two musicians, played by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, who, toContinue reading “30 Wonderful Photos of Marilyn Monroe in a Black Swimsuit From the 1959 Movie “Some Like It Hot” Beach Scene”

Actress Wanda Hendrix Visiting Mildred Alexander’s Motel for Cats in San Francisco, 1947

Mildred Alexander gave new meaning to the term “cathouse!” She operated a Sherman Oaks cat motel with 30 units that took up nearly an acre of ground. Each feline was housed in a little bungalow and provided with a customized menu that might include lobster or ice water in crystal goblets. Adult cats had barrelContinue reading “Actress Wanda Hendrix Visiting Mildred Alexander’s Motel for Cats in San Francisco, 1947”

Photos of Attendees at the Monterey Jazz Festival in California in 1969

The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It was founded on October 3, 1958 by jazz disc jockey Jimmy Lyons. The festival is held annually on the 20-acre (8 ha), oak-studded Monterey County Fairgrounds, located at 2004 Fairground Road in Monterey, on the third fullContinue reading “Photos of Attendees at the Monterey Jazz Festival in California in 1969”

Inside the Bradbury Building, the Oldest Commercial Building in Downtown Los Angeles

The Bradbury Building is an architectural landmark in downtown Los Angeles, California. Built in 1893, the five-story office building is best known for its extraordinary skylit atrium of access walkways, stairs and elevators, and their ornate ironwork. The building was commissioned by Los Angeles gold-mining millionaire Lewis L. Bradbury (1823 – 1892) and constructed byContinue reading “Inside the Bradbury Building, the Oldest Commercial Building in Downtown Los Angeles”

34 Vintage Photos of Joan Crawford’s Personal Life in the 1950s

Born Eve Cohen in 1912 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, American photojournalist Eve Arnold joined Magnum Photos agency in 1951, and became a full member in 1957. Over six weeks in 1948, Arnold learned photographic skills from Harper’s Bazaar art director Alexey Brodovitch at the New School for Social Research in Manhattan, and photographed many of theContinue reading “34 Vintage Photos of Joan Crawford’s Personal Life in the 1950s”

Chola Style and Culture: 40 Amazing Vintage Photos of Latina Gangs in Southern California During the 1970s and 1980s

Vatos get the glory, but we all know it’s the Cholas that hold everything down. These fascinating vintage photos from from between the 1970s and ’80s that show how influential Latina gangsters were on style and culture in Southern California. The look, the poses, the Germanic blackletter font still used widely, and the camaraderie areContinue reading “Chola Style and Culture: 40 Amazing Vintage Photos of Latina Gangs in Southern California During the 1970s and 1980s”