Getting a hamburger at Tin Pan Alley in 1956, Hollywood, California


One of the things that I never found when I lived in Los Angeles in the 1980s, was a really good hamburger. I had been spoiled by a hamburger place in Tempe, Arizona that served the most wonderful charbroiled hamburgers, and after looking at this photo of Hollywood in 1956 I think that I'm beginning to understand why.

The air in the Los Angeles area had gotten incredibly dirty. It was called "smog", which is a combination of the words "smoke" and "fog". And smoke had been belching out into the air of Los Angeles for a long time, including the cars that didn't have any type of pollution controls, and the businesses, even the ones that belched out the wonderfully-smelling smoke of charbroiled hamburgers.

By the time I got to LA, in '82, the air was so brown and thick it was horrific. New laws were being put into effect to control it, and nowadays whenever I go back I marvel at how much clearer the air is. Not perfect, of course, but not as horrible.

But let's time travel to 1956 and jump into this photo from the Duke University site, which is Vine looking south towards Melrose in Hollywood. We're going to get a delicious charbroiled hamburger at Tin Pan Alley, which is right next to the Musicians Association Building, at 817 Vine. Yes, the parking lot is for musicians only, but you're with me, and I play the tambourine.


Looks like you can get hot dogs and steaks, too, but I'm hungry for a hamburger! Maybe I'll get a cup of coffee to go with it, this is 1956 after all. They'd probably put in a splash of Glenlivet if I asked them to, this is Hollywood!



The Musicians Associate building, by the way, is still there, as are a lot of wonderful old Hollywood buildings, like the Catholic Church, Ravenswood Apartments, and the El Royale. Squint your eyes and you can see them through the smog!







Thank you for visiting old-time Hollywood with me. Now I'm hungry for a charbroiled burger!
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