Two Hollywood Mystery Locations - The Hollywood Sign and the Gateway to Mulholland Drive
Continuing our January 2012 driving tour of historical Hollywood places, Carrie McCoy and I departed Paul Pink’s Hot Dogs
on La Brea Ave. heading north toward Hollywood 28, as it was known in
the old days. The beautiful residential streets in the lower slopes of
Hollywood mesmerized us. We emerged from that bubble at the corner of
Sunset Blvd. and Argyle Ave. As I turned right on to Sunset Blvd., I
caught a glimpse of the Hollywood Sign, several miles away.
After stopping the car, I got out and took several long shot images of
the Hollywood Sign. Panning to my right, I recognized the Hollywood
Palladium, a Streamline Moderne Hollywood theater built in 1940.
According to the marquee, “Bassrush Presents” hosted a sold-out
electronic music event there 
the previous night. From the Big Band era to Nero, the return of Funktion and the 12th Planet's “The End is Near Tour”, the Palladium has seen and heard it all.
Continuing north on Argyle Ave, I stopped to view the iconic Capitol
Records Building. When it opened in 1956, both the public had mixed
opinions about the building. It had been a while since a new Los
Angeles building had made a whimsical statement through its
architecture. Although its statement was not as literal as the old
Brown Derby, the building’s cylindrical structure did evoke a stack of
45-RPM records. This thirteen story turntable featured a roof pinnacle
that looked like a soaring stylus.
To some, it was a reference to vinyl as state-of-the-art in the
recording industry. Others hailed the building’s energy-saving features.
There were 
exterior
metal sunshades, which surrounded each of the floors. In contrast to
the trend toward sealed glass towers, the building’s windows were
operable. The combination of shade and afternoon sea breezes allowed
workers to enjoy fresh air, without the need for constant
air-conditioning.
Still heading north, but now on Gower Street, we approached the Hollywood Freeway.
Poking above both the skyline and the freeway was the original 1929
Hollywood Tower Apartments. Its tower sign is visible to thousands of
motorists driving north each day on the Hollywood Freeway. Is it any
wonder that Walt Disney Company, under Michael Eisner expropriated the historic name Hollywood Tower for an attraction at their California Adventure theme park in 
Anaheim?
As freeway drivers curve
gracefully around the faux French Normandy concrete monolith, few
realize that highway engineers created that jog in the Hollywood
Freeway in order to avoid the landmark. In its early days, and into the
1980s, many writers and actors called the Hollywood Tower Apartments
home. From the tower itself, they could lord over all of Hollywood, so
long as they paid the rent.
Continuing up Gower Street, we followed the path towards Hollywood’s
Holy Grail – the Hollywood Sign. As with all things Hollywood, the
simple, direct path may not lead to your destination. In the upper
reaches of Gower Street, the terrain screens the Hollywood sign from
view. In the lower canyon, there are several good, if distant views of
the sign.
If
you seek a close-up view, consult with Google. By the way, the
residents of North Beachwood Drive would prefer that you stay away.
Parking is almost nonexistent and the road is narrow. Although we did
step out on to lower Gower Street to photograph the fabled sign, we
soon turned back and headed for equally fabled Mulholland Drive.
Hollywood is full of secrets. One of best kept is how to access Mulholland Drive at its source, just north of the Hollywood Bowl. Traveling from Hollywood, the directional signage is of little help. Google Maps gets the route correct HERE and gives an alternate route using the Pilgrimage Bridge HERE. I have no interest in conspiracy theories, unless they are my own, so here are my facts to support the Mulholland Drive Conspiracy.
• The first “Mulholland Drive” sign on Cahuenga Blvd. North directs you appropriately toward the Mulholland Drive Bridge.
• At the Pilgrimage Bridge intersection, the "Mulholland Drive"
directional signage is partially obscured by a traffic signal on the
left side, as seen in this Google Street View.
• If you turn left across the Pilgrimage Bridge, a "Right Turn Only" sign will direct you unknowingly towards your goal.
• Less than one mile north on Cahuenga Blvd. West, there is a traffic signal, with access to Mulholland Drive, at the point where it actually takes the Mulholland name.
Let us go back and assume that you did not access the Pilgrimage Bridge, instead motoring north on Cahuenga Blvd. East.
• At that point, the obscured sign that you missed seeing leaves you guessing and then shunts you on to the Hollywood Freeway North.
• If you manage to escape the freeway trap, stay to the right and continue north on Cahuenga Blvd. East.
• Soon, you will pass under the Mulholland Drive Bridge itself.
• Without any warning or directional signage, you must then turn right
at Lakeridge Place., reversing direction in order to head south.
• Soon, with new energy light shining down as it does in this Google Street View, you will gain access to the original, two-lane, 1940 Mulholland Bridge.
• After crossing over the freeway, you will intersect Mulholland Drive, which was your original destination.
As
I indicate above, why should any historic Los Angeles street be so
difficult to find? Did some influential residents of Mulholland Drive
ask City Hall to remove the directional signage? Did residents pay a
private crew to remove the signs? Did adequate directional signage from
Hollywood to Mulholland Drive ever exist? In the absence of a simple
answer, I cannot yet abandon my Mulholland Drive Hollywood Conspiracy Theory.
In our next article, we will motor along the scenic Mulholland Drive to the new Mulholland Drive Bridge, currently undergoing replacement in Sepulveda Pass.
By James McGillis at 11:35 PM | Travel | Comments (0) | Link
