The Hollywood Bowl

HOLLYWOOD BOWL

I regard it as one of Hollywood’s icons, along with the “Hollywood” sign straggling along the hills. An old postcard shows the Bowl, not yet surrounded by urban development, standing small in the hills, with simple wooden benches facing it. According to the website, the Bowl (not yet with its famous shell design) opened in July of 1922, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic giving the opening concert. An aerial photo from circa 1922 gives an idea of how sparsely settled the area was back then, which would have made it perfect for outdoor entertainment.
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A 1926 photo shows the Bowl with its now-iconic shell. The seats are arranged in a semicircle, replacing the earlier benches in a square outlay. A 1927 postcard gives an idea of a concert in those times; the view is from far in the back, with the Bowl not easily visible (though, I would imagine, audible) some distance away.
The years go on; the images show not only the growth of the Bowl itself, but of the neighborhood around it. By 1951, the hills are no longer bare, but filled with streets and houses. The photograph also shows that Southern California curse, air pollution; it hangs heavily along the horizon, unlike the clear scenes of the 1920s.
1972? The Bowl is now right in the center of the action; no more building can be done in the area, because all the land has been taken. A major freeway runs nearby, and it seems that the image from 1927, which showed such a huge audience, would no longer fit into the Bowl's vicinity now, when the seats are well-established in a fixed range. The most recent photo on the website comes from 2007, showing this landmark illuminated by fireworks.
D.W. Griffith’s stunningly beautiful set from Intolerance, the Babylonian construction, is long gone. The wide-open streets of a clear Southern California are choked with traffic. Horses no longer pull carts; streetcars do not run. But the Bowl is still there.
Some things do last.