Dig the above footage of a remarkably clean and spiffy WIlshire Blvd. shot on the above date. We’re in mid-city and will pass by a number of landmarks, chief among them the Art Deco May Company building which has finally been refurbished and is now the newly opened Academy Museum. The street is littered with fabulous gas stations–where did they all go? You’ll see an old DuPars coffee shop and many other splendid and long gone sites, including (at 5:05) a sign advertising ‘Bomb Shelters’.

How do we know this was photographed on the above date? Couresty of one of the Youtube commenters who did some dandy on-line research. I quote:

At about :48 seconds in, they drive by the El Rey theater. It was showing “Fugitive Lady” (aka La strada buia) which was released in the U.S. on July 15, 1951 (not to be confused with the 1934 film of the same name). “The Frogmen”, the other film playing, was released in the U.S. on May 24, 1951. The two films played the week of Aug. 1, 1951 at that location.

The splendid color restoration, added sound effects and frame rate bump which gives it its relaxed and realistic quality are the work of NASS–a true film restoration artist whose New York City reel of mostly 5th Avenue shots I posted last week.