One of the older buildings in downtown Los Angeles, it was built in 1887. A March 1894 advertisement in the Los Angeles Times says the following: PIANOS for sale, rent, tuned, repaired. A.G. Gardner, 118 Winston st., near P.O.
In 1975 the alley next to the building was used as a location for the television show, Starsky and Hutch. Picture #2 show what it looks like today.
Pictures #3 and #4 show what the alley looked looked like 30+ years ago.
Lately I’ve been re-watching a television show that most every boy growing up in the 1970’s was crazy about: Starsky and Hutch. Revisiting the show 34 years later, Im still entertained by the characters of Starsky and Hutch, Captain Dobey and Huggy Bear. But even more than that, as a Los Angeles Historian, I’m blown away with how much great footage of Los Angeles was captured in the series. So, over the next few weeks I’ll provide you with a “then and now” portrait of Starsky and Hutch’s L.A.
First stop: “Huggy Bear’s” bar/restaurant. In reality, it was the location of the El Paso Bar at 723 S. Main Street. Los Angeles, CA 90014. To the left is the entrance to the Dewey Hotel.
34 years later, the building is still there, though its facade has drastically changed. The entrance to Huggys/El Paso was right there in the middle of the building.
It’s too bad they didn’t just restore the original facade. The new one is kind of ugly.
In the third episode of Mannix entitled “Nothing Ever Works Twice,” Mike Connors is seen driving down Los Feliz Blvd in Los Angeles. The street hasn’t changed much.
