This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
These beautiful photos of stately Beverly Hills homes adorned with Christmas decorations offer a glimpse of how SoCal's more affluent residents celebrated the holidays.
The photos were taken by Hermann Schultheis, who worked as an animator for Disney, in 1938. Schultheis' photos show massive Christmas trees illuminating the front yards of beautiful mansions and cloth made to resemble fake snow on rows of bushes. The night-time photos are wonderfully elegant, perfectly capturing the allure of 1930s L.A.
