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Arts and Entertainment

Video: Cruise Down The Sunset Strip In The Early 1950s

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The Sunset Strip—that roughly one-and-a-half mile stretch of Sunset Boulevard through West Hollywood—has a long and storied history. It's played host to the toast of classic Hollywood at clubs like Ciro's and Trocadero, transplanted writers including F. Scott Fitzgerald and Dorothy Parker at the Garden of Allah apartments, and, of course, some of the most iconic moments in music history, during the Strip's rock 'n' roll heyday.

This video, from the Producers Library, via Vintage Los Angeles, shows the Strip in all its 1950s glory. Tune in to travel through time and see what it would have been like to cruise down Sunset Boulevard amidst a sea of vintage cars, back when you could still get "discovered" at Schwab's Pharmacy. You'll be surprised by how many buildings look familiar.

And when you're done with that, travel a decade forward in time to cruise Sunset Boulevard in the 1960s.

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Note: This post originally misidentified the video as being from the 1940s, not the early 1950s. Thanks to our eagle-eyed reader Bob Merlis for spotting the 1951 cars in the background!

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