This 1904 photo shows a group of autos on the sidewalk, apparently going around a rough place in the road. Boards have been placed to cushion the transition back to the roadway. Note the palm frond attached to the power pole. Sunset Boulevard was graded but not asphalted in this location.
The boulevard is now practically complete, representing an outlay of about $35,000. . . .
A monster parade formed on South Broadway shortly after 1 o’clock. Some 300 vehicles of all descriptions were in line, and to the accompaniment of music by the Soldiers’ Home band and the blare of trumpets, the procession started for Hollywood. . . .
All along the way decorations had been arranged in profusion. American flags were everywhere in evidence. Here and there enterprising property owners had decorated their homes with flowers, bunting and plants.
The road was smooth and well graded. The expenditure of a fortune on the boulevard had left its effects. In many places, the hills had been cut through, and on either side of the street the walls rose precipitously [shown in a much later photograph here].
But the roadway itself was as smooth almost as asphalt.
The long procession wound around the curves, the vehicles constantly changing their positions, but all making good time over the boulevard.
Two private cars of the Los Angeles Pacific, the Mermaid and the 400, carried a number of guests of Gen. [M.H.] Sherman and Mr. [E.P.] Clark. Ten or fifteen ordinary coaches were filled with Los Angeles people desirous of taking part in the celebration.
The most unique feature of the celebration was little Helen France and her goat cart. . . . The little girl’s steed shied at the automobiles and frequently deported himself in such a manner that the safety of the cart’s occupant was threatened, but no serious mishap occurred.
When the parade reached Hollywood, the vehicles passed down Prospect avenue to the Hollywood hotel [shown below] and from there proceeded to the end of the improved street, where the Out Post, the residence of Gen. H.G. Otis [owner of the Los Angeles Times and, by this time, probably the secret owner of the Herald as well]. Refreshments were served on the porch of the residence and the addresses were made from an elevated part of the street nearby. The premises were gaily decorated for the occasion. [In 1922 this ranch was sold to motion picture studio head Jesse Lasky.]
A tally ho [small horse-drawn carriage] was drawn to the place, and the speakers climbed into the vehicle. A.G. Bartlett, president of the Hollywood Board of Trade . . . introduced as the first speaker H.J. Whitley, . . . [who said in part], “This is but the beginning. We hope to see the boulevard lined with shrubbery and lighted by electric lights which will extend from Santa Monica to the new million-dollar government building in Los Angeles.”
Mayor M.P. Snyder of Los Angeles . . . [said:] “Hollywood . . . is now a place to delight the eyes of visitors and a place where the sunshine is brighter, the flowers fairer and the fruit better than in almost any other part in the state.”
J.S. Maltman of Los Angeles predicted a great future for the highway and the property adjacent. . . .
“We want to connect Elysian and Echo parks by a roadway 100 feet wide, thus making the two parks practically one. We want trolly lines over the Elysian Park hills, under city control. The place is a natural coliseum, and we should make use of it.”
O.H. LaGrange made an eloquent appeal for good roads. He compared the work of road building by the [Sunset Boulevard] improvement association to the labors of Stephen M. White in securing a harbor for San Pedro. . . .
