Step back in time this holiday season at the Vintage Larchmont photo wall featuring a composite of two historic Larchmont photos. The 8 by 8-foot photo wall, flanked by two Douglas Fir trees donated by the Wilshire Rotary Christmas Tree Lot, was installed Saturday morning at the entry to the city parking lot at 215 N. Larchmont Blvd. The photo wall will be on display throughout the holidays. The vintage photo wall is a joint project of the Larchmont Village property owners’ BID and the Larchmont Boulevard Association.
“We’ve taken a little artistic license to create one image from two that allows the visitor to go back in time and showcases our unique history on the photo wall,” said Heather Duffy Boylston, executive director of the Larchmont Village Business Improvement District (BID). “As you can see, Larchmont Village has remained a charming neighborhood street since it was laid out in the 1920s. We invite you to stop by and take a photo with your friends and family and create your own vintage Larchmont.”
“Larchmont merchants and business owners are what make Larchmont such a special place,” said Romi Cortier, Larchmont Boulevard Association board member and chair of the association’s Marketing and Special Events Committee. “We are excited about this fun collaboration with property owners bringing our past to the present day so we can snap photos and share Larchmont with everyone.”
Cortier said the project came together quickly following a brainstorming session after the Larchmont Family Fair as the marketing and special events committee started thinking of creative ways to promote the businesses on the street during the holidays.
“It’s been a bit under the radar because we honestly weren’t sure we could pull it all together in time for Small Business Business Saturday and the official launch of the holiday shopping season,” said Cortier. “But thankfully, we did and we invite all LBA members and everyone who loves Larchmont to stop by take a photo, and tag us on Instagram at #LBA and #vintagelarchmont.
Thanks to several local residents, Hancock Park resident Sarah Lowy, owner of Jowy Productions, an event management company, and James Dastoli, a digital artist and Ridgewood-Wilton neighbor, who helped Cortier and his committee make the vintage photo wall a reality. The wall was constructed in short order by Lewis Barker of Barker Decor Service.
The photo shows a typical day on Larchmont Boulevard from the 1920s. The holiday decorations that once hung from the railway lines of the Los Angeles Railway LARY 3 Line cars were pulled from a 1955 photo and added to the 1920s photo by digital artist and local resident James Dastoli. The LARY 3 operated along Third Street and Larchmont Blvd. Below are the two original images that first appeared in the book “Larchmont” a pictorical history by this writer published in 2015 by Arcadia Press and available at Chevalier’s Books.
The Larmchont vintage photo wall will be on display in the city parking lot through the holidays.
