From the Archives: Lincoln overlooking the Los Angeles River

Castoff movie props — including a replica of the Lincoln Memorial — at one time decorated the backlot of the Republic Pictures film studio in Studio City. The studio, which closed in the late 1960s, sat along the Los Angeles River flood channel.

The photo featured in this post appeared in the July 16, 1956, Los Angeles Times. It was part of the 1955-56 “Know Your City” photography series. The original caption was as follows:

KNOW YOUR CITY. NO. 241—You will never guess what or where this is. It certainly is not the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. It's in city limits. Could not pass up this majestic dignity amid the rubble. See Page 23, Part 1.

ANSWER: This replica of the great Lincoln Memorial statue, the figure gazing pensively at the flood-channel Los Angeles River, sits strikingly among other castoff properties behind Republic studios out on Ventura Blvd. The photo was made from the new Colfax Ave. bridge.

::

In the late 1950s, Republic Pictures ceased movie productions and concentrated on television. In 1967, CBS Television purchased the location. Today it’s the site of CBS Studio Center.

The image above is a deep crop from the original 4-by-5-inch negative, which is shown below. When properly exposed and processed, 4-by-5-inch film allowed such crops.

This post was originally published on July 29, 2013.