History of Melrose Avenue  a very colorful past...

History of Melrose Shopping District

Melrose in the Beginning - The '80's

Johnny Rockets
Original Johnny Rockets

Melrose really began to rise in the 1980's. It was a fast-moving time of trendy punk rock fashion, big hair. Off-beat, eclectic independent shops were beginning to dot Melrose Avenue. Overnight colorful storefronts and graffiti emerged alongside cutting edge hip clothing stores.

Some of the first notable names began opening shops beginning with Olivia Newton-John and Betsy Johnson. From there the color and vibe propagated - Melrose was the cool place to shop. From there the color and vibe propagated - Melrose was the cool place to shop.

Original Landmarks & Anchors of Melrose:

FASHION
  • Flip
  • Poseur (history)
  • Poodles
  • Let it Rock
  • Retail Slut
  • Comme des Garcons
  • L.A. Eyeworks
  • Neo 80
VINYL
  • Aron's Records
  • Rene's
  • Bleeker Bob's
  • Vinyl Fetish
FOR the HOME
  • Off the Wall
  • Industrial Revolution
VINTAGE
  • Aardvarks
  • Flip
  • Cowboys & Poodles
PURELY ECLECTIC
  • Wacko/The Soap Plant
  • Golden Apple Comics
TRENDY DINING
  • Tommy Tangs
  • The Border Grill
  • The Burger That Ate LA
  • Caffé Luna
  • Johnny Rockets

The Burger that Ate LA
The Burger That Ate LA

Boxing Graffiti
Boxing Graffiti

Art on Wall on Melrose
Art on Melrose Avenue Wall

For a more detailed, first person, story about Melrose in the '80's, view the article by Alison Martino - "Alison Martino's Vintage Los Angeles".

Books with History about the Melrose Avenue Area

Early Paramount Studios

For over 100 years, Paramount Pictures has been captivating movie and television audiences worldwide with its alluring imagery and compelling stories. Arising from the collective genius of Adolph Zukor, Jesse L. Lasky, and Cecil B. DeMille during the 1910s, Paramount Pictures is home to such enduring classics as Wings, Sunset Boulevard, The Ten Commandments, Love Story, The Godfather, the Indiana Jones series, Chinatown, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, Titanic, and Star Trek. Early Paramount Studios chronicles Paramount’s origins, culminating in the creation and expansion of the lot at 5555 Melrose Avenue, the last major motion picture studio still in Hollywood.

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Melrose Mayhem: L.A. Street Art

For over 100 years, Paramount Pictures has been captivating movie and television audiences worldwide with its alluring imagery and compelling stories. Arising from the collective genius of Adolph Zukor, Jesse L. Lasky, and Cecil B. DeMille during the 1910s, Paramount Pictures is home to such enduring classics as Wings, Sunset Boulevard, The Ten Commandments, Love Story, The Godfather, the Indiana Jones series, Chinatown, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, Titanic, and Star Trek. Early Paramount Studios chronicles Paramount’s origins, culminating in the creation and expansion of the lot at 5555 Melrose Avenue, the last major motion picture studio still in Hollywood.

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Paramount Studios: 1940-2000

The fascinating tale of Hollywood powerhouse Paramount Picturesbeginning with its birth in the 1910s through the turbulent decade of the 1930swas told in Early Paramount Studios by Marc Wanamaker, Michael Christaldi, and E.J. Stephens. Now the same authors are back to tell the next 60 years of the studio saga in Paramount Studios: 19402000, with a foreword by former Paramount head of production Robert Evans. This book picks up the story during the time of World War IIa successful era for the studiowhich was followed by a decade of decline due to the upstart medium of television. By the 1960s, the studio teetered on the brink of bankruptcy before rebounding, thanks to several 1970s blockbusters, such as Love Story, The Godfather, and Chinatown. The tale continues through the final decades of the 20th century when Paramount showcased some of the greatest hits in its history.

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