The Hollywood Golf Course, 5261 Hollywood Boulevard. Hollywood Citizen News 3/1/1946

The Hollywood Golf Course miniature golf opened in early 1946 at 5261 Hollywood Boulevard operated by the three brothers- Charles H, Joseph E. and William L Palmer.

This property and adjacent parcels along Hollywood Boulevard near Harvard were part of the Lander Sunnyside Tract. Born in 1849, Anna Elizabeth Watson Lander (also spelled Annah) came to Los Angeles with her children in 1893 after the death of her husband Warren James Lander in November 1892 and was subdividing parcels by the end of the decade. Her sisters, Caroline Watson Lamb and Harriet J. (Hattie) Watson were also successful real estate developers who lived nearby at 1726 N. Harvard Boulevard along with their sister-in-law Mary Clough Watson. The Lander home was at 5253 Hollywood Boulevard. By the teens Lander had converted it to flats. Over time other office/studio structures were erected in the large property.

The Loma Linda Links miniature golf course, 5253 Hollywood Boulevard. Hollywood Citizen News 8/1/1930

On July 31, 1930, two of Anna Lander’s sons, Hirschel S. and W.J. Lander (probably Willard, but there was also Warren J. Lander), and their brother-in-law Ernest Hartwell Martin (he was married to Lucille Lander, Hirschel’s twin sister) opened a miniature golf course on the grounds of the old family property at 5253 Hollywood Boulevard and called it the Loma Linda Links.

The Loma Linda Links offered scientifically constructed fairways and afternoon golf parties. Hollywood Citizen News 8/14/1930.

The nation was in the midst of a huge miniature golf fad. Links were springing up all around Los Angeles, including several on Hollywood Boulevard. Even the movie studios were worried about the competition. The craze soon died down but miniature golf remained a popular pastime. The postwar era saw another resurgence.

The Hollywood Golf Course offered night time play. Hollywood Citizen News 8/4/1949

In January 1949, the Palmer Brothers took over the Eagle Rock Miniature Golf Course at 1751 Colorado Boulevard. They continued to operate the Hollywood Golf Course through the summer of 1949 for sure.

By 1951, the course had been acquired by another set of brothers: George and Harry Gittelson, using the address 5263 Hollywood Boulevard.

Hollywood Citizen News 3/27/1951

The Gittelson brothers had made a killing founding the first ticket broker agency in Los Angeles. They were also among the first to open a miniature golf course back in 1930, Their Highland Park Miniature Golf Course had opened at 5531 Pasadena Avenue on July 24, 1930, a few days before the Lander’s course opened. They had continued to operate miniature golf courses since that time.

Opening of the Gittelson Brother’s Highland Park Miniature Golf Course. Highland Park News Herald 7/23/1930

The Gittelson Brothers in 1930 at the time of their first miniature golf course opening. LA Evening Express 7/28/1930.

The Hollywood Boulevard links featured windmills, waterfalls and wishing wells. The grounds, extending around the old homestead buildings, were lush and green. The brothers added open-air ping pong table courts.

Harry Gittelson died in 1965, George in 1969. The miniature golf course continued into the 1970s. It can be seen at night in the 1975 film “The Day of the Locust” (set in the 1930s), and during the day in the 1976 television film “Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway.”

Screengrab from :The Day of the Locust” showing the ping pong tables.

Screengrab from :The Day of the Locust.”

Screengrab from :The Day of the Locust.”

Screengrab from :The Day of the Locust.”

Screengrab from “Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway.” filmed on location at the Gittelson Miniature Golf Course.

Screengrab from “Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway.” Dawn is heading toward the Harvard House Motel, the mini golf course and ping pong tables is on the left.

The entire property, incorporating addresses 5253 to 5373,

5253-5273 Hollywood Boulevard today. Google map image.