6028 Hollywood Boulevard, on the south side of the street between Bronson and Gower was home to a variety of automobile showrooms.

Like most of the block, the parcel was rural/residential before World War I. The property owner was Edwin Rich, brother of Sanford Rich. The brothers had come to Hollywood in the early 1900s and developed numerous tracts in the heart of Hollywood. Sanford was a pioneer realtor and the first mayor of Hollywood when it was incorporated in 1903 (Hollywood was annexed by the City of Los Angeles in 1910), whose home was at 6048 Hollywood Boulevard until his death in June 1930 at age 89. Two of Edwin’s grown children, son Frank and daughter Bessie, were also in real estate, as Rich & Garlock, based briefly at 6026 Hollywood Boulevard, and developed the adjacent parcel at 6032. Edwin Rich passed away at age 90 in September 1932.

F.R. “Jack” Germond was the first known auto dealer to operate at 6028 as The Germond Motor Company. A salesman for Earl V. Armstrong, LA’s distributor for the Chandler Motor Car Co., in October 1919 Germod was appointed Hollywood’s dealer for Cleveland Automobile Company, a new subsidiary of Chandler.  Apparently operating out of an existing building on this property, by November 1920 he had moved to temporary quarters at 6151 Hollywood Boulevard and 6028 became an auto repair shop. In 1922 a tire shop opened here as well. Edwin Rich modified the building with a partition to accommodate the two businesses.

In November 1929, 6028 became the home of Butts-Andrews Graham-Paige, situated in a new building built for them by engineer William J. Moran. The unusual structure had a slightly Art Nouveau appearance, with a 50-foot-wide arched central window, intended to look like the proscenium arch of a theater. The interior was designed to “represent the tap room of an early Spanish inn,” with un-plastered, polychrome walls that had a “crude stone block” effect and ceilings of rough lumber that featured a “pyro” (burned) finish.

F.W. Butts and J. J Andrews had been Pierce-Arrow dealers at 5760 Sunset Boulevard in 1927. In October 1929, at the same location, they became dealers for Graham-Paige. Headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, Graham-Paige was established in 1927 when the Graham brothers purchased the Detroit Motor Car Company, makers of Paige and Jewett automobiles.

Butts-Andrews were only in their new building a brief time, through June 1930.

The next tenant to move in was Herbert Woodward, Inc. Reo dealership, on October 15, 1930. Based in Lansing, Michigan, Reo was founded by Ransom E. Olds (of Oldsmobile) in 1905.

Herbert Woodward Reo was only here a brief time, also- through June 1931.

On September 30, 1931, 6028 Hollywood Boulevard became Fisher Motors De Soto-Plymouth, operated by Claude Fisher and Walton M. Brown. The formal opening was held October 3, 1931 with searchlights, music, and a talking picture of Plymouth’s record run through Death Valley. Plymouth and De Soto were divisions of the Chrysler Corporation introduced in July and August, respectively, 1928.

 

Fisher Motors exited in March 1932 but the building remained a De Soto and Plymouth Dealership under H. F. Haldeman, who opened here April 6, 1932.

Haldeman remained here until November 1935. The Thompson-Nash Motor Company moved in in February 1936. Nash Motors Company, based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was founded by former GM president Charles W. Nash in 1916 when he acquired the Thomas B. Jeffrey Co. Nash took over the LaFayette Motors Co. in 1921. The LaFayette name was retired for a time but revived by Nash in 1934.

In August 1937, Thompson-Nash Motor Co. became Homer C. Thompson Inc. Homer C. Thompson was the general manager of Thompson Nash and continued selling Nash cars at 6028 after the change in name and ownership. Nash Motors Co. had become Nash-Kelvinator Corporation in January 1937, the automotive division of Kelvinator, manufacturer of refrigerators and other appliances.

Homer C. was here only briefly (Nash, however, would later return to the vicinity, next door at 6032). In February 1938, this dealership became J. E. Coberly Lincoln, selling Lincolns and the Lincoln-Zephyr. Lincoln was the luxury division of the Ford Motor Company. Founded in 1917, it was acquired by Ford in 1922. Zephyrs were made from 1936 to 1942.

J. E. Coberly was here through January 1939.

The property appears to have languished for a time. In November 1939 it was used as the temporary home of the Hollywood branch public library while the library’s old building at Hollywood and Ivar was being dismantled and salvaged for use at its new location north of the Boulevard on Ivar. In May 1940, 6028 was the temporary quarters of an auction house.

In January 1941, it became the new showroom of Sunset Motors, the Hudson dealership of Frank B. Hughes. Hudson Motor Co. of Detroit was founded in 1909. In 1954 it merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form the American Motors Corporation (AMC).

Sunset Motors remained here until November 1941, when Hughes retired to serve with the Red Cross disaster emergency transportation organization. The following year, in November 1942, he became head of the auto division of the War Production Board.

With the US at war, the federal Office of Production put a freeze on all sales of passenger cars and the following month, February 1942, production of non-military vehicles came to a halt. 6028 turned into a defense plant for rivets and bolts then was again an auto repair shop- a service in high demand. With no new autos being made, maintenance of your existing car became critical.

In March 1945, Packard dealer W. H. Collins Inc. moved in to 6028. Packard was a luxury automobile, founded in 1899, whose famous slogan was “Ask the man who owns one.”

With the war over, auto makers were given the green light to return to full commercial production on August 25, 1945. Still, it was impossible to meet the demand for new cars and for most customers it was a long wait until their orders could be filled. See my previous post on 1946 cars, here.

W. H. Collins Packard was here until February 13, 1947, when the dealership became L. W. “Eph” Andrews Lincoln-Mercury. Ford had introduced the Mercury in 1938. The Lincoln-Mercury division was formed in October 1945- part of Henry Ford II’s reorganization of the company. Eph Andrews had previously been the president and general manager of W. H. Collins Packard. The official opening was March 8, 1947 under the new name Hollywood Lincoln-Mercury.

In August 1949, the dealership was taken over by J. F. O’Connor & Son, whose former location at 5800 Hollywood Boulevard was taken over for the Hollywood Freeway. Previously Nash dealers, O’Connor and Son was now a Lincoln-Mercury dealership.

O’Connor and Son would use both 6028 and 6032 Hollywood Boulevard at times; both parcels were acquired by Mark M. Hansen of the Marcal Theater and his wife Ida. Hansen also owned O’Connor’s previous location and had a building constructed for him on the lot in 1945. O’Connor also sometimes used 6000 Hollywood Boulevard.

Glenn Pearson Lincoln-Mercury dealership took over from the O’Connors in July 1956. He held his grand opening in a much-remolded 6028 Hollywood Boulevard on November 10, 1956.

 

 

On May 13, 1957, Hollywood Ford moved to 6000 Hollywood Boulevard. Pearson remained at 6028 through May 1957 but thereafter, the address, if it was used at all, was Hollywood Ford. Ford demolished all structures on 6028 and 6032 in 1970. Today this parcel is part of the Hollywood Toyota dealership, addressed as 6000 Hollywood Boulevard.