Hollywood trendsetters have influenced every part of American life…and many of its residents did care about what was happening outside the studio walls. Movies influenced fashion, social trends, and music, but they were also where people went to for headlines that had nothing do do with entertainment.
In the days before 24 hour news channels, Hollywood Boulevard was the home of the first-ever theatre that exclusively played newsreels. Here, you could “spend a worthwhile hour” catching up on current events (and according to the photo above, have an Orange Julius…note that the theatre didn’t have a concession stand until 1968).
Before the News View opened in the late 1930s, you could get a bit of news from the short reels that played before the latest film. Still, the News View concept was a risk. But it paid off in spades, with local stars like Barbara Stanwyck frequenting the theatre to keep up with what was happening in the world.
The advent of television brought news as a visual medium into the living rooms of many Americans, so the News View eventually went back to showing movies. It was most recently known as the Ritz theatre, and is currently being renovated into Hollywood’s first Hologram venue…another innovative use for this historic Hollywood building.
The Powder Room 
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