Schwab's Pharmacy was a

drugstore A pharmacy (also called drugstore in American English or community pharmacy or chemist in Commonwealth English) is a premises which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacist oversees the fulfillment of m ...

located at 8024 Sunset Boulevard in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

, and was a popular hangout for movie actors and movie industry dealmakers from the 1930s through the 1950s.

History

Opened in 1932 by the Schwab brothers, Schwab's Pharmacy in Hollywood became the most famous and longest-operating outlet of their small retail chain. Like many drug stores in the United States during the mid-twentieth century, Schwab's sold medicines and had a counter serving

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

dishes and light meals. In the 1930s, Schwab's was the inspiration for songwriter

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ' ...

to write the music for the song "

Over the Rainbow "Over the Rainbow", also known as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", is a ballad by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg. It was written for the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'', in which it was sung by actress Judy Garland in her starring role ...

" for the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz''. Schwab's closed in October 1983. Five years later, on October 6, 1988, the building was demolished to make way for a shopping complex and multiplex theater. Sidney Skolsky, a syndicated Hollywood

gossip columnist A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially in a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are written in a light, informal style, and relate opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities fr ...

for the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'' who was the first journalist to use the nickname "Oscar" for the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

in print, made Schwab's famous in the 1930s. He used the drugstore as his office and called his column in ''

Photoplay ''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film fan magazines, its title another word for screenplay. It was founded in Chicago in 1911. Under early editors Julian Johnson and James R. Quirk, in style and reach it became a pacesetter for fan m ...

'', the premier movie magazine in the United States at the time, "From a Stool at Schwab's." A persistent Hollywood legend has it that actress

Lana Turner Julia Jean "Lana" Turner ( ; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over a career spanning nearly five decades, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized personal life. ...

was "discovered" by director

Mervyn LeRoy Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. During the 1930s, he was one of the two great practitioners of economical and effective film directing at Warner Bros., Warner Brothers studios, ...

while at the soda counter at Schwab's. While the 16-year-old Turner was discovered at a soda counter, the location was not Schwab's but another establishment, the Top Hat Cafe, farther east on Sunset Boulevard at McCadden Place, directly across the street from

Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. His ...

, where she was still a student. The person who discovered her was not LeRoy but ''

Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' publisher William Wilkerson. Today, there is a replica of the establishment at Universal Studios in Florida and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, the latter themed around ''

Super Mario (also known as and is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every ma ...

''.

In popular media

Schwab's was recreated at Paramount studios as a set for the 1950 film ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

''. Schwab's Pharmacy appears in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

limited series, ''

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

''. Jack Castello's wife, Henrietta is shown to work at the store, alongside coworker Erwin Kaye.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 34.098, -118.365, display=title Defunct restaurants in Hollywood, Los Angeles Commercial buildings in Los Angeles Defunct pharmacies of the United States Demolished buildings and structures in Los Angeles Demolished buildings and structures in California Health care companies based in California Buildings and structures demolished in 1988