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Gower Gulch is a nickname for the intersection ofSunset Boulevard andGower Street inHollywood,Los Angeles,California.
Since the days of silent film, the surrounding area had contained several movie studios, including theChristie Studios (on the northwest corner) during the 1920s, then later, Columbia and Republic Studios to the south along Gower Street.
Western films at both studios were extremely popular, especially from the 1930s through the 1950s, and actual workingcowboys would come to Hollywood hoping to find work in the movies. They would congregate at that particular street corner, which is how it acquired its nickname.[1] The ColumbiaDrug Store, which stood on the southeast corner for several decades, was a hangout for many western film extras in hopes of finding work, knowing the casting agents from the studio could reach them there.[2]John Wayne,Gene Autry, andRoy Rogers all got their start in this neighborhood, as did directorJohn Ford.[citation needed] Columbia Studios was filming western films about every ten days for a time. The cowboy extras stood at the corner already dressed in their Stetson hats, boots, and bandannas, ready for saloon scenes, as cattle rustlers, or as members of a posse. The pay was about $5 a day or $10 for a minor speaking role.[citation needed]
Charlie Chaplin made some of his first movies in this area.[citation needed]
In February 1940, actorJerome Bonaparte "Blackjack" Ward became involved in ahomicide on Sunset Boulevard at Gower Gulch, nearColumbia Pictures studios when he shot and killed stuntman and background actor Johnny Tyke.[3][4]
Astrip mall,Gower Gulch Plaza,[5][6] "paying homage to the past" and designed in the style of an Old Westbacklot was built in 1976 on the southwest corner of Sunset and Gower.[1] The name "Gower Gulch" is painted on the side of a vintage western medicine show wagon. The strip mall remains unchanged as of 2024 and has been described as "Old West kitsch".[7]
34°05′53″N118°19′19″W / 34.098°N 118.322°W /34.098; -118.322