Once upon a time, Sandy Boulevard in the Hollywood Neighborhood was the most popular automobile cruising destination in Oregon. The signature 7-Up Tower in the upper right, (which now advertises Budweiser), was originally a milk bottle at the Steigerwald Dairy.

Alvin Steigerwald opened Steigerwald Dairy Company, which was built in the shape of a huge milk bottle at 37th & Sandy in 1926, and it was the tallest building in Northeast Portland. His motto was “Bold on Quality - Never on Price”. In 1936, the original milk bottle was covered with lath and plaster, taking on a new shape. For a short time, it became two Pabco Paint cans. By the 1940’s, Pabco Paint gave way to the art deco 7-Up sign.

The Hollywood Theater as it looked on October 31, 1926. The Theater had opened a few months earlier. Associated Gas can be seen in front of the Theater. This view is looking east on Broadway at 39th and Sandy Blvd. Freemans’s Hardware can be seen on the right.

Early view of a Rose City car at 52nd & Sandy. In 1907, real estate developers Hartman & Thompson laid out an extensive project in the Rose City Park Addition along Sandy Road and they received a franchise to operate a streetcar along Sandy. Portland Railway Light & Power Company agreed to build and operate the line. In May, less than three months after the franchise was granted, the new Rose City line opened. Originally, the line branched off of the East Ankeny Line at 28th & Sandy. Two years later, the line was extended west on Sandy to Sixteenth.

Rose City Car 582 at the end of the line at 82nd & Sandy where it connected with Parkrose Car 136. Streetcar service to Hollywood ended in 1936 when electric busses began operating on Sandy. Busses running on overhead electricity would remain until 1963.

In 1931 Fred Meyer opened up a store in the Hollywood Neighborhood along Sandy Boulevard. In addition to groceries, general merchandise and a pharmacy, the new store offered off street parking and a gas station. Paulsen's Pharmacy has continued to operate out of its original 1918 location at 4246 NE Sandy Blvd. Famous for operating a 1920s style soda fountain, Paulsen's offers old fashioned customer service along with the latest products.

Sandy Boulevard has seen its share of restaurants representing nearly every major ethnicity come and go. After the repeal of prohibition in 1933, Pal's Shanty opened in 1937 at 47th and Sandy Boulevard.

Another icon of Hollywood Past was the controversial Coon Chicken Inn which was located at 54th & Sandy. The entrance was shaped like the head of an African American porter with exaggerated features. After opening restaurants in Salt Lake City in 1925 and Seattle in 1929, Maxon Graham opened a third location in Portland in 1930, serving its famous chicken dinners. Customers would actually have to walk through this head’s huge open mouth in order to enter. Inside the restaurant, they would soon discover that this colorful logo was on the menus, silverware, plates, cups, glasses, ashtrays, toothpick holders, receipts, straws, and placemats. The restaurant operated in Portland until 1949.

Hollywood’s most popular restaurant, however, was Yaw's Top Notch which opened in 1926. It was famous for its burgers, gravy fries and berry tarts.

In 1936, Yaw’s moved a block away to 42nd Avenue