Golden Tip Gasoline from “Hollywood”

Who knew what we needed right now was a happy retelling of Hollywood history? Ryan Murphy, apparently! And he sure delivers with his new Netflix series, aptly titled Hollywood. Loosely based upon an actual high-end prostitution ring run out of a 1940s Tinseltown gas station, the show is a feast for the eyes when it comes to locations! Apartment buildings, offices, restaurants – every spot featured is prettier than the last. At the center of it all is Golden Tip Gasoline, a gleaming yellow and white Streamline Moderne site that had me drooling as soon as it came onscreen. So, of course, I set out to find it. Thankfully, doing so was a snap thanks to this Eastsider article which chronicled the October 2019 filming of “a new Netflix drama set in 1940s Hollywood” at Luis Lopez Automotive. One look at the photos of the Atwater Village repair shop dressed in all of its retro glory told me it was the right place. So to the top of my To-Stalk List it went and I headed over there while doing some socially-distant stalking in L.A. last week.

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Luis Lopez Automotive was originally constructed as a Mobil station in the 1930s. You can check out an early photo of it here. It is amazing how little of the structure has been altered over the years!

Per Eastsider, the adjacent repair shop was added sometime in the 1940s.

The locale didn’t become Luis Lopez Automotive until Luis Lopez Sr. took over in 1968. The photo of him featured on the homepage of the shop’s website looks like it was ripped straight out of a scene from Hollywood!

Luis’ son, Luis Lopez Jr., worked at the garage throughout his childhood, eventually becoming full-time in 1995. He runs the place today.

With its sleek lines, dotting of palm trees and brilliant blue sky backdrop, the shop is definitely cinematic!

I couldn’t stop snapping photos!

Considering its picturesque aesthetic and retro look, it’s no surprise the site wound up in Hollywood. It is out of Golden Tip Gasoline (a double entendre if I’ve ever heard one!) that Ernie West (Dylan McDermott) runs his very lucrative prostitution ring, employing young Hollywood hopefuls like Jack Castello (David Corenswet) and Archie Coleman (Jeremy Pope) to, ahem, “service” Tinseltown’s elite.

Though the station does boast a yellow and white color scheme onscreen, production did away with its amber paint trim for the shoot, I’m guessing to give it a cleaner look.

A secondary overhang and additional pumps were also added to the northeast side of the station for the filming.

Though my images above and below were taken from slightly different angles than the screen captures, they show what that area looks like in real life.