Description
August Balbi remains an obscure figure in Los Angeles photography, but a recognizable body of his work survives. A group of 26 Balbi silver prints currently documented by Daniel / Oliver Gallery records Los Angeles architecture during the 1930s—including the Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles Public Library, USC’s Bovard Auditorium and other commercial and residential buildings. Most are approximately 8 × 10 inches and carry Balbi’s photographer’s credit, date stamp or publication information on the verso. The gallery describes Balbi as a commercial artist and notes that surprisingly little information has surfaced about his work as a photographer.
Balbi was considerably better known in another world: shortwave radio. By the 1930s his name was appearing regularly in radio publications, and he eventually became known among enthusiasts as the “Dean of DXers.” A 1964 profile describes him as one of the most respected shortwave listeners in the field—and specifically lists photography among his interests. None of that needs to make Balbi into a photographer he wasn’t. What matters here is the photograph itself: an atmospheric, beautifully composed view of Broadway during the great era of downtown Los Angeles nightlife, made by a photographer who was there and whose stamp remains on the back.
A wonderful original piece of authentic Los Angeles photographic history—and an especially evocative view of Broadway after dark.
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