THE MISSION OF HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE IS
TO PRESERVE, PROTECT AND PROMOTE THE
HISTORY, ARCHITECTURE AND ARTIFACTS
OF HOLLYWOOD
THE JACK & VICTORIA HORNE OAKIE GALLERY
The Jack and Victoria Horne Oakie Gallery was dedicated on Wednesday, May 30th. David Sonne, Trustee of the Jack and Victoria Horne Oakie Foundation along with Hollywood Heritage president Richard Adkins, marked the dedication by revealing the sign in the gallery designating the gallery's new name.
Mr. Sonne shared rare footage of the Oakies at their Northridge estate "Oakridge" for the audience.
Jack and Victoria Horne Oakie.
Trustee David Sonne and HH Past President Adkins.
Studio Model photos courtesy Surfing Cowboys.
Hollywood Heritage was contacted about another long-unseen model created by Joe Pelkofer. Donna Gunther of Surfing Cowboys reached out with photographs of a generic Hollywood studio diorama - one of the companion pieces originally built as part of the same miniature set but not displayed publicly in decades.
Her hope was that Hollywood Heritage might add this rare surviving model to our collection. As the second most intact Pelkofer miniature known to exist, the piece represents an important part of the original series and a remarkable example of Hollywood's handcrafted studio craftsmanship.
We were - and remain - deeply grateful for the opportunity. Hollywood Heritage acquired the miniature studio, and its now proudly on display at the museum.
Hollywood in Miniature: A Long Journey Home
You may have seen this remarkable miniature years ago when it was displayed at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum, or even earlier at On Location Hollywood, the Paramount Studios gift shop once located on Hollywood Boulevard in what is now the Jimmy Kimmel Theatre. Hollywood Heritage has a long and meaningful connection to this extraordinary piece of craftsmanship: it was originally purchased in 1984 by Hollywood Heritage co-founder Marian Gibbons, who acquired it from the family of Joe Pelkofer, a Hollywood cabinetmaker who created the model in the late 1930s.
Pelkofer and his team of craftsman built the miniature city during slow periods between studio jobs. The diorama compresses 450 hand-built structures into an accurate street grid measuring 11 by 12 feet, depicting Hollywood as it appeared in the late 1930s. Every element-from palm trees to rooftop signs - was handmade, with no parts purchased from model train shops. Some details, such as reflections painted on windows and tiny handprints outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre, reveal the extraordinary skill of Hollywood set builders.
Originally, the model had several companion pieces, including miniatures of the Brown Derby, the Hollywood Bowl and the Malibu beach colony (complete with mechanical waves), and other landmarks. The collection toured widely-including a stint in Atlantic City -but the road was hard on the delicate structures. Some buildings were damaged or stolen, and eventually the model returned to Pelkofer's Pasadena farm where it remained for decades.
By the mid-1980s, Pelkofer's grandson reached out to Hollywood Heritage to find a permanent home for the diorama. Marian Gibbons later recalled being "speechless" when she first saw its scale and detail. The model was displayed at an Art-Deco-inspired soda fountain before eventually moving to the Hollywood Entertainment Museum, where it remained until that museum closed.
The miniature was later purchased at auction by musician Dan Collins, who fell in love with it and was determined to see it preserved. Through his research, Dan located Hollywood Heritage and asked whether we might be interested in acquiring it. Thanks to several generous donations, Hollywood Heritage purchased the model - though it would be several years before we secured a suitable workspace for restoration.
A connection with Kerry Morrison of the Hollywood Business Improvement District ultimately brought us together with Robertson-Pacific, who generously offered former retail space on Hollywood Boulevard for the miniature restoration project.
Stewardship, Restoration, and the Future of the Miniatures
The miniatures are a true treasure of Hollywood, and Hollywood Heritage is proud to be the steward of these remarkable artifacts. Our ongoing challenge is to restore them and make them accessible for public viewing once the restoration is complete.
The restoration is being supervised by Donna Williams, an past board member and a conservator specializing in sculpture and architectural materials. Since 2018, she has been meticulously cleaning and documenting the model - vacuuming dust with a nozzle the width of a dime, repairing fragile signage, stabilizing delicate rooftop towers, and cataloging every removable piece.
This work is painstaking, time-intensive, and costly. Any and all donations towards the restoration are deeply appreciated and directly support the preservation of this irreplaceable piece of Hollywood history.
To contribute, please click on the "Support" tab above.
