Inside the North Hollywood Warehouse Where Hollywood Rents Its Vintage Props

History For Hire, at 7149 Fair Avenue in North Hollywood, is a 33,000-square-foot rental house stocked with hand props, smalls and historically accurate graphics, founded in 1986 by brothers Jim and Bob Elyea with Jim's wife and partner Pam Elyea.

The collection began with a single production. Jim Elyea was the military wardrobe and equipment buyer on Platoon, and those props became the founding inventory of a business that started at 4,000 square feet. Credits since have included Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Titanic, Oppenheimer, A Complete Unknown, Memoirs of a Geisha, Master and Commander and Mank.

Props are rental-only rather than for sale, and it is not a retail store or museum. The showroom is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for visits, pickups and returns. Rental pricing runs roughly 10 percent of a prop's valuation per week with a $35 minimum, at full price for the first week, half price for weeks two and three and free for week four.