Nostalgia (Glendale, Pasadena, Norwalk: real estate, condos, house)

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by fastfilm

This area was once a fantastic savannah of alluvial soil that only needed water added to grow tremendous crops, much like present day Ventura, whose agriculture is almost gone now as well. Had we stuck to Mulholland's plan, rife with mendacity as it was, of the S.F. Valley as the ag, factory plant, and outdoor recreation annex of Los Angeles, the whole of Southern California would have been the better for it.

Unfortunately, the same thing is happening throughout the San Joaquin Valley, too. With the high cost of housing in the L.A. and S.F. markets, places like Bakersfield and Modesto are becoming commuter communities. In about the last 15 years or so, Bakersfield has nearly doubled in area, or at least it seems that way. I imagine many of the other communities in the S.J.V. are doing the same.

[Roma]

I remember the Busch Gardens. I always wondered what happeed to it.
I was young in the 70's but I remember the Water the Birds, it was so pretty. We also would beg my mom to buy a beer at one of the stands and we would get so excited if she did (she never drank). Kids, LOL.

[JustPassinThru]

I remember that giant donut sign. Used to pass it often on the way to Hollypark. Might have been on the SW corner of either Manchester or Centinella.
Used to deliver milk for foremost dairies, prior to refrigerated milk trucks. Oh, the fun of shoveling ice at 3:30 in the morning.
Saw 2 peacocks from Busch Gardens about 12 miles west at least 15 years after the closing.
A little-known fact about how the rodents were dealt with at BG: the birdfood attracted hundreds of rats and the safest method to control them was to paddle around in a boat and shoot them out of the trees with a .22.
But, that isn't why the Gardens shut down. The brewery needed additional space for another line and 500 new employees.

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by JustPassinThru

Saw 2 peacocks from Busch Gardens about 12 miles west at least 15 years after the closing.
A little-known fact about how the rodents were dealt with at BG: the birdfood attracted hundreds of rats and the safest method to control them was to paddle around in a boat and shoot them out of the trees with a .22.
But, that isn't why the Gardens shut down. The brewery needed additional space for another line and 500 new employees.

It's funny, I was just thinking about the area around the brewery where Busch Gardens used to be. Galpin Ford used to occupy only a small portion of where they are now. Leo's Stereo used to be across the street from them (to the west). At the corner of Woodley and Roscoe, there used to be a Keebler Cookie factory, that I remember fondly. Does anyone else remember the smell of the freshly baked cookies? Yummm!

Something else that I remember and will miss was the Ice Capades ice skating rink in Laurel Plaza in North Hollywood. That mall was basically destroyed in the '94 earthquake, and was later torn down. Only the May Co. store remained, later to become Robinson's May, which eventually was bought out by Macy's, I think.

[CentralCoastAdvisor]

I've got some:

What about Gemco? Who baught them all out anyway? I just to love Gemco with the little security guy standing right by the entry. That place was huge!

Anyone remember Farolls Ice Cream and Candy store? They used to come through with drums and huge sundaes...

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by CentralCoastAdvisor

I've got some:

What about Gemco? Who baught them all out anyway? I just to love Gemco with the little security guy standing right by the entry. That place was huge!

Anyone remember Farolls Ice Cream and Candy store? They used to come through with drums and huge sundaes...

Wow! There are a couple things I forgot about. Most (if not all) the Gemco stores were bought out by Fedmart, that was later bought out by Target. While I'm thinking about it, remember Fedco? How about Two Guys? White Front?

How about those other grocery stores: Lucky, Hughes, Alpha Beta (tell a friend), Market Basket...

Anyone else remember "Fred Rated, from Federated?" Federated was one of the home audio/electronics places that used to exist before Circuit City came to town.

Farrell's Ice Cream Parlours had several locations in the valley. The ones I remember were Van Nuys Blvd. just south of Sherman Way, Reseda Blvd. just south of Devonshire, and another in the west valley, just north of Ventura Blvd., possibly on Tampa Ave., though I can't recall the street it was on for sure. They now have a Farrell's inside the Mountasia Amusement Center in Santa Clarita.

Here's another: Cal Worthington and his "dog" Spot! Are those commercials still on TV? I haven't seen one in a long time.

And another: Pete Ellis Dodge, Long Beach Freeway, Firestone Exit, Southgate! Haven't seen these commercials in a long time, either.

It's funny the jingles we remember, isn't it?

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by Sage of Sagle

It was "Sambo's". My grandparents used to take me to the one in San Clemente.

People protested because the character was "little black Sambo" and they got accused of being racist. As a kid, I just thought it was sort of a "jungle book" theme....

Speaking of restaurants, how about Bob's Big Boy? I remember the Big Boy Combo and the Milkshakes! Don't forget the Hot Fudge Cake! Mmmmm.

I know that the Bob's in Toluca Lake is still there, and a few others have popped up in the last few years, but there used to be several in the valley and surrounding areas: Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood, Van Nuys Blvd. in Van Nuys, Sherman Way in Canoga Park, Glenoaks Blvd. in Burbank and also Glendale, Wilshire and La Brea in L.A., etc.

[grisandole]

Yes, Ferrell's ice cream! I remember being afraid of the drums when I was little. And how can I forget the skating rink?! I spent so much time there. I liked the pet store that was in that mall, too.

I miss Gemco and Alpha Beta.

Mmmmm....Bob's Big Boy.

And the Sherman Oaks Galleria before they revamped it. Is it even there anymore?

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by grisandole

And the Sherman Oaks Galleria before they revamped it. Is it even there anymore?

It's still there, sort of. It's nothing like what it used to be. Now it is basically an outdoor plaza with several restaurants and a few stores. I think the rest of it is offices now, if I remember correctly. I've only been there once or twice since the earthquake in '94, so I could be wrong about this, but that's what I remember when I've been there.

[KimoJimo]

In the late '40s my mother and I lived in a very nice trailer park on the corner of Colorado Street and Kinaloa Street in Pasadena. A four foot high brick and cement wall ran the width of our trailer along the sidewalk. My mother marked off 18" spaces on the wall with chalk and sold the "seats" to pedestrians so they could better see the Rose Parades of 1948 and 1949 from this more advantageous and higher spot. Made good money, too!

Also, being a very smart lady, to avoid the heat of Pasadena during the summer she drove up to Mount Wilson and got a job selling entrance tickets to the Mt. Wilson Observatory. I became a busboy at the hotel, we were provided the gatehouse to live in, and had a wonderful summer there. I also had the advantage of watching TV each night at any one of the TV towers that were there. Many years later I lived in SoCal and never went up to see it again. Hate myself for that!