Nostalgia (Long Beach, Riverside, Glendale: chapel, theater, construction)

[majoun]

Originally Posted by 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.

At least a few months ago, it was still there, on La Cienega and Manchester adjacent to the 405.

Another anachronistic fast food business that still survives in LA: the original Pioneer Chicken on Echo Park Ave. and Sunset, which has survived the chain's demise, although gentrification means its days will be numbered. (There are plans to construct a Trader Joe's on the site)

[JustPassinThru]

"There are plans to construct a Trader Joe's on the site"

Does this mean that the Pioneer Market is gone? It was a 24-7 operation that was staffed by a bunch of great guys.

"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 etc."

Bob's in Van Nuys was popular with the teens, as we would cruise there on the weekends (yep, just kept driving around the block and back into Bob's all night) but the store on Roscoe and Van Nuys had the palm trees growing from the lobby thru the roof and was popular with older (than 18) folks.

"...there used to be a Keebler Cookie factory, that I remember fondly. Does anyone else remember the smell of the freshly baked cookies?"

Keebler took over the building when Helms Bakeries left.


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

Cal was such a good sport, even when the critters knocked off his hat, or the wind lifted up his hairpiece.

Did anyone go to the skating rink in Van Nuys? Ritchie Valens sang there, as did the Teddy Bears and others.

[grisandole]

Originally Posted by majoun

At least a few months ago, it was still there, on La Cienega and Manchester adjacent to the 405.

Another anachronistic fast food business that still survives in LA: the original Pioneer Chicken on Echo Park Ave. and Sunset, which has survived the chain's demise, although gentrification means its days will be numbered. (There are plans to construct a Trader Joe's on the site)

I used to go to the Pioneer Chicken in Sylmar, it was my favorite as a kid. I had no idea one still existed, I still crave it at times.

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by grisandole

I used to go to the Pioneer Chicken in Sylmar, it was my favorite as a kid. I had no idea one still existed, I still crave it at times.

If you mean the one that was at the corner of Glenoaks and Hubbard, I used to go there once in a while, too. On one of the other corners was a Popeye's Fried Chicken. Popeye's closed down several years ago, then the company took over most of the Pioneer Chicken locations. The Pioneer in Sylmar is now a Popeye's, so that's back in the neighborhood, at least.

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by KimoJimo

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!

Thinking about Mt. Wilson brings back some more memories. Back in the days before we all had Cable TV, we used to have to pick up the over the air broadcasts from Mt. Wilson. If you were in the shadows of the Verdugo Hills, as I was, this was not always an easy task.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by JustPassinThru

"There are plans to construct a Trader Joe's on the site"

Does this mean that the Pioneer Market is gone? It was a 24-7 operation that was staffed by a bunch of great guys.

Pioneer Market (which Pioneer Chicken was named after, due to being right next door) has been replaced by a Walgreen's. The Trader Joe's will be built right next to Walgreen's, and the original Pioneer Chicken will close down some time this year.

[jdavid93225]

I just remembered another old landmark that is now gone forever...

The Palomino in North Hollywood. It was pretty famous in its own right, but was made even more famous by the Clint Eastwood movie "Every Which Way But Loose."

[majoun]

Beverly Kiddie Park and the adjacent pony rides, a part of countless West Side LA childhoods, on a site now occupied by the Beverly Center (which may be demolished in the next few years, but I certainly won't miss it).

Although I wasn't aware of it at the time, Brian Wilson's health food store, The Radiant Radish, was across the street.

Has anyone mentioned POP yet? Went there a couple times as a little kid, although I don't remember much about it when it was open. I do remember the ruins of it, after it closed and was destroyed by fire. The site's now occupied by expensive condos. Speaking of that area, the whole "no man's land" by lifeguard station 26 on the SM/Venice border, home of the Dogtown kids, too far south for SMPD to patrol and too far north for LAPD to patrol....

Some of the neighborhood second run movie theatres that are long gone, casualties of home video and rising real estate prices: the Palms Theatre, the Meralta Theatre, the Culver Theatre (still there, but now called the Kirk Douglas Theatre and used for plays), the Picfair, a theatre on Pico and La Cienega that I don't remember the name of....also the Picwood (one of the last movie palaces built, in the late 40s - saw quite a few first run flicks there as well as the '84 Filmex screenings, but I especially remember seeing Apocalypse Now and This Is Spinal Tap there), and the amazing revival house, the Fox Venice. Not to forget the drive ins: the Olympic Drive In in Santa Monica, the Culver Drive In in Culver City, the Centinela Drive In in Ladera Heights...

Businesses that got plowed under by real estate costs and changing marketplaces: Papa Bach's, the Discount Library, Rhino Records....

[grisandole]

Originally Posted by jdavid93225

If you mean the one that was at the corner of Glenoaks and Hubbard, I used to go there once in a while, too. On one of the other corners was a Popeye's Fried Chicken. Popeye's closed down several years ago, then the company took over most of the Pioneer Chicken locations. The Pioneer in Sylmar is now a Popeye's, so that's back in the neighborhood, at least.

Yep, that's the one! Do you remember a steak house in Sylmar, maybe in that same plaza, called Happy Steak? It had a logo of two smiling cows? I loved that place, and thought it was "fancy" as a kid, lol.

When did the Palamino close? Is Odyssey video still around?

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by majoun

Not to forget the drive ins: the Olympic Drive In in Santa Monica, the Culver Drive In in Culver City, the Centinela Drive In in Ladera Heights...

I guess I didn't get over to the west side very often, so I didn't remember much about any of the things mentioned. I do remember all the drive-in theaters, though. In the valley, there were the Van Nuys Drive-In (now there's a new school on the site), Winnetka Drive-In (now a multiplex & several restaurants), Victory Drive-In (now a park), and the Sepulveda Drive-In (I believe that's what it was called, not sure what's on that site).

I remember the drive-in theater along the 5 (around Norwalk) that we used to pass on the way to Disneyland, but can't remember its name. Last time I passed by there, it was a swap meet.

Speaking of going to Disneyland, remember the animated Coppertone sign and the Uniroyal tire factory built like a castle? The Uniroyal factory became the "Citadel" factory outlet mall. I don't know what became of the sign.