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Old 03-01-2009, 03:30 PM
 
Location: Fiji
647 posts, read 2,082,768 times
Reputation: 426

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Do we have any CD members here who are of age to remember Los Angeles area (or even O.C.) back in the 50's/60's? I have family there and, the times that I have been to visit, I have, of course, only seen the modern day urban, sprawling So.Cal.

I'd be very interested to know what it was like back then, in simpler times, when L.A. and SoCal wasn't so over populated, etc....I'll bet it was totally awesome back then.
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Old 03-01-2009, 04:50 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,329 posts, read 93,729,143 times
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The 405 in the Sepulveda Pass 1962.


Now Less smog
Now I think it is more expensive for housing per earning dollar but not sure
Now traffic on the 101 in the west San Fernando Valley (to the Conejo Valley and the Oxnard Plain) flows east to west in the mornings and west to east in the afternoon. It used to be the opposite.
Then many more aerospace companies in the San Fernando Valley: Lockheed, Hughes, Teledyne. Rocketdyne and Litton (Northrop Grumman) are basically the last of the glory days.
There was no such thing as a snowboard.
Then Dodger Stadium was about $3 for top deck and the outfield pavilions.
Then Anyone could afford a hockey ticket.
Air Raid sirens were tested last Friday of the month at 10AM.
One area code 213
LAX was single deck


Reseda (Gilmore and Jumilla streets looking north) Late 1950s



Hollywood Bowl Late 1950s



Tampa and Victory looking northwest early 1960s


Sherman Way and Topanga looking North East 1953 (From CSUN Digital Library)



Chatsworth Park South 1955 (From CSUN Digital Library)




Hidden Hills 1953 (From CSUN Digital Library)



"Hey dad, did you get our Dodger Dogs?" (Dodger Stadium 1962)



Wrigley Field in Los Angeles where the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League played 1926 to 1957. It was located at at 42nd Place and Avalon Boulevard, basically on the other side of the 10 freeway from the Coliseum. The Los Angeles Angels of the American League (completely different franchise from the LA Angels of the PCL who moved to Spokane in 1958) played their first season here in 1961 then moved to Chavez Ravine (the Angel organization didn't call it Dodger Stadium) in 1962 where they played until Anaheim Stadium was built in 1967. I think it was then that the Los Angeles Angels (AL) became the California Angels.



Night Game at Los Angeles Wrigley Field




Demolition of Wrigley Field. Downtown Los Angeles in the background behind left field.




Anaheim Stadium (The Big "A") under construction. It was later enclosed for the Rams and then re-opened in the outfield to its present configuration. Amongst the most spotlessly clean stadiums I have ever been to.

http://www.anaheimcolony.com/images/stadium2222.jpg (broken link)



Gilmore Field in Los Angeles, Home of the Hollywood Stars. Gilmore Field sat between Gilmore Stadium (a football field) and the famous Pan-Pacific Auditorium, along Beverly Boulevard. Must have been tough for a pitcher like at this time of the day as he is almost looking into the sun and pitching into a shadow. Left field points east.




Here's a good shot of Farmers Market, Gilmore Stadium, and Gilmore Field. CBS Television City is about there now. That is 3rd and Fairfax in the immediate foreground.




Mt Baldy Ski Lifts maybe 1959. The woman in the lower center of the picture is my mom.



San Gabriel Mission late 50s early 60s
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Old 03-01-2009, 04:54 PM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
77,771 posts, read 104,672,365 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by heatwave13 View Post
Do we have any CD members here who are of age to remember Los Angeles area (or even O.C.) back in the 50's/60's? I have family there and, the times that I have been to visit, I have, of course, only seen the modern day urban, sprawling So.Cal.

I'd be very interested to know what it was like back then, in simpler times, when L.A. and SoCal wasn't so over populated, etc....I'll bet it was totally awesome back then.
wow, you couldn't have found a better person to be the first responder than me:

I was born at the now defunk, Queen of Angeles hospital and lived in Ca, both no and south for the first 40 years of my life, mainly the southern part.

Yes, it was very different in many ways..My parent bought their first home in Eagle Rock when I was a baby and Eagle Rock was the burbs...

We walked everywhere, to school, to our friends, to church, and to the movies on Eagle Rock Blvd every Sat.

To visit family and friends in the SFV was almost a days outing..

I will say, by the 50s the smog was coming in pretty heavy but we still thought there was no place this side of heaven that could compare with Los Angeles.

I think the things I remember the most: Daddy goin to Phillipes for sandwhiches on Sunday nights and bringing them home. We didn't have them every Sunday, maybe once a month. Weekly visits to the Grand Central market to buy our produce and then heading to the butcher shop on the outskits of China town for steaks, lamb chops and hamburger meat. Of course we could take the street car to downtown and spend Sat shopping. We did this on our own by the time we were 12 or 13, always having lunch at either Woolworths, the Forum cafeteria or Cliftons. What a $ would buy..Wow?..Sometimes we took the bus to Glendale instead of downtown..

In the late 50s. the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, talk about excitement: we couldn't believe how great this would be and only 1 year later they won the World Series...

By the 60s the sprawl had started, it really started in the early 50s, but by the 60s it was everywhere. Eagle Rock was almost inter city, people were moving to the SFV and SGV in groves, some were going as far east as, god forbid La Pruente, Covina and Hacienda Heights..On the west side, even Thousand Oaks...

Lots of families from states like Ok and Ar located to So California for a better life.



Before the 60s we hung out at Bob's Big Boy, skating rinks, and even In and Out burgers and McDonalds were coming onto the scene.We would drive to Mt Wilson on summer nights, loved to go to Hollywood Bowl and oh, Disneyland and Knottsbury Farm..Now, if a guy took you to any of those places they were numbe 1 in your book, hopefully you were number 1 in theirs..

Believe it or not Mexican food was not the food of choice, I think it was probably 1954 when I had my first Taco and my first Pizza was about the same time..

I could go on and on, but guess I will let others give share their memories of that era..

and the thing I remember the most, we were never afraid to walk down any street day or night, we didn't lock our doors even when we went on vacation and we trusted everyone.

Nita
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Old 03-01-2009, 05:12 PM
 
8 posts, read 88,354 times
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It resembled a nice city, not a third world dump.
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Old 03-01-2009, 05:13 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,329 posts, read 93,729,143 times
Reputation: 17831
You can kill a few hours reading through this fun thread:

//www.city-data.com/forum/calif...nostalgia.html
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Old 03-01-2009, 05:18 PM
 
Location: Earth
17,440 posts, read 28,589,728 times
Reputation: 7477
A really great blog about 1960s LA and OC complete with tons of vintage photos:

Dumb Angel
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Old 03-01-2009, 05:37 PM
 
Location: So. of Rosarito, Baja, Mexico
6,987 posts, read 21,920,292 times
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In the mid 50's you could drive thru central Watts at 2-3 AM with out any problems. I would drive thru there there at least twice a week on the way to work. So many people on the streets...like it was mid afternoon on a Sat.

East LA had it's share of latinos but nothing compared to today.

Eagle Rock and Glendale never had the Armenians like they have today.

Monterey Park had some Asians but moreso today.

The Arroyo Seco from Pasadena changed into the Pasadena Fwy gradually. At beginning the word out was that it would be 20 yrs ahead of it's time...by completion it was obsolete. Used to drive down Colorado Blvd thru Pasadena to Aroyo Seco Blvd which started the Fwy winding to LA.

101 Hwy changed from three lanes to a FWY over the yrs going towards San Frisco.

Alligater farm just north of Knotts Berry Farm on Beach Blvd.

Many time drove down Beach Blve (old Hwy 39) on the way to Huntington Beach.

I was in the Grocery Inventory field as such went to Grocery mkts all over the LA basin and to San Diego.

210 Fwy never existed and I drove foothill blvd all the way to San Bernardino many times.

San Bernardino Fwy never existed.

Could go on some more...in 1955 bought my first house in Covina after getting married in 1954...lived there for 20yrs.

Could say lots and lots. Steve
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Old 03-01-2009, 05:41 PM
 
Location: Fiji
647 posts, read 2,082,768 times
Reputation: 426
Thanks so much to you all for sharing those stories and photos. I really enjoyed those!
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Old 03-01-2009, 05:42 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,329 posts, read 93,729,143 times
Reputation: 17831
Quote:
Originally Posted by majoun View Post
A really great blog about 1960s LA and OC complete with tons of vintage photos:

Dumb Angel
That was fascinating.
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Old 03-01-2009, 05:52 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,329 posts, read 93,729,143 times
Reputation: 17831
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Bagu View Post
In the mid 50's you could drive thru central Watts at 2-3 AM with out any problems. I would drive thru there there at least twice a week on the way to work. So many people on the streets...like it was mid afternoon on a Sat.

East LA had it's share of latinos but nothing compared to today.

Eagle Rock and Glendale never had the Armenians like they have today.

Monterey Park had some Asians but moreso today.

The Arroyo Seco from Pasadena changed into the Pasadena Fwy gradually. At beginning the word out was that it would be 20 yrs ahead of it's time...by completion it was obsolete. Used to drive down Colorado Blvd thru Pasadena to Aroyo Seco Blvd which started the Fwy winding to LA.

101 Hwy changed from three lanes to a FWY over the yrs going towards San Frisco.

Alligater farm just north of Knotts Berry Farm on Beach Blvd.

Many time drove down Beach Blve (old Hwy 39) on the way to Huntington Beach.

I was in the Grocery Inventory field as such went to Grocery mkts all over the LA basin and to San Diego.

210 Fwy never existed and I drove foothill blvd all the way to San Bernardino many times.

San Bernardino Fwy never existed.

Could go on some more...in 1955 bought my first house in Covina after getting married in 1954...lived there for 20yrs.

Could say lots and lots. Steve

Southern California map 1954
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