I live in Downey, CA; do you and on which side North or South (Los Angeles: houses, neighborhoods)

[bloowool]

and what are your views even if you don't? (Look at a map, at Los Angeles' big black dot...go a little further to the right and DOWNEY is right there, looking huge and important. Well, that's because it's as old as original Los Angeles and was basically for commerce freight routes and back then, yes, city names on maps could be BOLDED and capped for a nice donation). Now...back to my question please.

[Charles]

There was a huge North American (later Boeing) plant there and that Downey facility was a huge contributor to the Apollo Program and the Space Shuttle Program.

Neat shots here:

Aerospace Legacy Foundation, Pictoral Aerial Views, Early Aviation Downey California, Downey NASA site

Downey has the oldest operational McDonalds and had the very first Taco Bell.

[sam222]

Whittier is much better as far as im concerned

[the one]

i dont live in either whittier or downey, but as far as being better? i would say downey.
whittier is older, more architecturally distinct and even has its uptown area, but downey is a very nice quaint diverse suburb.
also, downeys history is not really as old as people think. there are some neighborhoods with older 30 and 40's bungalow homes, but the vast majority of downey was developed in 50 and 60's (notice how most homes are the california ranch style; very popular in the 60's).

anybody remember what stonewood looked like before the renovation?

[Bunjee]

Originally Posted by the one

i dont live in either whittier or downey, but as far as being better? i would say downey.
whittier is older, more architecturally distinct and even has its uptown area, but downey is a very nice quaint diverse suburb.
also, downeys history is not really as old as people think. there are some neighborhoods with older 30 and 40's bungalow homes, but the vast majority of downey was developed in 50 and 60's (notice how most homes are the california ranch style; very popular in the 60's).

anybody remember what stonewood looked like before the renovation?

I go to Downey not frequently but often enough. By north, does that mean north of Stonewood? I know along Florence there are a lot of McMansions of that Spanish style with terraces and turret shapes. Nice for what they are, but I find them rather gaudy. I imagine they're being built by execs from Downey Studios? I respond better to the streets off the avenue, with the pleasant, manicured ranch houses that appreciate what and where they are, which is a quite clean, quiet ranch house pocket subdivision.

Stonewood was an open air mall decades ago, just one short strip with storefronts, never without several vacancies, on either side. Very sleepy and geriatric, a forgotten place. IIRC there was a hobby shop and maybe a place for sewing machine repair. But you get the picture. It had been anchored by Mervyn's, but before even then, before Mervyn's...? You can imagine how completely desolate it was for years.

[steelstress]

Originally Posted by the one

anybody remember what stonewood looked like before the renovation?

Ooh! Ooh! I do! I do! It was an outdoor mall then.

[steelstress]

Originally Posted by Bunjee

Stonewood was an open air mall decades ago, just one short strip with storefronts, never without several vacancies, on either side. Very sleepy and geriatric, a forgotten place. IIRC there was a hobby shop and maybe a place for sewing machine repair. But you get the picture. It had been anchored by Mervyn's, but before even then, before Mervyn's...? You can imagine how completely desolate it was for years.

There was also a Woolworth there.

[Chatteress]

Funny ... I just got in an hour ago from Stonewood Mall.

[the one]

ding ding ding.
it was in fact an outdoor "mall".

and i agree, the mcmansions can be very tacky.

[_redbird_]

Back in the 60s, we used to go to Downey to go trick or treating. We thought they were rich because they would give away small candy bars!

It was great back in the day. Haven't been there for close to 20 years now.