You can't keep anything good down there, I would leave an open spot of steel and it would look like that the next day. Looks like after 15th on the way to the Fun Zone (not fun anymore since the wheel is gone).
Sunday morning was the day after my sons wedding, I was in no shape to head to the ferry but I'd like to go back and check them out. Got to be the best deal in so cal, ride the ferry for a buck, two if you have a car. thanks.
It's sad to see all the Douglas/Boeing building gone when I go to the LB Topping Swap Meet. Sad to see all those jobs gone..
I agree, very strange to see. You guys ever see the pictures from WWII when they built a neighbor hood on top of the buildings, lawns, cars and so on even actors were hired to walk around so to hide the factory from spy planes, or bombers? They did that at several factories but my mom said you could see the buildings and a gas station on the roof tops at Douglas well into the 50's.
Hello, What about those unusual cement shelters that lined Lakewood Blvd in the 60's? Ever go inside of them? Eerie. Jnaki
Hello LBCD, Going up to San Luis Obispo? We used to stop here right after we drove down from San Luis Obispo after visiting Cal Poly up there. Sometimes we would turn off at the next intersection on Hiway 154 to go to lunch/dinner at out favorite place, Mattei's Tavern in Los Olivos. That place just reeks of history and the food is outrageous. They changed the menu many times, but it is still fabulous. The drive through 154 is a lot nicer than 101 back to Santa Barbara. Jnaki
"Pictures"?-----Hell, I was in the middle of all the aircraft factories camo-net covered!!----There were no ACTORS,--Those persons were US ARMY soldiers manning anti-aircraft guns 24-7 with sliding roofs for quick action response. I lived 1 mile from MinesField (LAX), where North Amarican & Douglas were across the street (Imperial) from each other. During WWII, used to go to sleep listening to the chatter of 50 cal. short bursts into bunkers as they were pulled off the final assy. lines, then lined up for test flying next day by women test pilots, all the guys were off to war.-----Don
I believe you Deuce Daddy but it's very well documented that the government hired actors to walk around, lounge around, whatever it took to make it look like a normal street scene from above.
Hello, Before I forget, just a couple of miles away, (from Noel’s) there was this fabulous Mexican food restaurant. It was on Warner Avenue and called El Toro…(no connection to the El Torito Restaurant chain) It was family owned and served the best Mexican food in So Cal. On any night, we would list the restaurants in the area and decide which one we would go to for dinner. El Toro was always in the top 2, the other being Noel’s Seafod. It was so good, that we made it a regular Friday night outing. Drinks were cold, salty and outstanding, the main course, of just about anything, was always garnished with these fabulous fried, pinnapple chunks in some batter. They were rolled in sugar to make the flavor, out of this world. You could get these as a side dish, but the few that came with the dinners was just enough to not have to roll out of the front door, later. The atmosphere was dark and comfy. The food was superb. Some weekends, we would have to have an early 4:30 pm dinner. This was because the 5-8 pm dinner crowd was so overflowing out the door, that is was disheartening when driving into the parking lot. The restaurant closed in the 80’s, but by then we had moved to South Orange County and it was too many miles away. Besides, now the local So Orange County restaurants were beginning to be the top notch “go to” places weekly. Manny’s in Laguna Niguel for instance…that is another story. Scrumptious… Jnaki
Hello, There are plenty of small beach towns that give off the vibe of a cool cruising spot with a small town atmosphere, even though they are in the middle of a sprawling metropolis know as So Cal. Sure, there are the Santa Barbara, Morro Bay, Laguna Beach, examples of small cities that are pretty famous. But, two other small towns come to mind. They are not only small towns, but the big 101 highway runs through part of town. The cool part of each Orange County city is that they have a main drag that has most of the shops and restaurants. Seal beach has Main Street that runs from 101 all the way down to the pier. San Clemente has Ave. Del Mar running from 101 down to the pier. Similarities? Each main street with cool shops and restaurants is part of a larger more modern city. Seal Beach sprawls from southeast Long Beach all the way to Sunset Beach. They renamed and rezoned the Surfside Colony into Surfside, Seal Beach, CA. But, the main street has all of the quaint stuff for cruisers. The annual April Car Show lines the Seal Beach Main Street for about 5 hours with almost 600 cars. Being closer to the center of sprawling Orange/LA County borders, draws more cars to this Main Street event. San Clemente has their Annual June Car Show that showcases a least 300 cars down Ave. Del Mar. They used to call it the San Clemente Father’s Day Car Show years ago, but the Father’s Day Show had too much competition with the big one in Pomona on the same day. But, this small town closes its entries every year, despite being the most Southern Orange County city. (at the southern end of the city is the huge Camp Pendleton Marine Base) Plenty of restaurants and shopping draw people from all over the world. Both of these cities have things in common. They both have main streets with the classic small town “localized” feel. Seal Beach is near the Naval Ammunition Depot, while San Clemente borders Camp Pendleton. Seal Beach took city control of the smaller Surfside Community and now it is part of the city. San Clemente took over city control of a smaller Capistrano Beach community to expand its borders. But, they have their own city car shows that rival most major shows on the West Coast. Plus, they are steps away from the piers and the Pacific Ocean. Is it worth the day’s drive to come to one of these coastal cities? If you are a car afficianado and love driving your car anywhere, there are two small cities that welcome you with their car shows months apart every year. California sun, small towns, the Pacific Ocean, restaurants, shops, and easy access from any major freeway. What is not to like? Jnaki For a beach town you would think there would be tons of surf/sunset view related posters and photos on a restaurant wall, but here is a surprise in San Clemente, on the wall in living color.
Hello, Ever see a 39 black, lowered, Chevy sedan cruising around So Cal? We used to see it around Laguna Niguel in Orange County quite often. The owner of the car was the head of Manny’s Restaurant that started in Laguna Niguel in the Town Center. It was a small restaurant wedged into a row of shops in the Town Center. It may have been small, but the “locals” packed this place every Friday and Saturday for their weekly fix of some of the best Mexican food in all of So Cal. Manny’s family owned the restaurant and everyone in the family worked in the restaurant. Manny was one of the main cooks and overseer, the sisters were the great looking waitresses, the mom was the host and maitre’d, and the brother was the assistant cook. As the months rolled on, more waitresses were added to the ever busy restaurant. The restaurant had a great following and the word spread. The parking lot was packed weekly. It was like visiting all of your friends from the community each time. The food was outstanding. Everything on the menu was fabulous, even regular hamburgers for those that did not like great Mexican food. There was another large chain restaurant on the opposite end of the row of stores, but could not compete with the food or customers at Manny’s. But, as corporate shenanigans go, Manny’s rent went sky high. The big corporation restaurant was larger for more rent, so the owners of the town center caved in and original, Manny’s closed. Another Manny’s Restaurant opened near Niguel Road/ Clubhouse Dr. and still served great food. That one closed to open the newest, fanciest, one that opened in a new business tract on Aliso Creek Road in Aliso Viejo. This one was huge, had nice new shiny booths and the same great food. But, they are all closed now. The memories from having great Mexican food in a family run business seemed so appealing. Plus, Manny drove his black Chevy sedan daily to the local produce companies and back to the restaurant to serve fresh foods daily…! (An off shoot of this family run business was that one of their waitresses learned all about the business and when the last Manny’s closed. She decided to open a similar restaurant [in the same, old Niguel Road Manny’s restaurant site] in Laguna Niguel with the main chef from Manny’s. It is called Amber’s Cantina. This place is still going strong, today. The food and atmosphere was very similar and outstanding.) Now, going into Amber’s today, brings back memories of old…Manny’s Restaurant that originated in Laguna Niguel. Which leads us back to that cool 39 Chevy sedan cruising around the community. Jnaki
Thanks to all that have contributed. Now let's get back to the reason for this post, southern California cars back in the late 50's and early 60's. What were you driving back then and what did it look like, pictures would be great!!
Posted this over on the "what did you drive in high school" thread. Had a job delivering newspapers to the military bases in San Diego in 1958 and needed something practical. 1953 Plymouth Suburban wagon with an Earl Schieb paint job, '57 Caddy grill, snap on Moon discs and rattle can scallops.
Hello, If you ever wanted to drive down to Surfside/Sunset Beach this weekend looks cold, but clear for a great drive. Also, this just popped up in the local newspapers: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/tower-737905-house-million.html oc register photos If you ever wanted to see the inside of this huge tower home, the new owners are having an open house this Saturday from 9am to 1pm. I am sure that since it just sold for $1.5 mil, they want people to see it and possibly rent it. But, it is a cool proposition for the So Cal locals to check out one of the most unusual homes in the area and get in a cool drive to the ocean in the process. Jnaki
Hello, Besides, lunch at Taco Surf or the Harbor House Cafe around the corner is really good. So have a nice drive up/down/out to the coast... Jnaki
Hey LBCD, How cool to make that drive. It has been great weather here in So Cal, now that the winds blew out that rain storm to our friends back east......How could I forget about Woody's, as it is right next door to the Harbor House? What a cool photo. I am sure that drive was excellent, as was that great food...makes me want to drive back there for lunch. We used to drive by there daily for years...Your car looks outstanding in front of Woody's. Jnaki
Hey LBCD, Nice drive up there. The weather is perfect, the calm before the next storm that is on its way here. Our Midwest and East Coast friends here on the HAMB are just now getting that storm that put down all of that snow for our viewing and play. So Cal is one of the only places that has been written about (many times over) where we can surf in the early morning, be out by 11, snow ski after lunch until sunset, and be dead to the world until the next day. HA! Nice photographs... Jnaki I am not sure about these days, but from 55-65, it was a tradition that most of the teenagers at the 5 Long Beach High Schools went up to Big Bear the days after Christmas. They rented cabins and enjoyed all that the mountains had to offer. Also, the parties were huge, day after day. There were chaperones in each cabin, but, most of them were cool and disappeared. Some of us stayed until New Year's Day. Every night, the main drag through town looked like Spring Break, except for the warm clothes. It was a time to remember what the altitude does to our carbs before doing the backwoods races, too. A great times to be a carefree teenager.
WOW! What a great thread and GREAT PICS! The pics of DeLucca, thank you Norson for posting those. ANOTHER mystery owner of the Doyle Gammell coupe! Here's a couple other pics of it, although this owner is not a mystery, it's my dad, Dick Bergren, who actually built it in 1962. These were taken at Alondra Park. The full history (or so we thought) of the coupe was featured in The Rodder's Journal #29. Amazingly, DeLucca is NOT mentioned or covered at all! Doyle said he sold it to Bob Porter, so I am also curious (as well as my Dad) as to where his ownership falls. Does anybody have any more info on this or DeLucca? If you are interested at all in the history of the coupe, get a copy of The Rodders's Journal #29. Great story and great pics by Joe Kress and Steve Coonan. Thanks AGAIN for a great read and great pics.
Gasnoil After I posted my pictures and info about the gammel coupe I had a "pm" conversation with Tom Feland who supplied a lot more information about that period and knew Dennis. I was going to try copying that info to this thread, but I don't know how. I think this information is very interesting and will try to contact Tom to see if he can repost here. Norm
The Jalopy Journal
