Grew up in Manhattan Beach and there was a Clancy's Hamburger stand at the corner of Sepulveda and Marine in the early 1960's. Long since gone, here is 1 photo plus a close-up, from 1964, the only known ground level photo. There is a station wagon heading North on Sepulveda which might be a 1957 model but I'm not sure. There are/were other Clancy's so it is very easy mix-up history from the others. Does anyone have anything from Manhattan Beach? Thanks in advance.
Please mods let this go. Just got this from a relative who is a member of the Facebook historical society. This is from 1961. Hamburger sale: Just 15 cents each!
Hey T, In our hot rod cruising/surf exploration days in the San Pedro/Palos Verdes area, we usually returned down PCH Coast Highway from Torrance Beach. (after making the full circle drive around the cliff top drive along the coast. The "surf check out drive/hot rod cruise route was similar to 57surf’s recent, “Catch a Wave” driving map here on the HAMB) PCH/101 was the easiest way back to the Westside of Long Beach. The other route directly down from the top of the hill in San Pedro was Western Ave. down to PCH heading East to Long Beach. We did stop at Clancy's several times. Hungry teenagers stopped at any hamburger stand if the price was right and the food was great. This place had both. If we could stand the drive back to the Westside of Long Beach, there was always our favorite hamburger restaurant, the Golden Star a few blocks from our house. But, stopping in Harbor City was a half way point and the fries/hamburgers just hit the spot before the drive home. There are many stories of hamburger places from back in the late 50s-early 60s that were the Carl’s and McDonald’s of their time, but actually had better food. Jnaki I suppose, if we had been taking photos of places like this all along, a cool book about experiences in the greater Los Angeles Metropolitan hamburger stands would have been a thick, coffee table book. Despite the Facebook status, there are some old photos owned by people that have access to old hamburger places like this. We need to get those out into the general public. TomL24… Would those Facebook people you know happen to have photos of Ken’s Hamburger stand in Bixby Knolls? It was on Long Beach Blvd just before San Antonio. The same owner had a family restaurant in the same parking lot called Ken’s Restaurant with a famous Polar Bear/Grizzly Bear standing up inside to greet visitors. Any of those Bixby Knolls drive-in restaurant photos are rare and valuable, these days.
Hello, The Bixby Knolls Grissinger's Drive-In Restaurant got most of the action and notoriety from 1956-65. But, when it was not a happening place, there were a lot of hot rods and teenagers on the next big street over. (Long Beach Blvd) Ken's Hamburgers looked like Clancy's with the red/white motif, but it also looked like a very early McDonalds. The prices were about the same as Clancy's. The cool thing was that the parking lot was huge and if you parked in the back row facing the parking lot, you could see any hot rod or cruiser going by on the street. The food was pretty good and less expensive than Grissinger's or even Hof's Hut, also down the street. As much action and history that took place at Grissinger's, Ken's was also the place to hang out, talk "hot rods", show off your car, check out the car loads of girls cruising, and have fun. The packed parking lot almost every weekend made it a place just perfect for teenagers. Jnaki If anyone was driving by on Long Beach Blvd in Bixby Knolls, the hot rods in the parking lot stood out. It was a ring side view of cruisers and the huge lot. The other teenagers could see with a glance who's hot rod was in the lot. It was a great alternative to Grissinger's and as much fun. So, if anyone has old 1960s photos of Ken's Hamburgers in Bixby Knolls, post them up or send them to me via PM (HAMB conversation) THANK YOU.
I'm very happy to see someone else has a connection to Clancy's Hamburgers, and that it is car related. I'm not a member of Facebook so I don't know what they have. For me the great mystery is what happened to 6 Clancy's? I went to the Federal Trademark website and saw nothing. I'm curious to know the full story. Hope we find photos of vintage cars at Clancy's
Hey T, In one of your posts, you mentioned that you got this from a relative who is a member of the Facebook Historical Society. Even if there is no specific mention of that named website, would you be able to contact your relative for more information on where they got the Clancy's advertisement? (or if they have access to other historic advertisements and photos?) Sometimes the most obscure website will have something that no one else has seen or knows about. Let us see what comes from your contacting that relative for more specific website location and access. Your relative contact would be a great source. A Google search is not the only place for historical photos and information. Thanks, Jnaki PM me if the information is to be kept low key.
The Jalopy Journal
