View of Apablasa Street in Chinatown circa 1920, looking east from near Alameda Street. Palm trees in planters are lined up in the center of the street, and a car is parked. Two-story brick buildings face the street. A sign at left is written in Chinese characters<WBR>. Later Union Station would be built here.
I collect, "then and now" photos...here's some from El Lay... they always remind me of how freeking old I am and how lucky I was to be born in 1950 in the El Lay suburbs...When I was a kid, this place was crawling with hot rods.....no regrets!!!
more from my "then and now" files Big Daddy Roths shop on Slauson in about 1961 and again last summer My Dad took me to Roth's shop in 1961 for my 11th birthday. Ed airbrushed a sweatshirt for me that is now my avatar
Ed shared this shop with the Baron and Kelly in the late 50's on Atlantic Blvd. and again last summer
before Don Nicholson became, "Dyno Don" Nicholson, he ran this speed shop with his brother, Harold, who was killed shortly after they opened the shop while drag racing at Saugus drag strip... 1953...in Arcadia, east of Pasadena and today...with my heap in front of it I'll quit while I'm ahead, I don't want to hijack this thread anymore than I have
"I gots to know"... Is anyone on here related to any of these guys or know if they are still around??
Really enjoy the "then and now" shots, amazing what still remains. What a great thread, thanks to all.
Do you think the placement of the girl near the fender was intentional by the photographer... read the fender. [/QUOTE]
Thanks for the posts. I'm from Minnesota, but took several trips to the LA area in the early '60's, but never saw as many rods as I expected. As to the '60's pictures of the city, all I hear in my mind is "1-Adam-12, 1-Adam-12, see the man at.......'
Nonsense!! Keep 'em coming! Some of us only just barely scraped the boundary for an instant. You know,spent 4 mos. summer of '66 in Castro Valley, spent 1 week at Lake Elsinore summer of '67, that sort of thing. You've lived it, bring it on!
More Los Angeles institutions Bell Auto Parts on Gage Avenue Vic Sr and Jr. Edelbrock Ted Halibrand on the right
MORE............................................... Need more doc. PS, thanks guys, I just missed my physio appointment as I was so stuck on here...... No regrets though.
One is identified as Earl Wade...wonder if he is the Bourgoise and Wade Chevy guy who ran Corvettes, gassers, etc...also ran with Don Nicholson...anyone know if he is the same guy? And, thanks to all who posted these great shots...I grew up right outside of LA and these photos bring back lots of memories.
Craig Breedlove, like Mickey Thompson were El Lay suburbanites. Here Craig and his friends drag the "Spirit of America" from it's humble backyard garage. "We don't need no stinking fancy shops" was a common saying in the area
Its funny, I sat up last night looking for places from my childhood on the net. Pictures of places we holidayed at, familiar places to my early childhood then this is is here. I found aerial pics of the old family farm, man did hat bring back memory's!! I'm on a mission now t re-visit places armed with my camera before they are no longer there. Doc. PS, Thank you guys.
Good idea, Doc....what we take for granted today will be gone tomorrow Mickey Thompson's first "real" shop in Long Beach, not far from Lions Drag Strip which opened in 1955. Mickey was the strip's first manager.
One of the hardest photos to find are shots of hot rods and customs on the streets of LA. We know there were a lot of them, and all the old photos seem to be personal snapshots or at the lakes, none really on the streets of LA. But check out this custom Merc from 1954...
Much of Mickey's first concoctions were born in the backyards and garages of his residences. Here's Mickey, in the center, with another of his creations
The Jalopy Journal
