History The History Of Los Angeles

Atlantic Blvd in Monterey Park


Caption: Victims of Topanga Canyon fire, 1948. From the Los Angeles County Library files

 

The car is a Siata 208 S coupe, with a body by Balbo. They ran a Fiat 8V engine, which was a 2 liter 70° V8 made in very limited numbers -- around 200 total.

 

From around 1957 to 1960, I lived just around the corner on Ave. 34, a couple of doors up from Fletcher Dr. Years later, I would be a milkman for Alta-Dena Dairy in Highland Park and the surrounding area.

 

I'm sure you are correct. My 58 year old memories are not that great.

 

The beauty of growing old!

 

Scrivner's Drive In.

 

The Scrivner's I remember was at Imperial and Western. We would often cruise there from Redondo after school on a Friday afternoon to be part of the scene during the live broadcasts. Here is a photo I found on-line that said it was that Scrivner's .....

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From a recently discovered archive of treasures.........

 

Used to watch these races on TV. My dad took me a few times (Gardena?). Dick Lane, Parnelli something...................remember it well.

 

Oh, yea!

 

Scotty Cain was quit the wheel man, and not just in jalopys. Please send us more Thomas.

 

So..........I spent 2.5 hours and made it through the 1st 25 pages!
Too bad so many of the pic's on those pages have "disappeared".
That's the worst part of revisiting these old threads!!
Still LOVE the thread though, makes me long to have grown up in LA after WWII!

 

1955. Scotty Cain #10.

 

Billy Wilkerson in his Super Modified racer at Western Speedway Gardena Sunday March 10,1963. Bucky Stoner being interviewed live on KTLA television by Dick Lane, also on March 10, 1963.

 

I was still a seed waiting to sprout, 7 months later.

 

The '54 Bel Air I owned in the late 60's/early 70's was built in Los Angeles. And sold new in Phoenix.

 

The Wich Stand was another hot rod/custom hangout, Slauson and Overhill.

 

Does anyone remember a muffler shop, I think it was on San Fernando Rd., called Aga's Mufflers?
I'm not even sure of the name now, but I remember there was always a rod or a custom or two
in the parking lot.

 

I worked at this hospital, Rancho Los Amigos in Downey for 12 years back in the 80's through 96 and then for one year in 2000. I worked in the metal shop...so sad it has gone to ground...i really loved working there....the old buildings and vibe is something I still miss to this day.

 

Some more photos...the metal shop was condemned because of an earthquake in the late 80's and by 91-92 it was moved to another shop down the road. The yellow sign is barely hanging on...I believe it was there because the metal shear was next to that area and OSHA came through the shop and we were not up to code.
I climbed that water tower with a co worker...he made to the very top...freak in crazy...it was swaying pretty good! We had hospital security there in a second...I made it halfway and my legs cramped up.

Im going to speak to hospital security to see if I can get some better pics and with my 41taken by my kid photographer....I would love for him to see where it all started.

 

Again..some more pics...

Wish I had some pics of when I worked there. Nowadays we have a camera on our cell phones so its easy to document every single thing you see.
I played with a few bands in this auditorium...sad to see it like this.
The hospital is still there but really only north of Imperial highway is still functioning. It is now state of the art and is one of the best paralysis rehabilitation hospitals in the WORLD!
When south of Imperial was closed off vandals went nuts as you can see...even setting fire to a couple of buildings that I installed a couple of hundred industrial shelving units in for medical records...this place has been around since 1888...my band played at the 100 year anniversary and when the new Hospital opened back in 94-96...I forget exactly when...the band members where all from there...we all worked at the hospital.
In 2000 I worked directly with physical therapy fabricating custom wheelchairs for the patients. The shop was in the basement of one of the original wards. The corridor was lined with chain link and stored a number of iron lung machines...the pic of the iron lungs are all in that same auditorium.

 

Small world.

I went to work in 2004 for Transcontinental / CC3 at 7300 Flores St there in Downey. It's a lettershop / direct mail company in a cul-de-sac on the south side of Imperial Hwy. I passed by Rancho Los Amigos every day. It is an absolutely beautiful place. I didn't realize the barracks on the south side had anything to do with the hospital. It was being used for SWAT training when I was there.

Just neat to see someone mention a place you have been that's 1500 miles from home. I appreciate the history lesson.

 

Gotgas...your welcome! It was bustling in the 80's...most or all the buildings where used for something...I believe the barracks were converted into offices in the 70's or early 80's.

Alot of the guys I worked with were top metal fabricators and I learned the art of kitchen and O.R. design and fabrication under those guy's. I mainly deal in the stainless side of the industry and have moved to a shop in downtown LA.
I still drop in there from time to time and hope to transfer back there before I retire...still have 15 years before that so I hope to end up there sometime soon.

 

9 years has past since the photo I previously posted of this building was taken.

 

Just a comparison from 1929 to 2016. Had my kid with me and had him take a few pics, he is 14 and loves the camera. He stood on those steps to the lower right in the first pic and this is what it looks like today.

 

Dropped my daughter off this morning at Union Station...back up to SLO. This place is beautiful!

 

Thanks! You got some nice "glamour" shots there.

 

Thanks! Not bad for an old Samsung 3 cell phone camera.

 

Sure is, thanks for posting.

 

Remember this series of tunnels on the Pasadena Fwy? I remember a warm spring afternoon in 1957, my cousin, who was from Needles and was attending Pepperdine came to Highland Park and picked me and a friend up and we headed for Scrivner's. I wished my old Chevy was 1/2 as cool as my cousin's - a '49 coupe with a 270 Jimmy, dual carbs, hot cam and ignition, and of course Fenton's and a pair of very short Smitty's. We couldn't get in to Scrivner's - the placed was packed - so we just cruised around. On the way back, as we approached the tunnels, my cousin put the Chevy in 2nd gear and we just screamed through there - sounded like a squad of P-51's. Man, the 50's in SoCal was just so cool.