History The History Of Los Angeles

The Hancock Gas Station in San Pedro near the Vincent Thomas Bridge...
Hello,

Before the Vincent Thomas Suspension Bridge was built over the main channel in the San Pedro Waterfront, the only way to get there from Terminal Island was to take the inland route via Anaheim Street or PCH.

The main streets leading into San Pedro City were Gaffey St. and then the North Pacific Avenue that got you closer to the waterfront. Most people took the North Pacific Avenue and drove right by this great looking Hancock Oil Gas Station built along the hillside baseline. It was a great place to get gasoline and car service.

In the numerous times we drove in my dad’s Buicks to San Pedro to see relatives and friends, we did stop at this gas station many times. Especially, if we were going to continue the road trip around the peninsula to the Marineland Aquarium and Palos Verdes cliff drives. Our friends and relatives lived all over the San Pedro City area, as well as on the steep hillsides bordering on the Rolling Hills area.

Since my dad loved to drive, sometimes, he would take us specifically to this guy on the Paseo Del Mar cliff drive, who was the only person around selling "salt water taffy." The guy parked his sedan with the trunk up, on the side of the cliff, near the Wayfarer's Chapel and droves of people would stop and purchase this new tasty treat.

Jnaki

When the Vincent Thomas Bridge opened up in 1963, it was the main route to get into the downtown/harbor area of San Pedro. So, this little street nearby was usually for locals only until the gas station closed in 1966.

On our historic road trips, taking PCH from our old house on the Westside of Long Beach to Gaffey St and then North Pacific Avenue brought back a lot of old memories of our younger days. The roads are a little rough and the local traffic still drives on these roads leading into the downtown area. On North Harbor Drive, the old San Pedro Waterfront is now torn down, making way for a revitalized, larger San Pedro Public Market development all along the main channel.
1963
Good or bad, those quiet dinners on the water at the Ports of Call Restaurant and Village were some great times back then. It was one of my wife’s favorite places to go for a nice road trip and destination.
1965
Sorry to say, but the current, Wilmington-San Pedro-LA waterfront project is rather large. It will take years to be finished for the general public. But, those old historic places we used to frequent as hot rod destinations are now gone with the wind. They will be replaced with the latest in construction and port facilities for the next generation of memories, good or bad. For now, it is a fleeting memory, but a good one.

 

I seem to remember there was also a ferry that would cross the channel near Ports of Call.

 

Here is a photo I found on-line .....

 

Hey BN,

Yes, that ferry terminal was/is located on the same side of the channel as the old Ports of Call restaurants/shopping complex. The old ferry terminal on the San Pedro side was about a ½ mile north of the Ports of Call complex. Drivers would see the ferry building first, but, would have to remember the entrance road to the Ports of Call was right at the ferry terminal building.

Since my dad’s family lived on the Terminal Island side, he went to the little, one building, elementary school complex. Then he took the ferry across, daily, to go to San Pedro High School as a teen. Later on, he would drive us to Terminal Island to show us where they lived in the narrow streets on the island side. Of course, we had to take the ferry over to the main San Pedro side to continue our sojourn around the Palos Verdes Peninsula coast line.

On several holiday visits, we did take the surface streets from the Westside of Long Beach to San Pedro City central. As we got older, the ferry terminal on the island got demolished.

Jnaki

That was our first ferry ride and we rode it numerous times instead of driving on land from our Westside Long Beach home. It was easier to drive, but my brother and I always asked our dad to take the ferry. He was proud to do so, because of his history of riding that ferry daily for many years.

After the the Vincent Thomas bridge was built, the ferry service was no longer needed. Although, it was much better to use the ferry than the big bridge when crossing the channel. The ferry boats would be in the way of the multitude of cargo ships coming in and out of the San Pedro/Los Angeles Harbor areas daily. The big ships have the right of way anytime.

“It was a working ferry terminal from 1941 to 1963, for the ferry connecting San Pedro and Terminal Island in the Los Angeles Harbor.[3] During those years, the double-decked ferries "Islander" and "Ace" transported thousands of passengers and automobiles to and from the tuna canneries, docks, shipyards, and military bases on Terminal Island.”

“In 1963, the Vincent Thomas Bridge was completed, connecting mainland San Pedro to Terminal Island, and the ferry service became obsolete. The ferry service was terminated on 14 November, and the bridge opened on 15 November.”

“The San Pedro Terminal Building was used for many years as an office building by the Los Angeles Harbor Department. The ferry Terminal Building on the Terminal Island side was demolished in 1972 to expand cargo operations”

 

The reason I posted my comment was because of what you wrote in your original post .....

"Before the Vincent Thomas Suspension Bridge was built over the main channel in the San Pedro Waterfront, the only way to get there from Terminal Island was to take the inland route via Anaheim Street or PCH".

I remember driving to Pedro from Redondo and riding that ferry in my new 60 Pontiac Catalina. We would also end up at PoC many times on our Sunday drives.

 

Hello,
It is always fun to be the first car on any ferry, a small one like the Balboa Island Ferry, the San Juan Islands, huge ferries, or even the short ride to and from San Pedro from Terminal Island. Back in those little kid days, watching the opposing land getting closer and closer gave all of us a great feeling. My brother and I became early, ferry fanatics after our first rides from Terminal Island to San Pedro.

We loved the ferry terminal, but had to take the Terminal Island Freeway behind our house, all the way to the island by the U.S. Navy Station complex. Then we turned right to go to the tuna factories, housing, elementary school, and the little fishing village. The Terminal Island Ferry took a while to go back and forth. So, the Anaheim Street or PCH into Wilmington - Lomita was the less restrictive road trip from our Westside Long Beach house. Then it was on to San Pedro past the Hancock Gas Station and Ports of Call attractions.

Jnaki
The San Pedro to Terminal Island Ferry near that old Hancock Gas Station was always a fun part of those early road trips. So, for the two brothers, we always wanted to take the ferry route to San Pedro. But, for the sake of being somewhere on time, my dad knew the surface streets to get there quicker with less restrictions.

He did not like waiting for the ferry to arrive at the Terminal Island Terminal side. My dad was the type of guy that was always on time, anywhere he said he would attend. When he told us we were going to dinner in the La Cienega Restaurant Row of LA, by the time my wife and I arrived at his house, he was out in front pacing back and forth. What a guy ! It was worth it because the dinner was free!

The surface streets were the only way to get to San Pedro after the Vincent Thomas Bridge was open for business in 1963. By then, our family get-togethers with relatives had an additional 1958 Impala in attendance, as going with our parents was not the thing to do back then. (or now.)

These days, the Vincent Thomas Bridge is the fastest route. But, getting to that bridge from the OC is a nightmare in driving. Anyone has to go through downtown Long Beach, the new Gerald Desmond Bridge reconstruction, the crazy interchange with the LB Freeway, and the massive amounts of port truck container traffic. Whew, that was a mouthful...and the roads, currently, are not for the anxious driver or one that is late for an appointment, either.

or...the surface streets through some old time neighborhoods.

 

In 1959 and 1960, KTLA channel-5 taped an evening of non-stop demolition derbies on Sunday nights during the Summer and played the tape later in the week on Thursday night. 40-50 cars were destroyed every Sunday night.
At the age of 3-years old I remember those demo derby shows.

 

When my wife was a Campfire Girl their troup would set up a table and sell cookies for fund raisers there in the early 50's..

 

Hello,
It is September and the school year has started for most school districts, so the L.A. County Fair is going on this month. One of the “teenage hot rod things to do” in the first week of school was to take a day off and go to the Los Angeles County Fair at the Pomona Fairgrounds.

Long Beach High School teens had been doing this for ages. The tradition was left to the younger brothers/sisters, as well as cousins, to pass on and enjoy the moment. Somehow, it was also inadvertently passed on to other high schools, too. It was like after Christmas Vacation in Big Bear every year. (another HAMB post)

Except, it was hot Pomona and the draw of the County Fair. Why Pomona? Now, the act was to get our parents to sign a notice of absence due to family activities. When that was too well used, then an illness excuse was the next best thing. My mom always wrote one for my brother in his yearly, H.S. days. But, she only wrote me one. That was enough to copy and transfer for the next two years, as a junior and senior.

The school was happy as we did go to school, but after the 1st period roll call, those that had notes and excuses were allowed to go off campus. So, technically, the school got their A.D.A (attendance money) OK, from the state.

Jnaki

The flood of 50’s Chevy sedans, a few Pontiacs and a couple of old Fords all made the 80 mile round trip to spend time with our friends enjoying what the fair had to offer. Not only were there horses and farm animals having fun, but that LA County Fair was where we were introduced to the original Classic Car Wax in their booth. We could not get past the booth because a lot of teenagers were watching the display of a couple of portable car hoods on display with the wax applied in the bright sunlight.

When the display of how good the wax was, everyone we knew, walked away with a couple of cans for our own Chevy sedans. They even compared it to the Cadillac Blue Coral Wax in a side by side test on one of the black painted hood displays. That was the telling thing…how well it stood up to time and how well it came off. The Blue Coral was still on the hood and starting to clog up and smear. The Classic, just wiped off easily.

 

2 inch front coil cut 1.5" in back


Hello,

There was one thing most teenagers did when they got their first car… cruise around So Cal. Since we lived near the coast line, road trips from Long Beach to places down South and up North made the route fairly challenging. But, besides the coastal attraction, the most visited place inland and north was Los Angeles. Its nearby neighbor, Hollywood, in particular.

Of all the attractions in our own cruising areas, cruising down Hollywood Boulevard was so much different and fun. It was usually packed with teenagers that had the same idea from their own So Cal neighborhoods…”Cruise down Hollywood Blvd.” There was something to be said about Hollywood and its attractiveness to teenagers.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...cover-pic-thread.1081066/page-5#post-13174867

My brother bought his first real car at age 15, a year before he got his driver’s license. He liked the car, a 1951 Pale Yellow, Olds sedan and drove it for two years until late 1957. But, prior to selling the car to one of his best friends, he had it painted a Lime Green.

1951 Olds in 1957 Westside Long Beach

When it was pale yellow, it was my job to keep it shiny and clean. I was 12 at the time and in need of getting to various friend’s places, baseball fields or local basketball gyms in the area. (It was too far to walk and no money for bus rides.) So, it was my job to keep the 1951 Olds clean and spiffy. I also had to change the oil, spark plugs, wax and shine everything as a way to pay for my needed transportation during my junior high school days.

One job I was given was to mount the new Moon Discs on the wheels. I had to drill and screw in the new spun aluminum discs. It was a simple job. But, I lost some of the screws, so I improvised. The result was a flat tire about 15 minutes later because I used a small sheet metal screw, not a blunt tip screw as recommended and that I lost. It was an embarassed lesson learned quickly.

Jnaki

We used to see guys and girls cruising around, sitting very low in their seats. At custom car shows, we were told that some of the seats were cut to lower the mounting. It was so the seat tops did not stick above the top of the door.

But, for everyday cruising, there was a "magic button" to lower the seating arrangement…

This was the starting position and somehow a "secret cruising button" was pushed. Lo and behold, instant cruising seating position was found and used. All within 10 seconds…
"Let's go surfing, ooops, cruising !"

Teenagers do the funniest things to fit into the hot rod cruising era. Bring on the hot scene on Hollywood Boulevard and our neighborhood Bixby Knolls drive-in restaurant scenes. Just before arriving at the Hollywood and Vine Street corner, the “secret button” was pushed for a cool cruise. The same thing holds true on the entrance to the drive-in parking lot cruising show, every Friday and Saturday nights.

 

Hello,

Welcome to the world’s most unusual flea market and the shopping place of the “stars.” If you are “into” a possible sighting of Hollywood movie stars wandering around, this is the place. Featuring over 2,500 vendors and 20,000 buyers every Month. The Rose Bowl Flea Market is one of the most famous markets in the world.

Celebrating 50 years of continued success at the world famous, Rose Bowl in Pasadena California. If you come to shop or just browse you will truly enjoy the locale, but bring your coats. This time of the year, since it is so close to the huge mountains surrounding the LA Basin, it does get cold.


The odd thing is that the earlier you want to shop, the more the admission price will be. The saying the “early bird gets the worm” holds true here. There are a lot of commercial merchants (permanent vendors). But it is the person that has cleared out an estate sale or their own garage/storage that has the “jewels” that just might be up your alley. Isn’t that odd, in our society, we spend money to buy what others do not want or need. (Hot rods, included…)

The parking lot of the famous Pasadena Rose Bowl Stadium is where the monthly event has been going on for at least 52 years. R.G. Canning ring a bell? Yes, it is the same company that started in the hot rod/custom car world of arena, exposition hall events all over So Cal. If you went to a car show back then, then it was probably sponsored by R.G.Canning Company.


Jnaki

We have a long history of the Rose Bowl area. Some of my dad’s friends live within a block or two, above the valley holding the Rose Bowl Stadium. He used to take us to the football games on New Year’s Day since we were little kids and his favorite team was playing. Those will forever be ingrained in our brains as little kids. The hot dogs were outstanding.

But, as far as the swap meet and flea market was concerned, my wife and I made it a road trip from the OC to spend the day perusing the wares for sale. In those early days, it was primarily people that had cleared out their own garages and family stuff. We found some old Hot Wheels and license plates that weren’t found at the LB Veteran’s Stadium Antique Swap Meet. It was considerably a smaller event in the early years.

Then several years later in our late twenties, we made other long road trips to the Rose Bowl. We saw more things that we stuffed into our trunk one time and the El Camino pick up bed, on two other times of shopping there. We were always satisfied with our purchases. Some were car related and some were antique furniture pieces that went along with our, then, styling in our home.

The Rose Bowl is an American outdoor athletic stadium, located in Pasadena,CA, a Northeast suburb of Los Angeles. It opened in October 1922, the stadium is recognized as a national historic landmark and a California historic, civil engineering landmark.

There are different versions of this flea market in other cities, but it is not the original one started back in the late 1960s at the Rose Bowl.

“Today, R.G. Canning Enterprises’ Rose Bowl Flea Market and Market Place represents a major part of L.A.’s history – as one of Southern California’s most popular and beloved year-round events. For 50+ years, nearly 20,000 people have gathered at the Rose Bowl every second Sunday of the month for buying experiences they can’t get anywhere else. The R.G. Canning-presented Rose Bowl Flea Market and Market Place has become part of the fabric of Los Angeles, with each flea market transforming into a fun and memorable shopping adventure."

"The story of The Rose Bowl Flea Market and Market Place is a mixture of unlikely circumstances, dedicated individuals, and a dose of good fortune. After R.G. Canning began with a series of successful car shows across the region, the company sought to expand into retail and take advantage of the small, yet robust, population of Californians who loved dealing in antiques. Locations were surprisingly hard to come by, and early events held in Orange County floundered. However, the partners soon learned that the Pasadena Rose Bowl was looking for a way to generate income year-round. It turned out to be a history-making match."

 

I was born in Torrance in 1974 and grew up through the '80s before being moved out of state in 1990. I don't have any recollections that stay too much on topic except for stories from my parents and grandparents (who were all transplants in the early Sixties due to the aerospace industry), but I credit my love for the architecture and vehicles of a past before my own to the time I was lucky enough to live there. I was always a little different from the other kids in that respect. This thread has been amazing. I rediscovered it the other day and have been looking up as much as I can in my spare time to see what still exists. It makes me a bit homesick, but I love seeing all of it.

 

We spent the weekend staying at The Hilton Checkers Downtown LA. Our 28th wedding anniversary. Love the Art Deco buildings and would love to just see a bunch of old cars driving the streets.

Edit: anyone up for an early morning Sunday drive downtown LA? The traffic was really light up to 10am. I’m planning on doing it this year at some point.

Played the drums with a band a few times in this hotel, an amazing place built in 1923. It’s been probably 15 years since I walked by here.











I spent 6 months working in the high rise building below named 611 Place installing AC.








The Hilton Checkers building 1927

Los Angeles Central Library





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Anyone remember the Los Angeles Toros and what sport this team competed in?

 

Sounds like a Semi-Pro football team. They came and went in L A over the years. I don’t remember them but a friend played on the Rhinos....

 

Hey BN,

The Toros were a pro soccer team back in the late 60s. The tide was moving to get soccer involved in the California Schools and the soccer league was supposed to compete with the Rams and Chargers in So Cal. It may have helped as soccer is one of the top sports in our local school system and public community team sports. Yea for soccer then and now.

Jnaki

In high school, Soccer isn't quite as big as the money allocated to football and basketball. But, as in the community, there are so many kids involved in soccer that it could be considered a major high school sport. It is all in the perspective that one holds to sports in general. It is hard to overcome a zillion years of football in schools, radio, TV and major cities for publicity (and money backing it up) in our society.

 

Nope, but good guess. They recycled the name for their soccer team. Think earlier than the late 60's.

 

Sounds like Roller Derby

 

You need to ask Ralphie Valladares on the Thunderbirds for that one but he passed away in 1998..

 

Is this the same place? Took these photos on my vacation last year.

 

Hello,

You had a nice vacation visiting one of the best beach towns in So Cal. The first picture is from Manhattan Beach, CA back in those very early days. That street that leads to the pier and beach has some of the best restaurants in that whole shoreline community, today. The beach is well known in So Cal for the pier and pro volleyball championship tournaments. Of course, the pier draws lots of attention for surfing and photos.

Your photos are of the same pier in Manhattan Beach, CA. It is one of the nicest beaches in the area. My wife grew up near that pier and elementary school. Those old schools have been refurbished, but are still standing. We visit as much as we can during our coastal drives into and through that area. Going to and from Marina Del Rey, a stop in Manhattan Beach is always on the itinerary.

As one walks North, up the coast toward the El Segundo oil plant, there is a world famous park that has one of the tallest sand dunes around. This is the site of plenty of professional athletes working out for their respective sports.

Jnaki

This part of the coastal drive is one of the nicest ways to get around the hectic LA airport traffic. The beaches are usually empty and heading into Marina Del Rey Harbor is one great drive to this section of LA. (an empty section of the shoreline is from the condemned homes that used to be right under the takeoff path from the LA Airport. It is eerie to see this barren area with streets and blocks.)

If we just came from the LA Airport, the traffic is always hectic on the 405 heading south/north. so, we take the surface streets to Manhattan Beach for a nice quiet afternoon and dinner until the traffic dies down on the long drive back to the OC. Sometimes, those little beach towns have some of the best restaurants that make stopping worthwhile. Then for us, it is old home week driving back down through Long Beach on Coast Highway South, like we used to do with our 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery.

 

@jnaki Thanks for the reply, I love the beach towns of LA!

Unfortunately this year’s trip was cut short due to the pandemic. Only got to spend one day in LA (visited Petersen) before the flight home.

 

@kaspar at the very right of photo are the words Manhattan Beach

 

I love Manhattan Beach, absolutely beautiful and my favorite in LA. Walking along the Strand with the beautiful homes and Roses and Flowers with the Beach below is wonderful and my wife’s favorite part of LA.

Toss up between MB and Del Mar as my favorite California Beach, both beautiful and relaxing.

 

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We passed the Manhattan Beach pier many times on our bike rides from Redondo Beach to Marina Del Rey or sometimes all the way to Venice and Santa Monica.

These are photos my son took of the pier and I thought I'd share them here.

 

Regarding the Los Angeles Toros, would it help if I said they competed in Culver City?

 

Southern Speedway (Southern Ascot) is the one with the railroad bridge in the background (bridge is still there). That was Atlantic and Tweedy. That is a great film clip. Here on the message board I found that one of the investors (of Southern Ascot) was Alex Podurgiel and his son Vinc owned one of the modifieds shown on the opening day photo. His modified was #41, driven by Hal Robson or so I have been told. I think that is Pat Campea (Harry Oka) next to him in #1. (Former George Hayden car?).
Podurgiel worked for Roy Richter.

 

1955 LOS ANGELES

"LARGEST HYDRAULIC PRESS ON THE WEST COAST"

Hello,

That large type and implication would have been something to actually see in person or watch it do its thing. The name Chuck Porter was pretty familiar in So Cal circles. The old ad was taken from a 1955 early Drag News paper. The area was relatively open, the tall downtown office buildings were not covering every block for miles and there were quite a few historic hot rod places in a 10 miles radius.

Some history from So Cal is always interesting. Chuck Porter was advertising his body shop (Chuck Porter’s Body Shop) in Hollywood, CA (4720 Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles)
1955
2020
Time certainly has changed…not always for the better. But, an interesting fact came up in the research. That portion of history goes back to he 1940’s in So Cal and it involves the same address in the same location of Los Angeles. As is the usual circumstance, there is a Starbuck’s at the other end of the row of buildings and parking structures.

Jnaki

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/friday-art-show-9-25-20.1206675/#post-13756263
The End...
From Kustomrama:

“The 1949 Ford F-1 pickup truck owned and restyled by body man, Chuck Porter of Chuck Porter’s Body Shop in Hollywood, California. Chuck chopped the truck 5 inches, sectioned it another 5 inches, before he channeled it down over the frame. In addition to this, the frame was also C’d and the rear springs relocated on the side rails to account for another 7 inches. After Chuck had worked his magic, the total height of the truck had decreased by a total of 22 inches.”

“One of the many mysterious Custom Car shops from the 1940’s is a shop that was operated by Art(hur) Lellis and Jerry Moffat on Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles. The shop was named Art & Jerry Custom Shop but it was also known as the “Olive Hill Garage“. It was straight across the street of the Barnsdal Art Park which housed the Frank Loyd Wright Hollyhock house that was built close to the Olive Hill, hence the name Olive Hill Garage."

"In the Trend Book #101 published in 1951 the Art & Jerry Custom Shop was also revered to as the Olive Hill Shop. But in the only printed ad I have been able to find of the shop, there was no mentioning of the Olive Hill Garage name, just Art & Jerry Custom Shop.”

“There is very little known about this shop. So far I have not been able to find any photos from the actual shop located on 4720 Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles. And so far we only know about four cars created by the shop. But according to some, they were a well known shop in the early/mid 1940’s and they did a lot of work, high quality work."

"According to Pat Ganahl’s American Custom Car book, metal-man Chuck Porter, who would later have his own body shop in Hollywood was an employee at the Olive Hill Garage, possibly learning the trade there. Porter later created his well known (and still around and completely restored) chopped and sectioned 50 Ford F-100 painted pale yellow shop truck.”