History The History Of Los Angeles

That freeway is nuts! I can understand when it was built
cars were slower and people had less aggressive driving styles. Now a days it is scary...most all of the on ramps are 20 feet long and right on the freeway...same with the off ramps...crazy!

 

The Arroyo Seco Parkway (the Pasadena Freeway's original name) was designed to be a leisurely, scenic drive in the years before WW2. It wasn't intended to be a high-speed route with limited access. It wasn't until after the war (and probably after US GI's saw the Autobahn) that it occurred to anybody to straighten out the roads and make them suitable for much higher speeds.

 

Good piece here from The Guardian about the demise of the LA streetcars. Article starts out sounding a bit political, but ends up sticking to the facts, Ma'am. Good LA history.

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2...-los-angeles-great-american-streetcar-scandal

 

When I worked for the city of Pasadena in the 90's, I talked to a man who worked on the original designs for the Arroyo Seco Parkway. He told me that those curves on the fwy were originally designed to be banked, enough to let the driver let go of the steering wheel and be pulled along. Unfortunately, the bean counters said it was too costly, so the banking was eliminated but the curves stayed. Too bad, I would have loved to drive that fwy about 3 am on a Sunday, in something with HP and fat stickies!!

 

There was a toll road called the CALIFORNIA CYCLEWAY for bicycles built in 1900 or so to connect Pasadena with Los Angeles. It never made a profit and was never completed past Highland Park. L.A. County acquired the right of way and it became part of the Arroyo Seco freeway later.

 

Devin started a new thread with this video today, but I thought it would be a nice addition to this thread. Pretty cool time capsule.

 

I worked at Harrah's Automobile Collection when we purchased the front wheel drive Miller from Griff. He had loaned it to the LA County museum, and when he went to pick it up they claimed he has donated it to the museum, after a long and protracted law suit, the court found in favor of Griff. We were waiting outside of the museum on a Friday afternoon, once the verdict was in we had the legal papers to force the release and to pick up the Miller. In the late 60's Harrah's paid Griff, $250,000.00 for the Miller.

We did our preliminary research/ restoration process, and then proceeded to process the car for total restoration. On tear down, it was found that there were NO internals in the motor. No crank, rods, pistons, cams, nothing. Ettore was so impressed with the quality and design of the Miller he
copied the Miller engine down to the very last and smallest detail . Therefore, all internals were used as patterns.

Harrah's totally restored the car including fabricating missing parts, so that the car could be started and driven.

just sayin'

brasscarguy

 

Long Beach, 1949.

 

hello,
in 1967-68, this place was one of the best places to hear "the" music of the times. la shrine auditorium. it is still used today. around the corner was the shrine exhibition hall, some concerts were held there, too. but the grandeur of the main auditorium was amazing. the interior was just plush. a friend worked for a concert promoter. he offered us tickets to go to this place for a jimi hendrix concert. we thought, ok, nose bleed seats for free...well, we got a great parking spot, and when everyone was in their seats, our friend finally came out to the front door to let us in the place.
we started walking down the long walkway to the stage, a left turn to the door leading to the outside and up some stairs. we were wondering if we were going to the backstage area...everyone was looking at us like we were royalty...finally, we ended up on the mini balcony just off the side of the stage. we were seated on the rail about 30 feet from the performers. when we stood up, it was amazing... we could almost touch the performers when they moved around on stage...did i say the concert music was outstanding? google shrine auditorium for photos of the famous chandelier and the balcony near the stage... our musician son is totally impressed that we old people had fun back when music was the thing in so cal.
thanks,
jnaki
our 1965 red el camino in the prime parking spot...

 

The Shrine is a great place still...took my kids last month to a concert there and parked in USC across the street. We left right before the last song...no traffic and on the 110 fwy in 5 minutes...was a great time.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Went to a Nancy Wilson concert at the Shrine sometime in the '60s. One of the best concerts I ever saw.

 

hello,
we bought a poster from this event and over the years, it was on many bedroom walls. but, it got destroyed in the house moves from 1968-2016. there were many other concerts at the shrine and the aquarius theater, but this jimi hendrix one was the best for us...how can you beat stage balcony seats with only one other couple in it? the view was outstanding, the sound was fabulous and it did not matter where you sat, the shrine was a magical place during those magical times...
thanks,
jnaki

 

Your Hendrix show looks to have been 2/10/68.
http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-j...hrine-auditorium-los-angeles-ca-2bd49c22.html

Setlist.fm is a terrific site! Now that I'm taking my kids to a LOT of concerts (over a dozen so far this year!), I've gone back and looked up some of the shows I went to decades ago. I took my Daughter to a gig at the Shrine a few months ago-great venue. I just took my Son to The Who as he wanted to see them. Last time I saw them was 1982 (34 years ago!). Not only did I find the set list but also a full video recording of the show on Youtube. There may be audio of your Hendrix show. Look around.

 

Video: 4 minute split-screen with '40s and present downtown L.A. comparison:

 

Great! There's a neat hot rod Model A roadster at 2:00 exactly.

 

Don't know which I like better... The film or the music.

Thanks for the share!

 

Very nice video.Thanks for posting.I also liked the sound track.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Hello,
In 1967-68, records albums (lp) were the hot thing. In Long Beach, there were a few stores selling the latest for $5.99-6.99, but if you wanted to really get a great deal on the latest albums, we had to drive to Los Angeles near Western and Pico. There were a ton of record stores selling new albums for $2.99-3.99 each. We scored a lot of albums here in the different stores. They were small stores with huge signs in the windows, advertising albums for $2.99-3.99. it was worth the drive from Long Beach to purchase at these great prices. Some of these record stores were the “head shops” that sold other paraphernalia, too. All of our old lp albums now reside in our son’s record collection, as lp’s (record albums) are again gaining popularity everywhere.
Thanks,
Jnaki

 

The fidelity of vinyl can not be matched by digital media, at least at the sample rate they use.

 

Hello,
Of course, everyone knows about Phillipe’s Restaurant (on Alameda St…still open…) with the saw dust and fabulous dipped beef sandwiches, but a small Chinese restaurant in Little Tokyo had such a following also because of great food. The Far East Café was a little hole in the wall, but inside, were classic wooden separators that kept diner’s dining fairly private. The food was the best Chinese food in town and the specialty was chashu, almond duck, and roasted squab. Gone but not forgotten.. a great stop for dinner before these concerts. It was Phillipe's sandwiches for those outdoor concert/gatherings in Griffith Park, and the Far East Cafe for dinners. That made driving up to those LA concerts worth while. Well, besides the great music.
thanks,
Jnaki

 

Hello,

When I was about 7-8, our family went to the Far East Café for dinner. I had to go to the rest room upstairs, so being the inquisitive explorer that was back then, I climbed up on the cabinet to see out of this old crank out window. Outside were several pigeons running around on this rooftop. Ah ha…I discovered the source of the squab at the restaurant. I told my brother and he did not eat his share, so that was a good thing. There was more for me. When I told my dad later, he just laughed and said, maybe it is true…thinking back, the food inspectors would have gone wild over this one…

Jnaki

 

Hello,

The old Kaleidoscope/Aquarius Theater was a classic 60’s style venue for rock concerts. We saw many groups play there, the most famous being the Doors. But before the Aquarius Theater became famous for the concerts and the wild murals, the rock musical, Hair, was shown there. If we step back a year before, it was called the Hullabaloo, which featured the Canned Heat band. The place indoors was very good for open seating concerts. Not for everyone, but it was the times and atmosphere. The early attendees, got the front row seating, but instantly, the crowds pinched in until it was almost unbearable.

For the Doors, we were on the main floor about 5 feet from the stage. But within minutes, everyone had to be on the main floor in front of the stage, it became overcrowded and confining…so, we looked around and saw a balcony with an open railing and no one there…perfect. We had front balcony seating with our feet dangling over the floor, leaning on the railing and the air conditioning blasting strong. But, something happened within the first 15 minutes of the concert. Some idiots climbed on top of the huge air conditioning unit and blocked the air intake and cool air exit, making the balcony and auditorium hot and musty. But, the concert continued. I am sure everyone (except for those idiots) wanted to throw them out of the auditorium, but…like I said earlier, it was the times and concert atmosphere. The music, it was just outstanding and very memorable…after all, it was 1968 in LA. Interesting times…

Thanks,

Jnaki

This theater was the old Moulin Rouge until late 1964.

 

Hello,

Back in elementary school in Long Beach.(50’s) We were taken to a Ford assembly plant on Terminal Island. It was right below the big green draw bridge. (Henry Ford Bridge) The old black lift up bridge was still there, too. The assembly plant made a bunch of cars and those wagons with the fake wood siding panels. The workers gave us the strips left over from the siding they put in the sheet metal panels on the sides of the wagons. Real fake wood…what a concept…It was closed in 1958 and moved all of the stuff to Pico Rivera.

Later in the 60’s we found a cool bar called the “Red Witch Inn," which was just around the corner from the plant. The atmosphere inside was dark, red carpeting, walls adorned with garish decorations of a dive bar, etc. But, the drinks were good and strong. The booths were very deep, made a squishing noise when sitting and were made for a quiet place to chill. At first, it reminded us of a dark room with the red light on for the atmosphere.

A little auto history from the greater LA basin.

Jnaki

 

My 56 was assembled in the Long Beach plant and went to the Phoenix area.

 

Hello,

Speaking of concerts, we were constantly driving to LA for the concerts at the Aquarius, Shrine, Santa Monica Civic, etc. We then decided to go to most of the big name events in Long Beach. The top arena style venue was LBSC gym. (low cost, great sound, close up seating) There were some rocking groups playing there as well as a mixture of jazz, and pop concerts. But, the one that we finally got to see was at the Long Beach Auditorium/Sports Arena. It was the last (found out later) concert for the Buffalo Springfield Group. It was one of the best concerts we have been to in recent years. It was a stand up and dance kind of concert. We all had assigned seats, 7th row (end of the middle aisle) from the stage. But there were only a few times we all sat down and rested. It was that kind of concert. One for the ages…and later, it was, they were gone…

Jnaki

 

The tunnels on the Pas. Fwy. were bad luck to me. Once in my VW Baja Bug I was rear ended by an out of state licensed car with 3 males inside. The traffic had halted because of a Dodger game, they took off and I chased. We wound up on a dead end in Highland Park, 3 to 1 odds had me get out. Another time my accelerator cable broke and I just was able to pull over in one of the little areas between tunnels. I used a piece of wood to jam the carb. lever in place and get home. In another incident there was an accident before the tunnels and the CHP had traffic go into one lane. The pick up I was driving got rear ended by a drunk a VW and took off right in front of the CHP's, I chased him to his apt. in Glendale and argued with him about the accident. His passenger had bashed the windshield and she went into their apt.. I called the Coppers who called the CHP who arrested him for a Felony as they had witnessed it happen.

 

http://la.curbed.com/2014/7/9/10078288/the-quest-to-save-las-centuryold-batchelder-tile-masterpiece

Then there is this... https://www.facebook.com/events/1129634367057258/

 

Hello,

In 1967, the U.S. President was going to speak at a Century City hotel. The anti-Vietnam war protest was in full swing. What started as a small 1000+ protest turned out to be 10000+. We could only get as close as two blocks as the traffic and thousands of people were jamming the streets. At the time, it looked to be a peaceful protest, but the police took over the mass of people and it later turned out to be a disaster. We left when the people directing traffic became difficult and mean as the mass of people kept coming. Also, protestors were jumping in the back of the El Camino asking for a ride closer to the event. It was beginning to be a place where something was going to happen. We did not stay around as we could not get close enough.

Reading about the coverage the next day, it was a disaster. It was the biggest protest in LA during these turbulent times. 1967-69 was supposed to be the peaceful times with the summer of love…rock music concerts, head shops, love-in gatherings, cool clothing, exchange of ideas, but, it turned out to be the most hectic of times.

Jnaki

 

So cool, what a great idea. Thanks.