A new postcard

I recently acquired this postcard of the Nixon's Family Restaurant & Bakery which was located in Whittier, CA and later became a Whirly’s Drive-in, which itself went out of business in 1962 or early 1963.

There was also an Anaheim Nixon’s, at Harbor Blvd. and Katella Ave., which was taken over by the Harris chain of Portland OR in 1958 after it was remodeled to include a cocktail lounge.

To learn more about the (in)famous story of the Nixon's chain, check out this blog entry over at Restaurant-ing Through History.

ABC promo campaign 1971

West St. widening during the Anaheim Resort Area remodeling in 1999

Here are some stills that are from a tape I shot in 1999 while the Anaheim Resort Area and Disneyland were undergoing major changes.

These show West St near Katella Ave when it was being widened in front of the Eden Roc and Kona Kai motels

Unfortunately these were taken after the old Googie signs were removed. It was on this day that I decided to start looking for images and postcards of the Anaheim I grew up in.

A few years later I started the Photos Of The Forgotten website.

See more photos here.

The San Pedro Drive-In

Like many, I lament the loss of the American drive-in movie theater. I have great memories of going to drive-ins with my family and friends in the 70s.

Here is photo that I found online of the old San Pedro Drive-In that was once located on Gaffey St, not too far from where I live, although it had already been demolished before I moved to the area.

The architecture of the screen towers was something that always impressed me with their larger-than-life
scale that seemed so imposing in the suburbia of my youth where there were few structures this tall.

The San Pedro Drive-In opened on June 6th, 1949. It, like many others of the era, had a distinctive trademark in a colorful mural emblazoned on the highway side of the steel and plaster screen tower building.

At the top of the graphic illustration of a caballero on horseback waving to approaching ships, the theater name was blocked out in neon-lighted letters. The architect of the San Pedro Drive-In was William Glenn Balch & Louis L. Bryan.

The next two photos, courtesy of Historic Aerials are from 1972 and 2005 and show the drive-in and the public storage buildings that now occupy the location.

There are some great sites online, that document the history of drive-in theaters. Drive-Ins.com is my favorite and a great place for to learn about this piece of the past.

Cinema Treasures is another great site that covers all types of theater buildings and is also highly recommended.

The 1957 Chrysler Windsor

Here are some more photos of my dad's old car.

In this first shot, the large Chrysler logo lettering is still on the front hood and the car still has the stock grill.

These later photos show the badging removed and the custom grill.

If you look closely at the tip of the hood there is some more pin stripe work painted by my uncle. How about that old yellow and black California license plate?

Tuck and roll upholstery.

Cape Coral Teen Club postcard

I recently added this postcard of the Cape Coral Teen Club in Florida, to the Postcards Of The Past section of my website. This postcard was postally used and was mailed back in 1971.

I wonder what fun teens had at this rec. center back in those days. There appears to be a snack bar window at one side of the building. Anyone know anything about this place?

Cruise Ready

Here is a photo of the interior of my dad's 1957 Chrysler Windsor, that he had when I was a young boy. He bought this car used and had it until the early 70s. You rarely see one of these on the road today. I have only seen a few in my lifetime.

My father installed a small turntable that could play 45 rpm records. It was in a drawer, mounted on springs that helped to dampen road vibration. I do remember some skipping, but for the most part, it was just so cool to be able to listen to your own "sounds" while cruising around. I clearly remember dad taking me down to the Pike in Long Beach, right before they closed the Cyclone Racer forever. We had The Mama's & The Papa's song "California Dreamin'" playing as we motored along Ocean St. I was too young and scared to ride the Cyclone, but wished I had later when I realized that it was one of the most classic wooden roller coasters of all time.

The awesome pin stripe work on the dash was of course done by my uncle Fritz.

Kustom tuck and roll upholstery and the trick machined hubcaps that he made were nice touches. He also removed most of the exterior branding and badges for a cleaner appearance.

Here is dad looking sharp.

How I wish I had this car today in the condition of the photo.

R.I.P. Analog Broadcast Television

For all intents and purposes, analog broadcast television that we all grew up with is gone. The frequencies will be reallocated for other usage and the age of digital broadcast television begins.

Before the age of all night infomercials, television stations used to sign off for the broadcasting day. After a playing of the national anthem, you might see a test pattern like the one above or just some color bars and tone and the picture might just turn to static.

Every station seemed to have it's own distinctive national anthem film.

I absolutely love this KABC-7 sign off from 1982 that features the reading of the John Gillespie Magee, Jr. poem, High Flight, followed by a version of the national anthem played on synthesizers.

My dad's motorcycle

Here are a couple photos of my dad's old Triumph motorcycle. My uncle Leonard (Fritz) Stapf painted the exquisite pin striping on the gas tank. I think it's a rabbit. I can't remember. I believe my mom made my dad get rid of the bike after they were married. It sure was a beauty!

The Quality Inn - Anaheim, CA

Here is an old postcard from the 70s of the former Quality Inn in Anaheim. Located at 616 Convention Center Way, at Harbor Blvd, the hotel is now called the Clarion Hotel, Anaheim Resort. My father and I used to walk over to this place when I was a boy to go to coin shows that were held there. Check out the video for my song "WKs. There are parts of it that I filmed there in the early 1980s.

Classic TV Production Company IDs/Logos

When I was a kid I always, liked the short little IDs that ran at the end of TV shows and showed what production companies were involved with the creation of the show. I understood what these were from a very young age, but strangely enough, there were a lot of kids evidently, who found some of these logos frightening. I first found this out while checking out a webpage devoted to them. Now they are all over YouTube and it's amazing how many people thought the same thing.
The fist and foremost one is the famous 1966 Screen Gems logo. The folks who claim to have been traumatized by this logo call it the "S From Hell". I love this one and remember it fondly at the end of such shows as, The Monkees and Bewitched.



Another Screen Gems logo that fascinated me was the one that is know as the "Dancing Sticks" logo. This one is from 1964. There was also a black & white version. I liked the abstract nature of this one with it's colorful dots.


Next up, we have the logo for Rankin Bass Productions. This one was shown at the end of holiday specials like Frosty The Snowman and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. This one always gave me a warm feeling after watching those childhood Christmas shows.



Nice huh? Now in all fairness, there were a few logos that had music with a bit more of a frightening tone to them. One such ID is this 1969, Paramount Television logo. It's shrieking sound seems like something from a horror movie. You may remember this one from the end of The Brady Bunch episodes.

This next one from Viacom is sometimes called the "V Of Doom". The crescendoing tympani roll really accentuates the zooming effect.



Viacom also used this logo in the early 70s. This one is sometimes called the "Pinball Logo".



One of the cool things I like about some of these old logos was the early usage of synthesizers in them. Who can forget this great PBS logo?



I will end this post with a great old TV Guide commercial from 1978 that has a cool synthesizer arpeggiation in it.

Vintage Public Service Announcements on TV.

After reading a comment by a visitor to this blog, I decided to post a few links to some great old PSAs (Public Service Announcements), that I remember seeing on TV as a kid.
The first is my all-time favorite, "Like Father, Like Son". Think about it.



Here are a couple 70s clips from our old friend, Smokey The Bear.





..and his pal, Woodsy Owl.

Since 1942, the Ad Council has been creating memorable PSAs like this haunting classic, featuring the late, Iron Eyes Cody.

The serious and often stern tone of the narration in these, really drove the point home and I wish they had more like this on television these days.

Matchbooks From Anaheim

I have just added a new section to the 'Photos of the Forgotten' website. It's 'Matchbooks From Anaheim' and features, you guessed it, images of old Anaheim businesses matchbook covers. I have tons of matchbooks, but decided to limit this section to my home town of Anaheim, CA. Many if not most of the businesses shown in these pages are no longer with us and it's fun to see the addresses of where they were located. I also like seeing the old phone number word prefixes that they stopped using about 40 years ago.


When my family first moved to Anaheim in '72, I went around to all the local motels and collected matches from many of them. Many of the desk clerks were not wanting me to take them as you can imagine these days if a young boy came in asking for matches, but most were obliging. I had them in a bag in my closet for a time, but were lost over the years. These are all images from items I acquired in recent years. You don't see matches used as commonly these days as a promotional item. Although there are a few that are rear strike packs from the 80s, these are mostly old front strike books from the 60s & 70s.



The jazzy retro music is from an album called 'Music For TV Dinners: The Sixties' which I highly recommend.
Enjoy!

R.I.P. Bettie

1950s pinup Bettie Page dies at 85
Thursday, December 11, 2008



LOS ANGELES -- Bettie Page, a 1950s pinup model who helped set the stage for the 1960s sexual revolution, has died. She was 85.

Her agent Mark Roesler says Page died Thursday night at a Los Angeles hospital after suffering a heart attack nine days ago. He says she never regained consciousness.

Page attracted national attention with magazine photographs of her sensuous figure in bikinis and see-through lingerie that quickly were tacked up on walls across the country. Her photos included a centerfold in the January 1955 issue of then-fledgling Playboy magazine, as well as controversial sadomasochistic poses.

Roesler says Page had been hospitalized for three weeks with pneumonia and was about to be released when she had the heart attack on Dec. 2.

Classic Holiday TV Commercials

Season's greetings everyone. Here are some great old commercials from the good old days that many of you will remember from Christmas seasons past.

Just about every kid that grew up in the 70s remembers clinking their glasses together to this holiday classic.


The Norelco Santa commercials were a great example of stop-motion animation. I wish they would bring these back with a new CGI version for today's viewers. Here are two examples of this holiday favorite. The first one is from the 60s and the second one from the 70s.



Here is the Christmas version of Coca Cola's timeless "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" campaign from the 1970s.


I remember this 1975 McDonald's commercial well.


Miller Lite ran it's "Tastes Great-Less Filling" campaign featuring sports celebrities for many years. Here is a special holiday version they did back in the 70s. It features, Dick Butkus, John Madden & several other old sports stars, many of whom are no longer with us.


Alka Seltzer ran this holiday promotional spot back in 1977


Happy Holidays!

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

Recently, I posted about my trip to Coney Island while visiting New York City. In this post I want to share with you a little movie clip I shot of the derelict New York State Pavilion in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, located in the borough of Queens.
Being fascinated with modern ruins, I became obsessed with this incredible relic left over from the 1964-65 World's Fair after learning about it in the mid-90s. I even had a dream about being up on the top observation tower in it's ruined state some years ago and knew that one day I would have to visit it in person.
I finally made my first trip to New York City in September, 2008 and visited the site on my third day there. You can also see more photos I took of the Pavilion and the world famous Unisphere on the Photos Of The Forgotten website.

Postcards From Anaheim video now on YouTube.

I put together this little video for YouTube. It's a slideshow of Anaheim motel postcards with a few other cards thrown in of other Anaheim area landmarks like the Convention Center. The music in the clip is a song from my 4th album, The Blue Moon Room, called "Roundtrip". I hope you'll enjoy it.

Synthetrix Visits Coney Island

One week after Astroland's closure on September 7, 2008, I visited Coney Island, NYC. Here is a video I took while riding the world famous Wonder Wheel. You can see all the photos I took in the Coney Island feature on the POTF website.

Coney Island's Astroland closes for good it seems.

It would have to happen, just days before my first trip to New York City. Coney's Island's Astroland which opened in 1962 is closing down. I will still be visiting the place to take some pics and have a hot dog at Nathan's. Fortunately this does not effect the Wonder Wheel and Cyclone roller coaster, so I will ride both of those as well. I will do a Coney Island feature when I get back.

Aerial Time Machine

Greetings all. I thought I would take a moment to give a plug to an interesting website called Historic Aerials. They have a huge online database of aerial photographs that you can use to view a particular spot on the map in different times. Here is an example where I am viewing the intersection of Sepulveda and Vermont around Harbor City. The first image is from 1972, the second one is 1980 and the last one is from 2004. I am trying to find out what the circus tent-like building is that once occupied the space where a Carl's Jr. now sits. You can see it clearly in the lower right of the first and second images. It's an interesting window into the past and some locations have photos going back to the 1940s. Check it out. It's fun.

Nubel Theater - Bellflower, CA

Here are a couple images of the former Nubel Theater in Bellfower, CA. Located at 16705-16711 Bellflower Boulevard, Bellflower, CA 90706 United States (map)
This classic deco-styled theatre opened in 1929 as the NuBell Theatre and was designed by architect, F.E. Woodruff. It had a full stage with fly gallery and an orchestra pit, dressing rooms for vaudeville which at the time was presented along with motion pictures. It was later renamed the Bellflower. Ownership changed several times during its venue as a movie theatre and ws closed in 1977 due to compitition from the Multiplexes. New seating was installed in 1960 on both the main floor and balcony. A new fire wall was installed to close the proscenium opening and a new wide screen was installed along with waterfall curtains.
The Calvary Church purchased the theatre in 1986. They cleaned the theatre up inside and out. They installed a new brick veneer on the exterior walls and changed the lettering on the vertical to HOSANA.

Odyssey Restaurant - Anaheim, CA

ODYSSEY RESTAURANT/COFFEE SHOP/COCKTAIL LOUNGE
Once located at 1490 So. Anaheim Blvd. This restaurant was closed and boarded up back in the mid 80s, but later reopened in different guises. I am not sure, but I think the building is no longer there. There used to be a Pacific Stereo/Federated Group store behind this restaurant back in the 70s.

Bel Air Inn, Restaurant, Lounge & Jade Center -Rawlins, Wyoming

At the height of it's popularity, Googie or Populuxe architecture could be found in motels throughout the U.S., even in remote locations like Rawlins, Wyoming. This postcard is of The Bel Air Inn. The arced, vaulted roofs of the restaurant and jade center are mimicked in the towering signage that stands in front of the inn. Maybe some reader can tell us if this place is still standing and in business.

The Princess Motel

The Princess Motel was located at 1769 West St. near Katella. One of many such places that touted that they were "Across The Street From Disneyland". Across the street from the back of Disneyland's old parking lot is more like it. There was a Shell gas station at the corner and the old Lamplighter Motel was just north of the Princess. This motel had a great neon sign before the Anaheim Resort makeover banished most Googie signage from the area around Disneyland. One of the things I remember most about the Princess Motel was the Gottlieb, MIBS, pinball machine that was back near the pool. A "wedge head" design machine from 1969. I love pinball and there were an abundance of machines at the motels around Disneyland back then. It was one of the cool things about growing up in this neighborhood.

The Ghost Signs of Wonderland Plaza

Wonderland Plaza is located on Katella Ave at Walnut in the city of Anaheim.

At one time the wall that these signs are painted on faced the westbound traffic of Katella and listed the various businesses that the plaza housed. They were probably painted in the early 60s. When Stovall later built their Space Age motel next to the plaza, it obscured the signs almost completely and they were never painted over although time has worn much of the paint away and some fool tagger hit it up recently.

Out of all the businesses that are listed only the liquor store and Marri's Pizza are still there and neither are the original owners. Many of these stores were already gone when we moved to Anaheim in 1972. Does anyone remember the Wood & Ink shop that was next to the laundromat?

I wanted to capture these before they disappeared forever. As of this date, they are still there, but are fading fast.

On to the pictures.

70's Toy Commercials

Here are some great 70s toy commercials that I came across on YouTube. Flashbacks a plenty!

Jet Inn Motel - Los Angeles, CA

This postcard shows the Jet Inn Motel, located at 4542 West Slauson Ave. in Los Angeles. The card depicts a fabulous mid-century modern motel building, it's pool and a shot of the lobby as it looked back when the place was shiny and new.
The photos that follow show the same place, some decades of decay later.
I originally took these pictures in the fall of 2002 while also photographing the former Wich Stand location turned Simply Wholesome next door.
Click on any of the photos for larger views.



Considering the age and location, this place does not look too bad. The vegetation around the building has grown considerably and now blocks the view of the lobby. I did not go around it to see what the lobby looked like. I doubt that it looks as cheerful as our postcard view.




One of the places that was the most need of repair at the time I took these, was the pool area. It had been drained and a chain-link fence with nylon mesh had been put up around it to keep out the curious skateboarder no doubt.




A rusty section of disused staircase leads to a high concrete-block wall that separates the motel from Simply Wholesome's parking lot.




The old sign still looks great in the twilight of the fading day.



Color TV, by RCA no less, is still being touted as the greatest thing since sliced bread in this classic signage seen at motels around the U.S.

Coca Cola Building - Los Angeles, CA

I took this photograph of the famous L.A. Coca Cola Building, back in 1984.

Strongly reminiscent of an early 20th century ocean liner, this was indeed the intended effect of architect Robert V. Derrah. Consolidating five ordinary-looking industrial buildings, Derrah created a single structure with soothing streamlined forms, complete with hatch covers and portholes, and crowned by a flying bridge. There are also two giant replicas of Coke bottles flanking the building, which was once the company's headquarters. The interior of the building is not open to the public, but the exterior certainly warrants a visit.
(wcities.com)

Tiki Apartments - Anaheim, CA

I can't begin to tell you how thrilled I was to find and acquire this particular postcard. It was one of those things where you see the image and it is immediately familiar and alien at the same time.
What I was seeing was an apartment building that was near the neighborhood I grew up in. I have been collecting postcards of Googie architecture and particularly Anaheim motel subjects for a little over 5 years now and I have seen most of what's out there, but every once in a while there is something that is rare and special in a personal way. There are a lot of old motel cards out there as there were large runs on these cards that were given away at the front desk of the establishment. I doubt that there was more than one small run of these done in the early 60s, judging from the car and other details. The lot to the left is empty in the postcard, but another apartment building went up there shortly after. The Space Age does not seem to be there, but the back of the Anaheim Travelodge is clearly visible. The original Disneyland Hotel can be seen on the right side of the horizon.



Tthe most awesome thing about this card is the view of the Wonder Bowl's original multicolor schemed ball sign, before they went to an all aqua/blue color on the sign in the early 70s. You can see both the large sign and the smaller one that was at the back entrance of the bowling alley. Also visible, are some yellow ball globes with "Wonder Bowl" lettering.



As soon as I got this I knew I would have to go and do a "now" shot for the blog. Everyone loves then and nows. Anyway, I was unfortunately unable to get the exact same angle of the shot because it would require me to be on the roof of the apartments directly across the street. I got up as high as I could on the stairs to the second floor. The two-toned paint scheme is no longer, but the building is unchanged for the most part. Block wall screens adorn many of the apartments on this street and this one is still intact.




What has changed is that there are no longer any happy days by the poolside since it was filled in some years ago.
There is also the addition of the hideous black wrought iron that there is far too much of in Southern California these days.

The Moongate Motel

Now this is some Googie wackiness! This image of the Moongate Motel in Hallandale, Florida is from a promotional postcard touting the Curteichcolor® color postcard company's work. That is about all I know as there was no address for the motel on the card. Anyone know anything about this place?