Vintage shots from days gone by!

It's still there on Rt.35 but now walled-in with an outer facade so it looks like just another restaurant across from the fishing boat basin.

 

Hello,

Back in the cruising days of the early 60’s, A&W Root Beer drive ins were very popular all over So Cal. But, in our local Long Beach cruising area, it came in 4th or 5th in popularity. Of course, Grissinger’s in Bixby Knolls was king. Then came Ken’s-Drive In just around the corner (on Long Beach Blvd.) from Grissinger’s. When expanding our cruising grounds, Hody’s in Southeast Long Beach (Anaheim and PCH)was next, followed by Oscar’s in Lakewood (Woodruff and Carson.)

Then, back to nearby Long Beach to the A&W drive in (on PCH near Pacific Ave.) A total straight driving of approximately 30 miles or 4 x 4 square miles. We usually stopped at the A&W because it was close to our house, just over the PCH bridge. The menu was great and the root beer was delicious. Even though, we may have just eaten french fries with gravy at Grissinger’s, the A&W menu had other things we liked, so a midnight snack was in the offerings.

This A&W was also about a mile away from our High School, a quick get away for lunch time activities. So, needless to say, it was a hot lunch spot for us until they closed down the school with gates and guards to keep the students from leaving the campus. Of course, there were plenty of ways to get off campus. So, for the 3 years of HS, not only was my mom's cooking eaten for lunch and snacks, but a daily ritual of A&W fit right in with the norm.

Most old A&W drive ins are closed and torn down, but the local Long Beach one near PCH and Pacific, turned into a cash exchange business. Re-purposing old buildings is a big thing in this old city.

Jnaki

With all of the french fries and gravy, hamburgers, hot dogs, real cherry cokes and root beer, you would think we would weigh a ton. But, those teenage anxieties, surfing and varsity sports kept it all in check.

Aside:


George’s Diner, (the current owner used to work at Grissinger’s in the 50's and 60's) the old Grissinger’s Drive In, had a devastating fire in December of 2016. At the time, everyone thought that this was the end of the era of the 60's hot rod scene in Bixby Knolls.

2016:“Thanks to the efforts of the Long Beach Fire Department, the damage was limited,” the note states. “Unfortunately, there was still an extensive amount of damage sustained inside. We look forward to reopening in the near future.”

They are now closed and in the reconstruction stages. The grand re-opening will be sometime in January 2018. Is it the same or will it be the same? The time era for teenagers is always the same, frivolities, escapades, angst, great food, cruising, music,etc. (well, maybe not the music)

 

RedlandMaggie said: ↑

McMinnville, OR


Hello,

Fryer Tuck’s plus an A&W in one spot? The name Fryer Tuck was a play on words from the Robin Hood Cartoon series and programmed, TV shows from the 50’s. The hamburger stand right up our street on the westside of Long Beach was also called…Friar Tuck’s and it did not offer chicken, but tasty double cheese hamburgers.

It also was the first place to not have skinny fries, but large home cut potatoes. It was across the street from our favorite auto parts store, $.25 hand spray car wash stand, and next to a popular huge, car wash place, The Castle.

The only problem with our Friar Tuck’s Hamburger Stand was that since it was close to a lot of industrial businesses, the massive orders were always called in for lunch. If anyone walked up to the window, it took a little while longer because of the massive orders.

But, the added advantage? All of the big names in hot rodding, Joe Maillard and his shop crew, Clay Smith Cams group, and sometimes Mickey Thompson’s Crew stopped by for lunch. Since this was an industrial area, other great hamburger restaurant’s popped up and took business away from Friar
Tuck’s.

Jnaki

The place was very handy…order you double cheeseburgers, fries and cokes, then walk across the street to get your car washed or to the auto parts store for more racing goodies… what a place! Even my mom liked Friar Tuck’s cheeseburgers! That is a first!

Today, only two places remain on this 4 corner intersection. The Castle Car Wash and the competitor, the $.25 cent spray booth car wash corner. It may be more than $.25 cents, now. The old speed shops are long gone with only a popular, local hot rod shop just down the street.


Today, only two places remain on this 4 corner intersection. The Castle Car Wash and the competitor, the $.25 cent spray booth car wash corner. It may be more than $.25 cents, now. The old speed shops are long gone with only a popular, local hot rod shop/chassis place just down the street.

 

Dave Marcus

 

N. Kiska St., on the border of the Portsmouth and Kenton neighborhoods, near Columbia Blvd in Portland. approximately 1944.

 

They are not "outlawed by the Feds" and in fact laws vary from state to state. Check your state's laws regarding them. They were pretty much standard equipment on higher end cars in the 40's and early 50's. My dad's 41 and 48 Chryslers had them. In CA they had a case of murders in the 50's which resulted in the prosecution of the "Red-light Bandit." As a result of that case, all traffic stops here must be by marked police cars. CHP cars must have one solid red light facing forward and blinking yellow lights to the rear at minimum in traffic stops to this day. Even so, the restrictions on spotlights are cloudy and subject to court testing of tickets issued.
So if you want them, you will be restricted to off-road use and other variations state to state.

 

They were never popular in our town.
Most of us "car guys" thought of them as bolt on J.C. Whitney "crap" > kinda like mud flaps with reflectors on them. When people from the "south" moved there, didn't take long for them to remove ALL the little 'do-dads," i.e. bumper "over-riders, etc.."

 

Can you blame me for posting this one?

 

No info on the back story here...

 

The cannons are a nice touch....

 

Hey Gary,
Great photo of one of my favorites from So Cal. The Juniot Thompson group was always running at Lions Dragstrip from the time we were racing in 1958 until we had our accident in 1960. He was an inspiration to both my brother and me. Junior Thompson went on to great drag racing fame until he passed away in 2016.

I was fortunate to be able to record some drag racing film of his early street roadster driving days and his record setting, black, Studebaker Gas Sedan days. Then adding some recorded sound from an old 1959 LP album of drag racing sounds from the Detroit Nationals, here is the complete Junior Thompson movie with the same year sound. Lions in silent film recording, sound from Detroit in 1959.

Jnaki
Early Junior Thompson driving in the Hemi powered, black street roadster in the A/SR class:


Junior Thompson: Studebaker Gas Sedan Class Lions Dragstrip with sound from the Detroit Nationals in 1959:


TURN UP THE SOUND... including that awesome shift...

 

I like the kid on a skateboard!

 

I like your caption, but the point of the picture was Holiday on Ice....still like your caption....lmao

 

NHRA KC 1956

 

I think that is the old Kansas City dragstrip. The view is looking east across where I-435 would be built. That is the Kansas City Power & Light coal fired plant in the distance.