I like looking up vintage Hot Rod photos. But I'm guessing that you guys have already posted them all on here. But here are a few of my favorites. Sorry for repost, and thanks for all of your post too!
Hello, Yes, the downtown area was the first area to use outdoor decorations that were on the city light poles and across the poles along the streets. The old photo of the blue coupe was taken from across 1st Street down Pine Avenue. (away from the ocean) The Historic Buffum's Building is on the left corner of the vintage photo and currently, the photo shows a dark, new metal/glass structure buildings with offices above and a giant restaurant on the street level. 1950's downtown Long Beach, CA was a destination place for us. No shopping malls, the beach was just steps away and it was a short bus ride or long bicycle ride along the LA River banks to get to the downtown area, including the Pike Amusement Park, by the ocean. During our cruising teenage years, everyone in Long Beach drove down Pine Avenue at one time or another. The Flathead Ford Sedan Delivery and the 1958 Impala made the requisite trips down the street. The girls loved seeing the decorations and it actually was cold enough to simulate a cold wintery Christmas holiday. So, lots of snuggling while cruising or walking to a restaurant or two. Jnaki As it came to be, the parents took us little kids to see the original decorations down Pine Avenue. But, as we started driving, we also added cruising to the Belmont Shore Alamitos Bay Floating Christmas Tree display several miles to the East on the big inland bay. note: old post In downtown Long Beach, there has been a drastic makeover, over the years. One of the big events from the 50’s was the annual Xmas lights strung out over the whole street, creating a spectacular lit up street. Families came out in droves every year to see these lights, PJs and all. That was mesmerizing in itself as little kids. But, as we got our driver’s licenses, the lights took on a new meaning. We used to cruise down the Pine avenue during the Xmas season to see the whole street lit up with lights and decorations all the way down to the ocean. The high school cruising scene brought many hot rods and cruisers down this main drag to see the street and buildings all lit up while driving towards the ocean. On some weekends, it was teenage dating, “cruise central” as the holiday season ran into December. There were old variety stores, like Woolworths on a prime location down the main drag, Pine Ave. Most of the stores had some kind of lights and decorations. (c-6, c-7, and some stores had bubble lights, etc,) Back then, those big colored lights really lit up the dark street. Those old decorations can’t compare to today’s extravaganzas. But, we were mesmerized by the abundance of lights. If it snowed, that would have been perfect. Actually, in 1949 Long Beach (all of So Cal) recorded 3 days of snow…it was an eye opener and very cold. But, the closest big name cross street (Pine and Broadway) was the location of Buffum’s Department store. The chain expanded to most areas of So Cal. Long Beach had 2 stores, the flagship downtown store and the cool one in the Harbor/Marina District. The one in the downtown area was my dad’s favorite. Buffums' main store at Pine and Broadway in Long Beach consisted of an older, 1914 building and a six-story 1925 addition. Buffums' Store for Men was a 1941 addition south of the main store along Pine Avenue. In 1964, Buffums' leased and remodeled an adjacent building to the West, thereby creating "Buffums' Broadway Shops." In the 1960s, Buffums' opened a new "Varsity Shop" for young men across the alley from the Store for Men on Pine Avenue. Buffums’ 100 Broadway at Pine Avenue Long Beach, California HE 6-9841 "The chain of Buffum’s stores went all across the So Cal landscape, from Mission Valley in San Diego to Newport Fashion Island, all the way up to the Glendale Galleria. 15 + stores in all. The one in Pomona was the largest besides the downtown Long Beach store. "
I wonder if this is one of the jump towers located on Fort Benning? I know that one out of the three or four at Fort Benning did come from a fairground,
The Jalopy Journal
