Curly Howard was born Jerome Lester Horwitz in Brooklyn, New York. He was the fifth of the five Horwitz brothers and because he was the youngest, his brothers called him "Babe" to tease him. The nickname stuck with him all his life, although when his older brother Shemp married Gertrude Frank, who was also nicknamed "Babe," the brothers started calling him "Curly" to avoid confusion.
Designed by architect Milton Black and opened in 1946, the Tail o' the Pup was built to catch the attention of passing motorists during an era when cars were king. It seems that some folks cannot wait for the tasty hot dog to be served... 2020 in the height of the pandemic locked in place made our minds wander to those times when we used to go all over So Cal to just hangout and have fun. Hello, With the advent of new ways to enjoy the outdoors, trailer towing has sprung up as a means to an end. The classic Airstream trailers were always sighted by my brother and me when we were on our long road trips with our mom and dad. It was a contest to see who could spot the most… of course, brotherly challenges reigned supreme. But, in these days of the pandemic and the need to get to do something different, there have now been a large amount of Airstream trailers already at some cool forested areas, beaches and out in the So Cal deserts. The choice is yours, if you like “trailer living.” We usually ended up on some form of Route 66 on our trips within California. Our dad was a California local and his taste for travel was good. But, it was in California and into Baja, Mexico. So, our photos and memories are from those road trips on the Westcoast. At the time, we did not know it, but this popular hot dog place was on the Western end of Route 66. Yes, it is in a portion of crowded Los Angeles, but the rest of the way to the end in Santa Monica makes up for the congestion in the downtown areas. Jnaki This era specific photo looks to be in the late 60s-early 70s. My wife and I went here plenty of times from the late 60’s. The record shops had prices that were worth the long drive up into West L.A. as we frequented the whole area from movie theaters, to rock concerts, there were also the times of having a nice lunch/dinner in the area, too. There were dozens of great places to dine. One of the coolest places was this odd shaped place called the “Tail of The Pup.” Our dad knew my brother and I loved hot dogs. So, this place was always a fun place to eat, when we went to Los Angeles for family visits to friend’s houses or just for shopping in the nice stores as seen in the digitized, You Tube videos. But, it was the time that my wife and I were part of the scene and we had our share of hot dogs. Just like a visit to Los Angeles at any time is always a stop over at Phillipe’s Restaurant near the Union Station. When it was around, the Tail of The Pup was our cool destination. Add a little chili and we were both in heaven. From the looks of the pants the woman in the photo is wearing, it was from late 60s to mid 70s styling. Over the years, the place closed and moved. Then went into storage. Now, the good news is… The iconic place is back as the historic Tail O' The Pup Hot Dog Stand! The famous hot dog stand was last open back in 2005. The new location at 8512 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood is a 2,700 square foot lot and in addition to the hot dog stand has a beer garden. Route 66 fanatics may realize that this stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard is along the historic route! 2022 at a new location along a Route 66 designated stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood.
The Jalopy Journal
