Alamitos Bay: Bayshore Ave And 54th Place. (2nd Street bridge in the background) Hey LBCD, Nice array of Long Beach area early photos. Bought The Breakers? Wow, impressive. In HS, on dates and Friday night hang out times, the thing to do was to try and get to the top of the Breakers for the views of the city or walk down to the arcade level for a different entrance to the Pike Amusement area. You picked out one of the "most cruised" corners of the whole Alamitos Bay/Belmont Shore area. This could be during Easter Vacation early 1960-62 as the Bayshore Ave. is not closed to through traffic. During the summer months, Bayshore Ave. is closed from 2nd Street to the 54th Place intersection. Sometimes, the closure starts at Ocean Blvd and 54th. This area leads to the famous corner (54th and Ocean Blvd .) handball court(s) where the macho guys would put on a battle for their girlfriends. Constant cruising the Bayshore Ave. brought on the closure during the summer. It was just too much stop and go traffic (mostly stop to view the sun bathers on the very close to the street, beach.) Our "go to" beach area was the Alamitos Bay Peninsula for quiet hanging out. But, for cruising, talking, basketball, handball and meeting new kids from other high schools, this corner was "THE" place to be. There were teenagers, usually from Lakewood, Jordan, Millikan and the near by, Long Beach Wilson high schools gathering here. Now, the Long Beach peninsula residents and visitors knew/know this about this closure and took other measures to bypass this blockage, during this time. If you wanted a busy, crowded gathering spot to spend a day at the beach, this corner area was it. If you wanted quiet, serenity, empty beaches and quiet, romantic walks on the ocean side, it was a short stroll across the Ocean Blvd. 80% of the time the photo below shows how empty this area was for beach use, even with homes all along the beach and boardwalk. (a long boardwalk and premium parking spots were the drawbacks, here...) Ocean Blvd and Dana Place, ocean side of the street. The yellow car shows the location of a duplex, on the corner, during our final college days. My wife (girlfriend at the time) lived in this tiny 400 sq. ft. beach cottage in 1967-68. It was a ¼ mile away from this Alamitos Bay Beach drive-by corner. It was a fun place to live and hang out. The duplex was a getaway from the hectic final year of college. Just down the boulevard to the end of the peninsula was a fun summer surf spot at 72nd Street. Jnaki The Belmont Shore/Alamitos Bay area was as farthest South in the Long Beach cruising area. Belmont Shore borders on Seal Beach and Orange County. The area has changed (not that much) since 1959, but it has remained a favorite of most Long Beach locals throughout the years. This whole area was full of hot rods and cruisers on Friday/Saturday nights as part of the whole Long Beach cruising scene. It definitely had a bunch of hot rods cruising during the day on those busy weekends.
This spot has for decades been called, and still is by those that grew up around here, 'Horny Corner' .
Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, My Grandfather on his Harley (1915?) with his tall friend Corey Barger (no relation to Sonny)
I wondered how long it was going take for somebody to point this out. Used to frequent this spot back in the day and the name was certainly appropriate....lotsa bad behavior enjoyed by all!
That's what it used to look like ?!?!?!, I've been past there before 2000's and it's not the same (of course I drive past it at night).
It still looks pretty much the same, especially during the off season. No more oil rigs in the distance though.
a different look: CRUISING STREETS: 54th Place from the ocean and Bayshore Ave. along the long, Alamitos Bay heading toward the Belmont Shore 2nd Street Bridge. (Those tall trees were simple, skinny trees, around 6 feet tall, back in the early 60s.) Hello, The ultimate summer rental beach apartment fell into our laps one year. When a friend called us one day and invited us to come down to his new apartment located on Alamitos Bay, we jumped at the chance. He had rented a place with a balcony facing the famous Alamitos Bay, 54th Pl. and Bayshore Ave. corner. How cool was that? It was a fabulous place to hang out everyday, especially for the location, location, location. As we were on the balcony enjoying the views, we could not get over the fact that this place was a fantastic place to live. For us, it was a summer hang out place. For my friend, it was his year long home that he saved up for years and had to work daily to keep the place. We felt badly, but he did invite us down there during the fun summer times. Of course, we had to park a ways over on the next block(s) or on the main Ocean Blvd. and walk to his place. Jnaki As much as this place afforded great views and was located on the bay front, it got old. It was because of so much traffic and the crowds just kept getting bigger and bigger. The noise was just LOUD. The rental places down the long peninsula were more affordable and the beaches were virtually empty. As far as the local given name, it was not around in the early 60’s. Growing up there and living there years later, it became too crowded and busy for us. No one I knew/know can give me a definition of when it started to go downhill with that name. Newspaper articles as early as 1985 mentioned it. That was a different world then. The place is certainly different, now. ASIDE: Historical fact about those lonely homes along this short stretch of Ocean Blvd. DEC 2016: (a rand photo… "Designed by mid-century architect Edward Killingsworth, the restaurant’s exposed post and beam structure and massive windows helped make it a classic for more than half a century.") Hello, A couple of Christmas seasons during high school, my friend’s family had a tree lot on the corner of San Antonio and Long Beach Blvd. It was right near two hot car/restaurants. The one on the adjoining lot to the Christmas tree lot was Hof’s Hut, Bixby Knolls. The other is right down the street, Grissinger’s Drive In. We all know what the thing is with drive in restaurants and cruising cars. This Hof’s Hut (now an office building) had a drive out only driveway that went right by the best booth in the restaurant. It was the most cruised driveway in this area, besides the drive-in parking lot. The reflection of the cars in the restaurant windows was up close and personal. What a sight for everyday cruising in your car. We were the only ones working the Christmas tree lot and one of the workers took the 1951 Chevy pickup home. So, all we had was the lowered, 57 Chevy Bel Air. Around 8 pm on a Saturday night, this older lady came in to buy a tree. She bought an 8 ft. tall white flocked tree. She wanted it delivered to her house. We both said fine and I started to flock the whole tree. When the tree was ready, she told us the address, which was at her beach house on the Belmont Shore Peninsula, about 11 miles away. We told her that the lot closed at 10:30 pm and that we could deliver it then. She said it was fine and gave us an extra tip to drive it to her house. Wrapping up the flocked tree with plastic and securing it to the top of the lowered 57 Chevy was an exercise in planning. It was a good thing that the Chevy was white…a white sleigh with a white tree on top…a sight for sure. When we were ready, we decided to drive through the adjoining Hof’s Hut driveway and see if we knew anyone sitting in the prime booth inside the huge window. Low and behold, there was a booth full of our friends (girls) having a late evening hamburger/coke/fries meal. They were all decked out in Christmas attire. When they saw the 57 Chevy, they knew it was us. When they saw the white flocked tree on top, they all stood up and started to laugh/point at us. What a scene… it should have been a movie clip for history… Jnaki Yes, we delivered the white tree to the lady’s house and set it up in her living room. She thought the white tree on top of the white 57 Chevy Bel Air was fitting. A little LB history…the house was one of the only few that was still standing on the empty portion of the Peninsula/Alamitos Beach. It was one of the few houses that survived the documented 1939 hurricane that hit Long Beach. We always wondered why there were only a few homes from the famous Alamitos Bay handball courts to 55th street. Now we know. Back then, it was just a strange sight to only see a few homes on this stretch of beach. We were not historic information junkies back then, like in today’s internet driven world.
completed in 1931 Hey LBCD, That early photo of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium brings back many memories from the 50s and 60s. We used to go to hot rod/custom car shows there during that time period. Also, our 1962 high school class was the last graduating class to use the Municipal Auditorium as our venue. It also held our “All Night Dance” (now called Grad Night) there. That year, 1962, before our Sunday (optional) Baccalaureate Services for graduating seniors, a big swell came in overnight. Baccalaureate services: “Formally defined as a religious service to honor the graduating class, in many institutions of higher education the baccalaureate has evolved into a quieter, more reflective event that focuses on students' personal growth and achievement.” The other following high school classes were able to use the main floor of the new Sports Arena for their graduation ceremonies and “All Night Dance.” Until the All Night Dance evolved into Grad Night at Disneyland or other places. Municipal Auditorium interior seating and stage In the pier/beach photo, there is water on this side of the curved road. That was the beginning of the old Rainbow Pier/Lagoon. (the name came from the pier looking like a curved rainbow.) A man made curved pier that looped the auditorium. We always drove around that Rainbow Pier as it gave anyone a great view of the ocean and coastline, either way, north or south. On the south side of the Rainbow Pier, it faced in a southerly direction. During the early summer south swells, created waves that were rideable as people stood on the pier pointing and laughing. On the other side of the pier,(San Pedro side) my dad used to tell me that he and his teenage friends used to body surf overhead waves that constantly crashed there. Mainly because back then, there was no breakwater to block any swells coming to the beach. I could imagine the waves coming in and breaking all along that shore that is now the Shoreline Marina and exit of the LA River. Even where the Queen Mary is located would have great waves pushing into the LA Rivermouth. But, the breakwater allows a rather calm public harbor and freight harbor in the LB/LA shore. “It's safe to say that a more distinctive pier never adorned the Southern California shore. Unlike the many pleasure piers that stretched beyond the breakers only to dead-end above the ocean's swells, the Rainbow Pier in Long Beach extended more than a quarter-mile into the cold Pacific before arcing back to shore. The 3,800-foot-long structure resembled a giant horseshoe, or a rainbow -- hence its name. But its shape was not all that made the Rainbow Pier unique. It was also among the first of its kind designed explicitly for the automobile. Built atop a granite breakwater, the pier's roadway could easily support the weight of a motorcar. And the fact that the road returned to shore eliminated the need for awkward turnarounds. By the 1960s, however, wave action and tidal forces had begun to undermine the pier, and Long Beach, flush with oil royalties, eyed Rainbow Lagoon as potential real estate. By 1966, a massive land reclamation project created the area home today to the Long Beach Convention Center and the Aquarium of the Pacific, while Shoreline Drive -- a six-lane thoroughfare linking the 710 freeway to Alamitos Avenue -- had replaced the city's graceful Rainbow Pier.” Belmont Shore upper right, Signal Hill upper left New Sports Arena still attached to the Municipal Auditorium(right) taken in 1962 In 1962, our high school had a Sunday Baccalaureate Services for the families and students. It was a semi-mandatory event as part of the senior activities. But, from early Saturday morning, a new south swell rolled in between the breakwater openings and was breaking right at the left side entrance to the Rainbow Pier. I was determined to catch some waves as the size started to get bigger with the approaching hurricaine swell, hitting the beach. So, at the crack of dawn, a few friends and I were surfing those big waves, right next to the pier. Before the time of the Sunday event, there were people standing on the Rainbow Pier watching us surf. It was a built in stadium event for high school surfing…needless to say, I missed the school event taking place in the Municipal Auditorium just across the parking lot. Jnaki On Monday, at school, I got called into the principal’s office to get chewed out for missing the event. Since I was supposed to be sitting in the front row (with the student government group) facing the stage, there was an empty seat throughout the event. Of course, everyone knew where I was during the event. What was my excuse for missing this gathering? It was not mandatory. Couldn’t everyone move over one seat? Sheesh… The June Graduation Ceremony was the last event of its kind to take place in the old Municipal Auditorium. The new Sports Arena was already attached to this historic building and starting in the fall, could be used for any kind of events. (Bigger hot rod/custom car shows, rock concerts, boat shows, etc.)
Tommy Ayres Chevrolet Dealership: Laguna Beach,CA Hey 1OT, Nice license plate surround. That dealer was the only Chevy dealer in South Orange County for many years. They were located on Broadway just south of the famous, Festival of Arts grounds. If any of the hot rods are driving South to Laguna from the inland areas, this is the road to the ocean from the I-5 freeway. This is the main drag coming into Laguna Beach from the canyon. Tommy Ayres Chevrolet on one side of Broadway going toward the ocean, South Coast Ford was across the street. Tommy Ayres: Now, a gallery and a Goodyear Tire dealership. More prominent to travelers on Coast Highway North or South, the Cadillac/Oldsmobile Dealership was located on the next block across the street from the ocean. Allen Cadillac dealership, late 40s until 1971. 2018, a restaurant complex and gas station corner. When we lived in Laguna Beach in our first house, this place saw our 72 blue El Camino many times. The local mechanic at our favorite gas station was stumped as to why it did not get better gas mileage. (we knew it was the factory smog crap that was bolted on from the factory via the U.S. Gov’t rules) So many trips to Tommy Ayres still did not solve it. Timing, spark plugs, less weight oil, all tried and still it got terrible gas mileage. This is during the gas crisis during the 70s in So Cal. It did have superior A/C which was mandatory as our first A/C car and pleased my wife, since she was the daily driver in it. They had top quality mechanics and service. Plus, it was just down the hill from our house. Other car dealers in Laguna Beach, now gone: a Cadillac/Oldsmobile dealership moved to Laguna Niguel by the I-5 freeway, and a Buick dealership to ??? This small city on the beach now has no major car dealers anymore. The reason, high cost of land, buildings and a deadend at the ocean for clientele. Not a 360 degree market. Only a 180 market. Jnaki But for the time we were there driving by those dealerships, daily, it was a fun town to live. The community? Outstanding, except for the weekends and summers. Oh yeah, home values, once affordable, but outrageous these days. My mom told me a story about how my dad took her down to Laguna Beach a long time ago. (early 50s) for a nice lunch and drive. (He probably wanted to see some great surf fishing coves..) But, at the time, from a previous land sale, she had some floating money for investment. Having grown up on the beach, she wanted to buy a beachfront house or property. So, they found some that were nicely priced. By the time they got back to Long Beach, my dad had convinced her to invest in stocks and not property. Some foresight…we could have grown up on the beach in Laguna! Geez…
Thanks to all who posted and shared their experiences,photos and knowledge on this way back journey thread. Nostalgia and storytelling at its best. Looking forward to our visit later this year as we wind up our Rt66 trip, last visit in 95 and prior was 68 upon discharge from the Marines. I loved it there,to this day I wonder how my life might have been different if I’d stayed.
The area has changed in my time also, I was there from 1980-87. Was a great place to grow up but all the unique shops that I remember are gone...but at least the coastline is still the mostly same. 5 of the places I worked at through school are gone......one being where Allen Cadillac was (Giovanni's Pizza, first job at 15). I grew up on the north end of town and my friend from 6th grade (still my friend and he's on the HAMB) family goes back to the 20's or 30's in Laguna (his mom still lives there). Again Jnaki thank you for posting the history of the area.
Hello, If I recall correctly, back in those early 1950s, our dad took us to downtown Long Beach to see the latest in inventions. It was an intersection on Pine Ave. (Broadway crossing?) that allowed the pedestrians to cross at all angles during an extended red light in all traffic directions. Since my dad’s favorite stores were on Pine Avenue, it was a treat to go with him. He always liked to shop for something. So, when we got to the intersection, it looked the same to us. No big deal. But, when the light turned green, only cars moved, not the pedestrians… he held us back. We had to wait until the cross traffic finished their turn, then ALL lights were red. Now, it was our turn to go across the street when an interesting extra box light with a pedestrian symbol lit up. When my dad took a step off of the curb at a diagonal and headed for his favorite store, we thought he was crazy. No one walks at a diagonal in intersections. We all grew up going corner to corner, with the green light. No, my dad laughed and told us to follow him. There were other pedestrians doing the same thing, walking across at a diagonal. What??? Jnaki Over the years, it was used only downtown at the busy intersections. It got to be so common that as a driver, we avoided those intersections because it took up too much time sitting, waiting for our green light. Then the one way streets came into play and that is another story. Today, these intersections are called Scramble Crosswalks. “The scramble crosswalk, also known as a pedestrian scramble or diagonal crossing, was first introduced to the United States and Canada in the 1940s. They allow for pedestrian crossings in all directions, including diagonal, while motorist traffic is stopped, providing an added measure of safety in an effort to reduce pedestrian-vehicle collisions while at the same time promoting walkable cities. Scramble crosswalks have been shown in studies to be safer for pedestrian traffic because they stop motorists in all directions and allow for traffic-free crossing of the streets where they’re present. Collisions in some cities dropped by nearly half after the installation of the special crosswalks. However, they also force motorists to sit for longer periods at lights which has led to some resentment and backlash in the past, moving many cities to remove them shortly after installing them. The demonstration will take place at one of three that will ultimately exist on Pine, a second one is already in place at the 5th Street intersection and third scramble crosswalk is scheduled to be painted at Pine and 1st Street. The city installed a pedestrian scramble in Belmont Shore at the beginning of March the first such crosswalk to be built in the city in decades.”
Hey LBCD, Here is an addendum to those cool old buildings along Ocean Blvd... The Breakers, The Jergins Trust, and The Ocean Center Building. (2 out of 3 still standing) Historic designations. Built in 1919-1929 104 E. Ocean Blvd… A 1934 view while the State is running "Dark Hazard" with Edward G. Robinson. Thanks to Stephen Russo …"Ford sponsored a race through the streets of Long Beach. They had a Model A factory on Henry Ford Avenue in Long Beach." (near the Terminal Island Drawbridge) When we lived in Long Beach, a short bus ride to the beach, the Pike, downtown were all within minutes from our house on the Westside of Long Beach. Saturdays and vacations were exploring days on the bus. Back in those days, our parents felt it was safe to go downtown from our house. My mom did not drive and we wanted to go to the beach and the Pike. One of the more popular spots along the downtown beach front buildings was the Jergens Trust Building. We called it the State Theater Building because of the theater and the arcade in the lower beach sand level of the building. After spending many hours at the beach, we would wander over to the building because of the arcade and food places. Besides the arcade and food places in the lowest level of this building, on the street level was the famous, State Theater. (street level is the Ocean Blvd. level.) If we did not go to the Santa Fe Movie Theater located within three blocks of our Westside LB house, we took the bus to come to this theater. Jnaki If the building were still standing today, it would give the viewers one of the best seats for the Long Beach Grand Prix Auto Race held every April, around tax time. The early race car photo at the State Theater was a sign of things to come in the future... Jergins Trust Bldg. Ocean Blvd. to the left. Pine Avenue running from left to right downhill to the beach and ocean. “The building stood from 1919 to 1988. It was first known as the Markwell Building after its builder Sylvester Markwell, who incorporated a vaudeville theater and some 60 shops in its arcade area. Signal Hill oil man A.T. Jergins added six floors to the building after purchasing it in 1925, and two years later, a pedestrian-safety visionary councilman Alexander Beck led an effort to excavate a tunnel beneath the heavily trafficked Ocean Boulevard to enable people to get to the beach. The tile-lined subway, built at a cost of $70,000, connected with the Jergins arcade, and shops selling souvenirs, crafts and snacks lined both structures in a “Los Artesanos Village” patterned after Los Angeles’ Olvera Street. The tunnel is extant, although its northern entrance is buried beneath a hotel across the street.” “The basement of the building was an underground shopping arcade that opened onto the beach on the south end and also connected to a 35' wide pedestrian subway heading north under Ocean Blvd. Demolished in 1988 for a big condominium project that was never completed.” The State Theater building in the middle, 1963. "Opened: 1919 Architects: Harvey H. Lochridge and Kirkland Cutter designed the Markwell Building (later renamed the Jergins Trust Building) and the State Theatre inside. It was originally a 4 story building. The State Theatre was operated by William Fahey who also had interests in other Long Beach theatres including the Palace. The theatre was the major film and vaudeville house in Long Beach until the West Coast came along in 1926 to share the spotlight. The State was under the Loew's banner for a brief spell in the late teens and early 20s. It's listed as Loew's State in the 1921 city directory, but not later. Fahey sold his theatres in 1950. The last circuit to operate the theatre was Pacific Theatres, who closed it in 1977. In 1926 the building was purchased by the Jergins Oil Co. Three additional stories and a penthouse designed by Lochridge were added to the building in 1929. Until a new courts building was constructed in 1960, this building also housed the Long Beach Municipal Court. The basement of the building was an underground shopping arcade that opened onto the beach on the south end and also connected to a 35' wide pedestrian subway heading north under Ocean Blvd. Seating: 1800 Status: Demolished in 1988 for a big condominium project that was never completed." Jump up to August 1968 and a new adventure began with a curious prelim... Jergins Trust Building lower arcade level In August 12, around 7 am, we were waiting for my local draft board to begin my status meeting, starting at 8:00 a.m. just up the street in Long Beach. My wife and I were wandering around the East end of the Pike and the Jergins Trust Building Arcade. This photo was taken in one of the public bathrooms in that tunnel/arcade. It was on the first day after our wedding, on our way up to our San Francisco vacation. Fun times ahead during this hectic 1968 society of ours…it was to be an adventure. It still is…
Fun times ahead in 1968? Sort of, got to visit a place in San Diego called Marine Corps Recruit Depot. Nice picture of Ocean avenue and Pine. One block away from Chestnut where the tattoo shop was. Heading South going to tin can beach, now known as Bolsa Chica State Beach, you would pass the Naval Station and all of the mine net balls stacked 8 or 9 high, near Harbour Surfboards. Anyone remember the Cosmos coffee house on Main St in Seal Beach? Used to go there to see Hoyt Axton.
Hello, Back in 1963, the movie Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World was filmed at this particular location in Long Beach. The movie also utilized the various other places downtown and along American Ave. (now Long Beach Blvd) Jnaki Pine Avenue going toward the ocean. Jergins Trust and the State Theater on the left. Ocean Blvd in the foreground. 1963 Pine Avenue going toward the ocean. Remnants of the Jergins Trust Building on the left. The Ocean Center Building is on the right. 2012 "Top: View of Ocean Blvd. and Pine Ave. looking southeast on August 13, 1986. The Jergin’s Trust Building is on the right, in the center is the Crocker Bank Building (now the Salvation Army Building), and on the left is Breakers. The Jergin’s Trust Building was named for the Jergin’s Trust oil company, which built a four story addition in the early 1920s. The Lowe’s State Theater occupied the lower part of the building. In a 1986 Los Angeles Times Article, Tom Welch, who represented the developer at the time said, The project already has cost $125,000 and demolition of the 10-story building will cost another $550,000. “We wouldn’t want to spend that kind of money if we intended to leave bare soil,” he added, in reference to a battle by some to save the building. Photo by Tom Shaw/Press-Telegram BOTTOM: View of Ocean Blvd. and Pine Ave. looking southeast on February 14, 2012. The Long Beach Convention Center is the low building on the right, in the center is the Salvation Army Building, and on the left is Breakers. Photo by Jeff Gritchen/Long Beach Press-Telegram"
I was there that day.. We were at Linden beach where Rainbow pier went up Linden Ave..We sat on the pier railing as the car with the actors went by followed by a truck with cameras on the front and back. Then the police car chasing them went by. They shot that scene twice and we thought we would be in the movie, but they cut that part out. Later we went up on Ocean Blvd. and watched them shoot the chase scenes up there. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Hello, Here is the underground arcade section of the Jergins Trust Building. (arcade is not just a place to play video games) It ran all the way from the ocean walkway (lower Pike level) across the Ocean Blvd (street level above) to the other side of the street. It was an easier way to cross the busy Ocean Blvd after the bus dropped us off in the downtown area. The arcade was a thriving place with a bunch of small businesses, kind of like a mini mall of today. Our favorite place was the small hot dog stand that had great chili dogs and cherry cokes from a counter tap, machine and fountain squirter. The décor was a little gaudy, but because it was underground, even during the hot summer outside, this long arcade tunnel was cold. The massive tile floor just kept everything very cool. One of the other memories was of the custodian standing inside of the arcade, near the beach/Pike entrance with a small broom and dustpan. Everyone brought sand into the giant tunnel from the beach. (But, it was always became spic and span!) Jnaki In 1968, we were walking around at 7:00 a.m. It was a spooky place when no one was around except for the two of us and our echoing voices. and some tourist with a 35mm Pentax Camera.
Santa Fe Ave Bowling alley... formerly the Santa Fe Ave movie theater. Hello, We were lucky living on the Westside of Long Beach. Not only were there a bunch of custom cars and hot rods, but the proximity to Lions Dragstrip was invaluable. But, one of the coolest things was a neighborhood movie theater that showed first run movies, including several 3D movies. This neighborhood theater was just down the block from where that Tahitian red, chopped, Ford F100 truck was always parked on Santa Fe Ave. Lloyd Whaley built post war homes near Santa Fe and Willow in the 1940s. Milton Arthur opened the Santa Fe Theater at Hill St. and Santa Fe Avenue. (three blocks from our house…) It was a busy intersection as the catty corner was a Foster Freeze stand alone restaurant and more family restaurants were directly across the street. Hollywood first run movies played here, like the latest 3-D movies: “The Charge at Feather River,” a 1953 Western film directed by Gordon Douglas, was originally released in 3D with lots of arrows, lances, and other weapons flying directly at the audience in several scenes. (very intense and had everyone ducking for cover.) “Creature from the Black Lagoon” is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film from Universal-International. (not as scary as the Feather River movie.) We stood in a long line to get into these two 3D movies. But, on Saturday mornings, there was an inexpensive, “kids only,” movie series on the large screen with cartoons and comedy films. We could walk to this neighborhood theater and it was always packed. For some reason, the movie attendance started fading By the time we were in Junior HS, 1956-58, it turned into a great, family bowling alley. By 1956, the movie theater was replaced by another 50s favorite, a huge, multiple lane, bowling alley with the latest equipment. That was our hangout during junior high school. Because we played almost everyday after school, the scores got higher and higher. (180 any good for a 12 year old?) Eventually, bowling, family, corporation & individual, fell out of favor and the whole complex, later, got demolished. Jnaki The Santa Fe Bowling Alley just before it got torn down into an empty lot for several months. Currently, that thriving intersection of Hill Street and Santa Fe became homes/duplexes replacing the Foster Freeze Shop, movie theater and a couple of other, small shops. Gone, but not forgotten.
Looks like Don the Beachcombers in Sunset Beach is gonna get the axe for new condos. No official word yet but all the shows have been moved to other locations. The rumor is today is it's last day open, maybe it an April Fools joke? Cool place to go to, not the same as when it was Sam's but better than when it was Kona. Great drinks, lots of tiki stuff which is good for me because I like tiki stuff. I'm restoring a dining room set with now. We recently saw my favorite band The Blasters there. The place has roots date back to 1937, a fire in '59 brought the building we know today. Just what we need, more fucking condos.
Jnaki, that tunnel under where the Jergins Trust Building was is still there. The city used it for storage for years. It's hoped that the new landlord of the property might incorporate the tunnel in his new building. There use to be a tunnel at Bixby park too that you could get to the beach through. It's been closed for decades as well, I think the beach end is still there.
Found a few pics online of both of the Long Beach tunnel's exits. The Jergins is the white one and the ugly mural is the Bixby.
Hey FT, Nice story on Don the Beachcomber. It may close as the last of the old tiki bar/restaurants. When any old thing closes down, it is a sad moment. Back in 1961-62, right next door to that restaurant was the original Kanvas by Katin Surf Shop. Behind that shop, was another smaller custom surfboard shop that had its own manufacturing facilities right inside of the one-man operation. It was the Crow Surf Shop. He shaped, sanded, glossed custom surfboards back then inside of his shop and on the property behind leading to the watery surroundings. One day, we were hanging around, talking and watching him shape/gloss a surfboard for my brother. (This was when the water’s edge was not a marina nor were there many boats docked all along the shoreline.) When all of a sudden a truck pulls up nearby with what looked like a rolling circus on the back. Out pops several circus types and proceeds to unload an elephant. What??? An elephant in Surfside,CA? Near the inland swampy marsh and salt water? That surprised all of us. Now, we were interested. It was a rolling entertainment company trying to get an elephant to water ski on the smooth waters of the inland salt water body. We had never heard of such a feat before, so we all dropped what we were doing and watched the fiasco. Sure, there were old hot rods at the beach, surf vans, normal station wagons, but never an elephant in Surfside, CA. The powerboat was ready, the lines were pulled back, the elephant was bolted to the huge water skis and they were in the shallow, murky, waters edge. When the powerboat started, the elephant started gliding on those huge skis. But, within a few seconds, he plopped over and the skis went skyward. Now, the mad dash to get out to the elephant to right him so he would not drown, upside down. This company gave up after several more tries of making the elephant ride on top of the water skis. It was actually sad as the struggling elephant did not look happy or enjoyed what he/she was doing. We found out later that it was a practice run for some big show up in Los Angeles coastal area. Jnaki Don the Beachcomber was Sam’s Seafood Restaurant during this time period. Giant Swordfish sign and all…
Katin's still there in I think the original location, right next to Sams/Kona/Dons. Been going there since Mrs. Katin was still alive although I was never much of a surfer but a water skier. I still wear a canvas set every day, they're the only ones still hand made on site. I'm a long distance swimmer and do 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 miles a day everyday depending on how my back feels. Can't tell you how many times I've been told I'd be a better swimmer if I wore speedos, NO I wouldn't and no man over the age of 18 unless he's a college athlete or Olympian should EVER wear speedos. Ever. Birdwell Britches is still in business, they're also handmade in the shop and my dad wore those in the 60s, I've been thinking of trying a set of them to too just to change things up. My wife says I'm too predictable, I'll show her.
The Jalopy Journal
