The “Endless Summer” movie was a hit It was unbelievably popular from the very beginning. Santa Monica Civic Auditorium sold out for a week straight... Santa Monica Civic Auditorium So Cal coast “Many Southern Californians of a certain age remember the hall for the surf movies shown there for over a decade. Only two blocks from the beach, the films attracted surfing afficianados who stood in line at the box office, sand still clinging to their clothes. The hall is also famous for its role during the early rock and roll years as the main Southern California venue for concerts of virtually all the famous bands.” Hello, From 1960 to the time we quit going to those surf movies in the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium we always knew where there were cool diners. They were mostly inexpensive and allowed us to sit in them in those poofy, comfortable vinyl booths. Then, when the rock concerts at the Santa Monica Auditorium started and my wife and I stayed late into the night/morning, we had three place we liked and they were all on the way home. Starting in Santa Monica about a block or two from the auditorium. The Penguin Restaurant. Sometimes, during a huge concert, by the time we got back to our car and started going home, the local Penguin Restaurant was packed and we had to “mover on down the road.” Then farther South down Highway 101, there was a Parasol Restaurant in Torrance on the way to Long Beach. The eatery’s circular shape, designed to look like an open parasol umbrella. In 1967 a parasol restaurant opened in Seal Beach. The rock concert era started and it all came back like a flash. Similar seating, loud music, after the late show, snacks at the local restaurants and diners… Then as our “tastes” changed but we liked the old style diners that stayed open late, we stopped at the one diner in the middle of Long Beach. Norm’s in Long Beach for late night snacks The last NORMS restaurant built with the Googie design (not GOOGLE) was on Long Beach Boulevard at PCH in Long Beach. Norms Restaurants is located in Long Beach, California, and was founded in 1960. This was the stop over during our local tours as we were close by, but it was one of the only ones staying open late. Our usual order for growing 20-30 something folks, steak and eggs with toast and coffee. Yes, coffee at those late hours did not stop us from falling asleep when we got home. Yikes! La Cienega Norms... in Los Angeles. And the one on La Cienega, going back into Los Angeles was one of the late night stops after our walk around those old shops that sold a ton of cool clothes, low cost new LP albums and home decorating knick knacks. Jnaki Perhaps from all of the times sitting around as 20-30 somethings, in a Norm’s Restaurant in So Cal locations, the surroundings began to play a design part in our brains. For the last 30 years, we have had this style of lamp and for the last 20, a modern George Nelson classic lighting design sits in our house. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...modern-furniture.1109672/page-9#post-14855835 Familiar spires that shot up into the air, day and night... all over So Cal.
Not quite as Westminster. GG has many other ethnic groups. The weekly Friday Night cruise on Main Street I’m afraid is getting squeezed and may not be long for the future but I hope not…
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