TIME Magazine, August 11, 1958, 65 years ago today: Backstory: Just to do the numbers, 18 payments of $57.10/month for 18 months would have added up to $1027.80. 30 months would have totaled $1713.
Hello, As we used to drive down PCH through Laguna Beach in the late 59-62 time period, the last stoplight was the gas station on the beach front property. Laguna Beach used to have 4 gas stations around this particular portion of PCH and Broadway. In 1962, the Shell Station was gone replaced by a Standard Gas Station. But, that was not the main reason from the posted photo above. The 60 Ford wagon was shown stopped for a stop light. If one was in any car stopped at that intersection stop light, you were approached by the grizzly old Laguna Beach “Greeter.” Eiler Larson became famous for his antics on this particular corner of PCH and Forest Avenue. The building adjacent to the Shell station was a toy store. Over the years, it became several different shops. Around 1980, it became a restaurant and finally in today’s world, still has the iconic name of The Greeter’s Corner” restaurant. Jnaki Many stories were had by visitors to Laguna Beach. We used to see him every time we drove down Coast Highway to points South or North. It was a surprise to those who were visitors and not accustomed to the history of the character. A grizzly old guy approaches your car and waves. One would think it was a corner car window washer or street peddler, noted from the seedier parts of a metropolitan big city. But, a wave was all it took to have him smile and wave back. He became the official city’s “Greeter.” 1962 The stop light is still there, but the gas station changed. In the following years, the city developed the whole beach front area of the Main Beach. They took out all remnants of buildings, gas stations and ocean view blocking buildings to create a public park and boardwalk spanning a long white sandy beach. Add in a few volleyball courts and a public basketball court and let the games begin… YRMV NOTE: Everything got cleaned out, the view to the ocean was unobstructed and the white sand beach was prevalent along with a new walkable boardwalk from one end of the beach to the other. Now, this was a city oceanfront view and main attraction to the city. For our granddaughter's first 8-10 years, We almost lived on that white sandy beach. When asked where she would like to go visit, "MAIN BEACH" was the answer. There was a nice green grassy area with some shade, a revamped kids climbing structure and swings, all made for plenty of hours playing at the beach. For lunch, there were several nice restaurants nearby or we took or own snacks, drinks and sandwiches. And, to top off every excursion like clockwork, our granddaughter knew exactly where to walk to go to the toy store, just steps away on the corner. Later on, a nice cookie store was built in the other PCH corner store. So, the all in one location was a destination and plenty of great times were had as she was growing up a "Beach" local. We were proud grandparents with no time limit or other duties, other than having fun with our precocious little granddaughter. YES!
The Jalopy Journal
