Hello, When we lived in those old small trailers from 1946 to 48, we used to walk down the nearest street towards the ocean. San Francisco Avenue. It was a mile away to the elementary school and another mile to the actual Ocean water. Unless of course, the Anaheim Street bridge and the PCH bridge was ok to consider being close to the flowing L.A. River underneath. At the end of our street and Anaheim Street was the lumber yard called Fickling Lumber Yard. We saw huge trucks hauling lumber to and from the facilities. Inside we could see those lift lumber machines moving lumber from one place to another. They were certainly odd looking and functioning vehicles. In high school, if a wood project was needed, this was the place to go for lumber for all sorts of projects. We even bought thin redwood flex strips for the surfboard center strips we tried to incorporate into custom surfboards. That technology still goes on today, but some have reverted to drawing those wavy old redwood strips in place with tape or inlays. The weight savings are there without the full size redwood strips in place. Jnaki At least, it was not far to go to get quality lumber for our projects. By the time we moved on in our lives from Long Beach, several independent hardware stores began stocking lumber in larger numbers. They probably got their lumber wholesale from the largest lumber yard in all of Long Beach at the time... YRMV Note: Across the main East-West street, Anaheim St. many years later became a hot tourist spot. A tourist spot next to the L.A. River and in the middle of an industrial zone with factories and other old shops? How can this industrial area become famous? Well, it was the location of an old industrial building repurposed for a custom motorcycle shop. It became famous from the shows on TV and in the industry. The location of the old lumber yard on the corner was famous enough for us as teens and 20 somethings. But, this old building location across the street made traffic on that old road that connected San Pedro/Wilmington + the Westside of Long Beach to the link to PCH in the East just because of TV star power. It was the location of the Jesse James custom motorcycle business and home court for the TV shots. The industrial zone still functions and looks almost the same in 2019, when last visited by my wife and me as we were coming home from a long road trip down the coastline cities...
The Jalopy Journal
