Vintage shots from days gone by!

1940, the grand opening of the "Arroyo Seco Parkway" freeway, now known as the "Pasadena Freeway". It was built in a natural wash bed, thus the many curves.

 

Singer Abby Lane in front of "Ciro's" who was married to orchestra leader Xavier Cugat. This is from 1954. In the mid-60's the Sunset Strip had it all. Whiskey-a-Gogo, Ben Franks, the Playboy Club, Pandora's Box, nightclubs for "adults" and the hot spots for the younger crowd.

 

1953. a family shows off the fruits of the new consumer wealth

 

.... pensive

 

Griffith Observatory after it's completion in the early 1930's
Mrs DB and I visited there on our road trip last October........................ the trees have grown a bit
Awesome place

 

Used as the location of the "rumble" in "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955)

 

Beach babes - 1920's style........... fetching bunch

 

1926 Bootleggers cleverly disguise their truck to appear that it is carrying lumber instead of the 70 cases of Scotch. Busted!

 

Robert Petersen who founded Petersen Publishing. He published Hot Rod, Car Craft and Rod and Custom among many others.
He also was the driving force to build and fund the Petersen Automobile Museum in the Wilshire District of Los Angeles.

 

Before Disneyland and Magic Mountain there was Pacific Ocean Park. Lovingly called P.O.P. it fell on bad times because of Disneyland and closed.

 

The department store on the left, Orbach's became the Petersen Museum.