Nice pics.

Jim

 

Ah, FW Woolworth, old Skool Walmart,
A. Hirsch & Sons. Jewelry and credit? Old Skool payday loans?

 

Don't forget Newberry's. I have not seen one of them in ages.

Jim

 

This is the city located on Highway 4 in NorCal, not the suburb in West LA (90049).

1967 West LA Ford dealers: Stockton Quincy Ford 1550 Westwood Blvd. / Walker-Buerge (W/B) Ford 11800 Santa Monica Blvd.

Quincy merged with W/B 11/1967, only the showroom and a portion of the shop remains on Westwood Blvd. W/B shut down a week ago.

Quincy originally located in Westwood Village, the building is extant. The final scenes of the 1933 W.C. Fields film "If I Had A Million" were filmed there.

The opening scenes of this film were filmed at Jack Frost Ford at 750 S. La Brea in L/A.

In both the opening and closing scenes, Fields drives out of the dealership in a new Ford. Within seconds...WHAM! New Fords totaled by, what Fields called: Road Hogs!

 

There may have been a couple shots of the old Rainbow Pier posted in here earlier, but here's a couple more along with an article:





You Could Drive Your Car Onto This Rainbow-Shaped Pier

 

Anyone remember Jack's Drive In?
This menu cover is from '56.

This 1954 image shows Crescent Heights and Sunset Blvd.
The building at the left is still in existence today, and still houses Greenblatt's Liquor. Looks like a 1950 DeSoto in front making a left hand turn.
Hey Bill, do you remember semaphore's or were they all gone by the time you were a kid in the '50s?

 

Thanks Steve
That ties up with a ribbon the reason there is all that land where water used to be.

 

Whiz Bang Hamburgers. ('50s?)

 

As someone once told me, "I don't eat ANYTHING that has the word 'whiz' in it!".

I believe he was referring to Cheeze Whiz at the time, but it still rings true!

Pop

 

Not sure how many still travel down Roscoe near Van Nuys Blvd in the Valley, but the old Montgomery Wards building still sits the way it did in the 60's and 70's, maybe early 80's.

Growing up in Van Nuys, we spent many a day with dad, walking around the hand tools, garden, and power tools sections dreaming of the stuff we someday might own. We seemed to find parts or pieces needed for dad's ShopSmith, always trying help build something in wood.

If not there, we would head down Sepulveda Blvd to Oxnard St to the original Builders Emporium, know as their store #401 after becoming a multi store hardware store chain.
Remember the separate rooms that were merged together from other buildings to make one. The large stand up nail bins, bulk nuts and bolts to name a few.

Those were the days!

 

Monkey Wards. Been a long time since they were in business.

Jim

 

Long time, sure.

But that sign is STILL on that building all these years later! Bob has a recent photo!

No other company has ever moved into that location.

Pop

 

They closed in 2000. Not so long ago in my estimation. Most of us probably stopped shopping there long before that. I know we did.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Ward

 

Yep, I think we have used a Powr Kraft tool once or twice.

According to the records, this store opened in late 1961 and closed in March 2001.

It sure seems a lot longer, but to Bill's point, we probably hadn't been in this store for a decade or more prior to closing.

If it wasn't for the money behind GE at the time, they probably would have been closed earlier. Nobody in their parking lots for years.

 

Crazy how some signs can stay up for so long. Seems like whoever owns the building would want to at least get rid of the bad omen that a bankrupt tenant carries. Or that a city would not stand by and let the property become blighted.

To wit, Mervyns went down at the end of 2008. My wife is still heartbroken over that. One of the Mervyns signs still stands at the corner of Imperial and Harbor in La Habra. And it is only a pole and sign which would be cheap to remove. Those with the money just don't give a scheet.

Pic here: https://www.google.com/maps/@33.9164...waGA!2e0?hl=en