The dogs had fun running on the beach in Santa Cruz while I waited for the fog to lift.  The sun came out around 10 am and was with us all day long after that.  All that perfect-weather shooting made that five-hour drive home not quite as agonizing!  This was the first of many trips to the San Francisco Bay Area.  I can only afford maybe one trip up there per month, so it will take a while to finish this list.  If someone wants to drop a few grand in the donation bucket, it’ll get done much sooner!

On with Santa Cruz — I’ve got a big batch of signs to get things rolling.  This one was shot last night after my blog post was done:

The same sign by day:

 

A faded beauty for the Plymouth Court (originally  a motel):

 

Most likely, went by another name originally.  Lit at night but I didn’t get a chance to shoot it:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51035555243@N01/6730690315/

 

An institution in Santa Cruz — there since at least 1958:

 

A neon detail from The Jury Room bar:

 

More motel & apartment complex signs:

 

Here’s a clover modern sign on the side wall of Larry’s Photography — although the camera reference is probably lost on much of today’s younger generation:

 

This sign is at the Rip Curl surf shop.  I read somewhere that it was originally a grocery store sign:

 

A little strip mall sign — I don’t know how old this one is:

 

And one more sign from Santa Cruz:

 

It was nice to be at the Boardwalk before it opened and all the people were there — but I missed a chance to try these!

I’ve been told by the historical folks that the swiss cheese-hole fins on this Boardwalk building are “real” (vintage from at least 1967):

 

Moving on — this one in Boulder Creek:

 

And from Ben Lomond:

 

The city’s welcome sign:

 

And then on to the “Bay Area” — this sign in San Carlos (I believe the business is closed):

 

That should be enough neon overload to last you for a while!  But if not, there’s more signs, buildings & statues over at my Flickr stream from yesterday:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

The dogs and I will be hitting the road again in about three weeks.  Back down San Diego way for that one.

The dogs and I are back on the road again this weekend.  A full day of glorious sun — the forecasters are promising more tomorrow.  Started shooting today in Morro Bay — where the dogs got a good run at a fantastic more-or-less legal dog beach.  I think it’s three miles long and a really wide packed sand beach.  Yeah, I know, shoulda brought the camera.

Lots of photos to share — let’s start with this one in Morro Bay.  These plastic oval Foster’s signs are even rarer than their earlier neon cousins.  More about Foster’s Freeze and lots of photos at my site here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/fosters.html

 

A couple of other great signs from Morro Bay:

 

Back inland for a bit.  This drug store in Soledad has one of those nice navy and orange neon Rexall signs:

It also has a nice under-canopy plastic sign:

And Rexall door pulls (that’s Sparkle’s reflection).  More Rexall signs from all over the country at my section here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/signs/rex.html

 

On to Salinas —

And the “star” of the Star Center — the neon is apparently still lit at night:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85853333@N00/8421214616/

 

One more from Salinas:

 

From Hollister:

 

From Morgan Hill – a former Sno-White Drive-in.   The sign and building have been adapted.  More examples of these signs and building (and a photo of what this Morgan Hill sign looked like originally) at my site here:

http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/cadi2.html

 

Also in Morgan Hill.  I have no idea how old this Punch statue is — probably not very — but I thought he was pretty neat.  He is located in front of a cigar store.  I think he would have held a cigar box in his right hand.  I have no idea what that indentation in his belly is about.  Evidently, there’s a history to these statues — an oldie here:
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/4279104

 

Some neat freestanding letters in Gilroy:

 

And just last weekend, I posted a Sofspra car wash sign from Encinitas here at this blog — declaring that I thought it was the last one of its kind.  Well, today, I bumped into this one in Watsonville.  So, that makes two:

This location has more intact looking stalls than the one in Encinitas:

 

This building was just across the street.  An indecipherable name on the sign.  I have no idea if this was the original occupant or if there were any others like this:

 

One more from Watsonville.  This rooftop sign is at the long-closed Cabrillo Lanes:

 

Let’s close out with another mystery — this one from Aptos.  Just north of the Sno-White Drive-in is this mid-century beauty.  It now houses the Ambrosia Indian Bistro (I was hungry and tempted — but opted for onion rings at the Sno-White).  I don’t know if that triangulated glass is original (most likely not).

Surely, this giant spoon sign in front of the place must provide a clue as to the original business name:

That’s it for today.   The dogs and I have settled in Santa Cruz for the night.  Some shooting here in the morning and then working our way up to San Jose, Redwood City and thereabouts.  A long journey home and then back to work on Monday.  I’ll post this weekend’s wrap-up then.  Until then, here are some more photos from today over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

dj

Most of the “outskirts” stuff has been checked off the list for now.  The next trip down this way should be mostly San Diego focused.

The day started with pea soup fog so I treated the dogs to a leisurely morning at the Del Mar dog beach.  The weather was not much better even by noon but I went ahead and shot some things that I’ll wind up shooting again next time.

From Encinitas.  This was a nationwide self-serve car wash chain established in the 1960s.  However, this is the only sign that I know of that still exists.  The only other still-open location that I know of is in Rochester, NH.  However, that one has a boring, modern box sign.   I assume those balls on top of the sign must have been sequentially lit.  This night-time photo of a later sign (location unknown) shows what that embossed bit on the right next to the name probably looked like:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/83307323@N00/3369816318/

 

Also from Encinitas.  This modern 7-Eleven gas station convenience store was based on one of my favorite gas station designs:  the Mobil “drum”.  This Michigan station is gone now but it gives you a reference as to what these stations looked like originally:
http://www.daads.org/preservation/mobil.htm

This tribute station in Encinitas was built in 2007 as a Mobil station originally:
http://www.theleucadiablog.com/2007/04/new-gas-station-question-and-comment.html

 

Thanks to the fog and some pranksters, I didn’t get to shoot the “Cardiff Kook” surfer station in Cardiff like I’d planned.  Next time.  Here’s some info about the statue:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff_Kook

 

I was glad to see this Catalina Pools sign still standing next to I-8 in La Mesa.  The proximity to a building forced this arty angle:

 

Let’s close out with a couple of signs from San Diego.  I had to choose between glare or a tree on this one.  I went with the tree:

 

This sign was built in the 1950s for the Sheng Haw Low Cafe.  It has, thankfully, been declared a San Diego landmark.  The sign has been adapted a little bit by the VIP Restaurant and now for University Square.  The “and Shops” box at the bottom originally read “Fine Chinese American Food.”  I don’t believe the neon is lit anymore:

 

That’ll do it for this trip.  Don’t forget, there are a sampling of some other photos from this weekend over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut

The dogs and I will be back on the road this coming weekend (if the weather looks decent).  We’ll be heading up to the San Jose area for that one.

Hi folks!  This will be the first of several San Diego area trips.  If only I had a week off and I could do it all in one fell swoop.  Instead, it will probably take two or three months of random weekends to get ‘er done.

Today’s shooting was pretty low volume.  Lots of stuff north and east of San Diego in twisty windy mountains.  Tomorrow, we should be more in the heart of things.  No Monday holiday for me (Presidents Day) so I have to turn around & head home just as things start to get rolling.   But maybe I’ll miss some nasty traffic.

The dogs were tormented at the end of the day by beach aromas & views.  I saw nothing but “No Dogs” signs so they were out of luck.  Not that they didn’t get lots of grassy-running in today.  But they’ve come to EXPECT a beach at 4:30 pm every single day of their lives.   I’ve got a legal doggie off-leash beach spot picked out for first thing in the morning which should make up for things.

On with today’s photos.  Let’s start in Oceanside with the Surf Bowl:

 

Also from Oceanside.  The wrong time of day for sun on this one.  You can make out the patched holes from former neon tubing:

 

From Bonsall — where there was this sweet little place back in 2008:

 

Today, it’s sitting abandoned in someone’s back lot.  I had to do a little trespassing to shoot this one:

While I was briskly tiptoeing around, I saw another similar style giant cup sort of building.  I have no idea where this one came from:

 

I did a lot of shooting today at the Deer Park Winery & Auto Museum in Escondido.  I had never been there before.  There must be 100 or so restored, incredible cars — mostly 1950s & 1960s era:
http://deerparkwine.com/museum.html

But there’s other stuff, too:

Toy gas stations:

a Barbie room:

 

Here are just a couple of the cars — the Crosley Hotshot:  an American car deemed one of the worst cars ever built:
http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1657867_1657678,00.html

And a Nash Metropolitan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_Metropolitan

 

But I was there mostly to see the signs.  LOTS of neon signs.  But very hard to shoot since pretty much all of them are stuck way behind the cars.  I did what I could to hop the ropes & take some quick shots — expecting alarms to go off or personnel to see me on hidden cameras.  Luckily, nobody came to yell at me or arrest me.  This one was one of my faves:

A couple of nice window signs:

This one was w-a-y in the back and I had to scoot sideways between some big land yachts.  Very nice three-dimensionality to this one:

 

There was no way to shoot this one without the glare.  I’m guessing these were mass-produced and there was a business name at the bottom of the sign:

 

Back on the road — still in Escondido.  This wonderful circus tent like sign/building houses Escondido Coin & Loan.  I can’t find anything on-line about what this was originally:

The windows and some of the wooden cases inside suggest maybe jewelry store:

 

From Encinitas — where we called it quits for the day.  A very sweet use of perforated steel panels:

 

Also in Encinitas — the “Surfing Madonna” mosaic.  It’s about 10 foot by 10 foot and has been moved a couple of times.  More about it here:
http://www.surfingmadonna.org/about.html

 

Tomorrow should be a busy day — if the weather isn’t too crappy.  Sun was promised for today & it was pretty darned overcast.  So, tomorrow’s prediction of “partly cloudy” might mean anything short of rain!

I’ll get photos from tomorrow up on Monday or Tuesday.    Til then — Happy Post-Valentines & PrezDay Weekend!  And as for my pals back east… my heartfelt sympathy.

Oh, and some more photos from today over at my Flickr account:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

dj & the dogs

Sunday’s adventures began in Mecca at the Salton Sea.  I drove out there mainly to see the North Shore Yacht Club which has been on my “to see” list for about a dozen years.  I wish I’d gotten to see it in the abandoned state.  I’m glad it was saved & restored, but it feels pretty soul-less to me.
http://www.greetingsfromsaltonsea.com/northshore.html

The dogs enjoyed sniffing around and crunching on dead fish (much as I tried to stop them).  Evidently, the tilapia die of oxygen starvation and wash up on the shore.  I’ve read about the stench — but no smell when we were there.  And I think the bone population is way down from what it used to be.

[don’t forget, all my photos open to larger versions when you click on them]

 

On to Indio.  The Riverside County Fairgrounds — which hosts an annual Date Festival.  Several of the buildings feature stylized Middle Eastern elements.  There were other buildings that I couldn’t get to since the fairgrounds were locked up tight.  I saw some five foot fencing which I was tempted to hop — but didn’t.

A mid-century looking parabola with painted murals of the Taj Mahal and other scenes.

 

Some other stuff in Indio:

 

This motel building features a normal looking double decker office (I assume with manager’s room upstairs).  I have never seen a pylon slice through a building quite like this.  I would assume the motel’s name would have been painted at the top…

… but there’s an obvious former Travelodge sign on the property.  So, I can’t explain that pylon since I’ve not seen any Travelodges with that sort of office:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/93794943/

 

From Cathedral City:

 

Then, it was back through Palm Springs to shoot what was in the shade on the previous afternoon.  I also shot some L.A. area stuff on the way home.  This place in Orange must have been related to the famous Johnie’s Broiler (now Bob’s Big Boy) in Downey:
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/ca2.html

I find no info online connecting these two locations.  And what’s odd — is that the building associated with this sign is a former 1960s era Taco Bell.   So, I assume Johnie’s adapted the building.

Note the character on the signs — in Orange:

And the Downey sign which I believe was built in 1966 when Johnie’s Broiler moved into the Harvey’s Broiler building.   Note you can still faintly read “Fat Boy” in his cap like the sign above:

 

More photos from this trip over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

I was able to wrap up the SoCal desert stuff on my list with this trip.  The next few trips will focus on the San Diego area.  Since I’m limited to weekend traveling right now, it will probably take three or four trips for that chapter.  We’ll be back on the road in mid-February.

dj & the dogs

The dogs and I are back in the desert for the weekend.  Perfect weather and a full moon tonight.  A day of dust, mid-century buildings, and other fun stuff.   I’m glad we’ll be missing Modernism Week — but if you like crowds and people more than I do (!), you might wanta go:
http://www.modernismweek.com/

After Nik’s eyeball exam in Culver City, we were off for a few stops in the Inland Empire.  This guy in  Fontana at Smog Latino was one of the unexpected, highlights of my day.  A foam type sculpture — I’m assuming modeled after the owner:

On to the desert & Cabazon.  This bowling alley is just east of the big Morongo Casino Resort.  Not vintage neon but still very fun.  Even more impressive at night:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/clearlight/4099650005/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107057@N00/4100406324/

I love the picnic table in the shade of the gigantic bronto in Cabazon.  By the way, that’s Sparkle on the far right.  360,000 miles and puttering along just fine!

Some signs from Desert Hot Springs:

A vintage postcard of the Cactus Springs Lodge:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hollywoodplace/4654593900/

They’ve obviously modernized the office quite a bit. Unfortunately, I can’t find a vintage photo of that.  I love the cactus growing through the roof on the right:

One more for the night — the Marilyn Monroe in Palm Springs.  This statue was previously in Chicago and was moved here in 2012.   It was created by Seward Johnson famous for lots of other giant and life-sized statues, the giant eyeball, etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Seward_Johnson_II

I’ve got lots of other photos from today over at Flickr tonight:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

And I’ll have the wrap-up with some photos from tomorrow on Monday or Tuesday.

OK — back home safe.  Here are some photos from yesterday’s shooting.  I started the day with a long drive out to see Roy’s in Amboy.  This long-closed gas, food & lodging complex is really in the middle of absolute nowhere.  There were no signs of life there — but, evidently, work is still going on:
http://www.amboyroute66.com/frontpage.html
Back in June, there was a Kickstarter campaign to raise $16,000 to restore the sign — but only about $1,000 was pledged.

Since around 2005, the town of Amboy — or at least the land where these buildings are located — has been owned by man who owns the Juan Pollo fried chicken fast food chain. It must have been soon after that when a smaller Roy’s sign was built for a Juan Pollo in Barstow (at a former Arby’s building).  But that location is now closed:

The former Whiting Brothers gas station in Newberry Springs.  Closed since 1968:

Also in Newberry Springs — the long-closed Henning Motel:

 

All my life, I’ve heard about the Calico Ghost Town in Yermo.  I finally made it there today:

 

Back in Barstow.  Yes, the Sands Motel sign had neon and a different color scheme until 2009.  Here’s a photo of its old look:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11036774@N07/2120865066/
And when they went monkeying with the sign:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92136363@N00/3741298725/
Note how they sliced off all chunks on the right hand side of the sign and moved all the letters over:

 

Former rivals and next door neighbors in Barstow — the Astro Motel (now the Astro Budget Motel) — its original look:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12597438@N07/4379144495/

and the former Imperial 400 Motel — this location in better days:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12597438@N07/3522121665/

More about these chains and loads of photos at my page here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/modarch/chain.html
In Helendale — a Polly gas sign.  The station was demolished long ago.  A fenced dirt lot since at least 2003:

 

On to Victorville and the California Route 66 Museum.  This sign was replaced with a plastic box sign but luckily this sign was saved & has been on display at the museum since at least 2007.   The rundown motor court buildings are still there:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31086818@N08/5162522893/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65446203@N00/8178995530/

The museum also has a couple of signs from the former Hulaville in Hesperia:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2891

 

One of the highlights of the day for the dogs was exploring the abandoned dinosaurs in Apple Valley.  Four acres of dirt and dinosaur statues.  This was to have been a mini golf but the project started in the 1970s was never completed.  Very sad — but still wonderful.

 

On up into the mountains — Sparkle really got a workout this weekend!  Up to Big Bear Lake to shoot a couple of things.  This one was not on my list.  Madlon’s Restaurant in Big Bear.  Their website explains that this was built as the Knusperhauschen Restaurant in the 1970s:

 

The sun ran out in Yucca Valley — just enough time to grab one more sign.  I don’t know what it advertised for originally — Sky Harbor Shopping Center?

 

The next trip and blog post will be the weekend of January 18 when the dogs at I will head back to the desert for more goodies & fun times around Palm Springs.  Until then, don’t forget more photos from this weekend over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Best to all of you in 2014!

dj & the dogs

I’ve been wanting to make this little trip for a while.  Winter seems like a good time to head to the desert & avoid the heat even though the days are so short.  In summer, you get maybe four more hours to shoot — but it’s not a good time of year to break down in the desert.  Today’s shooting was made even shorter because I stopped at Griz’s foster parents in Acton for a couple of hours.  I adopted Griz (one of my dogs) from them in May and it was fun to show them his tricks, muscles and all that.

Lots of miles between stuff but, despite that, I was pretty productive.  Let’s start with the Valencia Lanes in Newhall.  Maybe the sign had neon panels originally.  The building was not worth shooting:

 

From Lancaster — originally, the Bermuda Inn.  Here’s what the sign looked like then:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21002889@N05/5196654585/

Later, as the Bon Reussite Resort, it was “a fat camp for celebrities that was kept very discreet.”  Evidently, closed for at least 15 years:

 

From Rosamond — at the Kieffe & Sons Ford dealership.  Neon removed — but, thankfully, the sign is still there:

 

From Tehachapi —

This wooden sign is also at Kelcy’s:

 

From Inyokern — a reworked older sign but fun lettering and colors:

 

Kramer Junction Antiques (in Kramer Junction) — has loads of petroliana like this:

and indoors (note: a lit Dog n Suds sign in the middle and a large Pep Boys statue on the right):

A couple of the signs inside:

While I’ve seen several Fisk Tire Boy statues, I’ve never seen a Fisk sign before:

 

Silver Dollar Liquors in Boron, CA:

 

Another sign from Boron.  Obviously, the Desert Lake Motel originally — and apparently pretty swanky:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8194795@N05/2737788676/

 

I zipped up to the Borax Visitor Center in Boron to shoot the 20 Mule Team statues.  While there, I found a nice photo-op spot for the kids.  The plaque describes this as a 190 ton truck tire, 11 feet tall.  Left to right, that’s Grem, Nik, Griz & Fix:

Hard to pick the cutest, isn’t it?

 

From Lenwood — I don’t know what this place was originally:

On to Barstow for the last bit of the day and this post’s photos.  Tom’s Welding has amassed a huge collection of signs.   There were a lot more that I couldn’t get to since the place was closed for the day:

 

B&B Plumbing:

 

Most of the signs are dark in Barstow at night – but here’s a nice oldie:

 

and this one is obviously new — but awfully nice:

That’s it for today.  I’ll get photos from tomorrow up on Monday or Tuesday.  It’s gonna be a long drive home tomorrow night — compounded by holiday traffic.  In the meantime, don’t forget — more photos from today over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Back home and fueled with caffeine.  I think I can knock out this wrap-up post from this weekend.

Seasons Greetings from the Abominable Snowman in Huntington Beach!  This guy was inside someone’s front window.   I shot this just as the sun was coming up en route to the beach — so I got some palm tree reflections.

 

From Santa Ana.  This one’s been on my list for a while.  This is a tile floor entrance — no longer a shoe store — but, miraculously, this survives and is in great shape:

 

From Riverside.  Followers of my blog may remember my photo of this sign from August:

I was then tipped off my one of my readers, Monika, that it had been repainted just a couple of weeks after that photo.  I got a chance to see it today and was pretty unimpressed.  Apparently, they just slathered the paint over the rough spots — and the paint is peeling already.  It looks like the “i” in Pizza is also broken:

 

From Perris.  The was previously the Chief Theatre — and maybe something else before that.  This blue paint job is from around 2010.  Here’s a nice night photo:
http://photography.paulliebrand.com/2010/08/07/a-night-at-the-perris-theater/

This theatre is a twin to the former Tower Theatre in Dinuba, CA.  Here’s my photo of that one:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/10273249254/

So, this theatre must also be the work of S. Charles Lee and built around 1940.  I’m pretty sure Mr. Lee would have something to say about that siding on the tower!

 

I took a drive out to remote Winchester to see if John Cerney’s painted signs were still there at West Coast Turf.   John wasn’t sure.  He said that the signs had taken quite a battering from the sprinklers and that he was supposed to go repair them but they never called him back.  I managed to find them — back behind the building.  Propped up and damaged — but it was still fun to see them.

This is what the sign below used to look like (the only photo I could find) and evidently there’s a couple of people missing now:
http://gobigorgohomeblog.com/content/CA-billboard-people.gif

And here’s an article about these soccer player signs —

http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/hemet/hemet-headlines-index/20101026-hemet-lakeview-soccer-giants-will-be-repaired.ece

 

On to San Bernardino — where annoying clouds moved in.  A nifty spinner sign which I’m assuming doesn’t work anymore.  It most likely worked like this one at the Cherokee Trading Post in Budd Lake, NJ — from my YouTube videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HyMIpy2sCQ

 

I was tipped off about this place at Charles Phoenix’s “Architecture in L.A.” show.  The letters rock back and forth but the owner doesn’t turn the sign on any more:

 

A couple more signs from San Bernardino:

 

And lastly — I’ll throw this photo in since I haven’t put any doggie pix up in a while.  This photo was taken at home in Ventura of me & the “kids” by a stranger with her iPhone.  This time of year, I’m racing after work to get to the beach just as the sun is going down.  There are lots of other sunset gawkers there with their iPhones and beach chairs — but usually they don’t go down to the water and we have the beach to ourselves:

 

And don’t forget — more photos from this weekend over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

I hope you all have great holidays!

Debra Jane
Grem, Griz, Fix & Nik

Another eyeball appointment for Sputnik in Culver City — another excuse to go picture-taking.  Nik’s eyes have nice low pressure — but he has injured his blind eye somehow.  Easy enough for such a nutso, hyperactive, nearly blind dog to do.  So, the vet wants us back in a month — which means you’ll be hearing from me again soon enough.

Before we move on to today’s festivities… some good news for those of you into Roto-Spheres.  For those of you that don’t know what they are, I have the full story & photos of all of them here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/sca/roto.html

The good news is that Dutler’s Bowl in Mankato, MN is starting a fund-raising project to get their sign spinning again.  The woman who owns the place was nice enough to send me a t-shirt.  I’m sure you could call them up and order one for yourself if you like — and support the noble cause:

The neon on the Dutler’s Bowl Roto-Sphere has been working since 2007.  But it hasn’t spun since 1980.  What’s interesting about this sign is that the band around the center of the sphere isn’t like the others — it doesn’t have that groove around the center.  This might mean it never counter-rotated originally but only spun in one direction on the pole.  I’ve put the owner in touch with my buddies in Shreveport who can hopefully help get this one fully functioning.  In other news…  the Jarrell Company in Dallas is also planning on getting their rusty Roto-Sphere restored & spinning again.

*******************

Now, on to today’s goodies.

From Carson — this “Four Heel Drive” truck appeared in the 1994 “Flintstones” movie.  I think it’s back up for sale now since it was on the lot of an auction house.  More photos of the car here (warning: turn your volume off):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPLyEJeRfCY

 

I’ve posted this Giant Head from a hair salon in Redondo Beach at my blog before.  But I thought you might want to see it again with its winter wardrobe.   It was 67 in Redondo Beach today…

 

Also in Redondo Beach.  From pies to pancakes — a former House of Pies, now an Original Pancake House.    Here’s a vintage photo that shows what the building would have looked like originally:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elmwoodparklocalhistory/

 

A big ‘un from Torrance:

 

Two Angel Food Donuts locations in Long Beach.  OK, so not as big as the stucco Randy’s Donuts — but still wonderful.  A whole section about giant donuts and donut signs at my website starting here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/sca/donuts.html

 

More Long Beach.  This camera shop was established in 1946 — and is still open!

 

This red sputnik is installed on top of the Best Auto Parts & Repair sign.  Note the different lengths of bulbs.  This was frequently done with these signs.  More examples of them at this page:
http://www.agilitynut.com/sca/roto3.html

 

A random shot of concrete screen & man-modified nature.  Note the lava rock at the bottom and the old-fangled antenna on the roof:

 

Holiday cheers from Long Beach!   A good time to remind you that all my photos are clickable — clicking on them makes them larger.  Long Beach is loaded with Art Deco & Streamline Moderne since most of the city was leveled in the 1933 earthquake and rebuilt:

Blue on blue.  My apologies to my pals in the Northeast that are dealing with snow and ice right now.

 

From the Long Beach Airport.  This is actually on the tile floor, rotated 90 degrees for you:

 

Back in Carson:

 

A double drive-thru dairy store in Lakewood.  I believe this is a former Alta Dena dairy store:

 

And another former Alta Dena dairy store in La Mirada — now an auto repair place:

 

I am deliberating about adding a Dairy Store sub-section to the mid-century modern section at my website.  There are so many of these Alta Denas still around here in SoCal — and then there are more of chains in Florida, Indiana, etc.  There could even be a book in it  — send those publishers my way — I’m ready!

Last photo for the night – also from La Mirada.  The Imperial Telegraph Hand Wash.  Don’t you love that towering sign and all those faux gas lamps?  The lamps continue on down the canopy on the left as well.

 

The day wrapped up nicely with a sunset run for the dogs at Huntington Beach.   We’ll pick up there again tomorrow morning and then I’ll have more Orange County & other stuff for you in my wrap-up post.  I’ll try to get that to you Monday or Tuesday.

More photos from today over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/