I've already done one blog post featuring Westwood Village (take a look HERE); if it's worth visiting once, it's worth visiting twice, right?
We're looking north on Westwood Boulevard, near the corner of Kinross Avenue. There's the domed B of A (now a sushi restaurant, as I mentioned in the previous post). The street looks so great with the wonderful old cars. I wonder when that center divider with the bushes was removed?
This is as close as I could get to replicating the previous image using Google's "street view". It lacks that vintage charm, but Westwood is still a pretty nice place.
Next is this view of some small office spaces, done in a sort of "Old California" motif. Faux adobe, and plenty of red tile for the roofs. You can go to the dentist, and then buy a fur coat when you're done.
I didn't know the location of the previous image, but this looks like it could be it - Glendon Avenue, near the corner of Kinross. Some details have changed in the intervening 60 years - who knows, maybe it was earthquake damage. Still, I am reasonably sure that these are the same buildings.
I see vintage Westwood had a one-stop location for Steaks, Chili, Waffles and Precise Prescriptions. Personally, I prefer my prescriptions to be imprecise.
ReplyDeleteMajor-
ReplyDeleteIt's too late at night for car ID-ing, but I'm certain you're correct on the location of the second image. That was my first thought before I saw the 'present' view. I believe the domed, ramped entrance once led to the Hamlet Gardens Restaurant - and - a part of that restaurant was originally one of the Wil Wright's Ice Cream Parlor locations.
Thanks, Major.
Love Vintage Westwood. I used to hang there in the summertime, the years my sister went to UCLA in the mid-70's. Last time I visited it was still a nice area. The Glendon Avenue pic is nice. Love the brick and tile combination. Thanks, Major.
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, imprecise prescriptions are more fun. Dizziness, nausea, nosebleeds… you’re really missing out.
ReplyDeleteNanook, it’s never too late to ID old cars! Of course I can’t do it no matter what time it is, so the whole thing is moot. Sounds like you spent some time in Westwood?
K. Martinez, it’s always nice to see that some of these old buildings have survived; so much of Westwood has become modernized with lots of large plate glass façades.
Not sure how you manage to do it, Major, but just like your last Westwood post, there are buses in nearly the same position in the modern and vintage views of the same scene.
ReplyDeleteThe 1950s view shows a Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines ("The Big Blue Bus"). While I haven't been able to identify the specific bus model or manufacturer (and it's driving me crazy), I did find a photo of the same kind of bus or close cousin (note the rear window design) at the line's interchange with the Los Angeles Railway (the "Yellow Cars") at Pico and Rimpau Boulevards:
http://flickrhivemind.net/blackmagic.cgi?id=8277032088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflickrhivemind.net%2FTags%2Fcalifornia%252Coldbus%2FRecent%3Fsearch_type%3DTags%26textinput%3Dcalifornia%252Coldbus%26photo_type%3D250%26method%3DGET%26noform%3Dt%26sort%3DDate%2520Posted%252C%2520new%2520first%23pic8277032088&user=&flickrurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/78023647@N04/8277032088
The modern view shows a Santa Monica Bus Lines New Flyer L40LF, which is powered by natural gas rather than the more common diesel or plutonium fuel. The last L40LFs ever built were for Santa Monica and delivered in 2006; the transit company operates 62 of them.
With the vintage bus identification struggles I've had this morning, I'll leave the car IDing to Nanook.
Okay... By popular demand-! In the first image, kinda front-and-center, is a convertible (hubba-hubba) 1950-53 Cadillac. To its left - I can't quite figure it out. The two-tone car in front of the BofA is a 1951 Chevrolet. And turning right, about to plow into the pedestrians (and the bus), is a 1954 Buick.
ReplyDeleteIn the third image, on the left is a 1951 or 52 Dodge. And behind it sits a 1951 Ford. But someone has tricked-up the hood (no ornament) and something seems a-miss with front bumper - there should be dual "spinners", which don't appear to be present, here.
@ Major-
From age nine until about 18, I lived in Brentwood, and then years later, worked at UCLA. So, yes, you could say I've spent some time in Westwood. The Wil Wright's I referred to earlier had its entrance on Lindbrook Ave., just east of (the former) Ralph's Grocery Store.
Sooo beautiful.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, happy 10th. I missed posting the other day. So many blogs have come and gone but GDB lives on, and on. Thanks for all the time you spend working on the pics and blog!!
@ Chuck-
ReplyDeleteI just now took a look at the link you provided for the 'old' bus, and I realized the image shows a bus/streetcar "transfer station", for lack of the correct name, and it's at Pico & Rimpau, in the 'Mid City' area of Los Angeles. And in the background we see a large Sinclair Paints Store, long-gone now.
And just off to the right of the image, is the lower level parking lot for the 'Pico & Rimpau' Sears Store. I spent plenty of time in that store as I was growing up, when we lived in that area of LA. That was back in the day when many a Sears location employed an "advanced" method of helping shoppers find an empty parking space, by placing a tiny, manned booth, on the top floor of their building. In the case of this location, that booth was waaaay atop (probably) a five story structure in essentially a corner of their Rooftop Parking Lot-! The man (it was always a man, in those days) would be surveying all the parking areas, from on high, and would announce into his microphone the next best available parking spot, and the message would be sent to a trumpet, outdoor loudspeaker, located near the main entrance lanes, so drivers would then "follow orders" and head-off towards that empty spot. And as a small kid, I would hope our parking place would be located on the roof, as that would allow us to drive up the steep driveway to the roof, and then have to take a ride on an additional set of escalators to arrive into the store, proper.
In these times - who would ever take direction without the proverbial gun his head-??
Thanks, Chuck.