Solvang, California
Today's post is focused around Solvang, California, in Santa Barbara County. Wikipedia says, Solvang was founded in 1911 on almost 9,000 acres… by a group of Danes who traveled west to establish a Danish community far from Midwestern winters. It has been developed as a themed town since attracting national media attention in 1947. The city is home to a number of bakeries, restaurants, and merchants offering a taste of Denmark in California. The architecture of many of the façades and buildings reflects traditional Danish style.
I drive past it on my way up and down the 101 Freeway to visit family, and occasionally exit to stop and get a bite to eat, since it's sort of the halfway-point between my sister's house and my home. It's a bit surreal to suddenly be surrounded by buildings that look like traditional European structures. My grandmother liked a bakery in Solvang and always bought Danish bread and pastries to bring home or to give as gifts.
First up is this photo from the 1950s, with the "Iron Art Gift Shop" nearby. I guess they sold well-pressed clothing. Notice the stork on the roof, a traditional symbol of good luck in Denmark. Much to my surprise, I learned that the white storks (as of 2008) are extinct in the wild in Denmark, which is a bummer.
I admit that this next one (from 1958) is a bit of a cheat, since Pea Soup Andersen's restaurant is in neighboring Beullton, but in my head I always associate Pea Soup Andersen's with Solvang. What's a few miles between friends? There's a fun photo op where guests could pose as "Hap-pea" and "Pea-wee". This restaurant was established in 1924, and in 2012 it sold between 500 and 600 gallons of pea soup each day. If you happen to have a spare $4.7 million to burn, it went up for sale in January.
And finally, here's a photo from July of 1975. Summer business was brisk, with so many people heading north or south for various vacation destinations. You can see some fun places to visit; how about the place in the distance selling toys? Or get yourself a nice sandwich (peanut butter and banana, the Danes love those, right?), and then buy a decorative hand-blown vase for mom.
17 comments:
Major-
Curious what that tall mast is with "BOBS" on it. Car-wise, we seem to have a 1950 or 1951 Cadillac; some foreign job; a 1953 Buick; a 1954 Chevrolet; and finally a 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline, perhaps in 'Texas Ivory'.
I always dreamed of being 'Pea-wee'-!
Thanks, Major.
Those are some great Danes! (I’ll show myself out.)
Such pretty blues and greens on those lovely old cars. Sweets, toys, and Black Forest clocks! My aunt Debbie has a houseful of Black Forest clocks. When all the cuckoos cuckoo at more or less the same time, her pet cockatiels always join in.
I wonder if Danes know what a Danish is? When I was stationed in Germany, I asked a German friend how come I never saw any German chocolate cake anywhere? He asked me what it was, I explained and he said "never heard of it." Nanook, my money's on a radio station for BOBS. Thanks Major.
I remember Pea Soup Andersons and it's the ONLY place I ever ate pea soup. I do remember a few weekends, in the 70's, when we drove from Whittier, spent the day in Solvang, then camped out somewhere in the area. The next day was the trip home. Just a nice road trip. I wonder if it's still that laid back?
Solvang! Another place on my “why didn’t we go here when we lived less than two hours away?” list.
I think that foreign job in the first photo is a Hillman Minx Mark III or IV from the UK. With a car body designed by Raymond Leowy Studios, they were sold in the US for a few years in the early ‘50s, marketed as a fuel-efficient vehicle.
Wish you’d said something earlier about Pea Soup Andersen’s being for sale. I burned my spare $4.7 million in February (we had a power outage and ran out of firewood and furniture).
I wonder if those “sentry boxes” in the last picture contained pay phones.
Thanks for another fun side trip, Major!
Major, these are great! I’ve been to Solvang several times, walked right down the street in front of the windmill shop, right about the era of the photo too. The whole little town looks like this street. There used to be a terrific restaurant just across the street to the right, out of frame, serving smorrebrod and smorgasbord. The Danes and Swedes argue over who invented smorgasbord, but smorrebrod is all Danish.
Chuck, you are right, the sentry box is the telephone. The windmill was a fun little shop with all sorts of posh food, jams, candies, tea bags etc.
@Jonathan, no, Danes do not know what Danish are. In Denmark, the pastries are everywhere, and they are called “vienerbrod”; Vienna Bread, because Danes believe pastries originated in Vienna. Meanwhile in Vienna, they are called “Dannebrod” or something similar “Danish Bread” since Austrians believe pastries originated in Denmark. Incidentally, pastries in both places are amazing, sold in bakeries called Konditorei, which has nothing to do with pirates or mercenaries.
I’ve had pea soup at Andersen’s many times, the Buellton location is better than the Santa Nella one, but the northern location was where we stopped most. unlike Chuck, my 4.7M is tied up in beanie babies and vintage Hot Wheels, I will be rich someday.
Thank you for this fun post!
JG
Notice the shingle roof trash can in the last photo. Theming is, or was, relentless in Solvang.
The crossed wood member on the roof ridges are imitations of the traditional wood braces put on to hold the thatching in place.
JG
The sentry box phone booth looks like a giant crayon.
Solvang! These photos stirred up many buried memories of this little town for me. My parents owned an import company and we would sell (Norwegian) things to a large store in this quaint little village. We were here quite a bit, and I know that little toy store INTIMATELY. I would spend hours in there pining over the many things I would never have in my lifetime. They had these very interesting and unique "motion" toys...with magnets and whatnot...that seemed to move by magic. The shopkeeper was always watching us like a hawk. She had those "delightful" signs all over the place that said "delightful to look at, wonderful to hold, but if you break it, it is sold". Which completely turned me off. Even as a 10 year old I thought: "Woman...that's the cost of doing business!" In any case, I was happy with my stick candy (probably made in somewhere like Denver) with a store logo on it. The stores sometimes had other "Scandinavian/European" items as well...like my parents Norsk things. I soooo wanted this Swiss Alps Cable car model...that hung from little cables and had motion. I knew I would never have it. I still want it. That windmill did turn btw. The best pastries in town were from Birkholms, which is still open today. They do online mail order too. I thought it most civilized to go in, be seated, and then they would bring a tray of a dozen pastries and a hot pot of coffee. You paid for the ones you ate. Years later I went back and the experience was the same...although the pastries were in plastic. I'm sure the health dept. got involved in the unsused pastries going back on someone else's tray. The plastic didn't affect the taste at all...just seemed a little more "vending machine" than a cute danish tray with pastries on cute paper doilies. We would also hang out at the Mission Santa Ynez. It was a super cool place to me. They had a model of the "compound" when it was a working mission, and I spent hours looking at it. It was always nice and cool in that adobe building despite the heat outside. Santa Ynez valley at the time was very rural, I hope it still is. Another cool place was the Alisal Ranch: it is also still there. Old school, but "luxury" dude ranch. Horses, pool...cute ranch houses. We were never that fancy to stay overnight there...but the King Frederick Best Western was just fine for me. Anything that wasn't home was "fancy". That Hotel is still there. As is the shop that we sold our Norwegian brick a brac to. Perhaps Solvang is not a place where "they ruin everything". Later in life I stayed at the "Chimney Sweep Inn" ...now the "Wine Valley Inn". They have cute little storybook cottages at the back of the hotel. Yes...still open! There are many wineries in the area, so it was a nice place to "park" and go to the vineyards. Another famous (or infamous rather) place that is in a stones throw, is MJ's "Neverland". It has strange connections to Disneyland, and was built during the time he was rather obsessed with us. You can see the obsession in some of the architecture on the ranch. I think it sold last year. The rides apparently went bye bye a while ago. I'm sure the gates of Neverland has it's fare share of looky-loos coming in from Solvang. I never was invited- but a group of my co-workers went to the old "manse" in Encino, which had a lot of the same Tudor attributes of the Neverland main house. They were all very fascinated by the full scale replica of a soda fountain in the house. All before the times of iPhone cameras, etc. Michael gave them the tour of the house. Very sweet of him actually. I wasn't invited, nor was I invited to the Playboy mansion...the pretty Disneylanders got everything! I'm sure today all of that is an HR issue just waiting to go south!
Nanook, I can only assume that BOBS is a local radio station, and you have to be named Robert to listen to it. Thanks to that billboard, I now understand how peas are split - the same way they split atoms.
Melissa, it’s interesting how certain car colors were popular back in the ‘40s and ‘50s. I wonder how much it had to do with paint technology - creating colors that would stand up to weather and time?
Jonathan, I don’t know if a Dane knows what a danish is, but I used to go to a Swedish bakery, and they had plenty of pastries (presumably some were danishes?). And Sweden’s not that far from Denmark! Do Brits just call English Muffins “muffins”?
MRaymond, I think the only pea soup I’ve ever eaten has been home-made. I sure wouldn’t order it in a restaurant - UNLESS I was eating at Pea Soup Andersen’s, of course. So far I just drive by it on the 101 freeway.
Chuck, I’m sorry that I was too late for you to spend your millions on Pea Soup Andersen’s, but I’ve heard that no fire has quite the comforting glow as one made of U.S. currency. “Throw on another wad of hundreds!”. “Sure, pa!”. I’d say your guess about those sentry boxes is spot on. That Hillman Minx Mark III (or IV) is pretty cute, I’m sure it had a V-12 and over 400 horsepower.
JG, I have only stopped in Solvang (well, Buellton) to grab a bite to eat at the McDonald’s. I know, heresy. But it’s so convenient, and halfway between my sister’s and my place. I’ve never been to an authentic smorgasbord, and don’t even know what sort of food would be there. Manwiches? Pringles? Steak-ums? All of the finest delicacies, I’m sure. Say, you know an awful lot about Denmark, COMRADE! Yes, that makes no sense, but that’s what makes it great. I’m glad to hear that you have been investing in Beanie Babies - you might want to consider POGS as well.
JG, I’ll bet Walt saw one of those trash cans, and a tear ran down his cheek as he appreciated its beauty and brilliance.
Melissa, the Danes loved giant crayons, especially in the giant 64-color boxes (with built in sharpener).
Bu, I’d love to know what sort of items were sold in Solvang back in those days. I’m sure a lot of the stuff was the usual tchotchkes, but there might have been some really beautiful hand-blown glass vases, or actual hand-carved wooden items. And maybe some Hot Wheels (not Danish, but what’s more cool that Hot Wheels?). I think I know those motion toys you mentioned, I used to be fascinated with them. Finally, perpetual motion made real! Suck it, physicists! I hate going in to stores where the employees watch you as if they know you are a thief and are just waiting for you to try to pocket something. The Swiss Alps Cable Car model sounds pretty sweet. I don’t buy pastries enough to have an opinion on the best ones, but I can’t say I’ve ever had a bad one from a real bakery. It’s like pizza, even bad pizza isn’t that bad (although I actually have had some pretty bad pizza). My grandmother lived in Encino, and I still remember people (at the height of Michael Jackson’s fame) being jealous just because she lived in the same zip code as he did. Meanwhile, I was friends with people who sold beautiful vintage toys, and Michael actually went to their house. Then he told them that they should just give the toys to him. As if they didn’t need money for, you know, food and stuff??
Aw, I've often stopped at Solvang on the way to Santa Cruz or San Jose, usually for snacks/stretching my legs. I bought some pastries called Napoleon hats that were quite tasty. Anyone ever gone to the nearby ostrich farm? I haven't eaten at Pea Soup Andersen's but I've seen the billboards. Though it's not that close, these make me think of Casa de Fruta and assorted casas, which I also stop at on the way up north. Thanks for these, Major.
Solvang....my last visit was in fall of '74 with my then girlfriend. I have a slide of her taken almost from that very spot with the windmill in the background. I recon she'd be about the same age as the lady in the picture today. Talk about an overwhelming feeling of deja vu. Whoa... KS
Kathy, Casa de Fruta is a lot of fun too!
I stopped there with mom and dad in the 70’s and again many years later with my kids, it’s still a great spot. For a while I was visiting at least yearly.
JG
I am watching my way through the third season of Psych, and a significant chunk of tonight’s episode (“Christmas Joy,” 2008) takes place at a Santa’s Village set up in front of the windmill in Solvang.
The actual shooting location was the former Fantasy Gardens in Richmond, British Columbia, but the architecture and working windmill combined with careful camera angles and the Christmas decor made it look enough like Solvang to make it work for a TV show.
What’re the odds that that would be the next episode in rotation after today’s GDB entry? It’s like the Major’s psychic or something…
Kathy!, Solvang is definitely a unique experience in California (or anywhere?). It is just about the perfect place to stop when you’re on a long road trip. Ostrich farm? I had no idea! There used to be an ostrich farm (and a camel farm) in my hometown years ago. Casa de Fruta, I’ve only passed through at night, so I didn’t get the whole experience.
KS, thanks to Facebook, I’ve managed to reconnect with a few people from my past, and it’s always weird to see them after 30+ years. I still remember them as young whippersnappers! And now they are grandparents. How did it happen??
JG, my buddy, who used to do regular road trips all over California, seemed to particularly enjoy Casa de Fruta, although I can’t remember WHY. I think he mostly just liked it because it was “funky”.
Chuck, ah, the old Santa Claus Lane… RIP. Every time I drive past the area where Santa used to be, I am astonished that the folks in charge of that place decided that things would be improved by making everything completely generic and unremarkable. I hope they’re happy. “Fantasy Gardens”, that’s a new one on me! I’ve never seen “Psych”, and in fact I know absolutely nothing about it. Is it a TV series based on the movie “Psycho”, only they saved money by leaving the “o” off?
Major, Casa de Fruta started as a family farm fruit stand and grew into a complex of shops and restaurants etc. over time. The main draw is the dried fruits and nuts from the farm. There is a wine shop and touristy souvenirs with farm-related gifts.
They have nice gardens with a miniature train ride, carousel, and a fair collection of old farm equipment, uncurated. Stretch your legs and have a little walk, let the kids runaround. It’s not quite one of the homey little parks you post from back East, but still a good place to stop on the route from South Bay to Hwy 5 and points south, just far enough from my home to be a good lunch place.
Funky is a good word, but it’s clean, friendly and a nice break from Bay Area traffic.
Chuck, I’ve watched that show a bit, isn’t it set in Santa Barbara? Amazing that they would film in BC. Major has powers that cannot be explained in mere mortal terms, clearly.
JG
Major, Psych is a comedy detective show based around the zany adventures of a 30-something year old man-child with an eidetic memory and his straight-laced best friend who pass off his hyper observational skills as psychic powers. They run a “psychic detective agency” and assist the Santa Barbara Police Department in solving crimes every week. Most episodes are a tribute to a genre or TV show and are chock full of pop culture references and guest stars, mostly from the ‘80s. The show ran from 2006-2014 on the USA Network, right after Monk, a less zany comedy detective show. Like most shows, it took a season or two to really hit its stride, but I think you would enjoy it.
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