And now for something completely different! Instead of the usual Sunday Snoozles, I scanned two slides that were a part of a batch of 1973 Disneyland photos. They're not exactly amazing, but they are interesting to dorks like me. Somebody took a photo of their motel marquee: WELCOME FREMONT FIRS. I thought that maybe the Fremont Firs was a high school football team, or maybe a fraternal organization (kind of like the Woodmen of America). The only reference I could find regarding "firs" in Fremont was in relation to the Tall Firs Building Company. FAIL.
Notice the sign for Chao's Chinese Food in the background. We all know where Chao's was (at 1460 South Harbor Blvd.), and yet I could not figure out which motel is pictured here. Any ideas?
Just for yucks, here's a vintage postcard from Chao's.
Now I imagine the Fremont Firs (all men in their mid-to-late 60s with horn-rimmed glasses) wearing hats that resembled fir trees instead of the usual fezzes. They'd greet each other by making a chopping motion with their arms, and they'd say, "Tiiimmmberrrrr!". I'm not crazy!
"Pancakes and some Mongolian Beef please"
ReplyDeleteI hope the 'FREEMONT FIRS' lit the place up...
Thanks Major
I can’t wait to read today’s comments! I’ll be back, later.
ReplyDeleteOh and that motel is either the Park Vue Motel or the Desert Inn...or maybe the Marco Polo, which was in-land off of Harbor. Hard to tell with the dark.
ReplyDeleteThanks again Major
Why, it's obvious which motel this is, it's the Chinese Food Motel! It says so right there! OK, I have no idea which motel this is, so I did my usual goofball thing. (
ReplyDeleteThat comes easy for me.)
From what I've heard here, this postcard is probably the tastiest thing on Chao's menu... other than the cocktails, which I've heard (here) were quite good. It's probably no accident that the Disneyland sign is featured rather prominently on the postcard.
Back in the 1930s, the University of Oregon basketball team was nicknamed the "Tall Firs". That has nothing to do with the Fremont Firs, but it's all I got. Maybe it has something to do with Fremont Street in Las Vegas?
So, no Snoozles today. I guess I'll survive... somehow. Thanks, Major.
Could the sign have been for the Park Vue Motel, and they had simply upgraded to a more generic and boring sign by 1973?
ReplyDeletehttps://live.staticflickr.com/7172/6850388841_8ef742d609_b.jpg
Whichever hotel it was, I do like these photos. Thanks, Major!
If the Fremont Firs was referring to a school, can I be their mascot? I've had some experience at being a fir tree.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great photo, and story too.
ReplyDeleteTaking a picture like that reminds me of when I used to travel often for work, sometimes I would have to have a photo of my room number so I could remember which was mine.
I’m with Walterworld and TM, the Park Vue is most likely candidate. The post photo shows the arrow sign pointing right, meaning our vantage is from the south looking north, the postcard picture shows the same arrow sign pointing left, photo vantage from the north looking south, and the Park Vue sign is clearly visible in the postcard.
That Chao’s postcard always cracks me up. Spend all that money on photography for an ad campaign, then don’t clean the ceiling or change the HVAC filter, and then approve the photo for production.
JB, from my experience, you are correct about the food. I’ve has worse but can’t remember where.
Thank you Major!
JG
Maybe FIRS is an an abbreviation?
ReplyDeleteFirst International Refuge of Scoundrels
Can't wait to try those Chinese pancakes.
ReplyDeleteInteresting pics. Thanks, Major.
@ TM!-
ReplyDeleteIt certainly seems likely it is the Park Vue Motel, with an "upgraded" sign; the Desert Inn being too far south.
Thanks, Major.
FIRS:Fingerprint Identification Records System: used by the FBI. Now you know. Makes sense to me. Chaos...an institution. Very much so. Don't eat there: beware. Beware of anyplace that has a greasy ceiling. In a word: "photoshop"....or in the day: "re-touching". I do like these photos however, and although Mr. Disney thought it was quite tawdry to have this Vegas-y type village next to his Magic Kingdom, it brings back many fond memories of my old neighborhood. To date the photos, you'd have to see when pancakes officially became Chinese Food. I always question Chinese Food + Donut Shops. Or is it Shoppes? Either way: it's like a Taco Bell/KFC mash-up. Always suspect. Just saying. Not that I eat at either of them. I don't mind KFC once in a while: but not when it's been frying up next to a burrito-chalupa-taco-thingy. As a younger lad I could go through an entire bag of the small Taco Bell tacos: possibly 6-8 of them...and be normal the next few hours, and into the next day. In Anaheim we had Naugles...or the other Taco place: Del Taco, or El Taco. I am a gigantical fan of tacos and could eat them at every meal. There is no taco I won't try. The person who can identify the hotel is Sue! I'm sure Lou took a photo of it...and Sue will find it...eventually...we must thank our lucky stars for the Lou's of the world: documenting history as it happened...when the rest of the surrounding land ultimately gets swallowed up by the "Disneyland Resort" (I hate that name) these photos will tell a story that only a few of us remember. Another thing dumb Anaheim did was plant giant trees up and down the street..blocking any view possible...and killing the "excitement of the approach"....I love trees...but on Harbor Blvd: I want to the the OG Disneyland Sign, and rest of the twinkling lights of Motels, Motor Hotels, and CHAOS!!! Thanks Major and RIP Richard M.Sherman who's songs will always be whistled and hummed into eternity.
ReplyDeletewalterworld, the Fremont Firs were an inspiration to Van Halen, as far as hotel rooms were concerned!
ReplyDeleteLou and Sue, we’ll see you later.
walterworld, I tried looking at various photos of Harbor Blvd. motels, but didn’t see a sign that looked like the one in todays pics. I’m kind of surprised that it turned out to be a difficult task!
JB, hmmm, a Chinese food motel, give me some Kung Pao Chicken. With not too many of those evil red peppers! I always think of the ingredients for Chinese food to be basic (vegetables, meat, noodles, etc), but it does seem like many restaurants do a bad job of combining them. When done right, it’s delicious! I was thinking that the Fremont Firs could even be a bowling league, maybe they were having a tournament at the nearby Wonder Bowl?
TokyoMagic!, I mean, it’s certainly possible that the Park Vue Motel’s sign had been redone; if so, it’s a shame, since the sign in the linked photo is nice.
TokyoMagic!, to be a fir tree, you have to think like a fir tree.
JG, I was once on a long trip and stayed in many hotels, to the point where I did forget my room number one night, and was trying my key in a door. It wouldn’t budge! Suddenly a sleepy man opened the door. I was mortified! Ever since then I have been very careful to make a note of my room number. I agree that the Park Vue Motel seems to be the best candidate, but the sign looks so different! It’s a conspiracy, that’s all I have to say.
Dean Finder, that’s probably it!
K. Martinez, you can never go wrong with pancakes.
Nanook, you commented while I was commenting! I wish I could find proof of the updated sign.
ReplyDeleteBu, see? I knew it was a government conspiracy. I have to agree with you and JG, that photo with the filthy AC vent is both funny and dismaying; how bad was the kitchen? What would Gordon Ramsay think? I’ve never been to one of those fast-food mashup places, though I used to live near a Carls Jr./Green Burrito, which I thought was odd. How?? Why?? Del Taco, I sadly don’t have one near me, but I like their fish tacos. My brother still goes on and on about Naugles, and Pup ’n Taco. Lou might have taken a photo that shows today’s motel, though he also might have taken the photo before things changed. “Disneyland Resort”, I hate that name too. Instead of “Disneyland”, which evokes fun and fantasy, “Disneyland Resort” is corporate ugh. It’s funny, I do love trees, but I always get miffed when comparing vintage views to contemporary photos - trees block everything! But it’s hard to complain about them otherwise.
FYI: I found an obituary that partly states:
ReplyDelete"During retirement, Roy enjoyed working with his vegetable garden, playing cards, traveling in the U.S. and Europe, cruising to several ports and destinations. Roy was an active worker at Fremont Presbyterian Church, a member of the Fremont FIRS, Gold Panning R.V. Club, Capital City Masonic Lodge, and SMUD Line Division Retirees."
Out of respect for the individual, I did not post his name and entire obituary here, but if you google "Fremont FIRS" (in quotes) - you'll find it.
Bu, you never know what I'll find in my dad's collection....I still haven't viewed everything, yet. And I do still have a lot more hotel pictures to post.
after some fun Googling, and Bing, I suggest FIRS is indeed an acronym (notice the spacing of the letters), and stands for ..
ReplyDeleteFIRS (FRIENDSHIP, INSPIRATION, RECREATION, SERVICE)
... as copied from this page at Fremont Presbyterian Church
(they must be big pancake fans to pick that particular hotel)
The Fremont Firs are just a bunch of saps. You should see them come lumbering in at the end of the day.
ReplyDelete^ Oh my... those puns really test one's timber.
ReplyDeleteWell done, LTL!
ReplyDelete