THE FISH SHANTY




 
Located at the messy intersection of La Cienega Boulevard, San Vicente Boulevard and Burton Way, the Fish Shanty was known to Los Angeles residents as "that place where you walk in through the whale's mouth." If you did, you got pretty good seafood served to you by friendly waitresses who seemed to have been there forever. We miss the cuisine and we miss entering via the whale's jaws and feeling, just for the moment, like Pinocchio.




























































































A screen grab from the 1966 film "The Loved One"

Today this new apartment building has taken its place built by Rick Caruso



Too bad they didn't at least rebuilt the whale's mouth as the entrance to the Trader Joes that is located as the main entrance  - not seen in this rendering...

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 29, 2011 at 2:53 PM

    Hey Alison, great site. I also have a site that has a lot of LA history, mid-century stuff and before/after photos. Check it out. http://www.ilovelabut.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. JamiSingsMay 9, 2011 at 5:27 AM

    Hey, I know you at one point subscribed to my blog. I had to set it to private because of a cyber bully who's doing things like impersonating me and even my dog who died two years ago. Since I didn't have your e-mail address I couldn't invite you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMay 11, 2011 at 8:24 AM

    Hi there. I have a friend from D.C. who is doing a documentary on Paul Revere Williams. Can I introduce you to her? She lived out here as a correspondent many years ago. She needs people on the ground here in LA.
    Love your blog. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  4. SueMay 26, 2011 at 11:06 PM

    Too awesome, wish it was still there! So happy to have discovered your blog, I love time traveling :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. SpiegelmediaJune 13, 2011 at 4:02 PM

    Alison, THANK YOU SO MUCH for these amazing pix up on Facebook! OMG, makes me so homesick. I may have to move back! (From Palm Springs)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Alison MartinoJuly 16, 2011 at 1:25 AM

    If you move back you'll want to go right back to Palm Springs....because everything you remember has been demolished. :( At least Palm Springs still has a lot of preserved and many mid century buildings left.

    ReplyDelete
  7. CarrieDecember 30, 2011 at 11:01 AM

    Whoa! I had completely forgotten about this place until I stumbled on your post today. I vividly remember eating there as a child, but I had no memory of where it was. Turns out it was just up the street from where I live now! Can't wait to explore the rest of your blog...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousFebruary 21, 2013 at 1:34 PM

      My mother use to cook there and my 2 older sisters use to help her. It's great to hear about someone who has been there done that .

      Delete
    2. DarlaMay 26, 2013 at 1:25 AM

      I ate there as a child also. Early to mid 70s. I always remembered the whales mouth. We also frequented Sir Georges Smorgasbord.

      Delete
  8. The Taste Bud ConsultantJanuary 15, 2012 at 4:45 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The Taste Bud ConsultantJanuary 15, 2012 at 4:46 PM

    One of my favored memories. My Mother would take me here and she would prop me up on a small foot stool in a booth, and order me a cherry Coke with extra cherries. At five years old I felt like a little king : )

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dr.AculaMarch 5, 2012 at 10:31 AM

    great photos and great blog!!
    Greetings from Spain
    http://thespeedboys.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  11. tmp00May 24, 2013 at 7:52 PM

    I was just watching "The Loved One" and it reminded me of this place. I never ate there- it was closed by the time I moved here. But I loved it, and the place across the street that looked like a UFO.

    I love the idea that they'd have recreated the fish entrance for Trader Joe's! It would have been great..

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts