Growing up in Los Angeles during the 1970's & 1980's


When this photo of me standing in our driveway in BH was taken during the 1970s, we still had JJ Newberry, Food King and a local Home Silk Shop. Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly would say hello to you waiting in line at the post office. You'd pass by Edward G Robinson walking his dogs, and Doris Day riding her bike. Freight Trains were still plowing down Santa Monica Blvd with the smell of fresh Wonder Bread on board and Helms Bakery Trucks brought milk to our door steps. Robinson's, Bonwit Teller, The Broadway, Bullock's, and The May Co. were the high-end stores of the day, and Rodeo Drive was not yet a tourist trap. We instead had reasonably priced boutiques and 'mom and pop' shops where everyone knew your first name. 

I believe this 70s ensemble came from Toby's on Beverly Drive. (My mother recalls seeing Natalie Wood there). We had neighborhood joints and local restaurants like Tony Roma's, R.J's, Ah Fong's, Wil Wright's, La Scala Boutique, and Scandia, and bohemian lunch destinations such as Cafe Figaro, The Melting Pot, The Old World, Alfie's and The Source. Tiki-themed restaurants like the Luau and The Islander were the current craze, known for their flaming drinks and moats surrounding their properties. Orange Julius and Fotomats seemed to be on every corner. Banks didn't have underground parking, and you never had to get a ticket validated. There were no answering machines and no texting. We only had telephone booths and landlines. 

Westwood was still a destination, and you could only play video games in the arcades. We waited in long lines to see summer blockbusters at the ABC Entertainment Center and Mann National. The only place you could hear the most current songs was on the radio, and we could name every disc jockey who played them. American Graffiti, Dark Side Of the Moon and Kojak had just been released, Columbo and Jim Rockford were our favorite detectives and Johnny Carson ruled late night and the movie-of-the-week was a big family event. 

Tower Records was our second home and dozens of LPs, cassette tapes, and 8 tracks were pilled up in our bedroom. (The first 45 my mother ever bought for me was Sing by the Carpenters). Our Zenith TV's were controlled by ONE remote: the clicker - also known as the Space Command.  Our old library looked like a row of colorful books made of mid century mosaic glass, rather then Faux Tuscan stucco. Our parents bought our toys at Toy-Mart, our clothes at Pixie Town, our footwear at Standard Shoes (and played in a giant boot), while they organized our birthday parties at Farrell's and Genie Land. We took cotillion classes and the Daisy and tap dancing at Al Gilbert Studios. We rode amusement park rides and ponies where the Beverly Center is located today, ate hotdogs at a stand in the shape of a hot dog, and roller skated at Fiorucci, Pan Pacific Park and Flippers Roller Disco. 

Our moms lunched at Bullock's tea room, and they still called them beauty parlors - not salons. My dad wore a lot of suede and oversized glasses and mom shopped at Lanz for flower-power dresses. This was also a time when the Century City Mall had a Clifton's Cafeteria, and a Bob's Big Boy, as well as Heaven, Jospeh Magnin (near the jelly belly cart) and a singing flower man across from Judy's. Houses weren't torn down for McMansions, Kids still rode their big wheels and Trans Ams and Pontiacs were the coolest cars on the road. It was still a village, and it wasn't yet famous for its zip code. 

We would see Dean Martin at Hamburger Hamlet, Frank Sinatra at Matteo's, and Jimmy Stewart at Chasen's. Our home was filled with shag carpeting, fake ferns, flocked wallpaper, blue velvet couches, Spanish tables, swivel chairs, and avocado colored appliances. We went to Baskin-Robbins, ordered pizza from Jacopo's, ate cookies at Famous Amos, and hadn't yet abbreviated the House Of Pancakes to IHOP.  And to this day, I refuse to call Rite Aid, "Thrifty!" That's where I used to see Milton Berle in the aisles, and Jack Lemmon ordering double scoops of rocky road. Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Peter Falk, Rosemary Clooney, and Agnes Moorehead were still very much alive, and living a few blocks over on Roxbury Drive. Simpler times with WIDE open spaces. Big enough to park this monster car from Casa de Cadillac! 

These are just some of the reasons I created Vintage Los Angeles


Photo Gallery
 With my dad and mom in 1975 in our backyard. (Al and Judi Martino)


Beverly Hills Circa 1975. I grew up just around the corner of this intersection. The Beverly Hills Hotel can be seen across the street. That's about the only thing that remains the same of all the following photos



J.J.Newberry's on Beverly Drive in BH. Remember they sold parakeets and goldfish? And how about those soda counters? This is where my mom purchased my Halloween costumes. 



Freight Trains plowing down Santa Monica Blvd during the 1970s. The smell of fresh Wonder-bread was one of the greatest things about living in Los Angeles during the 1970s and 80s


The Beverly Hill train tracks that carried Wonder Bread


  Wilshire and San Vicente in Beverly Hills, 1970s 



Robinson's Department Store demolished in 2014 (weep)



The Broadway Department Store in Century City. For some reason my father always called CC mall, the Broadway :)



Bullock's Westwood, shortly after opening in 1951. Stretching down Le Conte and Weyburn Ave, the Welton Becket building replaced a smaller Bullock's store on Weyburn which opened in 1931. Bullock's Westwood closed in 1998 and today the exterior looks much the same, but the interior became a multi-tenant space that includes a Ralphs, Target, and the UCLA Child Care Center.


May, 1970: Looking towards May Co. from a northbound car on Fairfax Ave. at Wilshire Blvd. On the right side is Ohrbachs dept. store, which opened in 1964 and closed in 1986


Tony Roma's in Beverly Hills. My parents used to go here with Morey Amsterdam, Jerry Vale and Tony Roma himself

Ah Fong's in Beverly Hills. Dad used to tell me we were taking the stairs down to China. Of course I believed him. 

Wil Wright's on South Beverly Drive. Later Hagan Daaz would move in


La Scala Boutique on the corner of Little Santa Monica Blvd and Beverly Drive. A favorite of Natalie Wood and Suzanne Pleshette. 

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Scandia at Sunset and Doheny. The structure was sadly demolished in 2015 to make way for a new Marriott Hotel. 


Chasen's on Beverly Blvd. Today this is a Bristol Farms market


Cafe Figaro on Melrose Ave


The Melting Pot at the corner of Melrose and La Cienega 


The Old World Restaurant at Holloway and Sunset Strip. Miraculously this structure still stands and is currently a bar / restaurant called THE STATE



Sunset Strip, 1979. Photo Robert Landau


Alfie's on the strip - later became Mirabelle...


The Old World on Sunset Strip


The Source on Sunset Strip. Today its a restaurant Cabano Cantina. The Source has also been preserved on celluloid in "Annie Hall". There is also a fascinating documentary on Netflix about the Source called "Source Family".  The Source is where I first ever had avocado on a sandwich. 


My father's Sunset Strip billboard advertising his role as Johnny Fontane in The Godfather was directly next to the Source in 1972


The Luau on Rodeo Drive. Owned by Lana Turner husband, Steve Crane. They also had a gift shop and a bridge surrounded by a moat. It was tragically demolished for a complex called The Rodeo Collection in the early 80s that never took off. 

My very first birthday was at the Luau - snapshot taken by my mother Judi


The Islander on La Cienega. Today this once unique stretch of La Cienega has been replaced with sterile looking apartment buildings


Fotomat. The drive-through film-developing kiosks began in the 1960's in Point Loma, Ca. At its peak in 1980 there were 4,000+ Fotomats. Some of them still stands today and have been repurposed into other businesses 


Westwood Village during the 1970s

Westworld Arcade in Westwood 

Captains Videos


Close-up of the entrance to the ABC Entertainment Center with a view of the Shubert Theatre (left), which was later demolished in 2002, in Century City. / photo by Michael Haering.


The Mann National Theatre in Westwood Village opened on March 27, 1970. Its 1970s futuristic exterior belied a large upstairs lobby with large space age chandeliers and an enormous orange-colored auditorium 


The Mann National closed on April 19, 2007 and was demolished in January 2008. The empty dirt lot is still vacant and extremely depressing to walk by

Architect: Harold Levitt 


Tower Records on Sunset Strip  - Photo by Robert Landau




  John Lennon commercial for Tower Records


                  Elton John shopping at Tower Records in the early 1970s


                                                         KHJ 1970s

                           Dark Side Of the Moon by Pink Floyd (full album)

Kojak 
                                                 Movie of the week bumpers

                         


James Garner as Jim Rockford The Rockford Files. My mother never missed an episode. 


"and another thing...." Peter Falk in Columbo. My dad never missed an episode. 


Johnny Carson on set in 1974


The first single my mother ever purchased for me was SING by the Carpenters and I still have it. 


I also still have our family 'clicker' from our Zenith TV!


The Beverly Hills Library during the 1970s. It was supposed to look like a row of books. Exterior shots of this library was also used as Mike Brady's office in the Brady Bunch. 

Pixietown clothing store for kids



Standard Shoes on La Cienega 1970s


A rare photo of the giant boot us kids played inside of at Standard Shoes


Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor


My birthday party at Genie Land. A magical place that was used for children's birthday parties in the San Fernando Valley


My photo taken and old program from Al Gilbert Dance Studio on La Cienega




Fiorucci in Beverly Hills located in the former Beverly Theater


Pan Pacific Auditorium. Also seen in the movie Xanadu. A popular skating destination. Sadly it burned to the ground in the late 1980s


    Flippers Roller Disco on La Cienega during the 1970s. (today CVS)


Me at Flippers on by 9th birthday. 


  
My dad in clothing from Sy Devore clothing and over sized 70 shades. 


My mother decked out in a two piece Flower Power ensemble. circa 1971 purchased at Lanz 



Our living room on Rexford drive. Blue velvet couches, swivel chairs, shag carpeting, built in entertainment center and fake ferns! So 70s!

Imagine a gigantic ferris wheel in the heart of LA. Well here's proof of one that existed on La Cienega. Even though the place was really called "Beverly Park", we kids just called it "Kiddy Land". Sadly it shut down in 1974. The Beverly Center now sits on Beverly Park soil...


This was Beverly Park in 1970 taken from the Rexall Parking lot at La Cienega and Beverly Blvd - where the Beverly Center now stands. Smokey Joes Cafe on the bottom right had just suffered a fire in this photo and apparently Bobby Darin is getting ready to headline the Hilton in Vegas!


Ralph Story's THINGS THAT USED TO BE HERE. (Before the Beverly Center)


Beverly Park on Beverly Blvd between La Cienega and San Vincente. Today this is the Beverly Center. Photo courtesy of Jay Jennings (check out his book: BEVERLY PARK: L.A.'s Kiddieland, 1943-74


Next door to Beverly Park was Ponyland 

Tail O' the Pup once located across from Beverly Park at La Cienega and Beverly Blvd. 
 
Bullock's Wilshire Tea Room circa 1977


Me at Bullock's on my 6th birthday


Clifton's Cafeteria once located in Century City




Joe Richards "The Singing Flower Man" at Century City



The Jelly Bellies cart at Century City in 1973! It was directly across from the "singing flower man!"


Judy's located at Century City


Joseph Magnin, Century City, 1970s


Heaven business card from Century City


Dean Martin photo-bombed at the Hamburger Hamlet


Hamburger Hamlet on Sunset Strip. I took this photo on closing night in 2011


Matteo's in Westwood. Frank Sinatra's table was all the way back on the right


Jimmy Stewart and his wife Gloria, with Peter Bogdanovich and Cybill Shepherd at Chasen’s in 1972. (Now a Bristol Farms)

Another image from the wonderful world that existed before smart phones occupied the dinner table and when people actually looked directly at each other instead of looking down and texting. Men were also required to wear a jacket and
 tie at Chasen’s.


Jacopo's 1978....see the railroad track on the left? My dad almost purchased Jacobo's, but sadly a friend of his talked him out of it. I often think if it would still be in business if he had went through with it. 



Famous Amos Cookies on Sunset Blvd



International House of Pancakes located on Santa Monica Blvd. STILL THERE TODAY!



Thrifty in Beverly Hills


Our Beverly Hills Thrifty location even made an appearance the Albert Brooks movie, "Modern Romance"


Just last year I ran into Charo in the isles! You'll ALWAYS see a celebrity at the old 
Thrifty. Now Rite Aid. 



Alison Martino is a writer, television producer, and pop culture historian. She founded the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles in 2010. Alison muses on L.A’s. past and present on Twitter and Instagram

Comments

  1. Thanks for bring me back in time and sharing your pics and history.

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    1. Wow? brought back a lot of great memories. Does anyone know when Joe Allen's restaurant, I think it was on 6th st., Bevery Hills adjacent, across from a Ralph's market, went out of business?

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    2. Joe Allen was on 3rd and LaCienega. They had the best Cobb Salad. I worked on Beverly near LaCienega in the 80’s

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    3. Gah. Thank you. I used to eat there all the time working at /Cedar Sinai medical center. Use to get Quiche and a salad. Great place.

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    4. You will be interested to know that Joe Allen still remains, albeit in NYC!

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  2. I remember kiddy land! I miss it!

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  3. Wow...quite a trip down memory lane for me. Thanks!

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  4. I grew up om the other side of the tracks in LA but seeing these pics brings back the same sweet times.

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    1. Oh, bless you, sis.

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    2. Wow, that is quite the exhaustive collection of all of the highlights from the era that we all live through great job here

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    3. I was born in LA in 1968, but I didn't enjoy this article at all. Even though there were many things I remembered. Why didn't I enjoy it? Because it's obnoxious. I understand that this was the area in which the author grew up, but you can't do a "growing up in 70s LA" article that is so focused on Beverly Hills, where so few people live! Really?! I grew up in Westchester--a lovely area to this day, very middle class, and definitely not Beverly Hills. I don't remember venturing into Beverly Hills once as a child. It just wasn't necessary. Why didn't
      she mention Toys r Us, or Safeway? What about K-Mart, Two-Guys, The Akron, Moscatel's, Pioneer Chicken or the La Brea Tar Pits?? Most of us Californians did not grow up in Beverly Hills on Rexford Drive, and did not have Dad's who were actors with tons of disposable income to burn buying hot dog stands, or whatever her dad was considering buying, but didn't. This article was thoughtless, self-serving, elitist, racist, and just a really selfish piece of crap to publish that is supposed to be for 'everyone' who grew up here. Yeah. Everyone rich and white.

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    4. Thank you for the wonderful pictures. Does anyone, including Anonymous remember or know if the Turtles Rock Band started in a garage located near Westchester? I remember listening to a group while visiting my friend---seems it was by the big Donut shop neighborhood.
      Also, trying to remember if there was a biker bar in the 70s up in the hills of Topanga or Laurel Canyon that was booming at the time.

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    5. Her childhood experiences and memories are just that-HERS! The first rule of writing is “write what you know,” so why would she write about YOUR Los Angeles childhood? Lighten up and stop being offended by non offensive things.

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    6. To the rude anonymous jerk, this is her story and memories. Why don't you right about your own experiences in Westchester. Not everyone grew up in your area either. Should we call you a racist, elitist blah blah blah. You just had to vent your own frustration about how you grew up. Wah! No one chooses their parents or how they grow up. If you were satisfied with yourself, then you maybe could have just enjoyed the article.

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    7. I don't understand this comment. If it's someone's personal experience about growing up, why would they include things that weren't part of that experience? That makes no sense.

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    8. I grew up in far-from-glamorous East Hollywood in the 60’s and 70’s and love this post and blog. Thank you, Alison, for sharing many memories that I also experienced. Our family was also close and loving, and your gratitude for this needs no apology.

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    9. Anonymous has a screw loose. As a current resident of Westchester he clearly does not speak for the rest of us!. Alison's trip down memory lane in 1970s / BH was right on the money. Nothing offensive about it at all. I can also say it is wonderfully authentic. Right down to the meeting of folks like Dean Martin at Harry and Marylin Lewis's Hamburger Hamlet...the type of occurance that would happen all over western Los Angeles at a time when celebrities were for the most part rather real and approachable. Keep up the great work and publish more, I am sure many people appreciate your openness and candor, even if they did not grow up with the priviledges that you enjoyed. ...and what would you give to see your kids having fun at ponyland or having a 15 cent Thrifty tripple scoop ice cream today!?

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  5. Great photos... must've been a great time to live in LA.

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  6. What a collection! And, so many memories...loved the John Lennon commercial for Tower Records! Sad that so many places have been torn down. I can see how the name of a business and the specific business in a building can change over time, but when buildings are torn down it is a pity and a loss of a city's historical richness.

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  7. I was surprised at how many of those 93KHJ jingles I remembered.

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  8. this is fantastic - brought up so many great memories of our hometown. We were lucky to grow up there/then, weren't we!

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  9. Love the old photos. Moved to L.A. in 1982, and a lot of what's in your photos was still there then. Wish you'd break up the text into paragraphs, though - I really want to read it, but it's hard to read as a block.

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  10. Great stuff, Alison!

    Columbo was LAPD, not a PI. ;-)

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  11. Great collection of photos. Thanks for posting them.

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  12. As a teenager I would go shopping in Beverly Hills with my aunt, then Hamburger Hamlet for French Onion Soup.

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    1. I was trying to think to think of that restaurant chain and their great soup. They had another great dish there but I can't remember what it was now. I didn't even think I liked onions as a teenager but loved that soup. Thanks a bunch!

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    2. Best Onion soup at The Magic Pan Beverly Hills

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  13. I grew up in Mar Vista in the 70s...
    I do remember quite a bit if that.
    Thanks for the walk dow memory lane.
    Lovef it

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  14. Thanks for sharing your youth. It was a magical time that will never be again. It wonderful you have it documented so well.

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  15. My first job was at Beverly Park. The Haunted Castle was great!

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  16. Thanks for the memories. Helms however delivered bread, jelly donuts, etc and milk came from Adohr Farms which had cows on LA Cienaga...now McDonald's and Ross

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    1. Great to see these pictures. Always loved eating fantastic omlettes at the Melting Pot. The Hamlet on Sunset was a favorite also. Just wanted to say thank you for a great trip back to much more fun times !!

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  17. I grew up in WLA...UniHi '69 grad...remember Century City being built...such great memories of all the scenes in this link...thank you for the memories of such happy simpler times...BTW I thought your Dad was a great artist and loved his voice.

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  18. Wow! Just awesome! Even though I have never been to California, I have always had an affinity for it. Unfortunately, stuff getting torn down, our childhood memories, are happening everywhere. That's why it's important to document places, and a keep a good memory on details, so you can tell the story to everyone! You put alot of your heart and soul into this article.

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  19. Thank you for all the memories. My father only shopped at Sy Devore...getting matching clothes, shoes there. Spent hours while he got fitted. So many places and sad so many are not here anymore.

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  20. Does anyone remember the restaurant called "The Cock and Bull" in Beverly Hills? I had my Sweet Sixteen party there in 1975. I think it was on La Cienega but can't recall. It was a gorgeous place...

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    1. The Cockpit and Bull was on Sunset, corner of Cory Dr. My favorite restaurant. ..I grew up on Doheny Drive. We'd walk down often. It's now a Jaguar dealership.

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    2. I loved the Cock & Bull's carrot salad!

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    3. Cock and Bull had one of the best prime ribs in town and was where the classic cocktail "The Moscow Mule" was invented. I ordered the final round for the bar on closing night in the 1980s. Fun times.

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  21. this is fantastic and completely captures my childhood! I, too, grew up in LA off Sunset and Bellagio Rd. Born in '69, the '70's & early '80's were magical and Vintage LA was a great place to grow up. thank you for reminding me how awesome LA used to be and for a trip down memory lane...

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  22. What great memories! The smell at night of Wonder Bread baking...spending hours at Tower Records...and hundreds of meals at Cafe Figaro's, so sad none of it is here anymore.

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    1. Yeah, remember that really cheesy French onion soup they had at Figaro's? Our first experience of quasi-European food in a hippie ambience. Also there was the crepe place, the Magic Pan.

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  23. Alison, this IS my childhood from when we moved to Beverly Hills in '69 to '82 when I moved away to college. From the singing Flower Man to the giant shoe to Fiorucci to you name it, I remember it all! I even had my own running-into-Charo experience at Smith's Food King when I was a kid. Agnes Moorhead once ran out in her full-length mink to sweetly apologize that she didn't have Halloween candy to give us. We used to go to Ah Fong's as a family where my parents would chat with Benson Fong in our subterranean naugahyde booth. Also once saw Cary Grant, the original silver fox, on Rodeo Drive, where we used to take after-dinner walks as a family. Thanks for the memories!!

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  24. Allison, is your mother still alive?....I enjoyed seeing your pictures. :)

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  25. Thank You, Allison <3 They were WONDERFUL TIMES <3

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  26. I remember seeing Dean Martin at the Hamlet, and he looked about the same as in the pic you posted, probably i was there within a few mos of that being taken, great story and pics

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  27. Jimmy Stewart used to sit next to my grandparents in church sans-serif toupee and with thick glasses, he was the nicest man to me. Boy, did you bring back memories to this kid born in Hollywood and raised in the Valley

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  28. I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS! PLEASE KEEP GOING! THIS PROJECT IS SWEET!

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  29. Wow, some of those photos and memories are so powerful. When I had a boutique in Beverly Hills '74 to '78 I lived on Oakhurst near the Wonder Bread factory. There was a little exercise/diet place nearby (Civic Center Drive and North Palm) that served food and had this wacky owner, Richard Simmons. My girlfriend worked at North Beach Leather on Sunset where all the rockers bought their clothes and had sex in the changing rooms. There was also this nice black guy, Amos, that used to bring us chocolate cookie samples to the store. Said he would be Famous one day. Spent many nights at Pips and some huge gay disco at Robertson and Melrose (name?). I remember wild parties at Jimmy Goldsmith's who had a bar under a transparent swimming pool. Finally married Eddie Fisher's Norwegian ex-girlfriend and hung out with friends who worked as pages on the Johnny Carson show (oh the stories!). We loved Cafe Figaro! Can still smell the place and feel those greasy paper menus. Remember meeting John Derek who had just married this beautiful young girl named Cathleen of whom he was taking photos and forcing her to not eat and do more exercise. She was renamed Bo later. Lots of qualudes, lots of poppers, lots of pot, lots of sex. History is a little hazy but your photos help bring it all back. Thanks!

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    1. Wow you have some pretty amazing memories of your own!

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  30. Thank you for these. Grew up in BH, worked at The Bijou in Century City in high school .. hung out in Westwood.. it's such a treat to see these! Especially now that so much of it all has transformed or is completely gone. I wish there were photos of Tot Toggery from CC that had the dressing room shaped like a tree. Or House of Pies from BH with its fab magenta, orange and pink interior.! Again, thanks of sharing... :)

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  31. Thank You Allison, I like Photos and Clip.
    This is my Blog Magicjack Service USA

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  32. Great photos, I really miss the 70s, it was truly a fun time.

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  33. It was a tagger named Vex from WCA who burned down the movie theater at Pan Pacific Park. He was a pyromaniac!

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  34. What a great trip down memory lane. I was born in LA but lived through the 60's and 70's in Long Beach. My Grandparents lived in West Hollywood and I have lots of fond memories staying there with them and experience a lot of what you have shared here. My dad was a beer truck driver for Budweiser and I would go to work with him in the Summers and work his routes through Sunset Strip, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. What a great time to be in LA. Thanks again.

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  35. Thanks for reminding me of the lovely times I had at Kiddy Park when I was a kid! I hadn't thought of it in decades. Awesome!

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  36. I’m elated that at least they brought the Clifton’s back in downtown L.A! It was my favorite place to go to with my Grandmother!

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  37. This is an incredibly comprehensive nostalgia trip. Shout-out to the long-gone Hunter's Bookstore at Rodeo and Little Sam. Worked there as a stock clerk in high school in the early '80s.

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  38. This is just great, Allison. Thank you.

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  39. I started driving in 1962 and lived in Los Feliz. There wasn't much to do east of Los Feliz, (Glendale and Pasadena) had nothing going on. We often went to the west side both before I was old enough to drive, my parents would take my older sister and me to almost all of the places listed above. We had relatives living on the west side in the 50s and 60s. When I was older hung out at most of the places on the strip and certainly the Beverly Center and Westwood down onto Rodeo Road. In Jr high, it was Wallacks Music City at Sunset and Vine in the 50s taking 45s into the listening booths

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  40. thanks for all the photos; great stuff! I remember the roller disco place as La Cienega Lanes, which had a sign that said "automatic pin-spotters"!

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  41. Thank you Allison for the wonderful pictures. We lived there from 1966 t0 1999. We had an Indian Art Gallery on No. Beverly Dr. for our last 10 years there before we moved to Santa Fe. Our favorite restaurants were gone by then. Scandia, Le Dome, RJ's, The Rangoon Racket Club on little SM Blvd.,
    It was really a great nostalgic trip to cruise thru those places you posted.

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  42. Can't Thank you enough! My neighbor was Mrs. Orr who owned Orr Stationary on Rodeo. All us girls bought clothes from the Riding Shop . We ran into Soupy Sales and his sons at Toy Mart and spent countless hours in Newberrys. And so loved Nate n Al's. My sister worked at Thriftys and she got to know the clientele well. And Charo looks the same as when I saw her in the early 70's at Bullocks Century City.

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    1. Do you remember the name of the Riding Shop? I have been trying to find the name forever. Was it just called the riding shop?I would buy jeans and tack. Actually my mother would. I loved Francis Orr.

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  43. Just found this site and while I arrived in LA in 82 this is still a fun trip down memory lane. Thanks for posting this as well as your little tidbits of fun and fact!

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  44. I was looking up genie land because I swear I saw the building listed as Bob Barker's marionette studio on NCIS LA episode and recognized the back room. This site brings back so many memories of growing up in LA in the Disco era.

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  45. What has been at jacobos since it closed

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    1. I don't remember what was there immediately after, but now it's Alfred coffee.

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    2. It was a Pho place called something like, 9021Pho. Jacopos had moved down to S Beverly drive next to Islands Restaurant, and both closed soon after

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  46. Great collection of photos...I guess you missed the REALLY cool times drinking from the lemonade tree at Uncle Bernie's Toy Store (on Rodeo, when the bridle trail still ran down the middle of the street from Sunset to Wilshire...and the heavy whipped cream atop sundaes at Blum's (corner Wilshire/Beverly) and the massive koi (goldfish!) in the giant ponds at the park on Santa Monica between Beverly and Crescent (where we fished for crawdads and took the occasional "swim")...Gunther's Drug Store (corner of Canon/Little Santa Monica) where after-school Coke & Fries were de rigeur...when parking lots were free, there were no parking meters anywhere, we rode our bikes (remember Hans Orht?) everywhere and never owned a bike lock...then "growing up" to play .45s all day/night at in the "record booths" at Wallich's Music City, sneaking into The Beverly Theater through the back door for the Saturday matinee of "Man with the Golden Arm," jumping backyard fences up and down the Roxbury-Camden-Rodeo alleyways to swim in every single pool in the block before being caught by the cops who then gave us a ride home and never mentioned a word to our parents...
    Do NOT get me started about the best childhood imaginable...
    I could go on...the best childhood imaginable.

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    1. Jack Granger PalmtagSeptember 3, 2021 at 4:27 PM

      Thank you Thank you oh Son of Minka ! Uncle Bernie's !! I couldn't remember the name, and my parents are gone,so can't ask them "what was the name of that toy store in downtown BH where you used to take me?" And none of my friends believe me that there used to be a big tree in the middle that dispensed lemonade. Uncle Bernie's ! I can still remember which parts of the store to go to for my favorite things, and to hint to my grand parents what to get me next birthday. I believe you about best childhood imaginable.

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    2. The Koi on Crescent! Of course! ...and the bridal path that my grandmother used to ride....

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  47. I remember everything you wrote and more, like it was yesterday, miss it all

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  48. So many wonderful memories. Scandia's; date night for my parents. Bullocks Tea Room and so many other places that meant so much. Thank you!

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  49. I SO loved this site - thank you for posting it and the captions! Do you by any chance remember a children's clothing store in the then brand new Century City shopping mall? I remember it being themed kind of like the hobbit. My grandmother bought me the COOLEST shoes I ever owned as a kid there - Brown leather, square toe and the strap was double wide.

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  50. I was born in Cheviot Hills in 63 and lived way up Doheny off of Sunset until 3 or 4 when we moved down to 309 S. Maple Dr, I went to the little pre school that used to be across the street from Beverly Vista and then BV until 6th grade, I then went to private school up in Ojai and Connecticut (my Mom bought an apt in NYC and we kept the BH home too), I came back home in the 80s and then moved to Westwood in 82, I came back to Beverly Hills in 87 and lived on Rexford (with Tina of Tina Cassaday Creations which was on little Santa Monica in BH, now her salon is on Beverly Dr) and worked at Pixie Town until 91, so this blog pretty much covers a great portion of my life, thanks for all these great memories, please keep adding

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  51. Wow, wow, WOW! I remember most of the places! Thanks for sharing.

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  52. Thank you, Alison, for bringing back so many memories of my teenage years...

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  53. I've been living in l.a. since late '96, but I have a question
    about a whirlwind visit I made in the mid 80's. Do you remember
    a cool Italian restaurant that was located in an old theatre? The place was packed,
    and people were eating, not just waiting for their cocaine to be delivered.

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  54. What a great look back at Los Angeles. Thanks for putting this together. I moved to L.A. in 1975 and worked at the Record Plant on Third Street. Such a great time.

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  55. omg! Thank you SO MUCH for posting all of these amazing photos. The reason I found you is because I was driving with my 33 year old daughter down La Cienega Blvd. today and we passed Trashy Lingerie on the corner across what used to be Jean's West. I told her I worked there before it became Trashy Lingerie and it used to be Bazaar CM. Unfortunately, I have searched for Bazaar CM and cannot find ANYTHING about it! I remember it was owned by two Asian women...maybe sister fashion designers?? I know we supplied wardrobe for Barbra Streisand for The Way We Were and for some other famous women in movies. I was only 17 or 18 at the time, but I'm sad I could not find anything about it. Do you remember that boutique?! If so, please let me know! I absolutely loved all of your pics, especially since I worked in Century City and always went to the movies in Westwood. I saw The Exorcist there the night it opened!! I would love to know if you remember Bazaar CM or any info on the two women who owned it! Thank you!! ~Martha

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    1. Bazaar CM, 400 La Cienega Blvd, was owned by Choey Fong. Her apartment was featured in Architectural Digest, see pics here: https://www.reddit.com/r/70sdesign/comments/1alkwwo/past_the_moon_gate_design_by_anthony_machado_for/
      Also found some pics of the boutique here: https://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/news-photo/woman-stands-looking-in-the-window-of-the-402-shoes-shoe-news-photo/1349191711
      https://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/news-photo/floral-pattern-jacket-with-white-trousers-among-womens-news-photo/1349191843
      https://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/news-photo/sheer-peach-blouse-and-white-trousers-on-display-in-the-news-photo/1349191850
      Not certain but I believe this may be Ms. Fong: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChWYVS8APvl/?hl=en

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  56. Wonderful Memories Alison! Thank YOU! So my favotites of the olden days , in addition to these, were Stratton's Bar and Grill in Westwood (they always handed you a $2 Bill to cover your parking below!!); Madame Wu's; I forget the name of the lovely Italian place on Bev Glen in the Bev Glen Village (Charlton Heston was there often); Trumps at Robertson and Melrose and a lovely restaurant on Bev Glen, a little south of the Bev Glen Village, a house converted into a restaurant and John Dori fish was always available there!

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    1. 'Adrianos' was the name of the restaurant

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  57. Great pictures! Brings back great memories. In the 70s, my father had a denim clothing store on Beverly Drive called Jag. During lunch he would take me to the Brown Derby.

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    1. Jag was very fab! Remember it well.

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  58. Hi: I love this. I've lived in Laurel Canyon since 1973 and I've seen much of what you've been describing. I have a question - in the 1980s, there was an Indian restaurant on Sunset Blvd., which was somewhere around Fairfax or around there.

    Might you know what it was called?
    Thanks so much,
    Steve

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  59. Wow your dad was Johnny Fontaine!

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  60. Wow! What great pictures of my old haunts back in the 70s. My parents use to take me to a lot of those places. My favorite was the hamburgers at Hamburger Hamlet. I really miss WestWorld arcade in Westwood Village. Behind the patio area they had a pizza joint that was amazing. I remember that Farris Wheel. The Mann National is where I waited in line all day to see The Empire Strikes Back at it's opening. It was a huge theater. The Mann Bruin and Mann Fox right down the street from WestWorld. Those kind of theaters can never be duplicated today.

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  61. My, my, my...what a trip down memory lane! In '79 I was an intern at Billboard Magazine smack dive in the middle of all of this. LaScala's was next door and Hamburger Hamlet was just up the strip. In the 70's I attended UCLA and Westwood was our stomping ground for pizza and movies. Fatburger's served the best chili-cheese hamburgers and Bob's Big Boy sold the best Coke's. While at Billboard I met Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Smokey Robinson and K.C. of the Sunshine Band! Disco 9000 and later Osko's were all the rage (both on Sunset) and LaCienega and Melrose was my stomping ground for the latest disco fashion and more! The 70s and early 80's were definitely my glory years. Thank you for these precious memories. Great documentary!!❤️

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    1. Anyone remember the Italian popular rest. Hangout down the block from Nicki Blairs?

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    2. Are you speaking of Le Dome?

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  62. Wishing times and things were the way they used to be 😥

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  63. Hi and Thank You I lived in Hollywood from 72 to 77. You have provided a vey wonderful look back at the best time of my life!!! Thank You! I should never have left. I still lived a good life. Thank You!

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  64. Allison:
    Thank you so much for this trip down memory lane! This is the LA of my youth too and I cannot believe all the wonderful photos and memorabilia you have! We also called out remote “the clicker” and later “the flicker jammer” - it just sounded right to our early adolescent ears! This is just awesome 👏🏻 thank you again!!! Spent many a Sunday @Canter’s on Fairfax with my family and later hung out @ The Melting Pot, The Source, Ship’s for late night coffee toast (the toasters we’re on the table) and all night chattering. It goes on and on….

    All the best to you!
    KBMaycock

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  65. Great collection of photos ! Chip Brent BHHS '76

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  66. After law school in the South, I moved to LA in March '87, and I found the City fascinating. Every day it was if I was in my own movie or TV show, as I would ride by a site and recognize it from some file/show. Years later I became very good friends w/ Morris "Moe" Markowtiz, who was one of the last owner of the Garden of Allah. We spent many a Friday afternoon at the bar of the Brentwood CC. Moe, who had been in the LA nightclub scene since the 40's, knew the "Stars" of the time intimately, but when pressed, he would never reveal the secrets of the scene, always saying, "John, they were my customers who expected discretion, which I will always honor." And he did. I sure miss him. He was class - and old LA. Thanks for the blog post. Keep up the good work.

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  67. Anyone have a pic of the Westside Pavilion when it was a May Co, Little Folks Shop, and I want to say an aviary or domed cage structure with birds and plants?

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  68. Anyone have a pic of the Westside Pavilion when it was a May Co, Little Folks Shop, and I want to say an aviary or domed cage structure with birds and plants?

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  69. Anyone have a pic of the Westside Pavilion when it was a May Co, Little Folks Shop, and I want to say an aviary or domed cage structure with birds and plants?

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  70. I cannot get over this post and the photos. This is my whole childhood as well. Thank you for bringing there amazing memories back!!

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  71. I grew up blocks from the Century City mall at this exact time! All of these photos are my childhood too! My mom's favorite restaurants were Matteo's, Chasen's and Scandia. I wnt to the Hamlet, Westwood, KiddieLand, Genie land... all of these places. Did you ever go to a restaurant in the valley called Poppy Star or Poppy's Star? My family went all the time and I cant find photos of it. Thank you!!!

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  72. I found this post fascinating. The late 70's and early 80's was my time to shine and go down in flames as well, a time to find and lose myself on more than one occasion. Me and my bandmates played iconic Hollyweird places like the original Madame Wongs, Gazzarris on the strip and the infamous Starwood. When I wasn't gigging, I was hanging at Tower Records or downing late night eats at Ships coffee shop in Westwood. Those venues, those rights of passage and lost polaroids don't exist anymore. The Motels, X, Oingo Boingo, the NuCats, Bates Motel, The Plimsouls, 20/20, The Cars, Sparks, the Go-Go's, The Heaters, Quiet Riot, The Jam were just some of the bands that blew me away back in the day. Let's say that I came from a less to do family than yours but still revel in all that you brought back. Why, why WHY did life seem more real back then. Maybe because there was no social media so when you experienced places you were more seriously impacted and they felt like they were your own (even though they were not). Thanks for what you do!!

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    1. All those great bands! Must have seen you on stage a dozen times!

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  73. Does anyone remember or have pictures of the drug store that was on the southwest corner of Wilshire and Robertson? It had a soda fountain, as I recall.

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    1. I believe you're referring to the Creswell Drug Store once located on the north/west of Wilshire & Robertson, currently Steinway Piano showroom. Here is a pic from Martin Turnbull's 'Hollywood Garden of Allah' collection...
      https://martinturnbull.com/2019/07/05/creswell-drug-store-8801-wilshire-blvd-at-robertson-blvd-beverly-hills-circa-1937-2/

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  74. I found a pic of the whisky when it was bank of america

    https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=4923528447738210&set=gm.1139518290155564

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  75. Thanks for the shoutout to Home Silk Shop, our family's beloved business founded by my grandparents, Rose & Simon, selling fabric out of their home on Fairfax.

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  76. WOW! What a wonderful visual journey of Los(t) Angeles! As a Canadian, I fell in love with Los Angeles during a four month residency in 1979. Having finished a University Degree, I waned to travel to celebrate, and Los Angeles appealed to me much more than going to Europe. Best decision I ever made, and subsequently have returned many times over the decades.

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  77. Fantastic memories! Thank you so much. Although I grew up in San Fernando Valley, I did spend quite some time in Westwood and ventured into BH now and then.

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  78. THANK YOU Alison! I know you from the facebook group "You know you are from Beverly Hills If...." My family's store was Thrifty. Rite Aid still has the Thrifty ice cream! We were truly blessed to grow up here (I was a bit older than you, born in '52 and moved from Westwood to the home my parents built on Alpine Drive two years later. I am still blessed to live in my own home around the corner, where I raised my son. We both attended Hawthorne and BHHS.)

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  79. Alison...met you briefly in the 1990's -- you dated a then friend of mine, Walter W. who had just relocated from NYC. He & I were both in the record biz. This site is great. I lived in L.A. for almost 17 years until 1994. Would love to reach you via email to say/ask more. Ron -- email: musicauthority1@gmail.com

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  80. Does anyone remember London Marcus on Lapeer St

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  81. does anyone remember London-Marcus on Lapeer St in the late 70s

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  82. I loved The Apple Pan. I never hear anyone mention it though.

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  83. Thank you for capturing so many Los Angeles landmarks in one place! These were the places children born in the 50's, 60's and 70's here knew or went to growing up and in their youth. Each section of the city or restaurant had its own unique charm. Viewing your photos brought back so many nice memories of places which disappeared as we went forward in our lives. It was not unusual to
    be in Beverly Hills and see film stars and celebrities walking down the sidewalk,
    parking their cars or shopping along with the "general public." Also thank you for your own family photos, which are sweet and loving. Wonderful!

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  84. OMG!! My husband just found this and showed me!!! That is so my life back then. I came to LA in '72 just out of my teens to do the all night radio show at KMPC. They gave me the full PR push and I was all over the news Tv etc....they even have a pic the LA Times took of me posed on one of those merry go round horses where the Beverly Center is. All the restaurants, the shops and stores. I lived up on Beverly Estate drive in BH..literally a blue collar Italian kid dropped into Beverly Hills. I love this site!

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  85. Came to LA in 1962 and parents settled into a home on Cielo Dr in BH, right down the street from the infamous Tate/Manson house. I remember everything mentioned in your wonderful article and in the comments. Century City was in the future and what a tremendous achievement it was. Thanks for the memories.

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  86. Great photos and memories. I wish LA were still like it was in the 70s and 80s. I feel it's unrecognizable today.

    Also, I think you mean “aisles,” not “isles.” ;)

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  87. Awesome blog! So many memories brought back to life.I was a paperboy for the Herald Examiner for !800, !801 Century Blvd as well as the paper vending boxes at Cliftons and Gelsons. Later I worked at Standard Shoes as a size taker ( inventory.) I bowled league at Art Linkletter's La Cienega Lanes. Ate ate Smokey Joe's, Scandia, Chasen's, Tail of the Pup, Cantor's, Farmers Market, Lawreys, Miceli's La Cienega & Las Palmas,Hamburger Hamlety all over the city and so many more. Thank you!

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    1. My friends a me used to go to a great restaurant and bar on Moorpark gust off Coldwater Canyon. A lot of movie people were always there. You could sit at the bar and eat awesome frog legs while talking to the chef/owner. They also had some tables. Does anyone remember the name of the restaurant?

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    2. No I don't remember it but it's not there now because there is an Italian place Pagliaccis in a little corner mini mall and a nail salon. On the other Corner as you have a business then you have M&M market and a gas station. I would like to say that I went and grew up at 99% of the place is shown on this page and I sure do miss them all La has become so bad compared to what it used to be. It lost so much of its charm. Does anyone remember where Lafitte's restaurant used to be? I can't recall but I used to eat there a lot.

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    3. Lafitte's was on 3051 La Cienega, on the northwest corner of the Fairfax intersection. We used to go there a lot when I was little. I see there's a Lafitte's matchbook for sale on eBay if you want a memento ;-)

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  88. Sorry I didn't see this five years ago. Lived in LA/West Hollywood in the late 70s. You've captured so much of it here. Thanks!

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  89. This is so wonderful, not many people can understand the cultural experience of growing up in and around LA at that time. It certainly was different, the fashion, the places, the people. It was magical. I grew up in W Covina during that time and I wouldn’t trade it for the world! Thank you for bringing back so many great memories. ❤️

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  90. This is great nostalgia and history! :)... Does anyone remember or have any pix of all the Hamlet paraphrasings that were on the wall at Hamburger Hamlet? like (if I remember?) 'get thee to a bunnery'.. 'my kingdom for a burger(?)''... etc...

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  91. and remember Children's Bootery? where they had a x-ray flurooscope so you and your mother could see you wiggle your toes in the new shoes you were trying on?? they did not know (or care) then about the dose of radiation you were getting!!

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  92. And how many of us snuck through the fence by the high school into the 20th Century Movie lot before it became Century City?

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  93. You nailed it!

    Remember how Scandina wrapped their lemons in cheesecloth and the off menu “hobo steak” at Chasens?

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  94. Love it!!! Please keep up the good work, for ol’times sake!!!

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  95. Fabulous! My youth, decades ago.

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  96. Does anyone remember the natural food cafe on Westwood Blvd - two blocks north of Wilshire ? It was there in the late 70’s early 80’s.

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    1. Was it the Good Earth Cafe maybe? Used to love their herbal iced tea ( had peach, cinnamon, etc. in it) I found out you can order their tea on Amazon and saw in the comments that it's the same one they served!

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  97. Cock n Bull was on la Cienega just south of San Vicente on the west side FPS

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    1. Co c and Bull was on Sunset /Doheny Tail of the Cock on La Cienega

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  98. Thanks for posting the photos and memories.In particular the annual staff photo at Cafe Figaro. I am on the roof to the left of my uncle. He is holding the sign that he hand-painted. Jacopo's was the go to pizza place and the only one that delivered up in the canyons. So many great restuarants that are long gone.

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  99. can anyone name the red booth restaurant about 1/2 block north of Wilshire on the west side of the western Ave

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  100. Such a lovely job of gathering these photos and memories. I used to go to Figaro's on occasion with my sister. Loved that experience. I worked for UPS in Beverly Hills on Melrose, a route that included driving past The Melting Pot a few times a day. Sonny Bono owned that restaurant on the corner of Melrose & La Cienega, and he'd sit out in the back of it on Clinton nursing a coffee or beverage and reading. It was a nice sight to see. Saw Richard Crenna shopping in the antique stores on Melrose. Ali McGraw gave me a very nice, sweet smile, and I saw Jamie Lee Curtis in the small grocery just east of the Melting Pot. Those were some of my favorite days. Liked the area. Saw lots of celebrities. It was fun, and the business owners were very kind to me. Thank you.

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  101. I have asked before, I will ask again. I live in Tarzana now, but when I first visited LA in 1983-85 my friend took me to a wonderful, busy Italian restaurant located in an old theatre. What was that and is it gone?

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  102. Just want to say thank you for this amazing trip down memory lane! I grew up in the Valley at that same time, but so much of this was familiar to my bones...

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  103. This is so awesome. Do you remember a place on Sunset across the street from Tower Records that was a health food place. They had juice and sandwiches. The best ever albacore tuna sandwich. I used to work in the building on the corner and get lunch there. It was early 80’s. I was like 18 so it was 1983. My second job. We were an allergy clinic. The cross street is Larabee. It’s now a psychic. I want to say it was carrot something. Anyway I love your blog. I loved May Co and Broadway. So many great spots now gone.

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  104. Thanks that was my growing up years my grandparents lived in Fox Hills my brother's and sisters and I lived in Boring OC ,we would take turns on who was going to stay with them that weekend, They had a pool and lived at the top of a hill you could see planes landing at lax , we would sit around and watch ed Sullivan/carol Brunette show. Thank you for your pictures down memory lane

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  105. I grew up in the Valley in the 70s and 80s and looking at these photos now (from my home in New Hampshire), my heart literally aches. Growing up in LA during that time was absolutely amazing and I wouldn't have wanted to grow up anywhere else. Thank you so much for all of these memories...if it was possible to hug a blog post, I'd hug this one!

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  106. You are absolutely wonderful. Thank you

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  107. You're Al's daughter? Rock on! I spent fourth grade (1969) running home from school each day to begin the afternoon by air singing to Here in My Heart.

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  108. Fun! We had that same remote control! I even remember when my parents got that TV. The remote worked by sound, and much later we discovered we could change the TV channel by jiggling the chain on the dog collar just right. Or maybe the dog discovered it, I don't remember. :)

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  109. Only thing missing is my Mom’s bead store, the only one on the west side, Pico and Westwood, Macramania, pooka shells, liquid silver, turquoise, all the kids from all the high schools would come there. Across the street from Picwood Bowl.

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  110. Thank You! That was a wonderful trip down memory lane. My dad loved your father's music; all the great crooners! I was about your age as well. Born in 1969- grew up in the San Fernando Valley. Great memories.

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  111. Thank you for posting this it brought back so many memories. I grew up in Glendale during the same period, we also had a J.J. Newberry's on brand, a Robinson's on Glendale, and many of the other shops you mentioned. My family wasn't as well off so we had the Magnavox TV (Zenith was the higher end brand) and we also shopped at Fedco, Gemco and Zodys. I remember going to the movie openings in Westwood with my older brother and his girlfriend, that was the place to be and celebrating my birthday at Farrells. I really miss the Los Angeles I saw as a child of the 70s/80s.

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  112. Those were my formative years, during which my grandparents resided in Fox Hills while my siblings and I lived in mundane OC. To switch things up, we would alternate staying with our grandparents over the weekend. Their home was situated atop a hill and boasted a magnificent pool with a splendid view of planes touching down at LAX. We would spend time together, basking in the glow of classic television programs such as Ed Sullivan and Carol Brunette's shows. Thank you for taking me on a trip down memory lane, and the mention of oversized sunglasses for men perfectly captures the trend of that era.

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  113. I love the pics..LA was just so charming before...Wish you had pics of MidWilshire around the Wiltern Theatre along Wilshire Blvd in the 70's. Thank you.

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  114. I was looking up the vintage LAX mosaic tiles and came upon your wonderful site! I'm 64 now so about 11 years older than you. Thank You for this blogspot! l adore the good old days too! Growing up in Southern CA, for me in the San Gabriel Valley in the '60s and '70s -- such Great memories. '80s & 90s too!

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  115. Awesome! Thank you--The 1970s were awesome times, I was a kid then...

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  116. I love this collection of photos. Especially of Captain Video's arcade! I was a permanent fixture of that place, and lived right around the corner when I was a kid. Great collection!!

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  117. Wow! Thank you, I lived in L.A. back in the 80's. It was so great seeing all these photos again!

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  118. Goddam, the nostalgia is literally taking my breath away. What is that about? My childhood wasn't especially happy, but the feeling that I get from these pictures, from this time, it's debilitating. How odd! You and I are probably about the same age, it looks like. Was everything better back then? I can't say that it was, so why does it call so strongly? It was certainly a simpler and slower and freer time ... and childhood is certainly simpler and slower and freer than adult/parenthood, maybe that's what it's about? Oh, also, your mom was drop dead gorgeous!

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  119. thank you for this... do you or anyone remember the market on the corner of i think laCienega and perhaps pico that would make fresh donuts around 11:30 pm.. i remember on way home from concerts at the forum we would stop for fresh donuts.. i would love to remember the name.. thanks so very much... this was my childhood growing up above sunset and the rainbow room until 4th grade then moved to maple drive til graduation in 1977.. hawthorn, BHHS then windward... fond memories..

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    1. I too was a Maple drive kid. (Hawthorne '81) This brings back great memories!

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  120. My mother used to take me to see Dr Seuss read his books like The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham in person to children in the Great Western Bank building at Sunset and La Cienega. Wondering if anyone else remembers attending those readings?

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  121. I grew up in the smog filled suburbs of San Gabriel Valley, mostly in the 60s & 70s, so had significantly less celebrity sightings than you, but I can relate to many of the things you remember, especially about Tower Records being your second home. I was just thinking about what an event it was to break the seal on a new album and play it for the first time in a room full of friends. I think we really listened to music, as opposed to having it be background noise, way more back then.

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  122. So great to see all these photos. (Been following the FB page but never realized who your dad was. :-) ). Thank you. So many great memories.

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  123. Oh my goodness! So many of these photos brought back memories. But nothing like the memories that came rushing back when I saw that giant shoe from Standard Shoes! I remember loving going to that shop so I could play in that shoe! Thank you for taking us down memory lane!

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  124. Allison you are outstanding at keeping so many wonderful memories alive. May you have many more years of success in all that you do.

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  125. Amazing pictures. My father worked at ABC in Century City in the 80s, so this was truly a flashback. We lived in the Valley though, so please don't hold that against us!

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  126. I also can e-send U & anyone here my early to mid 70's shots of The Mayfair Music Hall Milt Larsen(Magic Castle & It's Magic show beloved founder) as well as the Wilshire-Ebell Theatre back from 1968 on as well as that whole area, The Miracle Mile with Zachary All clothing store, Barr Clothing that had all the classic Freddie Blassie & John Tolos SoCal wrestling legends do signings before they taped their free Saturday shows at KCOP on Fairfax(the studio used for pro wrestling until 1975 was dedicated, so the ring just stayed there 24/7). SoCal was magical back then & Westwood Village is a sad ghost town now. Had my 1st date in '72 at HHamlet, my 2nd at Alice's Restaurant(The Village). Great American Food & Beverage Company I think was on Santa Monica(or was it Wilshire anyone?)
    >Ms Martino, radio host/print columnist here wondering if you've done any books yet on area history, etc. Born/raised in L.A., just discovering your incredible site. Your 70's shots of classic Century City shopping center, Scandia's Beef Med Lug(their best dish), Famous Amos(he's still living in Hawaii & last time I interviewed him, still doing motivational speaking). Was a sports/arts photographer for the Times, etc & could e-send my pix of early 60's Disneyland with the non-P.C. Frito Bandito character area in Frontierland, Club 333 in 1975 plus Pacific Ocean Park(POP) which U might never have seen. I grew up with Richard Dawson's sons Mark & Gary & RD's fave was Jacopo's Pizza but he took us most often to the Luah, Don the Beachcomber(the real one), Trader Vic's(think NorCal's Emeryville the last TV unless the one in Maui survives), Will Wright's(which thankfully made it into several early 70's films). Can U possibly do my show by ZOOM or phone to plug anything? I'm Dr Mike at wrealano@aol.com & your folks remain respected legends.

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  127. Thanks SO much for posting that was an excellent trip down memory lane! I'm from San Diego, Point Loma actually, and as a kid in the 60s and early 70s we use to come up there to visit my aunt and uncle who always took out places so I remember much of all the old LA too and it's sad to see it gone! Btw I didn't know Fotomat started in Point Loma but that's cool! It must of been the one on Midway & Rose rans in the old Loma Square. Loma Square is still there believe it or not. Well thanks again! 😊

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  128. Thanks for posting, I lived in Beverly Hills and in Hollywood from the mid 70's to 1985. This story brought back so many wonderful memories. I hate being melancholy, but l sure wish I'd be able to go back in time and relive those years....

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  129. I was born on Kirkwood Dr. in Laurel Canyon in 1950. Rode the horsies at Beverly Park and had my birthday there. Friday evening dinners at Smokie Joe's, Sunday morning in the deli at Canter's buying nosh to take to Grandma's. I was sent down the street to Schwartz Bakery for bagels and challah... occasionally dinner at Ah Fong, or Greenblatt's after meeting my parents on Sunset after Jr. High School. Time spent at Thrifty's on Sunset and Fairfax, where at 10 yrs old, I got stuck playing with the turnstile, and the manager had to unbolt the thing from the floor to extricate me...a famous director's mom used to be a cashier there, and I practiced my 8th grade French on her.

    Love your site, thanks for it all...

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  130. there was a fantastic blog called latimemachines .com, still can be found in waybackmachine

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  131. Grew up in Glendale. It sure has changed. So sad buildings torn down.

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  132. Great Post!!

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  133. I’ll say thanks for the memories as well. My first job was as an assistant bookkeeper for Children’s Bootery in Westwood Village (1967). I had wanted to help try on the shoes of the children who came in, but back in the day, that job was only for men. I’d completely forgotten some of the places you mentioned and really enjoyed the photos! Fond memories!

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  134. Everything I loved in the 70's in LA. I even have the same Zenth remote clicker that I kept. Loved this blog, if you find more photos, please post. Best years 70's.

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    1. I grew up on South Doheny Drive and started Beverly Vista in the fourth grade in 1953. You have brought back wonderful memories of those happy years in Beverly Hills. I played Little League baseball at Roxbury Park and bought my glove, uniform and protective cup at Joe Rudnick’s. I learned to dance at the Big Toe Dance Club at the YMCA thanks to Joe Raden. I ate at Nate ‘n Al’s, Webb’s Drive-in and later enjoyed Jumbo Jim’s at Dolores’ Drive-in on Wilshire and La Cienega. About twice a week. My Bar Mitzvah reception was at Carolina Pines Restaurant on La Conega, my wedding at Temple Emanuel followed by a lunch reception at Tale of the Cock on Restaurant Row.
      I enjoyed French fries and a coke at the fountain at Thrifty Drug Store on Wilshire Blvd. and my movie theater of choice was The Beverly.
      So much more I could say about the community of Beverly Hills in the 50s and 60s. What a great time.

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  135. Use to live in Boyle heights and Many Famous People came here to live and later moved to the West Side once the Freeway was Built and Reduce Hollenbeck Park Size..Yes I use to go to West Wood in the 1977 and it was the Place to be and see a Great Movie ...Their was a Place on LA Cienega or West Wood called 'Gentleman Foot Gear...had Nice 👞Shoes...

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  136. Wow, what a trip down memory lane. This was the LA I grew up in. Thanks for the memories.

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  137. I had my birthday party at Genie Land. I recognized it immediately. I think it was a giant mushroom you were sitting in on the stage. They really made you feel special there ;)

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  138. Alison,
    Thanks for the walk down memory lane
    Robbie Anderson

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  139. This was so important to see all these images... thank you for archiving. A beautiful looking glass ! ! !

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  140. What a wonderful walk down memory lane! Thank you!! Do you have any information on nightclubs in Beverly Hills called "The Wheel" and "The Candy Store" owned by John von Neumann, Buddy Hackett and others?

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  141. One of my vivid memories of the 60s, was the morning that I hitch-hiked Sunset Blvd. to an appointment I had with Mrs. Jack Warner, at their estate in Beverly Hills. On the way, I decided to stop at Schwaabs drug store on the corner of Sunset and (I think Doheny) to have breakfast. I sat down at the counter opposite the drug area, and while I waited for the waitress, Gregory Peck sat down next to me on my left. He ordered eggs benedict. Then, Rock Hudson came in and sat next to me on my right and began to read his copy of the Free Press paper. I ordered scrambled eggs and toast . Peck's order came, and I looked at the strange concoction, and asked him: "...what is that!" To which he said: " THAT my man, is eggs benedict." I said to him: "I think I'll order that next time." Rock Hudson kept eying me and ordered coffee. I wasn't intimidated by the stars presence and so I ate and abruptly left to keep my appointment with Mrs. Warner--that meeting was a whole other story! Those were some of the best memories of my younger years.

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  142. Thank you for all the work you do in sharing this history! My mom had a famous bead shop (the original) on Sunset Strip in the 60s/70s called Greedy Beady with her original sister shop in Laguna Beach on the Coast Highway! She says her shop was across from The Whiskey kitty corner and her neighbors were Eric Burdon and the Animals who would constantly scrap next door! So.. she invented Love Beads by placing them on them and getting them to make up while wearing the beads! Lolol! There is even an album where Eric is wearing beads. Mom would often go across to watch the concerts and i remember her taking me to the Aware Inn and Old World to eat. Both of her bead shops were alot if fun. I guess that is why i was born in Hollywood since she was often at her shop on The Strip while she was pregnant with me until the last day! I hope to someday find a photo of her Hollywood store! Aloha!

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  143. Well done! I grew up in the valley but remember many of these locations. Those commenting on missed locations that were part of their memories should share with us rather than ridiculing your wonderful walk through memory lane!

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  144. Thank you for reposting this blog. OMG, so many memories - the 1970's really were the best and most fun - Reading all of the comments was a treasure too. Thank you!!!!

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  145. Thank you for sharing your pictures and your story. I wasn’t born until 1978- so some of these things I never got to see. But it was a nice jog down memory lane for the things that I do remember, especially as I did my undergrad in Westwood. I was excited to see the Pan Pacific Auditorium because I realized that that must be the influence behind the entrance to Disney’s California Adventure.

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  146. I didn’t grow up in LA but have always been fascinated with the culture, architecture, flora and the commerce in general. Great photos of places I may never see personally and interesting stories of your life. Keep chronicling.
    Thank you…

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  147. What a trip!!! I grew up poor, near SC but spent so much time in some of these spots. Tower Records, Westwood, my mom loved Hamburger Hamlet, never got to go to Chasen's but it's a legend. And my two favorites, Jacopo's and Cafe Figaro, I miss them too this day. The things that amazes me is that I can grow up poor and Allison comfortable and we had some shared space and shared experiences. That doesn't happen today as often. I feel that the rich are totally separate, so it was refreshing to see how many memories we shared. Thanks!

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  148. I was born in east Hollywood in 1946 I literally went to ALL of those places and remember fondly especially flippers I Loved Disco skating

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