Thursday, April 17, 2008

VALLEY PLAZA: going, going, ...

. .
• ... GONE TO THE MOVIES,
gone to NoHo.
By Louis Elovitz
Digital Journalist


My Mother called it
"Valley Pleasure",
it was a place
to shop,
go to the park,
play in the wash.


A place of my
enthnicity -delis and bakeries, shoe and candy stores.
Sears, See's, Woolworth's, Wetherby Kaiser. The foods
from the onion rolls and corn beef to the Chef's BBq.
















The Naval Reserve, the heliport where the freeway
is now by Victory Blvd. The "Air Raid Shelter"
sales lot where you could go down into the safety
you could have 'built at your house'. The fad of
trampolines which you 'rented time' to jump.
(I was too scared to do it) J.C. Penny, Longs Drugs
the stores behind Sears, oh you can see this area
on 'Reno 911' TV comedy all filmed here in NoHo.
















Alexander's Market
that had a Coke machine that dispensed 8oz bottles
so cold there was frosty iced coke, I think back,
the original 'slurpee'. The market became a theater.
Other stores in this part next to the park were
a barber and hair salon, a Two Guys, remember,
Italian food, and this was originally a
Curries Ice Cream Parlor with the 'mile high cone'
















The Lamplighter Restaurant which I fondely
remember as a Van De Camps Restaurant
I went to many times even though it had the 60's
notoriety of having a Civil Rights Sit Down
because the waitresses were, well like the name,
Scandinavian, you know all 'blonds'.

Some of these PHOTOS I GOT LAST FALL
OF SOME MOVIE MAKING ACTIVITY IN THE
SOON TO BE NON-EXISTENT "VALLEY PLAZA"










Bye Bye HELLO MEGA MALL
Bye Bye MAY CO/MACYS too
a 1950's era building going to condos.
Oh, that includes the earthquake had to be torn
down "Laurel Plaza" that was attached
to the May Co and housed a great ice rink.




















MORE ON

VALLEY PLAZA
helicopters&cokes
CLIC∆HERE



One last remark,
between the Sears and Smart and Final is
the fantastic LAUSD Romer Middle School
set to open with a beautiful campus.
(Right across from the 'BofA Shoot Out')


See a story
on the new
Middle School
below...

2 comments:

Mr. Footprint said...

I started my Navy/Marine career here at the Naval Reserve Training Center (Valley Plaza) 1956 - We had a "training ship mock-up in the rear parking lot for training & drills ...


We all used to catch the "Red Car" at Victory & Lankershim after having a quick breakfast at Thrifty's lunch counter and ride to the Long Beach Navy Base for $1 !!

Doreen Mulman said...

Something that nobody seems to talk about is how Valley Plaza and Laurel Plaza radically changed back (in the late '80s?)when the large display windows at Sears and May Company were cemented over, destroying the beauty of the buildings, the delightful designs of the window dressers who advertised the latest trends and sales and, most importantly, the concept of "window shopping." For me, that was the beginning of the end of the "Twin Plaza District."