I'm in a nostalgic mood this week. Here are some old haunts that are no longer:
1. The Shamrock Roller Rink: Located in Old Torrance, near the Southern Pacific Railroad Bridge. A popular teen hangout when I was in high school.
2. Tommy's: Located behind the Depot, next to a car wash in Old Torrance. My husband and I ate there almost every week before our son was born. Every meal was like 1000+ calories, but we were skinny. What happened? Hub always ordered the steak and eggs.
3. Old stores at Del Amo:
• JK Gill: Got all my Formaline materials here, until I discovered Walsers.
• Woolworths: This was located in the Del Amo mall between Ohrbach's (what is now Marshall's) and Montgomery Wards (where I never shopped). When I got married, I bought my first christmas ornaments there - white satin balls.
• Ohrbach's: I did a lot of shopping there, as I mentioned in a previous post, especially after high school. They specialized in designer knock-offs (not the illegal kind.)
• Petrie's: This was a junior clothing store, cheap as chips. I worked there for 2 years when I was about 16. We had non-electronic cash registers, and had to count back change and memorize totals including tax. During the Christmas rush, customers would be lined up all around the perimeter of the store.
• Hartfield's: Located on the Sears side when it was an open air mall - my sister shopped there for clothes.
•Judy's: More upscale than Petrie's, I could rarely afford to actually buy clothes there, but I shopped just the same. Love their logo.
• I. Magnins: Once I was gainfully employed, I started spending more time here and at...
• Bullocks: I worked in the furniture department while in college. The best thing about this place, which is now Macy's, was the Tea Room. My mom and I used to go there for their crustless sandwiches and the fashion shows.
• The candy and nut counter at Sears: My parents were regulars at Sears. We would shop there almost every Saturday or Sunday, and my dad would take us kids to the candy counter, where we would get free samples of toffee peanuts.
4. Newberry's: Located on what is now Rolling HIlls Plaza. My friend's mom owned a catholic gift store in the same strip mall, but facing Crenshaw. We used to eat at the lunch counter, and spy on strangers.
5. Parasol Restaurant: I think a lot of people still mourn the passing of this Googie landmark. The themed restaurant sported parasol light fixtures and all things parasol-esq. Sigh.
6. Florence Fabrics: Best fabric store in Torrance - I bought all the fabric for my wedding here.
7. Old Towne Mall: Imagine a hippy/macrame vibe blended with a bit of Knotts/Disney Main Street and shopping mall, and you have Old Towne.
8. Pussycat Theater: I never went, but a lot of my friends used to go on dates there.
9. Zody's: I really hated this store, but my mom shopped there from time to time to my complete embarrassment. I trace my intense dislike of Walmart and Kmart to this store.
10. White Front: I remember buying my first pair of rainbow striped platform E.V.A. foam slippahs at this place.
11. The Akron: A cross between a dollar store and Cost Plus. It was across the street from Zody's on Hawthorne Blvd., near what is now the Galleria.
12. Del Conte's Restaurant: Located near the Ramada Inn and under the Porche dealership. Popular in the day when people could manage to eat steak once a week, and not be 500 pounds - probably because they smoked a pack a day. Their clientele died off, or lost their teeth.
13. The Rhodium as an actual drive-in.
14. The McDonalds near Artesia on Van Ness Blvd. This was the first McD's in the area, designed with the classic yellow arches that framed the building.
15. The Begonia Farm: Once an actual working farm. Lovely spot, family owned. For my sister, conveniently located right around the corner from...
16. The Super Yarn Mart: Bright shocking pink building that sold - you guessed it. All yarn, all the time.
17. Fox Market: This was located at the corner of 182nd and Van Ness where the Nijiya market is today. I remember walking there from our home in Gardena.
18. Krispy Kreme: I'm really pissed they couldn't make a go of it in Torrance. They were at the PCH location for, what, a year???
19. The Christmas Tree Farm: On Crenshaw Blvd., north of Lomita Blvd., where a golf store is now. My hub and I would slog through the mud to cut down a lush scotch pine for the holidays.
20. The Value Village Thrift Store: This was a really good thrift in Old Torrance - I was broken hearted when it closed.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Gone, but not forgotten, sort of
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15 comments:
Oh man, what a trip down memory lane! I first moved here in 1980, so some of these were already gone (or going) by then.
All those old stores at Del Amo...I used to go to Ohrbach's and Woolworth's all the time. Remember the health food store there? And the little old grandma that sold the lemonade and icecream?
RIP Florance Fabrics..that is a sad, sad loss.
I was living next to the Begonia Farm when it was closed--that totally sucked, but luckily I moved before the construction began. Remember the Bird Farm, too?
I think I might still have a wine glass I bought for a dollar at the Akron.
Ah, yes - Lindberg Nutrition was in DelAmo. Fortunately, they're still around - it's where we buy my dad's gluten free bread.
I loved that lemonade stand - they also sold ice cream bars. Then, there was the video arcade in Del Amo - I almost forgot about those hang outs...
The Bird Farm - I remember now, very vaguely - thanks for that one!
Wow, that was fun! I love reading your blog. I don't remember Fox Market on 182nd & Van Ness but I do remember Food Fair that was there in the mid to late 1960's (probably before your time!) There was also a large market near the mall called Magic Chef (where Acapulco restaurant is now). What about the Helms Bakery man, Indian Village, Latitude 20, Mishimas (on Western & 185th St), I could go on and on. I grew up in North Torrance (near Nijiya) so we probably saw each other at the meat counter at Motoyama's or the "old" Meiji market! Fun times!
Wow, what a great post, thanks for the wonderful memories! I used to shop at so many of those places and I miss them. Of course, I miss all the farms too but so many things are gone. I read your blog regularly but this is my first post! Judi
I was thinking about including all the places in Gardena I could think of, but the list got too long - for instance, the Meadowpark Dairy on Normandie (the cow pasture behind it), Spot Market on Western, El Rancho Market on Western and 182nd, Nahas, Missile Bowl....etc. etc. etc...
I live in England, but I grew up in Hollywood Riviera in Torrance, where I still visit. I was so happy to find your blog (while searching on Google for Florence Fabrics) and see that someone actually remembers Zody's and WhiteFront. When I was a kid, my mom took me to The Bird Farm as a special treat, and Catalina Music was a favorite place too. And the snack bar at Woolworths....so cool, and I had completely forgotten that one. Thanks for posting this info and memories.
I worked at Old Towne(yes with an e) mall at Kingdom of Oz that later became a Sega Center. Real pinball machines with glass. How about that?
I grew up in Garden not far from Torrance. Ate at the parasol up until about 10 years ago. There was a smorgasboard called Sir Georges that was on Normandie Ave and it had a guy that plaid the xylaphone- "rain drops keep falling on my head", was the song most often requested by diners. The Treasury was the place my mom shopped at and fedco-Had my birthday celebrated many years at Faralls ice Creme Parlor on Hawthorne blvd, and I still have my purple ribbon for eating "the trough" because I was skinny then and could get away with it. Millers Outpost, ughhh-school clothes. I loved the bumble bee and haunted house ride at Old Town Mall, and the old country fair jazz music was cool but the teriyaki stand rocked. Ichabod Craines is now Kings Hawaiian, and Farmers Brother coffee was the wake up call in the morning and again at 4pm right before dinner. Vermont Drive in and not sure if Ascot was Gardena or the cusp of Torrance that whole 190th street zig zag thing. The Shamrock- many many saturday nights spent there. I lived behind Medowpark Dairy and woudl ride my bike up there with the neighborhood kids to buy orange crush in the long neck bottles.. Nahas had lay-a-way and who can forget Guliano's- mmmm Torrance had one built years later but Garendas was the best. Strawberry Festival at St. Anthonys..
Great trip down memory lane. I miss lots of the places that were mentioned throughout this blog. Does anyone remember the raceway, Ascot. Loved that place, too!!!
Don't forget the Van De Camp Windmill Restaurant on Sepulveda. I celebrated my 16th birthday at Del Conte's in 1978. And never missed a year till it closed. They had the best Petite Fillet Mignon ever! I sure do miss that place, can't find a steak to match it.
I remember that windmill - we would go there when we also had to visit the Builders Emporium (where there is now a 99 cent store and a Big Lots.
Remember the Van de Kamps ladies who dressed up in dutch outfits at the regular grocery stores?
Does anyone remember the Nahas in Gardena (also in Santa Barbara and Palos Verdes) I worked there after high school.
Also, Victoria Station Restaurant just down the street from Farrell's & the rides & animals at Alpine Village. The Vermont Dairy when it still had the cows on the corner of Vermont & 223rd St. And Marineland, my uncle took me there for the first time when I was 3 years old, in 1966.
My Uncle was the Builders Emporium Whore. The guys who worked there knew him by name. We would go & buy our garden seeds & plants there every year. My Uncle Mac HATED Home Depot, he said he could never find anything. He died a year before the Home Depot opened on Sepulveda, just 2 blocks from our house.
Does anybody remember Grace's Pastries or Tijuanan Inn or Yas's Market in Gardena? And submarine sandwhiches from Guiliano's. I used to get paint-by-numbers from Naha's. What was that drive-inn by the old Nissan building? That is where my grampa took me to see "Jaws" when I was too young- my gramma got pissed at him. Does anybody remember the El Paso Cantina? And is anybody old enought to remember an old anti-smoking psa commercial "Johnny Smoke?"
Anyone else recall the miniature golf course that was located on PCH, across the street from Del Contes?
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