December 2001
Smog Moon
31 Dec, 2001
12/31/2001 - I was walking the dog last night when I noticed the moon positioned perfectly among a cluster of palm trees - exactly the sort of tableau that Matthew Sweet's song Smog Moon has always conjured up in my mind. Smog Moon is on the 100% Fun album.
I've found that my Olympus D450-Zoom performs admirably in low light, as long as I use a tripod or some other stabilizing device. Still, the moon was shrouded by some light clouds and pretty much the only light source; I had to do some heavy tweaking and the overall image is still pretty grainy. But I like the mood it captures, and it seemed a fitting sort of a photo to take at the end of the year.
From the song:
There's a smog moon coming I can always feel it
The cartoon trees cannot conceal it
When it's high up in the sky, it almost looks like it is white
When it's high up in the sky, it almost looks like...
Lyrics are of course © copyright Matthew Sweet's publishing company, whatever it is. Please don't sue me.
Kapu Tiki
30 Dec, 2001
Pico Rivera, California
Next to the Paradise Island Apartments.
Once the initial excitement of finding an actual tiki in the wild wore off, it was sad to see the general disrepair of the building and the whole area in general.
I was amazed a few months later when I found a tiki-themed Hawaiian shirt with an image of this very tiki on it - right down to the slant.
Midas Muffler Man (II)
30 Dec, 2001
12/30/2001 - 15130 Whittier Blvd
Whittier, California
Midas Muffler Man (I)
30 Dec, 2001
12/30/2001 - 15130 Whittier Blvd • Whittier, California
The first Muffler Man I've seen in greater Los Angeles who is actually holding a muffler.
Covina Bowl (II)
30 Dec, 2001
12/30/2001 - Covina Bowl
1060 West San Bernardino Road • Covina, California
Closeup of the bowling alley's stylish sign.
Tastee Freez
30 Dec, 2001
12/30/2001 - Tastee Freez
127 N. Asuza Ave • Covina, California
I believe the orange A-Frame design pegs this as one of the original Tastee Freez restaurants, but never having had them around central Massachusetts (at least, not that I knew of) I can't say for sure.
Dal Rae Restaurant
30 Dec, 2001
12/30/2001 - Dal Rae Restaurant
9023 Washington Boulevard • Pico Rivera, California
Opened in 19581, the Dal Rae looks like a great restaurant inside and out; See the Dal Rae web site for photos of the dining areas.
1 The Dal Rae Story. Dal Rae Restaurant. 31 Jan 2002. <http://www.dalrae.com/about.htm>
Jack's Whittier Restaurant Sign
30 Dec, 2001
12/30/2001 - Jack's Whittier Restaurant
13221 Whittier Boulevard • Whittier, California
Although the coffee shop itself has lost any Googie character it may have once had, the Jack's sign has held up nicely over the years.
Paradise Island Apartments
30 Dec, 2001
12/30/2001 - Paradise Island
5430 Rosemead Boulevard • Pico Rivera, California
I nearly locked the brakes on my poor car when I spotted this amazing tiki apartment building on Rosemead boulevard. I quickly pulled onto a side street and parked to take some photos.
Unfortunately, the place has seen better days; there are two tikis at the base of the apartment buildings' sign, but they're falling apart; smog and 40 or 50 years of Los Angeles summers (not to mention 40 or 50 years' worth of kids) have done a number on the wood, and whole chunks of the sculptures are missing around the mouths; you can see the sign pole behind. It must have been quite a place in its heyday.
Friendly Hills Bowl (II)
30 Dec, 2001
12/30/2001 - 12/30/2001 - Friendly Hills Bowl
15545 East Whittier Boulevard • Whittier, California
The contrast of the futuristic boomerang roof against the stone material of the wall is a perfect example of the Googie style.
,
Muffler Man (IV)
30 Dec, 2001
12/30/2001 - El Monte Sign Company
2710 Santa Anita Ave • El Monte, California
Another shot of the golfclub-wielding El Monte Sign Company Muffler Man.
Even in a full-body shot at ground level, it's difficult to appreciate his scale. Note the chainlink fence at the back of the lot, and figure it's about 7 or 8 feet. He's pretty damn tall.
Covina Bowl (I)
30 Dec, 2001
12/30/2001 - Covina Bowl
1060 West San Bernardino Road • Covina, California
Although Covina Bowl's decor is not tiki-themed, a pseudo-polynesian influence is definitely evident in the high, peaked roof over the entrance to the alley.
Chicken Box
30 Dec, 2001
12/30/2001 - Chicken Box - "Broasted" Chicken
330 East Whittier Boulevard • La Habra, California
This road sign doesn’t feature the slogan displayed in brush script on the restaurant itself, "Broasted Chicken"
I didn’t get any Broasted chicken (World’s Finest) to go, so I can only speculate as to what’s involved in the "Broasting" process.
La Habra Flower Shop
30 Dec, 2001
12/30/2001 - La Habra Flower Shop
2274 West Whittier Blvd • La Habra, California
Although the signs and color scheme look like they jumped right out of a 1960's episode of Dragnet, the sharply angled, jutting roof looks more like a product of the 1950's.
Shangri Lodge Hotel
30 Dec, 2001
12/30/2001 - Shangri Lodge Hotel
5640 Rosemead Boulevard • Pico Rivera, California
A classic 1950's hotel name if ever there was one.
Friendly Hills Bowl (I)
30 Dec, 2001
12/30/2001 - Friendly Hills Bowl
15545 East Whittier Boulevard • Whittier, California
The marquis has seen better days, but the "B O W L" sign is still a commanding presence along Whittier Boulevard.
Muffler Man (III)
30 Dec, 2001
12/30/2001 - El Monte Sign Company
2710 Santa Anita Ave • El Monte, California
The El Monte sign company has taken good care of this specimen, outfitting him with a pair of crisp bluejeans and a polo shirt sporting the company name, topped off by a jaunty white baseball cap. In his hands he holds a golf club.
This is the first Muffler Man I've had the privilege of being able to walk right up to; the Van Nuys and Malibu men are mounted on tall poles, making them inaccessible. You get a much better appreciation for their sheer size.
Can't Blog - Painting
27 Dec, 2001
My wife gave me an excellent Shag t-shirt for Christmas along with another 1950's collecting guide/photo reference, and suddenly I'm all interested in design and even digital illustration again.Not much to write for tonight. I Put up another good photo of the Safari Inn sign from yesterday.
I spent most of the evening diddling around with Painter 6. After 5 comfortable years spent using Adobe (and to a lesser extent, Macromedia) interfaces, Painter is positively confounding.
Plus there's the added strangeness of not having actually painted since high school. I got pretty good with acrylics, but didn't stick with them when I pursued animation in college. So it's like learning to paint again through the layer of abstraction added by drawing on a tablet and seeing the results on the screen; the lack of immediate, physical feedback is disconcerting. But I shall persevere.
Also, go visit Shag's site. Go there right now. No finishing up your e-mail or reading The Onion, just go. And if you're going to be in L.A. next month, go see his exhibition, Bottomless Cocktail, at the La Luz De Jesus gallery in Hollywood. I missed the Night of the Tiki exhibition last fall, so I'm looking forward to this one.
I first came across Shag in an article in Juxtapoz a few months ago. I know I'd seen his stuff somewhere before that, but that was the first time I learned that there was an illustrator who specializes pretty much exclusively in exactly the kind of retro-tiki-lounge stuff I like. The Night of the Tiki book has been on my Amazon Wishlist ever since I saw that article, but my wife gave me an excellent Shag t-shirt for Christmas along with another 1950's collecting guide/photo reference, and suddenly I'm all interested in design and even digital illustration again.
Things have come a long way since I used to painstakingly draw 32 color, 320x240 scenes on my Amiga 500 in DeluxePaint IV and although I'm way out of practice, I know I'll be able to blow my older stuff away in time. That boxy old mouse has nothing on a pressure-sensitive tablet.
Safari Inn Sign
26 Dec, 2001
12/26/2001 - A closer shot of the Safari Inn's sign, taken from underneath the sun deck.
Note the inward-curving sides of the swimming pool, matching the shape of the sign.
Unfortunately, the desk clerk told me I couldn't actually go up on the deck to take photographs. I'm not sure whether it was a liability issue, or if they thought I was going to be somehow profiting from it. Places around Los Angeles are sometimes cagey about letting you take photos without some kind of release. They didn't say anything when I was shooting from the ground, though.
Safari Inn
26 Dec, 2001
Safari Inn - 1911 West Olive St, Burbank, California
A wonderfully preserved sign presides over the classic 1950's motel, which you may recognize as one of the filming locations for True Romance. Be sure to visit 8 Ball, a retro clothing and accessories store located across the street.
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