Friday, May 30, 2014

Vintage Photo Friday - Ship's Coffee Shop

1995.  Ship's, Culver City

1995 was the year. 19 years ago.  Is that vintage?  I dunno. I've been looking through a lot of my old photographs lately and to me, any photograph where my hair is NOT gray, I've labeled "vintage."


 It appears that I'm obsessed with coffee shops
Looking north on La Cienega


We frequented all three of the Ship's Coffee Shops, but this was OUR Ship's Coffee Shop on La Cienega, just south of Olympic, L.A., Beverly Hills adjacent.  This particular building was built in 1968 and closed in 1995.  The original Ship's in Culver City and the restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood were opened in 1956.  All three are gone now.  Emmett Shipman built the futuristic coffee shops in the classic "googie" rocket ship style.  The architect was Martin Stern. Ship's was distinctive for it's toasters on every table.  I do remember smelling lots of burnt toast whenever we walked into Ship's.  This was my maternal Grandfather's favorite coffee shop.  Of course, it was across the street from Temple Beth Am, a place he frequented every day.  I can see him now, ordering the "diet" plate which consisted of a hamburger patty with lots of ketchup, cottage cheese and a canned peach. 
Ship's Culver City
Ship's Westwood.  Photo from Martin Stern Archives, 1961
Ship's Westwood.  Photo from UCLA Archives, 1984
Interior, Ship's, 1995


Larry and I went during the last days of the La Cienega shop to take some photographs of this classic coffee shop.  Yes, they're blurry.  I was sad.
One of the signs of the Ship's La Cienega is still there, gracing a car repair shop.  The iconic, triangular "never closes" signs are below the circular one.

Ship's, La Cienega


Ship's, Culver City

So many of the restaurants from my youth are gone.  True, Los Angeles is now known as a restaurant haven.  During my youth, it was known for hamburger stands, coffee shops and tiki bars.  Sigh.


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Thursday, May 29, 2014

Summer Tee

This time of year, it's difficult to knit with heavy wool or acrylic.  Cotton, a cotton blend or light weight sock yarn is what we like to work with when the weather turns hot.  Favorite projects besides dishcloths and potholders are tee-shirts.  Personally, I like a boxy tee that's roomy and comfortable for summer.  
Here are a few tee-shirt patterns, found on Ravelry (click on name for pattern), that would be great in cotton yarn for summer wear:
Sagaponack Tee

Sora Motif Sweater

Tweedy--Stripey

Linen Top
I've only been successful making one tee for myself.  A few years ago I spotted the President of our knitting guild, Peggy, wearing a cotton tee that she crocheted out of Aunt Lydia's Cotton Crochet Thread.   This pattern consists of two crocheted rectangles, sewn together at the shoulders and sides, leaving holes for the neck and arms.  I tried the pattern using mercerized cotton.  Mercerized cotton is heavier than Aunt Lydia's thread.  My tee was just OK, but not as flowing or drapey as Peggy's tee.  I shall try again soon!

Peggy and Myra.  Peggy's Blue Tee-Shirt

My "Peggy Tee" - FROGGED!

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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

That Cuban Sandwich

Lately, I've been posting about restaurants.  I must be hungry.
On Friday, we saw "Chef," the new Jon Favreau movie.  The tagline is "A chef who loses his restaurant job starts up a food truck in an effort to reclaim his creative promise, while piecing back together his estranged family."  The movie was totally entertaining, even though I could NEVER see Sofia Vergara or Scarlett Johansson being interested in Jon Favreau!  The plot is a bit saccharine, but the movie is chock-full o' stars who turn in excellent performances.  If you like cooking shows, you'll like this movie.
"Chef" promotion poster

After seeing all of those delicious looking Cuban sandwiches that Jon Favreau and John Leguizamo turned out on their El Jefe food truck, Larry and I were dying to have a Cuban sandwich for dinner!  I could only think of Cuban places in Glendale and Burbank that served Cuban sandwiches, so I whipped out my trusty iPhone and did a search for a place on the Westside.  We ended up at the Havanah Sandwich Company in El Segundo.
Havana Sandwich Shop Mini-Mall, Main St., El Segundo

Havana Sandwich Shop

This is a no-frills sandwich shop in a mini-mall on Main Street, downtown El Segundo.  On a Friday night at the beginning of a holiday weekend, the place only had 2 patrons inside.  This did not deter us.  The menu is lengthy, but we decided to go for the classics.  Larry had the Original Cuban and I ordered the Miami Cuban sandwich.  Both were prepared beautifully and were delicious.  We each ordered the half-sandwich because the full-sands are huge!  We will definitely return to the Havanah Sandwich Company to check out more items on their menu.


I love downtown El Segundo.  It's a real throwback to classic, small-town centers.  I visit El Segundo once a month for my Knitting Guild meeting, so I'm a bit familiar with the downtown area.  Larry never comes here.  After dinner, at twilight time, we drove around downtown to see a few sights.  There are tons of cool-looking restaurants, shops, boutiques, parks and even an El Segundo Art Museum!  We saw the Purple Orchid Tiki Lounge, which we've been wanting to visit for years!  


There are tons of apartments, condos and unique homes too.  Hmmmm?  This may be a good place for our later years, especially if we want to travel.  It's near the ocean breeze, oil refinery and LAX.

Re-painting of El Segundo Water Tower
Quaint Downtown El Segundo



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Tuesday, May 27, 2014

More Change


Ack!  I can't take this!  Another one of my beloved restaurants is leaving.  Pepy's Galley at the Mar Vista Bowling Alley will be closing on June 30th. 
We have breakfast here at least once a month with my Mom.  She just love's Pepy's chili omelette!  The other night, Larry and I decided to go to Pepy's for dinner.  It wasn't packed, but most of the seats were filled on a holiday Sunday evening.  The food was fresh and delicious.  I ordered the Country Cobb Salad and Larry had Cameron al Mojo de Ajo (shrimp in garlic, butter sauce).  




After dinner we spent some time walking around the building and photographing a few of the architecturally significant details.





There is a Facebook page to Save Pepy's at the Mar Vista Bowling Alley.  The group is also looking to save Phil Yoakam's Bowling Pro Shop, inside the building.  After reading a bit of the owner's letter to this group, it appears that this will not happen.  Here's the letter from Tom Shannon, the CEO of Bowlmor AMF, Inc.:


To the Mar Vista Community and Loyal Patrons of AMF Mar Vista Lanes:
We are sensitive to the feedback, both positive and negative, that we have received from the community surrounding the renovation of AMF Mar Vista Lanes, which will include the closing of Pepy’s Galley. While many have expressed excitement at the introduction of a significantly upgraded family-friendly bowling center, we have seen some misinformation and confusion in the press and social media about the new facility and below is a letter to help spell out the facts.
AMF Mar Vista Lanes opened in 1960 and has not had a major upgrading since that time. The entire infrastructure is old, dated, unreliable and uneconomic. I can think of no other business that has operated with success after 54 years of basic neglect. The facility does not earn enough to pay a market rent.
The community of Mar Vista and greater Los Angeles deserves a far better experience and that is why in late June, the property will be closing to begin renovations that will upgrade and modernize the building. The new facility will remain a family-friendly bowling alley and entertainment center that will cater to guests of all ages as well as serve a wide range or food and beverage offerings. I anticipate somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 – 30 new jobs will be added and many of these will pay quite well.
There will not be an outside dining component as currently exists. Rather, the food service will be brought in house and will exist to serve patrons of the bowling center. It is impossible to economically maintain the current arrangement with Pepy’s Galley as his rent is a small fraction of market rent and the restaurant space would need close to $1 million in upgrades to bring it to current code.
When we bought AMF on July 1 of last year, it was just exiting bankruptcy for the2nd time in a decade. Had we not bought it and committed to invest in the company, 7,500 people would have lost their jobs and bowling would have become largely non-existent in major parts of the country, particularly in West LA as the AMF facilities here would have been shut down and converted to other uses.
In recent memory, a large number of bowling centers in greater LA have closed including: Reseda Bowl, Granada Bowl, Victory Lanes, Encino Bowl, Valley Center/West Valley Bowl, Northridge Lanes, Rocky Mountain/Belair, Mar Lindo, Verdugo Hills Bowl, Grand Center Lanes, Sherman Squire Lanes, Burbank Bowl, Van Nuys Bowl, Bowlerland, Sunland Bowl, Panorama Bowl and AMF Midtown Lanes. Several others in the greater LA area will soon be closing.
We have been approached by developers who would like to buy the Mar Vista property and convert it to upscale condos. Candidly, it would be the right economic decision for us to do that but we have chosen to maintain our commitment to bowling and to the community of Mar Vista and to invest a significant amount of money to ensure the viability of bowling in that market.
As noted above, there are all sorts of inflammatory and inaccurate statements about what our intentions are and how we have acted being floated on social media. I will respond to two of them. First, we are not converting the property to a nightclub type of bowling alley. It will remain a somewhat traditional, although very nice, family friendly bowling center.
Secondly, we had the right to terminate Pepy’s month to month lease with 30 days notice and could have done so upon acquiring the property in July 1, 2013. Instead, we let him stay in place, at a small fraction of market rent and at significant cost to us, but can no longer do so as we prepare to renovate the entire facility.
It has been suggested that Pepy’s could easily be relocated to another site in the market. Several suitable restaurant vacancies have been mentioned on the Facebook site. It would seem that given the level of customer support in the market, Pepy would be as successful moving down the street as he is in the current location. It is of course entirely his decision.
Again, we are sensitive to the feedback that we have received from the community and hope that this letter has helped clarify the facts behind the renovation of AMF Mar Vista Lanes.
Sincerely,
Tom Shannon
CEO
Bowlmor AMF, Inc.

We questioned the staff at Pepy's on Sunday, but none of them had any word on whether or not Pepy would re-locate in the same area.  We're waiting to hear.  Pepy's Galley is closing on June 30, 2014.  Get over there for a delicious meal while you have the chance.  

 

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Monday, May 26, 2014

Memorial Day

Major George E. Bloom, 1942

In addition to today being Memorial Day, it's the tenth anniversary of my Father's death. George E. Bloom was born in 1919 in Philadelphia, PA and passed away on May 25, 2004 in Los Angeles, CA.  When he was six months old, the family moved to Los Angeles.  Dad considered himself a life-long Angeleno.  Thank you for imparting your historical knowledge of our wonderful City to me, Dad.
Memorial Day is a day to remember all the people who have served, and are serving, in the armed forces; our surviving veterans; and to honor those who have died in past wars. There are many observances in and around the Los Angeles area this weekend. Below is a photo of my Dad, George, and his brothers soon after World War II, posing in their uniforms. Thanks, guys!
Mort, Hi and George Bloom.  Hollywood, 1946.

We plan on doing chores around the house this morning.  Later, this afternoon we're meeting up with a few friends for a simple picnic in Hancock Park near the La Brea Tar Pits.  I hope to find a spot away from the tar!!!
Happy Memorial Day to everyone.  Enjoy your day and remember those who have served so that we can have this day of remembrance.

George at Del Rey Yacht Club, 1984.  He really liked wearing those hats!


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Friday, May 23, 2014

Vintage Photo Friday

1967.  Park @ La Brea Tar Pits.  Herald Examiner Collection

Yes, here I am with my friends, relaxing at Hancock Park near the Tar Pits in 1967.  Thank goodness there's a strong fence protecting us from the wooly mammoth! This coming Monday, I hope to be in a more casual ensemble, enjoying a mini-picnic at the Tar Pits Park with friends.  I certainly hope we don't sink into the tar!

1941.  View Across La Brea Tar Pit. Security Pacific National Bank Collection

I love this photo!  You can see the building that currently houses the Craft and Folk Art Museum on Wilshire Boulevard, just south of the Tar Pits.
Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, my friends!

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Thursday, May 22, 2014

License to Snap

Snapping vanity license plates ALL over the City!
A Saucey One in Santa Monica
A sustainable Honda
If you Miss New York, maybe you should go back
The Girl from Ipanema was in Beverly Hills!  Thanks Brenda C. for the snap!
Love Leigh or Lovely?
  
Mighty Smart!
Great Car in the Rain.  Photo by Brenda C.

Have you snapped any great vanity plates lately?  Let me know!

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Hiren's BootCD
hard drive recovery