Hawthorne Blvd.

2008-07-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

MORE OLD HAWTHORNE, CA.

Ivy's Coffee Shop was located on the Northwest corner
of Hawthorne Blvd and El Segundo.

Arman's Sewing Machines and Vacuum Cleaners was directly across
the street from Ivy's, on the Northeast corner of Hawthorne Blvd and El Segundo.

Help! Can someone please tell me exactly where the Wallich's Music City store in the South Bay was located? I know it was on Hawthorne & Artesia, but WHERE on Hawthorne & Artesia? I'm assuming that it was in the lot on the Southeast side of Hawthorne Blvd, in the building that later became a Big Bens music store and then a Warehouse Music store? Am I right? Email me: chuck@luxuriamusic.com

And stay tuned for more pictures of vintage Hawthorne.

2008-07-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

Vintage Hawthorne Boulevard Pictures!!

I recently unearthed some pictures of Hawthorne Blvd in the late 1950's. The scans are pretty big, so if your browser is cutting off a portion of the picture, just click on it and the full image will appear.

Looking Northwest at the intersection of Hawthorne Blvd & 133rd Street: on the far left is a piece of Dairy Freeze/Frosties - THEE after game hang out for Hawthorne High School students. The Modern Way building still stands, though the business is long gone. Next to it is the United Hardware store before they built the bigger building. They're gone now, of course, and the building now houses a store called Clothing Outlet. The vacant lot next to it is were Dennys Restaurant is now. The Thrifty Drug Store building is now "$5.99 Clothing." And Food Giant is now a 99 Cents Only store.

Now we're seeing the Northeastern side of Hawthorne Blvd. Check out all the furniture stores: Friendly Furniture, Hawthorne Furniture Co... The Lloyd Dennees sign is in the distance. Do you see the Melody Music store sign?

We're still at the intersection of Hawthorne & 133rd Street, but now we're looking at the Southwestern side of the Blvd. ( If only we could point the camera to the left and see Pizza Show.) Eddings Bros. Auto Parts still has a presence in Hawthorne, though that building is long gone.

I'm looking for more picture of Hawthorne Blvd in the 1950's and 60's for a book I'm writing about Beach Boys related landmarks in Southern California. If you have anything that you think I might be interested in (or if you would like to pre-order the book), please email me at chuck@luxuriamusic.com

2008-07-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

Compton Blvd & Willowbrook Ave. Compton, California, 1950's.
Take note of the Pacific Electric railway car in the center of the picture.

2008-04-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

TORNADO WRECKAGE - HAWTHORNE CALIFORNIA - 1966
This super-8 footage was shot by my Grandfather, Lee Hoffman, in November 1966. My family lived on Truro Ave at the time so some of the footage was shot there as well as on 120th Street, Eucalyptus Ave and some streets I don't recognize.

I'm currently in the process of writing a book about the Beach Boys and need photographs of Hawthorne in the 1950s and 60's. I'm especially interested in finding pictures of all the hotspots on Hawthorne Blvd back then... Fosters Freeze, Dairy Freeze, A&W, Biggies, Chips, etc. If you have pictures that you would like to share, PLEASE contact me asap. Email me at chuck@luxuriamusic.com

2008-04-09T19:17:00.000-07:00

Grolmus Electric Co.

Hawthorne, California. Circa 1950's.

These photos were taken by my Grandfather, Leland E. Hoffman. He repaired televisions as a side-job back in the 1950's , so this must've been a shop he did some business at.

Does anyone know where this is/was ?

Chuck Kelley

2007-05-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

Does anyone want to buy a house?

8012 South Harvard Ave update.
Photo taken on May 20, 2007.

My girlfriend Sarah and I were driving through South Central Los Angeles this past Sunday and decided to go check on the old Wilson house and this is what we found. Most everything is gone at this point except the original garage.

Photo by Chuck Kelley

2007-03-05T23:55:00.000-08:00

The first home of Brian and Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys.
8012 South Harvard Boulevard. Los Angeles, CA. 90047. These photographs were taken on Sunday March 4, 2007. All photographs are by Chuck Kelley, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved

Audree was pregnant with Brian when she and Murry moved into this cottage in late 1941.

Photo by Lester Cohen. From the book, "The Nearest Faraway Place" written by Timothy White.

Baby Brian. The garage in back of him is still there! Photo by Audree Wilson. From the book, "Brian Wilson - Wouldn't It Be Nice - My Own Story" written by Brian Wilson with Todd Gold.

Murry holding Brian. Photo by Audree Wilson. From the book, "The Beach Boys" written by David Leaf.

Dennis Kelley entering the bathroom.

Chuck Kelley holding a souvenir.

In early 1945, Murry and Audree Wilson along with their two sons moved out of this rental house and into their own home at 3701 West 119th St. in Hawthorne, California.

Stay tuned for more pictures and video footage. We shot hi-def video!

Also, be sure to listen to our Beach Boys internet radio show, Heroes & Villains every Saturday from 1-3 pm (pacific) on LuxuriaMusic.com

2006-01-16T19:38:00.000-08:00

RESERVOIR DOGS

This picture was taken on the set of Reservoir Dogs on the last night of shooting. I was a "stand in" for Tim Roth for 10 minutes.

2005-12-06T16:51:00.000-08:00

Western Recording Studios

I was in Hollywood today for a business meeting and drove by Cello Studios, formerly known as Western Recording Studios, just to see what's going on with it. The studio has been closed down for awhile and the owner has filed for bankruptcy, so the future of this great (un-official) historical landmark is in limbo.

It is in my opinion the most legendary recording studio still in existence in Los Angeles. The building was originally a radio theatre and in the 1950's it was bought by the great recording pioneer, Bill Pitmam, who personally designed the three studios inside the building. (He also owned and designed the studio next door at 6050 Sunset Blvd, United Recording Studios. ) Roughly 80% of the Beach Boys 60's recordings were recorded at Western. Frank Sinatra recorded there, and so did The Mamas & Papas, Dean Martin, Lalo Schifrin, The Monkees, The Partridge Family, Vic Mizzy, Dean Martin, Sam Cooke, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Burt Bacharach, Glen Campbell, Elvis Presley and many others.

According to a note on the front door, the building and its contents are being auctioned off in January. For more information go to http://www.nonmundane.org/~cello/

Somebody's got to do something to save this building!