Vintage Photo Friday

Most people in the blogosphere are posting about Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson today.

I used to see Farrah once in awhile on the 20th Century Fox lot when I worked at the studio in the late 1970's thru the late 1980's. Aaron Spelling had a production company on the lot at the time ("Love Boat") and I suppose he was trying to woo Farrah back into the fold after she left "Charlie's Angels." She was gorgeous, that's for sure.

I never saw Michael Jackson in person, but I felt his presence. His family moved to Los Angeles, later to Encino, in the early 1970's after Motown Records moved here from Detroit. The Jackson 5 appeared on all the local TV shows and their songs were on the radio constantly. Their music, along with brother Michael's solo music was and will always be ever-present in our lives.

I'm sure all them walked down historic Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills more than a few times. Here's what the block, just north of Wilshire Blvd., looked like in the mid-1950's.

The photo above shows the east side of Beverly Drive, north of Wilshire Blvd.. We frequented Linny's Deli often, especially when Nate 'n Al's, further north on Beverly Drive, was too crowded. Now, R.J.'s restaurant is in this spot. Just south of Linny's is Lerner Shops. This was a budget dress shop that I also frequented on my bike-riding expeditions to Beverly Drive when I was a young girl. On the corner, the white building with the Taj Mahal dome was the Beverly Theater. This is now the location of the new William Morris-Endeavor Agency offices. In the distance, just south of Wilshire you can see the restaurant, Melody Lane. It was gone when I was hangin' out on Beverly Drive. In it's place was Blum's Restaurant. Blum's was a mini-chain, with the main restaurant and fountain in San Francisco. I do remember the coffee-crunch on vanilla ice-cream dessert, called Blum's Coffiesta. Yum! Later, a huge office building was built on this site. If you're on the sidewalk next to this office building, look up. You'll see some beautiful, modern stained glass in the roof overhang.

I really spent most of my youth at the J.J. Newberry's on Beverly Drive...just north of the block pictured. Can you believe that there was a Newberry's Five & Dime store on fancy Beverly Drive? Well, there was. There was a lunch counter on the main floor. In the back, a half-floor down the stairs was the plant and bird section. We used to love to watch the live birds squawking in their cages. I bought many pixie bands, hair-barrettes and forbidden lipstick at the Five & Dime.

Have a marvelous weekend. You can see more Vintage Photo Friday here.