Vintage Photo Friday

Lawrence and Ethel Bloom, Atlantic City, 1915

Don't my grandparents look jaunty in their boater-style hats?  This is a postcard from The Palace Studios on The Boardwalk in Atlantic City.  Grandma Ethel's parents lived in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  They owned a kosher hotel called The Majestic near the Boardwalk.  It was common in those years to make photographs into postcards so you could send them to friends and relatives.  We have many of these photos in our family archives commemorating birthdays, weddings, graduations and more.

I recognize Grandma's handwriting

I remember visiting The Boardwalk in Atlantic City in the late 1970's with my parents.  My Dad found the house where his grandparents lived.  The owners of the property were preparing to demolish the house.  We walked up the stairs to the front porch and into the living room.  My Dad couldn't believe how small and Victorian the house seemed.  He said that when he was a kid he remembered the house being so much larger.  We call this "kid-vision."  Everything is big when you're little!

Lawrence and Ethel eventually lived in Philadelphia where my uncle and Dad were born.  In 1919 Grandpa Lawrence, an attorney, was in Los Angeles for a legal case.  He called up my Grandma on the phone and said, "Pack up the  boys and come to Los Angeles!  This place is heaven and we're moving!"  So, Grandma Ethel left her entire family back east and brought her sons to Los Angeles.  A few months later, my Uncle Hi was born in L.A.

Los Angeles was a small town in 1919, but my grandfather could see that it was a city that was going to grow and offer much opportunity.   I'm very glad Lawrence and Ethel made the effort to move west!

1920- View of Spring Street looking north at 2nd Street. A traffic cop stands on a soap box and directs traffic between Second and Spring Street.  Water and Power Associates Photo Archives