John's Birthday

Dad loved to do little extras for people's birthdays.  Pretty great to have examples of his work even at this late a date.  This was probably 1985.

101, Ventura

 It's funny how much I think of my dad as drive 101 from Ventura to Monterey under the sun and occasional canopy of eucalyptus and cedars.  He used to take me, Tom, and Joe to Solvang for a pancake breakfast (I often got pigs in a blanket), air hockey they had in the motel Rec Room, and he'd always make a stop at Santa Inez Mission.  One year I bought a triptych and a tiny plaque of St. Michael driving Satan into Hell.  He loved stopping at Catholic churches in every new city he'd visit. I drove him to Monterey in 1985, three years before he passed, and he loved it and I loved the exclusive hours with him.  A great memory from that trip was him unscrewing the cup of a thermos and pouring me a cup of hot coffee that infused the car as I'm driving my green 1980 VW bug on the 101 at 5am outside of Thousand Oaks.

215 N. Hill Street, Burt Lancaster's Home in the 1949 movie, Criss Cross

1953, Panoramic view of the city west of downtown Los Angeles on a clear day (1953).  Thank you to Los Angeles History.

Panoramic shot, the city of Los Angeles is visible stretching west from downtown, bathed in sunlight on a clear day. The view captures the expansive nature of Los Angeles, where the skyline begins to emerge against the backdrop of the surrounding hills and valleys. During this time, the city was rapidly developing, with residential and commercial areas expanding beyond the city center. The clarity of the skies and the bustling streets highlight the optimism and promise of the post-war era. This image offers a rare opportunity to see Los Angeles before the density of the modern metropolis fully took shape.

Jim Dawson points out, 

The single two-story house halfway up the photo, toward the left side, was 215 N. Hill Street, just above the northern termini of the Hill Street tunnels. It was Burt Lancaster's house in the 1949 film noir, Criss Cross. Here's a close-up shot:

Flying Wing planes at the Northrop plant in Hawthorne, 1949.

1949, Flying Wing planes at the Northrop plant in Hawthorne, 1949.  Thank you to Lynn Thompson. 

MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, 1957