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Tag: Main Street

  • May 2nd in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1968, the Tastee-Freez chain published the following ad for its Tastee Two Fer promotion in the Long Beach Independent. For years the Tastee-Freez in the Seal Beach Shopping Center (listed as Pacific Coast Highway on Main St. in the ad) was a popular hang-out for teenagers, youngsters, and fans of affordable soft serv ice cream cones.

    Three prizes were awarded on June 2nd at each Tastee-Freez location. Does anyone remember who won in Seal Beach?May_2_1968_Tastee_freez_contest_ad– Michael Dobkins

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  • April 30th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1977, Seal Beach held an old-fashioned sidewalk sale on Main Street.

    April_30_1977_Sidewalk_Sale-3– Michael Dobkins

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  • April 24th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1920, the Santa Ana Register invited people who liked it snappy to the grand opening of the Famous ‘Frisco Five at the Jewel Cafe!

    – Michael Dobkins

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    This Date in Seal Beach History also has an online store hosted at Cafepress where you can order shirts, tote bags, stationery, and other gift items imprinted with vintage Seal Beach images. Visit the online store by clicking here.

  • April 23rd in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1965, the Long Beach Independent ran the following ad for the final performances of “Suds In Your Eye,” directed by Larry Johns.

    April_23_1965_Peppermint_Playhouse_ad-3“Suds In Your Eye” is a farcical three-act play that ran on Broadway for forty-four performances in 1944. It was written by Jack Kirkland and based on the 1942 novel by Mary Lasswell. 

    “Suds In Your Eye” is the tale of three eccentric elderly women united by their fondness for beer and living merrily together in a San Diego junkyard they’ve nicknamed “Noah’s Ark.” When a dishonest lawyer pockets the property tax for their home, the three friends must use all their wiles to raise the money in time to save Noah’s Ark. The novel was so popular that Lasswell wrote four sequels about the further adventures of the “Arkies.”

    Sounds like a fun night out on Main Street.

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • April 20th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1958, the Argo Gallery at 142 Main Street opened an exhibit of artist Ray White’s paintings and drawings with a reception from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m..  Naples resident White taught painting at Long Beach City College and Lindbergh Junior High School and had his poetry published in the Atlantic Monthly.

    For every Main Street Seal Beach that lasted decades and became local institutions fondly remembered years later, there are scores of shops, restaurants, and businesses that barely lasted a season or two before closing forever. Sales inventories are drastically discounted until there are bare shelves. Decor and fixtures are either sold or tossed in a dumpster with the store sign. Whatever hopes, dreams, and ambitions were invested in that storefront evaporate as the owners move on with their lives and a new business moves in to start the cycle anew.

    The Argo Gallery was one of those short-lived Main Street businesses. It was a product of owners Robert and Juanita Hare’s eclectic and bohemian tastes and provided a venue for the Long Beach arts community. It launched in late 1957 with a Christmas exhibit of local artists, many who were teachers and instructors at Long Beach State College.  In addition to the Ray White exhibit, 1958 saw exhibits of artist Jack Van Eden and a typographers exhibit of four local printers.

    The Argo Gallery closed in late 1958, probably when the lease ended, but Robert and Juanita may have secured a tiny spot in Seal Beach history for themselves as owners of the first Seal Beach business on record as offering home model espresso machines for sale. One hopes hard core coffee aficionados can forgive the “expresso” misspelling in this one single ad I found for the Argo Gallery.

    – Michael Dobkins

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    This Date in Seal Beach History also has an online store hosted at Cafepress where you can order shirts, tote bags, stationery, and other gift items imprinted with vintage Seal Beach images. Visit the online store by clicking here.

  • April 18th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1965, the Long Beach Independent ran the follow ad for Phil Roth’s K & R Scandinavian Imports on Main Street.

    April_18_1965_Scand_Imports_Ad-3Today you can’t find imported furniture, glassware, and high fidelity audio electronics at 322 Main Street, but you can eat at our local European inspired restaurant and bakery, Crema Cafe & Artisan Bakery.

    – Michael Dobkins

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    This Date in Seal Beach History also has an online store hosted at Cafepress where you can order shirts, tote bags, stationery, and other gift items imprinted with vintage Seal Beach images. Visit the online store by clicking here.

  • April 16th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1971, the Long Independent ran the following ad for a popular new Seal Beach restaurant that had been open a scant six months at 201 Main Street.

    Nearly fifty years later, Walt’s Wharf, now a Main Street institution in Seal Beach, still serves fresh fish to happy fans of fine seafood dining. (You can still call the same phone number above for reservations.)

    – Michael Dobkins

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    This Date in Seal Beach History also has an online store hosted at Cafepress where you can order shirts, tote bags, stationery, and other gift items imprinted with vintage Seal Beach images. Visit the online store by clicking here.

  • April 12th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1964, the Long Beach Independent ran the following ad for an advance Summer one-day only swimsuit sale at Les Girls at 220 Main Street:

    April_12_1964_Les_Girls_Ad-3Shoppers looking for swimsuit bargains at the same address today will find themselves in Purple Galore and More. 

    – Michael Dobkins

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    This Date in Seal Beach History also has an online store hosted at Cafepress where you can order shirts, tote bags, stationery, and other gift items imprinted with vintage Seal Beach images. Visit the online store by clicking here.

  • April 11th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1914, the Guy M. Rush Company hosted a special promotional excursion to Seal Beach. A special train left San Bernardino at 8 a.m. with seats reserved for the holders of fifty special $2.35 tickets for the excursion. Tickets were also allotted for purchasers in Riverside, Ontario, and Pomona, all cities with stops for boarding on the route to Los Angeles, then Long Beach, and finally Seal Beach. The price included a free lunch and free Saturday  band concert.

    This was the second of two heavily promoted Seal Beach excursions from San Bernardino in early 1914. The first excursion on March 22 was covered in this post. Like the earlier excursion, the real purpose was to sell city lots.  Sales must have been disappointing because this was the last such excursion. The Guy M. Rush would continue marketing Seal Beach real estate to Los Angeles County, Long Beach, and Orange County, but these three ads from March and April 1914 featuring cartoonist Henri De Kruif’s seals were the last attempts to hook Riverside and San Bernardino County residents into buying lots in Seal Beach.

    – Michael Dobkins

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    This Date in Seal Beach History also has an online store hosted at Cafepress where you can order shirts, tote bags, stationery, and other gift items imprinted with vintage Seal Beach images. Visit the online store by clicking here.

  • April 7th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1922, the Baldwin Piano Company filed a suit against the Seal Beach Inn and Cafe and its proprietor, F. C. Blankenship. According to the suit, the inn had purchased a grand piano on contract for $85o on March 29, 1918, but the contract had not been fulfilled. The Baldwin Piano Company’s suit was for recovery of the piano or $850 and $150 for damages and court costs. The Baldwin Piano Company had filed a similar suit in 1920 when the lease on the piano had run out without being paid, but it apparently had not resolved the issue.

    – Michael Dobkins

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    This Date in Seal Beach History also has an online store hosted at Cafepress where you can order shirts, tote bags, stationery, and other gift items imprinted with vintage Seal Beach images. Visit the online store by clicking here.