Cruisin Whittier Blvd. Stories Thread....

[jhicken]

Jeffery,
were you with me when the girls were flashing us out of that van? 

Could have been, but my focus wouldn't have been on what they were driving

Then there are the stories of all the girls, I believe you stayed late one night to give me back my keys since I had left them in the ignition of my bug after being picked up by some girls.  good times!
jim

Yea, those were good times

-j.

[low oval]

Jeffrey,
couldn't tell you the year, make or color of the van, just that it had enough room for one girl to flash her tits, and the other to ba us.  with that happening I was very focused on what car they were in.

as far as drag racing light to light.  that was how the initial race's would happen, if you wanted more, you would go over to santa fe springs rd, it was an industrial area and have better races.  In fact my grandfather even got into the racing.  it was 68 (i was and he had just got a new olds cutlas and he and i were going somewhere (probably the store), when we were sitting at a light (first car), a group of teenagers pulled up next to us and started reving their engine.  my grandfather looked over at me and asked should we?  I said take'm gramps.  Ol gramps beat the teenagers in a light to light race.  He is 92 and we still joke about that one.

[vwcab]

That's cool,a grandfather who races cars.I like it.   

[Rennsurfer]

WOW! Please keep the Whittier Blvd. stories going. These are GREAT! Jeffrey and Jim... CLASSIC stuff. That's funny about the guy from Lakewood.

[Brian Rogers]

I remember going with my dad to Sacket & Peters on a Friday night before they closed. Stoped at Colima Rd. When there's this loud rumble and a whineing sound pulls up next to us. Turns out to be Big John Mazzmainian in the Candy Red Willies coupe. Dads jaw 'bout dropped to the floor as he left rather quickly. Spent many a night there after I'd gotten my own license. Wish I still had that '55 F100.

[Sarge]

Hey, welcome to The Lounge, Brian... good to see you here!  Speakin' of Maz's Willies, a guy named Richard Sirounnian (Maz's nephew) used to drive that thing back in the day along with the candy red Vett.  One day a while back I was working the front parts counter at CVW and had a customer who wanted to order a part.  I looked at the name on the order and it turned out to be Richard's older brother... small world!

[edcraig]

I was in High School with Big John's son, Vic.  He had a jet black 68 Dodge Charger.  Pretty cool car back then!  (today too!)

In the early 70's DRA had it's clubhosue up on Whittier Blvd, so we were there pretty much all the time.  One of our members also worked at a 76 station on the north side of the Blvd, near the Quad, (local mall).

[low oval]

speakin of gas stations, remember the gas lines.  my buddy worked at the chevron on colima and whittier.  after hours I used to get to go in on any day and fill up the power wagon.  It was a real bummer when he or the manager wasn't working, I 'd have to go get in line.
One night I was at bully beef, don't know how i got a ride, but this guy had a amx, man that was fast.  took me for a ride in it, i was in the back (no back seat) holding on to the front seats, when he punched it I thought I was going to end up plastered against the back of the car.  I had friends with alot of fast cars but this one was the fastest.
my buddy with the 2 litre and i would go looking for someone to race all the time.  at first we could find mustangs, camaros, newer vettes, chevelles etc.  but by the end of the era it got to were we would be racing other bugs, very few v8's would race us.

[Rennsurfer]

at first we could find mustangs, camaros, newer vettes, chevelles etc.  but by the end of the era it got to were we would be racing other bugs, very few v8's would race us.

That... is a beautiful thing, right there.

[wolfswest]

How long is whittier boulevard?    Are we talking about 1 mile or 10 or ...?  We don't have something similar overhere so I don't have a clue.  When I search on youtube I can find some really cool lorider stuff...  What about those in the 70's?

[Sarge]

Actually, Whittier Blvd is quite long... it starts in La Habra and runs through Whittier, Pico Rivera, Montebello, and into East LA.  The part with all the stories is only a mile or so out front of Bob's Big Boy Hamburgers.

[wolfswest]

Actually, Whittier Blvd is quite long... it starts in La Habra and runs through Whittier, Pico Rivera, Montebello, and into East LA.  The part with all the stories is only a mile or so out front of Bob's Big Boy Hamburgers.

and every "scene" had his part on the strip?   For example the lorider scene was located in east-LA, or was everything packed on this mile?

[danny gabbard]

Your right the lowrider type guys hung down on the LA side It was all ways fun to go down there, Got some dirty looks. It was alot of fun on the la habra side. People were bumper to bumper ,sometimes just idleing along at a snails pace, If you were into cars, there was always something bitchen hanging out,  I would hang out at any random left hand turn lane in the center of the street and weight for traffic to stop, Then talk to any girls that might stop. I was 18-19 years old and lived every friday and saturday night at whitter.First time I saw the DKK guys they were hanging out there. Even met my Xwife there.

[low oval]

in the early 70's you could cruise and turn off the blvd. anywhere.  In the mid 70's they put up barracades along the blvd. which meant you had to stay on the blvd. for app. 2 miles, from Colima to Painter.  On weekday summer nights kids would cruise from Strub ave to Gunn which was about a mile.  I used to hang out either at stafford studios (photography) accross from Bob's Big Boy, or with some buddies at the winchelles donut shop closer to painter. 
In 79 I went up to Van Nuys Blvd, but thought Whittier was just as good, and Sunset and Hollywood was a joke, except for the freaks walking the sidewalks.

[johnl]

in the early 70's you could cruise and turn off the blvd. anywhere.  In the mid 70's they put up barracades along the blvd. which meant you had to stay on the blvd. for app. 2 miles, from Colima to Painter.  On weekday summer nights kids would cruise from Strub ave to Gunn which was about a mile.  I used to hang out either at stafford studios (photography) accross from Bob's Big Boy, or with some buddies at the winchelles donut shop closer to painter. 
In 79 I went up to Van Nuys Blvd, but thought Whittier was just as good, and Sunset and Hollywood was a joke, except for the freaks walking the sidewalks.

See, you guys should have been around in the '60's when there really were no rules.  Cars would line up for a block just to get into Bob's.  There was a rent-a-cop there trying to control it and I'm sure he was related to Barney Fife    Once in and parked you could pretty much sit there all night just nursing a coke and watch the cars and babes roll through.   Remember the trays on your door?  Well more than once did I see the car hop dump them on their customer.  Sometimes I wonder if it was done on purpose 

Never did Van Nuys and I honestly don't know why.  Hollywood and Sunset were good and not freak shows  in those days.

[deano]

Here is an actual menu from the Bob's Big Boy on Whittier Blvd, taken back in 1967! Check out those prices.... Enjoy. I'm getting hungry just looking at it. By the way, my wife and I ate at a new Bob's Big Boy just last week. Still good.

[johnl]

Your right the lowrider type guys hung down on the LA side It was all ways fun to go down there, Got some dirty looks. It was alot of fun on the la habra side. People were bumper to bumper ,sometimes just idleing along at a snails pace, If you were into cars, there was always something bitchen hanging out,  I would hang out at any random left hand turn lane in the center of the street and weight for traffic to stop, Then talk to any girls that might stop. I was 18-19 years old and lived every friday and saturday night at whitter.First time I saw the DKK guys they were hanging out there. Even met my Xwife there.

Harvey's Broiler on Firestone Blvd. in Downey was the place to see the LOWRIDERS.  There was a lot of money in the Downey area and the local kids got their parents to buy expensive American cars and then they did all of the suspension work and had Watson's or Juniors apply wild paint jobs.  The guys would have huge Pomps and the gals had their hair all ratted up.

There were (4) rows in Harveys.  You wanted to be parked in the second or fourth as the traffic coming through was in front of you.  We use to take the hot Chevy's, Fords and Mopars through all jacked up and making lots of HP noise.  The locals hated us and I guess we had no use for them.  They almost never came into our areas.

One weekend I always remember is my Best Man John Burk had a '62 SS Impala which was one of 40 built with an aluminum front end and a factory hood scoop.  This of course was a 409 with 409HP.  John and I traded cars for the weekend and he was driving the '63 with the Judson Supercharge.  Anyway, going home from Harveys I crossed Imperial on Firestone, shifted from 1st to 2nd, let out the clutch and blew the positraction.  I did nothing to provec it, but I'm sure all of those preivious burn outs that the owner and I had done finally caught up to us or in this case ME. 

i paid to have the car fixed and it cost me about $170 back then.  Looking back the $$ was cheap for the experience. 

[johnl]

Here is an actual menu from the Bob's Big Boy on Whittier Blvd, taken back in 1967! Check out those prices.... Enjoy. I getting hungry just looking at it.

Oh God, I can hear my HEART POUNDING    We use to have eating contest for quantity and speed.  I actually at (7) Big Boy Burgers in (5) yes, that is (5) minutes.  I think I'm still beltching 

Don't anyone ask for me to do it again, P L E A S E ....................................

[Rennsurfer]

Van Nuys didn't do anything for me, and Hollywood or Sunset were even less. It was all about Whittier Blvd. or Bellflower Blvd. Afterwards, the races in west Long Beach (Suzanna Rd. or Santa Fe Ave.) or the one where more Cal Look VWs showed up; behind the old Nabisco factory (Beach Blvd. and Artesia, I think). So many great memories from those days and nights.

John, good to see other people made eating mass quantities of food into a sport/competition. Good on ya! When I first got into D.K.K. I was able to stuff one cheeseburger from McDonald's or Jack In The Box in one bite. Won a few bets from those, too. HAHA!! That, and seeing how many we could all eat before stepping outside to hang out to watch the girls and cars go by.

So... when did Whittier Blvd. cruising start? How far back does anyone know about this? I've never bothered to ask. My friends' parents that grew up around here tell me that they used to cruise from Long Beach (down by the coast) up towards Downey to a carhop place (Johnny's Charbroiler, I think). There were a few places called Hoagie's or Hoadie's that they'd cruise to/from and connect 'em all on a single drive. My friend's Mom used to cruise her '40s lowrider in the late '50s all around Long Beach and she told me the routes that they'd take. Too bad that we can't revive that, again. Probably throw us in jail, these days.

[low oval]

Here is an actual menu from the Bob's Big Boy on Whittier Blvd, taken back in 1967! Check out those prices.... Enjoy. I getting hungry just looking at it.

man does that bring back memories, me and my buddies would walk there and have lunch on the weekends.  Looks like I got everything I wanted for about $1.40
sad day when they tore that place down.
Mark, reminds me that we would also go in get a drink and a receipt, that way no loitering.  also had to make sure you had some change in your pockets otherwise it was vagrancy.
but those laws only applied to you out of towners, hehehe.

[Rennsurfer]

also had to make sure you had some change in your pockets otherwise it was vagrancy.
but those laws only applied to you out of towners, hehehe.

Whoa! Never knew about that going on in Whittier. That's kinda funny.

[johnl]

Van Nuys didn't do anything for me, and Hollywood or Sunset were even less. It was all about Whittier Blvd. or Bellflower Blvd. Afterwards, the races in west Long Beach (Suzanna Rd. or Santa Fe Ave.) or the one where more Cal Look VWs showed up; behind the old Nabisco factory (Beach Blvd. and Artesia, I think). So many great memories from those days and nights.

John, good to see other people made eating mass quantities of food into a sport/competition. Good on ya! When I first got into D.K.K. I was able to stuff one cheeseburger from McDonald's or Jack In The Box in one bite. Won a few bets from those, too. HAHA!! That, and seeing how many we could all eat before stepping outside to hang out to watch the girls and cars go by.

So... when did Whittier Blvd. cruising start? How far back does anyone know about this? I've never bothered to ask. My friends' parents that grew up around here tell me that they used to cruise from Long Beach (down by the coast) up towards Downey to a carhop place (Johnny's Charbroiler, I think). There were a few places called Hoagie's or Hoadie's that they'd cruise to/from and connect 'em all on a single drive. My friend's Mom used to cruise her '40s lowrider in the late '50s all around Long Beach and she told me the routes that they'd take. Too bad that we can't revive that, again. Probably throw us in jail, these days.

Lets EAT !!!!   

My guess is the Whittier Blvd / Bob's Big Boy thing started in the mid to late 50's.  You mention "Johnny's Charbroiler", well that was Harvey's before it became Johnnys.  Some of you may remember a few years back the city was trying to save the building as a historical landmark.  On a Sunday some crew came in and tore the sign down without a permit.  It turned into a big ugly affair.

I was eating at Bob's in Pasadena in 1949 when I was 2.  My grandparents lived in Pasadena then and my parents brought me out for a vacation.  Here is a site on Bob Wain, the man who created it:  http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6858311 and here is some history on the chainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob's_Big_Boy.

Frenchy, years ago we had friends who lived in Phoenix.  When ever there we always ate at the Bob's at the Christown Mall.  In fact the day I got my driver's license, April 10, 1963 my Dad and I drove to Phoenix to pick up my Mom who was flying in from Florida.  I drove the entire trip and had the time of my life. That night I was cruzin' Central and ate at the Bob's on Central.  Life was goooooooooood !!!

I also remember Hoady's(sp).  There was one in Lakewood on Candlewood I think.  My parents like to go to the Lakewood Center and I'd always ask if we could eat at Hoady's.  The had really good fries. 

[deano]

Lookin' at those menu prices reminded me that during that time, I was making maybe $1.75-2 per hour. So while paying $1.05 for a Bob's Combo Deluxe is cheap, it still took 1/2 hour of work to pay for it. Today, if you make $16-20 per hour, you still have to work 1/2 hour to pay for it today ($6.95+ tax).

[johnl]

All of this talk about food reminds me of the Big Carls on Harbor Blvd. in Anaheim. Besides being a drive in there was a full st down resturaunt in front.  One night each week they offered fried chicken (all you could eat) for a set price. 

I vividly remember DKP going there as a group and having eating contest.  Don Crane would have grease running down his arms and all over his face.  He was about ready to hurl, but managed to say "This is great, this is really geat".  I think Billy Aroyo who was probably the smallest guy in the club at more than any of us.

The kitchen couldn't keep he food coming fast enough and family's that were also there sat and watched in disbelief or horror.  I never figured out which statement would be more accurate.

Today there is a Carls there, but it is a walk in and no one speaks English!!!  >:(CKE (Carl Karcher Enterprises) headquarters is behind this building.

[johnl]

Lookin' at those menu prices reminded me that during that time, I was making maybe $1.75-2 per hour. So while paying $1.05 for a Bob's Combo Deluxe is cheap, it still took 1/2 hour of work to pay for it. Today, if you make $16-20 per hour, you still have to work 1/2 hour to pay for it today ($6.95+ tax).

There prices have gone up and the portions have become smaller.  Ocassionally Christie and I will go to the location in Burbank.  We smile while eating and remember the old days. 

[johnl]

Here are a couple of links on Harvey's / Johnies Broiler in Downey you might find interesting:
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Johnie's_Broiler

http://www.blastersnewsletter.com/Articles/johnnies.htm

[jhicken]

There prices have gone up and the portions have become smaller. 

Actually I think the portions are still the same, just some of us have gotten bigger! 

-jeffrey

[johnl]

I don't mean to drag this on, but I also just found this.  http://www.topix.com/forum/city/downey-ca/TEN8GEFQVKFQPMIA3

For us local guys and gals this would be great if someone can pull it off.

[Georg/DFL]

Ok, we have lots of storys from Whittier Blvd., Mark already asked when it all started. But what was the reason for "closing" Whittier Blvd.? Or do people still cruise Whittier Blvd.?

[johnl]

There prices have gone up and the portions have become smaller. 

Actually I think the portions are still the same, just some of us have gotten bigger! 

-jeffrey

No doubt I've gained weight and inches, but most places I eat I'm full when pushing away from the table, but Bob's leaves me still wanting another burger.  Maybe it is just me and Bob's burgers?