We've had a spate of posts here lately that feature observations of San Fernando Valley boyhoods. Now Jerry England, founder of the Chatsworth Equine Cultural Heritage Organization (ECHO) , has put together a great web page about growing up with horses and horse people in the Valley of the 1940s and 1950s. That's Jerry (I think) in the picture on...

Some memories and some questions: ♦ "Just an update !! Kiddieland was located on Van Nuys Blvd. between The Moongate Chinese restaurant and the Panorama Bowling Alley." — Thanks, Doug Stephenson ♦ "I am trying to find some old photos of a place that was located in Sun Valley. The name of the place was "CRAZY BURGERS" or just "CRAZYS."...

Sure it was a long time ago, but I have to believe someone will remember Laurie, "Les Femme Fatales" in their red jackets and a hot pink 1957 Chevy with red interior cruising Van Nuys Boulevard. My girlfriends and I use to "hang out" at the "Teen Center" in (1967) which was on Victory Boulevard. I think it was in-between...

Reader Harold C. "Hap" Rogers writes in reply to a query about Dick Dale's. In answer to the question by Steve Clow about the bar & restaurant of Dick Dale's on Ventura Blvd in Woodland Hills. I remember it well. When I first remember it back in the '40's it was owned by the Costa family, as I recall. The...

Marci Vogel got a lot out of her first job at Dutton's Books in North Hollywood. She writes of it on the Los Angeles Times op-ed page: In those days, I lived east, way east, over by Roscoe Boulevard and the In-N-Out Burger. I was beyond the pale, outside the district, going to a good public school under cover of...

Reader Carole sent along some family photos of the annual Northridge Stampede parade along Reseda Boulevard and her father's plumbing shop, John A. Sall and Sons. The shop was on the east side of Reseda Blvd. at Eddy until an underpass separating the boulevard and Parthenia Street from the train tracks was built in the late 1960s. Click on the...

Mike writes: Kevin, I just wanted to say thanks for providing me the opportunity to relive some of my younger days and cherished times of my life. I was born and raised in Southern California in the San Fernando Valley. In grade school I attended Chase Street Elementary school while living in Panorama city. I then went to Junior High...

The blog Here in Van Nuys has corresponded with Hap Rogers, a 79-year-old former Valley resident, about his memories of the West Valley in the 1930s and 1940s. Fun to hear him tie things together....

Ben L. Kaufman writes about the improbable show that many Valley kids remember from the football field at Birmingham High School on May 20, 1967: For a $3 ticket (which I still have) there was a concert featuring Jefferson Airplane, the Doors, Merry-Go-Round, Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Sunshine Co, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. My understanding at the time was...

Star McCain found the website on Google—while looking for an ice-skating rink—and sends along an amusing story. A dear friend of mine was Mike Zele, who died a few years ago at age 107. He immigrated to the US from Romania around 1907, and after being turned down by the military when he tried to enlist at the beginning of...

People hold on to fond memories of things in their old neighborhood, even markets. Remember Super Fair on the corner of Victory across from the famous Leon's steak house, which is no longer there, in North Hollywood. There would be carnivals every year on the parking lot of Super Fair until the land started sinking. It was supposedly built on...

John Trask says the eucalyptus trees that still stand east of the Fashion Square parking structure in Sherman Oaks are all that remains of his elementary school. I attended Woodman Avenue elementary school in Sherman Oaks. It was located on the southwest corner of the intersections of Woodman Ave and Riverside Dr. It was a two story un-reinforced brick building...

I remember "Radio Plane" where my husband worked from 1957-61. It was in Van Nuys (or Northridge) somewhere around Woodley and Roscoe. They made drones to send into dangerous areas of battle. In 1951 we bought a new development house on White Oak, across from the Runnymede chicken farms. At they had the lights on in the coops and...

Sue Jarrett Prout of Van Nuys sends along this link to a detailed history page on the CBS Studio Center and its past as the Mack Sennett studios and the home of Republic Pictures. Her dad worked there. Thanks Sue. She also appends her own recollections of some unofficial Valley landmarks: I'm no historian but here are some of the...

Another reader agrees that the old, since-razed Northridge Elementary School at Reseda Boulevard and Nordhoff Street remained open at least until 1959. Hi Kevin,  I love the site and the book too, and I'm glad to see both are back. I saw the post about Northridge Elementary. I went there when my family moved to Northridge in '57, and continued...

Another mystery solved. Reader Daniel Saint James remembers some details about the bakery at Woodley and Roscoe that tantalized passing noses for so many decades. I remember it, and the aroma, as a child and I recall that it was the Safeway Bakery. That of Safeway Grocery Stores. Then it was later the Keebler Cookie Bakery. Hope that helps. As...

I grew up in Chatsworth when my parents moved into the brand new Alden tract on Mason Avenue right between Lassen St and Devonshire Blvd in 1957. I later remember the horse statues at the opening at the Porter Ranch site. Those horses were supposedly stolen and ended up in in Quartz Hills at the entrance to a ranch...

Growing up in the Valley (in Granada Hills to be exact) in the '60s, Mom used to send my younger brother and I to a summer camp called Camp Fun Time. Its exact location is a bit hazy in my mind but I believe it may have been off of Nordhoff Blvd. in Northridge somewhere near where the Northridge...

Hi! I lived in the valley from my birth in 1959 until the mid-1990s. I now live in Newbury Park. However, much of my life still revolves around the valley. I have a TON of memories about a TON of places. However, one place I've been desperate to find pictures of or anything about was a restaurant called Sargents...

Someone noted the birthday destination with the burgers served on trains. It was the Van Nuys Choo Choo. I had my 8th birthday there in 1957. It was on Van Nuys Blvd, somewhere south of Roscoe, I think. (Heck, I was only 8!)  Regards,   Jeffry A. Schneider   President, CEO   Accumulators, Inc. Thanks. So many people have...

Chuck Maiden grew up on Lorne Street in Canoga Park (1954-72) and writes: I remember a chicken farm on Oso Ave. at the end of our street (I assume this was one of Charles Weeks' original lots). Several nearby streets were still dirt. Our neighborhood was built on what once was a walnut orchard. Several still stood for years until...

Harold Breyde writes: I enjoyed your site! My sister and I grew up in the Valley of old from the 50's to the 70's. I see no mention of the huge landmark Builder's Emporium Store that thrived on the corner of Oxnard and Sepulveda. It was definitely a "hardware superstore" long before the term was recently coined. We lived close...

A reader emails: On the corner of san Fernando Road and Van Nuys Blvd. , my Great Grandfather Alexander Romero, my Grandmother, Belle Martinez and my Aunt, work for Mr. Chess at his Packing House packing oranges. Mr. Chess lived in Beverly Hills and had a chauffeur drive him to work. I remember as a child, passing it to visit...

Lisa Ferguson writes: Hello. I read the e-mail sent by Chuck Maiden that's posted on your site. I couldn't help but wonder whether the "chicken farm on Oso Ave." in Canoga Park that he recalls was actually the one owned by my late grandfather, Cosmo Reo. If that's the case, the farm (and the family home) was not on Oso,...

This woman grew up in Sun Valley when it was still known as Roscoe, during the World War II era: Hi Kevin, as a person who grew up in the sfvalley in the 1930's thru 1950's, I've seen many changes. My dad worked for Lockheed in Burbank making 20-30 cents an hour. We lived in Roscoe off of Lankershim Blvd....

Sharp-eyed reader Steve Beasley caught an unfortunate omission in the recent entry on Grace Hayes Lodge in Gone But Not Forgotten. The lodge (really a restaurant) was a celebrity hangout in the 1940s at 11345 Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. The entry noted this and also mentioned that the site was later the Magic Mushroom club and is now Platinum...

"Isn't it sad that all we have is a web site to see our childhoods. The San Fernando Valley isn't anymore."  —Peggy Shannon Stanley "Kevin: Got a question for you: Do you know where I could get information and/or pictures of the Holloway Building in Van Nuys (located on Sylvan Street), where the first municipal court in the Valley was...

A reader asks: "Hello Kevin. Years ago my Mom ate at a restaurant called the 'Iron Horse.' She said it was in the San Fernando Valley, but I cannot find any information about it. Do you remember this particular restaurant? Thank you."  —Patty Krise And a reader answers. Steve Shaw emails that it was at 11915 Ventura Boulevard (which for...

Readers share their memories and pose questions: "Dear Kevin,  "Here are a few more (hazy) memories for "Gone But Not Forgotten":  "Don Drysdale opened a bar in the early sixties, called Don Drysdale's Dugout. It was on Oxnard, just east of Hazeltine. He lived nearby (I believe around Califa and Ranchito.) The structure is still there and I believe it's...

I saw your mention of the Crystal Plunge. Did you know it was built by Andy Devine? It was said that he found out the Van Nuys High School (two blocks away) swim team had no place to practice, so he built the plunge. BTW, Andy also personally answered the door to his house (directly across the street from...

Hi,  I enjoyed the little clip about John Eimen (former child star) who went to Valley Jr. College when Michael Richards and Ed Begley Jr. were there. I was there too and John and I became great friends. I was originally from Toronto (Ontario, in Canada) and returned in 1970. John found me on “Classmates” a few years ago and...

On Northridge Elementary School: Hi Kevin-  I recently discovered your book and website, both of which bring back many memories of growing up in the Northridge in the '60s. You have captured on paper much of what I remember of those days, and provided context and background that I may not have known about. Since the early 70s, my family...

Thanks for great reminders of my childhood! I was wondering if you have any info on how to get recipes from Otto's Pink Pig restaurant and also the Smoke House in Burbank? i would really appreciate any help in matter.  Paula Smith  Brookings, OR I hope someone will write in about the late lamented Otto's. The Smoke House is...

VSPACE=4 BORDER=1 width=213 height=163 align=left>Many visitors to America's Suburb.com ask about actor Jimmy Cagney's ranch in the foothills of Granada Hills. It was a landmark north of Rinaldi Street, between Shoshone Avenue and Balboa Boulevard, until being razed for suburban homes. Reader Richard Miseroy grew up in the area and shares some photographic memories....