"Los Angeles is surrounded by valleys, but there's only one Valley..."
Hush Money, by Peter Israel
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 has made its home in rural Nothern California, a very different world from the San Fernando Valley. Although this place is home now, I do enjoy the occasional trip down Memory Lane to the life we lived in Northridge, and once in a while, even a trip to the Valley in person. Thank you for a wonderful glimpse of that other world. Hidden creeks, pepper trees, the GM plant where my dad worked, the Northridge train station and the underpass that replaced it, the Christmas reindeer, and so much more came back as I read the book. Congratualtions on a job well done.
In the Gone But Not Forgotten category, I think there's an error about Northridge Elementary School. Are you sure that the school operated until 1964? My family moved to Northridge in 1958, and it seems to me that the school was already closed and boarded up at that time. I remember the school sitting vacant for a number of years until it was torn down for the shopping center and bank. I attended the nearby Prairie Street School beginning in the fall of 1958, and it seems to me that Prairie was a replacement for Northridge Elementary.
Now you could almost put Prairie St. School in the Gone But Not Forgotten category, since it too is closed, and has been an overflow parking lot for CSUN for many years.
Sincerely,
Jan (Clark) Cook
Thank you, Jan. That's very nice to hear. On Northridge School, I think it operated in some capacity for awhile after Prairie--and my school, Parthenia Street--opened (I think both in 1958.) I'll go back to my research notes and see if I can pin down the source of the 1964 date. I do know that I attended summer playground programs there into the 60s.
On Porter Ranch horse statues:
Sincerely,
Werner K. Freund
I vote for Tampa and Devonshire. I don't recall anything at Reseda and Devonshire, which also was well outside the original Porter Ranch development. But maybe someone will know more definitively.
On Sandstone Peak:
I hiked up to Calabasas Peak from Red Rock Canyon today, and was impressed again with the view. I hadn't been up there in many years. However, I remembered while I was hiking that your book claimed that the peak was the highest point in the Santa Monicas. Of course, at 2163 feet it's not even close, with Sandstone Peak, at 3111 feet, rising almost half again as high. I pointed this out to you shortly after the book was published, but the errata never appeared on the website. I respectfully call this to your attention again.
Coby King
Coby, thanks for the reminder. The name of the 3111-foot peak was incorrect in the 2001 edition, but the mistake was fixed in the 2003 edition.
On the 1957 plane crash:
I was very interested to see your snippet on the Pacoima plane crash. I was a witness to that crash, having been at recess and on the playground at Victory Blvd. School in North Hollywood. Later that day, some of my classmates and I were interviewed by local stations regarding what we saw. It is still vivid in my memory. I remember seeing the jet veer-off to the side after the collision, and seeing a parachute from that jet. Do you know what happened to the pilot of the jet, and was there just one person in that jet? I also remember seeing the DC-7 breaking-up as it fell to earth, parts of the plane simply disintergrating in mid-air. We were near enough to here the sounds coming from the crash and its aftermath and its crash.
Can you tell me from where you got your information, including the pilot’s last words?
Best regards,
Spencer Leyton
Victory Boulevard School, Class of 1960
Most of my information, including Archie Twitchell's final words over the radio, came from news reports published in 1957. The only survivor in either plane was the radar operator in the F-89 jet; the pilot of the jet died. It was the larger DC-7 that landed on the boys P.E. field at Pacoima Junior High, killing three boys. Although Ritchie Valens was not at school that day, a friend of the singer perished and he was haunted by the fear of planes the rest of his life. The Pacoima crash is depicted in La Bamba, the film bipoic about Valens. He died in a plane crash two years later along with Buddy Holly and J.P. Richardson, the tragedy remembered in rock lore as "the day the music died."
On Earl Clark:
Yvonne
If any info comes in I'll post it here or forward to Yvonne's email address.
On a Roscoe Boulevard bakery:
Solly
Oh yes, I still have strong olfactory memories of the bakery at Roscoe and Woodley Avenue (southwest corner). I too think it was Sunshine, but since I haven't confirmed that I have not posted anything here on the site. This is for sure: the aroma of baking cookies wafting out of the open windows along Roscoe smelled a lot better than the school bus parking yard that now occupies the corner.
On the Amestoy family:
Sincerely,
Carol Paras
The Amestoys were the last owners to raise sheep on the historic Rancho Encino. They sold most of their land for subdivision into the community of Encino shortly after the Valley began to be annexed into Los Angeles in 1913. The Amestoys also were major landholders on the other side of the hill in Los Angeles and were prominent in the French and Basque communities.
On Sputnik:
Regards,
Marc Strassman
Great catch, Marc. Thanks. The date is correct in the book, and now it's fixed here too.
On a Ventura Blvd. restaurant:
Fran Kent in North Hollywood
I hope someone will know.
On Reseda Point:
Nelson Bonilla
Only a guess, but that might be what people call the top of Reseda Boulevard where it almost meets Mulholland Drive, a few miles south of Ventura Boulevard. There's a small park and access for walkers and bikes to the stretch of Mulholland that is still unpaved like the original 1920s scenic highway. If you find it, let us know.
[A later email correspondent wrote that Reseda Point is at the other end, in the foothills of the Santa susana Mountains.]
On the Hot Dog Show:
Does anyone remember all the 'dogs' they served? The Mutt, The Beagle, The Hound, The Dauchsund, the Husky, and The Boston Bull.
Howard Lewis
Los Angeles
Thanks, Howard. If anyone has any info on the phantom Tail o' the Pup, let us know. Cathy (below) remembers it, and I think I do. But it should not be confused with The Hot Dog Show, a landmark for kids from Sherman Oaks.
On Woodland Hills history
I'm trying to research the history of specific areas in Woodland Hills. Where is a good place to get information on when certain areas were built up, who owned property in the early days, and who notable architects or builders were. Do you have any suggestions or contact info that might be helpful?
Thanks so much,
Jason Manzatt
Jason, Chapter 5 of America's Suburb tells the story of Victor Girard Kleinberger. In 1923 he began to develop the community of Girard, which lay south and east of today's intersection of Topanga and Ventura. The homes he built—and trees he planted on what was otherwise a nearly shadeless grassland—established what was to become Woodland Hills. You might enjoy this picture of old Girard in the Photo Gallery. There's more in the book on the growth of Woodland Hills, but you might also want to find Richard K. Cacioppo's book, The History of Woodland Hills and Girard. The branch library in Wodland Hills has some historic materials as well. Good luck.
On Fulton memories:
Cary Adams,
North Hollywood
Thanks for reminding us of the rural Valley that existed not so long ago.
