Update on Senior Living Center

Almost five years ago, in one of my very early posts, I shared some concerns about a stalled construction project that had become an eyesore. Well, I can report now that this project has been resurrected and there is going to be something there after all.

This is the site of a future senior assisted living home at the intersection of Rolling Hills Road and Hawthorne Blvd. It still states the name will be Sunrise, but I'm not sure if this is being finished by the same group of people. But, it should be open in less than a year. I will report back then.

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Skate Park and Beach Boys

My son wanted to go to a skate park in Gardena called Rowley Skate Park. What helps me remember this name is that it is the name of Greg's best friend in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. As we drove there we passed El Camino College and he told me there was another skate park near there, but the skaters who frequented it were very good, out of his league, apparently.

Anyway, we arrived soon after passing El Camino College. Rowley Park Skatepark (actual name) is easy to find as it as on the southeast corner of Van Ness and 132nd St.

I had my iPhone with me, so decided to take a couple of pano shots. This one is from the south end looking towards 132nd St.

This is from the north end.

The design is quite simple and impressive in that it takes up so little space, yet, there is a lot to do there, from the circle ramps to the steps. There are guard rails that a couple of the more experienced skaters tried, as well.

My son and his friends jumped right in.

After watching them for a while, I grew a little bored, and having brought nothing to read except my phone, I thought I'd take off and see the Beach Boys Monument on 119th Street in Hawthorne. I hadn't been there in a few years, so hoped I wouldn't be disappointed by seeing it marred in any way. Thankfully, it was not. It was perfect.

As you can see below, this is an official California historic landmark.

Closeup of the image:

Pano shot of the street:

The monument was dedicated in May of 2005, so it's been there close to 10 years. There were no other visitors the day I was there. One resident said hello to me and that was my only interaction that afternoon. I was right to be worried about possible graffiti because I read that it had been targeted by graffiti vandals shortly after dedication. I'm not sure what efforts are in place to prevent it, but as I said, it looked pretty good to me that day. A little worn, but otherwise fine.

The site is the former home of the Wilson family. It, as well as other homes on this side of the street, was demolished to build the 105 freeway. I'm thinking those on the other side of the street were probably razed, as well, because what's there now are some modern apartments and condos. I tried searching for a photo of the home, but couldn't find anything definitive. This was close. If they were in their driveway, then the house across the street was their neighbor's. Their home was likely similar in style.

Personally, I was never a Beach Boys fan, although I did like some of their songs. I have a 45 of Good Vibrations, but no LP's. But, this is important to me because it's local history and there is a certain pride that a band of such renown came from our community.

After my picture taking, I returned to Rowley Park to pick up the boys. They'd had their fill of skateboarding and were ready to go home.

Peninsula Center Then and Now, part 2

I went to the other side of the shopping center to take a Now picture to compare it to the Then picture that I also got from Facebook. Here is the Then picture:

I used the barber shop as my focal point to figure out where to stand and take the new picture because everything else has changed. Where Baskin-Robbins once stood is the expanded section of Mayer's Bakery. Just to the right of that (unseen) is Pavilions which was Safeway in the old days. When Safeway was remodeled it expanded to the left, so it now abuts Mayer's. The site of Newberry's is now a TJ Maxx, and an empty storefront which once housed a clothing store.

There is still a Baskin-Robbins at the shopping center. They relocated to where Rea's Hardware once was.

So, here is the Now picture. I thought about cropping it to give it the dimensions of the Then, but decided to leave it as it was.

Peninsula Center, Then and Now

Peninsula Center, Rolling Hills Estates, California

Credit Carol Damon Dearborn who posted this on Facebook over three years ago. I believe this picture was taken in the late 60s/early 70s.

I used to shop at those very stores, but not often because in our large family the clothing budget was tight, plus my mother was a good seamstress and I was very happy with the outfits she made me. But, still this made me nostalgic for times past and those days when I would wander through the shopping center, looking at the windows and buying a little something at J.J. Newberry which was just beyond Rix Rack and Miss Lori, towards the parking lot that abutted Hawthorne Blvd.

At the right is the Finley's jewelry store where my sisters got their ears pierced when they turned 12. I took my own daughter there in 1987, when she turned 10, for the same reason. Near Finley's was Don's Toys, another one of my favorite stores. They also sold 45's and I remember buying a Four Seasons record there. My usual music store was Mr. B's which was reached by making a right turn at this very spot. I still have most of those records as well as the free top 30 listings published by KHJ radio every week. Yes, it was the top 30 on KHJ, not top 40. Not sure when Casey Kasem started his American Top 40, but he was on a different station anyway, KFWB, I think.

What struck me most about this picture was the tree in the middle that starts with two trunks closely aligned then split and going in different directions. The tree is still there. I took this picture yesterday:

The look has changed, but the tree remains! The one to the left, also.

Here is another look at the trees:

Carol Damon Dearborn shared another picture which I'll post here sometime in the near future, along with a photo of what that part of the shopping center looks like today.

Update to the Book Frog post

I did indeed visit The Book Frog on their opening day, Friday, December 12. It was late evening and there were a couple of other customers. I took no pictures, but did snag this one off their Facebook page:

Inside the new store

The new sign that I was hoping to see isn't installed yet, but they do have a temporary banner so shoppers should be able to find them.

In my previous post, I said many of my blogs had been about bookstores. There's one entry that isn't on this particular blog and that's because I posted it to Palos Verdes Patch instead. It was about Williams Bookstore in San Pedro, sadly gone now. Palos Verdes Patch itself is practically non-existent, but I was able to find my post from three years ago. Here is a link so can read it yourself: http://patch.com/california/palosverdes/bp--support-your-local-book-store. If this doesn't work, please copy and paste.

I just now reread that post and found a typo. For shame. I typed "frequenting" when I meant "frequently." Hope no one caught it. Just telling you this now in case you notice it.

Till then, keep reading, keep buying books from your local booksellers. Make it The Book Frog if you are in the South Bay.

Goodbye, Book Frog (but see you very soon!)

Our favorite book store, The Book Frog, was forced out of our local mall due to greedy business owners. It had become our favorite stop since its opening three years ago. I also tried to make all of our book purchases through The Book Frog, including special orders. Where will I go when we go the movie theatre and have some time to kill before or after? Answer is nowhere, but at least I can visit The Book Frog again because they will reopen at their new location in Torrance tomorrow! Hooray!

Here is one more picture. This one made me sad.

In closing, I haven't been active on this blog for a long time. In my revisit here, I read through my previous postings and noted that many of my entries have been about book stores. Interesting! 

Anyway, tomorrow I think I will visit The Book Frog and see their new location. There was some kind of problem with their sign so I'm interested in seeing what the new sign is going to look like. More to come. As Rachel Maddow says, watch this space.

Visit Mysterious Galaxy

I posted a blog to Palos Verdes Patch about Williams Book Store in San Pedro and mentioned that there would be a new independent bookstore opening soon in Redondo Beach.  I had read about it in the Daily Breeze.  I finally paid them a visit. 

It's called Mysterious Galaxy and is located on Artesia Blvd, just west of Hawthorne, not too far from the Galleria.  Their specialties are mysteries and science fiction, but there were other genres, as well.   There were several interesting titles, many of which I had never heard.  I did see some well known authors on display, though, in the non mystery/science fiction sections.  There were some shelves devoted to the craft of writing, and it was there that I picked up a book for my daughter.  It was a journal for left handed writers.  The pages go backwards. 

There wasn't much for children.  They had a section for young adults, the name of which I cannot recall now.  It was something like y-zone.  Anyway, I did find a cute book of limericks that I purchased for my son.  The running theme was monsters and ghouls. 

At the checkout stand, I found a humorous take on Pat the Bunny.   In this version, the bunny is cut up and bloody, as are the rest of the family.  Not sure who I would buy that for, though.

The store itself is very shiny and new.  They were setting up for a meet and greet later that evening, so some of the staff were arranging chairs and what not.  A couple of them offered to assist me, but I wanted to just browse the store.  Not being a big mystery or science fiction reader, I was more interested in the other titles, but looked at everything anyway.  I did hear someone walk in and ask if they had dictionaries.  The answer was no, so that potential customer left.  I also noticed that there were no magazines. 

Overall, I liked the store's environment.  The staff all seemed very friendly and thanked me for shopping.  One noticed I was looking at the writer's references, so invited me to come to their writer's workshop.  I would suggest that they carry some magazines, though.  That might get them more foot traffic.  Parking was great, by the way, but the store is not part of a mall, so people really have to seek them out, as I did.  I don't frequent the area, so I'm not sure how many shoppers walk along there. 

I will return, though, perhaps bring someone with me next time.  As I mentioned in the Williams blog, I like to see these kind of businesses succeed, so I will do my part to see that that happens.