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.