Clifton’s was a mini chain of cafeterias that opened in Los Angeles in 1931 at the depth of the Depression. At first glance it might seem that opening a restaurant at a time when people could barely afford to feed themselves might sound crazy, but Clifford Clinton opened the first of his cafeterias shown here at 618 S. Olive Street (this one was called “Pacific Seas” and had a wild façade) with a “pay what you wish” policy, including eating for free if you had no money. Clinton realized that people may not have much, but they still had their dignity and wanted to pay their way if they could, even if it meant handing over one single penny. Many Angelenos may have starved had it not been for this generous man. This photo is dated 1960.
Color postcard showing the exterior of Clifton’s Pacific Sea’s Cafeteria:
It really must have been a sight to see in person!
Electric palm tree inside Clifton’s Pacific Sea’s Cafeteria:
Postcard of Clifton’s Pacific Seas Cafeteria,
When I was a child and lived downtown, we often went to each of the several Clifton’s locations, but the Pacific Seas was my favorite. It broke my heart when they tore it down.
Yours would have been the only broken heart that day, Gordon.
*Wouldn’t have been?
Do you know when it was torn down? I just found a booklet from some old papers that belonged to my grandmother. It’s called “Beautiful Words of Life” and talks about “The Garden” at Clifton’s. Apparently is was a replica of the Garden of Gethsemane somewhere inside the restaurant?
The Wikipedia page for it says: “In 1960, although the three-story structure with its cascading waterfall facade had become a landmark over the preceding 29 years, the original Clifton’s Pacific Seas was closed, the building was razed, and the location turned into a parking lot.”
Clifford Clinton was a great man. Shame more people don’t know his story.
https://web.archive.org/web/20161030000719/http://www.thenativeangeleno.com/2012/09/28/clifford-clinton-the-cafeteria-kid-who-toppled-city-hall
Thanks for that link, Matt. It didn’t come up with I was doing my research.
Still remember when our choirs from Le Conte Junior High in Hollywood sang there at Clifton’s on Olive in the early 1950s–under the direction of the aptly named Mae Nightingale.
Whoa! Talk about the perfect name for a music teacher!
My mom went to Le Conte in the ’50s and always talked about how she loved being in Madrigals. She adored Mae Nightingale!
Does anyone know a person named Ralph Lynch who possibly worked at Cliftons cafe in 1953? I found a postcard in an old book from 1953 addressed to Ralph at cliftons cafeteria in Olive St!