Nighttime shot of Alpha Beta supermarket, 315 N. Harbor Blvd, Fullerton, California, early 1940s

Nighttime shot of Alpha Beta supermarket, 315 N. Harbor Blvd, Fullerton, California, early 1940sThere’s a lot to be said for a well-designed, back-lit sign that helps to make a store’s signage really stand out at night. Well, that and the tubular neon lighting. This is an Alpha Beta supermarket at 315 N. Harbor Blvd, Fullerton, sometime in the 1940s. According to Wikipedia, the novelty of this chain of stores was that its groceries were organized alphabetically. Does anyone remember that? It sure would make it easier to find the apricots, the ketchup, the pineapple juice, and the zucchini.

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11 responses to “Nighttime shot of Alpha Beta supermarket, 315 N. Harbor Blvd, Fullerton, California, early 1940s”

  1. Bernard Lee says:

    Not sure where that shot was taken, but here are two other Alpha Beta supermarkets, also taken by Doug White for Southern California Edison.

    Santa Ana:
    https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p16003coll2/id/10805/rec/1

    Temple City:
    https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p16003coll2/id/9778/rec/7

    (Here is a link to the shot in the post:
    https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p16003coll2/id/10647/rec/10
    with full resolution here:
    https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/iiif/p16003coll2/10647/full/full/0/default.jpg)

  2. john says:

    Martin, It looks like the market that was used in the movie Double Indemnity If so it would have been in Los Feliz across the street from the original Disney Studio on Hypernia St. Not sure but that is my guess.

  3. Me says:

    Zucchini or squash?
    Soup or Tomato soup?
    Cereal or Wheaties?

    If they really alphabetized, for how long?

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