In this wide shot from 1934, we’re looking north on Glendon Ave toward Lindbrook Dr. in the Westwood area of Los Angeles, close to UCLA. With their soaring towers, those gas stations—Richfield and 76—really want motorists to notice them. We can also see the round turret of Ralph’s supermarket, the dome of the Janss building and Fox Theatre tower. But can anyone tell me what that truck with three loudspeakers is doing in the middle of the photo?
If you’re driving north on Glendon at Lindbrook these days, this is the view. Compared to how it looked in 1934, it’s all rather hemmed in, isn’t it? This image is from November 2021.
Maybe the truck and speakers had something to do with the 1934 California Governor’s race between Upton Sinclair and Frank Merriam, considered “amongst the most controversial in the state’s history.” (It was part of the plot of the recent movie “Mank”.) It got people on both sides fervently electioneering!
That was my guess — not that specifically — but that it was some type of electioneering.
Yes Martin and Paula, that does seem right, doesn’t it?
I was about to mention a political campaign, too. Or an ice cream truck?
And is that third dome shown in the new photo, middle of the street, just to the left of the stop light? Or just something on the roof of that building?
I love these old and new comparisons!
Thank you, Martin, for all your interesting research!
I’m not sure which dome you’re referring to, Jan. But I’m glad you enjoy my online musings!
Martin, Each time you show a before and after photo I end up getting depressed. I love seeing LA in the 30s and can not stand looking at those boring monster buildings that now shape LA. Nothing but steel with no character at all not to mention how they block the view of everything else. The people that grew up there up until the early 60s should know how lucky they were to have lived in such a beautiful place.
I get it John! I really do! Every time I got to look up that location to see what it looks like today, I cross my fingers in eternal hope. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprises…but not often.
Yes, I DO consider myself lucky for having grown up here. Born in late 1951.
It must sadden you Paula to see what has happened to your city. Do you remember well what the city was like? What part of LA did you grow up in?
I grew up in Culver City. There were good and bad things. The smog was bad when I was little. I can remember not being allowed outside for recess because it was so bad. That situation is a WHOLE lot better. But I really miss being able to get around. You could drive almost anywhere in L.A. in 30-60 minutes. Now, it’s gridlock anywhere you go. I miss a lot of the restaurants I used to go, as well.
Maybe it was election time?
Probably a promotion for the station. Notice the young tree by the sidewalk as though they had done some improvement work on that corner. Also look at the bunting on the station and what appears to be a displayed race car or two beyond the gas pumps….Richfield was a sponsor of racing events. At this time Richfield Oil Company had been in recievership and was soon to end up under control of Cities Service Company. The speaker vehicle, or maybe a Radio Dispatch truck as they might have called them then, was probably finished making rounds of nearby housing and was blasting music out of the speakers on the roof via a record player inside the truck. The front speakers were probably used by the crew to call out messages from a microphone inside the cab or the rear. You can see them sitting by the truck monitoring the music which might have been associated with a radio show they sponsored…typical stuff then. Richfield had already expanded massively before the hard times and had plenty of station sites, but this one might have been modernized in 1934 as things were beginning to change. Noise abatement was several decades away.