Car salesman, Walter Wellman, billed himself as The Smiling Irishman on his car lot at the northeast corner of W. Pico Blvd & Vermont Ave, Los Angeles. I don’t know if his gimmick drew in the customers, but it made him stand out from his fellow car salesmen. Interestingly, though, his logo is a three-leafed clover – did he not know about the whole lucky four-leafed clover thing? Also, we can see a semaphore traffic signal. This photo is from 1952 and the last one in LA was taken out in 1956, so this particular one wasn’t long for this world.
This is how that corner looked in February 2023.
It’s actually a Shamrock. His theme might be called, “The wearin’ o’ the green”. And notice the signage on the building where he calls himself “The Workingman’s Friend”. At least during the Yorty era, Los Angeles was big on the St. Patrick’s Day parade stuff in downtown. Even in the modern photo green is visibly in use. Alpha-Beta markets went to it on their lighted signage at one point and it stood out in a city that had gone all cement greys or the earthtone browns of the 70’s era. Red had become too commonplace to really stand out much. Even fire trucks and tennis balls were going green in those days.
Ah, I thought clovers and shamrocks were the same thing.
Four-leaf clovers are not part of Irish culture. Shamrocks are.
Thanks, Denise. I didn’t realize there was a difference.
I always learn something new on this blog! So fun! Thanks for the photos and info everyone!
I just saw something on TCM the other night that might have been a veiled reference to this place. All month long they are featuring the films of Debbie Renolds and in THE AFFAIRS OF DOBIE GILLIS (1953), Bobby Van (Dobie) is trying to raise money and his friends talk him into pawning his car. They go to a similarly looking car dealership with the banner “The Smiling Latvian,” played by actor Ben Astar (BYE BYE BIRDY, FIVE WEEKS IN A BALOON). At one point when the deal isn’t going the Latvian’s way, one of them says with a grin ,” You’re not smiling!”
Hey Scott, I’d say it’s a play on this car lot – but The Smiling Latvian is even funnier!