L. A. Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 43 Issue 3 Winter 2024

LACHS

President’s Message

Winter 2024 Newsletter

Happy New Year!

The Los Angeles City Historical Society (LACHS) continues to explore and bring history to our members as we continue to recover from the pandemic.

We continue to provide scholarships to worthy history students who attend local California State Universities, such as Los Angeles, Northridge, and Long Beach, and increased the awards from $500 to $1,000 per student. This increase has been made possible due to the increase in members and donations to our scholarship fund.

The Marie Northrop Lecture Series at the Central Library is also back. Our host Michael Holland (VP of LACHS) continues to find interesting topics and authors to present. His discussions with our presenters provide us with in-depth details on various Los Angeles history topics. Look for times and dates for our 2024 series starting this Spring.

Also, check out lacityhistory.org for interesting webinars and blogs. Our latest webinar was with author Jean Pfaelzer who wrote “California, A Slave State”. In her webinar, she covered issues from the Spanish era to enslaved African Americans brought from the South.

We look forward to re-inventing our Gala Awards next year and re-introducing our walking tours, which were shut down during the pandemic. We have also re-started our tour of the Los Angeles City Archives led by City Archivist, Michael Holland. We look forward to seeing you in 2024.

Charley Mims

President, LACHS

Volume 43, Issue 3 ● Winter 2024

Dear Members,

Due to some of the more distressing issues our world is dealing with today, LACHS thought we would take a different look at Los Angeles history – through the lens of humor. As a famous doctor once said “From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.” Dr. Seuss

WHAT ABOUT BOB

By Pebbla Wallace

o, I’m not talking about the 1991 comedy starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss. I’m referring to the iconic chubby-cheek boy with the Pompadour haircut of the 50s with red checkered overalls, who has guarded the Big Boy restaurant on Riverside Drive since 1949. Why is this Bob and the restaurant he stands in front of considered iconic? And why is the restaurant considered a “Point of Historical Interest” by the State of California? To understand that, you must first understand Bob’s history.

The Birth of Bob. The conception of “Bob” was first born in 1936 by founder Bob Wain, when Wain sold his car for $300 dollars and purchased a small ten-stool lunch stand in Glendale and called it Bob’s Pantry. According to Bob Big Boy’s historical blog, the new name came about when a young chubby boy with droopy overalls was doing odd jobs for Bob. He forgot the young boy’s name and called out “Hey, Big Boy,” and the new name was born – Bob’s Big Boy.

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Photo by Pebbla Wallace

Chicken Boy & the Muffler Men of Los Angeles

By Danny Jensen

(This story originally appeared in “Secret Los Angeles a Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure” [Reedy Press] by Danny Jensen)

erched high above Figueroa Street in Highland Park stands Chicken Boy — a neighborhood icon and in many ways a fitting symbol for all things strange and wonderful about Los Angeles. Standing atop a squat Streamline Moderne commercial building, this feathered, fiberglass icon stands 22 feet tall with the head of a chicken and the brawny body of a man in blue jeans and a red shirt holding, of all things, a large bucket of chicken. With a proud, yet slightly startled look on his face — perhaps owing to the fact that he’s hawking a bucket of his fellow fowl — Chicken Boy has come to be known as the “Statue of Liberty of Los Angeles.” But it was a long, hard-fought journey to gain such revered status.

Chicken Boy’s tale began in 1969 when he first roosted on the roof of an eponymous fried chicken restaurant on Broadway at 5th Street in Downtown L.A. The imposing fellow was hatched by the International Fiberglass Company, which was founded in Venice and was responsible for countless giant, roadside statues. The statues often resembled Paul Bunyan, cowboys, and other characters, and are often referred to as “Muffler Men” as many of them held mufflers to advertise auto shops.

“Sergio” on Mission Rd. near Boyle Heights; the mustachioed and sombrero-donned “La Salsa” Man on PCH in Malibu; the Porsche Muffler Man with racing suit and flag in Carson (formerly from the Dominguez Hills Golf Course); and the ghostly pallid “Smog Check Kevin” in Van Nuys.

Fittingly, Chicken Boy was originally located just two blocks from what was once the western terminus of Route 66 that iconic roadway strewn with similarly kitschy relics of Americana that he was first spotted in the mid-1970s by graphic designer Amy Inouye, at the time a recent newcomer to LA. Inouye considered Chicken Boy a welcoming presence, a new friend that represented the fun, playful, and innocent side of Los Angeles that was increasingly under threat by seriousness and sprawl.

Then in May of 1984, Inouye discovered that the Chicken Boy restaurant had shuttered and the fate of its mascot, her friend, was in peril. After persistent inquiries, the building’s realtor told her to come rescue the big bird if she wanted it, so Inouye hired a sign mover for a stealth operation to remove Chicken Boy. She thought she would be able to find a new home for her feathered friend at a museum or sculpture garden, but despite her best efforts, she couldn’t find an interested party. So, for 23 years, Chicken Boy roosted in storage, but all the while his reputation grew thanks to press coverage, a short film, songs about him (including a polka!), and Chicken Boy souvenirs created by Inouye and other artists.

The Other iconic Muffler Men around L.A. include the bearded and plaid-shirt-wearing

WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU

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Members, what would you like to see more of on our blog and newsletter? Also, is there a specific type of lecture series you would like to see the LACHS organize? Please drop us a line at info@lacityhistory.org and let us know what you would like to see. Your feedback is important to us

Photo of Chicken Boy by Danny Jensen

FUN AND GAMES AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY – 1950s

By Abe Hoffman

he usual view of a library is a quiet place where patrons sit reading or using materials in a peaceful atmosphere. Librarians maintain a quiet atmosphere by shushing anyone speaking in a loud voice. This was not the case with the Los Angeles Central Library as far as some of the messenger clerks were concerned.

A month after I started as a freshman at Los Angeles City College in 1956, a friend told me of an opening at the Central Library’s Periodicals Department. I went downtown, was interviewed, and was hired as a messenger clerk. I was unaware that I would work there twenty hours a week for the next five and a half years.

Messenger clerks were the lowest rung on the ladder of civil service in the City of Los Angeles. The only thing lower than a city messenger clerk was a library messenger clerk, limited to fifteen hours a week

Archives Bazaar 2023

THE STORIES OF L.A. ALL DAY. ALL IN ONE PLACE.

By Adam Linder

he 18 th Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar was held on October 28th at the Doheny Memorial Library on the USC Campus. The members of the LACHS Board also had a chance to mingle with other Societies and Organizations specializing in the study of history, and interact with history fans both young and old. As the official partner of the Los Angeles City Archives, our good friends were kind enough share a table with us. In return, we brought some archivable material to the Bazaar. One of the pieces we were able to bring to the Bazaar was a turn of the century, early twentieth century that is, advertising book for the City of Los Angeles showing off stunning photos of our early landmarks. As many of you know, 2023 is the centennial year for many

with no benefits or paid holidays. I lost no time in applying for the civil service rating.

The Periodicals Department was a great place for a college student to get homework done. It consisted of the Newspaper Room which included a huge Vault in the library’s basement where bound volumes of newspapers, some going back more than a hundred years, were housed. The  Magazine Room, down the hall from the Newspaper Room, its stacks closed to the public, held back issues of magazines.  Connected to the magazine stacks was the Foreign Language Department which shared a workroom with Periodicals where staff did the work to keep departments functioning: fitting new newspapers into brown covers, cataloging stuff, and other tasks undertaken by librarians, staff, and us messenger clerks.

At one time or another, vacancies occurred for messenger clerks in the Periodicals Department. It seemed that most young men (women were never hired at the time) lasted only a few weeks or months

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of our most famous landmarks, however this book was created before the Hollywood Sign, before the Memorial Coliseum, and even before El Cholo! We also receive batches of old photos and were lucky enough to bring a binder of slides for guests to flip through.

Along with sharing stories with anyone who came by our booth (after all, this is why we love the Bazaar), our own Board Member Danny Jensen, raffled off a copy of his book “Secret Los Angeles”, and we gave out free stickers of some of our favorite historic views. We are grateful to all the organizations we were finally able to meet in person. We hope that through our common love of Los Angeles, we can all work together to create a more accurate story of our Land to pass on to the next era of Angelenos.

If you enjoyed this event and would like to know more, please visit our website to learn about our webinars and in-person events coming in 2024!

LACHS Newest Board MembersVictoria Gutierrez & Meridith Major

A Tale of Dutch Heritage in Los Angeles: The Rich Legacy of Van de Kamp's Bakery

By Lilly Templar

Nestled in the heart of Los Angeles lies a cherished landmark that once offered Angelenos a glimpse into Dutch culture and culinary traditions from the Netherlands underscored by the smell of freshly baked bread—the Van de Kamp's Holland Dutch Bakery headquarters. Built in 1931 in Glassell Park on Fletcher Drive and San Fernando Road, it is a stunning example of Dutch Renaissance Revival architecture with a brick façade, white-trimmed windows, and gabled roofs resembling a Dutch farmhouse. Over the years it quickly became an integral part of the Los Angeles culture and charm.

The origins trace back to the early 20th century when Milwaukee transplant, Theodore J. Van de Kamp and his sisters, Marian and Henrietta along with her husband Lawrence L. Frank, established an iconic symbol of quality baked goods with Dutch heritage here in Los Angeles. Theodore’s grandparents emigrated from the Netherlands in the 19th Century and the Dutch entrepreneurial spirit was brought to Los Angeles. However, the journey of “Van de Kamp's Holland Dutch Bakery” began much earlier back in 1915 when Theodore and his brother-in-law Lawrence, opened their first of several potato chip shops in downtown Los Angeles. A small outpost on Spring and 2nd

Streets had customers lining up on the sidewalk for the fried salty snacks. Their slogan, “Made Clean, Kept Clean, Sold Clean” was selected to reinforce Dutch cleanliness and values. Due to a potato shortage during World War One, the family began producing baked goods such as coffee cakes and apple pies. They then outgrew the chip shops and expanded their baked goods and coffee shop chain.

One of the earliest locations of the new “Van de Kamp Holland Dutch Bakery” was at Western Avenue and Beverly Boulevard. This was the home of the first distinctive windmill which became an iconic symbol for the brand and tied the entire theme together. The bakery’s newspaper adverts boasted “18 types of fresh bread” from their blue and white Delft-themed delivery vans. The Van de Kamp's commitment to traditional Dutch baking techniques, modern machinery, and the use of high-quality ingredients kept locals returning. The distinctive windmills populated Los Angeles and beyond eventually launching them into national expansions and fame. Eventually, they expanded into a thriving empire of over 300 locations at the height of their success. During the 1940’s the family also ventured into the frozen fish industry,

launching a line of frozen seafood under the Van de Kamp's label. As time went on the fate of the Van de Kamp's empire and headquarters faced uncertainty after the passing of Theodore Van de Kamp in the mid ‘50s and Lawrence Frank left the business soon after. Ownership changes and economic challenges led to the closure of the bakery headquarters, marking the end of an era for the original Van de Kamp's establishments in Los Angeles.

The once-thriving industrial plant and the headquarter’s fate was at great risk since 1990. It remained dormant for many years. Demolition concerns and the loss of a significant cultural heritage site caused the Los Angeles Conservancy, preservationists, and community advocates to work for decades to save the historic headquarters. Their heroic efforts resulted in restoration

Chicken

Boy

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Then, thanks to a Community Beautification Grant and many jumps through bureaucratic hoops, Chicken Boy finally found his new home atop Inouye’s business, Future Studio Design and Gallery in Highland Park. There his reputation as the Statue of Liberty of Los Angeles continues to grow, inspiring plenty of smiles and quizzical looks from passers by as he watches over us all.

You can show your appreciation for Chicken Boy by ordering pins, t-shirts, mugs, and more through the online store (https://www.chickenboy.com/) or at the gift shop at the Future Studio Art Gallery and Design Office, which is open by appointment.

Chicken Boy’s address: 5558 N Figueroa St., Highland Park

projects that revitalized and restored the cherished landmark’s facade. It was designated as a historic-cultural monument and the facade now serves as a campus of Los Angeles City College entrance. It is now known as the Van de Kamp Innovation Center and a historic preservation victory. The last remaining vestiges of a Van de Kamp restaurant is now a Denny’s in Arcadia, however, the windmill was preserved and is towering proudly on the rooftop. These are our reminders of the importance of cherishing landmarks that hold the memories and stories of a community. In a city known for its quickly changing landscape, the Van de Kamp's Bakery headquarters remains a steadfast landmark of Dutch heritage, a living tribute to the past, present, and future of Los Angeles' diverse cultural mosaic honoring its past while embracing the present.

Fun & Games

Article continued from page 3 before quitting. I recommended my brother Jerry for a position that was vacant in the Fiction Department. Then I recommended my friend Phil when there was an opening in Periodicals. These appointments bypassed Personnel on the third floor because I promised the librarians that anyone recommended would work for at least a year or more. Personnel might have protested, but their record of hiring messenger clerks was far from perfect and so accepted the librarians’ approval of a new hire.

Then one of Jerry’s friends got a job, and then another, and I found a spot for Fred Balitzer who later would become a political science professor at Pomona College. Another friend recommended by Jerry worked there for ten years! It seemed as if Jerry and I were operating an unofficial employment agency.

The Vault was, in fact, a huge and rather creepy place. It was accessed by a narrow stairwell from the Newspaper Room. As part of the basement, it held the nickname given by staff as “Rat Alley,” though I never did see one. A metal door gave access to the Vault, and once inside, the only illumination came from a low-watt light bulb, providing just enough access to turn on a large-watt light. The Vault consisted of many rows of shelves containing dust-covered bound volumes of newspapers. Each row was dimly lit by a series of light bulbs that were turned only when someone had to go

Article continues on page 6

down a row. Near the entrance, a table had a flashlight for use when a row was so dimly lit or with burned-out bulbs to read the dates on the bound volumes.

On a slow Saturday, during break time, Phil and I would go to the Vault, leave all the lights off, and hunt each other in the darkness. No one noticed our brief absence as we played hide and seek, trying to creep up behind and scare the other.

In 1956 the Foreign Language Department hired Frank Brito as a messenger clerk. His father, Joe Brito, was the library’s chief maintenance engineer who had keys to every branch library in the city. At the Central Library, his main task seemed to be repairing the electrical system as those light bulbs frequently blew up. It seemed like nepotism, but no one complained, and as far as I was concerned, my brother and I had been recruiting messenger clerks anyway.

As a high school sophomore, Frank soon proved himself a prankster, and the miracle of it all was that he was never caught. On a slow night, Frank observed that in the workroom a cabinet that held lots of boxes of paper clips. Now, the stacks took up a large part of the library’s interior. Seven tiers held bound volumes of magazines, recent newspapers, and other stuff. Frank noticed that the stairwell connecting the tiers consisted of metal steps with a gap of four inches on each side between the step and the vertical metal rail holding the shelves together.

there were only a few boxes of paper clips in the cabinet. Then she found the hanging paper clip chain. She assembled the messenger clerks from Periodicals and Foreign Departments and demanded to know if anyone knew who had done the deed. We all knew it was Frank, and at times had strung a few clips ourselves, so we put on our “not me” faces. She then asked us to dismantle the chain whenever we had time.

Frank was never caught.

Frank just could not stay away from that stairwell. The workroom had a water cooler that used conical paper cups. He figured that if he filled up one of those cups with water and carefully went to the top tier of stacks, he could drop the cup and theoretically it would go all the way down to Rat Alley. Bombs away! Soon the messenger clerks in both departments were taking turns playing Bombardier. As best as I can recall, no one ever failed to hit the basement. Maybe we occasionally hit a rat, or maybe not. No one ever went to Rat Alley and discovered all those wet paper cups. Bullseye! And again, Frank was never caught.

Los Angeles Central Library Tower, Security Pacific National Bank Collection / Los Angeles Public Library

Frank also admitted to finding his way to a ledge on the library’s façade with statues of Greek philosophers gazing out on Flower Street. He climbed out on the ledge and stuck a wad of chewing gum in Plato’s right eye. Well, maybe it was Socrates or Aristotle, and maybe it was the left eye instead of the right, but for all I know, it is still up there.

On a slow weekday night, Frank took some boxes from the cabinet and began stringing the paper clips together. He would go to the top tier and hang them down through the four-inch gap. It took time, but eventually he succeeded in getting the string of paper clips from the top tier down to the basement.

Came the day when a librarian noticed

In June 1961 I left the library to devote full time studying for my Cal State L.A. Master’s exams. Frank left the library later that year, went on to college and, wonder of wonders, became a commercial lender. In 2015 we reconnected and resumed our friendship without blinking an eye. Not an eye still stuck with chewing gum.

The Building's Interior & Exterior. “Bob” Big Boy statue on Riverside Drive opened in 1949, and today is the oldest operating Big Boy in the United States. The restaurant was designed by architect Wayne McAllister, and built by Burbank residents Scott MacDonald and Ward Albert. Wayne McAllister was a Southern California trailblazer at the time, specializing in Googie architecture – a style of futurist architecture that was influenced by car culture. According to the Los Angeles Conservancy, “the restaurant is a transitional design incorporating 1940s Streamline Moderne styles (broad, curving window walls and canopies) while anticipating the exuberance of freeform ‘50s coffee shop architecture (cantilevers, striking signage, use of glass)”.

The building’s most eye-catching aspect is the massive neon sign which soars above the restaurant, and is considered an art form by itself. The amazingly dramatic sign, which is more than 70 feet tall, has pink and white neon letters and is visible for miles down Riverside Drive and throughout the Toluca Lake and Burbank areas.

Bob’s Big Boy Carhop Service in 1954, LAPL Public LibraryThe restaurant started with both a drive-in and sit-down restaurant, and originally included carhop service (which was utilized again during the COVID-19 pandemic). Even though today it is no longer a drive-in, it still retains the drive-in features, with classic auto shows every Friday night. The interior of the restaurant has been remodeled several times, but the strategic seating plan, which placed the booths to have a panoramic view, has remained the same.

the victim of crime throughout the nation, and have notably been Bob-napped too many times to count. To this day, there is no record of any ransoms being paid for the retrieval of poor Bob. However, some examples of Bob-napping were in Wyoming when he was Bob-napped and abandoned in a field near the East Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. In Toledo, Ohio four youths stole and dismembered the Big Boy statue. They removed his arms and legs and left them in front of another fast-food restaurant. A note was left with letters cut from newspapers, reading “Big Boy is Dead”. In South Burlington, Vermont, Bob was kidnapped from its display outside, was shot in the head, and dumped in a nearby woods.

Big Boy’s Name to Fame. In 1965, The Beatles stopped by and dined at this particular Big Boy’s restaurant during one of their tours. A plaque commemorating the event marks a corner booth in the restaurant. If you go to the restaurant and try to get that booth – good luck; it is very popular and rarely available due to many regulars and tourists requesting the famous “Beatles booth.”

Stolen, Bob-napped, and Dismembered. The “Bob” 300-pound fiberglass icon statues have been

Bob isn’t the only fiberglass statue that has been kidnapped in the past – Ronald McDonald; a 700-pound captain with a parrot; a 4-foot Pillsbury doughboy; and a 250-pound dolphin from Marineland have all been victims of similar mascot-napping. Most law enforcement believe these were done as high school and College pranks. Nobody knows exactly how many times Bob has been stolen or kidnapped from the Burbank location – but today he is set in deep concrete. Please be warned – the Big Boy fiberglass icon is valued at over $6,000 – and bob-napping him is considered a felony in Los Angeles County. But no matter how many times you try to Bob-nap or wound the iconic figure, he always bounces back. Yes, Bob has been in the fiberglass hospital many times for repairs, and yes, Bob has had a few facelifts since 1949 – a little paint here, and a small patch there. But he’ll always be there on Riverside Drive to welcome you to his restaurant. At Big Boy’s Peak in the 1960s, owner Bob Wian had over 1,000 individual locations nationwide and hundreds of franchises. Wian sold the business to Marriott Corp. for $7 million in mid-1970 and later retired from the restaurant business.t In 1988, Marriott sold the franchise rights to Elias Bros. However, the Burbank/Toluca Lake location is owned separately by the family of one of the original builders, Scott MacDonald, who acquired control of the restaurant in 1993.

Big Boy’s Carhop Service (1954), Los Angeles Public Library.

In This Issue

-What about Bob? By Pebbla Wallace

-President’s Message, by Charley Mims

-18th Annual Los Angeles

Archives Bazaar, by Adam Linder

-Fun and Games at the Central Library, by Abe Hoffman

-The Van De Kamp Bakery, by Lily Morcos

-Chicken Boy, by Danny Jenkins

Upcoming Events & Webinars

LACHS OFFICERS/ BOARD MEMBER

Los Angeles City Historical Society

Founded 1976

Newsletter

Pebbla Wallace, Editor & Contributor

Contributors

Abe Hoffman

Danny Jensen

Lily Morcos

Adam Linder

Newsletter Design by Meridith Major

Officers

Charley Mims, President

Michael Holland, Vice President

Roberto Alaniz Jr., Secretary

Luis G. Mota, Treasurer

Board of Directors

Claudine Ajeti

Nicholas Beyelia

Ryan Cassidy

Veronica Gutierrez

Danny Jensen

Geraldine Knatz

Adam Linder

Meridith Major

Lilly Morcos

Pebbla Wallace

Administrator

Adam Linder

LACHS • P.O. Box 862311 • Los Angeles, CA 90086-2311

For more information, please visit: https://www.lacityhistory.org/ We appreciate your feedback regarding our newsletter. Please submit any comments or questions to info@LACityHistory.org

UPCOMING EVENT:

JANUARY 13TH – Los Angeles City Archive Tour. The tour has limited space, and is for members only.

MARIE NORTHROP LECTURE SERIES 2024

FEBRUARY 11 – “Electric Moons” with author Dr. India Mandelkern. Book signing after presentation. APRIL 7 – “Grapes of Conquest” with author Dr. Julia Ornelas-Higdon. Book signing after presentation.

JUNE 9 – “LAPL Photos: The John Verzi Collection” with Christina Rice and Wendy Horowitz

All presentations take place from 2-4 pm.  Book signings occur after the presentation.

LACHS SCHOLARSHIPS:

We would like to recognize and congratulate the following students recipients of our annual history scholarship: Araceli Ramos - California State University, Long Beach Hazel Carias-Urbina - California State University, Los Angeles

WEBINARS:

PAST WEBINARS AVAILABLE ON THE LACHS WEBSITE NOW….

Oldest Los Angeles’ – A Talk with Author Mimi Slawoff. On November 30th Mimi Slawoff presented a discussion on her new book, “Oldest Los Angeles” which is a time-traveling journey exploring the oldest buildings, businesses, and neighborhoods in the City of Angels.

You can find the webinars on the LACHS website at www.lacityhistory.org/events