1964

The fender bender is the reason the photo was made but what makes it interesting to day is how the background has changed.
Judging from the location of the Fremont, Cerro San Luis and old courthouse buildings this is the corner of Higuera and Santa Rosa Streets. This block has changed with the addition of the county government center and courthouse addition as well as a bank. Much of the upper downtown in the mid 20th century was based on the car economy. Car dealerships, radiator shops and gas stations made up a high percentage of the businesses here. Sandy Leguina & Sons had the Armstrong tire dealership and tune up shop; Chevron was just up Santa Rosa. The VW bug to the left is a classic with the small rear window and it looks like another old classic is parked under the trim shop sign.
Start the New Year off right and drive safe.

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 Snow on the streets of San Luis Obispo in 1922. The unidentified guys appear to be arming themselves for a snowball fight. Courtesy photo from Zaidee Andrews that appeared in the May 15, 1956 issue of the Telegram-Tribune. The second photo is a of snow on Monterey street looking down toward the mission, in the early 1920’s. Again guys find snow an irresistable excuse to make and throw snowballs.  The last image is a view of San Luis Obispo in the early 1920’s. The snow-capped Cuesta Grade can be seen on the far left. Snow stories in the county used to be rare, a once every few decades experience. Now it seems we have had a run recently of cool winters with low rainfall and at least one storm with snow or hail. 

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ALL WRAPPED UP… John Somogyi gift wrapped himself for San Luis Obispo Christmas parade.

December 14, 1964

Photographers go to a lot of parades. I mean we photograph a LOT of parades.
The late-lamented Mardi Gras, a great parade.
Epic.
It had creativity, color, energy and the understanding that if you have a parade at night, street lamps are not enough, put up some lights, a lot of lights.
The San Luis Obispo Christmas parade?
Yawn.
I’m sorry if this makes you mad, but someone has to speak up. San Luis Obispo, I am worried about you, I only bring this up because I care. Look, the other parades have been talking and you need to know. It is time for an intervention.
A chain of fuming diesel trucks dragging flatbed trailers, a few hay bales and an distorted boom box churning out the same three Christmas tunes at ear bleeding volume is not a parade.
I’m not against vehicles in parades. The Shriners are great at Pinedorado; the antique farm equipment is my favorite part of Pioneer Day. It doesn’t have to be the Rose Float but put a little thought into the lighting.
We know this town has a deeper wellspring of creativity, we’ve seen it, why it only flows before Lent and not Christmas is a mystery.
Now let’s turn the clock back.
No wonder we have an obesity problem today, back in the 1960’s kids used their legs and walked in the parade, and it was in the daylight. It looks like the same route down Monterey Street. This is when the city was the hot shopping center for the county. Montgomery Wards and J.C. Penny’s were there to supply shoppers, as well as Sears, Woolworth’s and Riley’s all within a few blocks.
Which reminds me, I’ve gotta finish my Christmas shopping, happy holidays to everyone.

Photos by Jim Vestal

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January 28, 1913

Photography was still enough of a novelty that everyone would stop what they were doing for a photograph. Another reason to stand still was technical. The exposure was a combination of flash (probably powder) and a long time exposure to gather light from the fixtures. Movement during the exposure would blur the photo.

Pacific Coast Amusement Co. looks like the original sports bar and pool hall. Pennants from various universities hang from the walls. Cal Poly was 10 years old but sadly has no banner in this picture; the Foundation must not have been selling them at the time. It must be a tournament or some other special occasion, perhaps Super bowl iixl.

Neckties, hats and suits, these guys weren’t stumblebums and the room was packed hence the dry wit in the caption “A DULL DAY”.

Once again like the bar photo from the same era the only women in the photo are in the framed photos on the walls. There are several smokers and the glimmer of a spittoon but no bottles or glasses except for the decorative bottle shapes along the wall. Perhaps alcohol was too controversial to photograph. There is not even a soda bottle to be found.

Fair warning to all you Anti-Saloon League members, the Tribune was printed over a bar for many years after it was founded in 1869. San Luis Obispo in the early 1900’s had 20-40 bars but fewer newspapers. The Telegram was founded in 1905 and had a prohibitionist philosophy. The battle between the papers would end in 1939 when they merged though they had been under the same ownership since 1925.

Anyone recognize this pool hall location?

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It must be getting close to Christmas. This morning I awoke to frost on the ground. And just yesterday, I spotted the Jolly Fat Man himself — getting the Stoke in Pismo Beach.

At first I wasn’t quite sure if my eyes were working, so I did a mental checklist: red suit, beard, bellowing.

Then I took out my camera phone and snapped a few photos:

 So, yeah, here’s the Big Man, walking with what appears to be a fun shape board. My first thought upon seeing this was: Santa seems to have slimmed down this year. But, you know, maybe he trains a lot as the big day approaches. An elf’s gotta have endurance, you know.

Later, he was spotted on the pier. Apparently, he thought there was a roller coaster there, but I had to tell him that this was Pismo Beach — not Santa Monica. He was a little disappointed, but his spirits seemed to lift when I told about some of the other things he could could do around here.

So then I was like, “Hey, Santa — are you really gonna surf or is that a gift you’re giving to someone?” Of course, in the back of my mind, I was thinking: Because, you know, I’d never turn down a free surfboard. And he just sort of looked at me and winked.

That was it — he winked. And the next thing you know, he was paddling out on a 3- to 4-foot day.  He wasn’t the best surfer out there, but, hey — it’s not like the North Pole is known for it’s waves.

Of course,  I was a little surprised because I’m thinking, you know, it’s gotta be close to crunch time, right? But those of us who surf know what a great stress reliever surfing can be. And any job that entails delivering toys to kids worldwide in one day has to entail some stress.

Later,  I found that Santa apparently had listened to my suggestions for things to do here and decided he needed to relieve stress a little more. 

Who knew Santa had a skateboard?

So for all those doubters, here is proof. Yes, indeed — Santa is a surfer.

I hear there will be further proof — video and photos — on this site next week, so stay tuned.

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December 19, 1964
I can’t add anything to it…here is the original text.

It was a ticklish moment for 2 ½ year-old Timmy Eskridge.
A big fat fellow with a long white beard wanted a kiss.
Timmy looked at his mother, Mrs. Phil Eskridge, Edna Road, San Luis Obispo. She smiled encouragement.
Mamma’s approval was enough for Timmy.
He hopped on Santa’s knee. With an audience of parents and children on the big motorized sleigh provided by San Luis Obispo merchants, Timmy got a bit shy. He looked at Santa. He moved in for the kiss. He smiled. He giggled. He drew back.
Another smile and a final decision: Timmy made the decisive move to kiss his Christmas time idol.
He got as far as the big white beard.
It was a ticklish moment for Timmy Eskridge.

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February 3, 1966
Girls at San Luis Junior High wanted to wear granny dresses to school but the school officials thought that would be unfair to the boys, so Crazy Dress Up Day was born.
Today a kid would be suspended for bringing a gun, toy or otherwise, to school. Back then if someone was going to “Bust a cap” they were talking about cap guns. Having a cap gun was essential for cowboy wannabees in the 1960’s. Fire them and you smelled like danger. It didn’t matter that the barrel never snapped together right, or that the roll of caps always jammed after the third shot.

Janis Howard embodied the forces of good dressed as Matt Dillon.
Debbie Santana was a little girl, James Zevely was a doctor and Rosalind Dewlaney was a bum. Homelessness was more amusing in the 1960’s. Photos were by Jim Vestal.

It looks like seven high schools had a student correspondant contributing stories for the page. On the next page the County Office of Education was unveiling plans for a new facility at Dairy Creek, then a part of Camp San Luis.

The Brown’s Music Store top 20 list is an ad at the bottom of the page. The Beatles, Beach Boys, Motown, Mamas and the Papas and Broadway were all represented; some more than once. You can still hear many of the tunes on classic rock radio. Yeah, Zorba’s my ringtone.

1.    These Boots are made for Walkin’
2.    My Love
3.    California Dreamin’
4.    Day Tripper/We Can Work it Out
5.    Cryin’ Time
6.    I Fought The Law
7.    My World is Empty Without You
8.    What New My Love
9.    Uptight
10.    Lightning Strikes
11.    Michelle
12.    In My Room
13.    Georgianne
14.    Night Time
15.    Theme From Zorba the Greek
16.    No Matter What Shape
17.    Brown Paper Sack
18.    Five O’clock World
19.    You Baby
20.    Batman Theme

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February 8, 1966
Every Saturday for two years 15-25 workers, 75 percent volunteers, built new San Luis Obispo Church of Nazarene facility on Johnson Ave. Rev. George O. Cargill set to deliver the first sermon February 13, 1966. The crew included several professional builders as well as 82-year-old Thorwald Hatlin. The church had outgrown the former location at 652 Santa Rosa. The estimated value of the new facility was $300,000 and it took over two years to build. The building featured laminated arch construction, wall-to-wall red carpeting, fixtures of marbleized stone and air conditioning. The last sermon delivered in the old facility was titled “Hitherto Hath the Lord Helped Us.”

A posting on the Tribune’s website says the church will celebrate its 80th Anniversary Sunday April 19, 2009.

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One of the places I would turn back time to see would be the Ramona Hotel.
Four stories tall, the building covered the block between Higuera and Marsh Streets and fronted Essex St. (Now Johnson Ave.) The Hotel had its own railroad spur, a saloon, ballroom and several drawing rooms.
The Hotel opened October 3, 1888 with a grand ball, men wearing swallow tail coats and diamond studs, women in silk and lace. The party wouldn’t last, just over 17 years later the hotel would lie in ashes around a lone chimney.
The Ramona rose in the aftermath of an 1886 fire that devastated downtown. Destroyed were the Andrews Hotel, Bank of San Luis Obispo, the main livery stable and a number of smaller shops. The opening was reported, amid a sea of ads for other hotels, on the lead spot for local news at the time, page 3 of The Tribune. A sign of the importance of the event was the engraving that ran with the article. In this era images with news stories were rare.
Investors included the Southern Pacific Railroad who had high hopes of attracting customers to the sparsely populated west coast. Ironically when the railroad conquered Cuesta Grade in 1894 there was less reason for people to stay here on their travels. Combined with a financial panic and depression the hotel closed the day after Christmas 1894 and did not reopen for 6 months.

Quoting a story by Maggy Stephenson in the Telegram-Tribune May 10, 1947 ,

The Ramona reflected both the architectural indecision of the time, and the veranda-society of pioneer California tourists.
Basically a huge but rather unpretentious clapboard building, eclectic touches were spread on its surface like meringue on a pie.
The steep roof of the Swiss chalet; stringcourses from Italy’s renaissance; half-timber from medieval Nurnberg; chimneys from Tudor England; and little turrets, French or faintly onion-shaped from the Czar’s Russia.

A room cost $2.50 a day and up and included meals. My favorite part, Stephensen said a photograph of the common rooms show entertainment was provided via pianos, banjos, mandolins and guitars.

The dining room was 60 by 80 feet with a 24-foot ceiling and a stuffed mountain lion guarded the lobby. Long before the Madonna Inn, cupids adorned the walls of the Ramona. President William McKinley spoke from the balcony during a whistle stop tour of the west coast.

The era ended November 10, 1905 when an 2 a.m. kitchen fire spread. The night clerk ran from room to room rousing the 250 guests. The building was so far from town that no others were destroyed though several were threatened. By this time custom was to report the big news of the day on the front page. Remarkably the morning paper had a brief the morning of the fire on the front with more details to follow the next day. The Morning Tribune concluded with two boosterish sentences.

There is a golden opportunity for some person, or persons to build at once a big hotel in the business section of the city. San Luis Obispo is growing rapidly and such a hotel would pay well.

Taken on the steps of the Ramona Hotel, Nov. 24, 1896. Swiss envoy minister J. B. Pioda visits San Luis Obispo. Front row from left, starting from the young man in gray suit holding hat, Arthur Baur, A. Tognazzini (standing on second step), J. B. Pioda, A Borel (light trousers), G. A. Berton and Henry Brunner. Second row, starting with the two small boys at left, Louis and Arnold Donati, Pio Taminelli (next to boy in dark suit:, Mr. Antognini, publisher of Swiss newspaper, “El-vezia,” and standing with arms akimbo, Sam Donati (light suit); three unidentified men, one of which has light gray suit and white beard; A. Vignier (bearded with sideburns), A. Monotti and George Cavalli. Third row, starting with man with flag, M. Righetti, Mrs. B. Pezzoni, two unidentified men, one slightly behind the other, B. G. Tognazzini, undentified man standing slightly back and looking of to his left, Peter Tognazzini, G. Fanciola, Dante Muscio, J. B. Bonetti, standing with thumb tucked in pants pocket and loking off to his right, Peter Zanoli, Robert Righetti and a Mr. Palmer. The picture was printed in the Centurama edition of the Telegram-Tribune in 1956. The picture was loaned to the paper by Sam Borradori, who also made the identifications after considerable research.

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November 1959
Though the writing on the print says 1949, this view of Monterey Street in San Luis Obispo is likely 10 years later. Both the Battle of Midway starring Cliff Robertson and the Crimson Kimono shared the bill on the Obispo Theater. They were released in 1959. The cars look like 1950’s era cars.
The Christmas decorations are up and every parking space is filled, parking meters are not visible in this image.
On the other side of the street the same J.P. Andrews building pictured in the Guy Crabb post stands at the corner of Osos and Monterey Streets. The block had filled in during the half-century.
State Farm Insurance and Blake Printery are about where Boo Boos Records are today and the Moose Lodge is just down the street.

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