Jenny Rose Restaurant

35555 Ghost Town Rd Yermo, CA 92398

You gotta love roadside signs, and the architecture of the buildings they advertise. In Yermo California, on the way to Calico Ghost Town, is the Jenny Rose Restaurant. The place is typical of the coffee shop/dinner that once ran along California's highways. Long before all of the big chains took over, these places fed hungry travellers on their way to places like Calico. This sign is a great example of the few independent restaurants that are left.

The restaurant itself. That banner seems to have out used its usefulness. I'm not a big fan of banners on the side of restaurants. They detract from the beauty of the classic architecture.

In case you didn't understand that the Jenny Rose served food, this sign shows the international symbol for "grub served here".

A close up of the sign shows the damage that time has done to to it. It's sad really.

Tags: Jenny Rose Restaurant Yermo California Roadside Signage Calico

Movieland- Kevin Costner

Here's a small set, that like many historical wax museums, shows a single figure in a simple tableau. Kevin Costner is John Dunbar in his 1990 Academy Award winning film Dances With Wolves. Most of the set is that backdrop that seems more grand with the lighting effects. Without it, the set is little more than dirt and rocks. The figure is fairly realistic, but for some reason doesn't seem to do the film, or actor justice.

An up close look at the Costner figure. It's actually a pretty decent figure. The detail is rich and it looks like him, but for some reason there's just something missing in my opinion.

The sign in front of the dirt and rocks (and tumbleweeds).

The figure ended up in Korea, at the World Wax Museum exhibit. It wasn't sold at the auction.

View more Movieland Wax Museum figures, and many others at my other blog, Houses of Wax.

Tags: Movieland Wax Museum Wax Figure Wax Dances With Wolves Kevin Costner

Walt Disney World- Contemporary Resort Concourse

With the construction of another shop at the Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World, the Grand Canyon Concourse of this 1970's hotel looks different now than just a year ago. Here's some shots of the area as it looked back then. This first photograph shows one of many lamp stands that graced the waiting area. As you can see in the background, there was already a gift shop, and that shop sold the same stuff as everywhere else in the "World". The addition of the new store seems unnecessary.

A view of outside through the patterned windows of the side of the building. The lamps were cool. They didn't need the Mickey ears that seem to adorn everything that has Disney's name on it.

The Game Station arcade. This may still be there, but getting this shot might be a little tougher now.

Another wall. It actually matched the planters. I was at the mall a while back when they were adding more of those carts that sell junk. Someone asked the manager why they weren't adding more benches and seating, because they really need them. The manager replied, "Because benches don't make money". That about sums up why this area of the hotel has an ugly store in it now. (A store with giant Mickey ears, a detail that screams "We have no more creativity, or originality left!")

The obligatory exterior view of the hotel from the Monorail.

Tags: Disney World Contemporary Resort

Old Towne Mall- Antique Car

For today's post I thought that I would share perhaps my favorite image of Old Towne. Here we see an antique car with driver, and one of the Singing Security Guards. They seem to be having a great time together, and are enjoying their employment at the mall. I love the shops and second story windows in this shot. I don't remember the car ever being at the mall, but I wasn't born yet when the mall first opened. I wonder how long the car was actually there. For a mall, they had a lot of vehicles parked in the walkways. I guess malls today still have them, but they're usually contests that people have to enter to win said car. Then the people who entered get put on mailing lists. But the Old Towne Mall has their car for atmosphere. Those where the days.

A close up of the car. I'm not an antique car enthusiast, so does anyone out there know what kind of car this is? It reminds me of something from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, or the Great Race.

A close up of the driver and the guard. Old towne recreated a time when women couldn't vote, but it looks like they were allowed to drive though. I know this is a posed shot, but she'll have to drive through the ropes if she's going to go anywhere.

Here's a shot of a sign from one of the stores. I think those are mushrooms on the right, another popular fungus from the seventies.

Anyone who has to buy cheep bulk items for parties or classrooms knows of the Oriental Trading Company. I assume this is the same company as the catalog people.

Remember the good old days when you could buy a gun at the mall, or bring your own gun to the mall and sell it. Ahhhh. . . Good times. I think this is Al's Gun Room, but a lot of the sign is blocked by the light post. Maybe it was Sal's Gun Room. Anyway, I hope anyone looking for Old Towne pictures enjoyed today's post.

All Old Towne Posts are located here.

Tags: Old Towne Mall Torrance California