Almond Blossoms In California

This vintage postcard from my grandparents' collection was manufactured by the Longshaw Card Company of Los Angeles, California. Unfortunately, I don't know the date this beautiful postcard was published.

Transcription from back of postcard:

In the romantic beauty of acres of blossoming orchards 17,000 tons of almonds are produced yearly in California.

I did a little research to see how many almonds are produced in California today. I found some interesting statistics. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times dated January 12, 2014, 82% of the world's almonds are produced in California. Also, the article stated that according to the Almond Board of California, 1.88 billion pounds of almonds were harvested in California in 2013. That's a lot of almonds!

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© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

The Large Cage, Bird Park, Santa Catalina, California

This is a 1939 Curt Teich, "C.T. Art-Colortone" vintage postcard from my grandparents' collection. It was published by the Western Publishing & Novelty Company of Los Angeles, California.

It shows the large cage at the Bird Park on Santa Catalina Island.

Santa Catalina Island, often referred to as Catalina Island, or simply Catalina, is about 22 miles off the coast of Southern California.  The Catalina Chamber of Commerce has an official website.  If you’d like to check it out, here’s the link.

According to an article in the The Catalina Islander, May 11, 2001, found online at Google News, the Bird Park was established in 1929 and covered eight acres of land.  It had over 500 cages and housed over 8,000 rare and exotic birds.

The Bird Park was a very popular attraction on Catalina Island for over thirty-five years.  During World War II, the Park was scaled back and never regained it’s prewar vitality.  It closed in 1966.

Transcription from back of postcard:

In this giant cage, 110 feet in diameter, 90 feet in height, are several hundred rare and beautiful birds, collected from all over the world – African Crowned Crane, golden and silver Pheasants, Peacocks, Australian Swans, Mandarin Duck, Cockatoos, Macaws, and many other interesting birds.

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© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Arroyo Seco, Colorado Street Bridge, Pasadena, California

This is a 1931 Curt Teich "C.T. Art-Colortone" vintage postcard published by the Western Publishing & Novelty Company of Los Angeles, California. It shows the Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena, California.

The bridge was built in 1913 and turned 100 years old in December of 2013. To learn more about this historic bridge, and to see some amazing historic photos, including an "electric car" crossing the bridge in 1930, click on the link below.

Colorado Street Bridge at 100: The Birth of a Pasadena Landmark

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© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

California's Golden Oranges And Waxlike Blossoms

This vintage postcard from my grandparents' collection was manufactured by the Longshaw Card Company of Los Angeles, California. I don't know the exact publication date of this postcard, but I found it on ebay.com, and on that website it says the postcard is from the 1940s.

Transcription from back of postcard:

Oranges are 58% of California's total fruit crop. Between 35 and 40 million boxes are produced in this state every year. The Naval orange (seedless) is a native of California and is highly prized for its fine flavor.

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© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Home of Bing Crosby, Toluca Lake, North Hollywood, California

How fun is this vintage postcard!? I'm so glad my grandparents included it in their collection.

This linen postcard was manufactured by the Longshaw Card Co. of Los Angeles, California. Unfortunately, I don't know exactly when it was manufactured. According to the Postcard Collectors' Reference Guide by Postcardy.com, linen postcards were produced from 1933 until the early 1950s. So, this information at least gives us a rough estimate of when this postcard was produced.

The Los Angeles Times' website posted a photo gallery of this famous home. If you'd like to see these photos, click HERE.

Can you believe it's already December? Of course, that means Christmas is just around the corner. Yay! One of our family's favorite Christmas movies is White Christmas, which stars Bing Crosby. In this movie, Bing Crosby sings the Irving Berlin song "White Christmas."

And so, for your listening pleasure, please enjoy listening to this recording of Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas."

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© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Mulholland Memorial Fountain, Entrance to Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California

This is a 1940 C.T. Art-Colortone vintage postcard from my grandparents' collection. It was published by the Western Publishing & Novelty Co. of Los Angeles, California. The postcard shows the William Mulholland Memorial Fountain.

Transcription from back of postcard:

The William Mulholland Memorial Fountain is located at the junction of Los Feliz Boulevard and Riverside Drive at the entrance to Griffith Park. It was erected in commemoration of a life devoted to Civic Development, the building of the Los Angeles aqueduct, and his service with the Metropolitan District.

The blog, Big Orange Landmarks, has a blog post about the William Mulholland Memorial Fountain. There are several photos of this beautiful fountain in this blog post. If you'd like to check out the photos, click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Palms and Flowers in a California Residential District

This is a 1931 C.T. Art-Colortone vintage postcard from my grandparents' collection. It was published by the Western Publishing & Novelty Co. of Los Angeles, California.

The postcard shows beautiful flowers and palm trees in a California residential area. Isn't it a beautiful scene? Unfortunately, the postcard doesn't specify exactly where in California this is. Does it look like Southern California? What do you think?

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© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Greetings from Hollywood California

This is a 1936 C.T. Art-Colortone vintage postcard which was published by the Western Publishing & Novelty Co. of Los Angeles, California.

My grandparents and their family emigrated from Brazil to the United States in 1952. They arrived in New York and traveled across the United States on their way to their final destination of Southern California. There are many vintage postcards from California in my grandparents' collection. The postcard I'm sharing with you today is one of them.

Hollywood is a popular tourist destination. After arriving in California, my grandparents and their family visited the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Here's a picture of them at this famous tourist spot. My two uncles are the little boys in the photo and my Grandma Willis is to the left of them. Willis' mother is the woman in the foreground of the photo on the right.




I did a little bit of research online, and it appears that the younger of my two uncles (the one on the right) is standing on the handprint/footprint square for Diana Wynyard. And directly behind him is the square for Judy Garland. My other uncle is standing in between the squares for Mickey Rooney and Norma Shearer. Willis' mom is standing on the square for the Ritz Brothers.

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© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

The Bird Park, Santa Catalina, California

Did you know there used to be a bird park on Catalina Island? It was established in 1929 and closed in 1966. To read more about the bird park, click HERE.

This 1939 Curt Teich C.T. Art-Colortone vintage postcard shows the Santa Catalina Bird Park.

Transcription from back of postcard:

The Santa Catalina Bird Park comprises about eight acres in a beautiful canyon where thousands of rare species of birds, collected from all over the world, are exhibited free to the public. Here dwell together in a colorful community rare and beautiful birds from every land and clime.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

The Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

With the 2013 college football season about to begin, I thought this was the perfect time to share this fun vintage postcard with you.

This is a 1951 Curt Teich C.T. Art-Colortone vintage postcard showing The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

Transcription from back of postcard:

ROSE BOWL, PASADENA

     The scene of the annual East-West football championship, which is played on New Year's Day. Each year the Tournament of Roses Association invites the western university whose team has made the most outstanding record during the season. The university in turn invites its opponent of similar standing from the East. This game has become a national classic. Over 100,000 football enthusiasts crowd this immense stadium.

     Of interest to the visitors are the 5,000 beautiful rose bushes, some 157 varieties, that encircle the stadium.

Thanks for stopping by!

© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Beach Clubs and Homes, Santa Monica, California

This 1941 Curt Teich C.T. Art-Colortone vintage postcard shows beach clubs and homes in Santa Monica, California.

Transcription from back of postcard:

The beautiful shaded park that crowns the famous Palisades at Santa Monica, overlooks one of the finest bathing beaches in the West. Many of the movie stars have homes along the shores of the Pacific, and also there are numerous fashionable beach clubs.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Catalina Island

This is a 1935 Curt Teich C.T. Art-Colortone vintage postcard from my grandparents' collection.

It shows Catalina Island, also referred to as Santa Catalina Island, or simply Catalina, which is about 22 miles off the coast of Southern California.  The Catalina Chamber of Commerce has an official website.  If you’d like to check it out, click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

New $3,000,000 Mutual Don Lee Television-Radio Studio, Hollywood, California

This is a 1948 Curt Teich C.T. Art-Colortone vintage postcard showing the Mutual Don Lee Television-Radio Studio in Hollywood, California.

Transcription from back of postcard:

MUTUAL DON LEE

TELEVISION-RADIO STUDIO, HOLLYWOOD 

World's greatest studio built exclusively for television-radio at 1313 North Vine Street, covers four enormous theatres decorated in 19 dazzling colors to create optical effects. "Poly-cylindrical diffuses" and walls tilted at angles obtain maximum acoustical effects.

Here is what the building looks like today, courtesy of Googlemaps.com. The building no longer houses the Don Lee Television-Radio Studio. The sign on the building says:

Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences 

Pickford Center

To read more about this historic building, click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

East Colorado Street, Pasadena, California

I love this 1949 Curt Teich Art-Colortone vintage postcard. Pictured is East Colorado Street (now called East Colorado Boulevard), which was and still is part of the parade route for the famous annual Tournament of Roses parade.

Transcription on back of postcard:

Colorado Street, Pasadena

The main business thoroughfare of this beautiful city. Lined with many fine shops, this avenue is famous as the scene of the annual Tournament of Roses parade, a floral pageant viewed by millions.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

"Wawona" Mariposa Grove of Big Trees – Yosemite National Park

Happy summer to my awesome readers! Summertime and road trips go hand in hand. So it's the perfect time of year to share this 1939 Curt Teich Art-Colortone vintage postcard. It shows a car full of people driving through the famous "Wawona" tunnel tree in Yosemite National Park.

Transcription from back of postcard:

The famous "Wawona" tunnel tree is in the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, a pleasant drive of 36 miles from the hotels or camps in Yosemite Valley. In this grove more than six hundred giant sequoias have been growing here for centuries…the earth's largest and oldest trees.

According to the National Park Service website, a tunnel was cut through the famous Wawona  tree in 1881. Unfortunately, the tree fell during the winter of 1968-69.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last