Science Hall

Recently, I obtained this nice clean image of Covina Union High School in its prime. It's from the same source as the photo of Citrus Avenue in 1930 that I posted here last month, so I'm guessing both shots were taken by the same unknown photographer, and maybe even on the same day.

Covina Union High School, 1930. Click image to enlarge.

The more-or-less contemporaneous view below features Science Hall (left): an addition to the campus which opened officially in Fall, 1925.¹ While classes in Chemistry, Physics and Biology were taught therein, so were a variety of other subjects, including English, History, Civics, Spanish and French, Music, Art, and what today we would call Home Economics. On the second floor were a lecture hall, library and museum devoted specifically to the natural sciences.¹

Photo by Tucker Studio. Click image to enlarge.

In the early Twenties, when expansion of the high school was first being discussed, a second wing similar to Science Hall was proposed for the north side of the main building.² However, bond issues to fund the project were repeatedly rejected by voters, and the three-building plan was finally abandoned in 1936.^2,3

References:

¹ Covina Argus, May 8, 1925.
² Covina Argus, March 26, 1931.
³ Covina Argus, October 23, 1936.

 

Eastland in 1960

To bookend Randall Smith's post on Eastland's 3-day Grand Opening (which ended 65 years ago tonight), I present this pair of previously unknown photos that I acquired just this past week.

Eastland Shopping Center, West Covina, California, June, 1960. Click image to enlarge. Photo copyright © J Scott Shannon.

Eastland was once the showpiece gateway to the San Gabriel Valley, as this impressive view attests. Coming down off Kellogg Hill heading toward L.A., the flagship May Co. building in particular was a bold visual announcement to every commuter and traveler that they had arrived in a great American metropolis. By contrast, Eastland Center today is a pale postmodern shadow of its former self, notably lacking the grand scale and aesthetic appeal of its original incarnation.

The Paul Cummins Huddle Restaurant, West Covina, California, June, 1960. Click image to enlarge. Photo copyright © J Scott Shannon.

This photo of the Huddle Restaurant is special because, to the best of my knowledge, it's the only known view of the rear of this lost Googie treasure. (The front was previously featured here.)

Sources:

 

Eastland at 65

...by guest author Randall Smith

65 years ago today . . .
Eastland Shopping Center officially opened its doors to the public, on Thursday, October 24, 1957, with a Grand Opening gala celebration. Emceed by KTTV on-air personality, Bill Walsh, the celebratory activities occurred over a three-day period.

Original advertisement for Eastland’s grand opening. Pasadena Independent, Thursday, October 24, 1957.

Detail: Eastland's fifty-one original tenants.

Aerial photograph of Eastland Shopping Center on September 19, 1957, just three days after the May Co. grand opening. Just a few of the mall shops were open at this time, while interior build-outs were still being completed at most of the tenant storefronts. Note that the iconic “M” has yet to be installed on the sign structure on top of the May Co. building. Photo courtesy Los Angeles Public Library.

Old City Hall on Citrus

Another rare view of downtown Covina, this one from December, 1924-January, 1925. The vantage point is the roof of the Finch Building at 113 N. Citrus, looking northeast. Easy to tell it's wintertime, with new snow in the mountains. The date range can be deduced by the car license plates: about half of which are in the style of 1925 and the other half appear to be 1924, so it's probably close to the end of the year when plates would be in transition. It's also likely a weekday, as a customer can be seen exiting the First National Bank building on the northeast corner of Citrus and College, which opened in 1924.

North Citrus Avenue in Winter, 1925. Photographer unknown, but likely C. W. Tucker. Click image to enlarge.

Probably the most interesting detail in this photo is the lettering in the window of the storefront two doors up from the furniture store. It reads "COVINA CITY HALL." Check out the closeup below.

The pre-1930 Covina City Hall at 132 N. Citrus.

I'd always wondered where city hall was located before the "new" one opened in January, 1930,¹ and now I know!

Another noteworthy detail in this photo is the closeup of the Finch Brothers street clock. Apparently its original face used IIII for the 4, while the one now has IV. The rest of the old downtown landmark has remained unchanged since it was erected in 1916.¹

¹ Pflueger, D. H. 1964. Covina: Sunflowers, Citrus, Subdivisions. Castle Press, Pasadena, California, 372pp.

 

Early Covina Theatre Photo

I believe I may have found the earliest known photograph of the Covina Theatre. Judging by the car license plates, it was taken in 1924. The theater itself opened in 1921, so I am reasonably confident earlier images of it must exist, but to the best of my knowledge, none of those have yet seen the light of day in our times.

Citrus and Badillo in 1924. Photo by Tucker Studio. Click image to enlarge.

At first glance, it appears the theater does not yet have a marquee. However, on higher magnification, the longer panels on the canopy can be seen to spell out C-O-V-I-N-A--T-H-E-A-T-R-E. Although not very visible in the daytime, it's likely those panels were made of glass and were backlit by light bulbs in the evening.

Closeup of the early marquee. The panels on the right of the canopy spell out T-H-E-A-T-R-E.

In the Thirties, both the theater marquee and the building's exterior facade were upgraded to a more modern appearance.

 

Mountain View in Color

Awhile back, after reading my previous post about the Ruddock Mansion, Marilee Johnson sent me these remarkable never-before-seen color photos of the estate. The three pictures below were taken by her grandfather – Bruce Ward Macy – while Marilee and her family lived at Mountain View Ranch from 1952-1954.

The entrance to Mountain View Ranch, Grand Avenue at San Bernardino Road, Covina, California, May, 1952.
Photo by Bruce Ward Macy, ©Marilee Johnson, All Rights Reserved. Click on image to enlarge.

Old Covina Glass

I know I said a while back that I was done collecting Covina antiques, but bottles were one of my earliest specialties, and I simply can't resist temptation when it comes to old Covina glass.

So, given that affinity, what would a local history nut like me most like to acquire? A Covina orange juice bottle, of course! You might think they'd be relatively common, but it's taken me forever just to find one. And here it is: a beautiful, like-new half gallon juice bottle from the Damerel-Allison Company of Covina that dates from 1946-1950.

Photos by Jose Lomeli.

A case could be made that Damerel-Allison invented bottled orange juice. Founded in 1901, D-A pioneered storage and refrigeration techniques that made it possible to reliably mass produce orange and other fruit juices for the regional consumer market. D-A also achieved market advantage by controlling its entire supply and distribution chain all the way from the grove to the grocer's shelf. After WWII, Damarel-Allison opened the largest and most thoroughly automated frozen juice concentrate facility in the United States. In 1950, D-A was acquired by a division of the California Fruit Growers Exchange, whose consumer products brand name was... Vita-Pakt! Under that name, the company would remain a staple of Covina's economy for another half-century.