Posted on 01/14/2015 9:19:31 PM PST by chrisinoc
DOWNEY — The building that housed the world’s first Taco Bell is under “imminent threat of demolition,” according to the Downey Conservancy, a Downey-based preservation group.
Although Downey is more famously recognized as the site of the oldest operating location for the world’s largest hamburger chain, it is Taco Bell that built its very first location within the city. The building, located at 7112 Firestone Blvd, was opened by founder Glen Bell in March 1962.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedowneypatriot.com ...
“The McDonald’s #1 Store Museum is housed in a replica of the former McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, opened by Ray Kroc in April 1955. The company usually refers to this as The Original McDonald’s, although it is not the first McDonald’s restaurant but the ninth; the first was opened by Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California, in 1940, while the oldest McDonald’s still in operation is the third one built, in Downey, California, which opened in 1953. However, the Des Plaines restaurant marked the beginning of future CEO Kroc’s involvement with the firm. “
So Downey has several famous places.
Taco Bell is dead to me since they discontinued the Chili Cheese Burrito. Any FReepers with me on this?
They still have them around here. :o)
Good. Now get the rest of them.
Charles Phoenix charlesphoenix.com led a wonderful retro tour of Downey in late 2009. We visited a barn where the Downey Rose Bowl float was being prepared, a deserted hospital and the eerily empty doctors’ houses around it, the early McDonalds, a grocery store in pristine 1960’s state often used for TV, commercials and films, a huge movie studio complex where Apollo space capsules were built, and of course the Carpenters house. It was a fun day! I don’t recall the Taco Bell.
I don't know... eating at Taco Bell would explain the bulimia.
I used to work at the Anaheim Theme Park. One of my co workers was from Downey. He told a story about coming home from work on the swing shift, and stopping off at Alpha Beta (Remember them?) and running into Richard Carpenter in the frozen foods aisle. How surreal/cool must that have been ?
Taco Bell? Live Mas? No thanks... Moe’s is better.
I feel like I'm in the Amesfanclub.com forum. Great site about old store chains.
1962. Wow.
I hope they can save it or disassemble it; it might draw a lot of business where I live. People should do selfies in front of it lol.
I'd have probably bothered him for his autograph when I was younger. That must get to be a pain for famous people.
After I learned a little more about how their talents developed well I can't write out all I learned. I told myself, "it can't be an accident those two were born in a family and had talents that complemented each other so well. It had to come from somewhere" They had the advantage of plenty of records (Richard called his father's collection "eclecric" I only remember Les Paul and Mary Ford) but so did my sister and I. We could have not all but plenty access to music from very young.
We both took up music but never had anything close to the gifts the Carpenters had.
I learned that the father took piano as a child and had no interest; he became a printer, worked very hard. It turns out his parents (Karen and Richard's paternal grandparents) had been missionaries in China and when they returned (first to England then it gets fuzzy), both were accomplished pianists. They would have dinners and afterwards entertain with piano duets. i learned that from an article in the NYT.
Not too long before she died, she did ask for a taco.
Thanks for your reply. That’s quite a bit of information, I was not aware of most of it.
I lived behind the Dilday Mortuary, on Beach Blvd, in Huntington for a bit. I guess that was where Karen’s services were held. I did not know, but my roomate told me.
Sad story that such a fine talent passed before her time.
WOW. Just went to Youtube, looking at Carpenter videos.
Talk about “Holy Cow” moments. Thank you.
Gemco was similar to Target and Walmart except you purchased groceries in a separate part of the store. That was done because the grocery workers were union and the rest of the store workers were not.
I will take a guess why the Carpenters moved from their first Downey home: that part of Downey was in the Paramount Unified School District which meant they would have gone to Paramount HS and not Downey or Warren HS, which had a better reputation at the time.
From the time I discovered it in 1978 until it closed, I used to go to Wenzel's at least once or twice a month--I lived in Whittier. I probably bought hundreds of records there.
Yes, Downey was once a conservative city. After a series of pro-Communist and pro-criminal decisions by the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Downey school board ruled that Earl Warren High School be simply called Warren High School, as it is today.
In one of their music videos, they are shown in the Huntington gardens; I guess they are behind the Huntington Gallery? We did visit there.
I wasn't familiar with Karen except just the sound on the radio and do remember when she died and what of but I'd get her mixed up with Cher for some reason. So now after all these years I discover K & R on youtube and have been enjoying it immensely.
One of my favorites so far is a medley done for the BBC at the New London Theater. I've noticed she loved to wear those white boots and can't remember heels in a performance. What I like so much about this one is she was reluctant to come out as lead from behind her drums and she exudes such confidence, grace and maturity. She's just so naturally beautiful, the way she nods and smiles. Then she talks briefly so confidently and the clip ends abruptly which is like a little jolt. She was just 26 at the time.
Another one the same year she had this gorgeous white dress with beautiful flouncy tiers at the bottom. Some of her clothes seem funky now but that was the 70's.
I don't like to say too much about her illness because there has been a lot of speculation and blame. It's just tragic what she did to herself but I'm not sure she intended to and wanted to live. IMO she damaged her heart so badly by what she was doing even if they had gotten more aggressive with her and treatment, it may have been too late.
A sad irony is that she died the morning she was to go finalize her divorce with her atty and was to meet with Olivia Newton John later. I can't think of a single female singer of pop type music I like better than her. Something about her voice, tones I never heard before.
Her brother said she had a 3-octave range. She could sing the D below middle C. Her brother was a genius, did all the arranging, much of the composing, played, sang, chose all the sounds and tracks and where to put the sounds. I never knew anything about that part of recording. Richard said they turned the ear phones off when they recorded in a sound booth. I don't know how they stayed in sync but they did flawlessly.
Oh, there's another clip where private services were held at the Downey Methodist Church. Many stood outside and I think they could hear through a speaker. I think the visitation would have been at the funeral home you mention.
I was watching “Rainy Days And Mondays” on Youtube, last night. I always kind of took the lyrics for granted, having grown up with them, but listening to them, in retrospect, it was almost as if she was predicting her demise. Very sad, it seemed.
Thanks, again, for your well written, and thought out reply.
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