Popular Categories

No categories found.

Let’s visit Escondido 60 years ago




 

 

Close your eyes. Try to visualize what Escondido, especially downtown, looked like 60-plus years ago. Impossi­ble, isn’t it, except for those of us Who were there?

Well, come with me. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane. I’m going to try to paint a mental image of “what was where” that year of 1952 (and right around the turn of the decade) when I first began work as a reporter with the Daily Times-Advocate. Some places (establishments and agencies) are gone, probably forever; some have just re­located. There was no Interstate 15; there was no freeway 78; there was no Kit Carson Park; there was no shop­ping mall complex; there was no flood- control channel; there was no Auto Park; there were no one-way streets; there was no tree-lined median down the center of Grand Avenue (which al­lowed the Jaycees’ annual Christmas parade to march from east to west along an unhindered avenue). There was only high school – the three-story brick Escondido High School on the hill, at Fourth and Hickory. The football field was at the northwest corner of Fig and Valley (about eight blocks away).

Centre City Parkway was Highway 395; Mission Avenue was Grant Ave­nue; El Norte Parkway as Hill Avenue; Valley Parkway from Hickory through downtown was Ohio Avenue. Much of Valley Parkway east of Ash was shy of business development and outside the city limits, still a few years away from being annexed.

The Bulen Dairy encompassed much of what is now the Office Depot/ Walmart shopping area. Grand Avenue on the east dead-ended at the top of the grade just east of Ash, where the Bulen family house still stands on the north sire of the street.

So, let’s start at the upper east end of “downtown.” The one-story adobe brick building housing City Hall and the Police Department was at the cor­ner of Grand and Valley on what is now that expanse of green in front of Palomar hospital’s downtown campus. The town’s only Fire Department was adjacent to the Police Department. Just a block down on the northeast corner of Grand and Ivy was the only Post Office.

Another block down at the northeast corner of Grand and Juniper was the Car-Hop, where you could pull up in your car, roll down the window, order a burger and malt and have them deliv­ered on a tray right to your car.

Across the street at the southeast cor­ner was the Ritz Theater, a building still there, although vacant for years. It was one of two walk-in theaters in town, the other being the Pala near the southeast corner of Grand and Kalmia, next to what is now Vinz Wine Bar. And the drive-in theater? It was at the southeast corner of Grant and 395, on the site now occupied by the Palm Tree Hotel and the vacated Wagon Wheel restau­rant.

Back on Grand Avenue, at the north­west corner with Juniper was the Piggly Wiggly market. Down the street on the same side were the Arcade shops, with the Elks Lodge on the second floor. Mc­Mahon’s furniture store and Port’s men store were in the same block as you ap­proached Kalmia Street.

Across the street in that same 200 block of East Grand Avenue were the Daily Times-Advocate building (with its press room off the rear alley); Let’s Sweet Shop; George Bartley’s real es­tate office; the Escondido Mutual Water Co. office; the Pala Theater and Ken Roberts’ men’s store at the southeast corner with Kalmia.

Right around the corner on Kalmia just before the alley was Jedlicka’s shoe repair. (Note: When the Pala The­ater closed down later, it was converted to Escondido’s first bowling alley, the four-lane Pala Bowl, owned and oper­ated by Everett Rose.)

Art Hollis’s sporting goods store (lat­er purchased by Bob Goodbody) was at the northwest corner of Grand and Kal­mia. Just down the block was Churchill and Cassou hardware, with its wooden floors. Across Grand at the southwest corner with Kalmia was the store hous­ing the Wardrobe men’s store and the Mercantile women’s apparel. Down the block on the same side were the

 

 

Cor­net five and dime store and D’Agosta’s shoe store.

There were three traditional drug stores, each with a lunch counter (any­one for a bowl of soup or a B.L.T., or how about a chocolate malt?): Ting’s at the northeast corner of Grand and Broadway; Beebe’s (later to become Meston’s) across the street next to D’Agosta’s; and Hoffman’s in the 100 block of West Grand in the vicinity of What is now Filippi’s Pizza.

There were two banks, both at the intersection of Grand and Broadway: Bank of America at the southeast cor­ner (next to Beebe’s) and Security Bank at the northwest corner. On that same side of the street down from Security and Hoffman’s gas the Logan Hotel. Across the street was the Chat and Chew Cafe, owned and operated by Ted McCain, a former city mayor. (It preceded Champion’s Restaurant.) J.C. Penney was at the southeast corner of Grand and Maple. Sears’ store was at the northwest corner of Broadway and Second, site of the former H. Johnson furniture store. Across Broadway at the northeast corner with Second was the Bell Telephone Co. (remember the Sherwood five prefix.)

There were two pool hall/card rooms on Grand Avenue: the Metro in the 100 block east on the north side; the other in the middle of the 100 block west on the south side.

Want to buy a car? There were no foreign-made models yet, but you had your choice of “American-made” brands. Homer Heller Ford was at the northeast corner of Grand and Highway 395 (Centre City Parkway); Palomar Motors (Pontiac, Cadillac), owned by B.J. McManus, was at the southeast corner of Broadway and Ohio (Valley Parkway); across the intersection at the northwest corner (current site of City Hall) was (Charlie) Weseloh Chevrolet; (Pat) Murray Buick was at the south­east corner of Broadway and Wash­ington (current site of Discount Tire); (Eric) Peto Motors (Lincoln, Mercury) was at the southeast corner of Third and Escondido Boulevard.

Citrus crops, barely existent today, were still thriving in the early Fifties. The Escondido lemon packing plant, reputed to be the largest in the country under one roof, was in the area now oc­cupied by the Barnes and Noble shop­ping complex — and adjacent to the railroad. A camp of cabins for migrant pickers was in the area now occupied by the transit center on West Valley Parkway. The orange packing plant was on Metcalf between Washington and Grant Avenue (Mission).

The northwest corner of Escondido Boulevard and Ohio Avenue, current site of the Fatburger restaurant and movie complex, was a vacant lot where the Jaycees sponsored an annual carni­val. Across Escondido Boulevard and just north of what is now the arts center was Finney Field where the Escondido Nightball League (fast-pitch softball) flourished and where Escondido High School and Palomar College played baseball.

Rube Nelson’s market, whose owner was a local “character,” was at the north­west corner of Broadway and Washing­ton, current site of Stater Brothers mar­ket. Where was the one Greyhound bus stop in town? At the southeast corner of Kalmia and Ohio, where Dick Bland­ford and his wife operated a small ticket depot and lunch counter. Next door on Ohio was Jack Owens’s radiator shop.

Escondido Creek, with a light trickle most of the year, meandered through Grape Day Park, devoid of all facili­ties except for a seldom-used concrete stage/bandstand. Across Broadway from the park was a row of rental cot­tages.

Down at the northwest corner of Tenth and Escondido Boulevard was the quaint little Laura’s Italian res­taurant, owned and operated by the Scardino family and named for Mrs. Scardino. And the La Tapatia Mexican restaurant, perhaps the only business along Grand Avenue still operating to­day as it did 60-plus years ago, is in the same location today as it was then (300 block west between Escondido Boule­vard and Orange Street), although en­larged, remodeled and under different ownership.

What a dramatic change “our town” has undergone in those 60-plus years. Put imagine the evolution over the city’s full 128 years of existence from its incorporation as a promising rural newcomer in the Hidden Valley in Oc­tober 1888.


19 responses to “Let’s visit Escondido 60 years ago”

  1. Kathie karge says:

    Your memory is amazing! I used to work at Peto Motors and would love to find Jean French the office manager. Any ideas?

  2. Jason Houston says:

    I have a 1960 Edsel convertible that was sold by Peto Motors Lincoln-Mercury. I would love to find the owner, Eric Peto, or anyone else who was connected with this dealer. Any and all leads would be appreciated!

  3. Bill Wilson says:

    Don’t forget the Chrysler dealership across from Weseloh Chevrolet, next to the park. And the bicycle shop, later Honda motorcycle
    on the east side of Broadway.

  4. Tom Sullivan says:

    In looking at photos , I see there was a JCPennys on the first floor of the Logan hotel, do you know any more about that?

  5. Paul Harris says:

    We remember the Escondido Precision Drill Police Motorcycle team performing on Grand Avenue during parades. The maneuvers were awesome. They were invited and performed in the Pasadena Rose Parade (don’t remember the year, probably ’60’s)

    • Ellen Watkins says:

      The Police Motorcycle Team was a highlight of the parades! When they did the splitting of the motorcycles we all held our breaths! The one that did the splitting was Chuck Weimers, his oldest daughter, Renee, was a close friend of my daughter, Julie! I didn’t know any of the others names!

  6. Jack Powell says:

    Ron, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip down memory lane. I remember everything you described. When I was 7, my family moved to Escondido in 1956 so your narrative is extremely sharp in my mind. It was in 1956 that my father purchased “ Don Rex Motors” , the DeSoto-Plymouth dealership, at 332 So. Escondido Blvd. He re-named it “Jack Powell DeSoto-Plymouth”. That is the genesis of the dealership my family still runs to this day, now located in the Escondido Auto Park and named “Jack Powell Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge Ram.

  7. Dana Sledge says:

    Wow! What a wonderful article. My Dad was aways in Churchill and Cassou’s, as well was Montgomery Wards, and Palomar Pump and Pipe Supply. He owned a dairy in Valley Center, Briden’s Dairy for many year’s. I heard about the Bulen Dairy. Interesting my mother’s maiden name was Kenney, same as the author of this article.

  8. Susan Callander Vanderheiden says:

    Hello my parents owned the Hunza House bakery on 2nd and Grand across from old Sears and JCPenny. I have so many memories of this town. Where everyone knew. My father was good friends of Bob Wedeking of Wedeking bakery and Rube Nelson.
    The town was so small that as a kid you had to behave because your parents
    knew all the police personally, Was a great place to grow up.

    • Monica Oconnor says:

      Susan ,I read this article and then came across your comment and my eyes life up my Dad Jerry Bothof worked there also 1968 would u have any pictures could you send thanks so much , monica

    • Susan Simpson Morris says:

      My husband and I were just talking about the Hunza House and the delicious bread. My dad, Waldo Simpson, owned Simpson Super Service the 76 station next door. We always looked forward to a loaf of dark thinly sliced sweet smelling bread from your family’s bakery.

  9. Susie Wearne Charles says:

    Thanks for the memories, Escondido was my home town from 1942 til 1962.

  10. Christina Oswald says:

    Mr. Kenney, that’s how I remember you, as Bert McClintock’s daughter and Percy Evans’ granddaughter. I grew up knowing how important you were to the TA. I so enjoyed your article and remember almost all of it. I will share it with my brother who still lives in Escondido. I get back there at least twice a year, and we always go somewhere downtown. It was a wonderful place to grow up. Thanks for the memories!

  11. Jean Gray Dunn says:

    Loved reading the great stories of “Old” Escondido, my home base from 1950 – 1964, and again 1970 – 1996..

  12. Janet Lemley Gilliland says:

    My dad worked at the Post Office when it was at Ivy and Grand. My mom worked at Tings Drug Store. The stone church, then Trinity Episcopal, at Juniper and third I think, or fourth, was where my Mom and Dad were married. There was the large clock in the middle of Broadway and Grand that now stands on the northeast corner.

  13. Ginger winkler says:

    I was thrilled to run across your page and omg, all the memories!! My father was RoyWinkler of “Winklers Ideal Poultry Equip. Looking back on all the streets, the shops, the business end was wonderful. As a kid I remember we shopped at Rube Nelson’s where you had a tab, paying once a month or when you can!! Lol I purchased my mom a lovely robe at Mercantile for her birthday. By the way Frank and Eloise Perkins was a favorite place to go as Micky was a child hood bestie. I was always scared of their driveway as it was so steep. But as a farm girl not having my own bedroom and going to her house where she had beautiful things in her very own room was breathtaking. I loved her grandma who lived with them. Eloise was a big shot at the paper in some way. My parents divorced and mom moved me and my brother to Riverside in or around 1957. I still reside here and hate it now with all the rude drivers, the influx of those from the borders have moved here as well as other cities. Lots of smog, little to no rain, dry and windy mostly. My father lived there till his death at age 81( my age now)! My mom passed at 91, I looked after her needs as well as her very last sister whom mom made move here after her hubby died early on in Ramona. When me and my family came to Esc. To visit my dad I always drove down Main Street before coming back to Riv. Thanks for the memories👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 ginger winkler

  14. Allison Peters says:

    My mom and her girlfriend used to go to a dance club, with a live band, dance floor and could purchase alcohol at the vineyard off valley Pkwy. They went 2-3 times. This was early 1970s. Searched high and low but cannot remember the name. Thoughts? Thanks!!!

  15. Paul Shahan says:

    I grew up in Escondido from 1962 until 1975. My first memories are of being raised by a single mother and being poor I remember thinking poor old Rube is not the same kind of poor that we are. We would go to some kind of a castle at Christmas time set up for underprivileged kids the people were so kind to us I can still see there smiles. Things changed when Mom married a Mcmanus. Back then Alan Mcmanus owned Palomar Motors and Burne Mcmanus owned Palomar Truck Corp. Mom married the youngest brother Bob. My sister and I loved this family and still share wonderful memories of them. I live in Maryland now on the Chesapeake Bay but my grandfather still has a house in Escondido which I’m do to inherit soon.

Leave a Reply to Kathie karge Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *