Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Pal
Hey, we all have out own interests, Rustifer; that's what makes the thread interesting!
I've wondered if the Dino's sign still was around, perhaps at MONA or something. Here's a couple photos I saw recently online.
Something "for the night people" ...a daytime shot. Looks like hot weather to me. Dated 1969.
 VLA
Something a little more moist and refreshing. c.1966.
 Tumblr
I believe the tumblr poster added his name, Andreas Stasiak, to the photo.
You can glimpse the red "Sea Witch" blade sign down the street.
This next photo was taken in 1977. The "Dean Martin" diamond shaped neon part of the sign has been replaced by some sort of creature on a shield
shape. So the whole sign is not intact. Several online posters have asked what happened to the sign, but I haven't located any answers to that question.
 Vintage Everyday |
What great photos, MP! And here I thought I've seen every pic of Dino's ever taken!
Love the reference on the events sign promoting "Breakfast at Dino's 2 a.m.-4 a.m." I wish the heck I was the kid in the red sweater. How dare he walk by the place and not go in! Arrrgghhh!! I also noticed that besides Dino's neon face being swapped out for the emblem, the sidewalk lamps that line the front of the building had grown considerably in girth by 1977. interesting. That emblem, by the way, was on plaques that lined the walls every couple of feet inside the restaurant. A coat of arms, so to speak.
The drive through between Dino's and the building (that served as 77 SS) that led to the parking lot was still intact when I finally made a pilgrimage to LA to visit the site. The Mary Hill Davis building had been torn down by that time and replaced with Tiffany's theater. Dino's was gone by around 1984 so I missed that by a good 10 years, dammit.
The whole block has been replaced by the Milennium Project which are nothing but ugly contemporary condos and store fronts. I'm pretty sure the
77 Sunset Strip / Warner Bros. emblem that was embedded in the sidewalk at 8523 Sunset is probably gone as well. Wonder where that went?
I also spent some time up on Miller Dr. trying to ascertain where the cameraman was situated to shoot the opening credits for the tv series. I would've given my eye teeth to have had an apartment or house there overlooking the Strip. Unfortunately between 1958-1963 I was in my early teens, so no chance of that. By the time I was old enough (and had the money), the ambiance of the block was pretty much gone.
If I were 30 years younger, I would have moved to LA in the late '90's and early 2000's as my company's home office was located in Santa Ana, Orange County. I would fly out once a month (from Indiana) for meetings and always take a day to motor up to LA and tour the Strip. I remember once crossing Sunset in front of Tiffany's to jog over to Mel's Drive-In and dropping my cell phone in the middle of the street and having it run over by a passing car. Surprisingly, the thing still worked!