MANCHESTER BOULEVARD is an exit sign I will never forget. Every time my dad dragged me to LMU reunions for the Student Workers or Tennis team, this was the sign that meant the beginning of the day was about to start. Meaning it was about time to be surrounded by my dad’s friends regurgitating stories of “when I went here...”. Turning left from the freeway, I was immediately greeted by the first of many weird monuments and my dad’s "good old days" stories.
The first spotlights the abnormally huge Randy’s donut that can be seen at least five miles in every direction. Already a 1950’s fixture with the drive-thru aspect, it becomes weirder that there is a huge donut on the roof of the building. As a little girl, the reasoning for such a fixture was beyond my capacity. To make things even more complicated, my dad said that he had been on that roof with friends from his Student Worker program, because it was “a kind of hazing, you know”. I didn’t know. I couldn’t believe that my sometimes quiet and goofy dad was cool enough to do something that crazy!
Well I was in for a treat, because as we move further down the winding street of Manchester Blvd., I soon find out that a donut is not the only weird monument my dad has gotten up close and personal with. This interestingly placed monument is of a traditional Trojan horse that again, happens to rest on another food place, this time an IHOP. Pancakes and horses are now always connected in my mind. Questions of how and why this came to be here and what the story was behind it would race in my mind. To this day, I cannot find out who put it there. Well, either can anyone else and that’s part of the intrigue. As another hazing ritual, my dad was forced, or I’m sure chose, to take a picture riding this concrete creature. How he got up there and did not get in trouble continue to baffle me every time I drive by it now.
The last piece of the Manchester Blvd. memory clip stops at Loyola Blvd. As soon as we saw that sign, with the ancient looking Viva Fresh at the corner, it was time to turn and leave the weird street behind and be greeted by crimson and blue flags that said LMU.
--Jessica Fernandez
(image via wikipedia)
(image via wikipedia)
Having grown up in Westchester back in the 60's and 70's, I remember when it wasn't Randys but the Big Donut Drive In. I also remember when they had repainted the big donut on their roof to Randys. This is was back in the early 70's. Back in the 60's we really didn't go to the Big Donut Drive-in that much. We always did business with Helm's Bakery for our donuts which were home delivered by their trucks. Those were the good ole days!
ReplyDeleteI see you know about the Trojan horse. I remember every year during Halloween time that man statue holding the horse would always end up with a pumpkin over it's head. And before IHOP it was a Italian restaurant, and before that I believe was a bank. Across the street on the corner was a Sav-On where I would ride my bike after school (WHS) for a ice cream. I miss those days.
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