Pacific Car Wash & Bob's Big Boy

At the risk of being typecast, I hereby present another installment in the 'SoCal Classic Car Wash' series: Pacific Car Wash

Located at 12050 Beach Blvd in Stanton, California, it looks like the Pacific has seen a lot of classic autos pass through it's gates over the years. Thankfully, most of it's 60's stylings remain, but I'm guessing that the large sign used to be a bit more 'grand':

And just for good measure, here's a shot of the former Bob's Big Boy on Harbor Blvd near Disneyland. This place was vacant for a while a few years back; I'm glad that Coco's picked it up and didn't change the look:

Happy travels until next time...

Bahia Motel - Beach Blvd

Sorry for the long gap between posts. Here we go:

Here’s the last word in luxury and convenience: ---The Bahia Motel---
This exotically-themed motel was located at 821 Beach Boulevard in Anaheim.

With thermostatically controlled heat, pool, kitchen units, adjacent restaurants and recreation room, the Bahia was a great place to stay when visiting Knott’s Berry Farm, Disneyland, Movieland Wax Museum and Marineland of the Pacific.

Things were looking good. Of course, that was in the early 60’s…

Now it’s the early 70’s and the foliage has matured. It’s still the Bahia and business is good.

Now we’re in the early 80’s and New Wave is all the rage. The Bahia is new too; it’s now the Razzmatazz…kinda catchy and ‘hip’ huh?

So 40 Summers have come and gone. Here we are at the now-Covered Wagon Motel in 2005. It looks like they removed most of the Palms and the other greenery. Still want to stay there?

Make sure to call ahead and make reservations!

Calico Motel Then And Now

Here's a 1960's postcard view of the Calico Motel at 500 Beach Blvd in Buena Park(?)
And here it is today (June 2006):

Because motels produced postcards for advertising and souvenir use, tracking their decline over time isn't too difficult. Comparing the postcards sunny view with the run-down condition of today is a poignant affair.

The pool was located in front of the office and had been filled in by the time I visited. A filled in or drained/mucked up pool is a good indicator of where an old motel is in it's lifecycle.