Disneyland Marquee (2nd Generation)

Video Rentals
West Los Angeles, CA
Photo and info courtesy Scott Broadhurst

Check out this Video Rentals sign in West Los Angeles, a reminder of when choosing a movie meant leaving the house. The neighborhood video store offered shelves to browse, cover art to inspect, and the possibility that the evening’s first choice was already checked out. By the time of this photograph, this type of business was beginning to go the way of the dinosaur. 11-10

UPDATE: The particular store behind this sign has not been identified. Independent video rental does survive in West Los Angeles, however, with CineFile Video continuing to offer a library of roughly 60,000 films on Santa Monica Boulevard. The old browsing experience hasn’t disappeared entirely. 10-26

Toys R Us (Gone)
Rosemead, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Here’s the whitewashed Toys R Us in Rosemead, photographed after the toy store closed but before the building was renovated for another business. Without the colorful exterior and familiar lettering, the place looks rather quiet for a building that once inspired so much excitement from the back seat. Even covered in plain paint, it brings back memories of trips through aisles that seemed to go on forever. 05-20

The company’s beginnings reach back to 1948, when Charles Lazarus opened a baby-furniture store in Washington, D.C. The Toys R Us name followed in 1957 as toys became the focus. Wayne, New Jersey, later served as the company’s headquarters, rather than its birthplace.

For San Gabriel Valley families, this Rosemead location became part of that much larger story. The stripped exterior captures an in-between moment, after the toys and Geoffrey had departed but before a new tenant gave the building another identity.

UPDATE: This store closed well before the chain’s nationwide 2018 liquidation. The property subsequently housed Levitz Furniture and later became UFC Gym Rosemead, carrying the large retail building into another use after its toy-store years. 10-26

Ned's Oil & Stuff
Rialto, CA
Photo courtesy John King

With a name like Ned's Oil & Stuff, who can resist following this huge green arrow to see where it leads? Ned's began as a Jet Flame gas station during the 1950s before evolving into an old-fashioned hardware and automotive supply store. The shop became known for carrying oil, plumbing supplies, tools, and all kinds of difficult-to-find stuff. Apparently, the name on the sign was pretty accurate. 07-10

UPDATE: Ned's Oil Sales remains open in Rialto, and the giant green arrow still points Route 66 travelers toward the store. 09-26