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Into the Sun: 1956

        Location Update: We are on West Main Street in Alhambra.
A found Kodachrome slide of a Southern California street scene, possibly Alhambra or Pasadena, going by the address labels on other boxes in this collection. "1956" is written on the box cover. View full size.

        Location Update: We are on West Main Street in Alhambra.

A found Kodachrome slide of a Southern California street scene, possibly Alhambra or Pasadena, going by the address labels on other boxes in this collection. "1956" is written on the box cover. View full size.

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Mountains from Alhambra

An earlier street view taken from the 200 block of West Main in Alhambra on a clearer day does indeed show the closer ridge.

[SMOG! - Dave]

That's what I love about Shorpy

Pretty nice detective work, Dave. Kudos.

Coronet/Capri theatre

Looking at the comments about the Capri Theatre on Cinema Treasures, it seems it was actually called the Coronet at this point. I basically can only see a "C" on the marquee, so that works. Further, another comment has a link to a 1941 photo of the theatre and the building matches the one in this photo. Finally, all the street numbers would match up, 130 W. Main for the Coronet/Capri, Pfaff Sewing Center at 222 W. Main, and Pedrini Music at 230 W. Main.

Main Street, Alhambra

Click to enlarge.

Pfaff Sewing Center

Under the BLOUSE SHOP sign. There was one in Alhambra at 222 West Main Street as well as at 438 North Brand Boulevard in Glendale.

Definitely not Glendale

I was born and raised in Glendale. That's not Brand Blvd.

The whole picture

We can only see half of the Fisk Tire sign on the left. Here's the rest of the picture.

I'd vote for Alhambra

The mountains are convincing, but there is what looks like a movie theatre on the right side of the street. If we are choosing between the two locations of the music store, there doesn't seem to be a good theatre candidate (per Cinema Treasures) for Glendale. But in Alhambra, the Capri theatre was located down the street from Pedrini. I can almost make out "Capri" atop the marquee.

So many passengers!

I see passengers in nearly all of the cars in this photograph.

Whenever I drive around, even on weekends especially - as i sit in traffic, even on weekends - I find it odd how almost no other cars have a passenger in any of the passenger seats.

Even the modern street-view image, which is hard to go by due to the want of traffic, only has two non-single occupant vehicles.

Regarding Glendale.

I noticed and was confused about the mountains also. The article posted though with regards to the original location of the music store in Glendale said it was a few doors down from the Alex Theater. This is the Alex theater in 1959 which doesn't resemble the one in the original pic from '56, a bit of a dilemma here.

[The Alex was and is a block or so in the opposite direction from the slide vantage point. It's a different theater in the slide. -tterrace]

Doubting Alhambra

Note that in the Alhambra street view there's no mountain range down the street in the distance as there is in the 1956 slide. However, Pedrini Music's original location was at 324 North Brand Blvd. in Glendale. That block has been extensively rebuilt, but note the mountain range.

Tagged

Cars have 1956-62 yellow California license plates.

Alhambra has changed.

I googled Pedrini Music (sign mostly visible at the right edge of the photo) and it's still in business in the 200 block of W. Main, Alhambra.

Alhambra, California

The store at far right is Pedrini Music, located at 230 W. Main Street, Alhambra, in 1956. They sold musical instruments, pianos, records, sheet music, televisions, radios, etc.

Maybe not 1956

A little earlier than 1956, I think; the newest car is a 1953(?) Ford - and this is a California street.

[There's a 1955 Buick next to the Ford. - Dave]

I stand corrected; also, there's what looks like a Ford Thunderbird in the next picture from this series.

Alhambra?

There is a Pedrini School of Music at 234 W Main St, Alhambra, CA 91801 which looks like it may be the business on the very far right in the photo.

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