Foster’s Freeze on La Brea Avenue.

Back in the day, the retail landscape was dotted with the likes of giant coffee cups, big oranges, and hotdogs.

Of course, the most famous was the celebrity studded eatery, the Brown Derby. There were four Brown Derby locations and the last to be demolished was on Wilshire in mid-city. Inglewood is fortunate to have perhaps the most recognizable of LA’s theme architecture – Randy’s Donuts. Randy’s was originally one of 10 such places. There were two size donuts, one large (32 1/5’)—like Randy’s Donuts on Manchester at the 405 freeway— and one somewhat smaller size (23’). Of the five remaining, Randy’s is the best known and certainly the most photographed.

Randy’s has been featured in films, some being Get Shorty, Earth Girls are Easy, the currently running Iron Man 2 and many other movies as well as a number of MTV videos . It is al- so currently seen on TV in the Toyota commercial. Remember when the Shuttle was filmed being pulled by a Toyota truck across Manchester? That’s the one.

It may not be a theme building per se, but one can’t overlook the Brolly Hut located in Lockhaven. They don’t sell umbrellas, but the structure makes you smile—even if you’re a vegetarian.

Inglewood has another icon. It’s small, very unassuming and most of us drive by daily without noticing. It’s the original Foster’s Freeze on La Brea at 94th St, in the Arbor Village section. It was opened in 1949 and was the first retail location in the state of CA.

Remember Ike and Tina Turner? Their studio was in Fairview Heights. The ad- dress is 1300 N. La Brea, an unimpressive white stucco one-storey structure. But oh—the music that was made there!

Just outside Inglewood, the Beach Boys Monument is on the Hawthorne side of the 105 Freeway. This is the site of the childhood home of Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson. The Beach Boys were responsible for giving the world the California Sound. To make the pilgrimage, take Prairie south, left on 120th Street, make a left again on Kornblum and go to the end of the street.
Lastly there is the crown jewel of Inglewood, the Centinela Adobe. It is the birthplace of Inglewood and a great place to visit.

I’ll be writing about the about the Adobe in a future edition of Morningside Park Chronicle, so be sure to never miss a single issue!