I had trouble figuring out what to title this post... I was browsing through some urban-exploration sites and found this picture which I though some of you might enjoy.

Maybe if other people have more, they could post them....?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/Chromacolor2/greenleys.jpg

If I were to guess the era/brands in the front row (center) I'd say:

1968, Sylvania, Zenith, RCA :scratch2:

The only brand I see in your pic is Angelfire.

TV stores. To see the images on the screens of operating sets would be really neat!

Fixed the picture

That's cool. Now we need someone to post a tv shop with roundies all in operation :yes:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m174/kx250racer/MelsTVinVenice.jpg

This is NOT my photo... It was uploaded to AK a few months ago. I think it bears reposting... Whoever originally posted it gets credit!

This shop was on Lincoln Blvd in Venice, CA until very recently, and in fact it may still be there. I haven't been down that way lately.

Charles

That's cool. Now we need someone to post a tv shop with roundies all in operation :yes:


Here ya go.

I'm not sure whether Mel's more resembles a diner (hih) or a car dealer with all that neon. LOVE that picture of Greenley's. I wonder what mall it was in.

I'm not sure whether Mel's more resembles a diner (hih) or a car dealer with all that neon. LOVE that picture of Greenley's. I wonder what mall it was in.

It came from this site:

http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/forgottenmi/

and they say it's the dead/dying Fort Saginaw, MI mall.

they say it's the dead/dying Fort Saginaw, MI mall.

The Mel's TV is definitely on Lincoln in Venice... But my curiosity is killing me, so I will go by there tonight and see what's up with the building :scratch2:

There's no doubt, because not only is the address correct, but also the phone number over the door with the EXbrook prefix.

Charles

I remember seeing a picture of the old Bondurant Bros. store in Knoxville in 1950...They had a line of Zenith B&W roundscreens diagonally across the floor...w/a "wall" of TVs & other appliances in the background...That was the place I saw the Zenith-y looking "Sony" color set that was 23" at the time Sony only made the Trinitron in 12".It was on an audio/visual rollaround rack, w/a huge VTR underneath, like something we all saw in the 8th grade...

But my curiosity is killing me, so I will go by there tonight and see what's up with the building :scratch2: CharlesI'll be checking in tonight for that report. :yes:

I've also posted this Dumont sign elsewhere on Audiokarma, but in a different view. I used to marvel at the sign back in the '60s to early '70s when it was lighted each night. It was even then a Dumont dinosaur, back when RCA was color king. Check the roadside sign.

Pete

Here ya go.
That's a start! :D

Here's a commercial I found for an old Detroit-area chain (since put otta business by the big-boxes). No old TVs, but it's pretty funny... Not just the part about a $175 VCR being a good deal!

Highland Appliance (50 watts per channel babycakes!) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PMCMZ9N18s&mode=related&search=HIGHLAND-WHERE%27S%20PLOTCHNEY)

I'll be checking in tonight for that report. :yes:

I've also posted this Dumont sign elsewhere on Audiokarma, but in a different view. I used to marvel at the sign back in the '60s to early '70s when it was lighted each night. It was even then a Dumont dinosaur, back when RCA was color king. Check the roadside sign.

Pete

Well, it isn't Mel's TV anymore, but the building is still there. Only changes are that a copper roof facade has been installed, and the smaller sign over the door is gone. And new front doors. Otherwise, the building looks the same as in the vinatage photo! Even the Palos Verdes Rock planter is still there, which is amazing since that store (now a restaurant) is on a corner where cars likely have crashed up against it... I think that has happened, because the windows on the South wall are new along with the doors. The East windows look the same as the vintage photo.

I'd sure be curious if all those neon signs are STILL THERE under that new copper roof overhang :scratch2:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m174/kx250racer/MelsTVtoday.jpg

Charles

Well, it isn't Mel's TV anymore, but the building is still there. CharlesSo the next time I'm in LA (which, I guess would be the first time since 1969, but who's counting) let's a bunch of us AK'ers have a bite to eat at the former Mel's? :D

Thanks for the then-now pix; they're always fascinating.

Yeah, thanks for that pic.. I love before/afters (even if I don't love the result :no: )

Yep, I really like those pics too. Wish I had some interesting ones to share. I have taken a few but they fairly recent so not too interesting. One was somewhat similiar to Mel's, with the slanted-out windows. That was Laurel TV, US 13 Laurel, DE. When the owner retired the place was gutted and is now a Dunkin Donuts. I did get to save lots of neat things from that former Zenith, and I think RCA, dealer.

The mall photo is another great one. One of those shots that makes me wish I could just step into the picture. Reminds me of my earliest memories of trips to the local mall back in the seventies. (now totally dead, awaiting the wrecking ball) Before they were completely shot I went in there one afternoon and started taking pictures. A security guard came up and made it clear that I was not to do that any longer, so I said yes Ma'am and put my Kodak Motormatic away.

What was the name of that TV series that was on a year or two ago that was supposed to be a throwback to the late 1960s when Bandstand was starting? Ive only seen the show maybe three times but each time there was a scene taken of the girls overly protective father talking with one of his workers on the floor of his radio/TV showroom, the workers son was I think in 'nam at the time. I remember he had lots of RCAs and a few Zeniths on the floor with banners hanging from the ceiling.

Was prime-time weekend on a network but I cant find anything on it.

109

The show was called "American Dreams", and it was awful... from both a historical standpoint (Predicta studio monitors!?) and in terms of storyline.

If I end up in Hell, this crap will be shown on blurry plasma screens 24/7. :yuck:

The show was called "American Dreams", and it was awful... from both a historical standpoint (Predicta studio monitors!?) and in terms of storyline.

More like "Predict-oid"! That was a strange looking beast; something the prop department must have, on bad advice, cobbled together for "effect."

I liked that show. It originally caught my attention because of the TVs (of course!) I mean, how many show's was I ever likely to see featuring a TV repair shop a lot like the one I worked in as a kid after school?

But I liked the production too. I'm not usually a fan of trendy effects, but if you're gonna do 'em, do 'em well, and they did. I thought the way they matched the live (re-created) action on the stage to the original (recorded) footage on the monitors was a pretty neat effect and very nicely done. And while the editing style may have been a little "over the top" too, the editing was some of the best I've seen. My brother in law grew up in that neighborhood at that point in time and said that the overall look-and-feel of the show was dead-on. I really enjoyed it (despite that scarey Predictoid!) and I wish they had continued it.

--Dave

Near the end, the show got so bad as to have "Eric the Midget" of Howard Stern fame on as a guest. I never watched, but did you see that episode?

I guess what I didn't find realistic was that they tried to cover every 1960s stereotype, not just in one show, but within one family!

Dad's the big blowhard with a heart of gold, Mom is the passive woman who takes a class at community college and starts standing up to dad. Oldest son is the dumb jock who gets sent to Vietnam, Sister is a hippie. Black-guy employed by blowhard father has to convince son not to become a criminal, and saves the TV store from a race riot, etc. etc.

Then you have to believe that the guy owns a TV store, and still hasn't got color in 1967? Then again, he's still selling 1950s sets as new, so maybe he's just an idiot?

To each his own, lol :D I'm glad somebody liked it.

Of the 3 or 4 times I saw the program I cant give an honest opinion of the storyline however just the idea that someone went through enough trouble to *try* making a late 60's TV shop even half-way correct is worthy of notice. The TV shops I grew up around had not been remodeled since they were started and one of them kept the same decor until the last day of business, I do wonder what happened to the old monitor refrigerator as it was working in the mid-90s.

just my take
109

I'm assuming that since you all like vintage sets, you also have an appreciation for vintage architeture.

I snapped a couple camera phone shots of a Goodwill store in Glendale AZ (around 35th Ave and Camelback... I think) while I was out there. Obviouisly used to be a grocery store, with a WVWVWVW look inside and out.

Seems like old building are suffering the same fate as old TVs... Turning into bland, unidentifyable boxes... I hate beige stucco as much as black plastic!:thumbsdn:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/Chromacolor2/goodwilloutside.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/Chromacolor2/goodwillinside.jpg

Some very nice touches that the original tenant added. Ashame, in the end that probably made the place look dated and so less appealing to the "younger set". Around here there are tons of former Acme or A&P grocery stores and you can always tell what they used to be. The most interesting Acmes had a large gable roof with an all-glass front, which made the stores very open & bright inside. Others were just rectangular boxes but with some nifty signage. A&P had a sort of colonial look to it and you can spot those old stores real easy. I can still remember a Safeway from back in the seventies that I thought was neat, with a wrought-iron fence out front with a big 'S' designed in. I often wonder if those things were as interesting when new as they are looking back.

Wow....I've got all three of those sets shown in the Greenley pic foreground...
Sylvania, Zenith and RCA. The only difference on the Syl. and Zenith is the housing. Great pic!


I had trouble figuring out what to title this post... I was browsing through some urban-exploration sites and found this picture which I though some of you might enjoy.

Maybe if other people have more, they could post them....?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/Chromacolor2/greenleys.jpg

If I were to guess the era/brands in the front row (center) I'd say:

1968, Sylvania, Zenith, RCA :scratch2:

Got another old TV shop photo, live and current! I was on a drive from Houston, TX back to Los Angeles last week... On Hwy 60 in Miami, Arizona, I saw this sad old TV repair shop. Looks like it pooped out a long time ago, and has evidently been for rent for awhile. Still has an early 50s Emerson console in the show window, and a couple other busted up sets!

I went around back, and looked in all the windows. Seems like the store is empty except for the 3 TVs shown. All locked up, and nobody to talk to. If anyone is interested, and happens to be on Hwy 60 in Miami, AZ, take a look! It's on the south side of the street, about middle of downtown.

Charles

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m174/kx250racer/IMG_0078.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m174/kx250racer/IMG_0079.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m174/kx250racer/IMG_0080.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m174/kx250racer/IMG_0082.jpg

Some very nice touches that the original tenant added. Ashame, in the end that probably made the place look dated and so less appealing to the "younger set". Around here there are tons of former Acme or A&P grocery stores and you can always tell what they used to be. The most interesting Acmes had a large gable roof with an all-glass front, which made the stores very open & bright inside. Others were just rectangular boxes but with some nifty signage. A&P had a sort of colonial look to it and you can spot those old stores real easy. I can still remember a Safeway from back in the seventies that I thought was neat, with a wrought-iron fence out front with a big 'S' designed in. I often wonder if those things were as interesting when new as they are looking back.

I wonder about that too. I also love the archetectural designs of the 50's and 60's like the store Carmine showed and also the more plain looking places like shown in that wonderful pic of Greenley's. I would love to blow that photo up and others like it to see every detail down to the expressions on peoples' faces. I suppose people back then didn't realize how good it was at the time. whether it be for the logical and beautiful buildings, cars and TV's or even for the more logical and considerate general mindset and behaviors of most people then. After the big hurricanes a couple years ago here in S.E. Fla. many classic buildings were intentionally left unrepaired so water damage would be covered by insurance to tear them down and replace them with skyscraperlike austentatious monstrosities that ruin the ambiance here to the point that I may leave. The new buildings seem to match the most popular personalities here of being outrageously expensive looking to boast of money to burn without any care or concern for the past or the little people who don't have enough money to be respected on even the most basic levels.
For the duration of my time here I hope to find people who have lived here since the 50's and enjoy sharing the experience. Karen, a beautiful friend of my mom's speaks of the past like it was just yesterday. She has made my life better by sharing the details of a time I wish I could live in. She asked me if I saw the Connie Francis movie "Where the boys are" and said Ft Lauderdale was exactly like that. I haven't seen the whole movie but I got the idea and I will be watching it soon.
P.S. I'll be watching to see S.E. Fla... not the boys! (haha)

2 more photos up on my last post of the Miami, AZ shop!

Charles

"Gaurenteed by Good Housekeeping"
I bet that set was like new before it went to the shop considering the owner saved that sticker.

Anybody know the make and is that a fake drawer pull on the speaker area? Funny cheap design idea to dress up a cheap cabinet I suppose.

I think that set with the drawer pull may be a Setchell-Carlson, if so, there would be a hi-fi phonograph inside that drawer. If these weren't so far from me, I'd try to find the owner of the buiilding and make a deal on them.

Dumont-First with the finest in television.:yes:

than what I wrote. I bet it is a phono drawer.
I bet it would be hard to get all those exact knobs on that one!

what I want to know is WTF is that poor dead carcass by the sheetrock

1. I also love the archetectural designs of the 50's and 60's like the store Carmine showed and also the more plain looking places like shown in that wonderful pic of Greenley's.
2. I would love to blow that photo up and others like it to see every detail down to the expressions on peoples' faces.
3. for the more logical and considerate general mindset and behaviors of most people then.
4. were intentionally left unrepaired so water damage would be covered by insurance to tear them down and replace them with skyscraperlike austentatious monstrosities that ruin the ambiance
5. the most popular personalities here of being outrageously expensive looking to boast of money to burn without any care or concern for the past or the little people who don't have enough money to be respected on even the most basic levels.
6. Karen, a beautiful friend of my mom's speaks of the past like it was just yesterday. She has made my life better by sharing the details of a time
7. I wish I could live in
8. P.S. I'll be watching to see S.E. Fla... not the boys! (haha)

1. me too :D
2. I would too. or be immersed in a quicktime 3D kinda view
3. yep!
4. they must die
5. yep....
6. i wish i knew someone like this
7. me too
8. :lurk:

Sadly, it had been murdered just to test the mummifying process.

LMAO, its not a mummified cat!!! I stole it from someone on another forum because i like seeing hissing cats. dunno why, angry cats are funny i guess

"A" is O.K.

In regards to Mel's TV in Venice. Mel is my father. He retired in the early 1980's. He owns the property as well as what was the neighboring business to the north (furthest from Mels' TV/Saim Best door). Which had been a 24 hour laundry in the early 60s when the that picture had been taken to a Marine Parts business to most recently a fish bait business. When the guy who owned the fish bait business moved out in about 4 years ago, the Thai restaurant expanded (knocking down the wall between them).

You are right, the windows have been maintained/replaced.

In regards to Mel's TV in Venice. Mel is my father. He retired in the early 1980's. He owns the property as well as what was the neighboring business to the north (furthest from Mels' TV/Saim Best door). Which had been a 24 hour laundry in the early 60s when the that picture had been taken to a Marine Parts business to most recently a fish bait business. When the guy who owned the fish bait business moved out in about 4 years ago, the Thai restaurant expanded (knocking down the wall between them).

You are right, the windows have been maintained/replaced.

How long was the TV store there; closed when your Dad retired, or did it stay on awhile? I thought I had been in there bugging the proprietor for an old Packard-Bell Cartravision machine that they had sitting in there... That was in the mid 80s because I had a drivers license by then.

That might have been another store, but I know it was on the west side of Lincoln in that area. I remember one across the street, and maybe another one on the same side as your Dad's.

Charles

I'll be checking in tonight for that report. :yes:

I've also posted this Dumont sign elsewhere on Audiokarma, but in a different view. I used to marvel at the sign back in the '60s to early '70s when it was lighted each night. It was even then a Dumont dinosaur, back when RCA was color king. Check the roadside sign.

Pete
wow , i never knew there was a dumont dealer in NJ , and i been here my whole life .

wow , i never knew there was a dumont dealer in NJ , and i been here my whole life .

Next town east of here is Dumont NJ, but I don't think there was a Dumont dealer there.... :D

How long was the TV store there; closed when your Dad retired, or did it stay on awhile? I thought I had been in there bugging the proprietor for an old Packard-Bell Cartravision machine that they had sitting in there... That was in the mid 80s because I had a drivers license by then.

That might have been another store, but I know it was on the west side of Lincoln in that area. I remember one across the street, and maybe another one on the same side as your Dad's.

Charles

I'll ask my dad exactly what year he retired. But it had to have been around 1985 or 1986. The store remained vacant briefly (exact amount of time, I'll have to ask), but Siam Best moved in - with no intervening occupants. There was a TV shop across the street (NW corner) of Venice HS, but I do not remember any other TV shop on Lincoln in the vacanty of my dad's store. And I worked for my dad, on Saturdays (school months) and fulltime during the summers during JHS, HS and a bit of my college days ('62-'73ish), and I have no memory of a Lincoln Blvd store. My dad started his business on what is now Abbot Kinney, north of Venice Blve in the late '40s. Moved to the Lincoln Blvd address in the very late '50s, very early '60s time frame.

ok since were on the local subject,if any of you(mels son or charles) went to jr high school in that area,i have some old 8mm film and slides of webster middle school(sawtelle and national)they were remodeling the gym and were gonna trash them and some audio equip(i saved a jr velocity rca ribbon mic,and 2 shure s55 mics,but couldnt get the stromberg-carlson amp,although im still trying to get the main s-c pa system that looks like a dj desk with a reel to reel player on one pull out and trascription record player on the other).

ok since were on the local subject,if any of you(mels son or charles) went to jr high school in that area,i have some old 8mm film and slides of webster middle school(sawtelle and national)they were remodeling the gym and were gonna trash them and some audio equip(i saved a jr velocity rca ribbon mic,and 2 shure s55 mics,but couldnt get the stromberg-carlson amp,although im still trying to get the main s-c pa system that looks like a dj desk with a reel to reel player on one pull out and trascription record player on the other).

I WENT THERE! It was for 1 year in '81 & '82 for 9th grade... Funny you should mention that electronic stuff, because I raided Mr. Bennett's classroom (electrical shop class,) and got an RCA KCS-49 chassis, and a bunch of 6Kv caps. He also gave me an old Magnavox 19" color tube set that was at one time mounted up above in the electrical shop classroom.

That campus has a lot more mobile classrooms now, so I don't know what if any of the old PA equipment might still be threre.

Small world!

Charles

lol well it is a small world,well the pa system is still there(found out yesterday)and the plant manager said that if i can haul it i can have it,but i have to take it apart,so maybe in the future.oh and also there is a old packard bell in "daniles den" and yea ive been eyeing that for a long time.webster has a lot of stuff,but yea the slides and stuff are from the opening of webster(then called richland jr hi)and date back to 54/55.oh and one other thing that i got were some old pa speakers that looked real cool in my backyard.

charlie

Great stuff here. It's sad to see the state of some of them, especially the one on Rt. 60, but even the ones that have been transformed into something totally different, since it just means one less for the "old TV shop" and one more for the "big box." If only we could go back.

As an addition to my comment above, has anyone noticed how, when a period building is transformed into a new business, it is often so poorly done? Neon signs and interesting typefaces are replaced with generic screened or interior-lit signage, rocket- or boomerang-type designs are torn down, period colors are covered over with the same stuff as the guy next door. It's unfortunate that some of the details that made those old buildings great (and unusual) are the first to be ripped down when the new people move in.

There is a great old downtown area that, like most, had fallen on hard times. I loved to just walk down the street and admire the architecture. Then I read an article in the paper criticizing some of my favorite buildings. In the fifties & sixties those storefronts from the early part of the century were freshened up with new facades. Some people liked the way they were better. But I agree, there isn't much pretty or unique about the way stores are built these days.