Then and now: Urban environment changes
Photo No. 1: Highway 50 circa 1967. Photo/Don Lane
Photo No. 2: Highway 50 in 2014. Photo/Bill Kingman
Ogden Nash wrote this parody of Alfred Joyce Kilmer’s 1914 classic poem “Trees”:
I think that I shall never see
A billboard lovely as a tree.
Indeed, unless the billboards fall,
I’ll never see a tree at all.
South Lake Tahoe had many billboards until they were banned in the last half of the 1960s, as was all off-premise signage with few exceptions.
Photo No. 1, circa 1967, shows the landmark Outdoorsman (now Grocery Outlet) with a Harvey’s billboard just beyond it.
Photo No. 3: Highway 50 approaching Al Tahoe Boulevard in 1967. Photo/Don Lane
Photo No. 4: Highway 50 approaching Al Tahoe Boulevard in 2014. Photo/Bill Kingman
Across the street, a large vacant lot (now Motel 6 and a restaurant, photo No. 2) had billboards for Sahara-Tahoe (now Horizon) and Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. Notice the old telephone poles and overhead wires before the new city mandated underground replacement.
Photo No. 3 shows another Harrah’s billboard on Highway 50 approaching Al Tahoe Boulevard; 1967 at the earliest. That same meadow also contained a short-lived narrow-gauge railroad.
Behind the billboard at the Al Tahoe Boulevard intersection (no stoplight then) on the corner was the wood-frame Al Tahoe Post Office where Denny’s now stands. That post office building was moved and now serves as the Tahoe Art League Gallery on Highway 50 next door to the Lake Tahoe Historical Society Museum, across from the Sno-Flake Drive-In.
The rest of that Al Tahoe Boulevard corner was a large empty lot which became the Tahoe Center (although then we called it the Lucky-Payless Center for its two largest, best-known businesses) starting in 1970.
— Bill Kingman
There was a billboard on the side of 50 down by White Hall advertising a local Italian resturaunt, Tarantino’s, located on Fremont ave. It said “Now that’s one spicy meata balla”. As a kid we’d all say it in the car and the whole family would laugh. We cracked up everytime we saw it. And don’t forget the old Pow Wow sign down by Sierra Ski Ranch. It was a small cafe and gas station. It read “Eat here and get gas”.
Oh yeah,simpler times when we could all be easily amused by a sign on the hiway.
Thanks Bill, Old Long Skiis
Correction: Tarantinos was located on Takela, one street away. The go cart track, batting cages, pinball machines and trampolines were on Fremont, next to Tahoe Bowl, Chubs billiards and the old police station. OLS
TIP: Left-click ON each photo to enlarge (most computers). BK
really all you have to do is left-click on the picture to open it. wow, when were computers invented, like 1990.. yea, ive been doin it wrong since around then.. Thanks Bill
Yep. “Call someplace Paradise, kiss it goodbye.” D. Henley/G. Frey
I just love all the history through pictures…. thanks Bill for sharing! I have been visiting South Lake Tahoe since 1959… went to dances in the Bijou CVS building (I think), and later went to many airline employee parties at the old Sahara Hotel.
Later on, we would fly up on Air West/Hughes Airwest for weekends – carrying a sand-chair onboard with an overnight bag, meet our welcoming friends at the SLT airport for drinks & appetizers (inbound & outbound), and hit the beach at Camp Rich & Fallen Leaf Lake. Fun, fun, fun! Memories….
Trudy Tarantino was a high school contemporary of mine…
I remember also the batting cages, and the trampolines side-by-side roughly where the restaurant parking lot is now, but the pinball machines were in their own alcove on the backside of the ‘coffee shop’ wall inside the bowling alley. . .recollected as some of us used to be enough of a ‘wizard’ to rack-up 50-75 games, which we then sold to someone when a lively “pot-game” of bowling showed up. . .don’t remember any go-cart track at all; another friend, Greg Smith, a high-school gymnast, used to show the young visitors how it was done, which of course was a great way for him to practice his various moves. . .
Picture #3 seems to show the Buchanan building (still there) – off-to-the-left (in the shadows) – but I don’t quite recollect the Harrah’s billboard there – maybe placed there later – as I walked to school from Blue Lake Avenue (the High School is now the Middle School), when the snow was too much (more often than today). . . looking at that billboard it would seem that Trout Creek was not very prominent, as that was probably the time when Lake Christopher dammed-up the upstream. . . later to be resurrected. . .
Tarantino’s owners / managers back in the 80’s were Jimmy ” The Greek” and Carol Stevens. They also happened to be my son’s ( Kaleb) Godparents
I worked at the go-cart track for free when I was a kid just to be able to drive them. The family that owned the track, batting cages, and trampolines were the Larson’s.
It’s great reading what the long-time residents remember about old SLT (before it became SLT!). You would be interested in attending a panel discussion at Camp Rich Tuesday April 15th to hear some of the “old timers’ talk about the days of yore. 7pm, but come early for good seating. It will be hosted by Lake Tahoe Historical Society. Come and join the discussion.
LAURA, I plan to attend The Lake Tahoe Historical Society panel discussion at Camp Richardson April 15. I’m curious as to what folks have to say about old Tahoe. I don’t plan to participate, just observe and listen, (Probably sitting in the back of the room!)
I’ve heard these events are pretty good.I knew Dave Borges from High School and Jerry Johnsons wife, Anne, was one of my teachers. Should be interesting.
Take Care, Old Long Skiis