Then and now: Bijou center through the years
Young’s Bijou Lodge in the 1920s. Phot0/Lake Tahoe Historical Society
Young’s Bijou Lodge of the 1920s was enlarged in the 1930s to Young’s Bijou Lodge.
The dance hall. Photo/Frasher Photo collection of Pomona Public Library
The adjoining large Bal Bijou dance hall, left, with the high roof is at the right of the building.
Dave Wakeman recalls that many prominent big-name bands played at Bal Bijou. The tower and coffee shop wings were razed in the 1950s, replaced by a strip of adjoining businesses including the Bijou Post Office.
Young’s Lodge
Photo/Frasher Photo collection of Pomona Public Library
That strip today is Nikki’s Chaat Cafe, adjacent to the original Bal Bijou which now is CVS, still identifiable by that high, steep roof.
Today’s Bijou Center. Photo/Bill Kingman
Since the 1960s, Bal Bijou has housed Ink’s Market, Nay’s Bijou Center Market, the Liquor Barn a d Smart & Final.
— Bill Kingman
Did Ink’s move later into the East end of the building(s) that presently has Rojo’s at the West end?
Looked better in the 1920’s and 50’s then it does now. It should be razed again.
Ink’s was at the Y and they also had a second location in the same building that houses Rojo’s now in Al Tahoe. Then they opened the store in the Bijou center and kept it until Harold Heiser retired
Bill, Bob and reza, Bill when you walked into Nay’s Bijou Market and turned right, like your walking towards Heidi’s, there was a magazine rack where you could buy monster magazines… I loved those! Out front they sunk two posts where they mounted pay phones. While the cement was still wet I wrote my initials in the base around the steel poles Probably 1962 or 3.
Above the cold box in the back of the store was a painted illustration of a guy water skiing. The guy looked ALOT like Sam Borges who had been a proffesional water skier winning many awards and trophys
Bob, I believe your correct, Ink’s did move to the corner of Harrison and 50 for a time. OLS sr.(my dad) confirmed this early this morning during our morning chat.
reza, yeah it did look much better back in the 20’s and 50’s, but then what didn’t?
Save the Barton Ranch House and put the brakes on the Meyers Plan. OLS
Thanks, guys, for the clarification and updates.
I was sure I had remembered Ink’s from that Rojo’s building, and you confirmed that. There was a guy working there that was, well, a bit, or more than a bit ‘off’, to say the least.
I remember Lampson’s too.
I visited SLT back during The Big Winter (51/52); and then came back as a permanent resident in 1972. LOTS of cool memories….
Can’t get enough of Then and Now. I’ve GOT to make the time to dig through my parents’ and grandparents’ photo albums to find their photos of the basin back in the day.
Bal Bijou. . . ‘Bal’ meaning ‘dance’ (i.e. ‘bailando’ in Spanish [dancing]) and ‘Bijou’ being French for ‘Jewel’, the precursor to the “Jewel of the Sierras”. . .
Ink’s next to Rojo’s also had a gas station next to it – (where the sandwich shop is now) – with several of my South Tahoe High peers working at both. . .and where Sprouts is now (its’ end-space was perpendicular to 50) was Little Mac’s, with a juke-box that made the place elbow-to-elbow all through the lunch periods at STH…