Things That
Aren't Around Anymore

• Alligator Farm - (?-1970s) Amphibian zoo in Buena Park (across the street from Knott's Berry Farm) which featured live alligators.

• The Broadway - (1896-1996) Department store chain which started on 4th and Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles. In the mid-1990s it was purchased by R.H. Macy & Co and converted to either Macy's or Bloomingdale's stores.

• Busch Gardens - (1966-1986) Amusement park and bird sanctuary in Van Nuys, (west of the 405 Freeway) owned and operated by the Anheuser-Busch Co. (Budweiser)

• Central Avenue - (1920s-1950s)Center of African-American business community as well as the Los Angeles Jazz Scene.

• The Herald-Examiner - (1903-1989) Daily newspaper owned by William Randolph Hearst which was the main competitor to the L.A. Times. It folded in October, 1989 due to low readership and unprofitability.

• L.A. Railway (The Yellow Cars) - Narrow-gauge streetcar system which traveled in the central Los Angeles area. Lines were named after letters. Last Yellow Car rolled in 1963.

• Lion Country Safari - (1960s-1980s) Animal park in Irvine (near the current site of the Wild Rivers water park) which allowed animals to roam free, and visitors to drive through for an "up-close" experience.

• Marineland of the Pacific - (1954-1987) Theme park on the Palos Verdes Peninsula which featured whales (its star attractions were the killer whales "Orky" and "Corky"), dolphins, seals and other sea creatures. In the mid 1980s it was purchased by publishing company Harcourt Brace Johanovich, which also at the time owned Sea World, and shut Marineland down and moved Orky and Corky, as well as most of the other animals, to San Diego.

• Ostrich Farm - Circa the late 1800s - early 1900s, in what is now Griffith Park, where imported South African Ostriches were raised. The large birds were trendy at the time.

• Pacific Electric Railway (The Red Cars) - (1901-1961) An 1100-mile Interurban streetcar system established by developer Henry Huntington which for a time was the primary mode of transportation in Southern California.
  The popularity of the automobile, among other things, was the main cause of its demise.

• Pacific Ocean Park - (1905-1967) Amusement park/pier south of the Santa Monica Pier. Originally called Ocean Park Pier, "P.O.P." featured rides and attractions popular with Angeleno families in the pre-Disneyland era.

• Ponyland - (?-1960s) Children's amusement park located where the Beverly Center now stands.

• Thrifty Drug & Discount Store - (1929-1998) Local drug & discount goods store chain founded in the midst of the Great Depression by two brothers and their brother-in-law. The store was also famous for its on-site ice cream stand featuring "Award-Winning Thrifty Brand Ice Cream". In 1998 the east coast-based Rite Aid took over the beloved Southern California Thrifty stores.

• Wrigley Field - (1920s-1960s) Minor-league baseball stadium in South Central L.A. Though the one in Chicago is more famous, this is the original! Built by then-Cubs owner William Wrigley Jr. for the Los Angeles Angels (then a Cubs farm team), Wrigley was inspired to build a new stadium in Chicago based on the design of the one in L.A.

• Zody's - (1960s-1986) Discount department store chain, popular in the '60s and '70s.