Traces of Tut

In 1922, a team led by British Egyptologist Howard Carter excavated the tomb of Tutankhamun (aka “Tut”) from the Valley of the Kings. The discovery received worldwide press coverage; with over 5,000 artifacts, it generated a frenzy of public interest in ancient Egypt that spilled over into American Architecture, as witnessed by today’s post. The first shot is from the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego and shows a detail from what was once known as the Egyptian Garage. Built in 1923 at the end of the old East San Diego trolley line, it was one of three Egyptian Revival streetcar electrical substations. It was sold two years later, remodeled, and from 1926 to 1932 was known as the Egyptian Garage, complete with gas pumps in front. I wonder if the attendants dressed as Tut?



Since 1957 it has been the home of Big City Liquor.



A few neighborhoods away is Hillcrest, which also has a number of Egyptian Revival remnants that have survived the years. On Park Boulevard you’ll find the Nile Apartments, complete with stained-glass doors that carry out the Egyptian theme.



Maybe the Pharaoh's Court Apartments from 1928 are more your style.





Across the street is the Egyptian Court Apartment complex, built in 1926 by Paul Carle. Two small shops and two apartment entrances face the street. The building is classic Egyptian Revival Art Deco, with the courtyard pond and garden designed and installed by Milton P. Sessions, nephew of San Diego horticulturist Kate Sessions, the “Mother of Balboa Park.”





The Bush Egyptian Movie Theater opened on June 30, 1926 and was one of San Diego’s original luxury movie houses. Patrons entered past huge columns in an open courtyard lobby. Today, only a portion of the original entrance remains, with a huge condominium now surrounding it. This was one of the theatres that my father went to as a little boy.



No Tut post would be complete without the Steve Martin song from 1978 that addressed the second wave of fame the “Boy King” experienced when his possessions toured around the world.



See more San Diego photos at my main website.

Monday at Mickie Finn’s

Inspired by the above business card of my father’s best friend and a vintage vinyl album that was also in his collection, I decided to put together a post on a once famous nightclub that existed in San Diego.

Mickie Finn's was open from October 28, 1960 through 1974. Owners Fred and Barbara Soetje (better known as Fred and Mickie Finn) converted an old warehouse in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego into a Gay 90s/Roaring 20s/Swinging 30s venue. The red-haired Fred was a piano player from San Francisco who had recently received a business administration degree from San Jose State College. His thesis was titled “How to Start a Night Club With No Operating Capital.” Initially he considered Washington and Hawaii as locations for his club, but chose San Diego because he could not afford to transport his collection of old nickelodeons, 1890s pictures, and various turn-of-the-century items, which would serve as the decor for his club. Opening the club put Fred $70,000 in debt, as he converted the barnlike building on University Avenue into Mickie Finn's. The club grossed $250,000 in its first year, serving four million customers over the next fourteen years as they guzzled 250,000 gallons of beer. Barbara (Mickie) played banjo at the club until the couple divorced in 1973.

The Finn's were honored on November 30, 1965 by the San Diego Chamber of Commerce for selecting San Diego as the base of operations for their "speakeasy" club, which brought the city widespread publicity. In 1968 and 1969, Fred and Mickie Finn were co-chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association's annual fund drive in San Diego County. Fred would also employ a 1927 Seagraves fire engine as a publicity gimmick (racing it at the nearby El Cajon Speedway), which you can see in the detail shot from the album below:

Eventually, the concept expanded into a 1966 NBC TV show, a stageshow, a series of compilation record albums issued from 1966 on, and a second club in Beverly Hills (on Restaurant Row in the new Los Angeles Emporium) that opened in the early 1970s. Mickie Finn's seated 600 people, but usually 1000 could be found, crammed inside its lively interior.

“Mickie Finn’s” was a summer replacement series on Thursday nights. From the website harmonize.com/ comes the backstory of the TV show:

Start of the re-creation in NBC's studios at a cost of $50,000. A scenic designer made countless sketches and photos of the original club to be sure of faithful duplication. Long, narrow tables with red-checkered tablecloths were installed, as were details like moose heads on the wall and signs like "Keep Cool with Coolidge." The origin of the TV show came while Fred had been performing an outside show at a yacht club. Fred was approached by a TV executive [Bill Yagemann] who asked, "How would you like to do a TV show?" The same producers who had done The Andy Griffith Show later came with NBC executives to see Fred's act at his nightclub and decided to give Mickie Finn's mile-a-minute merriment a go!

The show's Nielsen ratings were not competitive enough with ABC’s runaway hit “Peyton Place,” so it was not renewed. 

Here’s how the exterior of the club looks today, in its current incarnation of Rich’s, a gay dance club:

See San Diego more photos at my main website.

Christy Does Southern California, Pt. 1

Over 20 years ago, I was making plans to visit Fairmount, Indiana for the very first time for their annual James Dean Festival. Knowing very little about it, I contacted the Convention and Visitor's Bureau. After a very enthusiastic phone conversation with the young girl who worked there, my fax machine started humming (anyone remember fax machines?). About 30-some pages later, I had just about everything I needed to know about Fairmount and the Festival!

About 6 months later, I finally met that girl in person, and it was BFF's at first sight. Christy is always ready for a good time; whenever we get together, we pack as much fun as possible into the little time that we have. Whether it was the vintage vinyl dance parties in my Indiana living room or dancing at the James Dean Festivals…it was always memorable!



It was the icing on my 50th birthday cake to find out that she was coming out to Southern California to celebrate the occasion with me. With the temperatures beginning to cool, an afternoon at the Hotel del Coronado seemed like a good choice.



A lunch on the patio of the Sheerwater Restaurant at the hotel was the perfect choice; we'll both take Monte Cristos, please! Screw the training for my upcoming half marathon…Christy's in town!



After lunch, I took Christy on a tour of the Hotel del, showing off the rich Victorian-style interior...



followed by an impromptu portrait session on the beach.



Lunch had barely digested before we were on the way to a Mexican dinner at Barrio Star near Balboa Park. Best chips in town!



Lots of Dia de los Muertos decor to creep you out while eating. Don't let it get to you…just have one of their Jalapeño Blackberry Margaritas and you'll be fine!



A trip down Fifth Avenue to Hillcrest…



brought us to our final feeding frenzy destination of the evening, D Bar.



We both devoured our dessert samplers. Yum!



After a restful night, we packed up the car, gathered up little Willis, and headed up north. More to come from our adventures in L.A.!



In the meantime, enjoy this video that Christy was a part of, created by the Community School of the Arts in Grant County, Indiana. And yes…they were really dancing in front of a burning building!



See more Daveland San Diego photos on my main website.

Sunrise and Snooze

As a child, Easter was all about finding the decorated eggs that were hidden in the yard. This photo shows me at age 2, very excited to already have a few in my basket. This year, the egg hunt was bypassed for an uplifting Sunrise Service at the Cabrillo Monument National Park near Point Loma. Although there was no visible sunrise, the view from this area is still spectacular.



There was music…



and a short (but well-delivered) sermon that was extremely inspiring and worth getting up for.



Afterwards, I blew the diet and tried Snooze Restaurant in Hillcrest.



I have avoided going here because typically it is jam-packed.



Because I was early, I immediately got a seat in this very hip eatery that has been the rage since it opened in the space formerly occupied by Corvette Diner.



I tried the Pancake Flight, which consisted of Blueberry/Lemon, Nutella, and Sweet Potato Pancake. Two thumbs up on the first two; I probably would have enjoyed the Pineapple-Upside-Down one more than the Sweet Potato, which was just a tad dry. The flavorful side of bacon was delicious though, making up for any deficiencies experienced from the Sweet Potato Pancake.



Hope you have all had an inspiring and joyful Easter (if you celebrate it!). Otherwise, Happy Sunday!

See more vintage & current Daveland San Diego photos on my main website.