Shirley Palooza Four Pt. 5: The Temples of Temple

Today we take a tour of the Temples of Temple, aka the homes of Shirley Temple. Amazingly enough her first three residences are still around, starting with the first two which are in Santa Monica. The trees and the car in the driveway prevented me from getting a very good shot of Shirley’s first home.

By 1934, the Temples had enough money (thank you, Shirley!) to leave their modest residence and move into one that was a bit nicer. Here’s how it looked back in the day:



And how it looks now:



Only two years later, the Temple family moved again, as the money kept pouring in and so did the fans who wanted a glimpse of Shirley. A larger home with more security was called for so it was off to the exclusive area called Brentwood. But before we leave Santa Monica, let‘s take a look at what that beautiful city has to offer! The “spiritual” end of Route 66 was right here on Ocean Avenue at the Santa Monica Pier:



Just down the way on Ocean Avenue is the lovely Palisades Park:



A brick path to take you to the beach:



The Georgian Hotel is across the street, ready to bathe you in its Art Deco splendor:



For good food and drinks, you can’t beat the Ivy at the Shores:



Back to Shirley…

Here’s the estate her family purchased in 1936, located in Brentwood:



Photographing it today is a bit complicated, as it was divided into three parcels and sold off, and the main house was split into two in the process.



The cool weathervane has survived!



Here are the three blue birds, Melissa (aka “The Colonel”), Shirley Jean, and Mary, proud as peacocks as they got to tour Shirley’s childhood home. What a thrill!



Knowing she would be visiting Shirley’s place, Melissa brought a childhood dress of Shirley’s from her personal collection…



…and stood in the same place Shirley did when she wore it many years ago:



Home #2:



Home #3, aka “The Playhouse,” where Shirley and first husband John Agar lived after they were wed in 1945:



John and Shirley descend the spiral staircase of the main house as they are pelted with rice on the way to their honeymoon:



A shot of them inside the Playhouse, which was more akin to a mini Tudor mansion than anything most people would “play” in:



The backyard of the estate:



After an exhausting day, I headed back to the Chateau and sipped their delicious sangria while lounging at the pool. Ahhhhhhhh…



Melissa and I typically end the weekend with dinner and a recap at the Chateau. Sunday night is my fave with the Fried Chicken special:



And Melissa enjoys the Spaghetti Bolognese!



I hope you enjoyed this year’s Shirley Palooza posts!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Photo shoot at the Pier

About a year or more ago, Chris Merritt (Imagineer supreme and the creative genius behind the Sleeping Beauty Castle Diorama re-birth at Disneyland)...



and the fantastic book Knott's Preserved: From Boysenberry to Theme Park, the History of Knott's Berry Farm, sent out an email to all of us Disneyland bloggers asking if we had any images of POP. My first thought was, "What the hell is POP?" This was an acronym I was not familiar with! Chris explained it stood for Pacific Ocean Park, which was an amusement pier between Venice and Santa Monica that went belly-up many moons ago. He was busy putting together a new book on this pop culture phenomenon, thus the APB (that's All Points Bulletin!) for photos.

Flash forward to the present and Chris needed an author photo for his book as well as a few publicity shots. I was honored that he wanted to hire me for this assignment, and the next thing I knew, we were driving up to the Santa Monica Pier with Chris filling me in on the history of POP. Dear Lord God...please do not let me get sucked into another hobby.

Chris' idea for the shoot was to use the background of the Santa Monica Pier at night to substitute for the long-defunct POP.

Let's see...shoot at night, bright lights in the background, and a human subject in the foreground. And did I mention that I do not like to use a flash...or a tripod?



It took awhile to get the right settings, location, and composition, but eventually, things came together and both of us were pleased with the results.









For more on POP, join Chris' Facebook group.

See more Daveland portrait photos on my Tippi Hedren web page.

Route 66: Start To Finish

In a previous post, I displayed a photo I shot of the Santa Monica Pier. Daveland reader JG was kind enough to send me a corresponding photo that he had recently taken. As he tells it:

Here's a recent shot of the Route 66 start on Adams and Wabash in Chicago, a block or so from the old entrance to the Art Institute. Hope you enjoy it, now you have both ends of the road!



This is the kind of stuff that makes blogging worth it. Thanks to JG for sharing and completing the puzzle! See more of my photos on my photography web pages.

Traveling Thursdays: Santa Monica

Welcome to Sunny Santa Monica, California!



This scene looks like something out of a Seurat painting.



Over on the Third Street Promenade (for all you crazy shoppers who can't get enough of the usual retail shops), I was still able to find a few cool things to shoot:





On my early morning run along the beach, I had to take my camera. Something about this brick stairway and its curves, the vintage light posts, and gnarly Eucalyptus trees called out to me.









The Pier looks best at night, with the ghostly glow of neon framing the signage.





There is also a vintage carousel here:





as well as signage denoting the end of the trail for the famous Route 66.



For a little art deco styling, The Georgian Hotel is a beautiful hotel to lounge, eat, and catch a killer view of Palisades Park and the beach.



The rooms are lovely, too.



The Ivy at the Shore is just down the street a few blocks, and a great place for fried chicken!







I don't know the story of this miniature animated bandstand, but it totally fascinated me:



For great italian food, La Vecchia hit the spot. The gnocchi was delish!



See more vintage & current Santa Monica, CA photos on my Santa Monica photo web page.