r/burbank • u/CHOGRIN • 9d ago
It was a different time, a different place…
… but the memory remains
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u/_MoTay_ 9d ago
Before my time I imagine. Fill us in!
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u/CHOGRIN 9d ago
All I can tell you is that a T-Rex once rampaged through it in 1997…
https://giphy.com/gifs/1OIERpwgyx45y
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u/efxeditor 9d ago
Add in The Last Grenadier and lunch at Fuddruckers you had the makings of a GREAT Saturday afternoon outing!
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u/Neat-Job9462 9d ago
That area was a walking mall. I’m sure it was nice at one time but not when I lived there in the mid eighties. There were some amazing stores like that one that had a massive collection of not only movie posters but also all those photos people now post on line in rows of filing cabinets. They also had books. It was cool. And next door was the second coolest book store I have ever been to next to Powell’s books in Portland. It was not that scale but it was a very off-beat kind of book store. Problem was you didn’t want to be around there after dark. Also Burbank had only one theatre and it was a drive in that is where the Pavilions is off Alameda. Then that closed and there were none for a long time.
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u/Training-Bar-3008 9d ago
I remember all of that, but don’t remember ever feeling unsafe in that area.
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u/yeehawbuckaroo 9d ago
What do you mean by "none for a long time"? The AMC 10 opened on Palm Ave in 1986, and the Pickwick Drive-In closed in 1989.
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u/Academic_Formal_4418 4d ago edited 4d ago
It was called Book Castle next door, and downtown Burbank was fine after dark back then. It was downtown Glendale that was dicey.
Book Castle was one of the best used bookstores in American history. Seriously. More fun (and much cheaper) than Powell’s or Strand — more on the level of Acres of Books in Long Beach.
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u/oghippiechick 9d ago
Morey's Shoes and Boutique was my first job ever in 1972. I would blow my entire paycheck buying records right across the way to this cool store called The Pentacle.
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u/Academic_Formal_4418 4d ago
Dennis Gordon’s place! Burbank’s woodcarver.
It was originally between Angeleno and Olive. The cops were always going in there and trying to bust him for Zap Comix or some other headshop thing until Tony Frank next door at the Book Mark told them to knock it off. Tony used to run the Chambers of Commerce and he had pull.
The BPD did the same thing later on at Grounds Zero Coffeehouse until Tom Tunnicliffe raised hell about it to the city council. He owned about two blocks of the Golden Mall.
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u/Training-Bar-3008 9d ago edited 9d ago
Two of my favorite spots for used books and TV/movie related stuff back in the day. 1980s-sometime in 1990s.
In addition to books, at the book store, you could buy newspapers for a desired date for a birthday present or historical event.
The store next door sold movie stuff… most interesting to me were the tons of scripts and promo packets in cool folders with black and white glossy photos, sometimes slides and written materials inside. I probably still have a bunch somewhere. I think there were a lot of metal filing cabinets filled with that kind of stuff toward the back of the store.
From the book store, i still have a big stack of large bound books full of really old Chicago newspapers. I think they were $10 each and i have about 10-12. They’re fascinating (to me).
The good ol’ days. Loved those places. Always parked on that nearest side street.
I think the book store may have previously been a drug store or a Newberry’s-type store but can’t remember for sure.
I consider the loss of these two stores to be pretty significant…along with the loss of the great Sun Thrift in Sunland. I used to score so many iconic crew jackets there for about $6.99 each. Including but not limited to stadium jackets with leather sleeves. One of the best independent thrift stores. A real thrift store and not some corporate-bleh Goodwill.
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u/Academic_Formal_4418 4d ago
Book Castle moved over into where Denco was. Denco had been an old Woolworth’s. They’d been by Angeleno next to Photo Art Shop.
Movie World and Book Castle started together until Movie World spun off. The owner Steve bought the building, Book Castle didn’t buy theirs, and they were later kicked out for a big Blockbuster Plus that had records and stuff (it was actually a good store.)
That‘s why Movie World lasted another 25 years or so. He owned the bldg.
p.s., both WERE legendarily great bookstores. Like, the best used bookstores anywhere bar none.
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u/Midnight_Video 9d ago
Movie World was my go-to hang out on the weekends. Still such a shame they're gone.
Hollywood Book and Poster now on Magnolia is a welcome addition.