Archibald and Foothill, Cucamonga
This undated postcard image, presumably from the 1950s, is in the collection of the Ontario Public Library. This was downtown Cucamonga.
As Frank Zappa wrote in his autobiography:
"Cucamonga was a blotch on a map, represented by the intersection of Route 66 and Archibald Avenue. On those four corners we had an Italian restaurant, an Irish pub, a malt shop and a gas station.
"North, up Archibald, were an electrician's shop, a hardware store and the recording studio. Across the street was a Holy Roller church, and up the block from that was the grammar school."
His memory was pretty sharp. In 1965, the year Zappa left, this would be what you'd have found at or around this intersection, according to research by Kelly Zackmann of the Ontario City Library into phone books and criss-cross directories:
NW corner: Café Italiano (9690 Foothill), the Zappa-mentioned "Italian restaurant." Ancil Morris' Cucamonga Service Station was next door to the west and still stands, albeit closed and fenced off.
SW corner: Cucamonga Café (9671 Foothill), which is listed under ice cream in the phone book. Must be Zappa's "malt shop." Now it's The Deli and Carl's Liquor.
NE corner: Cucamonga Hardware (9710 Foothill) must be the "hardware shop."
SE corner: Ray Ford's Texaco station (9705 Foothill) was there, if apparently not operating by 1965. Nearby was The Tavern (9741 Foothill), which may be the "Irish pub" Zappa mentions. Was this the same pub known as Shanty Devlin's?
Zappa's studio was at 8040 Archibald, on the west side above Estacia Street and next to Citrus Electric ("electrician's shop") at 8036. South of them, below Estacia but above Foothill, were the Cucamonga Justice Court at 8076 and Cafe Italiano.
The "grammar school" Zappa mentions was Central Elementary, which is still there (7955 Archibald). Zackmann couldn't locate a Holy Roller-type church across the street from the studio via phone records. But then, why have a phone if you're going to speak in tongues?
If you've never been to The Deli, by the way, not only is the place worth it for the food, but one wall boasts a series of B&W and color photos of the intersection from various eras. Well worth a look.
Zappa maintained that when Archibald was widened in the mid-'60s, his studio was among the casualties. I think there's a drive-through dairy there now. Is the courthouse building still there? I don't know. There is some disagreement among old-timers as to whether the row of older buidlings on the west side above Foothill is original or not.
Feel free to add to or correct any of the information and suppositions above.
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A journalist for more than two decades, David Allen has been writing a column for the Daily Bulletin since 1997 and blogging since 2007.He lives in Claremont.
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Look at that blue sky and the absence of traffic. If traffic goes away maybe that blue sky will return...
Foothill and Archibald had the Bank Of America on the Northeast side. It was a tile-roofed building that survived through the depression and after. My children's great-grandfather was the manager during the depression.
I do not know if the justice court building is still on Archibald or not, but I appeared before the court back in the early 1980s to contest a traffic ticket. That was in the day when they actually had an assistant district attorney to prosecute.
My attorney uncle said I should represent myself, so it would not look like overkill. I had to declare to the court that I was personally acquainted with and had helped get the judge elected, which was okay with the district attorney. However, I did my homework -- charts and graphs, etc. The judge dismissed the case, even though the officer came and testified against me. Doing my homework was the key.
This was the first intersection in all of RC to get a traffic light. It is one of the worst, if not the worst, intersection for traffic accidents to this day.
Let me say thanks to Ms. Zackmann for her good research. And props to David for this post.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the City of Rancho Cucamonga had an old town pedestrian area?
I wonder if Zappa’s impression of a “Holy Roller church” might have been the Cucamonga Rock Church (formerly Cucamonga Community Church, c. 1907) just a bit further up on Archibald and Church St. It is now a designated historic landmark.
[Possible, although in the mid-'60s it was apparently a Methodist Church, which isn't what most people would consider Holy Roller. -- DA]
Thank you for this interesting bit of history. We moved to Alta Loma in 1975 and I've often dreamed of what the area must have looked like 50-100 years ago.
I know to some the old gas station boarded and chained off must be an eyesore. However, I must say I'm ever so glad it is still there.
Did anyone notice the stop sign right next to the green light?! That could have contributed to some of the accidents to which Matt refers...
Wonderful picture, David. As I recall, the n/e corner of San Bernardino Road & Archibald was home to the Cucamonga Times. On the west side of Archibald, south of San Bernardino Road, was the justice court, and the Cucamonga Library.
I have lived in RC since 1954 and enjoy fond memories of the quonset hut in which I grew up, and the groves throughout the area. My father, Boyd Laub, dismantled a quonset hut from Roger Young Village in LA...the village was the nation's largest WWII veterans housing project and was dismantled in April 1954 to make way for the Los Angeles Zoo parking lot and later, the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage. My father reconstructed the quonset hut for our family of six within our 10-acre lemon grove on Church Street...the quonset hut remains standing today in the remaining 1-acre grove.
While urban sprawl has taken away the rural landscape of RC, it will never take away the memories of smudge pots, wind machines, standpipes to release water for irrigating the grove, windrows of eucalyptus trees to deflect the Santa Ana winds, incinerators to burn trash, 2-lane Archibald Avenue, and other memories too numerous to list that I will always hold dear to my heart.
[Awww. Thanks for sharing those fond memories with us, Kathy. -- DA]
Does anybody remember Cookie Carole's of Cucamonga, if I remember correctly? It was a craft and hobby store. It was on the right side of Archibald one block or so north of Route 66.
The first building you see on the right was Ted Vath's drugstore. Above that was Dr. Anton, M.D. and Dr. Kelsey, DDS. Above that was the 'holy roller church'; just above that was Central School, which is not visible in this picture.
Carl's Liquor was half its size then, with a 5 & 10 cent store and the malt shop where the Deli is now.
Southeast corner was Bob Ford's Texaco and further east was the Tavern. Shanty Devlin's was across Foothill on the north side.
The Post Office and library were on the west side of Archibald, complete with metal rings in the sidewalk to hitch your horse in front of the P.O. A much simpler time.
[Thanks, Barbara, for that rundown, and for clarifying that Devlin's and the Tavern were two separate businesses. You've added to our repository of knowledge here at the blog. -- DA]
Nice story David, brought back a ton of memories. Walking to Central School from our home in "Turner Park" off Turner avenue (now Hermosa) in the mornings through three or four citrus groves. Delivering the weekly Cucamonga Times and earning a few quarters for my efforts. Later, delivering the Daily Report; Jay Kim was my distributor -- dropping the papers off in bundles. Mr. Kim would later become a Congressman, serving the 41st. District from 01-Jan-1993 to 31-Dec-1998. Frank Zappa did memorialize the Holy Roller Church in a song: "Cucamonga"
"Out in Cucamonga
Many years ago
Near a Holy Roller Church
There was once a place
Where me and a couple of friends
Began practicing for the time
We might go on TV..."
Thanks for sparking some great memories.
Thanks for all the memories. The Stone church was the church we attended (Methodist) on Sundays. Central Elem, then on to Cucamonga Jr. High and Alta Loma High. My Mom has this postcard.
I remember riding horses thru the orange groves, home from Turner Tract. My first love lived there (I was all of 12 years old :). The times we had in Cucamonga and Alta Loma will never leave my mind. Even tho we moved to Oregon in '65, we've been back to see relatives many times over the years. It's so sad to see all the groves gone, and the changes.
One thing I can say has been done correctly is the land across the street from our old house has become a park, and not filled with houses. The land was donated for that purpose, by my Uncle John Schmutz. I think it is known as Lyon Street Park. There really have been a lot of changes since my grandfather and his brothers came to settle, and grow oranges. Too many houses, but just my thoughts. LOL
Kathy and John I really think I remember you both.