Recently in Around Upland Category

Betty Peters bought this postcard at a collectors' show earlier in August and wonders when the photo might have been taken, and where. Euclid's a long avenue, after all, traveling from Chino through Ontario and Upland and into San Antonio Heights.

I know, it says it's a Daily Report photo, but we don't have any archives other than microfilm from those days.

My colleague Joe Blackstock can't immediately recall, in his joking words, "the great snowstorm of '45" or some other such meteorological event. But he says snow isn't uncommon in Upland's northern reaches, which is where I'd guess the photo was taken.

Tranquil scene, isn't it?

This weather report has been brought to you by the Jones Galoshes Co.

* UPDATE: See Gavin's response in the comments section for the apparent answer to this minor mystery. He's the Sherlock Holmes of local precipitation.

Reader Bob Terry writes: "Have you noticed the similarity in Union Bank's new 'U' logo and the one for Upland? Very similar and quite annoying. Didn't you originally state that Upland's 'U' looked a lot like United Airlines' logo?"

I did indeed, something like six years ago. Gad, what a memory some of you have.

Terry concludes philosophically: "I guess the poor letter 'U' can be 'U'sed only so many ways."

Sunset magazine's blog featured a writeup on Dee Marcellus Cole, a papier mache artist whose work (and whose self) is often seen in Pomona galleries. Check the photos of her garden here. Congrats, Dee!

Boomers is the name of the former Upland Family Fun Center, a fixture along 7th Street in Upland since 1972. The miniature golf course abuts the 10 Freeway, and the property also has go-karts, batting cages and a kiddie restaurant, the Boomers Cafe.

(The restaurant was Bullwinkle's until Boomers took over in 2002.)

In the 12 years I've been at the Bulletin, most of them spent commuting between Claremont and our Ontario office, I've driven past the golf course thousands of times. I've always secretly wanted to go there.

And so, a bunch of us from the newsroom went there on a recent Friday night, the day before my birthday, to celebrate by playing a round. I have very patient friends.

Turns out there are two 18-hole courses. We played the one with the school, the windmill, the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben, among other obstacles and features. It was a lot of fun, despite being breezy, dark and chilly. (Why couldn't my birthday be during a warmer month, or at least after springing forward?)

The other course has a Spanish Mission. Oooooh. I'll have to go back and play it sometime.

When we were playing the schoolhouse hole, in which you try to hit the ball through the open front door, a friend reminded me that the schoolhouse used to be painted the traditional red with white trim and have a peaked roof. A few years back, it was painted a softer color and the roof lopped off, for unknown reasons. Further evidence that nothing is sacred.

The Boomers main building, where you get your clubs, is a sprawling place with air hockey, arcade games (some of them very old and charming) and even indoor "cosmic" miniature golf. Another reason to go back.

Anyone have personal experiences with Boomers, Bullwinkle's or the Upland Family Fun Center? Please post away.

Spotted in Upland on Wednesday: a McDonald's 18-wheeler whose side panel consisted of a giant closeup photo of a Big Mac and the motorist-friendly phrase "merge at taste and quality."

On the rear of the truck was the loaded question "are we there yet?"

Is McDonald's at the intersection of taste and quality? Better keep driving, pal.

I almost never attend Upland council meetings, being rather busy following Ontario and Pomona politics. Yet there were two good reasons for me to attend Monday's Upland council meeting:

1) a controversial proposal for a social hall in a residential neighborhood and

2) the strong possibility that people would talk about Councilman Ray Musser's comment at the last meeting about the "nonwhite" people at the inauguration who were "well behaved."

Well, the first matter was withdrawn, it was announced at the meeting's start, so that the proposal could be rethought. This confirms my theory that any city meeting in Upland is likely to be half as interesting than one would hope.

Despite that loss, the meeting was pretty entertaining. I got a whole column out of it. Which confirms my other theory, which is that Upland is still more interesting than one might think.

Here's what's left of Upland's gazebo, as a city rehab project has taken the structure down to the frame. There will be more on this in Friday's column. I saw this scene on Tuesday after lunch at Caffe Allegro, shot the photo and went to City Hall to find out what's going on.

The gazebo went up in 1967 and stands in a roundabout at Ninth Street and Second Avenue, in the heart of downtown. It's used as a bandstand during the Thursday Night Market, the Lemon Festival and other events.

I liked the I Remember When sign in the foreground and included it in the photo. Feel free to remember when by leaving a comment.

This is old news, I'm afraid, but I only now heard about it: Old Baldy Brewing Co., 271 N. 2nd Ave. in downtown Upland, is out of business.

It's been a long time since I'd been there, but the bar, which opened circa 1994, became a mainstay of downtown. I first visited in '98 or so. Something of a dive, although less so than the Sea Cove used to be, Old Baldy had decent grub besides brewing its own beer, which was good enough to win some awards. The bar occasionally hosted bands or standup. Some co-workers saw rising band Abe Vigoda there a few months back.

A friend used to live in the apartments above the brewery, which was cause for envy, although he said it was no picnic trying to sleep anytime before 2 a.m.

Comments on Yelp shed some light on the bar's history. Its MySpace page indicates the place was taken over earlier this year by the former Margarita Beach owner, who planned to change the name to 2nd Avenue Saloon. I stopped by last night and saw by the sign in the window that the alcohol license transfer to that new name is pending.

(The street, btw, was about as devoid as life as I've seen it, although there is a bar virtually next door to Old Baldy named Dallison's that looked lively. I have a sneaking suspicion the D is a joke on the D'Uplanders banquet hall across the street.)

As we belatedly bid farewell to Old Baldy Brewing Co., anyone have any comments about or memories to share concerning its decor, its characters, its owners, etc.?

In Upland this week, I drove behind a car with the license plate GEDACLU.

Get a clue? Cute. Although it's also possible the driver is a proponent of not only the ACLU, but the General Educational Development degree.

At my doctor's office in Upland, the door leading from the waiting room to the inner sanctum is decorated with Halloween-themed caution tape that reads: "Caution: Enter at Your Own Risk."

As if going to the doctor weren't scary enough!

Taking Foothill Boulevard east the other day from Claremont, I noticed a few changes among Upland's restaurant lineup:

* Philly's Best has gone under, a display of unbrotherly love for cheesesteak fans. That's apparently a tough corner; the only previous occupant of that side of the building, B-Man's Teriyaki, didn't last as long as it should have either.

* Cherry on Top is coming to the former Winchell's. It's either ice cream or frozen yogurt, I couldn't tell. I kept getting green lights.

* The former Country Buffet (was that the name?) has gone through several names as a teppan grill and sushi bar. It's now Mora.

* East of Euclid, Sizzler is closed, replaced by an almost-identical operation. New name: Sizzlin. The two Zs are in red letters, just like Sizzler. "Steak-Seafood-Grill," the overline reads.

Some good, some bad, but on balance, Upland hasn't lost its sizzle.

Here's a note from reader Wes Ray:

"You wrote an column a few months ago about Upland not changing the Foothill Boulevard name to Route 66. Since that time my wife and I have conducted a loose survey of Foothill Boulevard from Central Avenue to Grove Avenue.

"We saw only one restaurant, of any size, we would call a sitdown restaurant only. That was Coco's at Euclid. We could have missed some minor sitdowns in the back of shopping centers, but if so they were unknown to us and we have lived in Upland since 1964."

Wes, I appreciate your legwork, and I can understand your frustration at the numerous fast-food chains along the street. The days of the grand old restaurants in Upland seem to have passed: The Arbor, the Stuft Shirt, Lord Charlie's, York's, the Sage Hen, Noble Inn, etc., etc.

However, things aren't as dire as you think. I can think of a bunch of sitdown restaurants along Foothill, although they may not be to your liking.

From memory, heading east from the city limits at Monte Vista:

New China, Joey's BBQ, Buffalo Inn, Spaggi's (which is one of the valley's finest restaurants), Jarritos, Pho Century, Athens Gyro House, Kishi, Sizzler (still there, I think), Sushimaru, Brandon's Diner, El Perico Ranchero and Thai Satay BBQ. Plus another three or four sushi bars whose names slip my mind.

I'm sure I'm leaving out a few more places where you order at your table rather than at a counter.

Still, Fastfood Boulevard does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

Waiting to order lunch Tuesday in an Upland pizzeria, I ran into none other but the Dale brothers, proprietors of the Dale Brothers Brewery. I know Curt but hadn't met Andy.

Their Pomona Queen lager and other beers are brewed in Upland, sold at various local restaurants -- and at hip L.A. eateries Pizzeria Mozza and the Hungry Cat -- and served during Second Saturday Art Walks in Pomona.

At lunch, each brew-bro wore a career-appropriate T-shirt. Here's each brother and his shirt's slogan:

Andy: "As a matter of fact, I do smell like a brewery."

Curt: "Buy a man a beer and he'll waste an hour, teach him to brew and he'll waste a lifetime."

Heading south on Central Avenue from Foothill Boulevard on Sunday, I noticed that the late Mi Pueblo restaurant in Upland was half-demolished.

I'll admit upfront that I know absolutely nothing about Mi Pueblo. It's been closed for months, if not years, with a chain-link fence around the property. It's a large-sized, low-slung building on the east side of Central and may once have been popular. It's at 11th Street and Central.

I'll try to follow up with City Hall to see what's planned there. In the interim, anyone know anything about the place?

Passing by the corner of Euclid and Foothill in Upland the other day, I noticed a for-lease sign at Nickel! Nickel!, the video game arcade in the shopping center on the southwest corner, by Coco's.

In fact, the real-estate sign covered half the sign, rendering it merely: Nickel!

A peek into the empty storefront proved that, yes, the arcade is gone. It was part of a chain of 1980s-style arcades, with 1980s games. As I understand it, you paid an entry fee and from that point, all the games cost a nickel, or maybe three or four nickels, but still cheaper than modern pinball or arcade games. With Upland gone, the nearest location I'm aware of is Covina.

This is tough news. I thought the 1980s were making a comeback.

Anyone have any Upland Nickel! Nickel! memories or lore to share? How long was the place there? What games did you like? I seem to recall hearing that a world record was set there on some game or another.

* UPDATE: An ex-employee posted a detailed history of Nickel's decline and fall in the comments section. He calls the place "a dynasty that was founded upon a radical idea that a kid could go into an arcade and play outdated games with change his Mom gave him for cleaning his room or found triumphantly under a couch cushion."