Friday, August 04, 2017

for over 50 years Tillie Hattrup ran this roadside ice cream refreshment stand, designed and built by her husband, with Buick headlights for eyes, the head rotated, and the sign was old theater marque letters


The owl was built on Valley Blvd in Rosemead in 1926 and moved soon after to a better location three blocks away.

 In 1928 the owl was trucked down to South Gate, where it stood at 8404 Long Beach Blvd for about 20 years.

 It was by this time called the Hoot Owl Cafe, serving more than ice cream.

In 1949 the owl moved again, this time to 8711 Long Beach Blvd. It lasted there for 30 yeears.

The first move happened as Tillie sought better business by going to an area with potentially more customers. The next relocation (some 3 blocks away) became necessary after the land the building was on was sold to a new owner.

I seriously doubt the world would allow for any of us to build and run a business like this for the next 50 years. Today the permits alone would cost more than the above building did 90 years ago

But it seems Roy done her wrong in the 30's and up and disappeared. The census points out that she was a single mom in 1940.

 (Roy Hattrup, you single handedly ruined the impeccable reputation of Roy's everywhere, there never was a Roy I didn't admire til you. Roys that were the trademark of terrific character include Roy Rodgers, Disney, Orbison, Clark, Benavidez, Acuff, and O'Bannon)

http://www.southgatehigh.org/Hoothoot.htm
http://waterandpower.org/museum/Programmatic_Style_Architecture.html

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