Old San Diego Magazine

My friend Jen's father runs San diego Magazine. Gavin and Jen sent me this cool pic of the Bali Hai. Notice the Messerschmidt.
Mahalo,
Al

koolness I dig on that little car thingy

Is that what you're calling a "Messerschmidt"? Looks like a BMW Isetta with the tricycle wheels backwards.

[ Edited by: purple jade 2006-03-20 21:16 ]

How coool! Californian architecture and German engineering! Can you make me a color xerox, Al?
Actually it's rather funny that this vehicle was all that the Allied Forces allowed Messerschmitt to build after the war. It essentially is a ME 111 fighter plane cockpit on three wheels.

[ Edited by: Monkeyman 2014-04-08 13:07 ]

On 2003-03-04 18:52, Monkeyman wrote:
You would think that they would capitalize more with a series of old postcards or photos showing the floor show and decor of yesteryear.

Yes, I think they're missing a real opportunity there. Not just from a financial standpoint but to really build up their historical reputation with the SD community.

At least you got to browse the gift shop. Last 2 times I was there, the gift shop was closed - even though the posted hours showed that they should've been open.

Does the Bali Hai gift shop still sell John Severson Aloha shirts? John sells those in Orange County, they are his original line, made in very small runs. I bought two in 2001 at Bali Hai and I totally treasure them, as well as everything I've every been able to find by Severson -- Surf films, Surf film posters, photography, oil paintings, wood block paintings and his amazing Sufer magazine covers. John Severson is one of the great 20th Century artist, IMHO. A genius!

Check out this to-die-for site: http://www.microcarmuseum.com/index.html. So fine, I had to save and burn a whole whack of the images! :)

em

Aaarrrghhh! Forgot that BBcode includes the period at the end of the sentence in the URL. Sorry, it's just good ol' http://www.microcarmuseum.com/index.html That oughta work!

em.

emspace,
thank you for turning me onto this coool site, also to alnshely for the topiic (great Bali Hai pic). I grew up in Los Angeles in the fifties and my whole family were into cars & aircraft (to earn the money to pay for those cars and their never ending modifications) so the Messerschmidt is a natural curiosity for me (plus I'm a WWII airplane geek...never miss a Confederate Airforce air show). My earliest memory of the Messerschmidt had to be the hilariously funny 60's Peter Sellers movie "the Party". I can't help but think that if Mr. Bean were doing his thing back then he'd be driving a Messerschmidt.

Hi Shipwreckjoey,

You grew up in LA in the 50s? Mother dog! Are you a James Ellroy fan? Didja know that one of his short-story collections (forget which one, all easily found at the library though) has a story that revolves heavily around Steve Crane and includes descriptions of The Luau?

BTW, any idea what Bean is driving? an Isetta, or some some French or Italian thingy? - haven't seen Bean in ages.

aloha,
em

emspace,
not too sure about James Ellroy, but as far as Mr. Beans main ride goes - Austin Cooper Mini to my recollec'. As I recall Bean lost his Mini when it was run over by a tank at a visit to a military academy. He later found it while he was looking though his attic for memoribillia and pulled up a blanket to reveal his smashed mini. He wept like a baby, as did I because my high school buddy had a mini just like Bean's & we used to terrorize Pacific Coast Hwy from Long Beach to Laguna in that car. Some of the best times I ever had.

Nuclear future at Torrey Pines?!?

Not in San Fransisco tonight,
Thor

Bean's Mini I remember, but I could swear I saw episodes with a 3-wheeler of some kind. I could be dreaming...

em

On 2003-03-08 21:37, Shipwreckjoey wrote:
not too sure about James Ellroy

He grew up in LA in the 50s - well, partly in a town called El Monte, but he spent weekends hanging with his dad in LA.

His best-known novels are called "the LA Quartet": *The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Cofidential,*and White Jazz. You may have seen the movie made about L.A. Confidential.

Crime novels may not be your cup of grog anyway, but the cool thing about them is that he includes many real people (like Steve Crane) from that time and place as characters. He's my favorite novelist. Well, him and Cormac McCarthy.

And on that note, I think if we're going to talk about him, micro-cars, or LA in the 50s any more, we should maybe start a new thread in "Beyond Tiki" :)

aloha,
emspace.

Is it possible to buy a reprint of that issue? I would even settle for a high res image that I could print. Even an old postcard would suffice. I am decorating my living room in the tiki fashion. I wanted to frame a picture of the restaurant in its heyday near my vintage Bali Hai mug and S&P shakers. I am trying to tie together the collectors side with the historical side.

Thanks

great mag Al! but just wanted to say I get a few of da kine for you. I'll give em to ya wen you and Bong visit.

If you really try hard, gaze into the front of that 3 wheeled car, for a while. Violah!(sp?) It's a tiki face!!! Kinda modern to boot!

Ben
By jove, I think you've nailed it! I read your post and went back & started studying the pic and I started noticing parallels between the Messerschmidt & Mr. Bali Hai. The lids over Mr. B's eyes and the little chrome visors over the headlights. Also Mr. B's nose bone was interpreted perfectly by the Messerschmidt's bumper/grill work. And the overall shape is definately moai and...and...damn, this pipe went out.

[ Edited by: Shipwreckjoey on 2003-03-14 01:06 ]