Charles’ 
Slide of the Week: August 4th, 2005
Marineland Restaurant, Palos Verdes, California, 1955
Ahoy
Occasionally I weep when looking through the old slides that I collect. That happens when I find something really amazing. Well, this week I wept when I ran across this spellbinding shot taken inside the MARINELAND RESTAURANT, PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA, 1955
This is where you ate when you went to see porpoises jump through hoops on fire. It has to be one of the most spectacular dining rooms ever! First of all it’s round - mid-century post and beam in-the-round to be exact. That alone sets it apart from most every other restaurant on the planet. Second of all the location - on a choice bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. That’s beyond prime real estate. Through those wraparound windows you can see all the way to Catalina Island. And last but certainly not least - there are sea shells and starfish on the ceiling! Who is the interior design genius that came up with that idea? Now the mystery of what to do with all those extra sea shells in the world has finally been solved. Put some shells on your dining room ceiling! Get out the glue gun and start gluing. It’s easy. And you might as well put some on the walls. And while you’re at it you might as well go out and get some carpet with a sensible seaweed pattern to complete the look. Your smart dinner party guests will be stunned
Marineland was the world’s largest Oceanarium; it was built in 1954 and closed unceremoniously in 1987. The monumental ultra-modern structure that contained all the fish was bulldozed shortly thereafter. Miraculously the restaurant building, which was actually divided into three connecting circular glass rooms, two for the dining room and one for the Porpoise Room Cocktail Lounge, still stands in ruin. I wonder if the sea shells are still there
Here’s to the Marineland Restaurant and YOU
Charles Phoenix
Los Angeles
August 2005
Sets this Slide belongs to:
Theme Parks
4 Comments on “Marineland Restaurant, Palos Verdes, California, 1955”
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April 20th, 2007 at 9:00 am
Charles, I just wanted to send you a quick email and to rave about your recent slide show at the Curtis Theater in Brea. I not only went on Friday but went again on Saturday and enjoyed the walk down memory lane with tons of laughter as a companion. My family moved to Pico Rivera in 1968 and I clearly remember being about 5 or 6 years old and my parents commenting on how you could see the remnants of the old Streamland Amusement park as we ascended on Rosemead Blvd going north in our 390 powered 68′ Metallic Blue Ford County Squire Station Wagon….I always did wonder how it looked, well, now I know - by the way, was there a drought when those slides were taken?? I looks more like Mojave then Pico! Thanks, Charles and it looks like I will be going to see you again at the Ford Theater in May. Have a great day!
rg
July 18th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
I just wanted to thank you for your slides. Born and raised in Southern California, Marineland was my first field trip (1st grade). I like to tell people how my parents were going to move to Palos Verdes in the 1940s because they couldn’t afford to move to Inglewood where my father worked at the time! I am looking forward to your slides.
Thank you, Candice Spangler
June 26th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
If you want to see what will become of the former Marineland site, check out http://www.terranea.com/ . Just what we need - more upscale McMansions for the nouveau riche :^P
July 15th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
No. The old seashells either fell off in the humid salt air that finally invaded the old “space-age-rotunda” restaurant… or were simply pulled off by other Urban Explorer’s like myself.
I went back looking for cherished, old, memories, fueled by Dad’s old 8-millimeter home movies (Vivian Leigh stopped by that day… all bundled up like a mummy in sunglasses).
The only thing left of Bubble’s old tank was a dirt lot. There was something called The Baja Reef that I climbed into and walked through.
God. What a sad loss. And most amazingly… NOTHING HAS BEEN BUILT UPON THE OLD MARINELAND PROPERTY YET!
I heard the locals still calling the ruins of the old Marineland Motel and beach access… MARINELAND (even after decades of it being gone!).