BOXES 134-135: Quebec and L.A.

The late '70s-early '80s were a golden age for murals in Los Angeles. One of my favorites was "The Fall of Icarus," visible from the Venice Boardwalk near Windward Avenue. You need to zoom in to catch the details, or you can see close-ups here on the artist's webpage. It faded and chipped away, barely lasting a decade, but it was a welcome sight as you strolled (or very likely rollerbladed in those years) past it.

In 1980 I took only two rolls of slides--many fewer than in any previous year since I started taking photos, as you know if you've been following these posts. The majority of the 1980 photos were devoted to my third visit to L.A., but they start out in Quebec City, where I had taken my mother for a vacation. As I recall, we flew to Montreal and spent a few days there, though I have no photos to show for it. My first slide is of Quebec City's most famous feature, the Chateau Frontenac--a grand hotel--with its promenade overlooking the lower city.

The next photo was probably taken the same evening, maybe from another side of the Chateau but in any case affording a glimpse of the centre ville:

We took a boat tour to see the city from the St Lawrence River, with the Chateau Frontenac prominent in the skyline:

We also took a bus tour that went out into the countryside along the river. I can't identify any of the spots in the following photos, but I remember that it was a pleasant afternoon:

I was surprised to discover the next photo, showing Quebec City's main train/bus station, where our tour ended--surprised because I now have no recollection of having been there. But it's a very handsome structure:

The only other photo I took on this trip (unless there is a lost box of Montreal slides hiding somewhere) might be of Quebec City from the high-rise hotel where we stayed, or from an overlook, but I'm doubtful. If anyone can make an ID, please do.

Later that summer Max met me in Cleveland and we drove to Rochester NY, where our friends Wayne and Zivile had moved from Evanston. The only photos I took were of the lofty beams and ceiling of their apartment--a great home for Wayne's stereo system:

At some point later that summer I was in New York, since my next photo (and the only one of NY) is of a corner in SoHo (W. B'way and Broome, if you must know)--but I have no idea why I took the photo:

Back in Cleveland I again took only one photo, of my brother and mother looking at me

while Jamie concentrates on some puppies, maybe at a neighbor's house. Later yet that summer I flew out to L.A. for my third visit to the Garvin family in Santa Monica. On one walk down to nearby Venice Beach I took the photo of the mural at the top of this page and also of other new murals on Windward Avenue:

And here is another view of the Garvin house (for earlier shots, see BOXES 124-125), this one from the side garden, followed by one of an overgrown garden shed (?) in the area behind the house:

This was the summer that Gloria and Jeffrey got married. The reception was held in the back yard, set up with tables. Here are a few pictures of the guests, starting with Gloria's Sheboygan friends Jean Rusch and Ty Wesley, who got married themselves two years later in Los Angeles. That's Gloria's Aunt Barbara on the right:

Here they are again, sitting at one of the tables, with Jean's daughter Shelley sitting to her right; next is a photo of Shelley with her sisters Susie (eating the cake) and Sherri:

In the next four photos you first see Gloria's friends Nancy and Jim; then Nancy on the right with her sister Laura on the left and another friend, Meryl, with a movie camera, in the middle. It looks like Meryl was filming the event, judging by her camera in the third picture. The fourth is of Jeffrey's sister, Yvonne, and his mother, Ruth.

The couple below were Gloria's friends and neighbors, Bill and Cathy, and the guy helping to pour champagne, probably into a punch bowl, is Gloria's brother Charles:

Finally, here is part of the buffet spread for the reception:

And that's it for 1980. I have more to share from 1981, mainly a visit to the New Jersey Shore and my fourth trip to L.A., but I'll save those for the next posts.