Mark Goldschmidt, who is appropriately chairman of Altadena Heritage, saw a little of that heritage disappear from the vantage point of his office today. He writes us:
Looked out my office windows (upstairs from Tangles & Locks and the Coffee Gallery) this afternoon, just in time to see a couple of guys load up the old gas pumps at Ronnie's. I rushed out to take a photo.
Until last year, Ronnie's Automotive was the longest continually operating business in Altadena (since 1923 I've been told). It has fallen on darker days since the departure of its last owner and operator George Lewis late in 2009. On Friday, July 2, the old Gilmore gas pumps, which haven't functioned in decades, but starred in countless movies, commercials, TV shows and music videos, were hauled off... who knows where. Another bit of Altadena's Heritage has disappeared.
