"Sid's Place" (Sid's Cafe)
Images above courtesy of the Pasadena Public Library and reference librarian Wei Zhang.
Citation: Thurston's Pasadena (California) City Directory 1942. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Directory Co., 1942.
In this letter, Sgt. Dolin remarks about the bar or tap room he visits. He refers to it as, "Sid's Place," however that may not be its correct name. In the 1942 city directory for the city of Pasadena, California, an establishment called "Sid's Cafe" is the only business listed with "Sid" in the title. The cafe is located at 6 E. Colorado Avenue in Pasadena, and the Ordnance Training Center, Camp Santa Anita where John was stationed is located approximately 8.5 miles west when following Colorado Avenue. In his letter, John describes "Sid's Place" as being outside the gate; rather than interpreting that to mean literally and directly outside the camp gates, it is reasonable to infer that "Sid's Place" and "Sid's Cafe" are one and the same.
Citation: Google maps. Google. Accessed April 26, 2023. https://tinyurl.com/Google-Map-Sids-Cafe
Running the address through Google Maps shows how close Sid's Cafe was to the Ordnance Training Center.
Citaion: Google maps. Google. Accessed April 26, 2023. https://tinyurl.com/Google-Maps-Sids-Cafe-Today
The photo above is a current street view image from Google Maps showing the approximate location of 6 East Colorado Blvd. today, although it appears the address has been changed to 1 E Colorado Blvd. It is likely that Sid's Cafe occupied the second storefront from the corner, seen here with the orange colored door.
The following object description information includes basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). An additional notes field is included to list dates from the actual letter, envelope postmark locations, and any other identifying details.
The day this letter was written, a major change in power occured in Europe. On July 25, 1943, Benito Mussolini would be forced to resign and voted out of power by the Grand Council of Italy and King Emmanuel III. The reason for his removal from office comes from the Italian people having enough of him. His time as prime minister and his empowerment to II Duce had given him the positioning to be the dictator we know him to be. From the Italian army losing the war fought in North Africa against allied forces, Sicily being lost to the allies, and Rome being bombed, the Italian people decided that in order to exit the war they agreed with in the first place, they had to remove the man who got them there. As such the Grand Council voted for some of Mussolini's power to be transferred to King Emmanuel III. A day later, Mussolini would meet with the King and would be informed that General Pietro Badoglio would take over the military. After said meeting, the Italian police arrested Mussolini and the Grand Council made a vote of "no confidence" against him for procerudral purposes.
Citations:
“Benito Mussolini Falls from Power.” History.com. A&E Television Networks. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mussolini-falls-from-power.
By DANIEL T. BRIGHAMBy Telephone to THE NEW YORK TIMES. "ARRESTS REPORTED: BERNE HEARS THE FASCIST LEADERS ARE BEING HELD IN HOMES 'PEACE' CRY IN ROME NAZIS IN MILAN SAID TO HAVE FIRED ON MOB OF DEMONSTRATORS SCENES IN THE CAREER OF MUSSOLINI AS DICTATOR OF ITALY AND PARTNER OF HITLER MUSSOLINI OUSTED; BADOGLIO IN POST; KING HEADS ARMY; RADIO SEES PEACE." New York Times (1923-), Jul 26, 1943. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/arrests-reported/docview/106614705/se-2.
In this letter, Sgt. Dolin talks of jukeboxes being wrapped in burlap and bamboo, describing it as having a tropical feel to it. Today, when we think of jukeboxes we think of the super bright, hyper colored ones...so to infer that they did not look like that in the year 1943 is not a leap. Upon researching the different companies and models of jukeboxes during the year 1943 years that were close, we chose to exhibit the Wurlitzer model 800 jukebox. This model is from the year 1940, its dimensions (in height x width x depth) are 155 x 94 x 71 cm (61 x 37 x 28"). This box was about 5 feet tall, about 3.1 feet wide, and 2.3 feet deep and weighed about 430 lbs. It could hold 24 records and could play up to 24 songs (some records have songs on both sides which could lead to more selections than records, but that is not the case with this model).
Citation: “Wurlitzer 800.” American Jukebox history - wurlitzer - jukeboxes 1933-1945. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.jukeboxhistory.info/wurlitzer/jukeboxes_1933-1945.html#800.