1967 - Golden Mall Groundbreaking
1967
Burbank mayor Charles E. Compton uses a jackhammer to break the first official piece of asphalt at the Golden Mall groundbreaking ceremony. Standing next to the mayor is 17-year-old "Golden Girl" Jan Chronert, holding a shovel that reads “Golden Mall Groundbreaking May 6, 1967." The groundbreaking was a fiesta-themed street party centered at the intersection of Orange Grove Ave. and San Fernando Blvd. that drew an estimated 20,000 people, according to the Burbank Daily Review. The main event was a final parade of vehicles down the six-block section of San Fernando Blvd.--between San Jose Ave. and Tujunga Ave.--closed to create the pedestrian mall. The procession was led by grand marshal Mickey Mouse, and included the California Women's Color Guard, the Campfire Girls Mounted Drill Team, the Corina Valdez Dancers, and Olympic swimmer Cathy Ferguson, who had won the gold medal in Tokyo in 1964 while a student at Burbank High School. The Golden Mall was opened November 25, 1967. Though optimism was initially high, many later considered the Golden Mall a failure, and there were new celebrations as San Fernando Blvd. was re-opened to traffic in 1989.
300 N San Fernando Blvd, Burbank, CA 91502
4 x 5 b&w print
Burbank Public Library, Burbank in Focus Office
cco01342
City Clerk's Office
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