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An Eastside landmark828 viewsThis is the sign that millions of people saw between 1947 and 1994, here on its last leg. Note the enclosure between the building and the sign. People typically placed their order here and then returned to their car, where they would normally wait 1-2 hours. Customers had the option of standing in this enclosure to be entertained by the vivacious Belle Green herself.
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The Last Picture of Al Greens670 views As a friend and I were passing by old Al Greens we saw the building down but the sign was still standing. My friend stopped and asked the foreman in charge of the tear down "What's the deal on the Al Green sign?" My friend wanted to buy the sign and erect it by his small lake near Acton IN. The foreman said "It's not for sale, they are going to let it stand as a historical marker. We went on our way. Later that day we were coming back by and the sign was down and mashed flat. A screw up?
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Eastgate Shopping Center645 viewsEastgate Shopping Center to the right, view facing West on US 40. Al Green's on the left off camera. Note the sea of a parking lot, which used to be chock full during the 1960s. Now Eastgate's days are numbered as it will probably be reassembled into separate parcels soon if it hasn't already.
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Close up of East view643 viewsI had the print made at Ritz in 2008 after finally locating the negative. I added the sepia tone in Photoshop. Al's 57 Chrysler was parked there night and day. I was hoping for better quality.
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Belle talking with customers636 viewsBelle is taking an order from some high school kids. Submarine sandwich and coke were purchased for $1.07. It was spring break. Someone asks when Al's would be open every day, indicating the irregular hours at that point, a patten that would continue to the end. Belle asks everybody to scoot down, indicating how tight the space was for our party of five. Someone also remarked beforehand about finding a good speaker, indicating a movie was showing that night and good speakers were rare.
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Signage looking West593 viewsThis is scanned from a contact sheet made around 1971 or 72. In 2008 I found the negative and took it in to Ritz for a print, the first print since the contact sheet was made in 1972. This print is also in this photo album.
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1972 shot I took591 viewsSignage looking West. Until 2008, this image had only been printed on a contact sheet. Note the trash strewn about the fence area. Back then litter was common all over. The TV series Madmen on the AMC channel poked fun at people's tendency to litter in the 1960s.
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Ninth and Park street level, Indianapolis508 viewsStreet level view of where the Greens grew up. Interesting how this neighborhood looks relatively untouched by progress, while their much newer drive-in has long since met the wrecker's ball. The family residence and store was said to be located in this area but that's all I know. The building in this picture is now commercial/residential so it's one possibility. Across the street is a parking lot, another possibility.
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US 40 facing West495 viewsAl Green's to the left. Note the excessive width of US 40 and the sparse traffic. US 40 has been underutilized ever since I-70 was built two miles to the North in the early 70s. The width of US 40 will probably be put to use one day as a mass transit line, either as Bus Rapid Transit (low cost express bus service), trolley car, or a full dedicated train track. Ironically, Indianapolis once had one of the nation's finest intra-urban train systems.
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Irvington vignettes461 viewsA composite sketch of Irvington including Al Greens and other popular spots. This was given to my stepmother by her sister, both of whom who grew up in Irvington in the 40s-50s. Susie Parker Jones, the artist, passed away in 2009 from lung cancer.
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Signage looking East442 views
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Ninth and Park - Where Greens grew up441 viewsNeighborhood where Al Green's parents settled after emmigrating from Russia, according to Leo Foster, the electrician who worked for the Greens. The location of their home is unclear. (Ninth St. zig zags at Park.) Nate, one of the five children and the movie projectionist at the drive-in, owned apartments along Park and East.
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