Election Night At The Valley Relics Museum

Above, candidate Mark Reed (center) is flanked by one of his supporters (left) and Armand. 

The GOP blew out the Democrats in Congress. They picked up at least seven seats to regain control of the U.S. Senate and added about 10 more seats to their majority in the House of Representatives.

I spent the night at the Election Night party of Republican congressional candidate Mark Reed (he didn't make it, but at this point, he is polling better than the last time he faced Rep. Brad Sherman). The party was held in an interesting place: The Valley Relics Museum in Chatsworth.

There's a lot of relics of businesses and personalities who once populated the San Fernando Valley. There was a lot of memorabilia of Nuta Kotlyarenko, known professionally as Nudie Cohn (or "Nudie"), He made the gold suit worn by Elvis Presley and rinestone cowboy outfits worn by Robert Redford, Roy Rogers and others. His car was on display. There were many neon signs from long-gone businesses, most of them were lit up.

There were also a lot of photographs of actor Glenn Strange, who played the Frankenstein monster in three Universal movies as well as many westerns, including the television series Gunsmoke as Sam the bartender.

I think I spent more time roaming around the museum looking at the artifacts than following the election returns. The best of both worlds: politics and history.

Here's some photos of the museum (more will be posted later):

Above, the neon sign of The Palomino nightclub. The club was
featured in two Clint Eastwood ape movies. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Nudie's Cadillac. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a collection of Glenn Strange monster photos. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a collection of Glenn Strange western movie memorabilia. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, an old road sign for the Iverson Movie Ranch. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the gold lamé suit worn by Elvis Presley that was created by Nudie. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the menu sign from Henry's Tacos. Note the prices. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, two drive-in theater speakers. Remember drive-in theaters? Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, an old Pacific Telephone phone booth. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, The Lone Ranger and Vice President Richard Nixon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Nudie's Cadillac. Photo by Armand Vaquer.