Godzilla Plaque At Historical Marker Database

Above, the Godzilla plaque. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Back in 2006, the Godzilla Society of North America and the Platrix Chapter No. 2 of E Clampus Vitus dedicated a plaque commemorating the 50th anniversary of Godzilla, King of The Monsters!, starring Raymond Burr.

The plaque marks the spot where the small studio, Visual Drama, that was used for Burr's insert scenes for the movie. The location is now the Frank Del Olmo Elementary School (originally the Belmont Elementary School).

The Historical Marker Database has added the plaque last year and here's the location according to the plaque's page:

Location. 34° 4.413′ N, 118° 17.568′ W. Marker is in Los Angeles, California, in Los Angeles County. Marker is on North New Hampshire Avenue north of 1st Street. At Frank Del Olmo Elementary School, mounted to one of the columns at the top of the steps. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 N New Hampshire Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90004, United States of America. Touch for directions.

To see the full page, go here. 

Los Angeles Times Article On E Clampus Vitus

Above, Dave Nicholson and yours truly at Pioneer Cemetery in Sylmar last year.

The Los Angeles Times posted an article yesterday on the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus.

In reading the article, it strikes me as odd that the Times didn't mention the fact that there's an active ECV chapter in Los Angeles County (the Times' home area), Platrix Chapter No. 2, and that they have plaques in L.A. County that includes one for Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

Above, the Godzilla plaque at Frank del Olmo Elementary
 School in Los Angeles. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I guess we can't have everything.

Still, it is nice that they gave ECV a write-up.

It begins with:

Everyone had forgotten about the Butt Lake Dinky by the time workers in 1996 dredged up the rusty H.K. Porter steam locomotive that had been submerged in a reservoir for eight decades. 

That lack of remembrance didn’t sit right with the Order of E Clampus Vitus, a men’s fraternal organization with chapters scattered around Gold Country. They commemorated the teeny train with a bronze plaque. 

From his perch at the Plumas Club, a dive bar that serves as his chapter’s de facto headquarters, Ron “Right-On” Oxley swirled a vodka and cranberry juice and tried to sum up his often misunderstood group. 

“A lot of people get confused and think we’re a bunch of drunkards,” said the resident of Quincy, a small mining town. “We’re actually a nonprofit historical organization.”
America is full of memorials for epic battles and soaring monuments and somber cradles of famous historical figures. The men of E Clampus Vitus — a.k.a. the Clampers — don’t bother with those. 

“We believe in the absurd,” said Gene Koen, a Clamper from Oroville.

To read the full article, go here. 

"A Monster of A School"

Above, LAUSD's Yonah Hong and Armand at the plaque on dedication day. Photo by Richard Pusateri.

It is hard to believe that it has been 11 years since the Godzilla, King of the Monster! plaque was dedicated at the then-new Frank del Olmo Elementary School.

The school itself was dedicated in a big ceremony in November 2006 and I was invited to say a few words on the school's site's history with Godzilla.

Above, the school's ribbon-cutting. Photo courtesy of the LAUSD.

The Los Angeles Times covered the event and here is their article from November 2, 2006:

The new campus on the edge of Koreatown occupies the site where the first American version of "Godzilla" was filmed. So one early suggestion for a name was Godzilla Elementary, which would go with the motto: A monster of a school. 

But Principal Eugene Hernandez and the naming committee inclined another way. And on Wednesday morning, an array of dignitaries, including some "Godzilla" fans, dedicated Frank del Olmo Elementary School in honor of the Los Angeles Times associate editor and columnist who died in 2004 at 55. 

The speakers included Del Olmo's wife, Magdalena Beltran-del Olmo, who said that when she was approached about the honor, "My jaw dropped; I was touched." 

"When I found out the location of the school, it was more poignant," she said, "because Frank fought so hard for the Belmont area to get more schools to serve these kids who have been dealing with overcrowded conditions." 

The three-acre, $42.9-million school opened in August, more than a year behind schedule, at 100 N. New Hampshire Ave., a block west of Vermont Avenue south of the Hollywood Freeway. An important cog in a $19.3-billion school construction program, it adds 975 seats to one of the most crowded student corridors in the Los Angeles Unified School District. 

Del Olmo's first column was about education, and among his last causes was advocating to finish the star-crossed Belmont Learning Complex, which he championed even after the project was abandoned. That school, resuscitated under Supt. Roy Romer, is expected to open in about 18 months. 

Romer spoke briefly, along with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Also on hand were Del Olmo's daughter, Valentina, a county psychiatric social worker, and son, Frankie del Olmo Jr., whose struggles with autism became a periodic subject of his father's columns.
Frankie, 14, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, stood quietly to one side during the 90-minute ceremony. 

"Frankie is doing a lot better," his mother said. "That first year and a half was brutal. He missed Dad. He couldn't cry for him. He couldn't express his emotions. He couldn't talk.
"It's wonderful that my little boy has gotten to a point with his autism [where] he can hang with a ceremony like this -- not only its length and the noise and many people talking, but just the emotion of it," she said. "It's about his dad." 

Villaraigosa and others described a columnist who was eloquent, relevant, fearless and just -- and always demanding of public officials. 

"I remember some [columns] that were not too kind to me," the mayor said. After reading about Frankie, "my perception about [del Olmo] completely changed.... I saw a father with love so deep for his son. I just waited for those pieces." He said he was also moved when the columnist decided to stop writing about his son, to give him some privacy. 

Early in his career, Del Olmo almost single-handedly represented people of color at the newspaper. He helped change the face of the newsroom. 

Even Armand M. Vaquer, the representative of the Godzilla Society of North America, had to agree that the new campus' name was fitting -- while also noting the school's site as the very place where actor Raymond Burr uttered the immortal phrase: "Look at the size of those footprints." 

On Wednesday, those words applied metaphorically to Del Olmo, who would have appreciated the public officials who spoke in Spanish and English, as well as the child mariachis and the school chorus, which sang a Swahili unity ditty and a new school song whose lyrics include the line: "We are Frank del Olmo. We love to show our pride."

Where's The "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" Plaque?

Above, the Godzilla plaque. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This morning, some Facebook Godzilla fan friends asked me about the location of the Godzilla, King of the Monsters! plaque's location in Burbank. Since it has been a while since I've posted anything on the plaque, I figured that if anyone is going to be in the Los Angeles area making a pilgrimage to the plaque and other places of interest, I would post a blog to help them out.

Above, the plaque's location at the main entrance to the school. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

First of all, the plaque is not in Burbank. It is in Los Angeles, in the mid-Wilshire district. It is at the main entrance of the Frank del Olmo Elementary School (formerly Belmont Elementary, as that's the name of the school on the plaque). It is at First Street and Vermont Avenue. But, the actual address is 100 North New Hampshire Ave. (a half block west of Vermont Ave.). The main entrance is on New Hampshire Ave.

It was dedicated in 2006 as a joint project of the Godzilla Society of North America and Platrix Chapter No. 2, E Clampus Vitus to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Americanized version. The school was still under construction at the time of the dedication.

Above, the plaque dedication in 2006. Photo by Jean Carbajal.

Thankfully, when the school is closed, the plaque is protected from vandalism and theft by an iron gate, but visitors can still see it a few feet away.

The location was formerly the little studio called Visual Drama, where Terry Morse directed actor Raymond Burr for the insert scenes for the Americanized version of the 1954 Godzilla by Toho Co., Ltd. It was released here and worldwide as Godzilla, King of the Monsters! in 1956. The new Legendary Pictures Godzilla: King of the Monsters movie that is in pre-production pays homage to the Americanized version by its title.

References:

http://www.geekfieldguides.com/sci-fi-sites-godzilla-50th-anniversary-plaque/
http://www.vinylmaddness.com/Plaque.html
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/35337

Clamper Plaques

While at the Billy Holcomb Chapter's Spring Clampout this weekend, I purchased a book of clamper plaques from 2008 to 2012.

With the book came a CD of the volume of clamper plaques from 1994 to 2007.

Included in the CD were two of interest to me.

One was the monument that was erected at the Gen. George Patton Memorial Museum at Chiriaco Summit in 1998 and, the other, the Godzilla, King of the Monsters plaque at the Frank del Olmo Elementary School in Los Angeles. The one at the Patton Museum features a couple of young (19 years younger, that is) fellers.

Here they are as presented on the CD:

The two young fellers:

Above, yours truly and Glenn Thornhill.

About Clamper Plaque Spelling Errors

Photos by Armand Vaquer

Over on Facebook at one of the E Clampus Vitus pages, it was noted by one of the brothers that the new monument (pictured above) at the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery in Sylmar (dedicated yesterday) has a spelling error:

IT'S ALSO A TYPO.
IT'S NOT "IN MEMORIUM."
IT'S "IN MEMORIAM."
PITY TOMBSTONES DON'T COME WITH SPELL CHECK.

A brother responded:

It would not be a bona fide Clamper plaque -- especially a Platrix plaque -- if it didn't have at least one spelling error in it. 

A few years ago they plaqued the site of the studio (now the site of the Frank del Omo Elementary School) where the first Godzilla movie had additional footage added so it would appeal to American audiences. They misspelled "Tokyo," instead spelling it "Toyoko."

Yes, it is a Clamper tradition (not always strictly adhered to) to have a spelling error in a plaque's text. Remember, E Clampus Vitus is a fraternal organization based on humor.

Superman Plaque Location Submitted To Roadside America.com

Above, Stephanie Shayne Parkin addresses the plaque dedication ceremony attendees. Photo by Steven Kirk.

There was one last (at least I think it's the last) task in relation to the Adventures of Superman plaque I did today.

I submitted the plaque for listing at Roadside America.com. It is a fun website to locate and visit "offbeat tourist attractions" around America. They have listed the Godzilla plaque that was placed at the former home of Visual Drama, the studio in Los Angeles where Raymond Burr's Godzilla, King of the Monsters! scenes were shot in 1956.

The location is now the Frank del Olmo Elementary School and the Godzilla plaque is at the school's main entrance.

Hopefully, they will soon list the Adventures of Superman plaque. I submitted three photos to go along with the listing. This will let Superman fans know where to visit the plaque.

"Look at the size of those footprints!"

Above, Armand (far right) takes part in the Frank del Olmo Elementary School's
ribbon-cutting ceremony.  Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The preparations for next year's Adventures of Superman plaque got me to thinking about another plaque from a few years ago.

Back in October 2006, a new elementary school was dedicated.  It was originally named Belmont Elementary School and a plaque was dedicated several months before by Godzilla fans and the Platrix Chapter of E Clampus Vitus ("a historical drinking society or a drinking historical society"). The plaque reflects the original name of the school.

Prior to the time of the school's dedication, the name was underwent a change.  Here's what the Los Angeles Times said about it at the time:

The new campus on the edge of Koreatown occupies the site where the first American version of "Godzilla" was filmed. So one early suggestion for a name was Godzilla Elementary, which would go with the motto: A monster of a school. 

But Principal Eugene Hernandez and the naming committee inclined another way. And on Wednesday morning, an array of dignitaries, including some "Godzilla" fans, dedicated Frank del Olmo Elementary School in honor of the Los Angeles Times associate editor and columnist who died in 2004 at 55.

Even though Godzilla lost out in the naming of the school, it was still an honor to be invited by the Los Angeles Unified School District to speak at the dedication ceremony on the history of the site where the school now stands.

Above, LAUSD's Yonah Hong and Armand with the "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!"
plaque at the school's entrance.  Photo courtesy of Richard Pusateri.

The Los Angeles Times ended their article appropriately:

Even Armand M. Vaquer, the representative of the Godzilla Society of North America, had to agree that the new campus' name was fitting -- while also noting the school's site as the very place where actor Raymond Burr uttered the immortal phrase: "Look at the size of those footprints." 

On Wednesday, those words applied metaphorically to Del Olmo, who would have appreciated the public officials who spoke in Spanish and English, as well as the child mariachis and the school chorus, which sang a Swahili unity ditty and a new school song whose lyrics include the line: "We are Frank del Olmo. We love to show our pride."

To read the full article, go here.

A Great Time At Distant Lands

Above, Distant Lands Travel Bookstore from a previous visit.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Tonight's presentation on Japanese monster movie locations and landmarks went great tonight.  People took advantage of the 77-degree temperatures to come out.

We filled the Distant Lands Travel Bookstore & Outfitters in Pasadena (we had to add some folding chairs) with appreciative kaiju fans who want to "walk in Godzilla's footsteps."  Some were from the World War II generation, which was a surprise.

I took some photos before the presentation began, but I'll have to post them tomorrow (I forgot the cable that attaches my camera to my computer for uploading).

It was a relaxed evening where people felt at ease to ask questions during the slideshow.  Some were surprised at the craftsmanship employed in making the intricate miniatures to match (or come very close) to the actual structures.  They hadn't given the workmanship much thought until tonight's presentation.

Besides the Japanese locations, landmarks and places of interest to monster fans, I also included two places of interest in the U.S. to Godzilla fans: the Walk of Fame star on Hollywood Blvd. and the Godzilla, King of the Monsters! plaque at Frank del Olmo Elementary School in Los Angeles.

When I showed the below photo of 84-year-old Haruo Nakajima, one of the older members of the audience remarked, "84?!  He's just a youngster!"

Above, Haruo Nakajima at Godzilla's star
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Photo
courtesy of Sonoe Nakajima.

Above, the "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" plaque
at Frank del Olmo Elementary School in Los Angeles.
Photo courtesy of Richard Pusateri.

To top it all off, we sold copies of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan!

I apparently scored a home-run as I received a great round of applause at the end.

A big thank-you to the staff of Distant Lands for making tonight's presentation a successful one!

Roadside America Lists Godzilla Plaque

Above, LAUSD's Yonah Hong and Armand at the Godzilla plaque.  Photo courtesy of Richard Pusateri.

Godzilla fans have two things to see in Los Angeles while on vacation in the "City of The Angels."

First, is the Godzilla star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame that is located in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd.

The other is the Godzilla, King of the Monsters! plaque located at the entrance to the Frank del Olmo Elementary School at 100 N. New Hampshire Ave., Los Angeles.

The plaque marks the location of the studio where Raymond Burr's insert scenes were shot by director Terry Morse in 1956.

The plaque is now listed at RoadsideAmerica.com.  To view their listing, go here.

Plaques and More Plaques?

Above, Yonah Hong of the L.A. Unified School District and yours truly with the Godzilla plaque.  Photo courtesy of Richard  Pusateri.

While sitting here at my comic book yard sale, I've been in an email discussion on commemorative plaques with one of the bigwigs of the alumni of Hawthorne High School. I graduated from Hawthorne High School in 1972.

The school is undergoing renovation with old buildings being torn down and new ones put up in phases.

The concern is that Hawthorne High's history will be lost. I suggested a series of plaques erected around the school commemorating historical events and people. The Wilson Brothers and Al Jardine of The Beach Boys attended Hawthorne (a little before my time there). A plaque honoring The Beach Boys was one suggestion made.

I brought up the Godzilla, King of The Monsters! plaque at Frank Del Olmo Elementary School as an example.

As regular readers of this blog know, a Superman plaque is now in the planning stages in Tarzana.

We're going to look into this further.

Criterion's Godzilla: New Developments

The kaiju world is abuzz at the prospect that Gojira (i.e., Godzilla) (1954) will receive a DVD/Blu-ray restoration treatment from Criterion.

Classic Media released a subtitled Japanese version along with the Americanized Godzilla, King of the Monsters! DVD set a few years ago that received a lot of kudos from fans. Having both movies released and restored by Criterion would be the icing on the cake.

Now, there's word that a fine-grain 35mm print of Godzilla, King of the Monsters! has been found. August Ragone has details on this at his blog.

The last version of Godzilla, King of the Monsters! was the closest thing to a restored print released (by Classic Media) to date, but it was pieced together from several sources and some items were edited in out of original order.

Having a fine-grain print available (provided it is still in good shape) on DVD would be tremendous! (August Ragone explains why.)

Above, the "Godzilla King of the Monsters! plaque at Frank del Olmo Elementary School in Los Angeles.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! was the edited version by Terry Morse that featured Raymond Burr and was filmed at Visual Drama Studios in Los Angeles in 1956. A commemorative plaque has been placed at the location (now an elementary school).

It'll be interesting to see what transpires!

"Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" Released 55 Years Ago

This is Tokyo. Once a city of six million people. What has happened here was caused by a force which up until a few days ago was entirely beyond the scope of Man's imagination. Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world. There were once many people here who could've told of what they saw... now there are only a few. My name is Steve Martin. I am a foreign correspondent for United World News.

55 years ago today, Godzilla, King of the Monsters! was released to theaters in the United States.

This was the Americanized version directed by Terry Morse that inserted actor Raymond Burr into the movie. The original was produced by Toho Co., Ltd. in 1954 and released in Japan in November 1954.

It was this version that was released around the world that made Godzilla an international star. A new American Godzilla movie is now in pre-production by Legendary Pictures.



Burr's scenes were filmed at tiny Visual Drama studios in Los Angeles on Vermont Avenue near First Street. The Frank del Olmo Elementary School now occupies the site and a commemorative plaque honoring Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is mounted at the school's entrance (above photo). The plaque was funded by fan contributions and co-sponsored by The Godzilla Society of North America and Platrix Chapter No. 2 of E Clampus Vitus. Terry Morse Jr. attended the plaque dedication.

Monsterpalooza: One Week Away!

"Scene To Seen," Friday, April 8 at 8:00 PM

One week from today, Monsterpalooza opens at the Burbank Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. My presentation, "Scene To Seen" will be the second presentation of the convention, following Pete Brothers.

As tomorrow is an off day, I will take advantage of it to get my narrative written on 3x 5" cards (I find these easier to read than having typed sheets of paper when wearing non-bifocal eyeglasses for poor distance vision even though I see just fine without them while reading. I need to keep them on so I can see the audience to take questions.). I have over 70 photographs to show and describe (to varying degrees).



The last time I did any public speaking using cards was for the dedication ceremony of the Frank del Olmo Elementary School (above). There, I spoke on the school site's history (Raymond Burr's Godzilla, King of the Monsters! scenes were filmed there in 1956 and a plaque at the school's entrance commemorates it). The card notes definitely come in handy in case I get a "senior moment" during my talk.

Eliot Brodsky, who heads up Monsterpalooza, requested that I get there as close to 4:00 PM this coming Friday as possible. As soon as Miki arrives at my place in Tarzana, we'll be making the 15-mile drive to Burbank. (Just hope the Friday rush-hour traffic cooperates!)

Above, Miki and Armand.

As mentioned previously, the presentation will be based on The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan and the guidebook will be available for purchase before and after the presentation (at a 20% Monsterpalooza discount). It begins Friday, April 8 at 8:00 PM.

Hope to see you there!

For additional information on Monsterpalooza, go here.

Endorsement List

Above, Armand in Clamper garb at the Godzilla plaque in Los Angeles. Photo by Glenn Thornhill.

The official Mark Reed for Congress website now has yours truly included in his list of endorsements, that also includes a June posting from this blog.

I was amused that the campaign used my blog profile tag line of "Armand Vaquer, A.A., B.A., ECV..." All of those are true. I received my Associate in Arts degree at El Camino College and my Bachelor's of Arts degree at California State University, Long Beach.

ECV? What degree is that, you may ask?

ECV is not a degree, although those initiated should be given one (well, they do; they receive a certificate of membership). ECV stands for the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus. I became a member in 1984 through the New Helvetia Chapter in Sacramento.

E Clampus Vitus is currently a men's fraternal organization of people interested in California and western history. It began as a fraternal organization in the mining camps of the California Gold Rush in the Mother Lode. ECV initially was a burlesque of fraternal orders such as the Oddfellows and the Masons. ECV is also based on humor and hi-jinks. And drink. It is often descibed as a "historical drinking society" or a "drinking historical society." You can take your pick. Members included some celebrities such as Walter Huston, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, Gene Autry and President Ronald Reagan. ECV chapters are by county. For instance, my home chapter is Platrix No. 2 in Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange Counties. You may have seen commemorative plaques througout California and neighboring states erected by the Clampers. One was erected a few years ago in Los Angeles marking where Raymond Burr's scenes for Godzilla, King of the Monsters! were shot, now the location of the Frank del Olmo Elementary School.

Mark Reed is the Republican nominee for congress in the 27th Congressional District in California. He is up against "the hapless Brad Sherman." (As described by talk show host Rush Limbaugh.)

Godzilla Plaque: School Dedicated Two Years Ago

Two years ago this month, the Frank del Olmo Elementary School was dedicated in a ceremony. I was honored to be asked to participate in the ribbon-cutting (above) of the school. Thanks to Godzilla fans and Platrix Chapter No. 2 of E Clampus Vitus, we dedicated a plaque at the location where Raymond Burr's scenes were filmed.

The Los Angeles Times published this article on November 2, 2006:

Del Olmo School is dedicated in memory of Times columnist
By Howard Blume, Times Staff Writer
November 2, 2006

The new campus on the edge of Koreatown occupies the site where the first American version of "Godzilla" was filmed. So one early suggestion for a name was Godzilla Elementary, which would go with the motto: A monster of a school.

But Principal Eugene Hernandez and the naming committee inclined another way. And on Wednesday morning, an array of dignitaries, including some "Godzilla" fans, dedicated Frank del Olmo Elementary School in honor of the Los Angeles Times associate editor and columnist who died in 2004 at 55.

The speakers included Del Olmo's wife, Magdalena Beltran-del Olmo, who said that when she was approached about the honor, "My jaw dropped; I was touched."

"When I found out the location of the school, it was more poignant," she said, "because Frank fought so hard for the Belmont area to get more schools to serve these kids who have been dealing with overcrowded conditions."

The three-acre, $42.9-million school opened in August, more than a year behind schedule, at 100 N. New Hampshire Ave., a block west of Vermont Avenue south of the Hollywood Freeway. An important cog in a $19.3-billion school construction program, it adds 975 seats to one of the most crowded student corridors in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Del Olmo's first column was about education, and among his last causes was advocating to finish the star-crossed Belmont Learning Complex, which he championed even after the project was abandoned. That school, resuscitated under Supt. Roy Romer, is expected to open in about 18 months.

Romer spoke briefly, along with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Also on hand were Del Olmo's daughter, Valentina, a county psychiatric social worker, and son, Frankie del Olmo Jr., whose struggles with autism became a periodic subject of his father's columns.

Frankie, 14, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, stood quietly to one side during the 90-minute ceremony.

"Frankie is doing a lot better," his mother said. "That first year and a half was brutal. He missed Dad. He couldn't cry for him. He couldn't express his emotions. He couldn't talk.

"It's wonderful that my little boy has gotten to a point with his autism [where] he can hang with a ceremony like this — not only its length and the noise and many people talking, but just the emotion of it," she said. "It's about his dad."

Villaraigosa and others described a columnist who was eloquent, relevant, fearless and just — and always demanding of public officials.

"I remember some [columns] that were not too kind to me," the mayor said. After reading about Frankie, "my perception about [del Olmo] completely changed…. I saw a father with love so deep for his son. I just waited for those pieces." He said he was also moved when the columnist decided to stop writing about his son, to give him some privacy.

Early in his career, Del Olmo almost single-handedly represented people of color at the newspaper. He helped change the face of the newsroom.

Even Armand M. Vaquer, the representative of the Godzilla Society of North America, had to agree that the new campus' name was fitting — while also noting the school's site as the very place where actor Raymond Burr uttered the immortal phrase: "Look at the size of those footprints."

On Wednesday, those words applied metaphorically to Del Olmo, who would have appreciated the public officials who spoke in Spanish and English, as well as the child mariachis and the school chorus, which sang a Swahili unity ditty and a new school song whose lyrics include the line: "We are Frank del Olmo. We love to show our pride."

Above, the plaque at the school's entrance.

When in Los Angeles...

The plaque commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Americanized Godzilla, King of the Monsters was dedicated in March 2006 at the former location of Visual Drama, Inc., the small studio where Raymond Burr's insert scenes were filmed by director Terry Morse.

I paid a visit to the location, now the Frank del Olmo Elementary School and took these photos. The plaque is located at the school's entrance at 100 N. New Hampshire Ave. (near First Street and Vermont Ave.), Los Angeles.



The plaque was sponsored by the Godzilla Society of North America and Platrix Chapter No. 2, E Clampus Vitus.

If you happen to be in Los Angeles, make sure to go see the Godzilla plaque.