Adohr Milkmaid and Cow Statue

During the early 20th century, Adohr Farms (Adohr is Rhoda spelled backwards) had a big dairy farm not far from where I used to live in Tarzana, California. It was located at Ventura Blvd. and Lindley Ave.

They also had a creamery located in West Los Angeles. For about 40 years, the creamery on La Cienega Blvd. and 18th Street had a statue of the "Adohr Milkmaid and Cow" that as commissioned in the 1920s. It is the largest statue of its type. When the place was sold and demolished around 1969, the statue was saved and moved to Morningstar Foods' Tulare plant, now owned by Saputo Dairy Foods.

It has since been restored and stands at 620 N. J St., Tulare, CA.

The statue first caught my attention several years ago when I saw a vintage photo of it at the Tarzana Wells Fargo Bank. I am pleased to see that the statue had been saved.

For more on its current location, go here.

Arden Farms In Los Angeles

Above, Arden Farms at 1900 W. Slauson Av., Los Angeles circa 1930s.

Kids of the baby boomer generation (post-World War II) growing up in Los Angeles were most likely very familiar with Arden Farms.

Back in those days, when Los Angeles Unified School District was the Los Angeles City School District, milk distributed to school children were usually from Arden Farms. Arden was the giant milk products company in Southern California.

Above, Arden's "Arden Boy" of the 1950s.

Arden Farms branched out into the supermarket business, generally the high-end Gelson's and Mayfair Markets. I used to occasionally shop at the Tarzana Gelson's not knowing at the time they were part of Arden Farms.

Back when I was a kid, we used to take the bus (or streetcar) down Vermont Ave. to Sears at Vermont and Slauson Avenues. Nearby, was the giant Arden Farms plant at 1900 W. Slauson Ave., Los Angeles. The main building used to catch my attention by its giant milk bottle on top.

Above, Bela Lugosi at the Arden Farms booth at the 1953 premiere of House of Wax.

2024 Update:

Above, the reproduction Arden Ice Cream sign I bought
in 2020 hangs in my kitchen. Photo by Armand Vaquer.