Folks who have read this journal for a while know that I’m into history, in particular, all sorts of historical nooks and crannies. One of those nooks is corporate history. In the news this week are two pieces related to that about two names soon to disappear from the horizon.
- The Los Angeles Times is reporting on how Metromedia International Group Inc., the media company controlled by 92-year-old billionaire John Kluge, said Monday that it was in talks to sell assets and might shut down. Youngster’s may not recognize the name Metromedia, as it has fallen from what it once was, but us oldsters will. Today, Metromedia consisted primarily of phone operations in eastern Europe. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, however, it was much bigger. Metromedia arose from the ashes of the DuMont television network, and at one time owned stations in New York (WABD, later WNEW), Washington DC (WTTG), Chicago (WFLD), Boston (WCVB), Los Angeles (KTTV), Kansas City (KMBC) and more. It also owned a number of major radio stations including “The Mighty Met” (KMET), home of Dr. Demento and Flo and Eddie. It produced shows such as Wonderama, Merv Griffin, numerous game and TV shows. They owned property, including Metromedia Square in Los Angeles (now the site of a new high school). In 1986, Kluge sold the property to Fox, and the Metromedia stations became the nucleus of the Fox Network.
I have fond memories of Metromedia. Of course, KTTV was the home of Sheriff John and Wonderama, which I watched as a kid. I grew up listening to Dr. D and Flo and Eddie. It is sad to see the name disappear, although it is nowhere near what it was.
- The Los Angeles Business Journal is reporting on the closure of the deal between Wachovia and Golden West. This deal removes one of the last family owned thrifts in California, and more importantly, removes a name from the landscape. Don’t recognize “Golden West”? You know it better as World Savings. By mid-2008, they will all be Wachovia. When I was young, I remember my account at World Savings in Brentwood — not the tall tower that stands there now, but a modest one-story building with a gigantic globe in the foyer.
Names that will be gone forever. They join the pantheon of departed Southern California names: Helms Bakery, Foremost Milk, Security Pacific National Bank, United California Bank, Robinsons, May Co, Buffums, Bullocks, Hughes Markets, KHJ, and many more.
