One of my favorite local landmarks is the
Felix the Cat neon signage at historic
Felix Chevrolet, located at Figueroa and Jefferson.
Strike that. It's beloved by many, but
not "officially" historic. Why?
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose district
includes the dealership, opposed the historic-sign designation because
they believed it could impede major development projects along the
Figueroa corridor.
~ Los Angeles Sentinel article from 2007
Two years later, voila! A huge, ugly monstrosity going up across the street from Felix, as photographed today:
Felix points out the crane, Los Angeles' official birdAnyhow, I've always wanted to photograph good ole Felix, but never took time to pull over and
just do it. The way the wrecking ball is swinging around town recently, I decided I better hop to it.
Righty-oh!So while I was on a research run to USC today, I got my snaps. A lot of them. Samples below. See all 110
archived on my Flickr site.
According to signs outside the building, Felix's creator,
Pat Sullivan, gave his friend, Chevy dealer
Winslow Felix, the rights to use Felix's image to help sell cars back in 1925. The famous triad neon sign atop the building was installed in 1958.
Felix and his little bag of tricks has gone through various animated incarnations over the years. This is the version I grew up with and love the most, circa 1959, courtesy of
Autochromex: