Remembrances of things Past
By Daily Bruin Staff
May 24, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 UCLA Archives Westwood Village has gone through dramatic
changes throughout the years. This photo was taken in 1934.
By Stella Chu
Daily Bruin Contributor
Before the time of Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade,
Westwood’s streets bustled a little more with activity and
students waited in long lines not for Diddy Riese cookies, but for
falafels.
“Falafel King was huge back then, everybody ate
there,” said Darryl R. Zengler, who graduated in 1983 with a
degree in economics. “There were two Falafel Kings that
competed with each other.”
Although one still remains, José Bernstein’s now
occupies the space that housed the other rival.
During the 1980s until the early 1990s, Westwood was comparable
to what Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica is today.
“We hung out in Westwood a lot when I was in high school
even though we lived in Orange County,” Zengler said.
“Even when I got to college, it was still very much the place
to be.”
 Daily Bruin File Photo A Westwood Village landmark, the
Fox Theater continues to attract crowds.
Back in those days, it provided an escape even for high-school
students, who referred to the Village as the “place to
be,” said Judy Sitzer, who graduated in 1985 as a sociology
student.
“In high school, we would cruise up and down Broxton in
our cars,” she said. “Now they’ve rebuilt it and
you can’t anymore.”
Other alumni see a different perspective.
According to Christine Flores, a 1982 political science alumni,
Westwood was pulsating with activity despite the high prices.
“It was truly a college town,” she said. “You
could walk down the street and see a dozen people that you knew or
at least recognized from campus.”
Many of the students enjoyed the close-knit feeling of Westwood,
Flores said.
“It was safe and had a very upbeat tempo, like this was
their town,” she said.
“Life didn’t get any better,” Zengler said.
“UCLA was the only big village and Westwood was the
apex.”
But life here in Westwood, according to Zengler, has changed
dramatically.
“About a year ago, I ventured into Westwood to watch a
movie,” Zengler said. “I was shocked to see that
Westwood had become a ghost town.”
Other former students see Westwood transforming into something
of a yuppie town.
 Daily Bruin File Photo For many Village visitors, the
trip isn’t complete without a Diddy Riese cookie or ice cream.
“Westwood has become gentrified in the sense that there is
decorative tile in the sidewalks and new palm tree planters,”
said Julie O’Donnell, a 1995 biology alumni. “I also
find it eerily quiet, because it looks more like the Third Street
but without all the people.”
Despite the changed atmosphere of Westwood, current students
find that Westwood still remains a popular place for young
people.
“Walking around on the streets, it seems like the same
type of crowd that you can find at City Walk or Third
Street,” said Shannon Delong, a second-year atmospheric
science student. “It’s not loud, but there’s
definitely life.”
And even for some alumni, Westwood still remains a college
town.
“I see a lot more students now, it’s more
collegiate,” Sitzer said. “I see increased discounts
for students, and I see a lot more students within Westwood
studying.”
Westwood’s nightlife, however, has lost its flair for many
former students.
According to alumni, some clubs and bars, which represented
typical college hangouts, have disappeared.
Bratskellars, now La Salsa, was a favorite among Greeks to
frequent after Monday night meetings. In the late 1970s, Dillions,
where El Pollo Loco is now located, was the place for disco
dancing.
In the early 1980s, Baxter’s was a popular bar for its
Long Island ice teas. Before Baxter’s prominence,
Jojo’s, notorious because it didn’t card, inhabited the
location, according to former students.
“Needless to say, it was popular among the younger
set,” Flores said.
Although Westwood provided its share of nightlife, many students
preferred to go out of the Village to taste the life that Westwood
couldn’t offer.
“Even though there were a lot of people running around,
you’d never really find college kids hanging out where there
was a crush of people,” Zengler said. “The head place
wasn’t in Westwood, it was a place called Mom’s in
Brentwood. It was packed, a total meat market. There were no places
like that in the Village.”
For some alumni, Westwood has become nothing more but a place
for errands.
“When I was a student, I used to think that if UCLA had a
bank and a dry cleaners, there would be no reason to ever leave
campus,” Flores said. “Now, there are ATM machines and
the dry cleaner picks up, who bothers to go into Westwood
now?”
In the early 1990s, the presence of USC students in the Village,
which has somewhat diminished in recent years, fed into the
competition between the cross-town rivals.
“I noticed that USC students would come,” said Kelly
O’Donnell, a 1994 English alumni. “It was annoying to
see USC students wearing their sweatshirts around Westwood, it used
to piss me off.”
USC students come to Westwood to escape the bad neighborhoods
and for Westwood’s better selection of entertainment
opportunities, Delong said.
“My friend from USC comes out here all the time,”
Delong said. “USC has a Denny’s just like Westwood
does, except theirs looks like a bomb shelter and their movie
theaters are scary.”
According to O’Donnell, although USC students came to
Westwood to get away from the crime at USC, there was a time when
Westwood was also avoided due to the increased crime rate.
“During the 1992 riots, shops were rioted and a girl was
shot at the premiere of “˜New Jack City,'” she
said. “It was depressing and there was a fear of gangs. It
seemed as if Westwood was going downhill.”
Although Westwood has gone through some radical changes, many of
Westwood’s icons, like Stan’s Donuts have survived the
test of time.
“Stan’s Donuts used to sell a bag of donuts after
midnight for $1,” Flores said. “Great munchies after
studying.”
Though today’s Village doesn’t hold quite the same
meaning for alumni, it still has its share of excitement, Delong
said. During last quarter’s finals week, two groups
congregated in front of Gypsy Cafe and Habibi Cafe and a fight
quickly ensued.
“One of the guys who was fighting got scared and hid in
Diddy Riese until the cops came,”she said. “The other
guy threatened to beat him up in the cookie store.”
Although Third Street seems to have stolen the Village’s
popularity, former students still have optimism for
Westwood’s future.
“The glamour has been lost, but trying to mimic Third
Street isn’t the way to get it back,” Julie
O’Donnell said. “Westwood has to rekindle its identity
or develop an independent one. Otherwise it can only be a sorry
replica of someplace else.”
