50 years ago today...

[PS]

...this was wet cement up at 1448 Laurel Way.

[Cam Mott]

Worth a retelling of the story of its acquisition?

[PS]

Worth a retelling of the story of its acquisition?

On my honeymoon, summer of 2000, my wife and I drove from Colorado to SF and LA. On a whim, I drove up to Laurel Way and arrived at 1448.  I get out and start photographing the outside of the place, when the current owner comes out and starts to write down my license plate number. So I tell her about my honeymoon, my lifelong love for Brian Wilson (she actually bought the house from lawyers, but was well aware of the legacy from the occasional stream of visitors). We had a friendly talk, and then she said that she had something that I might be interested in. She was re-modeling the house and the pool in the back, and brought me out to the side of the house. On the ground lay this Grauman Chinese Theatre size slab of cement that she had extricated from the side of the pool (you can see them in the "Sloop John B" promo very clearly) with the inscription “Brian and Marilyn 8-27-66”, carved within a heart and clearly written with two different handwritings. So I finally ended up buying this from her after deliberating with myself for a day (she wanted 1K, I offered 500 cash). But in my excitement to get it into the trunk of my car with her construction worker, I lifted the damn thing up with him and felt something rip…suffice to say that my back went out for about two years. We schlepped the “slab”, as we came to call it, halfway across the country, with me in a back brace and in utter agony (ruining my honeymoon, as you can imagine...). But here it sits in my house, a rarity among rarities, with a little sandbox piano on top of it, 50 years on...

[Cam Mott]

I think I told you I had tracked down the then-current owner (in January 1999) and talked to her on the phone (I forget her name).  I think I was asking to get a photo of the view from the windows but she said something about changes to the house and landscaping and remodeling and brought up that they had saved a chunk of inscribed concrete from around the pool.  I couldn't do anything about and I think I suggested she might contact the RRHOF or BRI but didn't really have any good ideas. I had a feeling at the time it was probably going to be hauled off to the dump and I was glad to hear it wasn't.  Not happy about your back though.

[The_Beach]

LIFT WITH YOU LEGS! haha How heavy do you think that thing is?

Awesome story! Thanks for sharing the memories!

[filledeplage]

Worth a retelling of the story of its acquisition?

On my honeymoon, summer of 2000, my wife and I drove from Colorado to SF and LA. On a whim, I drove up to Laurel Way and arrive at 1448.  I get out and start photographing the outside of the place, when the current owner comes out and starts to write down my license plate number. So I tell her about my honeymoon, my lifelong love for Brian Wilson (she actually bought the house from lawyers, but was well aware of the legacy from the occasional stream of visitors). We had a friendly talk, and then she said that she had something that I might be interested in. She was re-modeling the house and the pool in the back, and brought me out to the side of the house. On the ground lay this Grauman Chinese Theatre size slab of cement that she had extricated from the side of the pool (you can see them in the "Sloop John B promo very clearly) with the inscription “Brian and Marilyn 8-27-66”, carved within a heart and clearly written with two different handwritings. So I finally ended up buying this from her after deliberating with myself for a day (she wanted 1K, I offered 500 cash). But in my excitement to get it into the trunk of my car with her construction worker, I lifted the damn thing up with him and felt something rip…suffice to say that my back went out for about two years. We schlepped the “slab”, as we came to call it, halfway across the country, with me in a back brace and in utter agony (ruining my honeymoon, as you can imagine...). But here it sits in my house, a rarity among rarities, with a little sandbox piano on top of it, 50 years on...

What a great story and thanks for sharing it!  Your poor back.  You have a real chunk (literally) of BB history!

http://www.albumlinernotes.com/Marilyn_Wilson_Comments.html  (Hope it copies!)

Thanks again!

[PS]

After seeing this photo here from a previous post, Darian once wrote me a kind note of interest, requesting to come over sometime and see it because he used to go up there all the time for inspiration. Unfortunately, I'm in Boulder, not LA...I couldn't think of a better person to hang out with and listen to Brian stories than he.