Title supplied by cataloger. Rolland Joseph 'Speedy' Curtis was born in Louisiana in 1922. After serving three years in the Marines during World War II, he and his wife, Gloria, relocated from New Orleans to Los Angeles in 1946. Curtis served four years with the Los Angeles Police Department, but resigned from the force in order to pursue both a Bachelor's and Master's degree from USC. He later became involved in city politics, as an associate of Sam Yorty, and later a field deputy to City Council members Billy Mills and Tom Bradley. He was briefly director of the Model Cities program in 1973. Rolland J. Curtis died in his home in 1979, the victim of a homicide. An affordable housing complex on Exposition Blvd. near Vermont Ave. was named in his honor in 1981, along with a nearby street and park. An unidentified station attendant is pictured chatting with a woman driving a convertible automobile full of children, along with two women sitting up front. The children are holding balloons and small packaged toys, including water guns and bracelets. They are at a Mobil Service station located at 2121 S. Arlington Avenue. The women and children are unidentified. Photograph circa 1969. See images 00121987 through 00121990; 00122001, 00122002; 00122016, and 00139923 through 00139952 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Mobil Oil Corporation--Employees Mobil Oil Corporation African American men Men African American women Women African American boys Boys African American girls Girls African American children Children Automobile drivers Automobiles, Convertible Corporations Service stations Employees Customer services Gasoline supply Gasoline Oil industries Signs and signboards Toys Street lights Streets Smiling Posing Los Angeles (Calif.)
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
