Admiral Playmate.

[thespiritof76]

Hello,

So most of you might remember that a member on here found an Admiral Playmate record player that he had originally found for him self, but then decided it should be re-homed. Well, that had happened....

That member was kind enough to send it to me, and it is now awaiting restoration. It is certainly not going to be a difficult resto. It just needs basic cleaning, the amp, needs recapped, and it needs a new cartridge. All that is completely doable. I can't wait to bring it up to snuff. I had said before that I had one of these, when I was young, and before I knew, or had access to any kind of parts or information like I do now. Mine was in the boring CoCo-Tan color. I didn't realize that this one was the model in Sea Coral...or PINK!!!! LOL...I LOVE how pink it is! It absolutely screams 1963! Its suggested retail in the advertisement is $39.95. With inflation, that is $325.28 today! That's alot of cash. I will keep posted when,or as restoration begins! Enjoy the updated pics, and the ad in the meantime. =)

 

[rp2813]

Hi Jae,

 

I'm glad the Playmate made it there safely!  I'm sure the people who put it out on their porch for free would be really surprised to know it ended up in Kansas!  Sea Coral sounds exactly right -- I was calling it salmon or persimmon.

 

I think your biggest challenge will be finding the 45 RPM adapter for this thing. 

 

Looking forward to seeing it brought back to life, and I'm glad it ended up with someone for whom it has special meaning.

 

Ralph

 

[justjunque]

Jae and Ralph,

So cool that you worked this out to where it can get restored and loved on now!

Ralph:
Good on you for passing it along, if you had no real interest in it.

Jae; please keep us posted...and enjoy it!
I love it when people find things that make them happy!
And when vintage items end up with people who appreciate them, and can give them a new lease on life!

Barry

 

[speedqueen]

I recommend Gary at VM audio enthusiasts for styli and cartridges. He also rebuilds idler tires if nessasary.

 

[thespiritof76]

Yes, Speedqueen....

I love Gary at VM! I had had a standing account for years. Actually, it doesn't need an Idler, that is one of the many pluses that make this unit worth it.

 

[twintubdexter]

<span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">That was very nice of Ralph to go to the trouble of sending you that very cool phonograph. If this were the 1960's and you told someone a friend sent you a "Playmate" they'd get an entirely different idea. </span>

 

<span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">Ralph, an update on your new vintage home would be welcome. That entire area has so much San Jose history...so much more than just Andy's Pet Shop.</span>

 

<span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">The original Falstaff Brewery around the corner from the pet shop. One of the bookkeepers at Western Appliance had a husband who was a manager at Falstaff (the newer remodeled building). She was always getting my dad "deals" on cases of beer...not something my mom was a fan of. </span>

 

[rp2813]

Joe, I'll take some pix of the new place even though the interior isn't where I want it to be yet.

 

The brewmeister at Falstaff in the '60s was Mr. Schleifer, the dad of one of my sister's classmates at St. Leo's, which was only a couple of blocks away from the brewery.  The smell of hops would often hang in the air over that whole neighborhood during the school day.  I'd smell it in my "new" 'hood if Falstaff was still there.  Instead, I get the occasional waft of baking cinnamon swirl bread from Greenlee's bakery.

 

In that newer section of the brewery, which was architecturally significant in its own right with the large diamond pattern in its facade, way up on what was probably the fourth or fifth floor just off the production area was a small place to sit -- nothing at all fancy, with a bench under a tiny window that overlooked the main drag below, and a refrigerator chest stocked with bottles of beer.  I remember sitting up there gazing at the busy intersection below as my dad enjoyed a cold one, presumably while discussing some sort of Dads' Club business related to school or church.

 

Oh, and Falstaff's 5 PM steam whistle was used by moms over a mile away as a signal that it was time to come in for dinner.  Neighborhood kids were trained to stop everything and scatter.

 

[twintubdexter]

Not trying to turn this into a historical travel log

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">But it's good to know Greenlee's Bakery is still there and not replaced by condos. One thing I noticed right away after moving to the Desert was the absence of bakeries. For the most part they are all located in grocery stores here. Dick's Bakery at Meridian and Hamilton Avenues in San Jose is still there and does a booming business with cakes, especially their burnt almond cake. Dick's was within walking distance of our house and my mom was always sending me there to get a chocolate cake for desert. The ladies got to know me and would give me a cookie, although I really wanted a brownie. I can still hear my mom telling me to keep the box straight so the cake would be in one piece for dinner. Way back then they had a very cool lunch counter too.</span>

 

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">I'm sure San Jose is full of people who love "Dick's", I certainly knew quite a few...</span>

 

[rp2813]

Greenlee's cinnamon swirl bread is in stores all over town, including Costco.  Word on the street is that those loaves are baked off site, and that the loaves baked on Greenlee's premises are better, and are only sold at the bakery with one exception:  Zanotto's market, which is nearby.  My main beef with Greenlee's is that they no longer bake other bread or rolls.  My mom always got dinner rolls at Greenlee's but now it's all sweets.

 

It may come as news to you Joe that Schurra's confectionery on The Alameda closed earlier this year.  It had come down to a one-man operation and it became too much to manage.  The candy lives on through an outlet in the Willow Glen district where it has dedicated space, though.  I'm more of a See's fan, but it was still sad to see such an iconic store shuttered.

 

Additionally, and to the great dismay of many, Dick's bakery had a fire over a year ago and hasn't yet reopened.  Burnt almond cakes are coming from Peter's bakery on the east side for the time being.  One story goes that Peter's had the recipe first, and a relative who opened Dick's co-opted it.  I'm sure there's an opposing version of this same legend.

 

I too know a number of people who like, and are even obsessed with Dicks, and that circles us back around the the topic of Playmates, sort of.

 

 

 

 

[twintubdexter]

I'm going to get thrown off here for rambling

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">So sad to hear about Dick's Bakery. Maybe it's a good thing that I don't live in San Jose anymore and witness all these changes, but things never stay the same. I'm expecting some ugly news in a month or two concerning my health which may necessitate my moving back to be near my brothers. I can always sell my home here in Palm Springs and buy a nice cardboard box in San Jose to live in, something with room to entertain in like a Sub Zero carton.</span>

 

<span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">Suitable for under the overpass.</span>