Maytag Presents: The Los Angeles Story - 16mm Film

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Thanks for posting that! Very interesting to take a peak back at LA during the 50's and see all those department stores that are no longer around, a few I never even heard of.
 
Ugh that was so super cool! I love seeing the appliance departments of old department stores, just like I remember them when I was a kid in 60s.

Love the freeway shots as well!
 
Thanks, Cory!

My aunt had that washer and dryer pair. The second switch was for the suds saving system, Drain or Save. I love the way the weak centering springs allowed the tub to rock and lean during agitation. We used to go to a coin op laundry to wash throw rugs and those Maytag Highlanders really leaned over during agitation.[this post was last edited: 4/30/2025-16:00]
 
Maytag goes to Los Angeles

Thanks, Cory that was quite fun to watch, that’s real old-fashioned merchandising. That’s for sure.

I love the way they were trying to compete with Sears pricing, but the Maytag washer for that kind of money was so much more basic. You could get a nice Kenmore 70 for less money, and it was a little deceptive to say $219 when that was with a trade-in, a lot of people didn’t have a washer to get rid of.

I really love the pictures of all the old cars, and you could see the haze of air pollution hanging over Los Angeles in those days when all the cars have no emission controls whatsoever.

I believe California had some emission controls by about 1961. They started putting Positive crankcase ventilation controls on to get some of the worst emissions back into the carburetor to be burned at least.

Keep the cool videos coming thanks,
 
Reply #11

PCV valves became mandatory in California starting in 1962, that before being the road draft tube which not only cited problems with pollution, but caused oil sludge and ultimately oil starvation problems.

While emissions from vehicles was a problem, the bigger issue were many people still had incinerators in their backyards to get rid of garbage and household waste etc in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. The city and Bureau Of Sanitation began to crack down on backyard incinerators, offered waste disposal and hauled it off to a landfill or an incinerator with equipment to eliminate smoke and particulate pollution.
 
I liked how large department stores sold major appliances back in the day. In Brooklyn, Abraham and Straus downtown flagship store had a separate building called "The Annex" connected to the main store via a skybridge across the side street from the store that sold Appliances, TV and Stereos. EJ Korvettes, just down the block on Fulton Street also had a large major appliance department.

In the "May Company" portion of the Maytag video, I liked how they showed the Highlanders among the Norge Timelines (clearly a few gas dryers there based on the access lids on top of the machines) and one or two Bendix models.

That exterior of the May Company on Wilshire was fascinating - looks very Jetson's space age. I never visited that branch - wonder if it is still standing and if so, what it is used for today. If I recall correctly, the beautiful Art Deco I. Magnin & Co. Wilshire Blvd building damaged during the 1992 riots was repurposed into a library or something used by UCLA after Federated Department Stores sold I. Magnin and Bullock's to Macy's.
 
Maytag Highlander was Maytag's value priced model(s). All the same Maytag quality and performance, but a lesser price. From my observation, control panels were different and there may have been some difference in cabinet finish. Others will be able to further discuss at better detail their differences.
 
Cool vintage footage!

My parents were married in 1955 and spent their honeymoon in L.A. Oh, I bet my mom would have loved a Maytag when they were first married, but we were relatively poor, and she used a wringer washer up until 1966! I was three years old and remember when the automatic (an Inglis Liberator) was delivered and set up.
 
Maytag Highlander washers 1956 through 1965

These were the same quality as their better machines in terms of mechanical quality and performance, but they had a much less expensive to build cabinet, which also made them a little more difficult to service.

It was a smart move for Maytag to build these coming out of the 50s in the Eisenhower recession Because it allowed them to be more cost Competitive some Highlanders did not even have a porcelain finish top and lid further saving money the 123 didn’t even have a lid switch.

John L
 
Thanks

For the film — a much needed and welcome diversion in these uncertain times.

And thanks for the history. I had been wondering if the (IMO ugly and cheap looking cabinet) was the only difference.

I remember well, when growing up, what an expensive luxury an automatic washer was. And how excited women were to get one. And the price differential. A near BOL Maytag with no features or special cycles whatsoever always cost the same as a near TOL Whirlpool or Kenmore with many features and selections. That trade off was still true even in the late 1980s. People always said Maytag was their favorite or #1 but despite that the majority always bought WP or KM. It didn’t change until the mid to late 1990s, by which time Maytag had cheapened their machines and they were basically junk.
 

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