Fireworks In The Good Old Days

On this 4th of July, I remind you that fireworks are illegal within the City of Glendale, unless you really, really want them for the opening of your mall.

That didn't used to be the case, as this 1955 photograph from Glendale, 1940-2000 illustrates.

"Ten-year-old Steve Mitchell of Glendale gleefully lights a firework (left) with the full approval of Fran Turner, a Glendale policeman, as a disconsolate Richard Nye, nine, and Los Angeles deputy sheriff F. Gunnick look on (right). Fireworks are legal in Glendale but not in Los Angeles County. The white line in the center of this c. 1955 photograph divides the city from the county. (Courtesy of the Special Collections Room, Glendale Public Library.)"