WEST LOS ANGELES 1976 ARCHIVE PHOTO TEE NATURAL

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A16's location on Pico Blvd, near Sepulveda was one of the top handful of the most iconic mountain shops in the world from the time it opened in the Spring of 1976 until we closed the shutters for good in winter 2020.  On a regular bases we would have Customers from all over the planet make the extra effort to drop into the store whenever they were in LA.  Equally important were Customers who lived in the neighborhood who regularly dropped in for a cup of coffee served on a 120 year old cast iron kitchen stove. Or the ones who stopped by to say "hi" on their way home from work to smell the campfire memories incense and take a stroll around the shop to get a dose of sanity before jumping on one of the galaxy's most crowded freeways.  When A16's VP, Stephen Meyers stumbled on the vacant location in late 1975, the available space was just over 2,000 sq ft. A big store for us at the time.  We kept knocking down walls, and in 1995 the store settled in for the next 25 years at 18,000 sq ft.  It was about as funky a space as anyone has ever seen and a walk through the rambling multi room shop was an adventure in itself, with a surprise around every corner.  Over the years, nothing could match the amazing people that worked the sales floor and helped our Customers become inspired, plan their trips and get outfitted with the best stuff possible.  Some stayed the summer and some stayed for decades.  Either way, they added character to the place and over the years helped hundreds of thousands of people have more enhanced and safer adventures in the world's wilder places.

I could write a book and name it If The Wood Walls Could Talk, but will end by sharing this one last remembrance.  Just a day or two after we closed the doors to Customers and began the tough task of emptying the place, one of the 3 beautiful gigantic pine trees that had been growing to shade the parking lot for 44 years, during a freak wind storm, came crashing down in the middle of the night.  After the initial sorrow, shock and relief that no one was killed, in typical A16 fashion, we held a lumberjack party and anyone who wanted, took home a slice of the place.  See photos. Makes ya think, don't it?

Note: See old photo of first staff.  Stephen's the one in the middle with the Store Manager Charlie Roach on his right.  Charlie was the first of many, many female A16 Store Mangers over the years.

John D. Mead, A16 Trail Boss