Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Norton Sales and Equipment from the Apollo Program

draft

In the far reaches of the San Fernando Valley is a warehouse that contains elements of the now-distant space program of the 1960s.  Remember.  There was a prophecy that going to space would capture the hearts and minds of the world and give our civilization a sense of being great.  When science mattered.  When people and nations could be better than they were.  When racism and poverty could be eliminated and we could "reach for the stars".  Belief in the possibility of peace on earth.  There was such a time.

But projects end and some of them get terminated early and that was the case with the Apollo program.  What happened to all those people and all that equipment and those dreams?   The people were discarded.  The equipment was sold when regulations allowed.  The dreams were postponed.

So in the distant past, someone by the name of Norton was able to navigate the incredibly complicated regulations around buying used government equipment.  Maybe he knew someone and he must have had some money.  So at some point trucks containing equipment of various types was moved to a warehouse in the San Fernando Valley and various people sorted, disassembled, scrapped, and repurposed equipment that once had a lofty purpose.

Today what is left of this equipment is still there, in the back of the warehouse and can be rented as props for movies, tv shows, etc.  Three very nice people and one cat work there.   They let Jill and I wander at will through their warehouse and it made this history seem more real.
 
Norton Sales, inc.
7429 Laurel Canyon Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91605
Carlos Guzman, President
(818) 765-1087
company email: nortonsalesm@aol.com
 






No comments:

Post a Comment