Amid a plethora of auto body shops stands a bubblegum pink A-frame building, at first glance someone could mistake it for a life size version of Barbie’s ski shop mistakenly plopped near LAX instead of the mountains of Mammoth. But you won’t find Barbie here, this is a Baskin-Robbin’s and it’s said to be the most intact version of the A-frame era.

Not all Baskin-Robbins looked like this, nor did they start that way. The origins of Baskin-Robbins begins with two gentlemen, one named Irvine Robbins and another named Burton Baskin. Robbins originally hailed from Canada, born to immigrant parents from Russia and Poland. The family moved to the United States, residing in Tacoma, Washington, where Robbins’ father was a partner at Olympic Dairy creating ice cream. Robbins enjoyed selling ice cream and coming up with creative names. After World War II, Robbins moved to Southern California and continued the ice cream trade by opening up a shop called Snowbird in Glendale.

Meanwhile, Burton Baskin didn’t hail from a dairy family, but instead married into one, when he wed Robbins’ sister, Shirley. Robbins convinced Baskin to open up is very own ice cream shop, dubbing it Burt’s Ice Cream, in Pasadena. Eventually the pair merged, and in the only fair way to decide their name, they flipped a coin to see whose name would be first. They also came up with the creative 31 flavor idea, offering a different flavor for every day of the month, and they continued to come up with increasingly unique flavors and names, rotating them through the shops. It’s said that for every flavor that made it into the shops, there were 20 to 30 that were rejected, including Grape Britain, Sophia Lemon, Berry Goldwater, and Lox & Bagels. One unique flavor that did get through was one that spoke to the times. Cashing in on Beatlemania, they introduced Beatle Nut in 1964. The brand is also responsible for coming up with now classic flavors such as my personal favorite, Mint Chocolate Chip and my childhood favorite, Pink Bubblegum.

Eventually the pair went with a circus theme for their locations, and introduced the iconic A-frame locations. They chose a color combo of pink, brown, and white, with the white representing whipped cream, brown chocolate syrup, and pink a cherry. Standing polka dots were mounted the A-frame roofs to evoke abstract interpretations of balloons. Today the brand has turned its back on brown, in favorite of turquoise.

The 1960s would be a year of growth, innovation, and tragedy. Baskin-Robbins locations expanded outside of California, introduced the tasting spoon, but in 1967 Baskin passed away, and the company was sold. Robbins continued with the company until 1978, enjoying the success of his ice cream empire with a personal soda fountain at his home, along with an ice cream cone shaped pool. Robbins passed away in 2008 (although another source does say 2006, you’d think in the 21st century we would be able to get such facts right) at age 90.

Get yourself a scoop or two of ice cream one of the last remaining A-frame Baskin-Robbins at 13424 Crenshaw Boulevard in Gardena. Another A-frame exists (that I have yet to visit), at 2853 E. Main Street in Ventura, however it lacks the “balloons” on the side of the roof and has had an addition made to it. Additionally, the home to Baskin’s first location remains a Baskin-Robbins today, located at 561 S. Lake Avenue, in Pasadena.

Outfit
Scarf: Belonged to my mom
Blouse & Shorts: Buffalo Exchange
Vintage Baskin-Robbins Button: Found by my dad
Purse: Coach
Shoes: Re-Mix

Sources
Geary, George. Made in California: The California-Born Burger Joints, Diners, Fast Food & Restaurants that Changed America. Prospect Park Books. 2001. Print.
Ohanesian, Liz. “Thirty-One Flavors and Then Some: A Short History of Baskin-Robbins.” KCET, 17 January 2018.