Client: The Original Farmers Market

It sounds nutty but at Magee’s House of Nuts in the Farmers Market, the same 1880s still-working peanut butter-making machine has entranced tourists for more than 75 years. President Eisenhower once stopped by and posed with the contraption, his photo now hanging up above. There’s a hand-scrawled note from other famous visitors: “Thank you for the peanut butter. It was fab,” gushed The Beatles in 1964.

You’ll feel in a time warp at L.A. ’s original Farmers Market, a charmingly funky and bustling warren of 100 eateries and shops. Inside this historic landmark, the kindly 95-year-old owner of Kip’s Toyland sells yo-yos to another generation; 88-year-old Bob Gill for the 75th year creates fruit basket molds out of ice cream, and an artisan candy maker concocts English toffee in an open-window kitchen that’s barely changed since 1946.

This is also the place to feast on New Orleans-style fried alligator tail filet. With a hodgepodge of stalls offering 16 kinds of ethnic chow, foodies can have a field day. You’ll savor around-the-world delicacies while sitting in sometimes-dented mint-green metal foldout chairs around laminated patio tables, as a people parade passes by.

Later, prepare to journey to another world. The eclectic Farmers Market adjoins the upscale Grove shopping center, so old-school kitsch blurs into a modern wonderland inhabited by Nordstrom and Forever 21. Visitors can walk or hop on the free double-decker trolley to The Grove’s Disneyland-esque twinkle-lit main street which features designer boutiques, a multiplex, piped-in Sinatra music, dancing 60-foot-tall fountains and an American Girl doll store where Katie Holmes splurged with Suri.

The Farmers Market touts a rich Hollywood history — stars such as Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall strolled the aisles and James Dean supposedly ate breakfast there the morning of his fateful drive. The Grove, too, is a celebrity magnet – tabloid fodder such as Michael Jackson’s children and Kim Kardashian have been spotted strolling past the faux Art Deco storefronts and on weekdays the gossip TV show “Extra” tapes live from its park.

And to think cows once chewed grass on this land. In the early 1900s, rancher Arthur Gilmore ran a dairy farm here until he struck oil. The Farmers Market launched in 1934 when 18 farmers sold fresh produce from trucks parked on vacant Gilmore property and then built permanent stalls.

From 1939 to ’57, the Hollywood Stars baseball team — owned by Bing Crosby, Barbara Stanwyck and Cecil B. DeMille — played at nearby Gilmore Field which is now CBS studios. The Farmers Market was not only frequented by Tinseltown royalty, it was the neighborhood grocery store.

“A lot of my customers are fourth generation,” said silver-haired Phyllis Magee, whose mother-in-law Blanche opened the market’s first stall in 1934. “As kids they stood on chairs and watched the peanut butter being made. Now they bring in their grandchildren who stand on the same chairs.”

Although a Starbucks and a Pinkberry have invaded the ranks, many of the businesses remain family-owned. Bob Tusquellas, 69, now bakes dinosaur-shaped dunkers and cinnamon buns at Bob’s Coffee & Doughnuts, but he started at the Farmers Market at age 11 slicing bacon in his father’s since-sold meat stand.

“I think the Farmers Market is the least changed place in Los Angeles. It’s totally authentic — you couldn’t even build this thing today,” the apron-wearing proprietor observed.

Over the years, new novelty shops sprouted — Light My Fire sells 1,200 different hot sauces including “Slap Ya Mama” and Shine Gallery offers vintage goods.

But the lasting allure of the Farmers Market — in this fast-paced, mall-crazed, aloof city — may be merchants like 95-year-old Irwin Kipper who can be found daily at Kip’s Toyland where he’s helped customers for 65 years.

Kipper has shunned electronic toys, stocking shelves with classics like Lincoln Logs, Etch-A-Sketch and Ant Farm.

“Everything is pretty much the same as it’s always been,” said the humble elfish toy man. “You’ll always get a lot of personal attention here.”

To see the full story at U~T San Diego click here