Another picture of the birthday celebration:
I was in Burbank last January and visited the site. Jeffries built a large ranch home and a barn on the corner of where Victory Boulevard and Buena Vista Street now intersect. According to a lady who lived there and now runs the Burbank Historical Society (I can't remember her name), the house and barn were separated by Buena Vista. The house was on the southeast corner (a shopping plaze is there now), and the barn on the south west corner (where Ralph's parking lot is now).
In the 30s and early 40s, Jeffries ran amateur fights out of the barn on Saturday nights. Frank told me his Dad boxing at the barn (right, Frank?). The barn was most famous for its amateur fights, but Jeffries allowed its use for various other functions around Burbank, including an annual rodeo. A congregation also worshipped there. It was considered a popular gathering place for many Burbank events.
Jeffries gradually sold parts of his ranch until only his home and barn were left when he died, March 3, 1953.
The historcial plaque is gone, and the folks at the Burbank Historical Society have no idea where it is now.
The Jeffries home fell into disrepair, and city fathers razed it in the late 1950s.
The only hint that Jeffries lived there is a "Jeffries Street" a few blocks south of Victory Boulevard, off Buena Vista. There is also a Jeffries exhibit at the Burbank Historical Society. (I've never seen it - the society is only open for a couple of hours on Saturdays and Sundays.)
The famous barn was moved and is now an attraction at Knotts Berry Farm. For years, it housed a boxing museum.
Here's the barn when Jeff ran amateur bouts there:
And a picture of Jeff selling tickets:
Here's what it looks like now at Knotts Berry Farm:
