Balboa Thrift and Loan

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. One morning, while making coffee in the early dawn, a delivery driver swears he heard an old-timey jukebox playing 'Happy Days Are Here Again' outside Balboa Thrift and Loan. No one else could hear it, but ever since then, some say the place is haunted by the ghost of a long-lost coin collector. One night, a neighbor passing by claims she saw a silhouette of an old man with a magnifying glass peering into empty shelves. When security guards checked, they found nothing but dust and old coins scattered on the floor. To this day, employees still occasionally hear faint laughter coming from the vault area—though everyone agrees it's probably just a regular's sense of humor.

2. One day, an elderly gentleman went into Balboa Thrift and Loan to cash a check. As he approached the counter, he noticed something peculiar on the teller’s desk—a small, dusty box wrapped in brown paper. Curious, he asked if it belonged to anyone. The teller shook her head, puzzled. The old man picked up the box, careful not to disturb any dust, and placed it gently under his arm. Later that evening, as he was leaving, he overheard two employees discussing how they’d found an old radio inside—one that still worked perfectly when tuned to the right station. Turned out, it had been donated by a local delivery driver who claimed it brought him good luck whenever he carried it around. And so, from then on, whenever someone needed help or advice at Balboa Thrift and Loan, they would ask, ‘Have you tried tuning your radio?’

3. One afternoon, a neighbor popped into Balboa Thrift and Loan with an old trunk. ‘Any idea what’s inside?’ he asked curiously. The loan officer smiled mysteriously. 'Open it yourself,' she said. The neighbor carefully lifted the lid—only to reveal a dusty old radio. 'I thought you might want to borrow some money for antique radios,' she added with a twinkle in her eye. The neighbor laughed, shook his head, and walked out, muttering something about never knowing what to expect here.

4. One night, as the last teller was locking up for the evening, she noticed an envelope sliding under the door of Balboa Thrift and Loan. Curious, she picked it up and found inside a crumpled note that read: ‘Forgot my lunch money again.’ Below was a drawing of a banana split. The next morning, everyone in line laughed when they saw the new sign outside: “Balboa Thrift & Loan: Loans Today—Banana Split Tomorrow!”