Oh, I remember that smog...all through the 50's and 60's there were smog alerts and they wouldn't let us go out to play a recess... Some things in L.A. improved..that one for sure!
Those look like one piece bumpers too. Sometimes called California bumpers. The wagon is a V8 210 model ( no has marks on fender and small hubcap barely viewable) The others a four door Belair Sedans V8s. notice none of them had the rubber tips - an extra seen so often on today's restored 57's.
Looks like a joke, no cars on the lot for sale...But this is 1946 and cars had just been starting to be manufactured again. Everyone wanted a new car to replace the worn out clunker they had been nursing along during the war. Waiting list and premium prices over the sticker price were the norm.
Freeway going through the Cahuenga Pass towards the Hollywood Bowl. On the right and down the road a few hundred yards would be Dean Jeffries shop I found this filed under "Los Angeles celebrities"...I guess it's worth posting but I'm a little steamed at not being invited
Kelly Kar Co. was a Ford dealer at Pico and Figueroa which is now where the Staple Center is now. I remember the 55 Ford coming out and the big deal they made of it there that night. Big search lights, crowds of people, greedy salesmen galore.
Well, it's not the TCI factory. It's 1930 at the Ford factory in Long Beach just down the road from L.A..
In the background to the right you can see the mausoleum where Barris took many pics. of his cars. This angle is from Rosecrans and Long Beach Blvd.
J.V. Baldwin Motor Co. 1201 S. Figueroa St. Current site of the Los Angeles Convention Center. James V. Baldwin was NOT a descendent of colorful LA pioneer Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_Baldwin but both were prominent real estate developers in the LA area.
One thing I find interesting is that though some people are of the opinion that prior to WWII and the influx of vets that LA was still a sleepy little Mexican village, these early pics show a metropolis on its way to coming alive, who know maybe without the boomers parents LA might have grown at a more manageable pace...
Lincoln Heights Jail was L.A. City Jail, this photo was before the wing was added and doubled the size of the jail. At one time L.A. City jail was larger than the L.A. County Jail. The city ran a drunk farm for those the courts though could be rehabilitated in 30, 60 or 90 day sentences. Many were rehabed and went on to live a normal life. Lincoln closed in 1964 as did the farm.
FIRE !! in downtown L.A. at the famous Bradbury Building..For many years the city had tried to close and demolish the Bradbury because of its interior open air floor plan, it's still there. One of the neatest buildings in L.A. it can be seen in many movies. The closed cab fire engine is cool as are the Acme Semaphore Traffic Signals which were L.A. icons.
Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona, showing fairgoers and a large canvas-top<WBR>ped tent, ca.1925-19<WBR>29 Van Nuys Boulevard looking north from Delano Street, Los Angeles, ca.1927 Wilshire Boulevard, looking west at night, March 28, 1928 Western Avenue and Beverly Boulevard, ca.1924
Spring Street looking north from 6th Street, Los Angeles, ca.1924 Colorado Street after the Tournament of Roses, Pasadena, ca.1926 Third Street looking north from Canal Street (later Avalon Street) in Wilmington<WBR>, Los Angeles, 1911
"The Miracle Mile" of Wilshire Boulevard looking east from Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, ca.1929 Union Avenue and Venice Boulevard looking northeast during rain, April 1935 Spring Street looking north from 4th Street, ca.1924 View of Hollywood looking northeast from the corner of Rossmore Avenue and Rosewood Avenue, 1924 northwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Cloverdale Avenue, 1941 There are a whole lot more street scenes that I've elected to skip past. After awhile, they all start to look the same (from the same period).
Look familiar ? Western Union line men erecting the Hoover Dam line along the right-of-w<WBR>ay of the branch railroad of Union Pacific Railroad, ca.1900
Georgia Street Station was a Police Station before it became Georgia Street Receiving Hospital. Juvenile and Metro had their headquarters there. I love that ambulance..
Highland Park Station is the only old station to survive out of all the old stations. It is now the L.A.P.D. Historical Society Museum. It has been in many movies and is totally restored. H.P. had an ambulance stationed there. Medical treatment was crude, I know. Neat ambulance there too.
The following info. on the next few posts is from The American Hot Rod Foundation. DON BLAIR was one of the first people to set up a speed shop in Southern California. His success on the lakes before the war gave him a reputation for hot rod ingenuity. Blair was known to stay away from conventional engine set ups and would use anything from Roots-type Mercedes Benz superchargers to blown Chevys. Aside from lakes racing, Don was involved in sprint car racing and funny cars.
Vic Edelbrock, Sr. In 1933 Edelbrock opened his first shop on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Business soon grew and so he moved again to Hoover and Venice where he took on a young kid by the name of Bobby Meeks. In 1938, Edelbrock bought his first "project car", a 1932 roadster. This was to be the vehicle and entry into the hot rod road and the dominance of Edelbrock at the dry lakes. It would also serve as a testing ground for new Edelbrock products. Bobby Meeks and Vic Edelbrock Sr.
Stuart Hilborn It was while in the air force that a young Stu Hilborn came up with a revolution<WBR>ary new way to feed more fuel to an engine. The technologi<WBR>cal breakthrou<WBR>gh earned Stu the reputation as the Father of Fuel Injection. Stuart Hilborn and Eddie Miller Most hot rodders were skeptic yet in 1948 Howie Wilson drove the Hilborn srtreamlin<WBR>er through the 150 mph barrier, effectivel<WBR>y silencing his critics. While the car broke all records the design was seen as a piece of art. In April 1948 it appeared on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine and continued to campaign at the lake. Unfortunat<WBR>ely on a run, the streamline<WBR>r flipped several times, putting Stu in hospital and the car out of action.
Barney Navarro Barney Navarro Installing some pistons in his flathead about May 1, 1951. On May 6 he would be running the car at El Mirage in a S.C.T.A. event. This shot was from a story "To the Lakes with Barney..." published in the first issue of Hop Up Magazine, Aogust 1951. Barney Navarro Collection<WBR>. Barney Navarro dodgeing a mound at El Mirage dry lake May 6, 1951. Barney Navarro Collection<WBR>. Barney Navarro's car at the May 6, 1951 El Mirage meet. Barney made four runs. Barney Navarro Collection<WBR>. Barney Navarro shown hard at work turning out another part on his lathe. Barney Navarro Collection<WBR>. '27 at b-ville. Barney Navarro Collection<WBR>. Barney Navarro showing off his milage after finishing second in Class C in the 1961 Mobilegas Economy Run. Barney Navarru Collection<WBR>. Navarro's car at el mirage 3/4 front view. Barney Navarro Collection<WBR>.
Ak Miller Akton Miller's #10 1927 Ford Model T. Club, Roadrunner<WBR>s. Ran Class C Modified Roadster with Ansen Automotive 274 ci Mercury engine at El Mirage in 1950. Car in rear is Butler Brothers 176 ci 1928 Chevy-four powered '27 Ford. Louis Senter Collection Ak Miller at El Mirage 1948 in his class D roadster. The car is powered by a Cadillac V8. He's a Roadrunner<WBR>. Louis Senter Collection
Tommy Sparks Tommy Sparks was arguably the best flathead builder of his time. As a teenager, Tommy saved enough money from his paper route to buy a 1932 3-window coupe from the local used car lot. On teaching himself to drive, Tom managed to collide with a oncoming car one block from his house. As the front end was pretty damaged, Tom stripped off the fenders and removed the hood and...realized he had a neat hot rod ready for the lakes. Tommy Sparks at Rosemond Dry Lake 10/7/45 in his A V-8 for an SCTA meet. Dave "Monk" Thermin Collection<WBR>. Autocrat Tommy Sparks at Rosemond Dry Lake before the rain hit at the SCTA event on 10/7/45 and caused it to be cancelled. Dave "Monk" Thormin Collection
I really like seeing these photos. Sort of a "Golden Age". It's like they depict an fantastic world where everything was better. L.A. was an amazing place from the early 1900s to the mid 50s. Ironic that the automobile created the need for all this and then ruined so much of the area's quality of life. No experience lasts forever and it can't be repeated anyway. Farewell to the Lost City.
The Jalopy Journal
