Golden Gate Hotel & Casino. Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Sunday, October 20, 2013.
My friends and I are currently on our annual trip to Las Vegas. Our Chicago-based collective lands somewhere between the Rat Pack and the Brat Pack, being at once old-school at heart and also very Midwestern, like slightly grown-up versions of the youths in the fabulous John Hughes movies of the 1980s. I’ve opted into these yearly trips only back as far as 2012, but I’ve savored every one. I’m a terrible gambler with a very reactionary, rubber face, but what I lack in prowess at the card table, I feel I more than make up when it comes to walking around, taking pictures, talking to locals and documenting many facets of this rapidly changing entertainment center of a city.
Many aspects of an average day of my Vegas vacations are usually filled with so many things that are over-the-top that it becomes pretty easy to forget some of the social unease to which I am prone. It’s almost as if the barrage of sensory-overloading stimuli seems to cancel itself out and let me blend in with all the freaks, geeks, cool cats, tourists, hipsters, and everyone else who has descended on this adult playground at the same time as me. Merely being in a place like Las Vegas, where so many things (drinks, snacks, amenities, etc.) can be complimentary, can leave one feeling like royalty.
The association between the color purple and royalty goes back thousands of years, as purple dye had originally been exorbitantly expensive, owing to the rarity of the source materials (mollusks! who knew?) and cost to produce it. Generation X’ers like me might more commonly associate purple with grape Kool-Aid and Prince but, for me, anyway, it has still managed to seem like a somewhat fancy color – perhaps due to my having paid attention during Sunday school. (Okay, some of the time.) Whenever on vacation, whether to Vegas or some other destination, while I’m always true to myself at my core, it is fun to try on different hats and experience things I wouldn’t have otherwise. This is another reason why it’s called a “vacation”. Why not allow myself to be pampered if I’m a paying customer, and I’m getting something for free?
This beautiful, mildly customized ’54 Chevy was parked outside my hotel, the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino, last year as our group slowly dissipated at our respective departure times at the end of another fun vacation. I felt that purple was the perfect color for this classic, as Chevrolet has traditionally been automotive royalty in the United States. Many of us wept when fellow GM brands Oldsmobile and Pontiac went away, but can you imagine a world without Chevrolet? At this writing, I cannot. One can identify it as a mid-range 210 model by its side trim. Below it sat the 150 Special, and above it was the 240 Bel Air. As a middle kid in my family, I can appreciate the mid-tier position of this model. I can also appreciate that it was from the last year before the first year of the Tri-Fives came along and blew everyone away with their combination of high style, available power, quality, and low price.
This 210 two-door sedan had a starting weight of about 3,200 pounds, and was priced between $1,700 for the base model and $1,800 for the Delray. This was in line with Ford’s numbers for its mid-pack Customline, which both weighed and cost about the same. The powerplants of the Chevy and Ford even had similar horsepower ratings, with the former’s 235.5-cubic inch six yielding either 115 or 125 horsepower, and the latter’s 223 six-cylinder offering 115 hp, and its 239.4 c.i. V8 offering 130 horses. Nineteen fifty-four was one of those rare years when had Ford managed to outproduce Chevrolet, albeit by a margin of less than 2% (1.17 million vs. 1.14 million).
Last year’s suite at the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino.
Back to my Vegas vacations, with so many things that seem to change from year to year, I’m always looking for chances to experience Old Vegas before places succumb to either demolition or massive renovation. Last year’s stay at the newly renovated Golden Gate was exemplary, as I feel my suite combined the best of modern and retro design, with tasteful, comfortable appointments. There had been an old hotel in the northwestern Chicago suburb of Lincolnwood, originally called the Lincolnwood Hyatt House (colloquially known as the “Purple Hotel”) that I had always been curious about before taking some pictures of its exterior in the summer of 2011. It had the most beautiful, purple-glazed bricks on its exterior, and was an upscale destination both for lodging and entertainment through the early ’80s. Perry Como, Roberta Flack, and Barry Manilow are among the celebrities who had reportedly stayed there at some point.
Lincolnwood Hyatt House / Purple Hotel. (Chicago suburb) Lincolnwood, Illinois. Saturday, July 9, 2011.
Sadly, the “Purple Hotel” (as it was finally branded) was demolished six year ago after having sat vacant for some years and falling into severe disrepair. Still, this hotel, originally opened in 1960, maintained a somewhat regal appearance in the end, even in spite of the plywood nailed over some of its broken windows and large weeds growing in front of its grand entrance, which I attribute both to its fantastic, space-age, “Googie” architecture as well as the marvelous, purple hue of the bricks on its facade. Vegas is known for its encouragement of shenanigans, but I have remembered the beautiful, purple finish on some of my favorite, mid-century finds of the past decade or so, including our featured Chevy, and tried to conduct myself with a bit of dignity as I enjoy myself. Like royalty.
Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada.
September 2018.
Can you imagine being the person buying this beautiful new 1954 Chevy and then seeing what they came out with the next year?
In (sixty plus years) retrospect, I’ve felt the ’54 Chevrolet is incredibly underrated as a car, mainly because it was totally overwhelmed by the ’55. And, as a collectable antique, restored to factory original of course, I’d rather have one than a Tri-Five, if only for the uniqueness.
And if you’ve just gotta street rod the damned car, I’d still prefer the ’54, for the same reasons.
The ’54 is one of those rare moments when the mandatory new year refresh, minimal as it was, is a large improvement over the ’53 original. Just changing that grille, and especially the turn signals, gave a much nicer look to the car. To me a ’53 looks dowdy, the ’54 doesn’t.
I had the temptation about six months ago to buy a restored ’54 BelAir hardtop in coral and white with Powerglide, identical to both the car my father had as his company car that year, and the dealer promotional model sitting in my cabinet within arm’s reach of the desk as I write this. Except that the model is a BelAir convertible, which gave it an interior rather than a coin bank.
Probably has something to do with my contrary nature, that I’d much rather own a ’54 or a ’58 than a Tri-Five.
Agree that the ‘54 refresh was an improvement over the ‘53. I also feel that the ‘56 refresh was an improvement over the ‘55. The grill and taillights on the ‘56 just seemed more attractive.
Gmac310, great point – and this, being before it was commonly practiced (by some) to trade your car in every year!
I was in Vegas yesterday. For me, the only way to see the city is to drive through on Interstate 15 as fast as possible, a task made easier by the HOV lane and no apparent speed limits. Despite fairly heavy traffic, it was flowing at 75-80 mph. Absolutely zero CC-worthy cars seen in the entire distance between Barstow and St George, Utah.
Nice Chevy though. Our neighbors when I was growing up had a blue and white ‘54, replaced by a new ‘64 that seemed immense compared to the old one.
Nice model of Chev, my father tried to buy a fourdoor new but the quota had sold out by the time he organized overseas funds and so had the follow up orders so he bought a Vauxhall, it was quite a rigmarole to obtain a new private car in 50s NZ they really didnt want you to have one.
Although I am not much of a Chevy guy (and yes, I kind of can imagine a world without Chevrolets because that is what my world mostly looks like now) I have a tremendous fondness for these pre-55 models.
My mother’s first “real” car was a 53 Chevy 210 sedan, and I spent endless hours playing in a 52 Styleline DeLuxe 2 door sedan that was being used as a commuter-beater at the very rusty end of its life. These were attractive cars that were the Toyota Camry of their day.
In a kind of CC effect I saw a 54 Chevy in traffic just last week, but was not quick enough on the draw with my camera. It was bright red so was probably packing a V8 (as so many of them do now). Make mine a six with OD and I would be quite happy.
Your title hit a spot in my memory. Royal and Chevrolet go together in my mind because for many years Royal Chevrolet was a Chevy dealer in Bloomington, Indiana. The company still exists with various dealers, but I don’t believe they handle Chevy any more.
The lowrider treatment is just plain wrong on a ’54. It makes sense on the ’59 to ’65 styles.
My folks had a ’54 210, green and white. Uncool but solid as a rock. They were status-minded, so instead of keeping it they moved “up” to a ’57 BelAir, which needed an overhaul after a year.
Enjoy your stay in our town. If you’d like any tips or information, I’ll be glad to help.
Thanks, Evan. I appreciate that. This year’s trip was another great one. I’m thankful for it. Hopefully, I’ll get to write up at least one of the cars I was fortunate enough to capture in pixels.
I owned a green & cream white ’54 BA 2-door sedan back in 1975/76. I was 18.
These were well-built, there was an attention to detail in the dashboard that even the Tri-Fives missed just a little. Upkeep was tough for a novice like me…the ’54 was a car of “lasts” for Chevrolet.
Last 6-volt electrical system.
Last kingpins.
Last closed driveline.
And IIRC, it had the push button starter on the floor…if so, also a last, at least for the passenger cars. Pickups kept that feature thru 1959.
Best thing I ever did for its driveability was put radials on it. Plus I gained two mpg immediately. Five years later when I was driving a ’57, switching to radials also gave me two extra mpg.
But it was roomy and enjoyable.
True, I passed on a ’57 210 4-door sedan for less money because it was a 4-door and had Powerglide, Would’ve been easier to live with, truth be told. But that ’54 was a cool ride.
I ended up giving up on it when the kingpins froze up, a shocking development since I’d had a local garage – Point Exxon in Butler, PA – service the car at the owner’s manual-recommended intervals. Apparently the mechanics, all of whom were only a couple of years older than me, couldn’t figure out where the grease fittings were.
Not being able to afford to repair it, and already having lost my shirt on a concurrently-owned ’72 Vega that ended up being traded for a ’68 Chrysler Newport convertible, it was sold to a guy who drove a ’69 ‘Vette, for $100.
Not sure about that starter button on the floor. My father had a 51 or 2 Chevy and I’m pretty sure it had a key on the dash. Of course, pretty much any GM key would fit!
I seem to recall Buicks having a starter button under the gas pedal. You pushed the pedal to the floor until it started. Am I right?
I recall the 52 Chevy of my memory having a starter button on the dash.
There’s a lowrider group around town that has a bunch of 1953-1957 210s and Bel Airs. I almost bought a red one from them until I realized I’d much rather have one that was all original or not super heavily modified.
When my parents used to live in Okinawa, my father had a 1953 Chevrolet 210 2-door sedan in dark blue with a white top. He tried to customize, first removing all the chrome trim and ornaments and mildly hopping up the engine. Result was prematurely making it look like a junked car. I think he had it for four or five years before junking the car.
My mother’s friend at the time had a 1954 Chevrolet Bel-Air. Very nice car. Grille and taillights treatment much nicer (in my opinion) than the 1953.
At one time I was looking for a 1953 or 1954 Chevrolet, but it’s hard to find one unmolested and stock original. Last I checked, even in unrestored condition, people were asking $15,000 +
@chas108: Your list of “lasts” made me think that the 1954 was the last Chevrolet model year that was shared mechanicals dating back the pre-World War II era, e.g. 6-volt system, torque-tube driveline, kingpin, stovebolt inline six dating back to 1929. Not sure about the foot starter though I do know the low-high beam switch was a button on the floor.
So the 1955 Chevrolet could be considered as the first “modern” Chevrolet?
My uncle bought a new 1954 210 two-door sedan and kept it in nearly immaculate condition for 10 years. Cream over black, with that ubiquitous gray cloth upholstery. I remember the whine of the Powerglide and how solid and smooth the car was. I’m with Syke: the update for 54 really made it a far more refined looking car than the 53. The better balanced grille and those cool tail lights (very popular with customizers back in the day – who put them on all kinds of cars) were great improvements. Caught this one at Christmas a few years ago.
I liked the smaller, less Disneyfied Las Vegas of a few decades ago. Maybe downtown still has a little of that quality left – haven’t been downtown in a very long time.
To me, these cars have always been something of an oddity. For whatever reason, here in Australia I never saw any of these back in the day. Fords yes – Customlines were everywhere, pretty much the default American car. Dodges/Plymouths/DeSotos yes – they too were common enough to not be noteworthy. But Chevrolets (or Pontiacs) from the ’53-’54 era? Nope, never remember seeing even one. No idea why. ’49-’52s yes, no problem there. Later ones, of course. But ’53-’54? Nope. Never saw one here until ten years ago.
Not a world without Chevrolet, just (part of) a country….
Growing up I recall an elderly widow in the neighborhood who had a ‘54 Chevy 210 with Powerglide and the then rare option of power steering. Seems that she bought the car new shortly after her husband died, right after she got her first drivers license. While married she never really needed to drive, which also seemed to her quite complicated and physically stressful. However, after her husband’s death she was determined to learn how to drive and maintain her independence. With automatic transmission and power steering driving a car proved to be a breeze. She loved the 210 and kept it until she died in the late ‘60’s.
You remind me of one day in the late 80s when I found myself at a traffic light next to an old lady driving an original but very used black 54 Bel Air sedan. I recall seeing the PowerGlide emblem on the back as I approached it. The light turned green and I took in the sights and sounds of that old Chevy as it burbled away from the stop. That may be my favorite way to observe an old car, alongside on the road as it accelerates through the gears.
My Grandma had a beautiful cream-over-green 54 two door Bel Air, a very fancy car for her that she went to the next town and bought after the salesman at the local Ford dealer made fun of her for trying, as a woman, to deal on a car by herself. (She had just gone down the street to the local bank to get all the cash she needed for the purchase). She loved to be driven down Main Street and to park that pretty car in front of the Ford dealer. The loss was theirs, particularly as she had twelve children, none of whom would dare purchase a Ford for many years after that debacle. For many years I looked down on that car and preferred the 55’s, but as I have gotten older I have come to recall and appreciate the fine build quality of that automobile. As well as the story.
Dang this is my car, My wife & stay at the hotel that weekend for the Lowrider Supershow. It took me a few minutes to convince the valet guys to save me that spot. When I got there & seen the car they where more than happy to assist me. The color of the car its called puter blue. The car belongs to my wife. i do appreciate the words. thank you & I appreciate it. The best thing that we get when we go to shows in when kids want to take the time & ask if they can take pictures & we say sure and even let them sit inside. You made my day today. thank you once again.