Logan Airport, Boston.
Ferry Dock on Staten Island.
John F. Kennedy Airport.
Parking lot in Chicago.
Images taken from the National Archives.
Vintage Snapshots: Parking Lots In 1973
– Posted on August 11, 2023
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Curbside Classics Archives
A constant in a lot of 1970s automotive imagery, is the lack of pickup trucks. Or SUV-type vehicles. In cities, at least. Very different times.
The Volvo 144 in Logan looks so small….
Today’s gray is yesterday’s brown.
Very true. One tremendous benefit for car makers, derived from the popularity of the brown/gold colour palette, was it did a remarkably good job of concealing serious body rust. Or the streaks of rust that ran down bodysides from vinyl roof lower edges, or from under bodyside trim.
This is a funny couple. A VW with one of those RR kits, and what could be a Firebird, but I’m not sure. One image over the other give a rather funny result. Anyone can identify the car in the background for me?
’71-’73 Firebird
You keep bringing the heat, Rich! I’m riveted to your posts. Thank you!
Love the Citroën DS Estate in the Logan Airport shot!
Question: The light blue car in the furthest-away row in the Logan Airport shot – what do you think that is?
It is so tiny next to the Ford LTD – so it can’t be a Mustang – maybe a Japanese car?
The speed with which I can identify most of the cars from 40+ years ago, from an aerial shot…explains why my brain is full and I can’t remember the name of someone I was introduced to 30 seconds before.
I think it’s a Toyota Celica. Best guess, anyway…
Looks like a Datsun 1200, or possibly a Corolla to me.
Strong resemblance to this car a 72 Celica with the hood trim.
Thank you! I bet that’s it.
The Chicago parking lot has a couple of smaller cars. I’m looking at # 9 and 10 from the bottom right. I thought the one behind the wagon looked like a Fairmont coupe but the sidemarker is wrong, and that’s if this is as late as 78.
I’m thinking the sedan is a Datsun 510, and the wagon a Fiat 124
I agree with the 510, but the little wagon looks like a Vega Kammback to me.
Based on pictures I’m finding, I’d lean toward the Vega. The 124 I’m seeing a more rounded top corner at the rear side window.
Love these vintage photos with virtually no trucks, SUVS, or crossovers. Those were the days!
64 Dodge in the last photo? Love that roofline!
Ferry dock on Staten Island
Whats that dark colored fastback coupe just right of dead center? Its parked behind a green Beetle and in front of a silver Beetle. The proportions are almost cartoonish. 1967 Impala??? 1971 Riveria???
Also amazing how short of a life cars had back then. I was expecting there to be some big finned “googie” style cars since they were only 11ish to 16ish years old in 1973. Take that picture today and I bet a third of the cars fall into that age bracket. And it would take a very keen eye to even tell since automotive fashion has become rather dull and static
I was thinking ’67-68 Impala/Caprice as well, but the proportions don’t seem quite right, and there appears to be something like a “Bunkie beak” projecting from the center of the nose.
1968 Bonneville.
In the same photo, silver car at the center of the left edge has me intrigued. Low sliced-off Kamm-esque tail, with a trunk lid that appears to have louvers stamped-in — a la the ill-fated 1971-only GM forced-air/flow-through ventilation system — and a C-pillar to tail transition along the upper flank likely but subtly inspired by the highly influential Pininfarina Lancia Florida II concept — cf. Pininfarina’s similar styling for the Ferrari 400 and Rolls-Royce Camargue there, but this doesn’t quite appear to be either of those.
You need to think way more down-market…that’s a Chevy Vega notchback
You just gave a very sophisticated styling analysis of the roots of the Vega’s styling. It was totally cribbed from the Italians.
Runs in the family. My uncle is Terry Henline, now-retired chief for one of Pontiac’s two exterior design studios. 😎
And I’d totally forgotten there even was a notchback variant of the Vega; no wonder I couldn’t ID it! 😅
The late 50s-early ’60s “Googie” cars were still around in 1973–I know because I remember seeing them on occasion. I can see a ’63 Imperial in the last photo.
You were more likely to find them in low-income neighborhoods. This shot of Hamilton Ave. in Paterson NJ was taken April 1971 (just 2 years before), and I spy a ’59 Ford and a ’60 Buick on the same block.
I can’t say I miss any triple decker……
-Nate
Is it just me, or do those lots look a LOT cleaner than what we see today? This is really strange to see this today because just last night I went to a charging station (EV Go) at a very nice/upscale mall near where I live in southern California. After plugging in, I went to get some dinner and when I came back later I decided to just walk around for a couple minutes while the car finished charging. I was appalled by the amount of trash, litter and “stuff” on the floor of the parking lot.
Some commercial property managers are meticulous, maintaining their properties. Others, are not. Having valuable tenants, they want to impress/retain, can play a role. Unkempt lots, will have their debris, blow into the cleaner lots.
Here in Ottawa, the city parking lots, seem to be some of the worst for maintenance. Removing accumulated garbage, after snow mountains melt in the Spring, not seeming a high priority.
I believe that’s the upper deck of Central Parking at Logan. It doesn’t really look that much different today except for the addition of solar panels. It costs $41/day now. I wonder what it was back then.
That remind me of this snapshot taken from the Canadian movie “La Gammick”. I found that pic on IMCDB.
https://www.imcdb.org/movie.php?id=71533
It might be too far away to tell, but on the second photo of the Ferry Docks on Staten Island, the blue wagon on the right appears to be a rare 1967 1/2 AMC Rebel Mariner. The color and equipment appear to be correct, at least. Cool!
I see it now. Nice catch, man.
These crowded early ’70s parking lot scenes, could have inspired a good Jim Croce song.
Well, if they were dirty, this one fits:
LOL… THAT was the song, that inspired me to make my comment. lol
Lots of vinyl roofs. 1973 was right in the middle of the vinyl roof craze, manufacturers slapping them on everything from Pintos to Cadillacs. At around $175 ($1,200 in today’s dollars) they weren’t exactly a cheap option. Yet, it was often difficult to find a car in dealer inventory without one. What a huge profit maker they must have been.
Interesting pairing in the Logan Airport pic, the Citroen DS and Ford Pinto wagons looking remarkably similar in size. Hard choice between the two for a road trip from Boston to the West Coast – the DS would’ve been far roomier and more comfortable, but hard to find parts for while the Pinto would’ve been awkwardly low and cramped but as worry-free as anything, you could get a Ford fixed anywhere.