Jones Oldsmobile, Philadelphia, PA.
Dave Reese Oldsmobile, Drexel Hill, PA.
“Rocket Away Today!” Dormont Oldsmobile Co., Pittsburgh, PA.
Potter Oldsmobile, Miami, FL.
King Motors, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Brown & Thomas Cadillac-Oldsmobile, New Haven, CT.
Fall Oldsmobile (Jones Olds in 1964, in the opening photo), Philadelphia, PA.
Crystal Motors Oldsmobile, Brooklyn, NY.
Steele-Hopf Oldsmobile, Blue Island, IL.
Rich Haven Olds, Ozone Park, NY.
Nice .
-Nate
Jones Oldsmobile was still around when I was growing up in Philadelphia. In the late 1980s, they were bought by another dealership and moved out to the suburbs. That area of Philadelphia (called Chestnut Hill) was an affluent, old-money-type enclave, and developers scooped up the property pretty quickly after the Olds dealer moved out. Local residents preferred the Olds dealer, since they feared any new development would bring in tacky chain stores. (This coincided with when I developed an interest in urban planning, so I remember that debate well.) The site was, in fact, redeveloped, and the end result looked pretty good. I haven’t lived there in a long time, so I don’t know if the local residents’ anti-chain store views have remained.
The Olds dealer was acquired by a dealership called West German Imports, a Mercedes and Mazda dealer located in suburban Ft. Washington. West German built a new Olds showroom and renamed the franchise Regency Oldsmobile, but I seem to remember them ditching the Olds franchise sometime in the 1990s.
Love these Olds pics. The Olds dealer in Towson was Stu Berger on York Rd, a place I haunted quite regularly as well as Marsden Chevrolet next door, who provided the ’67 BelAir sedan that was my driver’s ed car (with poor Mr Adkins, a man with nerves of steel lol). I distinctly recall gawking at the new ’66 Toronado in Dubonnet dark red metAllic paint in that showroom and being astounded at its bold design. I’ve tried to find pics of Stu Berger Olds to no avail. Evidently he was a WWII vet and a very generous and kind man, according to his obit.
How many Oldsmobile dealers can claim that a traffic circle was named after them? Bell Circle in Revere is not the official name of a rotary on route 1A in Revere, Massachusetts, but it’s the name traffic reporters and locals have used for decades now. Bell Oldsmobile was the name of the dealership located at the circle, and the name stuck. The dealer is long gone, but the name remains. Thousands of commuters and tourists pass through the circle every day on their way to Boston’s Logan airport. I wish I could find some pictures of this dealership for your collection.
As a kid I was puzzled by the ugly steel structures that sign companies built to hold up the neon pylon signs.
Were you supposed to pretend you didn’t see them?
I never did figure out why any business owner would pay good money for such an ugly, homemade looking thing on the top of their otherwise nice-looking building.
I remember Dormont Olds when I lived nearby. Those old pics bring back memories