Text by Patrick Bell.
Our feature today is cars and a few trucks, as they were seen in the neighborhoods of the mid century era. Most of them you never see anymore, except at a car show where they are primped and coddled within an inch of their lives. So take some time and enjoy a blast from the past; a way to see the vehicles and lifestyles as they were.
We begin today with two likely brothers in the middle of a discussion. They may have come from a party of some sort, as they were wearing their nice clothes and had nametags. Behind them was the family sedan, a V8 powered ’66 Chevrolet Impala Sport Sedan with what appears to be an Ohio license plate from ’65. In front of it was a ’57 Ford F-100 Custom Cab Styleside long bed, also with a V8 and possibly a Fordomatic, as there appears to be a “Fordomatic” emblem on the right side of the hood. It looked good for its age other than some rust on the lower fender.
A photo search places this at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo. The year was 1955 and the trees look like it was the fall season. On the foreground row from the right a ’53 Oldsmobile Super 88 Holiday Coupe with whitewalls that were getting used to the college life. Following was a ’54 Chevrolet Two-Ten 2 door sedan or Club Coupe, and a ’49 Ford Custom Club Coupe. In the background a red over black ’53 Mercury Monterey Special Custom Coupe, and a faded black ’49 Buick 4 door sedan.
Here was a house under construction in a new suburban neighborhood; now a normal reality, then a revolutionary modernity. At this site, the newest car was the ’60 Chevrolet Parkwood or Kingswood wagon on the left edge (barely visible), and the ’51 Nash Airflyte Statesman 4 door sedan in the foreground that had what appears to have been a ’60 Ohio license plate.
In front of the Nash was a six cylinder ’55 Plymouth Belvedere 4 door sedan, and a ’55 Mercury Monterey wagon. Backed up to the house was a ’58 Ford F-250 Styleside, and in the street a white and red ’56 Mercury Monclair Sport Sedan, and a black ’50 Chrysler Club Coupe. And a ’53-’55 Ford short dump truck was partially backed in the yard. I see they have a small fire probably for scrap, try that today.
This one looks like a well established, older small town, likely in a fair weather area as they usually don’t paint parking signs on the street in the snow country. The first building was a former residence now inhabited by a business, a large three story house was next, and a church with the steeple visible through the trees. Further down appears to be more small businesses.
About the cars, first up was a ’52 Pontiac Chieftain De Luxe Catalina, followed by a ’48 Buick Super 4 door sedan, and further back a ’52 Studebaker Commander V8.
Now we have an all GM family, at least it appears so in this image. A ’57 Buick Century convertible with a ’58 issue Michigan license plate registered in Genesee County, where Fling is the seat. Well, no wonder they like GM products. A ’57 Oldsmobile was parked in front of it. The lady heading out the door is carrying something and was watching her step. Everything was green, so a nice day for top down cruising.
A wedding day for a couple in Los Angeles. The featured couple may have been part of the car decorating committee. The getaway car was a ’54 Oldsmobile Super 88 2 door sedan with dual spotlights, followed by a ’53 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe. And the newest of the bunch was across the street; a ’57 Ford Fairlane 500 Town Sedan with what appears to be an out of state license plate.
I hope that nice looking ’59 Mercury Monterey 4 door sedan was not the oil leaker that frequented this driveway. The license plate had California colors but the numbering does not look correct. I was employed at a Lincoln/Mercury dealer in the late eighties that bought back a Merc just like this one from an elderly lady who bought it from him new. She didn’t drive much as the mileage was in the low 20,000’s and it always was kept in a garage. It was a real time capsule. The neighborhood looks fairly new with young trees, and the house across the street had a swamp cooler on the roof.
The Good Humor man is here, don’t let him get away! A crowd had gathered and that may have been Mom bringing up the rear. The Good Humor truck was a ’58 Ford F-100 with a license plate that could have been New York. ’59 Fords were popular across this street with a white Custom 300 Tudor sedan and a Ranch Wagon Fordor. And on the right edge was a ’48 Packard with a different license plate. A photo search suggests the location was Long Island.
Even though this street had curbs and sidewalks, the roadside mail boxes suggest it was at least on the outskirts of town. The ’64 Pontiac Grand Prix in the forefront had a ’65 issue Michigan license plate with the county code either “CM” or “GM”. CM is Wayne County, home of Detroit, while GM is Oakland County, home to Pontiac. Of course that does not guarantee the location, but there are three other Pontiac’s on this street, so…
In the center was the newest, a ’65 Catalina or Star Chief in reverse mode. On the far side of the street were two ’62 Bonneville’s, the furthest away a convertible. And in front of it a ’47-’53 Chevrolet Advanced Design pickup. On the nearside a ’62 Mercury and a ’62-’64 Chevrolet Chevy II. The two youngsters did not want to pose on a late winter or early spring day.
This pair may be a grandmother and her young teenage granddaughter about to go on a venture of some sort on a cool damp day. They were posing by a trusty, but rusty ’55 Cadillac Series 62 Sedan with an Illinois plate from either ’65 or ’67. Overall it looked good for an at least ten year old car. Across the street was a ’65 Chevrolet Impala, and in the driveway a red Volvo PV series. Down the street was a blue ’61 Ford Ranch Wagon or Country Sedan.
The parents were having a serious discussion while the kids romped on the lawn on a fall day with a low sun. The location was Los Angeles per a search. Parked at the curb was a V8 powered ’65 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe, and in the driveway across the street an MG MGA 1500.
Thanks for joining us and to all good day!
The Good Humor pic includes another typical pre-1970 thing that I don’t see any more. The attic floor of a house has both upper and lower sashes open on a double-hung window. The lower let in slightly cooler air and the upper let out hotter air. People still open the lower sash, but most upper sashes aren’t even openable now.
I wonder if any of the kids pacing that Good Humor truck had a playing card flapping against the bike spokes to tap out pretend motorcycle engine noise.
I thought it might be Memorial Day or July 4th, looks like crepe paper wound through the spokes. If you really wanted that motorcycle sound you took a long balloon blew it up about half and tied it to the front fork top and bottom so it would rub against the spokes.
1956 was a pivot point for US culture. Eisenhower began construction of the interstate highway system. We transitioned from “walking cities ” to “driving cities” (55 mph). The pace of living increased every time the interstate highway speed limit increased. Automotive speed increased but braking and handling lagged behind!
Thanks for a great tour! i will look at these photos again to see if I can identify many mnore of the cars that are in a few of these pictures. Great America!
’59 Merc setting does look like a California suburb. Black plates were issued in ’63, so the car would be at least four years old at the time, but, without salted roads, cars only rust badly right on the seacoast.
Last photo, the little guy on the ground just retired and is hitting the shows with a restored Impala like the one at the curb.
Thanks for the great pics and stories, flashbacks of simpler times.
I like that ’57 Ford Fairlane behind the “Just Married” Oldsmobile. Wow what a great color scheme with the two-tone pink and black. It could be in a Stray Cats video…
Nice collection. I especially like the ’57 Buick convertible. Thanks for putting it together!
These really resonate with me because I grew up in an early-’60s suburb with modestly-sized houses like many of these, with 1960s cars predominating. I look at these photos now and wonder what was the intended subject – I would have never thought to photograph random cars on a street when I was a kid, when every snapshot cost film and processing money. The rainbow was clearly a subject, as were the newlyweds, the ice cream truck, and the new construction. But I don’t know what the Buick convertible shot was intended to be of, or the huge house surrounded by much smaller buildings (is that really a single address? That would be a quadplex where I live).
The house behind the “just married” car should be super-easy to find as it looks today on Google Maps given the street signs are in view – that intersection is in the Mission Hills neighborhood in Los Angeles – but I can’t find it.
The ’49 Ford looks so modern for a 1940s car. It could easily be from the ’50s or even an early-’60s import.
I think the Just Married location is confusing is because there’s two intersections of Halbern & Kingsbury. I believe the house in the background is 15331 Kingsbury St. It’s tough to see clearly from the same angle in StreetView due to vegetation, but this link shows the house from directly in front:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/WF4jvcvvJXckmLsbA
Yep, that’s it; the views from years ago aren’t blocked by vegetation. I was curious if that nice diamond grillework was still on the garage windows – it was removed between 2015 and 2016. Real basketball backboard instead of a wooden board over the garage is an improvement though.