Text by Patrick Bell.
It is tour time again as we are looking at some old business districts across the country. There is a good variety of town/city sizes and locations, along with the cars of the period, so climb aboard and we shall get started.
Our tour begins on Dodge Street in Omaha, Nebraska, which was westbound U.S. 6 in this part of town. We are looking at Barkalow’s Dodge Smoke Shop, and shoe repair shop, and Baldorf’s Cafe. Parked in the foreground were a 1959 Chevrolet Parkwood wagon, with a V8 powered 1952 Ford Mainline behind it. Next to the wagon was a black 1961 Plymouth Valiant V-200 4 door sedan, with a two tone 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air 2 door sedan on the other side of it. That leaves the white Simca Aronde P60 and a green 1957 Plymouth Savoy Club Sedan.
We are now in Bennington, Vermont, where the 1952 film “Phone Call from a Stranger” was playing at the General Stark Theatre. The white license plates could have been 1952, 1954 or 1956 Vermont issue. Turning from the left was a 1950 Dodge Coronet, and a black 1952 DeSoto was parked at the curb in the center. Waiting for the traffic light was an accessorized 1952 Ford F-1 Deluxe pickup, two tone 1949 or 1950 Nash Airflyte, and a 1948-1953 Studebaker 2R pickup.
It was the Christmas season in 1959 in downtown Houston, Texas, on Main Street at Preston Street. This block has changed a lot but the two buildings on the outer edges of the image remain.
Beginning on the left edge was a two tone 1957 Chevrolet One-Fifty 4 door sedan Taxi with a white 1959 Ford behind it. In the driving lane a red 1953 Ford Mainline Ranch Wagon, and heading away were two white 1958 models; a Chevrolet 2 door sedan and an Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 or Super 88 4 door sedan. And a 1947-1953 Chevrolet Advance Design truck was on the right edge.
Let’s head back north to Hoosick Falls, New York, where we are looking down John Street to where Main Street crosses at the end. This is a Historical District, so most of these buildings remain, but none of the businesses.
From the left a two tone 1952 Chevrolet Styleline De Luxe 2 door sedan, a grey 1950 Chrysler 4 door sedan with a visor, black 1951 or 1952 Dodge, and a bright red REO truck with a box van body. On the right #2 was a 1948-1954 Hudson, next a tan or grey 1951 or 1952 Chevrolet Styleline, blue 1952 DeSoto, and a green 1951 or 1952 Chevrolet Styleline.
Now we are in Kennebunkport, Maine, on Western Avenue at Dock Square. In the foreground was a 1955 Buick Roadmaster convertible, with two Chevrolet wagons in front of it; a white 1958 Brookwood, and a grey 1959 model. Further up was a black and white 1957 Ford, and a 1955 or 1956 Ford Country Sedan in the driving lane.
Across the street was a light blue 1958 Chevrolet Bel Air Impala Sport Coupe which had no “V” on the hood, indicating it was a six cylinder model, while further up were a grey 1946-1948 Chrysler, and two Chevrolet’s; a dark blue 1949 or 1950 and a black 1951 or 1952.
We are back to Bennington, Vermont, on East Main Street on a wet summer day. In the lower right corner looks like the right headlamp of a 1946-1948 Plymouth, and next to it a 1955 Chevrolet with what could be a Connecticut license plate.
On the other side of the fire plug was a green 1955 Ford Customline Fordor. There were lots of cars out on that busy day but nothing else is really identifiable.
Nevada City, California is the latest stop where we are on Broad Street, and most of these buildings still remain. On the left side was a white 1955 or 1956 Ford Police car followed by a white 1957 Buick convertible and a Borden’s milk truck. Switching to the right side and we see a black 1947-1953 Chevrolet Advance Design 3100 pickup with cab corner windows and an aftermarket rear bumper in plumber’s service. Ahead of it was a grey 1947-1949 Studebaker Starlight Coupe, and a two tone 1949 or 1950 Chevrolet.
And now we are back across the country in Durham, North Carolina, looking west down Main Street at the Magnum Street intersection. The Kress building on the left remains, the Walgreens building plus one or two more are gone having been replaced by a small park. The tall building is the Hill Building, and it remains and has been refurbished.
Waiting at the light was a silver 1961 Mercury Monterey 4 door sedan with a 1961 Rambler Classic Deluxe behind it. On the cross street was a white 1960 Chevrolet Bel Air 4 door sedan.
Claremont, New Hampshire is where we are now, looking north on Pleasant Street towards the Square. Much has changed but all the buildings on the left plus the Hotel Moody at the end are still there. The time frame is now the late 1960’s.
In the foreground was a 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 2 door hardtop, with a 1968-1972 GM mid size wagon in front of it. And in front of it was a 1962 Studebaker Lark 4 door sedan. Heading this way was an International Scout with a snowplow attachment. And parked at the curb on the left was a 1968 Pontiac 4 door sedan and a 1968 Plymouth Fury III 4 door.
Heading back to the middle portion of the country, let’s take a stop in Manistee, Michigan. We are looking towards the east on River Street at the intersection of Maple Street. Here again, the buildings have survived, but the businesses are all different.
From the left there was a blue 1966 Buick Special, black 1959 Ford with a large roof rack, green 1968 Chrysler further back, black 1968 full size Chevrolet that was halfway parallel parked, black Triumph TR3, and a blue 1968 or 1969 Pontiac Tempest at the curb with a beige 1964 Plymouth Fury wagon in front of it.
Now we are back on the west coast in San Francisco, on Kearney Street at Jackson Street, in the Chinatown area. This image was dated October of 1965, and as you might guess much has changed. The brown brick building on the left edge and the tall white one with the “The Trident” sign on it have survived, but those quaint little inner city service stations are gone.
On the left is the tail end of a light blue 1963 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight, in the center foreground a 1960 Buick 4 door hardtop, and on the right a black 1960 Ford Falcon was turning the corner. Heading up the hill was a 1964 Dodge 330 4 door taxi cab and a 1963 Ford Country Squire. And parked on the right curb was a close to new looking red 1965 Chevrolet Suburban Carryall, and two blue 1960 model’s; a light Ford and a darker Cadillac.
This is the only image in today’s gallery that I don’t have the location. There are lots of signs but nearly all of them are unreadable. In the foreground was a dark blue 1967 Dodge Coronet 440 wagon, followed by a blue 1967 Pontiac Tempest Custom or LeMans 4 door hardtop, and a beige 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 2 door hardtop.
In the driving lane a red 1968 or 1969 Volkswagen Type 1, 1968 or 1969 Ford F-100 long bed, and a 1964 Pontiac Tempest. Parked on the left side was a white 1964 Rambler Classic 660 Cross Country wagon, black 1967-1970 Ford Cortina, and a dark blue or black 1965 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport Coupe.
Here we are looking south on Dolores Street at Ocean Avenue in Carmel-By-The-Sea, California. The drug store on the corner has been heavily modified or replaced. The white building beside it has survived, as has the one on the right edge.
On the left was a black 1966 Imperial Crown Coupe or LeBaron, while turning the corner was a 1965 Chevrolet Impala Sport Sedan, and to the right a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 4 door hardtop. Parked at the curb to the left was a white 1966 Ford Falcon Ranchero, and in the street a 1964 Falcon wagon. Further back was a white 1960 Cadillac coupe, and behind it a silver 1960 Rambler. Parked at the right looks like a 1964 or 1965 Lincoln Continental sedan.
Our final destination on today’s tour is back in the Midwest in Chicago, on North Michigan Avenue heading north and approaching what is now known as the DuSable Bridge. The Tribune Tower is ahead to the right, the former John Hancock Center is in the center distance, and the Wrigley Building is left of the center. The image was taken in March of 1969, and ahead was a 1963 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe.
Thanks for joining us and to all good day!
Note: If you wish to see your vintage photos featured at Curbside Classic, send them to us at [email protected].
Rich, thanks for sharing the lead photo of my city–Omaha. Seen this image before, and I think it was taken in about April of `62. I remember the white Simca Aronde sedan in the center lane. The building in front of us was long ago razed for a huge hotel that was built right across 16th street in downtown, cutting the street in two. At that time my Dad’s office was a block away.
The location you didn’t identify is Hanover, New Hampshire.
That could be Lotsaplaces UK, if only the VW were present; the Yank Tanks give it a slightly dystopian feel!
Lovely memory invoking pictures .
-Nate
I LUV these old picture tours, fantastic job as usual, Mr. Bell.
Pizza in that first photo! There couldn’t have been many pizza outlets in those days!
The kids riding in the wayvback of the ’59 Chevy wagon was very common back then. It was one of the things that made station wagons so popular at the time, a way to haul a gaggle of kids.
and we were all hanging our heads out the back window when Mom was driving. Totally safe.
On Friday I offered someone I know to take a ride with me in one of my older cars. The fellow is 61 and he asked me are they safe. Safe??? Yes, well newer cars are designed with crumple zones. Huh??? I don’t think a crumple zone matters much in a 65 F-100 or a 73 Dodge Polara. Jeez, live life a little risky once in awhile.
Heads would explode if you tried that today! Somehow most of us survived!
The unidentified photo looks like Hanover, New Hampshire. The leafy area is Dartmouth College.
And amazingly, Lou’s Restaurant (visible on the right in the vintage shot) is still in operation. (30 S. Main St.)
Main St. Mt. Kisco NY
I love these pictures. There is a big myth now that in the fifties and sixties, the streets of America was filled with corvettes and muscle cars. The truth was most vechicles were low liners with black wall tires. My dad drove a bronze 1962 Ford ranch wagon with a radio as its only option.
The 76 gas station in the San Francisco shot was interesting in that it was actually an underground parking garage with gas pumps in between the entry and exit tunnels. The gas station closed in 1984 and in 1985, a six-story office building replaced it—but it kept the underground parking facility.
What’s the red car in front of the Corvair, parked facing the camera in the Carmel photo? Perhaps a Ford Prefect though the proportions look more Taunus-like?
What are the chances that a Simca randomly gets captured in a photo of Omaha, Nebraska? The mind boggles.
These Arondes sold fairly well back then in the US during the ’50s import boom. I remember seeing a few and there was a dead one parked by the cabin we rented every summer in the Rockies. I spent many happy hours “driving” it all over Colorado!
I found one here in Oregon back in 2012 and wrote it up:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/curbside-classic-1956-simca-aronde-90a-french-training-wheels/
Actually what interests me more are the business signs. We have Walgreen Drugs, Rexall Dugs, Bostonian, Florsheim, and Kress.
I was walking in San Francisco yesterday with my camera. Kearney and Jackson right at the edge of Chinatown to the east. A few more blocks to Broadway and Columbus where we all know what was there in the 70’s.
What is cool about the Trident, and disappearing, are those big advertisements on the side of the building. I walked past one yesterday, actually two old brick buildings that had old signs on the side. However, in the middle the steel anchors were going in for a new building that will be right up against those two and the signs will be forever hidden.
You are correct, the scenery and buildings look much different in the Houston location today! That intersection is a stop on the MetroRail Red Line, the main one that goes from SW Houston and Loop 610/South Loop by the NRG stadium complex including the Astrodome, across town from north to south, and ends up on the Northside. Hard to believe this has been a part of Houston since 2004….
I remember as a kid, seeing the decorations downtown in Houston at Christmas time, and driving by the department store windows to see the displays. Joske’s was a local high end department store, mainly featuring clothing, and my great grandmother traded there until she got crossways with their staff over some issue with a purchase or return/exchange. She vowed to never give them any more business, and never did set foot in the store again. She lived to be 100, outlived three husbands, and was a grand Southern lady…but if you got on her bad side, you might get cussed out like a USMC drill instructor. She drove a ’67 Plymouth Fury I 4 door sedan in light metallic blue, with a 318, air conditioner and automatic transmission, not much else. That got trade in in ’77 for a well equipped Volare Premier 4 door, also with a 318. I got the car when she quit driving, and was going to fix it up; car had the infamous Carter BBD 2 barrel carb that generated a LOT of Mopar technical bulletins. I was going to convert to 4 barrel gathered the needed parts from wrecking yard and swap meets, but then the car remembered it was a 70s Mopar and died a slow death from rust.
More on the table, I saw this clip exterpted from a old interlude aired in the late 1970s showing the cars and storefronts of Ontario street in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve area of Montreal, showing how Ontario street looked back then compared to today.
The 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 4 door in the second last photo, I don’t believe is a ‘4 door hardtop’. I agree that in this photo it could be mistaken for being a 4 door pillarless hardtop, but a close look I confirms that the car is in fact a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 4 door sedan.
The ‘64 Galaxie 500 four door hardtop had a unique roof line and uniquely styled rear doors.
Definitely a distinct look from that of the sedan.
You are correct Carl, thanks for your comment.
Once again, a great tour. Thank you for this Americana and Canadiana.
More Canadiana on the table, this post card of Thetford Mines from the late 1950s-early 1960s at the corner of Notre-Dame and St-Alphonse streets. https://www.cardcow.com/464520/thetford-mines-canada-quebec/
The building to the left corner of the intersection was replaced by a service-station.
While we’re at it, Curbside Classic have posted about snapshots from old postcards https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/vintage-snapshots-old-postcards-main-streets/ and I mentioned a old postcard from downtown Asbestos (now known as Val-des-Sources). Part of the downtown of that town was demolished due to the expansion back then of the asbestos mine. https://www.hippostcard.com/listing/vtg-asbestos-quebec-canada-le-boulevard-st-luc-centre-commercial-postcard/44732451
What’s with the pavement lines in the second photo? Did somebody surgically remove some very oddly placed streetcar tracks??
Chicago’s Tribune Tower in the last photo has since been converted into luxury condominiums. Some mixed use is located on the first floor like the Museum of Ice Cream.
These posts started showing up on my cellphone google feed. Love them! Saved the site as a fav on laptop.
I’m pretty sure the Triumph is a TR2, as the 3 had an eggcrate grill up front, the 3a had the widemouth grill.
In the 3rd pic, Houston(?), there appears to be a mid 50s Ford F600 cabover. Amazing, all these businesses are now available under one roof.