Text by Patrick Bell.
We are going to cruise some neighborhoods of the past today and take a look at the four wheeled residents in the Mid-Century, when cars in every shade offered lots to look at. This is always a fun exercise, so let’s see what is out there.
I am going to wild guess our first image as somewhere in Chicago in 1961 or 1962, as Illinois license plates were red in 1961 and orange in 1962. There was a lot to look at on this city block.
In the foreground row beginning on the right was a blue 1st gen Chevrolet Corvair, white over red 1955 Buick Special or Century 2 door Riviera hardtop, blue over white 1954 Oldsmobile Super 88 4 door sedan, two 1958 Ford’s; a dark blue over ivory Custom 300 4 door sedan, and a white over light blue Fairlane Town Sedan, and a black Mercedes-Benz W110 or W120.
In the background from the right was maybe a light green 1961 Rambler Classic, black 1958 Edsel Corsair 4 door hardtop, ivory over blue 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air 4 door sedan, white over blue 1955 Plymouth Belvedere 4 door sedan, black Nash Metropolitan, yellow 1957 Ford Fairlane 500, not sure of black car, and a 1959 or 1960 Studebaker Lark.
There is not much for location clues here with no front license plates to help out. In the left foreground was a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Sedan, and across the street from the left was the left rear taillight of a grey 1952-1954 Ford, a two tone grey? 1955 Chrysler New Yorker Deluxe Sedan, further down a grey 1954 Buick Special 4 door sedan, a two tone blue 1950-1953 Cadillac Series Sixty-Two Sedan, and on the far right was the rarest of the bunch; a dark red 1956 or 1957 Continental Mark II.
Perhaps this was the Blizzard of 1958 that hit the Mid Atlantic and Northeastern states in the month of March. Someone’s new looking 1958 Chevrolet Bel Air Impala convertible was trapped in the foreground, and further back looks like a 1935 Ford.
The row in the background was Mopar heavy, beginning on the right with the front end of a 1946-1948 Plymouth, and a 1946-1948 Dodge 4 door sedan next. Facing the wrong way was a 1956 DeSoto Firedome or Fireflite 4 door sedan. Continuing down the street was a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air 4 door sedan, a small grey car I don’t recognize, and a 1957 DeSoto 4 door sedan.
A cute young girl was on her way somewhere and was passing by a 1955 Ford Customline Tudor Sedan with a V8, Fordomatic Drive, and a 1955 Pennsylvania license plate. On the left edge looks like the right front corner of a 1955 or 1956 Mercury.
The Mobil station was Mopar friendly, with a 1946-1948 Plymouth on the left and a 1946-1948 Chrysler Club Coupe to the right. On the far right mostly behind the red box may have been a black 1955 Plymouth Savoy or Belvedere.
A 1959 Rambler Super 4 door sedan added some color to a grey neighborhood. It was equipped with a six cylinder and a New Jersey license plate. The gentleman did not look too excited to have his photo taken.
Baby’s first snowfall, and a wet one at that. The tan car was a 1946-1948 Plymouth 4 door sedan, with a 1958 Buick Special 4 door Riviera hardtop parked behind it. And out in the street was a 1960 Chevrolet Impala Sport Sedan.
We are now in Portland, Oregon, on East Burnside Street. At the curb was a two tone 1953 Ford Customline Tudor Sedan with a missing quarter panel molding. The lack of a “V8” emblem on the fender indicated it was powered by the “Mileage Maker Six”. Parked behind it was a 1956 Chevrolet powered by a “Blue Flame Six”.
This image showed the prevalence of station wagons in the 1950’s, and this household apparently had a fondness for Fords as well. From the left was a 1958 Plymouth Custom Suburban, and after that were three Ford’s; a 1957 Country Sedan, 1956 Country Squire with a roof rack, and a 1955 Customline Fordor that had been mildly customized.
Mercurys were the main movers here, with a 1957 Turnpike Cruiser 4 door hardtop front and center. You can see the odd roof edge above the “Skylight Dual Curve Windshield” which housed the roof level air intakes. The original wheel covers were missing and some pinstriping had been added. To the left was a 1954 Monterey Special Custom Convertible, and amongst the scattered bicycles across the street was a 1957 Chevrolet.
Here was a hard working man that had just arrived at home after a day’s work. Parked behind him were two Plymouth 4 door sedans; a white over black 1956 Belvedere with some rust issues, and a 1963 Valiant V-200. The car in the driveway across the street had the look of a 1966 Oldsmobile Cutlass 4 door sedan.
We are back in Portland for our final image, this time on SE Belmont Street looking towards the west. A 1961 Ford Galaxie with dual fender mounted mirrors was in the foreground with a 1959 or 1960 Studebaker Lark behind it. Further down the street was a Volkswagen Type 1.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
Note: If you wish to see your vintage photos featured at Curbside Classic, send them to us at [email protected].
This is a great selection today—I was young, but still feel able to “step into” every photograph somehow. As a Ford guy, it’s fun to have caught the Edsel, and then the rare-bird Continental, on the street.
(Perhaps photo #2 is some fancy country in in Hudson River valley or New England?)
It’s interesting to see any parked-the-wrong-way car. I’ve lived in municipalities that would let that slide, and others in which it was an automatic and prompt ticket.
I think the little grey car in the snow might be a Fiat 1100
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_1100
Similar snow in London, Winter 1962-3
That 1935-ish Ford looks so dramatically out of place. A 23 year old car was truly rare to see on the street in the 1950s. Nowadays, I wouldn’t even look twice at a 2003 Ford.
I don’t know that 20+ year old cars were that rare then, though I agree that it’s common now. In the mid-sixties, our neighborhood had two Model A’s and a 1939 or 1940 Ford that were regularly driven, and not by collectors. One of the Model A’s was seemingly on its original owner. What actually seemed more unusual to me about these photos was the lack of VW Beetles.
I think ir’s a matter of locale. I grew up in Pittsburgh and became car-aware around 1958. I don’t recall seeing any pre-WW2 cars in any of the neighborhoods around me. The oldest cars spotted were the immediate post-war cars like the 1946-48 Mopars shown in the photos here.
No doubt there were some older cars around, but my guess is they were hidden in garages or back yards. Harsh winters lowered the odds of such cars being in regular use.
I’d venture to say that the picture of the ’57 Turnpike Cruiser was from the early 1960’s; although all the cars are pre-1958, the giveaway is the dog-dish hubcap on the front wheel, which was exclusive to the 1960 Fords. Just thought it was interesting…?
Photo #9 (1957 Turnpike Cruiser 4 door )
In the background are two metal garbage cans. As the youngest boy in a family of nine, its was my duty to put the cans on the street twice a week. As revenge, I would drag each can down the concrete driveway at the last minute just before going to bed. Would drive my sisters crazy with the noise!! My Dad would carp about having to buy new cans every other year because of the holes in the bottom.
When I bought my own home, was never more happy to buy a plastic garbage can with wheels!!
“cute little girl.”
perhaps there are TWO caught in close profile
Wow ~ all these, especially the snowy ones, remind me of being there so long ago .
Those of us who lived in the 50’s and 60’s were, IMO, really lucky as these were common street scenes .
-Nate