Martin Pontiac Cadillac, Lancaster, CA.
Morton Cadillac, Charleston, WV.
Lone Star Cadillac Oldsmobile, Dallas, TX.
1960 Biarritz at Peter Fuller Cadillac/Oldsmobile showroom, Boston, MA.
Les Bierk, Cadillac, Elmhurst, IL.
Les Bierk, used car lot.
Mitchell Cadillac, Bay City, MI.
Heintz Pontiac Cadillac, Mankato, MN.
Coffey Cadillac, Ann Arbor, MI.
Heritage Cadillac, Lombard, IL.
Heritage Cadillac, Lombard, IL.
Don Lee Cadillac, San Francisco, CA.
Peter Fuller Cadillac was on car row on Commonwealth Ave in Boston. He was joined by Clark and White Lincoln Mercury and other dealerships back in the day.
Peter Fuller was a multi floor dealership with ramps to drive the cars to the upper showrooms. The Fuller Building is now part of Boston University.
Nice assortment of pictures. I enjoy looking at old photos such as these.
The picture taken at Fuller Cadillac reminds me of new car model introductions from 50s and 60s. I recall the media onslaught to get people into the showrooms on that “special day” to see the new…the beautiful,,,the restyled…(insert make, model here). A Who will be the first to drive home a new model car?
The past decades have produced way more than enough new car models without the new car hype. So many that are just the same model with a different division’s name on it. Meh.
Man, looking at those old pictures and seeing the stunning Cadillac cars instead of all these ugly boxes (SUV’s) today, makes me want to vomit.
I’ve loved Cadillac since I was 10 years old. I find the “offerings” of today to be pathetic and sad. The Escalade is the biggest grift known to man (at least in the auto world). IMO, it’s worse than the Cimarron. All they do is gussy up a Chevy Tahoe and charge a 25 grand premium. The sad thing is that people fall for it.
Bring back classy dealership showrooms and bring back some true Cadillac cars.
I’m old enough to remember the Lone Star dealer in Dallas as a kid.. Had miles of incredible neon of many colors. I”m fairly sure it was on Lemon Ave or Mockingbird Lane.
Likely torn down mid 70’s and Lone Star moved to the suburbs, and eventually closed as they couldn’t compete with Dallas’s Cadillac mega dealer Sewell Village.
The ironically named Lemon Ave was the address of many new car dealers in it’s haydsy from the 40’s to 70’s., even Rolls Royce was there. Then many BHPH’s into the early 2000’s as Lemon Ave declined, then disappeared as most of the buildings were torn down to make room for unaffordable luxury apartments, trendy restaurants and boutiques.
The Morton Cadillac building in Charleston is still standing. I think this building was used as a Packard dealership before Cadillac – it remained a Cadillac building (though under different names) until the 1980s, and afterwards served as a Volvo dealership for a while.
The address is 1311 Virginia St. E.
StreetView link:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/FuJUckLLXzycaWFt8
Don Lee Cadillac, San Francisco. Don Lee was not only the Cadillac dealer but the Cadillac distributor for the region. When he gave up the business, Cadillac Motor Car Division took it over. Later it contracted out its dealership to Kohlenberg Cadillac in this building, and Fazackerly Cadillac in a newer building in Stonestown, on the southwestern outskirts of The City. This building, from 1921, survives as a theater.
Image from a comment in an earlier CC post about Cadillac dealers.
Yep…
https://bayarearadio.org/featured/kfrc-don-lee-building
https://noehill.com/sf/landmarks/nat2001001179.asp
Here’s what I could find:
Martin Pontiac Cadillac, Lancaster, CA. (I can’t tell which corner this existed on.)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/NXQ1FziqSBGk6HLB6
Morton Cadillac, Charleston, WV.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/bm2yXwoFcZtwS4Np6
Lone Star Cadillac Oldsmobile, Dallas, TX.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/3DSVB2og4LWMVVaB6
Les Bierk, Cadillac, Elmhurst, IL. (this is the used car lot)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/MaiXHGQcdcJNJGeG6
Coffey Cadillac, 502 E Washington St, Ann Arbor, Mi
https://maps.app.goo.gl/gnoKq2wWRw6krUJx9
Mitchell Cadillac was located at 1124 Washington Ave. in Bay City. The site is now a County bus station:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZC5tmF4gLVZnQiCc7
That dealership had an interesting history because it was founded in 1904 (as Bay City Auto Co.), and was Cadillac’s first independent dealership. It wasn’t always located at 1124 Washington – the earlier building was at 1007 Saginaw St. The dealership itself lasted until 1979.
I associate Don Lee with Harley Earl, Southern California, and cars for the stars, but Wiki says he was distributor for the whole west coast.
I have a one-foot replica of the blue “Cadillac Service” sign hanging in my kitchen.
I remember several Cad/Olds dealers, but there was probably less clientele overlap with Pontiac, which may or may not be a good thing.
Later Don Lee got into broadcasting as well as cars. He bought part of the Mutual Broadcasting System, and it was called Mutual-Don Lee for several years.
My sister worked for Mutual in DC for a couple of years in the 80s before their “star” Larry King left for CNN.
Can anyone identify the guy in the white cardigan – who seems to be the customer – in the Don Lee photo? I’m guessing he’s a celebrity of some sort (professional athlete?) since there is a camera man and seemingly reporters in the background.
I’ll take a wild guess. Not the 49ers or the Giants after looking at their rosters. However, the Warriors could be it and if so my guess is Al Attles. With the Warriors from 1960-71 and coach 1969-83.
There’s another possibility regarding that photo. One or more civil rights groups protested against Don Lee Cadillac in the mid 1960s regarding allegedly discriminatory hiring practices. (Don Lee wasn’t necessarily singled out… there were protests against other employers as well.) The image below shows one of those protests.
In looking through the showroom windows in the vintage shot, the sidewalk in front of the building seems crowded, and I see at least one person holding what appears to be a sign similar to the over-the-chest protest signs in the picture below.
I suppose there’s a possibility that the folks in the showroom represent the civil rights group leadership (NAACP or Congress for Racial Equality, for instance) and the Don Lee management personnel, as they prepare to talk over the issues. That would account for the news crew as well.
Just a guess, but it may fit here.
Not a bad guess. I , too, saw the crowd in the background but didn’t notice the sign.
I bought a 57 coupe de ville from Clark and White used 700 best car ever
By the 1960’s here in western New York the only stand-alone Cadillac dealerships were in cities: Tinney in Buffalo, Valley in Rochester. All other dealerships were generally dualled with Oldsmobile, though there was Chief Pontiac-Cadillac, Rt 5 & 20 Leroy, NY.
Oldsmobile dealers only had a ~$800 price gap between a 98 and Cadillac 62 to convince a prospect to bridge moving up. On the other hand, a Pontiac dealer was dealing with a ~$1,500 price gap between their product lines, similar to the problem Lincoln-Mercury dealers had. The difference was Pontiac dealers had a stronger, more in-demand car than did Mercury agencies who lived on Comet sales for the most part. Although there were some stand-alone Mercury dealerships, the only such for Lincoln were in major urban areas
Geez, the age, condition and design of those dealerships ran the gambit, from pre-Depression to mid-century modern. So much has changed in terms of presentation. Much less variation.
I wonder what the reaction was at those Cadillac/Pontiac dealers in 1965. When Cadillac introduced a car that copied Pontiac’s unique stacked headlight theme. Personally I would have bought a loaded Bonneville over a Coupe Deville. Not a big fan of the slab sided 65-66 Caddies, 67-68 got some curvier lines and bigger hips, while Pontiac got weird with their front ends.
The big 2 door Bonne is a much better looker for 65, you could get most of the Cadillac options like power windows, a/c, real walnut on the dash, etc. Plus some cool options not available on the Caddy like posi-track,8 lug wheels, bucket seats/console/floor shift, and that sweet 421 tri power V8
I’m lucky enough to have inherited my grandmother’s 62 Cadillac Seville 2 door bought at Don Lee in San Fran in 62 . Grandpa paid $6400.00 for it and was my grandma’s…what’s cool is it’s my grandsons great great grandma’s car . .
Nice…
Anderson Cadillac, 5100 Excelsior Boulevard, St. Louis Park, MN. Now Morrie’s Cadillac, 7400 Wayzata Boulevard (I-394) in Golden Valley. Where you can cross-shop Aston Martin, Bentley and Maserati next door.
Tow Mater photobombing Morton Cadillac pic.
I really enjoy looking at vintage photos of vehicles of our past. I grew up in Cadillacs, my dad only drove Cadillacs up until his passing in 1999. My favorites were his 64 couple de ville and his 1965 coupe de ville, he only drove 2 doors and even owned a few eldorados😊. Great memories looking at these photos. My wife drives a 2022 Escalade that we love a lot! I myself drive a Ford F450 dually as I’m a farmer who depends on my truck everyday but Cadillacs will always have a place in my heart.
I always thought George Olson was a Cadillac dealer in SF. I do remember my Uncle who’s business was in SF but lived in Woodside bought his Cadillacs at Rector in San Mateo
In Sacramento California the very nice Cadillac dealer , Hubacher was at 1 Cadillac Drive, at Howe and Fair Oaks Blvd , the property became so valuable, the new owner about 2008 moved a mile away on Fulton Ave.
Re: Lone Star Cadillac in Dallas Post from Kevin.
It was actually Lemmon Avenue, with two ‘m’s.
Dallas actually had THREE Cadillac dealers in the ’80s! The third was Rodger Meier Olds/Cadillac/Saab off I-635 near the Galleria Mall. That dealership closed just before the Oldsmobile division was shut down. Heard that he died and his family was not interested in running a new car dealer anymore. Sewell Village Cadillac is still going, but it added Lexus, Infiniti, Subaru, and VW, among others, to it’s lineup.
When I was a teenager in 1965 my dad had a body shop in NJ across from a Buick/Cadillac dealer. His shop had 3 ‘65 Cadillacs for repairs. I’ll never forget sitting in a triple black fleetwood never saw so many window switches in a car before. It impacted me so much decades later I purchased a ‘65 deville conv just sold it last week had in 35 years( after looking at these pics). I should have never sold that car!
Martin Pontiac/Cadillac in Lancaster, CA was located at Sierra Hwy & Jackman or Ivesbrook. The attached photo shows where I believe Martin Cadillac was located.. Up until the 1990’s and the auto mall, Sierra Hwy was home to the majority of car dealerships in Lancaster (Antelope Valley). The location in the picture is now occupied by an apartment complex. The old Martin Cadillac location later became Blessing Buick and then Holiday Buick Olds and finally a place that specialized in driveshafts. Ultimately Martin became Blumel-Martin Pontiac, Cadillac & GMC located at 10th St. West & Avenue K. A spot now occupied by a center containing a Dunkin Donuts and other eateries.
Rare to see anything about old Lancaster car dealers! Kudos to whoever found or had the photo!
My aunt was a car show model back in the day at Cobo Hall in downtown Detroit. I really miss those days 😪.
Loving these pictures from my youth .
-Nate