Red Owl Super Market, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Victory Market, Margaretville, NY.
American Legion Post, Paso Robles, CA.
ACME Market, Haverford, PA.
Samson Auto Salvage, Los Angeles, CA.
Bohack Market, Queens, NY.
Arell Equip, Co. Inc., Pacific Highway, Seattle, WA.
Grand Union Market, Crown Point, NY.
Gates Tires, Mar Vista, CA.
Wetmore’s Garage, Ferndale, MI.
Holiday Playland, Point Pleasant, NJ.
Cranmer’s Baths, Long Branch, NJ.
Main St., Alta Vista, Kansas.
Blockfront, Ozone park, NY.
Newman’s Drugs, Lake Huntington, NY.
Photos by John Margolies from the Library Of Congress.
Wow, an AMC bonanza, with the wagon and the yellow Matador up top, then the Javelin outside of Bohack’s market.
I’m pretty sure I’ve been in that Acme Market in Haverford, PA. I believe my paternal grandmother used to shop at that location.
There are two ’65 Classic’s as well. A blue one at the American Legion Post, and the left rear corner of a white one peeking out in front of the cafe on Main St., Alta Vista. And a ’62 or ’63 Studebaker Lark hardtop hiding on the right at Gates Tires.
Excellent bunch of photos. The 1971 Electra in the Acme parking lot really stands out for me.
What also stands out are just how much more interesting street scenes, and in particular commercial districts – where you would find the supermarkets and drug stores and such that populate these photos – were in the 1970s. And frankly, really through the ‘aughts. The bland, “clean” modern style is just so boring to me.
For example, the lede photo now looks like (the attached and this link):
https://maps.app.goo.gl/JUWwK3M1qxmJ7gmQ7
Better? I don’t think so. Supermarket, bars, restaurants, and I think a liquor store replaced with a bland – now apparently vacant – set of non-descript storefronts and no parking. This is why every downtown looks like every other downtown and it’s all so incredibly boring.
Pardon the pedant in me but that’s a ’72 Buick. The boards at Point Pleasant beach and the bath house certainly bring back memories. Bath houses no longer exist along the Jersey shore, probably related to land values, but they were great for day trippers. You spend the day at the beach then clean-up for evening activities. Don’t know what people do anymore.
Is that a ’33 Willys on top of Samson’s Auto Salvage?
And PLEASE tell me there’s a Roadrunner parked at Acme market…
Yes, that’s a Willys 77. But what are the other things on the roof? Leftover parts racks?
I don’t see a Road Runner at Acme’s, Matt. If you are speaking of the black car behind the ‘West 30’ sign that looks like a ’74-’76 Duster to me.
Acme… roadrunner…
No?
Pair of 76 or 77 Cutlass Supremes at the Holiday Playland. Both sporting landau rooves and the same colour interiors. Looks like the same wheel covers too.
Wonder which one got there first and said, “Hey there’s another car just like mine!”
I’m not sure the colour of the Mustang II in that same shot enhances its look positively.
Recall a # of “Maverick’s”, “Torino’s” about that color as well.
The white Cutlass appears to have body-colored wheel covers, which I haven’t seen on one before, but the Nova LN and ’77 Eldorado & Fleetwood had them.
Both of the Cutlass’s are ’77 models. The green one is a Supreme Brougham, which came with the pillow style seats. The white one is a Salon, which was the one with the ‘Euro’ flair and came with plush, high back bucket seats and the color keyed wheel covers. There is another Colonnade 2 door on the far right, but I can’t tell which brand since the greenhouses were all the same.
Can picture “Edith Bunker” entering/exiting “Bohack’s”, in “Queens”. Not sure if I knew there was a place called “Ozone Park”. H’mm.
I took a double-take with Ozone Park too – never heard of it before. I found that block – it’s the 9600 block of 101st St. StreetView link below:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/kHdtKxuXX6Ae4m227
The Red Owl might be part. Of Hi-Lake shopping center. It was partly destroyed during the George Floyd unrest a few years ago
It looks to me like that Red Owl is in Northeast Minneapolis, not Hi-Lake. The brick building in the background later housed a beauty training academy. I don’t know if that is still there, however.
I started looking for some of these modern-day locations, and absolutely didn’t expect Samson Auto Salvage in Los Angeles to still be in business – and looking very much the same:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Lvt6DhBC1AvVuRA7A
Too bad the yellow Subaru is gone…
Grand Union looks like a very old building, maybe colonial era. Historical preservers wouldn’t allow it to be modified like that now. I expect the original builders would be happier to know that it was useful.
That Grand Union is now an antique store. The village of Crown Point was settled around 1800, but the fort a few miles away on Lake Champlain was first built by the French in 1731, then rebuilt by the British in 1759. The ruins of the fort are a state historical site.
Samson’s is a serious grease pit, it’s on Alameda in South Central .
-Nate
Great collection of Americana! I remember Bohack Stores, which were principally in the Borough of Queens, in New York City. The stern exterior exemplifies the need for less break-in activity at night. As for The Grand Union in Crown Point, NY, this is a small town. It’s a treasure. Thanks.
I know we’re supposed to be focused on the cars, but I kept getting distracted by the prices in the supermarket shots 😃. Thanks for the memories.
Grand Union corporate probably wasn’t too happy with the already long-outdated branding on the Crown Point store. I wonder if they ever decided the area was worth a new store on the edge of town or if that building got a plastic-lightbox “red dot” sign before it was all over.
That being said there are a few stores in that part of the world where the Grand Union name’s reappeared, whether to maintain the trademark or otherwise.
The Paso Robles picture appears to be a Masonic Temple.
Loved the shot of the Red Owl in first photo. Brought back childhood memories. The last one I knew of was the one in Cohasset MN. It burnt to the ground in the late 90’s.
Great photos, Rich. My faves are the rusty blue ’66 Impala Super Sport at Victory Market, the black over white ’68 Eldorado at Acme Market, the tan over brown ’71 Eldorado at Samson’s (you can keep the wide whites), and the black ’66 Fleetwood Brougham at Ozone Park.
Red Owl N E along w White Castle Great Mpls a nice surplus store. Also Best Steak House.
Wetmore’s is still on Woodward Ave in Ferndale. That ’64 Chrysler has been up in the tower since the late ’60s. The wobbly front wheels are hooked to an electric motor to spin. There has been some sort of junk car up in that tower since they opened in 1928.
What is the car in Wetmore’s garage (roof)? Grill looks familiar but I can’t figure it out.
1963 Chrysler New Yorker?
Wetmore’s is also located where the “Deram Cruise” is every August. Over 1,000,000 people bring their classic s and, drive up and down Woodward avenue, going by Wetmore’s.
“Across the US”? Seriously? Change the title to just “Street Views from the 70s”. You did not cross the US. You tiptoed in the upper states; then did some tapping in California. You did not cross the US in my opinion. You cannot please everyone.
With that said, I enjoyed looking at the cars from that time in the photos you did have to offer.
Where the Toyotas?
I’ll see your Mustang II and raise you a pair of Cutlasses… Alta Vista Kansas? I spent a month there one night… thank you, you’ve been a great audience…drive safely!
I would actually like to be able to read the bumper stickers on the back of the clapped out Chevrolet on that first picture…