Last December I shared a gallery of Lincoln-Mercury dealers and I feel it would be a neat idea to begin the year looking at dealers from their parent company, Ford. This is a follow-up of sorts to the Ford dealer post from some months ago, and being January, it appropriately includes a couple of winter shots. We start with the image above, shot at Geo Walker Ford in Des Moines, in 1969.
Andress Ford, Shreveport, LA 1953.
O’Karma Motors Ford, Nanticoke, PA 1956.
J. E. Still Motor Co. Ford, Bay Minette, AL 1959.
Hedrick Ford, Pryor, OK 1961.
Spratley Rogers Ford, Hampton, VA 1962.
Titus-Will Ford, Tacoma, WA 1967.
Joe Grimm Ford, Randallstown, MD 1970.
Town & Country Ford, St. Louis, MO 1971.
This post prompted me to look online for a photo of my hometown Ford dealership, Golden Bear Ford in Berkeley, California. The attached looks to be from 1969 or so. The dealership is long gone, replaced by a high rise office building that is mostly vacant, and has been since it was built. Note the cars parked curbside in the background: lots of Beetles, a Metropolitan, a Volvo 122S, a Mini, and what looks like a Corolla wagon and maybe even a Peugeot 403. That pretty much meshes with my childhood memories. I remember going down there with my Mom in about 1963 to get a promotional model of a Falcon. Wish I still had it but Falcons were pretty boring, so I probably blew it up with a firecracker or doused it in kerosene and burned it. Because that’s what we did when we got bored with toys.
I’ve been to Joe Grimm Ford in Randallstown, we looked at a Mustang there a year or so later than the picture. So many great cars back then, we didn’t know how good we had it1
Knew Town & Country Ford Well. Not far from my Grandparents home in Clayton, Mo. A near suburb of St. Louis and county seat of St. Louis County.
A quick story regarding my relationship with Town and Country Ford.
When I started school in Youngstown, OH in 1954, our next door neighbor, Joe Travers, was the sales manager of a local Ford dealership. Our families became friends and we missed them when he and his wife, Barbara and their two girls, moved away in 1962 so Joe could become a manager at Town and Country Ford.
Fast forward to the early 1970s. In 1971 I accepted a teaching position with the Special School District of St. Louis County. In January of 1974 my wife and I were more than ready to trade our 1970 Malibu HT and we wanted a wagon. We contacted Joe at Town and Country and he put us in a new (leftover) 1973 Gran Torino wagon. I was happy that I was able to buy a car off of Joe, just like my father had done twice in the 1950s.
The Spratley Rogers building is still in use as a Ford dealership, though it’s been extensively modified. The photo in this post was taken when the building was brand new – Spratley Rogers moved there from a smaller building a few miles away.
The dealership itself has changed hands a few times since then, first to Thompson Ford, and now to Wynne Ford, and the building has been covered in modern cladding, but the original brick and window patterns are still visible if you zoom in to the StreetView image below.
And a minor point, the building is located in Hampton, Virginia, rather than Newport News, which is the adjoining city.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/oo9avAt9upqrWpg37
Couldn’t help but think the “60’s pic” of the dealership looked like a “bowling alley”, turned into a dealership.
I thought so too, since so much of the front elevation was just plain brick. I think those areas include the service and parts departments, but still it’s surprising to see a dealership design where the amount of showroom visibility isn’t maximized.
Was just looking (within the last two weeks) at a “Wynne Ford” , used car. Didn’t go as far as looking to see where the dealership was. It fell within the “miles from zip” filter I put in.
Cool, thanks for the tip. I updated the location.
That photo of Joe Grimm Ford from 1970 reminds me of what every normal, modern Ford dealer looked like in my younger days. Time has marched on, because it looks decidedly old-timey now.
Can’t find one “Pinto” in that pic..
Here’s a “Pinto” (sorry, I couldn’t resist). 🙂
Lusting after the “Stang” parked in front of “T&C Ford” (St Louis) . Fantasizing that it’s “gold/black top”. lol
On a related note, since last year Ford doesn’t have dealerships here any longer. There are 73 agents and 127 Ford Service locations nowadays, with a direct connection between manufacturer and consumer. Which means Ford is the first big, mainstream carmaker with this business model. Stellantis is next.
Ford and all the other manufacturers would love to make that switch in the US, but the political clout of the dealers has made that impossible, with their franchise laws enacted in each state. I find it very hard to justify on any grounds, especially as buying goes online. But it’s not likely to change anytime soon.
Only the Japanese and Korean manufacturers are in a wait-and-see mode, for the rest, around 75% of the brands will switch to an other distribution model in the upcoming years. (source: automotive-online.nl)
The Hedrick Ford building in downtown Pryor, Oklahoma is also still standing. It’s currently used as a church:
It appears in remarkably good condition! Diagonal parking used to be popular in small town Ontario. Very hard to spot now.
“Hedrick” gave “green stamps”!!
How many with the purchase of a Thunderbird?
Town & Country Ford in St. Louis, has an attractive retro feel. Whether it was intentional or not, the service area facade has a vintage ’20s-’30s period look.
The original rotating Ford script badge is seen in action, in the Titus-Will Ford signage from the late ’60s.
Interesting to see Ford’s late ’50s attempt at consistent corporate branding, in comparing the illuminated signage at J. E. Still Motor Co. Ford, and Hedrick Ford. Using their iconic Ford script logo. I like it!
That service area does look older, but the entire building was constructed in 1950, as a Pontiac dealership (grand opening ad below).
The Ford dealer took over in 1961, which lasted until the early 1980s. After that the building saw use as a Chevrolet dealer (Jung Chevrolet), and then in the 1990s was used as a furniture leasing business. It was demolished about 20 years ago, and the site is now a condominium complex.
I sincerely appreciate your thorough research… again! Genuinely sorry, to see such an attractive older building lost. And so many business ventures, that may have failed along the way.
Thanks – it’s a cold, rainy day here, so I had ample time to stay indoors and do some research on these photos – which is something I love doing anyway. Plus, it seemed like more fun than arguing with people over electric vehicles on today’s other CC article!
lol Yes, when dman posted that Question of the Day article topic earlier, I knew sparks were going to fly. Pun intended. Shades of CC circa 2014, or so. When squabbles were routine. 🙂
Sorry about that, my intention was to hear CCer’s thoughts on ICE evolution, not EV’s. I won’t make that mistake again.
Did anyone but me notice the S & H Green Stamps sign on the Hedrick Ford building? Did Ford dealers at one time give out or redeem these? My mother was an avid collector of S & H Green Stamps as well as Top Value Stamps and many of our household appliances in the 1960’s were purchased with these.
We collected “S&H Green” and “Plaid Stamps” and…”Rahleigh Coupons”. Our small town’s version of “mo dern”.
As I recall in the early 1960s at least it was possible to redeem Top Value stamps for a new Ford.
I’m not sure how this worked…
I just remember seeing a Top Value catalog featuring the whole line of 1962 Ford’s.
If you look at green or yellow stamp catalogs, they would list certain vehicles which could be obtained based on the number of books submitted.
Most of these were for church groups or local charities where members or congregations would pool their stamps/books. The vehicle (many a wagon) was used by the pastor as part of their duties to administer to the flock or sponsored programs.
I suspect that just like Ford or Chevy families, there were S&H Green Stamp or Blue Chip Stamp families. We were the latter, when it came to stamps.
I’m digging the Poncho rag top above, IIRC it’s a 1954 model, long ago I owned a 1954 Pontiac Coupe, fully loaded .
-Nate
I went looking for Center City Ford in downtown San Diego. That was the place for Ford speed parts in the 60s and 70s and there were always local racers in there. I got speed parts for my 68 Cougar from them. I’m not sure if this picture is them. It is at 1200 Broadway in downtown San Diego. A dealership through 2001 till the property was bought by the Salvation Army after the dealer moved out.
The Salvation Army demolished the building in August 2010 for a parking lot. Then the sheet hit the fan big time. That rare Art-Deco building was designed by the guy who designed the Ford Art-Deco building in Balboa Park in the 30s. He also did this one. Art-Deco buildings are rare in San Diego but if you have seen the County Administration building you have seen a glorious one. Preservationist went bat sheet crazy over this and how it could occur without notification. Last thing I saw was that the Army was laible for a $250,000 fine in September 2010.
I see several Country Squire wagons (including a Falcon) in these photos which are most interesting.
However, would like to jump into my Time Machine and grab the two door wagon on the sales floor of O’Karma Motors Ford. That would be the icing on the cake for me!!
I’m looking for a photo of Warren Ford in Naperville Illinois 1971. Any chance you have one? Thanks
If anyone comes across a picture of Yount-Mays dealership in St. Louis I would greatly appreciate it. It was on 2222 Market Street.