Filed under: Etc., Misc. Auto Shows
Step back in time with vintage color city scenes
Walking through a classic car show, I find it difficult to see the machines with their highly-polished chrome and perfectly-upholstered seats as much more than art. Even attending the Woodward Dream Cruise recently, where the streets were jam-packed with classics in their native environment, wasn't the same as being there in the 50s and 60s.
The Jalopy Journal, however, ran across a forum on a site called SkyscraperCity that takes those same highly-restored cars of today and puts them where they belong. Right back in the 50s and 60s. The photographer was obviously trying to capture skylines and city scenes of the era more so than the cars, but that's why the dozens of color photos posted there are so attractive. Here are the cars we love today in settings when they were nothing more than transportation. Those aren't expensive reproduction whitewalls, those are whitewalls. That 1966 Mustang in St. Louis is nice and shiny not because someone spent $5,000 on a new paint job, but because someone just spent $5,000 on a new Ford.But even though the cars were probably meant to be secondary elements, had the photographer not captured the occasional automobile, most street scenes would have looked much the same as they do today. Which shows how intertwined the automobile is with American culture and history.
Enjoy the photos, find your favorite, dream. But I got dibs on that black early 40s pickup truck in New Orleans, as well as at least one of those '56 Chevys in Des Moines.
[Source: SkyscraperCity via Jalopy Journal]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John Cressy 12:25PM (9/28/2007)
Because whitewalls were so expensive we used porta-walls. When you mounted the tire you would sandwich this white ring (a Porta Wall) between the rim and the tire bead, thus making a whitewall tire for the middle class.
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tio 12:40PM (9/28/2007)
Interesting. two things that stood out to me. The Crosley in front of Union Station in St Louis and the lack of traffic on the highway in Austin. Pretty cool pictures.
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Brad 1:26PM (9/28/2007)
Great photos. I love looking at old pictures and especially since these were in color. They really gave you a good idea of how life was back in those days all across the country. Those 1941 pictures were either taken in the spring or summer judging by how green the trees were. In just a few months after they were taken, life in those cities would be turned upside down after Pearl Harbor. Kind of like looking at a pre 9/11 view of the New York City skyline.
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SPG 1:50PM (9/28/2007)
Beautiful.
Who says car guys don't have taste?
Not me.
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dodgepolara 2:01PM (9/28/2007)
The photos were captured by a gentleman named Chrales Cushman. Many more photos can be found here: http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/cushman/index.jsp
Interestingly, you can find log books that include all his vehicle maintenance records. The Lincoln Zephyr above went over 200,000 miles! Looking at the log book, it never had an engine rebuild. Check out the price of fuel as he logged every fill up. After the Lincoln, he purchased a 58 Ford Sedan, then a 1968 Ford Fairlane. Very interesting site with some amazing photos.
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Doug Stewart 1:47PM (9/29/2007)
Thanks for the link. It's a site you can loose hours in.
dskinner 3:57PM (9/28/2007)
What a great way to look at American history! Some great photos that are well worth while.
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JimboNC 8:40PM (9/28/2007)
It may surprise you that those cars were just as modern to us in those days as today's cars are now. Many did not have radios in them and the ones that did could only get AM stations. The steering wheels were faux-marble, as if stone implied strength and solidity. The seat upholstery was sticky for kids in short pants, also used in those days on passenger train seats. Each age thinks it is the latest, newest, most modern -- which it probably is, but change will overtake it quickly.
Those were the days of 5-digit phone numbers, except in big cities where letters + numbers were just coming into use. The days just after the big Depression when few people owned cars in small towns, it was not unusual to see one car per block on a residential street and that one bought used and probably had a real *trunk* on the back. The reason today's cargo boxes have that name. A folding rack on the back for strapping on a leather trunk (think very large suitcase) when traveling. The sportiest thing a young driver could buy for his jalopy was a spot light, same kind police cars have today. They were eventually outlawed for private cars, they blinded on-coming drivers at night.
Where chrome is overkill today; in 1941 through the 1960s the more chrome the pricier the cars, it denoted luxury and wealth. And is returning on many models for much the same reason, though it's not real chrome. More like Reynold's aluminum bonded to clear mylar.
The attack on Pearl Harbor was not the shock and awe that 9/11 was on television that dreadful morning. It took quite a while for the movies of the attack to reach theaters in Movietone News shorts before the featured film.
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Deuce 1:34AM (10/01/2007)
Viva La H.A.M.B.
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