@Witchhammer Hillvilla, where the Chart House restaurant is now located on Terwilliger Blvd, was most famous for its pumpkin pie. Hello, When we travel, we always stop at places that remind us of the past history of our era. A place like Portland, Oregon has plenty of great places to dine. We found many different, but excellent restaurants, like the Kennedy School Restaurant in the Northeast region. A fabulous elementary school converted to a fabulous restaurant. Reminded us of our old schools in So Cal. We lived near an elementary school from 1946 to 1998 in Long Beach. My wife lived near one in OKC during those younger days. So, when we went to Portland for a week, there were plenty of choices. But, one kept drawing us to visit, as we knew the history of the now huge chain of establishments everywhere. The Chart House. it was on our list of possible places if we could not find another place to have a nice dinner. We have been involved in the Chart House Restaurants since the first one on the Westcoast was created in Newport Beach in 1963. One of my friends, we surfed with regularly, was the manager there, being just hired prior to the grand opening. So, of course he was hit with plenty of requests for jobs as cook, server, wait staff and whatever was available at this new restaurant. I was in a lineup of local surfers we all knew and each one thought we were going to be on the new staff at this adventure in dining. It was something new and exciting… plus, it was owned by Joey Cabell, a well known surfer. By the time the weeks before the grand opening, they had already filled the first round of staff for the grand opening. But, the menu was new and a little on the “out of reach” for most of the wait staff. So, we could look and wonder for dinner. The jobs were considered the top of the line for atmosphere and for quite some time, dining there was not an option. It was not until I took my girlfriend/now wife, to dinner there, in college that it was an experience we both enjoyed and cherished. Jnaki These days, the Chart House is a big time chain restaurant, but its roots still belong to So Cal. There is one located high above the cliff top area of the Dana Point Harbor that is below. It is overlooking the famed, Killer Dana surf spot. And, the view toward San Diego is one of the best in the West! The food, still outstanding and a favorite with the locals… YRMV Dana Point Harbor
Yes, I now remember referring to them as cruisers also. As I recall what is the cruisers were more on the flat side
Very few custom cars from the 50's truly improved on the manufactures original designs, and in fact, many of them were downright hideous! Most of them had structural problems and "bugs" that were never workd out and owners soon realized how impractical they were to actually drive. About 10 years later when the massive amounts of body work and thick paint started going bad, many were parked, abandoned, and eventually scrapped.
I totally agree as some were hideous,if I were to get one of those old customs the hideous would be removed if I were to keep it.
Have to agree with you. Ive seen some wild things like using electrical BX welded to wheel wells to form radius openings for wheel clearance and bicycle pedal arms for clutch linkage or sedans made into pick up's, quad headlights, lake pipes, mile high fins and so on. When I think about it, It ran from the very early 50s to the mid 60s. I think the next thing was drag car oriented cars as in swapping high horse power motors into smaller older cars. Now it's quiet, well mannered sedans pushing 5/6 hundred horse power that can run the quarter in the 12/13s with the air on comfortably. It's a curve.
Uh.... @jeepsterhemi While I applaud the inventiveness of these high-wire death defying contraptions, I gotta think someone was out of their rabbit-assed minds to actually construct and use them!!! Not for me! Those old-timey Canadiens were either very hardy or consumers of vast quantities of Molson's! Or maybe the alcoholic consumption takes place after one has successfully traversed the "Tramway of Death'!
Hey @jnaki Thanks for posting. I wasn't aware of the history of the chain. Since you've mentioned your trips up I-5 in the past, I thought I'd mention there USED to be a Chart House on the Vancouver, Washington side off the Interstate Bridge, next to the bridge, to the East. It was a nice, enjoyable spot for a great dinner and pleasant viewing of the Columbia River and the goings on of river traffic. I don't know what caused its demise, but I suspect accessibility might have been a factor.... You could reach out and touch it from the bridge, but unless you had local knowledge, it was hard to get to.
The name cruiser skirts came from the fact these came on 57 Mercury Turnpike cruisers from the factory.
"Bubble" skirts were supposed to make a car look lowered when it really wasn't. But they never followed the lines of the body and often scraped the pavement.
The Jalopy Journal
