Art & Inspiration Traditional images that need no explanation.

Hello,

We have been hot rod/drag race guys since the early 50s. As we became teens, we got involved heavily in drag racing. Then the surf scene came into play and it has been a long road at the beach/coastal areas for the past 60 years. So, what is more surf scene than cool looking 1939 Ford Woody Wagon?


This was the inspiring photo from the way back time machine. A couple of guys from a So Cal coastal town/city building hot rods and drag race vehicles since the very early days…A kind of history that stands out in the field of hot rods and drag racing.

Dode Martin and Jim Nelson started the Dragmaster Company in Carlsbad, CA. It is a short drive south from the OC, but back in those early days, it was a long drive from Long Beach down to Carlsbad. Like all coastal towns that are now cities, the sleepy small town stopped at the newish freeway or coastal road that ran from the border to well past Los Angeles. One side was farmers fields or open pastures. The homes were small coastal/beach style and the beaches were fairly empty of the masses of people.

Currently, little sleepy Carlsbad has now expanded inland many miles and homes, school, businesses have all gone a little crazy. But, for empty land, it is hard not to develop so more people can enjoy So Cal lifestyle despite being 10-15 miles inland from the ocean.

old art from the files...

This scenario sounds a lot like most coastal cities, today. Heck, even Laguna Beach, one of the most intense coastal cities all along the Westcoast was a small village and had lots of empty spaces, with a few residents enjoying pristine beaches. It is too bad that our mom was not forceful enough to follow through with her early 1950s investments. She had always wanted to live in a coastal beach community and wanted to buy ocean front land in Laguna Beach. Our dad nixed it as he had to work in Los Angeles and Laguna Beach is/was several hours away down the sleepy coastline.

When we used to drive down the Coast Highway through Carlsbad, it was a small town with some great waves. We drove right by the early Dragmaster Company Complex without knowing it. The local waves were calling our names. But, later on, my wife and I walked the whole area of the Carlsbad Village with their small shops and curios.

These days, the shops are pretty much the same goods and wares. But, during the pandemic, like all small towns/cities, the restaurants have expanded their dining choices to outside dining on specialty cordoned off dining areas. The old Dragmaster Shop is now a restaurant.

A historic building, once the hub of drag racing in the U.S., got a facelift in the downtown village of Carlsbad. The old auto-mechanic shop and quonset hut in the 2700 block of State Street was once the site of Dragmaster Company. We probably drove by it many times during our Carlsbad/San Diego area surfing road trips as teens. YRMV

The old industrial buildings are now a part of the busy upgraded community scene.

Building sections of the project are named after Dragmaster’s history, such as Quonset, Shop, Garage, and the driveway between the two buildings, where outdoor diners will soon congregate: the Speedway.

“The old service bay’s doors will be kept,” There will even be an old dragster in the center of the restaurant, donated by the former owners. These coastal projects, usually take into account the history of a building.

Being only three blocks from the beach, the 2500–2700 blocks of State Street — once a heavily industrialized area along the railroad tracks — is being transformed into stylish eateries, boutiques, and three-story townhome buildings.

After being sold in 1995, auto shops came and went from the Dragmaster site. The final shop closed in 2013.

 

Love the timimg poimter.

Gary