"Long Beach Boulevard has a long and winding history. Nestled in the center of Downtown Long Beach, the boulevard was once known as American Avenue until 1959, when the City of Long Beach changed its street signs to reflect the name of our city. For years, Long Beach Boulevard was home to many car dealerships, but change occurred decades later, and many of these dealerships left the city for Signal Hill which put together an aggressive plan to capture the lucrative automobile industry.” Mike Salta Pontiac of Long Beach on American Ave, then Long Beach Blvd. Hello, From our Westside of Long Beach house, it was a short drive to our high school. But, as I also was the person who traded off driving to school with friends living in Bixby Knolls, we usually ended up on American Avenue or as it is now called Long Beach Boulevard. It is changed not only in Long Beach, but as it heads inland through several cities, it is also Long Beach Boulevard. The renaming was strange as it was called American ave. so, running through other local cities was part of the naming game. American cities, etc… The cities of Compton, Lynwood, South Gate, and in the City of Huntington Park, where it turns into Pacific Boulevard. How is that for influencing other cities with your own city name? I am not sure why the city of Long Beach had such power to rename a street that also ran through other cities. Although Long Beach is a much larger city as far as area and population. Strange… American Ave. or Long Beach Boulevard runs straight down to the ocean and in the final mile, a row of downtown auto dealerships were littered on both sides for many blocks. 6th street to 22nd street. some large and other smaller used car lots, as well as various businesses to make up the central street leading to the shoreline. The large Pontiac dealership lot was within two blocks of our high school. We had one friend that bought a new 61 Pontiac from this dealer. So, I thought it was a natural for me to go over after school to try and get a job. We had gone over my friend’s Pontiac for all of the details and functioning of the accessories. I knew that sedan quite well. So, I thought the knowledge was going to be impressive to the sales manager. I did not want to work in the mechanics/repair shop. I wanted to sell Pontiacs. My interview with the manager went smoothly and I presented myself quite well. He was impressed with my answers to all of his “Pontiac” questions (studied like a high school test) and my overall information/experience with building hot rods/drag race cars. We walked out to the lot and he was showing me the new line up and also the used cars. I knew about most of them and was racking up points for a successful interview and for knowing a lot about new Pontiac cars. Jnaki We went back inside and sat down for the final review. It was one of those sit in the empty office and that he would be right back. The typical motion of a car salesman who needed to go away from the sales of a car to anyone left in the office. Upon coming back to the office, he told me that after talking to other sales people, I would not fit in. Why? I would be the only 17 year old teenager on a lot full of older sales guys. My knowledge far surpassed the tests and most of the other older salesmen’s knowledge level. That was a key point. A young kid that was more knowledgeable than the “experienced” car sales people walking around the lot, every day. I still had a year to go for graduation, but could work the afternoon to closing shifts, if necessary, right then. Also, every weekend if necessary, if the family sales guys took off their Saturdays and Sundays. But, the manager said he was sorry to have such a knowledgeable teenager leave, but I just would not fit in with the older sales staff. He offered me a job of delivery prep and delivery of cars to other “local trade” dealers. (a good job to prep a car in the inventory and drive it to another dealer out of the city for a trade, just to make a sale) But I said thanks, but no thanks. Note: Soon afterwards, the blocks long avenue of new/used car lots now claimed the name: “Avenue of Cars.” And so, I drove down to the Chevrolet Dealer, Cormier Chevrolet. Since they saw me drive up and park outside of their showroom in my 1958 Chevy Impala, (my brother had purchased it new, here in Long Beach.) they knew I was not kidding about my Chevy knowledge. But, they too, did not want to hire a teenager, despite me knowing more than 80% of the staff. Cormier Chevrolet downtown L.B.
The Jalopy Journal
