Art & Inspiration Chevy dealership found in downtown riverside ca. With original signage ~ pictures

So, my wife and i are cruising downtown Riverside this evening on our way to see a special exclusive showing of "Elvis on Tour" remastered 1972 film, when we notice that the facade on top of one of the old buildings has been removed . For years this building was an antique store, and i remember the previous owner telling me that it used to be a dealership. Years ago i did some research and found out it was indeed the old "De Anza Chevrolet . What we saw in front of us literally stopped us in our tracks and we wanted to share it with all of you that appreciate history, art, automobilia,and achitecture. The facade had been completely boxed in on the upper 5 feet of the entire front portion of the building. They built a steel tubing frame,covered it with sheet metal, then sealed it tight . When it was removed today it uncovered the original lettering from the 1940's which says "DE ANZA CHEVROLET COMPANY" . This dealership was located in this location in the 30's & 40's until it moved to a much larger lot in what is known as the "Auto Center". The way things are in our town this original lettering probably wont be around by the weekend but again, we just had to share this with you guys. If anyone wants to see it you can find this at the 3600 block of Market street - just north of Mission Inn (7th street) next to the newly restored Fox Theatre. Enjoy!

 

More pics

 

Super cool.

 

More pictures. Can you believe this ?!?!?!?

 

What a cool building! Such a shame to be covered up with ****py tin signage.
Is the building vacant, it's not being pulled down is it?

 

you need to buy that building

 

What would be worse, covering it back up for another 50 years, or taking off the facade and painting over it?

 

KOOL Axle , makes ya wonder what else is 'hidden' on other buidings. Ya need to get in that buiding , who knows what is hidden ,under floors etc .......???

 

Maybe the warhouse is still full

 

It's great you were in the right place at the right time. Those old buildings are the best.

 

Thats pretty cool! I've lived in Riverside most of my life and I don't remember DeAnza Chevy being downtown. My only memory is of them being on Magnolia. One block up from Tuxies. Which is now Taylor appliances. Despite loving Riverside and not having any plans for leaving again we are governed by a bunch of dip****s. They came within a gnats whisker of tearing down the Mission Inn. How the DeAnza sign survived is amazing. Hope the sign gets covered up soon. It the powers see that it will ripped down in a flash.

 

Very cool, had been in that antique store years ago. Who knows what lurks under remodled facades. Thanx for posting the pix. ~Sololobo~

 

Its not being torn down but at this point i seriously doubt they will leave the sign painting as found. We'll see.

 

That's pretty cool Axle, thanks for sharing it with us. I can't believe how well preserved it is!

 

Too cool, thanks. Hopefully they preserve it.

 

Cool!I grew up in Riverside and used to cruise Market St and drag race on North Main and Agua Mansa and I never knew they were there.I also been in those antique stores several times.

 

Wow. What a beautiful building.

Only in California. We are so ashamed of our history and art deco architecture that we hide it or tear it down at the first opportunity.

The wife and I started taking pics around Bakersfield a few weeks ago for a web project we're looking to start. We're focusing on old signs and architecture. We need to hurry up too. Who knows how long the owners will keep the treasures up?

The idea for our project was inspired by two threads here on the HAMB--the Old Signs thread and the LA History thread. I've spent many hours taking in all the sites in them.

Ryan's History of Los Angeles: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=446547&highlight=los+angeles

and Ryan's Old Signs: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=232757&highlight=neon+signage

 

Axle, that is beyond rad. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

 

Alex, that's *****en! Things like that (though not nearly as cool) come up occasionally in Long Beach, and I'm always really stoked to see them--and then really sad 'cause I know they're about to disappear again.

(The victrola sign on the corner of the Alex's Bar building is a exception.)

That's a really cool-looking building, too, in addition to have really neat signage.

 

Doesnt progress, just sometimes, leave a lot to be desired??

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That is awesome Axle, thanks for the photos!
I have lived in the area all my life and only remember the De Anza Dealership being by the Sages store and RR tracks on Magnolia.
Then the freeway and the auto center arrived...

 

Hopefully at least the building will get a p***! It's a beauty-

 

I drove by it last night and saw the same thing! pretty refreshing to see, considering the "beautification" being done in Riverside now. You hope it isn't torn down for some new shop, like that starbucks complex 4 blocks down...

 

makes you wonder what sort of idiot decided to cover all that architectural detail in the first place.

 

I would love to buy the place, cover the interior walls with photo's of how it was as a dealership in its Art Deco glory, and make an Automobile, Gasoline, Oil, and America/Route 66 museum out of the place. Maybe even get Chevrolet to help co sponsor it.......ok, i've got to wake up from my day dream..............

 

That would be another architect....

Beautiful detailing.

Thanks for taking the pics and taking the time to post them!

 

For 65 years there was a "Chevrolet for 1938" sign painted on a building in Seattle right next to the viaduct that runs along the water. It was in great shape and looked fine, but they did some upgrades to the building a few years ago an the first thing they did was paint out the sign. Nothing else on the outside of the building, just new paint over a great image.

 

all thtough downtown Riverside, you can see re-faced buildings. At the corner you can see the old art deco facade still under the new stucco and paint!

 

It's really surprising how common that used to be.