I had one of those like the pick up version. Used it to run to the parts store for parts for the service station I had in SLO. Damned thing was tippy when cornering fast. Yes, we hopped it up with more voltage. I had mine in ther late 70s, so it was already old.
This building looks identical to the Texaco station that was at Sunset and Barrington in Brentwood when I was a teenager. I would think it's the same building, but the lot looks different than the one in Brentwood.
Tony, this photo was taken about 1940, long before you were a teenager....so could it be the same one?
It could be, Doug. We moved to Brentwood in '51, by which time there were many more buildings in the immediate area (behind the gas station). Assuming that it's the same station, then the street running through the left front corner of the picture is Barrington, the street behind it is Barrington Court, and Sunset would be running through from left to fight in the plane of the image. I THINK that Sunset ran closer to the station building, so there's too much lawn in the foreground. That's the thing that has me uncertain it's the same building.
"Please return your seats to the upright position. We are about to land in Los Angeles." The friendly voice of Western Airlines stewardess "Anne" crackles over the aircraft intercom in 1949.
When I first arrived in Los Angeles in 1973, I was amazed at a couple of things...the amount of cars and how nice they looked, especially the old ones. Also the ice plants that grew along the freeways. Never had those in Milwaukee. Also, I seem to remember a restaurant that I was at. I had asked the owner for work to pay for a meal and some extra money ( I was hitch hiking around the country) I remember having to wait for them to open and it was near a lagoon and the air was heavy with Magnolia scent. This place was not near any busy street or downtown. It was isolated and was close to some kind of park. I think it was near to the Hollywood Bowl. Does this sound familiar? Also, not one single mention of Cal Worthington Ford? The commercials were funny with his "dog" Spot.
This '46-48 Cadillac was equipped with a huge array of accessories that permitted it to drive across country non-stop. It towed a tank trailer full of gasoline, and had running boards around the sides that permitted the passengers to get out of the car and walk back to the trailer. It was equipped with the drinking fountain shown, and a showerhead that stuck up out of the front fender. I guess food (and toilet?) were in the trailer too. It was featured in a bunch of magazines like Motor Trend and Mechanix Illustrated in the early '50s.
Cal Worthington came out here after WWII, and worked selling used cars for Earl "MadMan" Muntz. Earl eventually sold one of his car lots in Los Angeles to Cal, a few years later.... A couple of other fellows came through the employ of The Muntz Car Company, including a gentleman who was helping with the advertising of the cars. His name was Robert Peterson. Founder of HotRod Magazine... Muntz was the largest used car dealer in the world immediately following WWII, with annual sales reaching 72 million dollars as those returning from the Pacific theater got discharged on the west coast with a pocketful of cash, and a need for wheels...
I'd forgotten about Cal but loved his commercials and his dog Spot. After a WWII military career in which he piloted B-17's on 29 combat missions over Germany earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and other decorations. Discharged after the war as a captain. Calvin Coolidge "Cal" Worthington's 1st car lot was a $25 a month dirt lot in Corpus Christi, TX. The first week sold three cars, including his own. Profit was $500. After that, he said he never owned another car, he'd just borrow one from the dealership He made enough selling used cars to start trading in war surplus. Thats what brought him to California in 1948, where it took him nearly two years to sell a ship full of corroded welding equipment hed bought. He cleared $13,000, which was enough to buy a Hudson dealership from Earl "Madman" Muntz . In 1959 he started hosting a 3hr country music TV show every Saturday and Sunday on KTLA. It was called "Cal's Corral," and broadcast from his dealership with guests that over the years included Buck Owens, Johnny Cash and Roger Miller. TV commercials that made Cal famous began in 1971 as a parody of competitor Chuck Lambert's ads which featured his German Shepard named Storm. Worthington's first "My Dog Spot" commercial featured a gorilla. "I found this little fella down at the pound, and he's so full of love," he said to the camera. Over the years, the commercials in which he always referred to the animals as his dog Spot, featured a penguin, camel, bull, giraffe, elephant, bear, tiger, chimps, goats, horses, snakes and many others. Through the 1960s, he was the nations top Dodge dealer; he even inspired a national Dodge ad campaign, The Good Guys in the White Hats. Go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal! "I'll give you the best price on a car or I'll eat a bug" "I've got a gajillion used cars!" I'll stand upon my head till my ears turn red to make you a better deal! Cal has sold over a million cars and trucks. In his heyday he owned 27 dealerships and has grossed over 300 million dollars a year.
Thanks for the story on Cal, Special Ed and Lowcat. Much appreciated. Closest thing we have in Milwaukee is Ernie Von Shcleidorn, a VW dealer at first, but branched into other makes as well. Known for his heavy German accent saying "Who do you know want's to buy a car".
Wow! I remember these places. I grew up by Pico and Westwood, born 1948. I took Karate at the WLA Karate School on Sawtelle and SM Bl. Great pics thanks.
Mazooma, BrerHare, and the rest of the contributors to this post: YOU GUYS ROCK! I was born in Pasadena and I a the fifth generation in my family born in California. These photos bring back tons of memories. As a car guy I grew up in the shadow of my Mom who drag raced a '39 Ford in Pasadena when she was going to PCC. Later my day got into SCCA and had several MGs and a Triumph that he raced around California. By the time I got my first car I was working at Earl's Toys on Victory Blvd. across from the Sears at Valley Plaza. We used to cruise Van Nuys Blvd. on Wednesday nights and we street raced behind the airport and up on San Fernando Rd. My first full time job was with Railroad Supply on S. Victory in Burbank. I got hired there after building my own locomotive in my High School Metal Shop and running it at the Live Steamers in Griffith Park. I ended up later working for Dick Guldstrand at his shop in Culver City and on the racing team - we used to call the area "Gasoline Alley" because almost every other shop was somehow related to the speed business. Traco Engineering was next door and Shelby's place was on the other side of Hughes Aircraft. I also worked for Kurt Hamilton for a while building hot rods. Kurt was a real piece of work but we had some great times there - Along the way Tommy "Itchy" Otis became a good friend and was always good for a laugh when we hung out at his first shop in Burbank. Also got to meet Roth, Steve Stamford, Dutch, and a lot of other legends in the racing and hot rod business. Now I'm out here on the East Coast and missing all the great times in LA! BUT - I'm now working on a history of the little three wheeled cars from Long Beach known as Autoettes. I am now a museum consultant and automotive historian (go figure right?) and am writing about these little electric cars including Autoette, Marketeer, Electric Shopper, Marketour, Taylor Dunn's Trident, Mobilette, and others. You guys have some amazing photos! If you come across any pictures of these little cars would you please let me know? The more images I can gather for the book the better, even if the car is in the background. Thanks to everyone for the great memories! Larry Fisher Http://Autoette.blogspot.com Lfisher160@cox.net
Vintage Traffic in Los Angeles - 1935 - TRAFFIC in west Los Angeles or possibly Culver City ,circa 1926... - - Western & 11th in L.A. , circa 1925... - - Snow in Los Angeles -100 years ago ! 1912 - Hollywood Blvd & Cherokee Ave. -
Wow Larry, you are the son of The Little Old Lady From Pasadena!! Seriously, yours is a great story. Me, I just came across these old photos online at various libraries. try these links: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/search/controller/index.htm http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/DoSearch?databaseID=968&index=&terms http://unitproj.library.ucla.edu/dlib/lat/subject.cfm?subject=222216 Now Mazooma, he owns most all of what he posted. Thanks.
Snow flurries and a violent 10-minute hailstorm laid a white canopy over most of Los Angeles . This scene was taken at First and Spring Sts., where snow and hail left a patchwork of "ice floes" on streets and City Hall lawn.- - -
Could well be a Stutz - B5 5 passenger Speedster- - -Basil Rathbone - probably had his picture taken in 1929 - it was 29 when Stutz redesigned the coachwork & engines - His Blackhawk Speedster was probably customized - as is seen by the Lightning bolt on the Radiator & the "M" emblem on the front of the Grillwork-also his spare tire cover looks to be totally "turned" burnished to perfection Many small modifications are seen throughout this old photo - in 1929 Basil starred top billing in The Last of Mrs. Cheyney - so this is probably a 1929 car bought with profits from that film- -
In 1950 my dad bought a brand new 3-bedroom house in Manhattan Beach, CA. for just $56.50 a month. Not a bad deal for the South Bay area!. We still have it. Here is an original 1950 sales brouchure that was recently sent out by a current day real estate office.
Cost of Living 1950 How Much things cost in 1950 Yearly Inflation Rate USA 1.09% Yearly Inflation Rate UK 2.8% Average Cost of new house $8,450.00 Average wages per year $3,210.00 Cost of a gallon of Gas 18 cents Average Cost of a new car $1,510.00 Stromburg Black and White Television $249.95 Ball Point Pen 25 cents Samsonite Case $25.00 Clock Radio $59.95 $3,210.00 per year = $267.50 per month Thats about 21% of the average monthly wage. <TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 width="72%"><TBODY><TR vAlign=bottom><TH class=blueruled-td scope=col align=left>Year</TH><TH class=blueruled-td scope=col align=right>Index</TH></TR><TR><TD align=left>2001</TD><TD align=right>32,921.92</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>2002</TD><TD align=right>33,252.09</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>2003</TD><TD align=right>34,064.95</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>2004</TD><TD align=right>35,648.55</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>2005</TD><TD align=right>36,952.94</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>2006</TD><TD align=right>38,651.41</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>2007</TD><TD align=right>40,405.48</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>2008</TD><TD align=right>41,334.97</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>2009</TD><TD align=right>40,711.61</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>2010</TD><TD align=right>41,673.83</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> According to Social Security. The national average wage index for 2010 is 41,673.83. That would make the equal monthly payment about $733.50. Now if people were willing to live in 900 sq ft homes built on low cost real estate and the government would not make the builders jump through all of the hoops that they do today we would still be able to buy homes for about the same percentage of our income. Not counting the ridiculous State and federal Taxes that we pay for services we never receive so that politicians can get the vote of people who pay no taxes at all. Dick
The Jalopy Journal
