This video sort of fell into my lap, as it was posted to the Facebook page of a local old car club.
Starting off at the Missouri State Capital Building, it then jumps to the railroad depot, next to the US 54/63 bridge over the Missouri River (built around 1955), and finally the state penitentiary (which opened in 1836 and operated until 2004). All four of these are still in operation although the prison is now a museum and an additional bridge has been built over the river. Many of the buildings that are seen, primarily the houses, are still there.
On the other hand, it’s doubtful anyone will ever again see a forward look Chrysler convertible in front of the capital building nor a ’58 Edsel parked next to a ’58 Buick at the depot.
These four locations aren’t that far apart. Here’s a map showing the location of each. Happy spotting; this video is overflowing!
This is wonderful – especially since I’m somewhat familiar with Jefferson City.
I recognize many of the streets in this video, though the approach to the Bridge looks like it’s been redone – probably several times over the last 60 years.
My wife lived in Jeff City in the 1990s and worked for the State Gov’t, and the car she associates with the Missouri Capitol at that time is the Lincoln Town Car. It was the vehicle of choice for State Senators back then – and as she relates it, that preference crossed party lines, the urban/rural divide, and any kind of political ideology. All kinds of Senators loved their Town Cars.
Cool streetscape from 1958. This is another one that confirms how dominant General Motors was at the time. One real rarity was the 1958 Studebaker sedan at around 1:10-1:15, parked next to the Chrysler as we approach the State Capitol building.
Somebody made the comment the other day about music backgrounds on some of these old movies shot without sound. You wonder who chose the ragtime piano, a sound that would have been popular sixty years or so before this film was made. It must have been awhile ago because I had thought that the second song (Darktown Strutters Ball) had been relegated to the ash heap of the bad old days. Or maybe its just the vocal versions because virtually nobody recognizes the tune any more.
Not quite nobody! (Which itself sounds like a wistful Ragtime-esque title, no?)
I liked olde music from when I was very young (and little of what was new then) but in the case of this tune, it was also a minor rock-chart hit in Aus when i was 8 or so in ’76, as sung by the Ted Mulry Gang. I have provided a link with which you can briefly attune your earballs. Enjoy. Or not.
One issue is that copyright extensions being what they are, nothing past 1922 has aged into the public domain in over 20 years. In 2019, works copyrighted in 1923 will finally come out of copyright.
I enjoyed the cars and the buildings – but not the music.
The tour’s rarity to me was what must have been a 1958 model year Opel Rekord. The Opel was parked on the left side of the street as it heads downhill to the depot – about a block south of it.
The only import I spotted was the Opel, and a GM captive one at that.
I’ve never been to Jefferson City, but I checked out the areas near the Capitol and the Penitentiary on Google Earth. Except for the cars, not much has changed overall. The fanciful round, castle-like towers on the corners of the Penitentiary walls have been replaced with mean-looking rectangular guard posts.
All the cars and trucks in that film would be treasured collectibles today, and I can actually remember when some of these models were still common sights while driving. I would estimate that less than 1/4 of 1% of the cars shown exist in 2018 in any sort of recognizable physical form. That’s 1 in 400!
Wow, this is fascinating as at the time I lived in Missouri and was about 12 years old. At the start I spotted a ’59 Chevrolet. A lot of the vehicles were common sights then and virtually all of them are long gone now.
When the second car I see is a ’57 Chevy 210 Handyman, I can only give two thumbs up! Cool time capsule.
I just love seeing videos like these. Just your average town with average cars for the time. You get to see what folks were driving, and the general age of what’s around. That FL Mopar was so pretty! I wonder if it was a Plymouth? I’ve only seen those with that Sportone trim, though the shape of the fin seems off. Sharper, like a Desoto maybe.
I’m going to guess that the forward look Mopar at 1:30 is a 1958 Plymouth Belvedere convertible with skirts.
Ok… maybe a Fury.
The shape of the fins was blurred in the texture of the film. Desotos had different side trim and straight fins like the Chrysler. The Plymouth fins were unique.
Thanks! That’s what l was thinking, but l didn’t want to assume.
Agrees with my memories of ’58. A few ’40s cars, just one ’38. Prewar cars are actually MORE common now, as restored and drivable antiques, than they were in the ’50s as worn-out hulks.
The steep hillside wall on the pen is unique. Must have been a tricky job for the guards, but at least they got better exercise than other guards.
Great video Jason. I bet the people filming this would love the dash cam/go-pro generation of technology.
This is the automotive environment I grew up in and yes JPC, I knew Darktown Strutters Ball (written in 1917) and could play a reasonable facsimile of it on my b-flat clarinet.
I am an inveterate backer-in to parking spaces, but even I do not do that on angled street parking like some did here. One really needs to do some fancy reverse 300 degree swings compromising opposing traffic lanes to accomplish that. Or on second thought, see an open space from the opposite side and just gently back in to it from across the street.
Lots of new cars for the time, but then, most vehicles had a much shorter life span than they do now.
One other thing: No Cadillacs, Lincolns, Imperials, or Packards (except one ’55 Clipper). Luxury doesn’t sell in the Midwest?
Very true! My wife’s family has lived in Mid Missouri for 200 years, and I can tell you that a lack of pretension and a distaste for ostentation are genetically ingrained traits among the local population — this was particularly true 60 years ago when this video was made.
Luxury sells in some parts of the Midwest, but Eric is quite correct about the lack of pretension in this part of the state. Also, the population of Jefferson City in 1960 was 28,000 with the largest employer likely being state government. Not a recipe for tremendous numbers of luxury cars!
As a spoiler alert I have something running Thursday that is an extreme example of a lack of pretension.
Lots of Olds & Chryslers though. Near luxury without putting on airs.
Three or four Buicks.
That’s an impressive State Capital Building! There were more cars from the 40s than I would have guessed based on what I’ve read about the lifespan of vehicles back then. It looks like someone has a new 1959 Chevrolet already as well. Good stuff, thanks for sharing.
The video makes one want to step back in time…
Great film. I visited the capitol and the train station about 20 years ago. I’ll have to look for that video.
I saw a 1959 Chevrolet at the beginning of the film.
Must have been brand new.
Loved the film – saw it wide screen three times.
Horrible music, I immediately muted it. Completely wrong for 1958. Needed Elvis or Patsy Cline or a nice country hit that would have been on the radio in Jeff City back in ’58.
I caught the 59 Batmobile, the 58 Studebaker and the 58 Edsel.
The Edsel looked so good parked next to the overwrought 57 Buick. That surprised me. The Edsel looked completely new, fresh and modern – words I have never used in describing an Edsel before. Lots of 56 Fords, lots of GM stuff.
No Beetles! This was supposedly their biggest breakthrough year. Not here!
BTW – “Darktown” refers to the African American part of town. It isn’t a term that would be considered appropriate today.
It is one of those curious things that shows how attitudes change with the passage of time. The song was written by Shelton Brooks, himself an African-American. It was not considered pejorative at the time, and it became a really popular song for everyone. But what may have been common usage in 1917 is certainly not of common usage now, and therein lies the problem. All that aside, it has proved to be a really durable melody that remains a favorite of many jazz musicians a hundred years on. Not many writers of popular song can claim this distinction.
Guessing this was late summer or early fall 1958 – there is a 1959 Chevy lurking at the curb in the first minute.
Nice video.