I was on my way home from a night out early on a Sunday morning over eight years ago when I came across this ’78 Continental Town Car. It was around this time that I had started to feel comfortable enough in bringing my Canon SLR camera around with me at night. It was my purpose to capture as many aspects of my life as possible as part of a sort of visual journal, a journey I’m glad I had begun and still continue today, even as my life has evolved. I had seen this car on a previous night, stuffed full of what had looked to be college student-aged young adults, at least a few of whom might have been enrolled at nearby Loyola University’s Lake Shore campus. Catching a glimpse of chrome out of the corner of my eye, and as soon as I recognized this car as that same Lincoln, I walked down that side street to get a few shots of it.
I had been a regular reader of Curbside Classic for a while before I became a contributor of my photographs, and later, my writing. There have been many factual things I’ve learned about various makes and models from both the other writers here and also the commenters, including how I came to identify this Town Car as a ’78. It lacks the separate fender skirts of the ’77, and the bodyside molding stretches all the way back to the bumper on the rear quarter panel instead of being slightly foreshortened as on the ’79. The camera angle in the above shot contributes to the illusion that the Lincoln is almost twice as long as the first-generation Ford Focus sedan in front of it, when in fact the Lincoln (230.3″ long) is only 55.4″ longer than the compact Ford (174.9″ long).
The length of the side molding as a cue to the model year of these Lincolns is something I never would have known or paid attention to before my tenure at Curbside, as a car like this normally wouldn’t have been on my radar before I grew to appreciate them more in adulthood. Seventy-eight was the penultimate year for these biggies, with the standard-sized Cadillac DeVilles having undergone a substantial downsizing the year before. Chrysler’s New Yorker Brougham from that same year, born an Imperial LeBaron for ’74, was in its last year.
There were just over 67,000 four-door Town Cars produced in ’78, along with an additional 21,000 Town Coupés. (Question: Did anyone actually call it a “Town Coo-PAY” due to the accent over the “e”? I’m asking only because I’ve just never heard it pronounced this way.) This 88,000 sales total, though healthy, was a fraction of the 207,000 total number of Cadillac DeVilles that found buyers that year, broken into 118,000 coupes and 89,000 sedans. Just to complete the comparison and since I had mentioned it before, the ’78 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham managed 44,500 sales, which is more than I would have assumed otherwise, given Chrysler Corporation’s worsening financial situation by that time. The 166-hp 400 cubic inch V8 was standard on the ’78 Continentals, but this was the last year one could opt for the 210-horse 460.
The Sovereign’s east-facing façade. Tuesday, January 12, 2010.
What also struck me immediately as I approached this Lincoln was the gorgeous backdrop of the Sovereign, with this grand structure being dramatically uplit by floodlights installed near its landscaping. October is traditionally the month where the Chicago Architecture Center hosts a series of events that comprise “Open House Chicago“, in which participants can tour historically significant sites and buildings in many neighborhoods throughout the city. I participated with friends back in 2019, seeing sites both downtown and in my own neighborhood of Edgewater, and it was an eye-opening window into how life was like for some of the population here back then. Chicago’s rich architectural history and respect for its past are some of the reasons I love living here so much.
A former ballroom at The Sovereign, now part of a health club. Saturday, October 10, 2009.
Construction of the Sovereign was completed in 1923, and it was originally an upscale hotel that featured 600 rooms, a swimming pool, and not one, but two ballrooms. According to the Edgewater Historical Society, the Prince of Wales had visited the Sovereign shortly after it opened and had presented two vases as gifts, which are still there and on display. The Sovereign was converted into a 234-unit apartment building in 1949, by which point Edgewater was on a then-downward trajectory that changed its flavor and character, with many formerly large and beautiful stand-alone mansions being demolished to make way for midrise, midcentury apartment buildings. Today, the Sovereign stands as a beautiful jewel of the neighborhood, in which the health club to which I formerly belonged still operates in one of its former ballrooms and its indoor swimming pool.
I like old, classic things (like hotels and big Lincolns) and it was a trip sometimes to be working out in the morning underneath a giant, ancient, crystal chandelier. The Sovereign has held on long enough throughout all of the changes in this neighborhood from the time of its construction almost a century ago to merit various upgrades and renovations throughout the years, in order to persevere as the large, imposing, ornate thing of beauty that many of us in the neighborhood pass and gaze upon regularly, often without even thinking about it.
By comparison, the decrepit, rust-perforated condition of this Town Car stood in stark contrast to the upscale, solid image it surely must have projected when new. Its vacuum-operated headlamp doors were eerily frozen open like the eyes of a zombie. There were no dents or bent sheetmetal around the perimeter of the vehicle that would indicate a negligent lack of care for it outside of simply letting it decay. There’s clearly no bringing this Lincoln back, and it calls to my mind what happens when a formerly great building is gradually, sometimes imperceptibly allowed to degrade over time to a certain point before it is then deemed unprofitable to restore and subsequently demolished.
I would see this Lincoln for the last time in May of 2013, though I’m not sure if that was related more to the owner moving away, this Town Car’s proverbial death, or both. I’d say that thirty-five years was a good run for an American luxury car, regardless of what eventually happened to this one. It is often said of cars and buildings like these that “they don’t make ’em like that anymore”, which is true of both this Lincoln and the Sovereign. If anything, the disappearance of both vehicles and structures like these have made me appreciate those that remain all the more.
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
(Early) Sunday, January 6, 2013.
Brochure photos as sourced from www.oldcarbrochures.com.
Nighttime photography is very difficult to pull off – kudos for trying and congrats for succeeding!
Can’t say those big old Lincolns do much for me, but Art Deco buildings, on the other hand, are lovely, even (especially?) if they’re repurposed.
Awesome post as per usual, Mr Dennis.
Thank you so much, Tatra87. You mention Art Deco architecture, which I also love – which has me thinking of other parallels. Like the Chrysler Building and the Crossfire, which seem (in my eyes) to be very much of a similar aesthetic. A great potential topic for a future essay?
When I look at that Lincoln, I think about all of the things it has been transformed into in the 8 years or so since it was a car. I wonder if any of them are as dignified as the Sovereign still seems to be.
Excellent story and pictures!
Thanks, Jeff! My money’s on a few refrigerators, a toaster or two, and a washing machine – for good measure.
Last of the great American “land yachts” . The generic Ford steering wheel has had much slagging off but these cars made the Caddys look cheap.
Im with Mr. Hoovie . America should build these rather than ” I want to be a Bmw look alikes.
Worse, 1978-79 Continentals also got a generic Ford/Mercury dashboard rather than the much more elegant Lincoln-specific dash used from ’70-77.
This original Lincoln dash was a wonder. Full gauges, ribbon speedometer that changed color from white to red as speed increased. No tach – and none could be rationally wanted given the how they were used.
Full size Lincoln sedan, is among the last automobile in the US, if not in the whole world to have tachometer. It’s perhaps funny to realize this
Presents a good reason why trim moulding attached to the body can be a bad idea in the long run versus an unadorned panel.
What a great pairing of “classic” styles that may not really translate directly to one another, but which are perfect complements.
Modern architecture (and car design) have their place but there is something comforting about the old-fashioned looks on both structure and car. The Lincoln is, right now, kind of like Edgewood back around 1952 or so? Or maybe later – maybe its size and traditional lines are beginning to appeal to people again, if only because they are so unlike what we are used to.
Thank you, JP. I’m thinking now of how great it would be to photograph a GM Colonnade in front of an actual colonnade. Chicago does not lack for classic, Greco-Roman inspired architecture. I haven’t seen a nice Colonnade on the streets in a while, though.
Those old Town Cars are a truly impressive barges. There is a nicer one in my town which is ironically parked in the alley behind a bicycle shop and must be a challenge to get in and out of the driveway.
I don’t remember any of them having a body-colored grille. It would be a weird decision when repainting.
I think the grille is just catching the yellowish light from the nearby street lamp. I honestly don’t remember, but I would have noticed a body-color painted grille. Great observation, though.
The lines of the Lincoln borrow more from architecture than from regular car design… Thanks for a wonderful piece of writing and great photos. I’m intrigued by that powered vent window, not sure if it would be as useful as the old swiveling vent windows which could scoop in heaps of cool fresh air.
I think they were mostly for smokers.
Thank you so much. When this essay ran today (and I’m late in responding to comments today), I paid a little bit more attention to the Sovereign when passing it this evening.
Did anyone actually call it a “Town Coo-PAY” due to the accent over the “e”?
I remember a Chevy ad of the era having two kids talk about the Coo-pay.
I’ve watched several historical vids by youtuber “big car”, a Brit, and he says coo pay.
I can say for certain that we didn’t say it like that in Flint. 🙂
That front on view from the brochure is elegance and simplicity in design. Nice and clean, the front end and the back of this car are in good harmony, one reflecting the other in design. A vertical fascia, centered with the large yet simple waterfall grille. Modest bumper guards, and a well proportioned hood ornament. Just beautiful.
Coo-pay? Too-chay?
Thanks for sharing and waxing eloquently as always Joseph.
I had a 1978 Town Coupe with the 7.7 460 as my first car. It was green with darker dash and vinyl roof. It had the huge moon roof and a CB radio. I was too young to take care of it properly. Later as an adult I purchased a 1979 Collectors Series sedan. It had the 6.6 400 engine but every bell and whistle possible like heated driver mirror with thermometer, built in garage door opener, toolkit and umbrella and really nice upholstery and carpet. I kept that car for 12 years, restored everything on it that needed fixing and drove it around to various car shows. It got to a point of being impossible to park and some of the parts difficult to find so I sold it. My grandparents had a 1962 gunmetal gray convertible sedan Lincoln that they kept until I was 10. They wish they had kept it for me but they sold it to gain space in their garage for my grandma’s new Thunderbird.