Baker Motor Co., Delta, Colorado, 1955.
Mohler Motor Co., Greensburg, PA, 1953.
Brookneal Motor Co, Brookneal, VA, 1956.
Martin Motors Ford, Rock Hill, SC, 1960.
Park Inn Motors Inc., Valley Stream, NY, 1961.
LaFolette Auto Company, LaFollette, TN, 1961.
Main Line Motors, Ardmore, PA, 1963.
Danaher Bros Co., 1963.
Rocky Mount Motors, Ford Mercury, Rocky Mount, VA, 1965.
Paul Clark Ford (old location), Brockton, MA, 1965.
When I was young I used to go fishing with a friend of my grandfather’s. He drove a Ford similar to the ones in your first picture, probably a 56 or a year earlier. Anyway, he had the unfortunate habit of grabbing the door frame when closing the door and on one such occasion he caught his fingers…. I still can’t believe how calmly he asked me to come around and open his door. To this day whenever I see a picture of one of those cars that is what I see!
Great set of photos, Rich! I enjoyed viewing them. For those of you unfamiliar with suburban Philadelphia, Main Line Motors was not named for the cheapest model of Ford that was introduced in 1952. The Main Line is the main railroad line going west (sort of) out of Philadelphia. Philadelphia Mainliners are those of more than adequate means who live in more than adequate homes and would, back in the day, commute to Center City on, you guessed it, The Main Line. And now, if you will excuse me, I am going to eat some Pennsylvania Dutch pretzels dipped in mustard…
I was wondering how that dealer would handle the stripper Mainlines, since Mainline in PA meant far above Fairlane, more like Lincoln Cosmopolitan.
Looks like a working-class dealership, so he probably didn’t worry about the semantic confusion.
My father grew up in Rosemont, and your description is exactly right. I don’t recall that area as being prime real estate for Fords, but then I recall Ardmore as being a little more down to earth than many other areas along the Main Line.
Rosemont — small world! I went to college at Villanova University in Villanova, PA in the early 1970s. The Villanova train station is located only one stop to the west of the Rosemont station on the Main Line. Yes, definitely a ritzy area, far more upscale than the humble neighborhood in Pittsburgh where I grew up.
How dare that 1960 Chevy be parked in front of Park Inn Ford!
Recent trade-in, perhaps?
Whatever the case, they did a poor job of backing up.
‘Scuse me, it’s a 59 Chevy.
My observation and it doesn’t apply as much to this article, but other articles about dealerships of the past. Seems a lot of dealerships were in buildings not built to be a dealership. Store was a furniture store or a department store, now its a car dealership.
Still I enjoy the look back.
Great post. Brook Neal building is almost an exact copy of BOWMAN MOTORS DeSoto-Plymouth in Valparaiso, Indiana. Closed in 62. Parents bought 55 DeSoto Firedome 👍 and 62 Plymouth Belvedere 👎. The building is still there having several uses, currently for used appliances. In a city of roughly 18,000 (1960s) We had Chrysler- Plymouth-Imperial , Dodge Plymouth and DeSoto-Plymouth dealers. Every Brand had a Dealership. Now we don’t even have a Cadillac Dealership. Guess Archie and Edith were on target! Those WERE the days. On another note, Moeller MOTORS may be somehow related to Moeller Funeral Home here in Valparaiso. It really is a small world.
Danaher Bros Co., 1963:
In the used car lot, note deluxe VW Beetle ’62 or ’63 (?) at far left; and a roadster four cars to the right. Is it a Austin Healey?? Not sure….
Kind of unusual trade ins. Either someone got promoted at the bank (VW) or got had their first child (roadster).
My brother still regrets trading in his ’67 Cougar for a used ’70 Galaxie with the first kid.
It looks like a TR3 Triumph to me.
I’m not positive about this, but I believe that Baker Motor Co. may have been located in Cabool, Missouri.
Cabool had a Ford dealership called Baker Motor Co. between 1946 and 1966. Before 1946 it was called the Matherly Motor Co. (eventually purchased by George Baker, who changed the name), and in 1966 after another sale, the dealership became Coats Ford. In 1973, Coats Ford moved to another location in Cabool. However, I can’t find any photo evidence from before the move, so I’m not positive that’s where the dealership was located, but that’s my best guess.
Eric, I remember this building in Delta CO. The dealership sold to Bill Hellman in 1955 or 56. In the early 60s Mr. Hellman would sponsor the Punt,Pass, and Kick contest for locals. He was a great man and did a lot for the Delta community.
The annual styling changes in vogue at the time make it easy to date photos. Whatever year vintage is in the showroom is a pretty good approximation for a date sometime between one model year introduction and the next.
Enjoy looking at these old dealerships pics. I have two distinct memories from my childhood.
I came from an Air Force family, not sure where we were always stationed. I do remember an Oldsmobile dealership when my parents bought his & hers new 1955, Olds ’98’s. Matching turquoise and white. His a ’98’ two door Holiday, hers a ’98’ Starfire conv.,. I was only age 4, but have a distinct memory of my parents picking out their cars on an upper story parking deck. Actually Dad bought the Holiday first, but I remember seeing that Starfire convertible at the dealership, in the parking deck. It was only a few weeks later Dad bought the matching color Starfire convertible for Mom.
Last showroom memory was 1963, when I was age 12. Dad took me car shopping. Dad was base commander at Robins Air Force Base, near Macon GA. He might have been interested in the red 1963 Ford 500 XL on the showroom floor. But when I saw that 1963 T-Bird on the showroom floor, that was end of the game. Metallic Heritage Burgundy with pearl beige interior. I placed myself in the T-Bird and would not get out.
Dad bought the T-Bird, which later became my first car at age 16, early 1967.
The black-and-white photos make these old buildings look especially dingy and uninviting. Still, they have a lot more character than today’s uniform but bland corporate-mandated structures.
We had the dealers but some different Fords on offer, The British Fords dominated, American Fords from Canada were popular and Australian Fords crept in in the 60s.
Two (2) dealers near me come to mind, and both are gone now, closed during the great dealer consolidation during the most recent recession of 2009 or sold to larger dealer groups. The most important one was the closure and demolition of Thomas Ford in Beverly, MA, which was sold to the Kelley Auto Group and moved to a former Chevy dealer in Beverly. The building housing the dealership was demolished after over ninety (90) years at the same location, and a mid-rise condo (six stories) now occupies the site. This was noted in a story in Hemmings Motor News magazine.
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/nearly-century-old-ford-dealership-razed-for-apartment-block-development/
The other one of note was Ipswich Ford in Ipswich, MA. A link to a news story about the closing appears below:
https://thelocalne.ws/2020/03/04/end-of-an-era-as-ipswich-ford-closes/
Ipswich Ford was located across the street from O’Keefe Chevrolet, which has also closed, as the story notes. Many of these small town dealers are gone, swallowed up by the big mega-dealer chains.
Looks like the LaFolette Auto Company building is still standing – occupied by a tire shop now:
Google StreetView link:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/81oHnFA1MTYKVwwd6
Thanks for looking into this. I’ll update the post with the location.
As a youngster enjoyed drives to different cities always checking out the various dealerships and their inventory. Many villages had dealerships, too. Much different from the corporate designs today.
Here’s the Park Inn Motors building on Long Island… I’m glad the art deco building is still there:
Google StreetView link:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/c8t9mScttijNXsu99
Lovely pictures all .
Sadly, I can’t find those thick pretzels anywhere in So. Cal. these days, good memories .
-Nate
Photo of Baker Motor Co is from Delta, Colorado. Owned by my grandfather, Ansel and my father, Mariece, Ford dealers in Colorado for nearly 50 years in Leadville, Delta, and Glenwood Springs. The photo from curbsideclassic.com is a revered icon in my family shared by 5 generations.
Thank you for sharing this photo’s location and the story behind it!
Nice! I was hoping some of the mystery locations would show up in the comments section. Thanks for the backstory on that image!
Monte, interesting finding this photo of the Delta Ford Dealership. Bill Hellman must have bought it in 1955 or 56. The dealership is still in the Hellman family. Mr. Hellman and my dad were very good friends. Lots of memories seeing this photo. Chris Burgess
Thanks. Love the Falcon Coupe outside Mainline Motors!
Very interesting photos. Out of the ten images only three have new trucks in the photos (Brookneal, Danaher & Rocky Mount). It is the opposite today.
It’s so sad that the small town dealers have disappeared. They were run by local families who gave good service and were active in the community. As I grew up, my town was less than 2000 population and had two new car agencies; today 5000 people and no car dealers!
Interesting – here in Austria we still have small town dealers. You would not expect it in a place the size of Austria but. There two Ford dealers near me, located in a town with 13,000 inhabitants and a vilage with 1500 (!).
Worked at Park Inn Ford late 80s-90s and it was almost all original. On election day, showroom was emptied of cars and voting machines were brought in for the election! Talk about small town feel!