Text by Patrick Bell.
We have a grand tour today with several stops all across the USA and one side jaunt to Canada. There are many miles to cover, so buckle your seat belts and we will get started.
In our first image we are heading for the USA/Mexico border in the San Ysidro area of San Diego, California. The newest car I see is the black police car (SDPD?), a ’66 Ford Custom 4 door sedan. The highway was US Route 101 which was being converted to Interstate 5 around this time period, so I am not sure what the official name was. In the foreground traffic lanes there are two cars I can’t ID, the fender sticking out in the lower left, and the grey forties style in the center. The rest of them are either Ford’s or Chevrolet’s. There were four Fords including a white ’62 Country Squire sticking its nose in on the left. And five Chevrolets, including three Impalas, two ’58s and a ’64. Across the road there are many to view, with a C2 Corvette, and a first as well as a second generation Corvair among them.
Now we are heading east to New Orleans, Louisiana, to visit the Roosevelt Hotel, where Ted Lewis and his Orchestra are headlining the New Blue Room. The newest car in this photo is also a Ford, the light blue ’55 Fairlane Club Sedan. The black license plate on it and the grey over black ’53 Buick Super or Roadmaster to its right were ’55 issue Louisiana. There were also two ’49 Plymouths, the dirty taxi cab on the left with either a ’54 Louisiana or an out of state plate, and the maroon woody wagon.
Let’s head north to Washington, DC, and cross the Arlington Memorial Bridge heading towards the back side of the Lincoln Memorial. The car class has gone up over the last two photos with a grey ’55 Cadillac up ahead with a ’57 issue Virginia license plate, and to the left a ’56 Packard Clipper 2 door hardtop with a ’57 issue Maryland plate. On the other side heading away is a black over off white ’53 DeSoto Fire Dome V8 Sportsman, and a green ’49 Mercury Sport Sedan.
Collins Avenue is the main drag through Miami Beach, Florida, and this image was in the 1600 block looking north. The Claremont Motel on the left and the tall building on the right edge are still there, at least as of last summer. The fourth car down in the curbside lane and the second car down in the inside lane are both ’57 models, a Ford and Chevrolet respectively. They are the newest I see. The green car where the passenger is giving us the eye is a ’54 Dodge Royal V8 4 door sedan, followed by a tan over brown ’56 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight DeLuxe Holiday Sedan, and to the right a ’51 Studebaker convertible.
The old City Hall is was coming down in Vancouver, BC, in 1958. It was at the corner of Main and Pender. The triple towers in the background are about the only thing left. In the foreground was a Canadian ’57 Dodge Regent 2 door hardtop, sometimes known as a “Plodge” because it was an American Dodge front end mounted on a Plymouth body. Waiting at the light to the left is a green ’54 Oldsmobile Super 88 4 door sedan, a blue ’51 or ’52 DeSoto, and further back a sharp white over black ’55 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe.
It’s back to the east coast and the George Washington Bridge between New York and New Jersey. The newest here was a white over black ’56 Plymouth in front of the tan ’55 Ford Country Sedan to the right. Directly ahead was a ’50-’52 Nash Rambler Custom wagon, and passing by on the left were two Fords, a black ’50 Deluxe Tudor Sedan, and a black over blue ’52-’54 model.
Downtown Los Angeles is our location in this image, traveling on US Route 101 with the Alameda Street and Union Station exit to the right and City Hall sticking up left of center. The glare and shadows make it difficult to ID anything past the foreground. The two newest vehicles I can ID are the green Chevrolet Task Force pickup on the far left that first came out in ’55, and the red pickup on the far right that could have been either a Chevrolet or a GMC Blue Chip that also debuted in ’55. The photographer may be riding in a ’53 Dodge given the hood ornament. Up ahead to the left a black ’51 Mercury Sport Coupe, center a two tone green or gray ’53 Pontiac, and to the right a greyish ’46-’48 Buick.
San Francisco is a short trip north, where we will view the Morrison Planetarium at the California Academy of Sciences located in Golden Gate Park. It was a damp day and the two newest cars are the white over pink ’57 Mercury Monterey or Montclair Phaeton Coupe with the optional 368 V8 engine followed by a white over yellow V8 powered ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Sedan. Entering the scene from the left was a blue ’53 Dodge and a green over white mid-fifties Ford Anglia.
We are now most likely in New York, as that is the license plate on the ’58 DeSoto with a ground strap in the left foreground, plus a location for the Roosevelt Savings Bank. The police were investigating a crash that damaged the left side of the ’62 Oldsmobile Starfire Coupe in the center background. Beyond it was a ’61 Rambler with damage to the left front that may have been the other side of the accident. The police were driving a ’61 Plymouth, and a ’57 Dodge Coronet 4 door sedan was leaving the scene on the right side.
Going south again, this time to downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where the newest car is a ’60 Chevrolet Sport Coupe. At the curb is a ’58 Buick with either a ’60 or ’62 Tennessee license plate originating in Blount County, where the seat is Maryville. Further up in the lower right is a ’59 Plymouth Sport Fury 2 door hardtop with perhaps another ’59 Plymouth behind the ’60 Chevrolet, this one a 4 door sedan. And across the road at the curb is one more Plymouth, a ’57 Plaza or Savoy 4 door sedan with a dent in the bumper.
Most likely we are back in Florida, this time in Sarasota where an Anderson Ford was located. I see a black ’63 Fairlane in their lot. The gray, rusty ’50-’52 Plymouth Suburban with a heavy duty trailer hitch has a ’63 Florida license plate issued in Manatee County which is next to Sarasota. And a train with a load heading away. I would imagine it was difficult to win an argument with that thing. Other items of interest; a black Triumph TR3 or TR3A that looks close to new in the center, a black ’60 or ’61 Valiant wagon in between two ’60 Chevrolets heading this way, and a green ’60 or ’61 Chevrolet truck sticking its nose in the right lower corner.
Now we are back in Los Angeles, perhaps on what is now known as the Harbor Freeway/Interstate 110 and approaching the Adams Boulevard exit. It looks a bit smoggy in the distance, and I see that tailgating was common even when brakes were poor. Up ahead a short driver in a ’61 Ford Falcon which is the newest, to the right a ’50 Studebaker Starlight Coupe, and in front of it a ’56 Mercury Monterey wagon.
The Wisconsin Tower and the Schroeder Hotel are the tall buildings in this shot from the 6th Street Viaduct in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The photo is dated 1962, which fits with the yellow license plates and the white ’62 Buick LeSabre 4 door sedan in the far right lane. The red Ford F-series was likely a ’62 as well, since it is a post unibody style. The Electroliner was also making a run. Heading this way a white over gold ’58 Chevrolet Biscayne 4 door sedan, and following a ’58 or ’59 Rambler wagon with a bug shield.
The shortest leg of this journey is south to Indianapolis, Indiana to check out the State Soldiers and Sailors Monument that was located downtown. The view from the 000 block of South Meridian Street hasn’t changed a whole lot over the last sixty or so years. Three out of the four buildings in the next block are still there, as is the steeple in the background. The year was 1963, going by the license plate on the grey ’56 Chrysler Windsor in the center foreground. Ahead of it was a red ’63 Ford full size, and on the cross street heading to the left a white ’63 Plymouth Fury wagon. Other Mopars were a green ’58 Plymouth Savoy or Belvedere 4 door sedan on the cross street, and a tan over brown ’60 Dodge Dart Pioneer or Phoenix 4 door sedan at the curb in the right foreground.
It looks like it was a breezy day, but it probably is always breezy in Key West, Florida, our latest stop. We are at the corner of Duval and Fleming Streets looking towards the southeast. Per a six year old Street View the buildings in the foreground, up to and including the gold one on the right that looks like a theater, all remain. The area has been revitalized and the occupants have all changed. The search reveals the photo date was 1964 and I do see a ’63 Plymouth parked at the curb behind the couple standing in the street. Others from the foreground back include a ’56 Pontiac 860 or 870 2 door Catalina, ’54 Chevrolet, ’58 or ’59 Rambler, and a ’60 Cadillac.
Our final view for today is on Interstate 81 in New York, originally developed as the Penn-Can Highway. According to a Flickr post the photographer and his family were heading south in March of ’64. A Mack B-30 with trailer was being passed by a ’58 Plymouth Belvedere convertible with a ’63 Chevrolet Impala going the other way.
Thanks for riding along and have a great day!
A wide variety of cars in this set! Some sets are more restricted.
The gray fender in pic 1 might be a 58-59 Rambler?
The black and white taxi in 2 is a 49 Dodge, not Plymouth.
You are correct on that Dodge. Thanks for the correction.
Based on the side trim, the brown ’60 Dodge Dart in the Indy photo is a Pioneer, not a Pheonix.
I couldn’t see it well enough to differentiate. Thanks for the clarification.
Useless tidbits of information about first picture. Standard of California station was a Chevron dealer, not company owned location, as noted by red rather than blue sign. Third white pump was 104 (research) octane Custom Supreme. Dad’s Impala with the high compression 327 needed it.
Canada was significantly slower than the US, building high speed freeways. Not just years slowers, decades slower, in some cases. Highway 401, with sections now considered the busiest in North America, was not fully completed as four lanes to the Quebec border until the late 1960’s.
Four lane Highway 417 between Ottawa and Montreal, was not completed until the mid 1970’s. Traffic on the former two lane Highway 17, between Ottawa and Montreal, was treacherously heavy, and deadly.
Interstate 81 is the route I take to get to southern New York State, via the Thousand Islands Bridge, from Ontario.
I grew up at the times you are referencing. My dad’s brother and sister lived in Trenton, Ontario and we frequently visited. The drive from Ottawa was about 250 km. Dad hated the new freeways that were being built in Canada and we always went on Highway 17. I recall being stuck behind heavy trucks climbing hills.
Even when we moved to Montreal dad refused to use the new 417. Instead, we always took Number 17 like we always did.
Highway 17, also the Trans-Canada Highway at that time, took a meandering route alongside the Ottawa River through Alfred and Hawkesbury. It would get especially packed on weekends with people from Ottawa and the Ottawa Valley going to Montreal Canadiens and Montreal Expos games. A less than two hour drive on the 417, often took three hours plus, on Highway 17.
Ontario provincial governments were notorious, for neglecting highway investment.
Great history of the 401, posted in the past two days. And why the 12-lane section still gets backed up, explaining why its the busiest highway in North America.
Nice video, and I like how he emphasizes the integration with connecting highways in the U.S. and Quebec. I don’t think however, that he really portrays or places enough emphasis on how the 401, through Toronto, is an all-day rush hour arrangement, in the collectors and the express. Daily collisions and construction create bottlenecks frequently and regularly.
Quebec Autoroute 35 still has a closed/incomplete section between Saint-Sebastien and where it’s supposed to connect to the 4-lane section of Route 133, sending traffic between northern New England and Montreal through the middle of town (and a 90-degree curve) in Pike River. On the other side of the border Interstate 89 was completed in the early 1970s.
1st Photo:
I’m sure it was a lot easier to cross the Mexican boarder back then as compared to today.
The mother of a buddy of mine told stories of crossing the boarder in a whim and driving down to Monterey for the weekend.
Went across the border many times. Sometimes by car and sometimes by foot over the bridge. By car because of going down to Ensenada for the weekend. Last time to Ensenada, to spend the weekend at girlfriends parents vacation home, was 1980. Last time to walk across the border was 1982. Also across twice to head to San Felipe, which is on the Gulf side of Baja, for the over-the-line tournament. I recall a bar down there, close to the water, which might have been the basis for that bar in Dusk to Dawn. Not quite as over the top as in the movie if you saw it. That would have been 74 and 75.
The finned and reverse-windowed Ford Anglia in the Golden Gate Park photo was introduced in 1959, so it’s late Fifties or even early Sixties, rather than mid-Fifties. In fact it’s the newest car in the photo. The Academy of Sciences buildings look quite different now, with a roof garden. I have many memories of childhood visits there, perhaps even the day that photo was taken. And I have a young adult memory of driving an Anglia of that vintage, with a 1600 crossflow engine swap.
The only Anglia I can see , if we’re talking about the same photo, is an 100E side valve job.
Always amazes me that they sold those things in the USA – and that anyone bought them.
It’s a Prefect, not an Anglia – you can tell by the shape of the front windows it’s a 4 door.
Great line up, I appreciate all the photos. In photo #1, The tan fender intruding on the left is a 1961 Ford full-size. In photo #6, The Two-Tone Ford heading toward the camera is a 1953. In photo #9, there is a 1951 Hudson Hornet Coupe in front of the DeSoto.
I think you are correct on all counts. I missed the chrome air splitter on top of the fender of the ’61 Ford, on the ’53 the photo was not clear enough for me to commit, and the Hornet I did not address. Thanks for your comments.
Nice memories were brought back by these pictures .
In the early 1970’s the California / Mexico border was indeed a simple thing to cross, even a VW Van full of long haired hippies would be waved through .
-Nate
Dear Rich, As usual, excellent explanations and fabulous Americana. I will be looking at these photos again and again. Thanks.
In the shot of downtown Indianapolis, the building with the water tower on the roof was Wassons Department store. It has eight floors that are built around a central atrium. I remember shopping there at least once when I was attending college in Indy 1968-70. Little did I know that years later the store would close and the building turned into office space. The state leased it in the mid ’90’s and it ended up being my headquarters for my fire inspector supervisor job until 2009. I was in the field 3 days a week and two days in that building. Due to my career choice, I never have liked the idea of all those floors open to the atrium in a possible fire situation.