Vintage Cars
I am not feeling super inspired today, so I thought I would share a couple of vintage photos of people posing with their automobiles.
Here we are in sunny Palm Springs (named after Sir Albert Springs, yo) in February, 1953. I generally try to avoid places that are very hot, but this place looks pretty charming. In the background is a "Date and Gift Shop"; I wonder if they sold date shakes? I've never had one, but they sure sound good.
The smiling lady is proud of her brand-new Chevrolet Bel-Air, and who can blame her? The color is a little weird in this photo, but I am assuming that the car is actually a nice soft baby blue, perhaps with a touch of aqua for that 50's flavor.
This slide was hand-dated "July 20, 1954", and labeled, "On the way to the Deckers, fishing". I hope they were biting! The fish, not the Deckers. I love the neat and tidy little houses and yards. Their cool red car might be a 1949 bullet-nosed Ford custom convertible. With white walls! What a beauty, and probably very modern-looking in 1949.
7 comments:
Major-
That "baby blue" Chevrolet Bel Air is from 1953, as you surmised. And that paler blue convertible on the far left appears to be a 1946 Buick.
And in the second image, although very similar to the 1950 model year, the red convertible is a 1949 Ford. And it appears we're seeing the rear end of a 1951 Studebaker, parked in front of the Ford.
(Now, about those Deckers... I've heard a few stories about the "biting").
Thanks, Major.
What a cool little desert shopping center! I wonder if any part of it is still standing today? Or do they tear things down in Palm Springs as easily as they do in Los Angeles and Orange County?
It never fails, I often comment and then go back and discover something in the photos that I didn't see upon first glance. I just noticed that there are bunches of dates hanging in those trees in the parking lot!
I recall seeing a shopping center that looked like this in PS a few years ago. Had lots of charm. Wonder if it is there today myself. Anyone know?
KS
Thanks for the car info; I really love both the Bel Air and the ’49 Ford; they’ve got style! Those Deckers were the talk of the neighborhood.
TokyoMagic!, my guess is that the shopping center is gone, though I don’t really know. If it IS still there, it has probably been modernized so that it looks generic.
TokyoMagic! again, oh yeah! Why buy dates when you can just pick them off the trees? (Bring your own ladder).
KS, I wish you could remember where your shopping center was… maybe it was the same one!
Major...It was down the Main Street of PS...I believe it was the North side of town and nearby the old theater.
KS
Date shakes are very good indeed. Indio had the date festival for many years. Don't know if that's still a thing, but selling dates, date ingredient foodstuffs, date-related souvenirs, etc. were a big thing in a past day. I found some old pics of my visit to the Indio festival long, long ago. The Middle East theme probably would not play well today.
I remember some buildings like this in PS, as you say, on Palm Canyon (or just off it) near the old theater, but, as noted, it was very long ago and memory fails. Little Spanish-style places like this abounded in old SoCal; Santa Barbara, La Jolla, PS, Venice, San Diego, even up into the San Joaquin Valley, Fresno, and Bakersfield. Mostly gone now, of course.
Cool pics, cool cars, Major. Thank you.
JG
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