Around the USA
I always enjoy a nice vintage look at places around the USA. You never know where we might be!
Today's first image is from July, 1977 (somebody's summer road trip?), from Missoula, Montana. We're looking northeast on East Broadway (which also happens to be part of I-90). It looks like a charming town. Let's go to 4Bs! I'm not sure what 4Bs was, but I'll bet we could get a nice hamburger there. I often find that photos from this era still look thriving and fun, with Cooper Tires, the Conoco station, and way in the distance, a hotel that may or may not say "Palace Hotel".
Here's a contemporary look using Google Maps' "street view". Wha' happened? It's like somebody squeezed almost all of the fun and charm out of everything. I'm sure Missoula is still a very nice place, but I sure like the 1977 view better.
Next is this photo from Central City, Colorado (from a slide dated "September 1, 1953"), looking north on Main Street. We've been to Central City before, take a look HERE and HERE. Wikipedia says: The historic City of Central, commonly known as Central City, is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Gilpin County. The city population was 779, all in Gilpin County, at the 2020 United States census. The city is a historic mining settlement founded in 1859 during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush and came to be known as the "Richest Square Mile on Earth".
And why not see what it looks like today, via Google Maps? At first I wondered if this street had been turned into a "no cars" zone, but there is one car just coming around the corner at the other end.
24 comments:
Is that a Gremlin I see going for new tires?? Nanook’s going to have a field day naming these cars...is that a Pinto on the left?
I need to finish reading all of this post...will be back later.
Sue
Nanook—or is that first one on the left a Mustang Ghia (and not a Pinto)?
I spy a black pony in that other image.
Thanks, Major.
Sue
Oh boy, Main Street! Let's count trashcans!....... dang.
Major, that's actually Hotel Liberace. When he wasn't playing Vegas he was dazzling the folks here in Missoula; famous for it's exotic night life. I bet the 4B's was owned by 4 guys named: Bill, Bob, Brad, and Brian. Or maybe it was pronounced "Forbes"? I like that cute and sporty little blackberry-colored car pulling into the Cooper Tires shop.
In the current image, wow. I know that some towns retain their charm over the years but... this ain't one of 'em. Too bad.
I'm getting a little motion sick looking at Central City's main street. It's like one, big Haunted Shack; leaning and tilting in all directions. It's got old-timey charm in every square inch!
In the current image, the town looks like it has kept most of its old charm. The colors looked better in the '53 photo, but the lighting is different, so it's hard to tell. Plus, we don't have all that great signage anymore.
Sue, that's what I was thinking, too; a Gremlin.
Very nice 'anyplace goes' Saturday, Major. Thanks.
Is that a Gremlin I see going for new tires?
Sue, ha, ha! I was looking for a little creature or a very short person, crossing the street in front of the tire place. Then I saw the car! I don't know a lot about cars, but I do believe that is a Gremlin! Nanook will let us know for sure! I see JB is putting in a vote for "Gremlin," too!
At first glance, I thought that vintage shot of Central City looked a lot like a street on the Universal Studios backlot.
I would never have believed the Montana photo was from 1977 if it hadn’t been for that red Gremlin in the background!!!! An absolute anachronism in a sea of old cars!!!
As for Central City … it sure reminds me an awful lot of Bisbee, Arizona!!! At first glance I thought the photo might have been mislabeled!
It. Was. Better. Then.
Those early photos demonstrate the visual principle of “messy vitality” being more interesting than tasteful coordinated design.
I notice that 4B’s has one of the stock image signs of a chef kissing his fingers. This character type was pretty common on menus and signs in the 50’s & 60’s. He’s a little out of place in the late 70’s. I’m not sure why I would want to eat something prepared by a guy who licks his fingers, but there you have it. I’m pronouncing the name as “Forby’s” just because.
The car is an AMC Gremlin, not sure what year.
Central City looks like a fun place. Let’s go to Earls and have a snort, there’s probably a corner stool vacant. I can smell the stale tobacco. The Gold Rush towns all have a similar feel. I count four trash cans in modern CC.
Thanks for before and after, Major. These are instructive and fun.
JG
Here’s Forby’s menu.
https://www.menupix.com/missoula/restaurants/380368830/4bs-Restaurant-Missoula-MT
Apparently it’s a northwest chain with stores from Seattle east across Montana. Still in operation.
JG
JG, I would be inclined to go check out 4B's, but since they don't have alcohol or WiFi, forget it! ;-)
The worlds does seem to be losing its colorfulness for a bland monotony. This thread shows an analysis of colors in photos over time confirming it. https://twitter.com/culturaltutor/status/1551976051860963333
JG,
I'm not sure if 4B's is a real northwest chain, stretching from Washigton state to Montana. The only ones that i've seen are in Montana, though Google brings up a 4bs on Leary Ave in Seattle. (Leary Ave, that's close to where I grew up!) but notice the different spelling and punctuation. At any rate, I had a meal at 4B's Deer Lodge a couple years back. It's a Denny's level place. It's OK, but TUMS may or may not be required afterward.
I wonder how photos of cities taken today will look to people in 50 or 60 years? Will they same wonderment or bewilderment that we see and feel in these pics?
Thanks Major. I enjoy our occasional side trips about the country.
W
Major-
As JG noted - that's an AMC Gremlin. The year - who knows - they were all so similar.
The 1953 image has a greater variety of 'more interesting' vehicles. On the left, that 'light green' car down front, (probably in Island Green) is a 1949 Dodge Coronet. On the right side, in front of 'Earl's Toll Gate Bar' is a 1951 Mercury, possibly in Sheffield Green. You're on your own for the balance. (Is that Rainbow Ridge up on the hill-?)
Also JG... "the visual principle of “messy vitality” being more interesting than tasteful coordinated design". No kidding-!
Thanks, Major.
@ Warren-
I just drove by 4B's on Leary Way the other day. It's pretty doubtful it has anything to do with the one in Missoula. I've been meaning to stop at the (Seattle) 4Bs for lunch and a local beer...
Sue, the owner of the Gremlin decided to drive his Rolls Royce while his other car is getting new tires.
Sue, good eye on the pony, apparently being petted by two kids!
JB, Hotel Liberace? The dream! Nothing weird about it at all. Complimentary fur coats instead of robes. Your theory about 4Bs has the ring of truth to it, only one of the names was Bobo. I sort of like how Central City is built on hills, with curving streets, it gives it character. North-south streets are so boring (though easier to navigate). I dunno man, even taking into consideration the different colors, the “now” photo of Missoula looks kind of sad to me.
TokyoMagic!, Sue is always seeing gnomes, gremlins, pixies, and even ghosts. She has “the sight”.
TokyoMagic!, I’d say that’s a compliment to the designers of the Universal backlot.
Anonymous (Stu?) aren’t some of the other cars from about the same era as the Gremlin? I know that Gremlins were terrible cars, but I can’t help finding them just a bit cute. Bisbee, Arizona? I guess I need to look that up, I’m not familiar with that town.
JG, obviously I agree with you. In a way I think of the old “motel row” in Anaheim as a demonstration of the same principles, although that did get perhaps a little too chaotic. Still, it had a sort of charm and vitality that it completely lacks today. That stock image of the chef was on a pizza box from the take-out pizza I got last night! “Mama mia!”, he is probably saying. And I’ve heard of 4 star kitchens where the chefs used to taste the sauces and stick their fingers into everything, I’m sure that’s a no-no today. I want to go to Central City and gamble all of my money away at a nearby casino. Sure, I’ll be broke, but think of the excitement!
JG, that bacon burger looks pretty darn good! I’m glad to know that Forby’s is still around. Anything to compete with the usual fast food offerings.
TokyoMagic!, this is why I always carry a flask with me. Just add booze to your Coke, and you are suddenly having a great day!
Dean Finder, it does seem as if cities in general are more uniform in color, with lots of natural stone colors, terra cotta, adobe, and so on. I just watched a video of a woman going through Central America on her motorcycle, and so many of the villages were painted in cheerful, bright colors. As for cars, I’d like a pearlescent orange car, but it would be harder to sell, as opposed to a white, silver, or black car. I think.
Warren, 4Bs Deer Lodge? I’m amazed they let you in, since you are clearly not a deer. Maybe you wore a hat with antlers and fooled them. That’s what I would have done. I’m sorry to hear that the food isn’t that great, I wonder if it used to be better? You know how things seem to lower in quality as the years pass. As I said to JG, the bacon burger in the photo looks pretty primo!
Nanook, I always think of Wayne’s (as in “Wayne’s World”) Gremlin, with tiny flames painted on the sides. A Dodge Coronet? Is it made of paper plates? Ha ha, I’m hilarious! “Sheffield Green”, “Island Green”, what about “Frankenstein Green”? Hire me, car companies. (Yes, yes, I know that “Frankenstein” is the scientist and not the monster).
Nanook, you need to go to 4B’s on Leary Way and write a full trip report! WITH EXCRUCIATING DETAILS!
Major-
"Is it made of paper plates?"
YES, as a matter of fact-! Just imagine Rosemary Clooney singing...
♬ Extra value is what you get when you buy Coronet. ♫ LISTEN HERE.
The transformation of that Main Street is typical of so many central city cores once people flock to the suburbs. I too prefer the older look. And yes, I thought the Central City pic was something off a backlot. Talk about gentrification.
Yes, 4Bs and Deer Lodge. I will be there next week myself for the Big Sky Draft Show. And no doubt will stop in for a bite of two. Simple diner food and sometimes the only place in town open to boot. KS
Maybe 4B's was a 4runner of RB's.
"Earl, run acrosst the street and pick me up a gold mine at the gold mine store, wouldja?"
JG, those are exactly the sorts of items I expected to see on 4B's menu. Good, homestyle cookin' (or good homestyle diner cookin').
Dean Finder, thanks for the link. Wow. It looks like we'll be living in a completely black & white world soon. I wonder how many years it will be before everybody tears out their new B&W kitchens of today and replace them with colorful (and interesting!) kitchens of yore.
Major, in Hotel Liberace, every room has a grand piano with a candelabra sitting on top. And the complimentary fur coats are all bedecked with sequins. Of course, the rooms cost $30,000 a night, BUT IT'S WORTH IT!
Missoula looks like it took shape on both sides of what was then the main highway. By now it's likely there's a freeway bypass, leaving a really wide street.
I think you'd find a lot of streets like that all over, where towns grew around what was then a highway. Either the highway grew into a freeway, ending its days as a business location, or a new freeway routed away the heavy through traffic. What remained might endure as the main drag, or become just a functional lesser avenue.
When I was a tad, a stretch of Highway 101 narrowed to two lanes (seriously) south of San Jose, and became the main downtown streets of Morgan Hill and Gilroy as it passed through. This carried cars, big rigs, buses, the occasional tractor, and everything else. Part of it earned the nickname Blood Alley for frequent accidents (we'd have blackouts when somebody hit a power pole), and I'm sure out-of-towners regarded it as a speed trap. Eventually a major bypass was built, and both Morgan Hill and Gilroy gentrified their old downtowns a bit with brickwork and pedestrian crossings.
The bypass between San Jose and Gilroy is largely free of billboards, but does have fast-food signs atop really tall poles, which evokes an earlier era. It's at least 50 years old and I still think of it as new.
Major,
I wore my mouse ears. They said that was close enough. And any food type advertising almost ALWAYS looks better in print that real life. Sad fact, but usually true.
Anon (KS?) It's been a couple years since I was there, but there is (or used to be) a place down near the old prison called Scharff's (or something close to that) that was the same sorta chow, and a fancier place up the other end of town, more of a steakhouse/dinner place. Can't recall the name. Great maple bars at the bakery tho.
W
Nanook, do you suppose the buildings up on the hill of Central City are built to a tiny scale for forced perspective?
I stayed at Hotel Liberace once. It was a nice place, but the whole time I was there, it felt like something was missing. On my second night, I realized what it was. I wished my brother, George, were there.
Thanks Warren. It's bee a couple years since we were there. And the virus put so many places out of business. I'll have to see what remains when we get there. KS
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