Another "White Caravan" pic.
Photos of Vintage Auto Dealerships, Repair Shops, and Gas Stations
- Thread starter ayilar
- Start date
And an inside pic of the factory that became the museum.
Australian assembly line. The caption said these were "CKD" complete knock down cars shipped from Canada.
Pics from the last days at GM Fisher Body in Syracuse, closing for good on 9-26-93.
While this thread has been about the buildings, it's important to remember there were people working there. Some went to the Buffalo GM plant.
Note cigarette machine.
While this thread has been about the buildings, it's important to remember there were people working there. Some went to the Buffalo GM plant.
Note cigarette machine.
I'd like to know more about this one. Model T bodies stacked along the wall. I have read that owners did upgrade or swap to new or different bodies, but I've never seen something like this.
67newport
Old Man with a Hat
67newport
Old Man with a Hat
Interesting story. . Built 1931 and continuously in business, remodeled every couple of decades. and selling cars 9just Chevrolet) right now. Less and architectural story (reuse of ONE building over 90 years but a single business) than a business longevity one.
360 N Main St, Cedar City, UT. source: 83 years, counting: Bradshaw Chevrolet Buick, a family’s staying power
1930's
1950's
1980's-1990's
Early 2000's
Today
Center door Model T bodies.
I believe the date on the bottom is 1923.
I believe the date on the bottom is 1923.
Dunno where/when this is. Its a two-bay gas station, architectural angle is in the periphery though.
Motor Trend article waxing nostalgically about the formative years of upper age range of hotrodders spent in these buildings. Like the cars, the buildings are relics too.
In a big way, these buildings are almost, for some of us oldtimers anyway, as integral to the hobby as the cars (rods or not) are themselves.
source: https://www.motortrend.com/news/1805-many-hot-rodders-learned-about-cars-in-two-bay-gas-stations/
Excerpt.
"Like lots of kids in their formative years, I had a couple of huge influences in growing my love of cars and making them faster.
The first was my dad, who was a racer and hot rodder long before I showed up on the scene, and the second was my job at a gas station while in high school where I worked the pumps and served as assistant, wrench grabber, floor washer, and sacrificial teenager.
It was there that I learned so much about what to do, what not to do, and how to get your balls busted into oblivion by mechanics that actually did this stuff for a living and were reliving their own misspent youth through the kids that worked at the station.
That place was less a garage and more a classroom. It gave me the best education ever. Thousands and thousands more like me got the same education with varying levels of profanity, secondhand smoke, and frustration.
Sadly, these classrooms are a dying breed."
Motor Trend article waxing nostalgically about the formative years of upper age range of hotrodders spent in these buildings. Like the cars, the buildings are relics too.
In a big way, these buildings are almost, for some of us oldtimers anyway, as integral to the hobby as the cars (rods or not) are themselves.
source: https://www.motortrend.com/news/1805-many-hot-rodders-learned-about-cars-in-two-bay-gas-stations/
Excerpt.
"Like lots of kids in their formative years, I had a couple of huge influences in growing my love of cars and making them faster.
The first was my dad, who was a racer and hot rodder long before I showed up on the scene, and the second was my job at a gas station while in high school where I worked the pumps and served as assistant, wrench grabber, floor washer, and sacrificial teenager.
It was there that I learned so much about what to do, what not to do, and how to get your balls busted into oblivion by mechanics that actually did this stuff for a living and were reliving their own misspent youth through the kids that worked at the station.
That place was less a garage and more a classroom. It gave me the best education ever. Thousands and thousands more like me got the same education with varying levels of profanity, secondhand smoke, and frustration.
Sadly, these classrooms are a dying breed."
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Location Navasto, TX, exact address/still standing? Unknown. Apparently a bunch of these two-bay, reused/ex-gas stations all over Texas. Just internet chatter ... take it with a grain of salt.
I like it. A bit too small .. these two-bay stations are about 1,200 sq. ft .. for my "hobby house". But they tend too clean up nice if their original character is retained (needs a complete rehab, but original canopy intact & looks like original doors/windows too, a drive-thru design).
I estimate ca. 1930's, "company store", early "moderne", brick template build) for this one. Whenever this pic taken, it looks to have been abandoned for a decade or more, judging by over-growth of vegetation.
Plus, if rural, there may be enough land nearby for an outbuilding. I have found a few of those and posted in this thread.
I like it. A bit too small .. these two-bay stations are about 1,200 sq. ft .. for my "hobby house". But they tend too clean up nice if their original character is retained (needs a complete rehab, but original canopy intact & looks like original doors/windows too, a drive-thru design).
I estimate ca. 1930's, "company store", early "moderne", brick template build) for this one. Whenever this pic taken, it looks to have been abandoned for a decade or more, judging by over-growth of vegetation.
Plus, if rural, there may be enough land nearby for an outbuilding. I have found a few of those and posted in this thread.
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67newport
Old Man with a Hat
George Krapf in front of his Guthriesville gas station.
Sylva, NC.
67newport
Old Man with a Hat
De Kalb, NY
William Jeffrey inside his garage, which was also a gas station. Surrounded by the tools of the trade. 1930. Hammond, NY
Harmony PA 1962
This was actually the "Fishbowl" at GM's Willow Run (formerly Ford bomber plant, later GM Hyrdamatic Transmission plant, closed 2009 and most of it razed couple yrs after GM bankruptcy),
2625 Tyler Road, Ypsilanti Twp, Michigan. Same grounds as Willow Run Airport.
It was still there in 2019 at the 50th Anniversary of the EOP (May 1969) of the Corvair As of 2022, seems to still be there, part of GM's Service operations (Red Arrow).
Clinton, MO.
I saw this pic and wondered if it was a modern picture. A google search came up with this! Downtown DeSoto open house reveals an unforgettable collection of automotive passion in downtown Clinton That story is from 13 years ago.
More recently. Downtown Desoto
I saw this pic and wondered if it was a modern picture. A google search came up with this! Downtown DeSoto open house reveals an unforgettable collection of automotive passion in downtown Clinton That story is from 13 years ago.
More recently. Downtown Desoto
To me, its official, Packard was the gold-standard of the dealership palaces in the 1920's and 1930's.
The most opulent pads, and those that survive 100 years later, and were fortunate enough to be repurposed into USEFUL things (not like in Detroit where one became the world's biggest McDonald's then was eventually razed).
This one at 201 NW 10th Street, Oklahoma City, OK.
Built 1928, not sure of the style, nut brick with limestone trim, way too much square footage except for a a commercial repurpose. Could not find any vintage photos of it.
source: Case Study: Eisele Motor Company, Oklahoma (U.S. National Park Service)
"This former automobile dealership, built in 1928, has been rehabilitated for use as a restaurant and a salon yet retains its former character.
The open space of the automobile showroom has been largely preserved via the use of partial height and clear partitions that showcase the space’s historic volume and structural system.
The floors, originally tile and cut concrete, have been cleaned and repaired, along with the masonry walls. Staircases, removed in prior renovations, have re-established access to the upper floor.
In some areas floating ceilings are employed to help disguise mechanical systems while allowing the historic ceiling to remain visible."
The most opulent pads, and those that survive 100 years later, and were fortunate enough to be repurposed into USEFUL things (not like in Detroit where one became the world's biggest McDonald's then was eventually razed).
This one at 201 NW 10th Street, Oklahoma City, OK.
Built 1928, not sure of the style, nut brick with limestone trim, way too much square footage except for a a commercial repurpose. Could not find any vintage photos of it.
source: Case Study: Eisele Motor Company, Oklahoma (U.S. National Park Service)
"This former automobile dealership, built in 1928, has been rehabilitated for use as a restaurant and a salon yet retains its former character.
The open space of the automobile showroom has been largely preserved via the use of partial height and clear partitions that showcase the space’s historic volume and structural system.
The floors, originally tile and cut concrete, have been cleaned and repaired, along with the masonry walls. Staircases, removed in prior renovations, have re-established access to the upper floor.
In some areas floating ceilings are employed to help disguise mechanical systems while allowing the historic ceiling to remain visible."
Oh my
Ex Packard dealer, 4650 Broadway, NY, NY. Built 1926, an Albert Kahn design with rare "curves" (the contour of the street), there until 2019 but I get the sense ~100 years of obviously meddling took a toll on it.
Its last commercial use appeared to have been parking.
Recall, these buildings were showrooms, service, AND indoor parking lots. Lotta open space, Kahn-design using reinforced concrete to handle the weight of hundreds of cars, ramps to get from floor to floor, etc. Parking structures were obvious repurpose options.
Early dealerships definitely were NOT what we knew from 1960's to today .. big, sprawling, outdoor lots, 25 ft. ceiling, clear span, characterless, "big box" single story buildings, etc.,
Bet it was something in its day though. Wheels of progress obsoleted it long ago, and now its gone. spared further structural ignominy and graffitti adornments.
sources: 4650 Broadway: The Packard Building – | My Inwood, 4650 Broadway Has Changed Hands in the Last 13 Years - Inwood Development May Finally Become a Reality
Recently
and Totday .... she's gone. 100 years old, two stories, giant footprint in a city that builds UP .. surprised it lasted this long.
Well it was upper Manhattan, but still it is Manhattan. Pricey dirt all over that island.
Future - clearly a more valuable use of that real estate. Several false starts om 20 years, recession,changed hands a couple times, and pandemic, looks like a go project now
"Affordability seems to be the hashtag for 4650 Broadway’s recent history.
Currently occupied by a garage in what was a former Packard auto showroom, the property was acquired in 2005 by Acadia Realty Trust, a major real estate investment trust based in White Plains, for $18.25 million in partnership with New York City-based Washington Square Partners.
Acadia had planned to construct a 15-story, 335-unit residential building with 175 units of affordable housing. It would have been the first property built under New York City’s mandatory inclusionary housing program.
Ex Packard dealer, 4650 Broadway, NY, NY. Built 1926, an Albert Kahn design with rare "curves" (the contour of the street), there until 2019 but I get the sense ~100 years of obviously meddling took a toll on it.
Its last commercial use appeared to have been parking.
Recall, these buildings were showrooms, service, AND indoor parking lots. Lotta open space, Kahn-design using reinforced concrete to handle the weight of hundreds of cars, ramps to get from floor to floor, etc. Parking structures were obvious repurpose options.
Early dealerships definitely were NOT what we knew from 1960's to today .. big, sprawling, outdoor lots, 25 ft. ceiling, clear span, characterless, "big box" single story buildings, etc.,
Bet it was something in its day though. Wheels of progress obsoleted it long ago, and now its gone. spared further structural ignominy and graffitti adornments.
sources: 4650 Broadway: The Packard Building – | My Inwood, 4650 Broadway Has Changed Hands in the Last 13 Years - Inwood Development May Finally Become a Reality
Recently
and Totday .... she's gone. 100 years old, two stories, giant footprint in a city that builds UP .. surprised it lasted this long.
Well it was upper Manhattan, but still it is Manhattan. Pricey dirt all over that island.
Future - clearly a more valuable use of that real estate. Several false starts om 20 years, recession,changed hands a couple times, and pandemic, looks like a go project now
"Affordability seems to be the hashtag for 4650 Broadway’s recent history.
Currently occupied by a garage in what was a former Packard auto showroom, the property was acquired in 2005 by Acadia Realty Trust, a major real estate investment trust based in White Plains, for $18.25 million in partnership with New York City-based Washington Square Partners.
Acadia had planned to construct a 15-story, 335-unit residential building with 175 units of affordable housing. It would have been the first property built under New York City’s mandatory inclusionary housing program.
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Guess I feel two ways about this one.
Ex-Packard Dealership, Carnegie Ave at 93rd St.. Cleveland, OH. Built 1928, another Kahn design, still there. Now, part of the Cleveland Clinic campus.
Dont know the inside, but it has a couple of "habi-trails" in/out of it, but still there and definitely has a productive use. At least CC didn't tear it down, kept most of its distinctive external architectural features, but those walk-ways aint pretty.
On balance, kudos to CC for hanging on to a bit of the City's industrial history while meeting their space needs at same time.
source: The Packard Dealership Building | Cleveland Historical
Today
Ex-Packard Dealership, Carnegie Ave at 93rd St.. Cleveland, OH. Built 1928, another Kahn design, still there. Now, part of the Cleveland Clinic campus.
Dont know the inside, but it has a couple of "habi-trails" in/out of it, but still there and definitely has a productive use. At least CC didn't tear it down, kept most of its distinctive external architectural features, but those walk-ways aint pretty.
On balance, kudos to CC for hanging on to a bit of the City's industrial history while meeting their space needs at same time.
source: The Packard Dealership Building | Cleveland Historical
Today
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