A fire-engine red 1962 Ford Galaxie rinses off at a Chevron under a googie-riffic sign in Escondido, California. It's Rock-a-billy bowling too, if Johnny Preston is in town! I don't think I've ever seen live music at a bowling alley, but I love the idea. Preston scored a number 1 hit with "Running Bear," a song about two hormone-driven native Americans who loved each other from afar across a raging river that eventually killed them (although they did get one kiss out of the deal).
The red, white and blue Chevron pumps make for a patriotic Americana scene, don't they? And at 26¢ a gallon, who wouldn't want to drive that Galaxie 500 up and down the strip?
ElectroSpark @ Twitter | Flicker
2009-05-09
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I hope that's not gas pouring out from under the car!
ReplyDeleteI once had a Flaming Galaxie at the Mai Kai in Ft. Lauderdale. Not Bad.
ReplyDeleteGreatness, just like the rest of your posts
ReplyDeleteWhile I am not certain, I believe the photo was taken from the South-West corner at the intersection of Center City Parkway and Washington Ave. in Escondido, CA. The photo is looking North-East.
ReplyDeleteIf you look on the right side of the photo behind the teal-colored truck, you see a tall thin sign reaching above the hills. This sign says "Liquor" and is still standing today at the intersection of Escondido Ave. and Mission Ave.
I believe the square gray building below it is the recently (as of mid-2013) vacated home of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Current aerial photos from Google/Bing maps show that DMV building with what appears to be a newer extension behind it, but I think it is the same building.
Very cool photo! That building (at 3 o'clock) looks like the current Auto Zone location. It was Thrifty's in the 70s and 80s. I looked at Auto Zone on Google Earth and left side of that building has vertical features like this vintage photo. Here's a link (if links are allowed on this forum)
ReplyDeletehttps://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=33.126965,-117.087967&spn=0.001677,0.001215&t=h&z=20
Wow - you guys are good! I was looking at the mountains, but you nailed it with the sign and building. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteGreat photo but where did it come from? I live in San Diego North County about 10 miles south of Escondido. There is a store (Major Market) I visit there on occasion to pick up delicious burgundy pepper Tri-tip for grilling. When I saw the photo I said that road really looks familiar. And as EscoLocal hypothesized, the photo was taken from the corner of Center City Parkway and Washington Ave looking N-NE. See map link below, set the angle to 45. The liquor sign you see in the background behind the big white building is still there on the corner of Escondido Blvd and Mission Ave. I tracked it down out of curiosity ending up at Holiday Wine Cellar and guess what, they had a sign on their window "Cheers To almost 50 Years". So they were there in business when the Ford Galaxie rinsed off some desert dust and Billy Preston played at the Escondido Bowl. If anyone knows anything about the Escondido Bowl I would be interested to hear. I have an updated photo of the intersection and the liquor sign if anyone is interested. The gas stations are long gone and so are the prices. Wish I had the Ford Galaxie though. Thanks for posting, great photo.
ReplyDeletehttps://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=33.127122,-117.089168&spn=0.005216,0.006094&t=h&z=18
Great Story!
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