greg g Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 Must have been some excitment in the air. Quote
RobertKB Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 Holy crap! Wouldn't you just love to have a tenth of those cars now. I could afford to buy my condo in Maui and fly there every year! Quote
Oldguy48 Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 Must have been some excitment in the air. Yikes, that was certainly a misleading title. Quote
greg g Posted December 28, 2009 Author Report Posted December 28, 2009 Wonder what was going on? Looks like all the guys had uniforms on, and there are little flags or streamers onthe ataneas. LA or Hollywood, Did they meet a trainload of starlets after WAR bond tour?? Quote
pflaming Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 At first viewing they all looked alike, then noticing bumpers, fenders, roof lines etc., there was quite a variety of vehicals. I wonder if they weren't being shipped to the military. Quote
David Maxwell Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 ...but could be anywhere in the LA area. I would have to agree that this looks like a military purchase for the war effort. Probably to be used as stateside base transports. Wonder what was going on? Looks like all the guys had uniforms on, and there are little flags or streamers onthe ataneas. LA or Hollywood, Did they meet a trainload of starlets after WAR bond tour?? Quote
greg g Posted December 28, 2009 Author Report Posted December 28, 2009 Looks like they are all plated, wouldn't military vehicle not need the plates. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 Terminex leased these for a 5 year study on social habits of the termite..yes..governement funded to see if they actually had a preferrence to any of the big 3 Quote
Normspeed Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 Second photo looks a lot like the northbound Hollywood freeway exit at Universal Studios, near Barham Blvd. It's been reworked in recent years though. Can't imagine what all those folks were up to but those are sure some great cars. Quote
David Maxwell Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 ...because as soon as I read this, I recognized it as the exit I sometimes take to visit my brother in Burbank. He used to work for Warner Bros. The image from Google Earth below confirms it! Excellent! Second photo looks a lot like the northbound Hollywood freeway exit at Universal Studios, near Barham Blvd. It's been reworked in recent years though. Can't imagine what all those folks were up to but those are sure some great cars. Quote
Normspeed Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 David, that is so neat, that you can capture the exact same spot on Google Earth. We used to drive up Barham a few blocks, then turn right through the residential area, and go walking at the Hollywood Reservoir, just below the Hollywood sign. The good old daze... Maybe those cars were headed north to Santa Barbara for the first annual Woodies on the Wharf car show, if it was held that far back. Quote
greg g Posted December 28, 2009 Author Report Posted December 28, 2009 Wonder where the parking lot was??? Is the railroad station near there???? Quote
pflaming Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 (edited) I do not think all the cars are Mopar, I think all makes are represented and it looks to me like the uniforms are more in line with chauffer style, so I wander if there wasn't a big golf tournament near by maybe even in Santa Barbara area as was mentioned. Maybe Hearst had a big party going up at the castle. 1. By the shadows the time in the parking lot is 9:00 a.m., March or April, (2) On two corners are gasoline stations, (3) the street beyond the fence is a four lane, (4) the street is empty so it must be a Sunday morning (stores were closed on Sunday, remember?), (5) I think the street may be Sepulvata BLVD, (5) by the shadow to the right of the picture there must be a large store to the right, (6) the caravan is headed north. QUESTION: What could have happened on Sunday Morning in the Burbank/Hollywood area that would require 100 +/- chaparoned station wagons? Edited December 28, 2009 by pflaming Quote
Normspeed Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 No rails in that area that I can recall. If it were possible to read the signs on the buildings that might give a clue. Quote
Don Coatney Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 They paved paradise And put up a parking lot ... Quote
pflaming Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 1. By the shadows the time in the parking lot is 9:00 a.m., March or April, (2) On two corners are gasoline stations, (3) the street beyond the fence is a four lane, (4) the street is empty so it must be a Sunday morning (stores were closed on Sunday, remember?), (5) I think the street may be Sepulvata BLVD, (5) by the shadow to the right of the picture there must be a large store to the right, (6) the caravan is headed north. QUESTION: What could have happened on Sunday Morning in the Burbank/Hollywood area that would require 100 +/- chaparoned station wagons? Quote
Jim Yergin Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 Wonder what was going on? Looks like all the guys had uniforms on, and there are little flags or streamers onthe ataneas. LA or Hollywood, Did they meet a trainload of starlets after WAR bond tour?? That's a '41 Plymouth leading the line on the right. I think I remember reading somewhere that during WWII, the government requested the donation of station wagons to be used in the war effort. I will have to go back and check my sources. Jim Yergin Quote
Robert Smith Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 (edited) These photos are really interesting, greg g, where did you dig this up? The military did use just about any type of auto for the war effort. I've seen a photo of a 1929 Chevy painted as a staff car! Serious, a '29 Chevy staff car for WWII! Looking at the parking lot photo, those are not chauffeur uniforms; chauffeurs wore longer coats, double breasted with two rows of buttons in most cases. Also, their hats were visor caps, the caps worn in the photos are overseas caps, also known as garrison caps. I would have to say they are military. The 101 north bound traffic... wow, that is such a neat shot! I recognized it right off the bat! It's the Cahuenga Pass! The old off-ramp is still there but fenced off. Look how nice everything used to look... Here's another shot looking north west from up on the hill... notice that there used to be PE (Pacific Electric) Red Car track running in the middle! That is all gone now and not one trace is left of that ever being there. Look, it seems where the 101 would be is nothing but PE track going in that direction... the road seems to end and force traffic to Ventura Blvd. -=Rob=- Edited December 28, 2009 by Robert Smith Quote
Jim Yergin Posted December 29, 2009 Report Posted December 29, 2009 Woodies were also used by the Red Cross during the war. The first car in this picture is a 1941 Plymouth. Jim Yergin Quote
Jim Yergin Posted January 29, 2010 Report Posted January 29, 2010 A friend of mine and fellow woodie owner found this picture and information in a back issue of the Woodie Times. Now we "know the rest of the story." Jim Yergin Quote
greg g Posted January 29, 2010 Author Report Posted January 29, 2010 Jim was there a date on this??? I recall that California authorities thought they might be under threat from Japanese Ballon bombs. The Japanese had devised a system of using lighter than air inflatables with bombs suspended from them to be lauched from ships or submarines and floated on prevailing winds to either deflate or drop their ordinance on the West coast of America. There was also a threat from a class of Submarines that carried one or two single engined bombers. Wonder if the evacuation was to service citizens or persons of import????? Quote
Jim Yergin Posted January 29, 2010 Report Posted January 29, 2010 Greg, I posted all that I had. Does not appear to have a date. Sorry. I believe that after Pearl Harbor there was a real fear of a Japanese attack on the west coast too. Jim Yergin Quote
PatS.... Posted January 29, 2010 Report Posted January 29, 2010 Another shot of the spot WITH a train. 1938 Quote
greg g Posted January 29, 2010 Author Report Posted January 29, 2010 http://www.militarymuseum.org/1stEvacRegt.html Quote
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