Studes in Roadside Americana photos

[Studedude]

[skyway]

#9736 could be one angry Hudson(?) owner.

[qsanford]

I wonder where the Playdium was located? Very interesting building.

[Dwain G.]

Playdium:

http://playdiumbowlingcenter.com/about/

[studegary]

Playdium:

http://playdiumbowlingcenter.com/about/

Only about 85 miles from me.

[BRUCESTUDE]

Hopefully the driver of the Hudson isn't in a hurry to leave!

[qsanford]

Awesome! A Bowling Alley! And they are still in business! I guess Albany, N.Y. appreciates Streamline Architecture.

Playdium:

http://playdiumbowlingcenter.com/about/

[Studedude]

[8E45E]

When my home town converted to rotary dial equipment in the early 1950s, our phone number went from 609 to 0609.

I'm rather surprised it started with '0'. I figured, as soon as one dialed '0', you connect with the long distance operator.

Craig

[BobPalma]

'Don't think we've seen this one before. It came to me today with a bit of history. Read on below:



The exact year is unknown, but we can see a '55 Chevy across the street in the WOLF used car lot.

The scene would probably be on Indianapolis' "Automobile Row," which was East Washington Street (U. S. 40; The National Road) through downtown Indianapolis. Indianapolis' Largest Studebaker dealer, Charlie Stuart, would have had a Used Car lot along that road even if the new-car showroom was elsewhere. This photo would have been taken 6 or 7 years before we moved to Indianapolis when I was 16 years old, so this is a few years before my time in central Indiana.

The photo was sent to me by Andy Wolf, grandson of "Ike" Wolf, whose used-car dealership appears to be across the street from where this was taken. Andy is about my age (late 60s / early 70s), a freind, and heavily involved in the central Indiana collector-car hobby. The Indiana Dealer license plate on the front of the car (76M7) would identify it as the 7th set of plates issued to Indiana Motor Vehicle Dealer #76. This was back when Indiana had both front and rear plates, which we haven't had for a long time.

Andy Wolf worked at his late father (Bud Wolf's) Chevrolet dealership in northeast Indianapolis, Bud Wolf Chevrolet. There was a third(?) family member, Sam Wolf, who also operated a used-car only dealership here on Automobile Row: One way or another, Ike, Bud, and Sam where involved hustling cars around Indianapolis to whatever demographic would be best served in a given neighborhood. All have passed and the dealerships closed; only my friend Andy is left and he does not operate a dealership because he is retired.

Andy has a collection of Indianapolis Pace Cars and is intensely interested in them. He recently bought a nice maroon 1952 Commander State convertible out of Colorado. Even though it's a nice car as is, he is going to have it professionally dismantled and recreated as a 1952 Indianapolis Motor Speedway 500 Pace Car. He has the wherewithal to do it right, so it should be a gorgeous car.

He ran across the above photo somewhere today and forwarded it to me. He thinks the modification might have been done by Indianapolis' Studebaker dealer Charlie Stuart and it might have been the pace car for The Hoosier Hundred sprint car race at The Indiana State Fairgrounds. Thanks, Andy! BP


Additional information I received today (Sunday, November 19) from George Hamlin. I don't know Dave Lockard:

Dave Lockard forwards this piece, which may interest you.

= = =

Charlie Stuart's 1953 Studebaker Commander Hoosier "100" Pace Car

In addition to running the Indianapolis 500 race, which is held yearly on Memorial Day weekend, in 1953 the AAA (sanctioning body of the National Championship Trail Races) added a second race date to the calendar in Indy, the Hoosier "100." This race was held in mid September on the one-mile dirt track at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, also in Indianapolis.

Previously, Studebaker constructed a running prototype 1953 Commander convertible which never made it into production. Indianapolis Studebaker dealer Charlie Stuart also modified one of his own Commander's into an open car without a top that was similar the Automaker's test mule for the "100."

Charlie Stuart's son Chuck Stuart sent in these photos of the Pace Car and wrote: "Charlie Stuart was my father and he told me (I was 10 at the time) he didn't realize how much the car would change when he cut the top off the car. That's why they had to reinforce the frame, also there wasn't a top for it."

You can learn all the details of this one-off custom and view a third image of the car in a November 1953 "Popular Science" article "Altered Studebaker Coupe Becomes Fast Sports Car." Complete with a "hopped-up" engine, the car was capable of traveling 120 mi/hr.

[Alan]

One sweet Stude.

[Sagandaga]

Probably not old enough

High school graduation day, 1978, my dad's 64 GT. He would let me drive it in the summer. I was happy to be driving the Hawk that day to commencement at SPAC in Saratoga Springs.

[BobPalma]

Anybody else have trouble seeing the photo in #9745? It still looks good here. BP

[Skip Lackie]

Anybody else have trouble seeing the photo in #9745? It still looks good here. BP

No photo there.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm rather surprised it started with '0'. I figured, as soon as one dialed '0', you connect with the long distance operator.

Craig

Zero, not Oh.

[Ron Strasser]

Same here; no photo
Ron