Color video of downtown LA, 1957, taken from a moving automobile...

[Bill Pressler]

At around 2:10, the original poster (on the Edmunds 'Postwar Studebakers' forum) says he believes you can see a bit of Frost and French, Studebaker dealer..look for red ball on right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LpPKAhW9-s&feature=youtu.be

[62champ]

Guess people raced the red light back then to...

[BobPalma]

Absolutely, Bill; readily visible for several seconds while the guy is waiting for the light to change.

And right at 3:00, a 47-49 goes whizzing across the intersection.

Precious few Studebakers in that land of wealth and prestige.

Great video. BP

[8E45E]

Absolutely, Bill;[B][COLOR=red]And right at 3:00, a 47-49 goes whizzing across the intersection.

I wonder if it came from that Studebaker dealer across the street from the Pontiac dealer!!? (At 2:06 in the vid.)

And why such a disproportionate amount of Cadillacs and only two or three Packards??
Craig

[BobPalma]

Why such a disproportionate number of Cadillacs and only two or three Packards? Craig

'Kinda gives you a hint of Cadillac's market penetration in a wealthy market by 1957, Craig.

And, sad to say, probably half the 1955/1956 Packards that had been sold were in the shop for their first Twin-Ultramatic repair by 1957! Gulp. BP

[showbizkid]

I like it when the T-Bird makes an illegal left turn in front of the camera car at about 3:45

[StudeRich]

That was a really poor cross section of Los Angeles because it only showed the rich Hollywood area nowhere near the Downtown LA Western Ave. location of Frost & French, and they would just have recently transitioned from Packard to Studebaker in 1957 I would not expect to see that old early 50's Studebaker ball sign. Probably NOT Frost & French.

This store could have been one of several, one being the Paul G. Hoffman store, that's right the X President of Studebaker and his son had Dealerships in LA.

Yes there were many Lincolns, Imperials, Chryslers and Cadillacs in 1957 in Hollywood. Any Packards would be old ones.

[Bob Andrews]

Fabulous video! I made it full-screen on my monitor and leaned forward, trying desparately to insert myself into 1957:/

I noticed at abou 1:45 we see the Buick convertible and the brown Ford that the driver had left a few bolcks back.

As I watched it occued to me that probably most of the buildings are still there, but very few if any of the cars- and people- shown still survive.

Makes you think...

Thanks for sharing this, Bill!

[Avantidon]

Bill thanks for posting a great video as Bob has said. Take me with you Bob if you can figure how to get there. Those were indeed the good old days where a simpler and less complex life style prevailed.

[Bob Hutchins]

Very Cool!!

[Bordeaux Daytona]

Nice find!
Did you see the other videos they have?
This one has a lark right at the beginning. There's one, maybe the same, trying to park towards the end.

[jclary]

I hope I don't run afoul of you current Cadillac drivers too bad...but...I bet that T-Bird driver's other car was a Cadillac!

I developed such a prejudice against Caddy "I'm so Special" owners so long ago...that by the time I was able to afford one...I wouldn't dare!

Of course...I know...all generalizations are unfair. As an observation from someone not too observant...it looks like Cadillac is one of the few success stories of domestic production. Attractive cars with a completely different customer base. I'm still not convinced, but, from the numbers you see on the road...

[candbstudebakers]

Neat, but more T-Birds than Studebaker's, also I guess it must be a new law where people walking have the right of way, not so in LA

[showbizkid]

For you radiophiles out there, both videos show the original KFWB radio station antennas atop the roof of the Warner Theater, built 1928, in which KFWB was housed until its move down toward the Capitol Tower in the late 5os when Warner Brothers sold the station to Crowell-Collier. The building (and the towers) are still there, and house the Hollywood Pacific Theater, as you can see in this photo. The antenna systems are not active anymore; the towers simply hold the neon that spells out the theater's name.

[qsanford]

The people crossing the streets appear to have a destination in mind. Many people in our local area cities seem to slow down when they are crossing, almost daring you to hit them!