to the boulevard cruising scene: It was the turn-around for cruisers who Some guests like to go all out with a tuxedo or ball gown. Former NBA player Chris Mills sat next tohis 1959Chevy. Some pictures were shot at 1/2 second! Learn how your comment data is processed. With the monthly draft numbers now down significantly I come here to show off my car. In general the conformity really burnt me out of custom cars a long time ago. I love how people wait breathlessly for the newest cellphone and make ridiculous unboxing videos as if were going to see something AWESOME.., No its a black rectangle. I was born in 1973, a year later. border: 1px solid; border-color: #000000; var absrc = 'https://servedbyadbutler.com/adserve/;ID=171804;size=0x0;setID=439655;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid439655+';place='+(plc439655++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER'; There were plenty of interesting cars, trucks, and people out there that night. It really depends on the cruise line often the captains dinner is by invitation only. CONTENT. The cover is what I consider the most iconic car culture image of the times. Jairo - take it away. 57930 Hwy. Van Nuys Blvd, paved by Isaac Van Nuys in the early 1920's over farm land. And cars today get at least twice the mileage or more. Powerglide, combined with a V8 and burned valve made for horrible gas mileage. Among the clubs in attendance were Ruthless Ryderz, Majestics, Primeros, and Westside, to name a few. What city is the heart of the San Fernando Valley? The sprawling territory makes traveling by motor vehicle (both private and public) a near prerequisite to live here. Wednesday night was cruise night, I knew this very well In 1979, William Sachs shot the movieVan Nuys Blvd.with actress Cynthia Wood about cruising the famous boulevard. shutter times. of that alley. Whittier Boulevard and on countless other streets and avenues in cities Foolish enough in my youth to be oblivious to things like wear and tear, tires, registration, insurance etc, I calculated my cost at under a penny a mile. People riding in the back of a pickup truck without getting arrested. Gas here was 48c in 1973 it went up dramatically from there it hit $1 a few weeks after I bought a 6 cylinder car now its around $2.50 per litre 1/4 of a gallon and thats for el cheapo 91 octane 95 or 98 are more, Somehow, the industry continues to grow. var plc435069 = window.plc435069 || 0; One of the most exclusive communities in the country, Bel-Air has become synonymous with extravagance. Anybody that lived in SoCal back in the 70's and 80's and. Since the car is a four door, Gardado put the Uber sticker on the window; However, since the car is older than 2000, he cant use it to pick up riders. The first night a friend of mine bought his 67 Corvette 427 tri power he had to fill his gas tank 3 times. These really seemed to be the glory days for the San Fernando Valley but similar scenes played out in every area across the country. border: 1px solid; Too bad Youth is wasted on the Young! facing in the direction of our house. Not only riding, open beverage container was legal (if your were 21+) since the driver could not reach it. especially young men, were once again able to enjoy the freedom and the behind us, and see Van Nuys Boulevard only two-hundred feet distant. Nonetheless, Im cruising up PCH tomorrow, all the way to Big Sur. Van Nuys never disappoints. These pictures brought back some fun memories. Its where builders and customizers showcase their custom builds and a destination point where spectators can sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds. sprawling lawns all the way down the block. If you want to attend a cruise elegant evening, bring a fancier, more formal outfit. My photos show this well. One could ? Bobs was the center of the cruising universe, and driving south past and wonderful energy levels of the evening car culture on Van Nuys Boulevard THANK YOU for posting these wonderful photos ! } border: 1px solid; Times had really changed in L.A. by the early 1970s from just a few years earlier in the mid 1960s. What does a California accent sound like? Hundreds of motorheads have converged on Van Nuys Boulevard in Los Angeles for a lowrider cruise night.. Lowriders - customized vintage vehicles featuring extravagant paint jobs and wire-spoke . Nearly 50 years have passed, and most of the beautiful kids in the photos are now approaching 70 years of age a few are even older! These New Yorkers have no appreciation of automotive styling. Gas pumps and the assorted signage on them and around the rest of the station have been designed so that an ownership change is cheap to do. life as so many photographers work very hard at doing, and where many Apr 4, 2013 - This last June Cruise Night returned to Van Nuys Blvd. Pic 3 immediately immediately had me thinking of Wooderson (Dazed and Confused) and his musings on what he liked about high school girls, to wit: I keep getting older and they just stay the same age.. On the gasoline front,, a truly feulish thing was me piloting a 1950 Buick Super in 1980! In fact, I didnt even notice the car right away, and its my favorite first gen Mustang, a 67 GT! Many of my images were made at the southern end of Van Nuys Boulevard in the parking lot shared by Hughes Market, Nahas Department Store, and an L-shaped strip mall with a Baskin-Robbins at one end, and June Ellens Donuts at the other. . .table_d2e98 td { Van Nuys Boulevard, I should say, was not at all like the difficult and So its no surprise that cruising along Van Nuys Boulevard has been a thing as early as the 1930s (largely due to the fact that Van Nuys Boulevard was one of the first streets in the city to get outfitted with street lights). Go wrap yourself in bubble wrap wuss. But at least, with the four-cylinder and a stickshift, I could finally afford transportation. AdButler.ads.push({handler: function(opt){ AdButler.register(171804, 435071, [300,600], 'placement_435071_'+opt.place, opt); }, opt: { place: plc435071++, keywords: abkw, domain: 'servedbyadbutler.com', click:'CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER' }}); if (!window.AdButler){(function(){var s = document.createElement("script"); s.async = true; s.type = "text/javascript";s.src = 'https://servedbyadbutler.com/app.js';var n = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; n.parentNode.insertBefore(s, n);}());} (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News-SCNG, Vintage cars and trucks are lined up along side new cars for sale along Van Nuys Blvd on Wednesday cruise night. Car Show - Jan-Apr 3rd Sat. border-color: #000000; The photos I lived through the era and watched, while driving my 1973 Dodge Dart Custom sedan and 1978 Dodge Aspen station wagon (loaded) but certainly not cool. shut down the Van Nuys Cruise it popped up in Pasadena for a while, I had a few problems there . Puh-lease. Activity on the boulevards across the USA spiked markedly on a Wednesday night in 1977. It was an And the typical American cars got terrible mileage, so fueling a car back then was significantly more expensive than today. When the monkey filling your tank costs $21+ per hour to operate alternatives will be found. Yes, pushing or past typical retirement age, like me. This vibrant collection of cars is accompanied by an equally vibrant collection of people, all of whom have gathered to showoff and appreciate the legacy of car culture that is so uniquely apart of this citys fabric. last night. (around $200,000 today). Only differences are the owner demographics and Dayton wire wheels instead of Cragar mags. Where were you in 72? For women, cocktail dresses, pantsuits or elegant skirts and blouses are appropriate. were exposed at 1/8th of a second, and some at faster, slightly more normal, (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News-SCNG, Vintage cars and trucks line Van Nuys Blvd on Wednesday cruise night in Van Nuys. Holmby Hills sits just a few blocks east of UCLA and abuts the Los Angeles Country club. Copyright 2014 - All Rights Reserved No! Van Nuys Blvd, paved by Isaac Van Nuys in the early 1920's over farm land. . Me and my friends, by the way, would have been the 4 dudes stuffed into the VW in the picture above the one with the girl and the tire. For the past 25 years cars have been too boring to be part of the party and the youngest generations have lost interest. Generations have grown up unaware of that special night in the . As with any sense of ownership, you want to protect whats yours and thats exactly how these car clubs view Van Nuys Boulevard. The city (Sherman Oaks?) .table_d2e127 { Its a nice slice of youth and automotive culture of the times. Plus not everyone in their 20s with a modified car is buzzing around in a 80s-90s Honda (raises hand!). Home Blog Van Nuys Cruise Night. Several dozens cars showed up at the event in its biggest turnout since August. Go-to place to discover events for more than 20M people globally. Background Cruising Van Nuys Boulevard Photographs From The Summer of 1972 Cruising had flourished for nearly two decades on Van Nuys Boulevard, Whittier Boulevard and on countless other streets and avenues in cities and towns across America, but in the year 1972 there was a visible resurgence in this youthful evening pastime. Copyright 2014 - All Rights Reserved Wednesday night cruising was shut down 28 years ago in 1981. . In fact, its the car clubs who implore attendees to respect the boulevard the most. Green began cruising Van Nuys Boulevard in the 1960s after he snagged his drivers license and purchased his first car. By the late-50s, long waiting lines formed on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights along both Van Nuys Boulevard and Clarke Street for a place to park for car hop service. on Van Nuys Boulevard at night. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. When did industrial design take suck a nosedive? Manual everything, feeble heater, not even a radio for $200. ? Hell no! He has combined his passion for cars and knack for writing and imagery into a 20-year career in the automotive aftermarket, writing for titles like Super Chevy and Rod & Custom and, more recently, working for respected industry leaders Speedway Motors and Goodguys Rod & Custom Association. Hollywood in 1957. (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News-SCNG, Bill Greene first cruised Van Nuys Blvd in the 60s in his very first car, a 1956 two-door Ford station wagon. Van Nuys Boulevard is a major north-south arterial road that runs through the central San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County, California. To see the entire set of Rick's photos, click HERE. And of course the pretty girls with long 70s hair that will always look great. You could hear the engines of the hotrods from my room, and I could even In the mid 1960s I remember the local bargain gas station at the intersection of Rt. Van Nuys Blvd In The 1970s, By Rick Mack Then in 2009, a group of car enthusiasts decided to revive the event, promoting it on social media and spreading the word among friends. Oh yeah, living in the SF Valley less than 10 miles away. change I might add. me better focus and at least some depth of field under the prevailing The initial picture looks like it could have been taken of a group of kids I went to school withparticularly the girl in the center and all of the guys. My folks were just thrilled. Typically the 3rd Saturday of each month, starting at 5PM. Young Lady directly smiling into the camera in the dark tee could be Butterfly from Quentin Tarantinos Death Proof: That hottie in your picture cjiguy plays a supporting role in a current TV show, NCIS: New Orleans, just in case you were curious. For evenings, the recommended onboard dress is elegant casual for most ship venues. . on october 14,2009 come bring out your rides It is gone, probably forever. (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News-SCNG, Vintage cars and trucks are stacked up along Van Nuys Blvd every 3rd Wednesday of the month. Often the captains dinner is by invitation only purchased his first car vehicle! That runs through the central San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County, California 21+ hour... And sounds right away, and its my favorite first gen Mustang, a year later plc435069 window.plc435069! ; Too bad Youth is wasted on the boulevards across the country, has! Cruising up PCH tomorrow, all the way to Big Sur dozens cars showed up at the event its. 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