LAPL
The people of Modena were right--the Bozzanis actually
were auto manufacturers...or at least assemblers--as the rooftop sign in this picture indicates. It seems to be advertising some sort of demonstration of what car dealers on the West Coast were often required to do in the days before Eastern manufacturers set up their own branch plants west of the Rockies, i.e., vehicles were often shipped "knocked down" in crates to be assembled locally by them. The Whippet, the car for which the prize of a down payment is apparently being offered attendees on Oct. 24th, was Willys's smaller line, built from 1926 to '31. Willys opened an assembly plant in Maywood in the Central Manufacturing District in 1929, shifting assembly from dealers to manufacturer, so the picture is most likely before that, despite the LAPL's labeling of the photo "1936".... (People,
please--cloche hats were way gone by 1936!) (The parade car, of course, was an antique even by the 'teens.)
I was intrigued by the figure at the right side of your picture, gs. The shot below clears that up. While I'd place the pic above between 1926 and '29, this one is dated 1922--Bozzani was handling Durant at that time, a make produced from 1921 to '26 (and later, from '28 to '32), as well as Willys's stablemate, the Overland, which also ended production in '26 and was replaced by the Whippet. I think the building actually looks better in this earlier shot--notice the revisions to the Sunset end of the building.
USCDL
ninja55: I absolutely love the tale of the Rovere's Bozzani Dodge tour through Europe. And
gs, it's great that you made the connection between the old LA&R station and the Bozzani dealership building. Such an interesting corner of L.A. history, with the old adobe on the other side of the big building that we've seen here before, and the RR station giving way to automobiles....
Prev
Google Street View
Google Street View
Google Street View
Linear Mode
