With the monthly draft numbers now down significantly , Support the Local Merchants and the LAPD. It is likely Van Nuys might have never become the world greatest cruising venue without the Van Nuys Bob's. By the late 50s there were primarily 3 nights that people cruised Van Nuys Blvd. border-color: #000000; They in fact just look like the older siblings of many of my friends. Purely by happenstance, I discovered the new resurgence and wonderful energy levels of the evening car culture on Van Nuys Boulevard during the late spring of 1972. My TV is a black rectangle, my fridge is a black rectangle, My PC is a black rectangle. ? Cruising had flourished for nearly two decades on Van Nuys Boulevard, It was possibly created as a spontaneous opportunity for something to do, a cool place to be, in the middle of the week. For women, dresses, or skirts or slacks with sweaters or blouses are recommended. Zipping a left turn into and through the paved section of In fact, its the car clubs who implore attendees to respect the boulevard the most. } .table_d2e14 td { Go-to place to discover events for more than 20M people globally. In general the conformity really burnt me out of custom cars a long time ago. June Ellens was also a favored stop for bikers. Learn how your comment data is processed. No Cruise Night Due to LA Fair - Flyer: 5-6: Riverside - Show & Go Car Show - Downtown Riverside - Info: 5: Buena . border-color: #000000; } I deliberately worked at getting people to look directly at my camera before I took the shot. Unfortunately cruising got a little out of hand in subsequent decades causing law enforcement to crack down on the event. But I love the cars that were driven at the time. When the monkey filling your tank costs $21+ per hour to operate alternatives will be found. What city is the heart of the San Fernando Valley? Your email address will not be published. 5043 Van Nuys Blvd no longerwelcomes cruisers to come park and hang out. I mainly cruised Whittier Blvd Fridays and Saturday nights. The old stainless steel fire extinguisher we filled with water and pumped up with free gas station air helped cool off a few people in our misspent travels. Many shots Youll also find more crime in Van Nuys than the rest of the valley, including Sherman Oaks and Sun Valley. Couldnt afford to as a non union framer I.m pretty clear eyed about the past. low-light conditions. Plenty chicks and a light to light race anytime you wanted. !police shutdown van nuys lowrider cruise!!! He purchased the car from his cousin a few years ago and put a lot of work in to it, repainted it and posted an Uber sign on it, just to get people talking.. (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News-SCNG, Hugo Gardado in his 1957 Ford Fairlane on Wednesday cruise night in Van Nuys. As with any sense of ownership, you want to protect whats yours and thats exactly how these car clubs view Van Nuys Boulevard. My wife and I made a few passes up and down the strip and even checked out a speed shop that was located there. (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News-SCNG Hugo Gardado in his 1957 Ford Fairlane on . Not permitted in the dining room during the Cruise Elegant dinner for ladies and gentlemen: shorts, gym shorts, T-shirts, beach flip-flops, bathing suit attire, jeans, cut-off jeans, sleeveless shirts for men, sportswear, and baseball hats. of that alley. Was I lucky to be one of the cool kids, driving a cool car? Everyone has an accent, however. It was a gift, and I preferred to concentrate on making border-color: #000000; Some cars hopped a few feet in the air as they rode along the boulevard. block, the entire length of the treed block along the boulevard directly People riding in the back of a pickup truck without getting arrested. Everyone on the boulevard new about this turnaround. . I dunnoif you go back a ways, like 50s and earlier, the gas pumps of that era had the lighted glass globes that denoted the brand and type of gas. (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News-SCNG, Old and new come together as cruisers line Van Nuys Blvd with thier classic cars in front of new car dealers. The city (Sherman Oaks?) On most nights, Van Nuys Boulevard is a dilapidated collection of storefronts, and while it serves its purpose as a major thoroughfare across the San Fernando Valley, the dreary locale has a face that only a mother could love. That single month pretty much marked the end of an era, and soon the cruise scene faded into a distant memory. Since I have always tried to own vehicles that avoided being bland, I felt kind of out of place driving the rental white Fairmont Futura we were in. Cragars and white line tires look awesome together. myself. Next Page. var abkw = window.abkw || ''; of the boulevard scene with a camera. Cruising does not happen anymore, it is gone, probably I also told him I would make a longer video the next time I went to one of his cruise nights. Rick McCloskey collected these images on Van Nuys Boulevard, and they are an amazing statement of the time. to either ASA 800 or even ASA 1200 during developing, all of which I did Cool to see elements of what many would consider to be the early days of the Lowrider scene here. 14 Valley Girl Insults From The 1980s We Should Like, Totally. Van Nuys Airport on December 03, 2016 in Van Nuys, California. on Wednesday Nights. Those short white shorts and the girls wearing them should have been standard equipment with that Mustang. during the late spring of 1972. Van Nuys - Spring Fling 35 - Woodley Park - Info - V: 15: Carson . So many customs, low riders, hot rods and muscle car customs look the same. Plus being in L.A. there were numerous different places to cruise! Van Nuys Blvd! -->, . individual people, and groups of people, to notice me pointing a camera .table_d2e189 { The boulevard was notable for its cruising lifestyle that was prevalent in the 1960s and 1970s, which was depicted in the 1979 film Van Nuys Blvd. All three are late-`70s teen sex comedies. Old-timers will be sure to remember the crackdown on cruising that happened in the early 90s. Among the clubs in attendance were Ruthless Ryders, Low Bottomz, Westside, and Majestics, to mention a few. Oh mother may I? /p Please, protect me from myself. Maybe if people actually patronized them that We did that a lot back then. Its funny how custom styles dont change much. Some of these images were exhibited at the Cal State Northridge Art Department Gallery in 1973, but most were not presented publicly until recent years with the publication of my book, Van Nuys Boulevard 1972, in addition to showcases at the Joseph Bellows Gallery in La Jolla, California, and in print and online media. Hugo Guardado sat in a camping chair next to his 1957 Ford Fairlane. Bag your face This is the 80s version of shut up but its much more fun. Makes an H2 seem like a Chevette! It speaks from so many angles. Ill let you know if any hilarity ensues. I had a black 57 Bel Air with Hawaiian plates. Doug Nelsons 64 Impala, Doug in the drivers seat, Mark Gershon in the tanktop. My photos show this well. The first night a friend of mine bought his 67 Corvette 427 tri power he had to fill his gas tank 3 times. All in all, even with subject and camera movement, plus Perhaps it was more akin to shooting pictures (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News-SCNG, A vintage Ford Fairlane mixes with new cars on Wednesday along Van Nuys Blvd. } border: 1px solid; Hours of Operation: Typically the 3rd Saturday of each month, starting at 5PM. But I still sent it to him. ? To quote the Beach Boys: I wish they all could be California girls. Van Nuys Boulevard, I should say, was not at all like the difficult and Mute / unmute video . With the monthly draft numbers now down significantly and our military presence in Vietnam diminishing, young people, especially young men, were once again enjoying the freedom and fun of youth without the foreboding that had accompanied turning 18 during the previous half-dozen years. width: 100%; border-color: #000000; width: 100%; I come here to show off my car. As Rick notes in his accompanying text, the time was a turning point for American culture, a time Rick beautifully captured in artful, journalistic style. That thing could shoot 50 feet or more! Valleyspeak or Valspeak is an American English social dialect and accompanying vocal features, best associated with Valley girls, though elements of it have spread to other demographics, including men called Val dudes. for very long exposures. came out and blocked the end of the alley. . } of photography in the Art Department of California State University at Its all different now., Vintage cars and trucks once again cruise Van Nuys Boulevard every third Wednesday of the month. Copyright 2022 Goodguys Rod & Custom, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Occasionally, I got lucky when everyone I do agree that mandatory scrapping of vintage engines is a very bad thing indeed . I feel his work ranks with the great social photographers like Mary Bourke White and Henri Catier-Bresson.. Times had really changed in L.A. by the early 1970s from just a few years earlier in the mid 1960s. -->,