The Former Car Dealerships of CV – Part 3

In the last couple of columns, I’ve been writing about the amazing number of car dealerships we used to have in the Crescenta Valley area. Many of those former auto showrooms are still around. I was writing about those first before I launched into the ones that are completely gone. I missed a couple and was alerted by some of my readers.

Joe Kroening wrote: “Where Pro Italia is today (3319 N. Verdugo Road, below Montrose) used to be a car dealer, too. It was Harvey Freeman. He sold Kaiser and Frazer automobiles (late ‘’40s, early ’50s) and also international Harvester trucks. They were actually a sub-dealer of the company-owned International Harvester Company, Glendale branch. My parents bought a Frazer and a couple of Internationals from them. When it closed, Gianera Pontiac operated there for a while before moving to Foothill Boulevard (in the early ’60s). Howard Gianera always had the fastest Pontiac in La Crescenta and let every one of us junior hot-rodders know it. He would burn the tires up and down Foothill most every evening.”

In 1935 Harvey Freeman was selling Hudsons and Terraplanes from that same location at 3319 Verdugo, according to an ad in the local paper. Hudson was a long running Detroit automobile company (1909 to 1954) that eventually became American Motors. Terraplane was a short-lived offshoot of the Hudson brand that offered lower priced, but powerful, cars. They had a great company slogan: “On the sea that’s aquaplaning, in the air that’s aeroplaning, but on the land, in the traffic, on the hills, hot diggity dog, THAT’S TERRAPLANING.”

A more recent auto showroom was pointed out to me by Bill Clarke: “I bought my Ferrari from Top Auto in 1995. They (now defunct) were in the distinctive yellow brick number at 3711 Foothill Blvd., now called ABC Auto Electric. Top Auto sold pre-owned exotic vehicles. These were on prominent display in their showroom, visible from Foothill Boulevard through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. They had a handful of Ferraris, a few models from Lotus, and even a Lamborghini Countach for a brief period, as well as lower-end sports cars like Bentleys and Porsches that were souped-up from their stock original configurations.”

Perhaps the best remembered of the local dealerships is completely gone today, and not a trace of their long presence in Montrose remains. Ed Priester Chevrolet was at 3701 Ocean View from 1929 until sometime in the ’70s. It occupied nearly the entire frontage of that block, from just below Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (that was a gas station) all the way down to Broadview. They had a very nice showroom, featuring some beautiful neon signage, and full service shops just to the south.

Marian Westerholm remembered: “I bought my first new car there in 1957. It was the classic ’57 Chevy hardtop – black with chrome wing design on the rear fenders. So classy! $2000! Sorry I ever sold it.”

Early on Priester Chevy expanded and sold used cars across Ocean View, where the mini-mall is just below Starbucks. That used lot later moved to 2383 Foothill, where the shopping mall is between Briggs and the car wash.

The other new car dealership that many will remember was Fred Hauter Ford. Starting in 1955 they were at 2460 Honolulu Ave., where our very popular Trader Joe’s is today. They had a spacious glass showroom right on the street, and above it a tall distinctive monument sign with Ford spelled out in neon. After a couple of name changes, the last as Paradise Ford, they finally went out of business in 2003. Before the showroom was demolished it did a stint as a location set for a couple of movies. After the buildings were scraped off the lot, the City of Glendale bought the property for a proposed fire station expansion. When that didn’t happen, after nearly a decade as overflow parking, the lot was leased to Trader Joe’s.

More next week!

  mike lawler