Cruise Night: Van Nuys - Park & Chill @ Tacos Al Gusto - 8:30pm - Flyer: Every Monday : Cruise Night: Eastvale - Cruise Night @ In-N-Out Burgers - 7pm-9pm - (800) 786-1000 . Van Nuys also offers a mix of employment opportunities ranging from manual labor to white-collar industries. My wife and I made a few passes up and down the strip and even checked out a speed shop that was located there. Remember to cruise cool!! } Maybe if people actually patronized them that If you want to get on her bright side, she loves a perfect cup of matcha latte. Ask the lawyer, Is five enough? Also the girls leaning on the Mustang in the white shorts: thats a religious experience. The darkest days of Vietnam were then mostly behind us and activity on boulevards across the country spiked markedly for young Americans. fun of youth without the great foreboding that had accompanied turning Vista Del Monte, a street one block west of Van Nuys Boulevard with large PLEASE do NOT protest in Van Nuys tomorrow. sprawling lawns all the way down the block. "After leaving Bob's, we'd head up to Vanowen to Spenser's Drive-in to see what was going on. . Most specialty restaurants also require a semi-formal dress code. With the monthly draft numbers now down significantly like comment and subscribe for more! in a group looked right into my lens! } A selection of McCloskeys photos has been compiled in a wonderful hardbound book titled Van Nuys Boulevard 1972. Our friend, fellow journalist, and photographer David Fetherston recently gave it this glowing review: Heres the most fascinating book on California car culture in the 70s ever produced. I drove a 64 GTO and switched to a 68 Falcon a year later. .table_d2e180 td { At 32 cents a gallon is it any wonder traveling by car was so popular back then? Great pics, They bring back memories. Of course, the cruising phenomenon goes all the way back to the early-1950s, possibly even back to the late-'40s. But at least, with the four-cylinder and a stickshift, I could finally afford transportation. var abkw = window.abkw || ''; I was also still in the boulevard demographic albeit barely. push the button. The sprawling territory makes traveling by motor vehicle (both private and public) a near prerequisite to live here. Becerra, a member of ther Stylistics car club is a car painter and has painted many of the Vintage cars and trucks rolling up and down Van Nuys Blvd on cruise nights. So many customs, low riders, hot rods and muscle car customs look the same. Everyone has an accent, however. We all had our time, I hope we made the most of it. Back then in NY we still had fun street racing on Francis Lewis Blvd with our GTOs,SS 396, Mustangs and the like. Although all kinds of cars could be found in the lot on any Wednesday, many were lowriders. I feel his work ranks with the great social photographers like Mary Bourke White and Henri Catier-Bresson.. var abkw = window.abkw || ''; How to Pronounce Van Nuys, California? everyone hit the gas as they spun left in the dirt and dust section, some 14 Valley Girl Insults From The 1980s We Should Like, Totally. Muscle cars in the pro touring mold today are all essentially Foose clones as far as I can tell, and growing up in the 90s hot rods all had that boydster look to them. In 1992, the City Council cracked down on cruising at all the hotspots in L.A. County; and on four consecutive Sundays in early January, they came down hard, issuing 214 citations, towing 30 cars, and arresting six people. Driving an old VW Bug, I once found myself ~1800 miles from home with $25 left. Do you have to dress up for dinner on a cruise? By 1960, being 14 years old and discovering cars, I would walk over at night from our house, barely three blocks away, just to hang out on the corner in front of Bobs to watch the parade of bitchin cars. The old GM plant was there as well, which has been replaced by a Home Depot, a shopping center and movie theater. .table_d2e42 { This was the dreaded Valley to those of us at the beach, but we all knew about cruising Van Nuys! potential subjects react adverselyeven angrily. Van Nuys was like Disney World for cruisin' though. Magnolia Boulevard, you would officially be in Van Nuys. Those garages served a small, quaint New posts Recent Posts Classifieds Search forums. Corky's, Perhaps it was more akin to shooting pictures Guy on the bike looks an awful lot like 1993 George Michael. No Cruise Night Due to LA Fair - Flyer: 5-6: Riverside - Show & Go Car Show - Downtown Riverside - Info: 5: Buena . Your email address will not be published. (Los Angeles Daily News file photo). Indeed, many of my subjects would play for my camera; they very much wanted I remember a car-full of guys, scrounging nickels and dimes from our pockets to buy a 35 cent gallon to get us home. Still cruisin: A Valley tradition is alive, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Still cruisin: A Valley tradition is alive and well on Van Nuys Boulevard, Is there a problem with paying cash for a car? Please see their facebook page for current dates and times. Please observe posted parking signs. Do you have to attend formal night on a cruise? Simply fantastic! The odds are quite good that some of his music was playing over the car radios or on 8 track tape as these were taken. Exact blocks on Van Nuys Blvd may vary each Cruise Night. Why Wednesday? Over the years, thanks to his passion, he was able to meet new friends and witness how the familiar neighborhood has changed. For this community feature, take the opportunity to get to know Jairo and check out some of his work. The darkest days of Vietnam were then on a Wednesday night in 1977. Well, Paul, you touched many a heart and soul with this subject. Folks talked endlessly about the violent gangs but I never once saw even a fist fight, after the L.A.P.D. Now they just pulled in the alley, backed good times. border: 1px solid; People riding in the back of a pickup truck without getting arrested. my folks did not. I cant for the life of me figure out if the biker in Pic 6 has his lady with him, or his kid. Cruising Van Nuys Blvd is an age-old tradition dating back to the late 40s. Those short white shorts and the girls wearing them should have been standard equipment with that Mustang. Cruise night or no the pics are incredible, like something out of a movie. Not so today sadly. This comment, in a nutshell, tells us why things were better and more fun back then ; a little personal responsibility and lots of freedom. Some cars hopped a few feet in the air as they rode along the boulevard. Also Artic Circle burgers 6 for $1.00 or Scottys on Sandy Blvd $.11 french fries, And beer at $.26 a quart or wine $.69 a bottle. Although I personally had not participated Every once in a while we'd hit Van Nuys in the middle of the week. Oh, and the girl framed in the Goodyear tire? We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. When the monkey filling your tank costs $21+ per hour to operate alternatives will be found. It was a gift, and I preferred to concentrate on making March 04, 2021. Additional terms may apply. border-color: #000000; Nonetheless, Im cruising up PCH tomorrow, all the way to Big Sur. border-color: #000000; I always had a change of clothes on mine. Hugo Guardado sat in a camping chair next to his 1957 Ford Fairlane. Fill the VWs tank for 3 bucks and cruise all weekend with enough gas left over for getting to work and school the following week. var plc439655 = window.plc439655 || 0; This story has been updated to reflect the correct year of Chris Mills Chevy. In the summer of 1972, photographer Rick McCloskey chronicled SoCal's Van Nuys Boulevard cruising scene Cruising, in which young people drove up and down certain streets or strips to show off. Yes, some things were cheap, but I think a lot of us had less disposable income in real dollars, always checked out the lowest price gas station, carpooled and shared the cost of gas, etc in a way that I suspect many (not all) young people dont do now. of photography in the Art Department of California State University at We all get our turn in life. Copyright 2022 Goodguys Rod & Custom, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Nobody is perfect but the two girls in the white shorts are very, very close. The Van Nuys cruise night has been going on and off since the 60s and is currently popular again. .table_d2e189 td { (first posted 1/28/2017) CC reader Michael M. sent me a link to a gallery of photos shot on Van Nuys Blvd. The days of $.23 tacos, bean burritos and bell burgers at Taco Bell! shutter times. border: 1px solid; border: 1px solid; I sold Sunoco 190 for 24 cents a gallon, and 260 for about 35. Normally Im not a fan of Dyna style shocks on a chopper but this one works for some reason. width: 100%; Modern gas pumps are literally hard edged boxes crudely fitted with hoses and plastic buttons. to be on stage, to perform and to be photographed. Yeah, those were a bit more work to replace. What city hosts the best Cruise Night? Its all different now., Vintage cars and trucks once again cruise Van Nuys Boulevard every third Wednesday of the month. } Thats what I hear when I see these photos. I recall telling my wife I sure wish we were in our car. At least it gave me bragging rights with my car buddy friends. Van Nuys Blvd. The hair and the clothing styles, those were spot on through the rest of the 70s until I guess I stopped paying attention to what people were wearing at some point in the early 80s. Until the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 airlines were heavily regulated. Whittier Boulevard and on countless other streets and avenues in cities On the night I went, it took place between Vanowen Street & Sherman Way. Published by westcoastbodyandpaint Copyright 2014 - All Rights Reserved width: 100%; My friend Ted and I even managed to get arrested for curfew violation standing there watching cars after 10:00pm! I come here to show off my car. For one night a month, Van Nuys Cruise Night is a celebration of community, family tradition, and artistic self-expression that can, and should be, appreciated by all. Background But it comes alive once a month in a parade of classic cars and tricked-out lowriders that defy the laws of time and gravity as they galavant and literally hop along the boulevard. YouTube. Some of these images were exhibited at the Cal State Van Nuys, CA 91407-3118 [email protected] Subscribe to our agendas on city notification system. } or presented until now. 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. Cruising Van Nuys Boulevard in the Summer of 1972 April 30, 2020 1970s, California, life & culture, people, street, vehicles In the Los Angeles suburb of San Fernando Valley, Wednesday night was cruise night. Industrial design (styling, anyways..) is almost dead. var plc435068 = window.plc435068 || 0; All three are late-`70s teen sex comedies. Made even better by that woman staring out the window. Those pictured were high. -->, ,