Pages

▼

Monday, July 16, 2012

1937: SOUTH BROAD STREET AT WHITE HORSE

We were a rural community when this photo was taken 66 years ago. Had you rounded the circle and entered White Horse Mercerville Road, you would pass through White Horse, and once you reached Kuser Road, wherever you turned you would be on someone's farm. The exquisite view above is an out take from the original and enlarged to bring into detail the fabled White Horse Tavern, and an example of the autos from the 1930's and 40's that were still on the road.

Hi Tom, The car parked at the curb, in front of the telephone pole, has quite an interesting story. It is a 1937 Graham. In 1936 and 1937, Graham was short of cash, (actually, they were in constant financial straits, during most of the depression), and they didn't have a plan for an improved car that would keep up with the competition. They made a deal with Reo, to purchase their bodies, and put them with the very good Supercharged Graham six cylinder engine, thereby creating the car you see in the photo. A rare car in it's day. I might add, that not every Graham had a supercharged engine, but it appears that there are Supercharged script emblems on the side of the hood of this car. The following year, the Spirit of Motion, (shark nose) style was introduced, and it bombed in the marketplace. Too radical! In 1940, Graham used a highly modified Cord 810 body, and called it the Hollywood, but so much hand work was involved in getting them into production, they, too, failed. By 1941, it was over for the Graham automobile. Although, the first 1947 Frazer automobiles, carried the Graham name on their trunk lid. But, that's another story for another time. I might mention, that the Graham dealership was at 1560 Chambers St. somewhere near the location of Pete's Steakhouse. rayfromvillapark

Tuesday, July 17, 2012
I wanted a shark nose Graham back in the 1960's. A guy I knew from New Brunswick had one for sale but it was out of my price range. As usual, thanks much for your automotive expertise, Ray. It is really appreciated.
Tom
at

1 comment:

  1. rayfromvillaparkTuesday, July 17, 2012

    Hi Tom, The car parked at the curb, in front of the telephone pole, has quite an interesting story. It is a 1937 Graham. In 1936 and 1937, Graham was short of cash, (actually, they were in constant financial straits, during most of the depression), and they didn't have a plan for an improved car that would keep up with the competition. They made a deal with Reo, to purchase their bodies, and put them with the very good Supercharged Graham six cylinder engine, thereby creating the car you see in the photo. A rare car in it's day. I might add, that not every Graham had a supercharged engine, but it appears that there are Supercharged script emblems on the side of the hood of this car. The following year, the Spirit of Motion, (sharknose) style was introduced, and it bombed in the marketplace. Too radical! In 1940, Graham used a highly modified Cord 810 body, and called it the Hollywood, but so much hand work was involved in getting them into production, they, too, failed. By 1941, it was over for the Graham automobile. Although, the first 1947 Frazer automobiles, carried the Graham name on their trunk lid. But, that's another story for another time. I might mention, that the Graham dealership was at 1560 Chambers St. somewhere near the location of Pete's Steakhouse. rayfromvillapark

    ReplyDelete