MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME
 
JUMP TO PAGE   100  >  200  >  300  >  400  >  500  >  600
VINTAGRAPH • WPA • WWII • YOU MEAN A WOMAN CAN OPEN IT?

Automobile Row: 1918

San Francisco circa 1918. "Chalmers Model 6-30 roadster facing N.W. corner Van Ness Avenue and Sutter Street." Note the Velie showroom at the intersection. 5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size.

San Francisco circa 1918. "Chalmers Model 6-30 roadster facing N.W. corner Van Ness Avenue and Sutter Street." Note the Velie showroom at the intersection. 5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size.

 

On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5

Luminary

These cars were photographed in front of the Chalmers dealership, run by Indiana-born Luman (Lou) Hiram Rose (1881-1968), at 1230-1236 Van Ness Avenue. I believe he is the man shown here based on another photo I found of him. A photo of the front of his Chalmers enterprise is below (note the fire hydrant).

Rose had been involved in selling automobiles for a dozen years by 1918. In 1906 he incorporated the Rose Automobile Company with several partners in Spokane, Washington, and he built a 100-foot-square garage in which to sell the Mitchell and National marques. Two years later this had become the Dulmage-Rose Automobile Co., where Haynes, Pennsylvania, and E.M.F. cars were sold. By 1911 Rose had become the regional E.M.F. assistant sales manager. Around 1913 he moved to San Francisco to work for the Lozier Automobile Co. as its West Coast representative.

Circa 1915 Rose became the Chalmers agent for all of northern California. He took Chalmers sales from just 68 cars sold throughout the state in that year to over a million dollars in business by the close of 1916. When Chalmers and Maxwell merged in the early 1920s, he then began to market the Maxwell. Unfortunately, when Walter Chrysler took over Maxwell, which by then had already taken over Chalmers, Rose appears to have either lost his sales territory or he sold out.

After moving to Los Angeles he became a real estate agent in Beverly Hills, retiring in 1952 whereupon he moved to Carmel. Rose died in 1968 at a convalescent hospital in Monterey after a long illness. He was married to Mae Merrill for over 50 years and they had two sons.

Re: Gushing about hydrants

And there it is!

1917 Chalmers Speedster

A sporty little rig indeed! Especially for 1917.

The Car in Question

It looks like a 1918 or 1919 Stutz Bearcat or Bearcat S.

Speedster

I believe the car next in line is a Vauxhall, can not determine the Model.

Havin' a ball

The fire hydrant at right was manufactured by the local San Francisco foundry M. Greenberg & Sons. First installed in SF in the 1880s, these "California ball type" hydrants featured distinctive balls for firefighters to hitch their horse-drawn fire trucks.

These hydrants are made of cast iron and basically bomb-proof; many are still in use around the City today.

Upstaged

Lots to love in this shot. Well-dressed businessman utilizing practical aspects of his smart-looking roadster oblivious to fire hydrant he is blocking and to the really eye-catching wire-wheeled speedster next in line.

Interesting photo.

Anybody have any idea what make the auto with the two tone paint and wire wheels is just past the Chalmers?

Syndicate content  Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.