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1963. "Cab driver and taxi at Saxony Bar & Lounge, Boston." 35mm negative, photographer unknown. Another eBay find scanned by Shorpy. View full size.
Where one would now need to go to see such a nice variety of late 1950s American autos in everyday urban service.
We had a 1957 Plymouth back in the day. After a visit to the dealer to replace the light bulb behind the buttons, it seems the panel was not properly secured. One good bump on the way home and - off comes the panel, and out pop the buttons? After a couple of tries, I figured which went where and off we went.
The Saxony Lounge was located in Park Square, which for many years was the location of the Greyhound/Trailways bus depot and home to a lot of sketchy activity (drug use, prostitution, street theft, you name it). More recent arrivals to Boston will know Park Square as it currently exists - the home of upscale restaurants, office buildings, and fancy hotels - it has undergone a massive transformation in the past 20 years. I don't think either the buildings or the street shown in this photo still exist. (The address of the Saxony was 35 Providence St. - although there is still a street with that name it's really no more than an alley. I think this portion of it was in an area that got reconfigured.)
Back then you could actually fix your own car.
"Necker's knob" on the steering wheel.
If it's a stick I would guess he's trying to get the shift levers back in alignment.
Those old "three on the tree" shifters could get worn and jump in between the levers, leaving you stuck in one gear.
[With no shift lever to be seen here, the car had a PowerFlite automatic transmission controlled by pushbuttons on the dash. - Dave]
My dad drove a cab in Boston from 1962 to 1964 so you can imagine that this caught my eye. He was tall and slender so I don't think this is him. Unfortunately he passed away a year ago but oh boy....he would have LOVED this photo. Thanks.
Based on his near-full immersion, the gearshift linkage or the starter motor.
This was a top of the line 1956 Plymouth Belvedere before it became a cab. It even has the optional wire wheel hubcaps. Most taxi companies used a specially equipped stripped down Savoy model with a six cylinder engine.
seems to have found a better use as a hood tie-down on this battered Belvedere.
[It's a hood lock now. - Dave]
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