You open that door to grease the front bushing on the rear spring.

Great photo of the Peerless 7-Passenger Touring Phaeton!

There's a Bettmann Archive shot of a pitcher arriving at a World Series game in Pittsburgh in an almost identical Peerless in October, 1925.

This one looks like it could be a Peerless Model 6-70, with a 289 cu. in. "Superb Six". It could also be a Model 66, with a 322 cu. in. "vee-type eight". The top probably is a permanent top and does not come down. A January, 1925 Peerless ad I have shows all the tires being solid white, instead of these whitewalls. The little access door is probably for reaching an Alemite fitting.

Thanks for your interest in Peerless cars, built from 1900-1931.

Does anyone know what the little door down on the panel above the running board in front of the rear tire is for?

Peerless was one of the 3 makes of 1920s American luxury cars with names starting with "P," the others being Packard and Pierce. It's a touring car (or Phaeton) with a folding top. It has side curtain windows in place, which remove and are stored when it's warm outside or if the top is down. Such cars could be surprisingly snug & waterproof inside when properly maintained, but lost popularity by the 1930s to sturdier cars with crank-lowering glass side windows and fixed roofs.

What a beautiful car! Is there any way to determine the actual color it was from the b&w photo? Or am I just talking crazy talk?

What's with the license plate tucked behind the left headlamp? I it was removed for the picture, why leave it there?

[It wasn't removed. This is a new car with no mounting bracket. - Dave]

Since it's 1924, this is Iowa Circle; it was renamed Logan in 1930. That's 4 Logan Circle in the background. It's currently undergoing much-needed, long-overdue restoration. It was on the verge of collapse back in the 1960s or '70s and was shored up then -- my Logan Circle photo history book is in storage, so I can't look up the details right now -- but it seems to be getting the full restoration treatment.

Is it removable?

Double sided whitewalls. The fancy upgrade tires all went single-side about mid-1930s, when car design changed and you could no longer easily see the back side of the tires. Must have been fun to clean those double siders. Ajax? Bon-Ami? Start scrubbin'.

I'm pretty sure that this was taken on the south side of Logan Circle looking west at P Street - the house in the background appears to still be standing, with a few modifications:

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Logan? Dupont?