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Originally Posted by SierraMadre
This Packard dealership was, I believe on Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monia. Someone recently said that this still is there as a Mercedes dealership, although I'm not sure.
This image is pretty washed out. Its a lousy print that I made 38 years ago in a make-shift darkroom at my parents house in the bathroom. Now that I have located the 8X10" negative, it will be fun to see all the detail that doesn't show up in this crummy scan.
they decorated the windows during the Christmas season
Unfortunately this showroom photo comes to me from Mr. Thompson's trash with no markings on the back. All I do know is that they are either 1930 or 1931 Ford Model A's and the dealership was in the Los Angeles/Santa Monica area
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There was discussion last year about how W.I.Simonson Mercedes-Benz in Santa Monica preserved the building, as shown below:
(photo from wisimonson.net)
That is only part of the story:
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Originally Posted by LA Times
Fire Guts Mercedes-Benz Auto Dealership
April 18, 1986
Fire gutted the W.I. Simonson automobile dealership in Santa Monica on Thursday, destroying the landmark Spanish revival-style building and crushing at least 25 Mercedes-Benz motorcars.
No injuries were reported, but a Santa Monica Fire Department spokeswoman estimated damage to the cars and building at more than $1 million.
Firefighters said the blaze was discovered in the repair shop area at about 6 p.m., and appeared to be fully controlled 45 minutes later. But it burst forth at about 7:45 p.m., shattering a huge plate glass window in front and bringing down the showroom roof on the expensive cars on display there.
Cause of the fire was under investigation.
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Simonson not only maintained the building for decades, but rebuilt and restored the building to its former glory after the 1986 fire.