From my perspective, early August is not only for Americana but also antique automobiles, or perhaps they are the same thing. What started out as a small neighborhood event–a meeting of vintage automobiles on Chestnut Street sponsored by Historic New England’s Phillips House, accompanied by a makeshift lemonade stand organized by local children–has grown to a large assemblage of both cars and people. This year, there were 80 cars on the street with quite a crowd of onlookers and the added attractions of music, cannolis, and a Volkswagen van transformed into a photo booth. I think pretty much every decade of the twentieth century was represented by the cars–or at least the middle part thereof. Lots of Belairs, several wagons of varying vintage. There was a Lamborghini parked on the opposite side of the street which offered some pretty stiff competition, but the largest crowd of the afternoon was definitely in the proximity of the bright red Heinkel. It was nice, but no match for my “chrome crush” of last year, a BMW Isetta 600 Limo. The Heinkel was perhaps the primary representative of a group of classy foreign cars, mostly convertibles, which were surrounded by much bigger American cars. Even though it was not a car for purists (its owner had replaced the original seats with slightly more plush ones as he likes to drive his car) I really liked the 1960s Datsun convertible, and I learned quite a lot about its history.
August 10th, 2015 at 8:05 am
Very cool. I love car shows and used to participate a long time ago.
August 10th, 2015 at 8:06 am
I can imagine getting very caught up in this old-car culture!
August 10th, 2015 at 8:45 am
An interesting array of old and very old, foreign and domestic. Folks sure used to love their chrome, didn’t they?
August 10th, 2015 at 9:51 am
The brighter the better–blinding on a sunny day like yesterday.
August 10th, 2015 at 10:56 am
nice collection
August 10th, 2015 at 8:54 pm
What a fun car show! I grew up going to antique car shows with my dad. He restored a Model A Ford and drove it in parades and to car shows. It was always fun to ride in the rumble seat, waving to passersby! By the time I was old enough to drive, Dad had restored a 1957 Thunderbird convertible. I was always so proud when he let me drive it! I fell in love with the little Isetta when I first saw it at a car show in Baden Baden, Germany. So cute! Thanks for bringing back such great memories today. Summertime and vintage cars just go together! ♡