J.W. Burleson photo / Boquillas del Carmen, Coah.

PHB

My photo
Brooklin, Maine, United States
We own a 1975 GMC Sierra Grande 15 in Maine and a 1986 Chevrolet Custom Deluxe 10 in West Texas. Also a pair of 1997 Volvo 850 wagons. Average age in the fleet is 28 years--we're recycling. I've published 3 novels: THE LAW OF DREAMS (2006), THE O'BRIENS (2012), and CARRY ME (2016). Also 2 short story collections: NIGHT DRIVING(1987) and TRAVELLING LIGHT (2013). More of my literary life is at www.peterbehrens.org I was a Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study for 2012-13. I'm an adjunct professor at Colorado College and in the MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte. In 2015-16 I was a Fellow at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. The Autoliterate office is in Car Talk Plaza in Harvard Square, 2 floors above Dewey Cheatem & Howe. SUBSCRIBE TO THE AUTOLITERATE DAILY EMAIL by hitting the button to the right.

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Cruising Van Nuys, 1972

Thanks to Reid Cunningham for the heads-up on these Rick McCloskey photographs.
"In the summer of 1972, photographer Rick McCloskey went to Van Nuys to shoot this series of photographs, the culture on the boulevard had become an amalgamation of various lifestyles, automobiles, and very different looks and styles. The tribes included surfers, low-riders, muscle cars, street racers, and even “retro” styles from the 1950s. McCloskey’s photos offer a fascinating portrayal of the young people, their cars, and iconic backgrounds; a world that has long since vanished.
"There were other cruising spots in the city, but Van Nuys, for some reason or other, got nailed as the street to cruise on, specifically, a 3-mile stretch from Ventura Boulevard to about Sherman Way. People would come from as far as Santa Barbara or Orange County to cruise Van Nuys, a wide street with many lanes. Gas was relatively cheap at the time, and that made cruising an affordable way to spend a night out." 




1 comment:

  1. Thank you for this article. I was born & raised there and cruised the blvd many times starting in the 60's. By the 70's however, it had changed a lot!

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