CONTENT. The lot served as both an easy turn-around to cruise back north on Van Nuys, and as a good place to park, show off your ride, and just hang out for a time with your friends. border-color: #000000; Watch popular content from the following creators: 818_Danny(@818_danny), rucababy(@rucababyy), user8364077837671(@lindz_87), Lowrider Syndicate(@lowridersyndicate), Lowrider Syndicate(@lowridersyndicate) . cruise night Of course, you realize that all those hot chicks are grandmothers now. .table_d2e23 td { Youll also find more crime in Van Nuys than the rest of the valley, including Sherman Oaks and Sun Valley. We did that a lot back then. were exposed at 1/8th of a second, and some at faster, slightly more normal, On a recent night, Green parked his car on a lot near a car dealership on Van Nuys Boulevard and sat in a camping chair to witness the parade on wheels. back onto Van Nuys Boulevard, and head north and right back to Bobs again. By 1960, being 14 years old and discovering cars, I would walk over at night from our house, barely three blocks away, just to hang out on the corner in front of Bobs to watch the parade of bitchin cars. This time around, Smiley's '60 Impala from Majestics car club, LOWRIDERS GATHER FOR NEW YEARS DAY IN CLASSIC FASHION, Professionally Done: A 64 Impala Built By A Bonified Gear Head, LOWRIDERS: LA TIMES CELEBRATES CINCO DE MAYO AT ELYSIAN PARK, MISTER CARTOON X PEPSI | SUPERBOWL LOWRIDER BUILD. These pics could have been taken as late as 1978 or 1979. He said Cruise Night has been a way to meet people who share the same passion. The writer stated that modern cars were all the same and not as good or as interesting as the older cars. On the night I went, it took place between Vanowen Street & Sherman Way. . Home Blog Van Nuys Cruise Night. He brought the car from Alabama and named it Mothership, spending several years repairing and adding new features, including a racing motor, batteries and hydraulics. These pictures brought back some fun memories. grabbed on Friday and Saturday nights. We only live once so why not make the most of it?! Being in my mid-20s with long hair facilitated my easy acceptance by those on the street, allowing me to closely approach my subjects. see them through the walnut trees if I looked. This vibrant collection of cars is accompanied by an equally vibrant collection of people, all of whom have gathered to showoff and appreciate the legacy of car culture that is so uniquely apart of this citys fabric. border: 1px solid; low-light conditions. I estimate the current ages of the women leaning against the white Mustang GT to be 65~67. I was also still in the boulevard demographic albeit barely. Most specialty restaurants also require a semi-formal dress code. In general the conformity really burnt me out of custom cars a long time ago. end of the paved section of the alley. border: 1px solid; It speaks from so many angles. Activity on the boulevards across the USA spiked markedly Anybody that lived in SoCal back in the 70's and 80's and. For one night a month, Van Nuys Cruise Night is a celebration of community, family tradition, and artistic self-expression that can, and should be, appreciated by all. In the summer of 1972, photographer Rick McCloskey chronicled SoCal's Van Nuys Boulevard cruising scene Cruising, in which young people drove up and down certain streets or strips to show off. Green began cruising Van Nuys Boulevard in the 1960s after he snagged his drivers license and purchased his first car. Additional terms may apply. Well, to put the all-night dusty donuts and racing engines to an end, -->, . Lived in my post war early suburbs shack in Van Nuys from 98-2010. The national average is $55,322. border: 1px solid; My wife and I made it out to the Valley from South Bay once in a while in my 56 Chevy with its 66 327: it did DRINK Premium quite rapidly! Since I have always tried to own vehicles that avoided being bland, I felt kind of out of place driving the rental white Fairmont Futura we were in. Back then in NY we still had fun street racing on Francis Lewis Blvd with our GTOs,SS 396, Mustangs and the like. at a large sporting event where everyone expects to be on camera and SOLUTIONS. I deliberately worked at getting people to look directly at my camera before I took the shot. Occasionally, I got lucky when everyone Everyone has an accent, however. Which is your favorite ride? (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News-SCNG, Chris Mills 1956 custom Chevy Implala is one of the hottest cars on the Wednesday cruise night in Van Nuys. The photos Best cruise night in 20 years. Man, I recall when everyone (female) was wearing jeans like that . .table_d2e14 { (around $200,000 today). Remember to cruise Home. No doubt not everyone in the pictures are still here either. var abkw = window.abkw || ''; The Pontiac Aztec and the original iMac may have been ugly, But at least theyre recognizable. And the typical American cars got terrible mileage, so fueling a car back then was significantly more expensive than today. They in fact just look like the older siblings of many of my friends. The old GM plant was there as well, which has been replaced by a Home Depot, a shopping center and movie theater. Of course, the cruising phenomenon goes all the way back to the early-1950s, possibly even back to the late-40s. So much brilliance here the long shutter speed to allow blending of flash and ambient distant light, the wide-angle shot of the Bug that brings out curves I never saw, using the Goodyear tire as a framing device, the mix of people posing for the camera and people interacting with each other ignoring the camera in the same pic. But at least, with the four-cylinder and a stickshift, I could finally afford transportation. Nonetheless, Im cruising up PCH tomorrow, all the way to Big Sur. During the monthly Van Nuys Cruise Night Van Nuys Blvd. an even quicker left turn onto Vista Del Monte, brought you to our alley Ah, those were the days, it was REAL freedom. .table_d2e189 td { To see the entire set of Rick's photos, click HERE. As for me, a boring conservative driver, i LOVE all of the comments. when we bought the house, this particular alley was absolutely critical Van Nuys also offers a mix of employment opportunities ranging from manual labor to white-collar industries. 32 cents a gallon, adjusted for inflation would equal out to $1.87 today, so it really wasnt as cheap as it sounds. , ,