Jump to content

1959 Film of the Lincoln Highway


RICK YOUNG

Recommended Posts

Cool film. :cool: A lot of roadways around here still look like that, or have gone back into a state of disrepair and need to be modernized once again. A lot of smaller side roads have been shut off because of failing and unsafe bridges along the route. Kind of a pain for us that like to take the old slow route to keep away from modern traffic. Taxes are higher than ever, and the local Highway Departments say there is no money to rebuilt the roadways. I would think this is the problem with much of the country. Especially where the climate changes from warm to freezing as this really takes it's toll on a roadway. Dandy Dave!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Fred_S

I love it, noticed the '53 Packard Henney hearse, an Opel and even a Fiat in there, plus a nice blue Continental Mk ll. I moved to Iowa in '62 and it looked pretty much like that. 70 MPH speed limit if you dared, many of the 16 foot roadways still had the lip at the edge that would pull you the rest of the way off the pavement. US 52 still had a 14 foot wide bridge going into Decorah. Iowa Department In and Of Transportation (IDIOT) kept those old roads open way too long.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love it, noticed the '53 Packard Henney hearse, an Opel and even a Fiat in there, plus a nice blue Continental Mk ll. I moved to Iowa in '62 and it looked pretty much like that. 70 MPH speed limit if you dared, many of the 16 foot roadways still had the lip at the edge that would pull you the rest of the way off the pavement. US 52 still had a 14 foot wide bridge going into Decorah. Iowa Department In and Of Transportation (IDIOT) kept those old roads open way too long.

Fred, I missed the '53 Packard Henney hearse, but did notice the '51 or '52 Buick Flxible hearse early in the film.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is really neat!;) I especially liked the picture of the camera man perched atop the ladder attached to the 1958 Ford Country Squire Wagon who filmed the piece:eek::eek::eek: Wouldn't you love to be able to fire up the OLD Back to the Future Delorean and take a ride down that route with about $15,000 in your pocket and pick up some cars shown in the lots there at 1959 prices?

Edited by Rich Morton (see edit history)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

From 1980 to 1982 I lived on that stretch of "Lincoln Way" in Ames, which by then was no longer U.S. 30.icon4.gif At the very beginning of the Ames, IA section (6 min. 11.seconds in) you see a "30 Mile Speed Enforced" sign at the Ames city limit. Behind it you can see a large white house. That house was then the manager's residence for a small, strip motel, long out of business by 1980 and now rented out to college students as apartments. For 2 years I lived in the #1 unit of that motel, nearest the street. The house was rented to 3 friends of mine. In 1982 we moved out to a 3 bedroom house on the north side of town.

When I lived there the small house across the street (not visible in the film) was a brothel (with a quaint red light on the porch!). The business district and the "Campustown" district in Ames were very little changed from 1959.

I drove that road (old U.S. 30 from Marshalltown to Ames) weekly during my graduate field study, and drove the other stretch west to Carroll probably every month or so to visit my uncle who lived there.

It's amazing how much of those structures were there still in 1980, and can still be seen on Google Earth today!:cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:

Now I'm going to have to go back and look at the cars! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fun flick! Having grown up in the Quad Cities (western Illinois/eastern Iowa) in the 50s/60s/70s, all those roads, underpasses, overpasses, and towns have a familiar feel. Though I don't think I have ever been on the section of road that was featured.

Gas prices ranged from $0.28.9 to $0.31.9. Saw a "DX" station, which was a midwest gas chain that is now part of Sunoco. Several Buick dealerships.

What was the convertible with the red interior at the start of the film? (Must be the camera vehicle.)

Edited by wws944 (see edit history)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...