Help locating old dealership in Cleveland, OH

[Ken_P]

So, my '37 Packard 120 was delivered December 31st, 1936, in Cleveland, OH, to a Knowles and Brown Inc.

 

They are not on the Packard dealership list over on PackardInfo.com, and so far the only reference to the company I've been able to find is as a Plymouth dealership (in a story about a bank robber) and on the roll of a list of attendees from an Oxy Acetylene conference in 1936.

 

Anyone have any good research tips (beyond Google) for the dealership, or know anything about it?

[Terry Bond]

Sometimes the local historical society, a history museum or even old newspapers can provide additional info, advertising or photos.  Enjoyed the T ride yesterday.

Terry 

[58L-Y8]

Ken

You might try this Fulton History site that has a tool to search historic U.S. newspaper files:

Old Fulton New York Post Cards (fultonhistory.com)

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has been around that long, there may have been others as well.  Let us know what you find.

 

The Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland may also have the information:

150th Home | Western Reserve Historical Society (wrhs.org)

[John_S_in_Penna]

Libraries will likely have old City Directories,

which among other things listed businesses

in the city and usually had their ads.

Have them look in editions around 1936 and

copy or scan the pages for you.

[Terry Bond]

I've found that those involved in early dealerships seemed to come and go rather quickly.  Partnerships are formed, then dissolve, key-players and investors get their names on the building, and things really can get twisted when digging into their history.  Sometimes, a "dealership" is some sort of nebulous franchise agreement that disappears as quick as it started.  Some very early "dealerships" were nothing more than small garages that could take orders for different automobiles.  The result is you'll often see one dealer selling a multitude of different brands of automobile.  To us it gives the impression that a large showroom existed and they did a big business.  Perhaps it was a desk alongside the workbench with a bunch of order blanks.

I'd think though by 1936 Packard would have had a more established dealership arrangement in place.  There may be lots of twists and turns in digging for info so be prepared to follow lots of blind alleys and rabbit-holes.

Anxious to see what turns up.

Terry

[J3Studio]

Nothing on newspapers.com ...

[Ken_P]

Excellent guys, thanks for all the help! I'll post updates if I find anything.

Terry, it was a pleasure, and thanks so much for affording me the opportunity!