You could hear the engines of the hotrods from my room, and I could even } It was a jam-packed car show. Me and my friends, by the way, would have been the 4 dudes stuffed into the VW in the picture above the one with the girl and the tire. Typically the 3rd Saturday of each month, starting at 5PM. border: 1px solid; Although I personally had not participated in the boulevard scene since 1966, I knew it well and it was remarkably easy to feel right at home again on the street. My gawd, where was I then??? What city hosts the best Cruise Night? Along the way, she picked up awards from the Los Angeles Press Club and Society of Professional Journalists. (first posted 1/28/2017) CC reader Michael M. sent me a link to a gallery of photos shot on Van Nuys Blvd. Cruise nights are evenings during which cars drive slowly. Disclaimer. Background Which is your favorite ride? Simply fantastic! me better focus and at least some depth of field under the prevailing We all get our turn in life. Yeah, People copied the successful customs, making them ironically LESS custom ?. Fill the VWs tank for 3 bucks and cruise all weekend with enough gas left over for getting to work and school the following week. Great pics, They bring back memories. There was a time several decades actually when cruising Van Nuys Boulevard at night to see and be seen was a major youth culture tradition in Los Angeles, and especially for teenagers (the real kind and the ageless kind) in the San Fernando Valley. .table_d2e150 { Van Nuys Boulevard is a major north-south arterial road that runs through the central San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County, California. Its a whole different world today. var plc435071 = window.plc435071 || 0; on Wednesday Nights. there's gonna be a cruise night on van nuys blvd and burbank in the city of van nuys at 7p.m. Valleyspeak or Valspeak is an American English social dialect and accompanying vocal features, best associated with Valley girls, though elements of it have spread to other demographics, including men called Val dudes. Fueled by sweat, hard work, and creativity, Van Nuys Blvd became the catwalk for custom cars. All of these pictures would make excellent album covers. This allowed me to take my time and concentrate on composition and timing. The days of $.23 tacos, bean burritos and bell burgers at Taco Bell! Sometimes Colorado Blvd on Thursdays too. Holmby Hills sits just a few blocks east of UCLA and abuts the Los Angeles Country club. With P&O and Princess you generally get an invitation to the captains cocktail party from your second cruise onwards as part of the companies loyalty program. Only differences are the owner demographics and Dayton wire wheels instead of Cragar mags. border: 1px solid; Cool to see elements of what many would consider to be the early days of the Lowrider scene here. var absrc = 'https://servedbyadbutler.com/adserve/;ID=171804;size=0x0;setID=439655;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid439655+';place='+(plc439655++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER'; (on Disc 3) romanticizes the era of cruising down the boulevard every Wednesday night. After 6 years, cruising returned to Van Nuys Blvd on Wednesday, Cruises are the third Wednesday of every month..Please remember to eat on the boule See more 2,725 people like this 2,879 people follow this Community Photos See all You do not have to participate in formal night on a cruise, but your dining options in the evening will be more limited. and our military presence in Vietnam being reduced daily, young people, Enjoy. Magnolia Boulevard where you could jump into the left turn lane, turn } American Brands: AMC, Jeep and All Others, Tractors, Lawn Mowers, Off-Road Equipment, Car Show Classics: A Visit at The Weekly Meeting Of The Israeli Five Club, Vintage R&T: 1976 Cadillac Seville Preview, Technical Analysis and First Driving Impressions. We lived out of cars in those days. Jun 2005 - Present17 years 9 months. AdButler.ads.push({handler: function(opt){ AdButler.register(171804, 435071, [300,600], 'placement_435071_'+opt.place, opt); }, opt: { place: plc435071++, keywords: abkw, domain: 'servedbyadbutler.com', click:'CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER' }}); if (!window.AdButler){(function(){var s = document.createElement("script"); s.async = true; s.type = "text/javascript";s.src = 'https://servedbyadbutler.com/app.js';var n = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; n.parentNode.insertBefore(s, n);}());} Nearly 50 years have passed, and most of the beautiful kids in the photos are now approaching 70 years of age a few are even older! Lived in my post war early suburbs shack in Van Nuys from 98-2010. 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! So, a neighbor was selling his old beat-up, faded 12-year-old Ponton Mercedes. Come join! Yeah, those were a bit more work to replace. Most of the time I used a 28mm wide-angle lens, which gave Typically the 3rd Saturday of each month, starting at 5PM. border: 1px solid; Book the best deals of hotels to stay close to San Fernando Valley Mini Maker Faire with the lowest price guaranteed by Trip.com! A major factor in making bone stock cars stand out at cruises/shows. var pid439655 = window.pid439655 || rnd; (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. Cruising had flourished for nearly two decades on Van Nuys Boulevard and on countless other streets and avenues in cities and towns across America, but in 1972 there was a visible resurgence in this youthful evening pastime. Oh, and the girl framed in the Goodyear tire? SOLUTIONS. And it says, Must Sell. He would even take best offer. Since I had just completed several years Does every cruise have a captains dinner? (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News-SCNG, Lamar Hart watches the cruisers roll down Van Nuys Boulevard Wednesday evening from the trunk of his 1964 Chevy. -->, . Back in Cruise Night, , , Support the Local Merchants and the LAPD. Go-to place to discover events for more than 20M people globally. With the monthly draft numbers now down significantly and our military presence in Vietnam diminishing, young people, especially young men, were once again enjoying the freedom and fun of youth without the foreboding that had accompanied turning 18 during the previous half-dozen years. Van Nuys began selling lots, homebuilding began, and in 1911, Van Nuys became the founder of what is today the city of Van Nuys, California, named after its founder, Isaac Newton Van Nuys. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. 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. Maybe if people actually patronized them that Home Blog Van Nuys Cruise Night. Molina is one of dozens of car lovers drawn to Van Nuys Boulevard for a long-running cruise night. This means that cars have pretty much been a necessity since this citys inception which means that pride in what you drive and its varying degrees of personalization is inherent in the DNA of countless generations of Angelenos. .table_d2e42 td { .table_d2e98 { Wish I had pictures of the same melded with those of the surfing scene and the young women on the beaches. And the people! Enjoy. which, with another quick left in the dust, took you right back out onto The median household income in Van Nuys is $46,331. .table_d2e14 { And those gas prices they didnt seem cheap at the time. lots, one-story rambler homes---all fairly new, and no sidewalks, just -->, . border: 1px solid; In 1979, William Sachs shot the movieVan Nuys Blvd.with actress Cynthia Wood about cruising the famous boulevard. Of course, the cruising phenomenon goes all the way back to the early-1950s, possibly even back to the late-'40s. It really depends on the cruise line often the captains dinner is by invitation only. border: 1px solid; Zipping a left turn into and through the paved section of The darkest days of Vietnam were then Occasionally there would be some kind of dustup between a couple of guys, and the police would come and scoop them up. Greene located same car model, bought it, and now cruises the Blvd again on Wednesday cruise nights. for very long exposures. border-color: #000000; border-color: #000000; . No more replacing the old pump and oddly shaped giant gas station sign because of the last companys obvious shapes. Maybe if people actually patronized them that would change.What a concept! .table_d2e127 { Moreno Valley - Cruise Night & Fundraiser @ R Burgers 23750 Alessandro Blvd. Your email address will not be published. You come here and have a date for the rest of the week.. Car Show - Jan-Apr 3rd Sat. New 2023 Lincoln Navigator Black Label in Van Nuys, CA 5LMJJ2TG3PEL04709 Nobody is perfect but the two girls in the white shorts are very, very close. One could feel a great lightening of spirit, and this was nowhere more evident than on Van Nuys Boulevard at night. I do agree that mandatory scrapping of vintage engines is a very bad thing indeed . Ah, come on now, that camper is awesome! She also supports the paper in its watchdog role to hold San Fernando Valley power players accountable and loves digging for public records. The boulevard was notable for its cruising lifestyle that was prevalent in the 1960s and 1970s, which was depicted in the 1979 film Van Nuys Blvd. But at least, with the four-cylinder and a stickshift, I could finally afford transportation. As for me, a boring conservative driver, i LOVE all of the comments. The darkest days of Vietnam were then mostly behind us and activity on boulevards across the country spiked markedly for young Americans. Too righteous for VN Blvd, besides, going to school, working and protesting the war, I didnt have time for it! Thats what I hear when I see these photos. There have been allegations that the Van Nuys protests are an LAPD setup. NEXT. I was also still in the boulevard demographic albeit barely. United States. Living in Van Nuys offers residents an urban feel and most residents rent their homes. 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. Awesome pictures! Required fields are marked *. It is likely Van Nuys might have never become the world greatest cruising venue without the Van Nuys Bob's. By the late 50s there were primarily 3 nights that people cruised Van Nuys Blvd. With the monthly draft numbers now down significantly Go wrap yourself in bubble wrap wuss. There were plenty of interesting cars, trucks, and people out there that night. and wonderful energy levels of the evening car culture on Van Nuys Boulevard Here are the pictures from that evening. } on october 14,2009 come bring out your rides would changeWhat a concept! Most products today are soulless. The sprawling territory makes traveling by motor vehicle (both private and public) a near prerequisite to live here. Anybody that lived in SoCal back in the 70's and 80's and. Literally everyone This isnt just a good ol days rant either, quality car customization is, and always has been, few and far between. Perhaps it was more akin to shooting pictures . This is like a therapy for me, Mills said, adding that he was not looking for to sell the car. I find production designs far more interesting as ala carte actually provided more variety than the customizations applied to them later. document.write('<'+'div id="placement_435071_'+plc435071+'">'); .table_d2e189 { at a large sporting event where everyone expects to be on camera and of anyone reacting unpleasantly, I could wait for the best instant to Good times doesnt even begin to say how much fun it was then =8-) . Best cruise night in 20 years. The Van Nuys cruise night has been going on and off since the 60s and currently become popular again. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. -->, Click here to see the "Ghosts of Van Nuys Blvd " from the Wild Bunch Car Club,