50s Communities?

[Gabe]

I seem to recall someone telling me about rockabilly or 50s communities people could go to live like it's the 1950s again. Very interesting idea, I tried doing research but came up with pretty much nothing. Does such a place exist?

 

[Edward]

Never heard of anything quite like this existing outside of Japan. I imgnie the experience would vary greatly depending on the type of folks that wanted to be there.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I'd prefer a late-thirties town myself. I'd be blacklisted in a fifties town, but hey, it wouldn't really be The Fifties without a token Red to bait.

But that said, we did have an entertaining thread years ago about building a "vintage community" of our own, which generated quite a few ideas. Quite a few of the participants are no longer around the Lounge, so for all we know they might have gone ahead and built a town and have gone off line to ensure full authenticity.

 

[tonyb]

People have built little burgs of their own, usually with some high level of attention paid to “period authenticity.” The American Pickers show on TV has featured at least a couple such places, as I recall. I know of a faux Wild West town on a piece of private property in rural Pierce County, Wash. The property owner hosts an annual rockabilly weekend, by the way, which draws hot rods dating from the 1950s and earlier.

But no matter how true to whatever era the builder hews, the effort is ersatz by its very nature. This is not to say the effort is wasted. Some of those little “towns” are pretty darned cool, but this isn’t 1957, or ’47, or ’37. Or 1893.

It’s all but a form of role playing, which is fine, really, but no matter how smitten a person may be by some earlier era, no matter how committed to getting right every little detail of the physical surroundings (and attire), the person him- or herself is not truly of the era.

That rockabilly event I alluded to a couple paragraphs up? The greasers and greasettes in attendance would have appeared like creatures from another planet in 1957, trying to look like they belonged.

 

[Haversack]

Well, there is the town of Halle-Neustadt in what was East Germany. Built as a planned community in the 1960s, it has since become something of a living museum for those nostalgic for living in the DDR.

 

[tonyb]

Just a couple days ago I was chatting with a friend about the tourism biz. My fantasy, I told him, was to have a small motel, a dozen rooms tops, all decorated in 1950s/’60s style (but with fiat screen TVs and WiFi, of course). It’s unlikely I’ll ever actually execute such a scheme, but the notion isn’t so far fetched. Literally thousands of such motels are still up and running today. Most wouldn’t take all that much work to put back in a more period-accurate condition.

My friend said he’s looked into acquiring an entire ghost town (they aren’t so rare as one might think) and turning it into a tourist destination. It would take millions, he figures, with a large chuck of it going to marketing.

 

[GHT]

I'd prefer a late-thirties town myself.

What a great idea, you could buy a run down, shabby garage, that's fallen into disrepair, clear the weeds, a lick of paint, retain the fuel pumps for their novelty and you've got yourself a 1930's unique art deco home. What's not to like?

 

[tonyb]

... What's not to like?

Not a damn thing.

I (and many others here, no doubt) could easily turn an old gas station of any era into a stylish residence — not a museum, and not everything period correct. It’s a residence, after all, and some things really are better left in the mists of time.

A couple-three service bays would make a great blank canvas.

 

[LizzieMaine]

In all seriousness, I'd absolutely love to have a house with a grease rack. I'm getting too old and too fat to crawl under the car to change my oil.

Plus it would be a hoot to hand guests a greasy key hanging from an old piston ring when they ask to use the bathroom. Boraxo dispenser over the sink, those weird little drinking cups made from envelope paper, and those red paper towels with splinters in them. Perfect.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^
I wouldn’t object to sharing living space with a stylish old car such as that Mopar of yours. It would incentivize its roommate to keep it clean, and leaving it parked over the grease pit would go some ways toward averting broken bones.

 

[3fingers]

those red paper towels with splinters in them. Perfect.

I'd splurge.

 

[scottyrocks]

In all seriousness, I'd absolutely love to have a house with a grease rack. I'm getting too old and too fat to crawl under the car to change my oil.

Plus it would be a hoot to hand guests a greasy key hanging from an old piston ring when they ask to use the bathroom. Boraxo dispenser over the sink, those weird little drinking cups made from envelope paper, and those red paper towels with splinters in them. Perfect.

A hydraulic lift in my very own garage - sort of like a fantasy dream come true! haha

 

[HudsonHawk]

A hydraulic lift in my very own garage - sort of like a fantasy dream come true! haha

I know several people who have a hydraulic lift in their garage. They can be had for about $1,500 new, even less used, I'd guess. Not much in the big scheme if you're a real car enthusiast.

 

[Edward]

A late pal of my Dad had a pit in his garage; same concept, ceptin' you lower you, ratrher than raise the car. Fantastic thing, so much easier on the back.


Only problem I see with living in n old garage is when folks keep pulling into your drive thinking it's either still serving, or a novelty business of some sorts!

 

[scottyrocks]

I know several people who have a hydraulic lift in their garage. They can be had for about $1,500 new, even less used, I'd guess. Not much in the big scheme if you're a real car enthusiast.

I'll have to look into that, but won't be ready to purchase until after we relocate in a year or two (the plans have been percolating for quite some time now).

 

[tonyb]

A late pal of my Dad had a pit in his garage; same concept, ceptin' you lower you, ratrher than raise the car. Fantastic thing, so much easier on the back.


Only problem I see with living in n old garage is when folks keep pulling into your drive thinking it's either still serving, or a novelty business of some sorts!

Many an old service station structure over here in God's Country has been repurposed. Service stations as we once knew them are all but extinct. These days, you buy your fuel at convenience stores. Rare is the repair shop that sells fuel.

A friend back in Seattle bought a retired gas station property down near the Oregon border a few years back. The tanks had already been pulled and whatever site cleanup might have been required had been addressed. (That's a HUGE consideration in any property that once had buried tanks.)

The current tenants operate a pot shop there. It's been legal under state law for five or six years now.

 

[GHT]

A friend back in Seattle bought a retired gas station property down near the Oregon border a few years back. The tanks had already been pulled and whatever site cleanup might have been required had been addressed. (That's a HUGE consideration in any property that once had buried tanks.)

Of course if you are one of those who mourn the closure of so many railway stations, and there are not that many old service repair garages, that doubled up with a forecourt where you filled your car up, you can always have your own station. Just buy a run down derilict one, that trains have long since ceased to visit. Give it a bit of a tidy up, and before you know it, you can play your own personal game of Harry Potter and Hogwarts.
Horsebridge Station in it's heyday:

Run down and neglected after the line was closed:

The ultimate train set, for big boys:

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

During the Era, a small town's service station men's room was often the only source for condoms, from a vending machine prominently labeled, "For prevention of disease only." Wouldn't want to offend the anti-birth control crowd.