I am looking for this dealship name tag to go on my 68 Caddy. My Grandfather bought this car at this dealership new and somehow the script plate went missing over the years. Can anyone help me.
Lets see a photo of the Caddy, we have a few fans on here, at one point there was a suggestion to have a Cadillac Topic heading, but of course we respect our Ponchgs too much to do that.
For now we just get by with gratuitous photos of Cadillac every now and then.
Lets see a photo of the Caddy, we have a few fans on here, at one point there was a suggestion to have a Cadillac Topic heading, but of course we respect our Ponchgs too much to do that.
For now we just get by with gratuitous photos of Cadillac every now and then.
I KNOW this is an OLD thread.....BUT......
Bow Mac Downtown AND on Broadway.....Bowell McClean Motors was a MAJOR Pontiac/Cadillac dealer in Vancouver in the 50's 60's and 70's....
Their claim to fame was (I believe)...the TALLEST sign in the world.........Somebody...(a local DJ or radio personality) spent a week on top of the sign....in the mid-to late 60's...which became a HUGE traffic generator for the sales department...
Two of my 64's....a Laurentian...and Parisienne were sold NEW there....
Sign still stands....but NOW says...Toys r Us
From the "archives...."
Bowell McLean
The BowMac sign, known as "Toys "R" BowMac" and "Toymac", is a neon sign in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a metal screen depicting the Toys "R" Us logo covering a significant portion of the original sign. It stands at 1154-1176 West Broadway, a Toys "R" Us store. It was designated by the City of Vancouver as a landmark worthy of preservation and revitalization in 1997. The sign is a landmark of Vancouver, but also a topic of contention as unsightly as well as exceptionally large.
The Bowell McLean (BowMac) car dealership on West Broadway in Vancouver erected the sign above the business in 1958. The orange sign was covered with hundreds of bulbs and neon lights. It was the largest structure in Vancouver other than the BC Electric Building downtown and recognized as North America's largest freestanding sign. The billboard was visible from 18 miles due.[1]
However, as the neon craze of 1950s Vancouver began to disappear in the 1960s, many signs were outlawed by stricter bylaws. The BowMac sign stood into the 1990s, when desires to demolish it surfaced. The city's planning and heritage departments opposed the idea, and passed legislation in 1997 to preserve it.
-- Edited by MoboMac on Thursday 23rd of April 2015 09:38:40 PM
-- Edited by MoboMac on Thursday 23rd of April 2015 10:02:12 PM
-- Edited by MoboMac on Thursday 23rd of April 2015 10:06:13 PM
Bow Mac Downtown AND on Broadway.....Bowell McClean Motors was a MAJOR Pontiac/Cadillac dealer in Vancouver in the 50's 60's and 70's....
Their claim to fame was (I believe)...the TALLEST sign in the world.........Somebody...(a local DJ or radio personality) spent a week on top of the sign....in the mid-to late 60's...which became a HUGE traffic generator for the sales department...
Two of my 64's....a Laurentian...and Parisienne were sold NEW there....
Sign still stands....but NOW says...Toys r Us
From the "archives...."
Bowell McLean
The BowMac sign, known as "Toys "R" BowMac" and "Toymac", is a neon sign in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a metal screen depicting the Toys "R" Us logo covering a significant portion of the original sign. It stands at 1154-1176 West Broadway, a Toys "R" Us store. It was designated by the City of Vancouver as a landmark worthy of preservation and revitalization in 1997. The sign is a landmark of Vancouver, but also a topic of contention as unsightly as well as exceptionally large.
The Bowell McLean (BowMac) car dealership on West Broadway in Vancouver erected the sign above the business in 1958. The orange sign was covered with hundreds of bulbs and neon lights. It was the largest structure in Vancouver other than the BC Electric Building downtown and recognized as North America's largest freestanding sign. The billboard was visible from 18 miles due.[1]
However, as the neon craze of 1950s Vancouver began to disappear in the 1960s, many signs were outlawed by stricter bylaws. The BowMac sign stood into the 1990s, when desires to demolish it surfaced. The city's planning and heritage departments opposed the idea, and passed legislation in 1997 to preserve it.
Cool info.
__________________
Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
Can't believe they let them deface that beautiful sign with the Toys R Us sign. Looks so mickeymouse just sticking it on like that.
From what I'm reading, it appears that Vancouver at one time was kind of a leader in the neon sign world. To bad it has declined over the years as I'm a huge neon sign fan.
Finally, here's a pic of a much earlier version of the dealership found on the vancouver skyscraper forum:
That Vancouver Neon page IS something ELSE....isn't it....?
I grew up there....in the "Neon Era"....and remember seeing most of them.....
They say that Vancouver was also the "neon sign" capital of the world....before Vegas........then the city got stupid...and made them all come down.....
Here are a couple of pictures of the Caddy. It has just turned 35k miles. It was stored in the family garage for the most part of 30 years upon my grandfather's passing in 1980.
That Vancouver Neon page IS something ELSE....isn't it....?
I grew up there....in the "Neon Era"....and remember seeing most of them.....
They say that Vancouver was also the "neon sign" capital of the world....before Vegas........then the city got stupid...and made them all come down.....
Yeah, I really miss the soft glow of neon signs that used to be part of the landscape around here. There are still a few left, but only a fraction of what once was.
Here are a couple of pictures of the Caddy. It has just turned 35k miles. It was stored in the family garage for the most part of 30 years upon my grandfather's passing in 1980.
Bruce
Victoria BC
Beautiful car and a wonderful remembrance of your Grandfather.
Are those recent pics? Looks like you found a dealer emblem if they are.
Yes the pictures are fairly recent. After posting an Ad on Used Victoria for a few months I managed to snag the dealership script from a local car buff who had one in his tool box for several years and was willing to let if go.
Quite a few of the old Vancouver neon signs have been restored, Helens on Hastings, the only seafood restraunt (use to be great place for fresh seafood), wallys burgers on Kingsway, the rickshaw in Surrey just off top of my head. The old Woodwards rotating W was restored also. Nice to see them lit up again.
I grew up near Bow Mac, and the big deal then was if you bought a car from them, you got to go up the stairs inside the sign to look at the view. Back then it was the tallest structure around! Great view of the North Shore mountains.
Here are a couple of pictures of the Caddy. It has just turned 35k miles. It was stored in the family garage for the most part of 30 years upon my grandfather's passing in 1980.
Bruce
Victoria BC
Very NICE.......if a guy's gotta have a Cadillac.........that's the one....
Have you figured out how many bodies will fit in the trunk?
