The Friday night car show at the Bob’s Big Boy in Toluca Lake, CA has been a Southern California staple since 1994. We figured beginning of a three day weekend is always a great time to hit up this show because the car crazies come out in droves. Boy howdy, we were right. The long weekend starting off with warm summer sun brought out the big crowds, and then some.
We sent our SoCal reporter into the ‘Valley’ with his camera to snap some pictures for us and eat a double decker burger in between. The greatest thing about this show is that crowds rotate in and out. If you go in to eat some grub, by the time you finish the lot is full of another set of totally bitchin’ rides. Scott stayed through the whole show start to finish to get us the pictures of the cars.
Although the car club, The Road Kings gets the credit for starting this show; they were at it decades before right at this location, and two others. After talking with a long time member of the Road Kings, we learned that this Bob’s Big Boy was just one of three that were stops of Friday night cruising in the San Fernando Valley in the sixties. They would start at the Bob’s on Van Nuys Boulevard, then cruise on over to this one in Toluca Lake, then head onto the Bob’s in Glendale on Brand Avenue. Unfortunately, the Van Nuys and Brand Ave Bob’s have since been closed. The Bob’s on Van Nuys was bulldozed in the name of progress years ago and the Bob’s in Glendale is still standing, but is going through trouble reopening. This Bob’s Big Boy in Toluca Lake was built in 1949 and was facing down the bulldozers by a developer in the early 1990’s, but it was saved from that fate and put on the list of historical places to protect it’s future.
Hit the link below to see nearly 200 photos from the July 2nd cruise!
Thank you Scott – good work as usual.
Great Pictures Scott. That bail’in wire spark plug wire is neat.
So cool that the owners/investors (?) were able to get Historic Landmark status for this locale. Unfortunately, even this type of registered status won’t always guarantee that somewhere in the future someone doesn’t bulldoze the place. It’s always easier to say you’re sorry after the fact and pay a fine, than to go through the proper channels before hand and hope that demolition is approved.
I live in the Chicago-metro (whatever that means; my town is a good 40 + miles West of the city, but that’s what were called!) area and have far too many painful stories of historic buildings given landmark status that were still pulled down in the name of “progress”. Anyone remember the former Chicago Board of Trade building that became historical photographer Richard Nickels death place? Sad.
Anyway, very cool that this place is still actively used and enjoyed! You might want to keep an eye out for any bald, badly dressed, world-domination-minded, Evil University graduates stroking a naked cat!