Henry Lawrence Packard Motor Cars
| General Info | |||
| Address1: | 125 North Guadalupe Street | |
| Address2: | |||
| City | Santa Fe | ||
| State/Province: | NM | ||
| Zip/Postal Code: | |||
| Country: | USA | ||
| Updated: | 2010-02-27 | ||
| Historical Entry: (Added by: JW on 2010-02-27) | |||
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Henry Lawrence was the Packard dealer in Santa Fe, New Mexico from
the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s. He had his business in three locations. First,
he and his partner (brother-in-law) George Emblem had their dealership on the
corner of West Palace Avenue and Burro Alley. A multi-story office building,
the Bokum Building, now occupies the site. Later on, during World War II, after
he had bought out Emblem's interest in the business, he relocated up the street
to 110 West Palace Avenue. It was located across the street from the Fine Arts
Museum and the St. Francis Auditorium. The First National Bank of Santa Fe
parking lot and former drive-in teller booth now occupy the site. In 1948 he
built a new, modern facility. The photo shows his new business location, as it was first
occupied. It was located on the corner of Johnson and Jefferson (later named
North Guadalupe Street) streets, at 125 North Jefferson Street. It was a
pre-fabricated metal frame building of a stressed member design. This design
resulted in the floor area being free of any roof supporting beams. It had a
rounded Quonset Hut roof and the required Pueblo-style facade. We often
referred to the outside appearance as "Early Pueblo Industrial". For
the opening of the business he featured a 1949 Custom Sedan (2252). It can be
seen in the showroom window. I recently became reacquainted with this wonderful
old car, but that is a story for another time. After the Packard dealer days he took on, for a short time, Hudson
and Rambler sales. In the late 1950s he built an auto repair garage around the
corner at 310 Johnson Street. He leased the dealership property to a series of
tenants, including the location of the first VW dealer in Santa Fe; a hot tub
store; art galleries, and other non-auto businesses. The longest staying
occupant was the Honda motorcycle dealership. Many people still refer to the
property as the old Honda place, not the old Packard place. He died in 1993 and the family sold the property in 2001. It is
now the site of the Awakening Sanctuary and Museum. The property is now for
sale. John W. Lawrence Austin, Texas | |||
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