Re: The "New" and "Old" Hotel Packard, La Habana
Posted by Leeedy On 2018/12/31 14:12:20
Quote:
You are most welcome. Of course I knew the original Plainsman owner and his family (the remainder branch of which now lives in Southern California). As for the 5-acre estate they had near Havana, it was their second in Cuba. It was known as "Finca Allegria" and was a beautiful property. It had a large swimming pool that was shaped like a piano. I have more recent photos of it in the Plainsman book. It still exists, but part of the estate was split off and given over to the Russians. I am told that many wealthy and powerful people were once regular visitors to Finca Allegria in pre-Castro days. Of these, Meyer Lansky was one... and that was enough to make Castro enraged (he hated Lansky).
RE: Buick Bugle... I've had some of my historical stuff in that publication many years ago and owned a few Buicks in my life. Look back years and you'll find my images of the XP-300 concept taken at its debut in Los Angeles.
RE: the Plainsman book... The book was completed and ready to go as of February, 2018. However, the promised funding for the book failed to show up. So as a consequence, I have not released it and it isn't available yet., There may soon be a Kickstarter program to fund the book to get it on the shelves since I have already invested nearly $10,000 of my own cash and can't roll the presses yet, despite a book that is ready to go to market. It reads like a novel and contains photos and information that no one (even those who think they know about this car) has ever seen before. Contains about 142 pages of facts and figures including my original 1970s interview with the real designer of the full car (contrary to what the internet and auction companies say-it certainly wasn't Virgil Exner). And yes, the color on the cover here is accurate-not that diarrhea butterscotch shade shown all over the internet and on scale models they sell-all of which are done wrong!
I have added a look at the intro page that discusses the entire story of the car in Cuba and its escape from Castro's clutches...
Thanks for the kind words.
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34Eight wrote:
"Another friend there told me that some (or maybe all) private vehicles became property of the state and had to be rented back or leased from the government when Castro took over. It was a nightmare for some... and a celebration for others. It all took place on New Year's Eve in 1958. By the time the sun arose over the harbor, it was all over and Cuba would never be the same. It took place 60 years ago tonight."
Thanks for the fascinating insight, there was a lot of pilfering by the new regime and horror stories abound. For the June issue of the Buick BUGLE, I interviewed the son of the last Buick Distributor for Cuba, who also had three dealerships in the Havana area. They had a similar story, but how cool that the Plainsman escaped on a ship.
I'd love to know more about the family with the Plainsman...I guess you've tracked down the estate's location and names of all involved. Can't wait to see the book.
Happy New Year!
TG
You are most welcome. Of course I knew the original Plainsman owner and his family (the remainder branch of which now lives in Southern California). As for the 5-acre estate they had near Havana, it was their second in Cuba. It was known as "Finca Allegria" and was a beautiful property. It had a large swimming pool that was shaped like a piano. I have more recent photos of it in the Plainsman book. It still exists, but part of the estate was split off and given over to the Russians. I am told that many wealthy and powerful people were once regular visitors to Finca Allegria in pre-Castro days. Of these, Meyer Lansky was one... and that was enough to make Castro enraged (he hated Lansky).
RE: Buick Bugle... I've had some of my historical stuff in that publication many years ago and owned a few Buicks in my life. Look back years and you'll find my images of the XP-300 concept taken at its debut in Los Angeles.
RE: the Plainsman book... The book was completed and ready to go as of February, 2018. However, the promised funding for the book failed to show up. So as a consequence, I have not released it and it isn't available yet., There may soon be a Kickstarter program to fund the book to get it on the shelves since I have already invested nearly $10,000 of my own cash and can't roll the presses yet, despite a book that is ready to go to market. It reads like a novel and contains photos and information that no one (even those who think they know about this car) has ever seen before. Contains about 142 pages of facts and figures including my original 1970s interview with the real designer of the full car (contrary to what the internet and auction companies say-it certainly wasn't Virgil Exner). And yes, the color on the cover here is accurate-not that diarrhea butterscotch shade shown all over the internet and on scale models they sell-all of which are done wrong!
I have added a look at the intro page that discusses the entire story of the car in Cuba and its escape from Castro's clutches...
Thanks for the kind words.
Attach file:
(283.06 KB)
(240.12 KB)
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