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The next time I'm in the neighborhood, I'll see what I can do.

A little of this topic but has anyone ever come across pictures of the Sproat and Dunn Packard dealership in Hackensack, NJ.I have seen many cars at shows in the area that were sold there but have never seen a picture of the dealership.

Here are some images taken from Google Earth street view.

The Packard sign on this side of the building is mcuh more clear. And the size and finish of the building is impressive. In the other photo notice that the 3 story building in the background is part of the dealership.

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I drove past the building in question and snapped a few pictures. As mentioned earlier, it's a fairly good size structure that stretches between a city block (Prospect and Carnegie Ave.) and is at least three stories above grade. The front facade resembles two separate building, however they are in fact connected. In between is a drive that descends to an overhead door that appears to lead to a basement level garage. Given the size of the building, I'd be curious to know if the entire complex was dedicated to Packard or if it shared the space with one of the other marques then selling in the neighborhood.

As you can see, the building is not in disrepair however it isn't much to at. The storefronts have long been boarded over and its architectural detailing, while still largely intact, isn't that impressive. The still legible Packard script on both the east and west walls are the most interesting exterior features.

I would love to see the inside of the building so, Roger, if your friend ever hosts an open house let me know!

--Scott

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While I was out photographing the Cleveland Packard building on Prospect, I did try to grab a few pictures of the former zone office building on Carnegie. Unfortunately, the way the Cleveland Clinic (the building's current owner) has things set-up, I couldn't get close enough to get a good shot. One of these days when I can park the car and walk over to the building I get some photos.

Since I was already in the neighborhood, I drove over to another former Packard dealership. This one, located at 6610 Euclid Avenue, was an active dealership circa 1940.Listed in the 1940 and '41 Cleveland Telephone Directory as the Packard -Euclid Co., it advertised itself rather boorishly as the "The Big Store." I guess some things never change in the auto sales arena.

Since my research is very limited I'm not sure how long the dealership operated at this location. Today, it's home to Gust Gallucci's, a store dedicated to real Italian food. It's worth a stop for that reason alone.

--Scott

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The better sign on the first dealership is in surprisingly good condition for one not active after 1930 or so. Was there another building protecting it or was the the quality just that good.

Without looking at a period map, I can't say for sure but I would assume that there once was a building between the dealership and its neighbor, a richly detailed telephone exchange building. This neighborhood was too densely populated between 1900 and 1930 to have had many empty land parcels.

Also, the well preserved sign faces east so it's largely spared from the weather that's been eating away at the example on the other side of the building. It would be nice if some steps were taken to protect it for the next 80 or so years.

Hello Scott:

You can look up digitized copies of the Sanborn Insurance Maps on your computer. The library has them on something called OHIOLink, but only for residents of Ohio.

These maps were drawn on a periodic basis, show the outline of the footprint of the building and who the owner was. Overtime you can see if the building contracted or expanded and the change of ownership.

Maybe this will help explain:
http://dmc.ohiolink.edu/help/sanborngates.html

We have access to the Sanborn maps for Detroit, but I don't have access to the Ohio maps.

Otherwise, you have to go to the Cleveland Library and view the hard copies.

Thanks Roger. I've used the Sanborn's before and they're a great resource. As a matter of fact, I checked the 1951 revision for Cleveland, Ohio last night and found out that a small 3-story building did occupy the parcel between the Packard Dealership and the telephone exchange. That would help account for the good condition of the Packard sign on the building.