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San Francisco, 1919. "Hudson Biddle & Smart touring limousine at Palace of Fine Arts." Home, Fido! 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size.
When this car was new autos often had mechanical troubles that made them difficult to drive. Hudson was a medium priced car that was both powerful & reliable for its time.
The Super Sixes as shown in this picture were the first production car to feature a counterbalanced crankshaft allowing higher engine speeds, more power & longer life than was typical at the time.
Another feature was a cork clutch which ran in oil that was smooth, long lasting and did not slip. Other types of clutches often jerked, burnt out or slipped. Every Hudson except the first & last years of production was equipped with a cork clutch.
With these mechanical advantages and a moderate price, Hudson sold a lot of Super Sixes and some were fitted with elite bodies such as those by Biddle & Smart.
The 1960s reconstruction of the Palace is MOSTLY an exact replica of the 1915 version. The wall of the Palace itself facing the colonnade was originally fully decorated with freestanding and engaged columns identical to those of the colonnade, and the central doors facing the entrance to the rotunda were elaborately framed. This wall was rebuilt smooth, dull and blank (presumably to reduce costs) and its bareness is now screened by trees; the central doors now have minimal moldings framing them. The original concept as executed made the crescent walk behind the colonnade a much richer, more enclosing, visual experience than it is today. A bit of the pergola which crowned the original wall is visible in this photo.
with integral roof rails and requisite pooch.
That's the original Palace of Fine Arts Rotunda, built of wood and "staff" (a mixture of plaster and straw) for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915. Beloved by San Franciscans, it was the only structure retained afterward. The building deteriorated so badly over the next 50 years that it had to be demolished in the fall of 1964. An exact replica was built in its place from permanent materials and was completed two years later.
The lad on the right has a navy pea coat with chief petty officer rating. Some kids even had a full uniform to wear. Last war that happened.
[He must be standing behind the car. -tterrace]
Love the chain and padlock on the spare tire.
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