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Sedans, Coupes and Tin Lizzies ~ The Early Days of the Automobile

by Randel Metz on August 14, 2014

vintage automobiles

Harry M. Rhoads, behind the steering wheel, poses in a convertible with passenger in front of Westminster University or College, at 3455 West 83rd Avenue in Westminster (Adams County), Colorado. Animals graze in the barren field in which the building is situated. Architectural features of the building: sandstone construction, 175-foot tower with a hipped roof, conical towers, square towers, arched and square windows and entrances, gables, and chimneys.

View of an O'Malley-Kelley Oil and Auto Supply Company delivery truck in Denver, Colorado. Lettering on the side of the cab reads: "Zuni St & Lake Place."

View of Welton Street in Denver, Colorado; shows parked cars, pedestrians, and business signs: "Jim Furlong Loans," "Baker Hotel," and "Estes Hotel."

View of a Hendrie and Bolthoff Manufacturing Supply delivery truck parked near the Colorado State Capitol building in Denver, Colorado. Lettering on the open-cab truck reads: "22 The Hendrie & Bolthoff Mfg. & Supply Co."

A woman poses on the fender of an automobile probably in Colorado.

Women ride in an early automobile in City Park, Denver, Colorado. They wear dresses and hats decorated with feathers. A statue, 'The Cowboy,' created by Alexander Phimister (A. P.) Proctor, is in the distance.

View of automobiles on Welton Street in Denver, Colorado. Background signs read: "Rock Island Lines, Route of the Rockets," "Hotel Denver, 80 Outside Rooms, $1.00 to $3.00, Thoroughly Modern, Permanent and Transient."

Fire Chief John F. Healy poses in uniform by a Fire Department vehicle (Lincoln sedan) in Civic Center park, Denver, Colorado. The automobile has a bell and siren. The Voorhies Memorial Colonnade, Carnegie Library, and Arapahoe County Courthouse dome are in the background.

View of automobiles and metal patio chairs in Steamboat Springs, Routt County, Colorado.

Theo Koch drives an Adolph Coors Golden Brewery delivery truck, in Golden, Jefferson County. The wood panel Frayer - Miller truck has the steering wheel on the right side, narrow tires and lantern headlights.

A man poses in a Water Department service truck by the Colorado State Capitol building in Denver, Colorado; lettering on the truck reads: "Irrigation & Water Waste Inspector, Water Department."

A Ford Coors delivery truck parks on a Colorado street with cases of beer showing through side door. Lettering on truck reads: "Adolph Coors Co. Denver" and "Coors Brewer of Fine Beer."

View of a Coleman flatbed truck on an incline with the city of Denver, Colorado, in the distance. A group of well-dressed men and workers ride on the truck loaded with sacks of probably sand. The surrounding landscape is barren. The state capitol building is visible in the distance.

View of a 1939 Chevrolet Deluxe coupe automobile in (probably) Denver, Colorado.

View of a Ford Model T delivery truck in City Park, Denver, Colorado. Lettering on the truck reads: "The Colorado House" and "The W.H. Kistler Stationery Co. 1636-46 Champa St." Two men sit in the truck. The bed of the truck has wire mesh and rolled-up canvas covers. Packages are in the back of the truck. A metal cylinder is mounted on the running board of the truck. Trees, sidewalks and people are in the distance.

"Galloping Goose," as train #371; snowy scene. Photographed: leaving Ridgway, Colo., February 23, 1940.

View of a water tank truck for street cleaning in Denver, Colorado.

Men pose near an automobile in Denver, Colorado. They wear overcoats and hats. Lettering on a nearby window reads: "Pontiac."

View of Western Bakers Supply, at 4969 Colorado Boulevard, in Denver, Colorado; shows a brick building, and parked cars. A van reads: "Cunningham's Restaurant."

A man stands near his automobile that is stuck in a creek in Colorado.

View of a delivery truck in Denver, Colorado; lettering reads: "Home Owned Stores," "Frank C. Thomas Quality Groceries and Market 2746 W. 26th Ave."

World War One military recruits ride a car in a Denver, Colorado, parade. The men hold signs, United States flags, blow party horns and wave to the crowd. Picket sign reads: "The Kaiser Has;" a dead duck hangs from it. Office buildings are in the background.

A man sits in the driver's seat of a delivery truck in Denver, Colorado. The rear of the truck is designed to look like a trunk. Signs on the truck read: "A. E. Meek Trunk & Bag Co." and "Trunks & Bags."

Mrs. Sade Rhoads sits in a 1918 Kissel two passenger sedan in a Denver, Colorado park.

View of a truck and trailer in Denver, Colorado; lettering reads: "Turner Moves - The Turner Moving and Storage Co."

Three-quarter view of left side of motor car, from front end, close view; Galloping Goose, with C.A. Rhodes; scenic. Photographed: Peak, Colorado, May 23, 1951.

A man sits in a delivery truck parked near the Swenson Auto Company at 1960 Champa Street in downtown Denver, Colorado. Lettering on the truck reads: "Denver Mud Express 330."

View of the Remington Ordnance Plant (later called the Federal Center) in Lakewood (Jefferson County) Colorado; men install road reflectors by a (probably) striping truck, with a compressor in tow. Sign reads: "War Department - Quartermaster Corps - Construction Division - Denver Ordnance Plant - Smith Henchman & Grylls, Inc., Broderick and Gordon General Contractors." Front range mountains and clouds are in the distance.

View of a truck used by the Mountain State Telephone and Telegraph Company in Pueblo (Pueblo County), Colorado. The truck has a hand brake, sirens, and plastic windshield rolled and attached to the roof of the automobile. Words painted on the side of the truck read: "Mountain States Tel. & Tel. Co." Smoke emerges from the smokestack of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company steel mill in the distance.

Children stand on a sidewalk beside cars after an evacuation at Lakewood Elementary School in Lakewood (Jefferson County), Colorado. Children and teachers or parents wear rain coats and scarves or hats. A license plate reads: "D11 3818, Colorado, '57."

Three men picnic next to an early gasoline-powered automobile near dam site for Standley Lake, Colorado; men eat apples and sit on car seat cushions; scene includes blanket, wicker picnic basket, food items, plates, bottles, a spare tire attached to automobile runner, and the phographer's box of supplies in backseat. McClure photographed construction of Standley Lake by Kenefick-Quigley-Russel Construction Company.

View of a delivery truck in Denver, Colorado; shows a man driving, tire chains, and lettering: "Kohler-McLister Paints - the Mark of Quality" and "1621 Arapahoe St."

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