Chicks were prettier back then...no hardcore mutilating piercings nails through noses, no popcorn colored hair. Females back then were slender and fit, and knew how to cook. Though the seeds of the cancer of cultural marxism had been sown in America, it had not yet metastasized.
Absolutely. No purpled haired, metal boogers hanging out of their noses, covered in ridiculous tattoos nitwits. Asses were small and tight not freakishly cartoon like. Huge and out of proportion. Miss those days.
No shootings...just good times! I cruised Van Nuys Blvd when I was about 14 in 1979. They were filming Porky's, met a bunch of the girl extras. We would hitchhike from one end to the other. Girls would pull over, pick us up, drop us off at the other end...impossible to replicate the awesome freedom and excitement of those days. And you had to actually talk to each other, as there were no cell phones.
Great images of a glorious time. Now, we're in our 70's & 80's looking back at ourselves when life was good and we were cool - long before the bloody internet.
The internet is not what's wrong, it's the social programming on it. Propaganda. The spying. That's narcissistic oligarchs doing that shit, not the internet.
Beautiful boys and girls...beautiful cars...great music.....great movies.....amazing fashion......etc..... Nowadays = Youporn The 70's = THE REAL THING
@@matrox And people who grew up in the 40s and 50s could probably say the same thing, tho. 60s for me mostly, with some early 70s mixed in. Looking at it today, we sure can't complain.
Yeah, but decades in the future people will be reminiscing and saying, "Ah, the 2020s in America - when everything was real, and men were women and women were men."
This literally brought a tear to my eye! The joys of youth.I cruised Van Nuys from 1968 to 1972. Club night was Wednesday night. I was president of a car club. Chevys of SO Cal. Had a nice red and white 55 chevy.Would turn around at June Ellens where the low car guys hung out on the south of the blvd and turned around at McDonalds at the north end. A few tickets here and there but everyone was cool to each other.Lots of respect. Unlike today. SO now Im 70, a great grandfather,a grandfather and father. So many good carefree memories back then, it was the best of times.Im glad to have experienced them. SO different from what our country seems to be turning into. To all you fellow cruisers from back then a big shot out and I hope all is well for you!!!
I loved growing up in the 60s and 70s. Cars with style, great music and concerts and beautiful girls that didn’t ruin there bodies with holes and graffiti.
Thank you for the reminder of how it once was. This was the California that I loved. It’s so easy to forget with life as it is today. What a great time capsule. Brings a smile to my face and my brain.
Grew up in the Valley, graduated from Taft High School. Wednesday's was cruise night on Van Nuys Blvd., between Victory Blvd. and Roscoe Blvd. about 4 miles, There were several other places where young people would gather during the summer nights in the Valley. One such place was in the west Valley, at the time known as Highlander Park, west of Platt Ave., south of Sherman Way. One night the LAPD arrived to enforce the 10:00pm curfew. Police helicopters were a new concept at the time, they were the bubble front (MASH) type choppers with a very bright search light. As the police lined up their cars (10-15) in a line a breast to drive through the park forcing everyone out. About 15 - 20 people layed down on the ground spelling out "F--k you" for the helicopter and the search light. When the search light lit them up, everyone went crazy laughing and screaming. It was great! Gas was about .35 cents a gallon, cigarettes were .36 cents a pack over the counter and .50 cents out of a machine. A six-pack of 16oz. Budwieser was about $2.00. A four finger "lid" (ounce) of Acapulco Gold, Panama Red, Colombian or Vietnamese was $10.00. I can remember filling the gas tank in my '63 VW Bug for $3 or $4. Aahhhh, those were the days...
We used to buy cases of 7oz Schlitz Malt pony bottles for $4.59. That and a couple of fatties between a few people was plenty good...made a whopping $1.46/hr pumping leaded gas after school. So long ago that it almost doesn't seem real anymore.
Beautiful. Better time. People connecting. You can really feel the spirit of these times being celebrated in Licorice Pizza. Teens getting to be teens.
I loved the 70s. I was still a kid but everything was SO laid back. The music was great and everyone went to the beach any chance they got if you were close enough. Everyone wanted a Camero, Firebird or mustang. Having a car at all was big stuff if you were in high school. Fake id's were accepted in a lot of places. I had two. The dance clubs back then, at least in Atlanta were unbelievable. I actually cried when I turned 20 because my teens were so much fun and carefree. Life was overall pretty good.
I was living in Upland, CA that year and drove a '72 Datsun. The next couple of years I was in L.A. and Santa Monica. These photos really capture that time.
Fall of ‘71 I started my first year at what was then San Fernando Valley State College ( now California State University, Northridge). My car was a ‘69 Plymouth Roadrunner w/ 383 C.I. and a 4 speed tranny. Grew up in the Antelope Valley just an hours drive from the San Fernando Valley. Cruising was an integral part of the So. Cal scene and I enjoyed every minute of it! I sometimes wonder how with fast cars and teenage hormones I survived to this day. We all loved to cruise but we also loved driving those muscle cars hard! Definitely good times and a lot simpler than today…I sure miss them.
Yep, I had a new 1969 Roadrunner in '69, 383, added glass paks, had the 4-spd w/Hurst shifter. Cruising with the 8 track playing, good times and simpler times.
@@stevef6008 Definitely simpler times for us back then. The ‘Runner was fun to drive and I too enjoyed souping it up. I added an Edelbrock set of headers, a Holley dual quad carb, glass packs, Hi-Jacker air shocks (too clear the the wide mag rims/tires) and a Munz “blue light” 8 track to rock out with. Probably other items that I can no longer remember….but that car was my pride and joy back then. Wish I still had it even if I can’t afford the gas for it. 😂
One thing that made a difference back then is there were literally less people - half the number as now. I did some really stupid driving in 1974 on Angeles Crest that I wouldn’t think of doing now. Your roadrunner sounds like it was really nice!
I will always admire someone who has the foresight to understand the importance of documenting particular eras and places in time that will never be replicated. The youth of today have no clue of how to function like this. Kudos to Rick McCloskey for capturing these photos especially with black and white film. It just makes these photos that much better.
Great collection of photos capturing what life was like. All those smiles. No tattoos, body piercings, no one was obese, just happiness and friendship. No mass shootings, why would you? Something’s wrong with life today. These photos are proof. When some old fart Boomer like me tells you it was better back then . . . It was
Even though I didn’t grow up in California, the picture reminds me of my best friend and I leaning on my 1965 Candy Apple Red Mustang with a black top. We loved cruising on the east coast of the country. The late 1960’s and 1970’s were the BEST !!!!
@@rodneystanger1651 The 18-24 year-olds from the late 60's and 70's got older and started running everything and we have what we have now. Yes they had great times but little responsibilities and we are paying for it now.
I love these photos. I was pretty young in 72’ and didn’t live anywhere near California. but this culture was being played out everywhere. I still remember it with fond memories. The car, the girls, they were so beautiful. And the atmosphere seemed so much more relaxed and inclusive. Maybe age fogs my memory 🤷♂️
I think the 70's really was better in many ways. I was a teenager of the seventies in Australia and I remember there seemed far less agro. A certain amount of trust between people underlined society perhaps because the victim culture wasn't a thing back then. Fashions were never as crazy either!
Thank You so much for sharing this. As I was only 4 years old at the time, I missed the “magic” of these times. I can tell it was a Wonderful time of Freedom, Friendship, Great Music, Great Cars, and Yes, those 70s Girls looking Amazing by being their Natural selves.
That’s 2.34 in today’s money. Then again, Earth’s population has doubled since then so I expect demand is greater. Not to mention oil company price gouging. Because they can.
@JRG yes, it was based on odd or even last number of you license plate. I witnessed a shooting at a gas station in Brooklyn, because a guy jumped the line with the wrong plate number. Fun times !
@JRG oil embargo. ya I remember waiting in line with my ‘68 datsun roadster, senior year high school. Van Nuys was too far, I had Angeles Crest / highway 2 about 10 miles away, ditched a lot.
I remember chicks wearing the same thing to school. Super low cut hiphuggers and no bra. I doubt they would allow it today, but a dude in a dress is ok.
@@johnnyx9892 If a guy wants to wear a dress, so what. You hate freedom that much? But I do agree that I miss hip huggers and halter tops. Yes girls DID get sent home from my school in the 70's for being "distracting".
@@DiogenesOfCa No, I hate degeneracy, and gender-role-reversal IS degeneracy. I hate what God hates, and I love what God loves. You can call degeneracy freedom, but that's a redundancy, we all have free will. If you choose degeneracy, you will be the one with the consequences, not me.
I grew up in the valley and cruised V.N. blvd on a regular basis. Great harmless fun of interacting with others, obtaining people skills that still help me today.
I was 22 in 1972, going to CSUN, and working nights as a gas jockey at the Standard Oil station on Van Nuys Blvd. it WAS like American Graffiti. Good times we’re had by most. Sad for all that it’s over and dead.
Thanks for bringing back the memories of my youth; I was 12 when that was shot, but I lived in the midwest, so it took until I was 16 or so before we looked like they did in California! The cruising scene was an absolute blast; our area had a loop of one-way streets, and we used to spend every Friday and Saturday night "running the ones".
I graduated from High School that year in the South Bay. The best time to be a teenager and to grow up in the LA area! Sadly, its nothing like that anymore especially in Cali!
Frigging awesome, this needs to be in every history class,no distractions, no cells no games in people's hands, what conversations??? Fun laughs, unless you were there you will never understand, fun safe productive times!!!!! Everyone new Everyone trusting friends and neighbors!!!!!! The cars!!!!! Well that's another class for the new generation!!!!!
Intersting project. I was born and raised three blocks for Van Nuys Blvd. The height of cruising on Van Nuys Blvd was 66-67 to 70-71. By 1972 the cruising scene was just starting to wane. Within a year, or so the first oil embargo changed cruising forever.
I was a “ car guy “ living in CT and always reading about the CA car culture especially about mullhuland canyon racers and van nuys cruising . I relocated the Chatsworth in 78 and was just beginning to find my way around and on a Wednesday evening I was driving down a wide avenue and became surrounded by all kinds of cars and only then realized I was on THE Van Nuys blvd. I know it was pretty much near the end of the era as police presence and other factors really put a clamp down on things . At least I caught some of the flavor and I still go up and play on Mullhuland now and then . Great photos !
I was about 16 the first time I went with a group of high school friends around 75. We were Valley Boy "nons" in high school and none of us had our own car. About 6 of us piled into the parents' station wagon and cruised the boulevard. Needless to say there were no girls piling in with us and a couple of guys pulled up next to us on their Harleys, peered in at us and started laughing. It was friggin humiliating. I can't remember ever going back. Funny memory though!
Graduated high school this year of ‘72. I would get to drive my Dad’s then- new ‘72 Ford Torino Gran Sport. Thought I was pretty cool… It was fun, friends, cars, not too many worries yet (just Viet Nam and the draft). Started college that September.
Grew up in the 70's and graduated in 73 and main street in Peoria,IL used to be rocking on Friday nights......Our driving instructor on our last high school drive let us drive on main street on a Friday night it was magical.
@@stumarston6812 Exactly. When did it become OK to let the mentally ill wallow in their own filth and dysfunction on the streets, as opposed to state hospitals? We've gone so far downhill I'm not sure we will ever turn it around.
Oh man do I ever miss the Friday and Saturday night cruises. Sacramento J street, Marysville, Sunrise Mall, Reno. No cellphones, no internet, just freedom and no cares except for girls and cars
Similar scene was a 40 miles south on Whittier Boulevard. I bought my very first car there in 1976 from one of the muscle car lots: a 1969 Shelby GT500 for $2700. Performance cars from the '60s were cheap for awhile after the 1973 gas crisis.
Time traveler at 1:03 ! Dana Carvey as the "Church Lady" checking out the scene to the left of the girl and the white VW! These photos are fantastic. Thank you Rick for capturing these. Wow.
My memories of Van Nuys blvd around that time are linked with Mustangs, Chevelles, Dusters and Novas. Many were looking for a cash (occasionally for "pink slips") 1/4 mile match (usually on a section of the incomplete 118 in Simi Valley. Sunday night were spent at "Pizza Palace" in Simi for racing right in the parking lot. I seem to remember a car nicknamed "Fastang" and a legendary racer named (something like) Dennis Lakowski or maybe Lorenski, who drove a 340 Duster. We'd always end the night at Tommy's, across from Busch Gardens.
Tommy's, on Roscoe Blvd. Across from Busch Brewery. Greatest Chili Cheese Burger bar none. And a great place to check out some of the badest rides in all of So Cal ! Good times man !
I was only 12 in 72 but I cruised the Blvd with my older brother a few times. Cruised it myself when I got my license in 76. Moved to Lancaster in 77 and found a new Blvd to cruise.
Bellflower boulevard, Whittier boulevard, Van Nuys boulevard. I was there... Five bucks of chevron custom supreme in the tank, a fresh set of plugs, and it's off great times.
Hi Rick ,and thanx for sharing these great pictures. I visited Cali in 72 and was 10 yrs old and I was amazed by what I got to see back then also. Brings back great memories of how everyone got along side by side. 🙏👌😎👍
Great street photos from an era when B&W film had to be "pushed" to achieve usable shutter speeds at night. Nowadays shooting candid photos at night out on modern LED illuminated boulevards is a lot easier and digital cameras capture the moment effortlessly.
Sorry for not replying a year ago, but I set up my gmail account incorrectly---just got a couple of hundred responses yesterday, trying to answer them. I still shoot, love the capabilities of digital, especially at night. I wish it had been easier to use color and still get good night results back in '72. I did push the B&W development. It added grain, but I still got the images.
I lived on Hatteras Ave, .5 miles from Van Nuys Blvd. I was 10 in 1972, I was young, but we did hang out there, watch the cars, less then a mile from the Bob's Bigboy!!! Very cool pictures. Good memories!!
Although we generally cruised Whittier Blvd. we would sometimes go to Van Nuys for a change of scenery. I had a black 1969 Econoline van at the time. Pleasant memories of that innocent time.
Graduated in '72... what I wouldn't give to go back... love to be stuck in a time loop where I could change just one thing each time I go back and live it all over again and again! Groundhog day!
I Grew up in the 70's and 80's here in California, it was the coolest state in the nation. Moved away in the early 90's, just moved back a couple years ago....WTF happened to this once great state?
I am a native Californian the same age as you and California was considered a paradise. If anybody used the word paradise to describe California today, I would slap them into the middle of next week. The writing was on the wall in the early 90s. I tried to fight, I failed.
I was 27 in '72 and lived in North Hollywood was too old for cruising I was into sports cars then had a Fiat 124 and spent my time blasting up the canyons but gas wasn't really that cheap considering what we were getting paid I married a California girl, she's gone now but those were magical days.
Love this video! Also, it is nice to look back and see the youth gathering around talking to each other and cruising the boulevard without stupid cell phones in site. I know most of the youth today would snub the way it was back then but at least we know what real good times were like, SO LUCKY!
![1930s - Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Detroit in color [60fps,Remastered] w/sound design added](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MZ1c-YYInNw/mqdefault.jpg)
I’m not that old, but I’m old enough to know that was way better than the Internet.
Cannot do that today. Wind up in a body bag.
Wayyyyyyyyy better.
Chicks were prettier back then...no hardcore mutilating piercings nails through noses, no popcorn colored hair. Females back then were slender and fit, and knew how to cook. Though the seeds of the cancer of cultural marxism had been sown in America, it had not yet metastasized.
Irony it was the internet that allowed us to enjoy it today ! Those pictures gave me their experiences of 72 ! FREAKING WILD DUDE !
Agree, Scott.
Women were absolutely gorgeous in the 70s. All real and all natural. No overdone makeup or blue or green or purple hair. Just natural beauty
And they weren’t ink blotters
@@johncarlo2630 all natural. Didn't have to "stick out" in order to be noticed.
And to see an actual naked girl back then wzs even better then today for so many obvious reasons!
Absolutely. No purpled haired, metal boogers hanging out of their noses, covered in ridiculous tattoos nitwits. Asses were small and tight not freakishly cartoon like. Huge and out of proportion. Miss those days.
@@jamesedward9306 yes women have gone downhill big time
No shootings...just good times! I cruised Van Nuys Blvd when I was about 14 in 1979. They were filming Porky's, met a bunch of the girl extras. We would hitchhike from one end to the other. Girls would pull over, pick us up, drop us off at the other end...impossible to replicate the awesome freedom and excitement of those days. And you had to actually talk to each other, as there were no cell phones.
you mean the girls weren't afraid of getting murdered, raped and killed? So much fear nowadays
It's called "Youth". Once gone, it cannot be regained. Every generation thinks theirs is the best.
@@JB19504 In a way, every generation is right.
I was out there with my '56 Ford Ranch Wagon.
@@JB19504 - not that this era was perfect, but the amount of random public violence is staggering right now. check all the cities in america.
Back in the day. When the ladies had a waist line and you could tell the make and model of a car 3 blocks away. It was a very good time to grow up in.
And white people lived in Van Nuys
And you could tell the "year" of the car just by looking at the taillights...
When ladies were ladies and men were men. 🙄
High schoolers were adults by graduation.
@@jesseplz Yep, graduated at the end of May. June 3rd in boot camp. Seems we all grew up a lot faster back then.
Great images of a glorious time. Now, we're in our 70's & 80's looking back at ourselves when life was good and we were cool - long before the bloody internet.
And now you are ignorant and easily manipulated
I was at USC in ‘72. What a great time and place it was.
The internet is not what's wrong, it's the social programming on it. Propaganda. The spying. That's narcissistic oligarchs doing that shit, not the internet.
I'm good and cool. Sorry you're not.
Beautiful boys and girls...beautiful cars...great music.....great movies.....amazing fashion......etc..... Nowadays = Youporn The 70's = THE REAL THING
It was the best time to grow up in America.
The 60s was better time to grow up for a kid. By the late 70s America was rapidly becoming the Sh!thole we now experince
@@matrox And people who grew up in the 40s and 50s could probably say the same thing, tho. 60s for me mostly, with some early 70s mixed in. Looking at it today, we sure can't complain.
The last best time.
Yeah, but decades in the future people will be reminiscing and saying, "Ah, the 2020s in America - when everything was real, and men were women and women were men."
@@easygoing2479 Yeh, by then America will be a full communist country under China's thumb.
This literally brought a tear to my eye! The joys of youth.I cruised Van Nuys from 1968 to 1972. Club night was Wednesday night. I was president of a car club. Chevys of SO Cal. Had a nice red and white 55 chevy.Would turn around at June Ellens where the low car guys hung out on the south of the blvd and turned around at McDonalds at the north end. A few tickets here and there but everyone was cool to each other.Lots of respect. Unlike today. SO now Im 70, a great grandfather,a grandfather and father. So many good carefree memories back then, it was the best of times.Im glad to have experienced them. SO different from what our country seems to be turning into. To all you fellow cruisers from back then a big shot out and I hope all is well for you!!!
Kids all over the US had there local cruising but SoCal was definitely the Mecca. How long was the Van Nuys "strip"?
Ah, what a great time ... great cars, great girls, great music. I want to go back.
Yes those were the days
I loved growing up in the 60s and 70s. Cars with style, great music and concerts and beautiful girls that didn’t ruin there bodies with holes and graffiti.
Well said!
Hey now they have fat goblins with purple hair and mental problems.
I always warn my girls to be careful not to fall face first into my tackle box.
Real Music*
Back then only sailors and cons had tats.
Great to see people were all healthy looking once upon a time ,that and mentally stable .
Thank you for the reminder of how it once was. This was the California that I loved.
It’s so easy to forget with life as it is today.
What a great time capsule. Brings a smile to my face and my brain.
they in photos are looking ahead, as we are looking back.
If one took a pic now it would be full of plastic clothes cars accessories ingredients, plastic is ngmi for reverberating energy and having beauty.
I graduated H.S. in '71. In the Bay Area you could rent an apartment $100.00 a month. And nobody seemed to worry about everything like they do now.
Grew up in the Valley, graduated from Taft High School. Wednesday's was cruise night on Van Nuys Blvd., between Victory Blvd. and Roscoe Blvd. about 4 miles, There were several other places where young people would gather during the summer nights in the Valley. One such place was in the west Valley, at the time known as Highlander Park, west of Platt Ave., south of Sherman Way. One night the LAPD arrived to enforce the 10:00pm curfew. Police helicopters were a new concept at the time, they were the bubble front (MASH) type choppers with a very bright search light. As the police lined up their cars (10-15) in a line a breast to drive through the park forcing everyone out. About 15 - 20 people layed down on the ground spelling out "F--k you" for the helicopter and the search light. When the search light lit them up, everyone went crazy laughing and screaming. It was great! Gas was about .35 cents a gallon, cigarettes were .36 cents a pack over the counter and .50 cents out of a machine. A six-pack of 16oz. Budwieser was about $2.00. A four finger "lid" (ounce) of Acapulco Gold, Panama Red, Colombian or Vietnamese was $10.00. I can remember filling the gas tank in my '63 VW Bug for $3 or $4.
Aahhhh, those were the days...
We used to buy cases of 7oz Schlitz Malt pony bottles for $4.59. That and a couple of fatties between a few people was plenty good...made a whopping $1.46/hr pumping leaded gas after school. So long ago that it almost doesn't seem real anymore.
Thank U 4 sharing the memories 👍👍👍‼️ I'm a former California resident , Moved out in 1991 , Because of the High cost of living ,
The young people today don’t have a clue, not the slightest clue, how happy they would be without technology.
I was raised there too in the 70s. Lived right off of Van Nuys and Roscoe and also Vanowen and Kester.
Screw Taft ….Cleveland Cavilers rule !
Beautiful. Better time. People connecting. You can really feel the spirit of these times being celebrated in Licorice Pizza. Teens getting to be teens.
A great time in LA and USA so sad to see it gone forever.
Pre Sanctuary City
I wish I could have seen this country back when white women still dated white men. What a heavenly world that must have been.
Good thing is, the good and bad times pass
Such little faith in humanity! Such little faith in the labor movement!
I loved the 70s. I was still a kid but everything was SO laid back. The music was great and everyone went to the beach any chance they got if you were close enough. Everyone wanted a Camero, Firebird or mustang. Having a car at all was big stuff if you were in high school. Fake id's were accepted in a lot of places. I had two. The dance clubs back then, at least in Atlanta were unbelievable. I actually cried when I turned 20 because my teens were so much fun and carefree.
Life was overall pretty good.
Those years were the best times
Dude, I cried on my 20th birthday as well. They lied to us. Better days were not ahead of us. 😟
YEs. Before Los Angeles became a sanctuary city...
I was living in Upland, CA that year and drove a '72 Datsun. The next couple of years I was in L.A. and Santa Monica. These photos really capture that time.
My how the times have changed …….sadly, not for the better.
Great times , great video . Thanks .
I graduated HS in ‘75. Spent many hours and burned much gas cruising in Hatboro PA. Thanks for bringing back those great memories.
Fall of ‘71 I started my first year at what was then San Fernando Valley State College ( now California State University, Northridge). My car was a ‘69 Plymouth Roadrunner w/ 383 C.I. and a 4 speed tranny. Grew up in the Antelope Valley just an hours drive from the San Fernando Valley. Cruising was an integral part of the So. Cal scene and I enjoyed every minute of it! I sometimes wonder how with fast cars and teenage hormones I survived to this day. We all loved to cruise but we also loved driving those muscle cars hard! Definitely good times and a lot simpler than today…I sure miss them.
Yep, I had a new 1969 Roadrunner in '69, 383, added glass paks, had the 4-spd w/Hurst shifter. Cruising with the 8 track playing, good times and simpler times.
@@stevef6008 Definitely simpler times for us back then. The ‘Runner was fun to drive and I too enjoyed souping it up. I added an Edelbrock set of headers, a Holley dual quad carb, glass packs, Hi-Jacker air shocks (too clear the the wide mag rims/tires) and a Munz “blue light” 8 track to rock out with. Probably other items that I can no longer remember….but that car was my pride and joy back then. Wish I still had it even if I can’t afford the gas for it. 😂
One thing that made a difference back then is there were literally less people - half the number as now. I did some really stupid driving in 1974 on Angeles Crest that I wouldn’t think of doing now. Your roadrunner sounds like it was really nice!
I will always admire someone who has the foresight to understand the importance of documenting particular eras and places in time that will never be replicated. The youth of today have no clue of how to function like this. Kudos to Rick McCloskey for capturing these photos especially with black and white film. It just makes these photos that much better.
Great collection of photos capturing what life was like. All those smiles. No tattoos, body piercings, no one was obese, just happiness and friendship. No mass shootings, why would you? Something’s wrong with life today. These photos are proof. When some old fart Boomer like me tells you it was better back then . . . It was
Sure was.......
Even though I didn’t grow up in California, the picture reminds me of my best friend and I leaning on my 1965 Candy Apple Red Mustang with a black top. We loved cruising on the east coast of the country. The late 1960’s and 1970’s were the BEST !!!!
I like how clean the streets were, no Grafitti, no tats, everyone smiling.
Yes, I wonder what happened? If only we could pinpoint it...
@@rodneystanger1651 The 18-24 year-olds from the late 60's and 70's got older and started running everything and we have what we have now.
Yes they had great times but little responsibilities and we are paying for it now.
@@rodneystanger1651 the politicians allowed illegal immigrants to come in by the tens of millions. That’s what happened
@@Redwhiteblue-gr5em 90% turned into 50% across the board.
@@rodneystanger1651 _ pre sanctuary city
That was my hay-day to the ‘T’ Oceanside, CA Class of ‘72 ☮️
I love these photos. I was pretty young in 72’ and didn’t live anywhere near California. but this culture was being played out everywhere. I still remember it with fond memories. The car, the girls, they were so beautiful. And the atmosphere seemed so much more relaxed and inclusive. Maybe age fogs my memory 🤷♂️
I grew up south of Chicago was same thing if you went further out you could check out the street racing
I think the 70's really was better in many ways. I was a teenager of the seventies in Australia and I remember there seemed far less agro. A certain amount of trust between people underlined society perhaps because the victim culture wasn't a thing back then. Fashions were never as crazy either!
It wasn't that inclusive, only in certain subcultures that prioritized living and humanity over ego and hate.
@@robertnicholls9917 LOL, nothing, nowhere is ever 'that inclusive'. Today, is far, far worse in every metric. You weren't there, were you?
Comparably it was a simpler time, We had Vietnam, But it still was better compared to the culture now.
Thank You so much for sharing this. As I was only 4 years old at the time, I missed the “magic” of these times. I can tell it was a Wonderful time of Freedom, Friendship, Great Music, Great Cars, and Yes, those 70s Girls looking Amazing by being their Natural selves.
As a retired photographer, I must compliment the work. Great pics. Did anyone notice that gas was 32 cents a gallon ! Thanks, Rick….. 🌴
we could cruise all night for a dollar's worth of gas. :)
That’s 2.34 in today’s money. Then again, Earth’s population has doubled since then so I expect demand is greater. Not to mention oil company price gouging. Because they can.
@@shannongfm9945 if government never got bigger and actually cared. Then I’d say it might be close to 2.
@JRG yes, it was based on odd or even last number of you license plate. I witnessed a shooting at a gas station in Brooklyn, because a guy jumped the line with the wrong plate number. Fun times !
@JRG oil embargo. ya I remember waiting in line with my ‘68 datsun roadster, senior year high school. Van Nuys was too far, I had Angeles Crest / highway 2 about 10 miles away, ditched a lot.
I used to stroll and drived with friends in Highland blvd, hollywood blvd and ventura blvd to Van Nuys blvd to Burbank those were the Happy Days..
1972 I was 16 driving a 1963 impala many times on Van Nuys. A great time to be young
This literally depresses me !!! I'd give almost anything to back to go back to these slower pace days
Boy do the hiphuggers and halter tops bring back some great memories!
I remember chicks wearing the same thing to school.
Super low cut hiphuggers and no bra.
I doubt they would allow it today, but a dude in a dress is ok.
@@johnnyx9892 - I know, what the hell were those Scottish guys thinking!
@@johnnyx9892 If a guy wants to wear a dress, so what. You hate freedom that much?
But I do agree that I miss hip huggers and halter tops.
Yes girls DID get sent home from my school in the 70's for being "distracting".
Johnny X...will you wear a dress for me?
@@DiogenesOfCa No, I hate degeneracy, and gender-role-reversal IS degeneracy. I hate what God hates, and I love what God loves. You can call degeneracy freedom, but that's a redundancy, we all have free will. If you choose degeneracy, you will be the one with the consequences, not me.
What a great tribute! I grew up in the Valley, was there, did that! Kudos Rick!
I grew up in the valley and cruised V.N. blvd on a regular basis. Great harmless fun of interacting with others, obtaining people skills that still help me today.
YEP..... THOSE. WERE. THE. DAYS. ON. VAN NUYS. BLVD !! GREW. UP. IN. THE. VALLEY ! CRUISED DOWN V.N. Blvd. To. BOBS. BIG. BOY. !!!
Yes it was a Great Time to be a Teenager
nothing beats that era kids today dont know what they have missed
I was 22 in 1972, going to CSUN, and working nights as a gas jockey at the Standard Oil station on Van Nuys Blvd. it WAS like American Graffiti. Good times we’re had by most. Sad for all that it’s over and dead.
Do you remember the White Lable High Octane gas Chevron had ?
I remember F310 (or something like that), but can’t say that I remember white label.
Thanks for bringing back the memories of my youth; I was 12 when that was shot, but I lived in the midwest, so it took until I was 16 or so before we looked like they did in California! The cruising scene was an absolute blast; our area had a loop of one-way streets, and we used to spend every Friday and Saturday night "running the ones".
So happy I grew up in 60's+70's
Best times for culture, music and experimenting 🤪🤗😂💥
kaz kazitude And just what kind of "experimenting" are you talking about.? lol. Been there and done that.
I graduated from High School that year in the South Bay. The best time to be a teenager and to grow up in the LA area! Sadly, its nothing like that anymore especially in Cali!
no, they do donuts now, and tattoo's you are just old.
@@edmundooliver7584
How about a little respect.
@@davidbarlow350 for who tattoo ladies
@@GEN_X_ what says?
@@GEN_X_ that's how you tell, where did you come from you know San Fernando is spanish, and so is Los angeles and Calif😆🤣😳
Cruised a bit later, early 80's. Man that was SO MUCH fun back then. Never going to be like that again!
Frigging awesome, this needs to be in every history class,no distractions, no cells no games in people's hands, what conversations??? Fun laughs, unless you were there you will never understand, fun safe productive times!!!!! Everyone new Everyone trusting friends and neighbors!!!!!! The cars!!!!! Well that's another class for the new generation!!!!!
Absolutely a Great Time to be teenage
The 70’s where the best time’s 🎊 ever.
Everyone was HAPPY and THIN!
Intersting project. I was born and raised three blocks for Van Nuys Blvd. The height of cruising on Van Nuys Blvd was 66-67 to 70-71. By 1972 the cruising scene was just starting to wane. Within a year, or so the first oil embargo changed cruising forever.
26 then lived in Sacramento, would drive down all the time , those were good times 🤙
I was a “ car guy “ living in CT and always reading about the CA car culture especially about mullhuland canyon racers and van nuys cruising . I relocated the Chatsworth in 78 and was just beginning to find my way around and on a Wednesday evening I was driving down a wide avenue and became surrounded by all kinds of cars and only then realized I was on THE Van Nuys blvd. I know it was pretty much near the end of the era as police presence and other factors really put a clamp down on things . At least I caught some of the flavor and I still go up and play on Mullhuland now and then . Great photos !
Same thing on Whittier Blvd in Whittier and Main St in Walnut Creek, CA...same time period. Great times.
Mt. Diablo Blvd in Lafayette was the starting point and we would eventually make it to Main Street in WC.
The 1970's was probably the pinnacle of American culture. The 80's were good but the slow and now rapid decline has set in.
You can thank the government for that.
Hey that offends me.
@@Moondoggy1941 : 'Merican folk seem quite content to sit back & let it all play out.
@@kolbpilot How do you mean?
I'd personally say 60's was that peak. Early 70's were great but mid-late 70's is where that decline began if you ask me.
Enjoy the memories. those days are gone forever (sad to say)
I was about 16 the first time I went with a group of high school friends around 75. We were Valley Boy "nons" in high school and none of us had our own car. About 6 of us piled into the parents' station wagon and cruised the boulevard. Needless to say there were no girls piling in with us and a couple of guys pulled up next to us on their Harleys, peered in at us and started laughing. It was friggin humiliating. I can't remember ever going back. Funny memory though!
nice!! brings back memories of cruising route 66 in the San Gabriel Valley (Alosta ave) in Glendora from 1976-1982...good times..
Graduated high school this year of ‘72. I would get to drive my Dad’s then- new ‘72 Ford Torino Gran Sport. Thought I was pretty cool…
It was fun, friends, cars, not too many worries yet (just Viet Nam and the draft). Started college that September.
The best of times in 72, cruise all night on 5 dollars of gas. Me and my 64 cutlass was rockin it.
Grew up in the 70's and graduated in 73 and main street in Peoria,IL used to be rocking on Friday nights......Our driving instructor on our last high school drive let us drive on main street on a Friday night it was magical.
That was great ! thank you
And everyone looked HAPPY....👍👍👍
Most notable, clean streets
No drugged out bums and crazed mental cases.
@@spacini Because in 1972 they were all in asylums walking around half clothed screaming and scratching their own eyes out. Ah, the good ol days!
@@howardsung108 Better there than on the streets.
@@howardsung108 It's better they be on the streets screaming and scratching their own eyes out.
@@stumarston6812 Exactly. When did it become OK to let the mentally ill wallow in their own filth and dysfunction on the streets, as opposed to state hospitals?
We've gone so far downhill I'm not sure we will ever turn it around.
Rick Mack, thanks so much for this great post. It brought back many memories of a very happy time in my life.
Times were sooo much better then in every way imaginable, and best of all, no rap or hip hop music then, just the real stuff.
Oh man do I ever miss the Friday and Saturday night cruises. Sacramento J street, Marysville, Sunrise Mall, Reno. No cellphones, no internet, just freedom and no cares except for girls and cars
The comments of this UA-cam clip add to the story a lot
Thanks for sharing
Similar scene was a 40 miles south on Whittier Boulevard. I bought my very first car there in 1976 from one of the muscle car lots: a 1969 Shelby GT500 for $2700. Performance cars from the '60s were cheap for awhile after the 1973 gas crisis.
@@grampsto2 Yep that was it
Time traveler at 1:03 ! Dana Carvey as the "Church Lady" checking out the scene to the left of the girl and the white VW! These photos are fantastic. Thank you Rick for capturing these. Wow.
You can just feel what it was like. So relaxed compared to today. Nobody has this buy eyed tension and anxiety that everyone has now.
Great video really and the thumbnail really drew me in so well done on that
I was raised in Van Nuys in the 70s. Went to Van Nuys Elementary and Van Nuys Jr High. It was a great place back then. Now it’s a filthy sewer.
I was there and loved every minute of it
My memories of Van Nuys blvd around that time are linked with Mustangs, Chevelles, Dusters and Novas. Many were looking for a cash (occasionally for "pink slips") 1/4 mile match (usually on a section of the incomplete 118 in Simi Valley. Sunday night were spent at "Pizza Palace" in Simi for racing right in the parking lot. I seem to remember a car nicknamed "Fastang" and a legendary racer named (something like) Dennis Lakowski or maybe Lorenski, who drove a 340 Duster. We'd always end the night at Tommy's, across from Busch Gardens.
Tommy's, on Roscoe Blvd. Across from Busch Brewery. Greatest Chili Cheese Burger bar none. And a great place to check out some of the badest rides in all of So Cal ! Good times man !
Wow wise owl I lived next door to him,the car was fantasia,his name..GOTCA
Very cool! What a breath of fresh air at a time like now! Wish I was there cruising and keeping it simple. Thanks for this piece of history!
I was only 12 in 72 but I cruised the Blvd with my older brother a few times. Cruised it myself when I got my license in 76. Moved to Lancaster in 77 and found a new Blvd to cruise.
Was there cruising many a night....Great times. Thanks for the memories
Those where such great times been there done that would love ❤️ to go back and Do it again !
ManyThanx My Good Brother!!!!!I I WAS THERE! Very THANKFUL AND GREAT FULL!!!,!!! Cheers My Dearest Friends!!!!!!
Excellent thanks for posting this 👍
Never made it out to Van Nuys Blvd. Grew up in the South Bay and used to cruise The Strand in Redondo Beach. Thank you for the memories.
Bellflower boulevard, Whittier boulevard, Van Nuys boulevard.
I was there...
Five bucks of chevron custom supreme in the tank, a fresh set of plugs, and it's off great times.
Don't forget Twiddy Blvd!
Thank you so much for this blast from the past! KMET has never been better!
Great shots. Thumbnail/2:11 my favorite...🥰 I was minus 1 hovering the cosmos in 1972... haha
We cruised Van Nuys the early 80s. It was a parking lot the whole way. So much fun.
Hi Rick ,and thanx for sharing these great pictures. I visited Cali in 72 and was 10 yrs old and I was amazed by what I got to see back then also. Brings back great memories of how everyone got along side by side. 🙏👌😎👍
all one race
So refreshing to see such happy young people just living life and having fun.
A simpler, safer, less stressful time. No Internet, iPhone, FB, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram .... people still talked face-to-face and read books...
no helmets, no seat belts in the back seats and we used dial phones.
I had to google what a book was
No big brother the way we have it today with everything internet connected.
@@edmundooliver7584 Yes Freedom to win or lose, I Loved it
@@slothmarathonpromotions2470 -- LOL, five gold stars!
I so so so miss those days. I feel so so so sorry for kids of today being so confused on what bathroom to use.
Great street photos from an era when B&W film had to be "pushed" to achieve usable shutter speeds at night. Nowadays shooting candid photos at night out on modern LED illuminated boulevards is a lot easier and digital cameras capture the moment effortlessly.
Sorry for not replying a year ago, but I set up my gmail account incorrectly---just got a couple of hundred responses yesterday, trying to answer them. I still shoot, love the capabilities of digital, especially at night. I wish it had been easier to use color and still get good night results back in '72. I did push the B&W development. It added grain, but I still got the images.
I’m envious of those that grew up in those times
Man...I was born in the wrong era and in the wrong country!! Wish I could have seen that with my own eyes, must have been incredible.
Yeh...you missed it....especially the 60s.☝😆
@@matrox FUN FUN FUN Great cars, music girls
I lived on Hatteras Ave, .5 miles from Van Nuys Blvd. I was 10 in 1972, I was young, but we did hang out there, watch the cars, less then a mile from the Bob's Bigboy!!! Very cool pictures. Good memories!!
I was a kid back then, but still managed to go to our local hang out spot for cars. They would run up to the highway and race
You know it's powerful stuff when you miss it and you weren't even born yet. Love Life.
Although we generally cruised Whittier Blvd. we would sometimes go to Van Nuys for a change of scenery. I had a black 1969 Econoline van at the time. Pleasant memories of that innocent time.
Graduated in '72... what I wouldn't give to go back... love to be stuck in a time loop where I could change just one thing each time I go back and live it all over again and again! Groundhog day!
It’s way better now. The kids are all in the basement on line and the streets are clogged with homeless and strewn with needles. Much improved.
I was born that year. What amazing cars and beautiful girls! Love the video
I Grew up in the 70's and 80's here in California, it was the coolest state in the nation. Moved away in the early 90's, just moved back a couple years ago....WTF happened to this once great state?
Higher Education we've gone woke
I am a native Californian the same age as you and California was considered a paradise. If anybody used the word paradise to describe California today, I would slap them into the middle of next week. The writing was on the wall in the early 90s. I tried to fight, I failed.
It reminds me of American Graffiti. I always loved that movie.
I drove my 1967 SHELBY GT-500 down on SHERMAN WAY ( Reseda) on Friday nights in 1975-1976........and on LANCASTER BLVD...
And we're all in our 70's now. Ain't that a b****.
Time flies when we're "livin' at the speed of life!". You said the same thing I was thinking.
I was 27 in '72 and lived in
North Hollywood was too old for cruising
I was into sports cars then had a Fiat 124 and spent my time blasting up the canyons but gas wasn't really that cheap considering what we were getting paid
I married a California girl, she's gone now but those were magical days.
Love this video! Also, it is nice to look back and see the youth gathering around talking to each other and cruising the boulevard without stupid cell phones in site. I know most of the youth today would snub the way it was back then but at least we know what real good times were like, SO LUCKY!
Its nice to see all the slim people. Our food choices are killing us.
You could eat all the crap we eat today, the difference was you weren't sitting on your ass staring at a screen all day.
Those were the days my friend. Sure wish they would never end!