Woodies on the Wharf Santa Cruz June 2003

Woodies on the Wharf

( June 21, 2003 )

a dozen views of some mighty tasty rides

Woodies on the Wharf is an annual event which has occured on the first Saturday of Summer for nine years now. The Santa Cruz wharf is actually a pier jutting away from the mainland at an angle. The central amusement zone of the beach, the boardwalk, is off to the near side, with the old Casino building and, among a bunch of other rides, three roller coasters. We rode the oldest, also a 'woody' -- the 'Giant Dipper' -- it's visible off in the distance of another view, on the shore to the left.

We arrived just in time -- the event ends at 4PM, and by then, most of the owners have been queueing up for the grand exit parade, which was fortunately starting a little late. I came expecting a lot of the old boxey sort of Woody, of which specimens were certainly in evidence -- the sort you'd toss a longboard into for a visit to the beach. But there were also lots of these beautiful early fifties wood-trimmed sedans -- Buicks, Packards, and Fords.

I believe the style of this '49 Packard is referred to as "barrel-back."

A 1952 Buick. I like the other Buick here also, the 1950 -- click the bottom thumbnail, over on that left column (the green one). Its wooden trim seems almost vestigal compared to the rest, but its grill is the best! (Remember, these are all thumbnails, like most every image in these pages -- click to zoom.)

This driver was hollering at a chum standing just behind me.

For more information about these
wonderful machines, this site is the most comprehensive I've found:
www.oldwoodies.com/