as Arizona is about to go under quarantine again and I'm bored I I hit the computer to do some snooping , having the original owners manual with all the owner/dealer information Type written on the inside first page of the manual I did some investigating The previous owner did tell me that the vehicle was purchased or inherited from a aunt, he did not specify where she lived only that the vehicle had spent the majority of it's life in Az.
so armed with names and addresses I hit the computer, the dealership was Dicke Motors, Downers Grove IL I spent over 35 years in the Chicago area but never heard of that dealer however I was not familiar with that suburb , I put the name of the dealer in and nothing came up this is unusual because I've done this in the past and can always find something !! but I was getting nowhere , finally a little blurb from a article in a Downers Grove Historical society publication ! a little more digging and I finally found it !! wow no wonder it was kind of obscure you'd be lucky to fit a V.W. bug in that place let alone a Oldsmobile !! I also Googled the original owners address and found my old girls first home. I can just see her sitting in the drive way all new and pretty April 11 1956 ,This was kind of a fun project here's some pics of the selling dealer and my Oldsmobile's first home

 

That's really cool. I love that vintage photo. What does the dealership look like today?

 

The building is no longer there just a parking lot and when you google the address 1116 Warren ave only 1120 Warren ave comes up leading me to believe that 1116 is the parking lot where the dealer once stood. to bad , The orig owners home does come up !! from the looks of the home and the rest of the neighborhood I'd like to have the home and the Olds !!!!

 

Sometimes theres no telling what you find when you dig into the history of these cars. Thanks for sharing.

 

update,
History is amazing , I keep hitting road blocks when researching the selling dealer of my Olds it seems the family that owned the dealership also owned Dicke Tool Company
a nationally known company that has been making safety related equipment since 1886 it appears the Olds dealership was more of a sideline hobby, with the main business being the safety equipment company that burned down in 1906,ironically after the building burned down all of Casper Dicke's 7 sons became volunteer fire fighters and the company geared it self towards fire related safety equip. The Dicke's founded Downers Groves first fire dept, the parking lot where the tiny dealership once stood is located next to fire house #1 that bears Grant E Dicke's name, so I guess my owners manual is historical as it bears the signature of Grant E Dicke as the seller of the vehicle,
Makes me wonder how many of his Oldsmobile's are still out there ?

 

That is a great story, Solly! Thanks for sharing. I have a very tenuous connection to Downers Grove. I used to work for AT&T and they had a facility there for which my group remotely monitored their data connections.

 

I have to say I have surprised myself with the subsequent interest I now have in this car, it,s history has now become a part of the adventure, for what ever reason
I'm content with the history of the vehicle but want to know more about the dealership that sold it , when they opened, why they closed, when they closed etc...
I have sent a e-mail to the Downers Grove Historical society with a request for info.I would now also be interested in how many vehicles sold at this tiny dealer are still around or on the road and where are they now ? but I'm not sure where to start, seems it could be a interesting project to keep me busy during this damn Corona crap !!

 

Cool story.

 

My '56 was built in Arlington Texas and was sold by Garner Randall Cadillac Olds in Amarillo Texas. The name plate is still proudly on the car:



They were located at 201 Polk Street. Long gone.

I sent emails to the Amarillo car clubs some time ago in the hope that maybe someone remembered my car or the dealership, with no responses.

 

Take the Olds back to Downers Grove and take a picture of it at the fire station.

 

about a 1800 mile trip but who knows maybe some day !! I sent a second E -Mail to Downers Grove historical Society , well see,
Frank when I sold the 64 it still had the Orielly Chevrolet Tucson Arizona license plate frame on it !!

 

Very cool!! My 1955 Super 88 4dr was also built in Arlington, Texas and purchased brand new by my Great Great Grandmother from Garner Randall!

 

And in the driveway of the house.