@dave-fulton12 years ago
I remember the late Kenneth Campbell telling me about this car, built at and sponsored by Commonwealth Ford on Broad Street in Richmond where radio personality Harvey Hudson used to do all his candy cane striped poles promotions. The reason escapes me, but I seem to remember some serious problem getting the car out of the shop and on a trailer. Perhaps you know the story that escapes me now?
@dave-fulton12 years ago
I realized after a quick bit of research, that the listed car owner for this car, driven by Ted Hairfield at Daytona and Johnny Allen at Atlanta in 1963 was Parker Sneed, the OWNER of Richmond's Commonwealth Ford o Broad St. who not too long after sold his business to Dick Strauss.
@richard-gouldman12 years ago
Yes, Parker Snead owned the car and Commonwealth Ford. Dick Strauss took over after Commonwealth moved to Belt Blvd on the southside, some years later I believe. Accurate stats can be found online, but as I recall and also what Ted has told me, He placed 12th in his 150 qualifier, I believe started 19th in the 500, and fell out early with clutch problems. He went to Atlanta with the car and blew a tire during practice, putting him into the wall hard. Ted has said that he never took a hit that hard in a race car. Johnny Allen (I guess....thought it was someone else) drove the car in the race. Ted decided to end his Grand National foray with that, as he had to work a 5 day week to earn a living, and couldn't do it banged up.The story you refer to, and don't hold me to any of this....I believe the story circulated that the race car ran away, but I think it may have really been a customer's car. I forget the details. Basically, the body shop at Commonwealth was on the upper level. There was a steep ramp leading up to the shop. A car was being pulled up the ramp on a wrecker and broke loose and ran off into Broad Street. The race car was housed in the body shop, and there may have been a crew there wrenching on it at the time, but I believe I was told that it wasn't actually the race car that got away. If I'm wrong....well shoot me.The picture that I posted I'm pretty sure came from a short promotional film for spark plugs or something. I bought that film a few years back from one of those online "Classics in Racing" or something like that, because Ted Hairfield's name was associated with it. His exposure in the film was maybe ten seconds, as he was pulling out of the pits, and I guess someone pulled a frame from that film and put it online, where I found it.
@dave-fulton12 years ago
Richard, thanks for all the info. I remember now a ramp being part of the story I was told. Great to see these photos you've posted of Richmond racing stars.
@dave-fulton12 years ago
In its heyday on Broad Street before moving to Belt Boulevard, Commonwealth Ford was famous for its candy cane striped p[oles on the sales lot and outrageous live promotions with radio station WLEE, 1480 AM in the late 50s, early 60s, usually featuring personality Harvey Hudson with stunts like sitting on top of the striped poles. Here is a recent post from Mustangforum.com from a reader trying to track papers from a Mustang sold by Commonwealth:I know all about Commonwealth Ford. 100 Block of Belt Boulevard, Richmond, Virginia. Later became Dick Strauss Ford, later moved to Midlothian Turnpike in Richmond, later became Sheehy Ford. I worked there as a lot boy in 1966 and 1967. Put license plates on a LOT of Mustangs! I still live in the Richmond area and see retired Dick Strauss every now and then. He is in really good shape - probably is 70 to 75 years old now. Commonwealth was a brand new facility in the mid-sixties and state of the art. It had just moved there from it's previous small location on Broad Street, just east of Broad Street Station.
@richard-gouldman12 years ago
WOW, never knew that existed! Would love to have one.Okay guys, help me out here. it is probably on the internet somewhere, but I think Commonwealth Ford was located where the Lowe's store is now, or maybe it ain't there anymore either, somewhere in thevicinity ofHermitage and Broad or Adams and Broad, thereabouts. I have not had any excuse to be in downtown Richmond since we hit the lottery about 10 years ago.......yeah, big money...$895. Been on easy street ever since. Ha!
@dave-fulton12 years ago
Universal & Commonwealth Ford were in different locations on Broad. Commonwealth Ford was on same side of street as Broad Street station just down east from DMV, Hughes House Restaurant and old Hot Shoppes Restaurant.
@staunton-i-cottrell12 years ago
The old Commonwealth Ford building still exists at 2024 West Broad Street, but was incorporated long ago into a much larger facility that is now Pleasant's Hardware, so it is pretty much not recognizable. I just joined this site to add that I know both Malcolm Pulley Sr., as well as his banjo picking son , Malcolm Jr. (actually, the son learned it from his dad), and that the Mustang drag car that Malcolm built in 1966 while working as a mechanic at the (then new) Commonwealth Ford in the 100 block of Belt Boulevard (Richmond) is still in existence.
@richard-gouldman12 years ago
I believe a fair amount of my memory left about the time my hair did, but I do remember watching Malcolm Pulley compete at Richmond Dragway. Somewhere on this website or probably the Dragracers Reunion website I had posted some comments about Malcolm having the first surge-brake car trailer that I could remember seeing. I questioned him about how it functioned, but didn't think to ask how the heck you back it up. This WAS explained to me by someone later. I believe some of my memory problem is due to learning new things, and with limited mental capacity it pushes old information out. I have learned so much new stuff over the years that I can't remember sqat!
@staunton-i-cottrell12 years ago
Dick Strauss hired on right out of the Navy with Commonwealth Ford in 1954 as a commissioned salesman and was Vice-President and General Manager in 1963. Yesterday he sent me a delightful email about that white 1963 Ford after I forwarded to him the photographs of it. Here is one of his stories:"You probably dont know the story behind the body shop fiasco. We had such bad luck with this car that we decided to repaint it and apply for a different number. The car was reworked in our body shop on the second floor. It took about 5 weeks to complete the work. When the car was finished Mr. Ferguson, our body shop manager, told one of the porters, a black kid named George Fielding, to take the car downstairs to the wash rack and clean it up. What no one realized was that during that 5 weeks the brake fluid either evaporated or leaked down to the point where the car had no brakes. When George stared down that ramp from the body shop he went to apply the brakes to slow it down No brakes!!!. The car gained speed and by the time it got to the bottom of the ramp is was probably going 25 or 30 miles an hour. It shot across Marshall street and went right thru the wall of the Bluefield hardware company and destroyed the wall and 150 television sets stacked against the wall inside. That car was like a tank up front with all the reinforcing that was put into race cars in those days. When our people got to the car it took 10 minutes to pry Georges hands from the steering wheel. Tom Cocker swore to the day he died that Georges hands and face were white as snow. Any way that car was star-crossed from day one. It came to an end in Atlanta Georgia when a driver names Johnny Allen lost control of the car in the second turn, went over the barrier and down an embankment, and was totally destroyed. Thus endith the lesson." He graciously has permitted me to share this story on here.
@richard-gouldman12 years ago
Now that is good stuff, and right from Dick Strauss his-self. Thank you for sharing this. It certainly sets the story straight. We have all heard versions of this incident, but I, for one, will accept this as the actual event. Don't you just love it when someone digs up stuff like this, and has clout with the factual details to boot? Thank you Staunton Cottrell and Dick Strauss for your input!!!
@staunton-i-cottrell12 years ago
In a response to me asking Mr. Strauss if I could post the ramp "incident" story on this site he also kindly provided me with a story about the Daytona race, too, and it is equally interesting. I will be posting it on here after a brief period to allow the other one to be absorbed!
@dave-fulton12 years ago
Awesome story of the real incidents. Simply marvelous! Thanks so much!!
@staunton-i-cottrell12 years ago
Here's the other story that Dick Strauss personally provided me about the #72 Galaxie (back in it's unlucky green paint days at Daytona): "The first big race we entered was the Daytona 500 with Ted Hairfield as our driver and Tom Cocker, our service manager, heading up the pit crew, along with Louie Fisher, one of our body shop Techs. We piggybacked the car down to Daytona the week before the race and, since we only had one engine, we had to restrict Teds practice runs on the track. The night before the big race the car was quarantined along with all the other cars until Sunday morning. At that time the cars were permitted to go to the gas pumps where they were filled up with gas from one of the big sponsoring oil companies. I think it was Pure Oil or something like that. After the fill up we were required to take the car to the starting line and get in our post position. Ted qualified the car for the middle of the pack during the week - not the best but certainly not the worst. You can imagine how excited we all were to be running in the biggest race in the country! Well, after the fill up Ted went to pull away from the pump and the clutch gave out right there. He was unable to shift the car out of 1stgear. Tom made the decision to go to the starting line and assume our post position any way so that we could race one lap in first gear and get $500.00 for completing one lap. That car was the biggest Jonah ever and that was just the beginning of a string of mishaps. Nascar racing was no place for amateurs like us. It was an expensive lesson learned in a short period of time."
@dave-fulton12 years ago
Another great remembrance. Thanks. That may have invented the practice of start & parkers.
@richard-gouldman12 years ago
Staunton, thank you so much for sharing this story and such valuable information.I believe there is one more chapter yet to be told. Perhaps Mr Strauss himself can fill in any colorful details. Ted told me the story that after Daytona they took the car to Atlanta, where during practice he blew a tire, running along-side of Red Foote I believe, and took a hard hit into the wall. Ted related to me that he had never taken that hard of a hit in his racing career, and he was too sore and battered to run the race, so a replacement driver was found. Ted worked a full time job and had a family to support, so getting banged up and unable to work was not an option. Thus ended a short foray into the big time for the relative sanity and safety of local racing.
@staunton-i-cottrell12 years ago
Here are photos that I just took this past Sunday (October 14, 2012) of that second floorbody shop ramp at the Commonwealth Ford Building at 2024 West Broad Street, Richmond, Va. The #72 Ted Hairfield '63 Ford would have struck the Bluefield Warehouse across the street just to the left of the garage door, and I have attached a photo of that area where you can see that there was brick repair done many years ago. Dick Strauss has verified that, yep, this was the infamous ramp all right!
@dave-fulton12 years ago
Great, great stuff and photos.
@staunton-i-cottrell11 years ago
I was doing a little research the other day about the 1963 Daytona race and ran across a site that listed the entrants and the results of the race that day (http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1963-07/W ). Mr. Dick Straus's memory of the Commonwealth Ford entry wasn't far off the mark at all! He said that they only completed one lap in an attempt to at least take home $500. The results page does show that the (1963) Commonwealth Ford driven by Ted Hairfield completed 11 laps, but..... a video documentary of that race clearly showed that the first 10 laps were run under caution in an effort to dry out the track. So, Mr. Straus was pretty much on the mark! Also, they collected $550 for coming in 49th place (out of 50), not $500. Curtis Crider in a 1962 Mercury had the distinction of finishing at the bottom of the pack, having completed only 4 laps due to "handling" problems. Must have been some pretty bad handling when you couldn't even drive it under caution!
@staunton-i-cottrell11 years ago At the very beginning of this thread Dave Fulton made mention of WLEE radio personality Harvey Hudson doing remote broadcasts from the old Commonwealth Ford that was located on Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia, just east of the train station that is now the Science Museum of Virginia. Here's a photograph of him doing just that with the brand new 1955 Fords in the background.
@dave-fulton11 years ago
Awesome photo of Harvey Hudson at Commonwealth Ford, Staunton. Thanks for posting. To the right, behind Harvey's head, is one of the famed Commonwealth Ford "candy striped poles" that were always featured in the WLEE radio commercials. Seems like just yesterday!
@dave-fulton11 years ago
The #66 Commonwealth Ford car driven by Johnny Allen was owned by Ratus Walters. Ratus' father, Ray Walters owned the famous Cafe Burgundy restaurant in Washington, DC - the sponsor on Ratus 1962 Ford when it won the 1962 Southern 500 with Larry Frank at the wheel.
@richard-gouldman11 years ago
Thank you Dave, and everyone that contributed to this. It is quite amazing all the information that has been dug up, and history that I have learned by being a member of RacersReunion. In speaking with Roy Hendrick recently, he told me that his Mom had taken him to the old defunct Richmond Speedway when he was younger, just to let him see where his Dad, Ray, had raced in earlier years. This is/was another topic here, but one that through the efforts of a lot of RR members and contributors, another mystery was solved.On the topic of the Commonwealth Ford, I never had any idea that the car had such a long history, so many different numbers, nor was I aware of the Walters involvement. Good stuff!!
@staunton-i-cottrell9 years ago Pleasants Hardware currently occupies the space that used to be Commonwealth Ford and they will soon be moving to another location, and at least part of their building on Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia will be demolished to make way for a new Whole Foods. Fearful that the demolition would included the "historic" ramp that we have been commenting about on here, I went by there today and talked my way into photographing it from the standpoint of what George Fielding must have seen when he took the '63 Ford down the ramp with no brakes. I had to take a copy of Dick Strauss's story with me to successfully demonstrate my completely innocent interest in taking the pictures, but it worked! Enjoy!
@staunton-i-cottrell9 years ago One last photo that somehow didn't make it to my last comment - this one looking out from the second floor of what used to be the Commonwealth Ford body shop, towards the ramp that the 1963 Ford went down without brakes.
@richard-gouldman9 years ago
Staunton, this is great stuff! This will at least conserve a little piece of history for those of us that know about the Commonwealth saga. Your forethought to photograph and preserve this piece of history is much appreciated, although I'm not sure I would have had the gumption to be dallying around this area of Richmond with a camera, or cell phone or anything short of a firearm actually. Thank you for sharing this.
@dave-fulton9 years ago
Staunton, ditto what Dickie Gouldman said about your trip to the old Commonwealth Ford building in Richmond. What a treat to actually see the historic ramp over a half-century later before it is possibly lost forever. Thanks from all of us.
I remember the late Kenneth Campbell telling me about this car, built at and sponsored by Commonwealth Ford on Broad Street in Richmond where radio personality Harvey Hudson used to do all his candy cane striped poles promotions. The reason escapes me, but I seem to remember some serious problem getting the car out of the shop and on a trailer. Perhaps you know the story that escapes me now?
I realized after a quick bit of research, that the listed car owner for this car, driven by Ted Hairfield at Daytona and Johnny Allen at Atlanta in 1963 was Parker Sneed, the OWNER of Richmond's Commonwealth Ford o Broad St. who not too long after sold his business to Dick Strauss.
Yes, Parker Snead owned the car and Commonwealth Ford. Dick Strauss took over after Commonwealth moved to Belt Blvd on the southside, some years later I believe. Accurate stats can be found online, but as I recall and also what Ted has told me, He placed 12th in his 150 qualifier, I believe started 19th in the 500, and fell out early with clutch problems. He went to Atlanta with the car and blew a tire during practice, putting him into the wall hard. Ted has said that he never took a hit that hard in a race car. Johnny Allen (I guess....thought it was someone else) drove the car in the race. Ted decided to end his Grand National foray with that, as he had to work a 5 day week to earn a living, and couldn't do it banged up.The story you refer to, and don't hold me to any of this....I believe the story circulated that the race car ran away, but I think it may have really been a customer's car. I forget the details. Basically, the body shop at Commonwealth was on the upper level. There was a steep ramp leading up to the shop. A car was being pulled up the ramp on a wrecker and broke loose and ran off into Broad Street. The race car was housed in the body shop, and there may have been a crew there wrenching on it at the time, but I believe I was told that it wasn't actually the race car that got away. If I'm wrong....well shoot me.The picture that I posted I'm pretty sure came from a short promotional film for spark plugs or something. I bought that film a few years back from one of those online "Classics in Racing" or something like that, because Ted Hairfield's name was associated with it. His exposure in the film was maybe ten seconds, as he was pulling out of the pits, and I guess someone pulled a frame from that film and put it online, where I found it.
Richard, thanks for all the info. I remember now a ramp being part of the story I was told. Great to see these photos you've posted of Richmond racing stars.
In its heyday on Broad Street before moving to Belt Boulevard, Commonwealth Ford was famous for its candy cane striped p[oles on the sales lot and outrageous live promotions with radio station WLEE, 1480 AM in the late 50s, early 60s, usually featuring personality Harvey Hudson with stunts like sitting on top of the striped poles. Here is a recent post from Mustangforum.com from a reader trying to track papers from a Mustang sold by Commonwealth:I know all about Commonwealth Ford. 100 Block of Belt Boulevard, Richmond, Virginia. Later became Dick Strauss Ford, later moved to Midlothian Turnpike in Richmond, later became Sheehy Ford. I worked there as a lot boy in 1966 and 1967. Put license plates on a LOT of Mustangs! I still live in the Richmond area and see retired Dick Strauss every now and then. He is in really good shape - probably is 70 to 75 years old now. Commonwealth was a brand new facility in the mid-sixties and state of the art. It had just moved there from it's previous small location on Broad Street, just east of Broad Street Station.
WOW, never knew that existed! Would love to have one.Okay guys, help me out here. it is probably on the internet somewhere, but I think Commonwealth Ford was located where the Lowe's store is now, or maybe it ain't there anymore either, somewhere in thevicinity ofHermitage and Broad or Adams and Broad, thereabouts. I have not had any excuse to be in downtown Richmond since we hit the lottery about 10 years ago.......yeah, big money...$895. Been on easy street ever since. Ha!
Universal & Commonwealth Ford were in different locations on Broad. Commonwealth Ford was on same side of street as Broad Street station just down east from DMV, Hughes House Restaurant and old Hot Shoppes Restaurant.
The old Commonwealth Ford building still exists at 2024 West Broad Street, but was incorporated long ago into a much larger facility that is now Pleasant's Hardware, so it is pretty much not recognizable. I just joined this site to add that I know both Malcolm Pulley Sr., as well as his banjo picking son , Malcolm Jr. (actually, the son learned it from his dad), and that the Mustang drag car that Malcolm built in 1966 while working as a mechanic at the (then new) Commonwealth Ford in the 100 block of Belt Boulevard (Richmond) is still in existence.
I believe a fair amount of my memory left about the time my hair did, but I do remember watching Malcolm Pulley compete at Richmond Dragway. Somewhere on this website or probably the Dragracers Reunion website I had posted some comments about Malcolm having the first surge-brake car trailer that I could remember seeing. I questioned him about how it functioned, but didn't think to ask how the heck you back it up. This WAS explained to me by someone later. I believe some of my memory problem is due to learning new things, and with limited mental capacity it pushes old information out. I have learned so much new stuff over the years that I can't remember sqat!
Dick Strauss hired on right out of the Navy with Commonwealth Ford in 1954 as a commissioned salesman and was Vice-President and General Manager in 1963. Yesterday he sent me a delightful email about that white 1963 Ford after I forwarded to him the photographs of it. Here is one of his stories:"You probably dont know the story behind the body shop fiasco. We had such bad luck with this car that we decided to repaint it and apply for a different number. The car was reworked in our body shop on the second floor. It took about 5 weeks to complete the work. When the car was finished Mr. Ferguson, our body shop manager, told one of the porters, a black kid named George Fielding, to take the car downstairs to the wash rack and clean it up. What no one realized was that during that 5 weeks the brake fluid either evaporated or leaked down to the point where the car had no brakes. When George stared down that ramp from the body shop he went to apply the brakes to slow it down No brakes!!!. The car gained speed and by the time it got to the bottom of the ramp is was probably going 25 or 30 miles an hour. It shot across Marshall street and went right thru the wall of the Bluefield hardware company and destroyed the wall and 150 television sets stacked against the wall inside. That car was like a tank up front with all the reinforcing that was put into race cars in those days. When our people got to the car it took 10 minutes to pry Georges hands from the steering wheel. Tom Cocker swore to the day he died that Georges hands and face were white as snow. Any way that car was star-crossed from day one. It came to an end in Atlanta Georgia when a driver names Johnny Allen lost control of the car in the second turn, went over the barrier and down an embankment, and was totally destroyed. Thus endith the lesson." He graciously has permitted me to share this story on here.
Now that is good stuff, and right from Dick Strauss his-self. Thank you for sharing this. It certainly sets the story straight. We have all heard versions of this incident, but I, for one, will accept this as the actual event. Don't you just love it when someone digs up stuff like this, and has clout with the factual details to boot? Thank you Staunton Cottrell and Dick Strauss for your input!!!
In a response to me asking Mr. Strauss if I could post the ramp "incident" story on this site he also kindly provided me with a story about the Daytona race, too, and it is equally interesting. I will be posting it on here after a brief period to allow the other one to be absorbed!
Awesome story of the real incidents. Simply marvelous! Thanks so much!!
Here's the other story that Dick Strauss personally provided me about the #72 Galaxie (back in it's unlucky green paint days at Daytona): "The first big race we entered was the Daytona 500 with Ted Hairfield as our driver and Tom Cocker, our service manager, heading up the pit crew, along with Louie Fisher, one of our body shop Techs. We piggybacked the car down to Daytona the week before the race and, since we only had one engine, we had to restrict Teds practice runs on the track. The night before the big race the car was quarantined along with all the other cars until Sunday morning. At that time the cars were permitted to go to the gas pumps where they were filled up with gas from one of the big sponsoring oil companies. I think it was Pure Oil or something like that. After the fill up we were required to take the car to the starting line and get in our post position. Ted qualified the car for the middle of the pack during the week - not the best but certainly not the worst. You can imagine how excited we all were to be running in the biggest race in the country! Well, after the fill up Ted went to pull away from the pump and the clutch gave out right there. He was unable to shift the car out of 1stgear. Tom made the decision to go to the starting line and assume our post position any way so that we could race one lap in first gear and get $500.00 for completing one lap. That car was the biggest Jonah ever and that was just the beginning of a string of mishaps. Nascar racing was no place for amateurs like us. It was an expensive lesson learned in a short period of time."
Another great remembrance. Thanks. That may have invented the practice of start & parkers.
Staunton, thank you so much for sharing this story and such valuable information.I believe there is one more chapter yet to be told. Perhaps Mr Strauss himself can fill in any colorful details. Ted told me the story that after Daytona they took the car to Atlanta, where during practice he blew a tire, running along-side of Red Foote I believe, and took a hard hit into the wall. Ted related to me that he had never taken that hard of a hit in his racing career, and he was too sore and battered to run the race, so a replacement driver was found. Ted worked a full time job and had a family to support, so getting banged up and unable to work was not an option. Thus ended a short foray into the big time for the relative sanity and safety of local racing.
Here are photos that I just took this past Sunday (October 14, 2012) of that second floorbody shop ramp at the Commonwealth Ford Building at 2024 West Broad Street, Richmond, Va. The #72 Ted Hairfield '63 Ford would have struck the Bluefield Warehouse across the street just to the left of the garage door, and I have attached a photo of that area where you can see that there was brick repair done many years ago. Dick Strauss has verified that, yep, this was the infamous ramp all right!
Great, great stuff and photos.
I was doing a little research the other day about the 1963 Daytona race and ran across a site that listed the entrants and the results of the race that day ( http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1963-07/W ). Mr. Dick Straus's memory of the Commonwealth Ford entry wasn't far off the mark at all! He said that they only completed one lap in an attempt to at least take home $500. The results page does show that the (1963) Commonwealth Ford driven by Ted Hairfield completed 11 laps, but..... a video documentary of that race clearly showed that the first 10 laps were run under caution in an effort to dry out the track. So, Mr. Straus was pretty much on the mark! Also, they collected $550 for coming in 49th place (out of 50), not $500. Curtis Crider in a 1962 Mercury had the distinction of finishing at the bottom of the pack, having completed only 4 laps due to "handling" problems. Must have been some pretty bad handling when you couldn't even drive it under caution!
At the very beginning of this thread Dave Fulton made mention of WLEE radio personality Harvey Hudson doing remote broadcasts from the old Commonwealth Ford that was located on Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia, just east of the train station that is now the Science Museum of Virginia. Here's a photograph of him doing just that with the brand new 1955 Fords in the background.
Awesome photo of Harvey Hudson at Commonwealth Ford, Staunton. Thanks for posting. To the right, behind Harvey's head, is one of the famed Commonwealth Ford "candy striped poles" that were always featured in the WLEE radio commercials. Seems like just yesterday!
The #66 Commonwealth Ford car driven by Johnny Allen was owned by Ratus Walters. Ratus' father, Ray Walters owned the famous Cafe Burgundy restaurant in Washington, DC - the sponsor on Ratus 1962 Ford when it won the 1962 Southern 500 with Larry Frank at the wheel.
Thank you Dave, and everyone that contributed to this. It is quite amazing all the information that has been dug up, and history that I have learned by being a member of RacersReunion. In speaking with Roy Hendrick recently, he told me that his Mom had taken him to the old defunct Richmond Speedway when he was younger, just to let him see where his Dad, Ray, had raced in earlier years. This is/was another topic here, but one that through the efforts of a lot of RR members and contributors, another mystery was solved.On the topic of the Commonwealth Ford, I never had any idea that the car had such a long history, so many different numbers, nor was I aware of the Walters involvement. Good stuff!!
Staunton, this is great stuff! This will at least conserve a little piece of history for those of us that know about the Commonwealth saga. Your forethought to photograph and preserve this piece of history is much appreciated, although I'm not sure I would have had the gumption to be dallying around this area of Richmond with a camera, or cell phone or anything short of a firearm actually. Thank you for sharing this.
Staunton, ditto what Dickie Gouldman said about your trip to the old Commonwealth Ford building in Richmond. What a treat to actually see the historic ramp over a half-century later before it is possibly lost forever. Thanks from all of us.