Casa de Cadillac from 1949 to 1966

by Jeff Stork



 I had a whole reel of historic photos of Casa de Cadillac in Sherman Oaks, CA that were taken between 1949 and 1966 when it was owned by Martin Pollard. He also owned the Casa de Cascade Car Wash and the Casa de Petrol gas station.

Amnazingly, all of the buildings are still standing although no longer under a single owner, the gas station is now a flower shop and Casa de Cadillac, still in business, has been restored in a respectful manner. Enjoy:

Casa de Cadillac- A Mid Century Masterpiece

Here's an architectural treasure, on the road to Bel Air, in the San Fernando Valley.

Iconic Casa de Cadillac opened as Don Lee Cadillac in the spring of 1949. Designed by Randall Duell, a USC trained architect who also designed motion picture sets, the two story polished glass box showroom with attached lanai courtyard looked like it came out of a movie. Within a year, the agency was sold and renamed Casa de Cadillac, a name it wears to this day.

Casa is a spectacular late example of streamline moderne with an iconic monument sign and eighty two feet of white neon spelling out "Casa de Cadillac" in exactly the same font as the fender script of a 1949 Cadillac nameplate. Irreplaceable.

Adjacent to the dealership once stood the Casa de Cascade Car Wash and the Casa de Petrol Gas Station, all under the same ownership. An iconic photo of James Dean and the Porsche 550 was taken at Casa de Petrol. Both buildings still exist.

Casa is still in use today, and in very reasonable condition. Preserved by neglect to a degree, but thankfully has suffered only minimal alteration since construction. Presented in period photos from construction, 1953, 1956, 1960, and 1966. I find the Holiday photos especially charming.

Ladies and Gentlemen, take a look back at the history of Casa de Cadillac: