Photo on Second Avenue today via Derek Berg...
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If Checkers had actually been that clean and neat when they were in the fleet, they would never have been retired.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid and was visiting the city in the mid-70s with my mom, we occasionally hailed a Checker. It's a wonderful ride, like being on a boat; also, at the time we had salt-of-the-earth cab drivers.
Like one time when it began to rain: "I wish it would keep up."
He skipped a beat, then said, "'Cause if it keeps up, it won't come down."
Made in Kalamazoo, MI. You guys HAVE to watch "Blue Collar" with Richard Pryor. Epic film shot in the Checker cab factory.
ReplyDeleteStill miss those yellow monsters, I could actually stretch my legs out full length in the back seat - no mean feat, since I'm 6 feet tall - unlike the new Matchbox models, in which I sometimes literally get them stuck as I try to exit. Another NY icon vanished ...
ReplyDeleteOh Checkers how I miss you....
ReplyDeleteChecker cabs were made by Marathon. Great car..or should I say great tank?
ReplyDeleteFunny how nobody mentioned the little fold down jump seats that were on the floor just behind the front bench seat. They were perfect for kids, not that we were able to afford taxis all that often in the '50's.
@Scuba Diva: They weren't "retired" - Marathon stopped making them, which is why they are gone. Though I'm sure the jump seat would be illegal nowadays.
ReplyDeleteBack in the 90's there was a retired cabbie tooling around in a checker giving what were basically free rides, he would ask for a small donation when the trip was over. Sadly when the TLC caught wind of what he was doing the city shut him down.
ReplyDeleteChecker cabs were so great for poor people partying. A group of us would come together at Area for an open bar. Drink and dance as much as we could. Then eight or so of us would pile into a checker. With so many people it was sort of affordable. Five on the seat, two or more on the little jump seats, maybe someone laying across the laps. We would go to Palladium for another open bar and drink and dance as much as we could. What great memories this photo brings back!
ReplyDelete4:24 I like your style!:)
ReplyDeleteExcellent parting shot Derek, with the old pharmacy sign we are back in time!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Jan 17 8.26 a.m.
ReplyDeleteGlad you noticed Block Drugs.
At 4:24 PM, Anonymous said:
ReplyDeleteWe would go to Palladium for another open bar and drink and dance as much as we could.
Was this—by any chance—Mateus you were drinking at the Palladium?