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Canadian Poncho Homepage -> Canadian Poncho -> Hillar's General 65-70 Full Size Forum -> BOW MAC (BOW McLEAN) Vancouver DEALERSHIP NAME TAG (metal script)
Post Info TOPIC: BOW MAC (BOW McLEAN) Vancouver DEALERSHIP NAME TAG (metal script)
bouver0


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BOW MAC (BOW McLEAN) Vancouver DEALERSHIP NAME TAG (metal script)
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I am looking for this dealship name tag to go on my 68 Caddy.  My Grandfather bought this car at this dealership new and somehow the script plate went missing over the years.  Can anyone help me.no.gif

BB
Victoria BC

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73SC


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Lets see a photo of the Caddy, we have a few fans on here, at one point there was a suggestion to have a Cadillac Topic heading, but of course we respect our Ponchgs too much to do that.

For now we just get by with gratuitous photos of Cadillac every now and then.


Gold Fleet.jpg


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IMG_1943.jpg

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MoboMac


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73SC wrote:

Lets see a photo of the Caddy, we have a few fans on here, at one point there was a suggestion to have a Cadillac Topic heading, but of course we respect our Ponchgs too much to do that.

 
For now we just get by with gratuitous photos of Cadillac every now and then.
 
 
Gold Fleet.jpg

 

I KNOW this is an OLD thread.....BUT......

Bow Mac Downtown AND on Broadway.....Bowell McClean Motors    was a MAJOR Pontiac/Cadillac dealer in Vancouver   in the 50's 60's and 70's....

 Their claim to fame was (I believe)...the TALLEST sign in the world.........Somebody...(a local DJ or radio personality) spent a week on top of the sign....in the mid-to late 60's...which became a HUGE traffic generator for the sales department...

 Two of my 64's....a Laurentian...and Parisienne were sold NEW there....

Sign still stands....but NOW says...Toys r Us

 

From the "archives...."

Bowell McLean
 

The BowMac sign, known as "Toys "R" BowMac" and "Toymac", is a neon sign in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a metal screen depicting the Toys "R" Us logo covering a significant portion of the original sign. It stands at 1154-1176 West Broadway, a Toys "R" Us store. It was designated by the City of Vancouver as a landmark worthy of preservation and revitalization in 1997. The sign is a landmark of Vancouver, but also a topic of contention as unsightly as well as exceptionally large.
 





 
The Bowell McLean (BowMac) car dealership on West Broadway in Vancouver erected the sign above the business in 1958. The orange sign was covered with hundreds of bulbs and neon lights. It was the largest structure in Vancouver other than the BC Electric Building downtown and recognized as North America's largest freestanding sign. The billboard was visible from 18 miles due.[1]
 
However, as the neon craze of 1950s Vancouver began to disappear in the 1960s, many signs were outlawed by stricter bylaws. The BowMac sign stood into the 1990s, when desires to demolish it surfaced. The city's planning and heritage departments opposed the idea, and passed legislation in 1997 to preserve it.
 

 



-- Edited by MoboMac on Thursday 23rd of April 2015 09:38:40 PM



-- Edited by MoboMac on Thursday 23rd of April 2015 10:02:12 PM



-- Edited by MoboMac on Thursday 23rd of April 2015 10:06:13 PM

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Pontiacanada


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MoboMac wrote:
 

I KNOW this is an OLD thread.....BUT......

Bow Mac Downtown AND on Broadway.....Bowell McClean Motors    was a MAJOR Pontiac/Cadillac dealer in Vancouver   in the 50's 60's and 70's....

 Their claim to fame was (I believe)...the TALLEST sign in the world.........Somebody...(a local DJ or radio personality) spent a week on top of the sign....in the mid-to late 60's...which became a HUGE traffic generator for the sales department...

 Two of my 64's....a Laurentian...and Parisienne were sold NEW there....

Sign still stands....but NOW says...Toys r Us 

From the "archives...."

Bowell McLean 

The BowMac sign, known as "Toys "R" BowMac" and "Toymac", is a neon sign in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a metal screen depicting the Toys "R" Us logo covering a significant portion of the original sign. It stands at 1154-1176 West Broadway, a Toys "R" Us store. It was designated by the City of Vancouver as a landmark worthy of preservation and revitalization in 1997. The sign is a landmark of Vancouver, but also a topic of contention as unsightly as well as exceptionally large.

 
The Bowell McLean (BowMac) car dealership on West Broadway in Vancouver erected the sign above the business in 1958. The orange sign was covered with hundreds of bulbs and neon lights. It was the largest structure in Vancouver other than the BC Electric Building downtown and recognized as North America's largest freestanding sign. The billboard was visible from 18 miles due.[1]
 
However, as the neon craze of 1950s Vancouver began to disappear in the 1960s, many signs were outlawed by stricter bylaws. The BowMac sign stood into the 1990s, when desires to demolish it surfaced. The city's planning and heritage departments opposed the idea, and passed legislation in 1997 to preserve it.

 Cool info.



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Indian


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bow+mac+small.jpgI can't find a photo of the sign lit up at night.



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MoboMac


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The original colors of the sign were black and gold......NOT as eye catching as red and blue....but far MORE dynamic,I think...

Think I have a picture somewhere.... of the original................

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MC


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Found a few pics online, but haven't seen any black/gold ones.  Would be neat to see that.

There's even a wikipedia page about the sign:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BowMac_sign

Another interesting page:

http://www.vancouverneon.com/page_q/bowmac.htm

Cool pics:

6693623893_dd1ca7d88a.jpg

6693624247_e75f78c514_b.jpg

bow_mac_toys_r_us.jpg

ultrapaul_bowmac1.jpg

Can't believe they let them deface that beautiful sign with the Toys R Us sign.  Looks so mickeymouse just sticking it on like that.

bowmac.jpg

From what I'm reading, it appears that Vancouver at one time was kind of a leader in the neon sign world.  To bad it has declined over the years as I'm a huge neon sign fan.

white_lunch_street_view_circa_1960s.jpg

neon.jpg

Finally, here's a pic of a much earlier version of the dealership found on the vancouver skyscraper forum:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=148019&page=20

f5d4a2c1-4c19-43b0-bf2d-7baa5e6fd016-A05298.jpg

 



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MoboMac


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You do NICE work.....smile

That Vancouver Neon page IS something ELSE....isn't it....?

I grew up there....in the "Neon Era"....and remember seeing most of them.....

They say that Vancouver was also the "neon sign" capital of the world....before Vegas........then the city got stupid...and made them all come down.....



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Former owner of........Who really CARES?

The Wall of DEATH

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQRFkgWuM40

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
bouver0


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Here are a couple of pictures of the Caddy.  It has just turned 35k miles.  It was stored in the family garage for the most part of 30 years upon my grandfather's passing in 1980.

 

Bruce

Victoria BC

 

 



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MC


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MoboMac wrote:

You do NICE work.....smile

That Vancouver Neon page IS something ELSE....isn't it....?

I grew up there....in the "Neon Era"....and remember seeing most of them.....

They say that Vancouver was also the "neon sign" capital of the world....before Vegas........then the city got stupid...and made them all come down.....

 Yeah, I really miss the soft glow of neon signs that used to be part of the landscape around here.  There are still a few left, but only a fraction of what once was.



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MC


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bouver0 wrote:

Here are a couple of pictures of the Caddy.  It has just turned 35k miles.  It was stored in the family garage for the most part of 30 years upon my grandfather's passing in 1980.

 

Bruce

Victoria BC

 

 

 Beautiful car and a wonderful remembrance of your Grandfather.

Are those recent pics?  Looks like you found a dealer emblem if they are. 



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bouver0


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Yes the pictures are fairly recent.  After posting an Ad on Used Victoria for a few months I managed to snag the dealership script from a local car buff who had one in his tool box for several years and was willing to let if go.

 

BB



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MC


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Excellent!  Glad it worked out for you. 



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Indian


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11955959643_ffcda305ac_s.jpgThe only bowmac trunk tag I found online



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Indian


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Quite a few of the old Vancouver neon signs have been restored, Helens on Hastings, the only seafood restraunt (use to be great place for fresh seafood), wallys burgers on Kingsway, the rickshaw in Surrey just off top of my head. The old Woodwards rotating W was restored also. Nice to see them lit up again.

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StriperSS


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I grew up near Bow Mac, and the big deal then was if you bought a car from them, you got to go up the stairs inside the sign to look at the view. Back then it was the tallest structure around! Great view of the North Shore mountains.

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MoboMac


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bouver0 wrote:

Here are a couple of pictures of the Caddy.  It has just turned 35k miles.  It was stored in the family garage for the most part of 30 years upon my grandfather's passing in 1980.

 

Bruce

Victoria BC

 

 

 Very NICE.......if a guy's gotta have a Cadillac.........that's the one....

 Have you figured out how many bodies will fit in the trunk?

You could get a job in Surrey,cleaning up......wink



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Former owner of........Who really CARES?

The Wall of DEATH

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQRFkgWuM40

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
65Camino


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Is that sign still up with toys over it ?

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