Downtown Modesto

Modesto in the mid-1950s

The house in the center of the photo is 1029 10th street. The business to the left of the house is Swans jewelry store. The building to the right is Ted's Cafe on the corner of 10th and K st. The building on the left sat next to the Strand Theater Photo of rear view of the Market Basket grocery store taken from the corner of Burney and La Loma. Rear parking lot of Angelo's San Francisco fruit market on H st. looking toward 9th st. Richfield service station at the intersection of Scenic Ave, H street and Downey Ave.

Early 1960s Tenth Street

In the fall of 1957 both 10th and 11th streets became one way running in opposite directions in downtown Modesto; brought about by merchants who wanted more convenient on-street parking for their patrons. With each street having three lanes, cars could sit side by side and do a loop through downtown which helped start the Modesto teenage social activity known as cruising (earlier called dragging). The two pictures below show 10th street as a one way street from different views at about the same time. The first shows 10th street at J street looking northwest. The photographer seems to be positioned in the middle of the street with Longs on the left and Kress on the right (both out of view). The second photo is looking southeast at K street with part of the Sears department store in view on the left. These photos were taken in the early 1960s which is about when George Lucas' 1973 semi-autobiographical movie American Grafitti takes place. By the mid-1960s, however, two of the ma