Seeing Mrs. Lobit's brand new Cadillac in old-time Phoenix


I enjoy paging through the Phoenix newspapers at the Library of Congress site, and I came across this article about Mrs. Lobit's Cadillac from the Babbitt-Cadillac company in Phoenix in 1920.

Nowadays newspapers really don't do this kind of stuff, as this article is really just an ad for the dealership. But back then it was common, and this practice really didn't end until the 1950s, when newspapers, magazines, and radio started making it very clear what was advertising, and what wasn't. Nowadays on the internet it's gone back to being difficult to know if an article is written just for information, or if someone has paid to have it written to promote something. It makes you skeptical.


Well, the Babbitt-Cadillac company isn't paying me to write about seeing Mrs. Lobit's new car, I just think it would be fun. Let's go!

The article doesn't give an exact address, but my best guess is that Joe Lobit and his lovely wife (whose first name isn't mentioned) lived on north Central Avenue, north of Van Buren, which was residential for a long time. Nowadays it's just commercial, all tall buildings, but back in 1920 it would have been an upscale neighborhood. Just the kind of place where people would live who could afford Cadillacs!


In spite of the description of the interior, which was "Copenhagen blue", and had vanity cases, dome lights, corner reading lamps, and other conveniences, the article doesn't say what color the car was. I suppose it was black, as most cars up to that point were. I'm thinking that it was a color, they'd have mentioned it in the article, right?

What a beautiful car, on a beautiful day in Phoenix! Thank you for coming along with me to take a look. Do you suppose Mrs. Lobit would give us a ride?
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