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The second Pierce arrow showroom, which I remember as the Tinney Cadillac then Braun Cadillac dealership showroom in Buffalo, was on Main Street at Jewett Parkway. Does anyone know if the Pierce Arrow company owned the original building or was this a private car dealer selling Pierce Arrows?
Robert
I was always told this was a factory store, built by Studebaker after the takeover. Bob Sands would know for sure
A factory showroom, the Sha of Iran Brun town car was displayed in the window here when new. There are photos of the car in the building from 1930.
From what I have found, Pierce’s later factory branches were all leased, save the Long Island City service station (which later held some used vehicles sales). What is most interesting about the 1929 Buffalo building is that not only Ed Bull continued (since 1901!) as branch manager but George Pierce’s early associate, Henry May Sr. (whose Pierce-Arrow contributions included being the company’s general manager until the 1919 reorganization), was active in that 1929 branch building, too. Checking the title of that showroom building (plus the adjacent service station that was built in 1927) should reveal more.
Brooks
Thank you all for your help. I am tracking down some early history on my car. We located a nephew of the owner of record in 1951. The nephew says that his uncle bought the car new (in 1929) from “the dealership””. The nephew also said the uncle worked for Pierce company at one time. We are trying to piece this all together.
Robert”
Regarding “the dealership,” some of the factory branches had their own branch system, such as Ellis in New Jersey, so there could be more than one answer. I do not have anything on the Buffalo area arrangement and cannot say if any other outlets in the area were under factory control and count as “the dealership.”
If you want to know more about the original owner, you might check the 1920 and 1930 census – they are now digitized (libraries have access). The data included occupation.
Some New York State car registration data remains. You might check the Buffalo History Museum (formerly the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society). I have not been in there in some time, so cannot say what they now have, but they should have some information or suggest a source.
Some Pierce-Arrow factory newsletters also survive – they discuss the employees as well as the cars. Some are in the PAS records at the AACA Library in Hershey. William Emblidge, Pierce’s last corporate secretary (who also attended one of the early PAS meets), saved things, some of which were last exhibited at the Buffalo Pierce-Arrow Transportation Museum. They may also have some newsletters. The Buffalo History Museum also has some from World War I/early 1920s.
I hope this helps
Brooks