Wilmette News Agency employees, 1920s.
The automobile has undoubtedly been a major factor in shaping the history of the twentieth century. Auto sportsmen played a vital role in developing the auto into the reliable means of transportation we take for granted and enjoy today. Because of this, it is indeed surprising that they have remained for the most part an ignored and unrecorded part of our Wilmette heritage.
It was prior to the start of this century that an automobile drove through Wilmette for the very first time. On Saturday, November 2, 1895, Oscar Mueller, at the wheel of his imported Benz, traveled south on Sheridan Road. He was participating in a preliminary contest that preceded by three weeks America’s first auto race. Only two cars ran in this Chicago-Waukegan-Chicago Trial; the other car, a Duryea, had been eliminated by an accident before reaching Wilmette. These and other motoring events that followed provided inspiration for the men building experimental horseless carriages as the century began.
In 1900, the Chicago Automobile Club was founded, followed in 1902 by the American Automobile Club (AAA). They organized motorsport events to improve the breed, as well as to reassure the public that the automobile could perform with increased reliability. The Glidden Tours, Algonquin Hill Climb, and road races at Crown Point and Elgin were not too distant from Wilmette.
It was in approximately 1902 that Wilmette residents began driving the new-fangled machines. One of the village’s first auto sportsmen was Louis K. Gillson, who founded the Wilmette Park system and in whose honor Wilmette’s beautiful lakefront park is named. He was the proud owner of a chain-driven Locomobile. Another Wilmette auto pioneer was H.H. Hitchcock, who owned a Peerless and whose Rambler was issued Wilmette’s first auto license in 1908 when the Village instituted the practice.
Of all Wilmette’s unpaved streets, Sheridan Road proved to be the village’s most popular driving road for the pioneer automobilists. A 1905 Chicago to Milwaukee route guide shows that Wilmette had posted a speed limit of 12 MPH at its borders.
From the trials and tribulations of the early sportsmen, the American auto industry evolved. As mid-century approached, the auto was no longer a sporting luxury but an increasingly necessary part of suburban life.
World War II brought automobile production to a halt, and driving was curtailed by gas rationing. The sporting attitude that had faded with the passing of time was revived after the war by returning GIs, who were fascinated by a new breed of vehicle, the sports car. The sports car pioneers of the early fifties went about reviving motoring’s earliest roots. They didn’t consider a car as merely a means for getting from one place to another; instead, the sheer joy of driving and the trip itself became their focus.
The first sports cars were usually small, angular, open vehicles that were hard-riding and not extremely powerful. However, they more than made up for a their shortcomings with superior brakes, excellent high-speed handling and the pure driving pleasure they afforded. The MG TC from England was the most common early sports car, but it was soon joined by Jaguars and Porsches. These were basically dual-purpose machines capable of providing normal daily transportation but also able to be driven in competitive events with some chance of winning. They were utilized in rallies, hillclimbs, gymkhanas and, most significant, road racing—a form of racing long neglected in America. Elkhart Lake, Road America, Wilmot Hills, and Meadowdale were a few nearby venues.
Wilmette was a gathering spot for many of these enthusiasts. A location just south of the village limits played a key role in getting the sports car movement started in the Midwest. One of the world’s top automobile collections was at 2516 Green Bay Road, Evanston, where D. Cameron Peck maintained several hundred rare antique and classic cars. He was an early president of the Sports Car Club of America and quite instrumental in founding the Chicago Region of SCCA in 1948. When Peck sold his collection in 1952, his Bugatti Royale went for approximately $3,000. In recent years, the same car brought $12 million at auction.
Hall and Bill Ullrich took over the Evanston location in 1952 as Ullrich Engineering, a shop serving as home base for the Excalibur racing team and as a place where numerous other competition cars were maintained, many of them owned by Wilmette residents. Wilmette itself was the home of two very significant sports car establishments: Imperial Motors still in existence today, and Walther Motors in “No Man’s Land,” now Plaza del Lago. Imperial Motors was opened in 1953 at 721 Green Bay Road (formerly Aero Chrysler Plymouth). The Imperial showroom and shop were state of the art. It had the only dynamometers north of Hoopeston. In addition, it boasted its very own body shop. Imperial was a virtual automobile superstore, representing more than 25 different makes at various times. They included Amphicar, Aston-Martin, Austin, Austin Healy, Berkeley, Bentley, BMW, Citroen, Daimler, Excalibur, Ferrari, Fiat Abarth, Jaguar, Lancia, Mercedes Benz, MG, Morris, Peugeot, Porsche, Rolls Royce, Rover, Sprite, Studebaker, Sunbeam, Toyota, Triumph, and Volkswagen. When the Amphicar was introduced, the event was covered by three TV stations and reported on the front page of the Chicago Tribune.
Imperial was also a regular gathering spot for auto enthusiasts from the North Shore and the entire Chicago area. Saturday morning get-togethers invariably included lunch at either Kurt’s or Drake’s restaurants in downtown Wilmette, In addition to Bill Victor’s own race cars, Imperial also maintained the XKSS Jaguar owned by Tossie Alex, Chuck Finkl’s Porsche, plus the racing MGs of Burdette Martin, Bob Liess, John Zipprich, and Fred Egloff. Bill Victor’s collection of classic sports cars included a Railton, an SS1 Standard Swallow, and a Le Mans Frazer Nash. Imperial’s trademark decal was a dapper Englishman in top hat and monocle known as “Mr. Imperial.”
Walter Motors on Sheridan Road occupied the site of the former Villa Demetre restaurant. Owner Cole Walther ran it primarily as a used sports car operation. The small showroom was eventually grafted onto the small building on the back of the property. Walther Motors was a favorite destination for Chicago sports car enthusiasts on summer weekends. Sheridan road had remained a favorite drive, and ice cream at the Dairy Bar on the lake provided an added attraction.
In 1958, when Don Lightner was sales manager for Walther, he concocted a memorable one-of-a- kind event utilizing the Walther lot. All of the sports cars were moved aside, and a winding course was laid out for a “Wilmette Grand Prix.” The race vehicles were Go-Karts and 3/4 Midgets, which were just becoming popular. It proved to be Wilmette’s first and only race since irate neighbors complained about the noise. Burdette Martin of Northfield was the winner of the main event. Today Martin is head of ACCUS, the United States sanctioning body for all FIA and International Grant Prix racing in this country. Another competitor was Carl Haas, who with future partner Paul Newman went on to become head of one of America’s premier race car teams.
Imperial Motors took over the Walther Motor’s lot in 1963 and used it to supplement its Green Bay Road establishment until 1967 when the Plaza del Lago development was launched.
Bill Victor moved to California and sold Imperial Motors in 1983 to Allen Aron, who had started selling cars there in 1959. The extensively remodeled Imperial Motors is now the number one Jaguar dealership in the Midwest.
There were many other sports car enthusiasts from Wilmette during that colorful era of the 1950s. Paul Gougelman raced a Nardi to become national class H Champion in 1953, Fran Isaacson campaigned his Lynne Special, Joel Jacobs ran both an Alfa Romeo and OSCA, Ken Steffey a Simca and Renault Gordini, Henry Black an SS100 Jaguar. George Campbell drove one of his open Packards to win the first-ever vintage car race at Elkhart Lake in 1950. Among other active Wilmette enthusiasts were Ben Barrett, Earling Clemtsen, Barbara Weber, and Bill and Joanne Carlisle.
The mid-century sports car movement was primarily a revolt against the large, bland cars with poor brakes and handling that were the norm at the time. The revolt eventually played a key role in reshaping the design of America cars and reinventing how Americans view their cars. The open sports car gradually disappeared as improved suspension and handling, disc brakes, safety belts, and radial tires were incorporated into family cars that, in addition, provided more in the way of creature comforts.
The automobile has contributed much to the Wilmette lifestyle, and Wilmette’s auto sportsmen in turn have contributed to improving the safety and reliability of the automobile. The next time you see an open sports car on a Wilmette street or are driving down Sheridan Road, you’ll recognize a tradition that dates back to 1895 and the birth of the automobile.
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