A few days ago, I was asked by an acquaintance to assist with a project he was working on. He sought vintage images of specific Pontiac models in various settings much like those I’ve shared with you in my past blog posts. As I was perusing my collection to find what he was requesting, I happen across several images of an accident scene that involved a 1973 Firebird.
I purchased a series of photos processed in January 1978 from a antique dealer several states away. The 1973 Firebird depicted here likely met its demise that winter day. I can only presume the young lady on the right was the driver or a passenger.
I remembered purchasing the photo set a few years ago from an antique dealer a couple thousand miles away from my home in Omaha, Nebraska. I set them aside shortly after purchase and planned to look at them later. Later turned into never-got-around-to-it, however—time simply got away from me. Since I hadn’t ever really taken a closer look, what better time than the present!
I’m uncertain who the person on the left is, but his concern for the Firebird’s condition is apparent. It clearly took a hard hit and sustained major damage!
The photos, which were rather dark in their natural state, revealed that the Firebird’s front end was heavily damaged. There were multiple angles depicting the entire scene, which looked to me like a typical property damage accident—one where (fortunately) no one was injured. Only the injured Firebird was photographed, however. There wasn’t a second wrecked vehicle in any of them, though I suppose there could have been other images from the set removed or lost over time.
The otherwise well-kept Firebird seemed to be wearing a Nebraska license plate. Upon closer inspection, I found the sequencing that revealed it was registered to an address in Douglas County. Could this January 1978 scene have been in Omaha, the city in which I live?
I sat wondering why someone went through the effort to take photographs of the sad looking 1973 Firebird. Was it for insurance purposes? Was someone attempting to protect themselves from a wrongful claim? Or was it simply a nosy passerby with a camera loaded with film. I don’t know if I’ll ever find the answer. Nonetheless, the photos had me intrigued and I was prepared to take in every detail now that I had them out.
The road grime covering this police car’s department logo prevented me from recognizing that it was a vintage Omaha Police Department cruiser. The street signs reveal the exact location, which was the intersection of 56th Street and Grand Avenue.
The images were stamped with a processing date of January 1978 and the sloppy snow visible on the ground suggested they were taken around that time. I found that the 1973 Firebird was a base model. Its exterior was painted code-51 Sunlight Yellow and it was equipped with a white Cordova top, white interior, bright reveal and body side moldings, and optional 14-inch-specific P01 Deluxe Wheel Covers. The Pontiac was quite dirty (because of the street conditions) but appeared to otherwise be original and complete and generally well cared for.
A quick check of Google Maps street view reveals how that same corner looked in 2019.
As I stared at the photos, I noticed beneath the winter road grime what appeared to be a Nebraska-issued front license plate. Wait, Nebraska?? It couldn’t be! Or could it??
I immediately went to my scanner and made high-resolution digital copies of the original images. With the lighting magic of my photoshop program, I was able to confirm that it was indeed a Nebraska license plate. What’s more, I found a numeric prefix of “1”, which indicates Douglas County registration—the county of which the city of Omaha is within!
In another photo of the Firebird from 1978, we see the homes in the background…
As I began looking at the backgrounds within the photos, I noticed an image that contained a light pole with street signs that read “56th Street” and “Grand Avenue.” Knowing the general location within Omaha it could be, a went to Google Maps and began comparing that street view to the houses in the background. To my surprise, this particular accident occurred at that very the intersection in Omaha!
…and when comparing them to the Google Maps street view from 2019, we find they’ve remained much the same 40 years later, only their colors have changed.
While I certainly find no enjoyment in a Firebird being wrecked or the headache the accident caused the owner of that vehicle and whatever he or she hit, as strange as it may sound these photos quickly became more than just static images in my collection. They’ve taken on a sense of reality from a time (albeit I was 13 months old in January 1978) and place I can relate to.
What are the chances that the photographs I purchased half a country away simply for the 1973 Firebird they contained found their way back to Omaha some 40 years later?!