01/18/2019
They almost got it right , I had to correct it
Mercury news
San Jose’s lowrider history finally gets the spotlight
New exhibit puts lowrider culture on display at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library
It’s also important to remember that while the East San Jose car culture represents a largely Mexican-American experience, it often crossed ethnic lines. One of the key figures in San Jose’s lowrider history is Andy Douglas, an East Side white kid who co-founded NEW STYLE car club and the pioneer of hydraulics. His hydraulic shop on South First Street gave many cars the big hops that drew huge crowds to shows at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds over the years.
You can love lowrider culture or you can hate it. But one thing you cannot deny is that for the past 40-plus years, it has been part of San Jose’s heritage as much as silicon chips, fruit cocktail and the Wi******er Mystery House. That’s why it’s both great and important that the newest exhibition at the San Jose Public Library celebrates both the stunningly tricked-out cars that bounced up and down at Story and King and the largely Mexican-American community that loved them.
Michelle Ornat, deputy director of public services at the San Jose Public Library, told the audience that the exhibition had its beginnings when a patron went to the library’s California Room — a vital resource for research on local history — and asked what was available about lowrider culture in San Jose. There was nothing, even though the custom-made cars — with hydraulic works, custom paint jobs and car club emblems in the back window — were a huge part of life on the East Side of San Jose in the 1970s and beyond.
The exhibition at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Main Library, which opens last month and runs through March 31, features an array of photographs on the second floor made by Suzanne Lopez, who has spent 28 years documenting the scene for Low Rider Magazine and on her own (as well as lowriding in her own ’67 Chevy Impala Super Sport). The exhibition continues on the fifth floor, with posters from the Lowrider Balls, artwork, and even toys like the Homies line of figures designed by Richmond artist David Gonzales. News articles on display about efforts to clamp down on cruising on Story and King.
It’s also important to remember that while the East San Jose car culture represents a largely Mexican-American experience, it often crossed ethnic lines. One of the key figures in San Jose’s lowrider history is Andy Douglas, an East Side white kid who co-founded NEW STYLE car club and the pioneer of hydraulics. His hydraulic shop on South First Street gave many cars the big hops that drew huge crowds to shows at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds over the years.
