Once a naturally occurring body of water at the site of present-day Lacy Park, by the early 20th century, the lake after which the street and park are named had dried up into a swampy morass due to excessive water usage by local settlers.  Fed by springs and streams that flowed down from the mountains, the lake once provided water for the Gabrielino-Tongva people who inhabited the area. When the Spanish missionaries came to the area in the 1770s, they also took advantage of its resources, eventually damming the lower end of the lake to power a saw mill, wool works and tannery and using it as a drainage area. 
All that’s gone now and what remains is an elegant location for a concours…the mostly rounded now grass field still shows the obvious shape of the former lake, with a road paved around it for access.There’s lots to see at this event, from early black iron cars and buggies to the latest, greatest, fast and dangerous.  An expansion of the show this year was to absorb and encompass a former Ferrari car show that took place in old town Pasadena, so lots of Rosso Corsa on the grounds this year.  Plus the usual AACA car show “within a car show.”  Noted Ferrari collector David Lee was on hand with his usual fine stable of Maranello magic.  Plus nearly every other marque you can name to be found in this large and diverse field.

Another important aspect of this event is that, besides the fun and the sharing of great cars, it’s all for charity.  The Motor Classic raises a ton of money for a variety of charities, small and large, so it’s all for a good cause.  My continued congrats to Chairman and Founder Aaron Weiss, himself an extraordinary enthusiast car collector, and his committee for increasing this event’s stature every year, and for all the good work done for its benefitting charities.

Additional thanks to Kirk Gerbracht for the great photos, and please remember you can doubleclick on any shot to see it full screen in high res.

Learn more about the show, the 2019 results, and next years event at https://www.sanmarinomotorclassic.com/

Among the greatest of all American “heavy classics” are the V-12 engined Model K and KB Lincolns, and San Marino always hosts several nice ones

Like brass era cars? Always plenty on hand, like this fabulous shiny Buick, at San Marino

One hot rod: an early great American sports car is this Mercer Raceabout; and yes Jay Leno has one just like this

…from another angle: Mercer Take 2

Check out the very fancy coachwork on this Model T (see, they’re not all black)

Betting you haven’t seen too many Woodill Wildfires

This charming International Metro van earned about a billion style and presentation points in my book, as the inside was just as immaculate as the outside, and stuffed full of vintage Snap On tools and tool chests, red, white and chrome everywhere you look. Perfect!

The Pride of Glendale, California — this Kurtis roadster built not far from my home here

I personally love Studies, and hope you equally enjoy this fab Gran Turismo, flanked by a pair of Avantis

Not just a mere Hudson, but this one a Hudson Jet Liner sedan — holy 50s, man

Plenty of top shelf muscle here too, wing cars, Hemis, Shelbys, Vettes, Cobras, and all the rest of the tireburners

Fins is in, and all fine with this ’59 Eldorado ragtop

Some of the wagons on show were not woodies, but not many

Like the Woodill, ever seen a VW based, limited production, custom coachworkd Rometsch Beeskow?

You don’t have to squint too hard to notice that this Jaguar powered Pirana concept car inspired the Lamborghini Espada – whoulda thunk it?

Lots of Porsches too, from older to newer, and mild to wild

For many the ultimate Porsche GTS, that being the lightweight, and ultra gorgeous 904

How many split window ’63 Corvettes can you fit in one photo frame — this many at least, all fabulous and tastylicious

Will we ever get enough of Gulf liveried Ford GTs? Nope, not me

Always dozens of great Mercedes-Benz at San Marino

’65 GT 350 is never wrong

Like Cits? Me too

Ferraris – oh yeah, more than we have room for. Ferrari club concours was a popular addition to San Marino this year

Noted restorer/enthusiast /collector/concours judge Scott Grundfor now fancies factory concept cars, and brought a trailerload of them to San Marino

One man’s toybox — the Ferrari stable of David SK Lee

Thanks for visiting, hope you enjoyed this look at the San Marino Motor Classic 2019