I like Quonset huts. They always harken back to images of 1940s American to me—during the War when the Navy first introduced the corrugated half-circle shacks designed by the George A. Fuller Co. (whose then-late founder and namesake was a pioneer in the use of steel-reinforced buildings a half-century prior). And they always seem to have a certain similar feel to them when I’m beneath the ribbed roof and feel (smell) the breeze flow through…it’s like the air is filled with the stories they could tell if they were able to. But one of the remaining military surplus portables that has had a distinctly different aura to it for the last 10-plus years is the one you encounter each January if you happen to find yourself cruising through the grounds of the Pomona Fairplex during the annual Grand National Roadster Show.
Other than the actual featured cars themselves, the Suede Palace hasn’t really changed—and it can’t grow bigger internally, as the perimeter of its geographic footprint keep it contained within its no-walled interior. However, since the very first one, it actually has grown in that in now features outdoor parking for the overflow and the cars whose owners prefer not being committed to all three of four days of the GNRS. This year saw quite a bit of car club participation inside the hut, most notably hot rods and (mostly) customs entered by The Beatniks and The Rumblers from nearby by as Orange County in Southern CA and as far as East Orange in Jersey (or thereabouts, you get the gist). And along with the array of vehicles, Suede Palace annually features live music daily, all sorts of vendors, and its very own awards ceremony held Saturday evening. The little show-within-a-show has really become more of its own show—within a show—now that it’s entering its teen years as part of the historic Granddaddy of Them All.
The post On the Semi-Shiny Side: Lucky No. 13 for the Grand National Roadster Show’s Suede Palace? appeared first on Hot Rod Network.