The iconic red and blue Cadillacs at the corner of Northwest 23rd Avenue and Sixth Street were one of Gainesville’s most recognizable roadside landmarks. Where they once stood are now empty outlines on the pavement.
For decades, the 1959 Cadillacs parked outside National Vacuum served Gainesville as a way to give directions, a cool picture spot and a sight out of the ordinary. Their sudden disappearance has generated nostalgia from some locals, while others see it as a good change.
“How are we gonna tell people where to turn, to get to Ward’s or to get down to the car dealership if we can't say turn by the old Cadillacs?” said Rick Bernal, National Vacuum manager and long-time employee.
National Vacuum was founded by Bob deRochemont. He started in 1959 by selling vacuums door to door out of his Cadillac Convertible. In the mid 1980s after he established a storefront, he found an identical car for sale. Once he drove it home, he realized it was too long for his garage. So he parked it outside of the store for convenience, without realizing how much attention it would generate. After a few years, deRochemont found two coupes and replaced the original sun damaged convertible on the corner. They were there until last week.
“He parked it out there, and one thing and another, people started reacting to it,” said Bernal. “So they would call you up, hey, where are you? And if they didn't know the town, we'd have to give them directions. Oh, the place with the old car and the sign.”
With GPS apps still years away, the cars served as a noticeable landmark for locals and travelers. And people started to see them as a part of Gainesville.
“Everybody in Gainesville is kind of saddened because it's just a landmark everybody knew,” said Danielle Ward, store manager of Ward’s Supermarket next door. “The red and blue Cadillac on the corner. That's, you know, one of our landmarks at 23rd and 6th Street.”
Some residents who have been in Gainesville even longer than the cars don’t remember a time without them. “I don’t ever remember it being empty,” said Russell Welker, who arrived in Gainesville in 1968. “I think they had a warm, nostalgic feel about it.”
The dented, rusting “land yachts,” as locals called them, had been involved in a hit-and-run in 2022 that left them in disrepair. For 40 years, they sat in the elements.
“We've had those cars stripped and repainted and rebody worked twice since we bought them. And there was just almost nothing left of the steel. They were just literally crumbling from rust,” Bernal said.
While Bernal and many other community members miss the cars, several have said it’s a welcome change.
“The cars have always been there and it's, it's strange to see them gone, but it looks great. I think it cleaned up the corner,” said Ward. “ I just had no idea that they were in such poor condition until I got up close and they were at eye level. And it was crazy to see how much rust and how they were falling apart, and the tires were flat, and they were in really bad shape.”
Bernal knew the cars were in bad shape. And he knew he’d soon have to part with them. He was just waiting for the right offer.
That came along sooner than expected when two Swedish men showed up interested in buying them.
“They said, we've known about those cars for, for a long time, but we knew they were part of your logo, so we didn't bother you,” said Bernal.
Bernal didn’t take them seriously at first, as many people have made offers to buy the cars. They developed a standard answer of telling potential buyers to start piling $100 bills on the counter and they will tell them when to stop. But no one ever followed through.
“These guys followed up,” Bernal said. They bought all three of the cars.
The cars’ new owners regularly come to the U.S. to find old cars, buy them, and load them in shipping containers to send home. Sweden has six months of winter with hardly any daylight. During those long months, they restore and sell American cars. They are hoping to restore at least two of the Cadillacs.
Bernal and other employees plan to replace the cars.
“I'm going to get one and I'm going to try to get the same model. To honor Bob's memory is to have that same car you started selling vacuums in,” Bernal said.
While the store wants to replace them to honor deRochemont’s memory, the Gainesville community is hoping they put in a new landmark to maintain the city’s charm.
Michael Cairo Raftice, who has been a Gainesville resident since 1985, remembers these cars as a connection to his life in Gainesville.
“When I saw they were gone, it was like, oh man, it's kind of like an end of something that was a constant,” he said. “I'm hoping they'll put something that's cool and that'll be iconic for another generation, you know, another 30-40 years.”
For now, Bernal, deRochemont’s son and other members of the community are on the hunt for a replacement as special as the originals.
“You know, we need to let go, yes, they're gone, but stay tuned. I mean, something's gonna happen,” Bernal said. ” If you run across a ‘59 Cadillac in somebody's garage, you'll know because it's sticking out at the end.”
