Dateline: September 1953 - Wides Chrysler-Plymouth moves from current location - 1514 Far Rockaway Boulevard to new home - 1410 Beach Channel Drive.

Prior to this location, Wides Motors had been operating out of a smaller showroom at 1514 Far Rockaway Boulevard (editor's note: now Central Avenue). In 1953, Wides was a Chrysler-Plymouth dealership. Finegold Pontiac which was located further south on Central Avenue had opened its doors for business (at its new location) in 1955 and closed down the early part of 1960. Melvin Wides (owner/operator) of Wides Motors - had been shopping around for a General Motors franchise for a few years and when Pontiac became available, he switched auto manufacturers and became the local Pontiac distributor. In fact, shortly after Finegold closed their doors to the public, General Motors transferred remaining unsold new 1960 Pontiac cars to Wides Motors and then the dealer placed BOTH Chrysler products and GM vehicles on the same showroom at the same time - completely unheard of at that time - and I have never seen it (or heard about it) done ever since. Mr. Wides was a "gutsy" kind of guy and on many occasions throughout the 40s and 50s, he "outsold" the other automobile dealerships in the Far Rockaway township.

This photo, was taken in approximately the same location as the one above in October of 2007. (Click on image to enlarge)

At the end of the 1970s, "Wides Pontiac" was sold and became "Curwood Pontiac." After yet another resale, it became apparent that new-car dealerships would no longer be profitable in the area so all of the auto showrooms eventually were closed down. The 1410 building (shown) was sold to and briefly became a church but it is currently being utilized as a fellowship lodge.