Cruising McHenry Avenue on a Friday or Saturday night was always a given growing up in Modesto, California. This tradition started on 10th street in the 1960's and a guy named, George Lucas made it famous with his movie, American Graffiti. The annual "Graffiti Night" event invites classic, low rider and "souped" up cars of all kinds to come cruise McHenry Avenue to show off and play. People line the streets walking or setting up chairs to enjoy the variety of cars and characters driving by.
Recently, my family and I visited my hometown and took a step back in time by stopping by some the infamous locations that give Modesto its unique history.
Cruise Stop 1: Foster Farms
The original Foster Farms restaurant #fosterfarms on McHenry Avenue is now called "The Chicken Barn", but it is the original building and serves the same high quality whole chicken and the BEST spuds I've ever had. My husband used to work here in high school and we have to come have lunch every time we're in town.
Foster Farms was started in 1939 by Max and Verda Foster on their farm in Modesto. One of their plants used to be right across the street from the restaurant, but has since been torn down. 83 years later, the family owned business just recently sold. However, many members of the Foster family still live in or in towns around Modesto.
Cruise Stop 2: Graffiti USA Museum
Recently opened, the Graffiti USA Museum #graffitiusamuseum is located on the Historic US99 Route and is currently in phase one of its grand vision. Inspired by George Lucas' film "American Graffiti", we took a step back in time upon entering. Greeted by a most friendly docent, we were acquainted with the purpose and layout. From there, we perused the many classic cars on display, saw the Foster Farms exhibit, and played tunes on an original jukebox.
Many of the cars were donated by recognizable prominent family names in Modesto. The white Mercury is reminiscent of "The Great Gatsby". And the Bel Air police car looks like Doc from the Cars movie.
Did I mention Foster Farms? Oh yeah, we were pleasantly surprised to see a Foster Farms exhibit with the "Foster Imposter" chicken and the 1967 blue Belvedere. The 1990's commercials were highlighted with the actual car, chicken and garbage. According to a museum employee, the Foster family has many classic cars that may soon be a part of the museum. My husband was so happy!!
From talking with one of the friendly employees, we learned that preparations were being made for the third annual Graffiti-Con held that weekend. There were celebrity guests, iconic displays, many vendors and of course cosplay guests in attendance.
I look forward to stopping by in the future to see how the museum grows into its visions. It's pretty cool to see it from the beginning.
Before leaving, we were given a pamphlet highlighting a map with points of interest.
Cruise Stop 3: A&W Restaurant
The A&W Restaurant at its original location at 14th and G Street is a blast from the past. We had to stop by for a classic root beer float and enjoy the scene.
Driving into the parking lot, we were immediately immersed in the Elvis concert that is offered every Friday night in the summer.
The lobby holds true to heritage with a nostalgic mural and paraphernalia from the "American Graffiti" movie.
While enjoying our floats, we got to meet Elvis, who has been performing for over 20 years. The music, ambience and life size decorations made this quite the experience.
Cruise Stop 4: George Lucas Plaza
It's no wonder that Modesto is proud of its heritage and has paid honor to one of its hometown celebrities, George Lucas. He was born and raised in Modesto. I found it interesting to know that I attended the same Junior HIgh (Roosevelt Junior High) and Junior College (Modesto Junior College) as Mr. Lucas. #lucasfilm
The points of interest map from the Graffiti USA Museum has many George Lucas spots such as his childhood home and the location of the infamous drag race from the movie. It is interesting to note that most of the scenes in "American Graffiti" movie were actually filmed in Petaluma. George Lucas felt that Modesto had changed too much and no longer resembled the cruising scene he grew up knowing. Another note of interest is that it is believed that George Lucas' good friend Steven Spielberg actually directed 75% of the movie, but would not take credit.
Because it was Friday evening and the plaza is located at Five Points (the intersections of McHenry Avenue, "J" Street, 17th Street, Downey and Needham) with McHenry Avenue in plain sight, we actually did see residents keeping up the cruising tradition. We saw low rider cars and classic cars. Driving down McHenry, many cool cars could be seen at the Sonic Drive-In, although our hangout spot was the old Taco Bell further down.
Cruise Stop 5: Historic Cruise Walk of Fame
On 10th Street, starting at the 10th Street Plaza, the City of Modesto #visitmodesto has created a Historic Cruise Route Walk of Fame. Each sidewalk marker commemorates people who have played an important role in the cruising culture that continues on in the City of Modesto. For George Lucas' thoughts on cruising, check out this video. #modestoview
The cherry on top of our evening was coming home to watch "American Graffiti", which we had to pause multiple times to talk about our connections to the locations, events, and cars in the movie.
When coming down the 99, come through Modesto to see these gems of the Cruising era.
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