Aurora Avenue North in Seattle, part of State Route 99, has a long history of being home to car sale lots and other auto-oriented businesses. For decades before Interstate 5 was built, Aurora Avenue was the main highway in Seattle, dotted with restaurants, gas stations and car repair shops, stores, and motels. The area around 92nd Street has a long history of car lots, and many auto dealerships from other neighborhoods moved into the "suburbs" around 130th Street and Aurora in the 1960s to answer the needs of the population explosion to the north of Seattle. New and used car dealerships continue to proliferate along Aurora Avenue North today.

This photo shows used cars in the lot of L. Hoyt Motors on Aurora Avenue near N. 90th Street. A sign advertises a 1974 Volkswagen "Thing" for sale.

Caption information source: Aurora Merchants website at http://auroramerchants.org/about-us/history
Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.