This summer, Hillsborough celebrated its centennial with a month of events that ended with a parade and family festival. One highlight of the parade was when the descendants of town pioneer Jenny Crocker drove their family’s 1909 Pierce-Arrow the entire length of the parade route. They’d owned the car for 101 years! It reminded us that people in Hillsborough love their cars almost as much as they love their town.
When you think “Hillsborough,” you think “elegance,” “grace,” “wealth.” On September 12, at the 54th Hillsborough Concours d’ Elegance, you’ll learn that those adjectives apply not only to the town’s beautiful estates; they also apply to the one-of-a-kind cars many locals have stashed away in their garages. And there are some ample garages in Hillsborough; Town building codes mandate 3-car garages for 5-bedroom homes, and 4-car garages for 6 bedrooms and beyond. My listing at 2 Homs Court, for example, has a four-car side-by-side garage, plus two-car carport for daily drivers and gated motor courts for guests.
A passion for the preservation of all kinds of art is treasured by many in Hillsborough. I look at a lot of houses here, and I can tell from experience that it’s not at all unusual to find a vintage sportscar gem hiding in someone’s garage – like the shiny red 1960s Alfa Romeo I saw the other day at 645 West Santa Inez Avenue. I expect to see that car on September 12 when the concours honors Alfa Romeo, along with Ford Thunderbird. (It’s Alfa Romeo’s centennial this year, too!) Expect to see a higher-than-average concentration of Alfas and T-Birds on September 12. The event starts at 10 a.m. that day and runs until 4 p.m.
A concours is not like a car show. It’s not where you’ll find this year’s models, or a bunch of brochures about the newest Lexus. The purpose of a concours is to display restored (to original condition; modified or customized cars are not invited) automobiles in a beautiful setting. Vehicles are judged and awarded ribbons in a number of categories.
This year, the Hillsborough Concours d’ Elegance comes with a few changes. The biggest of these is the date. Until 2010, the concours was held in May. With the centennial celebration running all of June, town leaders decided to move the concours to September. By doing this, they also give the event a better chance for good weather.
The Crystal Springs Golf Course is a new venue for the concours, one that has everyone involved with the event very excited. The course itself is a bit of a preservationist jewel having been designed by Brit William Herbert Fowler in 1924. Before this year, the concours was head at North Elementary School, on the playing fields. The setting was good, but the move puts Hillsborough right up there with Pebble Beach (where the concours is also held on a golf course). No one can think of a better setting for these beautiful cars.
If you go to Crystal Springs on Saturday, you won’t see Le Mans performances. In fact, some of the cars you’ll see aren’t driven at all. Many of them arrive by trailer. A Concours d’ Elegance is as much about celebrating beautiful art as it is about rare cars.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that out of all the Bay Area towns, Hillsborough is the one with the oldest continuously-running Concours d’ Elegance west of the Mississippi. Even the famous Pebble Beach Concours has not run as long. Hillsborough residents have the resources to take on auto restoration as a hobby, the appreciation of natural and man-made beauty and the space to spread out. Sometimes, some of the hobbyists modify their homes to better fit their obsessions. I have a listing right now, at 755 Bowhill Road, where the garage doors have been replaced with industrial, glass-fronted roll-up doors. The home is a totally renovated masterpiece with 1960 Mid-Century Modern roots, so ask yourself: what would look better parked in the garage of this post-modern modernist home than a shiny, good-as-new period Mercedes Benz or Jaguar?
While the Hillsborough Concours d’ Elegance has been around for more than five decades, it only comes once a year. If you savor the rarest of the rare in premium automobile history, looking for a glimpse of Hillsborough culture, or maybe just appreciate beautiful art in a gorgeous setting, take a trip to Crystal Springs on Sunday Sept. 12. Ticket to this year’s show are $20 ($25 the day of the event), with proceeds going to Autism Speaks, the 49ers Foundation and the Hillsborough Schools Foundation.