For several decades the NW corner of N. Main and Hawthorne St. in Fallbrook was the well-known home to a full-service Dodge-Plymouth dealership. Here is the history of the place.
In 1929 Standard Oil put a service station at the corner of N. Main and Juniper (now E. Mission).[1] W.A. Bounds managed the station, pumping gas, providing lubrication service and brake repair. Several years later in 1934, Bounds’ brother-in-law Mark Rhodes became the owner. The station became Mark’s Garage.[2]
Besides selling gasoline and lubrication services, Mark’s Garage expanded to offer a wide range of automobile repair and maintenance; including selling and patching tires. Mark Rhodes installed a car lift. He invited his customers to walk underneath to see their car being serviced.[3]
By 1935, Mark’s Garage became an authorized Dodge and Plymouth Dealer. For several years, there was limited space to display new cars for sale. That changed dramatically in 1939, when Mark’s Garage relocated nearby to the NW corner of Main and Hawthorne just below the Baptist Church. Rhodes carved out the hillside here to level the ground and build a larger facility.
Mark Rhodes and his wife moved away to Big Bear in 1944. Rhodes turned management of the business over to his nephew Roy. Advertisements still said Mark’s Garage, but it became known as Roy’s Garage for the next decade.[4]
In 1956 C.W. Cardon became the owner of the Dodge-Plymouth Dealership still located at the corner of Hawthorne & Main Charles W. Cardon incorporated the dealership in August 1960 as Cardon’s Village Motors.[5] It was a landmark here from 1960 until it went out of business in 1978.
In 2023, the former garage is used by CAST (Community Acting School Theater).
Tom Frew,
FHS Historian
