Sideshow (automobile exhibition)

A sideshow (so-called in the San Francisco Bay Area; a street takeover in the Los Angeles area) is an informal and often illegal demonstration of automotive stunts now often held in vacant lots and public intersections, originally seen in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, United States. Sideshows first appeared in Oakland, California, in the 1980s as informal social gatherings of Bay Area youth.

History

Sideshows first emerged on the streets of Oakland, California during the mid-1980s. The first sideshows were originally ad hoc carshows, where people would congregate in the Eastmont Mall or Foothill Square parking lot. The original intent of the sideshows at this time was for people to show off their cars, typically 1960s- and 1970s-made muscle cars. Sideshows became the alternative hot spot for those too young to gain entrance into 21-and-over nightclubs and had outgrown the parking lots of Eastmont Mall and Foothill Square. They were made even more popular throughout the 1990s with such songs as Bay Area rapper Richie Rich's "Sideshow" anthem: "Down Bancroft / To the light / Let me warm it up, I hit a donut tight / Chevy on my side / Windows straight tinted / He got hype when he saw me spinnin’ / I’m up outta there, sideways to the next light."

In the 21st century, sideshows have become increasingly prevalent in other cities, such as Los Angeles, Orlando, Boston and in multiple cities in Texas, despite the danger that they pose to the public. These sideshows are now considerably more intense than during their peak in the 1980s and 1990s. Sideshows in the 21st century have increasingly involved stolen cars, with cars such as the Infiniti G-Line, seventh-generation Dodge Charger, third-generation Dodge Challenger, and fifth and sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro being common targets for car thieves. In some cases, a likely stolen car is set on fire to erase evidence.