Home»All Photographs»Hobbies»Hilde, the 1970 Cadillac Fleetwood

In June, 2011 we purchased this lovely 1970 Cadillac Fleetwood 60 Special. In 1970, there were only 1,738 of this particular model manufactured. 1970 was the last year the Sixty Special Sedan was built.

Our particular Fleetwood was originally owned by Hilde Wittgenstein, widow of Paul Wittgenstein. Paul Wittgenstein was a concert pianist, who lost his right arm during WWI. Composer Paul Hindemith wrote a concerto for Paul Wittgenstein, which Mr. Wittgenstein simply put away and never played. He taught piano, and one of his students was a young lady by the name of Hilde Schania. Hilde and Paul eventually married. Paul Wittgenstein died in 1961; Hilde lived until 2001. Upon her death, the contests of her home were inventoried. the concerto was discovered, in addition to autographed manuscripts by Richard Strauss, letters from Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Wagner, and even a lock of Brahms' hair.

Also among Hilde's belongings was a 1970 Fleetwood with 23,000 miles on it. It seems that Hilde lost the majority of her eyesight as a young child, due to a debilitating disease. Her inability to see did not keep her from learning to play the piano, although it did limit her ability to drive. The car was originally delivered to Crossman Cadillac, Inc. 51 Great Neck Road, Great Neck, NY and then subsequently sold to Hilde Wittgenstein.
The 1970 Fleetwood was chauffeur-driven, with Hilde sitting in the back seat behind the driver. Her pillow and pipe-cleaner dog are still in the car.

The Fleetwood was purchased from Hilde's Estate by friends of ours. They brought the car to Ohio (from Pennsylvania) where it sat until we bought it. She is Spartacus Blue and had only 23,000 miles on her. We promptly named her "Hilde" in honor of her first owner, Hilde Wittgenstein.

We live in northeast Ohio but have had a great deal of fun with Hilde, driving her to St. Augustine, Florida; Boston, Massachusetts and Lake George, New York, among other places (Tennessee, Michigan, etc.)

After Larry passed away, I decided to send Hilde to a new home. She is now happy with her new family in Massachusetts.