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1937. "Restaurant in Mobile, Alabama." Welcome to the Wooden Shoe, where you can order your eggs "dressed up" (but not too loudly, because it's a "Quiet Zone"). Photo by Arthur Rothstein, Resettlement Administration. View full size.
My parents were married at the Basilica in 1966, the Catholic church seen behind this building. My late maternal grandparents, Mobile natives, were familiar with this establishment according to my mother. She remembers my grandfather raving about their oyster loafs (we called them po-boys).
I'm going to have to go back and look at their wedding photos taken outside of the church and see if there's another angle of this building before it was torn down for a park. In any event I love this site and just wish there was more activity here than reading posts from years past. I feel like I'm in a time machine viewing a time machine, lol.
Apparently the former home of Shaw Electric Co. according to the faded sign above the doors which looks like it was repainted at least once.
The car parked around the corner appears to be a 1935 or 1936 Chevrolet Master Deluxe, but not enough is visible to tell if it is a 4-door Sedan or (2-door) Coach. These models, with an external spare tire but without an integral trunk, were declining in popularity; however, it was not until 1939 that they were finally phased out of production early in the model year.
When I ordered a ham sandwich in Burras, Louisiana (elevation 0') the young lady asked "Would you like that dressed?" Without a clue what she meant, I said sure. It turned out to be coleslaw on an awesome ham sandwich.
In New Orleans a husband would take a To-Go oyster Poor Boy (or loaf, which was bigger) to his wife sitting at home waiting for him to return from a night of drinking with buddies. It's called "The Peacemaker."
I believe this is 312 Conti Street at Claiborne, behind the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. The building was still there as recently as 1967, but now the entire block is a park.
Oyster loaves used to be a common item on restaurant menus throughout the South. Gone, probably due to the rising cost of oysters and changing tastes.
"Dressing" a sandwich would probably mean lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise.
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