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Chez Heinz: 1936
January 1936. "Negro house in New Orleans, Louisiana." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the ... religion is not something we see in our area. However in New Orleans there is alot of Voodoo practiced. I do not believe that this is ... still has many people living in poverty. (The Gallery, New Orleans, Walker Evans) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/14/2023 - 6:00pm -

January 1936. "Negro house in New Orleans, Louisiana." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size. Somebody didn't want their picture takenThere's a man on the front porch in a rocker facing the building. Shy or in time out? Or maybeOr maybe he doesn't like staring into the sun. Look closelyYou'll see that more than one person has their back to the camera. There is even one hiding behind the pillar on the left side. I think it's pretty obvious they don't want their picture taken. BeliefsSome people have religious beliefs that do not allow them to be photographed. This would not be uncommon for this area and era. I think you are missing the obviousIf you look closer you will see that the women at the bottom left is blurry as she is going into the house while being talked to by her friend. The man may simply just be avoiding the heat of the noonday sun. The children are all looking out on the porch to the right. Even though it is true that many Amish believed that if your picture is taken then your soul is "trapped" or taken away, I doubt this is the case here. Just a slice of life. People just going about living at the time. Perhaps It is None of thoseIt could simply be a slice of life. The distance from the house. The blurry woman as she is going into the house on the left while her friend stops to say something. Also look at the children. They are looking out. The man simply may be just too hot facing the noon sun. Porch SittingBeing from this area and state, porch sitting is quite a common occurence. You will frequently find people just sitting on their porch watching passersby. If you don't have a porch, a nice shade tree will work just as well. It is a real good day when a friend drops by to sit and drink coffee, tea, etc. and have a game of cards. As far as religious belief, the Amish religion is not something we see in our area. However in New Orleans there is alot of Voodoo practiced. I do not believe that this is the case here, however just someone who does not like to have their picture taken. My father-in-law is one of those people. If you bring out a camera, he will leave the room before you have a chance to photograph him. This can make for very frustrating holiday's especially when you are trying to preserve memories for your children. Also makes it hard when preparing obituaries once the person dies. You often see very old photos of the deceased in our papers. It's about povertyIf I lived in a house like this, I might be resentful about someone wanting to take a picture of it. Let's hope that people are not still living like this today! By the way -- I grew up in a community in North Carolina where there were lots of houses equivalent to this. Living like this todayYou obviously haven't taken a trip to the inner city of some of America's larger cities. This house is in good condition compared to some that I have seen in urban America. America still has many people living in poverty. (The Gallery, New Orleans, Walker Evans)
Royal Castle: 1937
New Orleans circa 1937. "1300 Royal Street." Longtime residence of A. Fern. ... I've really never felt this before -- what a dump! The New Orleans Fern Family Likely relatives of the famous Boston branch of this ... four blocks to Frenchmen Street and the best traditional New Orleans Jazz. At the edge of the Marigny, headed down river toward the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/22/2014 - 3:42pm -

New Orleans circa 1937. "1300 Royal Street." Longtime residence of A. Fern. 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Royal and BarracksThe 1300 over the door at left is on Royal and 641 is on Barracks Street. This house looks much better now. View Larger Map What is it?What's the contraption on the upper porch? Something to rock a baby? Lese majesteDespite its shabbiness, the place has a sort of grandeur, a touch of mystery of the type that could kindle literary inspiration. The current image looks like a comfortable, refurbished building. Yet, if we compare the angle at which the old photo was taken and the street view, the latter is - at least in my opinion - definitely inferior. No thanksAll the years I've been coming to Shorpy every day and I've really never felt this before -- what a dump! The New Orleans Fern FamilyLikely relatives of the famous Boston branch of this fine old family, whose offspring are seen everywhere. Not quite DesireBut I swear I can see Blanche DuBois gazing out from yonder windows. Perfect locationThree blocks to the Old Mint, four blocks to Frenchmen Street and the best traditional New Orleans Jazz. At the edge of the Marigny, headed down river toward the Bywater. The quiet end of the Quarter. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston, Kids, New Orleans)
Sauls Sandwich Shop: 1936
January 1936. "New Orleans sandwich shop. Orleans Parish, Louisiana." 8x10 inch nitrate ... District, just a few blocks from where I first lived in New Orleans. The area is now covered by one of the onramps to the Crescent ... difficult for a left-hander to emulate. (The Gallery, New Orleans, Stores & Markets, Walker Evans) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/27/2023 - 9:10pm -

January 1936. "New Orleans sandwich shop. Orleans Parish, Louisiana." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size. I know I'm a dinosaurUnlike kines, I miss cursive and am sad it is no longer taught in schools. For whatever reason it was created, cursive became a very personal part of us. Some have handwriting that is art, some scrawl, but you recognize a person's handwriting the way you will never recognize their printing or texts with emojis. Printing is communication where cursive is conversation. For me, reading letters in cursive is also hearing the writer's voice. Even Sauls' blackboard is a little more inviting than the signage ... that's Sauls talking to you. EggsWhen I saw the chalkboard I first thought it might be a list of sandwiches. I was hungry. But it's a grocery price list. Eggs: 25 cents per dozen. That's equal to $5.26 in today's dollars, according to the inflation calculator. Maybe today's "crisis" isn't that bad. Brands still with usPET [evaporated milk] Carnation [evaporated milk] Contadina tomato paste Luzianne coffee and Tea Coca-Cola SignsGood name placement! Cursed cursiveEven though in my not-so-humble opinion cursive is one of the most inane creations in all of humanity, it is really nice to see it here, adding a distinctly human touch to this otherwise bleak photograph. Said to have been invented to save wear and tear on fragile quill pens, it is now time for cursive to go the way of the carbon arc lamp, typewriter, and the feather quill pen itself. The original 'saul' food ?I spent my impulse picayunes dining @ N.E. Howe's - or was it N.E Wayze? - but I guess each of us has our own story. Little circlesAnyone have any idea what those circles on the SANDWICH SHOP letters are? Long GoneThis is the corner of Prytania and Calliope in the Lower Garden District, just a few blocks from where I first lived in New Orleans. The area is now covered by one of the onramps to the Crescent City Connection bridge over the Mississippi. Milnut CreamIn 1939 the name was changed to Milnot, a brand that's still around. Cursive writingis making a sort of comeback, with some schools now starting to teach it again. I agree with Doug Floor Plan that each person's penmanship is an extension of them in some ways. I hope it makes the comeback. Maybe even Spencerian script for some folks. Also, it is just like encryption to some young folks. Truck ID1928 Ford truck and 1931 Plymouth car Cursive inclusiveI just want to say, I am fully tolerant and respectful of the opinion of cursive lovers, and I am fully supportive of it being taught as an art form as long as it is not deemed a requirement, or even as being important. And want to share the personal experience that shaped my current opinion. In 8th grade I was doing poorly with cursive and reverted to printing as often as I was allowed. One teacher told me "you might be able to get away with it for now, but you won't be allowed to do this in high school". Then, as if scripted from a movie, my first week in high school I had a teacher tell me how much she loved my printing (which I will also argue is equal to cursive in its recognizability and "extension" of me as a person), and I haven't scrawled a single letter of cursive since. Yet I have had many other compliments on my (non-cursive) penmanship. Prices Then And NowIn reference to Born Too Late comment: Agree that prices are all relative to the era. People did not earn $50,000 or $100,000 per year in 1936, as many do now. Inflation is just an expanding balloon and everything tries to keep up. Every now and again the balloon goes pop. Cursive writing styleInteresting comments about cursive script. I agree with those who say that cursive is an extension of our personality. Each one is different. Some use floral swirls others are more rudimentary and functional. The tightly bound writers reflect a reserved, unimaginative personality, the large bold with swirls attached to many letters would indicate an artistic, creative, open personality. The manuscripts of earlier centuries contain very impressive examples of script which would have taken a considerable time to write. Japanese calligraphy follows this tradition. It really is an art form that reflects that we are not machines (yet) Look at episodes of 'What's My Line' (plenty on Youtube) to see each guest writing their name on a blackboard in beautiful cursive script. Doctors' cursive is in a world of its own. One might hope that their often undecipherable scrawl (except for pharmacists we assume) is not a reflection of a rushed, chaotic brain. Cursive is for right-handers onlyCursive is merely artistically stylized sloppy printing where you fail to lift the pen/pencil when you move from letter to letter. It follows the natural movements of a right-handed writer and if rather difficult for a left-hander to emulate. (The Gallery, New Orleans, Stores & Markets, Walker Evans)
The Graduates: 1927
... Looks like my graduation I went to Ursuline in New Orleans and we wore long white dresses carrying roses. (The Gallery, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/26/2012 - 11:42am -

"Class of 1927. Holton-Arms School graduation." Where cut roses compete with coiffed tresses. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. I'll just be getting my hat...Were the all the pretty girls in a different photo? The raven!There's a wooden raven or crow in the trellis vines... Top left. What's that about? SiggyI think I see a young Ridley ... pre-Alien, of course. Find her and she's your date for the prom. If you can handle the challenge. No longer girlsPresumably these ladies are 17-18 years old but they certainly look a whole lot older than my graduating class (a long time ago) and even my grand-daughter's. Wish I knew why. Middle ClassOnly one of the girls parts her hair down the middle, and she's the prettiest one. Guessing gameOk now which ones are really boys in drag? Some of those girlshave really short legs. How did Sigourney Weaver get in there?Back row, 4th from left. SnapshotWhat a strange range of expressions. Was the photographer holding a gun? Those shoesare exquisite. Real leather top and bottom, no "man-made uppers" for these girls. If I had a time machine, I would go back to 1927 and buy some. Back row, second from leftHas to be an ancestor of Donald Trump. HairstylesI'm no fan of the hairstyles from this period but jeez, what kind of style do you call the front row, second from the right? How charming they all are!And somehow, not one of them is the size of a full grown cow. Why can't young ladies now manage to take the fork out of their mouth? Last I went to the mall the girls had more rolls than a bakery, and plenty of spandex to show it off. In 80 years what will people say about pictures of our gargantuan teens? Get that thing out of the foreground!I just don't understand why the photographer left that column in the foreground. It's really distracting and there must have been some way to move it or at least use it as a mono pod. I guess I have to give him/her the benefit of the doubt and believe that there was no way around including it. I've looked at it again, and I think I'd crop it out when printing -- so, in my opinion, there's no excuse for that fuzzy blob of a thing in the foreground! [The excuse is that this isn't a print. It's the original negative, inverted. - Dave] Short hairInteresting that by 1927 short hair had become standard and respectable for young ladies. Only one of these girls appears to have long hair (parted in the middle - sort of like the kind at my high school graduation in the 1970s!) I like the quality of seriousness in older pictures by the way. Photographers now are constantly trying to get everyone to smile - sometimes a serious mood is warranted. Graduating from high school is a serious thing! Makeup!Woof. Don't Smile"Photographers now are constantly trying to get everyone to smile - sometimes a serious mood is warranted" Like for Police mug shots. Those naked bulbsgive just the right unvarnished touch. Lighten up, girlsI shudder to think of how gloomy the young ladies who failed to graduate must have looked. So lushIt would have been deliciously painful to see this photograph in full color; we'd have had to have worn eye-condoms or some such. Really, there is some serious blooming going on here -- and I'm not just referring to the trellis, the boxwood hedge or the girls' bouquets; everything and everyone within sight looks as though they're about to explode -- in a reserved and self-controlled way, of course. Lovely, lovely photo -- and what a perfect prelude to one of the loveliest months of the year -- May. Who? Him?'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door. I hope, I hope, I hope...I haven't torn the knees out of these silk stockings...Mom will kill me....darn photographers! (I will take Miss 2nd from right, front row left) Most of those girlshave gone to the same hairdresser, and look way too old to be graduating high school. Some look like they could have been somebody's mother a few times over. Way too severe, but that was the times I guess we could say. YupYou've got seven young ladies with "short legs" and one young lady with a short skirt. They go well with all the short hair. I trust that, shortly, they all went on to live illustrious lives, hopefully not short in duration. Why is no one smiling?I notice in a lot of these pictures celebrating special occasions that the mood is very serene. Although you can clearly see the joy in the eyes a few of the ladies. Top row, 3rd from left and 5th from left are clearly subduing a grin. Lovely photograph all the same! DignityThat's what's present in this picture and lacking at most modern high school graduations. 100 years oldIt never ceases to amaze me, looking at these lovely fresh young faces, graduating from high school. If any of them are still alive, they'd be 100 years old now. I know a woman who is soon to be 97, so she'd be a freshman when this was taken, and she's so very very old. Just wow. Susan Boyle?The girls look older because we associate this look with women we knew from that era, who were, obviously, old. They also appear unattractive to us because we have become so inured to makeup, which can do a lot to make an average girl look like a pretty girl. Also, eyebrow management? They weren't into it. BulbsI wonder how they held up in the rain. Tidal WaveMost of these hair styles are marceled -- deep waves set by hot curling tongs. Miss Second-From-Right-In-Front is sporting what would probably be called a Tsunami today. Beautiful graduations still exist!My niece attended Meredith College, an all girls school in Raleigh NC where traditions are held quite dear. Their graduation service, held on Mother's Day, reminds me of the graduation photo shown here. The sophmore girls are "little sisters" to the seniors. They wear white dresses & carry thick long greenery garlands intertwined with flowers & sing as they walk down two sets of steps outdoors at an amphitheater that faces a lake. They circle the center of the amphitheater & spell out the graduating class year with the flower garland. It is really lovely - sweet & sentimental. Amazing shoes...Great shoes. Great dresses. The bobbed hair, some with waves (weren't they called marcel waves?) must have been the hot thing. I Spy the flapper!The girl in middle section, 2nd from right, has her hair bobbed, and has a much more current dress than the other girls. Her shoes are a different leather too. She's clearly making a big splash with her tantalizingly short skirt and cascading hemlines. I wonder if the other girls envied her freedom and if after graduation they all ran out to get their flapper kit together? I visited Holton-Arms once about 25 years ago. It seemed to be filled with mean girls and really a really harsh head of school. Retro-RetroIt's fun to see how styles of one era influence another. The girl in the back row, second from left, could be a sister of Twiggy or Judy Carne. Looks like my graduationI went to Ursuline in New Orleans and we wore long white dresses carrying roses. (The Gallery, Harris + Ewing, Portraits)
Retail White House: 1910
New Orleans circa 1910. "Maison Blanche, Canal Street." 8x10 inch dry plate ... Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. New Orleans - Signs of Light? Just wondering: what is that grid above the ... in the city, into the early 1990s. -- Infrogmation of New Orleans This is the 2nd Home of Maison Blanche This is the second ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/26/2016 - 3:33pm -

New Orleans circa 1910. "Maison Blanche, Canal Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. New Orleans - Signs of Light? Just wondering: what is that grid above the Ferd. Kaufman building? Is it a lighted sign? I love photos like this from the first few years of the last century, that show horse power and automobile power overlapping. Shorpy has really "illuminated" that era for me. Circa?Why "Circa 1910"? The sign says "Wednesday, March 16" and March 16 was a Wednesday in 1910. So it's definitely 1910. Remember MB wellBack when Canal Street was still a major shopping area, I often found better deals on what I was looking for elsewhere, but always enjoyed the beautiful interior of Maison Blanch. The upper floors were offices, including dentists. They had some of the last direct-current run elevators with elevator operators in the city, into the early 1990s. -- Infrogmation of New Orleans This is the 2nd Home of Maison BlancheThis is the second building that housed Maison Blanche. On the same corner, housed the Mercier Building, that wasn't considered big enough by the Maison Blanche owners. They went on a building project, from 1906 to 1909, thus, this picture was taken not long after completion. Photo and article here. Sweet tooth, dentistNo accident to have a dentist upstairs from the confectioner's! Lovely shot of Southern City Life! Interesting info here. Department Store Turned HotelThe ritzy anchor store of the Maison Blanche chain is now the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans. (The Gallery, DPC, New Orleans, Stores & Markets, Streetcars)
Audubon Building: 1910
New Orleans circa 1910. "Audubon Building, Canal and Burgundy Sts." This former ... Both the Audubon Building and the Audubon Hotel in New Orleans changed their names within the past decade: the building to the ... Plus he shot all those birds before he painted them. New Orleans balconies I love those ornate cast iron 'galleries.' That type ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/26/2021 - 9:23am -

New Orleans circa 1910. "Audubon Building, Canal and Burgundy Sts." This former office building is now the Saint Hotel. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative. View full size. Now CanonizedAnd known as the Saint Hotel. It looked better thenA lot of ornate metal has been lost -- three stories of shade and balconies on the building to the left, the oversized coach lights flanking the front doors, the metal awning has been replaced but with something way less inspiring. And it didn't have those stupid looking palm trees! Life follows glass"Marshall Field and Co" proclaims the lettering from the fifth-floor window -- presumably an import office, since Nawlins was a major port. It's certainly gone from that window now, as it is from everywhere else (but memory, alas). Audubon canceled?Both the Audubon Building and the Audubon Hotel in New Orleans changed their names within the past decade: the building to the Saint, the hotel to the Quisby. Probably coincidental, but ironically just in time. The Audubon name is in big trouble today because the ornithologist was a slave owner and white supremacist. (The Audubon Society issued a statement in 2020 that it is "time to bring to the fore" his "ethical failings.") Plus he shot all those birds before he painted them. New Orleans balconiesI love those ornate cast iron 'galleries.' That type of galleries began with the two storey examples on the Pontalba Buildings on Jackson Square, completed in 1851. They set a fashion for others to follow. Below the lower Pontalba Building, photographed by Frances Benjamin Johnston, well known by Shorpy-fans. Also home of.. the Burgundy Bar and Tempt restaurant, which is sadly closed. Mind your P's and Q's in this vicinityOn the fourth floor it looks like the Pinkerton Detective Agency has an office. Better behave yourself. (The Gallery, DPC, New Orleans)
On the Mend: 1900
... So far I've been able to make out the U.S.S. Newport, the New Orleans (front row seated rt. of center), and the Yankee (second row far ... - Dave] The Newport was a gunboat, the New Orleans was a cruiser, the Yankee was an auxiliary cruiser. 50 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 11:13am -

New York circa 1900. "Group of patients, Brooklyn Navy Yard hospital." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The Dry LookNot any greased-up or plastered down hair in this group. The hair styles look very close to what most men are wearing today. New York ObserverFellow in white at the top of the stairs. Represented vesselsSo far I've been able to make out the U.S.S. Newport, the New Orleans (front row seated rt. of center), and the Yankee (second row far right) and what I think is the Cincinnati (back row center). Front row seated third from left and second row fourth from right are sailors on which ships? [U.S.S. Vesuvius. - Dave] The Newport was a gunboat, the New Orleans was a cruiser, the Yankee was an auxiliary cruiser. 50 years before my time butThe blue uniforms are about the same with piping and 13 button pants. Several are probably boatswain mates because of their pipe lanyards. One may be a marine and another an officer. The guy in blue on the right gets the respect of everybody. And a couple may have have been in the Civil War. YensI suddenly have an overwhelming craving for Crackerjack. SpookedI was in the Brooklyn Navy Yard about 10 years ago as a software rep servicing a client. The place was a vast ghost town of many different and unusual decaying buildings, and apparently a haven for crime. They wouldn't let me walk around alone and I had to check my car from the window every hour or so. Some of the remaining buildings that were in passable shape were being used for small businesses. If the walls could talk that place would still have my ear. Looks like a ventriloquiston the right side of the photo! House DetectiveDarkman lurking under stairwell. Comic ReliefCheck out the ventriloquist act on the right. See also: Sick Bay 1900We saw at least a couple of these guys here. In particular, you can't miss the guy with the bandage around his head. 13 Button TrousersLooks like these guys were no more fastidious about doing up all the buttons than I was when I used to wear them. The ships USS New Orleans and USS Newport were involved in the recent conflict with Spain. Big Bluejacket on the rightThere was a guy on my ship who looked a lot like him. We called him the Abominable Seaman. Pasted In?It looks like the face of the young man in the white jacket, center second row, has been physically pasted in, note the distinct ring around the head. [That's a bandage. Next question! - Dave] Uniform VariationThe wide variety of uniforms and uniform items is notable. The three stripes at the end of the sleeve denote seaman first class, two denote second class. The shoulder watch mark on the seated SN - fifth from left in whites - reveals that he is assigned to the port watch. Those lanyards may be knife lanyards. Early versions of the dixie cup cover sometimes lacked sufficient stitching to stay in place - hence the floppy appearance. Cuff PipingThree rows of piping was standardized on the blue collar in 1876.. Cuff piping was used to identify rank until 1947. Three rows identified Petty Officers, along with their "Crow" Guy far rightis sitting on the next guy's knee! It's a real wonderHow they kept those flatboard hats on their heads! Checkout the guy in the center, that a real "old salt." Where is swee'pea?I yam what I yam, and that's all I yam. The HulkThe fellow standing on the far right looks like someone no one would want to mess with. Represented VesselsU.S.S. Vesuvius was a dynamite cruiser, a not very successful experiment. (The Gallery, DPC, Medicine, NYC)
New Orleans: 1964
... Jeffrey again; this time in front of the Café Du Monde in New Orleans; probably taken in 1964. We'd drive over from Houma, where we then lived, and spend the weekends. The New Orleans farmer's market was a fun place to visit in those days; we'd go ... 
 
Posted by Jim Page - 10/05/2012 - 8:45pm -

Here are my mom, me (wearing the hated glasses) and my brother Jeffrey again; this time in front of the Café Du Monde in New Orleans; probably taken in 1964. We'd drive over from Houma, where we then lived, and spend the weekends. The New Orleans farmer's market was a fun place to visit in those days; we'd go there after a trip to the Audubon Park Zoo. Point me toward the beignets, please! After having our fill of powdery donuts and chicory coffee, we'd wander through the French Quarter until evening, then we'd have dinner in an Italian place called, I believe, Madame Turchi's or Turci's. It had the best spaghetti and meatballs I've ever had, before or since. The lady who owned it evidently had been an opera singer at one time long before and she and my mom were great friends. Wonderful days! View full size. Thanks, Hoople365!Not only did Hoople365 confirm that I (unbelievably for me) got the name of the restaurant's owner correctly (Turci), but even found the spaghetti-sauce recipe for me! It seems that I'm not the only one with very fond memories of that grand old place. Wow! If I can coerce my wife into making this recipe, I'll enjoy a dish I haven't had since 1967 or so. Shorpy is an amazing site with amazing residents!!! Thanks! --Jim Recipe...Care to share the Sauce recipe with the rest of us? I am always on the lookout for something good. Sauce recipeJim, Can you share that recipe for us? I am quite interested!! Love the picture, looks like it was just taken last week. Not your average spaghetti sauceWhat is supposed to be the recipe for Spaghetti alla Turci is available here: http://www.nomenu.com/joomla1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&... It is not trivial. Turci's Spaghetti SauceThanks for the nice comments. I'm reluctant to post a two-and-a-half page (I printed it in 14-point type) recipe, and am also reluctant to post a link to another site here. Violating the rules or hospitality of Shorpy.com is not something I want to risk doing; it's the best site out there. That being said, if you Google the term "Spaghetti Sauce alla Turci" you'll find it! And I bet you'll agree it's worth the download! Reading the history of that restaurant reminded me of their ravioli, which has been unequaled in my life since those days. I had ravioli in a NYC restaurant (forgotten the name, darn it) that was exceptional, but Turci's is still the best, at least in my experience. It seems many others shared my enthusiasm for that grand old place. --Jim (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Absinthe and Bourbon: 1903
New Orleans circa 1903. "Old Absinthe House and Bourbon Street." (*Hic*) 8x10 ... Old Absinthe House Since 1807 240 Bourbon Street New Orleans Drink Up Before It's Gone A peek inside at Absinthe ... 1906 . Motor Age, November 9, 1916. New Orleans — America's Paris The Old Absinthe House is one of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/12/2012 - 3:42pm -

New Orleans circa 1903. "Old Absinthe House and Bourbon Street." (*Hic*) 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. +105Below is the same view from September of 2008. Interestingly, it appears that the same hot dog vendor from the Google Streetview provided by bluegrassboy hasn't moved from the corner. Maybe hot dogs go with absinthe. Bienville St at Bourbon St Google street view. Even Hollywoodcouldn't come up with a better set than this. Um, sweet Russ blocksArc lights, streetcar tracks, and steel gutter covers. Sadly, no people. Looks like a clear winter morning with minimal street offal. A-house still a decent bar, favorite of oil industry landmen. Overpriced drinks, but a must-visit during Xmas holidays when tourists are few and there's a blazing fire in the back fireplace. And btw, absinthe is legal again in LA. I'll take the streetcarThose cobblestones look a bit too bumpy for my comfort, especially in a carriage with steel wheels. Somewhere, high on a wallI don't know if this is done anymore, but back in the previous century on one visit to the Absinthe House I added my business card, along with that of my imbibing companion, a certain Barbara who was on Playboy's corporate staff in Los Angeles, to the thousands of cards pinned on just about every vertical surface in that pub. Maybe they're still up, along with that of one notable visitor, Mark Twain. Well, two notable visitors if you count Barbara. At the time I was with a company that made chocolate in a town where the main street was Chocolate Avenue, so any place with a Bourbon Street address got my attention. The souvenir cups had this on them: Jean Lafitte's Old Absinthe House Since 1807 240 Bourbon Street New Orleans Drink Up Before It's GoneA peek inside at Absinthe Room: 1906. Motor Age, November 9, 1916. New Orleans — America's Paris The Old Absinthe House is one of the very few places where absinthe is obtainable in the United States at present, since the importation of it is now prohibited. No one seems to think a visit to New Orleans is complete unless one sees this old building and helps decrease the 17,000 cases of absinthe which were brought over between the time congress passed the law prohibiting the importation and the time the law became effective. The Trumpet PlayerI was there in 1981, had a few shots and listened to the trumpet player. He said: "I'm 92, if I had known that I would live this long I would have taken better care of myself." Wandering AroundMy wife and I were at the Absinthe House several times over the years. Never as far back as 1903. Actually the last time was a few weeks before Katrina visited. I may be wrong but we remember it as a gay bar. But then again we had been drinking too much soda pop and did always have fun. I'd swear that hot dog vendor was there or very close even then. (The Gallery, DPC, Eateries & Bars, New Orleans)
Cotton Club: 1900
Circa 1900. "Cotton Exchange, New Orleans." Something of a boll market. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, ... the picture, where do you water your animal in hot, humid New Orleans? [At a horse fountain . - Dave] Groaner " Boll ... Old Cotton Exchange are on City Park Avenue in Mid-City New Orleans. Second Empire "The Exchange had its 1871 opening in a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 4:39pm -

Circa 1900. "Cotton Exchange, New Orleans." Something of a boll market. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Hard Rock!Those are some serious cobblestones on those streets! InfrastructureThis photo would seem to illustrate a complex, unstandardized infrastructure at the turn of the last century. Note the different manhole covers, and the lengthy steel plating that appears as a sidewalk on both sides of the street - providing access to what? Cobblestone streets and trolley tracks. The telephone/power poles with their myriad of lines - that I never see entering any of the buildings. Only one of the poles seems to use footspikes. Are those trash containers on the sidewalks with the narrow slit openings? Although there appear to be hitching posts in the picture, where do you water your animal in hot, humid New Orleans? [At a horse fountain. - Dave] Groaner"Boll market." Dave, go to your room. Top of the rightmost buildingI love the fancy Victorian buildings, but what caught my eye was the framing at the top of the building to the right of the Cotton Exchange. Do you suppose there's more building to come there, or maybe the top story burnt and wasn't rebuilt (apparently pretty common, based on the history of other buildings I've read.) [Those cornices were most likely decor (or marquee supports) for one of the "roof garden" restaurants popular at the turn of the century. - Dave] GaudyThat is the first word that comes to mind when looking at this building. Excessive and overblown are the other two. the ornamentation is WAY out of proportion to the rest of the building. I love it. Also a great image of the carbon arc light there on the left. King Cotton in ExileThis was the Cotton Exchange Building constructed in 1871, and replaced in 1920 by the building still here today (although it now houses a hotel). When they demolished the old building, a few architectural details were salvaged. These Caryatides from the Old Cotton Exchange are on City Park Avenue in Mid-City New Orleans. Second Empire"The Exchange had its 1871 opening in a series of rented rooms in an existing building at Gravier and Carondelet. Although they moved several times, the Exchange would not leave this intersection until its closing in 1964. After constructing and then outgrowing a small building nearby on Gravier, the Exchange built a palatial Second Empire building in 1883 at the northern corner of Gravier and Carondelet, designed by architect S.S. Labouisse. Noted for its lavish interiors, the building soon became a landmark in New Orleans." http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/New_Orleans_Cotton_Exchange The Original Hooters?Judging by the statuary, they served hot wings in this Cotton Club. Extravagant OrnamentThe elaborate decoration on the original Cotton Exchange is a testament to the amount of money being made in the cotton industry. The building was at the corner of Gravier and Carondelet and was built in 1883. It was demolished and rebuilt in 1921 in the Renaissance Revival style. The replacement was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The only building from the photo that still remains is the one at the far right - currently home to Hancock Bank. It's interesting that the floor above the cornice has since been built out. Men, men, men.The only women I spot are of the stone variety. SprainedJust one look at that cobblestone street and I got a broken ankle. Ladies with stilettos keep your distance. Agriculture, Industry & Peace Life on the Mississippi, 1883. Mark Twain. Not that there is any 'architecture' in Canal Street: to speak in broad, general terms, there is no architecture in New Orleans, except in the cemeteries. It seems a strange thing to say of a wealthy, farseeing, and energetic city of a quarter of a million inhabitants, but it is true. There is a huge granite U. S. Custom-house — costly enough, genuine enough, but as a decoration it is inferior to a gasometer. It looks like a state prison. But it was built before the war. Architecture in America may be said to have been born since the war. New Orleans, I believe, has had the good luck — and in a sense the bad luck — to have had no great fire in late years. It must be so. If the opposite had been the case, I think one would be able to tell the 'burnt district' by the radical improvement in its architecture over the old forms. One can do this in Boston and Chicago. The 'burnt district' of Boston was commonplace before the fire; but now there is no commercial district in any city in the world that can surpass it — or perhaps even rival it — in beauty, elegance, and tastefulness. However, New Orleans has begun — just this moment, as one may say. When completed, the new Cotton Exchange will be a stately and beautiful building; massive, substantial, full of architectural graces; no shams or false pretences or uglinesses about it anywhere. To the city, it will be worth many times its cost, for it will breed its species. What has been lacking hitherto, was a model to build toward; something to educate eye and taste; a suggester, so to speak. The Picayune's Guide to New Orleans, 1903. At the corner of Gravier and Carondelet stands the Cotton Exchange, which is a fine specimen of the Renaissance style of architecture, and is considered very beautiful. It is built of cream-colored stone. The cost of erection was $380,000. The Cotton Exchange was organized in 1871, with a membership of 100. It has now almost 500 names on its roll. The Exchange proper occupies a beautiful apartment superbly frescoed with scenes from the history of Louisiana. Futures are sold around the small fountain at one end of the room. The Exchange enforces obedience to its rules for sampling, buying, selling and delivering cotton, and settles all disputes by arbitration. Reports of the receipts of cotton at all ports, exports and imports, meteorological and crop reports, and other indispensable information are daily posted on the blackboards. The upper floors of the building are occupied by business offices. A small gallery, accessible from the stairway or elevator, is open to visitors. A fine view is obtainable from the roof of the building. There is a time-ball on the roof, regulated by telegraphic communication with Washington. It is dropped daily at noon. The Bureau of State Engineers, where the engineering work of the Louisiana Levee system is done, is located in this building. New Orleans in the Twenties, 1993. Mary Lou Widmer. The Cotton Exchange Building, at the corner of Gravier and Carondelet, built in 1882-83, was ready for the wrecker in 1920. Five statues adorned the building, three on the third floor representing Agriculture, Industry and Peace and two on the ground floor as column supports called caryatids. The statues were moved to City Park in the 1920s for a brief stay. The caryatids now stand in the 100 block of City Park Avenue. Below: 1919 photo of the Peace statue of the Cotton Exchange building, taken during demolition. Also note the reclining caryatid. [source: Louisiana Digital Library.] Does it open at 8?The clock appears to say 7:34. I'm guessing it's morning and the loafers near the door are waiting for the Exchange to open. Re: Infrastructure>> The telephone/power poles with their myriad of lines - that I never see entering any of the buildings. How about these? Admittedly scary, though. "Cotton Exchange""Boll Market" -- that's funny, right there! Carved or PouredI was wondering if the repetitive ornamental work on these old buildings was made from pouring concrete in a mold or would they have been individually carved from sandstone or some other material? Cobblestones and steel platesThe large paving blocks were called Russ blocks after the inventor. Most of the city streets were paved this way from the 1850s through the 1880s. They were layed at a 45 degree angle to prevent wagon wheels from eroding the joints and getting stuck. Unfortunately, Russ blocks were a disaster as the joints were spaced farther apart than the size of a horse's hoof. When the blocks weathered the tops became rounded with deep crevices in between (have a look at the well-used paving stones in the old French Market photos to get an idea). When wet, horses often slipped, fell and broke legs. Russ blocks were gradually replaced by the smaller "Belgian" blocks by the 1890s. Neither of these paving types were "cobblestones" which refers to uncut smaller rounded stream cobbles that were used earlier. You can still find old Russ blocks recycled for private walks in the city. Just last year, the last street of exposed Russ blocks (Montegut street riverside of Chartres in the 9th Ward) was unnecessarily ripped up by an apartment developer. They relayed the blocks at 90 degrees with lousy wide joints. Undoubtedly, the 150 year old pavement with morterless hand-fitted seams would have remained serviceable longer than the current, historically inaccurate scheme. There are still some Russ blocks hidden under the modern asphalt. As for the iron or steel plates, these were used throughout the business districts to bridge and cover the deep curbside drainage ditches. Interestingly you can see many of these being used to bridge curbside ditches at modern driveways uptown; they still have the names of dowtown streets on them. (The Gallery, DPC, New Orleans)
New Orleans Police Band
New Orleans Police Department Band in front of the Carnegie branch library ... for posting this photo. I found it just doing a search of "New Orleans Police Band." (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Music) ... 
 
Posted by Infrogmation - 09/20/2011 - 9:20pm -

New Orleans Police Department Band in front of the Carnegie branch library building Uptown at Napoleon Avenue & Magazine Street, late 1920s. Photo courtesy of Mr. Eugene Nunez. His father, officer Alcide Nunez, is in the front row, third from left. Alcide Nunez recorded extensively during his time up in New York City with the band The Louisiana Five back in 1919. View full size. Edward J. WerlingThe sax player left below the sousaphone is my grandfather Edward J. Werling. Thanks for posting this photo. I found it just doing a search of "New Orleans Police Band." (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Music)
Haunted Saloon: 1906
New Orleans circa 1906. "Haunted House (Warrington House), Royal and Hospital ... You can read the history of the building here . New Orleans Such wonderful memories! Grandparents lived in Belle Chase; ... Telephone in 1900, becoming the only phone company in New Orleans. They advertised rates as low as $1 a month for homes and $2 for ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/17/2017 - 2:35pm -

New Orleans circa 1906. "Haunted House (Warrington House), Royal and Hospital Streets." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. "Ghost Rider" or "National Treasure?" Between 2006 and 2009, this building was one of actor Nicolas Cage's fifteen homes around the world. Deep in debt to banks and the IRS, Cage lost the mansion through a foreclosure. The sheriff's sale price in 2009 was about $1 million less than Cage's real-estate business paid for it in the 2006 pre-real-estate-crash market. Still There!Hospital Street has been renamed Governor Nicholls Street. You can read the history of the building here. New OrleansSuch wonderful memories! Grandparents lived in Belle Chase; shopping trips to the City, by ferry, with stop for oysters and hot sauce with Regal Beer in Gretna on the way home. Wonderful. Phone Company?What the name of the telephone company on the Pay Station sign? It looks like it is part of the Bell System. The breakup of the original AT&T must have erased a lot of local phone company names. In the Washington, D.C. area the AT&T-owned phone company used to be C&P, Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone. With the AT&T breakup it became part of Bell Atlantic and the name was lost. Bell Atlantic became Verizon. C&P seems like a lot friendlier name than Verizon. Expensive pay phone callsCumberland Telephone Company bought out its competitor Public Telephone in 1900, becoming the only phone company in New Orleans. They advertised rates as low as $1 a month for homes and $2 for businesses. Their ads didn't mention pay calls, however, which were 15¢ per. If that was still the charge when this photo was taken, calling home to tell the wife you were running late would have cost about $3.89 in today's dollars. (The Gallery, DPC, Eateries & Bars, New Orleans)
Lafayette Square, New Orleans
John McDonogh Statue in Lafayette Square, New Orleans, Louisiana, created by Hyram Powers and donated by school children of New Orleans from 1892-1898. Found in an attic, M. A. Seeds (Seed Dry Plate ... 
 
Posted by Christoph Traugott - 03/17/2017 - 6:31pm -

John McDonogh Statue in Lafayette Square, New Orleans, Louisiana, created by Hyram Powers and donated by school children of New Orleans from 1892-1898. Found in an attic, M. A. Seeds (Seed Dry Plate Co.) and Hammer Dry Plates (Ludwig F. Hammer of St. Louis). Locations detailed: Lafayette Square and Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans, Port of New Orleans, and family farmhouse locations nearby New Orleans. View full size. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Bread and Water: 1906
... grain from floating elevator." Continuing our visit to the New Orleans waterfront circa 1906. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. New Orleans? Hmmm. No levy but there should be. There isn't much to go by ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 3:37pm -

"Steamer loading grain from floating elevator." Continuing our visit to the New Orleans waterfront circa 1906. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. New Orleans?Hmmm. No levy but there should be. There isn't much to go by here but looks more Savannah to me. The "elevator" is transferring grain from No. 67 to the steamship. [The "levy" (levee) would be in the vicinity of the telegraph poles, the same ones seen here. - Dave] Convenient Grain Engineers and Engineering, Engineers Club of Philadelphia, 1922. Grain Handling When grain forms only a small portion of the cargo, grain is put aboard by the use of floating elevators brought to them in grain barges, while other miscellaneous merchandise is being loaded at a freight pier. This saves the time and expense, which would be required to move the vessel from the freight pier to the grain elevator to take on the balance of the cargo. The vessel being loadedis the Traveller, owned by Charente Steamship Company of London. Launched June 22, 1888 at Scotstoun, outside Glasgow, by Charles Connell & Co. Sold in 1919 to the Limerick Steamship Co. of Ireland, and renamed Inishboffin, it wrecked on Wulff Island, Gulf of Finland, on December 13, 1921. Refloated the following May, the vessel was broken up at Hamburg in 1923. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, New Orleans)
Luncheonette: 1950
... a surprise to find that it was still 5 cents on a visit to New Orleans in 1976. Delightful memories Not only do I want to buy those ... 
 
Posted by sledworks - 11/13/2011 - 6:16pm -

Early 1950s lunch counter somewhere in northern New Jersey that sold candy, cigars, small gifts and toys. View full size. I remember hundreds of theseI grew up in Brooklyn. I remember hundreds of stores like this. We had one on Kingston Avenue, in Crown Heights. My grandmother would take me for "a malted." One could, of course, get an Egg Cream, as well, which contains neither eggs nor cream. Note also the two wooden phone booths in the back and the older mechanical cash register behind the soda counter, in counterpoint to the electric cash register at the front counter. Some of the stuff for sale is interesting. Wind-up alarm clocks (top-right). Camera equipment -- Ansco something. Brownie camera, Kodalite Flashholder. A tricycle and a kids tractor up above the phone booths. Betcha they don't offer wi-fi. LuncheonetteAlternate title: A Kid's Dream Come True. Toys, candy plus burgers and shakes all at your fingertips. These are great vintage store and pharmacy shots, obviously done by commercial photographers. How did you come by them? So many thank you's shorpy, this one is awesome!The candy store -- growing up, as a little kid in the fifties, let me be very clear, I was six years old, left my house to walk three blocks to the most incredible place on earth; the candy store! No parental supervision, just a total array of colors, sodas, newspapers, comic books and most of all, candy. We were poor so the only way to buy a piece of candy was to sweep some neighbor's yard or collect deposit bottles. This brings it all back. I wouldn't trade being poor vs. rich for anything. I appreciated that five cent chocolate bar immensely. Thanks Shorpy, you rock! El ProductosGood to see that the store has a good supply of El Producto Cigars. You never can tell when George Burns might wander in looking for his favourite brand. Burns smoke 10 El Producto Queens a day for most of his long life. He'd order them in batches of 300 from the manufacturer and if his shipment was late he'd call the factory and send his butler out to get as many as he could find. How I got my imagesOwning an antique mall has been one source for finding some of my images. Some of my vendors know what I look for and show me before they put them out for sale. Ebay has been a source obviously. I've been buying since 1997. My third resource, and most prized, was from a former coin-op book author who passed away over 10 years ago. I bought several original images that he used in some of his books. I plan to upload some of those here. Dessert under glassLove this with the Coke clock and soda machine. Twelve stool counter equals a busy soda jerk. The phone booths probably each have a fan that is automatic. Brings back some memories from childhood. I want a hamburger and a real Coke with cane sugarAfter I'm done I'll wander over and get a 10 cent Hershey Bar that's twice as big as the one you get today. Counter servicejimmylee42, you're on the beam, but instead of a soda jerk I see a large middle-aged gal with bright red fingernails who calls you "Hon." A trip downtownThis scene so reminds me of the shopping trips made to the SS Kresge, FW Woolworth , or the Metropolitan store in downtown Windsor Ontario. The SS Kresge store had wood floors, I can still hear them creak. Now, where's the toy department? Let's see the new Dinkys. Vintage EatsSomething tells me this was either a Woolworth's Or McCrory's. Being from North Jersey I'd go with the latter. Let There Be LightWhen you closed the door in the phone booth, the ceiling light would come on. A nickel had been the price for a local call for decades, but by the mid-1950s it had doubled to 10 cents in most places. It was a surprise to find that it was still 5 cents on a visit to New Orleans in 1976. Delightful memoriesNot only do I want to buy those two riding toys for my granddaughters, but I want to have a leisurely lunch at the counter and scan the items for sale!!! Misspent youth, of courseTakes me back to cherry cokes at the Peoples Drugstore at Fesseden and Wisconsin Ave., Friendship Heights, D.C. Boy, were they delicious! Sigh! The good old daysWhen you could pick out and buy one thing instead of a plastic-encased "multipack" with three or four of whatever you just needed just one of. RepurposingI'm a big fan of antique shops, and can't recall how many shops I've been in (mainly in small towns) that were originally drug stores or something similar, with many of the original fixtures still intact (lunch counter, back mirror, wall displays, etc.). And a lot of the items in this photo can still be found in those shops -- Coca-Cola clock, Ronson lighters, pedal cars, countertop display cases, alarm clocks, etc., albeit at much higher prices than in 1950. Deja VuThough I never visted this lunch counter, when I saw this photo I felt I had been there before. Growing up in the fifties, I ate at many a lunch counter that looked just like the one here. AgogLook at the firetruck with the raised ladder, in the second overhead cubbyhole (visible in the mirror)! I always wanted one of these but we could never afford one. To the kids this must have been a fantasyland! "Hon"tterrace, As a former resident of northern New Jersey, I can almost guarantee you the "large middle-aged gal with bright red fingernails" would NEVER call you "Hon." 30 years ago I moved to Maryland, where the "Hon" is quite prevalent, and I remember being quite shocked when a total stranger addressed me that way. My OrderI'll have a cup of coffee and a piece of that banana cream pie. How much will that be? Fifty cents? I don't want to buy the whole place, I just want a cup of coffee and a piece of pie. Next thing you know they're going to charge a quarter just for a cup of coffee. 1950 InventoryMissing in stores today: Kodak and Ansco Film Ronson Cigarette Lighters Irvin S Cobb Corn Cob Pipes Westclox & Big Ben Alarm Clocks Waterman Pens Scripto Mechanical Pencils Dills Pipe Tobacco Blackstone, Robert Burns & El Producto Cigars 3 in 1 Oil Still There: Tums Kleenex Topps Gum Coca Cola I was surprised to find outThat you could still buy one of those Moist-N-Aire machines. I'd like to have a cherry Coke, club sandwich and an order of fries, please. Complete blast from my past!My father owned a Luncheonette in Passaic until 1977. I have some fond and some not-so-fond memories of it. But everything in this photo rings the nostalgia bell in me. His store wider than this, but the stools and counter and various wares are all familiar friends. My job at the age of 4 was to stock cigarettes and make Heinz soup in the electric soup maker. I still have two of his three malt mixers and they still work! Thanks for the memories. Are those bunnies?As I time-traveled back to 1950 to stroll around this wonderful establishment, I think it was near Easter because on the top of the display counter on the extreme left there appears to be a display of cellophane-wrapped chocolate rabbits near a collection of chocolate eggs in egg cartons. Also, on the far back wall, left side of photo, it looks like Easter candy novelties. Of course it could just be wishful thinking since there was something unique and especially delicious about chocolate rabbits in those days that just do not taste the same anymore. RonsonsI see my dad's old lighter on display. All that's missing is the pack of Parliaments. Having grown up in NYC this brings back such fond memories. A couple of things that haven't changed.Note the napkin the sugar dispensers. Go into any Waffle House in the South and you will find those exact dispensers. I always hated the napkins, they were too small and light. Couldn't clean your hands if you got syrup on them. But I love the photo, brings memories of the great "real" milkshakes you could get at a drugstore counter. Made in a metal tumbler and poured into a real glass. The chocolate was great not the imitation you get nowadays. And of course the paper straws. Thanks for sharing. Give or take a year or twoMost Europeans were just getting rid of ration cards. So a store like this would have been a major cultural shock for them, even for those who had actually been off rationing for some time. West of the Iron Curtain, that is. East of that? I can't even imagine. I'd be sitting at that counter!Wow, does this photo bring back memories. It looks just like the place my friends and I would "hang out" at at lunch time and after school, right down to the way it's set up with the phone booths in back. We'd buy cigarettes from a machine (put in 30 cents and get 2 cents change back on the side of the pack). Luckily, I didn't smoke too long. Cokes were either 5 or 10 cents and an order of fries was 15 cents. The guy who owned the place and his wife were like grandparents to us. They really cared about the kids. Pens and phonesYou can still buy Waterman fountain pens, Mr Mel ... but not in a drugstore. But when I looked at this photo, I tried to imagine getting to the phone booths past a couple of kids spinning like dervishes on those stools. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Parking In New Orleans: 1965
... Fats Domino song? Here is a second image from the trip to New Orleans; this time up the street from the Café Du Monde near the levee. New Orleans residents can correct me here, but wouldn't this be about in front ... 
 
Posted by Jim Page - 10/12/2012 - 8:26pm -

Doesn't that sound like the title of a Fats Domino song? Here is a second image from the trip to New Orleans; this time up the street from the Café Du Monde near the levee. New Orleans residents can correct me here, but wouldn't this be about in front of the (then) Jax Beer factory? I've heard that there are now apartments in that cool building; if that's so, I'd love to live there!!! Lots of cars here but probably not enough shown to identify any of them. View full size. Great photoYou're right about the location. Here's the approximate placement today: View Larger Map You were about a block north of JAX. To the right is St. Louis Cathedral. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
New Orleans Bride: 1888
... a photographer's studio near the Old French Opera House in New Orleans. I am not at home with the pic and I forgot to scan the back, so I ... 
 
Posted by catsoldpics73 - 06/28/2011 - 11:02am -

My great-x-2 grandmother, Anna Aldige Hindermann. This was taken in 1888 because she and Franz Hindermann were married May 16, 1888. It was taken at a photographer's studio near the Old French Opera House in New Orleans. I am not at home with the pic and I forgot to scan the back, so I don't have the exact address. She has a connection with photography, actually. She was first cousin to Ernest Bellocq. She lived to be 89 and was younger than Franz, so she outlived him by more than 30 years. The story is she would walk to the grave and talk to him. Also, I am told she said she had better conversations with him after his death than when he was alive. She also lost her mother, a sister, and a niece in a shipwreck and had to deal with her oldest daughter, my great-grandmother, eloping. View full size. LovelyA lovely bride, and a lovely gown. Wedding gowns today are almost indecent. This gown is modest and beautiful. Call me old-fashioned. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Steeling Home: 1941
... the buses still run out to Aliquippa. 14 years later, New Orleans Inevitably reminds me of Robert Frank's 1955 photo of a New Orleans trolley. In choice of subject and framing, Delano and Frank evoke ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/04/2022 - 5:30pm -

January 1941. "Busload of steelworkers going home. Aliquippa, Pennsylvania." Medium format acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The rest of the busThis appears to be a Twin Coach bus from the late 1930s, possibly a 30-R model. Here is a photo of this type of bus as seen in Los Angeles. Been there, done thatBack in the early 2000s, I used to ride the 16A - Aliquippa bus to and from work in downtown Pittsburgh. Routes have changed since then. I'm not even sure the buses still run out to Aliquippa. 14 years later, New OrleansInevitably reminds me of Robert Frank's 1955 photo of a New Orleans trolley. In choice of subject and framing, Delano and Frank evoke two different social conditions and two styles of documentary photography. Both of these great photographers of the American scene were immigrants: Delano from what is now Ukraine and Frank from Switzerland. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Factories, Jack Delano)
The Dog-House: 1940
1940. "New Orleans, Louisiana. Old building at Rampart and Bienville streets." Medium ... else about him tells me he can take you places in New Orleans that are not included in the Chamber of Commerce list of local ... driver" was MPW. - Dave] From the 1938 WPA Guide to New Orleans Dog House, 300 North Rampart St., is open from 9 P.M. until 4 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/23/2019 - 6:32pm -

1940. "New Orleans, Louisiana. Old building at Rampart and Bienville streets." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Don't bother looking on Google street viewOne modern building and three parking lots :-( Take me somewhere special, driverThe cap pushed jauntily back on his head tells me the guy in the white shirt leaning against the corner is the driver of the Checker Cab at left. Everything else about him tells me he can take you places in New Orleans that are not included in the Chamber of Commerce list of local attractions. Oh, that Marion Post Wolcott asked to go photograph such a place. Not for the smut, but for the depth she brought to her subjects. [MPW didn't "ask to go" photograph this place. - Dave] Sorry, I should have said: Oh, that Marion Post Wolcott had asked the driver to take her to such a place. Not for the smut or the violence, but for the depth she brought to her subjects. ["The driver" was MPW. - Dave] From the 1938 WPA Guide to New OrleansDog House, 300 North Rampart St., is open from 9 P.M. until 4 A.M. Both jazz orchestra and floor show are colored, and three performances are given nightly, 11 P.M., 1.30 and 3 A.M. A high-class place, says the proprietor, for middle class people, and one where they can have freedom of body and soul. The taxi girls bring their lunch. Can't be 1940With that at least 1942 Chevrolet, already rough around the edges, lurking there on the left. [The car is a 1941 Chevrolet, introduced in 1940; both cars have 1940 plates. - Dave] Big Yellow TaxiDon't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got til its gone They paved paradise And put up a parking lot A floor show at 3:30 AM? Wow. As a habitue of bars in my youth I remember bars and their customers at the usual closing time of 2 AM but 3:30 AM customers watching a floor show must have been a thing of beauty to behold to a people watcher and a pub crawler like me. According to google View there are 3 parking lots at this corner so I'm going with the hope I called the shot of a parking lot where the Dog House stood. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, M.P. Wolcott)
Port of New Orleans
... detailed: Lafayette Square and Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans, Port of New Orleans, and family farmhouse locations nearby New Orleans. View full ... 
 
Posted by Christoph Traugott - 02/24/2017 - 8:22pm -

Found in an attic, M. A. Seeds (Seed Dry Plate Co.) and Hammer Dry Plates (Ludwig F. Hammer of St. Louis). Locations detailed: Lafayette Square and Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans, Port of New Orleans, and family farmhouse locations nearby New Orleans. View full size. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
The Sultan's Palace: 1937
New Orleans, 1937. "Le Pretre Mansion, 716 Dauphine Street, built 1835-6. ... size. Iron Lace There is nothing more iconically New Orleans than lacy ironwork balconies and long shuttered windows. I'm so in ... still exists? I'm from Oregon, but I've always loved New Orleans and will be back soon to visit. I'd love to put this gem on my ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 4:05pm -

New Orleans, 1937. "Le Pretre Mansion, 716 Dauphine Street, built 1835-6. Joseph Saba house. Also called House of the Turk." As well as the Sultan's Palace. 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Iron LaceThere is nothing more iconically New Orleans than lacy ironwork balconies and long shuttered windows. I'm so in love with this image! Does anyone know if this building still exists? I'm from Oregon, but I've always loved New Orleans and will be back soon to visit. I'd love to put this gem on my list of places to see if it's there! One last question - is it because of potential flooding that the home appears to be built one story above the street entry level? Do those lower floors get used at all, or are they essentially a basement? IntoxicatingAnyone who has spent time in New Orleans knows there is no other place quite like it. It creates an atmosphere that is almost mind-altering, with the close, sultry, earthy air (no air conditioning in those days) and the curious, intimate stillness that occasionally occurs as in this photo, streets deserted with no signs of life except a bit of trash lying in the gutter. Where is everybody? They are inside and there lies the inspiration for the imagination. Especially intriguing are the rooms behind the real, fully functional shutters, open to air, closed to rain. Are the people within just trying to stay cool with overhead fans, are they cooking spicy, savory red beans and rice, are they making crazy love, sipping sweet tea and sampling pralines, listening to Louis Armstrong on the Victrola? I am transported back there by this so-accurate portrayal of a New Orleans street to where I can smell the smells and feel the surrounding humanity close, but unseen. Thank you Shorpy. As we know, you can leave New Orleans but New Orleans NEVER leaves you. Nice words, OTYYou've captured so beautifully what makes New Orleans unique. It is one of the world's great cities "with a feel" that you just can't and won't find anywhere else. I've been there half a dozen times or so, and every time I visit that curious intimate stillness you speak of strikes me. Harem of HorrorI've spent many a night in this house but I never heard the thump of heads of the Sultan's harem rolling down the stairs ... just the thump of tipsy neighbors falling up the stairs! http://www.nola.com/haunted/harem/hauntings/murder.html http://www.neworleansghosts.com/haunted_new_orleans.htm ["The Sultan's Massacre" makes a good ghost story, although it doesn't seem to be anything more than that -- a story. Any actual massacre would have been recorded in the newspapers of the day, and the "sultan" would have a name. If I had to pin one on him I'd say it was the Muslim entrepreneur Joseph Saba, who bought 716 Dauphine, along with several other New Orleans properties, after coming to America from Syria in 1886. What with Syria being part of the Ottoman Empire at the time, he could have been considered Turkish, although he wasn't a sultan, and seems to have died of natural causes. - Dave] The beauty of cast ironNow that large buildings are made of glass and steel, we see what we have lost: romance. Desiring a streetcarIts a shame that they tore out almost all of the streetcar system, the local traffic from Bywater to Carrollton and everywhere in between is miserable and could be seriously helped by better transit than the buses. Thank goodness for Google maps!This wonderful building still stands at the corner of Dauphine and Orleans Streets. It looks like most of the incredible ironwork is still there, as are the original shutters (some missing a few slats). The trolley car tracks are long gone, torn up and asphalted over, as happened in so many American cities in the decades between 1930 and 1950. Does the personal-injury lawyer who occupies the building know its history and alias? Let's hope a friend sends her to Shorpy if she doesn't. View Larger Map Thanks, Dave, for adding the map link. Shorpy has made a reflex out of the use of Google maps for street-level architectural site obit checking. Yes. The building is still there.This one, in particular has a good ghost story about it. A deposed Sultan rented the place and fillled it with harem girls and armed guards, not participating in the regular Creole culture of the City at all. Every single person in the building was found butchered to death one night. The people were chopped into little bits and the police couldn't tell how many people were killed. So the place is haunted. "They" say that it was his brother, the real Sultan who had the entourage killed, the murderers escaped before the crime was known to the public. I went to a garage sale in the courtyard once and pass by the building all the time. I just love living here in the Quarter. Many homes are elevated or have storage type basements that are actually sitting on ground floor. Re: Iron LaceThe French Quarter is on the highest ground in New Orleans, and since the installation of pumps in the 1890s, flooding, beyond an inch or so in the street, has been a rare event. The lower floors of all buildings in the Quarter are functional. True, subgrade basements are very rare in New Orleans. Dauphine dreamI was a bellman at a bed and breakfast on Dauphine Street my freshman year at Tulane in 1985. I had to be at work at 7 am Saturday and Sunday. I rode my bike from uptown, and this picture really reminds me of the early morning stillness of the Quarter. IronworkMuch of the intricate and beautiful wrought iron that has helped make New Orleans so unique was actually made in the industrial North, mostly Cincinnati. Then it was floated down the Ohio River to the Mississippi River and onto the balconies and steps and whatnot in N.O. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston, New Orleans)
The Wild Bunch: 1905
... by 1960. Same scene in 1954 February 1954 at New Orleans, our Navy destroyer tied up next to an unloading banana boat where ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/02/2012 - 4:15pm -

New York circa 1905. "Unloading at banana docks." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Normal lifeI love that this photo doesn't look staged. It's just real life, capturing a second in time, long ago. The ship on the right is listing to port, probably unloading cargo. Oh yes, we have bananasI hope the guy in the white shirt made enough money that day to buy the other suspender and the other half of his haircut. Watch your step!That dock looks like a pratfall waiting to happen. Work EthicWow, it never changes does it: A bunch of people standing around while one or two people do all the work! Ha! ArmedI think the guy in the bowler on the right is packing a Colt under his coat. What a fantastic pictureAll the detail. All the action. All the people standing around doing nothing. Old Time BananasThese bananas look to be of different shape (more like plantains) than the modern commercially available variety. They are probably "Gros Michel"(Big Mike), which were the bananas commercially exported before "Panama disease" fungus ravaged commercial banana plantations. The switch was made to a resistant variety (Cavendish) in the 1950s and that variety has become ubiquitous at least in North America. Supposedly, the older Gros Michel bananas were better tasting, but I've yet to have one. Hemmenway's Sail Loft Recreation, Vol. 3, 1895 S. Hemmenway & Son, 60 South St., New York City. Yacht and Canoe Sails. Flags and Burgees. Tents. Canvas Covers and Camp Furniture of Every Description. Send 5-cent stamp for our Tent and Flag Catalogue. Highly inefficientIt took way too many supervisors to unload bananas back then. Bananas R UsThere certainly are a lot of serious men with a deep and abiding interest in bananas. I presume they are the brokers or buyers of bananas. It also appears that the bananas were unloaded by hand from the hold of the ship. No nets or other mechanical devices appear to be in use that might damage the fruit. Hey Mr. Tally Man!Judging by everyone's faical expressions, nobody wants to be on that damn boat. Day, me say day, me say day......Come Mister tally man, tally me banana.... Yes, we have no bananasThese must be the "Big Mike" (Gros Michel) variety of banana. Susceptible to a fungus, it was virtually extinct by 1960. Same scene in 1954February 1954 at New Orleans, our Navy destroyer tied up next to an unloading banana boat where bunches that were yellow were discarded at the dock. We had a field day until we got sick of them. StickyMagnetic hats -- who'd have thought. Many bananas laterImage from Google Street View: Looks like only one building from those days survived. Here it is in a shot near FDR Drive, looking up Wall Street. I knew the Shorpy photo was taken near there, because the Hemmenway sail company was located at the foot of Wall Street. A bunch of ...Took me a moment to grasp the "Wild Bunch" allusion. I was too busy thinking "Torrid Zone" (basically, The Front Page on a banana plantation), and wondering if Jimmy Cagney had gotten that shipment loaded. BananappealThe present banana variety does not taste nearly so good as the one I ate as a boy. I loved those bananas. The new variety I eat only as an addition to some other dish. BTW, I heard the other day bananas are Walmart's biggest selling item. Second: Avatar. Proto AT&TCan anyone identify the tallest building in the picture? Pretty conspicuous for this era but I've never seen it before. MetacommentaryI love Shorpy and often feature the pictures on my blog - here's a little writeup I did after the reaction I got to posting this picture. Sixty Wall BuildingThe tallest building on that photo is Sixty Wall Building. Built 1905, razed 1975 along with other buildings. Until 1987 a parking lot. 60 Wall Street built in 1989 is there now. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Horses, NYC)
Leviathan: 1926
... Crescent" - that refers to the Cincinnati - Chattanooga - New Orleans route, and was applied to no. 6689) and assigned to the new, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 10:13pm -

Washington, D.C., or vicinity circa 1926. "Southern R.R. Co. Crescent Locomotive 1396." View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. Queen Crescent LimitedA short history of the Queen Crescent Limited. 1396, 1926 Still puffin'I have lived in Chattanooga and more than once rode on the excursion trains pulled by this locomotive! (see history link) I must compliment Dave on the enlargements of small details in the photos. Reminds me of the movie "Call Northside 777" in which the murderer is caught because the photo lab enlarges the date printed on a newspaper held by a newsboy! Ever tried newspapers, Dave? [Yes indeedy. - Dave] One of your best yet.This is one of your best yet. Very handsome. Cheers to you and the National Photo Company. Southern ClassA Great Railway. Great class of loco: Ps4. Same as the one in the Smithsonian. WOW!! ExcursionsAs far as excursions, you're probably thinking of Southern Ry. #4501, a freight engine, which was bought back from a shortline, and painted-and-otherwise-gussied-up to represent a passenger engine. It pulled many excursions starting in 1966. The real SR passenger steamers didn't make it past 1953 or so. (When the management realized steam excursions would be a real crowd-pleaser, the one in the Smithsonian was already "trapped inside.") WowBravo. Old 1396Beautiful engine absolutely beautiful! She was built 9 years & 9 months before I came along. Reminds me of the troop trains in the 1940s, heading south on the L&N Line as they passed through my hometown in central Kentucky, a little burg called Wildie in Rockcastle County. Wish I was back there now. Greatest achievementI maintain that the steam locomotive remains mankind's greatest accomplishment. WOWThis photo was taken in Southern Railway's yard in Alexandria, near the King Street station - if you look just to the right of the most distant power pole, you can see the George Washington Masonic Temple. No. 1396 was one of the first 12 PS4s delivered in Southern Railway's new "Sylvan Green" paint scheme. Most were lettered "Southern" on the tender, but no. 1396 was lettered "Crescent Limited" (not "Queen & Crescent" - that refers to the Cincinnati - Chattanooga - New Orleans route, and was applied to no. 6689) and assigned to the new, all-Pullman luxury train of the same name. Alexandria YardThe George Washington National Masonic Memorial was dedicated in 1923 but not mostly completed until 1932, so I don't believe that appears adjacent to the far telegraph pole. I believe this view is looking roughly east, with the wooden yard office to the right of the locomotive. About where the boxcars are out of view in the distance is where Hoofe's Run crossed under the tracks. -- Frank R. Scheer, Railway Mail Service Library Museum PieceThe same class of locomotive photographed by me in 2006 when I visited the Smithsonian's railroad section. My favoriteThis is my favorite of the images posted on Shorpy this past year. I don't know why; I'm not interested in railroads or big machines. I keep coming back to it, though. Perhaps it's because despite my disinterest I admire this magnificent machine and the work that went into creating and maintaining it. It makes me think about traveling and I imagine how people of the time would have looked at it in awe and thought of the big cities and world beyond their own region. Thanks Dave and crew for the work you've done and thanks to all the insightful Shorpy posters. Best wishes for the new year, and many more intriguing photos and enlightening posts. Looking east toward Callahan StreetThis view of the Southern Railway yard in Alexandria is looking east. The Masonic Temple would be behind the photographer's left shoulder. The little yard shacks were on the other side of Callahan Street. These shacks were there as late as 1980 or so as I have a photo of them. The roundhouse was to the right of the locomotive, probably out of the picture. The building to the right may be the yard office. The Northern Virginia Model RR club occupied a building in this approximate location for about 20 years from the early '50s until the early '70s. Herby's Ford was located to the left of the photo, on the opposite side of the Callahan Street crossing. It was built soon after WW2. Leviathan in colorSadly there are no contemporary color images of Ps-4s in their early days, but my friend Tom Alderman of Mayretta, GA has given us an idea of what it looked like on that day in Alexandria when 1396 posed for the camera. (The Gallery, Natl Photo, Railroads)
The Big Easy: 1935
October 1935. "Scene in Jackson Square, New Orleans." 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn for the Farm Security ... guess she is single. Ma and Pa Kettle do New Orleans. (The Gallery, Ben Shahn, New Orleans) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 4:40pm -

October 1935. "Scene in Jackson Square, New Orleans." 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Lean TimesSort of a Jack Sprat genre perhaps. Owww. owww..What's in the box? All dressed up and nowhere to goThey seem very smart to just be hanging around on a park bench. Although they are similarly dressed, they don't seem to be together, given the amount of space between them, maybe just a sign of the times? Run, Forrest, RunWould you care for a chocolate? Close encounters of the weird kindI've had the pleasure of strolling Jackson Square several times. The sights are always entertaining to say the least. However,on our last visit we encountered the Naked Cowboy. My wife was amused. I on the other hand was scarred for life emotionally by the experience. Sassy!She knows she is the bee's knees and she knows what she wants. Today it seems she wants him! Poor fellow looks a bit nervous, doesn't he? First thing that popped into my mind wasI wonder if this is Mr. & Mrs. Jack Sprat. BoothesquePerhaps these characters inspired some of George Booth's cartoons. 3/4 Century laterPark bench in Jackson Sqaure recently. Emotional BookendsShe seems either laid back and calm, or perhaps just worn-down by her companion's agitation. Nervous Norvus, on the other hand, seems to have his engine running well above idle. He sits there striking match after match just to drop them near his feet. Judging by his glare, he may go postal at any minute. Yikes. Not that easyWhat a picture - it begs a caption. Her: "Hey sailor, wanna have some fun?" Him: "I'm not that easy!" BenchedGlad that another commenter mentioned the benches in Jackson Square are still the same. It's always a good spot for a rest & people watching. Shhhh"Act natural, they're watching us." Laissez les bon temps roulez!These two didn't get the memo. AttitudeThe geezer's seen a lot over the years and views life with realistic suspicion. Mom's seen a lot too, but she don't care. What's the geezer got in his hands? Wimp & wifeThis has to be Mr & Mrs Wallace Wimple, on vacation from Wistful Vista. No CommentThis picture is begging for a comment and I feel that I should. But I am at a loss for words. Mysterious.I keep coming back to this photo. Who are they? What are they doing? What's she got in that case? And why can't I afford terrific glasses like he's wearing? More than anything, though, these two make me think of a half-dozen different Flannery O'Connor stories. He's a little bit too well-dressed, but otherwise, they'd fit right in. SaddlesSome mighty fine shoes on the old battleax. An affluent gent, and the travelling saleswomanThe Gent has a lean and hungry look, and a nice fedora. A pricey hat by the width of the band. Expensive spectacles, and a nice silk cravat, of a pattern I do not recognize as one belonging to an affinity group. His tie is not too well knotted so he probably did the chore himself. A spring tie bar instead of a tac, and a lapel pin, probably service connected. Good suit, likely HS&M, which he has not troubled to slack at the knees. So he will either wind up with baggy knees - or he is affluent enough not to care. Expensive shoes, well broken in, in need of a shine. Carrying what appears to be an art deco pipe so is probably a smoker. Socks typical of the pre-lycra era, baggy. Probably a respectable merchant, waiting on the streetcar. The woman is reasonably well dressed, with the white blouse and dark suit of the saleswoman. Not too particular about posture, or in wearing what passed for upper story support at the time. Notice she is wearing pantalettes instead of a slip, and typical silk hosiery. The shoes were not chosen to match the suit, so she probably is not worried about her feet being seen at work. She's carrying a typical salesman's case, which could be a "pitchman's kiester" but I see no "tripes" to go with it. She could be a street vendor, a pitchwoman, but it's more likely she is employed as sales staff at one of the many nearby stores. La Maison, perhaps. Whatever her position, she is certainly interested in the man, so it's a reasonable guess she is single. Ma and Pa Kettledo New Orleans. (The Gallery, Ben Shahn, New Orleans)
The Rookery: 1938
... look after one. Fast Forward to... some areas in New Orleans, post Katrina, and there's not much difference! Looks like an ... isn't falling down, go to Laura Plantation , outside New Orleans. Trees and Hurricanes The records indicate a hurricane based ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 11:03am -

1938. St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. "The Rookery, Trepagnier House. Norco vicinity. Abandoned plantation house now occupied by Negroes." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Whoa!I've been rooked! Trepagnier PlantationThe Trepagnier Plantation was expropriated, along with several others, by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers to build the Bonnet Carre' Spillway. http://www.pbase.com/septembermorn/image/99857528 Amazing perspectiveFrances Benjamin Johnston has definitely become my new favorite photographer. Her capture of dilapidated but still architecturally interesting buildings is beyond compare. While I'm sure this house was never grand, it was well-designed. I would love to have seen the inside of all of the homes FBJ photographed. Needs TLCThe stairs are the definition of negligence, and the porch roof isn't doing its job. Much. Now occupied by photographersInteresting to learn that Russell Lee also photographed this house. Too bad it's no longer available. Stranger than fiction"Always Something Interesting" just doesn't say it well enough. This is the fascinatingest image you have posted. Thanks, Dave, for such wonderful glimpses into our history that the books just don't cover. LaundryI'd guess that a laundress lives here, that the drying clothes are someone else's. Health and SafetyPersonally, I'd move the bed away from the area of the chimney. Wash n WearIf this photo was taken in the middle of summer, those clothes would be dry in no time flat! I know. I live here and it's normal for the summer days to be at 95 degees or more. Also from the tops of the trees, it looks like there might have been a recent hurricane pass through. That's about how they look after one. Fast Forward to...some areas in New Orleans, post Katrina, and there's not much difference! Looks like an old plantation house1700s. I see the timber/columbage construction...turned French columns. In a state of severe decay and I'm sure demolished today? Wash DayLooks like the washing machine works, but the dryer must be out of order. Need a new wordSubstandard doesn't quite work here. Ante-antebellumThat is the predecessor of the Palladian plantation houses you usually see in the Civil War movies. Notice the brick ground floor to protect against water, and the half timbered upper floor that still has some stucco that hasn't washed away yet. It's a combination of traditional European and African architecture that evolved in the extremely wet climate here in Louisiana. That's pure LouisianaNothing to do with Palladianism. Sleep under the starsDo you suppose that's for the cool night breeze, or out of fear of the roof collapsing while you are asleep? No CrackersThat's a Creole House! Yesiree. No white anglo-columns and palladian front doors here. Simple and breezy. It's trueWe may live in a dirty run down house, but gosh darnit our clothes are CLEAN! Tells a long and vast storySo correct about the laundress. This must be one of my very favorite photos seen on Shorpy. Top to bottom, what a picture! 1811 Revolt Trepagnier House was the primary site of an 1811 slave revolt that resulted in the killing of plantation owner Jean-François Trépagnier. Many of the descendants Trepagnier's slaves inhabited the plantation property years after the Civil War, well into the 20th century. Shell Chemical bought the plantation land in the 1950s, which is now the site of a refinery. The building was demolished at that time. Little boyI'm haunted by that beautiful little boy sitting on the stairs looking straight into the camera. Incredible to think that a slave revolt took place here. That's Creole, cherThis house is classic Creole architecture from the earliest years of the 1800s. To see an example of this style that isn't falling down, go to Laura Plantation, outside New Orleans. Trees and HurricanesThe records indicate a hurricane based through Morgan City on June 16th, 1934. This hurricane could have easily struck St. Charles Parish. At the same time, the trees haven't been seriously damaged in the past several years. Notice how fine the branches are on almost every major limb. I'm guessing they are just old trees. I'd also guess that if a hurricane had hit this area, the roof would be in much worse shape than it is. Don Hall Yreka, CA Re: 1811 Revolt Trepagnier House was a site along the way of a failed 1811 slave revolt that resulted in the murder of plantation owner Jean-François Trépagnier. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston)
Price, Birch & Company: 1865
... half the coastal slave trade from Virginia and Maryland to New Orleans. In 1846 the property was sold to a Franklin and Armfield agent, ... dealership Northrup went through in 1841 on his was to New Orleans. At the time, Alexandria City and Alexandria County were still ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 7:26pm -

Union Army guard at Price, Birch & Co. slave pen at Alexandria, Virginia, circa 1865. Detail of albumen print. View full size. Photograph by Andrew J. Russell. still more infoI accidentally left the address off of that last comment. It's listed as "1315 Duke Street" Here is the location in google maps. This is only a few miles from where I currently live. Perhaps I'll try to get down there this weekend and shoot some shots of the front of the building as it appears now. If so, I'll post a note and link here. -gary [Thanks Gary. Here's a satellite view of the address. - Dave] more infoMore info, via: http://oha.alexandriava.gov/oha-main/oha-natl-register.html Franklin and Armfield Office Click to enlarge Built in 1812 as a residence for General Andrew Young, this was the office building of the former interstate slave trading complex which stood on the site from 1828 to 1861. By 1835 Franklin and Armfield controlled nearly half the coastal slave trade from Virginia and Maryland to New Orleans. In 1846 the property was sold to a Franklin and Armfield agent, George Kephart, whose business became "the chief slave-dealing firm in [Virginia] and perhaps anywhere along the border between the Free and Slave States." After 1858, the slave pen was known as Price, Birch, and Co., and their sign can be seen in a Civil War era photograph. The business was appalling to many, especially to active abolitionists in Alexandria, where the large Quaker population contributed to a general distaste for slavery. Several abolitionists' accounts survive which describe the slave pen and the conditions encountered therein. Behind the house was a yard containing several structures, surrounded by a high, whitewashed brick wall. Male slaves were located in a yard to the west, while women and children were kept in a yard to the east, separated by a passage and a strong grated door of iron. The complex served as a Civil War prison from 1861 to 1865, and housed the Alexandria Hospital from 1878 to 1885. It was later apartments, and was renovated as offices in 1984. source?The slave pen series is fascinating. Have you any idea who took the photos, and why? And, what are the half-barrel-like things lying on their sides in the last image? Slave pen photosThe exterior view is by Andrew J. Russell, who has hundreds of Civil War era photographs in the Library of Congress archives. The interior shots, each half of a stereograph pair, are unattributed but might have been taken by him also. The things on the floor look like watering troughs for horses and may have been stored there by the Union Army. Price, Birch, and Co. Slave TradingDo you know the names of the "Price" and "Birch" involved in this? I've seen this before and am a "Birch" myself and wondered about this. Birch and BirchettI am wondering if there is a relationship between the names Birch and Birchett (also Burchett, Burchette and Birchette). I am wondering if the other names evolved from the root name, in some way I do know that Birchetts were large slave holders in St. Petersburg, Virginia. Great Intentional IronyThe building still exists with slightly different details (such as the window frames). In a wonderful bit of intentional irony, the building is now the headquarters of the Northern Virginia Urban League. I spoke to a historian about the building to verify that it was indeed the same one as in the photograph and he confirmed that it was. He also said that during renovation, they found iron attachments in the basement that may have been used to anchor shackles. +145Below is the same view from December of 2010. Solomon Northrup Was HereThis was the slave dealership Northrup went through in 1841 on his was to New Orleans. At the time, Alexandria City and Alexandria County were still part of the District of Columbia. They were retroceded back to Virginia in 1846. Four years later, the slave trade was abolished in the District of Columbia. (The Gallery, Civil War)
Milk Runner: 1903
Louisiana circa 1903. "New Orleans milk cart." Bonus points if you can Street View this. 8x10 inch ... at the front gate indicating the address before the great New Orleans street address renumbering of 1894. Got Fark? Farked ... this into condos! (The Gallery, DPC, Farked, Horses, New Orleans) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 3:50pm -

Louisiana circa 1903. "New Orleans milk cart." Bonus points if you can Street View this. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Milk deliveriesIn the days before milk bottles, people would bring their own containers to the curb to be filled by the milkman. I imagine you paid by the ladle-full. Comparisons This horse looks a hell of a lot better than those French Market Steeds. Horse StopInteresting for the shallow depth of field; most of these old pics look like they were shot at f/64. It does make the subject stand out. I'm a bit confusedIs this milk being delivered to individual homes? If so, was it dipped out into containers the customers had on hand? Before they taxed our cars--Notice that the horse cart has a license plate, way back in 1903. Also notice how beat up it is. 2100 block of Esplanade Avenue and N. Miro StreetI pass these houses every day on my way to work. I'm not sure how to Street View this. EurekaI noticed the streetcar tracks running down the center of the street, which led me to Esplanade Avenue and eventually to here: [Bravo! Clapclapclap! - Dave] View Larger Map Hold on ... I gave the location 2 hrs earlierClap calp to me! [Calp calp! The challenge was to Street View this location -- Flababo was the first. Both comments were published simultaneously, so Flababo did not see yours even though it was made earlier. Kudos to you, too. - Dave] Who Knows?Living in southern England, I've no idea about any of the locations here. I just enjoy the amazing array of photos posted on Shorpy. Below the kneesFor those who've been wondering if they used a ladle or something, look closely and you'll see a spigot on the milk containers, at about knee level. RefrigerationIt's always been a source of interest for me how anyone kept perishable foods in the age before the era of refrigerators and refrigerated trucks. Here you have two large containers of milk, which don't appear to be refrigerated at all, or if anything maybe there's some ice in the box on which it sits, but I can imagine in a 96 degree summer day in Louisiana the surface of those containers would be hot to the touch in a matter of 10 minutes. [Milk cans like these were double-walled and packed with ice. - Dave] BrandingIs that double X above the horses's front leg a brand? I didn't know it was customary to brand horses there. I See YouHouse on the left, there appears to be a lady on the second floor balcony over by the bay windows shaking out rugs or pillows or airing out something. Just a typical weekday morning on Esplanade Avenue with everyone going about their daily humdrum chores. I must admit I thought it was St. Charles Ave., perhaps the house from the movie "Pretty Baby" but I was wrong (yet again). Carry on. On the tapIn the case of these cans, I see that there is a tap on the front of the can nearest us. Smaller cans were available in pints, quarts, etc., and would be filled by the milkman. In more rural areas, you would leave your empty cans at the end of your drive and the milkman would replace them with full cans, taking away the empties. When I was a kid, the empty glass jars (and then plastic ones) were taken by the milkman and replaced by bottles you had requested. You would leave a note or an order form stuck into the neck of one of the empties. In cold weather (after we started locking our front doors for security -- before that the milkman would simply open the door and leave the bottles in the foyer) the milk would sometimes freeze and the little cardboard cap would pop out and be stuck on an extruded bit of frozen milk. Ow.Interesting brand on the horse’s shoulder. Esplanade AvenueI passed by these houses today. No milk carts, but some other wheeled vehicles. For anyone who wants to live in a Shorpy photo (and has a good chunk of change in their pocket), I notice that the house on the left of the photo is currently for sale. It even still has tiles in the sidewalk at the front gate indicating the address before the great New Orleans street address renumbering of 1894. Got Fark?Farked again! The Listinghttp://www.fqr.com/index/listings/residential/details/818728 Love that upper porch and the beautiful staircase. If only I had a cool $1.5M around just begging to be spent. I can only hope that the buyer does not, as the listing suggests, convert this into condos! (The Gallery, DPC, Farked, Horses, New Orleans)
Buy Their Fruits: 1906
1906. "The French Market -- New Orleans." Yes, they have bananas, and you can compare apples and oranges, ... the Banana Man In 1906, Sam Zemurray had been living in New Orleans for over a year and had already acquired the Cuyamel Fruit Company. ... to point out September marked the tricentenniel of New Orleans' street grid. Let the good times roll(out)! A sorry sight ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/19/2022 - 3:08pm -

1906. "The French Market -- New Orleans." Yes, they have bananas, and you can compare apples and oranges, too. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Loving you has made me bananasThe pretty lady with a pout (near the bananas) is, in my mind, experiencing a slight -- ahem -- bit of friction with the gentleman (pork pie hat) standing to the left, gazing at her. I think he wants to appease her in some way but she is having none of it. Perhaps he has offended her by suggesting that she buy a few bananas and a jar of peanut butter -- still a relatively new invention -- and try putting them together in a sandwich. Meanwhile the other gentleman (bowler hat), having overheard their tiff, has discreetly averted his gaze out of respect for the couple in their awkward moment. BOGOGet a pound of road apples free with every pound of fruit you buy. You pick and bag the free product! Sam the Banana ManIn 1906, Sam Zemurray had been living in New Orleans for over a year and had already acquired the Cuyamel Fruit Company. Great biography by Rich Cohen: The Fish That Ate the Whale. 300 years of rueful streetsThe sight of this delightful variant of the traditional Belgian block pavers seems as good a reason as any to point out September marked the tricentenniel of New Orleans' street grid. Let the good times roll(out)! A sorry sightNo, not the French Market; it's that poor old horse in the foreground. It looks to be nearing the end of a hard life and in need of veterinary care. In a better life it would've had some TLC and days of ease in a peaceful pasture before its days were done. The buying power of a dimeLet's see, for 10 cents I could buy: * A dozen bananas in the 1906 New Orleans French Market, or * Three hot dogs and a made-to-order lemonade in 1906 Manhattan, New York, or * A bridal tour or auto ride in 1906 Chester Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, or * A box of sulphur and molasses kisses in 1907 Hartford, Connecticut, or * A baked potato in 1909 at the Hotel Secor in Toledo, Ohio, or * An orchestra seat in 1910 at the Theatre Comique in Detroit, Michigan, or * Two tickets to a three-reel movie in 1912 at Moore's Garden Theatre in Washington, D.C., or * A refreshing Bevo in 1917 Oklahoma City. I'd probably go with the orchestra seat. The offer nine hours of continuous high-class performances and I can stay as long as I like. Garic's BakeryIt opened in 1885 and was one of 150 bakeries listed in the city directory. This site outlines it's its history. It passed through several different owners after the founding family sold it in 1952. It remained a bakery through sometime on the early 1970s. The place was the last bakery to produce hardtack. The HorseAdding to SWA's comment. That poor horse in the foreground has serious health problems. Its legs are all bent, distended stomach, coat all mangy, and many other issues. The poor animal should have been retired a long time before this sorry moment. Maybe its owner just considered the horses as a 'thing' and as long as it could pull a cart there was no concern. (The Gallery, DPC, Horses, New Orleans, Stores & Markets)
Upstairs, Downstairs: 1907
... & Crescent System, which included the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific, so it would have been incorporated into the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2012 - 1:27pm -

Circa 1907. "Cliff stairway, High Bridge, Kentucky." Oops, forgot my car keys, brb. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Cliff now?Is this in the now-Norfolk Southern Rathole Division between Kentucky and Tennessee? High Bridge is quite a site. My wife and I have been over it a couple of times on J611 and 1218 excursons. I understand in the old days the railway ran trips out to the gorge and participants enjoyed picnics and hikes down to the river...and now, thanks to Shorpy, I can see how they got down to the river. Wow, quite a climb! I wonder where the railway bridge is from here? Those rocksTruly a geologist's dream. I'm CertainVery few tried to slide down those bannisters! And it wouldn't be just fear of splinters that would hold them back. TanglefootTwo wondering questions come to mind - did anyone every catch their foot at the top and roll all the way down to the bottom (rollin', rollin' rollin - Rawhide) - and conversely, did anyone ever have a heart attack climbing UP those stairs? If I lived there, I'd take the first train out! Not the Only OneThere's a stairway like that at Duke Creek Falls in Georgia. You don't want to be doing it more than once in a day - or a weekend for that matter. Still there?Looking at satellite photos, it's hard to tell. Long flightThose have got to be the longest flights of stairs I have eve rseen. Rollin, rollin, rollin, is right. Those stairways are totally cool, and ridiculously unsafe. It must be a code violation to construct a stairway today with such long uninterrupted runs. I wonder if anyone did trip at the top of a landing? Porch & Deck EnamelI remember as a kid being handed a scraper, cans of paint and a brush. I was then pointed at the back porch and heard "get started". There went spring break. This thing would have definitely killed my entire summer vacation. Scary enoughScary enough in good weather, but in rain. Forget it. Trouble is, it could start to rain along the way, as that is along way. And ice would be even worse. Yikes. Bridge and StairsMy Official Railway Guide 1893 reprint lists this location as being on the Queen & Crescent System, which included the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific, so it would have been incorporated into the Southern Railway System by the time of the photo, and today would indeed be on Norfolk Southern's Rathole Division. I would imagine that this photo was taken from the railway bridge. The stairs might be for access between the depot and the river. Today's Americans With Disabilities Act compliance officer would definitely not approve. Calling Stan and Ollie.We have a piano to deliver. Stairway to EternityAlas, the boards are long gone: http://binged.it/yL2sg9 Watch that first step!If the stairs were constructed to today's building codes, typically a landing would be required for every twelve feet of height. Good place to break a fall if you started tumbling down, and would definitely provide a nice spot to catch your breath on the climb back up! Master CarpentryBefore I thought about Ollie and Stan and the piano and the cop and the mailman Charlie Hall I was awestruck with the skills in carpentry that went into the building of this stairway. Oh, my aching kneesThe people at the top of the photo don't look like youngsters, but I'm thinking of the guys who BUILT this thing. How the heck did they get those stairs on that cliff? I wonder how many injuries were sustained by those who erected this thing. Not recommended for acrophobicsNot recommended for acrophobics, despite the apparently solid construction. Bing Maps has some great aerial images of this area for comparison at: http://tinyurl.com/6tsu9mg Be sure to zoom in on the bridge and click the "Bird's eye" option--then click-and-drag, play with the rotate button,etc. to bring up several different views, including one with a train on the bridge. That rich, bottom land soil is tempting for agriculture, but I think my house would stand high on pilings were I to build on that flood plain! Counting stepsIs there an official—or conjectural—estimate of the number of risers? I'd guess the contractor knows. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC)
Name That Airfield!
... would help identify the airport. It could be the New Orleans Lakefront Airport Also know as the Shushan Airport. The photos I ... mine... Amazing Eyes You (Two) Have! justhappy's New Orleans identification makes perfect sense to me. That building looks just ... 
 
Posted by Jim Page - 09/28/2012 - 8:05pm -

My dad had a new Piper Super Cub fitted with pontoons and this may be where he had it done. This slide would have probably been taken in mid-1957. Can anyone identify this place? I'd love to know where it is; that's a nice-looking building. I have a couple of other photos taken here but they show planes and probably wouldn't help identify the locale. I apologize for the terrible focus; I was in the first grade when I took this and was nervous using my dad's camera (Kodak Signet 80, for you camera buffs!). View full size. More Info!Thanks, Cerrito68; that makes sense! We were living then in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The only other picture I have is here. My dad would usually fly around the Gulf Coast area as far west as Sabine Pass, Texas, and as far wast as Fernandina Beach, Florida, so the location is probably in between those points somewhere. Thanks again! More info pleaseWhere did you live when the photo was taken? Do you know if this is in the eastern or western US? Southern? The other photos would help identify the airport. It could be the New Orleans Lakefront AirportAlso know as the Shushan Airport. The photos I found online show the same Art Deco detailing. Possibly From Same AirfieldThis photo, showing two fellows working on the rear end of a PBY, may also be from the same airfield; they were from the same batch of slides. --Jim Tail NumbersIf any of your shots have tail numbers, you might be able to do some detective work. Also, if you post the photo of the building on some aviation websites, you might get an answer. Luscombe....The Taildragger parked in the grass on the right side of the image is a Luscombe 8(A or maybe an E) with metal wings. They could have either metal or fabric wings. This particular one has a single wing strut which indicates that it had metal wings. I owned a 1947 Luscombe 8A for many years, but mine had fabric wings and two struts that formed a "V" where it connected to the fuselage. Here is a photo of mine... Amazing Eyes You (Two) Have!justhappy's New Orleans identification makes perfect sense to me. That building looks just like the one in the photo, especially if there's another wing of the building out of sight in my photo. Thank you! My dad later started flying out of Houma, Lousiana, and I have a couple of photos taken at that airport. And bobstothfang: Thanks for IDing that plane. Your Luscombe is beautiful. Love that paint job! Another wingJim, if you do a Google image search you'll find the building has another wing and you can even find a photo that shows the same metal tower structure seen to the right on the roof in your photo. From what I read online last night, the building was covered in ugly concrete panels in the early 1960's so it could be used as a bomb shelter during the cold war period of the Cuban Missile crisis. The building was damaged during Hurricane Katrina, but they thankfully started returning it to it's former glory in 2010. It was used as a filming location posing as the Ferris Aircraft Headquarters in the Green Lantern movie. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
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