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Andy's Cafe: 1941
... September 1941. "Stockmen's and farmers' and truckers' hotel near Union Stockyards. South Omaha, Nebraska." Acetate negative by Marion ... he was trying to draw customers out of the Stockman's Hotel and Restaurant across the street. The Stockman's neon blade sign says, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/11/2023 - 4:31pm -

September 1941. "Stockmen's and farmers' and truckers' hotel near Union Stockyards. South Omaha, Nebraska." Acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the FSA. View full size. Where our customers must be satisfiedAndy's Cafe makes quite a promise. I assume he was trying to draw customers out of the Stockman's Hotel and Restaurant across the street. The Stockman's neon blade sign says, 26 & N Street. The 1940 Omaha directory lists Andy's cafe at 2524 N Street, and Gross Lumber & Wrecking at 2522 (you can see the numbers in the photo) N Street. Here is an Earth view of that intersection today. The heart is where I believe Andy's was, since the trolly tracks turn to the right (towards downtown). Click to embiggen All gone now ...This appears to be the intersection of South 26th Street and N Street, in an area that seems to have been demolished to make way for the JFK Expressway, Interstate 75. Interestingly, Shorpy favorite John Vachon seems to have taken a picture of this place in November 1938. Czech influenceFrank Pivonka - the name on the very top of the building in the center-back, had a saloon on Seventh and Jones street. He was the first Czech to settle there. He was born January 19, 1840, and built the Pivonka Block. He’s maybe this guy https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61824231/frank-frederick-pivonka. The Last RoundupSurviving for a surprisingly long time, the area received some sympathetic coverage at the end. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, M.P. Wolcott, Omaha)
Grant Park: 1910
Chicago circa 1910. "Grant Park and Blackstone Hotel on Michigan Avenue." Note the STUDEBAKER CARRIAGES sign. 8x10 glass ... of the ... The full block to the left of the Blackstone Hotel - between Balbo Drive (formerly 7th Street) and 8th Street - will be the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/20/2012 - 11:36am -

Chicago circa 1910. "Grant Park and Blackstone Hotel on Michigan Avenue." Note the STUDEBAKER CARRIAGES sign. 8x10 glass negative. View full size. Roughly the Same SpotView Larger Map Perfectly LogicalStudebaker began as a wagon maker for the mining, farm and military in the mid-1800's. It expanded into carriages before entering the electric and gas-powered vehicle markets in the very early 1900's. In 1910 they would have been known primarily for their carriages. Future Site of the ...The full block to the left of the Blackstone Hotel - between Balbo Drive (formerly 7th Street) and 8th Street - will be the future site of the Hilton Chicago (originally known as the Stevens Hotel, later as the Conrad Hilton Hotel, and still later as the Chicago Hilton and Towers). This hotel was the largest in the world when it opened in 1927. The buildings on the block shown here include several old private houses of the Chicago Fire era (c. 1871) and a long two-story commercial block all decked out in white terra cotta cladding that looks brand new. Much of the rest of the "wall" of Michigan Avenue buildings is already in place, and most of that "wall" is still standing. The smoke-filled roomAbout halfway up the near side of the Blackstone Hotel is the legendary "smoke-filled room" where in 1920 powerful Republican party chiefs will arrange the presidential nomination of Warren G. Harding. +107Below is the same view from June of 2017. (The Gallery, Chicago, DPC)
The Atrium: 1903
... Indiana, circa 1903. "The atrium, West Baden Springs Hotel." 8x10 glass negative by William Henry Jackson, Detroit Publishing Co. ... The roof was designed by a bridge builder. The hotel has been wonderfully restored -- except for the fountain with the seal! ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 2:38pm -

West Baden, Indiana, circa 1903. "The atrium, West Baden Springs Hotel." 8x10 glass negative by William Henry Jackson, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. AmazingThe architecture of this place is amazing. It's still around and on the NR of Historic Places. The glass atrium roof reminds me of that of the Astrodome, only 60 years earlier. The Spirit of the place. Looks like it was haunted by ghosts even back then. Have a warmupThat is one king hell fireplace to read your newspaper beside! Largest in the WorldThis was the largest free standing dome in the world until the Astrodome was built. The roof was designed by a bridge builder. The hotel has been wonderfully restored -- except for the fountain with the seal! Visit if you canI learned about West Baden Springs from Scouting NY, and had the opportunity to visit in August. They've done a great job of restoring the buildings as well as the neighboring French Lick Resort. You can see more images of the renovated resort from my visit on flickr. Love your site, by the way. Thanks for sharing the great vintage photography! NFL SundayThe mirrors on the bases of the pillars look like big screen TVs -- some are on and others are off. They're gone in the modern photo. Unseen AngelsAt the apex of the atrium is a central hub 16 feet in diameter and 10 feet high. Its primary purpose is to join together the 24 steel trusses that support the roof. Secondarily it provides an anchor for the massive central chandelier. During renovations it was discovered that an artist had painted the interior panels of the hub with depictions of angels. Although the building had been used in its decline as a seminary, it is thought that the paintings date to the construction of the building. Photos of the angels are on view at the hotel: ZzzzSometimes I look at these photos and think to myself that life looks to have been quite damned boring back then. String quartetI see the band showed up that day for a few of the guests. Anyone notice the many spittoons on the floor around the sitting areas? Wow, and it's still open for business.Amazing what a tourist industry the mineral water craze produced. The Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas, was not so lucky as the years went on (but it's now very fun to explore). Dear, does it seem a little warm in here to you?I love how there's always something interesting going on in the photos here. In this one, it's a beautiful courtyard, and everyone seems quite relaxed. Overall it's quite pleasant except ... well, there is one gentleman who might be a tad more stressed out than the others, given that he appears to be spontaneously combusting. Wonderful space to visitI performed my whip act in this space in 2001 and must say it was the longest echo my whips ever produced -- over seven seconds! Twelve-foot Australian stock whips. West Baden is glorious and is a great destination point on any trip. Have seen it both waysThis place is quite impressive now. Was impressive in the late 1980s, even though it was falling apart then. We were on a bicycle tour and the place was crumbling apart. Anyone could get in, and it was deteriorated. We wandered all over looking at things that were left behind after the seminary vacated the building. Wish I could find the pictures we took. The whole lot of us posed in the fireplace. I believe it is the largest freestanding dome in the world. "A Hidden Wonder of the World"One of the grandest features of late-twentieth-century building technology got its start in 1901 in a small Indiana town. Big, Bigger, BiggestThe TV show "Big, Bigger, Biggest" takes an architectural structure (dam, suspension bridge, ferris wheel, etc.) and uses five historical examples to illustrate the development of the art. For "Domes," I think West Baden was third in historical order after the Pantheon in Rome and Brunelleschi's cathedral dome in Florence, and followed by the Houston Astrodome and Oita Stadium in Japan. Today's FireplaceThe atrium fireplace has been reworked over the years and now features a ceramic front. The illuminated spot on the upper left is a ceramic tile displaying a skyline view of the hotel. With a little leverage you might still be able to get a 14 foot log into the fireplace. Beware the other Indiana beverageI visited in 1989 and the place was nearly deserted tho still glorious and in the middle of restoration. One of the shop stalls - the ones that look like rug merchants in this photo - was devoted to selling Indiana-produced wine, hardly a well-known vintage. But the rose seemed a bargain at $6. I took the bottle home and set it on my kitchen table. A week later, it blew its own cork and spewed itself on the ceiling. A native Houstonian speaksI look at this photo and can't help but thinking the Astros or the Oilers will be taking the field at any moment. Obviously an inspiration for the Astrodome to come. Great photo. (The Gallery, DPC, W.H. Jackson)
Main Street: 1908
... Rochester, New York, circa 1908. "Main Street and Hotel Rochester ." 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full ... east from Plymouth Ave, the cross street. If that is the Hotel Rochester on the right, that building eventually was the home of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/24/2013 - 4:38pm -

Rochester, New York, circa 1908. "Main Street and Hotel Rochester." 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Streetcar tracksNot in the 1970's. The last streetcar service in Rochester ran on March 31, 1941. By some accounts, most of the rails in the streets were collected for WW II scrap drives; other accounts attribute their loss to post-war street maintenance. I've lived here since the fifties and have only seen a few spots where rails remained, revealed by a large pothole or an excavation. There's always one."I see you're digging a hole there." How things changeI'm pretty sure this view is looking east from Plymouth Ave, the cross street. If that is the Hotel Rochester on the right, that building eventually was the home of Rochester Institute of Technology before they built their Henrietta campus. Fast crowdI wonder which was taken first, this or the "Hotel Rochester" photo. The roadster parked in front of the hotel is in both, as are the two men standing in front of the theater and the hole digger. Meanwhile, the coach behind the roadster has either taken on or disgorged the group of six, and the white roadster parked by the pool hall has left, or not arrived. Fascinating stuff. You guys run an outstanding site. Unusual Flagpole?I noticed the sectional flagpole on the building with the domed roof and wonder if anyone can enlighten me about it. Perhaps it was a retractable? One-man CrewIf that fellow dug that hole all by himself, I want him on my team. A separate thought: I wonder if those barrels were orange? Note All The Trolley TracksBack in the 70's Rochester seemed to have the national record for the highest number of railroad and trolley tracks on city streets - since removed according to current residents. Implosionkurmujjin is right about the location - West Main Street, looking east from Plymouth Avenue. The former Hotel Rochester on the right spent its last years as a nursing care facility known as "Mariner House". It met its end in a spectacular building implosion on the morning of Saturday, December 18, 1999. The event drew a large crowd, as such implosions often do. We took our younger kids, aged 10 & 11, to watch. They thought it was super-cool. Fire PlugYou don't see that too often...a 5 sided fireplug! I'm surprisedthat no one has commented on those two sporty little motor vehicles, one parked in front of the hotel and one farther down in front of the pool hall. They appear similar in design, but what stands out is that neither one seems to have a roof. Anyone have an idea what they are? [Runabouts. - tterrace] Dual CarriagewayI'm sure I've seen this sort of roadway before here (such as the Hotel Rochester image), but what's up with the different appearance between the car lanes and the streetcar lane? It looks like snow, but that can't be; sand maybe? That "unusual flagpole"is very reminiscent of a sailing ship's mast. Would have had ratlines leading to the platform from the deck below. At least 1 still standing.A familiar facade, from Google streetview: http://goo.gl/maps/S9XVo Fire hydrant A lot of high value properties equal high numbers of engines connecting to hydrant. Before gated wye's were common each engine needed its own connection to the water supply. (The Gallery, DPC, Rochester, Streetcars)
Hiawatha Temple: 1908
... urban renewal and looks nothing like this any longer. The Hotel Clarendon sat on the NE corner of Wabasha and Sixth. Not even the ... or checked out the title commentary. I'll be in the Hotel Exchange drinking alternating mugs of Hamm;s and Blatz beer to help take ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/18/2019 - 4:21pm -

St. Paul, Minnesota, circa 1908. "Wabasha Street." Abundantly equipped with the standbys that Shorpians will recognize as essential to a smoothly functioning business district: fraternal organization, painless dental parlors, purveyors of cigars and prosthetic eyeballs, optician-jeweler (with the 8:17 clock-sign) and, last but not least, "Business Men's Lunch (And 2 Beers)" for 15 cents. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. Oy VeyOn the extreme right, the worn out old horse in front of the carriage parked at the curb near Dr. Merrill, dentist, personifies exactly how I feel today. I'm experiencing great empathy with that tired, weary nag, we understand each other. Urban Renewal PrevailsI lived in St. Paul for 30 years. This part of the downtown underwent extensive urban renewal and looks nothing like this any longer. The Hotel Clarendon sat on the NE corner of Wabasha and Sixth. Not even the churches survived. Pretty bland landscape now. Nothing like the community life that once abounded here. View Larger Map Pants Pressed While You WaitHowever, there will be an extra charge if you want to take them off first. Ah, the businessman's lunch!There are several spots in sight to get your lunch. Do you prefer Hamm's or Schmidt's, the local St. Paul based brews? (The Schimidt sign is down the block on the right) Or perhaps Blatz? The beer that made Milwaukee famous. They have their own storefront, wow! Minnesota staple.I see those two staples of Minnesota life readily available, Blatz and Hamm's. I remember visiting Minnesota when I was in the military and seeing those two brews advertised at every tavern and roadhouse. Mealey GoodsWhy would any one want to buy Mealey dry goods? And the storefront labeled "The Cable Company" made me chuckle. The two beers were most likely Hamm's or Blatz. No traffic lights as yet but there is a sign hanging up high that cautions "cars stop before crossing street." ["Cars" meaning streetcars. - Dave] Hamms BeerDoes anyone here remember the Hamms beer Jingle? I am just guessing but it was probably mid to late 40's when Hamms was advertising on the radio. From the land of sky blue water Comes the beer refreshing Hamms, the beer refreshing. Idlers and ghost horsesAccounted for. Public transportation>> Abundantly equipped with the standbys that Shorpians will recognize as essential to a smoothly functioning business district And, I would add, streetcars! Interesting how so many of these old photos of city streets show the presence of streetcars. Typically quieter and much less contributing to air pollution than today's unimaginative buses - and most likely with much more efficient service to the masses. More and more cities are now realizing the superiority of streetcars over buses, and are building today's versions which we call "light rail." [The electricity for these streetcars came from a soot-belching, coal-fired powerhouse. - Dave] Yayyy! I finally earned my Shorpian photo recognition badge!I recognized all of the signs that are essential to a fully functional business district during the early 1900's before I read the comments or checked out the title commentary. I'll be in the Hotel Exchange drinking alternating mugs of Hamm;s and Blatz beer to help take away the pain of my recent dentist visit. I'm the guy wearing my new eyeglasses and smoking a "Segar." Don't look down because my pants are being pressed as I wait for Dave to present me with my photo recognition badge. What's on TonightI wonder what was on tv back then, I see the very generically named "Cable Company" on a building on the right. [It's a piano showroom. - Dave] I remember the beer refreshingThey had that same jingle on TV in Illinois in the '70s. With trippy cartoon bears, as I recall. No Street Lights?There are poles for the trolley wires, but I don't see a street light. Perhaps the good folk of St. Paul stayed home in the evenings? [Depending on their eyesight. - Dave] HonkThere seems to be a large phonograph horn sticking out of that wagon. I wonder if it has to do with the phonograph Store across the street next to The Cable Company. (How many channels did you get with their basic package?) [Just for the record (so to speak), the Cable Company is a showroom for Cable pianos. - Dave] Businessman's Lunch - updatedHasn't this tradition been replaced by the "3 martini lunch"? I remember HammsI remember Hamm's well. When I was a kid, the Baltimore Orioles were sponsored by a popular local brewery named Gunther's ("Gee, what a wonderful beer"); it had its name on the centerfield scoreboard at Memorial Stadium. About 1959, Gunther's was bought out by Hamm's. It replaced Gunther on the scoreboard, and instead of keeping the old recipe available, Gunther was junked and replaced by Hamm's. Hamm's didn't stay in Baltimore for long. I think they sold out to Schaefer's, which didn't last much longer than Hamm's. Artificial EyesI wonder if they installed the fake eyeballs in house or if you had to go to a separate location for that? What a Show!Sure would like to see them "Dancing Pianos" in the Hiawatha Temple! Optical delusionThe horse-drawn wagon facing us on the left: the roundish thing looks like either an umbrella or a phonograph horn, depending on whether it's concave or convex. I'm leaning toward the concave, and speculating that it's a type of megaphone used by the driver to make himself heard over the urban racket. If so, I wonder if it was a sideline of the Edison Phonograph emporium across the street. Plenteously the Waters GeneratedRegarding public transportation and soot-belching, coal-fired powerhouse: The Twin City Rapid Transit Company ran most of the system around 1908 with electricity generated using the waters of the mighty Mississippi. It seems that the operation's efficient and well-managed affairs were in marked contrast to the organized theft that characterized so many traction systems elsewhere - particularly those looted by the Whitney syndicate in the East. Everything old is new againI grew up in St. Paul. We had a street car system. Certain businessmen in the cities enriched themselves with the switch to buses from street cars. Now what are we building in the Twin Cities? Light rail. They didn't tear the trolley tracks up. They just paved over them. In building the light rail they are finding a few artifacts in the digs. We had an on-campus, open air football stadium at the university. It was a war memorial. Domes became fashionable so they tore it down and built the dome. Now even though the dome has worked for many years what do they build? An open air, on-campus football stadium. Man With a HornAs mentioned in a few comments, the object on the wagon driver's lap might be a phonograph horn. I, as a phonograph collector, believe it is (of course, I'm biased!). Many of the "morning glory" style horns were painted with a lighter area deep in the horn where it was very dark. That seems to be the case here. I'm wondering if he just bought it or is about to make a u-turn to deliver it to the phonograph store?! (The Gallery, DPC, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Streetcars)
Kodachrome Vegas: 1958
... on Fremont Street just a couple of weeks ago. The Plaza Hotel is still there, recently remodeled. The Golden Nugget is probably the nicest hotel on the street, but the casino is pretty tight compared to Binion's across ... 
 
Posted by Deborah - 01/16/2013 - 7:57pm -

Classic Las Vegas -- Fremont Street. 35mm Kodachrome film taken by my father-in-law, Woodrow Humphries. I'm guessing 1958 or so. The Westerner was open from 1950 to 1962. The Mint and The Boulder Club (with its famous sign) are on the right edge. The marquee above the Nevada Club was a late-'50s addition. Any other thoughts are welcome. I just noticed the VW Beetle! View full size. KudosAmazing photo. Car is the foreground is a 1958 Chevrolet. Kudos tooAnd parked at the curb at left, a 1958 Rambler. Neon KodachromeA beautiful photo. I love the colors. The 'CLUB' sign in the upper left corner has a curious appearance of neon green outlines at only the outermost points on the illuminated letters. A neat effect from however Kodachrome reacts to the combination of incandescent and neon lighting. Is that a searchlight in front of the Nevada Club? [The much-brighter incandescents are blown out (grossly over-exposed) either on the film or, more likely, the scan, thus bleeding over and obscuring the neon outlines. Film still has the edge over digital in dynamic range. - tterrace] Union PacificSeeing the Union Pacific depot at the far end of the street reminds me of riding the train. During the 50's my family would ride the Challenger from the East LA station to North Platte, Nebraska to visit relatives. When we stopped in Las Vegas, late at night. I would step off the train and watch the lights of Fremont Street while my dad had a cigarette. Thanks for the memory. Stunning Image!Kodachrome and Vegas neon; what a combination! There's something about the way Kodachrome reacted to and rendered green that is always eye-catching, but this is just amazing. I wonder if they still make Cibachrome prints?!??! I'll take this in a 24" x 36", gloss lammed, on black Gator Board, please. Nice to see Vegasbefore it got gaudy. Henderson Home NewsHere's a newspaper that shows the exact same headliners at the Nevada Club from August 20, 1959. Music music musicI see the Hilltoppers headlining the marquee, and their site lists them as being active from 1952 to 1957, so pretty good chance this is 1958. Tuesday NightsYou might get the feel of this place and time watching the new CBS show "Vegas". Car guy's eyeI noticed the '58 Rambler and '58 Chevy first thing. My first car was a '58 Rambler, a gift from my parents, well-used by the time I got it. It had its good points, but style was not one of them. The Chevy came from another universe; a universe where things were beautiful. Visiting the old Golden NuggetWhat a beautiful picture this is of the old downtown Vegas. I used to love visiting the old Golden Nugget years back. I loved the old downtown area when I was a young kid. My folks used to let us see downtown as we drove through Vegas to visit with my godfather who lived just outside of downtown. I later gambled and usually ate at the Golden Nugget casino there on visits in the early 70's. I loved the howdy pardner sign down the street. I remember when Glenn Manning who was the giant man from the "The Amazing Colossal Mant" movie, tore down the frontier and howdy partner sign on the set for the movie. Fremont StreetI was on Fremont Street just a couple of weeks ago. The Plaza Hotel is still there, recently remodeled. The Golden Nugget is probably the nicest hotel on the street, but the casino is pretty tight compared to Binion's across the street. The Golden Gate, right at the end of the street and across from the Plaza, has a really nice little cafe called Du Par's. The giant cowboy is still there and hopefully will be forever. Live It Up (at the Union Plaza)@rfleischer, The Union Pacific station continued to operate in that location as long as passenger trains served Las Vegas, Amtrak's 'Desert Wind' being the last scheduled train to leave the station in 1997. There was a lovely moderne station on the site until it was demolished to make way for the Union Plaza Hotel (last I knew it was known simply as the Plaza). Passengers continued to be served by a station on the UP property connected to the hotel. It was very convenient to step out of the train and into the hotel, as I did more than a few times. From time to time, there are reports or rumors of a LA - LV passenger train being resurrected but I wouldn't hold my breath. @Vintagetvs Quite right! Before they tarted it up, "The Meadows" was a nice place to go for a tranquil holiday. Not Just a 58 RamblerBut a 1958 Rambler DeLuxe, which meant there was no side trim or excess chrome (though still more chrome than 10 cars put together by today's standards). And instead of two headlamps on each side, there is only one. Many were sold as fleet vehicles, taxis and government use. I purchased this model in 1996 and restored it. Despite its clunky family car look, I won my share of awards and trophies. Mine had the pushbutton transmission. A Roof Over ItPrevious posters failed to mention that this part of downtown Vegas now has a roof over it. It is the called the Fremont Street Experience. It's referred to as a "light canopy." The screen contains 12.5 million synchronized LED lamps, including 180 strobes and eight robotic mirrors per block. You have to see it to believe it. As Mr. Mel mentioned, check out "Vegas" on CBS, 10 pm on Tuesdays. Great show set in the early 60s. Or watch the original Ocean's 11 movie, with Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. 1959 ModelBehind the searchlight trailer it looks like there is a 1959 Mercury or Ford station wagon. Since the dark wood does not appear to go above the front wheel it cannot be a 1958 Mercury, and since there is no center hood scoop it cannot be a 1958 Ford. [The car is a 1959 Mercury Colony Park. - Dave] More CarsBehind the Beetle is what looks like a 1955 Plymouth (it's hard to tell), followed by a 1956 Pontiac. We had one of the Pontiacs; it was the first car I ever drove. August 1959@SouthHammond63 – good find. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Miss Winship: 1909
... their "temporary" residence at the Bellevue-Statford Hotel for 67 years, they might have fallen prey to the Legionnaire's Disease that made that hotel infamous. A near missus By the time Alex unwrapped his bride from ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 11:04am -

"Miss E.G. Winship." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. I Think I'll Call HerMiss Winsome. Any more at home like you, sweetie? Wolf WhistleAt least no dog comments coming on this one! Wow, she's cute. A real CharmerThis stunning young lady is perfectly coifed and corseted, certainly ready to be presented to society if, indeed, she has not already been. Her gorgeous dress, her lively expression, her relaxed pose -- they take my breath away. I would kill for that dress -- and the figure to slide into it. Sigh..... ImmaculateHow on earth did they clean gowns like this? Winship = WinsletCan you imagine giving up your seat in the lifeboat for the lovely Miss Winship? I can. TeenagersAnd this self-possessed, poised, and lovely young woman is perhaps all of 18 or 19 years old. Teens have changed! OutstandingI can imagine gunbattles erupting and wars being fought over a woman like this. Not that greatStubby fingers. "Might I have the honour of the next dance, miss?"Wow, this is the photographic equivalent of an oil portrait by John Singer Sargent, no less! If ever you want to know what people mean when they say ladies used to have "deportment," then look no further than this marvellous picture! (Had a look at Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org just now and came up with a Edna G. Winship of Chicago, born 15 Jan. 1890, died Chicago May 1982. This must be her in the photo as the ages fit date-wise - i.e. 18 going on 19 in 1909.) [This is Washington, D.C., and Miss Edith Winship. She lived at 1688 31st Street N.W., where she and Alexander L. Crawford of Philadelphia were married in April 1909. - Dave] CorsetsI know corsets must have been horrible to wear (especially in the summer--I can't even imagine!), but I have to admit--even Spanx cannot do this. There was a reason that the corset endured for so long! Edith WinshipEdith G. Winship, the daughter of Henry C Winship (not John as reported in following article) was born Dec 1887 (source: 1900 census). Henry C. Winship, a native of Washington, and prominent coal dealer, died in 1903. Miss Edith Winship, daughter of the late John Winship, was married Wednesday afternoon at her home, 1688 Thirty-first street, northwest, to Alexander L. Crawford, of 4033 Spruce street, Philadelphia. The ceremony was performed at noon, Wilson Woelpper, of Philadelphia, a brother-in-law of the bride, acting as best man. The bridesmaids were Margaret Winship, the bride's sister; Miss Easterday, of this city, and Miss Frishmuth of Philadelphia. The honeymoon will be spent at Old Point Comfort, and Mr. and Mrs. Crawford will make their home temporarily at the Bellevue-Stragford, in Philadelphia. Miss Winship became acquainted with Mr. Crawford last summer in Gloucester, Mass. Mr. Crawford is 23 years old, and is the youngest member of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. He is a graduate of the university of Pennsylvania and a member of the firm George D. Atlee Co., stock brokers of Philadelphia. Washington Post, Apr 9, 1909 If the happy,If the happy, stubby-fingered couple maintained their "temporary" residence at the Bellevue-Statford Hotel for 67 years, they might have fallen prey to the Legionnaire's Disease that made that hotel infamous. A near missusBy the time Alex unwrapped his bride from her corseted layers, the honeymoon may have been over. E and FMiss Easterday and Miss Frishmuth -- like something out of "Life With Father." Those really were the days. Rembrandt lightingThe lighting is true Rembrandt lighting. The key light (or main light) is on her left. The darker side of her face has a triangle below the eye. This is true Rembrandt lighting. Catchlights in the eyes give her life. Beautiful model and great job with the camera of the day. [Harris & Ewing also created pseudo-highlights by scratching the emulsion with a pen nib or wire, which gave a stippled effect. Click below to enlarge. - Dave] Satin and laceI'm envisioning this gown in coral, seafoam green or soft gold. It must have been exquisite, no matter what color. Teens and TimesAlthough Miss Winship is approximately 22 here, this is close enough for my 17 years to be of some relevance. It seems to me that teens have changed less than the times; styles are simply not as elegant and ostentatious. (Some might say pretentious.) There is less emphasis today on being a knockout every day at school. (Plus the amount of time we tend have to get ready in the morning is très courte.) Teens still do dress to impress, but no longer in this manner for the most part. (Prom is the closest we get.) I myself, however, am a slightly different story. Some people can still pull off a silk top hat with their tux. A properly fitted corset......can be quite comfortable. I wear them occasionally for the stage, and I have to say they're FAR less painful than a daily hour at the gym! Don't kid yourself, kid.Teen styles of today are just as pretentious as those of 1910 - and those of my teen years, as well. Re: Teens and TimesTeens probably have changed very little at a basic level--I'm sure they've always been somewhat self-absorbed and certain of their infallibility. But I'd say the parenting of them has changed a lot, and not for the better, which results in a big difference in how they behave and present themselves. (A fact which many of the older posters on here sometimes forget when lamenting the horribleness of today's youth. Depending on their age, either they or their children are the ones who dropped the parenting ball!) I'd agree somewhat with the clothing situation though. Modern teenage girls just spend more time figuring out how to strategically reveal skin and putting on ten pounds of eyeliner rather than dressing in corsets and layers of silk. Teenage girls will probably always be preoccupied with their appearance -- comes with the territory! At last a voice of reason...Thank you Catherine!!! At last a person that realizes that today youth are a product of how they were raised. It's a cycle of learned behaviors, this generation learned how to act by watching the adults of the nineties just like the adults of the nineties learned how to act watching the adults of the eighties and so on and so forth. The youth of today didn't just get rained down from the heavens wild and out of control...they were raised that way. It's amusing to be described as "wild and out of control". There are certainly some in my generation who can be described that way, but then again, there are in every generation. On the question of a change in parenting, however, I agree wholeheartedly. There is a gigantic (tremendous, humongous) difference between the way my grandfather and I were raised. He walked in the front door of high school and out the back (Right into the CCC) and I have spent the last four years slaving away to get into college. (Where I will undoubtedly work another four years to get into graduate school) Mrs. Crawford's FashionAll the comments about teen fashions and teen culture are thoughtful and perceptive. Yet I'm moved to wonder if there was such a thing as teen fashion or culture in 1909, and kinda think not. The notion of a separate youth culture with its own fashions didn't much enter the popular American imagination until the college crazes of the 1920s. It appears that this carefully retouched society portrait of Miss Winship was meant to illustrate her impending wedding to stock broker Alexander Crawford, and her stunning gown, glittering with crystal beads and seed pearls, was very much expressing the prevailing fashion tastes of wealthy adults. Not Just RetouchingThe photographer also (presumably) defocused for a more flattering "soft" effect on the young lady's face. Notice how razor-sharp the focus is on the nearer portions of her gown? She's liberated!Yes, she is well corseted in stays, probably quite long and tight. However, in 1909 they thought the current fashions were liberated from the Victorian (V died in 1901) wasp waist. Her mother would have been several inches smaller at this age, say 20 years earlier in 1889. Yes she is liberated by her standards. Just because we find the corsets tight and stiff (actually they are ok if you think yourself into the character, I've done it in theater), we should not judge history by our standards. Quite liberatedIt appears that the torso and lower reaches of the dress are silk satin, possibly a charmeuse, and the middle area appears to be a cotton batiste. Elegant, but apparently summer weight, perfect for a wedding. The lines are also much simpler than prevailed 20 years earlier, with far less lace and such. (The Gallery, Harris + Ewing, Portraits)
Queenie Ladovitch: 1920
... age 25 living with her brother Ernest age 35 in the Dupont Hotel in Washington D.C. They are both listed as musicians born in Illinois. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/27/2012 - 12:21pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Queenie Ladovitch." Possibly the daughter of Ernest (Ernst) Vladimir Ladovitch, president of the Washington Conservatory of Music. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. One is biggerWhy would someone want the left breast to appear smaller than her right? I hope an enterprising Photoshopper will restore her lovely proportions. [Whoever made the alteration was just adding a highlight. SOP in those days. - Dave] Au NaturelNo Photoshop here! [The only alteration to this image was some non-digital bust enhancement. Which I Photoshopped out. - Dave] Wow!She looks like a wax statue. And her navel is showing! NBC will fire her for that. Beautiful!What classic Beauty. Wow! What a dish!That's ALOT of skin to be showing for 1920! A true beautyWhose looks bridge the limits of time DylanWasn't the line from one of his songs "She's an artist, she don't look back!" She is relaxed within herself. What more can you ask? A short list.A very pretty young woman, with a lovely figure, dressed in a scanty costume. Timeless beauty, what more can you ask? Please put this young woman in the Shorpy top 10! I would also like to see this one Colorized. Perhaps a soft green or peach color for her outfit. Get Me Outta Here!She doesn't look like a happy puppy. Just BeautifulShe is just gorgeous! My very own "Picture of Lily" Gorgeous!And very risque. Did they have bikini waxes in 1920? Beautiful Subjectand form study. Maybe there were many, but I remember this pose as a figure that my Grandmother had in her bathroom. The figure was purchased as raw bisque at a craft or hobby shop in the '40s, '50s or '60s, painted by the purchaser (my Grandma) and returned to the shop to be fired in a kiln. However I don't remember the figure having the upper garment. To ajax1946Great Job !!! Tried another way of doing itHere's my take on it. I was pleased with my initial foray into iridescent fabric, and used a royal purple to tie everything together. Life detailsIn 1930 Census, Queen is listed as "Sadovitch" age 25 living with her brother Ernest age 35 in the Dupont Hotel in Washington D.C. They are both listed as musicians born in Illinois. Their older divorced sister Grace Petrides is also there age 45 with her children George Jr and Grace. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Portraits, Pretty Girls)
Lincoln, Nebraska: 1942
... farms around it than now, as can be seen. The modern hotel is--well, it's there. I watched them build it riding my bike home from ... It has an opulent but gaudy lobby. But, to be fair, the hotel was not the reason all those buildings except one are now gone. An ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 1:17pm -

"Seed and feed store in Lincoln, Nebraska." Our third view of the Grand Grocery from 1942. View full size. Kodachrome transparency by John Vachon, OWI. Living, breathingHere it is folks, real life 66 years ago. I could gaze at an image like this for hours, wishing I could fall into it. In fact, if you don't hear from me after several days, it's because I'm over at the market squeezing the oranges. Now an Embassy SuitesA little googling and someone said that a Lincoln phone book from 1938 gives the address as 1000 P Street. Well, here it is: View Larger Map How sad, how sterile. We've really lost a feeling in our country. Sigh...I am fairly certain that no generation will look back to their childhood and wish they could go back more than the Baby Boomers!!! It was a time of innocence, more prosperity than the generations before and close family ties! It was a time of feeling safe and loved. It was a time of growth! I love my "electronic toys" that I have today, but I would actually love to go back to a time when I had to actually get my butt out of the chair and change the channels on the TV. When I would have to keep calling someone until their "busy signal" went off. Sigh...I love the present, but I cherish the past!!! I was lucky...I was born AFTER the terrible times in the 1930's and WWII. I was born in the time after war and poverty - a time when America was growing! Thanks for letting me wallow in my sentimentality! Absolutely love this site - it lets me remember where I came from. Thank you sooo much! Ah, yes the swell world of 1942No internet (No Shorpy!). No iPod. No computers. No Lasik. No Viagra. And for those of us who are not persons of pallor, well before Brown v. Board of Education, Rosa Parks and MLK. Rationing, a world war to be fought... I wouldn't go back there on a bet. Going backWith family in the Seattle area we have found it nice to cross Nebraska on old U.S. 30. It is relaxing and not much traffic and we get to see a lot of nice towns. Next weekNext week the family and I are flying to Kansas City, renting a car, and driving to Great Falls to visit my in-laws. Our first stop is Lincoln, to visit some work-friends and to see that amazing work of art, the capital. A lot of the old buildings are gone, but the people are just as nice. No remotes???That would indeed be a barbaric time in which to live!...There weren't even any TVs back in 1942. So, PattyAnne, you'd be getting up to change the dial on your radio. Maybe from "The Shadow" to "The Jack Benny Show". And PattyAnne (I don't mean to pick on you...really!) You were born AFTER war and poverty? When was that? I think the latter was certainly still there, even during the Eisenhower years. And as to war (assuming you are American) there was that little business in Korea, and then, that nastiness in Southeast Asia...etc. Fortunately, I was born in Canada. Had I been American, I would have been just old enough to be eligible for the draft before the end of the Vietnam War. I love the past too, but I think I'd like to just visit, not actually live there. As the poster who "Wouldn't go back there on a bet" observed, the past was not perfect. When people wish they lived in another time, they never seem to imagine themselves as out-ouf work and starving, as beaten down minorities, as fighting in a war, or as having an illness that was yet incurable. All this being said, I am a "person of pallor", so I too would love to stroll down that long-ago street and exchange some pleasantries with the locals. But I'd want to be back before the draft board found me. In '42, the War was not yet going too well for the Allies. I thank the ones who did go over there, many of whom never returned. They were fighting for the preservation of just such idyllic scenes. [Just on a technical note: There were a few thousand telvision sets in use, mostly in the Northeast, in 1942. - Dave] LincolnI think those folks in the pic are standing on the corner where the Embassy Suites is ... looking toward the point where the Google photo was taken. Same result, though, if you really want to embrace that whole "How sad, how sterile" stance. The building with the yellow awnings is now a multiplex theater. Re: Ah, yes the swell world of 1942I agree with the notion that it is of great nostalgia to look back at such times in history. But perhaps it is best to do just that, look back. I can't imagine the social norms of 1942 as I am merely 23 years of age, but I am willing to bet that there has been much progress made in the way of personal and individual freedoms - even if not stated in law. I'm also willing to bet that "minorities" of race, sexuality, gender, or whatever it may be would agree. I once asked my grandmother, born in 1921, if she could live in any time period of history which she would choose... she had many reasons for different places in time but she said as a woman, she would want to live in no time other than the present (or the future I'd say). I'm fine right here in 2008. Old Lincoln, 10th and P I've walked that street. A friend in college lived in an apartment upstairs of the corner building at the end of the block north of the Grand Grocery, the little building with the gap just south of it. A funny apartment in a funny little building. The apartment was one room wide but 4 or 5 rooms deep, because the building extended to the alley, half a block. And and unbelievably cozy apartment it was. Downstairs, a courtly gentleman from the British West Indies, I believe had a tailor shop. The thing I find so appealing about this picture is the people have the time to stop and chat with each other. No one is hurried and they seem to be enjoying themselves and each other in a way we've lost. Lincoln was much smaller then, about 90,000, and much closer to the farms around it than now, as can be seen. The modern hotel is--well, it's there. I watched them build it riding my bike home from work in the afternoons. It has an opulent but gaudy lobby. But, to be fair, the hotel was not the reason all those buildings except one are now gone. An ill-conceived downtown redevelopment plan in the late 80s led to the entire block being razed, the only one of many targeted to suffer that fate. An even uglier parking lot was there for several years before the city convinced the hotel magnate to put up the new hotel. And also, to be fair, I remember that more than half the buildings on that block were in really run down condition by 1989, several vacant. Fortunately, the redevelopment plan failed to ruin the rest of the downtown. The block was pretty much intact until 1989, though the Grand Grocery was long gone by then. I believe the Green Frog Lounge was in that building or just east of it. The gap you can see between the buildings on the right side between the building where my friend had his apartment was wider in my time there, with a 50's bar built back from the street that extended south to the alley where the power poles are. Otherwise the buildings are pretty much as I remember them. Around the block to the east was the best Mexican restaurant in town. Next to it was a business supply store whose elderly founder was so distressed at the loss of his building that he passed away. Next to that was Lincoln's best "hippie" store, Dirt Cheap. South of that was the Sam Lawrence Hotel, which my mother informed me that back in the 20s when she came to Lincoln on the train with her mother to go shopping, "Nice ladies didn't stay there." The only buildings left today as they were then are the one you can't see casting the shadow on the lower left side, which is the former post office, now condos. The other you can just see the top in the upper left side of the picture and used to be the Law School at the University of Nebraska. Everything else is gone or changed. Unlike the picture with the girl, the cars, and the office buildings, 12th Street looking north from N, which is nearly the same today, in this picture nearly everything has changed. But this one, with the people enjoying each other and the nice day, is in my opinion the most attractive of the 5 color shots Mr. Vachon took that day, all within this 5 block area. A tip of the hat to the kind poster who mentioned our exquisite state capitol building. Most states' capitols are worth a visit but ours is a real treasure with its grand rotunda, lofty tower, and beautiful interior finishing. I never tire of touring that wonderful building. If you don't see anything else in Lincoln, you should see that. Or for an excellent virtual tour, www.capitol.org Thanks Shorpy, for the wonderful trip down memory lane. It was different when I came here to the university in 1963, but much more like this picture than what it is now. I've only been in the new hotel once. These old pictures are treasures indeed. Lincoln, then and nowI'm always excited to see pictures taken in Nebraska, because, as a Nebraskan, the fact that our state is frequently ignored by the other 49 gives us a bit of an inferiority complex. Anyway, I've greatly enjoyed the grocery pictures from Lincoln, and find the comments prompted by this one to be very interesting. To start with the obvious, yes, the Embassay Suites is not very exciting, but I can think of much worse fates for an old part of town than having a higher-end hotel locate there. Here's a picture I snapped of it this afternoon. (I'm no tterrace, so bear with me). The people in the foreground of the 1942 picture are where the trees are in my picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27323798@N05/2718259429/ As Lee pointed out, there is a building casting a shadow in the 1942 picture that still exists today as high-end apartments. It would be directly to the left of the people in the foreground of the photo. This building is still looking pretty spiffy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27323798@N05/2718260985/ I also love the community feel of the 1942 picture, though I disagree with the statement that our country has "lost it" (I was born in the mid-1980s though, so maybe I just have no idea). After growing up in a town of 2,000 people, I feel that smaller towns and rural areas still have a lot of the things that so charm people from this picture present in real life (including old guys in bib overalls). It probably is true that urban areas are increasingly disconnected, but their huge size and the relative mobility of their residents makes this unsurprising. And in defense of the lack of non-carbound Nebraskans in this picture, I will mention that it was about 98 degrees when I took this picture at 5:15 tonight--not great weather for socializing outdoors! :) @CGW: I am visiting the state capitol on Monday before I move out of state. First time since 4th grade--I hope you enjoy it! Maybe we'll be on the same tour. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, John Vachon, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)
Detroit Skyline: 1918
... back of the First National Bank , which replaced the Hotel Pontchartrain (backside is seen in 1918). Click to embiggen ... its minarets), and the white building in front of the Hotel Pontchartrain, which is gone. In fact, even this portion of Bates street ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/07/2023 - 2:28pm -

Detroit circa 1918. "Sky scrapers from interurban station, Jefferson Avenue at Bates Street." A view last glimpsed here. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Now just faces in the crowdThree of the four buildings marked with red dots were very prominent in the 1918 Detroit skyline (at left), but now are just faces in the crowd. At the bottom with a red dot is the back of the First National Bank, which replaced the Hotel Pontchartrain (backside is seen in 1918). Click to embiggen A lot happens in a yearComparing the 1917 view and this 1918 view, two new skyscrapers were built! Is that even possible? The Cadillac Square building at the right (which still exists but lost it's its minarets), and the white building in front of the Hotel Pontchartrain, which is gone. In fact, even this portion of Bates street is gone, it's now under the City-County building and the parking structure behind. ["Circa 1917" doesn't mean "in 1917." It means around ("circa"!) 1917. - Dave] Number 97What is with the large 97's on the one building corner as well as the water tower? Hide and seekThe white building half hiding the Hotel Pontchartrain in the original photo is called the Vinton Building. In Doug Floor Plan's photo, it is hidden behind the Z-shaped First National Building. This photo shows the Vinton Building with the First National behind it. Number TowerThe number "97" on the water tower and building is advertising the street address of the Fred Lawrence Printing Company at 97 Woodward Avenue. Their street sign is visible in both images. The earlier image doesn't show the number. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)
Côte d’Azur: 1954
... so -- yeow! It looks très really nice Here is the hotel to which the swimming pool belongs. The pool has been enlarged and the ... I count two. For the Rich and maybe famous The Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc is booked solid until October 2023. Even then, get your ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/08/2023 - 12:37am -

August 1954. Antibes, French Riviera. "The Sporting Look -- Beachwear. Sunbathers at the Eden Roc, Côte d'Azur." 35mm Kodachrome slide by Toni Frissell. View full size. Sun protectionGeez -- no place to stick your umbrella in the sand. Bond, James BondI embigulated and looked for Sean Connery everywhere but couldn’t find him. Bird is the wordThere are a lot of budgies getting smuggled there. Bond, James BondI think I found him. Missh Moneypenny, let me get your legsh for you. Are those ...... swings and rings dangling over the ocean for acrobatically getting into the water? If so -- yeow! It looks très really niceHere is the hotel to which the swimming pool belongs. The pool has been enlarged and the steps reconfigured. Too bad it was empty when the Google satellite passed over. Click to embiggen Bikini scarcityThe bikini, a postwar sensation of French design, is rather scarce here. I count two. For the Rich and maybe famousThe Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc is booked solid until October 2023. Even then, get your wallet out. The wonder of KodachromeKodachrome, now an obsolete format, never ceases to amaze in its dazzling rendition of color. I have a very large collection of National Geographic Yearbooks, and one of the joys of looking through the pages is the incredible Kodachrome photographs, taken by very talented photographers. Kodachrome can be considered the equivalent of moving pictures' Technicolor, although a different production process is used, the effects are similar. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Swimming, Toni Frissell)
White Star Line: 1904
... or pushed out of the White Star pier. Just above the hotel can be seen what looks like a diesel. It is a dummy locomotive. A ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 1:01pm -

Circa 1904. "Troy Line piers; RMS Baltic at White Star Line piers, New York." At the time, the Baltic was the world's largest ship. Panorama of three 8x10 inch glass negatives, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. On 14 April 1912"the Baltic sent an ice warning message to the RMS Titanic" And we all know how that worked out don't we. What a DUMMY!On the right side, note the string of freight cars being pulled or pushed out of the White Star pier. Just above the hotel can be seen what looks like a diesel. It is a dummy locomotive. A dummy loco is a switch engine with a carbody covering the boiler and drive wheels to make it appear to be a horse car. Some horses would absolutely freak out at a steam engine, and so the RR's thought of this ruse. In later years most of the fake carbodys were removed. This ought to be New York Central & Hudson River RR. They had the usual collection of small switch engines for this work, but they bought a small group of Shay geared locos to work these street tracks at one point. If the photographer had shot the picture a bit sooner, we could see more of this dummy. [I'm guessing they're pulling these cars out of the pier, as I see no one in position to relay hand signals. The head brakie is likely protecting the rear of the loco, and the rest of the crew are riding the cut out.] Also note the cars, boxcars and reefers to supply the ocean liners. One of the best pictures ever!I am amazed at how this picture is saturated with detail. I looked this over for several minutes and cannot believe it was taken almost a hundred years ago. Thanks again for this and so many incredible inspiring photos. What a thrill.I remember when I was a kid driving down the elevated East Side Drive when the big ‘’liners’’ were at dock. Wow, both Queens, the United States and more. Boy, for me this was fantastic! I wish I could have seen the NYC fire department capsize that famous French luxury liner who’s name a can’t remember due to a senior moment… Normandy? She tried to warn her big sister...Baltic is one of the ships that sent a subsequently ignored ice warning to Titanic in April 1912. Five years after this photo was made, she rescued passengers of White Star fleetmate Republic, after a collision with the steamship Florida. Republic sank. The French liner's name was "Normandie" with "ie", not "y". I'd sooner NOT see the fire department sink her as I'd have liked for her to have lasted long enough to have gone somewhere on her. And captained byThe RMS Baltic was captained by Captain Edward John Smith, RD, RNR at the time of this picture. Actually, he served as captain from its maiden voyage in 1904 until 1907. Captain Smith is primarily remembered for being the captain of the RMS Titanic. not much left now...I can't quite figure out where this fits in the 1904 picture but the silent, rusting sign is one of the few things left on that pier 98 years later (look closely and you can still see the White Star written on it) Those archesKvenido: I was just at the same spot the other day, and tried, with equal lack of success, to get a shot of that arch with the White Star lettering. Not so long ago there were large limestone walls that surrounded those steel arches. I think they are a few blocks north of where the picture in question was taken, and are a few years newer. Sunny side upAmidst all the hustle and bustle, is someone sneaking a break up on the Troy Line roof? Location, Location, LocationPier 46 in this photo was located at The Hudson (North) River and Charles Street in what is now called the West Village. Pier 48 was at West 11th Street. Somewhere over these past 104 years they must have rearranged the pier numbers. Today Pier 46 is West 46th Street and the Hudson River. Pier 46 is now home to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum a major NYC attraction. The Shuttle "Enterprise" was awarded to the Intrepid by NASA and will, within the next few weeks, grace its flight deck. I don't remember what I was smoking when I made this comment but the pier numbers weren't changed and The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and it's newest acquisition, the Space Orbiter "Enterprise" remain where they've always been, at Pier 86, West 46th St and the Hudson River. No Radio - yet.The one thing I noticed was no radio aerials gracing the masts of any of the ships in this great picture. Yes, it was still a bit early but it was on its way and by the end of 1912 was to be standard equipment on all ships. Hundreds of tons of coal to load for the steam engines.Have a look to a special detail on starboard of the "BALTIC": The coal ports. You see three ports in work for stowing coal from the barges alongside into the coal bunkers of the ship. "BALTIC" were propelled by two propellers driven by two steam quadruple expansion engines and reached an average speed of 16 knots (30 km/h). Amazing!I have studied this over and over again. The detail is amazing. I love seeing all the varied activities involved in the commerce of the day. Thanks for your work! I truly appreciate it. I enjoy the photographs so much! Three survivorsNote the Western Electric bldg near the right edge of the pic-- still there between Bank and Bethune, and still with its flagpole. Out in the haze just left of the pyramidal cupola at the north end of Pier 49, the Weehawken water tower http://binged.it/IsKodh Just left of the cupola at the south end of Pier 48, St Michaels http://binged.it/IsKEsQ which isn't actually a survivor-- it burned (circa 1932?) and was replaced with a similar (identical?) structure. Wonder how often New York got a clear day back then. Maiden Voyage?If the 1904 date is accurate, this photo might record the completion of the Baltic's maiden voyage. New York Times, July 9, 1904. White Star Liner Baltic Completes Maiden Voyage. Made Trip from Liverpool in 7 Days 13 Hours and 37 Minutes — Brought 906 Passengers. Amid the tooting of hundreds of whistles and the dipping of flags, the new White Star Line steamship Baltic, the largest ever built, made her way up the bay yesterday, completing her maiden voyage from Liverpool to this port. Thousands of eyes along the shore watched the big vessel as she steamed slowly up the harbor on the breast of the tide, and every floating craft to be seen dwindled into insignificance beside the big liner. When the Baltic appeared in the upper bay ferryboats, steamboats, tugs, and sailing craft went out of their course to give those aboard better views of the steamship, and those vessels which were going down the channel as the Baltic came made way for her. The lines on which the Baltic is built give her the characteristic look of the Cedric and Celtic, the two other largest ships of the White Star Line, but she exceeds both these by about 3,000 tons. To those who went alongside her the Baltic's freeboard appeared tremendously high, the longest ladders on the revenue cutters, which are long enough for all other vessels, hardly reaching to the main deck. Her sides are painted black, and her two big smokestacks are light brown, except where they are circled near the top by board black bands. She has four pole masts. The great size of the Baltic, however, is minimized by the gracefulness of her lines. The steam yacht Corsair was waiting down the bay for J. Pierpont Morgan, her owner, who was aboard the steamship, and as the Baltic came up the bay the black yacht ran for a time alongside of her, the yacht ran for a time alongside of her, the yacht looking like a little toy beside the big liner. The length of the Baltic is 726 feet. In this respect she exceeds the length of the Kaiser Wilheim II of the North German Lloyd Line, which formerly was the longest ship, by 18.2 feet. Her width is 75 feet. In all she has eight decks, four of them being above the main deck. She is of 24,000 tons gross register, while her capacity for cargo is 28,000 tons, and her load draught about 40,000. The new steamship has accommodations for about 3,000 passengers besides her crew of 350. The first-class smoking room and library are on the upper promenade deck. The staterooms in the first-class cabin are so arranged that the passengers occupying them will feel very little of the ship's motion. Just abaft the first-class compartment is that for the second-class passengers, consisting of a large dining room, a smoking room and a library, besides the staterooms. With the exception of a limited space forward, the third-class passengers are provided for abaft the second-class. The Baltic is fitted with engines of Harlan & Wolff's quadruple expansion type, arranged on the balanced principle, which practically does away with vibration. The liner can attain a speed of about 17 miles an hour. The steamship was built at the yards of Harlan & Wolff at Belfast, and she sailed from Liverpool for this side on June 29, stopping on the next day at Queenstown to pick up mails and passengers. She is in command of Lieut. E.J. Smith, R.N.R., who has become well known to seagoers as Captain of the steamship Majestic, from which he was transferred to take command of the new vessel. The Baltic is the tenth command which Lieut. Smith has held in the service of the White Star Line. The first trip of the big liner was made in 7 days, 13 hours and 37 minutes, and both Chief Engineer H. Crawford Boyle, formerly of the Celtic, and Consulting Engineer Andrews of Harlan & Wolff, who made the trip for the purpose of watching the Baltic's behavior, declares that there was not the slightest trouble with her machinery, and that she has come up to all expectations. Her best day's run was 417 knots, made on July 4. She brought a total of 906 passengers, 209 in the first-class cabin, 142 in the second-class, and 555 in the steerage. Every one of the passengers united in saying that the voyage could not have been more pleasant. Capt. Smith was delighted with his ship. "I tried to see how she would work coming around the tail of the Southwest Spit," he said, "and, as the channel was clear, I sent her around at full speed. She behaved admirably. Pilot Johnson, who has brought up almost every one of the big vessels that come into this port, piloted us up." The officers of the Baltic are Thomas Kidwell, formerly of the Celtic, chief officer; W.E. Graham, surgeon; H. McElroy, purser, and H. Wovenden, chief steward. The ship will be open for public inspection on Monday and an admission fee of 25 cents will be asked from each visitor, the proceeds to go to the seamen's charities Washington Post, July 2, 1904. White Star Line, New York—Queenstown—Liverpool, Sailing Wednesdays and Fridays, From Pier 48, N.R., West 11th st. N.Y. Teutonic… July 6, 10 am Celtic… July 8, 1 pm Baltic… July 13, 5 pm Majestic… July 20, 10 am Cedric… July 22, 1 pm Oceanic… July 27, 5 pm (Panoramas, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC, Railroads)
Ithaca: 1901
... the first track was laid, extending from the Ithaca Hotel to the railroad stations at the foot of State street. On the 1st of May, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 11:05am -

State Street in Ithaca, N.Y., circa 1901. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Far above Cayuga's waterswith her waves of blue stands our noble alma mater glorious to view! Well not yet my alma mater, its quite interesting to see a view of Ithaca, where I'm going to be spending the next four years of my life, from over a century ago. To think Cornell was only 36 years old when this picture was taken! BTW the guy in the beanie was probably an alumnus of Cornell. Ithaca College was a tiny music conservatory until 1931. Nice perspectiveBeautiful composition. The city before it was cluttered with cars is lovely. They've Got Moxieand they'd probably sell it to you, too. Calling all KeystonesAs any silent film fan knows, the window washers, the dog, the well-dressed ladies and the unattended bicycle can only spell trouble. Throw in the barrels, the trolley tracks, plus the horse droppings, and you've got an epic scene on your hands. Rat Cap!We had to wear freshman beanies like that back in the late 1940s in Florida. BicyclesI can see at least four bicycles. The 1890's were the "Golden Age of the Bicycle," with the invention of the double-triangle frame and the pneumatic tire both less than 15 years old in 1901. North TiogaThis appears to be Ithaca Commons looking east toward North Tioga Street from Cayuga Street. Some of the buildings still look the same. Ithaca CommonsI believe this is the part of State St. that is now the Ithaca Commons, with this view looking east up the hill towards Cornell. If I'm wrong, someone correct me. Awesome photo. Ithaca CommonsBird's eye view. "Cars stop here"What about the wagons -- they had the right of way? ["Cars" meant streetcars. It was a "car stop." - Dave] Behind the TimesI'm surprised that a prosperous Northern city still had horsecars in 1901, many cities electrified their trolleys in the 1890's, if I remember correctly. I'm curious yellow....That's a scene one doesn't see anymore, a sparrow hittin' on mashed horse apples on the street. Puzzles me however, how to understand the relection of the gent on the bicycle in the window and how it relates to his actual position on the street, an optical illusion of sorts? BicyclistsWhat a great scene! One doesn't think of 1901 daily life having a lot of bicycling as primary transportation. But just look at all the bikes on the street! Comparing photosThis has to be my favorite then and now comparison of the same area. Great work. The popular priced clothiers at P. Rascover have been replaced by the hip sounding Loose Threads, but the mannequins have stayed! The woman on the right with the parasol has a 2009 counterpart in almost the exact same spot, but now with a messenger bag. Then and NowHere's a picture taken today from as near as I can get to the same spot. The conversion of State Street to the Commons back in the mid-1970's has blocked the long vista down the street, but many of the buildings are still identifiable. Click to enlarge. [Great photo. Thanks! - Dave] What's cooking?The "Now You're Cooking" building in the modern photo looks completely different from the building in that spot in the 1901 photo, and - strangely - it looks older. I like the nice curved windows at the top. Those two guysI don't like either one of those two guys walking on the right No, not at all. Foy Las Vegas Beer DogCan any Cornelians verify the legend of the dog who lived in one of the frat houses on campus and would ride a streetcar into town by himself every day to drink beer at one of the bars? My dad, btw, graduated from the university 40 years after this picture was made. Wide Angle?Seems to be a fairly wide angle shot, without the 'fish eye' type distortion at the edges of the pic. Was there something different about lenses, apertures or cameras then? [This is the "look" characteristic of just about any large view camera. - Dave] BicyclesIn addition to the buildings, the bicycles have remained a presence in Ithaca. People bike everywhere, which is somewhat incomprehensible to me in a town that has as many hills as Ithaca. What has not remained the same is the level of dress (although that is true of nearly every locale pictured on Shorpy). Still, if someone wore a suit in Ithaca, they'd probably stop traffic. The type of stores on this street has changed as well. I'm guessing Ithaca Hemp Company would not have been nearly so popular at the turn of the previous century as it is with the hippies that largely make up the town now. To R-Spice: I hope that you retain that enthusiasm for Cornell after you've been here awhile (and particularly through your first winter). Good luck! Ithaca StreetcarsIthaca streetcars seem to have been electrified from the outset. In the year 1887-88 the first track was laid, extending from the Ithaca Hotel to the railroad stations at the foot of State street. On the 1st of May, 1891, the franchises and property of the old company were transferred to the present organization, and on the 1st of June, 1892, the company purchased the franchise and property of the Brush-Swan Electric Light Company, which it still owns. That company had used electricity on the street cars under the unsatisfactory Daft system stem since January 4. 1888. The Brush-Swan system was adopted in 1891. -- "Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York" by John H. Selkreg, 1894 The Daft system apparently used a low-voltage third-rail power - which had to be a problem in snowy Ithaca. It's possible that Brush-Swan was a battery system, which would explain the lack of overhead wires. A different perspectiveI took a pic of that same spot as well: The photo was probably taken with a large-format camera that had perspective controls. It's very hard to do that with a 35mm SLR -- you would need a tilt-shift lens and there aren't any that are really wide enough. I tried to do it by stitching several photos together in Photoshop and adjust perspective, but it's not really very good. That photo, the old one, is really amazing. It was taken by a professional, to be sure! (The Gallery, DPC)
World Series: 1912
... north of what is now called Freedom Plaza. And there was a Hotel Johnson at 13th and E, which would be consistent with the idea that this ... [Update: We are looking down E Street at the Raleigh Hotel. - Dave] Officer! Arrest That Man You there! Without a jacket ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 8:24pm -

"Baseball, Professional. Crowds at scoreboard." Watching the 1912 World Series courtesy of the Washington Post on an electro-mechanical scoreboard that looks something like a big pinball game. In the years before the first radio broadcasts in the early 1920s, newspapers, linked to reporters by telephone, wire service or "wireless telegraph," provided live coverage of sporting events like prizefights and baseball games to crowds on the street, with announcers and scoreboards giving play-by-play results. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Men without hatsI see two! The WillardI'm a little confused looking at this photo. I know that the Washington Post was once on E St. just north of what is now called Freedom Plaza. And there was a Hotel Johnson at 13th and E, which would be consistent with the idea that this is shot looking east down E Street from about 14th Street. But I'm confused because the building looming in the background looks like the Willard, which would be behind the camera if I'm right. Was there a building at 12th and Pennsylvania that looked exactly like the Willard? [Update: We are looking down E Street at the Raleigh Hotel. - Dave] Officer! Arrest That ManYou there! Without a jacket or a hat. Come with me. You are under arrest as either a vagrant or a visitor from the future - and with those suspenders and bow tie, the latter is obviously not the case. E StreetI think that this view is indeed looking eastward along E street. At some point, Mr. Foster's shop moved, a careful study of the buildings show that they are different. An alternative view of some of the buildings, and the "Velvet Kind" sign, is seen in the nighttime Washington Noir photo. The 1400 block of E street is visible in the background of one of the many views of the Hayes roadster. But this puzzles me. The National Theater building, with the blocky projecting bays, is perhaps seen in both. However, the Munsey Building, the large white block built in 1905, is seen behind the roadster but where is it in this photo? [In 1912 Mr. Foster's shop was on 14th Street across from the Willard (ad below from December 1912). The store in the 1924 photo, when he had two locations, might be the one at 1229 Pennsylvania Avenue. In any event, that's the Raleigh Hotel in the background. The cupola was at 12th and Pennsylvania, so this would indeed seem to be E Street. - Dave] Update: There is a reference in the Post in 1908 referring to address of National Remembrance Shop at 1333 E street. The Historical Society of DC has an image of the corner of 14th and E showing Mr. Foster's at the 503 14th site. Note the trusty policeman directing traffic in the foreground. Washington Post, Apr 26, 1914 The Munsey Trust Company yesterday bought the property at 1335 E street, occupied by William A. Engel, who conducts a saloon, bowling alley, and restaurant. The purchase of the property gives the Munsey Trust Company ownership of all the buildings and ground between the New National Theater and the Washington Post building. The trust company announced that an eleven-story office building is to be built on the site now occupied the by Shoomaker company and Engel, to adjoin the Munsey building. The new building will be of the same height as the Munsey building, and will be surmounted by a tower. The entrance of the present Munsey building will be changed. Work on the new building will begin June 1. McKim, Mead & White, of New York, will draw the plans for the building. So I take from this, that the large columns in this photograph are the entrance to the original Munsey building. when the building was expanded The facade was rebuilt to the appearance seen in the roadster photo. This suggests the roadster photo was probably taken after 1915. The World Series is the Big EventThe best thing of all is that this crowd is gathered on a Washington street to watch the results of a World Series played by franchises in two other cities. Subway SeriesThere was a time, before TV sets were common in homes, that people would gather in front of stores that sold them. In most NYC neighborhoods, they were radio repair shops. There they watched the telecasts the same way the folks in this picture watched the scoreboard, but the crowds were nowhere as large as this. However, in the 1940's and 50's there was local interest because the Yankees, Giants (NY that is) and/or Dodgers (Brooklyn, that is) were usually in the series. VarietyEven though a casual glance reveals a sea of derbies and homburgs, careful examination reveals quite an interesting variety of hat styles and "bashes" (crown shapes). (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Sports)
Elks Parade: 1916
... the elaborate windows and brickwork of the McGraw Hotel/Pocket Billiards building in the photo. It was built in 1904 following ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/23/2012 - 6:45pm -

"Elks parade in Baltimore, 1916." The message on those paddle fans: "Bromo-Seltzer." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. The Educator ShoeEven the sign was educational. Big deal in BaltimoreObviously, this was very popular event. A quick visit to the Elks website indicates that the fraternal organization is still going strong. Are there any Baltimore-based Shorpsters who know if this parade is still happening there? Sons of the Desert"We are the Sons of the Desert Having the time of our lives! Three thousand strong, Marching along, Far from our sweethearts and wives (God bless them)..." Ceremonial song of the lodge that Stan and Ollie belonged to, whose "exhausted ruler" exhorted the members of Tent 13 to show 100% attendance at the Chicago Convention. Hat KnowledgeThose were the days when every man knew his hat size, and if he was a "long oval" or not. And what a glorious riot of overhanging signs! Plop plop, fizz fizzThe Bromo-Seltzer Tower is a noted landmark of downtown Baltimore. On an unrelated note: My goodness, what a lot of bunting there is! I'm amazed...At the number of people in the crowd, and the number of men marching. Today, the only parades that have this much interest tend to be the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, and the Rose Bowl Parade. What i just learned!Many moons ago, I knew a very old man who told me he had only seven teeth left and one of them he got when he joined the Elks Club. I never "got" the joke and this photo jogged my memory so instead of remaining ignorant, I looked up the Elks initiation ceremony a few minutes ago and found out what he meant. Very interesting. Thanks for the enlightenment. Great ParadeWhoever thought a bunch of middle-aged guys in boaters, bow ties, and white gloves could draw such a crowd! Hat trickI realize that's not a plumber's helper stuck to the top of the policeman's cap, but it sure looks like it. BPOE '16Baltimore hosted the 1916 BPOE National Convention; here we see the parade of delegates who were in attendance. L&HDefinitely reminded me of "Sons of the Desert." Still waiting for Stan and Ollie to march by with a babe on each arm. A great photo reminder, thanks. Send in the clownsAll those people gathered just to watch a bunch of men walk down the street? At least the Shriners have funny cars and cool fezzes. Don't get you antlers stuck in the tram wires!A lot of the flags are hanging from the support cables for the overhead tram wires. I hope they turned the juice off first. Antlers and electricity probably don't mix. Steady ThereI am amazed at all the people watching this parade from balconies and open windows. RubenesqueIt looks like a Pee Wee Herman parade. That's EntertainmentWhile there are a great deal of people watching the parade, in the days before television, computers or the internet, the options for entertainment were more limited than we enjoy today. For 1916, watching a parade must have been a big deal. Stop, my sides!"Rubenesque, It looks like a Pee Wee Herman parade." Funniest. Title/Comment. Ever. George Herriman's convention cartoonsI'm reminded of George "Krazy Kat" Herriman's 1907 cartoons about a convention. The comics blog Stripper's Guide had a series of these up last year. Not Elks or Sons of the Desert in this case, but Shriners. Loadsa laffs. Learn something new ....Okay, I guess those are all 48 star flags - didn't know that .... but there's a 46-star flag above the Elk's-head banner on the top left corner - the second and fifth rows are indented! [It's a 48-star flag. Which, as we noted below, came with the rows either lined up or staggered ("indented"). - Dave] Two Different FlagsNote that there are both 46-star and 48-star United States flags in the picture. Arizona and New Mexico had become the newest states only four years before this picture was taken. You can tell by the grid versus offset rows patterns of stars. [These would all be 48-star flags, which came in both grid and staggered flavors. - Dave] What Street?Dave, do you know what street in Balmer this is? [I do not. - Dave] No Fat BoysExcept for a few paunchy stomachs on some older fellas, I don't think I can see one fat American. Useless factoidThe Elks were founded by Irish vaudevillians in NYC who needed a place to collect their mail and keep their stuff while on the road. No one wanted such transient Irish rogues around (sow biz folks, and Irish at that!), so they banded together to form this Protective Order. It then grew as an Irish club to include others besides vaudevillians, but still mostly first generation Irishman. What I'm saying is, these guys may look like Pee Wee Herman, but I wouldn't make fun of their clothes to their faces. Baltimore StreetThis view is looking west along Baltimore Street from Holliday Street. thats an amazing photo ofthats an amazing photo of baltimore Good Call Baltimore BoyThe only building that seems to be still standing from 1916 is the white one on the left in the Google street view: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Holliday+Str... One little girl found the cameraAn amazing photograph. I wonder what sort of gear you'd need to take this with today. Spot the little colleen who has found the photographer. The buildings that wereThe large structure on the northwest corner of East Baltimore and Guilford Streets in the approximate center of the photo (with the striped first floor) was known as the Tower Building. Constructed in 1904 (following the Great Fire) with an enormous 18-story clock tower, it housed the Maryland Casualty Company, an important local insurance firm. There is a parking lot there now. To the right, on the northeast corner, was the Franklin Building. Five stories high, it was also built in 1904, with unusual 15-pane over 1 windows. In 1983 it housed a Little Tavern Hamburger joint in the west half of the first floor. To its right is a building with a beautiful arched window mostly hiding behind the Olympia sign. It was built in 1908 as a Horn & Horn restaurant. Horn & Horn was a Baltimore institution through the 20th century, open 24 hours. It was a Wendy's in 1983. The Olympia Dining Room to the right of it was built in 1912 as a simpler version of its neighbor. Also with an arched window, but without the elaborate detailing. Both were designed by theatre architects. The building containing the Educator Shoe company in the photo was built in 1905 and was a show bar in the 1980s. The remaining Baltimore red-light district (known as The Block) is extant in the block to the east. It's too bad the buntings are obscuring the elaborate windows and brickwork of the McGraw Hotel/Pocket Billiards building in the photo. It was built in 1904 following the fire. The building to the far right with the large brick quoins was constructed in 1868 by Baldwin and Pennington as the German Bank. It was completely altered and modernized in 1930 as the National Central Bank. This street corner is significant as the location of the nation's first gas street light. This row of buildings was demolished and the parcel is occupied by a parking structure constructed in 1998. (The Gallery, Baltimore, Harris + Ewing, Patriotic)
On Broadway: 1911
... left is 42nd. The big building outlined in lights is the Hotel Knickerbocker. The Hotel Albany was at Broadway and 41st. We can also see the Hotel Normandie sign ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/18/2012 - 6:55pm -

New York circa 1911. "Broadway at night from Times Square." With a phantom or two loitering at the subway entrance. Companion to the night view of Times Square posted here on Monday. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. StreetlightsYou can still find those lampposts dotted here and there throughout the city. I think they are called "Bishop's Crooks." Subway entranceIt's neat to see the subway entrance at the right. There used to be quite a few like that, but now there's only one left, down at St. Marks Place, I believe. [Astor Place. - Dave] +98Below is same perspective (north from 43rd Street) taken in January of 2009. Phantoms and a great photo.I always enjoy seeing the phantoms of blurred people and objects in these old photos, it gives a sense of life and reality, that there were real people living there. Cars, trolleys, horses, going about their business the same as we do today. With a little imagination you can almost hear them! Hitchy-KooLooks like an ad reading "IT'S A HITCHCOCK CONQUEST" next to the Cohan theatre, likely referring to the actor Raymond Hitchcock, who was a star on Broadway at the time. Oddly enough, both Cohan and Hitchcock were celebrity endorsers of the fine, refreshing taste of Moxie. Macy's signAccording to the company's web site, Macy's moved to its present Herald Square location at West 34th and Broadway in 1902. Were they paying for advertising space at "the competitor's spot" -- Times Square? I love the phantom newspaper vendor slumped over near the subway entrance. [The sign is on the store, eight blocks away in Herald Square. This view is from the southern limit of Times Square. - Dave] +98 I disagree"Below is same perspective (north from 43rd Street) taken in January of 2009" That's the Times building behind the subway entrance to the right. So unlike your picture, we are standing in Times Square looking north up Broadway, and the street just ahead on the left is 47th. [Not quite. The view here is looking south down Broadway from 43rd. The next street to the left is 42nd. The big building outlined in lights is the Hotel Knickerbocker. The Hotel Albany was at Broadway and 41st. We can also see the Hotel Normandie sign at 38th, and the Macy's sign at 35th. - Dave] George M. Cohan.On February 13, 1911 the George M. Cohan Theater opened its doors at 1482 Broadway & 43rd Street. Its narrow entrance led to a marbled lobby which had murals depicting the Four Cohans up until the event of "The Governor's Son." After you entered the theater, you were treated to various scenes from his Broadway successes that were painted on the walls above and surrounding the boxes. The theater was virtually a shrine to his career. Opening night featured "Get Rich Quick Wallingford." The "Little Millionaire" opened September 25, 1911, and was the last production that George appeared in with any family members. The theater became a full time movie house in 1932, and by 1938 it was demolished. Subway Entrances/ExitsIn the original IRT system, entrances had the rounded roof, exits had the angled roofs. None survive today, though there are replicas installed at Astor Place, not St. Mark's, and an elevator at City Hall is similar in style. This picture is even more important for showing the Times building from ground level, giving an indication at how narrow it really is. It's a shame this gorgeous building was stripped of its ornamentation in the 70s, and soldiers on today vacant, making more money as a billboard than as a rented building. Still, and I forget who said it, but it is the most famous building in the world whose architecture is almost completely unknown. Re: +98 I disagree (and Dave)I humbly apologize for my misidentification of the perspective and thank you both for providing me with the proper location. I based my shot on a very low-res copy of the original photograph that I had. The Cohan Theatre building looked much like the Paramount building and I incorrectly believed the Hotel Knickerbocker was the Hotel Astor. However, after I posted the (incorrect) "now" version, it just didn't look right when I compared it to the hi-res Shorpy shot (especially with "Times" so prominently written in the window right in front and the Macy's sign in the distance). It's been driving me nuts. Looks like I've got another shot to take after I overcome my embarrassment. The perils of going from front to backAh, I see that Hitchcock was appearing just down the street in The Red Widow, as "Cicero Hannibal Butts," which might explain the "conquest" comment. This is what happens when you don't keep up with Shorpy on a daily basis. Much different todayIt's interesting how many hotels, theaters, and restaurants are on Broadway below 42nd Street in the photo. Today, there is very little activity below 40th, and most of Times Square activity extends from 40th up to about 48th. Where is this building?Has this building been torn down? It looks like the Flatiron building but in going back and forth with the Flat Iron building the facing doesn't look the same but yet the angle of this building looks like it. [This is the old New York Times building, seen here and here and here. Now covered with advertising signs, it's where the ball drops on New Year's. - Dave]Thanks very much. I was going nuts trying to tie those buildings together. So the NYT built two kinds of Flat Iron buildings? Do they face each other? [Two kinds? - Dave] 100 years laterOn my lunch break today I went out today and looked at this location. First of all, no sign at all that this structure, the subway entrance, existed. Today it would sit directly in front of the NYPD booth, where there is clean sidewalk, no sign of a former hole in the ground. But 100 years is along time and I'm sure the sidewalk has been repaired numerous times. Also it looks like this the subway is right in front of the face of 1 Times Square, but in fact there was about 40 feet between it and the building. Also in 1924 no sign of the subway entrance farther down 7th avenue on the right. [Historical map] It's great to be able to jump back in time 100 years, and see how much has changed, and how much is still the same. On a personal note, my great grandfather, John Larson, was a foreman at Hecla Iron Work in Brooklyn, and that firm apparently made all of the original IRT subway entrances. I don't have any information he worked on this project, but still I feel a little pride looking at these old entrances. +100In an effort to atone for my FUBAR post (+98 below), I retook the same view below from April of 2011. Subway Entrance on Times SquareIn 1911 the IRT subway ran a slightly different route than it does today. Tracks ran up the east side of Manhattan to 42d street then crossed over to the west side to continue uptown. This is how the station was originally configured (as seen at the track level): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square_%E2%80%93_42nd_Street_/_Port_... The cross-over tracks are now the Times Square Shuttle. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC)
Moonlight Tower: 1899
... Square), then I'm guessing this photo was taken from the Hotel Pontchartrain. Eight Storeys in the Naked City From Printer's Ink, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/17/2020 - 10:35am -

Detroit circa 1899. "Majestic Building." And a good view of one of the "moonlight tower" arc lamp standards whose base can be seen in the previous post. Some of these towers are said to have made their way to Austin, Texas, where they are the sole remaining examples of their kind. View full size. Public TransportationIt looks like you don't have to wait long for a streetcar. The lady carries a swordI am intrigued by the statue in the lower right. Does she still stand? And what is her story? All gone...nearly Corner of Woodward and Michigan Avenue. That's the old city hall at the left side of the photo. As in the previous photo of the old post office, nothing in this photo remains today. Well, almost. You can see this cannon at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle, as it was removed there when the city hall was razed in 1960. Snap, Crackle and Pop!The early carbon arc street lamps were not necessarily as popular an innovation as one might assume. I don't know what Detroit residents thought of theirs, but a similar system was installed in San Diego in 1886, and earned many bitter complaints from the residents. The lamps were too bright for one thing, and people who had grown up with candles and kerosene lantern lights were appalled by the harsh, blue-white arc lights that cast shadows deeper than the noonday sun. The company's solution was to raise the masts to as tall as 125 feet (below, in an 1887 photo), but it scarcely helped. And the heavy carbon rods were exposed to the moist and often foggy night air from the adjacent bay, resulting in an all-night racket of pops and small explosions that kept everyone awake. San Diego's carbon arc lamps lasted only to 1889, when the lighting company failed in a local economic collapse, but their removal was unlamented by the long-suffering residents. Peninsular ElectricThere's another tower at the next intersection. It must have been successful because I can't see any remains of the gaslights that must have preceded it. The Peninsular Electric Light Company was founded in 1891 to run Detroit's street lights. It seems there were 142 of them (but probably not 142 towers). Aglow in AustinI live about two miles from one of the "moon towers" in Austin. It's very high up, and shines brightly every night. Of course, there's lots of other light around, so it's hard to tell just how much it's casting. I've often wondered what it would look like if it were the only light source. Austin memoriesI'd forgotten all about these. I moved to Austin for college 40 years ago and lived near a light tower myself. It wasn't "the only light source," but Austin in those days was a much, much smaller town with far less light pollution than today. The artificial moonlight was noticeable from almost anywhere in town, as I recall. Check the Plaque DaveLooks like they bought them new in Austin. [Hello? The plaque doesn't have a thing to say about new or used. There are, however, plenty of references describing how the city of Austin bought 31 used towers from Detroit in 1894. - Dave] Sword carrying ladyThe lady is on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, dedicated in 1872 to honor Michigan's Civil War veterans. The monument was moved about 100 feet a few years ago. RE: circaI know the Library of Congress says circa 1880-1899. But I think this might be 1902. Because the sale signs say, "A BUSINESS REVOLUTION Change of Ownership-Management". Which jibes with this, from 1902: Pardridge & Walsh, dry goods merchants, for many years at the corner of Woodward avenue and Congress street, purchased the immense stock and fixtures of C. A. Shafer in the Majestic building for about $140,000, and continued the management of both stores until the end of the year. [Finish reading the signs and you'll see that the photo shows C.A. Shafer moving into the building, not out of it. This negative is listed in the 1899 Detroit Publishing catalog. - Dave] Cadillac SquareIf that's the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the lower left right (as identified in earlier posts of Cadillac Square), then I'm guessing this photo was taken from the Hotel Pontchartrain. Eight Storeys in the Naked CityFrom Printer's Ink, July 5, 1899: "The finest commercial structure in Michigan is the Majestic Building, Detroit, occupied by the department store of C.A. Shafer ... Mr. Shafer uses eight floors and the basement." In 1901 Shafer was bought out by Pardridge & Blackwell. This photo must date from between 1896, when the building was completed, and 1901, when P & B took over. Also, General William Booth (as advertised on the street banner) did a tour of U.S. cities in 1898. Appearing at the AuditoriumGeneral William Booth wasn't just any Salvation Army speaker, he founded the organization in 1878, after the 13 years that he and his wife Catherine spent leading his East End (London) organization, The Christian Mission, nee The Christian Revival Society, itself formed after his four unhappy years as a Methodist (they wanted him to take a pastorate, he wanted to travel and evangelize). Initially regarded as a crank, by the time of this photo both William Booth and his Salvation Army were highly regarded. I am wondering if The Auditorium refers to the Auditorium of the Detroit Museum of Art, which at the turn of the century was criticized for booking "shallow" speakers, not aligned with the "purposes for which the art museum was organized." (see: "Museum on the Verge," by Jeffrey Apt, Wayne State Press, 2001) 1896-1962The Majestic was Detroit's second skyscraper. Soldiers and Sailors MonumentThe lady in the lower right stands atop the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, which commemorates the civil war. The statue, as mentioned above, was recently moved about 100 feet, to accommodate the re-creation of a park in Campus Martius. Its still there and looks as good as the day she was unveiled. Stop in sometime and have a look. Its at the heart of downtown Detroit. Demolition of City HallThe corner of old Detroit City Hall is seen at the left edge of the photo. In one of the most notorious incidents in the history of Detroit, as preservationists and boosters alike fought to save the old city hall, an injuction was filed to stop the demolition. The contractor snuck a bulldozer into the site at midnight and demolished the portico on the front of the building, compromising the structural integrity of the edifice, and forcing the full demolition. Moonlight Towers in AustinThere are indeed remaining moonlight towers here in Austin. Seventeen of them are still in use, retrofitted with incandescent bulbs in, I think the 1950's. More info here. lick below to enlarge. So little trafficLots of streetcars. Some commercial drays. A handful of private coaches. And many pedestrians. Looks something like Moscow would have until the end of the Soviet Union. Plenty of space on those broad boulevards. Austin TowersSee all 15 Moonlight Towers - http://www.andymattern.com/moonlighttowers/ Majestic DemolitionI was one of the two crane operators that participated in the demolition of the building in 1962. We hoisted a small 10 ton Bantam crane and a small John Deere loader-dozer atop the building and slowly worked our way to the third floor where the building was becoming unstable. We removed the equipment and finished the demolition from the ground. I worked for Arrow Wrecking Co. for nearly 20 years and am now retired to Upper Michigan. The photos of the demolition brought back many fond memories of my old home town. Thanks. I wonderWho can read THIS from the street. Not all goneRDown3657 stated that everything in this photograph is gone. There are at least two buildings on Merchant Row that are still standing. The Vapley Building (look for Vapley Brother Shoes in the photograph) is currently being renovated into loft apartments, and the building immediately south with the arched windows (I do know know of a name for it- it is at 1401 Woodward at the corner of Grand River. There may be others still standing, but those are the only two I can identify with 100% certainty. And, of course, the Soldiers and Sailors statue still remains. (Technology, The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)
All Lit Up: 1910
... daytime view as I could find, looking down from the Hotel Traymore about four years earlier. The only sign I can see for sure in ... of the 1910 buildings in Street view. Based on where the Hotel Traymore was located and a slight dogleg in the boardwalk that you can ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/01/2023 - 1:37pm -

Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1910. "The Boardwalk at night." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Double ChairsSmith's double chairs appear to be simply the famous Atlantic City rolling chairs for two. We know the exact date they were introduced there: June 11, 1887. TripAdvisor says that that 50-cent ride will cost you about $40 today. Incredible detailOutstanding photo. Somebody call GhostbustersI’ve never seen so many spectral bodies in one place before. Only the ghosts come out at nightHere is as close to a comparative daytime view as I could find, looking down from the Hotel Traymore about four years earlier. The only sign I can see for sure in both photos is Moerlein's Barbarossa, which Google tells me is a dark lager brewed in Cincinatti, Ohio. I couldn't identify any of the 1910 buildings in Street view. Based on where the Hotel Traymore was located and a slight dogleg in the boardwalk that you can see in the 1906 photo, here is where I think the nighttime photo was taken, on the boardwalk at S Kentucky Avenue. Early neon lights?The Moerlein's and Spearmint signs appear to be neon lights. If so, they must be very early examples of that art form. [Light bulbs only -- no neon. - Dave] Boardwalk rolling chairsAt one period after this photo two rolling chair lanes were created with boards going the opposite direction which created a smoother ride for rolling chair riders. All the rolling chairs in the photo have hard tires. Only one company (Eveler) had rolling chairs with balloon tires. The others (Shill, G. George, etc.) used hard rubber. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC)
Mrs. Riley's Wild Ride: 1921
... in front of the main entrance to the original Wardman Park Hotel, completed in 1918 and razed in the 1980s. Pretty Snazzy for 1921 ... is looking pretty special in front of the Wardman Park Hotel (later the Sheraton Park). Torn down and rebuilt in, I believe the 1970s, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 9:54pm -

Washington, D.C., 1921. "Mrs. Phil Riley in St. Claire car." (See the comments for more about Mrs. R.) National Photo Company glass negative. View full size. Early parking lightI was told those side lights were parking lights--required in some urban areas, to be illuminated during darkness, if you parked your car on a public street. Wills St. ClaireThe car was made by C.H. Wills, who worked for Henry Ford before starting his own company. Among his accomplishments at Ford were the introduction of vanadium steel in the Model T and the still famous Ford script. Some of his cars featured an overhead cam V8. Big carThat looks like an awful lot of car for that little gal. Would love some info about it. DetailsThe headlight/parking light combo is really cool; and what's that item just in front of her door? Not as new as it appears, judging by the back edge of the front fender, but it has been detailed to a fare thee well by a Simoniz wizard. Where was this picture taken? [That's mud on the fender. - Dave] I can see the Photographer!And what is that thing on the car next to him, a spotlight? Wills St. ClaireI was born in Marysville, Michigan because my grandfather was hired away from the Dodge Brothers by C.H. Wills. The car is a 1921 Wills St. Claire Roadster, the first year they were produced. GadgetThat is a huge beast of a car. I doubt the lady could see over the bonnet when standing next to it! Does anyone know what the gadget in front of the drivers door might be. A light of some sort perhaps? Wills Sainte Claire Auto MuseumLearn more about C. Harold Wills and his Wills Ste. Claire automobiles at the Wills Sainte Claire Auto Museum in Marysville, Michigan, located about an hour outside of Detroit. Wardman ParkMrs. Riley appears to be posing in front of the main entrance to the original Wardman Park Hotel, completed in 1918 and razed in the 1980s. Pretty Snazzy for 1921Mrs. Riley is looking pretty special in front of the Wardman Park Hotel (later the Sheraton Park). Torn down and rebuilt in, I believe the 1970s, and replaced by a much less interesting hotel building. At least Harry Wardman's Wardman Tower was saved. I'd be very happy to have that car today. What is that ?a light, below the windshield on the side. Big wheelsI wonder if they called them "dubs" back then. What a machine. The Mo-lyb-den-um CarAd from 1921 in The Washington Post. CarcentricI'm curious why so many of the D.C. photos are autocentric. [Auto enthusiast Herbert French's National Photo Co. counted a number of car manufacturers and dealers among its clients. - Dave] I think this is my grandmother!My grandparents lived in Woodley Park and were married in 1920. My grandmother later worked at the hotel as a switchboard operator until my father was born in 1924. The only picture of my grandmother I can immediately put my hands on is attached and was taken when she was about 12 years old. The eyes and nose look very similar to this woman here. Dave: I would love to have more info about this photo, or know if there are any more, if you can provide. [What was your grandmother's name? There's another photo here. I've enlarged her face below. Note the man in the window. - Dave] UPDATE: Grandmother's name was Esther Mildred Maddox Reily (frequently misspelled as Riley of course); she went by "Betty." My grandfather was Philip Joseph "Key" Reily. Thanks for the quick response! Little gal?I am the modern version of this "little gal" in that I drive a powerful car too: a Chrysler 300C. Since when do you have to be a man to appreciate a fine, Hemi-powered (or any other big motor) car? Phatsub, what do YOU drive? I (a little gal) will pit my 5.7L Hemi against whatever is in your driveway ANY day! The Wills Saint Claire Company and FounderC. Harold Wills Company, the Wills Saint Claire firm, produced some very advanced automobiles, in some ways too advanced. Wills, Henry Ford's first employee, was a bit of a perfectionist. He'd stop the production and make changes as he saw fit. And since his cars would cost far more to produce that his former boss's Model Ts AND with a recession hitting, Wills could not sell enough cars to keep the factory open. To learn more about the car you can contact the museum in Marysville, a friend of mine is the president, Terry Ernest, THE expert on the Wills Saint Claire autos. https://www.facebook.com/pg/Wills-Sainte-Claire-Automobile-Museum-650444... (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
The Pergola-Casino: 1911
... York, circa 1911. "The Pergola-Casino, Fort William Henry Hotel." Two years après-feu. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit ... , provided that it has been rebuilt as well. Read the Hotel's history here . The car On the left is a 1911 Packard. The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/09/2019 - 7:50pm -

Lake George, New York, circa 1911. "The Pergola-Casino, Fort William Henry Hotel." Two years après-feu. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The GrottoAfter visiting The Casino, we might go to The Grotto, provided that it has been rebuilt as well. Read the Hotel's history here. The carOn the left is a 1911 Packard. The plate is visible so if the records existed we would know whose car it was. New in 1911From https://www.fortwilliamhenry.com/resort-overview/history/: "A year after the fire [in 1909], the hotel’s owners, the Delaware & Hudson Railroad, committed to rebuilding a much smaller hotel that would accommodate around 150 guests. On June 17, 1911, the second Fort William Henry Hotel opened for business. The white stucco building was 3 stories with a red tile roof, and was designed to be less susceptible to a catastrophic fire, like the one that destroyed the first hotel. While the hotel itself was smaller, the emphasis on being a lavish resort remained. The most notable new feature was the marble and concrete pergola along the lakefront. A walkway connected the hotel to the pergola. Guests would cross a bridge over the shore road which is now the location of the Beach Road public parking lot. People danced to music provided by a resident orchestra, and enjoyed refreshments while taking in the picturesque view." (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Eateries & Bars, Kids)
Aunt Mary's Car: 1920
... the other unmarried lady employees lived in the Company Hotel. There was housing for families and barracks for the single men. There ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 06/24/2009 - 5:12pm -

c.1920, in the vicinity of Merced Falls, Calif. My mother's older sister and her car. Maybe someone here can identify it. From original 116 negative. View full size. Model T Runabout Mary's CarThe rear license plate seems to say 1928 or 1929---what do others think? ["20." - Dave] Aunt Mary and Her CarThanks for the auto ID, Anonymous Tipster. As for the date, I'm afraid that Mary died in 1922, of tuberculosis, two weeks shy of her 29th birthday. Clothes Make The LadySo Aunt Mary was only 26 years old when this picture was taken? Those clothes make her look at least 50. Mary's back storyThank you, Aunt Mary's niece, for more about her and her family, poor things. You are right about TB. It was a terrifying disease with an unpredictable but often fatal course. Even worse, there was considerable stigma associated with having it. When my mother-in-law was a child in the 1920s, her father spent several months in a TB sanatorium (he survived, lived a long life and died of something else). She said the children were forbidden to ever speak of it to anyone, for if it was generally known he would lose his job and friends would be reluctant to be with them. She was still uncomfortable talking about it in the 1980s. Something About MaryShe was a very pretty woman nevertheless. About Aunt MaryIf this was taken in 1920, Aunt Mary was pregnant with her first child, who was born in October of 1920. What is surprising is that she had her photo taken while pregnant, something most women of that era were too embarrassed to do. (Even in the 1940s our mother was quite chagrined to find out someone took a snapshot of her while she was expecting.) Aunt Mary's story has an even sadder ending. During her second pregnancy, her tuberculosis, which had been in remission, flared up again, and she died two weeks after the birth of the baby. The baby, being exposed to TB at birth, died of fulminant tuberculosis at age 6 weeks. Mary left a husband and a 2-year-old. Mary was born in June, married in June, and died in June. This was the tragedy of our Mother's family. We have forgotten today the toll that TB took on people's lives in the early to mid 1900s. Until medication for treatment was developed in the 1940s-50s, TB was one of the top ten killers. -- Aunt Mary's Niece, who never knew her Aunt Mary's Clothes"Those clothes" were simply the style of Aunt Mary's era. Yes, today those styles are old-fashioned and pretty silly looking. Just like the clothes we wear today will look old-fashioned and silly looking in 2096 (yes, 2096!). Girls born in 1892 wore those kind of clothes in 1920. Actually, if you take a closer look at Mary, she's pretty easy on the eyes. Some 21st century treatment on her wardrobe, makeup and hair and I'll bet she'd turn a few heads. TB's Heavy TollMy paternal grandmother contracted TB during my grandfather's courtship of her (started with a cold she got while sitting on the ground watching Granddad play baseball), and died when Dad was 5 (1930). Dad, born with TB, was cured of it at Johns Hopkins during his first 5 years, but still worries about a recurrence to this day- and he's 83 now. My regret, of course, is that I never got to know my grandmother. Indeed, even my father's memory of her is very sketchy. Mary's Model TThe car seems to be a ca. 1917-1919 non-starter car. There is an accessory "keyed" ingition switch on the coilbox on the firewall. I put "keyed" in quotes because the stock Ford switch had a key, but they were all the same! I see an electric taillight, which may have been added on. One popular package on 1919 and later cars that had starter motors and generators included demountable rim wheels and an electric taillight. Those cars had no kerosene side lamps. We can't tell if this car has them because of Mary's position. This car does not have demountable rim wheels. The toolbox on the running board is an accessory item. It looks like something on the end of the tail pipe, too. Maybe a warning whistle. It also looks like there is an accessory dashboard, and auxiliary outside brakes on the rear drums. The outside brakes and keyed ignition tell me Mary was a cautious woman. 1917 Model T RoadsterI think the car was a 1917 model year produced around March–April 1917. See the rationale at the Model T Ford Club of America Forum. Others may see additional items that will alter that recommendation. Respectfully submitted, Hap Tucker 1915 Model T Ford touring cut off and made into a pickup truck. Sumter SC. Merced FallsMerced Falls, 30 miles east of Merced and just a couple of miles south of Snelling, was quite a place in those days. Mostly gold dredging in the Merced River. Not a lot left today. There was a cement factory there also. It was in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range. There are still a lot of "potholes" filled with water when the dredge would move on to create another hole. The last time I was there (40 years ago) there was still an old dredge in one of the potholes. Great fishing and frogging. Re Merced FallsMerced Falls was at that time a company lumber town. Aunt Mary was a bookkeeper for the Yosemite Sugar Pine Lumber Company. See her photo with co-workers in "Times of Flu." Aunt Mary and the other unmarried lady employees lived in the Company Hotel. There was housing for families and barracks for the single men. There was a mess hall, pool hall, and a baseball field. The Lumber company was noted for its Incline Railway system which brought the logs down from the mountains above. The track was 8000 feet long and 3100 feet in height. It started at an elevation of 5000 feet and ended at 1900 ft el. More technical info for train trekkies can be found here. Aunt Mary married the company town butcher, a young man from a butchering family in England. Later they moved to a house in nearby Snelling. Aunt Mary had moved to Merced Falls from (foggy) San Francisco to live in a drier climate near the mountains, which was thought to be beneficial for tuberculosis. Which it was for a while. The area today is a county park, the town partly drowned under the waters of Lake McClure, formed by the Merced Falls Diversion Dam. SnellingMy family has been going to Henderson Park for 50 years especially at Easter. My uncle Alvin and Grace Halstead have lived near Merced Falls for almost 30 years. Many great memories of the time spent there. Tom Mitchell Killer TBI read with interest the comments on Aunt Mary's pictures and her tuberculosis. Those who wrote that it was a killer are indeed right. My great-grandmother, two great aunts, and one of their sons all died of it within a short time. My grandmother had it when she was pregnant with my mother. She was told that that the baby would either be dead in six months or always immune. Since Mom died at age 72, I guess it was the latter. Her first cousin Edna also had TB and was ill for several years. The picture is of my grandmother and grandfather in the 1930s. While my grandmother survived TB, she died of a brain aneurysm before I was born. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, tterrapix)
Zenith City: 1905
... insulators on the nearest ones, behind the Clarendon Hotel (New!), but they merge into infinity as they march to the shining harbor. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 6:55pm -

Duluth, Minnesota, circa 1905. "Elevators and harbor," along with a view of the Incline Railway and many other points of interest, make up our daily dose of Duluth. Detroit Publishing Company glass negative. View full size. The Old BallgameAre those guys playing baseball in the lower right? They're spread out like they're playing something very similar. (Click to enlarge.) Let us venture back to a timeWhen Railroads ruled the Earth. Are they birthing Orcs in that roundhouse? The same scene today.Despite all the changes, this scene is still recognizable. Alluring Alliteration "Daily dose of Duluth." Gotta love it. ImprovementsDuluth really looks much, much better today! Rail lineA mid 1880s source cites the "St. P.&D. and N.P. Round House." That's the biggestroundhouse I've ever seen! Any bigger and it wouldn't have a way to bring locos in. Here is a shot of a current Duluth roundhouse from above (Google). Re: The Old BallgameYep. I think we've stumbled onto some Duluth-variety hardball. And from the outfield alignment, we can only guess our batter is not a pull hitter. Baseball?Good catch. Who's on second? This is why we look at the ShorpyAnother truly amazing photo. It's deeply three-dimensional: From the busy shirtwaist lady in the foreground, to the slouchy men hanging out by the steam laundry, to the (obviously) baseball people, to the infernal roundhouse, to the ships in the harbor... Visually they're all stitched together, front to back, by the power poles: you can see individual insulators on the nearest ones, behind the Clarendon Hotel (New!), but they merge into infinity as they march to the shining harbor. This is surely one of Shorpy's best. Apart from the swimsuit girls, of course. Duluth & Iron RangeThe boxcars lower left look like they might have "D.&.I.R." on them. That would make it the Duluth & Iron Range, which merged in 1938 to become the D.M. & I.R. There are some more boxcars above those D&IR ones that look like they might be Great Northern. But the owner of the roundhouse is definitely not clear. Re: What's MissingIndeed, they probably walked to and from work. I grew up in Beech Grove, Indiana, home to a large repair yard for Penn, Penn Central and Amtrak that dates back to 1910 or a little before. In the early '60s it was astonishing to see hundreds of workers in overalls, kerchiefs and the traditional engineer cap (with its distinctive narrow gray striping) as they walked westward down Main Street after work. Each carried a lunch pail and most seemed to have a newspaper under the arm. They would crowd the sidewalks on both sides for several blocks, from a distance looking something like a pair of giant centipedes. Not surprising, Main Street was also lined with taverns which surely enticed many men to stop for a quick beer as they made their way home. Big SkyCan anyone comment on why many of these old photos have so much "head room"? Photographers today compose their shot to get the most matter and keep the sky to a minimum. (Not to mention having to deal with the contrast ratio.) What's Missing!!!If this photo were made today there would be employee cars parked everywhere. That roundhouse surely employs quite a number of people. In 1905 I assume that most folks either walked to work, like the folks walking on the viaduct, or rode the streetcar. There isn't even a horse and buggy to be seen. It does look like there might be a couple of streetcars way down the street. For the birdsI like the big bird house in the back yard of the place across the street from A. Larson's "General Arthur" store, or whatever that says. It looks just as ramshackle as the rest of the buildings. Being on a crookedstump doesn't help -- the eggs'll roll out! Unfortunate use of quotes"The Best" Beer in Milwaukee, eh? For some reason I don't believe you. Why'd you have to use the quotes, huh? The RoundhouseLots of comments about the roundhouse, and it is a big one: 36 stalls if I count right. It's interesting to see photos of such buildings when they were comparitively new as opposed to how they looked by the end of the steam age. Question I have is which railroad did it belong to? Has to be either C&NW or DM&IR, but I can't tell by the locomotives parked nearby as I'm not an expert on either road's power. I'm guessing C&NW, a far larger road who would need a roundhouse of this size. Selz Royal BlueFantastic details. This world of busy, grimy character has a real appeal for me. And what a great opportunity to see newly-painted side-of-building advertising in all its glory. Today one sees mostly faded "ghost" images. Across the way from Miller Beer, Selz Royal Blue was a shoe brand advertised all over the country. This ad in the Arizona Journal-Miner is from 1905. Rices PointThe rail yard is the Northern Pacific Railways's Rices Point Yard and roundhouse. The elevated tracks on the left are Great Northern Railway. Actually, that looks like cricketAs to the ballgame being played at the right, the people don't seem arrayed correctly for baseball, but it looks like it would work for cricket, which, as I understand it, was actually played in parts of the U.S. at the time. [Duluth -- "Cricket Wicket of the Unsalted Seas." - Dave] Iron AgeA portion of the fancy iron railroad bridge off in the distance still exists -- the first truss span -- visible on Google Maps and Street View from the freeway bridge next to it (its concealed by the freeway bridge in the modern view in the first comment). Its the only landmark I can find that exists from the original picture. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Duluth, Railroads)
Donnie's Duesie: 1920
... to pin down exact location! [It's the Wardman Park Hotel on Connecticut Avenue, built in 1918. With 1,000 rooms, Washington's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 11:55am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Donnie Moore in Duesenberg." Last seen here a year ago. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Location, Location?I'd guess a large apartment complex in the NW side of D.C. The units on the end of the wings have sleeping porches rather then balconies. We're seeing it from the back so hard to pin down exact location! [It's the Wardman Park Hotel on Connecticut Avenue, built in 1918. With 1,000 rooms, Washington's biggest. Later the Park-Sheraton. Torn down in 1979 and replaced by the even bigger Marriott Wardman Park.- Dave] No StoppingThis looks like a heavy, powerful car. There are no brakes in front. Modern cars have 70 percent of their braking power in front. Perhaps this car was only intended for the wooden racetrack shown earier this week. Give it up for Donnie.I'd give my left wheel nut for that car. Drive Slow!Is that a dare? Friction shocksIt has friction shock absorbers front and rear. Note the discs with the stars at each corner for adjusting the preload. DRIVE SLOWNice contradiction. Body work on the car appears less than concours. Keeping the wall upI find it amusing how many of these old photos have a guy in them, leaning up against a wall or door frame exactly like the guy in the background here. That car must have been one wild ride. With his low seat position it seems that he'd have poor visibility of the road ahead of him too. On the road againThe one thing that jumps out of this picture is that this high performance racecar is wearing D.C. license plates. You could drive it around town -- loud pipes, no headlights, just go for it. Must have been a ball to drive. That steering wheel is enormous!And how did he ever see over that dash and hood? No power steering needs big steering wheelThe large wheel provides a lot of mechanical advantage when turning. Reminds me of buses when I was a kid. They all had enormous steering wheels and the drivers would start their turns early and turn and turn and turn the wheel to get around corners. If you ever saw Jackie Gleason in the Honeymooners in the driver's seat of his bus, that is the type of steering wheel buses had way back then. Duesie x 2A few years back one of my clients, a high roller, attended a classic auto auction and came home with two Duesenbergs, having parted with $1.5 million. Get him a phonebookHe can barely see over the hood. Is that for better aerodynamics or is he just short? A minor observation....This car may well have been driven on a boardwalk surface, but if so then it was also equipped for racing on a dirt track: note the mesh grille protecting the radiator from being damaged by flying stones. More to the Point!I wonder where Donnie's Duesie is now -- somewhere in Laurel near the old race track? Incredible stuffNobody was braver - more insane? - than the board track racers. If you want a definitive look at this era, read Dick Wallen's terrific book, "Board Tracks: Gold, Guts and Glory," which is still in print. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Sports)
Cigarettes: 1965
... did not know). My dad and I had just checked into a hotel in Honolulu after a 10+ hour flight and a couple of hours of getting thru ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/13/2016 - 11:58am -

April 20, 1965. "Vending Machines, Cigarettes." 35mm negative by Marion S. Trikosko for U.S. News & World Report. View full size. At that priceYou can't afford NOT to smoke! The bar I used to frequent (up until a few months ago) has a modern cigarette machine. It's really just a snack vending machine with packs of cigarettes in the little coils where chips normally would be. It only takes credit/debit cards and if I recall they were $6 and $7 per pack depending on the brand. I remember the ones in the picture too. As I recall, they would also drop a book of matches along with your smokes. Kent cigarettesMy grandmother loved Kents! Once I started driving at 15 I would pick a carton at the A&P every week. For about $6.00 a carton. My dad knew the drawbacks of smoking and starting when I was 5 years old he would promise me every year growing up that if I didn't smoke at the age of 21 he would give me a diamond wristwatch. At 21 I was smoke free but dad reneged on the watch - he said my health was more important than the watch. Also knew he could afford it, but at 62 I'm still a non-smoker! Like someone said here also, riding in a closed car with 4 smoking adults in the winter was torture. Student Center at CollegeLots of nostalgia here on this pic! I remember there being two machines in the Student Center at College in Louisiana in the late '70s. Seems like smokes were about 90 cents at the time. I still remember the firm tug on the knob and the soft "thud" as the pack hit the stainless steel pan in the bottom of the machine. I put 'em down years ago, but I am really enjoying these comments today. Merry ChristmasI'm old enough to remember when a perfectly appropriate and very welcome holiday gift for every adult on your list was a carton of cigarettes and/or a bottle of hootch. I can't remember anyone ever being offended by them either. Quit timeUsed to smoke about three packs a day. Camel filters were my poison of choice, started when I was eleven. Quit at about the age of twenty five by promising my self I could have one in five minutes. At the end of five minutes would do it again. It took a year to work up to 10 minutes. I just kept working up the time. That was in 1977. I didn't actually say I quit until about 5 years ago. Yes the machines were nice, but the product was a horrible price to pay. "They're for my father"I remember buying my father a carton (1 carton = 10 packs = 200 cigarettes) of Kent cigarettes for Christmas 1967. $3.25 was a lot of money for an eight year old back then. I answered the funny look from the sales clerk with : "They're for my father". Try that today, kids. We'll sell it to ya, BUT . . .When I was in the 10th grade or so, living in Naples, there was a fellow working in a convenience store out on the East Trail who knew I was underage, but would sell me wine and ciggies. Only catch was, he would only sell me the most horrible examples of each. He told me, "I know you'll find some place to buy this stuff. I'll sell them to you, but maybe you'll learn to hate it if I only sell you the worst examples of each." So I could only buy Between the Acts little cigars and Bali Hai wine. 26 will get you 20The first cigarettes I ever bought from a machine cost me $0.26/pack. You fed the machine a quarter and a penny, puĺled the knob, and out came your cigs. This was c. 1971, and I've never seen it since. Off BrandThe only one I don't recognize is ALPINE. [Nice. He looks like Martin Sheen] Pick your poisonSo many choices, so little time. Two or three for price of oneWhile I no longer indulge, as a teen in the early '70s I always looked for this type of machine because if you pulled the knob just right you could trick the machine into give you an extra pack or two. 30 cents back in 1965 is about 2 bucks today but I think smokes are running closer to $6 a pack now. An unhealthy price for the body and the wallet. Adaptive re-useIf it's lucky, this cigarette machine has been converted to an Art-O-Mat. http://www.artomat.org/ Minors are forbiddenFirst time I saw one of these is when I came to the US for school. I was fifteen and, unfortunately, a smoker (folks did not know). My dad and I had just checked into a hotel in Honolulu after a 10+ hour flight and a couple of hours of getting thru customs\immigration. My dad, a non-smoker so I couldn't steal any smokes from him, went to take a nap. Left to my own devices, I went wandering around wishing I had some smokes. Saw the machine... went up to it... had the proper US coins... saw the "Minors are forbidden..." and did not buy a pack. Back home I would automatically ignore that kind of sign. But in a strange and foreign land, well, it took me awhile to rationalize that if no one is looking... who's to know? And if someone did see me... run! Snuck back, bought the smokes. Twenty years later is when I finally quit. Easier than 28 centsCharging the nice & even amount of 30 cents made it a lot easier on the vending machine's owner. My father told me about buying cigarettes from machines when the price was 28 cents. You'd insert 30, and taped to the cigarette package were two pennies change. I remember those machines. My mom would send my brother or I to the gas station to pick her up a pack of Raleigh 100s. My wife and I had dinner at a retro themed restaurant a while back. They had one of them along with a few other old pop and candy machines that used tokens. I'd thought they'd been banned outright for selling cigarettes, but apparently, if the owner restricts access, they're legal. Legal in Vegas Cigarette machines still exist in Sin City, but state law only allows them in places where minors are not allowed to loiter, i.e. casinos and brothels. The ones I've seen only accept folding money, since it would take a ton of nickels to buy a pack these days. Big sellersL&M, Philip Morris, Raleigh, and the legendary Luckies. Never a cigarette smoker, I nevertheless remember all these brands. Advertising Blurbs !Show Us Your Lark Pack ! I'd Rather Fight than Switch ! (Taryton) One Silly Millimeter Longer ( Benson & Hedges ?) Tons more... 27 years later I quit. Yeesh. /RZ Glad I quit. Back in '65 I was smoking Chesterfield Kings. At 2 packs a day I'm sure glad I quit shortly afterwords. If I didn't I'm sure I wouldn't be here today. My dishwasher daysWhen I was a wee lad of 13, I was in the gainful employ of one Tony Lipari of Lipari's Family Restaurant. As soon as you came through the front door, there lived the cigarette machine. Being the crafty little fart I was, I discovered that a butter knife combined with my skinny arm, could relieve the machine of 2 or 3 packs at a time. Once word made it back to the kitchen, all the smokers coerced me to do the same for them, due to me being the only one with arms that skinny. I too managed to kick the habit 6 June 2002. The comments on this pic have been the best! DadI suppose my dad's history is pretty typical. Born 1916, started smoking as a teen, shot up to 2 packs a day during WWII in Pacific (free Lucy Strikes, as I recall). Varied his brands somewhat when I was a kid: L&M, Winston, Luckies, Pall Mall (pronounced "...and a pack o' Pellmells" in RI where I grew up), but mostly Camel non filters. Which eventually killed him in 1969 at the ripe old age of 53. It's strange to be 62 and know that I have outlived my father by nine years. JinglesIf you are at least of a certain age, commercial songs or ad phrases instantly pop when you scan each slot's cigarette offering. Mad Men cleaned up in tobacco times. Somehow they never nabbed me, probably due to the cloudy multi-pack habits of the four adults in our home. I have never touched one. By age 3 I was actively anti-smoking, to the point I never once saw one parent light up, while years later I learned my friends saw it endlessly. That still strikes me as odd. It's a kid who sneaks smokes. But I liked some of the catchier ads. Smoke 'Em If You Got 'EmButts were a quarter from the machines in a Marine barracks back in 1965. A carton went for $1.90 at the PX. In Vietnam free smokes (I remember Luckies) came in your C-Rations. At the golf courseI remember them being 65 cents in the machine at my dad club, 1974-75 era. Sneaky SmokingI was the youngest in our family by many years and after I reached my teens it was just me and my parents at home. Mom was a smoker and in the late 60s/early '70s I would sneak her cigs when I was around 14-15 and learned to like it. We would go on vacation and do the traditional car trip once or twice a year for a week or two, staying in motels. I would usually be given my own room so the parents could have privacy - sometimes with a connecting door, sometimes not. When that happened, I would scout out the location of the cigarette machine and when the coast was clear, feed my quarters into it to buy a pack that I could secretly smoke in my (locked) room while watching TV. Secretly using the machine was a thrill and meant I got to try different brands. My first pack of Salem 100s came from a machine and resulted in me smoking those for many years. Have been quit for a long time now but if it was harmless I would still smoke. I loved everything about it except the consequences. Smoking YouthSpent 3rd thru 8th grades near Winston-Salem, NC (guess what is made there!) and was a pack-a-day smoker when I was 12. A little dairy store beside the junior high would open a pack of Winstons and sell them to us for a penny apiece. Quit when I was 32-without question the hardest thing I've ever done...packs had just reached a dollar a pack in the machines. Military in the 60'sA 3 count of smokes came in every C-Rat along with a mini-book of matches. 6 matches in the little pack. I can recall Winston, Lucky Strikes Pall Mall's and a menthol brand. Filtered smokes were in demand. Military got you hooked on cigarettes and alcohol. Wisely gave up both. Cigarettes and Vietnam era soldiersMy most vivid memory of cigarette machines is a little different. At age 14, like most kids, I wanted to try smoking, to see what my parents saw in it. This was 1968 and my dad was stationed with the Army at Fort Knox, KY, America's biggest Armor base. At that time, the Vietnam conflict and the draft were in full swing, and the post was filled with young men in uniform. They were everywhere, and there wasn't much for them to do with their free time. The cafeteria by the PX was a favorite hangout spot for GIs and teenaged military brats, a like. There was one cigarette machine, which usually had a line in front of it. Cigarettes were a quarter. My friends and I would watch until there was a lull in the activity in front of it and then one of us would run to the machine, quarter ready, and quickly get a pack of Salems. My smoking career didn't last very long, but I've never forgotten the GIs. I knew that most of them would be in Vietnam,in the near future, and wondered which would come back with wounds, and which wouldn't come back at all. Cigarette machines in restaurantsI recall cigarette machine such as this circa early 1970s which was in my dad's restaurant near Gramercy Park. Sometimes minors would come in and say they're buying a pack for the father, which maybe they were and maybe they weren't. Around 1972 I remember when a man showed up to alter the machine so that the price was 60 cents, up from 55 cents. It's incredible that a pack of cigarettes in 2016 is now $12 and up in NYC. National 222That machine was a National 222, one of the best / most reliable cigarette vending machines on the market. Totally mechanical, unfortunately with cigarettes costing so much they were hard pressed to handle so many coins to add up to several dollars. Plus the fact that many fewer people smoke. I myself gave up the habit over 15 years ago. (Technology, The Gallery)
Cabanarama: 1955
March 30, 1955. "Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach. Roof view of pool, cabanas and garden. Morris Lapidus, ... the best sequences from the movie shows the Fontainebleau Hotel. Attention! -- you in the pool! the pool is for effect ... ? I never could figure it out. They built a fabulous hotel, gave it an elegant French name, then must have asked Jerry Lewis how to ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2013 - 10:22pm -

March 30, 1955. "Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach. Roof view of pool, cabanas and garden. Morris Lapidus, architect." The valet will be happy to park your Cadillac. Large-format acetate negative by Samuel H. Gottscho. View full size. Long time no seeLOVE.LOVE. the diving structure. Too bad they don't do many of these anymore due to liability. That would have been a ball! I am too old now probably but just the right age to remember them!!! Bellhop!The squids are in the garden again. Diving platformWow.....now THAT's a platform. As a kid we would have lived all day on that thing. Parents would have to drag us off it at the end of the day. Goldfinger slept here. Welcome to Miami Beach! One of the best sequences from the movie shows the Fontainebleau Hotel. Attention! -- you in the pool!the pool is for effect only ! Where were you when the fountain blew ?I never could figure it out. They built a fabulous hotel, gave it an elegant French name, then must have asked Jerry Lewis how to pronounce it. [Exactly right. "FON-tin blow" if you're from France; "fountain-blew" if you're Jerry. - Dave] I can just seeAuric Goldfinger cheating at Canasta poolside, and I can imagine James Bond thwarting it all... Goldfinger trickeryUnfortunately for Sean Connery and Gert Frobe, neither of them got Fontainebleau vacations; all their scenes were filmed at Pinewood Studios in England. Those in which they appear to be at the hotel were accomplished by means of matching studio sets, rear-projection or traveling matte effects shots and, in one case, a body double for Frobe. Speaking of Frobe - or rather speaking for Frobe - English actor Michael Collins dubbed all of his dialog, as Frobe's accent proved incomprehensible. Frobe is heard in the German-language version, however, having re-dubbed himself. That VideoI also shows that the original building, in the posted photo, was destined to expand and was really only about half finished in 1955. Haven't been there in a while, hope much of the original flambounce has remained. Lapidus always wanted his hotel designs to help you escape into a fantasy world, as far removed from your everyday life as possible. [flambounce (flam' bounce), n., a spectacular dive from a swimming pool platform at a resort hotel, esp. in Florida. Origin: Shorpy, 2013. -tterrace] HA! Fantasy worlds call for fantasy words. Planned before pop-ups, possiblyI see at least four hose sprinklers just like the couple I use in my lowly Baltimore yard. Either this joint was created before pop-up watering nozzles were invented or, judging by that puny, laughably underscale fountain, the budget had no room for such flambounciness. Say, what's with my "watering nozzles" becoming a hotlink to a commercial site? Same thing happens with my own photography site. [Your computer has picked up some malware; those links appear only to you. -tterrace] (tterrace, thank you for the note.) (The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, Miami)
The Mayflower: 1927
Washington, D.C., circa 1927. "Mayflower Hotel, exterior, Connecticut Avenue." Harris & Ewing Collection glass ... us why? - Dave] Plus ça change The Mayflower Hotel has remained a classy place down through the decades in DC. It has ... the Inn It's really the street that's angled, not the hotel, except for a small portion of the southern tower. The curved facades (on ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2012 - 6:41pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1927. "Mayflower Hotel, exterior, Connecticut Avenue." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Still a beauty but --Gone is that beautiful canopy at the entrance. Today's version is rather ugly. And the facade has been defaced by cutouts for the air conditioning units. Mayflower shapeMy guess is that the curved fronts were a clever way to fit a rectangular structure on a triangular lot without winding up with something awkwardly-shaped. It's interesting to see that the giant urns at the top have survived; usually things like that have been removed lest they fall and bash the brains out of unsuspecting passersby below. I wonder what secured them in place originally, and if it's been subsequently reinforced. The Escher building?I can't make that building work in my mind. The left, ground-floor front curves, but the rest of the building doesn't. Odd. [Look again. Both sections curve, and are angled to face the same direction. Who can tell us why? - Dave] Plus ça changeThe Mayflower Hotel has remained a classy place down through the decades in DC. It has restaurants and nightlife as well. Curvature of the InnIt's really the street that's angled, not the hotel, except for a small portion of the southern tower. The curved facades (on the left) face due west. [I would guess that the main goal was to have a floorplan that avoided triangular or trapezoidal guest rooms and corners that were not right angles. - Dave] The facadeI love the faces on the upper part of the building and how they match the ones a few feet above the doorways. Mayflower memoriesIn 1987, my husband's uncle came to DC for his 50th law school reunion at George Washington University. He stayed at the Mayflower because he had lived right across the street while he was in law school and he knew that meant he could walk to the campus for the reunion activities. He told us that his younger brother (my husband's dad) had stayed with him for awhile and used to take his car without his permission. "I guess I used to leave the keys in the car," he said, pondering how his brother would have the opportunity to just jump in and drive away. Also... the Mayflower isn't only famous for being one spot where Elliot Spitzer was known as Client Number Nine; it is also where I spent my wedding night almost 27 years ago. Senior TripThirty years later, the Senior Class of 1957, Lynn View High School, Kingsport, Tennessee, would make this hotel our base for the visit to Washington. Starting a fashion trendThe guy standing next to the luggage near the front entrance to the hotel. He is a hatless rarity for this time period on Shorpy. Everything old is new againA website photo of today's Mayflower Renaissance Hotel. Stayed there in '87Beautiful place then and looks beautiful now. View Larger Map (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Streetcars)
The Plaza: 1912
New York circa 1912. "Plaza Hotel, Fifth Avenue." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing ... double hung window. Nowadays you can rarely open a hotel window at all. The hand of God Or did someone else leave ... the 38th floor of a building right next door to the Plaza Hotel. Seeing only the top of the building from my vantage point doesn't do ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/15/2012 - 2:40pm -

New York circa 1912. "Plaza Hotel, Fifth Avenue." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Procol Harum at the PlazaI have attended countless press events in my years, but none as grand as the dinner Warner Brothers threw for the band Procol Harum in the magnificent ballroom of the Plaza. Dress was formal, the invitations were engraved and guests were announced at the top of the sweeping staircase. At its base, Procol Harum lined up to greet each guest individually. This was in the early Seventies, when the record industry was drowning in money. Within a few years, it was cold cuts and soda in the conference room. I can see the Plaza from my apartment, but I haven't been there since it changed hands and had a makeover. Love the cars lined up in front. Open and shutIt's interesting that in the days before central air every window, all the way to the very top, looks as if it's a functioning double hung window. Nowadays you can rarely open a hotel window at all. The hand of GodOr did someone else leave fingerprints in the sky? Not only the double-hung windowsBut foldable awnings! I love seeing them on these old hotels. I wonder when the last of them disappeared as air conditioning made them unnecessary. I'm not in Kansas anymoreIt is photographs like this that drive me into sublime wonderment that once anything was built like this! What Grandeur!I used to work on the 38th floor of a building right next door to the Plaza Hotel. Seeing only the top of the building from my vantage point doesn't do this grand old lady justice. Just a hole in the wallBack in the late 1970s, during one of my Plaza stays I found out that some fellow guests included two bands, which if memory serves me these many years later were Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. One of the bands had a suite directly across from my comparative hovel of a room and I recall they had security sitting in the hall 24/7 although I'm pretty sure "24/7" was not in the lexicon back then. Well, a couple of the lads - I forget which band - apparently had some, uh, excess energy to burn which they did by busting a huge hole in one of their suite's interior walls. The damage was so great, I was told on a later visit, that the Plaza decided it was easier to just make the hole a doorway. I never did run into any of the band members but one afternoon in the main lobby I almost bumped into Eartha Kitt, who was appearing in the Plaza's Persian Room. I am pretty sure The Kittster did not spend her idle hours in her suite busting holes in the walls, but I could be wrong. Pre-Fountain DaysI see there is no fountain adjacent to this view of the Plaza. Therefore I deduce that this phto was pre-Zelda Fitzgerald's infamous dip. I think Joseph Pulitzer gave the fountain to the city in 1916. Ancien PauvreThis is certainly not the Plaza of nouveau riche, for which the rehabbed Plaza is apparently intended. The old Plaza had character to spare -- relatively tiny and cheap rooms up in the roof, and the more unaffordable suites down below. It offered a great tea, afternoons, and its character and history were undeniable. My saddest moment was going through the edifice as its innards were being sold away -- all looking like a parts of an ocean liner run aground. I wish I had photographed the Palm Court - strewn with uniforms, table fixtures, prints, and doors, stacked up and down stairs and under columns. It was heavy with regret. Now, it's all but a pretty fossil. Interesting how you can see the Times Building so well from that vantage point with nothing in the way. This had to have been shot from the New Netherland Hotel, which was gone by the late 20's. The mansion at left has a plywood entrance, for that moment. Carbona for cleaningWay in the background you can see a "Carbona" sign, reversed. Carbona was the first non-flammable dry-cleaning solution. Before that, they used things like benzene. Taxi standWith the exception of the Franklin (or Renault?) parked at the front door, those cars lined up down the street and around the corner all look like taxis. Also looks like four ne'er-do-wells on the closest corner, or, on the positive side, they could be newsboys waiting for the next edition. E.B. Whitehad cinnamon toast here with a young lady three or four years later. His essay "Afternoon of an American Boy" recalls an awkward first date, "tea-dancing" at the Plaza as a teenager. A great read. As are all his essays. Eloise, pleaseThe Plaza may have been a New York hotel then, but four decades later it would become the literary home of Eloise, a fictional six-year-old who tormented the staff and her nanny while her never-seen parents went about living the life of unencumbered sophisticates. "I am Eloise. I am six. I am a city child. I live at the Plaza." The Plaza even had an Eloise plaque (later stolen), an Eloise children's menu, and an Eloise room for tourists who came there because of the book. StreetsGoing along 59th Street (bordering the Park), the block with the Plaza seems to be shorter than it is today. Was there another street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue at the time of this photo? I say this because if you look at the size and number of buildings on this stretch of 59th in the photo, the block seems to end before it gets to Fifth Avenue. Is the end of this block an alleyway or just a short block cutting between 58th and 59th? By the way, I find it interesting that a narrow, sliver of a building is still adjacent to the Plaza wedged in next to another much larger building. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC)
Streetcar to the Sky: 1913
... to the top of Mount Lowe and camp at the ruins of the old hotel. The view of Los Angeles at night was spectacular! When a fire ... The river rock foundations were still there at the hotel; a great place to camp for the night and a rad view. I still fantasize of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 1:37pm -

Mount Lowe, California, circa 1913. "Electric car at Ye Alpine Tavern, Mount Lowe Railway." This Swiss-style chalet in the San Gabriel Mountains was the upper terminus (elev. 5,000 feet) of an 1890s scenic and incline railway that started in Altadena, with streetcar connections all the way to the main terminal at the Pacific Electric Building in Los Angeles. The railway and associated resorts, including the 70-room Echo Mountain House, were gradually obliterated by fire and flood until, by 1940, nothing was left. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Can't be all that greatThis young lady doesn't seem too thrilled by the experience. And what's the streak in the background? Gauze curtains, smoke? A ghost? [It's a flutterby. - Dave] Mount Lowe videoI first became interested in researching Mount Lowe after discovering a photo, of a lady standing near some oak trees, labeled "On Mt. Lowe" in my late Aunt Mary's album. (This is the same Aunt Mary featured in my brother tterrace's photos.) There were cousins in Los Angeles, and Aunt Mary apparently went by train to visit them often. It would have been in this era. Anyway, my searches have found many links to info about the mountain and the railway. Here is a video from an old film clip. Shows amazing history.Although obvious, it seems incredible to see the flag only having 48 stars! Very interesting. Born Too LateHardly a soul can still be alive who rode the Mount Lowe Railway, especially in its golden age. It must have been a magical trip. The links tell the main story; other sites show open cars stopping to let riders admire the fields of poppies adorning the open plains in the spring. California mountains in the summer can be somewhat parched, but still refreshing compared to the warm stagnant air of the basin. The Tavern evidently preserved as many oaks as possible, with their small crackly leaves and hard acorns. Regrettably the enterprise never really covered its costs and succumbed to a series of disasters before I was born. It was a rather long trip, taking several hours each way. I, like many, regret the passing of the trolley cars, but old timetables show that it took well over two hours even to run the 50-some miles from central LA to Huntington Beach, and the tracks could never achieve the coverage of even a mediocre bus service. My StarsIt all depends on your perspective. With my little hand over my heart, I pledged allegiance to a 48-star flag on many a morning in grade school. I'm not used to the newfangled 50-star flag yet. Stars and StripesI also remember saluting the 48 star flag. Lets not get too upset about this, had this picture been taken 2 years earlier, in 1911, we would have seen a 46 star flag and 4 years before that, in 1907, old glory showed 45. I was always a good history student but grammar and punctuation were a problem, mainly because of run-on sentences. "Sunrise"Funny this is posted today! I happened to catch part of a silent movie recently on TCM called "Sunrise" and wanted to see the rest of the film. I got it from Netflix and watched it yesterday. There is a scene where Janet Gaynor is running from George O'Brien and hops something that looks just like this going through the woods and up into the mountain. I'll bet it was this trolley line. Oh, and I would highly recommend the movie - it was great and I usually don't like silent movies. Very Peaceful.Oh, I would love to have been there. Just looking at pic relaxes me. A boring place perhapsbut I bet the ride getting there would have been a blast! I thought of "Sunrise" as wellGenerally in Silent Film circles known as one of the best silent films ever made. When I saw this picture I immediately thought of that movie. I thought at the time it was unusual to have a trolley in the woods like that. Understanding the budget of a 1927 movie, I figured they would not have built that trolley and track just for the film. Just wondering if it really was the same trolley from the movie. Does the right of way still exist?Just wondering. Sort of reminds me of the trolley to Glen Echo Park in Maryland, although more dramatic. Trolleys are making a comeback. That's nice, but they are pretty useless. Mount Lowe rail trailFor hikers: http://www.mtlowe.net/MtLoweTrail.htm I camped thereAs a Boy Scout growing up in nearby La Canada Flintridge, we used to hike to the top of Mount Lowe and camp at the ruins of the old hotel. The view of Los Angeles at night was spectacular! When a fire damaged the trail to the top, my Eagle Scout project involved rebuilding the upper portion. We lugged a wheelbarrow and all the tools up to the top to complete the job. Fond memories! Thanks. The Great Circular BridgePlease post some views from the "high" side, a favorite of the postcard makers- lots of air below the car. Another favorite was taken from the opposite side of the canyon at the bottom of the incline, plus apparently group shots were taken of each incline carload an sold s souvenirs to the passengers- I'm told this is available today at amusement parks where the water toboggan plummets near the finish and most passengers are screaming. [and apparently young jaded women lift their shirts] Civil War aeronautThaddeus Lowe, who incorporated the railway and is the mountain's namesake, had been a balloonist during the Civil War as an observer for the Union. His daughter, whose name I'd have to look up, lived into the latter part of the 20th century. She was an accomplished aviator and is recorded in recent history in "The Right Stuff" as proprietor of the Happy Bottom Riding Club, the bar that stood near the end of the original runways at Muroc/Edwards AFB. Then she was known by her married name Pancho Barnes, and it may have been one of her rental horses that broke Chuck Yeager's rib the evening before he flew the X1 to Mach 1. SunriseBrookeDisAstor mentioned the movie Sunrise. I own the DVD of Sunrise, which is a remarkable film and I remember the scene where Janet Gaynor takes the trolley running through the woods to go into the city. According to IMDB, the film was shot at three outside locations: the Columbia River in Oregon, Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead, both near San Bernardino. But of those two locations, only Lake Arrowhead had a Pacific Electric line nearby. So not the Mount Lowe Line, but somewhere similar. Raise a glass to Mount LoweThere's some Mount Lowe Railway memorabilia at a little bar in Altadena called the Rancho, on Lake Avenue. Bare Naked BulbLove the light bulb in the trees, so simple yet so definitive. A campground nowDid an overnighter there with the Boy Scouts recently. The old right of way makes for an easy grade. I tried to replicate the location of the historical photo. Mine is the blue tent. Dandy http://dan-d-sparks.blogspot.com Great hikeI grew up in Sierra Madre in the 1950s early '60s. The roadbed of the railway was one of my favorite hikes, even found some spikes on occasion. The river rock foundations were still there at the hotel; a great place to camp for the night and a rad view. I still fantasize of time traveling back and taking the rail trip to Mount Lowe. Present Day FunicularsIt's a shame this streetcar line is long gone, but there are still some very spectacular funicular style rail trips available. I would be very remiss if I didn't mention the Lookout Mountain Incline in my old home town of Chattanooga. (The Gallery, DPC, Railroads, Streetcars)
On Broadway: 1905
... View full size. Metropole The Metropole Hotel at 43rd Street. The first hotel in NYC with running water in every room. What is that? Maybe I'm ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2014 - 7:07pm -

New York circa 1905. "Broadway and Times Building (1 Times Square)." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. MetropoleThe Metropole Hotel at 43rd Street. The first hotel in NYC with running water in every room. What is that?Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but for the life of me I can't figure out what that thing is on the left, above the balcony. It looks like three squares covered with dots and topped by a flourish. I can't tell if it's attached to the awning wires or hanging from the side of the building. [It's an electric sign. Similar to the one seen on the New Montauk Theater. - Dave] ElectricElectric street lights, electric signs, an electric hansom cab, an electric charabanc, what a wonderful world. Are the trams underground electric ones or are they cable cars? [The streetcars are electric. - Dave] The hatsThere had to be one guy in a million who defied convention and dared venture outdoors hatless, but I've yet to spot him in these kind of scenes. Aria landmarkLeft foreground is Metropolitan Opera House -- a.k.a. the old brewery, demolished 1967. Tally HoThere's another one of those beasts of an electric tour bus lumbering down Broadway. I wonder if Hoster's is the precursor of Hooters? Future Flappers of AmericaAll of the women in this photo have floor length shirts except the one crossing in the middle of the street. Jaywalking and a short skirt--nothing less than scandalous. E-cabSo, an electric hansom cab operated by a coachman from the traditional topside perch -- bizarre! [Below, an excerpt from he book "Taxi!" by Graham Hodges. - Dave] Electric cabs had showed some promise; since July of 1897, twelve electric hansom cabs had plied the [New York] city streets. Organized by the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company, these novelty cabs competed with horse-drawn hacks. Despite their technological innovation, called by Scientific American in a March 1909 article "one of the most significant facts of city transportation," electric cabs varied only slightly in performance and appearance from horse-drawn vehicles. Scientific Magazine preferred the electric cab because it was silent and odorless. Even though the Electric Vehicle Company expanded its New York fleet to sixty-two in 1898 and then to one hundred the next year, its overall success was short-lived. Electric cabs were cumbersome, were unable to move faster than fifteen miles per hour, and required a battery recharge every twenty-five miles that took eight hours to complete. This problem limited use of electric taxis to single rides and made cruising impossible. Changing a battery also required use of an overhead crane and a spacious garage. Replacing the pneumatic tires required taking off the entire wheel disk, which caused further delays. Despite the clean and silent operation, passenger comfort was minimal. Fares sat in an open seat in the front of the cab, while the driver perched overhead. The brakes were applied forward, which in emergency situations meant that the entire car might topple over. Not surprisingly, electric cabs did not catch on. One contemporary writer observed that many people took one ride but rarely returned for a second, preferring horse-drawn hacks. A fire settled the issue. In January 1907, the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company went under when three hundred of its cabs burned in a garage fire. Or maybe not. More here. Vehicular VarietyCarriages, hackney cabs (when was the last time those were seen in NYC?), electric cars, some sort of electric wagon full of sightseers, at least five trolley cars, a horse-drawn wagon carrying passengers (a bit like a hayride), a farm wagon, and a bicycle - not to mention the sheer volume of walkers of all ages and costumes. This is the age of Wharton, Dreiser and Howells. (It's also the age of the muckrakers and Jacob Riis' exposes.) The women's Edwardian hats and skirts are so luxurious! This was about five years before the introduction of the hobble skirt, which was tightly constricted at the bottom. Women could still sweep down the sidewalk regally in 1905, and often their hats plowed the crowd before them like the figurehead on a schooner. The female cutting across the street in a short skirt and wide-brimmed hat is probably a teenager. Edwardian girls continued to wear short skirts until they "came out" into society or reached the age of 18. Skirt lengths for women wouldn't begin to creep up off this floor until 1915; the Great War made a fashion out of the necessity of less fabric available for women's skirts. "Flapper" style wouldn't begin until the hedonistic post-War late 'teens. I often wonder if a similar photo, taken today from the same perspective, will similarly show a quaint and vanished cityscape to the citizens of 2110. Will they gape at the volume of gasoline-powered individual autos on our streets? TrilbyNote the billboard advertising the play "Trilby." The popularity of this play (adapted from an 1894 novel) is what gave us the term Svengali and also the Trilby hat. FantanaNY Times review of Jefferson DeAngelis in "Fantana" at the Lyric Theater. Re: What is that?I believe that the mysterious electric sign in question was a cab call sign, which lit up with numbers to show how many cabs were being requested by opera patrons after a show. These signs seem to have hung on many NYC theaters and hotels back around the turn of the century. There is still an existing (but, alas, apparently not functioning) one hanging on the front of the St. Regis Hotel on 55th Street. From this exact locationIt would be amazing to see a pic from 100 years later taken from the same or even close spot and placed side by side for comparison. One Times SquareI work across the street from One Times Square, and I've often thought how sad it is that you can't see the building anymore! it's so covered in electronic signs, large billboards, and other metal sheet covering, that you can't see the underlying building anymore. It looks like a handsome structure, but it's all hidden way. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Streetcars)
Walking the Plank: 1926
July 29, 1926. At the Wardman Park Hotel pool in Washington, D.C. "Joyce Halderman. Red, White and Blue swimming ... will give their second exhibition at the Wardman Park Hotel pool, starting at 3 o'clock. The youngsters are from 5 to 11 years old, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 10:17pm -

July 29, 1926. At the Wardman Park Hotel pool in Washington, D.C. "Joyce Halderman. Red, White and Blue swimming troupe -- swimmers of Panama Canal Zone. Exhibition of swimming, diving and life saving." View full size. DrownproofingShe's in good company. "Drownproofing" is an easily learned set of skills to increase your chances of survival in the water, but only the advanced students do it with their hands and ankles tied. So she's on par with the US Navy SEALs. No BoardWhat's needed here is a railroad track. Hog TiedSince she appears to be constrained and about to dive into the pool, can we assume she is about to be the object of a "life saving"? Gamine!If ever you needed to understand the term. Garçon manquéJust missed being a boy, as the French so aptly put it. Wait!Seriously? Folks are so caught up with her gamine charms that no one's commenting on her legs and arms being tied together?? Shorpy is EducationalOK it's still early and already I increased my vocabulary today... "Gamine" was a new word for me and I had use my friend Google to research it... She doesn't look like she is a street urchin, but "a small playfully mischievous girl" could certainly apply. What is this thingabout bondage at the Wardman Park pool? You have no chance"Not only have we bound your hands and feet, we've rigged the plank to snap off if you take too long. Waahaha.... Quit smirking, and jump!" Bondage, againWhat WAS their motive? Over and over, we see photos on Shorpy of someone apparently ready to jump into the water with feet and hands bound. Shorpy Goes BondageLike! Tank Artist Washington Post, Jul 30, 1926 Child Tank Artists to Show at Wardman Child swimmers from the Panama Canal Zone will give their second exhibition at the Wardman Park Hotel pool, starting at 3 o'clock. The youngsters are from 5 to 11 years old, and are billed as the red, white and blue swimming troupe. A special diving board was built for the exhibitions. After the performance today the kiddies will go to Philadelphia where they will compete tomorrow at the Sesquicentennial aquatic games. Wait a minuteHer arms and legs are bound. Suddenly this is all a bit creepy. Female AthletesMy My what a beautiful child! With luck, she was able to continue showing her athletic gifts through the 1930s. But, acceptance of female athleticism being what it was, the chances aren't good. All tied upShe is tied up around the wrists and ankles. What's up with that? I know it says they were demonstrating "swimming, diving and life-saving" but is risking a life in order to demonstrate how to save it part of the plan? Uh ...I don't think I'd let my daughter jump off the deep end tied up like that, even if there were adequate "life savers"! UmThe bondage is a little odd. I guess she's going to perform some sort of underwater escape trick. What could go wrong?In the 1970s my high school required all students to pass a "drownproofing" course where you learned to survive in the water for hours without expending much energy. One of the final exercises was to have your hands and feet bound like this (they told us it was to simulate cramps), then you went into the 15 foot deep pool for a while. I don't remember it being that difficult once you had the proper training. The interesting part was when they wanted you to swim 2 laps in the Olympic sized pool while tied like this - you had to swim sort of like a dolphin. It was a very slow way to swim! The old bound swimmer demonstrationThis is likely the start of life-saving demonstration of how to tread water even if you cannot use your arms and legs. I've seen it many times, once where they handcuffed the demonstrator. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Sports, Swimming)
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