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Swartzell R.R.: 1925
... town lies beyond the main line, on the river flats, with hotel, farm houses, residences, etc. Highways run across the flats and up into ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 6:55pm -

December 11, 1925. Washington, D.C. "Margaret Swartzell -- Swartzell railroad system." Not just a model train, it's a "system" -- who can tell us more? National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. A frustrated engineer!According to that 1934 Popular Science article, Mr. Swartzell had attended the railroad engineering program at the U of I, Urbana-Champaign, which was one of the two most respected programs in steam locomotive design at the time (the other was Purdue--you know, the "Boilermakers"). Mr. Swartzell, it seems, had real talent. I'm sure he made excellent money in his father's real estate business, but technology must have been a hard thing to give up. Especially such a romantic technology--the call of a steam whistle still tugs at our heartstrings to this day. I suppose it was for the best, though. Steam was essentially dead within 25 years of this photo. A practical treatiseEarly model railroaders used mechanisms from England. English models were built to 7mm = 1 foot (1:43). When the Americans compared the size of locomotives it was thought that ¼ inch = 1 foot (1:48) was close enough. The boilers were made of lead pipe solder (origin of the phrase "lead pipe modelers"). Details were cast in homemade patterns. Tin cans and old crates were used for various parts. The commercial model kits were very expensive. Railroads had their apprentices build working models of steam engines in larger scales for practice. Lindsay Publications Inc. has old books on this subject. Railroad Real EstateFrom Popular Science, Oct. 1934. GrungyDidn't they ever clean anything back then? Maybe they were going for an authentic rail yard look. What's that hanging from the spider web under the table? Bug? Leaf? Booger? The system must be larger than what we see here; looks like it goes through a tunnel in the wall in that back corner. The Man's domainI doubt very much that Mrs. Swartzell ventured down in the basement (or out to the garage, just as likely) to dust the train set. Our basements over the years were cement or dirt floors where spiders and other buggly critters abounded. Obviously Mr. Swartzell cared little about dusting the odd footprint off the platform (probably had to plug and unplug from the ceiling light every time he wanted to use the trains). He probably had more interest in playing with his trains than worrying about whether or not the odd cocoon or spider eggball hung from the bottom of his tracks. J.N. Swartzell...and from Popular Mechanics, 1925 PiffleIt's not as exaborate as the basement railway of two friends in the 50s whose father worked for Lionel. I coveted the GG1, and the sound of trains going over the maze of switches in the rail yard they parked in. Amazing model railroad for the time.What is most amazing about this model railroad is that it is two rail at a time when toy trains like Lionel and American Flyer were three rail. The effort that went into insulating all the wheels on all the locomotives and rolling stock is mind boggling since all the modern plastics and adhesives we have today were unknown and not available. The two major model railroad magazines, "Model Railroad Craftsman" and "Model Railoroader" go back to the early 1930's so there were not a lot of resources for Mr. Swartzell to refer to. "Every Bit of the System Hand-Built!"If the Popular Science article is correct and this fellow built everything in the photographs himself, by hand, that's not a "piffling" achievement. It's an accomplishment that deserved every bit of recognition he received, in my opinion. Eddie LaytonA friend of mine who passed away a few years ago, Eddie Layton, was the organist at Yankee Stadium. He had a model railroad collection that he assembled over many years. It ran on a reinforced plywood panel about 12 feet by 10 feet. He lived in an apartment in Forest hills, Queens. He had it in his living room, rigged to lines that he could lower from the ceiling to the floor. Eddie was the subject of a well known Trivia question, "Who was the man that played for the Yankees, Knicks and Rangers in the same season?" The answer was of course Eddie, as he was also the organist at Madison Square Garden. Ironically he also played for the NY Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum for a few of those seasons as well. Fair River JunctionMr. Swartzell's layout was also featured in a 1929 article in Machinists Monthly Journal, the "Official Organ of the International Association of Machinists." Fortunately, that issue is available in PDF format courtesy of Georgia State University Library. (link to PDF [3.2 MB], article begins on pg. 584.) The photos in that article, poorly rendered within the PDF, are also in the LOC archives. Perhaps Dave will share them with us one day. A few excerpts... The "railroad" is supposed to be located in a valley of the Alleghenys, with the mountains away to the west and north. The main line stretches westward, enters a tunnel, swings around a long loop and returns, down the banks of a river, across a steel bridge, to the terminal. In the west foreground is the roundhouse, with turntable, coal dock, oil, sand and supply house, etc. Behind it is the back shop, with two "drop-pits" for light repairs and, beside it, the freight and storage yards. "To the east is the coach yard and the express and freight depot while the main switch tower and dispatcher's office are opposite the passenger depot, with a maze of switches and crossovers between. The town lies beyond the main line, on the river flats, with hotel, farm houses, residences, etc. Highways run across the flats and up into the mountains. Everything is accurately built to a scale of one-fourth of an inch to the foot. ... "It is not, as has been stated, a reproduction of the B. & O. Mountain Division," Mr. Swartzell said. "It is, however, a faithful copy of B. & O. equipment located at an imaginary mountain division point which I have called 'Fair River.'" ... The passenger rolling stock consists of Pullmans, day coaches, observation and chair cars, baggage, mail, express and express refrigerators and even combination mail, baggage and express cars. The freight equipment is equally varied, but much of it is out of date and must be replaced when, as Superintendent Swartzell says, "the appropriations for maintenance of equipment permit." ... "That tunnel is a problem," Swartzell confided. "It is right at the foot of a steep grade with sharp curves. "The worst wreck the division ever had occurred right inside it. You have recently written something about freak wrecks. This was a queer one. "We sent out a solid express and baggage train and a freight right behind it, westbound. A careless baggageman left a door open and some trunks fell out on the opposite main. The freight had been swung over on the east-bound main so it hit the trunks and piled up. We had a lot of trouble picking up the wreckage and clearing the line." Sidenote: This basement looks so typical of the row-homes in D.C: exposed brick walls and beams spanning the width of the house. One of the first things that caught my eye was the brickwork: another fine vernacular sample of "American" or "Common" bond. Fascinating!The little Girl couldn't have been more perfect for this photo! Her expression is priceless. Then there's the detail in the buildings, cars and engines. The engineer who designed this layout had the passion! If one looks under the left half of the table, one clearly sees whatlooks to be left over track. And the water tower! Very nice. There's quite a bit going on here. CellargatorMy great-aunts bought a tiny alligator back from their jaunt to Florida in the 1920s. Back then, those living souvenirs were all the rage. After a few months, it disappeared from its tank. They figured it would show up dessicated under a radiator within a few months. Three years later, one of them went down to shovel coal for the stove. She heard a loud hissing and saw red eyes glowing down in a corner underneath the foundation, behind the coal cellar. They got the fire department and the police to kill the "monster," which was now about three feet long. It had dug itself a nice warm wet hole in the dirt floor, where it survived eating rats and stray cats and squirrels. The hide was nailed to the garage, where it still freaked me out 40 years later. End of the LineWashington Post, Nov. 20, 1937 J.N. Swartzell's Funeral Is Set for Tomorrow Funeral services for John N. Swartzell, retired Washington business man, will be held at 11 a. m. tomorrow at his home, 2725 Thirty-sixth place northwest. Burial will be in Rock Creek Cemetery. Swartzell, who was 47-years-old, died Thursday at his home. He retired in 1925 from the firm of Swartzell, Rheem & Hensey because of ill health. His father, G. W. F. Swartzell, was one of the founders of the firm, which failed in 1931. Born in Washington, Swartzell was educated at Friends School and at George Washington University, where he was a member of Theta Delta Chi. He was a past president and honorary member of the Civitan Club, secretary of the board of managers of the Methodist Home and a director of the Columbia National Bank. He was also a past master of Temple Noyes Masonic Lodge and a member of Mount Pleasant Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Anna Drury Swartzell; a daughter, Margaret Swartzell; a sister, Mrs. C. C. Davis, and a brother, Henry R. Swartzell. All live in Washington. B&O Jr. According to the July 1936 issue of Model Railroader the name of the railroad was "The B&O Jr." The article notes that Mr. Swartzell began construction of his model railroad "shortly after the end of the war." (The Gallery, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo, Railroads)
Singer Building: 1913
... building would be converted to condos or apartments (or a hotel, like the PSFS in Philadelphia) and would be a huge success. Nobody ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:43pm -

New York circa 1913. "The Singer Building." Rising in the distance, the Woolworth Building under construction. Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Pie in the sky, my eyeToday the building would be converted to condos or apartments (or a hotel, like the PSFS in Philadelphia) and would be a huge success. Nobody thought of that in 1967, because ... because they didn't want to think of anything except demolition. Here's the piece of sky-pastry that the Singer Building was swapped for: Old and NewFor a kid who grew up in Manhattan and Jersey City, the Singer was interesting in a grotesque kind of way, like a giant rotten tooth. Aesthetically and functionally the U.S. Steel building (which will probably long outlive the Singer) was a big improvement. Still, something was lost -- it would be nice if the Singer was still there. But that's the way it goes. Quo Vadis SingerThat is just a gorgeous building. Looks like something out of "The Fountainhead." Why on earth did they let that one disappear? Yikes.I guess this would be the classic example of "it looked good on paper." The more things changedThe Singer Building was the first big test for New York's Landmarks Preservation Commission, which was formed after the outcry over demolition of Pennsylvania Station. The Commission failed miserably, allowing the destruction of the Singer Building in 1967 on the grounds that there was nothing else to do with it. It is the largest structure ever demolished for "peaceful" (i.e. money) reasons. A real shameDoing a little research, you can see that the newly formed NYC Landmarks Commission really failed its mission in letting this building be torn down. There is nothing else like it in NY. If you do a little net research, you can find some detailed exterior and interior pix. I wish I could have seen what those spaces are like up in the crown. It must have been spectacular. Impressively somethingTop kind of scary! Pie in the Sky NotionsI wonder what some of the commenters here are thinking -- if you are the owner or shareholder in a piece of property, the government can tell you what to do with it (including taking a loss on it) just because people think it looks cool? There's a limit to what tenants are willing to pay per square foot in any given building -- if there's a more attractive deal elsewhere, they'll take it. And what they were willing to pay in the Singer Building was, by the mid-1960s, less than what it cost to keep the place going. So they began to bail out, starting with the Singer Company itself. The Landmarks Preservation Law is on shaky ground when it comes to giant office buildings -- something the preservation commission recognized when it declined to give the building Landmark status. It's private property, and the owners need to make a profit -- they'll abandon their investment or sue if the government makes a move toward de facto expropriation. Alan Burnham, executive director of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, in 1967: "If the building were made a landmark, we would have to find a buyer for it or the city would have to acquire it. The city is not that wealthy and the commission doesn't have a big enough staff to be a real-estate broker for a skyscraper." Talk is cheapThe reason the owners "thought of demolition" was they wanted to put up a big new office building that tenants would actually want to rent, and make a lot of money. Which they have every right to do. They ended up a with a building that paid a lot more in property taxes than the Singer ever did. It's one thing to say the building should have been preserved, but, as pointed out below, the city (meaning you, the taxpayer) would have had to compensate the owners for their lost income. The money wasn't there, for understandable reasons. One of the all-time greatsIt's a darn shame the Singer Building was demolished. It once held the title, very briefly though, as the tallest building in the world. GlenJay's right, had any decent creative thought been given to renovating the building for lucrative use, it would still be there today instead of the eye sore called 1 Liberty Plaza. 12 Fifth AvenueI always figured that the design of the Singer Building had much in common with that of the old apartment building at 12 Fifth Avenue, on a much larger scale, of course. 12 Fifth still stands between 8th and 8th Streets on the west side of 5th. Wish I had a photo of it. I lived there for two years between 1964 and 1966. Those were the Good Old Days. Shame to lose it, but --It's a terrible aesthetic loss but the sad fact is that a building this old generally has severe handicaps for use today. Simply rewiring it for modern power (not to mention adding modern phone and computer lines) is a tremendous expense- everything is buried under plaster and masonry. These old buildings were firetraps- vast improvements over their predecessors but still dependent on someone finding a hose or fire extinguisher not all of these buildings had sprinklers. Most of these buildings depended on an open window for cooling in the summer- to refit a structure like this for modern use you've often got to strip the interior to the skeleton. Even if you could do everything needed you're up against the reality of life in NYC- the occupancy of the building might be too small to bring in enougfh money to cover costs and taxes. It's a sad thing. Flag RaiserI'd hate to be the guy that had to go up there to raise the Singer flag. You can't afford it.Even by 1967 standards, which are much much looser than today's standards, the building is not a viable commercial property. Look at how SMALL the floors of the tower are - now subtract space for ( 4 ) modern elevators, ( 2 ) fireproof stairways as far apart as possible, restrooms, an exit access corridor, plus space for structural columns, ventilation, air conditioning and heating equipment, and what you have left is somewhat less than half of the floor space for rental. This means you would have to charge exorbitant per-square-foot rent just to recover the renovation costs. Maybe today you could get away with it, just for the cachet of an exclusive address, but not in 1967. Pie in the eyeUsing some of the rational expressed and considering today's economic situation, the Statue of Liberty isn't carrying her weight and could be headed for the scrap yard. [Maybe, if the Statue of Liberty were a privately owned office building. - Dave] Precursor of the 1916 Zoning OrdinanceThe architect of the Singer Tower, Ernest Flagg, believed that skyscrapers that shot straight up from the sidewalk and occupied their entire sites were a menace to the health of the city. He advocated building slender towers that occupied only 25 percent of the lot area while limiting the height of the "base buildings" below them, in order to get sunlight down to the crowded city streets. This is precisely what he did at the Singer Tower; in 1916 New York City adopted his formula for the nation's first zoning ordinance, which regulated the height and bulk of New York skyscrapers until 1961. Washington LifeYou can see a section of the roof of the Washington Life building in the lower left of this beautiful photograph. It was built in the German Renaissance Revival style, and was stunning. What is there now? A little strip park, across Liberty Street from the monstrous monolith 1 Liberty Plaza. Those blocks south of Cortlandt heading into the Wall Street area were so beautiful. I wish they had been preserved. The economic arguments are weak, in comparison to the importance to preserve: just as we mourn Penn Station, we should mourn the destruction of those blocks. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC)
Gator Farm: 1905
... only. I can't find the address of the Grand Atlantic Hotel or its Annex. One of the Central Passenger Railway's routes was half of ... Gator Farm advertisement on the fence and the cafe in the Hotel Jackson was the Jackson Grille and Restaurant as opposed to the Ladies ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 7:24pm -

Virginia Avenue strollers (and rollers) in Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1905. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. "Smoking Not Allowed"Not quite. Here is the sign, biggacated and computerally enhanced: [Nice try! However ... - tterrace] What type of propulsionpowers that beautiful trolley? StreetcarAnd what powers the headlight? Street railway car motive power?There are no overhead trolley wires as in another 1905 Atlantic City Shorpy post at https://www.shorpy.com/node/8139?size=_original There's no subterranean center slot and the rails can't be "hot" (the obvious rail brushes wouldn't be able to keep them clean enough for good contact anyway, even if they were extended), so that leaves: 1) Horse powered (there appears to be a hitch receiver, and the area between the tracks seems to have a different texture than the rest to the street, possibly from more hard working horse traffic). 2) Battery/electric motor driven 3) Internal combustion engine driven The internets are full of old stock certificates for The Central Passenger Railway Company, but I couldn't find any relevant info on their rolling stock, so I gave up, unsatiated. Probably best that time travel ISN'T currently availiable Because if I time travelled 107 years in the future from my peaceful walk with my friends and baby up lovely Virginia Ave in Atlantic City to THIS spot, I would be beyond horrified (and would immediately demand-if not beg- to be taken back to where I came from vs stay in the tacky, gaudy 21st century version of my sweet little street!) More along the wireless routeHere's the proper link to another Shorpy photo showing no trolley wires, 2 tracks, and surface electrical contact boxes for the far track only. I can't find the address of the Grand Atlantic Hotel or its Annex. One of the Central Passenger Railway's routes was half of a "Loop Car" line, from Boardwalk & Virginia Ave. to Boardwalk & South Carolina Ave. via Atlantic Ave. They connected to, and later may have owned, Venice Park Rwy. lines to the interior of the City. https://www.shorpy.com/node/12772?size=_original Look ma, no (trolley) wires!That electric streetcar is no trolley. Look behind it, there are oblong boxes for a Pullen system of surface electrical contacts. It has not been installed on the other track, almost buried in the mud. By next year, 1906, both tracks will have trolley wire. See: https://www.shorpy.com/node/8532?size=_original Before there was the Gator FarmHere is another Shorpy Picture of essentially the same scene circa 1905, a year or so before this picture. https://www.shorpy.com/node/8532?size=_original. In the 1905 picture, there is no Gator Farm advertisement on the fence and the cafe in the Hotel Jackson was the Jackson Grille and Restaurant as opposed to the Ladies and Gentlemen's Buffet and Cafe run by "Jno Cruse" a year later. As to jimboylan's question about the address of the Grand Atlantic Hotel: a circa 1900 map of Atlantic City shows it to have been on Virginia Ave., just beyond the Avon Inn toward Pacific Ave. In this picture, if you look past the Avon sign on the right side of the street, you can see the towers of the Grand Hotel shown in https://www.shorpy.com/node/12772?size=_original. Wireless Trolley CarCan anyone make out the writing on the upper right on the trolley? I think it says "Smoking Not Allowed". Times must be toughthat woman has to push her own carriage up that hill! No Skateboards? NoGo!A prohibition against skateboards would cause a problem, because the device under the street car to collect the electricity from the surface contact boxes was called a "skate". (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Streetcars)
Flood Mansion: 1940
... movie 'Vertigo'? [No, Vertigo's "McKittrick Hotel" was the wooden Fortmann Mansion at 1007 Gough St., demolished in 1959. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/18/2014 - 4:03pm -

        James Clair Flood Mansion (now Pacific Union Club), 1000 California Street, San Francisco. Built 1885-86; Augustus Laver, architect. Reputed cost of about $1 million. Flood died 1889; Mrs. Flood, 1897. Descendants occupied until fire of 1906 gutted interior. Acquired by Pacific Union Club about 1909 and remodeled by Willis Polk in 1910. New England brownstone shell (said to be first brownstone west of Mississippi); Italianate ornamental details. Fence of bronze by W.T. Garratt, at cost estimated from $30,000 to $60,000. Only Nob Hill house to survive fire. —HABS, 1940 March 1940. The Flood Mansion in San Francisco, last seen here after being gutted by fire following the 1906 earthquake, 108 years ago today. Photo by A.J. Wittlock for the Historic American Buildings Survey. View full size. Watering the LawnI assume there is someone standing behind that corner pillar watering the grass or else there is one be leak somewhere. +74And in living color. Spectacular!“I will build you a house of marble on a hill of granite” -James Leary Flood A closer look at the spectacular Flood Mansion. I wonder what happenedThis young man is missing CuriousWas this house used for some of Hitchcock movie 'Vertigo'? [No, Vertigo's "McKittrick Hotel" was the wooden Fortmann Mansion at 1007 Gough St., demolished in 1959. -tterrace] Thank you, tterrace, wasn't sure, didn't seem so, but thought that it was just my mis-remembering the movie. Woolen facadeThe neatly trimmed ivy looks like a wool sock pulled up over the house for winter. Also, what's with those awful windows patched into the third floor. How uncouth! Portland BrownstoneThe brownstone used to construct the Flood Mansion was shipped around Cape Horn from quarries in Portland, Connecticut. This is the same stone used for the "Brownstones" in New York City. Both the mansion and the quarries have been designated National Historic Landmarks. Re: CuriousI believe that the interior of the Flood Mansion was used as the location of Gavin Elster's club where he and Scottie have a private chat. [The exterior was used, but the interior was a studio set. -tterrace] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, HABS, San Francisco)
Old New Orleans: 1910
... A bird's eye view of Canal Street from the Grunewald Hotel. Merchants here include Godchaux's music store as well as the big ... Gras parades. Also, is St. Louis cathedral behind the Hotel Monteleone? I see Jax Brewery (if that's what is was at the time of this ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 7:25pm -

Circa 1910. "New Orleans and the Mississippi River from Grunewald." A bird's eye view of Canal Street from the Grunewald Hotel. Merchants here include Godchaux's music store as well as the big Godchaux's department store farther down the street, D.H. Holmes Co., B. Cohn Dry Goods, Marks Isaacs Co. and a One-Cent Vaudeville theater. And if all this shopping has made you thirsty: Drink Chattanooga Beer. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. BleachersI've seen another photo here some time ago that I think was taken in front of those bleachers. I believe they are exactly for watching Mardi Gras parades. Also, is St. Louis cathedral behind the Hotel Monteleone? I see Jax Brewery (if that's what is was at the time of this photo) and the market, so it seems the cathedral should be right behind that hotel. Looks like bleachersOn the colonnade in front of Hart Pianos and the business next door. That would be a great spot for watching Mardi Gras parades. What is it?On the roof peak of the D.H. Holmes building on the left, there is a very unusual item - it appears to be half hoops of wood likely with lightbulbs on them - and some extra related material. One would guess that it is an attention getting device but not really advertising anything in particular and I cant imagine what item it might represent. [It's a crown. - Dave] The crownThe building all decked out in lights with the crown in place. ChimneysI love those old brick factory chimneys. Even something as industrial and rudimentary had some style. Transform > SkewNo need to add the Shorpy watermark to this photo, it was already on the building! Luzianne Coffee with chicory Family owned and operated since 1902. That makes that company just six years old at the time of this wonderful glimpse of the past. I lived near Shreveport Louisiana, for a time, and the Chicory coffee from this company was a staple of many people I knew. I never developed a taste for it myself though. Classic and great signage though for that fledgling company of 1910, though for sure. One of many wonderful time traveling moments for me today. (The Gallery, DPC, New Orleans, Stores & Markets, Streetcars)
Bustling Banff: 1964
... there The following summer, stayed in the Banff Springs Hotel. I bought a key ring from the gift shop, a beautiful round medallion of ... 
 
Posted by returntoBuddha - 05/05/2015 - 11:03am -

Banff, Alberta, Canada, sometime in the early Sixties. Scanned from a box of Kodachrome slides I found at a flea market. View full size. Ford 'n' FargoNot all Ford trucks were Mercurys and not all Dodge trucks were Fargos. Mercury dealers had Mercury trucks which were just re-badged Fords, but Ford dealers sold Ford trucks. The same for the Mopars. Dodge dealers sold Dodge trucks and Plymouth dealers sold Fargos. We also had Meteor cars which were rebadged Fords sold by Mercury dealers to give them an entry level auto and Monarch cars which were rebadged Mercurys sold by Ford dealers to give them a more upscale vehicle. GM sold Chevy trucks from the early 30s until the early 50s that were called Maple Leafs in addition to Chevy trucks. Confused yet? 2011 viewVisited Banff and Lake Louise on our 2011 vacation. Beautiful area. Here's a view looking in the same direction but farther up the street. MetropolitanTen comments so far, and no one has mentioned the little yellow Nash Metropolitan convertible yet. Well, now I have. BugsMy eye was drawn to the VW beetle. It would have been a cold car to drive in the winter in Banff. Without an accessory heater fan the only heat would be what ever wander up front from the engine compartment. I owned a VW bus that never could quite clear the windshield in the winter, even with an accessory fan. BreezewayThe car on the far right might be a early 60's model Mercury Monterey with a "Breezeway" rear window. Our family had one of those and it was a lot of fun. The rear window slanted down and in towards the rear seat and was powered so it could be lowered to let air flow through the car. Worked great even when it was raining! Definitely 1964The two cars at far left both sport 1964 license plates: the curbside Olds has white-on-blue Alberta plates, while the turning Plymouth's green-on-white plates are from Saskatchewan. 1962 PlymouthThe muddy red car on the left, turning right (the turn signal is lit). I think it's a Fury. [The Fury had chrome trim that the car in our photo doesn't. - Dave] Both the Savoy and Belvedere also have chrome trim. So what is this car? Is that a gold two-tone Pontiac just past the hydrant?My dad had a '58 Chev in "Anniversary Gold" very similar to that "Jubilee Gold" Pontiac. It wasn't his fault, it was a company car and that's what his boss sent him. My mother hated the colour, she said it looked like a Labatt's beer truck. +43Here's that corner last time I was there, in 2007. The building on the left remains, and although the flag-flying buildings on the right have changed, the flag appears to still be flying in the same spot. Oh my, Oh myhow this brings back so many memories of dear Banff on weekends skiing those magnificent Rockies, if I can remember lift tickets were in the ten dollar range. It's a 1954The Big Black Sedan on the front left is a 1954 Oldsmobile, not a '53--the first year for GM's wraparound windshield on Buick/Olds/Cadillac. This images is from at least 1964The blue-green automobile on the extreme right is a 1964 Mercury (with a Breezeway roof no less). [Or a '63. - Dave] Big Black SedanThat's a 1953 Oldsmobile facing the camera while parked at the curb. I can't tell if it's an 88 or a 98, but I had a 98 just like it back in the 1990s. I finally traded it for a piano. We were thereThe following summer, stayed in the Banff Springs Hotel. I bought a key ring from the gift shop, a beautiful round medallion of the Canadian flag with the colors in cloisonne which I still have. You'll notice many Pontiacs in the picture--they were built on Chevrolet chassis and had Chevy sixes, 283's and 348's with PowerGlide. A Catalina trim level was called Strato-Chief, Star Chief Laurentian, and Bonneville was a Parisienne. Although much less car than what an American Pontiac represented, they were much more expensive. [You have it backwards. They were generally less expensive, which was the whole point of building them on Chevy chassis. - Dave] National Flag of CanadaNote the Canadian Red Ensigns flying on buildings on either side of the street. This was the national flag used for several decades until the official flag, the Maple Leaf, arrived on the scene in 1965. Background verticalityBanff clearly has a lot of it. And an Oldsmobile dealer, guaranteed. Back when they still made Oldsmobiles. Banff has changedWe moved out west in '73 and you would often see elk on the road near Sulfur Mountain or the Hot Springs. For the longest time, no new development was allowed. Took my daughter there a few years back and I couldn't believe how many new homes there were. OK Car GuysGeez, enough comments and ID's for the cars. There is a MOUNTAIN in the picture. My take is that it was done with a mildly telephoto lens: the mountain is freeking awesome. What a spectacular display of colors!!The cars, that is: red, and green, and yellow, and purple, and aqua, and -- Look at what's parked on that street today and you'd see black, and silver, and gray, and silver, and white, and black, and silver, and silver, and gray, and white, and gray ... Red PlymouthI think the red Plymouth is a 4 door Savoy. The chrome trim seems understated, at least compared to the advertisement offered by another contributor. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
The Glory of Grain: 1985
... Milk Bottle Hey, isn't that a milk bottle on the hotel window ledge? Oh, wait, I think it's about 40 years too late to see ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 10/03/2020 - 10:25am -

As photographic film continues its inexorable decline to the status of quaint, if not forgotten, technology, I offer this example demonstrating one of its often-derided properties: grain. If you follow home video fora, you'll see many who think it's something to be minimized if not expunged entirely. Of course, grain is why there is an image in the first place. I think the heavy grain structure in this 35mm Kodacolor 1000 negative I shot in 1985 lends a rather painterly quality, especially viewed full-size. The flatironish building in the center is San Francisco's Columbus Tower, aka the Sentinel Building, begun a year before the earthquake and completed a year later in 1907. Since 1970, it's been the headquarters of Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope studio; The Godfather was edited and sound- mixed here. Also, a K-car an M-body Chrysler Fifth Avenue taxi. View full size. Grainy GranadaMy father in law had a Mercury Monarch that was the most problematic vehicle that he ever owned. He bought it new and sold it about 7 or 8 months later. Grain PhotosToday's Panasonic Lumix Digital point and shoot digital pocket cameras have a feature called "film grain." It captures images in b&w, great contrast, with a hint of grain. It's a lot of fun. (and you do not have to spend precious time playing around with Photoshop!) Loma PrietaI was working in the basement studio of the Sentinel Building when the Loma Prieta earthquake hit. It was especially frightening because we were in an area directly under the sidewalk, which had shown signs of being structurally compromised. Before the quake wood support beams had been placed under the sidewalk to prevent it from sagging into the basement space. At the moment of the quake my first fear was that it would crash on our heads. But it didn't and we were able to fumble our way out of the pitch black studio and climb upstairs into the old Captain Video space on the ground floor (still in business in the photo). We couldn't get out of the building until someone from Zoetrope remembered us and came to unlock the door. On the street in Chinatown I could see the blanket of dust kicked up by the quake and looking down Jackson Street I could see cars heading west on both decks of the Bay Bridge. Rumor was the bridge had collapsed, which I couldn't believe, and later we learned the damage was serious but not catastrophic. The Sentinel Building suffered only minor exterior damage; it was one of the first buildings in S.F. to be built with a steel skeleton. San Fran GrainBefore I read your remark, I thought this was about Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat. The Purple OnionSharp-eyed Shorpyites will notice on the left the sign for the famous Purple Onion club. Comedy and music greats of the 50s and 60s had their starts or practiced their craft here, such as Bob Newhart, Phyllis Diller, the Smothers Brothers, and of course, Lenny Bruce. As a college student in the City in the 70s I went there once, but more often had coffee and donuts at the Winchells across the street...when my monthly GI Bill check arrived. To this day, I still want to launch a paper airplane from the top of the Transamerica Building. GrainIf Ansel Adams had only digital, I don't know that his name would be a household word today. Undiplomatic Calling that clumsy rear-drive Chrysler LeBaron a "K-Car" serves only to besmirch the name of the cars that truly saved the Chrysler Corporation from oblivion. [Actually, it's an M-body Chrysler Fifth Avenue. I've corrected my caption. - tterrace] Lonestar: The 2.6 Liter Mitsubishi engine w/Mikuni Carb that was a low percentage option on some K-Cars and was extremely problematic due to it's hydraulically tensioned and failure prone timing chain and chain driven balance shaft system. I made a lot of money servicing the 2.6L engines that lived to see a replacement chain kit. I also put a boatload of choke pull-offs in those Mikuni carbs. Made in Japan but fixed in the USA. Thank youThank you, tterrace, for all you've posted over the last several years. Wish you'd post more. I enjoy all of them, and your descriptions! Mercedes or Granada?Remember those ads comparing the two? The oldster's grainis the youngster's pixel. And I do wonder whether my digicam, being a computer at heart, will have the service life of my analog SLR. We have all read how easy it is for manufacturers to program some planned obsolescence into anything digital. Brandy Ho's? Behind Me Bings" (it is still there) with entrances on both Columbus and Pacific is Brandy Ho's some of the best food in Chinatown. If you dine alone (can you spell business trip?) they will seat you at the "lunch counter" with all of the cooks and huge woks on the otherside of the counter the grill in a diner. The "show" is as good as the food. The Winchel's Donut is long gone, replaced by a Happy Donut. Wonder if their whole wheat donut is as good as Winchel's, if it has the same quality of grain? Thanks TTerance.. great shot, great memories, great grain. Chrysler's Savior(s)Matt Fuller: "Calling that clumsy rear-drive Chrysler LeBaron a "K-Car" serves only to besmirch the name of the cars that truly saved the Chrysler Corporation from oblivion." IMHO, it was the US Government and Mitsubishi Motors that saved Chrysler's bacon at that time. Of which neither were bad things in and of themselves. But, I found it epically ironic then that Lee Iococca was bashing Japanese imports when it was the Japanese that pretty much enabled him to remain employed. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. K-CarWhen I read your original caption (with K-Car) I thought that you were referring to the car behind the VW on the left (with the chrome side mirror) - I think it just might be a K-Car! The StreetsI half expect Karl Malden and Michael Douglas to pop out from behind one of those parked cars. times have changedLoved your photo, but in a non-second the exact same effect is done in photoshop by adding noise. Don't get me wrong the "good old days" were great! Milk BottleHey, isn't that a milk bottle on the hotel window ledge? Oh, wait, I think it's about 40 years too late to see that. Thanks, tterrace, for all of your evocative photos and for your detailed commentary that accompanies them. Wild in the StreetsThis is the same angle as the cover photo of the Circle Jerks' "Wild in the Streets" Second oldest bar in San Francisco Just up the street next door to Winchell's was the second oldest bar in San Francisco. A friend of mine opened the San Francisco Brewing Company the very year this photo was taken. He left the bar in its classic state, but for the addition of the brewing equipment. One of the most unique items of the bar was the tiled area just below the front of the bar. It was said to be used by the men to relieve themselves, so as not to lose their position at the bar. I haven't been there in years, but I do know that the brewery closed some years ago. Great beer was made here, with an amazing barley wine style topping the list. Here is a link with more information regarding the bar. Kougar?@Minnesotaart: I believe the car behind the VW is a c.1980 Mercury Cougar, not a Chrysler K-Car. Purple OnionI just started reading a Smothers Brothers bio today that talks about their early years at the PO. Nice serendipity. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
Ostrich Feathers Curled: 1910
... buildings around Fountain Square were razed for some grey hotel and a tower. It hemmed in the square, took away its contours, and ruined ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 10:25pm -

Circa 1910. "Fourth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio." Home to merchants trading in a variety of goods and services, the most esoteric of which might be "Ostrich Feathers & Boas, Cleaned, Dyed and Curled." 8x10 glass plate. View full size. Where is the horse?That wagon on the right side is moving fast, where is the horse? Is the horse moving so much that the camera didn't capture it? It might be an early Studebaker, not sure. Trolley vs Railroad Gauge> by Larmo: example of wagons and standard gauge rail having the same width or "gauge" of 4 feet 8½ inches.
Chicago: 1943, 11:35
... Carbon & Carbide This landmark is now the Hard Rock Hotel! http://www.hardrockhotelchicago.com/accommodations/history ... The color scheme is similar to The Bryant Park Hotel with its dark facade and gold highlights. The ground floor was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/10/2012 - 4:56pm -

April 1943. South Water Street freight depot of the Illinois Central Railroad at Chicago. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. Now......it's a golf course: http://tinyurl.com/2z29tf Amazing that the signage on 203 N. Wabash is so visible nearly a mile away! Mmmmmm, 33 Fine Brews...Blended to Make ONE Great Beer. New Life for Carbon & CarbideThis landmark is now the Hard Rock Hotel! http://www.hardrockhotelchicago.com/accommodations/history Carbon & Carbide BuildingThe black (actually green) building to the left of the Pabst sign is the Carbon & Carbide Building, built in 1929 by Burnham Brothers architects. It is beautiful in the sunlight. A few cool facts: The base is covered in black polished granite, and the tower is a dark green terra cotta accented with gold terra cotta. According to legend the building was designed to resemble a dark green champagne bottle. Because of this building's success, its architects were commissioned to design the Cuneo Building two blocks away, which would have been the tallest in Chicago if the Great Depression had not resulted in the project's cancellation. The color scheme is similar to The Bryant Park Hotel with its dark facade and gold highlights. The ground floor was originally designed to display products of the Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation's subsidiaries whose offices were in the building. Domed BuildingThe domed building behind 203 N. Wabash is 35 E. Wacker Drive, usually referred to as "The Jewelers' Building." For the first fourteen years of the building's life it contained a 22-story car lift inside its core. Delivery vehicles would enter on Lower Wacker Drive and ride up to jewelry merchants to make safe transfers. The building is featured in scenes from 2005's "Batman Begins", with Batman perched on one of the turrets rising at the corner of the dome's base. ChicagoWell, it hasn't been a golf course for nearly a decade. The eastern part is now nearly full of apartment buildings. But the part seen in the photo was developed as office buildings in the early 1970s. An unfamiliar facadeDoes anyone know the name of the gray building with arched upper windows in front of the domed Jewelers' building? Crerar LibraryThe gray building was the John Crerar Library at Michigan & Randolph, just north of the city library. Opened May 1921 with "seven stack floors, two reading rooms and commercial space." Library moved to IIT in 1962, then to U of C in 1984, where it is today. Postcard here, in the third row. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Boody House: 1900
... Circa 1900. "Boody House, Toledo, Ohio." The Boody House hotel at St. Clair and Madison. Dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing ... "A Toledo landmark for fifty-five years, the Boody House hotel stood at the corner of Madison Avenue and St. Clair Street. The hotel ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 8:18pm -

Circa 1900. "Boody House, Toledo, Ohio." The Boody House hotel at St. Clair and Madison. Dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. TowerGotta love the architecture at the top of the tower. Date 1870, simply beautiful. Bike WorldBefore cars took over, bicycles were considered to be a legitimate mode of transportation. According to the Smithsonian, the first paved roads and first road maps were designed with bikes in mind. Boody Facts "A Toledo landmark for fifty-five years, the Boody House hotel stood at the corner of Madison Avenue and St. Clair Street. The hotel opened in June 1872 with 133 guest rooms, each with its own fireplace. Hot and cold water ran in each room, a novelty for the day. The building was torn down in 1928 to make way for the Ohio Savings Bank and Trust Company." Amazing lightThe low angle light from the left of the frame gives the woman with the netting on and the two guys behind her a startling definition -- almost looks burned in. Bicycles left at the curb and an early version of Cinnabon at the corner. This is a phenomenal photo. WiredShorpy viewers are used to seeing huge numbers of single phone lines on multiple crossbeams in old city photos. The few thick phone lines on these poles indicate that Toledo was progressive in the adoption of fewer, larger cables containing many twisted pairs, each replacing many of the old single wires. Note the many empty crossbars on the phone pole on the corner, with iron junction boxes serving to break out lines to each customer. These early cables were insulated with twisted, tarred paper, resulting in a rather ragged appearance in the foreground. Was bicycle theft a hanging offense?Those bicycles were expensive compared to average wages, but nobody seems to lock them up. Boody House key tagI found a key tag for room 75 in Salem Ohio about 3 years ago. The electric company had put in a new pole and the tag was dug up when they drilled the hole. (The Gallery, DPC, Streetcars, Toledo)
White Wash: 1951
... antenna. Birmingham, Alabama The Granada Hotel was a long-time fixture in Birmingham. The neighborhood around it became notorious for drugs and prostitution. The hotel burned some years ago, but its shell has been reclaimed and is now in use ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/09/2013 - 8:40am -

The location: Fourth Avenue North in Birmingham, Alabama. 1951. "Segregation in the South." Which extended, evidently, even to pillowcases. Photo by John Vachon for the Look magazine article "How Far From Slavery?" Who'll be the first person to tell us where this might be? View full size. ParkedParked up high at right for your viewing pleasure is a 1940 Studebaker, most likely a President Coupe, but possibly a Commander Coupe. Studebaker was 8th in U.S. auto sales with 117,091 cars sold during the 1940 calendar year. A 1940 Studebaker Champion was the Indianapolis 500 Pace Car, and a 1940 Studebaker Champion was Judy Garland's first car. The radio antenna appears to be an aftermarket accessory as the standard Studebaker antenna had a cowl-mounted antenna. Birmingham, AlabamaThe Granada Hotel was a long-time fixture in Birmingham. The neighborhood around it became notorious for drugs and prostitution. The hotel burned some years ago, but its shell has been reclaimed and is now in use as a center for homeless women and children. At least that's my guess. Two ThingsI don't know where this was and I wasn't born as of 1951 but I will say that in the Northeast growing up we did see this kind of activity. I remember a small variety store in our neighborhood that would only let the white kids in on the way to school to buy snacks or whatever. It bothered me even as a youngster. Sometimes I'd buy items for others and give them to them outside the store. On another note, here in the Northeast, Fluff refers to the marshmallow we'd put in our peanut butter sandwich, not TP. 4th Avenue NorthHotel Granada: 2230 Fourth Avenue N., Birmingham, Alabama. I typed in the offending slogan and found another photo of it in Google Books. Obligatory Shorpy Street ViewThe location of the laundry is now a vacant lot, but the building behind with "AMERICAN LIFE" emblazoned across the top still stands. View Larger Map Progress against the oddsInteresting to note that even in Birmingham, even in 1951, there might be black folk with sufficient resources that, as some whites feared, they might send their laundry out to be washed commercially. How uppity! +70Below is the same view from February of 2021. (The Gallery, Birmingham, John Vachon)
The Old Neighborhood: 1904
... As recently as 1981 the NY Times described the Holmhurst Hotel as one the architectural gems worth seeing in Atlantic City:         The largest extant frame hotel in Atlantic City -- the Holmhurst, at 121 Pennsylvania Avenue -- is one ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/24/2017 - 3:59pm -

Circa 1904. "Pennsylvania Avenue, Atlantic City, New Jersey." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Quite the Monopoly-- on a complete change for modern visitors. Nothing left of this view landward from near the famed Boardwalk up Pennsylvania Avenue to the intersection with Pacific and beyond. There is still a church at the corner but it's a newer build. The once genteel neighborhood of homes, boarding houses and hotels disappeared and what's left is a canyon between self-parking structures for the casinos. The 100 Block of Pennsylvania AvenueAs recently as 1981 the NY Times described the Holmhurst Hotel as one the architectural gems worth seeing in Atlantic City:         The largest extant frame hotel in Atlantic City -- the Holmhurst, at 121 Pennsylvania Avenue -- is one of the few architectural links with the 19th century along the Boardwalk. The five-story clapboard structure has a two-story porch along its front and two-story oriel windows at the end of the central section and at the outside corners of the end pavilions.         The interior, stark and simpler than most, is characterized by shallow arches, a wide staircase and rooms with their original frame doors topped by transoms. Unfortunately, the whole area today is naught but boring building blocks and parking structures: Weathervanes and Lightning RodsAdorn nearly every one of these exquisite homes. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC)
Times Square: 1908
... So there's the famous Rector's Restaurant next to the Hotel Cadillac! I'll have a plate of oysters, please! Is this a view looking ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/18/2012 - 3:34pm -

"Long Acre (Times) Square, New York." Now playing: "Follies of 1908." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Good old 1908Back when the only bombs on Broadway were onstage. The 1908 BombingActually 1908 wasn't exactly peaceful for New Yorkers when it came to terrorist bombs. On March 28, 1908 Anarchist Selig Cohen (aka Selig Silverstein) threw a bomb at Union Square. The bomb exploded prematurely killing bystander Ignatz Hildebrand and mortally wounding Cohen, who died a month later. Jardin de ParisAnother fascinating Shorpy pic that you could just step right into. According to IBDB, the Jardin de Paris was a rooftop theater on this building, the structure that looks like a greenhouse. I guess Nora Bayes would have been the headliner in the Follies of 1908. What kind of cool am I?Just to the left of the big marquee is the sign "Cool Carle Comedy." I'm wondering what the "cool" refers to: the temperature inside the theater, the actor, or the play. I thought the use of the word to mean "terrific" or "fashionable" didn't start until the 1930s or so. A dozen oysters from Rector's, pleaseSo there's the famous Rector's Restaurant next to the Hotel Cadillac! I'll have a plate of oysters, please! Is this a view looking south on Broadway at about 45th Street? After the showWe can go to Rector's for a bottle and a bird! Public transportLook at the lady, jumping out of the streetcar. What would she say to the low-floor trams of today? Shine On, Harvest MoonThe "Follies of 1908" was the only the second of Florenz Ziegfelds's long series of musical reviews to use this name. The show ran for 120 performances and was well received, although its performers, songs and skits are now almost completely forgotten. "Almost," because the show also introduced the song "Shine On, Harvest Moon," sung by Nora Bayes and her second husband, Jack Norworth, who were also the song's composers. And, the actress Mae Murray, later a major silent film star, also appeared in this edition of the Follies. I See Smoke!Coming from that horse wagon on the left! Clever ClothesI need some. About 10 blocks downyou can see Macy's at 34th Street. Richard Carle"Mary's Lamb" (1915) was the third of his 135 films. I guess the film of "Follies of 1908" got lost at the drug store. Scratch scratchWhy might someone have been trying to remove the lamp posts from the right side of this photo? Or is this some photography thing I don't understand? [Detroit Photo did that on glass plates that were part of a panorama. The idea seems to have been to get rid of things that don't match up on the edge that overlaps with the next plate. Whatever the reason, it is kind of annoying. - Dave] Balancing actThere's undoubtedly some hidden additional support for that rooftop cistern, but still, it looks like the kind of thing I used to do when erecting structures with building blocks, with the intention of causing a catastrophic collapse by means of a mere nudge. Interior shot of RectorsI can find a couple on Ephemeral New York, but they're both small and blurry. They don't give a good sense of what a meal there was like. Anyone know of a Shorpy-sized image or two? Actually, restaurant interiors would be a good addition to this blog. People reveal a lot about themselves at meal times. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Streetcars)
Everywhere With Everything: 1926
... 6-5000 I sure do, and it's still the phone number at Hotel Pennsylvania in NY. Glenn Miller may have written the best advertising jingle of all time, and I don't think the hotel paid a dime! http://www.hotelpenn.com/contactus.html Say it ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 4:32pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1926. "I.C. Barber Motor Co., 14th & Irving Streets N.W." Here we have everything from a Hudson-Essex car dealership to moving vans to a florist to "scalp specials." And not only ghost pedestrians in this time exposure but a ghost car! Also note the use of trees as 1 Hour Parking signposts. National Photo Company Collection glass negative, Library of Congress. View full size. The CarI love that car in the parking lot... I can't tell what make it is, but it is sure classy. [It's a brand-new Hudson. - Dave] Aunt Polly's EssexAnd here I was hoping to catch a glimpse of a 1926 Essex again. My "Aunt Polly" (a friend of my grandmother's) had a 1926 Essex she bought new in Portsmouth, Virginia. I remember as a kid in the early 1970s riding in that car, with its acetylene headlamps and rumble seat. She had it until she died, in the mid 1980s. I don't know what happened to it after that. And you don't have to be particularly old to know Glenn Miller's Pennsylvania 6-5-Oh-Oh-Oh, as I'm only 42. SHorpy-633It seems we may have caught another historical transition here at Shorpy's - the phone system moving from 5 to 6 digit dialing in DC. Note the phone number of Black and White moving is COlumbia - 633 whereas the phone number of Story & Co real estate appears to be FRank - 4100. When I was a kid I remember we were taught our phone numbers as the exchange followed by numbers. Mine was MUrray 4-6176. Anyone recall the most famous phone number of all... PEnnsylvania 6-5000? PEnnsylvania 6-5000I sure do, and it's still the phone number at Hotel Pennsylvania in NY. Glenn Miller may have written the best advertising jingle of all time, and I don't think the hotel paid a dime! http://www.hotelpenn.com/contactus.html Say it With FlowersThe Gude Bros Co., established 1889 by Adolph and William Gude, is still in the wholesale floral business. An early history and photos of the company. Adolph, a pilot, had an airstrip built adjacent to their plant nursery in Rockville. Old Phone NumbersThis is an absolutely GREAT street scene photo of the times in DC. And speaking of phone numbers, my family went from "2943" in Newburgh NY in the 1930s to "4-8168" in Wilmington DE in the 1940's, which evolved into "OLymp1a4-8168" into the early 60's, before it went all-numerical to 302-654-8168 by 1965. Just before that, I had moved to NY City, where they still were using those great old neighborhood exchange names such as as ALgonquin (in Greenwich Village), MUrrayHill (in East Midtown), PEnnsylvania (in West Midtown) and BUtterfield (in the Upper East Side). (Sigh...those were the days, my friends...) 1926 Essex Here's one... I.C. Barber Motor Co.According to Hudson-Essex ads in the Washington Post, the I.C. Barber Motor Company was at 3101 14th St N.W. Irving C. Barber made his name racing autos at the Benning track. He won in 1915 and 1916 in his homemade bright red "Eye-See-Bee" and again in 1917 in a "Beaver Bullet." Hudson-EssexThe new-looking phaeton to the right of the dealership is neither a Hudson nor an Essex. It looks like an Oldsmobile. All Hail the Hudson!By virtue of its ubiquity upon these pages as well as its exemplary ability to elicit extensive commentary, I hereby nominate the HUDSON to be the Official Automobile of the Shorpy 100-Year-Old Photo Blog. The fact that three separate examples of this marque owned by members of my family figure in a number of photos I have personally submitted should in no way be interpreted as bias on my part. 1361 Irving Street NWThe only structure here still standing is the apartment building that is now the Irving Station Condominium, at 1361 Irving Street NW, directly behind the lamppost. All the rowhouses from there to the corner have been demolished, and it no longer has the metal awning that is (barely) visible. On the site today is one of the entrances to the Columbia Heights Metrorail Station, and the Victory Heights senior housing building, with Irving Station still there. Great photo, fascinating material! Gude FloristsThe Gudes also had a facility just south of Laurel, Maryland, where Laurel Lakes Shopping Center is now. For years there was a rose bush right alongside Route 1 at a dip in the road, where it was doused with salt-laced slush every winter. A real survivor! It still breaks my heart that I wasn't able to rescue it, or at least take cuttings, before it was bulldozed away for the shopping center. Just north of the shopping center is a large public park operated by the city of Laurel, called Gude Park. The OldsmobileThe car parked in the drive is a circa 1920 Oldsmobile. I cannot find any pictures of Hudson's or Essex's with the canted hood louvers depicted. Shown below is a 1919 Oldsmobile Model 37A that is almost exactly the same as the Shorpy picture, but the top is down. Of further interest is the lock on the spare tire, the wood block acting as an emergency brake, and several notes/cards placed on the Oldsmobile that do not appear to be clear enough to read in the photo. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Dacotah: 1940
... Street from 1st Avenue appear to be standing today. The Hotel Dacotah was completely destroyed by a fire that began around 11 PM on ... most spectacular blaze in Grand Forks since the original Hotel Dacotah burned on December 17, 1897. Fortunately, there was no loss of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/09/2011 - 11:27am -

October 1940. "Grand Forks, North Dakota." 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. It's all very different nowNone of the buildings in this photo looking NW along North 3rd Street from 1st Avenue appear to be standing today. The Hotel Dacotah was completely destroyed by a fire that began around 11 PM on December 30, 1943. It was said to be the most spectacular blaze in Grand Forks since the original Hotel Dacotah burned on December 17, 1897. Fortunately, there was no loss of life or injuries as there had been in the previous Dacotah fire. ImpressionsI'm beginning to recognize a picture by Vachon before I open the photo. He loved these high angle shots. Those are some great street lights, wonderful. There's a nice feel to this one, a bit more gritty, not as clean-looking as some of his others. Like the pedestrian, like a Philip Marlowe character, strolling to a meeting with someone nefarious. She looks competent. ChiricoesqueMystery and Melancholy of a Street. That girl has a perfectshadow Wide whitewallsNot too many that day in Grand Forks; I see only four cars sporting them out of all the assembled Detroit products. Convertibles apparently weren't a big seller in the pre-war Great Plains either. Law & OrderAlways a car parked in the wrong direction. And where Deputy Fife to give that woman a ticket for jaywalking? Happy DaysDid anyone actually dance at a Dine-Dance Cafe? LookalikesI get the feeling there was only one, very busy, sign maker in town. Stayed at the Dacotah once, sometime around 1968 or '69, when we got weathered out of our home base. The only thing I remember is a big, old style, wooden telephone booth in the lobby. Edit: Well, maybe it was the 'Kadoka' Hotel. But I definitely stayed someplace that night! UnmarkedI see no traffic control signs, signals or lane markings, things we take for granted today. It's a wonder there weren't accidents every day. N.D. license platesShould read "Land of the Long Shadow." (The Gallery, John Vachon, Small Towns)
The Banquet: 1920
... to go to camp. They met once a month at the Adolphus Hotel. Most of the powerful men in Dallas were members of "The Civitan." It was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2012 - 10:15pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Civitan Club." Caught in the middle of the soup course. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Carrot soup?So few of these gents are bespectacled that I am wondering if the carrot soup truly aids the eyesight. I can't imagine a group of this style today with such a minimum of visual aids. ClassyThe two guys up front wearing spats. So formalThe spats are spiffy! Back SeatThe two guys without black or white tie seem to be relegated to a separate side table. I guess they just didn't know how to dress for the occasion. !!!Ring Ring!!!Wonder if the phone jangled during the proceedings? It wouldn't go to voicemail, that's for sure. DifficultI can't find anyone in the picture that seems pleased to be there. But I do like the design of those chairs. Duck!Reminds me of the Louisville Slugger scene from one of the mafia movies. I believe it was 'Capone' or the like. CaponesqueI love a man in spats! And at the kiddies' tableMaybe they were banished there for showing up out of tux. After all, there ARE two empties inside the horseshoe next to the head table. Presumably those two no-shows were powerful enough to warrant choice seating and our two lads were not. At least they weren't told, "No soup for you." So which is it?Is this a white-tie affair or black-tie? Apparently the invitations weren't specific and assumptions were made. Thank goodness the gents in front remembered their spats. And what's up with the two guys off to side? They look quite a bit younger and they are not in Evening Dress - maybe that is the Civitan Children's table. Farewell dinnerThe massive floral arrangement at the back of the room would have me peering over my soup plate wondering if a casket was hidden in there. Civitan Club Luncheon Minutes Washington Post, Feb 24, 1922 The Civitan club held its weekly luncheon at the City club yesterday. E. Barrett Prettyman won the attendance prize. Ernest Greenwood announced that a hat will be given the member who produces the best slogan for the club. Robert Armstrong, president of the National Press club, was speaker. Washington Post, Mar 10, 1922 Better and cheaper automobiles and clothes are now on the market, Chester Warrington, automobile dealer and H.S. Omohundro, tailor, yesterday told the Civitan club at its weekly luncheon at the City club. Three-minute talks by members featured the meeting. I.L. Goldheim, haberdasher, said that once again men are getting quality clothes. Ira La Motte, manager of the Shubert-Belasco theater, told the club that Washington was the only bright spot in a disastrous season for theaters throughout the country. Oliver Hoyem, connected with the publicity department of the American Federation of Labor, and Dr. Grant S. Barnhart, physician, also spoke. Washington Post, Mar 13, 1922 The Civitan club is strongly opposed to the recent action of the board of education authorizing the use of branch libraries in the public schools by white and colored children indiscriminately, President Rudolph Jose announced yesterday. Resolutions adopted by the board of directors of the club describe the action of the school board as "vicious" and detrimental to the interests of both white and colored. Washington Post, May 19, 1922 Work has been started on the new additions to the Civitan camp, it was announced yesterday at the weekly luncheon of the Civitans at the City club. It will be decided during the present week the exact time that the camp will open to receive poor children of Washington. Dr. S.M. Johnson delivered a short talk on the necessity of completing the Lee highway, citing the great help and money the road would bring to business men of this city. Washington Post, Sep 8, 1922 Future plans for the "Ladies' night" entertainment, on October 12, were discussed at the luncheon of the Civitan Club in the City Club yesterday, Charles Crane is chairman of the committee on arrangements. It was decided to visit the Baltimore Civitan Club on September 22, at which time a special golf match between the local club and Baltimore will be held. Chester Warrington is captain of the Washington club team. A report of the camp, which closed last Saturday, was read and approved. Rudolph Jose presided. The club will meet Thursday night in the City Club, instead of in the middle of the day. Washington Post, Oct 27, 1922 Stricter observance of the regulation regarding the signals to be made by motorists at the street intersections was urged by C.J. James at the luncheon of the Civitan club yesterday at the City club. Mr. James asserted that many drivers merely drop their arms on the outside of the car, no matter what they intend to do. This sort of signal, he said, means nothing, emphasizing definite signals required by law should be used. C.H. Warrington declared that pedestrians should be regulated as well as motorists. He declared also that the proposed reduction of the automobile speed limit to twelve miles an hour would cause great congestion in the business district. Washington Post, Dec 26 1922 The Civitan club will hold a luncheon meeting at 12:30 today at the Lafayette. The ShiningWhere are Lloyd and the caretaker? Japanese LanternWhat are those suspended boxes? Civitan ClubsMy father, Fred T. Massie, was very active in the Civitan Club of Dallas. They were a civic group, which meant they did things for the good of the city. Such as provide for orphans to go to camp. They met once a month at the Adolphus Hotel. Most of the powerful men in Dallas were members of "The Civitan." It was a way to give back to Dallas. My mother, Mary Massie, was involved in "The Ladies of Civitan." I remember going to the Christmas meeting with her. We had lunch and then put Christmas stockings together for needy children. I don't know where this picture was taken, but there were Civitan Clubs in cities all over the nation. [As noted in the very first word of the caption, this was taken in Washington. - Dave] Young clubAccording to Wikipedia, Civitan was organized by a group of men in Birmingham, Alabama in 1917. These men broke off from a local Rotary club, because of differences they had with the direction they perceived it was going. Civitan is very active today and still headquartered in Birmingham. FormalwearIt's amazing how little the style of tuxedos has changed in the past 90 years. Oh, sorry, wrong banquetIt was too late for apologies. Machine Gun McGurk and his Thompson had spoken. Japanese lanternsThey are light fixtures -- thin brass or some other gold-coloured metal frames with lacquered paper or parchment fillers and painted designs. Black tie vs. White tieWhat this picture shows is the gradual replacement of traditional white tie formal dress by black tie. At this point in history, the invitation would probably have simple said formal, or, I suspect, it would not have made the designation at all. The attendees at a function like this would have automatically known what to wear. Events like this would have seen a mix of white tie, with a sprinkling of black tie. The tuxedo, as we know it, was first worn around 1890, as a more casual form of formal dress for men (I know, an oxymoron.) At this time the dinner jacket would be worn with a black waistcoat. Later on the cummerbund became more popular. A few more interesting details here: there is one man with a white tie and a black vest. This would have been much more common in the late 19th century, but was definitely passe, but not proscribed, by 1920. The variety of collars and ties among the black tie wearers is also interesting. With white tie you only wear a stand up collar and white bow tie. The black dinner jacket (aka tuxedo) admits a greater range of acceptable collars and ties. Two gents in the front have interesting lay down collars with some sort of criss cross tie that doesn't look like a standard bow tie. And of course everyone knows that an outfit like this is NEVER worn before 6. Before 6 (really up until 4) a gentleman would wear a cutaway coat (tailcoat with tails that curve away in front, as opposed to the sharp right angle of the white tie tailcoat), with striped trousers, a gray vest and a cravat. BTW, I DON'T think those are spats. I think those shoes have patent leather on the lower part and calfskin on the upper part. But I'm not sure. True spats would show a strap under the sole of the shoe. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing)
Delicious Root Beer: 1958
... The building in the background appears to be the old Hotel Astor, which was on the west side of Times Square between 45th and 46th ... to what my almost namesake @mgoldey said, the Astor Hotel spanned 44th to 45th Street, on the west side of Broadway (check ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/02/2019 - 10:19pm -

New York City. 1958. "People gathered at lunch counter." 35mm negative by street photographer Angelo Rizzuto (1906-1967), a.k.a. Anthony Angel. View full size. Picture perfectionAlthough I do wonder why all of the adults (seen and unseen) seem to be studying her so anxiously, the face of the little girl standing beneath the counter overhang is just what I needed to see before sleeping tonight. Our fifth grandchild -- a girl -- is due to be born tomorrow. Something about that long-ago child's tiny face, her blond bangs and dress-up coat, and her fingers clutching that hot dog in a soft bun is so encouraging. Life goes on. And it is delicious. Now Showing!"The Vikings" starring Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine and Janet Leigh. 1958. The VikingsWith Kirk Douglas, Ernest Borgnine, Tony Curtis, and Janet Leigh. Directed by Richard Fleischer in 1958, based on a 1951 novel by Edison Marshall. The review in The New York Times included this gem: "The sight of those sleek Viking barges sweeping across the slate gray seas, loaded with bearded, brawny oarsmen, is something exciting to see, particularly in the wide-screen and color that are used very well in this film." Be still my beating heart. Pre-movie snack?You think, maybe they were on their way to see Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, and Janet Leigh in "The Vikings?" It was playing across the street. It premiered in New York City, on June 11, 1958. The lunch counter was surely more of a bargain than those expensive concession stands. Yonder lies the longhouse of my fatherThe movie advertised on the right is The Vikings, starring Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, and Janet Leigh. Ernest Borgnine played the father of Douglas and Curtis, despite being two months younger than Douglas. Mightiest of Men! Mightiest of Spectacles! Mightiest of ...... Motion Pictures! The Vikings, mentioned previously, was likely still playing first run at the nearby Astor Theater at 45th and Broadway. "Largest Sign in the World"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052365/mediaviewer/rm191882496 46th & BroadwayThe building in the background appears to be the old Hotel Astor, which was on the west side of Times Square between 45th and 46th Streets (demolished in 1967). Full-size picture here: https://www.shorpy.com/node/9456 I can't quite figure out the angle, but I think that we are on Seventh Avenue and Broadway, looking south towards 46th Street. But I can't quite wrap my head around it. If we knew which theater The Mightiest of Men was playing at, we could probably nail this down. Ouch. Inflation.Hamburger price just skyrocketed up 20%. Paper Cone CupsI wonder how many people remember the paper cone cups that sat in a metal holder? I drank many a fountain soda and even floats in those conical paper cups (there's a stack and a single on the counter under the gals with sunglasses). This one's got it allZooks! There's delicious root beer, ladies with cool sunglasses in front of a Kirk Douglas poster for "The Vikings", and to top it all off, the little girl seems to be checking her cell phone for messages! And Kirk Douglas turns 103next Monday, 12/9. Way to go, Mr. D! ᴑₒₒₒOh how tempting it is to add cartoon thought bubbles for what each of these people are thinking! Every face has a different point of view. I'll just leave it to your individual imaginations! I am pretty sure it's this placeI have spent far too much time trying to figure out where this picture was taken from, but I think I have found it. Contrary to what my almost namesake @mgoldey said, the Astor Hotel spanned 44th to 45th Street, on the west side of Broadway (check Wikipedia). Therefore, the corner of the hotel we are seeing is on 45th St, just exactly where Broadway and 7th Ave are crossing. The sign is clearly across 7th/Broadway, and we are looking at it from the northeast. The question is, how far north? Here is picture looking south from the NW corner of 47th and 7th (in 1957). https://i.redd.it/hrebrq1oi9nx.jpg It clearly shows the looming white billboard where the Viking poster was placed a few months later. As you can see, there is one column of windows visible on the north side of the Hotel. However, if we cross 7th Ave to the NE corner, there would be more windows visible, but not many - you won't really be able to look down 45th Street It would seem that if we were too far south of 47th the angle wouldn't be right. In Anthony Angel's photo we see three columns of windows, so that seems correct. So, what was on the NE corner of 47th and 7th in the 1950s? A frankfurter shop. https://viewing.nyc/media/03429a3fa5eb3fad8e9015d49d33198f/ In that 1951 photo, if you zoom in close you can even see it has an awning - most of the restaurants I found in that area do not. I haven't found a great picture of that corner, so it's hard to see if other details match, but there aren't really other plausible places on the east side of 7th Ave in the couple of blocks north of 47th St. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Kids, NYC)
Buy Their Fruits: 1906
... Connecticut, or * A baked potato in 1909 at the Hotel Secor in Toledo, Ohio, or * An orchestra seat in 1910 at the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/19/2022 - 3:08pm -

1906. "The French Market -- New Orleans." Yes, they have bananas, and you can compare apples and oranges, too. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Loving you has made me bananasThe pretty lady with a pout (near the bananas) is, in my mind, experiencing a slight -- ahem -- bit of friction with the gentleman (pork pie hat) standing to the left, gazing at her. I think he wants to appease her in some way but she is having none of it. Perhaps he has offended her by suggesting that she buy a few bananas and a jar of peanut butter -- still a relatively new invention -- and try putting them together in a sandwich. Meanwhile the other gentleman (bowler hat), having overheard their tiff, has discreetly averted his gaze out of respect for the couple in their awkward moment. BOGOGet a pound of road apples free with every pound of fruit you buy. You pick and bag the free product! Sam the Banana ManIn 1906, Sam Zemurray had been living in New Orleans for over a year and had already acquired the Cuyamel Fruit Company. Great biography by Rich Cohen: The Fish That Ate the Whale. 300 years of rueful streetsThe sight of this delightful variant of the traditional Belgian block pavers seems as good a reason as any to point out September marked the tricentenniel of New Orleans' street grid. Let the good times roll(out)! A sorry sightNo, not the French Market; it's that poor old horse in the foreground. It looks to be nearing the end of a hard life and in need of veterinary care. In a better life it would've had some TLC and days of ease in a peaceful pasture before its days were done. The buying power of a dimeLet's see, for 10 cents I could buy: * A dozen bananas in the 1906 New Orleans French Market, or * Three hot dogs and a made-to-order lemonade in 1906 Manhattan, New York, or * A bridal tour or auto ride in 1906 Chester Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, or * A box of sulphur and molasses kisses in 1907 Hartford, Connecticut, or * A baked potato in 1909 at the Hotel Secor in Toledo, Ohio, or * An orchestra seat in 1910 at the Theatre Comique in Detroit, Michigan, or * Two tickets to a three-reel movie in 1912 at Moore's Garden Theatre in Washington, D.C., or * A refreshing Bevo in 1917 Oklahoma City. I'd probably go with the orchestra seat. The offer nine hours of continuous high-class performances and I can stay as long as I like. Garic's BakeryIt opened in 1885 and was one of 150 bakeries listed in the city directory. This site outlines it's its history. It passed through several different owners after the founding family sold it in 1952. It remained a bakery through sometime on the early 1970s. The place was the last bakery to produce hardtack. The HorseAdding to SWA's comment. That poor horse in the foreground has serious health problems. Its legs are all bent, distended stomach, coat all mangy, and many other issues. The poor animal should have been retired a long time before this sorry moment. Maybe its owner just considered the horses as a 'thing' and as long as it could pull a cart there was no concern. (The Gallery, DPC, Horses, New Orleans, Stores & Markets)
Port Tampa Wharf: 1900
... west of MacDill AFB. The larger building was Port Tampa Hotel, owned by Henry B. Plant. The smaller building was St. Elmo's Hotel. 1938 aerial photography shows the pier footings where the island beach ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 3:05pm -

Another look at Old Florida circa 1900. "Port Tampa Inn and docks." Detroit Publishing Company glass negative. View full size. TankedThat appears to be a water tower on the platform next to the first structure? If so how did they fill it? The top looks like it's covered. Did they open the lid to allow the rain water in? Any building taller than 5 stories in NYC requires a structure like that to distribute water throughout the building. The water is pumped (electrically) up to the tank. Anybody know how they did it then? [Seems to be a cistern for rainwater collected from the roof. Note gutter arrangement and pipe. - Dave] Port Tampa InnI found this small illustration but the angle is odd. It almost looks like this illustration is flipped when you compare the photo to this drawing. [It's a view from the other direction. - Dave] Wharf! Wharf!More on the Port Tampa Wharf here and here. One of your best findsThis is such a complete photo; it shows, on so many levels, what has changed in the last 109 years! Has it really been that long? Gracious! Picnic IslandBased on modern topography, it's hard to beleive this existed. Most of this is now Picnic Island Park, west of MacDill AFB. The larger building was Port Tampa Hotel, owned by Henry B. Plant. The smaller building was St. Elmo's Hotel. 1938 aerial photography shows the pier footings where the island beach park exists today. Hurricanes hit Tampa in 1921 and 1925, maybe one of those wiped out the piers. RE: RV Droz on 1938 Aerial PhotosI think this is what RV is talking about. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00071755/00001/82x (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Florida, Railroads)
The Modern Way to Shop: 1950
... with friends, family and jobs, if needed. She found him a hotel and gave him chits for a meal and made sure he had the tickets he needed ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/22/2008 - 1:18am -

June 6, 1950. "Vis-O-Matic department store." A Vis-O-Matic spokesmodel, or perhaps even the queen of Vis-O-Matic, the Canadian catalog store whose slide-projection system of displaying merchandise was like a Buck Rogers premonition of online shopping. The Vis-O-Matic phenomenon seems to have been short-lived, with hardly any documentation online aside from these photos in the Life archive, and no word of its fate. Photo by Bernard Hoffman. View full size. The Power of ShorpyAs Dave relates in the comments describing this posting, the internets are pretty much devoid of relevant information regarding the innovative Vis-O-Matic. What remains impressive, however, is how quickly Shorpy.com rises to the top of Google search mere hours after posting a photo. Is this the result of the standard Google algorithms or some kind worker bee at Google giving Shorpy special preference? Inquiring minds want to know! Just a small sampling of other search strings which currently lead directly to recent Shorpy posts. Bevo boatmobile John Fisher candy Marshall pages dinner Holmes pies Odessa bread loaf Fealy's Corner Mae Esterly Ione Whalen Capitol Refining crocodile car Update:I have seen recent criticism of Shorpy for adding a watermark to public domain photos originating at the Library of Congress. Looking further down the above list of Google searches of the above phrases (specifically Fealy's Corner) clearly reveals just a small sample of how readily other websites appropriate the retouched photos (and comments) posted at Shorpy. Just GoogleIt's just normal Google behavior. If you notice the links that come up in Google are older Shorpy posts. Google hasn't seen this new Vis-o-matic picture yet, but it has had plenty of time to index older Shorpy posts with the keyword. Why does Shorpy often come up top? It's a combination of being a popular site and targeting unique keywords that don't have a large pool of pages on the internet. [Google has indeed seen this post. Shorpy posts are generally indexed by Google within 30 minutes of publication. This is not "normal Google behavior" -- you have to do something to make it happen. Namely submit a list of all the URLs on the site in a special format (the "XML sitemap") whenever the site is updated. - Dave] Housedresses or Jackknives Why Pembroke?For the life of me, I can't figure out why anyone would be starting up a revolutionary new business in Pembroke, about 150km outside of Ottawa. I live in Ottawa, and Pembroke is not exactly a shopping mecca... Perhaps that's why the Vis-O-Matic wasn't successful. From Archives Canada: In 1899, Archibald Jacob Freiman (1880-1944) and Moses Cramer opened the "Canadian House Furnishing Company" in downtown Ottawa, Ont. By 1902, the partnership had dissolved and Freiman and his father established "H. Freiman and Son", an enterprise which expanded its home furnishing business to include men's and women's merchandise. Freiman bought out his father's share in 1917 and by 1918 opened "The Archibald J. Freiman Department Store". The business was incorporated in 1923 as "A.J. Freiman Limited" with Freiman as president and his wife, Lillian (1885-1940), as vice-president. Their son, Lawrence (1909-1987), joined the business in 1931 and by 1939, had taken over its president and general manager. Under Lawrence Freiman, the business continued to expand its downtown operation but also opened up in suburban locations including Westgate Shopping Centre, 1955; Shopper's City, Blair Road (East End), Base Line Road (West End), 1966 and 1967; St. Laurent Shopping Centre, 1967. The business also expanded into North Bay, Renfrew and Pembroke, Ont., the latter being the location of a Lawrence Freiman invention, "Vis-o-matic" shopping, 1950. In 1971, "A.J. Freiman Limited" was sold to the Hudson's Bay Company. Great Dress!Those things always reminded me of the florid, frilly, tacky Valentine's Day candy boxes you see in drugstores every February. Does anybody really buy them? And does anybody ever buy them with a straight face? Vis-o-matic Shmis-o-maticWho is that gorgeous spokesmodel? Anyone know? Nano?So... I'm surprised nobody else is wondering what she's holding in her hand. Looks like a very early prototype of an iPod Nano to me, which sounds unlikely. [She's holding a slide mount. - Dave] What graceful arms!Can I get those exquisite gloves from the Vis-O-Matic store? Oooh YeahhhThe image of this shapely lady with arm cleavage holding a slide gave me a tingly sensation I can't quite explain here. That's the kind of mount I use with my dad's old Graflex Constellation projector. I've got magazines full of these babies. Graceful look-alikeWhen I saw this photo, I immediately thought of Grace Kelly so naturally she had graceful arms. But, sigh, all of us girls were beautiful at 21. Vis-O-MaticThis would not have been a convenience for city dwellers: it would have taken as much time to travel to the "air-conditioned booth" as it would have taken to travel to Eaton's, and at Eaton's you could see the merchandise and either take it home yourself or arrange for next-day delivery. This is not a convenience for country or Northern dwellers: they bought goods from the Eaton's catalogue. There were at the time only a limited number of communities in Canada which were both far enough away from a main city and large enough to support this kind of booth. Man I miss the Eaton's catalogue. Fark-O-MaticFarked again. Re: "Why Pembroke?"Mrs. Freiman (it was perhaps Lawrence's wife that was the Mrs. Freiman in this case) was one of the reasons why my stepfather chose to settle in Ottawa rather than the USA after attending MIT (that and the fact that some recruiting sergeant with a particular bias against people of colour snarled at him "Our Indian contingent is filled!" when he attempted to enlist in the US Army during WWII and he ended up taking the train to Ottawa where he joined the Canadian Army who were more concerned with the content of his character than the colour of his skin). When he arrived in Montreal after being demobbed after the war, Mrs. Freiman was on the platform greeting soldiers and ex-soldiers and ensuring that they had lodgings; a place to eat and putting them into contact with friends, family and jobs, if needed. She found him a hotel and gave him chits for a meal and made sure he had the tickets he needed to get back down to Boston. He never forgot that consideration. Whenever we had shopping to do, Dad insisted we did it at Freiman's, usually at Rideau Street. That is until after it was bought out and became "The Bay" and one day, after smoking bylaws came into effect and smoking in stores was banned. Dad, as usual, had a cigarette dangling from his lip when a floorwalker came over and (very politely, I should say) "I'm sorry, Sir. Smoking is not allowed. You are going to have to put the cigarette out." Dad turned on his heels and left the store, never to darken its door again. It didn't matter that this was Provincial law and not the personal whim of the floor walker. "Mrs. Freiman would never have stood for that!" he said, his sole comment on the matter. As for why Pembroke? Even Ottawa, Canada's capital, was hardly the hub of the Universe and it surprises me to know that Pembroke -- which was, relative to Ottawa, barely a one-horse, one street town -- would be the birthplace of this bit of technology. (Farked, LIFE, Stores & Markets)
School Shoes: 1921
... would be terrible. They almost tore down the Willard Hotel in the 80's for gosh sakes! It is one of the most beautiful ... structures in the city! (Not to mention a very nice hotel.) And there is a "feel" to the city that you can only get by going ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 2:10am -

Washington circa 1921. "Berberich's, Seventh Street." The Berberich store at 1116-1122 Seventh Street N.W., "Washington's most progressive shoe house." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. I <heart> DCThere's no question that the loss of these historical buildings is a tragedy. But, there are still many buildings like them all around DC. The city went through a period where many neighborhoods were more like slums and the houses were is such great disrepair that it would have been prohibitively expensive to renovate them. In fact, when tax relief for investors seeking to renovate houses in DC was enacted, we all eventually benefited. That's where the "live in the house for 2 years and pay no capital gains on the profit (up to a certain amount)" comes from. And to truly renovate a house like one of these in some cases required hollowing out the whole thing and starting from scratch. You could save the carved moldings, but many of the houses predate wiring, ducting, etc. And the roofs would be in bad shape allowing for water to get inside and the mold problem would be terrible. They almost tore down the Willard Hotel in the 80's for gosh sakes! It is one of the most beautiful architectural structures in the city! (Not to mention a very nice hotel.) And there is a "feel" to the city that you can only get by going there. These pictures, for me, are an enhancement. My father worked in the city for over 35 years--my parents met there. I was married there. The bustle of the traffic, the gravity of the stone granite federal buildings, the many different periods reflected in the architecture are a treat to the senses. Are there buildings that are basically ugly brick boxes? Yes. There are also interesting buildings from the 60's and 70's. Personally, I love the city in winter. Maybe because I was married there in the winter at St Dominic's and honeymooned at the Shoreham. But, it's not like New York or really any other city. For one thing, the buildings tend to be shorter -- especially in the Federal Triangle. And visiting the various museums is a real treat. There are parks here and there that kind of surprise you--beautiful parks. And the area by the zoo is old and beautiful. The college campuses are also gorgeous. There really is more than "seeing" DC. It is an experience. These pictures enhance my experience of the city. And while I mourn that many of these buildings are no longer there, there are plenty that will be there long after all of us are gone. Mme. BelleMme. Belle is not the first palmist to appear at Shorpy. We have previously seen signs for Mme. LaBey and a glimpse of Mme. Trent. 50c         MME. BELLE         50c Egyptian palmist, gives true advice in business, love, health, and family affairs. Confidential readings daily, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. 1124 7th st nw., between L and M sts. Advertisement, Washington Post, July 22, 1921 ManageableI miss the days when cities were manageable. When your neighborhood had the butcher, the baker, the shoe and clothing stores. You could walk to them, or take the trolley. I grew up in San Francisco in the late 1930s-40s, and these photos remind me so much of what was there. Of course in those days, there wasn't so much to buy, and we didn't "need" to buy so much. There's Nothing There Anymore ...Except "modernization" and general, all-round nothingness. One of the real downsides to visiting this website is that, although I've never been to Washington, D.C., I cannot think of any reason to ever want to go there. I feel like I'm seeing the best of it here -- and Google Maps is filling in the rest of the sad, sorry tale. Progressive ShoesAt last, a really progressive shoe purveyor, a welcome relief from the myriad reactionary footwear specialists! Lower left corner...I love these little glimpses - the man at the truck looking at the blur of a passing woman on the sidewalk! The "scientific" palmist the only window open with fluttering curtains, the flat top windows on the second floor and the arches on the third, in both buildings, and the sunburst iron railing design, et cetera. I wonder why so much of Washington, but still they are interesting! [Aren't they indeed. - Dave] Today, the Convention CenterView Larger Map Shoe Store Post OfficeThose were the best of times. One simply cannot find a good shoe store/post office anymore. Lovely buildingBerberich's may have been an everyday shoe emporium, but its building was delightful. It's amazing the detail that brick and stone masons of the day put into their art (and architecture) for simple, business buildings that were torn down later without a thought or a care. I liked the multitasking the photo reveals, too: Shoe store and postal station. Please note that Mme Bell was a "scientific" palm reader! Mme BellI wonder if "Mme Bell, Scientific Palmist," knew that her office sign would appear on Shorpy someday. What a marketing move!Go to the Post Office and see the latest in shoe wear. You know you can't tell your wife not to go to the Post Office! ManageableAnon sed: "I miss the days when cities were manageable. When your neighborhood had the butcher, the baker, the shoe and clothing stores." There are many of those smaller, manageable cities thriving still across our wide land. I share your sentiment and will leave the greater LA area when I retire to Oregon -- to one of the cities for which we both pine. Via this post, I consider the trout in streams neighboring that manageable city to have been formally warned. Berberich's The Fortieth Birthday of Berberich's Shoe House Started with Nine-Foot Front, Now Has 12,000 Square Feet Floor space. ... Just forty years ago Robert Berberich opened a small store at 1118 Seventh street northwest. This store was only nine feet wide and less than thirty deep. A large part of the business done at first was made-to-measure work. Mr Berberich, who was an expert shoemaker, fitted and sold to the best people of that period their boots. He soon gained a reputation for style and high quality work which has followed him even to this day. Although he is now retired and leading a quiet dignified life, he watches with much pleasure the prestige which his two sons, who have succeeded to the business, are enjoying, knowing that they are reaping the benefits of the lucrative business of which he was the father. From that small nine-foot front beginning the firm has grown until today it occupies 12,000 square feet of floor space of which 4,000 was recently added. The little nine-foot store was in a little frame building, but this was then one of the landmarks of the city, and was known as Berberich's - Seventh street being the busiest thoroughfare in Washington. Mr. Berberich was one of the pioneer merchants of this thoroughfare. Taking a just business pride, he soon outgrew his cramped quarters, and owing to this continually growing business he was forced to a larger more modern store. He then bought the property at 1138 Seventh Street, this being in 1877, only nine years after the business began. At the time Mr. Berberich purchased this place it was a small frame building, set on a steep bank. After bringing this down to street level, he built upon the site a three-store brick dwelling, 25 feet front, at that time considered a handsome modern building. Here with 1,500 square feet of floor space and his store fitted up in the best manner, his trade continued to expand. ... In 1902 the firm, which by this time included the two sons, Robert J. and Joseph A., purchased the property at 1116-1118-1120 Seventh street, of which the original store was a part. On this site was erected the handsome building which no adorns the neighborhood, and is the best appointed of the modern shoe stores in the city. This new store was fitted up in the most modern way, the best grade of oak being used for shelving with quartered oak and grill work decorate them in a proper manner. In the rear of the store are three of the largest mirrors in Washington, which take up the entire back wall and give the store the appearance of being several hundred feet deep. ... Only a few months ago they added the property adjoining them on the north, numbered 1222, to their store. This now gives them from 1116 to 1122, a total frontage of 60 feet. [Article goes on to detail the many brands of shoes carried by Berberich, many of them under exclusive contract for Washington: Buster Brown Blue Ribbon Shoes, La France Shoe, Selz "Royal Blue," Burt & Packard "Korrect Shape," and American Girl Shoe.] Washington Post, Sep 20, 1908 In 1927, Berberich's closed their store at 1116-18-20 Seventh street and relocated to Twelfth and F, northwest. [And filed for bankruptcy in 1931. - Dave] The Old MathIf this business opened 40 years before 1921, then it opened in 1881. In the article below, however, it states that "in 1877, only nine years after the business began." If the 1877 date is correct, than the company opened in 1868. Am I missing something here or do we have a case of "alternative" math? [You're missing something. The article is from 1908, not from 1921. - Dave] Robert Berberich and Son’s Shoe EmporiumThat’s my great-grandfather’s shoe business there. Amazing, what an incredible historical building and era… Carole (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Shave Yourself: 1910
... the upper lip like mine. Ghostel I love how the old Hotel Traymore is just barely visible in this shot. The floodlights on Brady's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 2:01pm -

Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1910. "The Boardwalk at night." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The boardwalk at nightis really a timeless view. One can almost see Snooki and Jwoww staggering along the boards in the harsh glow of the electric lights. No PeopleThat's really unusual for any photo from Atlantic City. [That blur on the boardwalk is people. This was a time exposure. - Dave] Return of HelmarYes! The Helmar Cigarettes sign at night! I loved the spare wire construction of it in the daytime shot and wondered about it. Now I see that it was apparently holding lights. One of many things I love about Shorpy is that the answer to questions usually shows up eventually-- either in another shot or from a commenter. This is a gorgeous view though. I can't get enough of these black and white nighttime scenes. Not a dirty Brady in the bunchFrom the 2000 Arcadia Publishing book Atlantic City by John T. Cunningham and Kenneth D. Cole: When bathers in 1887 shed their exhibitions, they did so in bath houses such as Brady’s Baths. Each day bathers leased suits from Brady's for wading in the water. For those who abstained, Brady's built a covered observation deck just off the boardwalk. The woolen or flannel suits may have endangered bathers if they ventured too far into the water, as the suits became heavy when waterlogged. ["Shed their exhibitions"? Hm. - Dave] Tripician's MacaroonsA few of the pictured businesses on the boardwalk: C.M. Kuory (furniture). The Tokio. Field's Mexican Store. Shourds. Tripician's (confections), still in business. In old ACEven though I'm an avowed tv addict I don't like to apply ANYthing I see on the tube to my beloved Shorpy page. I like to keep you separate from the rest of my world, kinda like an oasis. Gotta make one exception though; doesn't look like I'm gonna be able to not think of "Boardwalk Empire" whenever I see vintage pictures of Atlantic City. They just made that era in that place so VIVID. An Enduring ProductThis morning I "shaved by myself" with my old Gillette Safety Razor, a close relative of the one being hawked in this photo. It's still a great shave. The Safety Razorshould never be used by five-year olds as a means of washing the remnants of a spaghetti dinner away ala "shaving just like Dad". The result may be a small scar on the upper lip like mine. GhostelI love how the old Hotel Traymore is just barely visible in this shot. The floodlights on Brady's Baths gives this photo a remarkable feel. Neon evangelism?I was always taught that we cannot shave ourselves; only Jesus shaves. Or something like that. Miami-CareyOff the wall like most of my comments, but, here I go anyway. This reminded me of the old medicine chests with the slot in the back to dispose of your used razor blades. All they did is drop into the space between the wall studs. This was in the days of real men who didn't need no stinkin' insulation! ShopfrontsFive wonderful shopfronts in the foreground, from F.W.Woolworth to The Tokio. I grew up in Upminster, Essex, England and our local 'Woolworths' had a similar shop front to this one - although it was never known as the 5 and Dime, for obvious reasons. Boardwalk EmpireI don't know about Snooki, but I can imagine Nucky in this picture. Something went wrongJudging from the 'movement' in the lights, it looks like either somebody kicked the tripod during the exposure, or it wasn't completely steady. I can't imagine the razor was moving during the exposure. [The camera moved near the start or end of the exposure. - Dave] From the Movie "Atlantic City"Like Burt Lancaster said, "In those days, Atlantic City had floy-floy." Safety razorI last used a safety razor a couple of years ago just to try it out for old times sake. I guess there must have been a trick to using one, because even with a new blade my neck was full of little nicks. Needless to say I went back to the more modern version. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC)
Keg Run: 1943
... the kegs were part of the deal. There's a new Marriott Hotel on that far corner now. Not since 1957 Like most odd numbered ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/08/2013 - 1:31pm -

March 1943. "Beer truck on 44th 39th Street and Sixth Avenue." Just turn right at the Sandwich Shanty. Another truck shot by John Vachon. View full size. Labor Stage, or Princess TheaterThe caption says 44th St, but the street sign on the left says 39th, home of the Labor Stage. [Caption amended, 70 years after the fact. Better late than never! - Dave] Roll out the barrelHaving spent my first 22 years in the northeast and being a Polish child in the 1940s & 50's, Sundays were the day that we were forced to listen to polkas on the radio from after church in the morning until about 2 or 3 in the afternoon, (and yes, we did have roast chicken most Sundays-I can even smell it now). I remember particularly the Victor and Sophie Zambroski show in Ct. that went on for hours and they must have played every polka ever written although they all sounded alike to me. Anyhoo, the exposure made us use our imagination (as radio people did) as they all had lyrics in English and so in our minds it was like our own individual mental "hit parade" envisioning how each song would be acted out. The beer barrel polka reminded me of a massive Polish party with the men rolling out ongoing parades of beer kegs, ladies dancing polkas together (since the men did not) and kids just having a riotous good time being crazy and eating themselves to regurgitation. In this picture, with the loosely-packed beer barrels, if those top rows started rolling off, the people getting hit with them would not find it at all enjoyable as I had imagined. Therefore this picture, once and for all, tells me I should re-imagine my childhood fantasies since rolling out barrels may have serious consequences. Sorry to ramble so much, it is a slow day. Traffic JamThen and now. A few of the original buildings have survived. Traffic patternsUnlike the time of the photo, W 39th Street is now only a left turn from 6th Ave which hasn't carried 2-way traffic in decades. The site of the two shorter buildings is now a Residence Inn. The next 2 buildings down 39th are still there. That taxilooks like the famous yellow cab that was in many many movies and ended up at the U.S. pavilion in Montreal at EXPO 67. Movie buffs will have seen that cab in many movies from the 1940's to the 1950's, where is it now? Trommer'sA little bit of history: http://www.rustycans.com/COM/month0405.html Wartime CounterespionageThe caption could have been intentionally misidentified to help protect the nation's wartime supply of Trommer's Beer & Ale. Trommers of BrooklynTrommers Brewery was just outside the gates of Evergreen Cemetery in Brooklyn. (They had a second brewery in Orange NJ) Famous for their all malt beer, (no corn sugar used in the conditioning.) They would be the vicitms of the brewery strike of 1949, when their chemists were locked out of the brewery and their yeast strain died. It was said to never taste the same again. Wooden barrels in 1943, steel kegs came in after prohibition, but if they used steel, they were sent to the scrap metal drives for the war effort, although they may not have made the change yet. (Rheingold in Brooklyn was using wood kegs in '43.) There was such a shortage of beer kegs after prohibition that beer was imported from Germany, and the kegs were part of the deal. There's a new Marriott Hotel on that far corner now. Not since 1957Like most odd numbered Manhattan streets, 39th is one-way westbound. As far as I know it's always been that way. The beer truck therefore must be heading southbound on Sixth Avenue, which would have become impossible 14 years after the picture's date when Sixth Avenue became one-way northbound. The building with the mansard roof on the corner of Sixth and 39th is gone now, as is the building next to it with the Labor Stage sign; the Marriott Residence Inn now occupies the site. The building across 39th housing the Sandwich Shanty also is history. Still around, however, are the two buildings on 39th to the right of the Labor Stage building. The first one is 108 W. 39th, built in 1928, while the second, lighter-colored one is part of a much larger building with the address of 1400 Broadway. Two other vehicles from the good old days . . .Taxicab looks to be a Dodge (or at least a Chrysler product) of early 40's vintage with skylight - likely with leather upholstery as required by the City of New York for ease of clean-up. In front of the taxi appears to be a coal delivery truck, my guess a Mack AC Bulldog with chain drive - that chassis saw service during WWI. I was born that year, and all those vehicles were still in service well into the 1950's. When Cabs had Legroom!Back when taxis had rear legroom to spare! There are probably even a couple of jump seats in that Chrysler taxicab. Calling That CabI agree that the taxi is a Chrysler product, specifically a 1941 DeSoto, both per the design of the taillights and the front trim, as well as the fact that DeSotos were THE most popular make for American big-city taxicabs in the 1940s. Their Chrysler, Dodge, and even Plymouth siblings were very similar mechanically and in body style at the time, but DeSoto got the nod from the cab companies the most often. Watch for the preponderance of DeSoto taxis in photos and movies from the 1940's. Trommer's Evergreen BreweryTrommer's advertisements from 1915, 1913 and 1909. Oh, the history ..."I remember particularly the Victor and Sophie Zambroski show in Ct. that went on for hours" Victor Zembruski and his teenaged bride Sophie started "Polka Time" (later renamed the "Polish Eagle Show") on WATR 1320-AM in Waterbury, Connecticut all the way back in 1934. Victor became ill and retired in the late 1960's, but Sophie carried on as sole host. Sophie herself retired, and handed the show over to her and Victor's daughter ... in 2008. That is not a mistake. Sophie hosted the same radio show for SIXTY FOUR years. She died in 2010, aged 92. The Bronx Is Up And The Battery's DownIt's hard to tell, but I believe the cab is a DeSoto Skyview. Betty Garrett drove one in the movie "On The Town" with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. These taxis had a moonroof that opened allowed the passengers to see the NYC skyline. They were sold exclusively by the John Water DeSoto Dealership in Long Island City in the Borough of Queens. A story that I heard many years ago that Water was Walter Chrysler's Son-In-Law but could never confirm it. Coal truckThats a coal truck in front of the Chrysler taxi. I grew up in Great Neck NY and the apartment building in which we lived was heated by a coal fired furnace. The delivery man would put the coal chute through a basement window, then the super had to move the coal to the furnace which was on the other side of the building one wheel barrow at a time. I look back at that and realize he must have spent most of his time feeding that furnace, and that must be why he smelled like coal! Thank you PeterMy heartfelt appreciation goes out to commenter Peter who added to "the rest of the story" with his update on the Zembruski family in Ct. I never dreamed they were still on the air there and that Sophie worked on the radio until 2008, when she was 90. It is so good to know that a familiar childhood radio show and family name are still playing that happy music as they did 69 years ago. That is quite a remarkable eye-opener and I had no idea it still exists, even now, when almost everything else about my childhood has become extinct, obsolete and long-gone. Thanks again Peter. Re: DeSotoI am glad to defer to the posters who identified the taxi as a DeSoto, and also thanx to Mr Mel for indentifying the dealership that sold them. As for the coal delivery truck, our house in East New York in Brooklyn took coal directly to a coal bin within shoveling distance of the furnace - this continued until the conversion to oil late 40's/early 50's. This is a great site, especially for the camaraderie among the posters, and Dave and tterrace, as well! Trucks & CabsThe Trommer's truck is a 1936 or early series 1937 Federal. There appears to be a lantern or some other object between the left front fender and the side of the hood. It looks like the truck body has an access hatch to the bed so (un)loading could take place or a ramp could be attached. If this door is used for unloading, it could be a pretty dangerous way to remove kegs that could roll easily. The truck number by the door looks like number 346, but the back of the truck shows this is be truck 187. The cab is a 1941 DeSoto SkyView, probably a model S-8, modified by Mr. Waters. Printed on and above the passenger door the words "DeSoto SkyView." It looks like there is a NY city cab/hack medallion attached in front of the front passenger side door. Unfortunately Mr. Waters drowned in his pool in May 1941. Ironically a short biography of him was featured in the April 7, 1941 issue of Time Magazine. Here is an excellent article and photos of Waters' automobiles. +71Below is the same view from September of 2014. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, John Vachon, NYC)
P Street: 1921
... No. 1 And the sponsor of the tournament ... Hotel Incontinental. Want to live a long life? Maybe the secret to a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 4:21pm -

Nov. 28, 1921. Washington, D.C. "Marion Leech." Daughter of sportsman and tennis impresario Abner Y. Leech Jr., and whose fans evidently could not contain themselves. National Photo Co. Collection glass negative. View full size. Junior Champion Washington Post, Nov 17, 1921 Friends school students are now playing a tourney to decide the school tennis champion. The tournament covers junior and senior classes in both boys' and girls' events. Marion Leech, daughter of A.Y. Leech, jr., chairman of the tennis committee of the Columbia Country club, won the girls' junior title, beating Betty Ridsdale, 6-3, 6-2. ... Who leaked this photo to the press? "HURRY UPAnd take the darn picture. I really must be going!" Tennis whizAnother critic from the peanut gallery? Marion Leech of Chevy Chase, MdShe died in April at age 102. I LoveShorpee! Marion's ranking?Obviously No. 1 And the sponsor of the tournament ...Hotel Incontinental. Want to live a long life?Maybe the secret to a long life is to put in your will that you want your picture on Shorpy after you're gone. This is the second lady in the past week who had a picture taken in the 20's who lived to be over 100 years old. Didn't work for Shorpy, however. Marion LeechI think she was a sorority sister of my wife's grandmother. We used to go to her house on Primrose Lane in Chevy Chase on Christmas Night. Re: Junior ChampionJunior Champeen. Mark Your TerritoryThe detail in these photos is wonderful. Abe was one hell of a tennis player...He was. Marion LeechMarion was my godmother's sister. Many good Christmas at 11 Primrose. How do we know this was on P Street?Is that P Street in Washington D.C.? Heeere Doggie!She looks ready to paddle the piddler. Jeepers, Marion.Where'd ya get those peepers? Spot OnDave! One of the best titles yet! It took three visits, but finally, finally, the light bulb went off! Thanks for helping keep the cranium exercised! Ha! [Welcome to the club. The majority of the commenters below (nine out of 16) are also in on this wee bit of whimsy. - Dave] (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Sports)
Sholl's Cafeteria: 1946
... I loved their puddings. I lived at the Burlington Hotel on 1120 Vermont Avenue and have many happy memories of that area from ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/23/2012 - 3:37pm -

December 3, 1946. Washington, D.C. "Potomac Electric Power Co. -- commercial kitchens, restaurants and lighting. Sholl's Georgian Cafeteria, 3027 14th Street N.W." 8x10 safety negative by Theodor Horydczak. View full size. Little has changedWhat's remarkable is how little things have changed about cafeterias like this. Photoshop in some updated clothing (gotta love those high heels) and no one would think this was 63 years ago. Stealthy ChangeLittle about this image may have changed in the way of interaction between staff and customer. Also, much of the technology may appear to be the same-- toasters, fluorescent lighting, electric grills, etc. What has changed is the intensity of energy consumption required to serve these appliances. Note also that at the time of this photo, natural gas utilities experienced rapid growth, both in the number of customers served as well as the roll-out of gas-fired appliances to compete with the electric companies. This image is clever marketing on PEPCO's part -- part of an effort to maintain market share in an industry that was suddenly becoming very competitive. Poached>> When was the last time you were asked if you want your eggs poached? Yesterday at Perkins. They know what I like. Soft poached eggs on white toast with some corned beef hash. Yum! Re: "Energy efficient" appliancesGlad to see another ridiculous notion debunked. Far from making a fridge use more energy, being frost-free does exactly the opposite. Frost on the coils greatly decreases the thermal efficiency of any refrigerator -- it's like insulation, but in the wrong place. Speaking of which, the insulation in those old refrigerators was much less efficient, too. So were the compressors. Breakfast Option No Longer OfferedLooks like the worker closest to us is operationg an egg poacher, one of my favorite breakfast choices. When was the last time you were asked if you want your eggs poached?? The food was goodat Sholl's, the service was always friendly and efficient, and, as the photo shows, it was always sparkling clean. It was a Washington institution from 1928 until the last location (The Colonial on K Street) closed in December 2001. Business declined after the 9/11 attacks with the drop in tourism and the general economic slowdown. More Horydczak!Dave, I've enjoyed Horydczak's work for several years, ever since his collection went up at the LoC American Memory site. Please post more of his work. [While there are thousands of images in the collection, only a very few are available in high resolution. - Dave] Dearb RednowThe image is reversed. Look at the "Wonder Bread" packages, they are backward. Looks like a great place to eat! [Thankew! Everyone hit "refresh." - Dave] Modern "energy efficient" appliances ... not true!My 1928 double-door refrigerator uses far, FAR less power than modern versions...sure, you have to defrost the freezer once or twice a month, but the 20 minutes it takes to do this easy task more than makes up for the power those big modern frost-free power-suckers use. And I doubt too many modern refrigerators will running 81 years from now. Old technology doesn't necessarily = higher power use! [I wonder why anyone would think that. A modern frost-free refrigerator consumes far less energy per volume unit than a 1920s refrigerator. A 30-cubic-foot Sub-Zero refrigerator uses, on average, 56 kilowatt-hours a month (1.9 kWh per cubic foot), about $5 worth of of electricity. An 8-cubic-foot GE refrigerator from 1950 used 28 kWh per month, which works out to 3.5 kWh per cubic foot -- almost twice as much electricity as a modern one. A 1920s refrigerator would be even less efficient. - Dave] SHOLL'S!!One of the greatest places to get a good meal at reasonable prices in Washington! I went there often. Lunchtime!I'll have a slice of meatloaf, some mashed potatoes, a few hot mixed vegetables, a roll, and a serving of Jell-O with whipped topping, please. Oh, and some lemonade in a wavy glass. Thank you, Ma'am. I miss Sholl's. More than I miss being seven years old. Gloves OffYet we all seemed to survive somehow. I almost missed the hair net. It looks so sparkly! I'd eat there then. Columbia HeightsThis is in the Trinity Towers apartment building, just south of Irving Street on 14th Street NW. The building is now affordable units, and the retail space where Sholls was is now community space for the residents. It would have been nice if they kept the retail space, and perhaps we'd get a diner in there or something that appropriately continues the tradition of Sholls. Raisins in the coleslawI'll admit, I too enjoyed the food and it was relatively inexpensive. I first started going as an undergrad at GW -- it was one of the few places that my eccentric calculus tutor found up to his standards. Maybe it was the raisins in the coleslaw, which he seemed to love so much. Tapioca PuddingAs a little girl, I visited and was tolerated by the ladies serving at Sholl's. I loved their puddings. I lived at the Burlington Hotel on 1120 Vermont Avenue and have many happy memories of that area from 1954 to 1956. It smells divine!There is so much information in this photo that my memory is filling in the aromas; freshly toasted bread, hot biscuits, hot cakes, bacon, sausage, coffee, maple syrup, etc.! Many of the things that smell the best of all are popular for Breakfast, in North America. I would have had a very hard time deciding what to have! However, if my grandfather, who turned 40 that year, had been there for breakfast, he would have had a cup of coffee and a bowl of "mush"! (The Gallery, D.C., Kitchens etc., Theodor Horydczak)
Pencils-n-Pipes: 1954
... David Karno in the 1940 Census living at the "Kenmore Hall Hotel" as a lodger, his job being "Editorial Work" with the industry being what ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/18/2015 - 11:12am -

        UPDATE: Our man in Chicago is Sun-Times copy editor Dave Karno, photographed by Mike Rito. Read more in the comments. From August 4, 1954, we bring you what seems to be an editor in the tobacco-friendly newsroom of the Chicago Sun-Times. Awaiting his ID from any fellow ink-stained wretches out there. 4x5 acetate negative. View full size. By any other nameI always called the item being referred to as a spike a spindle. Is there a difference? Hanging heavyIs the box suspended by the truly heavy-duty pipes in the background a teletype monitor? It is 1954, after all. [It's a TV set. The "teletype monitor" would have been a roll of paper in the wire room. -Dave] Newspaper technologyThe first paper I worked for in 1972 after getting out of J-school was put out using the same technology as you see above: manual typewriters, clunky Western Electric phones, paper galleys for stories, editors using old editing symbols to butcher your copy, hot type in the composing room, clacking-ringing teletype machines going non-stop, and lots of smoke. I quit smoking in 1971 and I was the only non-smoker in my newsroom. Funny, but I don't remember it bothering me, certainly not like it would today. Oh, and that spike. We had spikes all over our newsroom. I had one on my desk for phone calls and notes to myself. My goal was to have an empty spike at day's end. We had three spikes for stories, one for the original, and two for carbons. I used a spike on my desk for the next 10 years. Had no idea I was going against OSHA. Weaponized editingI can still see the photo editor of our college newspaper falling backwards onto my desk one day in the mid-70s, and the spike on the desk missed going into the back of his skull by about two inches. And we were still using criss-cross directories at the wire service I worked at, well into the 80s at least. Incredibly useful for getting eyewitness accounts of a fire, or a hostage situation, or whatever mayhem was happening in the neighborhood at the moment. Spike = SpindleAs in, "Do Not Fold, Spindle, or Mutilate" Still printed on New Mexico emissions test reports, even though they haven't been punch cards for decades. Gum eraserOn the desktop, near the roll of Life Savers. I remember them as very crumbly, almost greasy. A Roll of ...There are what look like mints on the desk. If he's trying to quit tobacco, they're not working. Or, maybe, he used to be a four pipe man. Significant HeadlineThis headline marks the moment Dwight Eisenhower threw Senator Joe McCarthy under the bus (to use a metaphor not common at the time). The progressive Sun-Times would have played that to hilt. As a sickly kid who was bedridden that summer, I saw the Army-McCarthy hearings live, including Joseph Welch's "have you no sense of decency sir?" remark, something I will never forget. That December the Senate voted to censure and two and a half years after that McCarthy was dead, probably from drink. A Roll of ...Lifesavers. Two-Pipe TechniqueOne for tobacco, one for blowing soap bubbles. Practitioners are cautioned always to remember which one to draw in with and which to blow out through, although medical opinion differs as to whether an Ivory solution or Prince Albert is more hazardous for the lungs. The disappearing spikeThe pointed wire spike at the front of his desk was used to hold edited copy. In the early 70s OSHA declared them to be dangerous and caused the tops to be bent into a candy cane shape which rendered them completely useless. Judging from the look of the copy on his desk, I would guess he was the wire editor. And most of those pencils would loaded with red "lead". Drinking problemWatch you don't put an eye out. But maybe he does the Sunday cartoons too and smears wet colors on them from his arsenal. "Do Not Remove Criss-Cross Book."Indeed an indispensable item for the 1950s newspaper reporter, the Criss-Cross book was a listing of names and telephone numbers organized by address rather than surname. To quote Sherlock HolmesIt appears to be a three pipe problem. Editor and photographer namesAs a 15-year-old high school student I worked at the old Sun-Times Building as an editorial assistant during the summer from 1956 until the paper moved to its new headquarters, since replaced by Trump Tower, in 1958. When I first came across the picture I knew the face was familiar, but his name was lost somewhere in my brain and then it finally surfaced. I believe his name is Dave Karno or (Carno) and was most likely an assistant city editor or possibly a news editor. I am pretty sure I am right, as there would be no way I would have remembered that name without the picture being the trigger. Based on the initials (MR) that each photographer put in every one of their film holders, so as to make it easier to know who took a picture, the person who took this one was most likely Mickey Rito. Probably taken as an in-house gag shot, which was quite common of the time. I tried a short search of the web in an attempt to find Mr. Karno, but no luck. Maybe someone else an can verify if I am correct in my identification. [Excellent work! What can you tell us about the switchboard on his desk? - Dave] David Israel Karno and Michael Anthony RitoI found David Karno in the 1940 Census living at the "Kenmore Hall Hotel" as a lodger, his job being "Editorial Work" with the industry being what appears "Investigation Government". He was born in 1906 and died in November 1969. I found a "Mike Rito" in the 1940 Census, occupation "Photographer, Newspaper," born around 1912. Based on his parents ("Dan and Kate") I was able to find him in the Social Security records (his parents were Donaldo and Catherine - he also had nine brothers and four sisters!). He died in Miami in October 1990. Dave Karno is Correcthttp://store.historicimages.com/products/rsb65495 Desktop PBXThose switches on the desk are "100" type key boxes. The larger one is a six-line double-sided key box. The 100 key equipment provides for multiple appearances of central office, PBX, or automatic ringdown lines. These telephone lines are terminated in key boxes to permit one or more persons, each having his own telephone set, to answer, originate, or hold calls. By the time I went to work for AT&T, these were being phased out and replaced by the six-button key set (a desk phone with five lines and a hold button). One midnight shift, I opened up my boss's 6-button key set. A multitude of small springs erupted. I spent the rest of the shift praying that I found them all and replaced them in the proper slots. DONE. But only just before the boss came in. David Karno rememberedBy the mid-1960s Mr. Karno had become wire editor at the ST. He was also an adjunct Reporting II teacher at NU's Medill School of Journ. He was very demanding and very generous w/his time & lessons. Each week he would tote home in a grocery bag one entire day's spiked (rejected) stories (see photo foreground). On Sunday afternoons I would go over to his house. We'd sit on the couch and go thru the spiked stories. He'd tell me why he rejected each one--no age included, inconsistent name spelling, fishy details, unsourced quotes. Profound tutorials. I sucked it all up like a sponge, which he seemed to like, and I used those lessons and attempted alertness every day throughout my 49 year career (so far). I've also tried to be generous w/time & advice for eager young writers. Though nothing as profound as his. Thank you again, Mr. Karno. I'm his great nieceHi - I'm Lauren, David Karno's great niece, and I was delighted to read some of the comments here. AndrewM, my mom would love to thank you for your kind words. She is curious about your comments, and if you would be willing to email with her, please let me know. (The Gallery, Chicago, News Photo Archive, The Office)
Top Gun: 1938
... Elliott Walker, Real Estate & Stock Broker, Mayflower Hotel I am a descendant of Major George W. Walker and have searched for ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/23/2012 - 11:41am -

January 5, 1938. Westmoreland Hills, Maryland. "Mrs. Albert F. Walker of this town has been declared 1937 women's skeet shooting champion of the country by the National Skeet Shooting Association. The Association has released the averages on which the ratings were based, but one day last year at the Kenwood skeet club, Mrs. Walker set the women's record fall with 99x100 (skeet for 99 birds out of a possible 100). In addition to her national title, she outranks both men and women shooters in the District of Columbia and Maryland." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. She could outshoot meBut I'd love to have the shotgun. Looks like a Browning Auto 5. Dick CheneyEat your heart out. Strong womenThis website shows so many beautiful pictures of really strong women, who are admired for their talents and not their looks. Did something happen after World War II that sent the women's movement backwards? I grew up in the eighties and never had role models like this. I remember when shooting was a family sportLots of fun shooting clays, and punching holes in paper plates with a .22! Looks like an A-5 with a Cutts compensatorfor sure! Remington BrowningWhen I was a kid (1980s) I used my grandfather's old 16-gauge Remington A5 for quail and dove hunting; it had an adjustable choke at the end of the barrel. John Moses Browning certainly left his mark on the sporting and military worlds. Highs & LowsNot much has changed since then and even the shooting finger of glove has been removed for more sensitivity the same as they are today. The only major difference is that today shooting a 99X100 would not put you on the podium. Having been an Olympic Skeet shooter I have known many great women champions including Connie Hoyle who was later inducted into San Diego's Hall Of Fame. When Robert Stake and Grits Gresham and I shot skeet together they were both very fond of the old fashioned Cutts compensators as were many skeet shooters in the 50s and indeed they worked very well with paper wad shells. Two Classy ItemsGreaet shot of a great shot. And bonus points to the viewers who identified the A-5 and Cutts. Very cool. BrownieOh yes , looks like a Browning for shure !!! I have my Dad's A-5 from when he was a kid. I'm 52 and it is PRICELESS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [52, huh? - Dave] Pretty Ladies and GunsHmmm... What was the connection in those days between pretty ladies and guns? Pat Laursen, national women's skeet shooting champion, wearing glasses that improve her aim and protect her eyes from flying pieces of pigeon. Photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt in Akron, Ohio. 1940 Florence Wetherill WalkerI hate when the only references to a woman are in terms of her husband's name. Her name is Florence Wetherill Walker (maiden name, Florence Campbell Wetherill). She graduated from Gunston Hall in 1927 and married Albert Wilson Walker in 1929. They had one daughter, also named Florence Wetherill Walker. Washington Post, Jul 17, 1937 Gun Club Honors Mrs. A.W. Walker As a tribute to the accomplishments of Mrs. A.W. Walker, of Chevy Chase, in winning the all bore skeet championship for Maryland and the District of Columbia against a large field of men, the Towson Gun Club will hold a testimonial shoot tomorrow. Mrs. Walker is the first woman to become the all bore champion of any State in skeet history. In the recent State shoot here, she was not content with capturing the ladies championship but entered and won the all bore event with a score of 95 targets out of a possible 100. She equaled George Radabaugh's winning score in the 1936 shoot, which has been the second best in the local gun club's history. The only higher score ever shot for the championship was a perfect mark made by Charles Gillett in 1935. Sports Illustrated, Jan 19, 1970 Florence Wetherill Walker, who set a national women's skeet-shooting record in 1938, became the first lady chapter president in the 33-year history of Ducks Unlimited when she was elected head of the conservation organization's District of Columbia branch. Remington 11It's a Remington Model 11 Sportsman made under the Browning patent. Check out the rolled engraving on the receiver. The Sportsman was a three-shot versus the A-5 being a five-shot. More on Florence Wetherill WalkerThanks very much for posting this. Florence Campbell Wetherill grew up in Westmoreland County, Virginia, where her family owned a lot of land, which is where she learned to shoot. Her husband, Albert Wilson Walker, pursued a career as a real estate investor and residential developer in Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas. Westmoreland Heights and Westmoreland Circle, in Washington, were among his developments, and he gave them the name Westmoreland in honor of his wife's heritage. Albert and Florence were great friends of my grandparents Francis Winslow & Laura Bryn, my grandfather also being in real estate development in Washington. The Walker daughter grew up with my mother and her sisters, and framed photos of the Walkers still rest on shelves in our family home. Thus it is a great pleasure to see this note on Florence and to see the wonderful photograph of her. Allen Elliott Walker FamilyI am a cousin to this Walker family -- Albert being a son of Allen Elliott Walker, whose father was Redford Watkinson Walker, whose father was George Washington Walker. 1. Maj. George Washington Walker -- Paymaster, U.S.M.C. + Mary Redford Watkinson of Brooklyn, NY 2. Redford Watkinson Walker, Real Estate Broker, attorney + Phebe Ann Elliott 3. Allan Elliott Walker, Real Estate & Stock Broker, Mayflower Hotel I am a descendant of Major George W. Walker and have searched for years for the names of his parents. Would any of you happen to know who they were? I also found it interesting that Allan Walker was involved with gas stations. My grandfather Charles Carroll Digges moved to the Orlando, Florida, area and in the late 1920s opened a service station. It is my understanding he had the first tire retreading business in Florida. I wonder if he had had any encouragement from his first cousin Allan. (The Gallery, Harris + Ewing, Sports)
Swingers: 1924
... 50's. [That "housing complex" is the Wardman Park Hotel. - Dave] Can We Go Home? Why do I get the feeling that these ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 4:26pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1924. "Jas. J. Davis children." Daddy was James J. Davis, Secretary of Labor in the Harding, Coolidge and Hoover administrations. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Housing complexThat's a surprisingly modern looking housing complex in the background. I didn't think the Pruitt-Igoe style became prevalent until the 50's. [That "housing complex" is the Wardman Park Hotel. - Dave] Can We Go Home?Why do I get the feeling that these three children would rather be elsewhere? Those Hatslook like different varieties of Mushrooms. Lucky Kids! Big BrotherAnd I like seing the protective arms of (presumably) big brother around little sister. ExpressionsIt's always dangerous to read too much into transitory facial expressions that are captured in fractions of a second, especially with candid shots. Though this one is obviously staged as well as posed to a certain extent, it doesn't look like a "stop and smile for the camera" moment. If I were to guess, I'd say their expressions have a lot to do with the fact that it's probably pretty cold. Look at the way they're dressed and, though there's no snow, the ground has a frozen mud look to it. AttitudesI like the different expressions -- one of determined concentration, one full of suspicion and a little fearful, one completely nonchalant. CopykittenThat kid has the same shoes as Marion Leech! (The Gallery, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo)
Double Duty: 1942
... Beaverhead County, Montana. Accommodations at the Wisdom Hotel." Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Office of War Information. ... No thanks! A hotel with an outhouse? And a shared outhouse at that? Umm ... maybe I don't ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/26/2021 - 1:02pm -

April 1942. "Wisdom, Beaverhead County, Montana. Accommodations at the Wisdom Hotel." Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Office of War Information. View full size. Two things rarely seen these daysCatalogs and outhouses. Sears stopped producing its general catalog in 1993. It's a long, long way to necessaryYears ago I learned a German word. It is one of those complex German words that has a nuanced meaning involving a stressful situation, the distance from point A to point B and a toilet. Fahrfumpoopen. Just a word from an experienced user. While waiting to finish, tear out a generous number of catalog pages and give them a good rubbing up. Much more satisfying than straight from the book. Ya gotta love the Google Books search engineIssue 134 of the Montgomery Ward catalog (1941), Page 412. https://books.google.com/books?id=uWhQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA412&dq=sun+valley+pl... No thanks!A hotel with an outhouse? And a shared outhouse at that? Umm ... maybe I don't want a time travel machine. Thank GoodnessFor the camera angle ... I've used facilities like this in my younger days, and the combination of visual and olfactory assaults were a bit much. No No, not the glossy pagesWhen I was a kid we were the only ones with a septic tank and flush toilet. My great-grandparents who lived behind us and my grandfather across the road had outhouses and used old telephone directories and the soft pages from Sears and Roebuck catalogs. When those were gone then the misery of the glossy pages began. Re: Ya gotta love the Google Books search engineLooks like they kept the Sears catalog to use for actually buying things and the Monkey Wards catalog for ... oh well. Two cowpunchers walked into a bar...On April 22, 1942, John Vachon wrote from Wisdom to his wife: "Last night 2 soused cowpunchers had a real slugging knocking down rolling on the floor fight in the joint next door ... After a few minutes I ran and got my camera, and when I came back they were buying each other drinks and lighting cigarettes. They wouldn't fight again for the camera." From the book, "John Vachon's America." Careful!The seat appears smooth so splinters may not be an issue but watch out for those gaps in the board. They are just waiting to pinch someone. Slick paper?That's rough. Deluxe OuthouseTravel through British Columbia and you will find that most Rest Stops on the highways feature modern concrete pit toilets and a few picnic tables. Regional parks in the Vancouver area also have outhouses; there is one just 1 km. from where I live. On Lopez Island in Washington State there is this amazing pit toilet. From the outside it is a plain wood building, but when you open the door you are greeted with a spotless interior - including fresh lilacs. Best title ever?Certainly right up there!! Additionally, it looks like the wall covering was used once or twice as emergency TP -- that couldn't have been pleasant. (The Gallery, Bizarre, John Vachon, Small Towns)
Boys Gym: 1939
... is! Jerusalem YMCA It's still there, serving as a hotel although I gather it still functions in its original purpose. When you ... It was directly across the street from the King David Hotel, itself a major attraction with a ton of history. YMCA to Z At the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/19/2010 - 10:45am -

British Mandate Palestine, August 1939. "Jerusalem Y.M.C.A. activities. Gymnasium, boys' drill." American Colony/Matson photo. View full size. Aero-exerciseOk, boys! Let's do the "Airplane"! 1939?That can't be! Why, there's my old sadistic gym coach, who just retired last year. IncongruityIs there something incongruous about a YMCA in Palestine? Or are the kids British? [At the time of this photo, the Christian population of Jerusalem was over 30,000. Below, the exterior. - Dave] Learning to swimNow all we need is a pool! High and dryThe pool was filled in over the summer, but nobody told the boys. Great job!Wow, they're doing a great job considering how shallow that water is! Jerusalem YMCAIt's still there, serving as a hotel although I gather it still functions in its original purpose. When you think about it isn't that incongruous; at the very least it would serve as a stopping place for Christian pilgrims visiting the city. A lot of visitors to the city are still pilgrims from the three Abrahamic faiths. Safest way to swimis definitely on a gymnasium floor. It insures that even the most inept among us cannot drown. The YHere's a picture of the Jerusalem YMCA that I shot this May during a trip to Israel. It was directly across the street from the King David Hotel, itself a major attraction with a ton of history. YMCA to ZAt the time the Y served the entire population of Jerusalem -- Christians, Muslims, Jews, Armenians as well as the British administration. Words to remember"Here is a place whose atmosphere is peace, where political and religious jealousies can be forgotten, and international unity fostered and developed." -- From the dedication address by Field Marshal Edmund Lord Allenby, April 18, 1933. Not bad for something built so close to old Jerusalem that it must have been on someone else's idea of hallowed ground. Wowser!Mr. Gymnast in the black shorts on the right looks like he could crack walnuts between those thighs! (The Gallery, Matson, Sports)
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