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Dread of the Dental Chair: 1910
... and three-digit minimalist license plates. Seminole Hotel Strangely, the Seminole Hotel on the right of the photo was used as the site of the State of Florida ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/05/2013 - 10:53am -

Jacksonville, Florida, circa 1910. "Hogan Street." Home to Dr. Williams, Alveolar Dentist, whose slogan NO MORE DREAD OF THE DENTAL CHAIR emblazons his address. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Makes sense now!Oh that's grand! I never realizd the connection to history of Mad magazine's Alfred E. Neuman, right down to the missing incisor. I guess all that came from writers that grew up during this time. [Mad founders Harvey Kurtzman and William M. Gaines were one generation later. - tterrace] There, now I'm baffled again but I can see why "Mad" picked up this goofy mascot. Easy to rememberLove those two- and three-digit minimalist license plates. Seminole HotelStrangely, the Seminole Hotel on the right of the photo was used as the site of the State of Florida Dental Board Examinations until 1969 when the exams were moved to Palm Beach Junior College. The equipment available to use in The Seminole Hotel as late as 1968 was probably made in 1910 -- folding chairs, goose neck lights, and spitoons. There are hundreds of horror stories from those examinations. Absolutely NO WORRY......about Dr. William's dental chair. And he shows the portrait of his nephew Alfred E. Neuman on the storefront to prove it! [Alfred and the face on the Doctor's building are all variations on the "Me Worry?" kid face popular at the time, here similar to this one, "It didn't hurt a bit," from a 1908 pain tablet advertisement. - tterrace] Yeah Sure, DoctorThat's why the best-selling item on the block is the Highspire Straight Rye just across the street. That's where you swallow some courage to go see Dr. Williams. Can't see this todayI'd like to share a new photo from this same angle but you wouldn't see anything compelling, and not just because most of the buildings in this old photo are gone. The photographer is standing on Hogan Street, looking north from the intersection with Bay Street, two blocks up from the river. If I were to take this photo today, or share a Google Street View, all you would see is the bottom of the elevated dual-track monorail we call the "Skyway Express" that runs up Hogan St. to the Hemming Plaza Station. Shorpy gave us another view of the Seminole Hotel here, and the private Seminole Club, as remembered by Shorpy here - is just four blocks north, or straight ahead in this 1910 view. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Jacksonville, Medicine)
Golden Girls: 1905
... St. Augustine, Florida, circa 1905. "In the court of the Hotel Ponce de Leon." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing ... in the summer, just let me have it after Labor Day! Hotel concerto Beautiful picture. It managed to capture the whole atmosphere ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/04/2018 - 2:47pm -

St. Augustine, Florida, circa 1905. "In the court of the Hotel Ponce de Leon." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The ThinkerShe's obviously thinking about how ridiculous that hat is. So Lovely in the Winter!I have always enjoyed Florida in the winter. It’s possibly even more sunny, no hurricanes, you can dress up without sweating like a pig. Even a stroll on the beach is a delight with a nice cool breeze. The young can have Florida in the summer, just let me have it after Labor Day! Hotel concertoBeautiful picture. It managed to capture the whole atmosphere of a peaceful day, in a hotel with high standards for the etiquette (they have uniforms even for the band members). I'd like to know what they were playing. GenerationsMother, Daughter, Grandma? Flagler's hotel looks eerily similar today as the campus of Flagler U, right in the heart of bustling St. Augustine. (I lived there for a year back in another life.) I love seeing glimpses of long gone genteel society. Notice musicians playing for diners on the veranda and the three parasols for "ladies of a certain station." One has little doubt they wintered here and spent summers in Newport. Music Soothes the Savage BeastAlthough I cannot identify any savage beasts in this picture, it appears we are being treated to a musical interlude by the performers on the porch. [It's beast if you're quoting Bugs Bunny; otherwise it's breast: "Musick has charms to soothe a savage breast" (William Congreve, "The Mourning Bride," 1697). - Dave] Thank you Dave. I stand corrected. I was alluding to William Congreve. And the band played onA nice time is always guaranteed with live music in the background. (The Gallery, DPC, Florida)
It Never Rains in California: 1912
Sunny Venice, Calif., circa 1912. "Hotel St. Mark and street." At the Aquarium on the pier: "Seal fed daily at 2 ... imitation, actually, at least for this block or so. Hotel St. Mark is long gone But its next door neighbor seems to still be ... frame from Buster Keaton's The High Sign that shows the Hotel St. Mark in the background. As I show in my book Silent Echoes, Keaton ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/29/2012 - 12:29pm -

Sunny Venice, Calif., circa 1912. "Hotel St. Mark and street." At the Aquarium on the pier: "Seal fed daily at 2 p.m." 5x7 inch glass negative. View full size. Bizarre Service?Note the partially visible sign on one of the vehicles parked on the viewer's right. I suppose it is advertising some local cabaret, but what's visible suggests that, for a suitable fee of course, a quartet motors to your home to sing the latest ditties for your edification and amusement. ["At the" would seem to preclude the latter. - tterrace] I agree, now that I can read the fine print. So Where's the Cat?Lower left corner: Tweety's owner! Not too bad!I knew Venice was built with canals, but I did not know that they also tried to make it resemble the original Venice architecturally as well. It's not a bad imitation, actually, at least for this block or so. Hotel St. Mark is long goneBut its next door neighbor seems to still be there (although unfortunately stripped of much of its fancy gingerbread). Venice Silent Film Spot - Keaton, Chaplin, LloydThe great silent film comedians Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd all filmed frequently in Venice, as I explain in my books. Here is a movie frame from Buster Keaton's The High Sign that shows the Hotel St. Mark in the background. As I show in my book Silent Echoes, Keaton filmed many scenes at this locale. This blog post below tells about Chaplin filming Kid Auto Races in Venice in 1914, his first screen appearance as the Little Tramp. http://silentlocations.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/chaplins-kid-autos-they-... John John's Great Blog!John, I've looked at your blog many times, and greatly enjoyed it. The filming locations of those great silent flicks is fascinating to me. Just wanted to say that your work is much respected and appreciated! More Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd in VeniceThe Venice Events board to the left of center lists several attractions where the great stars filmed. First on the list is the Venice Aquarium, which appears behind Charlie Chaplin during this shot from The Adventurer (1917) (see below - the sign behind him reads "MUIRAQUA" - it's the back of the AQUARIUM sign). Next on the list is The Venice Miniature Railway, where Harold Lloyd filmed at least two movies. You can read about the railway at the end of this blog post. http://silentlocations.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/harold-lloyd-by-the-sad-... Lastly, the Venice Plunge plays a major role in Buster Keaton's early MGM triumph The Cameraman (1928). You can read about the plunge at the end of this post. http://silentlocations.wordpress.com/2012/07/07/buster-keatons-the-camer... Not much leftThere's more of this gingerbread left along Main Street, just south of the Santa Monica line. But only a few fragments. I see Venice almost every day, and it's striking how much uglier it is now. It's like the pod people took over. +104Below is the same view from November of 2016. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC)
The Motor City: 1917
... Shorpy landmarks here include the Wayne County Building, Hotel Pontchartrain, Ford Building, Dime Bank and Detroit Post Office. View full size. Hotel Griswold The hotel opened in 1910 on the corner of Griswold and Grand ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 7:36pm -

Circa 1917. "Detroit looking southeast along Woodward Avenue from the Whitney Building." Shorpy landmarks here include the Wayne County Building, Hotel Pontchartrain, Ford Building, Dime Bank and Detroit Post Office. View full size. Hotel GriswoldThe hotel opened in 1910 on the corner of Griswold and Grand River Ave. It is where the Kiwanis Club was founded in 1914. It has since been torn down and a parking garage now sits on the old site. Yet another beautiful building lost to time. This picture gets me steamedThe "smokestacks" on the far left are actually vents or pipes for steam, apparently for an underground steam exchange station for the City of Detroit (which provides steam heat and electricity from a central plant for city owned properties, such as the nearby Farmer Branch of the Detroit Public Library). In the early 1990's I worked in Downtown Detroit, and the building at 1413 Farmer St. was still there, but was soon demolished and replaced by a single steam vent pipe. I believe the stacks just went THROUGH the building, and were not a part of it. Rayl'sThe store that was once the Walmart of Detroit. Very interesting story on the company and the building can be seen here. If it were a snakePerhaps it is too obvious, but most Detroiters, I dare say, would think it was remiss of you not to mention Hudson's as a landmark of this view. [It is indeed a landmark although, not being a subject of previous posts here, not really a "Shorpy landmark." - Dave] Tip o' the HatNow I see where those ubiquitous white hats in Shorpy photos come from. Detroit! Looking through the windows of the white building (down front center) you can see scads of them and possibly hat boxes as well. And here I thought they came from Panama! Hudsons Grows ( and Falters ) with DetroitWow! What an interesting and sad tagline! How prophetic! Although it has been sold to NY Macy's...JL Hudson's is just one of many stores that flourished when Detroit was at in heyday. Thank you for this photo! How I wish my dad were alive to share his own personal memories of these famous landmarks. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)
Drive In Here: 1925
... glass negative. View full size. Next to the Hotel Walker, soon to be known as -- The Washington Post article about the garage references a "Hotel Walker" under construction next door. The high expenses incurred by Mr. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/12/2019 - 1:10pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1925. "L Street Garage, between 17th and 18th on L Street N.W." The garage and adjacent Washington Accessories Co. store and gas station can also be seen in these photos. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Next to the Hotel Walker, soon to be known as -- The Washington Post article about the garage references a "Hotel Walker" under construction next door. The high expenses incurred by Mr. Walker's investment company building what was originally to be known as the Hotel Walker forced its sale even before its doors opened. The purchasers obviously needed a new name, and picked one in honor of the recent 300th anniversary of the Pilgrims' arrival at Plymouth Rock, borrowing the name of the ship that brought them there. A Washington landmark was thus born. Hot in thereThe shop I currently work at, and have for the last 35 years, is situated on a hill with bay doors on both sides of the building. Any breeze that comes by goes through the building. We have a plethora of paperweights for when it gets too windy. In the '70s, I worked in a shop that just had one bay door with a few windows on the other side. It would get over 110 in there on a hot August day. I can imagine how hot it is on the top floors of this building with only a fan to keep the air moving. Combining the high ambient temperature with the hot engines and no air conditioning means the old time mechanics were a lot tougher than the current generation. A Splendid New GarageThe Washington Post -- March 25, 1923 Garage at 1707 L St. Will Cost $225,000 Modern 4-Story Structure to Be Erected By Walker Investment Co. for W.T. Galliher.         A modern, fireproof garage building will be erected by the Allan E. Walker Investment Company at 1707 [actually 1705] L street northwest for William T. Galliher, it was announced at the office of the company yesterday.         The structure will be four stories in height and will front 45 feet on K street [sic] and have a depth of 135 feet.         It is planned to operate the building as a storage garage. This development covers the only remaining space in the entire square with the exception of a small frontage on Connecticut avenue, adjoining the Hotel Walker, now under construction.         The ground and building will represent an investment of approximately $225,000. The construction work will be supervised by the building department of the Allan E. Walker Investment Company. Robert F. Beresford is the architect.         The entire block bounded by Connecticut avenue, DeSales street, Seventeenth street and L street, containing approximately 100,000 square feet, was purchased about four years ago by W.T. Galliher. At that time it was occupied by the Visitation Convent. The Hotel Walker will occupy the north half of the block and office and business buildings occupy the south half. The development of this property has given impetus to the remarkable business growth of the Connecticut avenue section. Ad in the Sept. 30, 1923, Washington Post: (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Gas Stations, Natl Photo)
WAH: 1910
New York circa 1910. "Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, ... photograph. What’s there now, you ask? The hotel was torn down and replaced by a somewhat taller office building which ... made when her nephew started construction on the Waldorf Hotel next to her brownstone mansion, the ballroom of which held 400 people, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/25/2023 - 1:57pm -

New York circa 1910. "Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Antennas?Were those tower structures on the roof radio antennas? The Wireless Ship Act of 1910 required passenger ships leaving from US ports to be equipped with ship to shore radios beginning in 1911. Could these towers have been related to that? ["The output of the station is 5 k.w., and is in daily operation with Chicago and steamers far out on the Atlantic." - Dave] Magnificent!A wonderful structure and outstanding photograph. What’s there now, you ask?The hotel was torn down and replaced by a somewhat taller office building which became well known in its own right. Very top floorsAlways curious what it would be like to have walked around and explored the very tops floors in buildings like this. Private residences, offices, mechanical gear, secret passages, or faux spaces? WAH not there nowThis address is the future site of a much bigger building, the Empire State Building, which opened in 1931. Empire Suite I would have loved to have stayed there in a lavish suite. And here I was ...... thinking "WAH" was the sound Caroline Astor (the "Mrs. Astor") made when her nephew started construction on the Waldorf Hotel next to her brownstone mansion, the ballroom of which held 400 people, hence the New York 400. More on the feud: here Wah WahHad it burned (like other Shorpy hotels), I wonder if wah wah would have saved the WAH. Architecture... has devolved immensely. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Streetcars)
Heart of Cleveland: 1950
... Ohio, and Union Terminal Group (Terminal Tower and Hotel Cleveland)." Gelatin silver print by Carl McDow. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/06/2024 - 5:22pm -

Summer 1950. "Heart of downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and Union Terminal Group (Terminal Tower and Hotel Cleveland)." Gelatin silver print by Carl McDow. View full size. The Flat Iron Cafe survivesThere have been many changes since this 1950 photo, but the Flat Iron Cafe (bottom left corner) is still there. Its profile says it's an unpretentious brick-walled tavern with live music. I suspect its younger patrons have no idea what a flat iron is. Click to embiggen Afternoon normalAfternoon rush hour getting underway as West Siders flood the Detroit/Superior Highlevel bridge. On the Cleveland Union Terminal Railroad, a streamlined Chesapeake & Ohio sleeper is getting set over to build the Nickel Plate's Cleveland-St. Louis train #9. The NKP will take the sleeper as far as Fostoria where it will join the C&O's "Sportsman" heading toward the Greenbrier resort. The sleeper will return to Cleveland via Columbus, Ohio, on the New York Central. In the flats, we see the yellow brick towered B&O station that lost its trains when the B&O moved the "Cleveland Night Express" and "Washingtonian" into the CUT. There is room on the near side of the CUT viaduct for additional tracks, and by 1960 the Cleveland Transit System will use that space for the cross-town Rapid Transit system. Just a Little Before I was BornThis would have been a vista of what my dad saw when in worked in Cleveland during 1948 and 1949. He met my mother in 1948 in Parkersburg, WV where they both lived. Dad got a job in Cleveland working at a key plant. He would hitchhike home from Cleveland every Friday evening after work to see my mother and hitchhike back to Cleveland on Sunday. There was no I-77 back then. Only U.S. Route 21. I’ve heard many stories about how long it took Dad to make it home to Parkersburg. Mother became a lifelong Cleveland baseball fan in 1948 when the Indians won the series. Chief Wahoo stood watch at her casket, and I still possess the Cleveland Indian pinback button Dad gave to my mother in 1948. Patrick Catenary SupportsThe overhead lattice structures over the trackage on the bridge were there to support catenary wire that carried 3000 volt DC current to power the electric locomotives used in Cleveland Union Terminal to comply with smoke abatement concerns. These locomotives or 'motors' were used until 1954 when they were modified to run off the 600 volt third rail in the New York City trackage into Grand Central Terminal. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cleveland, Railroads)
Truck Parade: 1919
... glass negative. View full size. The Metropolitan Hotel Our view here is looking east from approximately Seventh Street. On ... studio. The large white building is the Metropolitan Hotel, profiled here . Streetcar Geek We streetcar geeks are ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 10:29pm -

June 28, 1919. "Motor Truck Parade, Pennsylvania Avenue." Held on Motor Transportation Day under the auspices of the Washington Automotive Trade Association. At left we have another appearance on these pages by a Witt-Will conveyance. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. The Metropolitan HotelOur view here is looking east from approximately Seventh Street. On the left is Gilman's drugstore, in the building that formerly housed Mathew Brady's studio. The large white building is the Metropolitan Hotel, profiled here. Streetcar GeekWe streetcar geeks are accustomed to standard, boring three-quarter views of rolling stock. It's a treat to see a candid shot of classic streetcars in everyday use. The Capital Traction Company cars numbered 621-750 were built by the Jewett Car Company of Newark, Ohio and placed service in 1910-12. The last of this type was scrapped in 1947. This model was numerically the largest of any series in the company's inventory and remained in service through World War II. According to LeRoy O. King Jr.'s book "100 Years of Capital Traction," the Jewetts were perceived as "typical" Washington, D.C. streetcars because of their concentration on Pennsylvania Avenue. Employed on every line in the city, these cars were "sturdier than most and performed well until the end of their days." One example survived as a holiday cottage on Maryland's eastern shore until acquired in 1990 by the Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine, where it awaits restoration. Lonely GuyThe only rooftop watcher I could find stands atop the Metropolitan Hotel next to a flagpole. He has a better view of the Capitol than he has of the parade. Motor Transportation Day Washington Post, Jun 28, 1919 Big Parade of Autos Greatest Nation Has Had Fair weather, it is promised by the weather man, will assure more than a success for the motor truck parade today, Motor Transportation day. Promptly at 12:30, the police escort will start up Pennsylvania avenue from the peace monument. At the close of the entry lists last night more than 400 trucks had been nominated for today's parade, the biggest thing of its kind ever held in Washington in the way of an automotive demonstration. There will be trucks of all sizes ranging from the light delivery wagon of only a few hundred pounds capacity to a big 7-ton dump truck which with their load weigh in the neighborhood of 15,000 pounds. In all there will 22 divisions, the entrants being classified according to lines of business in so far as this is possible. there will not only trucks to see but there will be music to listen to. Sightseeing cars will carry the bands. ... What will undoubtedly prove a center of attraction will be two German trucks entered by the motor transport corp, the Audia, a three-ton cargo truck, and the N.A.G., a one-ton chassis with an ambulance body. The two trucks have just reached this country, having been turned over to the American expeditionary forces at the time that they moved into Coblenz, Germany. They arrived in Washington yesterday from Camp Holabird. In addition, this branch of the government service will have a series of floats, one of them a machine shop truck, as used under combat conditions. Gas masks will be donned and the work proceed as it would under actual conditions and bombs will be exploded. Another will represent Uncle Sam getting the kaiser's goat. There will also be a school float, showing how enlisted men can learn a trade. ... (click to enlarge) +91Here is the same view taken in April of 2010. The top of the Atlantic Coast Lines building can be seen over trees in the 1919 view and is the light/dark orange building in the 2010 view. Today, the bottom floor of the building is occupied by the Capital Grille - the best steakhouse in DC. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Streetcars)
Walnut & Fourth: 1940
... [It was Des Moines' Sole Buick. - Dave] Hotel Row When completed in 1930 the new 12-story Kirkwood Hotel (left) became Des Moines' third "skyscraper hotel," in addition to the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/03/2019 - 4:02pm -

April 1940. "Des Moines, Iowa" is all it says here. Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Modes of DeliveryI can't stop looking at the delivery van that is turning the corner. That doesn't seem to be a common design but looks very similar on top to the modern UPS trucks with the skylights in the back. Having walked the streets of Des Moines on many lunch hours I have come across bits of railroad track protruding from the ground where the asphalt has crumbled in the winter. This is the first picture that I have seen of those very tracks. Additionally, I keep a Des Moines Railway Co. fare token in my pocket that my grandmother gave me. I thought it was such a neat piece of the past and I'm glad to finally see a picture of those services in action. Attached is a picture of that very token. Streetcars and "Curbliners"While there is evidence in this photo that tracks are being removed, streetcars ran for another 11 years in Des Moines. They were replaced with electric trolleybuses (example below) uniquely named "Curbliners" in a contest; they lasted until the mid-1960s. Des Moines has an interesting history in urban transportation that you can check out here. Mr. Sole Must Be Lonely In this highly automobile-populated photo that includes a Buick dealership, it seems odd that (beyond the dealership premises) there is nary a Buick to be seen except for the 10-year-old sedan in the oncoming lane near the fire hydrant. [It was Des Moines' Sole Buick. - Dave] Hotel RowWhen completed in 1930 the new 12-story Kirkwood Hotel (left) became Des Moines' third "skyscraper hotel," in addition to the two 11-story 1919 additions, the Hotel Fort Des Moines to the west and the Hotel Savery (top center). The Kirkwood, where I had lunch with the federal judge for whom I clerked every day he sat in Des Moines, remains but has been converted to apartments. The Savery has reopened as a chain hotel after a long renovation. The office building between the Kirkwood and Savery hotels is 1916's Valley National Bank building, which was imploded in March 1981 and replaced by Capital Square. Memories of a time I never knewMy parents were both in Des Moines as students in 1940. They met the following year, and were married in December of 1942; my dad was then in the Army and headed overseas. They both remembered their years in Des Moines fondly, and it makes me happy to think that they were somewhere close by on the very day this photo was taken. Progress is coming.There is an extra wire for Curbliners, but only over the track with the trolley car, not in the other direction. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Gas Stations, John Vachon, Streetcars)
Metropolitan Life: 1908
... The tower has the famous statue of Diana at its peak. Hotel Bartholdi Named for the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty. Built 1885, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/19/2012 - 3:24pm -

June 16, 1908. The Metropolitan Life tower under construction in New York City. View full size. 8x10 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. TowerWhat is that building in the background with all the spires? Fabulous Detail in the full size viewThis 8x10 negative has great detail. In addition to the Met Life Tower there is the NY Supreme Court Appellate Division building (domed building -still there), the variety of horse drawn carriages at the curb of Madison Square Park and the old, old Madison Square Garden (building with the tower-long gone). As a bonus, way in the background is the still under construction Queensboro Bridge. Thanks to the gang at Shorpy (and G.G. Bain) for preserving this moment in time. Bill B Madison Square GardenThe building with the spires is Madison Square Garden. The tower has the famous statue of Diana at its peak. Hotel BartholdiNamed for the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty. Built 1885, demolished 1970. William Seward.The statue at the bottom of the picture is that of William Seward (1801-1872). He was an anti-slavery Governor of NY State and later Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State. His greatest accomplishment, although not thought so at the time, was the purchase of Alaska from Russia (Seward's Folly). That was before the gold rush, during the Andrew Johnson Presidency. He also tried to block the recognition of the Confederate States by European countries. He was targeted for assassination during the John Wilkes Booth conspiracy, but survived. The Statue remains at the 23rd Street & Broadway/Fifth Avenue entrance to Madison Square Park. The Sculptor was Randolph Rogers, who was accused of creating a statue of Abraham Lincoln and then substituting the head of Seward on it. Domed BuildingThe building with the dome next to the Met Life tower is the Madison Square Presbyterian Church by Stanford White -- not the Appellate Division Courthouse. The church was demolished in the early 20th century. Appellate CourthouseYou're right, the domed structure is not the courthouse. However, it is in the picture. It's the short white structure, with statues on its roof, about the third building to the left of the church. It is on the northeast corner of 25th St and Madison Avenue, nestled into an area of highrise office buildings which also boast some of the best restaurants in the city. (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, NYC)
La Jolla Line: 1910
... Diego to La Jolla, California." A McKeen Motor Car at the Hotel Cabrillo in La Jolla. 5x7 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View ... is MINE. It'll look great cruising the DC Beltway. The Hotel Cabrillo is a Survivor Part of the La Valencia Hotel since sometime ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2017 - 8:41am -

Circa 1910. "Los Angeles & San Diego Beach Railway -- Gasoline motor car running from San Diego to La Jolla, California." A McKeen Motor Car at the Hotel Cabrillo in La Jolla. 5x7 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Cow Catcher?OK Dave, maybe you can tell us why a trolley would need one of these? Equine rather than bovine?In urban use, it was probably a horse catcher, but such motor cars frequently operated on short inter-urban lines as well, where cattle and -- equally dangerous to the equipment and passengers -- hogs often ran wild. I would have never guessedIf there had been no caption to indicate the date of the photo, I would have sworn it was taken in the 1930s. Very futuristic--looks like something out of a Flash Gordon serial. Ladies and gentlemen, may I please present --The most awesome vehicle I've ever seen in my life. I want one in gloss burgundy with deep gray trim. Additional comment: Gosh; the example tterrace tantalized me with in a comment to switzarch is BURGUNDY with a GRAY cowcatcher. Okay; it's a long trip to Carson City, but that McKeen Motor Car there is mine. I'll just wait until they finish the restoration. Then it is MINE. It'll look great cruising the DC Beltway. The Hotel Cabrillo is a Survivor Part of the La Valencia Hotel since sometime in the 1940s; now referred to as "The West Wing." Yellow Submarine!Might have inspired a certain group of Liverpudlians. Jim Page is Right!What an extraordinary vehicle. Has one been saved and on display somewhere? Sure hope so. [There's one here. -tterrace] Restoration of other McKeen Motor CarsThese time travelers are remarkable. With a snorkel, they are ready for Captain Nemo. Here and here are links to the McKeen Motor Car "Cuyamaca" restoration project in San Diego County. NicknamesThis vehicle was also called a Potato Bug, sometimes a Doodlebug. Not a cowcatcher It's a radiator grill, can see radiator inside it. (The Gallery, DPC, Railroads, Streetcars)
Splash: 1889
... pool in the Casino." The swimming pool at Henry Flagler's Hotel Alcazar in St. Augustine, Florida, last seen here from the other end . ... maintenance.. seems to be a low priority for a high end hotel. I didn't notice the rust stains, peeling paint etc. on the first pic. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/01/2009 - 5:33pm -

Circa 1889. "Bathing pool in the Casino." The swimming pool at Henry Flagler's Hotel Alcazar in St. Augustine, Florida, last seen here from the other end. Glass negative by William Henry Jackson. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Seeing the room in its heyday is greatWhen we visited St. Augustine the swimming pool area was being used as the museum's lunch room. It was fun then to imagine what it was like when it was a pool and even better now to see the pictures! Thanx. High and dryHere is a view of the pool today. You might want to leave your swimming trunks at home. RegardlessA wonderful and mystical space no matter WHICH way you're looking! Thanks! Pool maintenance..seems to be a low priority for a high end hotel. I didn't notice the rust stains, peeling paint etc. on the first pic. I was here last summerI stood outside this building just last summer and admired the unique building; at that time I wondered just what the pool must've looked like that used to be inside. Now that I know I am indeed impressed! More fascinating vexillologyTo the left above the 'yacht ensign' is the flag of Persia (with the lion, sword, and rising sun). To the right of that - well, it could be any number of countries in 1889, is probably Russia, which introduced its white-on-top tricolor in 1883. The Japanese flag on the left is easy to pick out, but the others on the walls, not so much. I must visit!I once lived a few beaches up from this and didn't know it existed. This set of pictures makes me want to return to check out the hotel. SaltyDidn't seaside hotels of this era usually have saltwater pools? Re: SaltyI read somewhere that this pool was filled by an underground spring. The same source said that the pool was 12 feet deep and I don't see any depth marks greater than 5½, so I don't know how reliable the source is. splashI like the way the photographer caught the moment of impact when someone jumped in the pool (right below the railing) but if that pool's only 5 1/2 feet deep, the jumper probably hit the bottom with a thud. Cords on the left sideWhat are those codes on the left side with handles ? Hotel Alcazar / Lightner Museum, St. Augustine, FLTaken in a similar aspect as the vintage shot from this post, here's recent shot (07/09) of that location (now known as the Lightner Museum): http://www.flickr.com/photos/liquidrhino/3748563792/ I do believe that's anI do believe that's an Iranian flag up there. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Early_20th_Century_Qajar_Flag.svg (The Gallery, DPC, Florida, W.H. Jackson)
Battle House: 1901
... over the years to "Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel and Spa by Marriott." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit ... and telephones. Royal Street (Mobile), Battle House Hotel I've just spent most of today enjoyably going through the Library of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 1:30pm -

Mobile, Alabama, circa 1901. "Battle House." Whose name has lengthened over the years to "Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel and Spa by Marriott." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. FascinatingWhat I find so interesting about these pictures, aside from the obvious, is all the wires. So many of them have disappeared from sight now - either bundled together to reduce dozens of lines to two or three, or buried underneath the streets. I bet the pigeons were delighted (and possibly electrocuted) by the introduction of electricity and telephones. Royal Street (Mobile), Battle House HotelI've just spent most of today enjoyably going through the Library of Congress pictures of Mobile, Alabama, my free-range boyhood home. Two Shorpy-relevant finds: --- SAME CORNER, Royal and Conti Streets, looking north, in 1901, and circa 1910. What a difference a few years makes, huh? And note man on pole. --- Royal Street, looking south. I do believe that's the Klosky's banner in the distance. And on the left here, the seven-story building is the Battle House hotel (look at the writing in the Z on the sign), but a different one from the 1901 one shown in the Shorpy post above. Wikipedia says the previous (1901) Battle House burned down in 1905, was rebuilt, and reopened in 1908. Which would date these two photographs no earlier than 1908. --- Around 1950 it snowed one day in Mobile. Noteworthy enough to include in a movie newsreel (remember those?). The newsreel showed the falling snow with the front of the Battle House in the background. (I've not been able to find this newsreel online.) Thanks for the memories, Shorpy! --- [Edited 12:33 PM 11/27/2011 to repair and update links. -lesle] More beautiful todayI have stayed at The Battlehouse several times. It is simply beautiful; much more than is in this picture! The whispering arches are a big draw. Thanks for sharing this great picture. (The Gallery, DPC, Mobile)
Subway Fire: 1915
... negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. Woodward Hotel Which is now the Dream Hotel. It used to have a sister building across from it on 55th Street, long ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/19/2012 - 2:16pm -

On January 6, 1915, an electrical short in a manhole started a fire that filled the subway line under Broadway at West 55th Street with smoke, resulting in chaos for a quarter-million commuters. The New York Times reported that one person, Ella Grady, was killed. We note that photographer George Grantham Bain, like many of us writing checks just after January 1, was a year off in dating this photo. View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. Woodward HotelWhich is now the Dream Hotel. It used to have a sister building across from it on 55th Street, long gone. Lousy ExperienceI was in a 1990 subway fire. Water leaked onto a transformer causing an explosion that sent thick brown smoke throughout the train. Nothing like feeling like you and your 50+ train-mates are going to die in a hole. The building at left rear…… (with the arches) seems to be the only building in this photo or the other one still extant. It's visible in Google Street View here. Complete lack of crowd controlAmazing how all of the rubber neckers stand on the partially removed grates peering down into the subway. An interesting contrast would be the mid 2007 steam line blow out near Grand Central where half of the emergency responders were dealing with crowd control. (The Gallery, Fires, Floods etc., G.G. Bain, NYC)
L Street Garage: 1928
... Co. glass negative. View full size. Mayflower Hotel The Mayflower Hotel is behind the gas pumps on 17th Street, with the flags, rear entrance. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2016 - 3:23pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1928. "Washington Accessories store, L Street N.W." The service station we saw last year in this view from 1925, before the streetlamp sprouted on the sidewalk. National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size. Mayflower HotelThe Mayflower Hotel is behind the gas pumps on 17th Street, with the flags, rear entrance. It's still there and so are the flags. Truth in AdvertisingThat's not a minute service station. The place is huge! The Drive-InThere's a fine luxury automobile entering the car wash on the left, where a large sign over the entrance very helpfully says "Drive in Here." I'm wondering, though: would there be another sign overhead somewhere inside the building saying "drive out here"? Dog & SudsWow. That lineup looks almost as if a teenager on skates should roll up to your car and ask if you'd like root beer, fries and something meaty on a bun. Under ConstructionIn addition to the pre-streetlight sprout noted by Dave, we've also seen this under construction here https://www.shorpy.com/node/4455 +87Below is the same view from May of 2015. (The Gallery, D.C., Gas Stations, Natl Photo)
Robert Street: 1908
... south from 7th, taken in September of 2008. Ryan Hotel That's the Ryan Hotel on the left, dismantled in 1962. 103 years have gone by And what ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 6:02pm -

St. Paul, Minn., circa 1908. "Robert Street." With dental parlors in Starbucksian abundance. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Olga From the VolgaThis title has nothing to do with the picture, but the abundance of dentists seems to have crowded out all the chop suey parlors (what the heck is he talking about?). Olga in the title was a fast and loose young lady immigrant, a real person from my teen years who was in high demand as a date and that is all I'll say about that. As for dentists, my father used to have his teeth repaired by a co-worker in a factory who had dabbled in dentistry and did his "practicing" in his home kitchen, very inexpensive and no painkillers. He also removed my dad's nasal polyps for him cheap. Ah, the good old days. Something's missing.The same view today from Seventh and Robert. View Larger Map In the old photo, the first Robert Street bridge, completed in 1885, can be seen in the distance. Best time to be bornEvery time I see a picture from 1908, I think of my beloved grandfather, who was born on Dec. 16 of that year. He said that it was the best time anyone could have been born (for reasons obvious to us history buffs, here on Shorpy). The last time I saw him, he reminded me of that, and what a great life he'd had. He apparently knew that he would be joining Grandma in the hereafter, soon, and didn't want me to be sad. He died a few months later, at the age of 83. Dr Lentz, lady (German) dentistI think people advertising in German was pretty common at the turn of the last century. (Think about that the next time you see signs in Spanish at a store.) But a lady dentist strikes me as much more unusual. +100Below is the same view, looking south from 7th, taken in September of 2008. Ryan HotelThat's the Ryan Hotel on the left, dismantled in 1962. 103 years have gone byAnd what happened to all the people that used to bustle about this street, I wonder. Maybe 5-7 people tops can be seen in the 2011 shot, as opposed to 40 to 50 people in 1908. Interesting. George Jetson was hereI want George Jetson's time machine so I can go step into this scene. I know he has one because the only way any car can obey the "cars stop here" sign is if they are flying ones. I want his bubble car and I want his time machine, and I want them now. [The cars of "Cars stop here" would be streetcars. - Dave] Where did the Packard go?I always like the before and after photos taken in the same location. However, I miss the 1907 Packard Model 30 that is in the lower right of the original photo. Don't Ogle OlgaThe picture below should make it abundantly clear that Dr. Lentz is all business. So sit back in the dental chair and open wide but Please, with a capital P that rhymes with T and that stands for Trouble! Right here in St. Paul. Please don't ogle Olga. Dr Olga, Zahnartzin.I lived in Minnesota for most of the 1980s, and there were still middle aged people who grew up remembering German as a first language in some of the smaller towns. The CarLooks to me like a Packard of about 1906, possibly a model S. One floor upToday, pedestrian traffic has abandoned Robert Street in favor of the skyways, except for those who waiting for a bus. The foreground has become, on both sides, the Securian Center - reflecting a successful effort at assembling enough contiguous class A office space and parking to host a corporate campus downtown. One building in the picture is standing today - the seven-story Manhattan Building (now known as the Empire Building) on the left side. Four of its historically-registered floors are visible above the Segal Shoes sign. From the Other Sideof the window of Dr. Olga A. Lentz - Dentist Minnesota's pioneering female dentistDr. Olga Lentz, shown here in her full glory. Quite a change!A time traveler from the past would be lost here. I see maybe 2-3 buildings that haven't changed. I wonder what another 100+ will look like. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Streetcars)
Pennsylvania Avenue: 1902
... the heck did they manage it? Willard's Hotel Visible just down the street, on the left. Site of decades of ... said of Washington, "Beelzebub reigns there, and Willard's Hotel is his temple." Tanked What's the tank behind the horses on the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 3:19pm -

"Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, 1902." Landmarks in this view from the Treasury steps at 15th Street include the Capitol and Old Post Office. On the bill at Chase's Polite Vaudeville: Capt. Woodward's trained seals. 8x10 inch glass negative by William Henry Jackson, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. One AutomobileOnly one automobile - and already they can't park for diddly! Horse Car TrailersBy the mid-1890s Washington ordered conversion of horse cars to electric power. The last horse car ran in April of 1900. This view shows new electric cars pulling smaller horse cars as trailers, a common feature in early days of conversion to electric streetcars. Of interest is the new Washington streetcar system will use overhead trolley lines, as opposed to the earlier conduit system (underground power supply). DC even had a brief fling with cable cars. [The "new" D.C. streetcar system used an underground power supply. -Dave] Amazing!It is a PERPETUAL wonder to me that in these old pictures everyone seems to be in the streets (horses, people, buggies, trams-you name it) and they (seemingly) don't collide with each other. Clearly there were no monitoring police or crosswalks-how the heck did they manage it? Willard's HotelVisible just down the street, on the left. Site of decades of political intrigue. Charles Templeton Strong famously said of Washington, "Beelzebub reigns there, and Willard's Hotel is his temple." TankedWhat's the tank behind the horses on the left? Dodge 'emkvenido mentioned all the street daredevils. A while back Dave posted a video of a film taken in San Francisco right before the 1906 earthquake. It was filmed from the front of a trolley, just one near hit after another. We've seen pictures of the train that used to travel down Tenth Avenue in Manhattan. There were over 400 people killed by that train during the time it ran. Life was cheap, I reckon. A PossibilityMy guess for the tank? Either for road tar, or, probably more likely for that era, cesspool cleaning. [Or water for street cleaning. - Dave] That actually makes me think of another possibility (which I've learned from reading newspapers of that era), when some cities used water to get the dust to lay down during dry spells. However, given that the streets were predominantly paved in the area, washing seems to be the correct answer. A nifty and oft-reproduced viewA survey of historic postcard views from this same location can be found here. Not a Horse CarI suggest that streetcar 35 is not an old horse car, but rather an old cable car being used as a trailer behind the new electric car. The doorway in the dasher was to make it easier to change the grip. Today's San Francisco cable cars have the same feature, but the door is usually closed. A look at nearly the same view, today.The clock-tower is still there, luckily enough. Little else however; progress, I suppose. View Larger Map (The Gallery, D.C., DPC, Streetcars, W.H. Jackson)
Chez Jackson: 1900
... catalogue. View full size. Chez Jackson = Hotel Richelieu Page 787 of the 1898 Detroit City Directory lists "Wm. H. ... photogr." as boarding at the house on the right -- the Hotel Richelieu, 420 2nd Avenue. In 1920, this address was renumbered to 2536 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 10:35pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1900. "W.H. Jackson residence." On the right, the home of William Henry Jackson, whose Western, Mexican and Florida photographs formed an important part of the Detroit Publishing catalogue. View full size. Chez Jackson = Hotel Richelieu Page 787 of the 1898 Detroit City Directory lists "Wm. H. Jackson, photogr." as boarding at the house on the right -- the Hotel Richelieu, 420 2nd Avenue. In 1920, this address was renumbered to 2536 2nd Ave. [map]. The water fountain in Cass Park can be seen off in the distance. In the 1899 and 1900 Directories, Jackson was living in a house seven blocks to the north at 706 2nd Avenue, which was on the southeast corner at Alexandrine Street. In the 1901 and 1902 Directories, he is living two blocks farther north at 154 Canfield Avenue. [Thank you! I had guessed wrong as to which half of the panorama showed the house. - Dave] Doomed canopyAll those stately American Elm trees, soon to disappear forever. A quiet and peaceful streetwhere life is only disturbed by the odd passing phantom! StreakersAre those wires coming from the left side of the Richelieu, or just photo defects? [Telephone wires. - Dave] Urban treesMany streets in Milwaukee (where I used to live) were lined with elm trees. They were indeed stately trees, beautiful in the summer and the fall, they even looked good in the winter. It was sad to lose them, most died and were cut down in the 50s and 60s, no other urban tree has their class. GreeneryCharming. Until I thought of the coal bin and saw that jungle of wires in the trees. If they only knew of the rubber-wheeled locomotives leaving the rails to roar up and down the streets. Those engineers bemoaning a bad economy,, they'd wish to stay in a simpler time. Give Me Today, Thank YouWhen I first saw this picture I thought " Wow. Wouldn't it be great to go back and live in one of these houses?" But, after some consideration, no thank you. I couldn't have afforded the neighborhood to begin with on my meager salary. Those were not the best of times either. Diseases such as typhoid, scarlet fever, measles, tuberculosis, malaria, all took their toll. Antibiotics, penicillin, even sulfa drugs, which were used in WW2, had not been invented. It may have been a more quiet time but I will stay in my own time thank you. Ah, DetroitAh, Detroit before the Dutch Elm disease epidemic! How lovely it was. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)
Beer, Bath & Beyond: 1940
March 1940. "Hotel. Austin, Nevada." With a cameo by our stream-drinker . Photo by Arthur ... Austin just did not go into this neighborhood. Half Hotel today ... but otherwise still there: Stat! Bring them ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/26/2018 - 2:12pm -

March 1940. "Hotel. Austin, Nevada." With a cameo by our stream-drinker. Photo by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Ladies wantedThese pictures of Austin, Nevada in 1940 show no signs of any women living there. I immediately thought of the "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" film from decades ago and then I had to wonder who these rough and ready male pioneers danced with in their leisure time on Saturday nights. Then again, maybe the genteel ladies in Austin just did not go into this neighborhood. Half Hotel today... but otherwise still there: Stat!Bring them buckaroos a bench! The Golden ClubIs still there next door. Only the first floor of the Hogan remains. Funky advertisementThe clean cut boy on the left looks like he's selling Arrow shirts. [Also seen here and here. -Dave] Not a backward ballcap in the bunchJust hats. Real men's hats. Pant CuffsThey were still the rage in the 1950s. We had to turn down and empty our cuffs before entering the house. Quite a surprise what would come out sometimes: wheat chaff, dead wasps, bottle caps, cigarette butts -- often as not things we didn't want our mothers to see! Question for ya!Guys, if I run back to my car & get my hat can I sit with you then??! Another Rain GutterIf you rotate the Google street view posted by PLA you will see another of these super large rain gutters still in use today on a building on the opposite side of the street. Comment for "Oldecoupe"Your comment was hilarious and reminded me that way back when (like the 1940's when I was a kid) every time some uncontrollable guy had too much to drink and was being removed from the premises, as they turned him around to evict him from the place, there was the inevitable question from the bouncer "Did he have a hat?" (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Eateries & Bars)
Adams Square: 1905
... Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Ames Hotel The tall building looming up behind the Adams Square Station is the ... recently been extensively renovated and is now the Ames Hotel. The view in the picture is looking down what is today essentially a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 11:06am -

Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1905. "Adams Square Station." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Ames HotelThe tall building looming up behind the Adams Square Station is the Ames Building, constructed around 1890, and once the tallest building in Boston. It has recently been extensively renovated and is now the Ames Hotel. The view in the picture is looking down what is today essentially a pedestrian walkway between State Street and City Hall (the single ugliest building in Boston, if not the entire Western Hemisphere), which today must be sitting right on top of where the station house was located. This part of Boston has been so completely transformed over time that I can't see anything else recognizable. For what it's worth, if you could look directly to your left, you would most likely be looking at Faneuil Hall - the actual Hall, not the Marketplace. Wonderful photograph! ShoesOn the extreme right is the first Morse Shoe store. Over the years it grew into a national distribution chain and expanded its outlets throughout the country. I worked for that company for 23 years in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. It was bought in the late '80s by the J. Baker Company and then that was bought in the '90s by FootStar. Morse was by far the better organization. Great composition -- sort of I really liked the composition and action in this wonderful street scene until I noticed the water pipe and dangling hose intruding at left center. What a bizarre placement. If the photographer was trying to frame the view with the dripping hose, he really muffed it. [As we can see above, Detroit Publishing retouched the pipe out of the image. - Dave] On an unrelated but happy note, check out all the street urchins. School must have been out that day. An inviting sceneSomething about this one -- maybe the views down multiple choices of street? -- make me especially want to walk into it and explore the city. The weather is nice, people are neatly dressed, and the stores have interesting signs. All gone!Adams Square Station, Scollay Square Station, and Haymarket Station were all built at the same time, and with identical "headhouses" (those buildings with the clocks where passengers entered at street level). Boston City Hall now sits directly on top of the old subway station site. The creation of Government Center got rid of the station and the entire neighborhood, as well as Scollay Square, back when Boston was enjoying urban renewal in the 1960s. A small part of the old tunnel between Scollay and Adams is still being used for secure (i.e., bomb-proof) document storage under City Hall. The statue of Samuel Adams that stood in the square now stands at Faneuil Hall. RetouchedHere's a postcard view, in fact the exact same image. The pipe at left has been retouched out, and the billboard no longer advertises Scotch whisky, but rather the postcard publisher. More here. [Love the puffy clouds! - Dave] (The Gallery, Boston, DPC, Horses, Streetcars)
Verandas of Vermont: 1904
... Street. Montpelier, Vermont, circa 1904. "Pavilion Hotel." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. ... I love the two guys checking out the hottie descending the hotel stairs. The Current Is A Rebuild -- Not A Renovation The story of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/26/2019 - 3:48pm -

        Principal workplace of the Governor of Vermont since 1971, the Second Empire style Pavilion is located at 109 State Street. Montpelier, Vermont, circa 1904. "Pavilion Hotel." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Nothing to see hereNo matter how I look at it, the lady descending the steps of the Pavilion appears to have no face. I think that's why the two gentlemen are staring ... and one looks like he's stopped dead in his tracks. Small is not necessarily badMontpelier is the smallest state capital in the U.S. by population. The Carriage TradeClick to embiggen. Ambulatin GawkersI love the two guys checking out the hottie descending the hotel stairs. The Current Is A Rebuild -- Not A RenovationThe story of the Pavilion's current incarnation is here: https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/13/archives/new-montpelier-pavilion-is-r... It's nice, at least, that no fires were involved. The only hotel still standingEast of the Mississippi that has not burned to the ground at least twice. Vermont cannot afford a Capital office building for the gov? Road applesCan you imagine if everybody used horses today? (The Gallery, DPC)
N.Y.C. & H.R.R.R.: 1900
... station is across the river in Rensselaer. Boston Hotel Restaurant? Perhaps the Boston Hotel restaurant is open for business. Any business. It's had a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/16/2021 - 9:54pm -

Albany, New York, circa 1900. "N.Y.C. & H.R.R.R. station." Temple of the New York Central and Hudson River Rail Road, topped off by a sculptural representation of Liberty and Justice over the state motto, EXCELSIOR. Also note the small sign behind the fire hydrant: DINNER NOW READY. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Dinner on the Down-LowThat curb-height sign is likely for the horses' benefit -- it's feedbag hour in Albany. (Don't tell me horses can't read; I used to watch Mr. Ed, and I know better.) Capital assetNot every station has its own book (sadly, many never got the chance) Union StationClosed in 1981 and repurposed for office space. The new train station is across the river in Rensselaer. Boston Hotel Restaurant?Perhaps the Boston Hotel restaurant is open for business. Any business. It's had a better fate than mostThe first office space this station was converted to was for Norstar Bancorp. I was given a tour in 1989 and was able to find one photo of the lobby in a November 2009 Albany Times Union article about the building's changing status. I do not know what became of it after Bank of America moved out. The original lobby was even more grand than the renovated one because the renovation included raising the lobby floor one level. (The Gallery, Albany, DPC, Railroads)
Washington Sleeps Here: 1922
... one spot was not all that important even in 1922. Hotel Potomac The Hotel Potomac across the street retains at least some of the structure, and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/14/2014 - 12:01pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1922. "New Jersey Avenue S.E. from B Street." Lodgings in this view from the House Office Building include the Potomac, Congress Hall and President hotels (sign at left), as well as the George Washington Inn. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Always One in Every CrowdAll the cars parked left to right except one. That owner backed in. Even Then --Looking at the car parked at the end on the bottom right, I see that pulling in straight and taking only one spot was not all that important even in 1922. Hotel PotomacThe Hotel Potomac across the street retains at least some of the structure, and sits on the same site, of the old Conrad and McMunn boardinghouse, where Thomas Jefferson lived while he was vice president. Alas, that whole block would be razed in 1929. What a beautiful sidewalkThat would be the envy of any city today. There it isWhat would a Shorpy photo be like if there were no milk bottles on the window sill? Interesting vehicleAnyone know what kind of car the 3rd car from the right is? Unusual as it has no front radiator. [It's a circa 1916 Franklin, which used an air-cooled engine. - Dave] Car ID's suggestionsFront row R to L: Studebaker; Star; Franklin; Velie; unknown; Ford; Studebaker; Studebaker; Haynes; Ford; Dodge(dirty); Pierce-Arrow; Studebaker; Buick; 2 Ford coupes; hidden car; Ford sedan etc. Back row two cars in front of bus and three directly in back are all Fords including one converted to a truck. Car with plate 10845 with knife edge styling is a Hudson. Others need more study. The House SideThe hotels are on the present site of the Longworth House Office Building. The Cannon Building, from which the photo was taken, was built about 1908. B Street is now Independence Avenue; the photo looks toward C Street SE. South Capitol Street, which divides the quadrants, is a block west (right) between Longworth and the Rayburn Building, which was built in the early 1960s. Something's WrongIt's actually several years past 1922. The District of Columbia license plates seen on the cars indicate that this photo was actually taken in 1925. The format of the 1925 D.C. plate, with "Dist. Col. 1925" between the bolt slots is a one year only feature. Confirming the date is the presence of a late 1924 or 1925 model Pierce Arrow Model 80 (12th car from the right). Other cars at the beginning of the row: 1920-1921 Studebaker Big 6 (Model EG) 1922 Star (made by Durant Motors) 1914 - 1916 Franklin Series 8 (note electric lights) 1925 Cleveland Six Model 43 1920 - 1922 Oldsmobile Model 46 Ford Model T Note how few cars have front wheel brakes. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
A Sign Onto You: 1912
... incredible palace in the background? [It's the Hotel Astor . - Dave] Her Majesty seems a bit amused over the brouhaha. Hotel Astor Roof Gardens The enormous mansard roof housed the hotel's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/12/2011 - 2:20pm -

New York, February 23, 1912. "Three-ton electric sign blown into Broadway." 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size. Attention New YorkersWhat's that incredible palace in the background? [It's the Hotel Astor. - Dave] Her Majestyseems a bit amused over the brouhaha. Hotel Astor Roof GardensThe enormous mansard roof housed the hotel's ballrooms, while the rooftop sported gardens and an eatery. A clever use of space, but the bane of architectural researchers. Whenever I collect local information about antebellum Southern mansions, the locals always insist there was a ballroom in the attic. Not a good sign!It's fair to say that this was a sign of trouble. Everything must goWas there any chance the sign was an advertisement for a sidewalk sail? Rock bottom prices? Cash and scary? Cash and scurry? Low, low overhead certainly. Ticket OfficeToo bad the crashed sign didn't read: "BUY YOUR TITANIC TICKETS HERE! Only seven weeks until sensational return voyage to Great Britain!" BIG WIND BRINGS HAVOC AND DEATHThe winds reached 100 MPH that day and caused massive havoc and numerous deaths and injuries. (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, NYC, Streetcars)
Chelsea Piers: 1912
... NY Sun - Oct 15 1911 Would you stay at the TERMINAL Hotel? Does anyone ever check out? Somewhere out there A traction ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/15/2024 - 3:02pm -

New York, 1912. "New Chelsea Piers on the Hudson." Feast your eyes on this veritable visual smorgasbord. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Gloriously Good! Cork TippedProbably my favorite things to look for in these pictures are the advertising signs. I never smoked or even saw a Nebo cigarette, but now I'd like to just because of that sign. One of the things I miss the most from my childhood and early adulthood is the wide variety of tobacco advertising and many of these old signs are getting to be valuable to collectors. Imagine the price of a big Nebo sign if you could even find one! White Star LinesWhere the Titanic was headed when it had an unexpected detour. The Carpathia would tie up there and discharge the survivors. Here's your Hopkins Manufacturing Building....View Larger Map Play ball! (or anything else)With commercial* and passenger shipping long gone, several of the piers have now been repurposed into a huge, multi-sport athletic facility. Their nautical past hasn't completely vanished, however, as they contain docking facilities for several party/dinner-cruise ships and a marina. Prior to the athletic facility's opening about 15 years ago the piers had been decrepit for many years. The streetcar yard in the lower right is most likely that of the 23rd Street Crosstown Line, which ran along the street of that name from river to river. It was among the last of Manhattan's streetcar lines to be "bustituted" in the mid-1930's. Today the athletic facility is a fairly long walk from the nearest subway station, that of the C and E trains at 23rd Street and Eighth Avenue, but that certainly hasn't hurt its popularity. * = shipping certainly hasn't disappeared from New York Harbor, it's just that with the advent of container shipping most activity has relocated to New Jersey, with some in Staten Island and Brooklyn Working hardThey're working up a sweat in the upper floor offices of the Steel Construction building! Funnels and mastsThe sight of all those funnels and masts poking up from the successive piers is a visual tease of the very best kind. Not the Night before ChristmasLease. The Cross & Brown Company has leased for the Clement Moore estate the plot 100 X 95 feet at 548 to 554 West Twenty-second street for a term of years at an aggregate rent of $250,000. The property will be improved with a four story and basement fireproof building, to be occupied by the Hopkins Manufacturing Company of Hanover. Pa., as a carriage factory. James N Wells's Sons were associated as brokers In the transaction.' NY Sun - Oct 15 1911 Would you stay at the TERMINAL Hotel? Does anyone ever check out? Somewhere out thereA traction modeler is dreaming of the layout he'll base on this photo as soon as his Significant Other agrees to give up the spare room. Strictly Limited EngagementA swift plummet down the Google hole reveals that "A Scrape o' the Pen" was a Scottish comedy that ran for just under three months at Weber's Music Hall. The names of the actors in the cast read like pitch-perfect parodies of themselves, perhaps from a unmade Coen Brothers period film. I note only the delightful Fawcett Lomax, who sailed back without delay after the show closed to Liverpool, aboard the Lusitania, in December, 1912. Drafting - the old way!My eyes, too, were drawn to the top floor of the steel construction building. The white shirts and ties, and the tell-tale bend of the torso, makes me believe that this is the drafting room. No CAD terminals, just wonderful old T-squares, triangles, and compasses. Those were the days! Not just a flash in the pan"A Scrape O' The Pen" apparently entertained a worldwide audience over several years. Here's a 1915 review from a run in Adelaide, Australia: A Scrape o' the Pen. In the olden days in Scotland no funeral was complete without its professional mourner, and in Mr. Graham Moffat's Scottish comedy, "A Scrape o' the Pen," which opens at the Theatre Royal on Saturday, Mr. David Urquhart, who delighted theatregoers here as Weelum in "Bunty Pulls the Strings" will humorously depict Peter Dalkeith, a paid mourner, which profession he has adopted, owing to his being jilted by the girl of his choice. This, and such old-time customs as Hogmanay, first footing, &c, have provided Mr. Moffat with excellent material for his new comedy. The story of the play is concerned with the romantic marriage of a young boy and girl according to Scottish law, the young fellow leaving for Africa immediately after signing the papers, and the subsequent adventures of the wife he leaves behind. Mr. and Mrs. Moffat are appearing in the original parts of Mattha and Leezie Inglis, and will have the support of a newly-augmented company of Scottish players. Pier 62On the west side of Manhattan piers are numbered by this method: the cross street plus 40. Thus, Pier 62 (the number above the "American Line" pier) is located on 22nd Street. Therefore Peter's estimation that the streetcar yard is on 23rd Street appears to be correct. Interestingly, this photo captures a streetcar about to enter or exit the yard. If there is a clock in view, a date in 1912 for the photo, a streetcar schedule and some streetcar records still around, we might know which streetcar, which direction it was heading and who was driving it. Might even find the fare collection records and know how many people rode that run that day. Ahhh, history's mysteries. Quaker StateAttached is an advertisement, perhaps another Billboard, flacking Old Quaker Rye Whiskey. Looks like 3 Clubmen welcoming their Bootlegger, possibly Benjamin Franklin. Quakers are allowed to imbibe but not at the Meeting House. Can anyone tell meThe purpose of the frameworks that extend above the edges of the pier roofs? My guess is that they re to prevent the rigging of masted ships from tearing into the roofs themselves - anyone have a better guess? Highly sought afterbut rarely found; honesty in a rye whiskey. Chelsea PiersThe steel frameworks on the roofs held the tracks for the rigid or roll-up heavy pier side doors during vessel unloading. One of the few...trucks in this picture: just above the Old Quaker whiskey sign. Broadway JonesThe great George M. Cohan wrote the script, composed the score, directed, and starred in "Broadway Jones," a comedy about a boy who inherits a chewing gum factory, saves the company, and wins the heart of the girl. His father, Jere, and his mother, Nellie, costarred. I can tell youThe girderwork at the edges of the finger piers can also be used in conjunction with ships' tackle to extend the reach for loading and unloading cargo. Henry B. Harris of Titanic fame presents - "The Talker"Interesting that a partially hidden billboard for the 1912 play "The Talker" produced by Henry B Harris would be so close the the White Star Line pier. Harris being a celebrity who lost his life on board the Titanic in April of 1912. Two largest shipsThe twin funneled liner at Pier 60 appears to be the White Star Liner RMS Oceanic (1899) and, further away at Pier 56 is the RMS Campania (1893). And on our leftin the distance is 463 West Street home of Bell Labs, where many devices we take for granted were invented. And in the distance to the right, over in Hoboken one can see the North German Lloyd piers, and to their right the Holland America pier which appeared earlier in Shorpy. Mercantile Marine Co.Interesting story about the company that owned all of the ship lines at these piers here. The Nebo ManYears before the Marlboro man rode the range there was Nebo man looking so cool with color coordinated tie and hat plus I'm sure he lit that match with the tip of his thumb's fingernail. Dog ParkIs that where the dog park is now? In the bottom right hand corner, where all the train/trolley cars are parked? (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC, Streetcars)
Sleeps Two: 1920
... the fabric over. Maybe the fellow is still growing. Hotel Imperial The 1907 City Directory lists a Hotel Imperial at 951 Eddy Street and a building matching the hotel in the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/09/2014 - 6:02pm -

San Francisco circa 1920. "Chalmers touring car on Eddy Street." Equipped with what seems to be a bed. 5x7 negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. Who packed the shovel?Hank and Maggie off to bury Grandma in the woods. Optional at Extra Cost"Equipped with what seems to be a bed." Or a dead body. Great Moments in Motoring, Part 237Disgusted with scuffed sidewalls, Rupert Hassenpfeffer invents "perpendicular parking." Off The CuffLooks like homemade cuffs on the guy's trousers. The kind you get by folding the fabric over. Maybe the fellow is still growing. Hotel ImperialThe 1907 City Directory lists a Hotel Imperial at 951 Eddy Street and a building matching the hotel in the photo still stands at that address. The third home on the left may also be standing. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
Xmas Post Office: 1919
... registering its vehicles with the states or DC? The Hotel Continental "The large 400 North Capitol Plaza office complex, still ... was subsequently constructed on the sites of the Dodge Hotel and the Hotel Continental, which had occupied the adjacent lot on North ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/28/2012 - 9:53am -

Washington, D.C., 1919. "Post Office a la cart." Deck the truck with boughs of holly! National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Licensed in DCThe post office truck has what appears to be a standard 1919 District of Columbia license plate rather than a US Government plate. Anyone know when the federal government started issuing its own license plates rather than registering its vehicles with the states or DC? The Hotel Continental"The large 400 North Capitol Plaza office complex, still standing today, was subsequently constructed on the sites of the Dodge Hotel and the Hotel Continental, which had occupied the adjacent lot on North Capitol Street and was also torn down in 1972." Link Truck IDPackard. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Christmas, D.C., Natl Photo)
Spring Break: 1941
March 5, 1941. "Raleigh Hotel, Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida. Pool from center. L. Murray Dixon, ... a streetlight, but of course it did not stick)! Classy Hotel Wow. Looks like a great place; still there with the pool area ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/15/2013 - 10:22am -

March 5, 1941. "Raleigh Hotel, Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida. Pool from center. L. Murray Dixon, architect." Gottscho-Schleisner photo. View full size. MinkWhen I see these semi-tropical pictures of palm trees and sunbathers and guys on the diving board, I always wonder why in the world my grandmother would take her mink wrap down to Miami Beach. (Wrap: bigger than stole, smaller than coat.) Was it ever cool enough for her to wear it without melting down? The Wild Blue YonderIn 1942 most of those hotels and were taken over by the US Army Air Corps to house and train GIs. I believe the Raleigh was one of them. Pretty good duty station. Cool Mandavidk, yes it does get cold enough. I have been in Miami when it was 32F (0 C). We even had snow here in Orlando a few years ago (well I could see it against a streetlight, but of course it did not stick)! Classy HotelWow. Looks like a great place; still there with the pool area apparently intact. The Raleigh back in the dayFrom LIFE magazine, December 29, 1947. I can recognize those legs anywhereThat's Betty Grable sunbaking poolside. 1967was the year that I, as a 11 year old growing up in Miami Beach, would sneak in to the pool area for free weenie roasts on Fridays. There was also a neat Buckaroo pin ball machine in the sundry shop, three games for a quarter. Good old days when the neighborhood was nice, clean and slow going. (The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, Miami)
The Draper: 1907
1907. "Northampton, Massachusetts -- Draper Hotel." Where the amenities include an American Express office and Boyden's ... at far right and left) match and line up with the Draper Hotel/Fitch Block. Someone was building nearly an entire street at once. Very ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/25/2015 - 10:05am -

1907. "Northampton, Massachusetts -- Draper Hotel." Where the amenities include an American Express office and Boyden's "Dining Parlor." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Then and Now: 106 years laterComposite of several Google Streetview images from 2013. A bit more crude than I'd hoped, but still interesting, I think. Click here for large version (3330x2612). Nice job TimBIt is certainly a shame to see the middle and right side gone. I do wonder about the reason for taking down such an important part of the total structure and then building whatever "that" is ? Boyden's sign was impressiveI love the lettering and smooth edge surfaces in his sign. I wonder if it's hiding in someone's barn now. StreetscapeThe outermost buildings (cut off at far right and left) match and line up with the Draper Hotel/Fitch Block. Someone was building nearly an entire street at once. Very imposing! Awnings and windowsNote the different shapes of the lintel stones on each of the upper three floors, gradually becoming more arched the higher you go. Plus the upper floor has hooped awnings as opposed to the square-edged awnings of the two floors underneath. Lovely details. A few blocks short, these daysToday, only the westernmost block of the Old Draper Hotel, remains. It is composed of segmental brownstone window arches, quoining at the corners, and brick dentils beneath the iron cornice. The letter "F" appears, grandly stamped in the center of the roof pediment. - Historic Northampton. View Larger Map Is that Calvin Coolidge?...driving the buggy? Three years later, Silent Cal would be elected mayor of Northampton. And only a few steps awayGallons of cold, refreshing Blatz! Modern ArchitectureMy 7th great-grandfather was one of the original settlers of Northampton in the mid 1600s. Of course, except for some old headstones at the local cemetery, there's nothing left from that era in Northampton. These buildings would seem so modern to those original settlers, I can't imagine what they would think of how that little village had grown! Fitch BlockOn the Historic Northampton web-site page "Main Street-Northeast", (which is cited, but not literally, by J W Wright) is written: J.M. Miner planned a group of buildings, The Fitch Hotel and two hotel blocks, to replace the burned-down Warner House. Today, only the westernmost block, of the Old Draper Hotel, remains. Writing it that way it seems as if the Fitch Hotel had been flanked by two other hotels, where the western most was called Old (??) Draper Hotel. But the Historic Buildings of Massachusetts site says about the old Draper Hotel: After it [the Warner House] was destroyed by fire in 1870, a new building, planned by J.M. Miner, was constructed on its former location on Main Street. Called the Fitch Hotel, it consisted of a central block flanked by two wings. ..... The hotel, located at 179 Main Street, later became the Draper Hotel. This last citation seems to describe the situation as it has been: All three blocks belonged to the Fitch Hotel (hence the name "Fitch Block" an the "F" monograms in the center of the roof pediment of the façades of the two wings). Later on the Fitch Hotel became the Draper Hotel. It never had the name "Old Draper Hotel", but as it stopped existing, you may speak of the old Draper Hotel. There remains one thing which puzzles me. The Historic Buildings of Massachusetts site, gives a citation of an article (“Industrial Northampton”) that appeared in Western New England (Vol. I, No. 11, October, 1911), which ends with the line: The Draper offers both American and European rates. I can't figure out what that might have meant. Different prices? Paying in different currencies alowed? But if the last is true, then I wonder what was meant by European rate. Or was Europe equal to England for American people of that time? (The Gallery, DPC, Eateries & Bars, Stores & Markets)
Beach Buggies: 1910
The Sunshine State circa 1910. "South entrance, Hotel Ormond, Ormond, Fla." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit ... like Elvis, right? Which one is Don Cox? Gorgeous Hotel! When did it burn? Love these old hotels Too bad so many have ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/24/2021 - 10:48pm -

The Sunshine State circa 1910. "South entrance, Hotel Ormond, Ormond, Fla." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Right Hand WheelsNot being a car guy like so many other Shorpy users I am surprised to see all the autos are right-hand drive. I didn't realize that was the prevalent state of affairs in 1910. At first I thought this must be a mirror image post but clearly not the case since the signs are all readable. As so often happens, I learned something new on Shorpy today! Car IDStoddard-Dayton on the left, and Elmore. He's everywhere, like Elvis, right?Which one is Don Cox? Gorgeous Hotel!When did it burn? Love these old hotelsToo bad so many have burned down. I figured that was probably the fate of The Ormond until I Googled it. Even after being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 it was still razed to make room for a condo project in 1992. What's leftThe Cupola lives on in Fortunato Park in Ormond Beach. History of the place is here. Right Hand Steeringwas the norm until the Model T changed it all. Henry's reason for left-hand steering was to allow the passengers to safely exit the vehicle on the curb side. It also gave the driver a better line-of-sight of oncoming traffic for purposes of passing and turning left. Given the shear sheer volume of cars Ford produced, the entire industry was compelled to follow along. (The Gallery, Bicycles, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Florida)
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