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Motown: 1942
... I've included a picture of how it looks today, taken at night. Stuttgart in Detroit Ever notice how gas stations will park an ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2012 - 10:53am -

Detroit, July 1942. "Looking east on Farnsworth Street with the Rackham Memorial Building at right and Detroit Institute of Art on the left." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Arthur Siegel. View full size. What a gasA particular treat to see some period gas stations in glorious living color for a change. Horace Rackham 1858-1933Horace Rackham is the lawyer that drew up the incorporation papers for the Ford Motor Co. He invested $5,000 in 1903 and sold out for $12.5 million in 1919. He gave most of his fortune away as this photo shows. TrucksEver notice that you almost never see a truck in these old photos? If you do see one, they are usually some kind of delivery vehicle. I guess people didn't use them around town like they do now. (And heated seats, power windows, and 15 cup holders weren't options at the time.) 65 years laterOnly three of the buildings in the foreground are still standing: The Detroit Institute of Arts, Rackham, and the Scarab Club (the brick building directly behind the white gas station). The area is now home of the Wright African American History Museum & the Detroit Science Center. Check out a current view. Yellow stop signsI had forgotten that stop signs were not red until sometime in the 1950s. I see a yellow octagonal stop sign at the corner of Farnsworth in front of the red-roofed gas station. I went to Wayne State 40 years ago. I was familiar with this area. I just did a Google satellite view and see it has changed tremendously since my last visit decades ago. Not much traffic on the streetI sent this photo on to friends and one asked "you don't see much traffic in these photos." I replied, "it's wartime, gas and vehicles are rationed." He replied, "Oh!" He is so much younger than myself. [Vehicles weren't really "rationed" -- they weren't being manufactured at all. One factor limiting car use was the general unavailability of tires. The rubber on your car had to last "for the duration." - Dave] Slight correctionThis would be looking WEST on Farnsworth as the DIA is south of the Rackham. Love the image! Thanks! [You have your directions mixed up. DIA is north of the Rackham Building and the caption is correct. - Dave] Packard Motors PlantThe old Packard Motors Plant (still standing today, but long abandoned) can be seen near the top center of the full-size picture, just to the left of the large checkered water tower on the horizon. I think the large building of the same style to the right of the tower is part of the complex as well. I've included a picture of how it looks today, taken at night. Stuttgart in DetroitEver notice how gas stations will park an interesting car on the corner? Grand AvenueThe Packard plant is the set of buildings to the right of the Cold Storage (the almost-white building with the water tower on top, near top center), which still stands as of 10/2011, though I believe it is vacant. I think the checkered tower was actually a fuel tank on the grounds of Detroit City Airport (the tank is gone and the airport is now Coleman Young International) and the long building to the left is what would later be called Russell Industrial Center (also still standing) It also looks that the last building had a big red sign on the top in this picture, but I am unable to read it. What is really amazing is to compare this photo from the old Maccabees Building to the current view on Google Earth, and see just how much of the background of this scene is THE SAME, albeit vacant. Tastes like FassbierHad not thought about Altes beer for decades, up until seeing that billboard across the street from the red roofed gas station. Growing up northern Ohio in the 60's, I heard a good deal about Detroit-area products and geography via radio stations WJR and CKLW. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Arthur Siegel, Detroit Photos)
James Dawson: 1902
... exposure, just like Dawson. It all happened late one night when my friend was caught short whilst walking home. He turned into a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/17/2012 - 11:41am -

"James Dawson, arrested for Indecent Exposure. North Shields Police Station, 9th June 1902." Our first image from a photograph album of prisoners brought before the North Shields Police Court in England between 1902 and 1916, now in the collection of the Tyne &amp; Wear Archives and Museums. View full size. The fingers!Look at his fingers! They are long, strange, with compound joints or something. Nice mustache, though. James, James, James That's funny, he doesn't look at all suspicious. Creepy handsLooks like we found Jack the Ripper. Those hands look like they can eviscerate a human in 5 seconds. Times ChangeWonder what he actually did? Back then indecent exposure could have been walking down the street with no shirt on. Marked for many livesWonder if he was actually convinced of this crime? Sure doesn't look happy about the charge. [One would hope he'd be convinced if convicted.] People wear three piece suits for police mug shots?The Shields Daily Gazette (dated 9 June 1902) provides a little more information: "Today at North Shields, before Mr. J. Walton and Mr. T. Byers, James Dawson (38), a shoe maker, was charged on a warrant with behaving in an indecent manner in Albion Road on the 15th inst. Mr. G. R. Duncan prosecuted, and Mr. A. Whitehorn defended. Accused, who is a married man, was sent to prison for one month in the second division." The 1911 census of England lists a likely candidate - James Dawson (46), a boot maker born in Leeds and living at 46 Sidney Street, North Shields, married to Mary Ann (45), with five children living at home - George Albert (25), James (18), Eva (14), Thomas (16) and Willie (4). An additional child, Amelia (12) is listed in the 1901 census; the family is living in Chirton, Northumberland, and James is listed as a boot repairer and shop keeper. In 1881, they are in Leeds (10 Prince of Wales Yard, Marsh Lane), with James listed as a boot riveter; also living with them is James's mother, Margaret (58). For a sex offender He was probably polite. The eyes of an angry manHe looks pretty torqued off that he got caught! A tale gone awry Red Riding Hood: "My, Mr Dawson, what large >hands< you have!" Mr Dawson: "Why-uh-the-the better to REPAIR YOUR BOOTS, MY PRETTY!!" Common Decency British StyleUhm, gee, what wasn't this fellow wearing? His hat and tie? Better late than neverTen people "like" you. Not exactly William Mossop is he?I wonder what Master would say? You only rent beerMr. Dawson was on his way home from the pub, lamenting the particular lack of conveniences in North Shields. "I'll just duck behind this shrub, nobody will notice" he thought. A bit cloudy from several ales, he failed to notice the town constable standing on the verandah beside him. The lad&#039;s gannin doonWay aye, this wanker is gannin to gaol for offending the lads and lasses of Toon. Let he who is without sinManalto may well be right. Perhaps Mr Dawson is not quite the dangerous pervert which he looks but rather an ordinary man seething with resentment at his arrest. Many years ago, when I was 16 or 17, a school friend of mine was arrested for indecent exposure, just like Dawson. It all happened late one night when my friend was caught short whilst walking home. He turned into a quiet street and, as he was furtively relieving himself against a wall, he felt a hand on his shoulder and a voice said "Expensive piss, son". It was a pair of policemen who were probably just looking for an excuse to return to the warm police station with a prisoner. My friend was duly convicted of Indecent Exposure and fined. Oh, how we laughed. The handwritingThe fancy handwriting for such a utilitarian sign fascinates me. I guess that people who grew up learning to write with a pen you had to dip in wet ink are more likely to make those kinds of flourishes? Even when they're writing in chalk? Maybe? Palmer MethodEvery schoolchild was trained cursive penmanship; this slate demonstrates an individualized variant of standard handwriting for the era. (Tyne & Wear)
Lady of Larkspur: 1955
... That's it then. Time for me to go". She fell asleep that night and never awoke. That was her amazing life just like Fanny. Ours ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 01/11/2023 - 7:42pm -

Frances Dorsey "Fanny" Cagwin, along with her husband George, were our neighbors in Larkspur, California, where they'd lived since 1905. Frances had been a school teacher in Virginia City, Nevada when she met George, and they married in 1887 at Carson City, where he was employed at the U.S. Mint. She was an accomplished musician, and in the living room of their Craftsman style home could be found a gleaming Steinway rosewood square grand piano. A wedding gift of her father to her mother, it had made the trip from New York by ship around Cape Horn to San Francisco, then by horse-drawn freight over the Sierras to Virginia City. Follow the link in George's name to see him and get a glimpse of his eventful life. Frances died in 1958 at the age of 92, and George in 1959 at 102. My big brother, then in high school and doing gardening work and errand-running for the Cagwins, took this Ansco Color slide with his then-new Leidolf Lordox 24x36 35mm camera. View full size. A good lifeemanates from this woman. I hope her husband's survival of her death was not unduly painful. Memories Of My GranMy grandmother Nellie looks just like this lady and lived to the same age. She and her husband Tom met on a boat to Australia in the 1900's and married out there where he was a ranch hand (a cowboy for all intents and purposes). In 1984 my grandparents came over here to visit my American bride and myself when she was 90. Someone asked Nellie how the flight was (she had never flown on a plane until then) and she said "Well! Once you are up there you can't get down" My grandparents died within a few hours of each other, and when Nellie heard that Tom died, she said to the nurse "Well! That's it then. Time for me to go". She fell asleep that night and never awoke. That was her amazing life just like Fanny. Ours was a different experienceFrances Dorsey "Fanny" Cagwin is charming. The photograph is beautiful. It's a blessing when neighbors get along so well. When I was in second grade, my family moved into a neighborhood that had better proximity to schools. Our house was on a corner, so we really had only one next door neighbor. Our introduction to that neighbor was when the man of the house showed my father where the property line was. The relationship deteriorated from there. Lovely neighborsTterrace, your brother's photo turned out much better than one I tried to take of our neighbor, Mrs. Laughlin, who lived across the graded dirt road from our family farm in Callahan, Florida. I was about 12 and had the use of my my dad's Signet 80 for the summer of 1964. You wouldn't think I could mess up the focus using a rangefinder, but I managed it! Fanny looks young for her ageIn 1955, she would have been 89 and certainly doesn't look 89! Fanny definitely looks to have been a fascinating lady with a life to match. I love how people dressed in the 1950's and everybody dressed up to go anywhere. Thank you tterrace for sharing such a great photo. I wondered where you had been and good to see you posting photos again! (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
Grizzly Gas: 1942
... 1.0 Attention, you by the gas pumps, tonight, for one night only, the fabulous Blues Brothers Revue. And it’s Ladies’ Night. I-90 into Missoula is now Broadway Missoula has grown and now ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/21/2021 - 11:10am -

April 1942. "Missoula, Montana. Entering the town." Grizz vs. Pennz at fifty paces. Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Office of War Information. View full size. Hope that Pennzoil sign survivedA full bell porcelain Pennzoil with the stand. Oh my ... I would die and go to heaven to have that signage. Just beautiful. Things you can do in Missoula#1 - Buy gas. #2 - Buy more gas. What this town needsis a gas station. Putting 20 cents in perspectiveAccording to a National Archives summary of 1940 Census data, average wage income in that year was $1,368. Even assuming wages had risen to $1,500 a year with the onset of the war--or roughly $29 a week--a 10-gallon fill-up for $2 would still be a nontrivial hit to your pretax pay. Source: https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2012/spring/1940.html VehicleWhat is that bug-eyed conveyance on the highway? [A loud Buick! - Dave] The GrizzlymobileGas jockey drives it up and down the strip broadcasting: "Get gas at Grizzly for just 17.9 cents a gallon." Loud Speaker CDI think it's a Civil Defense vehicle with loudspeakers. [Or is it the Grizzly Gasoline parade car, with the company logo on each door and GRIZZLY emblazoned on each loudspeaker? - Dave] In the more things change department ...Gas at 19 cents per gallon would be roughly $3.20 a gallon in today's dollars. Pricey! Bluesmobile 1.0Attention, you by the gas pumps, tonight, for one night only, the fabulous Blues Brothers Revue. And it’s Ladies’ Night. I-90 into Missoula is now BroadwayMissoula has grown and now some of the old highways are streets. I found this by getting the mountains to line up as in John Vachon's 1942 photograph. Also, if you back up the Google street view a little and swing to the left I believe the two story building with a sign in front saying, Colonial is the same two story building in the 1942 photograph with a sign in front saying, Texaco. Grizz territoryInteresting to see the Grizzly name on the gas station. The University of Montana was founded in Missoula in 1893. Turns out the first mention of a college mascot was in 1897, when they used live bear cubs to promote their athletic teams, known as the Bears. The "Grizzlies" name was adopted in 1923. Last GasIs that another Texaco station way down the road? (The Gallery, Gas Stations, John Vachon, Small Towns)
Bourbon and Coke: 1937
... My last stay in N.O.L.A. was in 1995 when our Saturday night on Bourbon Street consisted only of the above, but I could be wrong. The ... With her sister, Miss Irma, she owned and operated two night clubs featuring live music entertainment. During the '50s and '60s, they ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 11:02am -

New Orleans, Louisiana, circa 1937. "Bayou Pom Pom Grocery, 701 Bourbon Street at St. Peters Street." Ice, wood, coal, Coke and oysters -- let me in! 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. &quot;Twice as good, twice as much&quot;If this was Royal Crown's slogan, it wasn't very good. When I looked at it the first time, it seemed to me that they were saying it's twice as good, quality that is, and twice the price. What they were trying to say is that it was twice the quality (of Coca-Cola) and twice the quantity (The Coke bottle held only 6 ounces, RC Cola was 12.) Pepsi on the other hand started running this jingle on the radio in the late 1930s: Pepsi-Cola hits the spot 12 full ounces, that's a lot Twice as much for a nickel too Pepsi-Cola is the drink for you. By 1939, Pepsi's sales had doubled. Bars, strip clubs, red lights, jazzDon't think there are any grocery stores on Bourbon Street anymore. My last stay in N.O.L.A. was in 1995 when our Saturday night on Bourbon Street consisted only of the above, but I could be wrong. The ravages of old age make it unlikely that I will ever return there but I've had my share of "smokin', drinkin, doin' the hootchy coo." Still, its nice to reminisce as I mull over the song "Don't get around much anymore." Life is good, rejoice and be glad. The Cat&#039;s MeowThis location is now the home of The Cat's Meow, which bills itself as World's Best Karaoke Bar. Looks like the lamppost/street sign has survived, though! &quot;Twice as much for a nickel too&quot;In South Carolina they sang "Twice as much for a penny more". We had a tax that made Coke six cents and Pepsi seven cents. S.C. is often a little strange. Still making groceries in the QuarterRouses Grocery at 701 Royal, Quartermaster Deli and Market at 1100 Bourbon. Sadly, the Verti Marte at 1201 Royal burned earlier this year. I'll take two loaves of Liedenhiemer's bread and a Hubigs pie, peach. Send me a truckloadThe price on the oysters seem quite reasonable! Pepsi-Cola &quot;Jingle Tap&quot;My Uncle Sid salvaged an old bar complete with back shelves and installed them in his basement in the mid 50's. As a eight year old, I coveted the big chrome plated Pepsi-Cola soda fountain tap he had. It was complete with the red, white and blue Pepsi logo and contained a music box which played the Pepsi jingle when the tap was activated. My Uncle Ernest was a chemist for Pepsi. He compounded the flavor essence that went into the syrup. I remember going to the corner "party store", as we called them in Detroit, on hot summer days in the 50's and getting a Pepsi or Coke out of the cooler filed with ice water. Although the "pop" was only ten cents, we drank it on the premises to avoid the two cents deposit which we spent on penny candy or baseball cards. Re: The Tipsters Uncle SidVictor Borge had a similar story about a chemist who compounded a new lemon flavored carbonated drink. He called it "5 Up", he put it on the market in 1925 but it didn't sell enough to make it worthwhile. He went back to his lab and reworked the formula, found another backer and released it again in 1928. This time he called it "6 Up", it too failed. He died shortly after, of a broken heart, never knowing how close he came. Pom Pom and Pim PumWe have a West Indian corner market here in Springfield, Mass., called the Pim Pum, which always strikes me as odd. I wonder if Pom Pom and Pim Pum are related and how they relate to groceries. I guess I'll have to stop into the Pim Pum one day and ask them about their name. A bit of Bayou Pom Pom in the Big CityWhat, a reference to "Bayou Pom Pom" passes over the heads of kids these days? Back in the day, the mere mention of this fictional place would raise smiles. The Cajun one-horse town of Bayou Pom-Pom was invented by Louisiana comedian Walter Coquille. His comic monologue "The Mayor of Bayou Pom-Pom" was released on Brunswick Records in 1929, and sold so well that he was brought back to record a number of sequels. This was the first recording of Cajun humor, long before Justin Wilson. Dixie&#039;s Bar of MusicThe Fasnacht sisters, Dixie and Irma, opened Dixie’s Bar of Music on 200 block of St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans in 1939. The house band included Dixie herself on clarinet, Judy Ertle on trumpet, Johnny Senac on bass, and Dorothy "Sloopy" Sloop on piano. Advertised as "New Orleans’ Biggest Little Club," Dixie’s became a favorite hangout of local and visiting national entertainers. In 1949, the club was moved to the Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, where it remained a popular spot until it closed in the late 1960s. However true, but now the real story! Miss Dixie Fasnacht has been a New Orleans fixture since the Roaring 20s. She was a musician, singer and leader of nationally recognized "all girl bands." With her sister, Miss Irma, she owned and operated two night clubs featuring live music entertainment. During the '50s and '60s, they lived upstairs from their business, "Dixie's Bar of Music" on Bourbon St. When the first gay carnival ball was raided and attendees jailed, she open her cash register, put the money in a paper bag, and set it off with one of her customers to "get the boys back" many who were regular patrons at Dixie's. The sisters retired from business over 40 years ago, but continued to fuel the social life of the French Quarter. Until recently, they hosted all-day Mardi Gras parties at their Bourbon St. home (with interior patio), every year. There, one could find street-people chatting, eating and drinking with corporate CEOs or celebs. Above all else, one could find a bath room, asprins and delightfully interesting folks. Miss Dixie continued these parties, after the sad loss of her beloved sister. Fasnacht is a Swiss-German synonym for Mardi Gras. An icon of New Orleans gay community, Miss Dixie celebrated her one-hundredth birthday, this year! (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston, New Orleans, Stores & Markets)
On the Avenue: 1913
... to a pic of Al Jolson. Interesting story about opening night. Fanny's First Play plus The Script Zoolak! I love ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 4:14pm -

March 23, 1913. New York. "Easter Sunday, Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street." 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size. Do De Do DoHow funny that I was just watching the 1948 film "Easter Parade" and wondering about Easter parades in real life before I came to look at this Shorpy update. Stop reading my mind! Gabrielle of the LiliesGaby Deslys sounds so familiar, but I've never seen any of her very few movies. But that gilded swan creation Norma Desmond uses for a bed? Belonged to Gaby. Half-staffI've been trying to figure out why the flag is at half staff. The Omaha tornado which killed over a hundred people happened that day but not until Easter evening. Any idea why the country or city or state would be in mourning? [The flagpole is in front of the New York Public Library, whose director, John Shaw Billings, had died March 11. - Dave] Michelin.It's interesting that even as far back as the teens, Michelin was selling tires in this country. Reading materialThere's a lot to read on this street, even if you don't have a card for the New York Public Library, on the left. 42nd &amp; FifthThe building under the Michelin sign, 500 Fifth Avenue, was replaced by a 78-story office building in 1930. There are retail stores on the ground floor. Other than Nat Sherman, a tobacconist who occupied the corner store for many years, there weren't any unusual tenants. Nat Sherman moved across 42nd Street a couple of years ago. Stern Brothers also had a department store at that location or right next to it on 42nd Street. 505 Fifth Avenue, on the northeast corner, under the H.L. Herbert and Zoolax signs, has been replaced by an unimpressive 28-story glass box called the CIT building. It has an H&amp;M clothing store in its retail space. The library site was originally a reservoir. Fifth and 42nd TodayView Larger Map Double-deckersNote the double-decker coaches to the right. Sightseeing? Some things just don't change in NYC. ChurchesThere are two in the photo. What were they, and what happened to them? Very clean streetsNot a scrap of litter anywhere. Delightful. Houses of WorshipThe nearer of the two is Congregation Emanu-El at 43rd Street. In 1929 it moved to its current location at 65th and Fifth Avenue, where it's one of the world's largest synagogues. In the distance is the spire of St. Patrick's Cathedral. Hats, Hats and HatsI could NOT find anyone in picture, male or female, without a hat! PlaybillSam Bernard -- All For The Girls The Five Frankfurturs (NY 1913) and The Five Frankfurters (London) Honeymoon Express --- go down halfway to a pic of Al Jolson. Interesting story about opening night. Fanny's First Play plus The Script Zoolak!I love the advertisement on the building to the right, for Dr. Dadirrian's Zoolak. It was some type of patent medicine. I happen to have a bottle from the same time period that is embossed with exactly that same product name. Wonder what was actually in it and what it was supposed to cure or remedy? I've always been curious. I collect antique bottles. Especially patent medicine bottles from the 19th century, so I find this photograph quite informative and interesting. [A quick google shows Zoolak to have been lightly fermented milk. - Dave] ZOOLAK. The subjoined analysis of Dr. Dadirrian's zoolak was made by Edgar E. Wright of Brooklyn, N. Y. In every 100 parts of zoolak there are: Water 87.69 Proteid substances 3.98 Fat 4.91 Milk-sugar 2.03 Alcohol 0.07 Ash or mineral salts 0.78 Lactic acid 0.50 Carbon dioxide 0.04 This analysis shows that in the production of zoolak but little change is wrought in the percentage composition of the original cow's milk, save what would naturally be produced by the fermenting and peptonizing actions of the kefir ferment. These fermentative changes primary and secondary consist in: 1. The transmutation of a portion of the natural milk sugar into alcohol, lactic acid, and carbon dioxide. 2. The transmutation of a certain percentage of the proteid substances into protoses, and finally, perhaps, into true diffusible peptones. J. WalkerManhattanites cross in between, not on the green. Apparently it's a very old story. (The Gallery, Easter, G.G. Bain, NYC)
Nu-Blue Xmas: 1940
... the slight bluish tint. [These "globes" light up at night. There's never any fuel in them. - Dave] Your choice Which is ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/25/2018 - 11:51am -

December 1940. "Christmas trees for sale at a gas station. Woonsocket, Rhode Island." Medium format negative by Jack Delano. View full size. &quot;Up on the Roof&quot;Someone's up there doing last minute repairs before winter arrives! 14.1¢ a gallon!Well, I guess they have to charge those exorbitant prices just to cover the cost of Mickey's endorsement. Way Ahead of Their TimeDid a little quick research and apparently Sunoco had a deal in the early 1940s to use Disney characters such as Mickey and Donald in its advertising. When tenths matteredThe gas price illustrates a time when tenths of cents mattered. Not so any longer. That's one thing from olden times I wouldn't mind seeing gone. Accurate at any rate of flow and all temperatures Inside the window of the gas pump there is a view glass that shows the fuel being dispensed. Some of the pumps had a multi-petal 'vane' that rotated as the fuel flowed. It was there to reassure people that only liquid was being pumped, and they were getting what they paid for. I don't know much beyond being a pump jockey back in the 1960s (Sunoco with the new "190" -- lower octane than regular at a lower price), at which time the pumps were so equipped. I didn't do windshields unless the purchase was $2 or more, about 6 gallons. Adjusted for Inflation14 cents per gallon computes to $2.53 today. They were paying essentially the same for gas as we do today. [Although the gas tax in the photo is a steep 50 percent. - Dave] Math is wrong9.6 + 4.1 = 13.7 not 14.1. Where did the extra 4 tenths of a cent come from. [You're adding wrong. 4½ = 4.5, not 4.1 - Dave] I'm so used to prices in tenths that I didn't notice. Of course, today all gas prices end in .9 . Top Tier?As an automobile mechanic (I dislike technician), I have corrected many driveability issues by cleaning dirty fuel injectors. The injectors are like miniature valves that spray in a conical pattern into the intake manifold or combustion chamber. Inferior fuel causes these deposits, and greatly affects how the engine performs. The fuel must spray in a conical pattern for optimum atomization. Fuel droplets don't burn as fast, causing a loss of power and economy. Sunoco was able to introduce premium fuel without lead, a common additive to reduce cylinder pre ignition/knocking/pinging. Its Blue Fuel (I found no reference to Nu Blue) was dyed so motorists could see the color in the globe over the pump, which differentiated it from other fuels. The globe on this pump is not transparent so it would be difficult to notice the slight bluish tint. [These "globes" light up at night. There's never any fuel in them. - Dave] Your choiceWhich is worse, rolling off the roof or stepping through the second floor door? Dear SantaI'd like all the signs, the gas pumps and one of those fresh cut trees for you to put it all under. p.s. Give the man on the roof one of your nice fancy ladders. The gas pump sightglassRe: FixIt's comment: Dave is right about the globe atop the pump, which was just a light-up advertisement. The color-tinted gasoline could be viewed in the sightglass, which was located on the face of the pump just above the price meter. I remember a few older pumps still had these when I started driving in the 1970s, but they seemed to disappear soon after. There was usually a little vane in the glass which spun when the gas flowed. Cool! TiresI believe this is the Woonsocket General Tire Company, incorporated in 1932 at 247 South Main Street. It was run by William F. Garrahan from 1932 to 1943. Prior to working here Garrahan had been a tool maker and the vice-president and manager of the local Studebaker dealer known as Kilcline &amp; Normandin. In about 1944 he opened up Garrahan's Tire Service at 18 Blackstone Street, where he also sold gasoline. He continued operating this business until 1953. This location is still a tire dealer. The Woonsocket General Tire Company appears to have closed sometime between 1945 and 1949. Garrahan also opened a real estate and insurance business circa 1951, and served as a tax assessor for the city for many years. He died in 1960. Play safe &amp; SAVE!Let Us Winterize Your Car NOW! (The Gallery, Christmas, Gas Stations, Jack Delano)
Candy, Cigars, Souvenirs: 1920
... Pennsylvania avenue and Twelfth street northwest, Tuesday night ..... Stationary Engineers To head off the inevitable ... street and Pennsylvania avenue northwest, Wednesday night, cost her $25 in Police Court yesterday. Incidentally, and as a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 7:17pm -

"Standard Engraving Co., Minster Building, 12th Street N.W." circa 1920. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. 12th and PennsylvaniaBased on ads in the Post, the location appears to be the southwest corner of 12th and Pennsylvania Ave, NW. - across the street from the Old Post Office and now site of Federal Triangle. Minster's Corner was operated by Samuel D. Minster. Washington-Virginia Railway was located at 1202 Pennsylvania. Washington Post, Mar 30, 1902 I have purchased the old reliable and long-established business of H.A. Seligson; 1200 and 1202 Pa. ave. nw., and have added to the already superb stock of Wines, Liquors, Cordials, and Cigars... One of the distinctly new features of the establishment will be the attendence of lady clerks for the ladies' trade. Eldorado Wine Co., Samuel D. Minster, Prop., S.W. Cor. Pa. Ave and 12th st. N.W. Washington Post, Jun 30, 1904 The National Association of Stationary Engineers, No. 7, met at its hall, at Pennsylvania avenue and Twelfth street northwest, Tuesday night ..... Stationary EngineersTo head off the inevitable questions, stationary engineers supervise engines in a fixed location such as in power plants, factories, mines, water pumping stations and so forth, as opposed to marine engineers or locomotive engineers. I believe the current union calls itself "Operating Engineers" which includes what we used to call building supers. Your Weight and FortuneIs that a fortune-telling, penny weight scale outside the door of the Fussel's ice cream store? No wonder the place went out of business. Stationary EngineersFor those of you who live in the country or exurbia and maybe even suburbia, a stationary engineer, to those of us city folk, is usually the building superintendent, or as we know him (or her), "the super". Electric carsVery interesting to find out that, even in such a late time as the 1920s (when this photo is dated), there was still possible to get a ride on an electric car. One can only wonder what would have happened if those had caught on for public transport; maybe we wouldn't be choking in as much smog as today. [They did catch on. They were called streetcars. In this instance, "electric cars" were the interurban trolleys of the Washington-Virginia Railway, departing from Mid-City Terminal at 12th and Pennsylvania. - Dave] Bon-AmiWhen I was growing up in NYC back in the '50s, it was common for landlords to apply a film of Bon-Ami window cleaner to their rental store's front windows and door whenever it was vacant or during refurbishing, as is the case in this photo. I've not seen it used in years and don't even know if Bon-Ami is still sold. Thanks for jogging a nice bit of wistful memory for me. Bon-AmiYes, Bon-Ami is still available. It is the only scouring powder we use. I buy it at the grocery store. Non-IntoxicatingReif's Special was a short lived non alcoholic beer type drink. Non alcoholic sodas gained in popularity after prohibition in 1916. Reif's Special, described as "A Pure Liquid Food", was manufactured in Chattanooga, TN by Martin Lynch in 1917. [advertisement text] Reif's Special Serve Cold It Is Not A Compound Here is the triumph of man's inventive genius - just what the world has long been awaiting - a beverage that has all the snappy flavor and foaming goodness of the hops with the alcohol left out. That's done by a patented process. We are the pioneers. Beware of imitations. At soft drink places - in bottles or cases. Martin-Lynch Co., Distributors Carrie Nation&#039;s FrolicMinster's Corner was once the focus the famed Carrie Nation's ire. Washington Post June 14, 1907 Mrs Nation fined $25 Saloon Smasher Pays Up After Temperance Lecture to Judge Mrs. Carrie Nation's frolic in front of S.D. Minster's store, at Twelfth street and Pennsylvania avenue northwest, Wednesday night, cost her $25 in Police Court yesterday. Incidentally, and as a self-administered balm to her outraged feeling, the former Kansas hatchet wielded read from the witness box passages of Scripture touching upon intemperance. Blackstone, as interpreted by Judge Mullowny, did not appeal to Carrie. Neither did her Scriptural readings to the judge, whose calm, judicial reasons was: "I find you guilty of disorderly conduct, as charged. Twenty-five dollars fine, please." Mrs. Nation's friends made up the $5 additional to the $20 which she deposited in the First precinct station for the appearance in court. The saloon wrecker departed, after discoursing freely as to the evils of strong beverages and cigarettes. Mount Vernon RailwayThis building was the office and station of the Washington, Alexandria and Mount Vernon Railway, an interurban road that had a loop terminus in front of George Washington's Mount Vernon estate. The circular concrete drive in front of the main gate was once the railway right-of-way. Electric interurban cars pulled up alongside the awning in the photo for passengers. Frank R. Scheer, Railway Mail Service Library Carrie NationThe Washington Post article cited below is dated June 14, 1917, and the story appears to be reported as current news. Yet all three links for more Carrie Nation information give her date of death as 1911. Hmm... Once again Shorpy piques my interest, and I learned something today about the history of the temperance movement and Mrs. Nation. [The date on the news clip was a typo. It's from 1907, not 1917. - Dave] Holmes PiesIs that Holmes Pies any chance the precursor of the Helms Bakery trucks with the slide out trays of bread, donuts and pastries which I recall roaming the neighborhoods of my youth in the western states? They disappeared in the 60's or 70's, as I recall. [I don't know about Helms. But Holmes Bakery had its own fleet of trucks [Link 1] [Link 2] [Link 3]. - Dave] No Sherlock, HolmesIt just dawned on me that it was the Helms Bakery that had those panel trucks that went around the neighborhoods. I think it was the burgeoning supermarket industry that did them in, just as with the home milk delivery boys. Obviously, a Sherlock I was not when it came to Holmes Pies... (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Cold Harbor: 1865
... the picture itself. The Horror of Cold Harbor The night before the so-called Battle of Cold Harbor, Va. --- a headlong attack ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/06/2008 - 9:34am -

April 1865. "Cold Harbor, Va. Collecting bones of soldiers killed in the battle." Photograph from the main Eastern theater of war, Grant's Wilderness Campaign, May-June 1864. Wet plate glass negative by John Reekie. View full size. The knee bone&#039;s connected to the....Wow, a skeleton wearing army boots. So much decay in less than a year. Wow...That is horrendous. And I thought I've had some bad jobs. YikesThat would be a very unsettling task. Especially with the skeletons still wearing clothing... &quot;Burial Detail&quot;Kristine Kathryn Rusch wrote a short story called "Burial Detail" based on this picture. In it a freed slave is gathering the remains of dead Union soldiers at Cold Harbor while a photographer takes his picture. It's part of a collection titled "Stories for an Enchanted Afternoon" and it really is haunting. Almost as haunting as the picture itself. The Horror of Cold HarborThe night before the so-called Battle of Cold Harbor, Va. --- a headlong attack across difficult terrain against a well-prepared enemy in fixed defenses, which anticipated the murderous conditions of the Western Front fifty years later --- many of the 40,000 Union troops who took part wrote last letters home, final Wills &amp; Testaments, even notes pinned to their clothes in hopes that their bodies might be identified and their fate accurately reported to loved ones back home. As this photo shows, for many men that was a forlorn hope. As one website notes, "In the initial charge, which lasted less than 10 minutes, nearly 7,000 Union soldiers were killed or wounded. Not until World War I would an army suffer such a high casualty rate. Ulysses S. Grant, the Union’s recently appointed general-in-chief, would one day write in his memoirs,’I regret this assault more than any one I ever ordered.' " Cold Harbor AftermathThis one almost did Grant in politically. He was roundly labeled a "butcher" by the northern newspapers. Tactical tragedy, strategic triumphIn his memoirs --- written as he saw his own death swiftly approaching --- Grant wrote, "At Cold Harbor no advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained." But then, as now, the Northern newspapers got it wrong. Grant was no mere "fumbling butcher," and his strategy was about to pay off. Cold Harbor was to be Lee's last victory. As Wikipedia notes in its summation of the battle's aftermath, "the campaign had served Grant's purpose — as foolish as his attack on Cold Harbor was, Lee was trapped. He beat Grant to Petersburg, barely, but spent the remainder of the war (save its final week) defending Richmond behind a fortified trench line. "Although Southerners realized their situation was desperate, they hoped that Lee's stubborn (and bloody) resistance would have political repercussions by causing Abraham Lincoln to lose the 1864 presidential election to a more peace-friendly candidate [former commander of the Army of the Potomac George McClellan, a brilliant trainer of troops and an irresolute disaster as a wager of war]. But the taking of Atlanta in September dashed these hopes, and the end of the Confederacy was just a matter of time." Unlike many earlier Union generals such as McClellan --- who retired from each defeat to lick their wounds and "await reinforcements" --- Grant seized Lee by the lapels and never let go until Appomattox. This, combined with Sherman's "total war" in the March to the Sea that destroyed the economic wherewithal of the South, doomed the Confederacy and brought down the curtain on the nation's bloodiest war. One Final Note... The same month this ghastly, haunting photo was taken --- on Palm Sunday (April 9) 1865 --- Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, 108 miles east of Cold Harbor. The hideous cost of that vital victory, without which there would have been no United States of America, is here displayed. We owe these unknown soldiers a profound and enduring gratitude. (The Gallery, Civil War)
Old Spanish Inn: 1937
... get heat rash staying in the Spanish Inn for more than one night. The photograph is gorgeous, though. What an eye! What an artist! ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 11:00am -

Circa 1937. "Spanish Inn, 43 George Street, St. Augustine, Florida. Dr. Chatelain's photographs. P.A. Wolfe, photographer." Also known as the De Mesa-Sanchez House. Safety negative, collection of Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Been thereTraveling in remote regions of the Southwest, I rented rooms not much better than this. Now it reminds me of my post-divorce days. Jail might seem more agreeable. Waiting RoomThis is a room just waiting to be restored! Love it!!! AmenitiesThe free breakfast included with this suite was one of the first to feature the now microscopic blueberry muffins. But back in the day, when this was shot, you needed two hands to lift them to your face. Hotelsdot com complaints department please. Yes, I will hold. Creepy, in a literal wayThis room makes me itch. It may look like a mess nowBut we're sending Norman over with a broom, Miss Samuels. Here's the bath if you'd care to freshen up ... Hello, Maid Service?We have a little problem up here in #13. Knock knock. HousekeepING!Yes, please. Do come in. Towels? Si, si. Life certainly was simpler then.You didn't have to worry about electric irons, air conditioning, indoor plumbing, elaborate ceiling fixtures, or vacuum the floors. I've been cozened so much by modern conveniences that I'd probably get heat rash staying in the Spanish Inn for more than one night. The photograph is gorgeous, though. What an eye! What an artist! What a woman! How wonderful it would be to have a large-scale retrospective of her work at the National Gallery. Improvements"Old Spanish Inn, 43 St. George Street. One of St. Augustine's oldest surviving buildings, it has been restored to resemble an early 18th-century inn in Spain. Nine rooms are furnished with authentic Spanish pieces brought from Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Granada, and Barcelona." In the latest MobilguideThis place was rated one Dangling Bulb. A bit sparse, butIf they have reliable wi-fi I'll take it. I can sleep in the rocker. Mod ConRemove the bulb, and 100 years fall away. If this is a placeYou pay to stay, I can't like it! Looks to beA smoking room. ShorpyvisionWhat a cool, retro-look mount for a Flat-Screen!! That would be a great way to study all the photos here on Shorpy. All the amenitiesOnly the top rated hotel rooms come with an ironing board although they usually also include a bed. Nice antique washstand though. MemoriesWhen my wife and I quit work in the early 1980s and returned to grad school in Pittsburgh we moved into a place a lot like this. She was not a happy camper. We traded home improvement labor for rent and greatly improved the row house which at one time had been a house of ill repute. The things the youthful will do. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston, Florida)
Hit the Grit: 1905
... a parade of bums knocking on our door even in the black of night. My dad always gave them a plate of grub, no strings attached. The bums ... 
 
Posted by Ken - 04/30/2014 - 5:48pm -

Circa 1905. "Tramps fighting on R.R. train -- Get down and hit the grit." Bain News Service reproduction of a Brown Bros. print. View full size. Just a short addemdum, theJust a short addemdum, the caption under the photo should read rail cars not train cars. Cheers. [If you say so. ("Addemdum"?) - Dave] --- yup, addendum, that&#039;s --- yup, addendum, that's Yooper talk. Cheers. [As opposed to "addemdum." - Dave] Hit the GritAnonymous Tipster: You are correct, however, it is not a train, indeed as you noted, they are boxcars, but sitting in a yard or siding, or at best near the mainline. Also, it is certainly a posed photo. When I was a kid, in this neck of the woods, the UP of Michigan, the term for "hobo" was "bum". Bums used to write on boxcars with chalk even pencil as to where there was an easy hand-out in towns along the mainline. As we were a railroad family and lived near the tracks, we had a parade of bums knocking on our door even in the black of night. My dad always gave them a plate of grub, no strings attached. The bums would write on the nearby Milwaukee &amp; St. Paul water tank the location of our house ---- I do appreciate the fine detail in the photo of the two wooden box cars because I remember that type was commonly still in use in my youth before the metal sides took over; I note here, myself, being a former Milwaukee Railroad employee. Jack London.If you read Jack London's tramping book, "The Road", you will find many tales of being chased by railroad cops. No airThe brake hoses are not connected on these boxcars, so the train must be stationary. Looks like this shot was posed, whatever it means to convey. Air brakes?Did they have air brakes in 1905? To me the photo indicates a mechanism by which the brakes were applied manually. Maybe I am influenced by the stories my grandad told me about being a brakeman on UP freights, jumping from car to car to turn a wheel that set the brakes. [The air brake was invented in 1872 by George Westinghouse. The wheel brakes are parking brakes. - Dave] Hobo slangHere is a good online glossary of hobo slang. Ah yes. Reminds me of theAh yes. Reminds me of the movie "Emperor of the North" Hobo slangSaw some interesting words on that Hobo slang glossary - Angelina caught me off guard Age of PhotoThe box car on the left has a stencil date of 7-04 which I will assume is the construction date. The aging on the car looks to be about a year or two so C1905 is spot on IMHO. Cross referencing the car numbers to build dates would also help and I suspect that the two different designs on the Arch-bar trucks (wheel frames) would also help. Great (posed) photo! Hit the GritLooks like the box car to the left is St. Louis South-Western, more familiarly known as the "Cotton Belt." The SSW used the "S-W" form in its lettering into the 1930s at least. The car on the right is obviously Grand Trunk Ry. (of Canada). The GTR was officially absorbed into Canadian National Rys. 1923 although CN started operating it during WW1. U.S. viewers in Michigan/Indiana/Illinois will know the GTR's U.S. subsidiary, Grand Trunk Western, which has retained that name. An eastern arm of the GTR -- the U.S. portion of the Montreal/Portland ME main line -- retained the Grand Trunk name until sold off in recent years. George Westinghouse was first allowed to install air brakes as an experiment on a Pennsylvania RR. train as early as 1869. I'd have to look up the exact date, but it was around that time. This was a short-lived "straight air" system. His automatic air brake followed because of its fail-safe feature and became federally mandated in the U.S. via the Railroad Safety Appliances Act. Again, without getting off my computer chair to look it up, I believe this was passed in the 1890s. The railroads were given a lot of time to fully install the system on their freight rolling stock -- priority was given to passenger equipment, but I believe by 1905 all cars in interchange service were so equipped. Incidentally, the same act required installation of automatic couplers. Yes, those are air brake hoses hanging down between the cars. It's interesting to note the old-style outside brake beams. Many a hobo rode on them, sometimes to their death. By the way, there was a hierarchy in drifter nomenclature. "Hoboes" were the cream of the crop, being the men who were riding to find work. They tended to follow the harvest cycles. Bums and tramps were the lower orders -- they had no intention of working. (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, Railroads)
Happy Campers: 1917
... around midnight and take loooong hot showers in the cool night air. I'm lovin' the kid second from the right... "BANG, I gotcha!" ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/12/2014 - 3:06pm -

July 16, 1917. Peekskill, New York. "Boys' shower, State Camp for Field Training." 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size. Not Much Has ChangedThis could easily have been taken a week ago. The old fashioned upper/lower torso swimsuits look just like modern wetsuits. The only thing that really dates this photo are those wide showerheads. [And the narrow kids. - Dave] AND...What also dates this photo is the fact that every third kid in it isn't obese. Sparks old memoriesIn the early 1970's I'd spend a week at "Church Camp" in the mountains just east of California's Central Valley. The boys showers were similar to this but there was a roof overhead. I remember how the hot water plumbing went to the girls showers next door before it got to us so you could forget about having a hot shower if the girls were in there! My buddy and I would sneak out of our rustic cabin (10-12 kids in bunk beds) around midnight and take loooong hot showers in the cool night air. I'm lovin' the kid second from the right... "BANG, I gotcha!" (The Gallery, Camping, G.G. Bain, Kids)
The New P.O.: 1900
... ca. 1908 color litho postal card of the Old Post Office at night lends the building a forbidding Gothic spookiness that fades in the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 10:34pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1900. "U.S. Post Office, Pennsylvania Avenue." The Old Post Office back when it was new. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. *#!!#*!! TurretsYou're not #!#*! alone tterace. I think there'a a lot of *#!!##* people who would like to enjoy some ##!!*! time working or relaxing in a !!*#! turret room! Turrets syndromeAm I the only one who has this strange yearning to live or work in a turret? Gargoyles, pleaseWe need a few gargoyles to go with those turrets. The spires on the roofs are too plain for all that decorative fenestration. Surely the spirits of all those broiled alive lobsters in the foreground building, could be channeled into appropriate energies to produce the gargoyles. As for the foreground building, it appears to be beautiful, from what I can see of it. Any chance it survived the wrecking ball? (I kinda doubt it, but I can hope). If this is a poll:I’m a turreteer too! An old mill with a working wheel would do too. (wind or water) What was in those turretsI've always been curious as to what kind of space it was inside those small turrets. Offices? Sitting areas? Would be cool to see an inside shot looking out. Turrets are coolI agree with tterrace that they would make an interesting work or living space, but they sure are a tough place to hang pictures! Harvey&#039;s RestaurantLower left corner, Harvey's was one of the top restaurants in DC and hosted most notable politicians, entertainers and business leaders in its day. My mother was taken there (not the same location) on a date when she was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base in the early 1950s. Here is a link to some of the history. Former home of the FBIBefore the FBI moved to its own building, it maintained offices in the Old Post Office. My late father was a special agent at the Washington Field Office for 25 years and worked out of this building. A couple times a year my mother would drive my brother and me into Washington to pick him up. We parked in an inner courtyard and we kids watched for my dad to come out of that confection of a building. All the agents wore dark suits, trenchcoats, white shirts, ties and fedoras. Then we would drive up to the DuPont Circle area to our favorite restaurant, Pouget's, for drinks and dinner (Shirley Temples for my brother and me). That was long ago. Still more turrets out here in palm tree landSeveral San Diego neighbors have a turret rooms in their 1920s Spanish Colonial houses facing Balboa Park. They all use them for displaying their Christmas trees for passers-by to enjoy; sadly, the rest of the year they mostly stand unused. Dark Shadows at the POThis ca. 1908 color litho postal card of the Old Post Office at night lends the building a forbidding Gothic spookiness that fades in the daylight. Cue the Bach organ Toccata! Release the bats! SanctuaryIf you are in fear for your life, head for the turret. They can't corner you there. The HunchbackI think it's obvious the turret must have been occupied by the hunchback who rang the tower bells. It was sleeping in that small space which permanently curved his back. Inspirationfor Disney buildings to come perhaps. Dave, any chance that seafood place on the left is called Harvey's? [Harvey's Oyster House. - Dave] Old P.O. TowerA couple years back, during some sort of food fair on Pennsylvania Avenue, we were lucky enough to go to the top of the tower. Half my brain was damning the waste of public money and the other half was saying, "Wow! What a great view!" Room at the topThe real treat in this building is the top of the bell tower. There is a bell chamber complete with bells, about where the clocks are, and above that is a viewing space (the three arched openings on each side) with great views of the DC area. Easy to access and usually not as many standing in line since everyone goes to the Washington Monument. The thankfully never-to-be-completed Federal Triangle complex is on the back and nearside of this building; the 3 and 4 storey buildings are long gone. Room With a ViewIf you visit DC, it is well worth the trip to see the inside of the Old Post Office as well. The tower still affords a great view of Washington and the surrounding area. Of course, one of the great benefits of DC is that so much one can do there is free of charge. A New SensationThis building has undergone a major transformation in recent years. Inside is a food court with diverse offerings, and a shopping mall. There are tours given up to the clock tower which is either the second or third highest elevation in the city, after the Washington Monument, of course. I think there may be some nightlife available here, too. Glad they saved this historic building. I hope this becomes a trend. 21st Century TurretToday, the turret of the Old Post Office is used as a microwave relay site by many of the network and local broadcasters in the Washington area. Boasting a good line of sight from much of the downtown DC area, they can point their live truck antennas at the tower, where the signals are relayed (via fiber optics) to their studios around town. It&#039;s Still ThereAnd a nice place to visit. Right in the middle of the downtown tourist area. Open to the public, the central atrium now has shops and eateries. The last time I was there, I rode the elevator to the top of the tower where you could look down on "The Avenue" from those arched openings. I hope that is still available. Ours was saved!A similar Federal Building in Saint Paul was saved. It is now the Landmark Center and is where I work! (The Gallery, D.C., DPC)
Esplanade Avenue: 1900
... abound as to the reasons for painting. Visibility at night? Insect control? Perhaps just fashion. I remember seeing many in my ... contactors under the cars would give plenty of warning. At night there would be bright green flashes whenever a relay opened its copper ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 3:59pm -

"Esplanade Street, New Orleans, 1900." And running along the grassy median, streetcar tracks. Detroit Publishing Company glass negative. View full size. Tree TrunksAh, those whitewashed tree trunks. Theories abound as to the reasons for painting. Visibility at night? Insect control? Perhaps just fashion. I remember seeing many in my childhood, few today. I always liked them. Grandpa said...My grandpa painted all the trees in his Ozark yard about head-high with lime to keep bugs from eating into the trunks. When I asked why the bugs don't just climb up above the white paint, he said, "I dunno 'bout that, boy." My hunch is he was just slapping on the bug paint because that was what everyone else did. The trees seemed to be doing fine without the paint when I toured past the old place decades later. Rolling alawnAs the caption notes, the dark surface in the foreground is grass, not pavement. The old-timers call these New Orleans medians "neutral ground." Which sounds electrical but isn't. Esplanade at BurgundyLooking north. View Larger Map The &quot;white&quot; on the tree trunksBack when rural driving was the thing to do on Sunday afternoon, I remember seeing this quite often. Against the normIn a delightful departure from the usual norm on Shorpy, almost all of the buildings in this photo still stand today! What IS that?Is that a bumper sticker on the utility pole at right center? Can't be. [It's a pole sticker. Advertising PARKER'S ELVIRA (?) CORDIAL. - Dave] Let&#039;s VogueThose gents are striking some magnificent poses. Grassy mediansThese days the grassy medians are used as jogging tracks by the Tulane students. Safest place to jog as you can get on a median and jog towards the oncoming street cars w/out worrying about something sneaking behind you. Of course with the old style cars like the one in the photo, the grinding of the gears and popping of the electrical contactors under the cars would give plenty of warning. At night there would be bright green flashes whenever a relay opened its copper contacts. You can look straight up as you go around Lee Circle and it looks like the monument is slowly rotating. No streetcar named "Desire" anymore, but there is a Desire bus line. "Bus named Desire" just don't sound right, do it? Lawn trackVery interesting that lawn track is such an old invention! It's been introduced in a number of places recently to reduce noise and have a prettier city environment, but I wouldn't have thought that the idea is that old. Neutral GroundNot just old-timers—everybody calls the area in the middle of a divided New Orleans thoroughfare its neutral ground. Just the way it is. (The Gallery, DPC, New Orleans, Streetcars)
Good Job Ray: 1961
... bill we turned each trip into a summer vacation with every night being spent at a Holiday Inn. Each day's routine was the same -- up at 6, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/13/2022 - 9:26am -

The Columbus, Georgia, Holiday Inn circa 1961. GOOD JOB RAY WRIGHT. This particular Inn had a swimming pool and a trampoline. 4x5 inch acetate negative. View full size. Holiday Inn memoriesMy father was transferred by Shell Oil between NY/NJ and Houston twice in the 60s. With Shell toting the bill we turned each trip into a summer vacation with every night being spent at a Holiday Inn. Each day's routine was the same -- up at 6, breakfast (blueberry pancakes for me) in the motel dining room, drive until 2 and checking into the next Holiday Inn. We swam every afternoon in the motel pool and then dressed up and drove to the closest firehouse where my father asked for dinner recommendations. There were four of us kids packed in the back of our non-air-conditioned Impala and you'd think we would have been miserable but my memories are of the classic Holiday Inn signs that meant "home on the road" and those blueberry pancakes. Structure/Sculptor?What is that thing on the far right in the hotel courtyard below the gent contemplating going out? Looks like some kind of a carousel or something, but made of pretty heavy duty pipe. Potemkin Motelthey just keep moving the same cars from lot-to-lot. '61? it's Georgia, alright -- this is a decoy target built in Tbilisi during the Cold War. More Holiday Inn memoriesCommishbob, your story parallels my own, except for a lot more moving on my part. My dad was on the traveling auditing staff for Shell, so we not only lived in Houston and NY/NJ twice each, but multiple other places--Chicago (twice), St. Louis (three times!), Atlanta, LA, San Francisco, Seattle--almost all before I was in kindergarten. (The usual length of an audit was apparently around three months, and then we'd be off somewhere else.) Thankfully, by the time I hit third grade, we settled in Houston for good. I was the only kid for all but the last move, and I pretty much grew up in the back of a Ford Country Squire station wagon. We lived in many different types of houses and apartments, but our home away from home was always a Holiday Inn. The blinking star atop what writer James Lileks calls "The Great Sign" was a shiny beacon to me; it told me we were "home" for a while. (Mom and Dad are still around, so I'll be sending them this link.) VIPRay must be a very important person -- they even have the ENTRANCE sign pointing directly at him! [Because he's entranced? - Dave] This place is topsI found this postcard on eBay with a date stamp 1961. The address on the card is 3510 Victory Drive, Google Street View below. My parents were among the founding members of the United Methodist Church in which I grew up. Years later, I heard a comedian do a bit about religions. He said "Methodism is the Holiday Inn of religions. You check in. You get comfortable. As long as you pay your bill and don't trash the room, everything is okay." Click to embiggen. Holiday Inn Memories!In the 1960s and '70s my dad (who worked for GM and got an annual two-week vacation) and the rest of the family, Mom and four kids, would go on a road trip and we always stayed in Holiday Inns because Dad could make reservations ahead. The Inns were always the same, and to my delight when the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village (Dearborn, Mi.) renovated their "Automobile and American Life" exhibit in the '90s, they built a Holiday Inn room! EXACTLY like every one I remembered, right down to the blue shag carpet and the little paper hats on the drinking glasses! I sometimes see those chairs in an antique store or secondhand shop and I think "I know where you came from!" Here's a pic of the Museum's exhibit (courtesy Missy S on Pinterest). Dressed up &#039;50 FordOn the far right! Skirts, spinner hubcaps, sun visor on the windshield AND on the side windows. At 11 years old might belong to the help. Fastest car on the lot is probably the '58 Pontiac next to the 1960 Ford, but the '55 Olds 88 on the far left has a Rocket under its hood. Raymond Wright of Columbuswas feted at Macon in September 1961 at the annual meeting of the Home Builders Association of Georgia as the association's retiring president. I suspect the marquee refers to this milestone. His firm, Raymond M. Wright, Inc., is still building homes in Georgia, primarily the Columbus area: http://www.raymwrightinc.com/history.html My guessRay Wright updates the message board. Ray Wright Raymond Michael Wright 1914-1995 Married in Wake County, NC, in 1944. Marriage record lists Army rank as Staff Sergeant. Possibly ended up in Columbus from a tour at Fort Benning. He began as a carpenter and in the early '50s started a contracting business. His obituary lists past president of local and state home builders associations. He was inducted into the National Homebuilders Hall of Fame in 1980. Holiday Inn was pleased with his work. Numbers GameThe address on the postcard posted by Doug Floor Plan, 3510 Victory Drive, has us thrown off a bit, I think. Indeed, that may have once been this motel's address, but I'm pretty certain this Holiday Inn building still stands at 3170 Victory Drive. Built in 1958, the motel was most recently seen in Budgetel livery, but it also did some time as a Days Inn. Did they move the building to a new address? Of course not! It's much more likely that the address was changed, probably for alignment with a new numbering system. [By 1965, the address was 3170. - Dave] No fenceIn the postcard picture the first thing I noticed was the lack of a fence around the pool. It really was a different time in America. [1961, to be specific. - Dave] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Columbus, Ga., News Photo Archive)
Ford Fox: 1940
... of foxes here in northern Virginia; I usually see them at night, so a daylight sighting is worth noting. 1937 Ford The late '30s ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/07/2014 - 1:25pm -

October 1940. Moorhead, Minnesota. "Fox chained to automobile." 35mm negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. He&#039;ll need that coat soonThis photo was taken soon before one of Moorhead's worst winters in history. On Armistice Day 1940, a sudden and powerful blizzard would paralyze Minnesota and the Dakotas, killing 108 people and thousands of animals. Then, in March 1941, a second surprise blizzard would strike Western Minnesota and North Dakota, killing 57, and stranding 2,000 farmers and 3,000 basketball fans in Moorhead alone. ExplanationThis shot cries out for an explanation, but I can think of only three: 1. The caption writer was applying for a job at the Department of the Painfully Obvious. 2. The fox forgot his accordion, that's why there's no money in the coffee can. 3. To illustrate vulpine thought processes: "Could be worse; I could be a stole." Too bad OTY beat me to my punch line. Contemplating his futureI believe he just spotted a long lost relative being worn as the collar of some well-dressed lady walking by and realizes his inevitable destiny. Early car alarmIf we could pan out, we'd see that all the cars have a fox security system. GrrrThat fox looks so annoyed! Not like those on the east side of the state that get their fill of rabbit here in the middle of Minneapolis. Yoicks!I hope he didn't have to hang on to the radio antenna during trips. Thought Balloon"This is SO humiliating. What are they going to do next, put me in a diaper and slap a hat on my head?" Tally ho!This afternoon my wife came in from shopping and told me that as she was getting out of her car in front of the house a large fox ran in front of her and continued down the sidewalk. There are a lot of foxes here in northern Virginia; I usually see them at night, so a daylight sighting is worth noting. 1937 FordThe late '30s through 1940 Ford coupes always catch my eye. Also in MinneapolisI saw a fox go up to my neighbor's front door. They have a cat and dog -- guess they couldn't come out to play! &quot;Folgers&quot;Nice to see his owner left him a water dish. Rushing into the houseHey Jim! You still need a date for tonight? Hurry - there is a real fox out by my car! APOLOGIES IN ADVANCEFox Noose -- Fair and Balanced. Early screen grabof the not yet quite mature Firefox browser. The can held cookies. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Dogs, John Vachon)
Double Barreled: 1910
... light inside the coaches, but I assume there were some for night travel. They probably didn't get turned on for the short trip through the ... to be entertaining to pace trains along the Dan Ryan at night. - - - - - The third rails which supply power to the electric ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/13/2022 - 4:19pm -

Detroit circa 1910. "Approach to the Michigan Central Railroad tunnel." Another view of the electrified tracks going under the Detroit River. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. Original SmokeAt least this smoke looks as if it is not retouched. Lettuce have someRoyal Salad Dressing. Afraid of the dark.In the late 50s, early 60s, i went through these tunnels many times. My parents would put me on a CNR train at the beautiful station in Detroit (yes, the one that has been derelict for many years) and send me to London, Ont. or Toronto to visit family we had there. Both my parents were from Canada. I remember entering the tunnels and it was pitch black, or so it seemed to me. I don't recall any light inside the coaches, but I assume there were some for night travel. They probably didn't get turned on for the short trip through the tunnel, but I didn't think it was so short. Locomotive Wheel ArrangementCan't quite determine the Whyte Notation for the locomotive. Appears to be a very short engine. Electrified?What carries the current here? [Those giant conduits next to the rails. - Dave] The wrong side of the tracksDammit man, I knew we needed to be on the other side to catch the 10:45! Leave the Tunnel Immediately! I recommend you skip to about 2:50. You can see the notches they put in the left tunnel to clear autoracks. https://youtu.be/MTVWC9vCiBY?t=166 Industrial History blog: http://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/2017/05/michigan-central-railroads... Tunnel Portal LocationFrom the Bagley Street overpass you can see the tunnel portal on the right side of the photo. Looking East along Bagley there are buildings visible in downtown Detroit. If you check out the nearby neighbourhood of Corktown on Google street view you will find an area of well maintained heritage homes. Electrified 2Those conduits next to the track? I think not. You need a smoother surface to carry the current collectors. Thos conduits probably carry signal cabling. [You are misinformed! See above. And below. - Dave] Early Safety FeatureFollow up on Notcom's comment. Yes, my chronology is a bit shaky. I was thinking of B+O Howard Street Tunnel, which switched from overhead conduit to overrunning 3rd rail with halfhearted wood protection in 1903, slightly before Grand Central was electrified with covered underrunning, Wilgus patented 1908. There are at present a lot of miles of Darwinian exposed 3rd rail on metro and subway systems, notably in Chicago and the London area. Used to be entertaining to pace trains along the Dan Ryan at night. - - - - - The third rails which supply power to the electric locomotives are "under running". The contact face of the third rail faces downward, with an inverted "U" shaped insulating wooden cover over the top of the rail. The locomotive contact shoes slide on the underside of the rail, held up against it with springs. This theoretically makes it harder for people or animals to accidentally touch the rail. Note that the diverging part of the rail at the far right angles up slightly, to allow the approaching contact shoes to slip under the rail rather than stubbing against the side of it. Tolerances to make all this work were tight, so the beams that held the third rail shoes were mounted to move with the axles, rather than the sprung part of the truck. Alternatively, third rail electrified railroads used an exposed "overrunning" third rail, with the contact shoes riding on top of it. An intermediate safety step was an overrunning rail, but with a small wooden roof above it. Some metro systems went full Darwin, overrunning with no cover, to separate the careless. There was an old story about a trainman that slipped and touched the 3rd rail. Turns out he was a good Conductor. Lowdown on raised railsSteamcrane's description is largely correct -- save for the chronology (the tendency was away from "Darwinian" uncovered rails, not toward them) -- but the ones shown here were peculiar to the New York Central (the Michigan Central was a NYC property); they were developed in connection with the Grand Central Terminal electrification, where they provided an extra margin of safety in the congested and dark underground trackwork. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Detroit Photos, DPC, Railroads)
On the Ohio: 1910
... collection. My bet is that it's the equivalent of "day for night" movie filming, that for their postcards, Detroit Publishing printed it ... exposures will range from ten to thirty minutes on a clear night using stop f8 and fast plates." It also mentions two methods of getting ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2012 - 2:42pm -

The Ohio River circa 1910. "Nightfall on the Ohio at Cincinnati." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Neither the Island Queen nor Delta QueenThis is the huge sidewheeler City of Cincinnati, built in 1899 at Jeffersonville, Indiana. You are thinking of the Cincinnati, built in 1924, which was supposed to have a twin, the Louisville. The latter boat was never completed, and her hull was sold to the Coney Island Co., who finished her as the Island Queen. Island Queen or Delta QueenI guess it could be one or the other. The Island Queen used to take passengers from the public landing in Cincy up river to the Coney Island amusement park. I made that trip many times as a kid in the late 1940's. It was quite a thrill in the summer to sit on deck and listen to the calliope. The Island Queen caught fire and was destroyed while in the dock at Pittsburgh in the late '40s. The Delta Queen continued to operate and as far as I know still exists. ClassicAnd Timeless; one of the best pictures yet! Thank You! The Delta QueenThe Delta Queen was a sternwheeler, not a sidewheeler like the boat in the Shorpy image. The Delta Queen (below) is still used for river cruises, but not overnight trips since it doesn't meet the current safety requirements. Far EastWith such air quality, I thought it was a picture of modern Beijing! The past is so bright, I gotta wear shades.Absolutely, one one my all time Shorpy favorites! I love how when I gaze from bottom to top, the sun actually seems glaring. [That's (ostensibly) the moon. One of many Detroit Publishing moonlight views. - Dave] Moonlight?I'm going to have to differ with Dave on this. I can't imagine that there'd be a photographic emulsion fast enough in 1910 to capture that image by moonlight with no motion blur. It'd be good a trick even today. I mean, look at all the "ghosts" of pedestrians walking in broad daylight in contemporaneous street views we've seen here. Same with their other "moonlight views" in the LOC collection. My bet is that it's the equivalent of "day for night" movie filming, that for their postcards, Detroit Publishing printed it dark and tinted it bluish for a simulated moonlight effect. Sidewheeler City of CincinnatiThe boat appears to be the 1899 sidewheeler City of Cincinnati of the Louisville &amp; Cincinnati Packet Co., seen in previous Shorpy post: Steam Under the Bridge: 1906. Moonlight Photography"Moonlight photography" was a discipline of some interest to shutterbugs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A distinction was drawn between "real moonlight photography" and "moonlight photographs" in general -- a stylistic genre that utilised underexposed pictures taken in daylight and then "printed deep" (a technique not available for this particular image, as it is taken from a negative without benefit of a paper print). The ghostly personages who populate much of the era's daylight photography are a consequence not of slow emulsions but rather of the fact that most large view cameras of the era lacked timed shutters (what were known then as "clockwork shutters" -- most spring shutters lacked a timing mechanism and were opened and closed by the photographer, which necessitated one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi exposures of several seconds' duration), or any shutters at all, exposures being made by removing and then replacing the lens cover. Photographers with clockwork shutters who wished to avail themselves of "fast plates" had a number of very sensitive emulsions available, as evidenced by the stop-motion photography of the 1890s. These were also utilised for "real moonlight" photographs. [And indeed we have a number of stop-motion images here, this being one example. Although, after reading your references and tterrace's comment, I do have my doubts as to whether the nighttime photography of a century ago could freeze waves as seen in the Ohio River picture. Then again, one underestimates the capabilities of an 8x10 view camera at one's peril. - Dave] 1910 by moonlightOne of those references is to an article on "real" moonlight photography in American Photography dated 1910, the same year this shot was taken. In discussing exposures using "a long bellows reversible back view camera... exposures will range from ten to thirty minutes on a clear night using stop f8 and fast plates." It also mentions two methods of getting the moon itself in the image without showing the effect of its motion during exposure. One was to double-expose the plate, first a long exposure of the scene when the moon was out of the field of view, then a shorter one after aiming the camera at the moon. The other involved exposing two negatives when making the print, one of just the moonlit scene, the other of the moon itself. Or the Moon Walking in BrightnessPerhaps enough sunlight and moonlight has already been shed on the subject, but a consideration of the location may further illuminate. The boat appears to be commencing her run down river, approaching the old C&amp;O RR bridge spanning the Ohio. The camera has taken a position a bit upriver, almost certainly the south tower of the Suspension Bridge. Both bridges align slightly to the west of due north. The point of view is roughly WNW, perhaps tending towards NWbW. A full moon in early winter might take up position as we see, but would necessarily put cameraman and boat on river in the hour or two before dawn. A full moon in other seasons could not occupy the section of sky. The few souls visible on the boat seem dressed for heat, and -- looking far for a bit of vegetation -- the gap in the truss section of the bridge frames a bluff where trees appear in leaf. The moon appears less likely when we find that the photograph below from Detroit Publishing bears the title Sunset on the Ohio, Cincinnati, Ohio. Many details match precisely our photo, including the distant cloud bank low on the horizon. It could easily have been taken just a short while before the boat floated into position. On the OhioSerious contender for best picture on the blog. Any idea of the photographer? [Mr. Detroit Publishing. - Dave] (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cincinnati Photos, DPC)
P Street: 1921
... to her house on Primrose Lane in Chevy Chase on Christmas Night. Re: Junior Champion Junior Champeen. Mark Your Territory ... 
 
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? &quot;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&#039;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)
Traffic Cop: 1918
... was knocked down by a heavy automobile truck early last night while attempting to stop the driver for violating the regulations. She ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 9:49pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1918. "Mrs. L.O. King, traffic cop." Badge 432, where are you? Harris &amp; Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Carspotting"And then if you'll look to your right, ladies and gentlemen, you'll see more examples of traffic ... " Anything GoesI am surprised at the hemline. In olden days, A glimpse of stocking Was looked upon As something shocking. Now, heaven knows, Anything goes Admittedly every inch of her exposed limbs are covered by leggings and boots. But this flapper length uniform way predates that era. Just look at the skirts in the background, on the women waiting to cross. Nation&#039;s First Female Traffic CopAlas, It was a mere two weeks until a man ignored Officer King's directives resulting in her personal injury. No word on whether King returned to the traffic division after her recovery. Washington Post, Nov 2, 1918 First of Women Traffic Officers Mrs. L.N. King Takes up Duty at Seventh and K St. N.W. Mrs. Leola N. King, wife of Capt. E. H. King, United States medical corps, became Washington's first woman traffic officer yesterday, and assumed her duties at the corner of Seventh and K streets northwest. Washington is the first city in the United states to have a woman traffic officer. There are many policewomen in the District, but most of them are employed to look after the welfare of children and young girls. Not only is Mrs. King the first woman traffic officer, but she is also the first woman to be assigned to a precinct. Yesterday morning she was transferred from police headquarters to Capt. Flather, of the first precinct. Maj. Pullman says that Mrs. King has been placed on the traffic squad as an experiment. The superintendent wants to determine whether it is feasible to have women to replace several male members of the force who have entered the military service. Washington Post, Nov 17, 1918 Truck Injures Policewoman Mrs. L.N. King, Traffic Officer, Sustains Minor Wounds. Mrs. Leola N. King, Washington's only traffic policewoman, was knocked down by a heavy automobile truck early last night while attempting to stop the driver for violating the regulations. She was taken to the George Washington Hospital, but her injuries are not serious, consisting only of a scalp wound and some bruises. William J. Hines, 26 years old, a farmer living at Olney, Montgomery county, Md., was was driving the truck, was arrested. Riding with him were Mrs. G.H. Jones and her sister, who live near Rockville, Md., and had come to Washington to shop. Hines and the two woman say they did not know that Mrs. King had been struck by the truck. Hines, who had brought his father's truck to Washington for some furniture, was returning home, going north on Seventh street, when Mrs. King signaled him to stop, it being claimed that he was on the wrong side of the street. He swerved the machine westward, and the rear fender struck her on the thigh, throwing her to the pavement. Eyewitnesses questioned by the police say that Hines continued to drive his machine westward after Mrs. King, who was blowing her police whistle, was knocked down. He stopped a short distance away, however, an professed ignorance of any accident, after he was arrested. Mrs. King is the wife of Capt. E. H. King, of the army medical corps, and the innovation of her appearance as a traffic officer attracted much attention several weeks ago. Maj. Pullman, chief of police, has praised her efficiency and fearlessness. Ouch!I'm imagining standing all day on pavement in those shoes. My feet hurt just thinking about it! Uniformed WomenCould you direct me to your house? You put your left foot in,You put your left arm out, You put your left foot in Then you turn yourself about... Shoot To KIllThey would have been better off with Shorpy's old friend, NYC Detective Mary Agnes Shanley. She would have shot the errant motorist. Leola&#039;s heaterI'm sure it's wrong of me to be thrilled that she was allowed to handle a firearm in her job. Officer King showed considerable restraint in not shooting the guy who hit her. Or, at least his tires. Beautiful uniformI think that she is wearing a beautifully tailored uniform. Much better than the stretch polyester slacks they have women officers wearing today. Look at how well the jacket fits too. WaistedIs an optical effect or she has a "Barbie" waist? Hem &amp; HerIt was 1918 after all. Hems had been on the rise since about 1911. Lovely Rita....With the cap, she looked much older; and the strap across her shoulder, made her look a little like a military man...... I&#039;ve seen her before...I think she entertained at my bachelor party. How amazing!I'm really surprised to see a woman cop in 1918. Very different from my country. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Harris + Ewing)
L. Logan, Boilermaker: 1942
... Kodachrome could be. (I used it exclusively, even for night shots with that slow 16 and 25 ASA, even if I had to sit for hours ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/06/2012 - 10:58pm -

December 1942. Melrose Park, Ill. "L. Logan, of West Chicago, boilermaker at the Proviso Yard roundhouse, Chicago &amp; North Western R.R." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano, Office of War Information. View full size. IncredibleWhat a face!! He has not had an easy life. He looks weary. Startling, lifelike!Wow, it's like looking through a window directly into the past. A fantastic portraitBut then again I find most of Jack Delano's work to be amazing. You can almost smell the oil, sweat and coal dust. Those spectaclesIt seems as though his glasses might fit quite snug under those goggles. I can smell the welding now. Reminds me of my old tradesmanThis bloke looks a lot like the first tradesman I was assigned to when I was an apprentice boilermaker. Happy memories! You know JackJack Delano is one of the great photographers who need not sign his work. You know who took that photograph that just knocked you off your feet! Whatta guy! Great LightingAnother fantastic Jack Delano photo. The lighting really brings out the character in his face. When I first saw the photo I thought I was looking at Henry Fonda. Delano&#039;s workcould be the inspiriation for the super-realism artists. Delano creates with photography what those guys do with an airbrush. Leroy LoganBased on my research, I am fairly confident that this is Leroy Logan, born circa 1889 in Illinois. He is found in the 1930 Census and was working for the railroad at the time. Buy him a beer!I wouldn't mind in the least buying this man a drink and talking shop with him. [I'd buy him a boilermaker. - Dave] MaybeI grew up in West Chicago, which was a fairly small town when that photo was taken, maybe 5000 people at most. Chances are good I crossed paths with him or more than likely his kids. He looks like a hard working good guy. FlawlessI think this is the finest exposure on the whole site, to date. Great composition and lighting. Delano's masterpiece, perhaps, and shows how amazing Kodachrome could be. (I used it exclusively, even for night shots with that slow 16 and 25 ASA, even if I had to sit for hours waiting for an exposure.) Stay Bolt InspectionThis gentleman is likely conducting inspection or repair of stay bolts inside a radial stay fire box. He's crawling (or peeking) out of an open butterfly fire box door. He appears to have air lines under his left glove for tools. Stay bolts keep the boiler in perfect radius around the fire box and are hollow so that when tested under pressure they leak and water can be detected on close inspection. A leaking stay bolt must be ground out and replaced. A deafening and dirty job. Shift ShaveFrom the stubble on his face, I would guess this was well into a long shift. Mr. Logan looks like a gentleman who started his shifts with a clean shave. If the hat fits.....That is certainly a very well-worn and stained Fedora that Leroy is wearing.....probably his favourite work-hat. I'll bet that it has seen a few years since it left the manufacturers. Firebox Door!That's it! I was trying to figure out exactly where Mr. Logan was on the locomotive. Not many clues here but I figured the castellated nut above his head is the pivot point of a "Butterfly" firebox door on the boiler backhead. The angled pipe to the left was used to open and close the door manually and on most engines there was also a foot pedal to open the door automatically for "hand firing." You can see part of the flue sheet inside the firebox above his right ear. Jack took the picture from the cab floor. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Jack Delano, Railroads)
A Face in the Crowd: 1920
... and through. All have luminous faces that can be seen at night. They are also fitted with nonbreakable glasses. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 8:11pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Selinger window, 820 F Street N.W., sale of Army wrist watches." Wristwatches, which saw widespread use during the First World War as "trench watches," were entering the mainstream as the era of the pocket watch began to wind down. National Photo glass negative. View full size. Self-portraitI'm sure there are others here on Shorpy, but finally, a reflection of the photographer and his camera (and onlookers). Ick!This looks more like a compost heap than a window display. If these were used watches and bands, I bet it smelled like one too. Bring it backThe old pocket watch that is. My granddad carried one into the 60's at least. When I lived with my grands for a year I always liked to see him lift it out of his vest and open it up. &quot;Watch&quot; the Birdie!Looks like about an 8x10 view camera, reflected in the window, just to our right of the $4 sign. Maybe that's the photographer in the straw boater. The rest of the crowd seems much more interested in the picture-taking action than in the pile of watches. I'd like to have a shoebox full today. Here is my Grandfather in 1918, second from right, at a training camp in New Jersey. All his buddies have their new-fangled wristwatches showing-- maybe his is hiding up his sleeve. It's possible he was carrying his own pocket watch, which we still have, and which is ultimately responsible for the first part of my screen name. Cheese!Check out Missus Glam-o-rama. " 'Watch' me!" Spy MuseumApparently, Selinger was located in the Warder Building on the corner of 9th Street. The reflection of the columns and wall of the 9th Street side of the Patent Office Building can be seen in the window. The Warder Building is now occupied by the Spy Museum. The Old Patent Office Building is now occupied by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. Block PreservedThat's the old Patent Office, now the National Portrait Gallery, reflected behind the group. Seen here previously on Shorpy. The National Park Service maintains this page on the entire block. I&#039;ll take the one at the bottomNo not that one, the one under the other side of the pile. &quot;A face in the crowd&quot;Oho. Nice wordplay. Rugged Little Timepieces Display Ad, Washington Post, May 1920 Taking into consideration that there were more than one thousand dealers after this lot of watches, much credit is due to Mr. S.M. Selinger, of this firm, for his untiring efforts in securing them, which number many thousands and give to us the exclusive sale for Washington. During the war these rugged little timepieces could not be made fast enough to supply men going into service at $25.00 each. Mail orders will be filled if accompanied by remittance for any number until our stock is exhausted. Do not forget that these Watches are Solid Silver through and through. All have luminous faces that can be seen at night. They are also fitted with nonbreakable glasses. Still in FashionSeeing the trend today is very large watches, these watches would not look out of place now. The movements used were originally made for small ladies fob watches with cases 38-40mm diameter. Also a lot of these trench watches had radium dials. Be interesting to walk past that window with a Geiger counter. Fancy Window ValanceAs in many of the shopfront windows seen on Shorpy, Selinger's window is dressed up with an ornate machine-embroidered cotton valance of appliqued scrollwork with cam-embroidered details and applied fringe. What's special about this photo is that one can see the embroidery details clearly in the valance's back-lit reflection in the mirror on the back wall of the display window. Mass-produced cam-embroidered fabric trims and laces were used for furnishing trims like this valance and even more for women's dresses and shirtwaists. Although these trims were machine-made, most of their finishing and assembly was accomplished by hand by piece-workers in sweatshops and tenements, as recorded by Lewis Hine and other photographers also seen on Shorpy. You&#039;ll wind up with this one.No one uses these anymore. You can't get batteries for them. Hurry!Time Left: 90y 3d 12h; reserve price NOT met; Buy It Now or Bid. Seller Location: Washington, D.C. Current Bid: $1,252.00. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Tonka Time: 1964
... remember that he insisted on having it in bed with him, at night, alongside his Teddy bear! The bear's name wasn't Teddy, though, it was ... 
 
Posted by Cerrito68 - 10/07/2012 - 3:58pm -

Here I am, Christmas 1964 with my new Tonka dump truck. I vividly remember sitting in the dump bed and riding it down our sloped driveway, bending the bed sides outward. View full size. Hard bedfellowsMy brother, born in 1959, got one of those for Christmas, probably the year before that. I remember that he insisted on having it in bed with him, at night, alongside his Teddy bear! The bear's name wasn't Teddy, though, it was "Joses." That was his version of Bill Dana's character from the Ed Sullivan Show, the "astronaut" who would say "My name Jose Jimenez." Fun TimesThat's the same vintage Tonka dump truck I had growing up in the 60's. My younger brother had one too but his had the hollow wheels, not the solid ones like the one in the picture. We used to turn the trucks around and sit on the dump overhang with our feet in the bed and ride them down the driveway. Sometimes I'm surprised we survived childhood. Woo-Woo TrainI got one of those engines for either Christmas 1964 or 1964. Mine was just like it, only red. It would wander all over the house by going in a straight line until it bumped into something. Then it would turn and go off in another direction. Periodically it would call out, "Woo-Woo!" Tonka, The BestGrowing up in the early 50s (born in '47), I looked with disdain at anyone's toy trucks if they weren't Tonkas, as all mine were. Sharp metal edges...The old Tonkas had two characteristics; sharp metal edges and they would flatten quite nicely when backed over with Mom's car. The Great TrainI distinctly remember that exact train though I haven't thought of it in years. I remember that when it would hit something it would automatically reverse, turn and go in another direction. I also remember watching the Civil War story The Great Locomotive Chase( a similar train) that was stolen and chased until captured. WOW ... a vivid memory I didn't even remember having. Now I wish I had that train ... turning to Ebay now. The Train, the Train!I guess everyone must have had that train because I had one also, mine never quite worked right though. I seem to recall the yellow part lighting up? I still see them fairly often in Antique Stores. How the Train WorkedThe way the train worked was quite ingenious: The wheels, like the one visible in the picture did not turn, nor did the engine rest on them. Instead, underneath at the balance point was a disc that rotate. Two rubber wheels on an axel were attached to a drive motor. I don't recall whether the disc could turn freely, or whether it, too, was attached to a motor. It could be that when the engine hit something, the "cow-catcher" (pilot) would create a sideways motion that, when combined with the turning wheels, would cause the disc to turn. Flight data recordersTonka trucks should be used for housing those flight recorders. These things were nearly indestructible. Even Chuck Norris agrees that he's met his match with these Tonkas. Indestructible, indeedare those Tonka toys. My older brother and I got the dumper truck (new, boxed) in the early 70s, together with a similar excavator crane, as a gift from an uncle who brought them from the United States (apparently overweight air luggage was not an issue back then). I distinctly remember the rubber 'exhaust pipes' and my fascination to press the inset plastic head lamps that produced a clicking sound. I also had that Japanese battery locomotive (bought here in Germany, also around 1971, but not so indestructible). The plastic steam dome was lit by a little bulb and was of a pale green color. The engine also produced some kind of smoke that I remember as a typical Christmas smell. It seems funny to me that I had the same combination of toys alsmost one decade later as the lucky boy in the picture. The king of hand-me-down toysI received that same exact Tonka dumptruck as a little kid, and now over 40 years later - after generations of playtime - you can still find it in the "beach toys" box at my country house, ready for my 2 year old nephew to enjoy next summer. They just do not build them the way they used to. HEY! WE Had Those, Too!No, not the truck or train -- the TV trays with the flowers on them. Tonka propulsionWe had the same dump truck back in the early 70s. Since the area around Houston isn't known for hills [and therefore we couldn't sit in the bed and let gravity do the rest], we would put one knee in the bed, grab the cab, and use the other leg to push kid and truck along at a pretty good clip. Thanks again, Shorpy, for another great childhood memory. Next Stop: Antiques RoadshowToday, that red Scando-SpaceAge armchair in the background might well be worth more than the rest of the room's non-human contents combined. Footies!Love the footie pajamas! Mine were red, and about 20 years later. Not a good excuseMy younger brother who is 65 years old rode one of these six weeks ago down his steep driveway and the dump truck dumped him on the concrete. He has been sore on his tailbone ever since and he uses this to explain any bad shot he has when we play golf. The Scary TrainI also had the same toy combo in 1967 when I was about three years old and I remember that the mournful "woooo-woooo" of that train scared the heck out of me for some reason. I fared better with the Tonka truck, though. Re: Scary TrainI also had this very same train, and I was scared by it too. I can even remember running from it, screaming, and my mother getting a big laugh out of that. We lived with her grandparents at the time, and I don't recall ever seeing it again, after that terrifying introduction. I'll bet Grandpa took it and hid it, he would have been very upset with his granddaughter for making "his Baby" cry. Happy EngineerAdd me to the club. I had those toys, too! Well, sort of. The train was at the home of my grandparents and the truck was my younger brother's. (I had a Tonka crane instead, but I sure loved playing with that dump truck.) My brother and I received the Tonka truck and crane in 1969 or 1970. The truck lived most of its life outdoors, engaged in "heavy industry" in a sandbox my dad built. When indoors it was used for hauling marbles, matchbox cars, Lincoln Logs, and sometimes even small boys. About that locomotive, I had completely forgotten about it until I saw one in an antique store a few years ago. It's funny how moments like that can trigger the recall of memories that may otherwise have been forgotten forever. It would have been 1967 or 1968, when I was 2 or 3 years old, when I played with that toy locomotive. I distinctly remember its sounds and how it rebounded and changed direction as it struck something. The toy must have become broken and subsequently discarded shortly thereafter because it entirely disappears from my memory of Grandma's toy inventory in later years. I'll share with you what is now a persistent memory of my experience with the locomotive. I remember gazing intently at the engineer - you can see him facing forward in the cab - and I wondered why he wasn't looking back at me. If I'm not mistaken, our eyes-on-the-road engineer is very noticeably smiling. Great pictureI got the same Tonka truck, probably at about the same time. I might have gotten it for my 2nd birthday, which would be 1965. I wonder if my parents have any pictures of me with it back then? Maybe. I still have the truck, by the way, and also a Mighty Loader, which I probably got at about the same time. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
After Hours: 1921
... episode in which department store mannequins come alive at night (with a little bit of the murderous doll episode thrown in). The ... the mannequins came to life after the store closed for the night. No long rows of fluorescent tubes here. The After Hours Dave: ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 1:20pm -

"Mrs. McPherson, interior, Lansburgh." 1921 or 1922. The old Lansburgh department store in Washington, D.C. View full size. National Photo Company. Just Perfect!It is amazing how different a reaction you can have to a photo, depending on your point of view! When I saw this photo, I nearly cried. This is something I would have dearly loved to have shown my mother, who passed away two years ago. She and I were in the antique doll business for 28 years, restoring and selling dolls. Our first shop was set up very similar to this, with antique dolls interspersed with baby and children's clothing. I KNEW that when I saw eight comments, most would be people who thought these little beauties were scary! LOL! But for me, seeing these lovely, jointed German Bisque dolls in their original clothing, was an amazing treat. At this time, it was the end of the bisque doll era, and soon composition (wood pulp and glue) "unbreakable" simple baby dolls would take over, and signal the end of the scary dolls with real looking teeth! Each one was a unique work of art, hand created by truly talented painters and porcelain artists. These dolls with their perfect hair and huge bows, the beautiful crocheted blankets, wool coats, satin hats, and the row of sailor dresses all make this one of my favorite photos I have ever seen on Shorpy! Thank you! Kathleen Chucky?I think I saw this movie. Chucky the evil doll comes to life and rages around the store, swinging his axe at any human foolish enough to stay in the store after hours. If the foolish people would just leave the store when the foreboding music begins, they wouldn't always fall victim to the evil dolls in these movies. CreepyThis has got to be one of the creepiest Shorpy photos ever. It reminds me of the Twilight Zone episode in which department store mannequins come alive at night (with a little bit of the murderous doll episode thrown in). The deflated beach ball hanging from the ceiling just adds to the weirdness. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?She's writing a letter to Daddy from the Lansburgh department store. ScaryI can already imagine those dolls coming to life, after the photographer left. For the recordI have looked at this picture for ten minutes and cannot think of anything to say about it. i mean that in a good, good way. Thanks. Creepy....Reminds me of a certain episode of "The Twilight Zone" by the same name -- "The After Hours." Have you found your gold thimble yet? Twilight zoneThe shadowy lighting reminds me of that Twilight Zone episode where the mannequins came to life after the store closed for the night. No long rows of fluorescent tubes here. The After HoursDave: My thoughts exactly. Now, how do I get out of here?! De De Do DoI find this image delightfully creepy! Almost looks like they'll come to life when the store closes at night! Merrie MelodiesNo Twilight Zone visions for me; what first came to my mind was one of those old black and white Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoons, where after the old watchman turned out all the lights aisle by aisle in the department store and locked the place up, all the dolls and toys would come to life and start singing bouncy Warren &amp; Dubin songs. What-da-dee-ya, hotcha! Fascinating....There is something compelling about those beautiful old china dolls. Something about them looking so lifelike and worldly, yet not being alive, but not dead either - I would think that, to be dead, something would have to have once lived. And, I too, remember that Twilight Zone episode. "Marcia," the protagonist, was played by Anne Francis, who later in the sixties starred in a mercifully forgotten TV show called "Honey West" (okay, okay!!...I watched it!! I was pubescent at the time!) Just Perfect, too!I love it. I'd love to see the dolls &amp; the wonderful baby clothes up close. My mom was born in 1921, so this picture makes me imagine my own mother as a sweet baby girl! Thanks for the wonderful picture! (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Varsity Stickman: 1924
... to the tender mercies of the Farkers. Tune in Thursday night for the results! Handsome Rake C'mon! If a fellow with such a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 9:31pm -

1924. "Lewis, Maryland Agricultural College." Gomer Lewis, University of Maryland lacrosse star. National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size. All-AmericanGomer Lewis was named All-American out home (attacker) player in 1924 and 1925. http://www.umterps.com/sports/m-lacros/history/all_americans.html The TerpsMaryland Agricultural College, now known as the University of Maryland, is in College Park just over the line from Washington. A longtime lacrosse powerhouse along with its Baltimore brethren at Johns Hopkins University. Whoo HooNice bod! A shame his name is Gomer. I wonder what became of him. More beefcake, please, Shorpy! BoxlaLacrosse is Canada's national sport, contrary to the beer-swilling, toothless, wrestling-on-ice corporate spectacle they refer to as NHL hockey. The leather helmet is a nice touch -- this guy must be one tough cookie, eh? Most lacrosse in Canadaland is box lacrosse, as opposed to field lacrosse, which is mostly played in hockey arenas. HogwartsIt's Ron Weasley with the Quidditch team! Looks Like Lewisohn StadiumThe setting looks like Lewisohn Stadium on Convent Avenue in New York City. Did they come to NYC to play someone in the area? [This is Byrd Field at the University of Maryland. Note MARYLAND spelled out across the stadium building. - Dave] The Byrd CageIt appears this was taken outside the old Byrd Stadium, which would have been less than a year old at the time of this photo. The old stadium, which seated 5,000, was used for only about 25 years before the Terrapins moved to another (much larger) stadium of the same name on the opposite end of campus, which is still in use today. The stadium shown in the background of this photo sat on the east side of US Route 1, across from the main section of campus. Ritchie Coliseum, the University's main gymnasium at the time, was built directly adjacent to the stadium in 1931. Today, the University's Fraternity Row sits on the site of the old Byrd Stadium. Knock on woodI just can't imagine playing the game back in the day. Wood sticks were the first, obviously, and remained traditional for years even with the introduction of plastic-headed sticks with metal shafts. I remember when I first took up the sport and my coach tried to force me to play with wood "because that's what everyone else used" but I refused to go along with it and I had the only plastic stick on the entire team. Turns out I was ahead of my time. I ended up getting better while everyone else experienced setbacks in their training when they were forced to switch from wood to plastic a few years later. Lots of funWhen I was a undergrad at U of Maryland during the early 1980s, I used to stop and watch the lacrosse games in the stadium when I was returning to the dorm after a trip to the library. Lots of fun, very very fast. Fark FodderEven as we speak, good ol' Gomer is being subjected to the tender mercies of the Farkers. Tune in Thursday night for the results! Handsome RakeC'mon! If a fellow with such a nicely developed set of quadriceps (and shoulders!) can't qualify for Rake status, who does? Please add him to the list, even if he does have a somewhat whimsical helmet and is named Gomer! Actually, I rather like the helmet. Gomer Gets FarkedFarked again. Colonel LewisGomer Lewis Jr., born May 24, 1903, in Washington to Gomer Lewis and Ida [Bauman] Lewis, attended Central High School. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1925 with a B.S. in engineering. Awarded an "M" letter in both football and lacrosse, he was named All-American in lacrosse in both 1924 and 1925, was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity, and was vice-president of the Inter-Fraternity Council. By 1928 Lewis began working for the Mountain States Telephone Company in both Tuscon and Phoenix. He joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 1932 as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Engineering Corps and later in the Field Artillery. In 1941 he was transferred to active duty in the Signal Corps, serving as an electronics engineer. His military career continued after the war, and he would eventually join the Air Force. His obituary states that he later served in the Korean War. He retired as a colonel in 1956. Lewis officiated at many football games in both the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast Conferences. He retired to Sedona, Arizona, in 1960, and died June 15, 1965, at the Phoenix Veterans Administration Hospital. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. (The Gallery, Farked, Handsome Rakes, Sports)
The Electric Birdcage: 1928
... signals pop out of the noise. (Not much improvement at night - all signals are already strong.) A well engineered AM radio on the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/16/2013 - 3:23am -

1928. Washington, D.C. "NO CAPTION" is the label for this Harris &amp; Ewing plate of a lady showing us an obviously superior example of whatever this is. Deep knowledge of the Shorpy catalog tells me this is Texanna Loomis of the Loomis Radio School. The thing is -- what? You tell us, in the comments. View full size. Low Frequency Frame AntennaIn the UK we used to call such things a "Frame Aerial" employed for radio receiving only. It has directional properties, providing a distinct "null" that can be used in radio direction finding. It is a much bigger version of the rod antennas that were used with transistor radios. I can only guess at the frequency coverage, since this depends on the value of the tuning capacitor (not shown in the photograph), but I would estimate around 100 Kilohertz or less (used to be called cycles per second)that was used for "long wave" signals. There is enough data in the photograph to give a semi-reasonable estimate of the inductance of the coil (frame aerial) to within around a factor of 2 or 3 (all depending upon the height of the charming lady. EasyIt's her cage, the world's first Go Go Dancer Radio antennaI believe that this is an antenna, possibly shortwave. Though I'm not sure for what specific frequencies. It&#039;s an antennaThat's a loop antenna. That particular design would keep the wires taut and perfectly aligned. Rotate For Best ReceptionIt's a ponderous loop antenna for a radio. Threw me for a loopIt's the largest loop antenna I've ever seen. In the early days of radio, large loop antennas took the place of long wires outside. You could rotate the antenna to "tune in" distant stations. A loop of this size must have been designed to tune below the present AM radio band. A much smaller version of this sort of antenna can be seen on the shelf to the left behind the subject here: https://www.shorpy.com/node/12635?size=_original#caption Just a guess...... but I believe this contraption is an antenna. A housewife&#039;s delightIt's an antenna, or an aerial, as we call them here. An aerial of this type was very sensitive; and many 'portable' receivers of the era had a similar aerial wound inside the receiver's lift-up lid. The lid normally also contained the loudspeaker. Frame aerials of this type were very directional, a useful feature when two stations were on almost the same frequency. Some receivers even had a small turntable built into their base, to enable easier rotation. More expensive domestic receivers were supplied with a smaller version of that exhibited by the splendidly-named Texanna. To some of us, those aerials look rather beautiful. I imagine those tasked with household dusting had other opinions. It&#039;s an antennaIt has been too many years so I can't remember what that type is called but it is a longwave antenna. Built me something similar in my bedroom when I was about 12. They should have been able to turn it on the center pole to improve its' directivity. Loop antenna.It's called a loop antenna. Amateur radio people use them. superior example of whatever this isA superior example of an antenna.probably for AM radio. ReceptionIts purpose is to catch waves....but I am more interested in the wheels of the cart to the right. It looks like an antennaBut I'll go with the safe answer and say it's a clothesline! Well, obviously it&#039;s the firstelectric clothes dryer! Suitable for drying even the most unattractive dresses. Radio antennaFrom the size of it, looks to be a very sensitive antenna for pulling in those really faint radio signals. The WeaversWe've got it all wrong. This a giant loom. Its part of another enterprise started by Texanna called "The New Loomis Loom School." ImpedanceIt's a loop antenna. Its virtue is a good impedance match between radio and free space, which makes use of more of the wave's energy to overcome the receiver's internal noise. You can get the same effect today with say a _passive_ Terk loop set next to an ordinary AM radio. The improved impedance match makes daytime radio signals pop out of the noise. (Not much improvement at night - all signals are already strong.) A well engineered AM radio on the other hand sees no improvement. It already had a good impedance match on its own. SinglesI don't care what the radio people think, I say it's a prototype developed by Kraft to slice American cheese. High AnxietyIt is one unit of an exterior elevator for claustrophobic people (as long as they are not also afraid of heights). A large aerialand a rather substantial set of legs on "Tex" Aerial?As a side note, and a comparison of sorts; the other day I stopped by a local Radio Shack to buy some wire to make a long aerial for my old radios and the (young) manager of the store got confused about what I meant by "aerial". That's right, the manager of Radio Shack didn't know what an aerial was. Go figure. LF AntennaI agree w/JohnG4ALA. I've built several, but not nearly that size! (Technology, The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing)
The Sultan's Palace: 1937
... strikes me. Harem of Horror I've spent many a night in this house but I never heard the thump of heads of the Sultan's harem ... person in the building was found butchered to death one night. The people were chopped into little bits and the police couldn't tell ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 4:05pm -

New Orleans, 1937. "Le Pretre Mansion, 716 Dauphine Street, built 1835-6. Joseph Saba house. Also called House of the Turk." As well as the Sultan's Palace. 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Iron LaceThere is nothing more iconically New Orleans than lacy ironwork balconies and long shuttered windows. I'm so in love with this image! Does anyone know if this building still exists? I'm from Oregon, but I've always loved New Orleans and will be back soon to visit. I'd love to put this gem on my list of places to see if it's there! One last question - is it because of potential flooding that the home appears to be built one story above the street entry level? Do those lower floors get used at all, or are they essentially a basement? IntoxicatingAnyone who has spent time in New Orleans knows there is no other place quite like it. It creates an atmosphere that is almost mind-altering, with the close, sultry, earthy air (no air conditioning in those days) and the curious, intimate stillness that occasionally occurs as in this photo, streets deserted with no signs of life except a bit of trash lying in the gutter. Where is everybody? They are inside and there lies the inspiration for the imagination. Especially intriguing are the rooms behind the real, fully functional shutters, open to air, closed to rain. Are the people within just trying to stay cool with overhead fans, are they cooking spicy, savory red beans and rice, are they making crazy love, sipping sweet tea and sampling pralines, listening to Louis Armstrong on the Victrola? I am transported back there by this so-accurate portrayal of a New Orleans street to where I can smell the smells and feel the surrounding humanity close, but unseen. Thank you Shorpy. As we know, you can leave New Orleans but New Orleans NEVER leaves you. Nice words, OTYYou've captured so beautifully what makes New Orleans unique. It is one of the world's great cities "with a feel" that you just can't and won't find anywhere else. I've been there half a dozen times or so, and every time I visit that curious intimate stillness you speak of strikes me. Harem of HorrorI've spent many a night in this house but I never heard the thump of heads of the Sultan's harem rolling down the stairs ... just the thump of tipsy neighbors falling up the stairs! http://www.nola.com/haunted/harem/hauntings/murder.html http://www.neworleansghosts.com/haunted_new_orleans.htm ["The Sultan's Massacre" makes a good ghost story, although it doesn't seem to be anything more than that -- a story. Any actual massacre would have been recorded in the newspapers of the day, and the "sultan" would have a name. If I had to pin one on him I'd say it was the Muslim entrepreneur Joseph Saba, who bought 716 Dauphine, along with several other New Orleans properties, after coming to America from Syria in 1886. What with Syria being part of the Ottoman Empire at the time, he could have been considered Turkish, although he wasn't a sultan, and seems to have died of natural causes. - Dave] The beauty of cast ironNow that large buildings are made of glass and steel, we see what we have lost: romance. Desiring a streetcarIts a shame that they tore out almost all of the streetcar system, the local traffic from Bywater to Carrollton and everywhere in between is miserable and could be seriously helped by better transit than the buses. Thank goodness for Google maps!This wonderful building still stands at the corner of Dauphine and Orleans Streets. It looks like most of the incredible ironwork is still there, as are the original shutters (some missing a few slats). The trolley car tracks are long gone, torn up and asphalted over, as happened in so many American cities in the decades between 1930 and 1950. Does the personal-injury lawyer who occupies the building know its history and alias? Let's hope a friend sends her to Shorpy if she doesn't. View Larger Map Thanks, Dave, for adding the map link. Shorpy has made a reflex out of the use of Google maps for street-level architectural site obit checking. Yes. The building is still there.This one, in particular has a good ghost story about it. A deposed Sultan rented the place and fillled it with harem girls and armed guards, not participating in the regular Creole culture of the City at all. Every single person in the building was found butchered to death one night. The people were chopped into little bits and the police couldn't tell how many people were killed. So the place is haunted. "They" say that it was his brother, the real Sultan who had the entourage killed, the murderers escaped before the crime was known to the public. I went to a garage sale in the courtyard once and pass by the building all the time. I just love living here in the Quarter. Many homes are elevated or have storage type basements that are actually sitting on ground floor. Re: Iron LaceThe French Quarter is on the highest ground in New Orleans, and since the installation of pumps in the 1890s, flooding, beyond an inch or so in the street, has been a rare event. The lower floors of all buildings in the Quarter are functional. True, subgrade basements are very rare in New Orleans. Dauphine dreamI was a bellman at a bed and breakfast on Dauphine Street my freshman year at Tulane in 1985. I had to be at work at 7 am Saturday and Sunday. I rode my bike from uptown, and this picture really reminds me of the early morning stillness of the Quarter. IronworkMuch of the intricate and beautiful wrought iron that has helped make New Orleans so unique was actually made in the industrial North, mostly Cincinnati. Then it was floated down the Ohio River to the Mississippi River and onto the balconies and steps and whatnot in N.O. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston, New Orleans)
RMS Lusitania: 1908
... Wouldn't want that job on a cold, rough North Atlantic night! Yep, an interesting perspective On this picture. Very cool. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2021 - 2:58pm -

The Hudson River circa 1908. "RMS Lusitania passing Hoboken piers." The doomed Cunard ocean liner would be torpedoed by a German submarine in 1915 with a loss of 1,198 lives. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. PingInteresting perspective. Photo looks kinda like it was taken from a periscope. Stunning!What a stunning image! How majestic those early super-liners were. A couple of interesting details: I'm surprised how many wires are holding the smokestacks in place. Also, it looks like smoke's only coming from the middle two stacks. Does anyone know if the Lusitania also had a dummy stack, like the Titanic? Most interesting detail I'm noticing is the crow's nest on the front mast. Before the days of radar, it was still the human eye that warned the captain of dangers ahead. Wouldn't want that job on a cold, rough North Atlantic night! Yep, an interesting perspectiveOn this picture. Very cool. Save YourselfLet's see: Eight lifeboats this side, presumably eight on the other, 40 people to a lifeboat (probably generous) = room for 640. By the time she was torpedoed the Lusitania had 48 lifeboats (some collapsible). Only six were successfully launched. The TaniasLusitania, Mauretania, Aquitania, and let's not forget Wonkatania! The AniasLet's not forget the Beatlemania! Many ironiesThe "Hoboken piers" in the background were then owned by two German-based shipping lines - Norddeutscher Lloyd and Hamburg America line. The U.S. seized them when it entered WWI, and then used the piers to unload the thousands of caskets of GIs killed in battle. Four FunnelsThe Lusitania and her slightly faster sister ship Mauretania each had four functional funnels. In this picture many of her boilers were undoubtedly exstinguished to conserve fuel as she entered NY harbor. Unlike the Titanic these ships were built for speed as well as luxury and had to meet certain government specifications for use during war time. In return the British government subsidized the cost of building both ships. And fast they were, faster than most if not all "liners" on the sea today. Look closely at the painted white water line on the ship and you will notice that much of it is missing even thought the ship is barely a year old in this picture. That was a telltale sign of a seriously fast ship back in the days before gel coat or epoxy paints! It would be well over two decades before another ship was built that could barely outrun the Lusitania's surviving sister. Even then the aging 23 year old Mauretania nearly took the speed record back with a stunning 27+ knot average Atlantic crossing. This is a spectacular photo of an historic, beautiful ship. As fast as she was, she could not outrun the torpedoes fired at her off the coast of Ireland on that tragic, warm sunny day in May nearly 100 years ago. I just found outMy grandmother came to America on this ship! Not this sailing (which would have been way too cool) but this ship! (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, WWI)
A Streetcar Named Henry: 1905
... in the modern photos, but it looks like a restaurant or night club with open air dining or dancing. It must have had fantastic views of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 3:32pm -

Back to the sunny South circa 1905. "Carondelet Street, New Orleans." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Possible BollardDoes anyone know what the post in the middle of the street (far down right) is? Actually, I just wanted to use one of my favorite Shorpy-learned words. Pedestrian WarningThat fellow standing in front of Fellman's, with his hands in his pockets, better look where he's going before he steps off that curb. 10 stories in the Crescent CityThe tall building down the street is New Orleans's first skyscraper, the 10-story (*11 stories counting the penthouse) Hennen Building, designed by Sully and Toledano and built 1893-1895. This view shows the building before alterations were made to it in the 1920s. The building is still standing and is now known as the Latter &amp; Blum Building. [The 11th floor was added in 1922. - Dave] That BollardIt prevented turning wagons from straying too far into a bend when rounding a corner. There are still quite a few around New Orleans today. Occasionally old cannons were also used for this purpose. MiffedWhat exactly IS it that Leon Fellman doesn't want me to see? Why would anyone wanta square cigar? Under the StarsWhat's that on the roof of the Hennen Building aka Latter &amp; Blum Building? It's gone in the modern photos, but it looks like a restaurant or night club with open air dining or dancing. It must have had fantastic views of the River and the City. Your knees are showing!That is one short tight skirt on the lady crossing the street with her back to us center stage. Her coat looks the same style as the white haired man's she is walking with. Short Pants??Am I crazy or is the guy on the left crossing Canal wearing short pants? The boy on the opposite corner, right side, is wearing knickers, but the guy I'm talking about looks to be wearing Bermuda shorts with a long jacket. Look at all those wiresYou know it's time someone invented underground utilities when you have to cobble telephone poles on top of telephone poles. Dear &quot;Miffed&quot;Mr. Fellman doesn't want you to see his new window display before it's perfected. Come back next week and be prepared to be seduced out of your money by the fabulous panorama of goods! In the meantime, you can peruse the fine selection of shirts featured behind the plate glass next door. Sincerely, Mr. Fellman's Window Dresser Re: Short PantsThose are knickers too. +99Same view from May of 2004 below (in lesser detail due to my second attempt at scanning slides taken prior to my conversion to digital). Immaculate ConceptionThe boy in the picture is not wearing knickers. He is a student at Jesuit's Immaculate Conception College on Baronne Street - one street over. Today it is Jesuit High School at a different location. From 1901 to 1907 the Corps of Cadets existed there and their uniform was the West Point cadet's uniform. (The Gallery, DPC, New Orleans, Stores & Markets, Streetcars)
Quiet Christmas: 1984
Christmas Day 1984. Or Recovery Day, after last night's big Christmas Eve dinner with my sister and her kids (well, the ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 12/18/2010 - 3:43pm -

Christmas Day 1984. Or Recovery Day, after last night's big Christmas Eve dinner with my sister and her kids (well, the youngest was 19) and presents. Now it's time to relax, at least for my father and brother. Mother's probably in the kitchen preparing a dinner of yummy leftovers; this year it was prime rib. Meanwhile, there are various goodies to munch and otherwise imbibe on. I've got seasonal music playing on my system down at the other end of the room. Knowing me, it's The Nutcracker. Despite the modern lights, our tree is full of vintage ornaments, some dating back to my mother's childhood. There are also my home-made Peanuts ornaments I'd done over 20 years before. I also see that Mother still hadn't given up on African violets; as a special Christmas offering, they even seem to be blooming. Available light Kodacolor 1000 negative. View full size. And yet anotherTear comes to my eyes as my childhood seems to mimic the wonderful life's boundaries of tterace and my family. Merry Christmas and God speed tterace. Wish we all had these memory captures What a great picture and one I'm sure you treasure. I wish I had a camera for the moments I can remember with my parents at these important times. You were blessed in having the resources to capture these moments the rest of us can visualize but not present. This represents all of us in some small way. Thanks for sharing. I WishDave, I wish I had some of the old pictures as you do, with some of the same great memories of family. This is wonderful to see. Merry Christmas to you, and the same to your great Shorpy fans. Merry Christmas, all! FulfilledThe Christmas notion of peace on earth seems fulfilled in this slice of your American family on Christmas Day, tterrace.. The thing I've learned about you and your family tterrace from the pictures you've shared with us on Shorpy is that you truly lived the American dream as you grew up and luckily you have appreciated that. Merry Christmas to you and my other Shorpy family friends. It&#039;s a wonderful lifeWow, what a great picture, tterrace. Wasn't this your dad's last Christmas? He seems to have had a wonderful life. My mom used to grow African violets. I can remember the special pots she had back in the '70s and '80s, that consisted of a small plastic pot that sat on a lid, atop a reservoir not unlike a margarine tub. A wick went from the pot into the reservoir, and drew a liquid plant food and water mixture into the pot with the plant. Ah, the Holiday Wind-downThis is not too different from my family's Christmas schedule. However, we'll hang out puting the Christmas jigsaw puzzle together and there will probably be a similar cordial to be enjoyed by all. Remember how excited we were to have such a fast film? I remember being a little disappointed of the HUGE grain in the image when it came back from the lab but now I really enjoy the artistic fuzzy dream like quality that the film imparts to warm scenes like this. Best of the season to all! A Christmas StoryI wish your family had adopted me, because seeing all the pictures you've shared with us over time makes me realize there WAS at least one non-dysfunctional family in the world. Thanks so much tterrace, and Merry Christmas to you and yours. Little birdsMy parents had a short string of novelty lights from the 40s that had birds, Santas, drums, and a few other things. When twinkle lights came out my dad threw them out along with the bubble lights. Big mistake. Candy everywhereI am curious to know how you all stayed so thin, what with all the candy we have been seeing in the Christmas shots. Match gameI count five, maybe six glass ornaments that are identical to ones that have hung on my parents' tree every year since I can remember. My parents brought boxes of beautiful Christmas decorations with them when they made the move to L.A. from Detroit in 1963, including a special ornament my mother saved from her childhood, and that only she is allowed to hang up. There isn't a silvery cherub's head hanging around the other side of that tree, is there? Always love the tterrace pics. A Beautiful PhotoSo wonderful -- I could feel the warmth and quiet affection in that room. Merry Xmas. Click.What struck me most about this picture was that it was after dinner in the evening and no one is watching TV. Nowadays, people don't think twice before flicking on the TV when it's time to relax in the living room, but how I remember my own childhood in the 1970s, when evenings, particularly around Christmas, were spent curled up with a book in the living room. This has motivated me to try and get my own family to do the same -- but it will be a challenge, my father has quite a lead hand when it comes to the remote! Beautiful, peaceful picture. Thank you for sharing. I thoughtthe crossword puzzle was supposed to be saved for your mom. HoochWhat's the bottle of hooch sitting on the table between them? B&amp;B? Maybe a chocolate liqueur? It looks full, so maybe it just got unwrapped a few hours ago. It&#039;s a Wonderful Lifewas just a movie made by Hollywood, while Tterrace and his siblings actually lived the wonderful life. Thank you so much for sharing your lovely parents and childhood home with us. The boxThat box on the ottoman sure looks like the box I've used for 25 years to hold my oldest ornaments, some Czech glass bead ones that my dad bought in 1947. I think it's from Italian Swiss Colony. That must be where all those goodies came from. Happy New Year, Tterrace ! Sorry, I am late wishing you a Merry Christmas - but wanted to say "thanks" for sharing your life with us, you've become part of mine for sure! I felt like I'd forgotten to call a long-lost cousin and wish him Holiday salutations ~ so from my mid-century home on the East Coast to yours in Sunny ... er .. (wherever you are now): Merry Christmas &amp; Happy New Year! (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Christmas, tterrapix)
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