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- Night Service (Colorized): 1939
- My colorized version of the Shorpy original Night Service .
Nice as aways, Sir Beautifully done.
Nice as always ... Posted by SirCarl - 06/06/2018 - 3:11pm -
- Picnic at Night
- A picnic at night time? Sure why not? These people are having fun. Try it yourself. From my ... Posted by mhallack - 11/22/2013 - 7:43pm -
- Night Store 2
- Street level view of the building lit up at night. From my negatives collection.
UPDATE: The store is Denholm and McKay, ... Posted by mhallack - 08/03/2013 - 2:43pm -
- Nether Again: 1900
- ... Dave]
Carbon Arc Lamps Which would literally turn night into a nightmarish form of day. They're so bright.
We used to have ... Posted by Dave - 05/02/2024 - 4:57pm -
![New York, 1900. "Hotel Netherland, Fifth Avenue and 59th Street." Our sixth look at this historic hostelry. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size.
I can't prove itBut I think I am descended from the lady in the far right of the photo with the huge black bow on her head and what I suspect is a perpetually quizzical look on her face. That snazzy skirt gives it away too.
Complicated then, forgotten nowPark and Tilford, founded in 1840, were ... well let's just call them "grocers." The actual history seems to be as involved as 220,877 newspaper hits might suggest. An importer of fine foods, after Prohibition they became known for a line of whiskies.
Bryan-StevensonNote the Tammany Hall banner promoting the Democratic presidential ticket of William Jennings Bryan and Adlai Stevenson, who ended up losing the 1900 election to William McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt.
Illuminate usIs that a gas or electric light in the foreground?
[Carbon arc lamp. - Dave]
Carbon Arc LampsWhich would literally turn night into a nightmarish form of day. They're so bright.
We used to have WWII surplus arc lamp spotlights at our state fair that would send beams tens of thousands of feet into the air. Some idiot sold them to a company in Houston.
Snazzy skirtThe distinctively-patterned skirt on the 1900 avatar of JennyPennifer on the far right is remarkably similar to the skirt on the woman behind her and to the left a bit. Is it simply a coincidence, a fashion of the day, or some photographic effect?
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Streetcars)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-4a08183a.thumbnail.jpg "Nether Again: 1900")
- Family Game Night
- There was a time when people stayed at home and played board games with their family. This photo is from the archives of The Carrom Company that made this game, known as the "Carrom Game Board" or just "Carroms". Many versions of this game were ma ... Posted by sledworks - 11/27/2011 - 12:30pm -
- The Night Air: 1941
- January 1941. "Jones and Laughlin Steel Company. Beehive coke ovens. Aliquippa, Pennsylvania." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon. View full size.
Reality Show This was a major form of entertainment for us kids of the 1940s; ... Posted by Dave - 02/18/2020 - 8:45pm -
- Night Ride (Colorized): 1943
- Colorized from this Shorpy original. View full size.
Great atmosphere Really nice job, I love how you brought out the atmosphere in this obe!
I Agree! Super nice job!
(Colorized Photos) ... Posted by tom thounaojam - 11/29/2013 - 8:31pm -
- An Early Night: 189x
- "Armstrong, Master. Between February 1894 and February 1901." 5x7 glass negative from the C.M. Bell portrait studio in Washington, D.C. View full size.
Ahead of His Time? That's an interesting print on the young man's collar. It antici ... Posted by Dave - 09/06/2017 - 12:11am -
- Expo 67 at Night
- Montreal, 1967. This shot was taken using 35mm Kodachrome with the camera resting on a railing. In the distance, the U.S. pavilion is the Buckminster Fuller dome on the left while the U.S.S.R. pavilion is the brightly-lit dipping roof building on ... Posted by Islander800 - 11/23/2012 - 10:14pm -
- Night Coach: 1941
- December 24, 1941. Washington, D.C. "Greyhound bus terminal on Christmas eve. Little girl waiting." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon. View full size.
I wish I knew I'm a novelist. I believe that for me, the coolest thing ab ... Posted by Dave - 03/24/2020 - 11:24am -
- Saturday Night on the Square, c. 1948
- Saugatuck, Michigan music on the square, c. 1948. The musicians and the children are captivating on a humid July Saturday evening. Photo by Bill Simmons. View full size.
That's quite a combo Hammered dulcimer, fiddle and pump organ ... Posted by jack sheridan - 01/26/2010 - 11:15am -
- Silent Night (Colorized): 1940
- Colorized from this Shorpy original. View full size.
Nice Job! Well done, SirCarl! I pondered doing this one myself but didn't think much color would be involved with all the snow. Thanks for proving me wrong!
(Colorized Photos) ... Posted by SirCarl - 02/06/2015 - 7:18pm -
- Friday Night: 1909
- 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 17, 1909. Newark, N.J. Nicholas Giuseppi, 65 River St. Sells until later than this. View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
(The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine) ... Posted by Dave - 12/10/2007 - 3:20pm -
- Planes, Trains: 1935
- ... the eventual doom of the railroad age."
Train by night, plane by day In 1935, the Pennsylvania Railroad, along with the Santa ... with TWA. In the early days of commercial air travel, night flying was not yet viewed to be safe, so for a time the railroads would ... Posted by Dave - 02/27/2014 - 10:03am -
![June 12, 1935. "Newark passenger station, Pennsylvania Railroad. Waiting room, sunlight and passengers. McKim, Mead & White, client." Waiting for someone to explain the plane. Large format negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.
McKim, Mead & WhiteThis question may merely be in consequence of my occasional transient befuddlement, but whose client is McKim, Mead & White?
[The photographic firm of Samuel Gottscho and William Schleisner. -tterrace]
History of transportation"The interior of the main waiting room has medallions illustrating the history of transportation, from wagons to steamships to cars and airplanes, the eventual doom of the railroad age."
Train by night, plane by dayIn 1935, the Pennsylvania Railroad, along with the Santa Fe Railroad out west, had a partnership with TWA. In the early days of commercial air travel, night flying was not yet viewed to be safe, so for a time the railroads would partner with airlines, to offer fastest transcontinental services by taking the trains overnight, and flying during the day. You would leave New York in the evening, and take an overnight train to Columbus, Ohio where you would board a plane to Wichita, Kansas. At Wichita, you would board the Santa Fe for an overnight trip to Clovis, New Mexico, where you would get on another plane to either L.A. or San Francisco.
As Newark Penn Station opened in 1935, I expect that's why there's a plane on the wall.
What's your sign?In addition to the medallions symbolizing the history of transportation on the walls, the hanging lanterns are surrounded with ornamental bands depicting astrological signs; not sure how that ties into the history of transportation.
Excitement not shownAs a kid visiting Newark Station long ago to pick up Grandmother from Cincinnati, it was unbelievably exciting. Huge rumbles from overhead trains coming in, and when you were old enough you got to visit various platforms to be near trains. Those were real trains, with GG-1 locomotives and pullman cars and full service dining cars. Unintelligible public address announcements. It started to go downhill around 1960.
Memories of homeAs a former Newark resident I remember this waiting room quite well. I would pass through there on my way to catch the PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson) Trains to NYC. Outside the windows on the left there was usually a queue of taxis lined up. Behind the doors below the airplane was an exit that led to loading platforms for buses that went to places like Seaside and Asbury Park.
I left Newark in 1976 but I suspect that the waiting room looks the same today as it did back in 1935.
Times ChangeWhile the structure of the room remains the same, the ambience is somewhat diminished. The benches are usually populated with vagrants. I frequently notice that, as a result, those who are seated are spread out, as no one chooses to sit within five feet or so of the "regulars".
It's a depressing room these days; at least on the weekends, when I pass through. If the situation is better on weekdays, I'd be happy to hear of it.
Still crazy busy, after all these yearsYes, it does look substantially the same today, thanks to an extensive restoration in the 1980's. Newark Penn features four levels of interconnections: Cabs and buses at street level; Tracks 1-5 above, including NJ Transit, Amtrak Regional and Acela service; PATH trains ("The Tubes") at roof level; and a basement-level terminal for multiple light rail lines. As late as the 80's, this last level ran 1940's PCC trolleys... ten cents intra-city in those days. A few abandoned cars were found in a walled-off siding under the street when that siding was returned to service for new light rail service around 2002.
Some ChangesIn front of the windows, where the three lone travelers sit, is now a high-tech snack bar. Incongruous with the lovely deco surroundings. It's not unusual to find sparrows, pigeons, or other flighted friends walking or fluttering about. To their credit, Newark's Finest do their best to keep the waiting room and platforms clear of homeless and panhandlers. Taxis still line up outside, but passengers departing need to walk more than a block from their designated "drop-off" area since 9/11. Progress...
Opening the windowsAnyone know how this was done? I see the hinge apparatus but wondering how opening the high windows was achieved?
Some funky cable cable system? Long poles?
[There's a fitting with what looks like a crank hole near the base of each window. - Dave]
Trains vs. PlanesI don't know why, but I still have to see the airport building or photograph thereof which rings a bell with me anywhere near as much as well-designed well-built train station.
On an airport, the planes are the show, if at all.
Maybe it has to do with much greater accessibility and, say, democratic "feel" of a train station? Or with their general location (middle of town vs. outskirts to boonies)?
re McKim Mead & WhiteWell, to quote Katnip, "that sounds logical".
About that planeSince Newark constructed an airport in 1928, there is a better than average chance that the reference is there. You know, take the train to the station and a cab or bus to the plane. Still done today. Not many trains to planes, even now.
"Airway Limited"Transcontinental Air Transport (New York to Los Angeles (Glendale) in less than 51 hours, train-plane-train-plane) started in summer 1929; one-way fare was $338 including a lower berth each night on the train. By 1935 it was all over-- T&WA DC-2s were scheduled Newark to Glendale? Burbank? in less than 18 hours and the fare was $160.
Train Time!I'm totally amazed that no one has noticed that it's time for the Chattanooga Choo Choo to head South ('bout a quarter to four).
Transportation medallionsIf I recall correctly, there are twelve medallions total. Penn Station Newark is still a place at which you can start a cross-country train journey, and while Amtrak is not as elegant as Pullman cars nor as attractive as GG-1s, it's still comfortable and good food served in the dining cars.
Medallion of "Electric Locomotive"Here's a shot of one of the medallions at the other end of the building.
Let there be light!The original lighting fixtures after being cleaned and refurbished.
MedallionsHere is a more modern view of the interior. Notice the other medallions.
(The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, Railroads)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY_5a02635u.thumbnail.jpg "Planes, Trains: 1935")
- Night in the Big Easy: 1941
- Canal Street, New Orleans, in 1941, and all of the revelers are off the street. Some to the Jung Hotel, perhaps, now closed (owned by a successor hotel chain) since Katrina. Photo taken by the father of one of my best friends. View full size. ... Posted by Don Struke - 09/13/2010 - 10:26am -
- For the Duration: 1942
- ... for the Office of War Information. View full size.
NIght shots Phenomenal photo. Good find.
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, ... Posted by Dave - 06/16/2023 - 6:10pm -
- Shave Yourself: 1910
- ... Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1910. "The Boardwalk at night." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
The boardwalk at night is really a timeless view. One can almost see Snooki and Jwoww ... Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 2:01pm -
![Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1910. "The Boardwalk at night." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
The boardwalk at nightis really a timeless view. One can almost see Snooki and Jwoww staggering along the boards in the harsh glow of the electric lights.
No PeopleThat's really unusual for any photo from Atlantic City.
[That blur on the boardwalk is people. This was a time exposure. - Dave]
Return of HelmarYes! The Helmar Cigarettes sign at night! I loved the spare wire construction of it in the daytime shot and wondered about it. Now I see that it was apparently holding lights. One of many things I love about Shorpy is that the answer to questions usually shows up eventually-- either in another shot or from a commenter.
This is a gorgeous view though. I can't get enough of these black and white nighttime scenes.
Not a dirty Brady in the bunchFrom the 2000 Arcadia Publishing book Atlantic City by John T. Cunningham and Kenneth D. Cole:
When bathers in 1887 shed their exhibitions, they did so in bath houses such as Brady’s Baths. Each day bathers leased suits from Brady's for wading in the water. For those who abstained, Brady's built a covered observation deck just off the boardwalk. The woolen or flannel suits may have endangered bathers if they ventured too far into the water, as the suits became heavy when waterlogged.
["Shed their exhibitions"? Hm. - Dave]
Tripician's MacaroonsA few of the pictured businesses on the boardwalk:
C.M. Kuory (furniture).
The Tokio.
Field's Mexican Store.
Shourds.
Tripician's (confections), still in business.
In old ACEven though I'm an avowed tv addict I don't like to apply ANYthing I see on the tube to my beloved Shorpy page. I like to keep you separate from the rest of my world, kinda like an oasis. Gotta make one exception though; doesn't look like I'm gonna be able to not think of "Boardwalk Empire" whenever I see vintage pictures of Atlantic City. They just made that era in that place so VIVID.
An Enduring ProductThis morning I "shaved by myself" with my old Gillette Safety Razor, a close relative of the one being hawked in this photo. It's still a great shave.
The Safety Razorshould never be used by five-year olds as a means of washing the remnants of a spaghetti dinner away ala "shaving just like Dad". The result may be a small scar on the upper lip like mine.
GhostelI love how the old Hotel Traymore is just barely visible in this shot. The floodlights on Brady's Baths gives this photo a remarkable feel.
Neon evangelism?I was always taught that we cannot shave ourselves; only Jesus shaves. Or something like that.
Miami-CareyOff the wall like most of my comments, but, here I go anyway. This reminded me of the old medicine chests with the slot in the back to dispose of your used razor blades. All they did is drop into the space between the wall studs. This was in the days of real men who didn't need no stinkin' insulation!
ShopfrontsFive wonderful shopfronts in the foreground, from F.W.Woolworth to The Tokio. I grew up in Upminster, Essex, England and our local 'Woolworths' had a similar shop front to this one - although it was never known as the 5 and Dime, for obvious reasons.
Boardwalk EmpireI don't know about Snooki, but I can imagine Nucky in this picture.
Something went wrongJudging from the 'movement' in the lights, it looks like either somebody kicked the tripod during the exposure, or it wasn't completely steady. I can't imagine the razor was moving during the exposure.
[The camera moved near the start or end of the exposure. - Dave]
From the Movie "Atlantic City"Like Burt Lancaster said, "In those days, Atlantic City had floy-floy."
Safety razorI last used a safety razor a couple of years ago just to try it out for old times sake. I guess there must have been a trick to using one, because even with a new blade my neck was full of little nicks. Needless to say I went back to the more modern version.
(The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/4a25164a.thumbnail.jpg "Shave Yourself: 1910")
- Broadway by Night: 1950
- New York 1950. Kodachrome/Argus C3 camera. View full size.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery) ... Posted by mpcdsp - 10/05/2013 - 9:28am -
- Good Night, Mrs. Calabash (Colorized): 1952
- My colorized version of this Shorpy original. View full size.
(Colorized Photos) ... Posted by tedturner - 09/19/2014 - 7:36pm -
- Avenging Angels: 1943
- ... of overhead crane system? Neat photo.
Designed in One Night In the book, "My Forty Years with Ford," Charles Sorensen, Ford's ... plants all over the world, Sorensen stayed up all night in his hotel room sketching out the layout that would become the Willow ... Posted by Dave - 12/07/2021 - 1:11pm -
- Night Service (Colorized): 1940
- My colorized version of this Shorpy photo .
(Colorized Photos) ... Posted by SirCarl - 01/15/2020 - 11:18am -
- Night and Day (Colorized): 1954
- The great Billie Holiday, colorized from this Shorpy original. View full size.
(Colorized Photos) ... Posted by tedturner - 01/02/2015 - 7:51pm -
- Detroit at Night, c.1910
- Not sure what road we're looking at. Could be Woodward, which is the main road running NE from the Detroit River. Or it could be Jefferson, Michigan Ave, Grand River, Gratiot (the road system in Detroit is laid out like the spokes of a wheel). P ... Posted by mackinaw - 10/24/2014 - 6:46pm -
- Night Store 1
- Unknown location. Can anyone help? I recognize one of the cars as a Jeepster, late 40? From my negatives collection.
UPDATE: The store is Denholm and McKay, Worcester Mass. Was in business until 1973. The building still stands today.
View fu ... Posted by mhallack - 08/03/2013 - 2:45pm -
- Christmas Night: 1960
- Our Christmas, 1960 in Quebec. My brothers and I are proudly displaying our haul with Mom. I've already assembled my AMT Corvair 3-in-one kit, choosing the competition mode. This must have been a prediction of things to come, as my first car in 19 ... Posted by Islander800 - 12/19/2015 - 11:35pm -
- Paris by Night: 1974
- This photo was taken in 1974 in the famous nightclub l'Alcazar, in Paris. Right in the front my father, back left my mother. View full size.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery) ... Posted by Sam Trani - 03/24/2018 - 12:15pm -
- Chelsea Morning: 1912
- ... lower left.
It looks like a giant Vacuum Cleaner?
Night March The notorious reputation of "Death Avenue" for fatal train ... here before. An extraordinary event occurred on the night of October 24, 1908, when 500 schoolchildren marched down the avenue, ... Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 2:58pm -
![New York circa 1912. "West Street (11th Avenue) north from 26th, view of Hudson River." As well as the Chelsea Piers and fluttering banner atop the Otis Elevator building. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
W&J Sloane WarehouseThe W&J Sloane Company was a high-end home furnishing business. Established in 1843, they filed for bankruptcy protection in 1985. Their retail store was at 888 Broadway, at 18th Street, now home to ABC Carpeting, a similar business. This area was known as the "Ladies Mile" district it had many stores catering to the well-to-do. Sloane eventually moved to the even more exclusive 5th Avenue.
Strange piece of machineryI'm really curious as to what this device is in the lower left.
It looks like a giant Vacuum Cleaner?
Night MarchThe notorious reputation of "Death Avenue" for fatal train accidents has been mentioned here before. An extraordinary event occurred on the night of October 24, 1908, when 500 schoolchildren marched down the avenue, "carrying American badges and flags draped in mourning," to protest the death of 7-year-old Seth Low Hascamp. The boy had been "ground to death" the month before, when he fell off the top of a freight car at 11th and West 35th during a game of Follow-the-Leader.
Ups and downsThe Otis building is still there!
Buck buck.I love the small details in these photos. In this one, unloading or more likely cleaning up the carcasses from a poultry car in the lower left corner.
Nary an automobile in sight.But there is a steam dummy crossing the avenue just past the Otis building. Steam dummies were locomotives disguised with car bodies so as not to alarm horses.
[There's an automobile just a few feet away. - Dave]
And I, evidently, need new glasses!
Cement MixerPutti; putti...
The Strange Device is, I believe, a skid-mounted (hence portable, sort of) steam-operated cement mixer. The large dark vertical cylinder is the boiler, the engine - also vertical - can be be seen to the right of it, and the big barrel is the mixer itself with its delivery chute facing us.
Now, back to Pico and Sepulveda.
Otis Elevator BuildingThe history of Otis Elevator and its headquarters building can be found in West Chelsea Historic District pages 81 to 84.
Re: Cement MixerTahoePines, you are correct, thank you.
Knowing what it is I was able to find this illustration (or really grainy photograph?) of a similar machine.
Cornell Iron Works still in the worksSometimes searching the names of the old firms in the wonderful Shorpy photos yields surprises. Cornell Iron Works is still going and the in depth historical information on its website mentions this location on the far side of the cement mixer.
Terminal Warehouse!Still there, looks relatively untouched:
View Larger Map
I'm pretty jazzed about that.
A little place for my stuffThe Terminal Warehouse is today partially occupied by a "mini-storage" facility. I kept the excess stuff that I, for some unknown reason, owned that didn't fit in my Manhattan apartment there for a couple of years (until I could finally afford a bigger place to live). Very interesting cast of characters hanging around that place, including some well-known musicians who used their storage rooms as practice spaces, which definitely brightened up the otherwise dreary surroundings.
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC, Railroads)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY_4a25596a.thumbnail.jpg "Chelsea Morning: 1912")
- Wyoming Baseball: 1910s
- ... ever seeing trousers with a belt loop over the fly.
Night football The recent Wyoming Seminary postings especially caught my eye ... opponent in the first American football game played at night in 1892.
The town, along with what is now Mansfield University, ... Posted by Dave - 11/26/2014 - 1:51pm -
![ UPDATE: Our astute commenters reveal the location to be Wyoming Valley Seminary College in northeastern Pennsylvania.
"Wyoming baseball" is all it says on this 4x5 negative, from the same batch of glass plates as these college lads. The buildings are another clue. View full size.
Looking into the pastSince the two principal structures still exist this would be a perfect setting for this type of photograph. Any Shorpyites up to the job?
Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, PAHere's a Street View near where this photo was taken.
View Larger Map
View Larger Map
Wyoming Valley Seminary CollegeI am thinking this is taken at the Wyoming Valley Seminary College in northeastern Pennsylvania.
This Methodist seminary was founded in 1840.
(Edit: I notice that while I was posting my guess, kbostian was ahead of me by 2 minutes. Curses, foiled again.)
[More like 2½ hours, if you look at the time stamps. Although your comments were published simultaneously. -Dave]
(Edit: another thing I learned, when you edit your comments, the time stamp changes too.)
[Good point! -Dave]
Ripley Would Have Been ProudVenus de Milo in the window on the left and The Elephant Man in the window to her right.
Some clewsThe graffito directly to the man's left says "1912." (A proleptic message from the Class of, perhaps?)
I looked to see whether the building in the background matches any churches in Laramie. Although there are some with similar capped buttresses, I couldn't find a match.
[As it turns out (see below), Wyoming is in Pennsylvania. - Dave]
Not impressedAfter more than three years of being amazed by the historical and technical knowledge of the Shorpyites, coupled with their incredibly persistent detective work, I am unsatisfied with just knowing this is Wyoming Valley College.
I want to know the position played by the ballplayer, and whether he was right or left-handed.
The clock is ticking.
PS:
I cannot recall ever seeing trousers with a belt loop over the fly.
Night footballThe recent Wyoming Seminary postings especially caught my eye as I live in Mansfield, PA and Wyoming was Mansfield State Normal's opponent in the first American football game played at night in 1892.
The town, along with what is now Mansfield University, reenact the flying wedge style game as part of an annual 1890s themed weekend of activities.
(The Gallery, Found Photos, Sports)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-144-01.thumbnail.jpg "Wyoming Baseball: 1910s")
- People's People: 1921
- ... are just plain odd-looking. - Dave]
Vanpires by night. This is the strangest looking combined group I've ever seen here so ... Posted by Dave - 12/08/2011 - 9:58am -
![Washington, D.C., circa 1921. "People's Drug Store group, 7th and K Streets." The folks behind (and in front of) the vibrator display seen in this post. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Hands OutNowadays half the hands would be buried in pockets.
Hypo-Cod peeper!I see a peeper in the upper right corner. Another great pic, thanks.
Coif, coifThey should have found someone to tidy up the woman's hair after her exhumation.
It's moida, I tell yaAnd one of yems da moidera!
In this cornerI'd bet money the guy on the right is a boxer. That's a broken nose and those eyes were black a week ago. At that time Convention Hall Market a couple blocks away was a premier boxing venue.
Hair Days of OldHow is it the one woman in the picture is the only one with unkempt hair? Not that greasing your hair down involves a lot of maintenance.
By a headThis is, without a doubt, the largest collection of large-headed people I have ever seen. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Like others, I scanned from left to right. I was completely taken aback by the guy on the far left, until I moved farther to the right. Then I reached the end of the line. Enough said.
Erm, I'll come back laterAll of these people look like maniacs. Seriously -- is it just the lighting?
My photo captionwould have read "Aliens disguised as earthlings pose with the mother of Norman Bates." The word "surreal" is greatly overused today, but it absolutely fits if you look at this picture close-up. Weird I tell ya, very weird.
[That's something a lot of people comment on in these unsynchronized magnesium-powder exposures. The photographer opens the shutter before igniting the powder, so the shot catches people with their eyes open when it flashes, and then closed, if they blink. The result is a kind of double exposure with eyelids superimposed over eyeballs, which gives people that glazed-zombie look. Plus of course there is the fact that some of these people are just plain odd-looking. - Dave]
Vanpires by night. This is the strangest looking combined group I've ever seen here so far. They are all creeps, including the woman. If they closed their eyes, I would think them all dead. What's with the ultra creep up in the right hand corner peering from his lofty perch. He's likely the ring leader of this madcap group.
A little too much tasting of the product going on perhaps?
I'm sure thatthe guy on the left inspired a Chester Gould character.
You think these folksare strange, you should see Igor in the back room!
Watch Out!Someone please tell the pleasant looking gentleman on the top left that a shady character is coming from the corner to take him out! Possibly in cahoots with the photographer?
Pre-depression yearsIt would be interesting to know how many of the companies represented by the products on display in this store survived the long Great Depression.
Young Stockboy LenoI did not know that Jay Leno was that old.
Ears lookin' at you kidWhew. Some serious ears going on with this group! Also couldn't help noticing that the stock clerk at the ceiling looks like an early relative of Ryan Gosling and Jay Leno!
Call for KiwiShoe polish might be a big seller. Just a thought.
Rouges galleryThose are some of the scariest looking people I've ever seen.
Exposure timeWhat would be the exposure for a shot like this? Most have excellent detail, which I think the large format camera give, but was curious about the exposure time.
[As we can see from the stock clerk's blurry arm, longer than what a modern flash exposure would use. The flash here is unsynchronized. The photographer opens the shutter just before he or an assistant sets off the charge of magnesium powder. One common artifact of this process is what might be called "zombie eyes," where the exposure catches a person's eyes both open and closed, if he blinks. - Dave]
Pyralin Ivory!Never heard of Pyralin Ivory before, but I'm seeing Google hits galore. It's a kind of celluloid plastic.
As an old school Dungeons and Dragons player, I'm well qualified to identify many of these gentlemen as Half Goblins. Except the fellow on the far right, who is half Hobgoblin.
I like the smile on the guy way up under the pressed tin ceiling. He looks like the happiest one present.
Where shopping is a pleasureEven for early 1900s group photo standards, this is a strange looking bunch. Is that Armin Shimmerman on the left?
YOWThe really scary thought here is that this random sample of individuals is probably representative of the population at that time.
Very handsomeThe man third from the left is handsome even by modern standards and his stance looks athletic. There is a Peter Lorre lookalike peeking in on the extreme upper right!
Dress CodeWhen was the last time you saw clerks in your local drug store wearing three-piece suits?
CornermanNever mind Jay Leno. I'm pretty sure that's Buster Keaton in the top right.
You Rang?I was looking at the full-size version of this photo, having only glanced at first at the smaller version. My, that fellow 4th from the left is tall, isn't he? I slowly scrolled the screen from left to right, gazing upon each face until I got to the last one and ... AAAAHHHHHH!!! I think I jumped back in my chair! My, he's, um, big. Between his size, the expression on his face and his closer proximity to the camera, he certainly stands out in a crowd. Someone mentioned The Addams family -- I think this guy could've applied for the position of Lurch. He doesn't look that imposing or creepy in the smaller photo, though.
"Just the Facts Ma'am"The fellow second from the right looks like Jack Webb, AKA Sgt. Friday from Dragnet!
Tim Burton's dream storeRandom Observations:
I actually jumped a little in my chair when I noticed the creepster in the upper right corner. Holy jeez.
I wonder if it's a family who owns and runs the place, the ears are all eerily similar. (Pun intended.)
Is that Ms. Bara above and slightly to the right of the word "pens"?
I'm always amazed at prices: alarm clocks from $3-7, and you can still get them at Walmart for $5.
Part Time BoxersI can't help thinking as I look at the noses here that most of these guys either founds themselves in a lot of fights as kids or spent some time boxing. It's interesting to note the beginning of the disposable plastics era -- the push here of the DuPont Pyralin celluloid "Material of a Thousand Uses" products. I keep thinking, somewhere there is a traveling Dupont Pyralin Ivory salesman driving home who can't wait to tell his buddies how he scored the deal of a lifetime down in D.C.
Addams Family drug storeHard to decide whether the "Hypo Cod" that "prevents coughs, colds, and influenza" for $1.20 a bottle, or the Chest protector that "prevents cold and flu" are the bigger scams.
Whichever, this is one creepy photo.
Between that giant kewpie doll, and all that crepe paper hanging from the incandescent lamps next to the celluloid display, you have a horror movie in the making. Pyralin Ivory is basically celluloid, which is flammable as all heck. So, of course, you should make the lamp shades next to it as close to a fire hazard as you can get!
I'm droolinglooking at those hand-painted signs, all freehand and perfect, my dream was to be a signmaker, too late, wrong era.
The Straight ManThe guy third from the left is the only one who even looks like he has a chance of being normal. It looks like the perfect cast for a TV sitcom or perhaps a musical Vaudeville dark comedy act.
Swept awayCertainly the most beguiling (or maybe the only) display of whisk brooms that I've ever seen.
WelcomeTo the Edward Gorey Hypo-Cod Dispensary.
Beauty is in the eye of the surferYou guys are so mean! I don't think this group is all that odd or ugly-looking (except maybe the ears of the little chap on the far left; I have to agree on that point). Someone implied in their post that people today were better looking on average, but as Jerry Seinfeld once said to Elaine, "have you been down to the the Department of Motor Vehicles lately? It's a leper colony down there!" At least all these guys are dressed smartly and none are fat slobs. I'm just saying.
2 comments:
1 - My first thought is one of compassion... for the mothers that some of those heads were birthed by. Gah! Another epidural here!
2 - Everyone is wearing the same shoes?
Photo FinishThis is Diane Arbus territory from top to bottom -- and all of them look like serial killers to me. That's why the fellow up in the rafters is laughing: he's in on the joke. If this had been a funeral home instead of a drug store, it would have been perfect. As it is, the thought of stopping by here for some casual shopping would be impossible, knowing that these people would be standing around the store watching me and waiting to be "of service."
Does anyone knowI'm collecting pictures of Peoples and anything regarding it. Does anyone know which number store this was?
[The LOC National Photo Company has several shots identified as being at 7th & K, but the exteriors are of two different buildings. One, on a corner, has "No. 1" on the sign, the other has "No. 2". - tterrace]
Numbered boxesIntrigued by the numbered boxes along the perimeter near the ceiling. Does anyone know what they're for?
Numbered boxesIn the mid 1960s, I worked in a pharmacy in Philadelphia that used that kind of box as storage for old prescriptions.
(The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, PDS, Stores & Markets)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/29892u.thumbnail.jpg "People's People: 1921")
- Nighthawk: 1943
- ... at a bar, pick up a servicemen and take him home for the night. In time she met and married one of the company engineers.
It happens. ... Durante peeping in the window behind her.
Long, cold, night. What a dark and lonely picture. Very 40's noir.
I wonder if she's ... Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 10:24pm -
![April 1943. Washington, D.C. "Girl sitting alone in the Sea Grill waiting for a pickup. 'I come in here pretty often, sometimes alone, mostly with another girl, we drink beer, and talk, and of course we keep our eyes open -- you'd be surprised at how often nice lonesome soldiers ask Sue, the waitress, to introduce them to us.' " Medium-format nitrate negative by Esther Bubley for the OWI. View full size.
"Edward, this is Esther""Miss Bubley, I like what you do with light and shadow."
"Mr. Hopper, I love the way you show the isolation of the human condition."
Sea GrillAccording to their web site the Sea Grill Restaurant of 1943 was at 1221 E Street NW. Now on Kentlands Boulevard in Gaithersburg.
I'll bet she paints her toenailsToo many years ago when I was a pre-teen, my grandmother was horrified that I wore polish on my toenails.
"Dear, only hussies and party girls paint their toenails -- you don't want people thinking badly of you, do you?" I didn't know what she meant by "party girl," but it sounded okay to me at the time.
The Big SleepWow, very Phillip Marlowe like!
What is that on the table?Beer, matches, salt & pepper, ashtray. But what is that clear caterpillar tractor thing on the table? And it looks like she has an envelope to deliver, noir indeed.
[It's a cigarette case. - Dave]
Don't Look Now, Sister...... but there's a man behind you!
WW2I hope that in time she found love and marriage. In the factory where I worked in WW2 there was a very nice looking young woman who would leave work, stop at a bar, pick up a servicemen and take him home for the night. In time she met and married one of the company engineers.
It happens.
Looking for LoveDuring WWII many women felt alone and looked for company, as the song goes, "in all the wrong places." Some got hurt, some came out unscathed and some actually found the companionship they sought. The District had many more single girls than most other cities and this photo highlights the poignancy and desperation of a lonely young woman.
[Not all that lonely. Before long she'd met this nice young corporal. - Dave]
Lunch that sticksDuring my years as a Montgomery County resident (early-mid '90s), my then partner and I were looking for a late lunch one Saturday and happened upon McDonnell's Bethesda location. Lunch was fine, but what I recall most is our surprise appetizer. Being Southerners (yes, Bethesda is below the Mason-Dixon, but it seems MD has more in common with its neighbors to the north), we were confused when the server brought us sticky buns as a free and unsolicited appetizer. I never did figure out what sticky buns had to do with lunch, or seafood for that matter.
And the plot thickens...She works at the War Office during the day. Her younger brother is being held captive by the SS. She is waiting to pass the documents concerning Operation Pointblank in the envelope to the man in the window (who is making sure the coast is clear before he comes into the restaurant) in exchange for her brother's release.
Work it girl.Elizabeth Short's friend, in an interview she gave after the Black Dahlia murder, said that the pair used to do the same thing. When they were broke they would, go out, flirt a little and a man would then buy them dinner.
I think it was not uncommon practice during the war, like many young women having to share one apartment, etc.
People were more trusting, I guess, or maybe it was just if a man bought them dinner the guy was expected to only be hoping for a second date.
Nowadays, I would not even have my pocketbook so far from me.
BrrrrrWho is the Mysterious Face in the Window?
Goodnight Mrs. CalabashLooks like Jimmy Durante peeping in the window behind her.
Long, cold, night.What a dark and lonely picture. Very 40's noir.
I wonder if she's still there ?
Lonely Spinsteror Femme Fatale?
SurprisedI'd be surprised only if the nice, lonesome soldiers DIDN'T ask Sue the waitress for an introduction.
So, how did the nasty servicemen behave?
Hope that's not her father glaring in on her, over her head. He doesn't look approvingly upon this scene.
Meryl StreepIs that you?
What an atmospheric photo.What an atmospheric photo. That guy behind the blinds is creepy!
"Tang o' the Sea"
1930
1943
From Any Angle......she's gorgeous. The guy checking her out through the window would no doubt agree.
Freddy Krueger in the windowMy first look at this fascinating photo zeroed in on the no-goodnik in the window who seems very suspicious. When I read the comments, they are intriguing, but I personally do not believe "lonely" people get dressed up and go out to socialize (else they would not be lonely). A lonely person would be like the introverted Laura in Tennessee Williams "The Glass Menagerie" who stays home with her mother every night and collects crystal animals with which she is obssessed. Just because a person in alone does not mean they are lonely. That is the end of my theory regarding this wonderfully inspiring picture. Excuse me while I go and rearrange my Pez Dispensers.
Ahem.Someone really should pick up that crumpled napkin.
Spooky Beautiful girl. But what's with the incredibly spooky dude peering in the window right behind her head? I hope she got home safe that night.
Very much like Hopper. . . and made only a year apart.
Both are works of art.
Esther Bubley is underrated.
NoirI was fixing to say this looked like a still from a Noir film, and then I saw the man in the window. There's a story for a great pulp novel hiding in this picture.
What a dame.She's a tough cookie, and could size you up in two seconds.
Check out the creepy guy looking through the blinds.
Wow I was so taken by the way this shot is lit and composed that the first couple of times I looked at it I completely missed the man looking in the window. It's a great shot.
I can hear the musicClassic Film Noir... with the mystery killer lurking behind the blinds!
The world's oldest profession?Not sure how many of you have seen Sands of Iwo Jima, but in it John Wayne's character meets a girl very much like this in a bar. He goes home with her, but nothing much happens when he discovers she has a baby in the next room. I always assumed she was a paid professional, and assumed the same thing when I saw this photo. It looks like I'm the only one, though.
Stop objectifying Shorpy women!Yes, but wow, a great pair of gams!
Putting out for the war effortWhenI was a kid, my father, an 8AF B17 pilot, made this remark on several occasions when he and his two brothers had had a couple when they took my cousins and me camping. Otherwise a great photograph.
Dave,I now assign my Intro and Advanced photography classes to look at Shorpy's. Have also hipped the History of Photography instructor to Shorpy's. A great site, thanks a million for doing this.
[I am always tickled when people call Shorpy "Shorpy's." Like we're the corner bar or a diner. Maybe I should start calling everyone "hon." - Dave]
Fantastic NoirI'm waiting for Robert Mitchum to come by and clock the character in the window and save her!
Lonely Working Girl or Tough Paloma?I'd go with lonely working girl. Fresh out of high school in Wichita, my mom went to live with an aunt in San Diego in 1943, and worked for the telephone company (where she eventually met my dad in 1945, back from the war in Europe). She often talked of double-dating sailors or marines with an office girlfriend, and going to dances or on long bike rides around San Diego on their one day off. She was 18 and shy and had never had time for fun on her parents' farm. For all the noir cynicism, and the factually lurid stuff that did go on during the war, most young women and young men that the war threw together were and remained quite innocent in their behavior, at least by later standards. So, did my mom, uh, you-know, with anybody? She never said, but if she did, why the heck not?
Beer On TapDo joints still use that sign? I'm an innocent lad, so I don't know.
Waiting for Guy NoirShe was tall and dark and so beautiful you wanted to just give her all your money right way and skip the preliminaries
What's in your envelope?Delta3 is the closest to the "truth." That envelope holds the secret to life, the universe and everything.
Poor guy in the windowWas probably just walking by on a dark night, not expecting to see a photographer in a well lighted bar. He probably has no idea that many decades later people are calling him a stalker.
Hey Lady!Try the Snapper Turtle Soup. Ask them to put the sherry in it. And definitely have the rum buns. Hic!
Lonely& people in company are not necessarily not lonely.
I zeroed in on the crumpled napkin on the bench before I ever saw the guy in the window. Photographer's eye.
The guy in the windowdoesn't strike me as particularly creepy. He looks to me more like he was walking by and glanced in the window as he passed--if the picture had been taken a second earlier or later, the camera would have just caught his ear and the back of his head.
Anyway, it's a lovely, evocative picture.
How Did They Do It?I struggle to get candid shots like this with my compact digital camera or DSLR. Somehow, when people know they are being photographed it shows on their face.
How did a guy with a camera the size of a cinder block and a flash the size of a frying pan get such a natural look? I can only imagine that he was there for a while and possibly pretending to fiddle with the camera so she didn't know the shot was coming.
[Esther Bubley, the "guy with the camera," often used floodlights. Which she seems to have employed here. - Dave]
(The Gallery, D.C., Eateries & Bars, Esther Bubley, WW2)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/8d27122u1.thumbnail.jpg "Nighthawk: 1943")
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