Christmas 1960. "Mrs. McKone, RB-47 wife." John McKone, an Air Force lieutenant whose plane was shot down over the Arctic Ocean by the Russians, came home in January 1961 after six months in Lyubyanka Prison. Blurry but atmospheric Kodachrome by Grey Villet, Life photo archive. View full size.

"Texaco Co., Sullivan & Helan station." This Amoco station at 14th and Belmont streets N.W. in Washington's Mount Pleasant neighborhood opened in July 1925. After the discovery of King Tut's tomb, the vogue for all things Egyptian extended even to gas stations. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Moore's Auto Supply Shop, 20th & K streets N.W." Next door at Bowie's Tonsorial Parlor: "Hair-Cutting by Electricity." In addition to the usual services of facial massage and umbrella repair. View full size.

New York. October 5, 1918. "Army students' quarters, Columbia University." 5x7 glass negatives, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.

"9038 Wonderland Park Avenue, Los Angeles, 1958. Case Study House No. 21." Architect: Pierre Koenig. Color transparency by Julius Shulman. View full size. These two look pretty sophisticated and worldly. Wonder what they're saying?

The Hotel Pontchartrain in Detroit, seen earlier today around 1907 in this post. Now it's circa 1910-1915 and it has a few extra floors trimmed Second Empire style to look like a giant mansard roof. Not too many years later it was torn down to make way for a bank. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size.

"Bomber factory. No caption for this image." 1943 or 1944. So, what are they and where is Shop 301? Office of War Information safety negative. View full size.

1909. "Mme. Diss-DeBarr," a.k.a. "the noted and notorious Ann O'Delia Dis Debar, of many aliases, a number of husbands and several prison terms," according to a 1909 article in the New York Times. The headline calls her an "ex-priestess of fake spiritualism." 8x10 glass negative, George Grantham Bain. View full size.