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Circa 1907. "Street in Lakeport, New Hampshire." Points of interest in this view of the fair city (last seen here) include the Lovejoy & Prescott fire insurance agency, Adkin & Adkin Millinery, the L.E. Pickering restaurant, Frank Clow Wood & Coal ("Hard, Soft, Bobbin & Slab"), W.A. Moore Boots & Shoes, and a lady having a conversation with her horse. Not pictured: sign painter with a graduate degree in ampersands. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing. View full size.
The "Granite State;" lots of granite in evidence here.
Square utility poles. I can't say I've even seen that before.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
&
Grand Army of the Republic
I made sure to use an ampersand, in keeping with the local zoning code.
I recently moved from a neighborhood with underground utilities to one with poles and overhead service cables as shown here, and it's taken a while to get used to the older aesthetic. Nonetheless, when this photo was taken, overhead electrical "plumbing" denoted progress, modernity, and all the other Babbitt-esque values. And, if you had a service cable running in plain sight from the street into your home and your neighbor did not, an added increment of socioeconomic status accrued to you as well.
What caught my eye in this scene is the smooth seamless surface of the sidewalks. Could that be asphalt in 1907?
Nice looking town. I could live here. Should be able to get a job as a street cleaner at least.
The squarish building in the background with the narrow windows is still around today, on the corner of Union Avenue and Elm Street. Its exterior is still recognizable though no longer so ornate.
The photo is looking is a southeasterly direction along Elm Street, toward the railroad tracks and Union Avenue. Park Street is on the left in the foreground.
The wheelsets and the large louvered clerestory that you can see along the tracks behind the white building makes me think the building with the clerestory was an engine house. It would be typical to find wheelsets there, supporting minor car repairs and the occasional wreck.
Three story building beyond the tracks is still there, corner of Clinton & Union.
A field full of wheel and axle sets, next to the rail crossing. Maintenance yard, perhaps?
[It's the depot seen in the other view. - Dave]
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