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Newport News: 1905

1905. "Washington Avenue, Newport News, Virginia." A lesson in receding lines of perspective. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.

1905. "Washington Avenue, Newport News, Virginia." A lesson in receding lines of perspective. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.

 

On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5

Ma Bell's Domicile

If you use the enlarged photo, then enlarge that some more, on the building on the right where the telephone trunk lines have been identified by a previous commenter (Zoreo), if you look just above the level of the tops of the doors, about transom level, and underneath where those four second-floor windows with the awnings folded back, directly under the second one, there appears to be a "Bell Telephone" logo type sign. And even though I can't make it out very clearly, I get the sense that the word straight across the top is "Telephone." Perhaps someone else can make it out a bit more clearly with better resolution.

["Pay Station"? -tterrace]

tterrace - Perhaps a station where you could place telephone calls requiring immediate payment as they are made, before the existence of telephone booths? Or, maybe a place ("station") where one could pay their phone bill if they were fortunate enough to have a home phone, phones in one's business establishment, or something similar?

Ma Bell?

Given all the cables coming out of the building at right I think we can assume the Newport News telephone exchange is located there. Usually such trunk lines are run underground until they get out of the business district.

27th and Washington

You can just make out the street sign on the corner of the building with the arch on the left. I compared this to an old photo from around that time taken in the same direction from 26th street and the roofs of the buildings matched up. All gone now.

Immaculate

Nary a horse apple apparent! One need not wonder about the efficiency of this city's street sweepers!

Around Washington and 30th

Off in the distance you can see the one "rise" on Washington Street where the railroad goes under at 40th Street from the Newport News shipbuilding yard.

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