Framed or unframed, desk size to sofa size, printed by us in Arizona and Alabama since 2007. Explore now.
Shorpy is funded by you. Patreon contributors get an ad-free experience.
Learn more.
- Tough Guys
- Lost in Toyland
- And without gloves
- If I were a blindfolded time traveler
- Smoke Consumer Also Cooks
- Oh that stove!
- Possibly still there?
- What?!?
- $100 Reward
- Freeze Frame
- Texas Flyer wanted
- Just a Year Too Soon
- WWII -- Replacing men with women at the railroad crossing.
- Yes, Icing
- You kids drive me nuts!
- NOT An Easy Job
- I wonder
- Just add window boxes
- Icing Platform?
- Indiana Harbor Belt abides
- Freezing haze
- Corrections (for those who care)
- C&NW at Nelson
- Fallen Flags
- A dangerous job made worse
- Water Stop
- Passenger trains have right of way over freights?
- Coal
- Never ceases to amaze me.
- Still chuggin' (in model form)
Photos submitted by Shorpy members!
Print Emporium
Union Square: 1958
Union Square, San Francisco, looking north up Powell Street, circa 1958. I believe my parents were in America at the time to attend the 13th Junior Chamber International World Congress at the Hotel Leamington in Minneapolis; I am only assuming this as there is a transparency in the same container in a similar mount of the front of the hotel with a "Welcome JCI" sign under the veranda, so they may have all been photographed and processed around the same time period. If a Shorpy detective can narrow down the year that would be most welcome so I can date these transparencies in this album.
This Kodachrome transparency, taken by my father using a Kodak Retina 1a camera, is one of many that he had photographed over the years; I'm scanning the collection myself, using an Epson V370 photo & slide scanner. As I progress through all the transparencies I will post some more of the interesting late '50s America images here. View full size.
Vertigo
At about the time Hitch was filming "Vertigo". The scene looks like it could have come from the movie.
There is no better "virtual experience" of San Francisco circa 1958 than watching "Vertigo" on a big screen.
Slide mount
Following Dave's Kodachrome Slide Mount Chart, it looks like this slide mount was produced from 1955 to 1958, so 1958 still could be correct for this image date. Scan of actual mount below.
You can never find one when you need one
In Tony's photo, there are only cabs on the street. In Rute Boye's, not a cab in sight. What changed, and when?
Civil Defense
The last time I saw an air raid or civil defense shelter in public was around the mid 80's, but I am sure the signs are still around.
Everybody mocks the "duck and cover" drills but unless you get hit by a nuke point-blank, your biggest danger is flying glass and debris, and there is plenty of time to take shelter between the time of the flash and the time the shock wave hits. Yes, you might have other issues later but those problems won't be any easier to deal with if you are bleeding to death from an avoidable threat.
I Seem to Recall
Kodak slide mounts had the processing date printed on them. And I doubt anyone besides Kodak was processing Kodachrome back then.
[In 1955, facing an antitrust lawsuit from the Justice Department, Kodak entered into a consent decree whereby it dropped its pay-in-advance system that included the cost of processing in the price of the film, which opened the door for independent processors to develop Kodachrome. There was no processing date prior to around 1958; the border design of the mounts is often the only clue to dating them. - Dave]
I stand corrected - PFP
1958 sounds right
There are a couple of 1957 Fords to left and right, and that's a 1958 Chevrolet at the left--so it couldn't be any earlier than fall 1957.
[Um, no. You're looking at a different photo. - Dave]
Air Raid Shelter
Air Raid Shelter: For when things got rough across the street between United and American.
Duck and cover
I like the AIR RAID SHELTER sign. When was the last time we saw one of those?
One block farther away
Here's a very similar photo, taken from the next street down. Use the "United Airlines" billboard for perspective. Perhaps this photo should say "circa" 1958, as well.
https://www.shorpy.com/node/13416
Great Kodachrome Image!
This is a great photo. It just doesn't get any better than Kodachrome at least for street scenes.
Love the Air Raid Shelter sign.
Dating by cabs
All of the cabs appear to be of the 1955 vintage. Are you sure about the "circa 1958"?
[The Plymouth under UNITED is a '56, but since "circa" means "approximately," that's still OK. -tterrace]
Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.
On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5