Omaha: 1938

The location of the Woolworth's is now the spot where the First National Bank Tower stands and the Metropolitan Drug Store is its parking garage. The only building on that corner still standing would be the one from where the picture is taken.

That's no Japanese flag -- it's a flag indicating a bus route. They still have the same design in Omaha today except they are metal now. There are ones with blue dots and green dots as well.

The leaping greyhound was also the hood ornament that represented Lincoln automobiles. Now, a Lincoln is part of the Ford Motor Company, but a Lincoln is not a Ford and vice versa.

Seems to me the flag is not flying next to the parking meter but on a car parked behind the meter. Maybe there is some kind of meeting going on, judging from all the late model, official-looking, cars parked in a row. That in fact may have been the real subject of this photo.

[The "real subject" is "cars parked diagonally." - Dave]

Fifth parking meter down has a short flagpole beside it which appears to be flying a Japanese flag.

Are all 1936 Fords. The leaping greyhound hood ornament on the first car was a popular accessory of the era. The fourth car down appears to be a 1937 Packard. Beyond that it gets difficult to tell. The coupe with the sidemounted spare (the fifth car down) might be a Buick.

I think this is the first picture of this type that I've seen from the 30s where all of the cars look very late model. It isn't just the cars in front, the ones in the background are new looking as well, no model A's, or T's. I'm not a car expert, but I think you get what I mean.

The parking lines becoming arrows on the sidewalk pointing to which car goes with which meter ... great!

Look closely, the first seven cars are all different, two doors, four doors, at least two different coupes. Look at some of the color pictures from this time frame you will see many different colors also.

[I think the point is that the first three or four cars are remarkably similar in appearance, superficially at least. They seem to be the same make. No doubt the car experts out there can ID them. - Dave]

A similar picture today would show a mass of silvery/light gold colored 4 door econoboxes. Fifty years from now a viewer would be hard pressed to discern one from another.

You can get a car in any color you want, as long as it's black.

So everyone had the exact same car back then?