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Thirsty? Just Whistle: 1923

Washington, D.C., 1923. "Whistle Bottling Works." Yet another outpost in the Whistle beverage empire. View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. Somehow I can envision a musical based on this place. Kind of like "The Pajama Game," but instead of sleepwear, soda pop. And of course whistling.

Washington, D.C., 1923. "Whistle Bottling Works." Yet another outpost in the Whistle beverage empire. View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. Somehow I can envision a musical based on this place. Kind of like "The Pajama Game," but instead of sleepwear, soda pop. And of course whistling.

 

On Shorpy:
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Traffic Motor Trucks

"Largest exclusive builders of 4000-lb. capacity trucks in the world."

The four trucks to the right are Traffic Trucks made by the Traffic Motor Truck Corporation of St Louis, MO. My guess is that these four trucks are circa 1918 - 1921. The truck on the far left might be an earlier model Traffic Truck. It appears that that the second and third trucks from the left are slightly older and smaller that the two trucks to the far right.

The sloping hoods with triangular sides as well as a radiator which extends very high above the hood of these vehicles are very distinctive. The word "Traffic" can also be seen in the center of the top of the radiator.

Prices started at $1,195 in 1918, and rose to $1,395 in 1919, $1,495 in 1920, and $1,595 in 1921 for a 2-ton model. Starting in 1922 there were also 1 1/2 ton, 3-ton, and 4-ton models.

Traffic specifications for 1919 were: 4-cylinder, valve-in-head, 40-h.p. motor; Covert transmission; Borg & Beck disc clutch; Kingston magneto with Impulse starter; 4-piece cast shell; cellular type radiator; drop forged front axle with roller bearings; Russel rear axle, internal gear, roller bearings; semi-elliptic front and rear springs; 6-inch U-channel frame; Standard Fisk tires; 133-inch wheel-base; 122-inch length of frame behind driver's seat; oil cup lubricating system; chassis painted, striped, and varnished; driver's seat and cushion regular equipment.

The men on the truck on the far right almost seem to be Soldiers, but do not appear to be 100% in uniform. They are dressed very differently from the other deliverymen. There are American flags on the truck and a very interesting propeller looking hood ornament attached to the radiator. Makes me wonder if they delivered to military bases around the D.C. area.

The second truck from the right appears to be carrying wine or champaign bottles just to the left of the driver. Not likely since prohibition is in effect, but it seems a little odd to see that bottle shape here.

Note the opened windshield on the middle truck. It looks like it would get in the way of seeing out or smack you in the face if you hit a bump. Three of the other trucks have similar windshields.

I see only one dock door. If a truck were to back up to the door it seems that it would stick out into the street. There is not a lot of distance between the edge of the dock and the first set of trolley tracks.

At first I thought the leaves be trying to hide yet another of those round telephone distribution points, but looking closer it appears to be a set of lights around a smokestack.

Finally, what are the checkerboard-like objects in several places in the trolley tracks? Are they signaling devices, insulators, or something else?

Whistle Bottle Found

I was putting a new floor in my house and found one of these nifty little bottles under the floor.

Amazing how old it is!

Don't think the location is right

Either the date suggested for the building is wrong or the address is off. The peak of the building is marked either 1895 or 895 either of which would mean it couldn't be at the 4th & F NE location. If 1895 is the date of the building then it wouldn't be the building referred mentioned as having been built in 1858.

[The location was 4th Street between E and F, as noted below. The building in the photo was constructed in 1895. The previous comment didn't say it was built in 1858 -- it said 1858 is the year the brewery was established. - Dave]

4th and F streets N.E.

Based on the fact that there are trolley tracks in the foreground, I think this is taken from F Street N.E. facing south. Today, there's a four foot high retaining wall and a playground where those trucks are parked.

Volstead Act

The Volstead Act passed in October 1919 (over Woodrow Wilson's veto). However, DC went dry in 1917 due to the Sheppard Act, three years before the 19th Amendment went into affect.

http://www.rustycans.com/HISTORY/prohibition.html#top

Old Jueneman Brewery

Fantastic photo! This is a portion of the old Jueneman Brewery - a few blocks from where I live.

The Brewery complex took up an entire block in northeast Washington bounded by 4th, 5th, E and F streets. George W. Juenemann started his brewery business in 1858. After George passed away in 1884, his wife Barbara ran the brewery for a few years before selling to Albert Carry in 1886. Carry in turn sold the brewery to the Washington Brewery Company in 1890 and started his own brewery in southeast Washington. The Washington Brewery Company brewed beer until the the Volstead Act was passed in 1917. In addition to brewing, the complex included a beer garden for many years. This photo seems to be looking south across F street just east of 4th.

The large tower of the Brewery is visible with the mournful sign "This Property for Sale." In 1925 the brewery complex was completed razed. In its place was built the Stuart Junior High School, now the Stuart-Hobson Middle School. Whistle Bottling works relocated to much smaller facilities on North Capitol Street.

Vintage Signage

I've become accustomed to the periods in vintage signage, but the closed quotation mark after Farber's is puzzling. And I'm not sure if that's a Star of David after the name or if it is a German logo used by brewing guilds, as a previous commenter to Shorpy indicated. Perhaps Farber also operated a brewery?

The "ghosts" in the upper windows are also a mystery, although the ones on the left side must be a character logo used for the soda, a policeman with--you guessed it--a whistle.

Boo.

The resident ghosts may be seen in the upper windows of the works...

Imagine the racket

...as you drive that solid-tired truck down the cobblestone road with all those soda bottles in the back to rattle around. Not good for the carbonation, either.

The secret of Whistle unearthed!

With help from inventors.about.com:

In St. Louis in 1919, Charles Grigg invented and marketed his first soft drink, an orange flavored beverage called Whistle. After a dispute with management he moved on to invent another orange drink, but still couldn't compete well with Orange Crush. He then toyed with lemon-lime flavor and in 1929 formulated "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda." The name was quickly changed to "7-Up."

[Fascinating! Thanks. Some more Whistle tidbits in the comments here. - Dave]

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