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Rock and Roll: 1956
Elvis Presley at a 1956 concert date; we're counting the minutes until someone can tell us which one. Photo by Phillip Harrington for Look. View full size. Columbus Discovers Elvis Here's some contemporary coverage including the multi-h ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/15/2013 - 1:42pm -

Elvis Presley at a 1956 concert date; we're counting the minutes until someone can tell us which one. Photo by Phillip Harrington for Look. View full size.
Columbus Discovers ElvisHere's some contemporary coverage including the multi-hued splendor of his apparel: http://columbusbicentennial.blogspot.com/2012/01/elvis-in-columbus-may-1...
Columbus, Ohio May 1956More photos of this concert can be found here:
http://scottymoore.net/columbus.html
Also, note that by the time of this concert Scotty Moore was no longer playing the Gibson ES-295. He had traded it in the previous year towards the Gibson L-5 he's playing in these photos.
A hand tooled leather covermight have looked cool, but it must have destroyed the resonance of a really great guitar( the 1955 Martin D28).
A little extra amplificationThis had to be an amazingly simple, pure concert, and those small amps would have trouble filling any medium-sized auditorium back then.
But some smart person in this pre-sound engineer era put a public address microphone in front of that amp, so at least you could hear the music along with the words more easily. That is, if you could hear anything with all the screaming young girls.
Isn't the King playing a non-electrified guitar? I don't see a cord or a sound pickup anywhere. That's why he's the king.
Columbus, OHVeterans Memorial Auditorium, May 26, 1956
More here http://scottymoore.net/columbus.html
Bare Bones Rock and RollThat's D.J. Fontana keeping the beat behind the King.  Scotty Moore would be stage right of Elvis playing his gold top Gibson ES-295 electric archtop hollowbody guitar, which was plugged into the amp perched on the chair.  Bill Black would also have been on stage playing his upright acoustic bass.  Elvis is wearing his unamplified 1955 Martin D-28 guitar with custom leather cover tooled by Marcus Van Story, who worked at the O.K. Houck Piano Company in Memphis (where Elvis purchased the guitar).  Man, that Cat could rock!
Talk about bare bones presentationSingle guitar amp plopped on top of a folding chair.
Drum kit that could fit into his suitcase.
No lasers
No strobes
No stack of Fender amps.
Pure, so very pure.
I'm not much of an Elvis fan but this guy had more stage presence than 3,000 American Idol finalists put together.
We Want ScottyCouldn't tell you the location, but it's great to see drummer D.J. Fontana in his natural habitat.  Poor Elvis had no stage monitors, so he had to yelp out the vocals just so he could hear himself over all the little screaming girls. Sadly, we don't see even the shadow of lead guitarist Scotty Moore and his Gibson ES-295, nor Bill Black on upright bass. It's interesting to see Scotty's amp has a mic on it, so his sound was reinforced through the house PA system, such as it was. The Beatles would encounter similarly primitive sound reinforcement facilities 8 years later. Here's wishing for a full band pic.
Hello ColumbusIt looks like other Harrington photos I've seen of Elvis performing at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio in 1956. Same clothes, stage setup and curtain.
Who's that again?The Ohio State Journal story previewing the concert mentioned here says in part, "In addition to singer Elvis Presley, the show will feature Jackie Little; the Blue Moon Boys; the Flaims; Frankie Connors and Phil Maraquin."
I'm an old rock-and-roller, but who were those people?
Who those people were@Mark Rummel
The Blue Moon boys were Scotty and Bill, and then later on DJ, Elvis' band.  They got the name from their second recording, Blue Moon of Kentucky.  The others were opening variety style opening acts that were put together by Al Dvorin when the Colonel decided that Elvis would no longer share the bill with anyone considered a competitor or contemporary.
I have more on them on pages about the venues at the beginning of that tour here
http://scottymoore.net/StPaul.html , http://scottymoore.net/Minneapolis.html and
http://scottymoore.net/lacrosse.html
Hello ColumbusThis is Elvis performing on May 26, 1956 at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio. 
(The Gallery, Elvis 1956, Music, Phillip Harrington)

Mall Santa: 1957
Circa 1956-57. "Urbanism -- USA. Mid-Island Plaza in Long Island, New York." So where's the Cinnabon? 35mm color transparency, Paul Rudolph Archive. View full size. Will-o'-the-Wisp "A Will-o’-the-wisp is a phantom light that hov ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/05/2024 - 1:28pm -

Circa 1956-57. "Urbanism -- USA. Mid-Island Plaza in Long Island, New York." So where's the Cinnabon? 35mm color transparency, Paul Rudolph Archive. View full size.
Will-o'-the-Wisp"A Will-o’-the-wisp is a phantom light that hovers in the wilderness, luring travelers ..." And shoppers.
ughThat Long Island haze of the mid-20th century. That's the bluest most skies ever got there.
Lerner ShopsI was born in 1957 and I remember even as a kid, enjoying window shopping at Lerner's when out with my mom. And I loved it when I was old enough to shop there for cute outfits with my own money in the '70s. The store was founded by Harold Lane along with Samuel Lerner, uncle of lyricist Alan Jay Lerner. 
Timeless Amazing that this photo is 60+ years old, it looks like it could be today. The lack of period cars and clothes makes it timeless.
Santa? Or Satan?That is a horrifying visage.
This reminds me --of those long-ago days when you had to actually go places to get stuff.
It just needs hornsThat Santa would do much better as Krampus.
ArcadeThis early version of the shopping mall – before they were all transformed or built in the covered-over version – makes me think of streets in other countries where they have arcades which provide protection at street level from the weather.  It’s pleasant to be outdoors while it’s raining and not need an umbrella.
Also, as someone, like JennyPennifer, who was born in 1957, I always twitch when I see that year.
[Our photo is a visual representation of the definition of "mall" -- an open, unroofed plaza, lined with buildings or trees on either side. - Dave]
Oakridge Shopping Centre: 1959When it opened in Vancouver, B.C., in 1959 Oakridge was not an enclosed mall as it later became. It was anchored by Woodward's Department Store, and was not in an outer suburb. Now the same location is being developed with multiple high-rise residential towers adjacent to a rapid transit station. The 1950s design is remarkably similar to the Long Island mall. Woodward's huge food floor had staff that loaded the groceries into your car for you.
Jericho NativeI lived in West Birchwood in the 60's, starting when I was 6 years old.  We'd get on our bicycles in the morning and roam around all day.  There was a tunnel under the Northern State Parkway that gave us access to the Cantiague Park and Pool.  Often we'd then head over to the Plaza to hang out and grab a slice of Sicilian pizza at Pizza D'Amore. There was a merry-go-round in the northeastern part of the plaza. Then home for dinner.
Two Other ExamplesThis very much reminds me of Glendale Mall in Indianapolis. The mall had been enclosed when I arrived in late 1981, but it retained the Mid-Century Modern ambiance, along with some quirky amenities such as a fountain with moving parts all made of copper, a chandelier made out of many glass tubes, a 20-foot diameter circle on the Terrazzo floor that had the signs of the zodiac on pedestals around the perimeter containing a daily horoscope, and an indoor sidewalk cafe. Today, the center part of Glendale is gone, and the remaining two structures have been "demallified." (Is that a word?)
Before moving to Indy, I lived in Columbus, Ohio. All the 1950s malls had been enclosed except Westland. Even though Westland was on the other side of town from me, I drove clear over there because the enclosed malls (such as my own Northland) were oppressive to me. In the summer of 1981, Westland was enclosed and I stopped going there.
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Christmas, Stores & Markets)

Hello Columbus: 1909
Columbus, Ohio, circa 1909. "Aerial view from courthouse." Shorpy, who knows how to have a good time, is celebrating Columbus Day with this detailed panorama made from three 8x10 glass negatives. View full size. The Trolley Follies Loo ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/07/2012 - 11:24pm -

Columbus, Ohio, circa 1909. "Aerial view from courthouse."  Shorpy, who knows how to have a good time, is celebrating Columbus Day with this detailed panorama made from three 8x10 glass negatives. View full size.
The Trolley FolliesLooks like Columbus is celebrating Columbus Day with Streetcars on Parade.
Then and nowI love these detailed panoramas. Most of the fun (after absorbing the detail) is trying to match them to the Google streetview equivalents. Assuming this is looking north (based on shadows) and using the address on Stewart Brothers store, would this same view would now be looking at the Greater Columbus Convention Centre?
Re: Then and nowThe convention center would actually be farther to the north, out of view in this picture. The tall two-toned building near the upper center of the photo is still there today.
Happy Columbus DayDelightful shot of my city, including the distinctive Statehouse rotunda.
Big Al42--This would be well south of the current convention center--about 12 blocks south. It looks north on High Street, from about Mound Street. 
Dad Entered OSU in 1909My father entered the engineering school of OSU in 1909, graduated in 1913. 
He had stories that the streetcars were short affairs with just a single solidly mounted 4-wheel truck.  There was so much overhang that the naughty university boys could time their jumping at each end and cause the car to (nearly??) leave the track.
From East Main and South HighI believe this is photograph was taken looking north from the roof of the Great Southern Hotel (seen here https://www.shorpy.com/node/9133) at the corner of East Main Street and South High Street.  At least two buildings are still extant on the west side of High Street with another that may have an updated façade.  In addition to the Capitol rotunda noted by srich12345 in the center distance, the tall building at 8 East Broad Street is visible (also seen here https://www.shorpy.com/node/8661 and still extant).  The view toward this vantage point looking south down South High Street from State Street can be seen here https://www.shorpy.com/node/8652.
[Good catch. If this had actually been taken from the Courthouse, the Great Southern Hotel would be visible from this angle. - tterrace]
Theo Wolfram Co.Patented the Aluminum fretboard guitar in 1893 and was only in business another year or so after this photo was taken.  I love these slices of life from a century ago, you never know what you'll see and learn.
http://19thcenturyguitar.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&i...
(Panoramas, DPC, Streetcars)

Hello, Columbus: 1905
Columbus, Ohio, circa 1905. "Great Southern Hotel." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Still there This is the one hotel from the late 1800s they did not tear down. It is still in operation a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 2:37pm -

Columbus, Ohio, circa 1905. "Great Southern Hotel." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Still thereThis is the one hotel from the late 1800s they did not tear down. It is still in operation as a Westin hotel. The section of the building at the left with the fancier arch is the Southern Theater, which was recently renovated.
View Larger Map
My  Home TownIt's nice to see it here on Shorpy. Have any more? 
10-11-10I guess this is Shorpy's way of saying Happy Columbus Day!
A familiar sightI worked in downtown Columbus for three years in the late '90s. My office was on Broad Street across from the original Wendy's, about four blocks from the old Great Southern. Columbus is a neat town. I miss it. One of the greatest public libraries in the US is there.
Hello HollyThere's another one of those Holly hydrants.
Comfort OutI've stayed here, and the experience suggested a few reasons why most such hotels *have* been torn down.  It's hard to make them work properly as hotels now.
When the building was constructed, hotel rooms didn't all have private baths, desks, two nightstands, easy chairs, giant TV armoires, and king-size beds.  Add those things to this building's standard rooms and you have to sidle around the room, squeezing yourself past the furniture.  (The bigger corner rooms, incidentally, are as ridiculously large as the standard ones are ridiculously tiny. Book one of those.)
When I was there, the lobby was lit with the original electric chandelier, i.e. 100 unfrosted light bulbs about 30 feet above the floor.  This thing was a technical marvel in 1897, but the light it casts is like the light from 100 bare light bulbs 30 feet away.  It's easy to forget when looking at long-exposure photos that to the people who inhabited these interiors at the time, these were likely all very dim and shadowy places when the sun was not shining.
Unflattering light or no, the lobby well worth a visit for Shorpy fans, as there is (or was, anyway) a collection of historical photos showing the differing appearance of the lobby over the years.  Today's version is self-consciously "original" but with more comfortable furniture, but in the past they more or less took the approach of using the room as a setting for whatever decor happened to be in vogue at the time.
Now just where is that ATM?Certainly looks like the lady is looking for something.
+101The view from almost the same perspective from September of 2006.
Building to the rightI was just driving by here last week. It stands out in my memory because the building to the right of the hotel has a very fancy facade, but the rest of the building is a very plain brick box. My daughter thought it was a peculiar combination.
Columbus is nice like that though, lots of old buildings in and around downtown.
(The Gallery, DPC)

Over and Under: 1938
Summer of 1938. "Underpass in central Ohio, Route 40. Roadside does not at first present a definite or meaningful picture. Closer investigation begins to reveal the character of the place." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/07/2008 - 12:59am -

Summer of 1938. "Underpass in central Ohio, Route 40. Roadside does not at first present a definite or meaningful picture. Closer investigation begins to reveal the character of the place." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn.
Underpass 'Character'Hmmm, the "character of the place" is not coming through to me.  What am I not seeing?  
C&O underpassPerhaps absence of graffiti gives it character....
The Low RoadThe entire passage, which was a general caption for 73 images taken along Route 40:
Roadside does not at first present a definite or meaningful picture. Closer investigation begins to reveal the character of the place. Majority of the farms are well-kept, occasionally divided by weed-grown and run-down farms. No apparent cause for this is in the character of the land. These farms are chief support of prosperous small towns in the vicinity.
Ohio is like thatRoute 40 hasn't changed much.  It does go through Springfield, Columbus, and Zanesville, but other than that I would say he has described the "National Road" to a T.
Tough dividerI'd hate to ride the center line on that highway. That second underpass would be brutal.
Hobos?There appear to be people under the second overpass in the background, to the left.
[Weeds. - Dave]

 C & O BridgeThe condition of the bridge I find striking.  One never today sees a railway bridge freshly painted.  This is in contrast to the unwashed tender.
Near West Jefferson, OhioI recognize the location of this photo. It was taken west of Columbus, Ohio near the town of West Jefferson. The Cincinnati and Lake Erie interurban ran under the bridge parallel to Rt. 40 but the track was gone. You can see how the bridge in the background is divided, originally the road went on one side and the C&LE on the other. The C&LE once raced an airplane from Cincinnati to Dayton as a promotional stunt and won. 
Circleville, OhioThis photograph was taken of a C&O eastbound train near Circleville, Ohio. It not West Jefferson as the C&O did not go through there.
The route is US 23, now North Court Street. The tunnel was for the Scioto Valley Traction company.
Eric at CG Tower
(The Gallery, Ben Shahn, Railroads)

Columbus Revisited: 1910
Circa 1910. "Union Station, Columbus, Ohio." Your headquarters for the Garden City Self Feeder, whatever that is. Continuing our tour of Columbus on Columbus Day. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Many mysteries ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/14/2013 - 11:41am -

Circa 1910. "Union Station, Columbus, Ohio." Your headquarters for the Garden City Self Feeder, whatever that is. Continuing our tour of Columbus on Columbus Day. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
Many mysteriesStreetcar 232 has a sign that says "THIS CAR --- FARE" (possibly X PENNY).  Wonder what was special about it.  (309 has a similar sign but it's harder to read.)  Down the street, the B. is being welcomed... wonder who that was.
["This car ... Olentangy Park." -tterrace]
1897 - 1979Built in 1897, demolished 1979. The arch from the station was placed in Arch Park, between Nationwide Boulevard and Spring Street.
Gone Baby GoneFrom 112 trains per day in 1893 to 42 trains per day in 1956 to 10 per day in 1970 to no train service in Columbus at all today. All that remains of this magnificent station designed by Daniel Burnham & Company is seen below.
The FacadeWhat you see here is not the station itself, but a structure known as "The Façade" that was built on the north side of the High Street Viaduct over the tracks.  The station itself actually sat on the south side of the tracks, between High Street and 3rd Street.
Garden City Self FeederYou've clearly let your subscription to Threshermen's Review lapse.
Self FeederA similar self feeder at work, mounted on a threshing machine.
http://youtu.be/BaZcABBqmcY
Feeders were aftermarket attachments for threshing machines, along with stackers to pile up the straw and weighers to allow a custom thresher to bill the farmer by the bushel. A stacker was either a chain conveyor, or a "windstacker", a centrifugal blower to send the straw out a long steerable spout.
The arms flailing at the top are twine cutters.
(The Gallery, DPC, Railroads, Streetcars)

One Star Hotel: 1906
... of Arches Replicas of the lighted arches still exist in Columbus Ohio on North High Street near The Ohio State University. See "A ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/26/2012 - 11:16pm -

Columbus, Ohio, circa 1906. "Hotel Star." Free telegraph in every room! 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Columbus, Arch Cityhttps://www.shorpy.com/node/8652
https://www.shorpy.com/node/8661
(fwiw, where I was born.)
Shock of the NewAmidst all the period capital serifs, a surprising lowercase Gill Sans-ish precursor in "Bicycles and Sporting Goods."
Colourised for postcard!"A view of the Star Hotel located at 227-229 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio. Also shows the metal arches over High Street."

From the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
At last, a dentist !For some time now, the Shorpy cityscape has not revealed the upstairs dental treatment that we were seeing much of a few months ago.
"May" the force be with youIn noticing the May & Co store on the right I remembered hearing the name over many years and decided to look them up.  May & Company was founded 1877 by David May in Leadville, CO during the silver rush.  Eventually becoming a nationwide chain, there is no connection to the NYC Mays Department Stores.  In 2005 May & Company was merged into Federated Department Stores (Macy's Inc.) for $11 billion in stock.
[This May & Co. was a local Columbus furniture dealer and was not connected with the May Company department store chain. - tterrace]
North HighThe Puntenny & Eutsler music store was located at 231 North High street, so this whole block is gone.  The Hotel Star address is 227 N. High.
The City of ArchesReplicas of the lighted arches still exist in Columbus Ohio on North High Street near The Ohio State University.
See "A Short Walking Tour" here.
Head to Toe ServiceBusiness must be good for the barber/shoeshine shop to have two fancy carved poles. While barber poles have been common and readily recognized for ages, this is my very first introduction to a shoeshine pole. I have to say it's attractive.
Come on down!
Woosh!I like the motion blur on the carriage moving out of frame. Zoom zoom!
(The Gallery, DPC)

ColumBus: 1943
September 1943. "Washington Court House, Ohio. Passenger boarding Greyhound bus." Photo by Esther Bubley for the Office of War Information. View full size. The Mack Bus Possibly 1931, a challenge for the same makers as the Mack truck. M ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/07/2014 - 5:21pm -

September 1943. "Washington Court House, Ohio. Passenger boarding Greyhound bus." Photo by Esther Bubley for the Office of War Information. View full size.
The Mack BusPossibly 1931, a challenge for the same makers as the Mack truck. Mohair seats with horsehair stuffing and side curtains.  Includes a V-6 engine.
This series of photos are very timely as it's the 100th birthday of Greyhound, and the company has a traveling museum currently making a tour of the US.  This model of bus was included in the display.
All AboardIn addition to the Pennsylvania Railroad logo on the door, it also says "Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines" over the windows, so I'm guessing these buses brought passengers from surrounding towns to the old Union Station in Columbus, where they could board trains to destinations all over the US (as shown listed under the bus windows).
The PRR is near and dear to my heart due to the fact my father was an engineer for many years in the old Panhandle Division of the Pennsy during the golden age of steam.
It Happened One NightSee this Yellow Coach in the Oscar winning 1934 film It Happened One Night with Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Ward Bond.
Break out the BubleyI've liked Esther Bubley's series of photos of bus travel in 1943 America all along, but now our paths actually seem to be crossing, if a few decades apart.  Her photo of the Columbus, Ohio, Greyhound terminal reminded me of busing in and out of that same station for my draft physical exactly 25 years later.  Now she's visited my own home town, Washington C.H., three years before I arrived there via intercity stork.  In my youth, WCH still had two downtown hotels, the Hotel Washington, as shown, and the Cherry Hotel, which Esther Bubley must have been standing before when she snapped this photo.  Unfortunately both structures are long gone now.     
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Esther Bubley)

Columbus Night: 1908
Circa 1908. "High Street at night, Arch City, Columbus, Ohio." If you can't get into Bliss College, there's always Professor Rader's Academy of Dancing next door. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/17/2016 - 12:31pm -

Circa 1908. "High Street at night, Arch City, Columbus, Ohio." If you can't get into Bliss College, there's always Professor Rader's Academy of Dancing next door. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
+105Below is the same perspective from May of 2013.
Higher EducationBliss College was still operating here as recently as the early 90's. It's gone now.
(The Gallery, DPC)

Mail Pouch: 1910
Circa 1910. "Columbus, Ohio, from Great Southern Hotel." Photobombed by the Mail Pouch Tobacco horse. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. Everything's Up To Date In Kansas City And in Columbus, Ohio as well. In the background ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/25/2015 - 2:40pm -

Circa 1910. "Columbus, Ohio, from Great Southern Hotel." Photobombed by the Mail Pouch Tobacco horse. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size.
Everything's Up To Date In Kansas CityAnd in Columbus, Ohio as well. In the background is the rear of an individually lettered sign probably on the building that housed  the theatre "Gayety Burlesque". I managed to transpose it for those of us with lesser backward reading skills.
An Old WrinkleIn the days before vinyl billboard artwork, painting that Mail Pouch sign on the side of the building has to be a work of art that took some time to complete. J.S. Wrinkle Advertising Signs deserves to have their name prominently displayed.   
Ohio State CapitolThe flat topped tower in the upper left of the photo is the state capitol rotunda.
Not on my wavelengthNow whatever is the guyed tower at upper left? 1910 is too early for almost any kind of radio antenna, and certainly too early for commercial radio.
[Radio got its start as wireless telegraphy in the 1890s. The wireless mast shown here, on the roof of the Harrison Building, played a role in rescue efforts during the Columbus flood of 1913. There's a

Immense Chewing Candy: 1904
The Jersey shore circa 1904. "Young's Hotel and Boardwalk, Atlantic City." Where strollers confront a plenitude of amusements, confections and refreshments. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Th ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/07/2013 - 9:42pm -

The Jersey shore circa 1904. "Young's Hotel and Boardwalk, Atlantic City." Where strollers confront a plenitude of amusements, confections and refreshments. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
That's The Beer Brewed in ColumbusIn the middle left of the photo (right above the Brady's Baths sign) is a sign for Hoster's Beer which was one of the major breweries here in Columbus, Ohio in those days.
Mexican PenochisThis from Historical Sketch of the Chicago Confectionery Trade:
BELL, Jonas N.
Started jobbing and is now (1905) a manufacturer of sweets at 606 West Madison Street
As Senior Partner began manufacturing as BELL & PFEIFFER at 40 Fifth Avenue and 612 West
Madison 1901
Has also manufactured vending machines
Ex-Vice President of the Jobbing Confectioners' Association
Ad: (Photo of BELL) "JONAS N. BELL Manufacturer and Jobber of High Grade Confections, Sole
manufacturer of the Original "Mexican Penochis" as made in Old Mexico, Tin Boxes 25 cents.
Texas Pecan Clusters made of Texas Selected Pecan Nuts, Tin Boxes 30 cents, 604 W. Madison
Street -- Chicago"
Page 83, 119, 122 (Ad/Photo)
Low down on Mexican penochis...http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/38621364/
As it's poorly OCR'd  it's a bit of a puzzling read, but worth a couple minutes.
25% purerFrom the Boston Evening Transcript, May 8, 1902.
Ten-cent cigarActually, something of a premium smoke back in 1904.
Where It All BeganThe custom of keeping right of oncoming traffic.  Perhaps it was a continuation of the American Revolution, when Patriots began to drink coffee vis-à-vis British tea, while the British had and still have the custom of keeping left?
Early Atlantic CityIs that Nucky I see down there on the boardwalk smiling?
(The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC)

Passing Remark: 1938
August 1938. "Citizens of Columbus, Ohio." View full size. Photograph by Ben Shahn. Image scanned from 35mm nitrate negative. I'll bet the comment... ...was about how the Malt Company has apparently gone out of business. (They shou ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/10/2007 - 1:16am -

August 1938. "Citizens of Columbus, Ohio." View full size. Photograph by Ben Shahn. Image scanned from 35mm nitrate negative.
I'll bet the comment......was about how the Malt Company has apparently gone out of business. (They should have charged retail instead of "cut rate.")
And in her right hand ...... a big ol' rolling pin
Were there cross-dressers in Columbus in 1938 ?The neck and shoulders are worthy of a linebacker.
Ethel MaeI'll bet she worked harder than a linebacker.
308 East Main StreetPhoto was taken in front of the confectionery store of the Mahlis'. Abe (Abraham) Mahlis and his wife Pauline. They were Russian Jewish immigrants. In 1930 they lived at 290 Kelton Avenue. Abe was born in 1885 in Russia and died December 6, 1964. he came to the US in 1906. His wife, Pauline was born about 1896 and came to the US in 1910. They were married about 1921 and had (at least) two daughters, Blumie and Doris (Wortman).
(The Gallery, Ben Shahn)

High Street: 1910
Columbus, Ohio, circa 1910. "High Street, south from State." Where strollers have, among many available choices, a 3-cent lunchroom, the Imperial Tonsorial Parlor and Baths, "base ball scores received by innings" and swastika sporting goods. 8x10 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 1:31pm -

Columbus, Ohio, circa 1910. "High Street, south from State." Where strollers have, among many available choices, a 3-cent lunchroom, the Imperial Tonsorial Parlor and Baths, "base ball scores received by innings" and swastika sporting goods. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Lying through their teethWhy do I get the feeling that "American Painless Dentists" and "Dr. Cochrane Painless Dentist" were anything but?
Oral HistoryI'm 64 years old and I have yet to visit a painless dentist!
To Ladder or Not to LadderI suppose it would be a fireman's nightmare if one had to negotiate a ladder between all the overhead electric wires during rescue attempts.  However I also suppose that during this era ladder type fire trucks were yet to be developed, though I could be wrong, but even an extension ladder propped on the side of a building would be a challenge.
1910 sports barFor inning by inning baseball scores in 1910, I imagine that it must be a bar with a subscription to a Western Union baseball ticker service, and a big blackboard for the staff to write up the scores. 
Tipping pointFrom looking at a lot of Shorpy pics from the first decade of the 20th century, it seems that 1911 or '12 was just about the tipping point between the horse and buggy era and the automobile era.  There were two shots of New York from about 1906 and 1913, and the contrast was startling.
I'll bet if you came back only a year later, you'd find drastically more cars, and drastically fewer horses.
Read all about itSeems the corner is amply covered by newshawkers.
LunchUhhhh...I really wonder what you could get at a 3 cent lunch? Then, on the other hand, saloons offered a free lunch if you bought a 5 or 10 cent glass of beer. The free lunch could vary upon the class of saloon you were patronizing. It could be a full range cold cut platter with other items available in an upscale joint or it could just be a pickled egg in a lower class establishment. I am sure the bartenders of either class joint encouraged patrons to move along if they didn't continue to buy an occasional beer.  
Not really painless.More of a phantom pain today, felt more in the pocketbook than the mouth.
ProgressOnly the building on the right corner appears to still stand. Locals might note the Lazarus sign above the clock tower. A department store that ceased to exist in the last several years.
View Larger Map
Newsies!I love the newsboys in their short pants, especially the one with the big grin on his face.
I'd really like to know more about the Lazarus tower (on the right, over the clock).  What's THAT about?
[See below. - Dave]
Piano DistrictI count three piano stores in one block. I wonder if all of Ohio even has three piano stores left?
Big TipperIf you had the 3¢ lunch and left a nickel on the counter the tip would have been 40 percent.
[Ahem. Five cents for a three-cent meal is a 167 percent tip. - Dave]
Now that I've looked at this post again, I think you misinterpreted the tip ratio.  The nickel left on the counter was for the meal, 3¢, leaving
2¢ for the tip. Do you think I'm a Rockefeller and that I would leave a
5¢ tip?
+99Same view from July of 2009.
Shannon'sThe font (typeface?) on that sign is way hip.
Can anyone make out what they were the makers of?
It was trueThe dentists felt no pain at all.
Time still standingThe clock on the corner is a Howard Tower clock.  Company records show it being a 12 foot two face clock installed in 1899.
Yikes!That modern photo really does not display an improvement.
NewsboysMy father was born in 1902 and lived in what is now  German Village in 1910 (it was then just the south side of Columbus).  I remember him telling me that he sold newspapers downtown as a young boy, which means he would have been about the same age as the newsboys in the photo.  I know the odds are against it, but it's strange to think that one of those boys in the photo could be my father, or at least a friend of his.
He used to talk quite often about growing up in Columbus in those days, and even as a callow lad I found the stories interesting, albeit in an abstract way.  Looking back, I think those stories helped plant the seeds of my life-long love of history.  Now I'd love to be able to talk to him and ask him for more details about his childhood and those days in Columbus, but of course he's long gone.  
For example, he told me that he would sometimes hop on the streetcars to sell his papers and ride them to the end of the line, where he would help the conductor turn the car around (apparently on turntables).  He also loved to hang around the old Union Station and watch the trains come in and out, and eventually someone put a broom in his hand and told him that if he was going to hang around he should make himself useful.  He ended up working for the Pennsylvania Railroad for 44 years (1920 - 1964) during the golden age of steam.
Three years before "The Day the Dam Broke"This would be the Columbus that a young James Thurber wrote of in "My Life and Hard Times."
Bad MathSorry Dave:  when you wrote, "Ahem. Five cents for a three-cent meal is a 167 percent tip. - Dave] you forgot to subtract the 1.  My HP 17 b-II financial calculator says the markup is 66.67%.
[In a lunchroom you'd pay your three cents (or whatever) upfront, then get your food. The five cents would be all tip -- 167 percent. - Dave]
Must be a loss leaderSurely that lunch was priced at three cents to get you inside the place. It may have been something like a spoon of tuna fish with a carrot and a couple of grapes for dessert. We've inflated in prices a lot in 100 years, but not 200 times or 20,000 percent.
Hall's HardwareI remember going to Hall's Hardware with my dad in the early '70s. They had a hobby shop in the basement that was like walking into a dream.
ArchesFlint, Michigan (where I initially thought this photo was taken) has identical arches over its main street (Saginaw Street).  Until now, I thought they were unique to that locale.  Did they serve a purpose, or were they just for looks?  It doesn't appear that they're being used for electric service to the street railway.
[I think they were just decorative. More here in the comments. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Streetcars)

Invisiball: 1908
Circa 1908. "Franklin Park, Columbus, Ohio." Where something's up, or maybe not. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. My take There is something there - or rather, two somethings. It looks to me lik ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 7:18pm -

Circa 1908. "Franklin Park, Columbus, Ohio." Where something's up, or maybe not. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
My takeThere is something there - or rather, two somethings.  It looks to me like the girl on the left has noticed the birdhouse high in the tree to the right, and is gesturing toward it ("Look! A birdhouse!"), while the girl on the right is waving at the people on the shaded bench to the left. Or maybe there's really more here than meets the eye.
The Flying NunFirst impression of the person on the park bench at right was that it was a man with an upside-down umbrella.  However, upon closer inspection, it appears to be a woman with a HUGE hat.  Sally Fields would indeed be jealous.
By Jove!  I think I have it.If one selects a point pretty much equidistant between the girls feet, and then lifts one's gaze vertically, there is what appears to be a ball hovering.
I suppose those girls would now be around one hundred and twelve years old. I hope they are still having fun playing ball somewhere.
Badminton birdJust visible in the trees.
[I don't think so. - Dave]
VisitorsThese young ladies are clearly pointing to one of the many UFOs that plagued Columbus during the summer of 1908.
Branch OfficeThere's a birdhouse (or something like one)at about 4 branches up on the very right.
Re: My takeFirst glance at Splunge's version and I thought they were playing laser tag. Pinafored warrior on the left is a horrible shot, says I to myself. "You don't have to use any windage with lasers," I wanted to tell her. Then I realized it was too late; by now she'd be dead anyway.
Bird House?It may be that, but I agree that the two gals are playing some kind of pitch and catch with a ball that is invisible to the slow speed of the camera lens.
Still invisibleThe problem with the birdhouse theory is that the girl on the left would have to be looking toward her left for it to be in her line of sight; in fact, she's looking slightly toward her right relative to the tree. As for the girl on the right, she's looking up rather than across toward the people on the bench across the way. I think it's clear they're both looking at whatever object they're tossing back and forth. And since the exposure was not fast enough to freeze their arms in motion, an object in flight would also be a blur; less so if it happened to be caught at the top of its arc of trajectory, but still a blur rather than a crisp image.
Using careful Computer enhancementI was able to find out what the girls were tossing back and forth. 
What's clearis that my eyes aren't what they once were.  As tterrace noted, the girls aren't facing quite the right way to be looking at the birdhouse and people.  Still, before they wandered off toward the birdhouse and bench-sitters, those laser-tag lines were originally approximations of the girls' apparent lines of sight (see attached), and I couldn't find anything at all in the highlighted area to suggest an object at or near their depth (in particular, no blur), even playing with false color and contrast and such.  Oh, well.  Maybe some younger, sharper eyes can provide us with an answer. Or maybe these girls are the forebears of the little boy in the Sixth Sense movie. Or maybe, just maybe, I'm spending a little too much time on Shorpy these days.
The Grassy KnollKeep in mind that Detroit Publishing was not in the candid-snapshot business; the end product here would be a color postcard, very possibly with the ball added in post-production.
I must be wrongBut at first glance I thought they are playing diabolo.
(My grandmother, born in 1905, teached my kid how to play it - at 97!)
TheoriesThe girls appear to be twirling a skipping rope between them. You can faintly see a blur that appears it couold be the end of the rope in here hand.
Another theory is that they are not tossing something back and forth, but rather each individually up into the air.
Invisible DiaboloFrom their postures and the blurring of their arms it looks like the girls could be playing toss-and-catch with a single diabolo, or each tossing and catching their own diabolos, but in close-up their blurred hands don't appear to be holding the whip handles. If the handles were very thin, as was sometimes the case, they might have disappeared in this slow exposure, but it's hard to make a good case for it.
NancyThe girl on the left is the spitting image of Nancy from Little House on the Prairie. Nellie Oleson's adopted younger sister.
Could BeThey're trying to find the mysterious orb that's hovering to the right of the bench-sitters.  Or maybe this is a photo version of the old "make the rubes look up" trick.  It worked.
Flying bears!I am sure they have spotted a balloon-borne Winnie-the-Pooh on his way to get the honey. Grownups can't see him.
EurekaI may have found it—the object of the girls' attention that is. I've circled a black, disk-shaped item in front of one of the bushes in the background. Dave may be able to clarify on his hi res version. This item is definitely not part of the shrubbery. Looks about 2 inches in diameter. I too am spending a little too much time on Shorpy, but I love it!
[That's a gap in the leaves. - Dave]

Thanks for the hi res clarification, Dave. Looks like we may never know!!
[Scroll up. - Dave]
Motion DetectionI think this might be it. A vertical, vaguely cylindrical blur.
Air Ball?I have made several observations, and come up with the following theory: There isn't any ball or anything else in the air; the girls were simply dancing around, as young girls of that era were prone to do on a warm sunny day.  I come to this conclusion based on the length of the shadows left by the girls.  Since the shadows are similar in length to the girls heights, any object (such as a ball) roughly 3x their height in the air would cast a shadow on the ground that would be at least 3x it's physical size.  The only thing between them that resembles a shadow is a small dark patch (nearer to the girl on the left), that appears to be 4-5 inches in diameter.  Given that, the ball they threw in the air would most likely have to be less than 2 inches in diameter to cast that specific shadow.  Therefore; unless they were throwing marbles or superballs in the air, I postulate they weren't throwing anything at all.  I base my theory on strict principles of quantum physics, certain geometric theorems, orbital mechanics, lightwave theory, and a big, fat, uneducated guess.  Top that, Einstein!
[It has already been established that the exposure would not have been fast enough to stop a thrown object in motion, thus said object would register as a blur. It therefore follows that any shadow of the object would also register as a blur, and further, would be virtually undetectable when cast against such a background as the grass. Hence, the apparent absence of a shadow is inconclusive as to the existence or non-existence of the object. -A.E.]
Thank you Mr Einstein.  ;-)  Also, Dave B.  At the time of the morning when I wrote this, thoughts were not guaranteed to be coherent.  :-P
Re: Airball"Since the shadows are similar in length to the girls heights, any object (such as a ball) roughly 3x their height in the air would cast a shadow on the ground that would be at least 3x it's physical size."
HUH?!?
I think what you meant to write was that the shadow would be distant approximately 3X the height of the girls (or equal to the height of the object), in the same direction as the girls' shadows. The size of the shadow is almost unchanged by its height, barring blurring of the edges due to the finite visible diameter of the Sun (penumbra shadow.)
That would put the "ball's" shadow roughly on a line from midway between the girls, to the nearby tree. And unless it's behind the girl on the right, I don't see it, either.
Dave B
(The Gallery, DPC, Kids)

Savings & Trust: 1910
        Completed in 1905, the Columbus Savings & Trust Building, known today as the Atlas Building, counted among its amenities "seven elevators, complete refrigerating plant, its own power plant to furnish electric li ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/22/2013 - 9:20pm -

        Completed in 1905, the Columbus Savings & Trust Building, known today as the Atlas Building, counted among its amenities "seven elevators, complete refrigerating plant, its own power plant to furnish electric lights for the offices, direct steam heating and a pneumatic clock system with dials on each floor."
Columbus, Ohio, circa 1910. "Columbus Savings & Trust Company." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
8 E. Long St.The Atlas Building is still standing and scheduled to be redeveloped into apartments by the Schiff Capital Group. Story here.
One ThingColumbus hasn't torn down ...and it still looks great!
Big Number!Boy, I wish I could get the interest rate on the roof for my savings account.
Modest SKYSCRAPER!This modest 11 or so story place reminds me so much of the Medical Arts building in my home town, a taller,  similarly, yet more modestly Beaux+Sullivan-ish building.  At 18 stories it was a skyscraper. Miss it, and glad Dr. Skokie took out my tonslls.
ArchwayIn a recent effort to redevelop the Short North district, they have reproduced the arches shown in the lower left and erected them along High Street.
Refrigerating plant?What would a "complete refrigerating plant" be used for in a 1905 office building?  Was some kind of early air conditioning an option?
CogenerationThis would be very early for "air conditioning", zealously defined by the profession at the time as precise humidity control and filtration, with refrigeration not necessarily being involved. These factors were very important in certain manufacturing processes such as printing, textiles, and munitions. An office building might have only demanded comfort cooling, which might have been as primitive as having chilled water pumped through the heating radiators. This might have been cool ground water, or it might have been produced by machines using either ammonia or sulfur dioxide as a refrigerant, bringing the well-known hazards of 19th century ice plants into your office basement. In any case, I see open windows.
It wasn't at all uncommon at this time for builders of high-end properties to opt for on-site power generation. Public utilities had not yet reached the economy of scale necessary to make grid power a no-brainer. Besides, if you have a steam engine in your basement, you get free heat. Also, free refrigeration, if you use the absorption process.
In 1935, Eleanor Roosevelt visited the Austin office of the National Youth Administration, and found its director, Lyndon Johnson, pulling late nights by gas light, since the landlord would shut down the generator at 10 PM.
(The Gallery, DPC, Streetcars)

Planes, Trains: 1935
June 12, 1935. "Newark passenger station, Pennsylvania Railroad. Waiting room, sunlight and passengers. McKim, Mead & White, client." Waiting for someone to explain the plane. Large format negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/27/2014 - 10:03am -

June 12, 1935. "Newark passenger station, Pennsylvania Railroad. Waiting room, sunlight and passengers. McKim, Mead & White, client." Waiting for someone to explain the plane. Large format negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.
McKim, Mead & WhiteThis question may merely be in consequence of my occasional transient befuddlement, but whose client is McKim, Mead & White?
[The photographic firm of Samuel Gottscho and William Schleisner. -tterrace]
History of transportation"The interior of the main waiting room has medallions illustrating the history of transportation, from wagons to steamships to cars and airplanes, the eventual doom of the railroad age."
Train by night, plane by dayIn 1935, the Pennsylvania Railroad, along with the Santa Fe Railroad out west, had a partnership with TWA. In the early days of commercial air travel, night flying was not yet viewed to be safe, so for a time the railroads would partner with airlines, to offer fastest transcontinental services by taking the trains overnight, and flying during the day. You would leave New York in the evening, and take an overnight train to Columbus, Ohio where you would board a plane to Wichita, Kansas. At Wichita, you would board the Santa Fe for an overnight trip to Clovis, New Mexico, where you would get on another plane to either L.A. or San Francisco.
As Newark Penn Station opened in 1935, I expect that's why there's a plane on the wall.
What's your sign?In addition to the medallions symbolizing the history of transportation on the walls, the hanging lanterns are surrounded with ornamental bands depicting astrological signs; not sure how that ties into the history of transportation.
Excitement not shownAs a kid visiting Newark Station long ago to pick up Grandmother from Cincinnati, it was unbelievably exciting. Huge rumbles from overhead trains coming in, and when you were old enough you got to visit various platforms to be near trains. Those were real trains, with GG-1 locomotives and pullman cars and full service dining cars. Unintelligible public address announcements. It started to go downhill around 1960.
Memories of homeAs a former Newark resident I remember this waiting room quite well. I would pass through there on my way to catch the PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson) Trains to NYC. Outside the windows on the left there was usually a queue of taxis lined up. Behind the doors below the airplane was an exit that led to loading platforms for buses that went to places like Seaside and Asbury Park.  
I left Newark in 1976 but I suspect that the waiting room looks the same today as it did back in 1935.
Times ChangeWhile the structure of the room remains the same, the ambience is somewhat diminished. The benches are usually populated with vagrants. I frequently notice that, as a result, those who are seated are spread out, as no one chooses to sit within five feet or so of the "regulars". 
It's a depressing room these days; at least on the weekends, when I pass through. If the situation is better on weekdays, I'd be happy to hear of it.
Still crazy busy, after all these yearsYes, it does look substantially the same today, thanks to an extensive restoration in the 1980's. Newark Penn features four levels of interconnections: Cabs and buses at street level; Tracks 1-5 above, including NJ Transit, Amtrak Regional and Acela service; PATH trains ("The Tubes") at roof level; and a basement-level terminal for multiple light rail lines. As late as the 80's, this last level ran 1940's PCC trolleys... ten cents intra-city in those days. A few abandoned cars were found in a walled-off siding under the street when that siding was returned to service for new light rail service around 2002.
Some ChangesIn front of the windows, where the three lone travelers sit, is now a high-tech snack bar.  Incongruous with the lovely deco surroundings.  It's not unusual to find sparrows, pigeons, or other flighted friends walking or fluttering about.  To their credit, Newark's Finest do their best to keep the waiting room and platforms clear of homeless and panhandlers.  Taxis still line up outside, but passengers departing need to walk more than a block from their designated "drop-off" area since 9/11.  Progress...
Opening the windowsAnyone know how this was done? I see the hinge apparatus but wondering how opening the high windows was achieved?
Some funky cable cable system? Long poles?
[There's a fitting with what looks like a crank hole near the base of each window. - Dave]
Trains vs. PlanesI don't know why, but I still have to see the airport building or photograph thereof which rings a bell with me anywhere near as much as well-designed well-built train station. 
On an airport, the planes are the show, if at all. 
Maybe it has to do with much greater accessibility and, say, democratic "feel" of a train station? Or with their general location (middle of town vs. outskirts to boonies)?
re McKim Mead & WhiteWell, to quote Katnip, "that sounds logical".
About that planeSince Newark constructed an airport in 1928, there is a better than average chance that the reference is there. You know, take the train to the station and a cab or bus to the plane. Still done today. Not many trains to planes, even now.
"Airway Limited"Transcontinental Air Transport (New York to Los Angeles (Glendale) in less than 51 hours, train-plane-train-plane) started in summer 1929; one-way fare was $338 including a lower berth each night on the train. By 1935 it was all over-- T&WA DC-2s were scheduled Newark to Glendale? Burbank? in less than 18 hours and the fare was $160.
Train Time!I'm totally amazed that no one has noticed that it's time for the Chattanooga Choo Choo to head South ('bout a quarter to four).
Transportation medallionsIf I recall correctly, there are twelve medallions total.  Penn Station Newark is still a place at which you can start a cross-country train journey, and while Amtrak is not as elegant as Pullman cars nor as attractive as GG-1s, it's still comfortable and good food served in the dining cars.
Medallion of "Electric Locomotive"Here's a shot of one of the medallions at the other end of the building. 
Let there be light!The original lighting fixtures after being cleaned and refurbished. 
MedallionsHere is a more modern view of the interior. Notice the other medallions. 
(The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, Railroads)

South From Chestnut: 1910
Circa 1910. "High Street south from Chestnut, Columbus, Ohio." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Enigma I'm glad tterrace included a "g" in the noun. As for how I do it, Dave was right - I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/03/2014 - 7:51am -

Circa 1910. "High Street south from Chestnut, Columbus, Ohio." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
EnigmaI'm glad tterrace included a "g" in the noun.  As for how I do it, Dave was right - I use my camera and take the pictures.  I'm glad people enjoy them (it drives my wife insane).
The real questionThe real question is not how he makes a specific image but how does "timeandagainphoto" (taap) know which image Shorpy is going to publish and in some cases it is several years before it is published on Shorpy. 
[And some he took before there even was a Shorpy the Website. He addressed the enigma here. -tterrace]
Re: EnigmaAlthough I feel like I'm falling into a trap of my own making, I still must ask this of timeandagainphoto.  Just so I really understand: you have a massive archive of photos of streetscapes from across America, and when you see a Shorpy photo taken from the same vantage point, you dive into your storehouse of treasures and pluck out the matching picture?
UpdateOK, I accept the explanations by Dave and tterrace as to how  timeandagainphoto does it! BUT, after offering the Bing possibility earlier today, I went out and about and ran across a Bing Streetside camera car mapping roads in Pittsford, New York, the first time I've ever seen one! If I wasn't suspicious already, I'm now totally convinced that Shorpy is somehow tied into the space-time continuum at a level beyond my ability to comprehend.  
Enigma VariationsMaybe taap previously photographed the "now" views of the same Detroit Publishing catalogue of images that Dave uses for Shorpy.
[That's on a par with saying Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny don't exist; leave us with some illusions, please. -tterrace]
Speaking of illusionsBut, but, what do you mean they don't exist, tterrace?
ArchesMany of these arches were moved about a mile north on High St to the "Short North." They give a nice cozy feeling when you are out on the street. 
"Columbus-ohio-short-north-arches". Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Storehouse of Treasuresdavidk - you mostly described the process.  perpster’s speculation is correct (sorry for the illusion elimination tterrace) - the first step is obtaining the vintage images that I use as "thens" to the "nows" that I shoot.  I use the vintage photographs to triangulate the height and distance in order to ensure my shots are taken from the identical perspective (which is challenging since many of the vintage views were taken in streets that were used by significantly fewer and slower modes of transportation, different optics of modern lenses, large glass plates vs. digital, etc.).  I have hundreds of sets from all over the country that I've done since 1986 – I mat and frame them next to one another (see below for a couple of examples).  The reason they match up with the Shorpy views is because I use the Library of Congress for most of my vintage views like Shorpy (I also use the National Archives, libraries, and other sources).  By the way, my storehouse of treasures is numerous lateral filing cabinets in my basement and several gigabytes of hard drive space in my computer.
Okay, I give upHow does timeandagainphoto do it?  He isn't taking screen grabs from Google streetview, and he always has the same perspective as in the Shorpy photo.  I am both dumbfounded and gobsmacked.
"How does timeandagainphoto do it?"There are OTHER street view programs out there. Bing (Maps) "Streetside Explorer at eye level", is one of them, IF the street you're looking for is one of those they cover (far less then Google at present), and IF you can hit one of those times it's actually working. The relevant view appears to be in their database, but I kept getting "try again later" messages when I went for a look-see. 
[Actually he does it by standing in the appropriate spot with his camera and taking a picture. - Dave]
+103Below is the same view from May of 2013.
Night Lights As I scan over all to see, I kept thinking what this street would look like with the arches and signs fully lit at night.
Just so much to see.Love these busy street scenes, a moment captured in time and in such exceptional detail.  Everyone hurrying about their business and paying no attention to the photographer who here must be more or less in the middle of the road.
Not Much LeftThe Atlas building still remains.  It's the building with "4%" on its roof.  There may be a couple others, like the Elevator restaurant and an apartment building, but that's about it.  The building I work in sits on the corner of Chestnut and High.  I wish Columbus still had the arches going all the way down High Street, not just in the Short North.
Twenty Year OffsetIn the 1970s Columbus was solidly in the 1950s.
I don't know if that 20 year difference tracks forward or backward.
Re: Storehouse of TreasuresThank you so much for the explanation, timeandagainphoto.  I realize it demystifies yet another untouched corner of the universe, but it goes a huge way towards satisfying my literal-minded, need-to-know, aching-with-curiosity soul.  (As for Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, there's no reason to assume they don't exist.)
(The Gallery, DPC, Streetcars)

High Street Too: 1910
Columbus, Ohio, circa 1910. "High Street north from State." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. +94 Same view from July of 2009. Arches Were those arches really only for street lighting ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 1:31pm -

Columbus, Ohio, circa 1910. "High Street north from State." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
+94Same view from July of 2009.
ArchesWere those arches really only for street lighting and flags?
CuriousWhat is that tall building on the right; it looks very modern, even in the early photo.  Anyone know?
Arch CityColumbus was called the Arch City for the dozens of arches spanning its streets. The first were wood, put up in the 1890s. Then replaced by metal. The last of them seem to have been removed by the mid-teens.
[Reproduction arches are recent additions to some streets.  - Dave]
Open All NightThank you, Google, for finding that old football program (a must-see pdf!) in the back pocket of my old suit trousers.
As it turns out, Leachman's Chop House is at 61 S. High Street, and Mykrantz Drugs (the name just faintly has the right letterforms on one sign) is just a few doors to the north.
At the far right of the frame is the McKinley Memorial monument, built 1906.  I'll be sitting on the bench there with a newspaper and a cigar for a little while, before getting on with my day.
Early RadioI wonder if they had an early wireless station there at that time? In the upper left of the photo, there is a vertical tower atop the building and what appears to be insulators in the guy wires. This is a normal practice in a live vertical radio frequency radiator (antenna) so that the guy wires do not become resonant at the operating frequency, as well as insulating the antenna from ground.
A bit early for broadcasting but two-way code wireless telegraphy was done all the time by then.
[The appearance is indeed similar to wireless masts of the era. - Dave]
The View In 1914Here's a picture of roughly the same view dated as 1914. Notice how many more cars and fewer horses there are in the picture.
Leachman's Chop HouseI'd love to stop by Leachman's Chop House for lunch (infamous in a web search for being where Ohio State's Sphinx Senior Honorary club was born), saunter next door to Bryce's for some suits, hats and shoes, pick up a nice ten-cent cigar at the drugstore (so frustrating! can't quite make out the name!), sit in the park across the street and contemplate what goods require the services of the "Press Post" specialty pressing parlor!
But what I'm really here for is to find out what is being offered at 4%, or 4% off, as per the giant numbers on the top of the building just ahead on the right!
p.s. It's a little hard to sort out all the wires and metal posts and arches, but it looks like the arches were put up for decorative (and perhaps useful) lighting on alternating sets of the metal poles that hold up the trolley wires.
62 South HighThe address here is about 62 S. High Street. At the far right you can just make out the McKinley Memorial, dedicated in 1906.
(The Gallery, DPC, Streetcars)

Gamers: 1950
... America," co-host Marjoe Gortner would say that viewers in Columbus Ohio could submit their opinions using the "QUBE system" (whatever ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/28/2008 - 3:58pm -

June 6, 1950. Pembroke, Ontario. "Vis-O-Matic department store." A variation on mail-order shopping, the Vis-O-Matic system used color slides to display merchandise to potential customers, with orders placed by Teletype and delivered to your door. Photo by Bernard Hoffman, Life image archive. View full size.
Wii!Darn, I thought this was a Nintendo Wii!
Oh, my--the danger!That ring toss board has exposed metal pegs!  No rubber tips!  No 17 pages of warnings!  HowEVER did these children survive?!?  Oh yeah, we used common sense when we were playing!  But watch out--the parents of these boys just might have been lurking in the corner, waiting to draft their frivolous lawsuit!
Amazon Beta40+ years before the advent of modern online shopping.  Who'd have thought?
Ahh, the days of common sense...Remember those days...  Playing with mercury in science class, lawn darts, candy cigarettes, the U-238 Atomic Energy Lab, the Johnny Reb 30-inch authentic Civil War cannon.  
Hey...Is this the first Canadian picture you've had???  Woo!
Ashtray joystickYou used to be able to smoke everywhere. Chairs used to acknowledge this fact. 
Hey!Didn't Bill Bryson mention this in his book about growing up in Iowa in the '50s? 
And if you haven't read "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid," or better yet, listened to it on a road trip ... well, what are you waiting for? It's amazing!)
[As far as I can tell, Vis-O-Matic never made it out of Ontario. - Dave]
Reminds me of QUBEOn the 1980 TV series "Speak Up America," co-host Marjoe Gortner would say that viewers in Columbus Ohio could submit their opinions using the "QUBE system" (whatever that was.)
Finally Canadian picturesI would love to see more from Canada.
More on QUBELong before the Internet as we know it, early cable television was supposed to become interactive and viewers in some trial locations (apparently Columbus, Ohio was one) could respond to queries from the broadcaster on a variety of topics and those responses would be tabulated for whatever purpose said broadcaster chose. QUBE was shortlived since cabled television networks reached  precious few viewers in those days.
(Technology, Kids, LIFE, Sports)

Spring Hardware: 1939
April 1939. "Front of hardware store. Enterprise, Alabama." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The view today Work or Play? You see a display full of h ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/23/2021 - 12:20pm -

April 1939. "Front of hardware store. Enterprise, Alabama." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
The view today
Work or Play?You see a display full of hard-working tools -- I see the ingredients for a lazy day.
A feller could do some mighty fine fishin' with one of them bamboo poles. And eight cents worth of celery for bait.
Lee's Watchful EyeNot sure Dr. Lee approved of next door's "Use Union Tools" sign.
Un-Boll-weevibleMy fifth-grade teacher was from Enterprise and was always telling us kids about their monument to the Boll Weevil.  The bug forced Southern farmers to diversify by turning away from cotton to other crops, mostly peanuts.
A Blessing in DisguiseEnterprise is famous for its Boll Weevil Monument, erected in 1919 to celebrate the agricultural pest.  After boll weevils repeatedly destroyed the area's cotton crop, local farmers switched to growing peanuts, and have prospered ever since. 
The 13-foot monument features a statue of a woman holding a boll weevil aloft.
Often stolen from the monument, the boll weevil was removed and replaced with a replica in 1998. The original boll weevil is on display at a nearby museum. 
I See Something I "Reely" Like...I wish I could have a closer look at the lawn mowers; I've become fond of that type.  I currently use a 1940s era mower manufactured by the Pennsylvania Lawn Mower Co..."As light and easy running as a watch, with the sturdiness of a locomotive."
Recognizable itemsOur small town store in Chesterfield Ma.had a rake rack just like that one. As a kid I was fascinated by it. The bike looks like a "Rollfast," just like the used bike I had back in the '40s. That was the only bicycle I ever had.
A nod to the sign painterWho probably used Sargent Paint Products.
A service, not yet a professionIn the early 1920s, Dr. A. (for "Albert") L. Lee helped establish the American Legion post in Enterprise, Alabama and was one of its first officers (a sign that he likely served in the First World War). What is striking about his family's 1940 census data is what the optometrist's wife reported about each family member's educations. Dr. Lee reached the third of four grades of high school, and did not attend college.  
Union Tools Made Up NorthThe Union Fork and Hoe Company was located for nearly a century in Columbus, Ohio. The products were made here for much of that time. The company was sold to Ames True Temper in 2006 but the Union Tools brand is still around. 
Sunset reveals ...Night Gardening, Easy Squeezing, and 6 Other Gardening Ideas That Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
Union Fork & Hoe Co.'s dandelion rake:
Dandelions Don’t Work Like That
I like in KansasI wonder if on a windy day in Kansas three of those wheeled displays would drive off by themselves?
(The Gallery, M.P. Wolcott, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)

Roy's Hoppin Hooptie: 1915
... Dave, he was supposed to be in the first 24 hour race in Columbus Ohio 7/3/1905 but here is what happened: Four cars, one of which ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 11:50am -

Roy Repp in his bucking Buick ("Maude, the Motor Mule") circa 1915 in New York. (Three more pics). View full size. George Grantham Bain Collection.
1933 and 1946 "descendants" of Roy's trick carHere are photos and a description of two similar trick cars built by my grandfather and father.   A third photo of the later car can be seen here.
Mike Grobbel
Roy ReppAnyone know anything about Roy? A search through the online archives gives just two hits. He was from Australia, and his "trick automobile" was hit with crowds at racing events in Clinton, New Jersey, and Racine, Wisconsin, in the summer of 1915.
Re: Roy ReppDave, he was supposed to be in the first 24 hour race in Columbus Ohio 7/3/1905 but here is what happened:
Four cars, one of which was manufactured in Columbus, were entered in the 24-hour race, although only three actually competed. Roy Repp, who was scheduled to driver a White Steamer, was hospitalized for surgery the day before the race was to begin, and the entry was withdrawn.
[Thanks Ron! Another piece in the puzzle. - Dave]
THUMP thump thump THUMPI bet he really cranked the Victrola in that thing. And I do mean cranked.
Maude, the Motor MuleMore on Roy Repp in this 1916 item from the Van Nuys News:
An automobile that will run on its “hind legs,” spin about, buck and perform generally like the trick horse or mule of the circus has been the star feature of a number of race meets held in widely separated parts of the country, Popular Science Monthly states. The car is known as “Maude, the Motor Mule.”
Maude’s athletic and adventurous talents are due to a heavy weight hung over her tail and to individual brakes on each rear wheel. The weight is heavy enough to overbalance the car. It runs easily on a little track projecting over the axle, and is concealed beneath a housing. The driver controls the position of the weight by means of a lever and is thus able to make the car buck as he wants it to.
When the car is reared on two wheels one of the independent brakes may be applied and one of the wheels locked, causing the car to spin around on that wheel. The band usually plays a waltz for this and the driver, Roy Repp, manages to keep in time with the music.
Model 16 RoadsterThe car Roy is driving looks like a 1909 - 1910 Buick Model 16 Roadster.
Cost of the Model 16 was $1,750 in 1909 with 497 produced; it rode on a 112 inch wheelbase; it had a three speed gearbox; and it weighed 2,620 pounds.
Full details on the Model 16 for 1910 are here.
There was also a "Maud the Mule" comic strip character.  Was Roy influenced in his choice of names for his car by the comic strip?  Info on Maud the Mule here.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, G.G. Bain, NYC)

The Commuter: 1910
Ann Arbor, Michigan, circa 1910. "Michigan Central railroad station." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Ann Arbor Lineman Up a pole off in the distance. The Same View Today ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 4:51pm -

Ann Arbor, Michigan, circa 1910. "Michigan Central railroad station." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Ann Arbor LinemanUp a pole off in the distance.
The Same View TodayView Larger Map
401 Depot StreetThis is a restaurant called the Gandy Dancer now. 
Why is the guy in the horse and buggy not only on the wrong side of the road, but seems to be charging the camera?
I got a ticket once right about where they guy is walking.

Playbill"The Awakening of Helena Richie" opened on Broadway in September 1909, closed in January 1910, and went on tour in the spring of 1910. Elsie Janis, born Elsie Beerbower, was a multi-talented composer and entertainer whose play "The Fair Co-ed" was touring the country that same spring. Returning in the 1920s to her hometown of Columbus, Ohio, she would live, ironically, in a house across the street from the football stadium. The route from this place to that place is known by heart to most Wolverines:  "South until you smell it, then east until you step in it."
Dramatis PersonaeStage stars Elsie Janis (in "The Fair Co-ed") and Margaret Anglin ("The Awakening of Helena Richie"), two big names now almost completely forgotten.
(The Gallery, DPC, Railroads)

The Chittenden: 1904
Columbus, Ohio, 1904. "Chittenden Hotel." Opened 1895, razed 1973. The final installment of our Columbus Day trilogy. 8x10 glass negative. View full size. Third time is a charm. The first two had a fire problem. Read more . An od ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/14/2013 - 7:17pm -

Columbus, Ohio, 1904. "Chittenden Hotel." Opened 1895, razed 1973. The final installment of our Columbus Day trilogy. 8x10 glass negative. View full size.
Third time is a charm.The first two had a fire problem. Read more.
An odd combinationThe architecture looks "Sino-Romanesque" to me.  Appropriate, perhaps, in a city named after Columbus.
(The Gallery, DPC, Streetcars)

Say Cheeseburger: 1938
August 1938. "Itinerant photographer in Columbus, Ohio." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative. Photograph by Ben Shahn, Farm Security Administration. Excellent One of the better portraits that Shahn completed while working for the FSA, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/10/2007 - 1:22am -

August 1938. "Itinerant photographer in Columbus, Ohio." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative. Photograph by Ben Shahn, Farm Security Administration.
ExcellentOne of the better portraits that Shahn completed while working for the FSA, imho: rich in detail, rich in human expression. His photos from this period often were "stretches" to make a socialist statement; here he seems to be showing us a straight ahead, working man street scene.  Not quite on the level of August Sander's work, but still quite impressive.
Denny Gill
Chugiak, Alaska
259 East Main StreetI wondered where this was taken so I looked up the Economy Furniture Co. in the 1938 Columbus City Directory.
ImprovisedThe photographer has added a wrapped cloth around the probably deteriorating, light- leaking bellows.
(The Gallery, Ben Shahn)

Pop Culture: 1943
September 1943. "Columbus, Ohio. A Greyhound bus driver off duty." Photo by Esther Bubley for the Office of War Information. View full size. Double straw in a Coke Had almost forgotten that this used to be a thing. Jukebox Seebur ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2014 - 10:58am -

September 1943. "Columbus, Ohio. A Greyhound bus driver off duty." Photo by Esther Bubley for the Office of War Information. View full size.
Double straw in a CokeHad almost forgotten that this used to be a thing.
JukeboxSeeburg Symphonola, lit and unlit.
Looks likeRobby the Robot Sr. in the background.
Just Hanging AroundOne might visit every restaurant in Manhattan today and find fewer men's hats hanging on hooks than are displayed in this photo.  That once universal accoutrement, though currently enjoying renewed vogue among the soul-patch-and-skinny-trouser set, is but poorly replaced by the ubiquitous and most unflattering baseball cap, a ridiculous affectation for anyone not pursuing outdoor work.   Apparently, men used to glue their fedoras firmly to their pates, for I recall seeing vicious melees in old movies with multitudes having chairs broken over their heads or being thrown into the mirror behind the bar but without a single hat's being lost.
What a Revoltin' DevelopmentWilliam Bendix and Martha Raye on a date.
[I was thinking Errol Flynn. -tterrace]
(The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Esther Bubley)

Municipal Gothic: 1908
Circa 1908. "City Hall -- Columbus, Ohio." Populated by a cast of ectoplasmic pedestrians. Added bonus: windowsill milk bottles! View full size. Looks like soot I was just thinking how the building looks like many we saw in Europe, in t ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/14/2013 - 9:23am -

Circa 1908. "City Hall -- Columbus, Ohio." Populated by a cast of ectoplasmic pedestrians. Added bonus: windowsill milk bottles! View full size.
Looks like sootI was just thinking how the building looks like many we saw in Europe, in the later 1980s. There had been so much coal burned for so many years that the buildings were covered in soot, more on the top and less on the bottom, like this building showed. At that time, we saw scaffolding in many countries, where the buildings were being literally scrubbed clean. I felt the soot actually gave them some character.  However, when one was finished and the scaffolding came down, I realized that I was seeing the building just as those who had been there when it was first built had seen it, and that was pretty neat, too!
Burned 1/12/1921Built in 1872, it stood till 1921 when it burned on the night of Jan. 12. The Ohio Theater (built in 1928) now sits on this site.
If the City Council debate gets too boring ....... you can pop over to the Gayety Burlesque right next door.  Guaranteed NOT to be boring!
(The Gallery, DPC)

A Haberdasher Salesman
My great-great uncle Henry Kruger in his office, Columbus, Ohio December, 1908. He accompanied his sister, Augusta, and her three children from Hamburg, Germany, to Westfield, NY, to join her husband, William Granewitsch. Henry and William were bo ... 
 
Posted by tempo dula - 11/17/2011 - 2:10pm -

My great-great uncle Henry Kruger in his office, Columbus, Ohio December, 1908. He accompanied his sister, Augusta, and her three children from Hamburg, Germany, to Westfield, NY, to join her husband, William Granewitsch. Henry and William were both tailors. Henry moved to Columbus, Ohio, to work for the largest tailor in the country, "Goodman". He held various positions in the men's apparel trade. View full size.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)

C&O 2717
C&O 2-8-4 #2717 at Parsons engine terminal, Columbus, Ohio in July, 1946. Built by American Locomotive Company, Schenectady, NY 1943. Due to the road's southern headquarters, the C&O refused to call their 2-8-4's Berkshire types, opting ... 
 
Posted by Lost World - 02/09/2018 - 7:37pm -

C&O 2-8-4 #2717 at Parsons engine terminal, Columbus, Ohio in July, 1946.  Built by American Locomotive Company, Schenectady, NY 1943.  Due to the road's southern headquarters, the C&O refused to call their 2-8-4's Berkshire types, opting for the title Kanawha after the West Virginia river the C&O main runs next to for many miles. Crews referred to them as 2700's or "Big Mikes", as they were bigger than the 2-8-2 Mikado type.  C&O owned 90 Kanawhas, 70 built by ALCO and 20 built by Lima Locomotive Works.
C&O Kanawhas are probably the most prolific steam age survivors.  About a dozen still exist in various parks and museums, though a couple have been scrapped since due to vandalism and weather deterioration. View full size.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Railroads)

Capitol Square: 1910
Columbus, Ohio, circa 1910. "State Capitol and McKinley monument." And birdhouses. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. For the birds As someone who sets up half a dozen nesting boxes for tree ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/06/2020 - 11:34am -

Columbus, Ohio, circa 1910. "State Capitol and McKinley monument." And birdhouses. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
For the birdsAs someone who sets up half a dozen nesting boxes for tree swallows each spring I was delighted to see the birdboxes.   Hopefully efforts were made at the time to discourage invasive house sparrows from occupying them, their having been declared a major pest.  Already too late for North America as they had already proven to be non-eradicable as early as 1910 and have contributed significantly to a serious decline in our native cavity nesting songbird population since.
Did bike locks exist back then?I wish we could leave our bikes at the curb today.
(The Gallery, Bicycles, DPC)

Making Merry: 1938
Summer 1938. "Scene at Buckeye Lake Amusement Park, near Columbus, Ohio." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn for the FSA. I Wanna Ride! So I can sit next to the barefooted lass in the tree. (The Gallery, Ben Shahn, S ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 11:18am -

Summer 1938. "Scene at Buckeye Lake Amusement Park, near Columbus, Ohio." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn for the FSA.
I Wanna Ride!So I can sit next to the barefooted lass in the tree.
(The Gallery, Ben Shahn, Small Towns, Sports)
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