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Dairy Motor Maid: 1943
... is to beauty. Walker Driver This looks like a Walker electric truck . Indeed it is a Walker Gas Motor/Generator and ... driving a Divco with a stand-up clutch/brake system, the Walker Electric was likely much easier to master. Not that the Divco was hard, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/04/2014 - 3:55pm -

June 1943. Bryn Mawr, Pa. "Mrs. Helen Joyce, one of the many women now working for the Supplee-Wills-Jones Milk Co. She has one child and her husband is a seaman first class in the Navy." Photo by Jack Delano. View full size.
Calling Ralph Nader!It looks like she is driving a back porch around the neighborhood. 
I'd hate to be in one of those during a collision.
Be Careful, Mrs. Joyce!That plaque over your head is unambiguous, if my old eyes are reading it correctly:

COMPANY ORDER
The Driver of this Vehicle
is Positively Forbidden to Allow Any-
One to Ride with him except
Authorized Company Employees
on Company Business.
We have a new low.That vehicle is to ergonomics what Picasso's "The Weeping Woman" is to beauty.
Walker DriverThis looks like a Walker electric truck.
Indeed it is a WalkerGas Motor/Generator and Electric motor on the rear axle. Just like a train locomotive. The giveaway is the wood roof (canvas outside) The Divco Twin while still having a trolley/street car cab, also had a metal roof.   Based on personal experience driving a Divco with a stand-up clutch/brake system, the Walker Electric was likely much easier to master.  Not that the Divco was hard, you just had to get you head around balancing and driving with one foot and very different throttle/gas pedal.
[The van Mrs. Joyce is driving would seem to be purely electric -- there's no radiator grille. - Dave]
Your Ration Board at Work?Is that a Sealtest Butter ration card we see above the window?  I understand that butter was rationed in 1943 - not that I am old enough to know.
[It's not a ration card, but it does show the  "consumer point value" of a pound of butter. - Dave]
Unauthorized passengersHmm. I wonder if that sign was in the Baker's Dairy truck that used to deliver our milk in the 1950s in Moline, Illinois. The milkman, Bill something or other, had had the route for ages, and he sometimes allowed a couple of us kids to ride to the end of the block with him. The milk was cooled with ice, and he would chip off a piece for us in the summer. The truck looked a lot like this one.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Jack Delano)

Ice Cream Every Day: 1920
... 1920. "J.C.L. Ritter. Carry Ice Cream truck." A brand-new Walker Electric. View full size. National Photo Co. Collection glass negative. Walker Electric Interesting truck here; it looks like it has holes to mount ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 10:25pm -

Washington, D.C., 1920. "J.C.L. Ritter. Carry Ice Cream truck." A brand-new Walker Electric. View full size. National Photo Co. Collection glass negative.
Walker ElectricInteresting truck here; it looks like it has holes to mount headlights but no headlights are mounted; solid disk wheels that imitate wooden spokes; padded backrest but no seat cushion.  Very cool (no pun intended) shot of an early delivery vehicle.
[Seems to have just been painted. - Dave]
"Eat a plate of ice cream every day"And don't forget a glass of cake on the side.
Albert CarryAlbert Carry, the owner of Carry's Ice Cream, was a notable  Washington entrepreneur.  According to his obituary ( Washington Post, Feb 16 1925)

He was born in Haechinzen, Germany, in 1852 and came to the United States in 1862.  For 24 year he lived in New York city and in Cincinnati. Since 1886 he had identified himself with Washington.  He purchased the old Jueneman brewery and in 1889 sold the plant and organized the National Capitol Brewery Company, which he turned into the Carry Ice Cream Company.  The past few years he has been active in banking and realty business in which he associated with him his two sons, Charles A. Carrey and Joseph G. Carrey
He apparently switched from the brewery to ice cream business as a result of prohibition.  His ice cream company was located at 1337 D street southeast.  He lived a few blocks away at 135 Twelfth street southeast.  In the 1960s the site of the brewery/ice cream plant was sold to Safeway and has been a grocery store since then.
Much more about Albert Carry and family can be found at the 
Capitol Hill History Project.
Heavy DutyCheck out how many leaves are in each axle spring, and the amount of compression at the bottom of each solid tire. I wouldn't expect such a small truck to be so heavy, but then this truck probably had quite a load of ice to keep things frozen. Hmm, and this is an electric truck maybe, judging by what might be huge battery boxes between the axles?
Anonymous #2: I'd love a cup of hot prime rib to wash it all down.
Refrigerated TrucksAccording to Wikipedia "It was not until the middle of the 20th century that refrigeration units were designed for installation on tractor-trailer rigs (trucks or lorries)." So I doubt this truck was refrigerated, maybe the box simply protected the fuel tank.
[There is no fuel tank. It's an electric truck. Doesn't anyone read the captions? And it would be refrigerated with dry ice. - Dave]
Contraption?My first impression was "wow, that's a contraption".  The more I look at it, the more I am impressed with the workmanship and engineering evident in this vehicle.  State of the art for that time.
DSS
Future TruckThis was a pretty forward thinking company, putting the telephone number on their trucks. Pity  the same technology for making electric delivery trucks is not available today. If Ford, GM or Chrysler could manage that same task, they would rolling in so much money... Just a US mail delivery vehicle contract alone would make one of those companies a mint.
[The big electric delivery trucks disappeared from the scene because gasoline and diesel trucks gave better value. Which is still the case today. - Dave]
Great-GranddadMy grandmother (born in 1912) told me many stories about her engineering father, John Stubbe, who developed some electric cars.  He later worked for the Locomobile company, which made electric buses for hotels and tourists.  Not only were diesel and gas more efficient, but electric cars (not the trucks) were seen as something fit to drive by ladies, because they were safe and very slow and didn't go too far.  That must not have sat too well with his wife, who was one of the first women drivers in Pittsburgh.  Her touring car ran on gas.  John Stubbe ended up leaving the electric car industry and worked on selling and maintaining gasoline vehicles on Baum Blvd in Pittsburgh.
[The main appeal electric cars had for women was no transmission, hence no gearshifting. And no cranking.  All of which required an unladylike amount of exertion. NYT article on Jay Leno's Baker Electric. - Dave]
Batteries Not Included1918 Walker Electric Truck 3.5 ton chassis, Model P:
Weight: 5,600 lbs
Top Speed: 12 mph empty, 9 mph loaded
Range: 40 - 50 miles per charge
Price: $3,600 (batteries not included)
Batteries: 44 cells
Type: forward-control, open-enclosed cab 4x2
Serial No.: 1686
Wheelbase: 131 inches
Engine: Westinghouse electric motor mounted in rear axle
Transmission: none
Rear Axle: Walker hollow axle with integral electric motor, spur type gear reduction, 15:59 ratio
Front Axle: I-beam
Springs: semi-elliptic leaf, front and rear
Brakes: mechanical, external contracting on rear wheels
Steering: left side wheel, Ross steering gear
Wheels: Walker cast steel solid disc
Tires: 36" x 5" front and dual rear
Walker Electric Vehicle Co. built electric and gasoline-electric hybrid trucks from 1918 or earlier until at least 1942 in Chicago. The same marque may have been manufactured by the Automobile Maintenance Co. prior to this. A 1918 Model P 3.5-ton open cab version (serial number 1686) is on display at the Hays Antique Truck Museum at Woodland CA. The Walker 1 ton balance drive electric truck was used for local delivery service. The van is driven by an electric motor developing 3 1/2 h.p. with a range of around 50-60 miles on a single charge and could reach speeds of 12 mph. The only known working example, owned by Harrods Limited of Knightsbridge, London, still takes part in the annual historical commercial vehicle London-to-Brighton run.
http://www.econogics.com/ev/evhistw.htm
No hurryThundering along at 9 mph when loaded, I would think I would choose a faster mode of transport for ice cream, even with the dry ice as refrigeration. I doubt that they went very far. Anyone for ice cream soup?
[Dry ice and the insulated refrigerator  body would keep your ice cream cold all day. The same method still used by a lot of Good Humor vendors. - Dave]
Experts . . .A minute and a half looking at an old pic (not seeing the caption) and everybody "knows" exactly what it is, how it worked (and when) and how everything was back in the day.  Caption? . . . we doan need no stankin' caption.
Foy
Las Vegas 
I Scream, You ScreamI'm doing research for a novel for kids that takes place in Atlantic City in the 1930's. I need ice cream flavors of the 1930's. Any suggestions? Thanks! Love the pick of the Ritter Truck!
[Search eBay for ice cream ads. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)

Stuck Truck: 1921
... Electric The poster has a point. There was a Walker electric truck in 1918. Here we are almost a hundred years later and ... Check out the aahh-ooo-gah horn by the front seat. Walker Electric That is indeed an electric vehicle. It was manufactured by ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 9:38pm -

Washington, D.C., 1921. View full size. National Photo Company Collection.
ElectricThe poster has a point. There was a Walker electric truck in 1918. Here we are almost a hundred years later and we're working on creating electric trucks again.
Truck featuresHow about those solid rubber tires?  What do you think the large footlocker shaped box is between the front and rear wheels?  Could it be a battery for an electric motor?  I don't see any radiator for a gas engine.  Check out the aahh-ooo-gah horn by the front seat.
Walker ElectricThat is indeed an electric vehicle. It was manufactured by the Walker Vehicle Company of Chicago. 
HeavyWhat character vehicles had in that time, I'd imagine the front axle alone has enough metal to make a car today.
Police Call BoxCheck out the fire/police call box on the pole. I have one dating back to the 1800s.
Traffic ReportI am loving this series of vehicular disasters in DC!  It beats the accidents I see during my daily commute.  
Stuck TruckThe "house" window for windshield is very interesting!
Riding the Rails?Does it strike anyone else that it looks as though the wheels on this truck were designed to allow it to operate on railroad tracks? The front wheels have a railroad-style flange and the groove in the rear wheels looks it was make to ride on rails as well.
[This is a common early truck tire. Solid rubber and tubeless. - Dave]
A Really Federal ExpressAmerican Railway Express existed from 1917 to 1929, formed by the nationaization of the express mail services owned by Adams Express, American Express, and Wells Fargo Express. World War I was hard on the fractious US railway system. The successor private company to ARE was Railway Express Agency (REA), owned by the railroad companies. It lasted from 1929 til 1975: a victim of mismanagement, corruption, and more nimble competiton.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)

Built for Two: 1921
... Foolishness! The Railway Express guy is not amused. Walker Electric Truck The Railway Express truck appears to be a Walker Electric. It looks similar to this stuck truck as well as ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 4:10pm -

January 29, 1921. Washington, D.C. "Herbert Bell and Joe Garso." The one-legged trick bike riders put on a show. National Photo glass negative. View full size.
Transport ModalitiesInteresting shot. Love the expressions of the folks in the back-interested and bemused, but not entirely comfortable with what they are seeing. 
I also like all the different modes of transportation seen or hinted at in this shot. Is that a homemade Razor Scooter that the kid is holding on the far right? Right by it on the curb looks like a crutch and something looking a lot like a single roller skate. Those non-pneumatic metal truck wheels cast to look like they have wooden spokes are an interesting sign of transition: technology was moving ahead of old ideas about what wheels should look like. Could those people be waiting for a bus? What's that sign behind the paper boy? And it always strikes me to see how relatively little bicycles have changed. 
Incidentally, any photo historians know if this was this pretty high speed film for 1921? With all the ghosts in the pictures on Shorpy from just a few years before, I guess we're seeing the fruits of sudden advancement in emulsion technology?
[This picture was made on glass; National Photo didn't start using film until the 1930s. With fast lenses and emulsions, stop-action photography was freezing baseballs as early as 1910. Bus service in Washington was years away; public transport was by streetcar, although there are no tracks to be seen on this street. The ribs cast into those metal wheels on the electric truck are probably there for strength, not looks. The skate belonged to the stuntmen. The sign says "Park - Theater District." And below that probably a time limit. - Dave]
Foolishness!The Railway Express guy is not amused.
Walker Electric TruckThe Railway Express truck appears to be a Walker Electric.  It looks  similar to this stuck truck as well as Carry's Ice Cream Truck.  There is no nose to speak of, large boxes (battery cases?) between the wheels and virtually identical wheels and hubs.
(The Gallery, Bicycles, D.C., Herb & Joe, Natl Photo, Sports)

Tales of the City: 1924
... [Looks more like an electric truck. Maybe a Walker Electric. There's no radiator. - Dave] Arthur Burt Co. I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 10:15pm -

Today we're leaving the office and taking the streetcar downtown for some shopping.  From 1924, "F Street N.W. from 14th Street." View full size.
Swastika Truck IIPossibly made by Detroit's K.R.I.T. Motor Co.

[Looks more like an electric truck. Maybe a Walker Electric. There's no radiator. - Dave]

Arthur Burt Co.I found these three early 1920 ads for the Arthur Burt Co., in the Washington Post. 
Lisle ribbed hose, of fine texture, for women and juniors: black, white, brown, elk, gray and navy blue. Just right. 
Shoes and hose of today, Arthur Burt Co., 1343 F. Dependable military footwear, "Nature-Shape" school shoes.
The "Tuiriwun," a slipper in black satin or patent leather that is correct for both evening and street wear and, consequently, much in demand. $9.00. Arthur Burt Co.
The BartholdiHey, it's the Bartholdi Cafe, offering seafood and shore dinners, inviting ladies and gentlemen, and open Sundays.  I learned this stuff from a billboard next to the Texaco station.
I wondered what the "ladies and gentlemen" on the sign meant - no rowdies and ruffians, no wenches of questionable virtue? A 2005 Washingtonian article mentioned the Bartholdi (it was characterized as "early 20th century" seafood, apparently not the best).
Truck SwastikaThat truck pulling out near the guy crossing the trolley tracks has a swastika on it. Was there an automotive company that used that emblem before it was abused by the Nazis?
[Use of the swastika as a decorative motif or commercial insignia goes back long before the National Socialist Party adopted it as an emblem. - Dave]
Health Week starts April 28 1343 F St.: Arthur Burt Co.
Footwear for "society affairs," afternoon or evening.
1341 F St.: Bartholdi Cafe
Washington Post, May 30, 1923: Advertisement

This if the first holiday since we've extended our service to include the ladies.  Bring them in and let them enjoy the Bartholdi famous shore dinner or a selection of the Sea Food delicacies served our way.

1339 F St.: H.W. Topham
Trunks, suitcases, traveling bags, hot boxes, etc.
1337 F St.: Watters Sterling Boot Shops
"The kind of shoes you want at the price you want to pay"
1333 F St.: Adams Building
Washington Post, Apr 27, 1924

Health Week Campaign Gets Start Tomorrow
"Health Week" starts tomorrow.  Agencies participating took possession of the old Y.W.C.A. home, at 1333 F street northwest, to install free exhibits and motion pictures, which will run through the entire week.  A large sign advising "Keep the Well Person Well" and "Get the Sick Person Well" placards the building, which is open from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

1331 F St.: Meyer's Shop
"Everything for well dressed Man and Boy" - Rogers Peet Clothing
1329 F St.: Franklin & Co. Opticians
1319-1321 F St.: Interstate Building
The Young Men's Shop on ground floor
Washington Post, Jan 9, 1912

Plans for the construction of a ten-story office building on F street ...  When completed the new building will have cost approximately $600,000.  The Interstate Commerce Commission, it is expected, will lease quarters in the new structure.

1315-1317 F St.: Baltimore Sun Building
Contemporary Photo
Washington Post, Apr 9, 1903

The Baltimore Sun building, 1315 and 1317 F street was sold yesterday afternoon at public auction to Walter Abell.....The Sun building is perhaps one of the best known office buildings in Washington and one of the most substantial in the country. ...  It was built in 1887, the jubilee year of the Baltimore Sun by the founder of the paper, Mr. A. S. Abell,  ...

Washington Post, Jul 12, 1987

The oldest standing skyscraper in America - maybe the first --an exquisite nine-story example of eclectic Victorian architecture, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Although New York and Chicago are normally associated with skyscrapers, the oldest example is in neither city but rather in Washington -- the Sun Building at 1317 F  St. NW.
...
Now restored to its original elegance, the Sun Building gives a hint of what Washington was like before the homogenizing influence of post-World War II architecture began erasing the city's history. Built by A.S. Abell, publisher of The Baltimore Sun, it originally served as a home for the newspaper's Washington bureau. Upon its completion in 1887, The Baltimore Sun Hershel Shanks, a lawyer and part owner of the Sun Building, is editor and publisher of the Biblical Archaeology Review. declared the building "the most imposing private structure in the national capital."

Safety LastDig the scaffolding set up with no safety barrier or safety roof, only a few paper signs stuck to it that probably say "Watch out for stuff falling on your head," or possibly something more appropriate for the period, like "Mind the head."
Hey, there was a cop standing on the corner in the Patent Office photo too. At least this street is safe from horse thieves.
It looks like a breezy day.It looks like a breezy day.  See how the coats and awnings are billowed?
WowGreat shot.  The crispness and detail in these old photos is still startling. 
Frederic Auguste BartholdiHotel Bartholdi appeared in the Metropolitan Life 1908 Shorpy photo. In this one he's a Cafe for Ladies & Gentlemen. He was the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty. It's 1924 and there are no horses in this picture. Were they banned from these streets?
Checker CabsBoth of the two-tone taxis are Checkers, made by the Checker Cab Manufacturing Co. of Kalamazoo, as is the taxi in the extreme lower left hand corner.  By 1924 Checker was building 4,000 40 hp cars a year at an average selling price of about $2350.
The bus's power polesThe bus's power poles are down.  It must convert to gas power when overhead power lines aren't available.
[That's a streetcar, not a bus. Downtown, where there were no overhead power lines, the electrical supply was under the street. More info in the comments here and here. - Dave]
TrolleyI notice there are no overhead wires for the streetcar.  Apparently it was powered from a third rail on the ground.  Seems pretty risky on a public street.
[The power supply is underground. Not a rail, and not risky. - Dave]
Third rail again?Oh Dave, you have the patience of a saint.  How many times must one answer the same questions regarding streetcar power.  I think its overly due time for some default link to background information regarding streetcar engineering in the District of Columbia.
A few of the previous explanatory postings on Shorpy: [1,2,3]
StreetcarFor those interested, the streetcar pictured in this scene is Washington Railway and Electric Company car number 602. Built in 1912 by J.G. Brill Company of Philadelphia it was delivered on September 21 of that year. In 1912 this streetcar cost $6016.17.
In 1933 the Capital Traction Company took over streetcar operations in Washington DC and WRECo 602 became Capital Traction Co. car 836. In 1935, 836 was assigned to the Brightwood Division. By 1939, it was assigned to the Navy Yard Division, and in 1942 to the Benning Division.
The centre door meant that 836 required two-man operation - a driver, and a conductor - and by the 1940s these older, slower cars were also creating bottlenecks as the newer, faster cars lined up behind them. 836 along with the remaining centre door cars were retired in 1944 and scrapped the following year. With the retirement of these cars retired the last of Washington DC streetcar conductors, as now all the cars were one-man operation. Not only were the cars faster, they were now cheaper to operate.
One centre door streetcar, CTC 884 former WRECo. 650, is currently held by the National Capital Trolley Museum in Wheaton MD. It is currently unrestored as far as I know. See it soon for the museum is closing December 1 due to construction of the Intercounty Connector, and it is not scheduled to reopen until next summer.
Sources cited:
Peter C. Kohler, "Capital Transit, Washington's Street Cars The Final Era: 1933-1962" Bonifant MD: National Capital Trolley Museum, 2001.
National Capital Trolley Museum: http://www.dctrolley.org/
Streetcars & Hobble SkirtsThanks James for all the information about car #602.  In the photo, it appears that the lower step folds up while the car is in motion.
 Washington Post, Mar 20, 1923

Order Low-Step Cars
 W.R.&E. Officials Accede to Demand of Women
Fifty are Now Being Built


The women of Washington have won a victory in their demand for street cars with lower steps.  The Washington Railway and Electric Company has placed an order for 50 new cars with the J.C. Brill Company, of Philadelphia, specifying particularly that the cars be constructed with low steps.
The operation of the new style cars throughout the city undoubtedly will meet with the hearty approval of the women, who have been making a strenuous fight for more than two years to abolish the high steps.
The new cars are being built as rapidly as possible, and the first shipment is expected to arrive here about April 15.  The cars are what are known as the Narragansett type, being semi-convertible from closed to open, of double truck, and capable of comfortably seating 80 passengers.  The seats will run crosswise, and the exterior will be painted yellow.
It is announced by an official of the company that the cars will be constructed with two steps, affording easy ingress and exit from the vehicle.  Upon just what lines the new cars will be operated the officials have not decided yet.  A number of the cars, it is understood, will be placed on the Georgetown and Mt. Pleasant lines to replace those recently destroyed in the fire at the car barn at Thirteenth and D streets northeast, in which 80 cars were burned.
"We have ordered that the new cars be constructed with unusually low steps," said an official of the Washington Railway and Electric Company, yesterday, "as we realize that the plea of women patrons, who ask for lower car steps, is justifiable.  The new cars will be constructed, in so far as the steps are concerned, to meet the approval of the women.  Later in the year we will either order additional cars of the low step type, or remodel the cars now in service to comply with the request of our women patrons."

 Washington Post, Apr 26, 1923

New Car Tested Here
Hobble Skirts No Barrier to Improved W.R.&E. Vehicle


"Wearers of the hobble skirts," said W.F. Ham, vice president of the Washington Railway and Electric Company, "will have no difficulty in boarding our new car, which we have just tried out for the first time.  It has so many features that are new that we are delighted with it.  During its trial trip yesterday afternoon, it carried no one but the officials of the company, but within a few days, we will run it in with our regular service, and then ask the passengers for their opinions.  If they are favorable, undoubtedly we shall add a great many more of such cars to our rolling stock."

Bartholdi HotelMy family owned the Bartholdi Hotel. My great-grandmother was Theresa Bartholdi. There is an old family tale that Vincent Sardi of Sardi's Steak House was a cook for the Bartholdi and met his wife who was a maid there.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Streetcars)

Auf Wiedersehen: 1917
... has a humongous battery box, just like the ones on the Walker electric trucks shown in some other posts here. Also that's not the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 5:33pm -

February 1917. "Count J.H. von Bernstorff, ambassador from Germany, leaving German Embassy." The scene at the embassy in Washington after Woodrow Wilson ended diplomatic relations with Germany, two months before the United States made its declaration of war. Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size.
Might want to check that photo...Doesn't seem to match the caption, unless it was common practice for heads of state to ride shotgun on the back of a delivery van!
[The occasion for the photograph was the ambassador's departure. He's not actually in the picture. And ambassadors are not heads of state. - Dave]
First Car BraThat is such an strange-looking vehicle - or is it a wagon waiting to be hitched to a truck?  I wonder what the tarp is covering at the front. Also, those back wheels look like they could run on rails.  Anyone have any further info on this thing?
[The tarp is covering the controls of what looks like an electric truck. Most trucks back then had solid rubber tires. - Dave]
AutocarThe truck looks like an Autocar.
[The Autocar was a motor truck, with a radiator behind the bumper that we can see in the illustration below. The truck in our photo looks more like an electric. News articles in the Washington Post mention Adams Express having a fleet of 60 electric trucks, some made by Lansden. - Dave]

Zimmermann telegramThe German ambassador's departure may or may not have anything to do with the revelation of the Zimmermann Telegram during February 1917 (others can Google), or the Germans beginning unrestricted submarine warfare on Feb 1, 1917 and the resulting American deaths aboard British vessels.
TandemThose rear tires look like a very early version of the dual tires found on the semi-trailers and trucks of today.
German-Mexican AllianceThe Zimmermann Note was sent from Germany to Ambassador Johann von Bernstorff in Washington on January 16, 1917. It was forwarded to the German ambassador in Mexico, Heinrich von Eckardt three days later. The contents of the coded telegram instructed Ekardt to offer Mexico the return of territories lost to the U.S. in the Mexican-American War, including Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, in exchange for Mexico's alliance should the U.S. enter the war on the side of the Allies (presuming, of course, that the Germans won the war).
The telegram was intercepted immediatly by the British, who decoded it, but couldn't reveal its' contents without also revealing their ability to break German codes. Between February 19 and 23, 1917 the text of the telegram made its way through the American diplomatic chain, evantually reaching President Wilson. The note was leaked to the American press a week later, fomenting popular outrage and contributing America's entry into World War I.
Thanks to DoninVa for mentioning this fascinating footnote to history in his earlier post. I seem to remember reading (or reading about) an historical novel whose premise was a WWI German-Mexican alliance with roots back to the (authentic) German Hapsburg "Emporer" Maximilian from 1864-1867. I can't find a reference to the novel, but if I remember correctly, the auther posits that Germany achieved a stalemate and negotiated peace in WWI partly due to a Mexican incursion into Texas and New Mexico and the occupation of the border city of El Paso - causing the U.S. to divert troops from Europe to the Southwest. The Germans and Mexicans sued for a settlement with the U.S. that saw the return of the Gadsen Purchase to Mexico and caused El Paso, Southern New Mexico and parts of Arizona, including Tucson, to be returned to Mexico.
I love those historical "what if" questions. Thanks again to DoninVa for bringing up the Zimmermann Note.
Goober Pea
The tarpNote that the photo was taken in February.  The tarp is there to retain engine heat and channel it over the driver.
[If this is an electric truck there is no engine. - Dave]
Ferguson ResidenceYet another of architect Adloph Cluss's buildings in Washington. Originally built for Thomas Ferguson in 1881, it was acquired by the German government in 1893.  During the second World War, the U.S. seized the property and sold it for $100,000. It was demolished in 1959.
AddressHas anyone dug up the address of the 1917 German Embassy? I tried to dig it up online but was unsuccessful. I'm wondering if this building still exists. I assume it's not in the same location as the current modern German embassy building in Washington (several governments later).
[1435 Highland Terrace, Massachusetts Avenue. - Dave]
Thank you!Alas, no sign of it. The block seems to be completely developed and the site seems to be occupied with a modern Homewood Suites hotel.
Electric car?The autocar ad states that the adams express company had a fleet of over 400 autocars.  How can one tell whether the truck in the photo is electric or motor car?
[Autocars of this vintage, from what I can tell, had the motor under the seat and the radiator behind and halfway below the front bumper (see the illustration a few comments down). There's no radiator that I can see, and this truck has a humongous battery box, just like the ones on the Walker electric trucks shown in some other posts here. Also that's not the Autocar logo on the front. But I am no truck expert. There must be one out there who can help us. - Dave]
CT Electric TruckThis is a CT Electric, made by the Commercial Truck Company of Philadelphia from approximately 1908 to 1927.  On the front of the truck you can just see a bit of the CT logo peeking out from the bottom of the tarp - right above the Adams Express Company sign.

Just between April 15 and May 15, 1912 alone, the Adams Express Company purchased 85 electric vehicles (35 of these being CT Electrics) bringing their electric fleet up to 250 electric trucks of various sizes and makes.   By contrast American Express Company had 86 electrics.
If the tarp wasn't there you would see the unique CT double steering wheel - an instant identifier.

Nearly two-dozen CT Electrics survive, with most of them being odd-looking Model F or Model 36A 5-Ton flatbeds from a fleet of 20 that was owned by Curtis Publishing Company (Jack and Jill, Ladies Home Journal, and The Saturday Evening Post).  Curtis kept them in service until 1962, thus sparing them from the scrap drives of WWII.  Nicely restored ones can be seen here (note the double steering wheel) and here.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Harris + Ewing, WWI)

Street View: 1935
... didn't they? Railway Express truck It looks like a Walker Electric. Railway Express used this brand; most were larger models than ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/11/2014 - 11:53am -

1935. "F Street, Washington, D.C." The view from the Harris & Ewing photographic studio at exactly 2:47. 4x5 inch glass negative. View full size.
At Least Their Building Is Still ThereThe name hasn't been covered over!
Thus starts --"Don't Block the Box" 
ToppersThis affords a good look at the fabric inserts, generally rubberized canvas, that furnished the roofs of closed-body cars of the era.
Luxury Conveyance Amongst the pedestrians and the rather pedestrian vehicles, the spanking new 1936 Packard Twelve Seven Passenger Limousine stands out as conspicuous consumption in the depths of the Great Depression
Look out below!!What is the purpose of the trap doors in the sidewalk? I notice one open and someone standing next to the opening.
[Cartoon sight gags. - Dave] 
Re: ToppersI didn't realize so many cars had that roof type.
Did it really save *that* much steel and weight?
Or was there another reason?
[The reason was there was no other way to build them. Sheet steel would vibrate and rattle. The Fisher Body Division of General Motors made the first all-steel roofs (the "Turret Top") for the company's 1935 models, using giant stamping presses that cost tens of millions of dollars -- a huge capital investment the smaller car makers couldn't afford. - Dave]
GlossyIs that gorgeous scene-stealer (lower right-hand corner, with the sidemounts) a Packard? Yum!
Railway Express Truck Note the solid rubber tires on the Railway Express truck. Can anyone identify the make and model year of this wonderful classic truck? It must have been quite old in 1935. 
Another interesting detail is the slot between the streetcar rails. Washington D.C. cars did not use overhead wire in the downtown area. Instead, they picked up current from a bus bar in a slotted conduit between the rails.  This system was also used in parts of Manhattan.
Elegant vs MundaneThe attention-getting Packard Twelve appears to be a 1935. As to what our family car looked like in that year, note the 2-door Chevrolet on the cross street --- very mundane, indeed.
Re: Look Out BelowThe trap doors in the sidewalk are evidence of underground commercial "vaults".  These are storage or work spaces built under the sidewalks; they connect to the adjacent basements.
Have you ever noticed an array of glass disks embedded in the sidewalk on a commercial street in an older city? These are sort of "skylights" for the underground vaults. The disks are the equivalent of a nautical "deck prism".
In NYC, these vaults with skylights are often seen in the former "fur district". The natural light coming through the glass disks was preferred for color matching.
Commercial space in a big city is expensive. In NYC, the city collects a fee for the use of the area beneath the sidewalk for a vault. This has led to the abandonment and partial sealing of many of these spaces. The city will consider the vault space abandoned if the door from the basement to the space is walled off down to four feet in height, the remaining space being considered an ingress for firefighters.
The trap doors themselves are a hazard if they rust away. They can collapse under the weight of pedestrians! Yep, "trap door" indeed.   
What day is it?Definitely not Casual Friday. Not Monday thru Thursday, given the time on the clock -- when folks should be at work.
So I am guessing Saturday -- but did they have a dress code to go shopping?
[It's how you dressed when you went downtown, period. -tterrace]
BuildingWhat's the modern building in the right foreground?  It looks more 1955 than 1935.
Another C-T ElectricThe old truck is a circa 1918-1920 C-T Electric Model C one-ton, made by the Commercial Truck Company of America in Philadelphia.  The 1918 version below in Adams Express Company livery is the same, lacking only the removable windshield.
It is probable that the Railway Express truck in the main picture was one of the over 70 of same model trucks from 1918-20 that were acquired when American Railway Express was absorbed by Railway Express Agency in 1929. 
The American Railway Express (originally the American Express Company before merging with several other express companies) purchased their first electric truck—a Baker one-ton—in 1908 and by 1922 the consolidated American Railway Express owned 1,176 electric delivery trucks including 288 Bakers, 263 C-T Electrics, 253 General Vehicles, 233 Walkers, 61 GMC Electrics, 31 Lansdens, 30 Atlantics, 7 Oneida Electrics, 5 Couple Gear Electrics, 4 Detroit Electrics, and 1 La Schum.

I apologize for the moiré effect - I just can't seem to get rid of it in Photoshop.
Pedestrians, hundreds of pedestriansAmericans walked a lot more then, didn't they?
Railway Express truckIt looks like a Walker Electric. Railway Express used this brand; most were larger models than this. Walker had ads in popular magazines in the 1920s.
[As seen on Shorpy. - Dave]
Remington RandThe streamlined building at right is the Remington Rand Building at 1226-1228 F St. NW, designed by architects Holabird & Root of Chicago. The construction permit was issued in April 1934, so this was a brand new building at the time of this photo. (Indeed, that may well be what prompted the photo in the first place.)
Garfinckel's department store occupied the previous building on the site until relocating to 14th & F in 1930. You can see the previous 1228 F St. in the background of the 1922 photo below.
Gather Ye Around Me ...... and hear tales of yore when going downtown to shop was an excursion which needed planning. One did not just throw on an old pair of jeans and a tee for fear that others of your peer set would see you dressed as sharecroppers.
The Sunday garb was put on, nylons straightened, gloves, a chic hat perched on a stylish hairdo for the ladies and for the men shoes shined, ties tied, freshly blocked hats, handkerchiefs in the suit's top pocket. The children were tiny replicas of the adults with no torn or patched clothes.
The throngs of people and cars feed energy into your psyche and one could go for hours from one to store to the next with only occasional refreshment at some drug store counter or City Market.
There was no need of apps or phones for all the shopping info was firmly locked into Mom's brain and she knew that the May Company had her shoes for 4.99 and Hochschild-Kohn's had those corduroy pants for young Stevie on sale. 
Those were the days of champion shoppers who could shop all day with their charge plates and still run to catch the 15 streetcar for Overlea when the sun was setting.  
I know wherefore I speak children for my mother took me on many a foray of our downtown streets as I had firmly held to her dress and looked up at all the passing strangers who were also on a mission to buy all the available merchandise.
I looked lovingly on this photo as a reminder of days gone by and revel in the adventure of a Saturday sojourn with mom. 
PS Those pavement trap doors were always wonderful to stare down and conjured up visions of untold treasures.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Streetcars)

The Milkmobile: 1943
... for the Supplee-Wills-Jones Milk Co." Piloting a little Walker electric delivery van. Photo by Jack Delano. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/06/2014 - 8:55am -

June 1943. Bryn Mawr, Pa. Our second visit with Mrs. Helen Joyce, "one of the many women who now work for the Supplee-Wills-Jones Milk Co." Piloting a little Walker electric delivery van. Photo by Jack Delano. View full size.
Door to door serviceIn Woodlyn, another Philadelphia suburb, my first house had the kitchen in the front of the house with a little door   outside below the kitchen window and another door inside.  One would open the door on the inside and put in the empty bottles and the milkman would put in the fresh milk and whatever else you had ordered.  You had to be especially quick on summer days or the milk could spoil.  The little passage was not especially energy efficient, but the home was built in a different time
I vaguely remember in the early '60sthat my mother could actually order cottage cheese, cream, butter, chocolate milk and sour cream.  Am I right?
FirstlyNeed to try and see if that lovely house behind her is still there, and, secondly, hasn't the USPS investigated the use of modern versions of these vehicles in major urban areas?  Such devices might be just the ticket.
[The Postal Service is now it its third century of electric vehicle use. - Dave]
Thought they might have, wasn't sure.  Thanks
My dairy could use some of theseWhen we moved out of the city in 1998, we were excited when we learned that our new community had a dairy that offered delivery, but we cancelled it after a few nights of their trucks loudly idling, roaring, and clanking outside house at 3 am, not to mention the huge spotlight trained on our bedroom window during the entire performance.
Milk is still delivered!Theoeva, we live just outside Washington, DC, in an old neighborhood that's now a historic district, and weekly milk deliveries are still part of the scene. The farm, which serves about 8,000 homes a week in this area, offers many locally made or grown products, including gourmet cheeses, meat, and even homemade dog treats. The homemade chocolate milk was my favorite.
We stopped using the service because we frankly couldn't consume the stuff fast enough. But the milk is provided in the old glass bottles in two different sizes. The firm provides an insulated metal bin that you put on the front porch in case you're away when it's delivery time.
At one time, they used an old-timey milk delivery truck (gas, not electric) but I don't know if they still use it.
Please rinse your emptiesYes, you could order all sorts of dairy products, as well as eggs, at least in Los Angeles you could. A fandeck of item cards was supplied, very similar to a paint sample deck -- you simply fanned out any items you wanted that day from the deck, and left it with your (rinsed, please!) empties at night.
I miss the Helms trucks more. Best chocolate and glazed donuts ever made!
The Philadelphia Main Line Never ChangesEntirely possible this very lady, in this exact truck, delivered milk to my house over in Haverford (the next postal district east on the Philadelphia Main Line) though that Haverford house would not become mine until 1968.
Sealtest milk (and cottage cheese, butter, etc)still exist. Our street looked exactly like this too, even down to the hedge fences. I suspect, if you knew which Bryn Mawr street this was, it would look exactly the same today.
Coming back soonThe first in electric mobility. 
Although the main concern with the milk floats may have been not to annoy the neighbourhood early in the morning with one of those noisy IC engines idling away down the road. 
Anyway, meet the 1943 Tesla.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Jack Delano)

Classical Gas: 1925
... clarity, and detail. Bread Truck It looks like a Walker Electric. Similar to the one pictured here . (The Gallery, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/03/2012 - 9:44am -

Washington, D.C., 1925. "Texas Company, Sixth Street SW." View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative, Library of Congress.
Classical GasIs that title a reference to Planet of Sound by the Pixies?
[Mason Williams. - Dave]
Standard Oil......is just across the street.
"Standard"Standard Oil of New Jersey used those quote marks to distinguish itself from other Standard Oils of the day before hitting on the idea of "Esso" (S.O.) as a brand.
CuriousI love that "Rice's Bread" truck!  I've never seen a truck in that style before and for lack of a better way to describe it, it looks really neat!
What are the things on wheels there in front of the shop, between the two pumps, with the Texaco star on them?  Can't make them out very well on my small screen.
[Oil pumps. - Dave]
Bread TruckWould the large box between the wheels of the bread truck be a battery box? I think electric cars and trucks still being made in 1925.
Walk InThis is another of those great photos that I almost feel I could just walk into. Thanks to the size, clarity, and detail.
Bread TruckIt looks like a Walker Electric. Similar to the one pictured here.

(The Gallery, D.C., Gas Stations, Natl Photo)

Times Square: 1935
... Square, in 1923. Proto Tesla Truck Looks like a Walker Electric truck to the left bottom. In my Youth there was one at a local ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/24/2020 - 1:27pm -

New York, 1935. "Times Square -- The Rialto, Seventh Avenue, Broadway south from W. 46th Street, N.Y. Times building, Paramount Theatre." Gelatin silver print. View full size.
Sophie Tucker lives on, in a way.I wasn't aware of the vaudeville star until I saw her name on the marquee in this picture, but her name rang an immediate bell for a completely different reason: In modern electronic/dance pop music, there is a current duo which bills itself as "SOFI TUKKER" (caps theirs). While they may well have been influenced by the vaudeville star to adopt this name, it seems an obvious choice, as the pair are actually named Sophie and Tucker.
Something I found interesting: The band has been doing a livestream performance every day since the pandemic started; their Instagram currently has them at Day 240.
No Fear of HeightsThe photo shows Edwin Howard Armstrong, inventor of FM radio, standing on the WJZ transmitter tower, high above Times Square, in 1923.
Proto Tesla TruckLooks like a Walker Electric truck to the left bottom. In my Youth there was one at a local railroad attraction here in Massachusetts. UPS and many other "Express" city delivery companies used these vehicles long before the current  trend to Electrics.   
WowSee title of comment. Enough said.
Loew's State, The Glass Key, Sophie TuckerThe theater with the big VAUDEVILLE sign is Loew's State; the columned building above is headquarters of Loew's Theatres Incorporated; just across 45th Street is Loew's New York Theatre. 
Loew's State featured both films and vaudeville acts, continuing this format until 1947.
"The Glass Key" billed here is the first of two Paramount adaptations of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 crime novel. The better-known version, with Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, came just seven years later.
Sophie Tucker was known as "The Last of the Red-Hot Mamas." Despite the large sign above, the marquee's billing of Tucker below the movie indicates the swift decline of vaudeville in the 1930s. I watched Tucker on the Ed Sullivan Show in the mid-1960s; she was memorable.
A few years later
Does the taxi in the 1935 image have some extremely sturdy winter tires?
Suit fabriigueThere are two men at the bottom of the picture, going away from the camera, one center and one on the grating. They seem to be wearing suits with a wild pattern or is it the film starting to degrade? None of the area around them seems to show the same effects is why I'm asking.
[There is no film; this is a print -- a scuffed print. And: "fabriigue"?? - Dave]
This one is very busy. In an awesome way. Signage freaks are no doubt,in full seizure mode over this. Even at the height (ostensibly) of the Great Depression, everyone looks like they can spare a dime. Does anyone know where I can buy an apple? Anyone!
Crossroads no moreTimes Square, before Mayor Bloomberg put picnic tables in the Crossroads of the World.
How Old Do You Have to Be?    To the right in the photo can be seen a movie marquee touting the major Fred Astair/Ginger Rogers musical "Gay Divorcee."  How old do you have to be to know instantly that this title does not refer to the leading lady's sexual orientation?
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Movies, NYC)

Capital Transit: 1935
... is a Hupmobile. The Capitol Towel Service van is a Walker Electric. The sedan delivery to the rear of the White oil truck heading ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/03/2014 - 12:38pm -

October 1935. Washington, D.C. "Capital Transit buses, F and 13th sts. NW." Just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street. 4x5 glassneg. View full size.
The old "Phone Factory" -- Downtown TollThe tall building behind Sloan's Art Gallery, 725 13th Street, is what C&P Telephone called Downtown Toll. AT&T Long Lines called it WASH-1.  The C&P Downtown Central office is directly behind (722 12th Street, pictured in several Shorpy snaps).
13th Street in front of 725 is a huge cable vault. Conduit runs north to Silver Spring and on to Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York (and south to Richmond). The original Long Distance telephone service, for the metro DC area, all routed through WASH-1 
The building was later doubled in size and an attempt was made for the 13th Street view to appear as one building but the two halves are clearly visible in a modern picture.  
In the early 1970s WASH-1 Washington Telegraph still operated on the third floor of the old building and there was a toll distributing frame on the fourth floor (for interconnecting AT&T Long Lines and C&P) that was still plumbed with gas lines (but capped off) that were used to heat soldering irons before electric soldering irons were used. 
Future hotrodsLook at all the future hotrods on this street. I'll bet there some gearheads just drooling over all these beautiful pieces of Detroit iron.
Say it isn't soI don't see any chop suey restaurants or painless dentists.
Gotham City?Oh no! I can't ignore the "Joker" looking out a window on the top floor of the building with the awnings.
Rolling stock triviaThe Chevrolet taxi at the far right and the identical one next to the bus are the new for 1935 all steel top Chevrolets. The 1930 model A Ford coupe evidently just got a fill up and the attendant spilled some gas on the cowl. The taxi just left of the top of the cherry blossoms with oval headlights is a Hupmobile. The Capitol Towel Service van is a Walker Electric. The sedan delivery to the rear of the White oil truck heading the opposite direction is a 1933 Chevrolet which repeated the great look of the 1932 car on the commercial line. Note the coach lamps on the rear top corners. If one could afford a car in 1935 most buyers went for a closed car.  Note no roadsters nor phaetons in this photo.
[Arboreally speaking, there are no cherry blossoms downtown (especially in October). That's a ginkgo tree. - Dave]
Still there, but it has grownThe 13th Street side of the Homer Building is the most prominent structure in this photo.  The building is still there, but seven floor have been added on top of it.  The first floor area at the far corner under the white awning has been carved out of the building and is now the 13th and G entrance to the Metro Center station of Washington's Metro subway system.
Happy BirthdayI was born in October of 1935. I don't know whether to be elated or depressed I made it this far.
Q&AThe two-door car at right appears to be a 1928 Plymouth Model Q (I owned one in the '70s & '80s) but the front bumper doesn't match.
After some research, I now suggest that the car is a 1929 Plymouth model U. The very first Plymouth was the model Q, unveiled July 7, 1928. Model U was introduced February 4, 1929 and differed little from the Q in external appearance, the front bumper being a notable exception.
Other than slightly more modern vehiclesThe scene looked much the same 15-20 years later.  As a boy (born 1945) I lived about 10 blocks away from this intersection.
Was  Chickering A 30's Variation Of Twerking? Nah! 
Chickering and Sons was an American piano manufacturer located in Boston, Massachusetts
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Streetcars)
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