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Modern Kitchen: 1940
... a rusty house before. She was only half a block from the boardwalk, and to a prairie-born guy to be so close to the Atlantic Ocean in a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/18/2013 - 7:29pm -

April 17, 1940. When enameled steel was sexy. "Electric Institute of Washington. Display of ranges in lobby at Potomac Electric Power Co. building." 8x10 acetate negative by Theodor Horydczak. View full size. That large shinyarea, on the surface of the range, left rear, was a burner that could be lowered into a pit beneath itself. We had a stove like that when I was a kid, but I never saw Mom or Dad use it. Was it for deep pot stewing, maybe? I remember reading the owner's manual, and the glorious descriptions of how to use the timer to prepare meals automatically, while you were out shopping, or doing other chores, were funny. The instructions always cautioned not to leave foods that needed refrigeration to prevent spoilage too long in the oven, before the timer activated it. Flameless CookingMy first thought was, "What a Truly Modern Font." Washington Post, May 26, 1941. Do You Want Fast Cooking? There was a time when Electric Cooking was slow. And, so were automobiles, trains and airplanes. But modern engineering and science has changed all that! Today, Flameless Cooking is as fast as any other method—faster than most! You need only snap a switch and modern Electric Range units instantly provide intense, radiant heat. The more than 20,000 satisfied users of Flameless Cooking in this area would never go back to old-fashioned methods. More and more families swing over to the Flameless Way. Join this Swing — Electric's the Thing! Potomac Electric Power Company, Matchless Service Sexy is as sexy does!Ooh. My grandmother had this kitchen, or something quite similar, installed in her historic house in Plymouth Meeting PA. To me it was utterly wonderful, although quite old bu the time I came on the scene. -- I still long for cabinets that click closed like those did, and her stainless steel sink and countertop was to die for. Like something from Buck Rogers and the 21st century. I especially loved that cool enameled General Electric logo in gold and red under some sort of special Lucite protection on her dishwasher. And those smooth sliding drawers -- I am envious to this day! Dishwasher questionSo Speechless, it looks like this dishwasher loaded from the top, right? Are those dummy doors in front of it, just to match the other doors? From the perspective of this picture, it looks like a narrow oven. And are those drawers in the stove for pots and pans, or another baking place? And it's all metal!so no matter which appliance shorts out you are sure to get electrocuted. ControlsI'm going to make a start on identifying the controls above the stove; I expect others who are better informed will correct me. Going left to right on the controls: warming oven, timer clock, broiler, small oven, large oven, and then an electric plug above a light switch for the large oven? Beneath the central controls looks like a slider switch of some sort; what would that have been for? Or perhaps there's no warming oven or broiler oven and instead the controls go like this: hour timer set, clock, minute timer set, small oven, large oven, electric plug and light. Then the slider could be for an integrated broiler somehow? (I really hope someone will correct me, because I'm awfully curious.) 1949 GE Electric SinkHere is video on youtube of a similar dishwasher in action Dated by the linoleumApart from that, this kitchen wouldn't look out of place today. Still around in '56My current house was built in 1956. The man who lived here from 1958 to 2000 redid the kitchen sometime around 1970 (based on the harvest gold American Standard Fiesta sink and matching rotary phone.) He had the forethought (or frugality) to mount the enameled steel cabinets in the garage when he put in the new kitchen cabinets. They are fantastic. Well built and still look basically new. I'm sure I'm not the first to say on Shorpy that they just don't built things the way they used to. Baroque BackgroundThe baroque decorations lurking in the shadows at the top give one an idea of just how daring this kitchen was. By 1940 Americans had seen a lot of modernity on the movie screen, but their everyday surroundings still had more to do with the top of this picture than the bottom. Come the 50's, all that would change. Good stuff!I like enameled steel More kitchen thoughtsSorry Aunt Jess, she had a free standing Roper stove, but it had the double oven with a broiler on one side and warming pan below on the other. As for the dishwasher, her's was a different model, it opened from the front, a deep pull down door, with about a 6 inch inner metal flange to keep the water from spilling out. Few things ever felt as substantial and well fit as that dishwasher door when it was closed. It worked well too! But on New Years eve, every year the lights would go out when she'd run the dishwasher and the coffee maker at the same time. Oh the drama, so close to midnight! Electric SinkI remember selling those combination Dishwasher Sinks back in the 1950s and 60s. They were also available from Kitchen Aid, Hotpoint, Youngstown and I'm sure there were others. We didn't sell a lot of them but, at the time, if somebody had a 42" sink this made a great replacement because of the dishwasher and in the case of the attached GE magazine ad, a garbage disposal unit as well. SymmetryWill someone please go over there and lift the handle on the right side of the dishwasher door so it is level with the other handle? Everything else in this kitchen is so symmetrical, it's driving me crazy! Ocean rustWhen I finally got to visit the house of my Atlantic City great aunt, on S. Troy in Ventnor City, in 2000, I immediately noticed the original enamelled metal cabinetry in her kitchen. I'd never seen a rusty house before. She was only half a block from the boardwalk, and to a prairie-born guy to be so close to the Atlantic Ocean in a house was extraordinary. The Best Electric Appliances MadeAnd I also spy a Model 5 Mixmaster with the juicer attachment, hiding in the corner behind the fridge. Stove is a Work of ArtWe are looking for an old stove like that for our farm house but unfortunately folks now understand the value of them. I mean, even the light is a piece of art! Enameled Steel CabinetsThey look for all the world like St. Charles cabinets, made in St. Charles, Il. They had an identical small pivot hinge at the top and bottom of each door. I worked for them for several years. They were bought up by Viking, the appliance maker, and still made the enameled steel cabinets as late as spring of 2012, but sadly, they've been discontinued. Rust and dents couldn't stop them, but the economy could! http://retrorenovation.com/2012/04/18/viking-discontinues-st-charles-ste... Dutch OvenThe shiny device in place of the stove's rear left burner is a built-in Dutch oven. It'd be a forerunner of today's electric crock pot; great for slow cooking stews, etc. The pot could be lifted out of the stove for cleaning. Missing?Backsplashes on the countertops. The extra doorsElectric stoves did come with doors and drawers for storing pots and trays beside and below the oven. Gas stoves often had the broiler under a larger oven. An asbestos lined pad was useful if hot pots were to be placed on the flat surface to the right of the burners. Our cabinetsOur cabinets are still going strong 60 years out. We never got around to renovating our circa 1953 cabinets. They're holding up well after several coats of paint. They're magnetic too, which is a plus. Truly Modern EnvyThe lovely enamelled metal looks so long-lasting and easy to clean. And the look is timeless. Substitute a gas stove and I'm happy. (Technology, The Gallery, Kitchens etc., Theodor Horydczak)
And Now a Word From Our Sponsor: 1911
... St., N. Y. City. 218 Oliver Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. 1031 Boardwalk, Atlantic City. 1543-45 Boardwalk, Atlantic City. The Oriental Economic Review, November ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/18/2012 - 8:36am -

Atlantic City circa 1911. "Bathing in front of the Traymore." As well as giant billboards advertising various products both funct and defunct. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Kondo & Co.Kondo & Co. Importers of General Japanese Goods. Stores: No. 6 West 33rd St., N. Y. City. 218 Oliver Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. 1031 Boardwalk, Atlantic City. 1543-45 Boardwalk, Atlantic City. The Oriental Economic Review, November 10, 1910. Kondo & Co., who own one of the most prosperous shops in Atlantic City, was founded by Sajuro Kondo, who came to Atlantic City in 1896 from Boston, Mass., as a representative of Yamanaka, Amano & Co. He opened a shop of his own in 1900, beginning with a capital of only $1,600, and has achieved his present very positive success by the sheer force of his business acumen. A night scene of this section of the boardwalk at Shave Yourself: 1910 where the signage at 1543-45 Boardwalk is "The Tokio." I can't figure out which of these photos came first. Vaniman's airshipGood contemporary summary of the Vaniman Akron disaster here. More recent word is that the exhaust valves meant to decrease chances of explosion of hydrogen airships may have contributed to the disaster 15 min into its transatlantic flight 1000-2000ft aloft, killing 5 people. "See Shredded Wheat made"Well, that's the height of Edwardian excitement, I guess; a far cry from the entertainment offered in Atlantic City these days. I bet those large signs built on frameworks were all lit up at night. See Shredded Wheat MadeNow THAT'S entertainment! Vaniman's AirshipThe sign advertising "The Wreck of Vaniman's Airship" dates the photo to after July 2, 1912. Shredded Wheat Fans Unite!I am the only creature in my house that buys and eats shredded wheat. Those biscuits must be properly splattered with milk or they'll go soggy on you. It takes years to perfect the perfect technique but the effort is well worth it. I would give anything to see it made up close and personal. Oh, the Bucket List just keeps growing! The bride of 40 years, the kids and the grandkids think I'm nuts but what do they know? Must askWhy is the Gillette sign facing one way in the daytime photo and the other way in the nighttime photo brought to our attention by stanton_square? Has the sign been moved? [It's also facing the other direction in this one. - tterrace] Smoke 'Em If You Got 'EmHelmar is Ramleh spelled backwards. Ramleh or Ramla, is a city founded in the Eighth Century. Egyptian cigarettes were deemed more exotic than other Tailor Mades (as opposed to rolling your own). Attached is a WW1 Era ad flacking the smokes to be sent to our boys in uniform. Cigarette advertisements, highlighting Service Men and Women, were also popular during WW2. The Army 'K' Rations (meals ready to eat) contained a four pack of popular brand smokes. Million Dollar PierIn the background is John Young's Million Dollar Pier, seen here, here, here and perhaps best of all here. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming)
Sea Breeze: 1910
The Jersey Shore circa 1910. "Casino and boardwalk, Asbury Park, N.J." 5x7 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit ... full size. Tempus fugit It's amazing to see the boardwalk in Asbury Park when it was crowded and lively. When I was stationed ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/18/2020 - 6:04pm -

The Jersey Shore circa 1910. "Casino and boardwalk, Asbury Park, N.J." 5x7 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Tempus fugitIt's amazing to see the boardwalk in Asbury Park when it was crowded and lively. When I was stationed at Fort Monmouth in 1974, I paid the town a visit, and the casino was in sad shape and the boardwalk was deserted. This has a pulse Something surreal going on here, bordering on the sublime. Historical Account of Asbury Park CasinoThis Casino was destroyed by fire in 1928 and was rebuilt the following year with much of it still in existence. Convention Hall was also built in 1929. The Asbury Casino thrived with businesses and amusements until the Boardwalk shutdown in 1986. The amusements continued to operate on a seasonal part time weekend basis until around 1990 when then becoming entirely vacant. The east end of the Asbury Casino was demolished around 2007 with the intention of reconstructing it to its former appearance with restoring the whole building. The Market Meltdown of 2008 thwarted those plans. The Casino suffered considerable damage with Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Some improvements have been made but obstacles continue progress including the current Covid-19 epidemic we are now facing. Clams for Dinner?Rockin' the shades and ready for digging. More segregated than DixieNot a Black face to be seen. How do they do it?Given the way those flags are waving, how do those folks keep their hats on their heads? Weapons-grade hatpinsLadies anchored their hats with hatpins that could double as personal protective devices. I'm not sure how men did it - men's hats generally sit lower on the head, and small-brimmed hats were fashionable at the time of this picture, so the combination of friction and poor aerodynamics may have sufficed to keep a gentleman's headgear in its place. Sad storyThis casino burned down in 1929 or so. The one that replaced it fell into ruin, along with a lot else, after the 1970 riots. It is only now being restored. (The Gallery, DPC, Kids, Swimming)
Front Street: 1905
... it got you. Vierling's The young lad on the boardwalk is standing at the entrance to the Vierling's Saloon, which opened at ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 10:48am -

Marquette, Michigan, circa 1905. "Front Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. More Like 9 Cents!That "One Price Store" is no doubt akin to the "Two Price Store" we all went to: The Five & Dime. And who stole the Cent symbol from our keyboards? Getz ClothiersIf I'm not mistaken, Getz Clothiers is still in the same building to this day - at least up until 2000, when I spent an eternity in Marquette one year. One track townI would guess that this street was on a continuous loop of the trolley line, therefore the cars only ran one direction. Early 99¢ Store concept?I wonder what that one price was? As a kid in the WWII years, I recall making many trips to the back of Menche's stationery store (in Forest Hills, NY) where two large glass cabinets were filled with a large variety of penny candy. I wonder what the one price was here, and what it got you. Vierling'sThe young lad on the boardwalk is standing at the entrance to the Vierling's Saloon, which opened at that location in 1883. It is now called Vierling's Restaurant and Brew Pub. On its website, Vierling's has several historical photos of the saloon interior. The restaurant has seating in the rear overlooking Lake Superior. The streetcar, moving east on Front, is at the intersection with Washington Street, Marquette's main drsg. Getz's Getz's is still there. In fact, I round the corner by Getz's everyday and hang a left at the top of the hill by the church (top of the photo) on my way home for lunch. On a side note, a New Year's "ball drop" is performed from the top of the savings bank (building with the clock) -- it consists of a slow-moving, lighted tinfoil ball being lowered to the street with thousands celebrating. This is one of those pictures... that make me a little sad. It was such a gorgeous town. Google will take you to the same street, but a very different place. As noted below, Getz is still there. In the same building, too, so that's nice. Unfortunately, the other places are pretty bad. I love that Shorpy's has put these here, however, so that we can see how incredibly beautiful they truly were! View Larger Map Unde FurI'd like to know the rest of the words "UNDE" and "FUR" on the partially obscured wall sign in the upper right. "Undertaker" and "Furniture" seems like an odd combo. "Underwear" and "Furrier?" Nah, can't be. PhotosJust to let you all know that although l do not comment very often l view this site at least twice a day, the photos are fantastic and is by far one of the best sites on the internet today. Thank you for letting me be able to view such fantastic old photos. it's like you are looking out of a window into a past time and you feel you could just walk into it. Thank you all Dean Undergarments and FurnishingsIs my guess as to what the sign advertises. Unde-FurIn frigid Michigan, fur underwear was a popular dry-goods category. Up from the ashesMarquette was victim to many downtown fires that destroyed much of the beautiful brick and sandstone architecture from the 1850's through the 1930's. I would urge and self-doubters to revisit what is happening in Marquette today. As someone who is on the City's Planning Commission and working hard with others to restore and rebuild the classic architecture that once was, I would hope you would look twice at what we are doing. In fact, we were just voted the National Preservation of Historic Trust's Distinctive Destination for Historic Places! I love Marquette! Empty streetOdd to see no horses or carriages or much of anything. Usually these old city street scenes were teeming with people, animals and vehicles. "Unde Fur"It's Undertaker(s) or Undertaking & Furniture; the combo sounds odd today, but many undertakers did sell furniture & even Victrolas ! Here we go: "Carl Tonella and John L. Johnason purchased the former Marquette Furniture Company owned by C.R. Brown and began operating out of a building on North Third Street which had been owned by Fritz Frei. In 1894 with business thriving, they moved to a three story building on the corner of Front and Spring streets where they announced the addition of the undertaking business. " (from: http://www.canalefuneral.com/_mgxroot/page_10728.php ) Unde & FurMost likely, the sign said Undertakers and Furniture. Both were often in the same business. Unde FurFor many years, it was common in small towns for the undertaker to also sell furniture. This was probably because the undertaker often made his own caskets. The One Price StoreWas that the predecessor of the 99¢ stores? Marquette on the MarqueeAnatomy of a Murder - Great movie with ties to Marquette. Hard to believe James Stewart, Lee Remick, George C. Scott, and Eve Arden were once there back in 1959. (The Gallery, DPC, Streetcars)
Classic Rockers: 1900
... and a more traditionally built home (you know, not a boardwalk in sight) in center city Grosse Ile is where they really live? ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 3:51pm -

Grosse Ile, Michigan, circa 1900. "Group at Rio Vista." The Great Lakes shipping magnate and Dime Savings Bank founder William Livingstone and family. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. I'm Not WorthyIt's been said before, but Dave you are the Headline Master. Gimme your best shot, Mister, we're hot!Doesn't appear that Mr. Livingstone contributed DNA to his offspring, except maybe a bit to his youngest son; they all are clones of Mrs. Livingstone. Appears hot enough to wilt the vine, and yet the family remains composed during the long exposure time, excellent breeding, eh. Wooden, you knowStudying this photo and the two other Livingstone family images triggers some observations (one mark of a good photo, I suppose): - Are the wood walkways a clue that this substantial house is the family's river side cottage (OK, OK, river view, as it's billed), and a more traditionally built home (you know, not a boardwalk in sight) in center city Grosse Ile is where they really live? [The family's main residence was a mansion in Detroit. - Dave] - In the photo of the boy and dog, is the sturdy-looking apparatus in the left corner a block-and-tackle boat hoist, indicating a rather serious boat down below? - Doesn't this look like a place where the Bobbsey twins come to visit, and the Livingstone kids wheel out their mom's fresh lemonade and cookies? Bert, of course, can't wait to get his hands on that spiffy new fishing pole leaning against the wall. The OthersInteresting family and location. A cursory search in Google reveals much about William Livingstone but nothing about his handsome family. Talk about a family resemblance! I wonder if we could somehow learn the names and relationships of this group? Which one is Mom?The two boys certainly take after Mom. If we could only figure out who Mom was? On closer inspection, I'm going to guess the woman on our left is Mr. Livingstone's wife. She has a wedding band on her finger, and woman on the right does not. EnigmaticThe enigmatic look on the William Livingstone's face makes this a photograph that make me exceptionally curious about the people in it and what happened to them in their lives. It is interesting that the house was so notable that information on it can easily be found but I have had no luck finding details of the people who saw to its creation. 1910 CENSUSAs of the 1910 census the William Livingstone family was quite a large one, living in the aforementioned house in Detroit. William 66 head Susan R 61 wife William A 43 Son Helen E 38 Daughter Susan A 36 Daughter Robert B 34 Son Isabourn 21 Son Thomas W P 18 Son William is an owner of a publishing company and Robert is a salesman for the same company. I find it quite interesting that apparantly NONE of the children are married. Pretty unusual for that point in time. Maybe that austere face scared any potential mates away. Well Guess WhatAs I noted in a previous post the oldest son was a publisher. Well we all have to give him a great thank you. The Detroit Publishing Company was an American photographic publishing firm best known for its large assortment of photochrom color postcards. The company was founded as the Detroit Photographic Company in the 1890s by Detroit businessman and publisher William A. Livingstone, Jr., and photographer and photo-publisher Edwin H. Husher. Nervous? Anxious?Look at the right hand of Mom. Livingstone FamilyAncestry gives the family in 1900 as William and his wife, Susan- age 51, and seven children living on Eliot Street. The two youngest (in the picture) are Seabourn and Palmer. Seabourn was born at sea according to the census record. I wonder if the other lady is either 29 year old Helen or 27 year old Susie. Thomas Palmer LivingstoneThe young boy is Thomas Palmer Livingstone, born November 1891 in Wayne County, Michigan, died 1950 in Wayne, Michigan, has a child still living. 1918 Photo Wifey?Whoever the mom is they both seem quite young to be Mr. Livingstone's wife! It is quite hard to tell who is who because they all look alike in some ways. The boys have very similar features to the lady on the right (chin and mouth). I am leaning towards the lady on the right to be Mrs. Livingstone. Even though the outfit the lady on the left is wearing is quite nice, I can't imagine a banker's wife wearing anything less than the outfit on the lady on the right. [Plus, the conventions of a pose like this would have the kids between the parents. - Dave] Detroit Publishing connectionI found this about the family - boys' names, at least: Detroit Publishing Company, founded in 1895 as the Photochrom Company by the photographer Edwin Husher with backing from the Detroit financier Rudolph Demme and Colonel H. Wild of Zurich. Demme and Wild withdrew in 1896. Husher then enlisted the financial support of William Livingstone, Detroit publishing and shipping magnate, and his sons William and Robert, who expanded operations, first as the Detroit Photographic and then as the Detroit Publishing Company. Until its collapse in 1924, the company was the most important North American source of mass-produced photographs, lantern slides, postcards, and colour reproductions for business, tourism, and education. Success was based on the skill of staff photographers William Henry Jackson, Lycurgus Solon Glover, and Henry Greenwood Peabody and the exclusive American rights to the photochrom process acquired from the Photoglob Co. of Zurich. — John V. Jezierski The Others Might BeThe 1910 Census lists the following people in the Livingstone household: William (66) head, Susan R (61) wife, William A (43) son, Helen E (38) daughter, Susan A (36) daughter, Robert B (34) son, Seabourn (21) son, Thomas WP (18) son. Subtract ten years and I think we have (from left to right) unknown married woman, William NMI (56), Thomas WP (8), Seabourn (11), and Susan R (51) Interesting names, A father and son with the same first name isn't unusual but mother and daughter with the same name is much less common. By the way, Seabourn was born at sea. My familyWilliam Livingstone Jr. was my great-great-grandfather and so I have quite a bit of family history and photos to draw upon. William and Susan had 8 children, plus an adopted niece. The 8 children were: William Allan (b 1867), Margaret (b 1869), Helen Edith (b 1871), Susan Alice (b 1873), Robert Bruce (b 1875), Florence Mildred (b 1881), Seabourn Rome (b 1888), and Thomas Witherell Palmer (b 1891). I am quite confident from family photos that the two boys are Seabourn and Palmer (as TWP was known). See the attached for another portrait of them. I'm also quite certain that neither of the ladies is Mrs. Livingstone (who was just five years younger than William) but rather they are two of her daughters. It's hard to tell which ones since they were very similar in appearance. However by 1900 Margaret (my great-grandmother) was married to James Scott, so that could be her on the left. (Their second child, my grandmother, would have been born earlier that year.) In fact this seems likely since the family history that I have indicates that Florence Mildred did not marry until 1908, and does not mention any marriage at all for the other daughters. Nor were any of the sons married in 1900 according to the family history. About the LivingstonesI've found some information about the Livingstones. In Bentley Historical Library, William Livingstone Papers there's a biography of William Livingstone ("A more detailed account of their family history can be found in David Sanders Clark's unpublished genealogy Notes on the Livingstone Family of Lanark, Scotland, and Detroit, Michigan and Related Families, located in the present collection"). In Young Henry Ford: a picture history of the first forty years, pages 160-2, there's more information about William Livingstone and two other photos. In The Henry Ford, Detroit Publishing & Co you can find a photo about 1917; Livingstone wife, Susan, is second from the right (also in the photo, William Livingstone Jr., and sons William Allan and Robert Bruce Livingstone) Same source, other photo, about 1910, William Allan Livingstone stands far left, his brother Robert Bruce Livingstone is third from the left Suecris commented on 01/14/2011 that success of Detroit Publishing Company was based on the skill of photographer William Henry Jackson; in this two photos (same source and same source), Robert Bruce Livingstone, also a photographer, appears with William Henry Jackson. About Seabourn, the elder of the sons in Shorpy's photo, I've found some quotations in old newspapers, here's one taken from Oswego Daily Palladium, 1918; Seabourn "returns to the sea to fight for his country." Seabourn married Marion Henrietta Scherer in 1920 (daughter of Hugo Scherer); a photo or Marion Scherer in 1915 here; they had a son, Seabourn Scherer, and a daughter, Marion Helen. Seabourn S. Livingstone died in 1998 at the age of 74. Marion Helen Livingstone is Helen Livingstone Bogle, donor in 1996 of the William Livingstone Papers. (The Gallery, DPC, Grosse Ile, Kids, Portraits)
De Forest Wireless: 1905
... still about 20 years away. Crowded First crowded boardwalk scene I've seen on Shorpy. And obviously off-season at that. ... Barbra Streisand ever recorded). Oh, and he wrote "On the Boardwalk at Atlantic City," released in 1945. "Read all about ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/20/2012 - 9:41pm -

The Jersey Shore circa 1905. "Along the beach, Atlantic City, N.J." Note the radio mast at right on Young's Pier. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Bowler Hat Concession There doesn't seem to be much non-conformity in the men's headwear department.I wish I would have had the Jersey Shore bowler concession back then. Wireless TelegraphDeForest tried, with minimal success, to create a worldwide network of wireless telegraph offices. This was evidently one of them, a spark-gap transmitter. He would go on to demonstrate the first AM audio transmission in December 1906. His fort­é was brilliant ideas that he just never quite succeeded in perfecting. Others would, and reap the rewards rather than Lee. DeForest the audion tube and co-invented amplitude modulation (AM) which made AM radio, commercial broadcasting, and home 'wireless' sets possible but these were still about 20 years away. CrowdedFirst crowded boardwalk scene I've seen on Shorpy. And obviously off-season at that. ["The season" in Atlantic City was at its most crowded around Easter. - Dave] VarietyI see five pushmobiles in this scene and they are all of a different design. Nowadays the pushmobile concession would be held by one company and all of them would be identical, same color and design. Much more interesting back then. Dr. Lee De Forest comment" I came-I saw-I invented-It's that simple-No need to sit and think-It's all in your imagination" Look where you're going!Not a cell phone in the bunch. Just don't step on the alligatorThere, between the fourth guy from the left and the mam'selle, rests an alligator-skin bag. Speaking of mam'selle, one of the most successful lyricists in American music, Mack Gordon, wrote the song so named, along with Chattanooga Choo-Choo, Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?, I Can't Begin to Tell You, I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo, Serenade in Blue, The More I See You, There Will Never Be Another You, Time on My Hands, You Make Me Feel So Young and You'll Never Know (Oscar winner in 1943 and the first song Barbra Streisand ever recorded). Oh, and he wrote "On the Boardwalk at Atlantic City," released in 1945. "Read all about it!"Those newsies sure do get around on Shorpy. I spot 2 just on this short stretch of boardwalk. I also see one satisfied customer leaning on the near railing. Spring is in the airThis looks like the Easter Parade with everybody wearing brand spankin' new clothes, flowery hats, new shoes, etc. and there doesn't seem to be anyone in swimwear. And I'd be reluctant to lie around on that beach with galloping horses running roughshod. Drool droolHam Radio operators dream of a salt water ground but to have a station out on a pier is the cat's pajamas. Why the name DeForest ?Lee DeForest was an American inventor that created what we would now call a triode tube. It was the first device that amplified a signal. That meant we could detect radio signals from a lot further or listen to music louder then the way it was recorded. He was brilliant and way ahead of his contemporaries. Why do I know this ? My first girlfriend lived next door to a gentleman that worked in his lab in Jamaica Queens. I was a young student at Brooklyn Tech and was trained on triodes in my junior year. To listen to Mr Whitman was such a thrill. Such a nice guy, so humble, but he was there when it happened. To put it in perspective, I'd rank this second only to the Edison light bulb. This broadcastThis broadcast provided as a public service to all wireless-mast non-believers (seen in a number of Shorpy photos atop tall urban buildings) out there: Yes, they did have them back then and yes, they looked like that. (Technology, The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming)
Pleasure Pavilion: 1910
... Timing Perfect, as HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" has its Season 2 premiere next Sunday. Cakewalks I do ... is in the process of being buried up to his neck under the boardwalk by his out-of-patience siblings. To-Day Enhanced and enlarged. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 12:47pm -

The Jersey Shore circa 1910. "Steel Pier, Atlantic City." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The Cakewalk was a dance form...The Cakewalk dance was developed from a "Prize Walk" done in the days of slavery, generally at get-togethers on plantations in the Southern United States. Alternative names for the original form of the dance were "chalkline-walk", and the "walk-around". At the conclusion of a performance of the original form of the dance in an exhibit at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, an enormous cake was awarded to the winning couple. Thereafter it was performed in minstrel shows, exclusively by men until the 1890s. The inclusion of women in the cast "made possible all sorts of improvisations in the Walk, and the original was soon changed into a grotesque dance" which became very popular across the country. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cakewalk White Folks' CakewalkI recall from the early 1950's, going to a rural school's harvest festival wherein cakewalks were performed by having all the people march around the perimeter of the cafeteria to recorded music. When the music stopped, the person who was standing in a designated spot won a wonderful homemade cake. I expect the people taking part would not "have gotten" the slaves' satiric dance steps. But we all had fun at what we were doing. Before the DonaldEither Shorpy's photos of recreational facilities were all taken on Sundays, with the people in their "go to meeting clothes", or society's idea of having fun was to dress up for the occasion. Atlantic City before Donald Trump: innocent entertainment. Vessella's BandHere's some recordings of the featured Vessella's Italian Band to complete the mood. http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/artists/detail/id/858 TimingPerfect, as HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" has its Season 2 premiere next Sunday. CakewalksI do wish I could see more of the poster headlined "Cake Walks." I wonder what that was all about? But where's the baby?The pram is empty! I would submit that the tike is in the process of being buried up to his neck under the boardwalk by his out-of-patience siblings. To-DayEnhanced and enlarged. More About The Cake WalkIt was a dance craze of some kind. See these items: http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3cake1.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cakewalk Piece of CakeThe Cakewalk is a dance done to ragtime music, a huge fad at this time. It was originated by black people, and then became popular with whites, too, who saw cakewalks performed in minstrel shows. Couples jig or prance along in a line, two by two, and the best (or most outrageous) couple win a prize, such as a cake - they literally "take the cake"! Sparkling Unlike many buildings we see in Shorpy Times, the beach pavilions usually look spotless. I'm guessing a fresh coat of paint was in order every season. Cakewalk explainedCakewalk and ragtime were closely associated, and were just about the most popular dance and music styles of this period. The music's syncopated, jaunty rhythms inspired then-eccentric dance moves. If you were young and up-to-date, this was your thing. Icing but I don't danceSo delicious cake was at least peripherally involved in this activity? Well OK. Doin' the cakewalkHere are some good examples of people performing the cakewalk, circa 1903: Cakewalk into TownA slower tempo, roots-based musical accompaniment for your cakewalk, Taj Mahal (vocals) and Howard Johnson (Tuba): Cakewalk into Town, 1972. [Warning! YouTube link, marginally NSFW lyrics, "throw your big leg over me, mama", admissions of crime, "I spend my whole day stealing chickens, mama, from the rich folks' yard," whistling.] (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC)
Greetings From: 1905
The New Jersey shore circa 1905. "Boardwalk and beach, Asbury Park." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit ... Not Much to Look at Today Sad to say, the Asbury Park Boardwalk and Beach isn't the fantastic destination for the wealthy and famous ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/19/2012 - 8:52am -

The New Jersey shore circa 1905. "Boardwalk and beach, Asbury Park." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Then and NowJust for comparison, girls on the beach 1905 and girls on the beach 100 years later... Not Much to Look at TodaySad to say, the Asbury Park Boardwalk and Beach isn't the fantastic destination for the wealthy and famous it once was. DetailsWhat is the scene on that sand pail the woman in the foreground is carrying? At first I thought it was a container of Häagen-Dazs. not so badI think the Asbury Park Boardwalk does not look bad on your picture! It looks like as if the pavement is made from wood? The little wooden house is nice too and there is no traffic. (The Gallery, Asbury Park, DPC, Swimming)
The Oriental: 1903
... was demolished in 1916. 1903. "Oriental Hotel and boardwalk, Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, New York." Panorama of two 8x10 glass ... While hotel's receding into the mists of history, and the boardwalk no longer extends that far east, a small, crescent-shaped portion of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/03/2014 - 11:57am -

        The Oriental Hotel, at the eastern end of the Coney Island peninsula, opened in 1880 and was demolished in 1916. 1903. "Oriental Hotel and boardwalk, Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, New York." Panorama of two 8x10 glass negatives, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Ruh-rohThis can't be good. College at the beach, or vice-versaWhile hotel's receding into the mists of history, and the boardwalk no longer extends that far east, a small, crescent-shaped portion of Oriental Beach still remains. What makes it a bit unusual is that it is located on the campus of Kingsborough Community College and students use it as a lounge and outdoor lunch area. During the summer, outsiders can get special permits allowing them to use the beach, accessing it via a walkway that keeps them away from campus buildings. And yes, that's Dead Horse Island in the background, though its proper name was actually Barren Island. Landfill has since connected it to the mainland. The more things changeLook at the woman's waist. That can't be healthy. A wonderful imageby any standard, in any century! Was that panoramic pair printed in 1903 or was it a contemporary collaboration with Shorpy? If so, all hail Photoshop! [Photoshop! - Dave] Pre-sprinkler eraGroundskeepers watering all that lawn by hand!?! DreamlikePossibly the most beautiful image I have seen on Shorpy so far (and I have been coming here for a long time). SpectacularWhat a beautiful building! I'm often surprised to see just how short-lived some of these magnificent buildings were. A mere 36 years is all this gorgeous hotel existed. I guess that's the price of progress. Homeland Security 101On the sidewalk to the left we see that the local constable is making a beeline towards the suspicious GWC (guy with a camera). After all he could be a spy or something. Getting Oriented Trying to figure what's off in the distance behind the two promenaders. Maybe Dead Horse Island? Add My VoteSuperb image; surreal and very simple, but can be interpreted on several levels. Thank you, Dave. Shorpy does it again! I was a student at Kingsborough Community College. When I attended,the campus consisted of barracks left over from a WWII training facility. The old wooden buildings wouldn't have been worthy of being outhouses for this grande dame that stood on the sight earlier. Groundskeeper Willie x2I bet it's the same guy, this must be where the negs split, there's a line of bad focus running up through there. SousaDuring the summer of 1893, John Philip Sousa and his band were engaged to perform several daily concerts at Manhattan Beach for a 10 week period. Manhattan Beach March was written directly after that summer concert series and was an immediate hit. (Panoramas, Coney Island, DPC, NYC)
Coney Island Characters: 1903
... white powdery substance? Note the tracks in white on the boardwalk. Characters in costume are interesting. I presume the top hatted one ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 8:44pm -

New York circa 1903. "Steeplechase Park, Coney Island." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The Far SideThis entire street scene, especially that guy with the duck, immediately reminds me of a Gary Larson cartoon: A messA problem with leakage of some white powdery substance? Note the tracks in white on the boardwalk. Characters in costume are interesting. I presume the top hatted one would represent Leprechaun but the other? They remind me of Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum from "Alice in Wonderland," the Disney version. Tutti-FruttiThat's an Adams vending machine selling Tutti-Frutti chewing gum, just to the left of the ticket-seller. Tutti-Frutti was the first gum to be sold in a vending machine. In 1871, Adams patented a gum-making machine and in 1888 patented a gum vending machine. A man and his duckPerhaps this guy was part of a duck performance continuum that also produced Gus Visser: Double-takeFor a split second I thought one of the "characters" was a two-headed cow. FelliniesqueOddball group we have here. I wonder if the guy in the far back would let you pet his monkey? Oh, to live in a day... when "Babeskin Soap" was a perfectly innocent name, and nobody even thought twice about whether or not the Razzle Dazzle passed state inspection! I noticed the white substance too -- it sort of leads in the general direction of the man perched precariously on the ladder up against one of the pillars near the center. Perhaps a leaky bag of plaster? Quack.A lot of things here could use explaining, but nothing so much as the man with the duck. Fresh & Ready to AmuseThe shadows are fairly long, and with a few maintenance men still on the grounds, it seems the park had just opened on a brilliant sunny day. Startled here. Startled there.There is certainly a lot to scare a person in this picture. At least it scares me. Reading other comments has left me wondering. Is that monkey not riding the cow? That is what I thought. And what the heck is that boy behind the cows doing? Looks like he has an air hose. Like the kind at the gas station? And the man with the duck? Looks like a clown to me and you never know with those guys. The razzle dazzle looks like it might make me "gag"gle. Was glad to hear it is rocked by people and not spun at high speed with no safety gear. The whole thing rather strikes me as a stage door sort of shot. Like someone got a candid shot of people arriving for work. Oh! And I can't believe that they had to hold up their umbrellas! DazzledRazzle Dazzle, 1891. Patented by William Mangels; built by McCullough. Circular swing for 70 people -- pushed by workers like a seesaw. Sound like fun? No seat belts. Coulrophobiais the word that springs to mind studying this photo. Half the things in this picture would scare the bejeebers out of my granddaughters today. Gus Visser is another thing altogether, I really don't want to know what he had to do to get the duck to quack on cue like that. Mr. & Mrs. Potato HeadThe large headed man and woman are Irish caricatures. Windmills of your mindHaving been reared on a farm my eye was first drawn to the windmill atop the water tower. I believe this is the first time I have ever seen one in a city. Next my eye was drawn to all the craziness and the windmill was soon forgotten. (The Gallery, Coney Island, DPC)
A Day at the Beach: 1908
... their afternoon off. Strolling hand-in-hand down the Boardwalk, Maggie spots a couple of familiar faces among the crowd on the beach ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/26/2017 - 4:59pm -

Circa 1908. "Atlantic City, N.J. -- the bathing hour." Nattily attired in a variety of suits. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Eyewear for the beachThree women around Robin Williams who is standing behind the guy with the crossed arms and moustache. They look like sisters and are wearing very similar eyeglass frames. Robin Williams.Standing behind guy in front with crossed arms and moustache. Love beach photos!Especially interesting to see the ones who came to watch the swimmers. The people were so healthy and happy. The women beautiful in their upswept hair and fancy dresses & the men always in dapper clothing. You seldom see an overweight person. Imagine if they could see our American population today! AruuugaCheck out the curves on the dame in the front under the umbrella. Now I see why the photographer decided to take a picture here. Elbows. Knees. Ankles.I shudder at such a shocking, disgusting display! Please don't let this filth be shown to our children -- wait, I mean my great-grandparents. Where did everybody go?What a wonderful shot full of life, energy, and fun. This is the beach I would like to sit at amongst what looks like a mass of people having a wonderful day. The current Atlantic City beach? I think I'll skip it. Entrepreneurial spiritIf only I could go back in time and "invent" the beach blanket. Cha-ching! Who's That GirlThe Parasol Lady must have a 15 inch waist! On the beachFunny how there is not one thing on the beach other than people! No towels, bags, balls, food, drink, etc. The beach scene is devoid of everything except bathers and well dressed observers. VignettesI like the pockets of entertainment in these sweeping photographs. The two boys that seem to be experimenting with a cigarette near the tent entrance. Here name was MadeleineHer name was Madeleine but everyone called her Maggie. A popular figure at the Steel Pier Pavilion where she worked as a dance instructor, she considered herself quite the “modern woman.” Hired for her beauty and admired for her grace, she possessed a refined yet playful sense of humor and a maturity beyond her years of 21. Attired in her favorite lavender morning suit and accompanied by her young friend, Emily, who was still dressed in the skirt and blouse she wore as a concession girl on the pier, both young ladies were adorned with their new-for-this-season lingerie hats and were enjoying their afternoon off. Strolling hand-in-hand down the Boardwalk, Maggie spots a couple of familiar faces among the crowd on the beach below. Could it be the artist who sketches portraits for 10 cents and his friend the musician whom they see each morning outside the train station? Didn’t he once say his name was Jack and that he hailed from some place named Chippewa or something? FunFotoFictionFantasy (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming)
Wequetonsing: 1906
... Wow! what LUMBER! Check out the thickness of the boardwalk! [The enthusiasms of our patrons know no bounds! - Dave] ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/02/2012 - 4:13pm -

Wequetonsing, Michigan, circa 1906. "The birches and the bay." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Wow! what LUMBER!Check out the thickness of the boardwalk! [The enthusiasms of our patrons know no bounds! - Dave] Steamers Comin'I really like that steamer coming in right in the center! Illusion of SummerWonderful, warm photo. The young lady on the left is a master touch. Not noticed until I went to full size. I wonder if the photographer was aware that she was there? i·dyl·lic    /aɪˈdɪlɪk/ [ahy-dil-ik]Makes my heart yearn for a much simpler time. Shades of SeuratLooks like the famous Seurat painting, "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" ...but without the crowd. WiredWouldn't see the utility lines running right down the beach today! Other than that, what a beautiful setting. between this and the other Michigan beach community photo a day or so back I'm dying for a time machine! All in a nameWequetonsing, also spelled Wiikwedoonsing, means "the place of the little bay" in Ojibwe and related Ottawa language. Miracle in the WorksMiss Annie Sullivan is shown enlightening her pupil, Miss Helen Keller. Quality RespondersIf that is indeed Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan then this blog is nothing less than amazing. The alertness of the commenters is outstanding. [Ummm ... - Dave] Preserved in amberWequetonsing is still a lovely place, found just off the main drag of M113 on the way to Harbor Springs. Still a pretty exclusive place and not that far from Bay View, which was featured here very recently. Both places are essentially time capsules. No Time Machine neededJust point your car north and follow any of the Michigan coastlines. There are still plenty of small, idyllic towns and beaches to enjoy, now with less coal smoke! I'd recommend waiting for summer, however, if you plan on reliving this particular scene. Not Helen KellerIf the date of the photograph is correct, the couple in the middle of the pic are not Ann Sullivan and Helen Keller. Keller was 26 years old in 1906. Those birch bark cuttersI'm originally from Michigan, so instead of Helen Keller hunting, my eyes went immediately to the birch trees. I've been in Chicago almost 30 years, but the once-plentiful birch is almost non-existent here now. Growing up in Michigan, we had them; and yes, as kids we took knives to the trees to cut the bark, just like in the picture. I'm adding a picture taken very near the Chicago street I now live on. Rogers Park, Chicago had a lot of birch at that time (early 1900s), and just like in the other picture, everyone cut bark from the trees. The cross street near my house is even named ... Birchwood. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Travel & Vacation)
Multi-Modal: 1908
... in 1933. Trains with names like The Seashore Limited, Boardwalk Arrow, Boardwalk Flyer, Rocket, Flying Cloud, Jolly Tar, Shore Queen and many more. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2012 - 10:09pm -

Philadelphia circa 1908. "Pennsylvania R.R. ferry terminal, Market Street." Across the Delaware River we can see the Campbell's Soup factory in Camden. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Campbell's SoupThe company's HQ in Camden, New Jersey. Railroad memoriesI went to work for the railroad on the Camden side of this photo back in the early 1960s. By then, the passenger service was just a shell of its former self due to the Ben Franklin Bridge and automobiles. However, back in the day, thousands of people escaped the heat of the city via the ferries and numerous passenger trains to Atlantic City and other shore points over the tracks of what would become the Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines in 1933. Trains with names like The Seashore Limited, Boardwalk Arrow, Boardwalk Flyer, Rocket, Flying Cloud, Jolly Tar, Shore Queen and many more. Now THOSE were the days! Strange FacadeWhat is the front of this building made of? It's wavy and looks like some sort of metal. Mm-mm GoodThe fellow standing by the mail box looks as though he just finished off one of those towers of soup. The Victor FactoryThe Victor Talking Machine Company factory at the beginning of their huge expansion, before the iconic cabinet factory was built. What's Oliver Hardy up to?The aforementioned man by the mailbox seems to be intently eyeing the conversation between the men under the "Electric trains" sign. I wonder what they're saying?Looks a bit suspicious. Also, in the backround towards the right you can see the outline of a castle. What is that? The "Strange Facade" is Repousse' Copper WorkThe "Strange Façade" of this building is repousse' (sp.?) hammered copper work. The building has a modern steel frame. If this were a color photo, the building would appear verdigris green, just like the Statue of Liberty in NY harbor, which is also copper repousse' Sheet copper is hammered over wooden forms. Skill is needed to prevent the copper from tearing. The Hoboken Terminal, formerly the Delaware Lackawanna & Western terminal, in Hoboken, NJ has a repousse façade, as does the Governor's Island Ferry Terminal. Note that the building has many 3-D architectural details in the copper. Think of what that would have cost in stone. My GrandparentsMy grandparents used this ferry on a regular basis for many years, especially after they bought a cottage in Ventor - just south of AC - around 1912, and commuted from North Philly and then Glenside in the 1920's. Sanborn Fire Insurance map of the buildingSanborn made detailed maps of some cities used for determining fire insurance rates. They often included details like what kind of work went on in buildings, what building were made of, if there was a fire alarm or security patrol. They are fantastic when you can find them. Here's the one for this building. https://maps.princeton.edu/catalog/princeton-3t945s20b And the full set for Camden. http://library.princeton.edu/libraries/firestone/rbsc/aids/sanborn/camde... (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Philadelphia, Railroads)
Sand in Your Socks: 1905
... photographs are of the old folks being wheeled about the boardwalk wearing their Sunday best and looking bored or as if they're waiting ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/24/2011 - 1:24pm -

The Jersey Shore circa 1905. "Atlantic City, on the beach." Surf, sand and Steeplechase Pier in the distance. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. BoringI think it is funny that today people find sitting around talking to be boring. Just think about the individual entertainment possibilities back then. About all there was to do was talk and socialize. That was normal back then. Can you imagine actually enjoying sitting around talking to someone? It is like these people are aliens or something. Ha Ha. The Rest of the StoryEvery time I see one of these "turn of the century" photos it is like watching an old movie. These people had little idea what would happen to them and their world over their lifetimes. I wonder how they handled it. What happened to them? How did they live their lives? They are all gone now but they left plenty of stories. If only we could hear them. AlluringThere is nothing thats more fun than sitting on the soaked sand in a wet sailor dress, stockings and a shower cap. This may explain why the population gasped in shock when Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr did a similar scene with 50's swimsuits rolling around in the surf. Lately, the guidos and guidettes proclaim to the world their three priorities in life are gym, laundry and tanning. Isn't is strange that not a single sand sculpture has been created? This is their Sunday fun, just sitting on soaked sand in a wet sailor dress, stockings and a shower cap. (These people really need to get out more). We can rest assured however that nobody will get eaten by a shark. At LastWe have young men and women socializing in the Atlantic City's sand and surf. The usual photographs are of the old folks being wheeled about the boardwalk wearing their Sunday best and looking bored or as if they're waiting for the Grim Reaper. Re: The Rest of the StoryMy grandfather, born in 1900, who lived until 2001, would often tell how amazing it was for him to see the invention of automobiles and then air travel. Can you imagine going out in the ocean with your skirt going up above your head? Or trying to swim with the weight of that dreadful outfit? Surely, this photos shows how our fashions have become less and less. And makes one wonder how much "less" in fashion could we possibly go from here? Super centurian centenarianIt is possible but not probable that someone on this beach 5 and under could be alive today without reaching 110. Of course, anyone over five on the beach would have to be 110 or over to still be with us. Early J. PetermanI could be wrong, but I think I've spotted the original "Urban Sombrero." I wonder if there's a man in a cape wandering about. NopeThis just does not look like fun. Hey Guys!Let's all put on our black woolens and go to the beach! Pre-mortemAbsolutely fabulous photo. I can't realize that all those people are quietly lying in their graves now. Gosh. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming)
No. 1 Atlantic Ocean: 1910
... above the ocean, survived gales, hurricanes and several boardwalk fires before it fell to the wrecking ball in 1953. - Dave] ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/26/2012 - 4:52pm -

Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1910. "Young's residence on Million Dollar Pier." The marble-encrusted Venetian "villa" at No. 1 Atlantic Ocean of showman and real-estate developer Captain John Young. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Wishful thinkingDave, any "post-gale" photos of this monstrosity? This is just too tempting for Mother Nature. WOW!Which hurricane took it out? Beach CottageDoes anyone know how long this lasted? I want to move in! [Captain Young's concrete-and-marble villa, built in 1906 hundreds of feet from the shore on a pier 20 feet above the ocean, survived gales, hurricanes and several boardwalk fires before it fell to the wrecking ball in 1953. - Dave] Uplifting cultureHe sure liked those alabaster maidens, didn't he? Well litI'd like to see a night photo of this place. It's covered with hundreds of bulbs. Do you suppose those light-bulb-encrusted flowers blinked? [The lighting is said to have been designed by none other than Thomas Edison. - Dave] From a 1910 article in the New York Times: The Captain is, to make use of his own expression, "a bug on lighting effects." In other words he has a fancy for a lot of light and for a varying in colors. His house is outlined in white electric lights from "cellar to dome," and those peculiar dials near the top are not clocks, but arrangements for giving a constant change to the lighting scheme. Surrounding the house is a magnificent lawn. It was built on a solid concrete platform with sufficient ventilation to keep the grass from scalding. It is made of the best Pennsylvania soil. The lawn is intersected by broad walks, and artistically distributed are small pine trees set out in large tubs. Statuary is scattered in profusion all about the lawn, and the whole place is surrounded by concrete coping to keep the rains from washing away the lawn. Artistic electroliers have been placed all about the outside of the property, too. Window DressingCaptain Long did not care much for privacy, it seems. Fresh fish for dinner!Some images start my mind a wandering; I thought of fishing out the window. Allegedly Cap'n John landed 30 pounds of fish on his first attempt as reported in the AC Weekly: http://www.acweekly.com/view.php?id=4793 . Other interesting views of advertising on the boardwalks are at http://library.duke.edu/exhibits/maxwell/index.html . Everything MatchesIt's hard to imagine now just how popular this overblown style was at the time. Not even counting its unique location on the pier, this house owes a lot to the fantasy-laden grandeur of the World's Fair Beaux Arts style of architecture that came in with the White City in Chicago in 1893. Tiffany & Company even redecorated the White House interiors for Theodore Roosevelt in a style similar to this, although they didn't outline the building in Edison lightbulbs. The party of well-dressed and well-fed tourists in the foreground, especially those Under Full Sail ladies, hold their own against all that marble and plaster. How utterly charming!It looks like a combination of a dollhouse and a cake. I want so badly to go inside! House of...If anyone will ever ask me to define the word "kitsch" I'll just show this photograph to them. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC)
The Dennis: 1905
... 1905. "The Dennis." Where you can get pushed around on the Boardwalk. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. All the Trimmings Anyone know why so many cut trees are stacked along the Boardwalk? A way to stop sand blowing up on the lawns? I have seen coastal ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 11:59am -

Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1905. "The Dennis." Where you can get pushed around on the Boardwalk. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. All the TrimmingsAnyone know why so many cut trees are stacked along the Boardwalk? A way to stop sand blowing up on the lawns? I have seen coastal driftwood and it looks nothing like these. To my eye they look like Christmas trees. Not the best yearIt is my considered opinion that 1906 had the ugliest women's fashions in the history of the Western world. 1905 was too close for comfort. Jester or the Jac(queline) of Diamonds?Enlarging the photo I see an extremely flamboyant lady in a rather hideous outfit with an over-the-top capelet, printed jacket, striped skirt and outrageous doily-trimmed picture hat. I'd call this "going overboard" in Atlantic City but what do I know? [The Lewis Carroll look. - Dave] Lewis Carroll lookOh is that what that lady is wearing? I was busy thinking to myself, "I wonder what all the colours of her outfit are." I wonder if it would have offended the eye or be just colourful enough to be fun. Hard to imagineAtlantic City ever looked like this. Don't Mess With The BowlerThere is just something about the guy in the bowler. Perhaps it is his stride. Maybe the sneer on his face toward the camera capturing his image. Or it may be that his hand is quite a bit darker than his face (does not appear to be a glove either.) Whatever it is, something just tells me that in 1905 on the Atlantic City Boardwalk he is not one to have against you. [Kid gloves. - Dave] (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Travel & Vacation)
Quality Store: 1940
... The store has a new coat of paint and the stairs and boardwalk are in tiptop shape. Rock guardian Beautiful, up to date fuel ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/06/2021 - 2:41pm -

September 1940. "General store. Ophir, Colorado, a small gold mining town on the side of a mountain." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Feline mienOlder gentleman seated in front of the store reminds me of cats in pictures who look toward the photographer as if knowing that they're the main subject. There must be a catBehind the gas pump, because that beautiful little boy in the window is surely captivated by something. Ruff TimesAccording to the town's website -- Population: 180 humans, 51 dogs CrackerjackTwo boxes, please. Cat tracks?? No: train tracks...Tho not apparent here, this store actually fronts on a railroad line https://ngtrainpics.photoshelter.com/img/pixel.gif High, low or middling?"Quality store", sure, but where on the scale from great to not so? It's the stanceI recognized Sailor Jack on the Cracker Jack boxes right away. Then again, I ate so much of the stuff, I was once dubbed the Cracker Jack Kid by a local Five and Dime store owner. No, we live like this all the timeThe owner of the Ophir general store must have received notice Russell Lee was coming to take a picture. The store has a new coat of paint and the stairs and boardwalk are in tiptop shape. Rock guardianBeautiful, up to date fuel pump situated in a very vulnerable and awkward to access location. Underground tank filler pipe "protection" is a couple of strategically placed rocks. "Ophir there," as they sayon the other side of the San Juan Mountains. I've been to Ophir--it's fairly remote and quite inaccessible. It always amazes me to see photos like this from 80 years ago, and to imagine how people carted supplies (and themselves, for that matter) to such a place with limited means of transportation and communication. [Someday they may invent vehicles which can finally make use of that gasoline pump. -tterrace] (The Gallery, Frontier Life, Gas Stations, Russell Lee, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)
Old Coggers: 1906
... in the center of the photo, there's a man "down" on the boardwalk! You can just see his hand near the hem of her skirts. And WHAT A ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/19/2022 - 3:35pm -

New Hampshire circa 1906. "Taking trains of Mount Washington Railway at base station, White Mountains." A cog railway to the highest peak in the Northeast. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Good gosh!The amount of FABRIC every person lugged around on their bodies back at the turn of the last century is mind-boggling. It makes me tired just looking at photos from that era. Not to rush you, Dear, but ...The couple hurrying along the platform on the far right of the picture appear to be enjoying a happy day together. He's turning to encourage her while barely breaking his stride, reaching, gesturing with a leather-clad hand for her to get a move on. She's hustling along as bidden, quick as she's able, all the while smiling into his eyes. I can tell even though she's a blur. More joyous smiles are budding and blossoming behind them. This is a feel-good photo, full of life and bristling with adventure. Still runningThe Cog railway up Mount Washington is still running as far as I know. I rode it some years ago. Each locomotive pulls just one car up the mountain. When I rode it, there was only one car and locomotive in operation. The smokestack is tilted to compensate for the angle of the mountain. At one point, the folks in one end of the car were 14 feet higher than the folks at the other end! A very scary ride! Some things never change.I know exactly how man on the right is feeling. The couple on the rightI imagine the gentleman saying, "come on Harriet, let's go" Beaten to itI wanted to comment about that couple on the far right, and I’m not surprised that JennyPennifer beat me to it! I certainly agree with what she writes, but I would add something. He appears to be rushing her to get on the train, perhaps unnecessarily so, since it seems from the people behind them that the train is still loading and there’s no crazy pressure to board. Although they seem a loving couple, he may just be the kind of guy who’s always worried about being late. I know the type. My family members always wonder why I’m in such a tizzy about the time when, to them, there doesn’t appear to be any cause for rush. I think I can! I think I can!Looking at the ratio of one engine per one coach car, the grade up the mountain must have been pretty steep. It reminded me of the childhood story of The Little Engine That Could! Who fell?Next to the darkly clad lady in the center of the photo, there's a man "down" on the boardwalk! You can just see his hand near the hem of her skirts. And WHAT A LOOK she's giving him. That's what I call SteepFollowing up on History Jack's comment, Mount Washington Cog Railway is the second steepest rack railway in the world after the Pilatus Railway in Switzerland, with an average grade of over 25% and a maximum grade of 37%. As a former Pittsburger, I would note that the Duquesne Incline has a grade of 58%. That's on a much smaller scale, of course. Why hurry?Maybe the gentleman is urging Harriet to hurry because he is afraid they might not get seats together or seats on the side with the best view. (The Gallery, DPC, Railroads)
Donnie's Duesie: 1920
... observation.... This car may well have been driven on a boardwalk surface, but if so then it was also equipped for racing on a dirt ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 11:55am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Donnie Moore in Duesenberg." Last seen here a year ago. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Location, Location?I'd guess a large apartment complex in the NW side of D.C. The units on the end of the wings have sleeping porches rather then balconies. We're seeing it from the back so hard to pin down exact location! [It's the Wardman Park Hotel on Connecticut Avenue, built in 1918. With 1,000 rooms, Washington's biggest. Later the Park-Sheraton. Torn down in 1979 and replaced by the even bigger Marriott Wardman Park.- Dave] No StoppingThis looks like a heavy, powerful car. There are no brakes in front. Modern cars have 70 percent of their braking power in front. Perhaps this car was only intended for the wooden racetrack shown earier this week. Give it up for Donnie.I'd give my left wheel nut for that car. Drive Slow!Is that a dare? Friction shocksIt has friction shock absorbers front and rear. Note the discs with the stars at each corner for adjusting the preload. DRIVE SLOWNice contradiction. Body work on the car appears less than concours. Keeping the wall upI find it amusing how many of these old photos have a guy in them, leaning up against a wall or door frame exactly like the guy in the background here. That car must have been one wild ride. With his low seat position it seems that he'd have poor visibility of the road ahead of him too. On the road againThe one thing that jumps out of this picture is that this high performance racecar is wearing D.C. license plates. You could drive it around town -- loud pipes, no headlights, just go for it. Must have been a ball to drive. That steering wheel is enormous!And how did he ever see over that dash and hood? No power steering needs big steering wheelThe large wheel provides a lot of mechanical advantage when turning. Reminds me of buses when I was a kid. They all had enormous steering wheels and the drivers would start their turns early and turn and turn and turn the wheel to get around corners. If you ever saw Jackie Gleason in the Honeymooners in the driver's seat of his bus, that is the type of steering wheel buses had way back then. Duesie x 2A few years back one of my clients, a high roller, attended a classic auto auction and came home with two Duesenbergs, having parted with $1.5 million. Get him a phonebookHe can barely see over the hood. Is that for better aerodynamics or is he just short? A minor observation....This car may well have been driven on a boardwalk surface, but if so then it was also equipped for racing on a dirt track: note the mesh grille protecting the radiator from being damaged by flying stones. More to the Point!I wonder where Donnie's Duesie is now -- somewhere in Laurel near the old race track? Incredible stuffNobody was braver - more insane? - than the board track racers. If you want a definitive look at this era, read Dick Wallen's terrific book, "Board Tracks: Gold, Guts and Glory," which is still in print. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Sports)
Chariot of the Gods: 1955
... convertible, parked in, of all places, a mud lot near Boardwalk #3 in Larkspur, Calif. I made my brother take this Kodachrome, then ... anymore images that show the houses that stood along that boardwalk would you? Most are long gone now. 1957 Plymouth Belvedere ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 09/29/2011 - 7:53pm -

The car and the photo that started it all: my life-long vicarious love affair with gigantic cars with huge fins. By age 9 I was already a car nut; I cut out pictures from magazine ads and pasted them in a spiral notebook; I amazed family and friends by my ability to identify every car make. Then one day in November 1955 I saw it: this bronze chariot of the gods, a 1955 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, parked in, of all places, a mud lot near Boardwalk #3 in Larkspur, Calif. I made my brother take this Kodachrome, then later came back and photographed it myself in black and white - just the rear end. Immediately I stopped drawing Flash Gordon rocket ships and began designing my own cars - the Pac-Ply and the Zorch. I began pestering my father to take me to GM Motorama when it arrived to San Francisco. Strangely, when it came time to trade in the '48 Hudson in 1956, the car I pestered him to buy was a Rambler station wagon. I guess I realized these cars were not for mere mortals. View full size. Biggest TailfinsCheck out a '57 Chrysler 300C. Plymouth BelvedereMy father had a blue Plymouth Belvedere he got in Singapore in 1965... he went to the trouble of shipping it back to England when the RAF sent him back home in 1968... we drove it all over the place for a couple of years until the exhaust went on it... he had to get a new exhaust shipped to England for the princely sum of £300... this was in 1970... £300 was a lot of money then... the first thing after getting it back roadworthy was to find a fellow sucker/enthusiast to sell it on to... I remember it being absolutely massive... all four of us kids could sit in the back without being squished up... he replaced it with three Ford Populars... 1 to run and the other two for spares... parts for those were far easier to get hold of, just drive down to the nearest scrap yard... I learned auto-mechanics from working on the Ford Pops... and I also learned how to drive while still only 13 in 1970... EldoradoThat car was one of 3,950 1955 Eldorado convertibles built. It had different fins from the rest of the Cadillac line. 1955 was the first year for the standard dual four-barrel equipped 270 horsepower engine. I'd buy one todayI would pay actual Honest-to-God Money if GM would make a car with tailfins again. I've got one of those old jukeboxes myself.I happen to own one of those gigantic 50's cars myself. Its a 55' Mercury Monterey with about 150 pounds of chrome and roughly 20 feet long. Not in perfect shape, but boy do people like it. By galumping family four door with bus seats and a huge steering wheel. I love these cars. They're so easy to work on you can keep em' running forever. Mine is all-original and was never garaged. Auto prodigyThanks, tterrace, I remember being something of a car identifying prodigy at about 5 or 6, which was around 1962. I also recall getting a laugh from my parents when I chirped up that a certain Pontiac was a Grand Pricks. For some reason that event stuck with me and when I grew older I understood the mirth. I also recall the first car I drove, a 1955 Ford Victoria. Unfortunately this was in the same time period. Being unrestrained in the middle of the front seat (mom was holding my baby sister) I just grabbed the steering wheel from Dad. Dad retained control, and I'm sure I was relegated to the back seat from that moment. Thanks for the tremendous photos and backstories. I think I know exactly where this was shot.Could this car be parked where there used to be a Safeway grocery store? And that wouldn't be the BonAir bridge would it? Marin General Hospital is just over the bridge. The house up on the hill in the right of the image looks familiar. You wouldn't happen to have anymore images that show the houses that stood along that boardwalk would you? Most are long gone now. 1957 Plymouth BelvedereI've got a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere, her name's Elizabeth, out in the garage that I'm currently restoring. Talk about fins. Yeah. Guess that makes me something more than a mere mortal! Where they wentAbout 20 years ago my husband and I toured through Norway and Sweden. We were stunned to see these big American cars everywhere we went. Don't ask me why but they clearly were very popular. Where it was shotAnon. Tipster, you nailed the location exactly. Here's a section of a shot my brother took earlier in 1955, from the ridge above. The Caddy was parked in the dirt lot where all the trucks are and the Safeway later was. That's the old original wooden footbridge across the creek, which is lined by the arks of Boardwalks 3 & 4. If you register here at Shorpy, you can click on my name to send me a message, and I'll point you to some more photos. RaggareThis link explains the phenomenon of "raggare" (cruisers) fairly well. In America for a long time almost all of the interest in 50's cars stayed with 55/57 Chevys and perhaps the occasional shoebox Ford or chopped Mercury. In Sweden, every tailfinned American car was saved and thousands were imported from the U.S. after the movie "American Graffiti" started a fifties revival. This revival seems to hang on decade after decade among people in this subculture - mostly in rural areas. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, tterrapix)
The Submarine Boat: 1904
... home. Ice cream? Yuck. Hundreds of people on the boardwalk, and not one wants any ice cream. Love the fake guns! Total ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 1:30pm -

New York circa 1904. "The Submarine Boat, Coney Island." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Get your incubators here!Boy, Coney Island had everything back then! Been needing an incubator for your infant? After you take in the Submarine Boat, step right down and grab one for your ride home. Ice cream? Yuck.Hundreds of people on the boardwalk, and not one wants any ice cream. Love the fake guns!Total kitsch! The lifeboats, smokestack, boiler room ventilators, even a pretty good imitation of a torpedo at the foot of the steps. The heck with the Submarine BoatsLet's go see the Baby Incubators! Now that's something not even Disney has in its parks. Stub HubIn any case the price was right, 15¢ for Adults, 10¢ for Children. I guess it was affordable. What does that Capt Nemo Submarine Ride at Disneyland (or is it Disney World) cost? C'mon MargeWe can get an infant incubator over by the submarine boat. Prime AttractionAt 15 cents a pop, this was the E-ticket attraction of its day. Sixty Years Before Disney's Submarine Ride"Under and Over the Sea," the park's showstopper,. was located on the west promenade near Beacon Tower. The building was constructed along the lines of a Man-of-War with turrets, protruding guns, lifeboats and a deck. E.C. Boyce's attraction offered the public a simulated submarine ride under the Atlantic, where viewing the action through portholes, they experienced a confrontation with a giant squid, sharks and other strange inhabitants of the deep. It was reminiscent of the adventure scenes in Jules Verne's exciting novels which boys read enthusiastically at the turn of the century. Those waiting in line for the ride on a miniature island could trace the submarine's path via a little flag remaining above the surface. ["The Submarine Boat" and "Under and Over the Sea" were two different rides. More on the various Dreamland attractions here. - Dave] Infant Incubators?I'm not sure I really want to know. [Quite interesting. More here. - Dave] The Best PartFunny, I think the guy behind the counter of the ice cream stand with the tray on the counter is the best part of the picture. Just a workaday guy getting ready for business. You don't usually see something like that in old pictures. Only "quite interesting"?I did some following up and found the whole story of Coney Island infant incubators to be absolutely fascinating. It's a tremendous story -- and was rather a shock to realise, that for so many years, hospitals didn't think premature infants were worth saving. My father was born very prematurely in 1929 - and ended up in the warming tray of the oven to keep him alive because no facilities existed in the local hospitals - I suppose I rather think he was worth saving! I'd assumed incubators hadn't been invented... but they'd actually been available for years. There is a little more (actually a lot more) information here if anyone is interested. http://www.neonatology.org/pinups/coneyislandnurses.html (The Gallery, Coney Island, DPC)
Gator Farm: 1905
... Railway's routes was half of a "Loop Car" line, from Boardwalk & Virginia Ave. to Boardwalk & South Carolina Ave. via Atlantic Ave. They connected to, and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 7:24pm -

Virginia Avenue strollers (and rollers) in Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1905. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. "Smoking Not Allowed"Not quite. Here is the sign, biggacated and computerally enhanced: [Nice try! However ... - tterrace] What type of propulsionpowers that beautiful trolley? StreetcarAnd what powers the headlight? Street railway car motive power?There are no overhead trolley wires as in another 1905 Atlantic City Shorpy post at https://www.shorpy.com/node/8139?size=_original There's no subterranean center slot and the rails can't be "hot" (the obvious rail brushes wouldn't be able to keep them clean enough for good contact anyway, even if they were extended), so that leaves: 1) Horse powered (there appears to be a hitch receiver, and the area between the tracks seems to have a different texture than the rest to the street, possibly from more hard working horse traffic). 2) Battery/electric motor driven 3) Internal combustion engine driven The internets are full of old stock certificates for The Central Passenger Railway Company, but I couldn't find any relevant info on their rolling stock, so I gave up, unsatiated. Probably best that time travel ISN'T currently availiable Because if I time travelled 107 years in the future from my peaceful walk with my friends and baby up lovely Virginia Ave in Atlantic City to THIS spot, I would be beyond horrified (and would immediately demand-if not beg- to be taken back to where I came from vs stay in the tacky, gaudy 21st century version of my sweet little street!) More along the wireless routeHere's the proper link to another Shorpy photo showing no trolley wires, 2 tracks, and surface electrical contact boxes for the far track only. I can't find the address of the Grand Atlantic Hotel or its Annex. One of the Central Passenger Railway's routes was half of a "Loop Car" line, from Boardwalk & Virginia Ave. to Boardwalk & South Carolina Ave. via Atlantic Ave. They connected to, and later may have owned, Venice Park Rwy. lines to the interior of the City. https://www.shorpy.com/node/12772?size=_original Look ma, no (trolley) wires!That electric streetcar is no trolley. Look behind it, there are oblong boxes for a Pullen system of surface electrical contacts. It has not been installed on the other track, almost buried in the mud. By next year, 1906, both tracks will have trolley wire. See: https://www.shorpy.com/node/8532?size=_original Before there was the Gator FarmHere is another Shorpy Picture of essentially the same scene circa 1905, a year or so before this picture. https://www.shorpy.com/node/8532?size=_original. In the 1905 picture, there is no Gator Farm advertisement on the fence and the cafe in the Hotel Jackson was the Jackson Grille and Restaurant as opposed to the Ladies and Gentlemen's Buffet and Cafe run by "Jno Cruse" a year later. As to jimboylan's question about the address of the Grand Atlantic Hotel: a circa 1900 map of Atlantic City shows it to have been on Virginia Ave., just beyond the Avon Inn toward Pacific Ave. In this picture, if you look past the Avon sign on the right side of the street, you can see the towers of the Grand Hotel shown in https://www.shorpy.com/node/12772?size=_original. Wireless Trolley CarCan anyone make out the writing on the upper right on the trolley? I think it says "Smoking Not Allowed". Times must be toughthat woman has to push her own carriage up that hill! No Skateboards? NoGo!A prohibition against skateboards would cause a problem, because the device under the street car to collect the electricity from the surface contact boxes was called a "skate". (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Streetcars)
Mlles de Mer: 1920s
... by Arnold Genthe. View full size. West Side A boardwalk has run along most of Long Beach's shoreline for the past 100 years. As there's no boardwalk here, the picture probably was taken on the west side of town near ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/02/2014 - 11:13am -

Circa 1920s. "Man building sand castle and two unidentified women. Long Beach, New York." 4x5 nitrate negative by Arnold Genthe. View full size. West SideA boardwalk has run along most of Long Beach's shoreline for the past 100 years. As there's no boardwalk here, the picture probably was taken on the west side of town near Atlantic Beach, where there's a boardwalk-less stretch of shoreline. The far east side of Long Beach also lacks a boardwalk, but I don't believe that area would have been developed back in 1925. City lore has it that circus elephants were used as beasts of burden in the construction of the boardwalk. Alas, that isn't quite true; the developer in charge of construction had some elephants paraded to the worksite, but there's no evidence that the pachyderms did any actual work. New York's zealously turf-protecting construction unions wouldn't have allowed it. Trivia: along with Glen Cove on the North Shore, Long Beach is one of the only two communities on Long Island that's an actual incorporated municipality. All other communities are unincorporated parts of much larger townships. CrystallizeLong Beach's most famous former Citizen is Comedian Billy Crystal. His Broadway Show "700 Sundays" is mostly about his growing up in Long Beach. The City Of Long Beach took a big hit from Hurricane Sandy and Billy played a large part in its rehabilitation. ObliviousEither this guy has very poor peripheral vision or he really just isn't interested in all that pulchritude. (The Gallery, Arnold Genthe, Swimming)
Yosemite Gathering: 1941
... in the top row on the right reminds me of Richard from Boardwalk Empire. View full size. Another Hollywood star No one see ... 
 
Posted by Tony W. - 01/29/2012 - 5:45pm -

Here we see the Bliss family with friends in Yosemite. The year is 1940-41 based on the license plate to the right. The guy in the top row on the right reminds me of Richard from Boardwalk Empire. View full size. Another Hollywood starNo one see Tim Robbins front on the left? WWII BlissI hope the bliss family was able to nurse that 36 Studebaker through the war Argus C3The squatting guy has an Argus C3 35mm camera around his neck. But you knew that already, right? HarrowingWow, that totally is Richard Harrow. I'm having Shining-style heebie jeebies. A Real StarAnd it doesn't require time travel: behind crouching Argus guy: Miss Barbara Stanwyck. I must need glassesFor a minute there, I thought they all fit in that one car. Then I clicked the 'view original' icon, and noticed the cars behind it. Re That cameraThe Argus C3 generally is credited for helping to popularize 35mm film because of its very long production run (1938-1966). One of the most famous photographers of the 1940s was Tony Vacarro who shot almost all of his photos with a C3, including many images of war in Europe. He developed some film in his army helmet, in fact. Google his name + images to see a few. The C3 was cheap, simple and rugged. Oh, this is so wrongBut it must be said. "Flaps down! Prepare for landing!" Live Long and ProsperNo one has mentioned Mr. Spock in the first row, far right. Look at those ears. Great timeNow this is a group that is having a great time!!! Temp?What do you think the temperature was here? There are people with coats and jackets, while others go bare chested! I see those ears run in the family. Most prominent on the front, right fellow, but a few of them have them. Also, that little girl is creeping me out. Her eyes are too dark! All grown up?It's unusual in that time period to see a grown man (center, seated) wearing sneakers. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Tonypix, Travel & Vacation)
Picnic in the Park: 1956
... a gorgeous example! Location? Long Beach near the boardwalk. Have to be near ocean, ice plants on the 'dune' behind them and a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/14/2012 - 4:59pm -

The Well-Dressed Family is back for an outing at the park somewhere in Southern California circa 1956. Please ignore the commotion in back. View full size. Corpus delectibleNo one seems to notice the dead body way in the back. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Two possibilities. - Dave] 1. Bad potato salad 2. Good wine Alternate Title"Sox-n-Mocs." Sharp Dressed ManWonderful shirt. Many people todayDon't dress this nicely for church, let alone a picnic! In a child's eyesOnly the baby seems to notice the violent attack happening in the background. He's searching for his wallet! HELP! Scuffle in the backgroundThe boy on the ground must have on a pair those badass striped socks, and the other lad is jealous. [Fellow on the ground is wearing a sailor's uniform. - Dave] On lookout for the commestiblesLooks like those binoculars Daddy brought are handy while Mama's looking for her brother and his wife who, I imagine, are bringing the picnic basket. Everyone looks a little hungry! But despite their appetites, those young women with their dresses are lovely. Such a picture of wholesome clean living circa 195 [Or maybe they're looking for a dictionary. - Dave] That's My Brother-in-Law!At least it sure looks like him! On the far bench, upper right corner. Yeah, that's him, alright. CupsAre those In-n-Out burger cups I see? San Diego?Those were the days - 7 oz. Cokes, paper (not plastic), pedal pushers and submissive sailors! Days gone byI wish ladies still dressed as modestly. The dresses are so fresh and pretty. I, a 48 year old lady, am sitting here at the computer in a Bass Pro Shops t-shirt and Old Navy jeans! Rickrack!The white & black dress with all the rickrack is to die for! And the fellow's socks are amazing. Brown suitThe skirt suit the standing lady is wearing looks like one I remember my mother wearing. I love the two dresses worn by the two ladies sitting on the ground. I not only love the look of dresses, but I think they are more comfortable. Around here, everyone wears dresses to church, but I'm the only one I know who wears them all week! I believe the dress worn by the young lady, with all the rickrack, was what was known as a "squaw dress". I remember once reading a story by a woman who had been a teenager during that time, who said that the most highly sought after dresses where real full and had lots and lots of rickrack. The one in the picture looks like a gorgeous example! Location?Long Beach near the boardwalk. Have to be near ocean, ice plants on the 'dune' behind them and a sailor out for the day. (SoCal 1956 Kodachromes)
Beach Buggy: 1905
... Atlantic City." In the background: Clabby's baths on the boardwalk. Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size. Let ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/25/2012 - 3:07pm -

The Jersey Shore circa 1905. "At Atlantic City." In the background: Clabby's baths on the boardwalk. Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size. Let me be the first to say"Those are some nice girls on those asses!" Watch your stepSo ... just how clean is that sand going to be? Beach GigglesThe guy in the cart seems to be having way too much fun. Unlike the girl on the right. TimelessThis is a fantastic picture -- crop the faces and put them on Facebook and this could have been taken this summer! Oh someone took my line!I was going to say, "Nice Asses!" but I am too late! Darnit!! ha ha ha The girl on the right says"My parents dragged me to the beach and now I have to sit on this donkey...and I don't want the tee shirt!" Which twin has the Toni?The twins dress alike but have different hairstyles. PoliticsLooks like an early Democratic convention. Beach politicsIn response to NPB's comment below, I'm sure the users of the beach would have preferred it not to have been the Republican convention. Dorothy AgainMen seldom make passes At girls upon asses. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Horses, Swimming)
Bleak House: 1901
The Jersey Shore circa 1901. "The Boardwalk and Auditorium Pier, Atlantic City." At Ocean Avenue, George ... What caught my eye was the cleanliness of both the boardwalk and the beach. No sign of litter. Bleak House Not recommended ... annual visitors to Atlantic City and while walking the Boardwalk I noticed that the same shops in the same locations which were going ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/03/2019 - 11:06am -

The Jersey Shore circa 1901. "The Boardwalk and Auditorium Pier, Atlantic City." At Ocean Avenue, George Coryell's Bleak House hotel. View full size. The Jersey ShoreCirca 1901 BK (Before Kardashians) What the world needs.Right there under the billiards sign. It has to be a good one of course. No litterbugs allowedWhat caught my eye was the cleanliness of both the boardwalk and the beach. No sign of litter. Bleak HouseNot recommended for the depressed. If you've ever been to Atlantic CityWATCH the tram car, please. Bad branding, quickly addressed"Bleak House," Charles Dickens' biting satire of the plodding operation of England's chancery courts, was a better book than a brand. Within two years, this hotel reopened under a new name (Hotel Lenox). What? Not one "Going Out of Business" shop.As a youngster in the '50s we were annual visitors to Atlantic City and while walking the Boardwalk I noticed that the same shops in the same locations which were going out of business in 1950 were also going out in 1951, 1952, 1953, etc. The same owners were selling the same merchandise as the year before. The first year I always bugged my parents to stop since we surely could get some great bargains but, being wise to the world of merchandising, they just kept on walking by as I did the following years. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Stores & Markets, Swimming)
Jersey Shore: 1908
... It was the steam plant for all of the buildings on the boardwalk and had a restaurant and concessions for non-white visitors. The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/19/2012 - 8:51am -

July 19, 1908. "Negro bathers, Asbury Park." A frolic in the New Jersey surf. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size. Wow!What is that guy using for bait? At the end of their ropeA whale? A sunken ship? Looks like fun! Swept AwayI assume the ropes are to keep the weaker swimmers from drowning, though I've never seen such a rope arrangement on any beach. Anyone know for sure? You're a daisy if you do...I don't think they are going to be able to pull that post into the water with them. Bathing ropesUndertow ropes (also called life ropes or bathing ropes) are still a fixture along certain parts of the Jersey Shore. A relic of the early bathing-beach days when many city folks took a dip even if they couldn't swim, and lifeguards weren't that common. The InkwellWhen I vacationed at Asbury Park during the 1960s they still had those ropes. Sometimes they marked where the lifeguard-patrolled sections ended. They were also used to ride the waves. Asbury Park was a segregated town, particularly at the turn of the century. The small area where black people were permitted to swim, just past the Casino and before Ocean Grove, was called the Inkwell. Not a desired spot, as waste was dumped there from Wesley Lake. "Negro Beach"The picture was likely taken near this location. It was the steam plant for all of the buildings on the boardwalk and had a restaurant and concessions for non-white visitors. The area between the building and the ocean is listed on old maps as "Negro Beach." Hang on!The lady at the end of the rope is beautiful, but I'm worried about those kids in the water - they don't seem to be holding a rope. (The Gallery, Asbury Park, G.G. Bain, Swimming)
Grand Atlantic: 1905
... we made a date to meet the next morning for a Beach & Boardwalk stroll. Hopefully I'll be able to convince Ethel to ride with me in one of those two-seat man propelled carriages on the Boardwalk. I blush to think where the conversation we have as we travel the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 6:58pm -

Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1905. "Grand Atlantic Hotel -- Open All Year." Someone grab a ladder and oil that creaky shutter. View full size. Back in the day, when weBack in the day, when we weren't so paranoid about letting the outside air drift through our homes. First bed and breakfast?Would like to stay in the annex next to the main hotel. Men with hatsIt would appear that Derbies were in this season. I WonderDid these gorgeous buildings face the ocean? Forget the HotelI want a room in the annex. No unsightly trolley wires hereOthers have pointed out at this photo: https://www.shorpy.com/node/12774?size=_original that the Grand Atlantic is on Virginia Ave., which is at a right angle to the ocean, so the front of the Hotel doesn't face the sea. There is modern electric streetcar service to this termite's delight, but it's not a trolley. The far track is equipped with the Pullen System of surface electrical contact boxes. The near track hasn't been converted from horse car or steam dummy service. Extract from a Jersey Shore Diary April 25th 1905 I just spent a most enjoyable day and didn't have to travel a bit which was enjoyable since I had spent a few hours on trains and ferries from Philadelphia and arrived late. I was able to get my usual room (2nd floor front) at the annex where the service is as good as the main building but seems less formal and not as crowded. I slept in late and took a perch on the main porch and was delighted by the gentle breezes and the parade of handsome and genteel ladies who passed by. There were even a few winks and flashing smiles thrown my way. I ambled over to the barbershop for a trim and a little baseball talk. The Athletics look good this year and since Rube Waddell was pitching today I asked Tony to place a $5.00 wager on the A's. The sea air had given me quite the appetite so a visit to the Grand Atlantic Hotel Bar & Buffet seemed to be the logical next step. There was all manner of seafood and stout lagers to be found there. After a hearty meal at the bar I lit a cigar and noticed one of the ladies who had given me a grand smile passed by and entered the ladies section with another couple. Feeling a little bold I introduced myself and discovered Ethel of The Grand Smile was vacationing with her brother and sister-in-law. After an hour or so of conversation about mundane, practical and profound things we made a date to meet the next morning for a Beach & Boardwalk stroll. Hopefully I'll be able to convince Ethel to ride with me in one of those two-seat man propelled carriages on the Boardwalk. I blush to think where the conversation we have as we travel the Boardwalk might lead? (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC)
The Big Hotels: 1915
... critics used to describe each of the distinctive boardwalk-end columns on the Blenheim section of the Marlborough-Blenheim. The ... sign to the left of the Blenheim is set back from the boardwalk. Each side displays "Creation of the World." Don't know if the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/20/2012 - 3:42pm -

Atlantic City, N.J., ca. 1915. "Bathing in front of the big hotels -- Traymore [right] and Marlborough-Blenheim." Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Gotta AskAnyone know or remember why the M-B hotel has those two vertical elements? What were they for? LovelyI really love old beach photos. They really makes me feel I'm right there. Maybe I was born in the wrong age. BTW, boys didn't go to the beach to watch girls, I guess. Just before ka-boom-boomJust before they demolished the Traymore, my parents decided that we would go for a vacation and stay in the grand old hotel because it had once been such a fine place of its day. (Or maybe the management were renting the rooms at half price, since the end was near, and my father covered up his cheapness with the story of how we had to see that bit of history before it was gone). By that time it was rather a dump. You didn't get a shower in your room. It was down at the end of the hall, and you had to wait your turn in that hallway. What passed for luxury in the Traymore's time was really primitive. It looked far better from the outside than the inside. Did everyone rent bathing suits then?It seems there was only one style for each gender. Helmar SmokesI never heard of them, but from the looks of their ad, they were popular. Probably a nickel a pack. And those suits and dresses at the beach just crack me up. Such different times. Over-the-top Art Nouveau-ish hotelWhat grand architecture, in a Moorish style, right on the beach. Helmar HeightsThat is quite the cigarette billboard. The spare construction of that is really interesting and kind of beautiful. I'd love to see one of those old signs up close. The elaborate edges make it look like the whole thing was somehow rubber stamped on the photo itself. Neat. Aside from that, I love these old beach pictures. It's a little difficult to get past the bathing costumes, but once you do, it's amazing how similar it looks to a modern beach scene--splashing, talking, sunbathing (and the few protecting themselves from the sun). I guess people have always behaved in similar ways in sand and surf. How many went down with heatstroke?I am always amazed at these beach photos. It is just beyond me to even imagine what it would be like to spend the day at the beach in a full suit, starched collar, tie and leather shoes. And all that before modern breathable lightweight fabrics. I do not even want to try and think what it must have been like for the ladies in those dresses. Ping Pong, Pilotis and GenesisFrom the enlargement emerge tantalizing details of some largely forgotten characteristics of the sandy playground. A few doors left of Brady's Baths sits a concession stand with a sign for "Japanese Ping Pong." Not table tennis, but a typical arcade game of the era. It seems to have been a flatter, shorter-lived cousin to skee-ball. A.T. Hayashi appears in a 1920 directory as the proprietor, also operating one of the more numerous and better documented Japanese bric-a-brac shops. "Piloti" is a bit of insider jargon that architectural critics used to describe each of the distinctive boardwalk-end columns on the Blenheim section of the Marlborough-Blenheim. The four-sided pylons were ecstatic expressions of architect William L. Price's confidence in the great things that can be done with reinforced concrete. Functional, too: the hotel was built with a longer tourist season in mind, and great fireplaces sent smoke up the chimneys within each pylon. The Historic American Buildings Survey has photos. The hard-to-read, double-sided electric sign to the left of the Blenheim is set back from the boardwalk. Each side displays "Creation of the World." Don't know if the exhibit toured, but it sounds like a serious affair. Presumably the sign in our 1915 photo refers to the same show described in a booster magazine, The Suburbanite. From what looks to be the poorly edited September 1908 issue: The greatest attraction near Young's Million-Dollar Pier, is the Scenographic illustration of "The Creation of the World," showing he (sic) evolution of the Universe emerging from Chaos, no (sic) birth of the World, and the Creation of man. The Creation of the World occupies a large steel and concrete building on the boardwalk. The Creation of the World is a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar production, the largest Scenograph ever produced, it is far ahead of anything of this nature given in any other place. [Imperfectly scanned, not poorly edited. - Dave] (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming)
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