MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME
Home

Search Shorpy

SEARCH TIP: Click the tags above a photo to find more of same:
Mandatory field.

Search results -- 30 results per page

Louisiana: 1937
July 1937. "Louisiana Negress." View full size. Medium-format nitrate negative and ... love her hat and parasol, with her crisp pinner apron! Louisiana: 1937 Another wonderful photo Dave. New screensaver... Nice. Una foto preciosa. Louisiana Woman I'd be hard pressed to name a favorite among Lange's work, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/08/2013 - 11:12am -

July 1937. "Louisiana Negress." View full size. Medium-format nitrate negative and caption by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. La. WomanI love her hat and parasol, with her crisp pinner apron! Louisiana: 1937Another wonderful photo Dave. New screensaver... Nice.Una foto preciosa. Louisiana WomanI'd be hard pressed to name a favorite among Lange's work, but this would be near the top. I love the reflected light on the woman's face, the few beads of sweat, the wonderful textures of the hat and the umbrella. I love love love this pictureIt has been posted for several years now, but it stuck in my mind's eye and I had to go back and find it. Maybe a recent comment will attract some new viewers to share my appreciation! (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Pretty Girls, Rural America)
Forest Brook: 1956
... DaveB Wonderful Grade school in Alexandria, Louisiana. Very familiar classrooms, with the good Nun up front to keep [or ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/14/2013 - 7:14am -

November 8, 1956. "Forest Brook Elementary School, Hauppauge, Long Island. Classroom and teacher." For those of a certain demographic, this may strike a chord. Large-format negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. We never did that.I grew up in the suburbs around Akron, Ohio, and we never had a bomb drill or duck-and-cover drill ever. All of my peers that grew up in other places had those drills, which has led me to a couple of possible theories. One, that we had some sort of pacifists in our local administration that refused to take part in the Cold War(unlikely). Or two, that we were so close to potential industrial targets that there was simply no point in hoping for survival... Better to go out in the first flash. [Never had them in my grade school years 1952-1960 in Larkspur, California, either, nor was I aware at the time that they were going on anywhere. -tterrace] Lighting fixturesWe had very similar fixtures in my Elementary School about ten years after this, ours had a large bulb with the bottom painted silver sticking through the center though. They were probably ancient even in 1966. X marks the spotI'm not sure if it looked that way in 1956, but Forest Brook today has a strange shape, what you might get if Picasso or Dali had been asked to draw the letter X. Hauppague today is a densely populated community, home to most of Suffolk County's government (though Riverhead is the actual county seat) and a huge industrial park, but back in 1956 it was on the frontier of suburbanization. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the students in this picture were the children of farmers. You will not leave this house dressed like thatIt would be three years before I entered first grade about 20 miles west of Hauppauge. The New York City Board of Education had a much less relaxed dress code. Boys from first grade on had to wear ties. Jeans and sneakers were not permitted. On school assembly day everyone was required to wear a white shirt or blouse and the boys had to wear red ties. Of course by the time we were graduating from high school there were still strict dress standards, but they only applied to the teachers. Smelementary SchoolThose wooden desks were washed and cleaned before classes three months ago, and the floors are waxed weekly. All the girls are in skirts or dresses, and the boys are well groomed and always polite. After all, no one wants to get called down to the school office! Plus, there's a great lineup of cars out the window, in case a little daydreaming is in order, but only for a few seconds at a time. By the way, you can smell today's newfangled hot lunch almost ready to serve, down the hall. Let there be photonsMy elementary school (Horace Mann in Burbank, Calif.) had the same light fixtures, although we had four to a room. Each contained one ≈500 watt bulb; the bottom of the bulb was obscured by a silver coating. When a bulb was nearing the end of its service life, it would usually emit a high-pitched squeal. The teacher would then cycle the light switch off and on several times, killing the bulb and throttling the distracting squeal. Reading MaterialMost of the children have notebooks, many children seem to have the Spell and Write workbook, and the young man in the lower left (just behind the girl in the foreground) has the Air Raid Instruction booklet on his desk. My First Year of School1956 was my first year of school in Houston. Would have loved to have been able to wear blue jeans and shirt tails out but HISD rules at the time (and almost all the way through my HS years) said no blue jeans, no t-shirts, no shirt tails out for boys and skirts/dresses only for girls. Hard to believe especially since the schools weren't air conditioned in HISD except for offices and a few other classrooms (science for one)until after I graduated in 1968. No duck and cover drills for us until the Cuban missile crisis when we were told Houston would be a first strike target due the refineries throughout the Houston area. We had an air raid siren right next to the window in my 5th grade class that went off each Friday at noon. I also thought to myself that if the Russians were smart they would attack at noon on Friday! Star pupils or problem children?Teacher has all that space in front of the classroom for her desk but it's right up close to those pupils at the far end of the classroom. Even with the photographer present, the kids appear to be gazing out the window. Maybe she needed to be that close to keep their attention for any length of time. I wonder if modern medicine is overused in favor of such simple solutions. Maybe I'll send the first grade picture (1960) from my Catholic school in New Jersey. It's a bright, clean classroom like the one shown here but it's packed tight with baby boomers, all in navy blue and white uniforms, with Sister in her black and white habit up front. 1956 RebelAlright, who's the non-conformist on staff who just had to park facing the wrong way? Sturdy Desks and the "Good Old Days"Those sturdy desks are perfect for the inevitable "Flash Drills" of the era, in which the principal would come into the room unannounced and write "FLASH" on the blackboard, causing all of us students to "duck and cover" to avoid instant nuclear incineration. I'm not sure how much good it would have done in a real attack, but it was the only tool in the drawer. Also, I'm surprised the windows don't have the standard heavy blackout curtains, which were handy not only for viewing nmovies but to keep enemy bombers from spotting stray lights at night. And a decade laterI started public school a decade later, in a building constructed in 1961. And it was exactly like this, light fixtures, desks, and all. Most of the teachers were young then (and exactly one man, who I got in fifth grade) but I started out with Mrs. Lord, the white-haired wife of the principal, who could have stepped out of any 1910 school administrator picture with naught more than a change of collar. However in my day the fellow with the open shirt front there would have been made to neaten himself up. Beautiful Schools but the Russians are coming!I began my second semester of kindergarden in January of 1953 in newly built grade school on the west side of Detroit. We immediately began having fire and air raid drills. For air raids we descended into the basement of the school which was actually the main tunnel of the air circulation system. Some times when we went down the stairs during a drill, the big fan would still be rotating after being shut down. We had to sit along the walls and cover our heads. To condition us further the lights would be turned off for a short period of time. I switched to a newly built parochial grade school for the fourth grade on. No basement, so we sat in the main hallway between the class rooms and covered our heads. Both schools had class rooms identical to Forest Brook. To add to the tension, the nearby Rouge Park had a Nike missile battery. The missiles were normally hidden behind a high earth berm, but they were visible when frequently pointed skyward for testing. The AM radio frequencies of 640 and 1240 were permanently etched into our memory. DrillsI'm exactly the right age for these memories, but except for a few very early instances that were termed "air raid," all our drills were of the fire kind. No duck, no cover - and this just north of San Francisco, with its own battery of Nike missiles by the Golden Gate - in plain view if you took a spin along the Marin Headlands. We all just marched outside. The only time we had to put our practice to use was for a 1957 earthquake centered just south of SF but sharp enough in Larkspur to get us squealing in our fifth grade classroom before the alarm sounded and we made our orderly exit. "Silver Tooth"I was in the ninth grade in fall of 56. All of the new schools I attended in the late 40's and 50's had those windows and the 9 inch floor tiles. I believe the teacher's desk was in that position only for this pic. One memory came to me in a flash when I saw the tiles. In the 4th grade on the last day of school as I was swinging between desks I did a face plant on the green floor tiles. The impact broke off two of my front teeth below the nerves and the family dentist fixed them with silver caps that stayed that way until I turned 21. Blue Jeans?I was in 5th grade at the time, in a far western suburb of Chicago. What I remember was the enormous spending on shiny new schools back then. My mom was a teacher, back when teaching was a respected profession, teachers were proud of what they did for a living and grateful for the $6,000 a year they were paid. That and the rule against blue jeans. Strictly verboten in my school system. They looked "hoo-dy", pronounced with "hoo" as the first syllable, and were a a well known precursor for the dreaded juvenile delinquency during adolescence and a life of crime and depravity later on. Without that rule, thank goodness and a vigilant school board, I probably would have a criminal record by now. Good Ol' '56I was in third grade in Hempstead, Long Island then. Ike was president and the world 'champeen' Brooklyn Dodgers would win another pennant only to lose once more to the Yanks. Anybody who wore dungarees (as jeans were called then) in my school district would have been sent home to change to proper attire and an open shirt would catch you a stiff reprimand. Nobody knew what a school bus was and schools were not in the restaurant business for anybody. There was a lot to like about those days. Fond MemoriesI was in 1st grade at that time and our classroom in suburban Chicago looked very much like this one. Someone mentioned getting called down to the office. There was nothing worse than hearing your name on the PA system to report to the principal. Every kid in school knew you were probably in deep doo doo. As for the non-conformist staff member who backed into his spot, these types have always been around and still are today. They'd rather waste extra time and endure the hassle of backing into a parking spot just so they can pull out with ease at the end of the day. Never understood that logic. The Joys of childhoodI would have been 9 years old when this photo was taken. I was attending "Summer Avenue School" at that time. It was an old three story brick building. We had the kind of desks that bolted to the floor so they couldn't be moved even if you wanted to do so. The seat was actually part of the desk behind you and folded up automatically when you stood up. The top of the desk was hinged at the front so that you could lift it up and put you books and such inside. Oh Yes, they had the obligatory inkwell hole in them as well, but never any ink. Summer Avenue School still stands but is now known as Roberto Clemente Elementary School. The desksStarting I guess in the late 40s that blonde style of wood came very much into vogue for furniture. Notice, they're the first generation of school desk withOUT a hole for an inkwell. We had ball point pens by then, no more dipping a nub into india ink. And no more opportunities for dunking the pigtail of the little girl in front of you into the ink! The furthest cornersAh, those desks. In the later grades of elementary school we ate our lunches in the classroom, and the kid in front of me used to stuff the parts of his lunch he didn’t want into the deepest recesses, behind books and other trash. It got very ripe, and one day the teacher followed her nose to Robert G.’s desk and made him excavate the smelly mess. I will leave the rest to everyone’s imaginations. 4th grade for meDecatur Street elementary. I think the building was probably built at the turn of the last century. And probably the teachers. We had the well worn student desks that you find in the antique shops now for a pretty penny. The one with the ink well and indentation for a pencil with the seat back and foldup seat on the front of your desk. We had 12' ceilings, oiled wood floors that the janitor put sawdust down on daily to use his pushbroom on, kept the dust down. Old School, New SchoolI started the first grade in 1954 in rural Kansas. We were in a building that had been built in 1911 and only housed six grades. The 7th and 8th grades were in the high school. The bathrooms, the lunchroom, and the art room were all in the basement, and we had music in a one-teacher school building that had been moved into town and put behind the school. The 1911 building was probably a horrible firetrap, although there was a metal fire escape on the back from the second floor down. The district built a new school in 1956, and we moved in in February 1957, when I was in the third grade. It looked much like the one in the photo, except that we had metal desks. No dress code--nearly all the boys wore jeans. That 1956 building is still in use, along with the 1923 high school. Of ocurse, they house far fewer kids than they did then. Several years laterI was attending a Catholic school in a much older building further west on Long Island -- still vividly remember our "duck & cover" drills as I was the smart-alack who asked how a wooden desk would keep us from burning to a cinder. As for the cafeteria, no hot lunch then; if you forgot your brown bag (no lunch money; you were not permitted to leave the premises) you might have been lucky enough to be escorted across the street to the convent for a PB&J sandwich. The uniforms were ghastly -- white shirt, dark maroon tie with the school shield on it, and dark grey slacks with black piping down the outside seam. Girls wore a white blouse with a snap tie, grey plaid skirt (that was always rolled up at the waist after leaving the house, and a matching bolero. Once out of sixth grade boys wore a blue plaid tie & girls could wear a -- *gasp* -- blouse of color. Reminds me of another picture here of young girls wearing skirts in the dead of winter; evil little Catholic boys that we were, we'd spend the lunch hour in the schoolyard assaulting the bare-legged victims by snapping rubber-bands on their frozen legs. Not non-conformism. Safety!I've worked at a school for years and even though I'm not much of a rebel, I've always backed into the parking space. The logic is simple: you have to back up when you arrive or when you leave, and it's safer to back *in* to a space when there are few or no children around (an hour or two before school starts) than to back *out* of a space when children are running all around at the end of the school day (of course, one should triple-check either time). I often back into shopping center parking spaces using the same reasoning: if there's no one around when I arrive, it's safer to back up then than later when there might be a lot of people about. I knew a man many years ago who fatally backed over his 4-year-old daughter in their driveway and that tragedy changed my thinking on this permanently. Reminds me of...Sutton Elementary School, southwest Houston, 1971 to 1973. The building was built in the late 50s and had those same big windows, but by that time we had the one piece metal desks with the big opening beneath for your books. Few years laterI was in the first grade in a Catholic school in NYC. We had fire drills but no under the desk kiss your butt goodbye stuff. Nuns ruled the roost in those days. Midget Gestapo agents all in black with a yardstick bigger than them which was used to get you back in line if you misbehaved. I remember the first day of 2nd grade while us kids were waiting for school to open and my mom approached me to wipe my nose and the nun smacked her hand saying "he belongs to us now!" Ah memories... Patty Duke, Ben Gazzara, Gene Hackman were some of the actors who lived in the area, Kips Bay, and might have even attended my school at one time. "Snaggletooth"I can sympathize with jimmylee42. I broke a front tooth in much the same way at my school in the fourth grade. It was the winter of '63-'64. When the weather was exceptionally cold, they would open the gym for the early kids to come inside before classes started. Although the details are vague now, someone said I was tripped by a bully while I was running around. In a family of four siblings my folks couldn't afford to get my missing tooth capped for years. So one of my nicknames throughout grade school was "Snaggletooth"... not one of my fonder memories. I finally got a white tooth cap just before I started senior high after we moved to Florida. I wonder how my Alabama classmates would remember me now? Yes, the Memories!I would have been right in this age range, near as I can tell from looking at the kids. That would have made it my first year out of parochial school, escaped from 4th grade under the rule(r)Sister Rita Jean, she who was Evil Incarnate. Best memory was teacher telling me, "David! Stop moving your desk around. It makes me think we're having an earthqu... Everyone - outside!!" DaveB WonderfulGrade school in Alexandria, Louisiana. Very familiar classrooms, with the good Nun up front to keep [or try to keep] us on the right path. Bayou View SchoolThis reminds me of Mrs Powell's 2nd grade class at Bayou View School in Gulfport, Ms, c.1955. Fast ForwardTwenty years later I attended a school built in the early 1940s. This reminds me of those old classrooms in some respects with the desks all lined up in rows, large windows and undoubtedly a large slate chalkboard just out of view. I notice that the teacher's chair is a sturdy wooden straight back chair - no comfortable office chairs here! Also, only a two drawer filing cabinet? I don't think I've ever seen one that small in a classroom. I teach school now and while this brings back memories (even the light fixtures), it's amazingly different today. Green ThumbThe teacher has quite a spartan setup, but I love the line of flowers along the windowsill! What a lovely touch that would be in a classroom. This was a fun photo and I enjoyed the comments. My parents were born in 1954 and I really like seeing and reading about what that might have been like. I grew up in that town!I didn't go to this school, but grew up in Smithtown--where this school actually was; not Hauppauge. I was in elementary from 1990-1995, when times were much different. As a teacher I love seeing how it was then. Love this photo but makes me sadIf I could push a button and go back in time and be someone someplace in the past, I'd be on my way to being one of the kids in that classroom. This is public school education when it was about education. (The Gallery, Education, Schools, Gottscho-Schleisner, Kids)
I.C.R.R.: 1942
... next to the Illinois Central track at the southern end in Louisiana. Even in the swamp, where I was, the railroad was very well ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/16/2024 - 4:47pm -

November 1942. "Chicago, Illinois. Locomotives in the Illinois Central railyard." Medium format acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Wowsers!A truly beautiful photograph: great subject, great composition, great light, great developing! Thank you, Shorpy - one of the finest photos you have published! Where's my time machine?I would go back to that exact place and time for a few minutes, not only for the sight but the sounds. I'd even bring along my 1937 Ikoflex, the same make and model as one of the cameras that Delano used. Was disappointed when they sold to Canadian NationalI lived most of my life right next to the Illinois Central track at the southern end in Louisiana. Even in the swamp, where I was, the railroad was very well maintained. I believe the sale to CN was in the '80s. I was sad to see it go. Paducahbuilt2530 is a heavy freight 4-8-2 Mountain type locomotive assembled by the IC in its own shops in Paducah, Kentucky, just before or in the early years of WWII. The large tender only has 2-axle trucks, but you can see that the top of the tender was modified to carry additional coal. Perhaps the small car between it and the next locomotive is an auxiliary tender to carry additional water. Huffing and Puffing American PowerGetting ready to go. Penny SmashersI'll never forget those Mountains southbound out of Louisville along US 31, thundering through Valley Station, Kentucky, headed to wherever our 12 year-old imaginations had them destined! Better Times on the HorizonThis is an extraordinarily powerful image. A dreary November Chicago day and a bleak unknown future for our county all less than one year after Pearl Harbor. But looking deep into this black and white photograph 80 years later, we can see the power and resiliency of our county with its manufacturing coming to life augmented by our massive railroad system. Mr. Delano scored a winner with this shot. (The Gallery, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Esplanade Ave.: 1910
... Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Louisiana's bi-centennial 1984 Louisiana World Exposition, in New Orleans , 100 years after the 1884 World ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/10/2017 - 4:19pm -

New Orleans circa 1910. "Gayarre Place monument, Esplanade Avenue." In its current incarnation, the monument's much-abused sculpture ("Peace, the Genius of History," originally displayed at the 1884 World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition) has regained an arm but lost the cherubs. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Louisiana's bi-centennial1984 Louisiana World Exposition, in New Orleans, 100 years after the 1884 World Cotton Centennial: (The Gallery, DPC, New Orleans)
Louisiana Noir: 1932
September 1932. "Louisiana State Capitol at Baton Rouge. Tower lights at night. Gov. O.K. Allen. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/10/2014 - 4:05pm -

September 1932. "Louisiana State Capitol at Baton Rouge. Tower lights at night. Gov. O.K. Allen. Weiss, Dreyfous & Seiferth, client." Where Huey Long was assassinated. Large-format negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. Period typicalThat looks very much like the Los Angeles City Hall. Or, particularly if there is an orange filter on the uplighting, the University of Texas Main Building (better known at The Tower). Both buildings date from the period of 1928-1934, although the UT Tower wasn't completed until 1937. Well, Martha, it's either the State Capitolor the Woolworth Building. Tower EnvyThe story goes that Huey Long liked the form of the Nebraska State Capitol (then under construction) but made sure his was going to be taller, which is why the one in Lincoln is the second tallest state capitol building. Every Building a PalaceThis is the kind of photo we Art Deco/Moderne fans live for -- an exceptionally beautiful twilight image, much enhanced by the framing provided by the shrubbery and the reflections in the water. UT TowerThe 1975 movie "The Deadly Tower" with Kurt Russell as Charles Whitman used this for UT Tower. The top portion of this is a polygon with many more faces than the square-shaped one in Austin so the drama of having to make the 90-degree turns at the corners on the deck as they approached Whitman is a bit muted. (The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner)
Picnic Munch: 1942
... Cola I didn't come along until 1957 and we lived in Louisiana, but one of the constants of my childhood (and there were not all ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2023 - 2:08pm -

July 1942. "Hayti, Missouri. Cotton Carnival picnic. Boy eating." Medium format acetate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Office of War Information. View full size. Returnable bottlesI remember when Coke bottles (and others too) were returnable for a deposit refund. The base of each bottle had the name of the city in which the bottle was manufactured. 2 cents worthThe glass in returnable bottles was heavy duty and the bottles were washed and refilled hundreds of times until they were too worn to use. When I was a kid we would collect bottles thrown from cars on the roadside, and pocketed the deposit money for candy. I remember getting 2 cents a bottle. Much later, distributors started using cheaper glass that could be thrown in the trash so the deposit system ended and our garbage multiplied. Coke ColaI didn't come along until 1957 and we lived in Louisiana, but one of the constants of my childhood (and there were not all that many) was the Coke Cola (that's what we always called it, both words, but phonetically it sounded more like ko-kola) in the little glass bottle. It was the ideal serving size. My maternal grandmother and her sister, my mother's Aunt Jenny, both had their fridges crammed full of these. At the festive holidays, everyone got a bottle with their meal. When you went for a visit any time of year, the grown-ups drank Community coffee made in small batches in tiny aluminum coffee pots while the kids were welcome to grab a Coke. Holding your own bottle and sipping it as you pleased without having to share with your sister was pure bliss, and is probably the one thing I most strongly associate with those people in that place at that time. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Small Towns)
Louisiana: c. 1880s
This has to be either Covington, Louisiana or New Orleans. My mother told me these are probably my great-great ... 
 
Posted by catsoldpics73 - 07/12/2011 - 4:08pm -

This has to be either Covington, Louisiana or New Orleans. My mother told me these are probably my great-great grandfather, John Mayne, and his wife, my great-great grandmother, Jessie Allan. They lived in both New Orleans and Covington. There is no writing on the back. He went to Trinity College in Dublin and was going to be a priest but decided not to and moved to New Orleans, where he met Scottish Presbtyrian lass, Jessie Allan. Jessie and her sister Johanna had come over from Scotland as very young women looking for their older brother after their parents died, or so the story goes. They never found their brother. Jessie met and married John. Johanna went back to Scotland. The kids were raised Catholic but Jessie remained Presbtyrian until on her deathbead, when she converted because she "wanted to be where her family was." View full size. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Woodlawn: 1938
Assumption Parish, Louisiana, 1938. "Woodlawn Plantation, Napoleonville vicinity. Built 1835 by Col. W.W. Pugh, first superintendent of schools in Louisiana." 8x10 inch negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. ... one farmer unafraid of ghosts. I like these shots of Louisiana you post. What a grand old home this was. Thanks Dave! ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/22/2012 - 4:44pm -

Assumption Parish, Louisiana, 1938. "Woodlawn Plantation, Napoleonville vicinity. Built 1835 by Col. W.W. Pugh, first superintendent of schools in Louisiana." 8x10 inch negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Laundry dayA couple of shirts between the two left columns. Inside viewWouldn't you love to look inside of this to see what remained after all those years? Do not strikeThat actually looks like a lightening rod, missing its fragile glass ball. Its two other friends on the roof ridge are a bit worse for wear. [Lightening: what happens when you diet or bleach your hair. Lightning: electricity from sky. - Dave] TotteringI once remarked to an elderly lady that the shed in her back yard looked like it was about to fall over. She said that it had been that way for years but it was still standing because the "termites were holding hands." Probably not a radio antennaMore likely, being 1938, a lightening rod. [Or a darkening rod. Radio had been around a long time in 1938. - Dave] Hey Good Buddy?It looks like a Star Duster™ CB antenna on the ridge of the weathered centermost building. Obviously it's not, but I wonder what it really is? [A radio antenna. - Dave] I dare youThis place looks so haunted you wouldn't want to go near it in broad daylight. It looks like loose hay spilling out of the windows of the smaller bookend buildings, so there must be at least one farmer unafraid of ghosts. I like these shots of Louisiana you post.What a grand old home this was. Thanks Dave! Porch-fallIf a porch falls and nobody hears it, does it make a sound? From stately to firewoodMy desktop copy of The History of Louisiana's Plantations tells me that much of Woodlawn's wood (probably a pun in there somewhere) as the structure moldered into the ground was used for firewood by cane field laborers. The property had 2,300 acres, 800 of them planted with sugar cane, so there were lots of folks looking for something to burn. But in its day, the place was something: According to Dr. Thomas Boyant Pugh of Napoleonville, Woodlawn was built by his father, William Whitmell Pugh, in 1840 and the wings were added after a second marriage to Josephine Nicholls in 1850. Woodlawn was not only modern in its planning, but we are told that the first installation of gas in Louisiana was in this house, as also a speaking tube from the dining room to the upstairs bedroom, and a bathroom, which was still a rarity at the time. More here. Hay thereLooks like the place was turned into a stable. A pretty faceInteresting how some of these old plantations are like Hollywood sets, all facade. Mon dieuC'est magnifique! Burned in 1962The word "rickety" must have been coined with this place in mind. Interior Photos!A few cool interior shots like this one can be found here. Magnificent yet heartbreakingly eerieMy great-grandfather was born into U.S. slavery on Woodlawn Plantation. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston)
Louisiana (Colorized): 1937
Colorized from this Shorpy original. My second attempt at colorizing. I think I'll try to do one every month. View full size. Keep Going joleine, please keep going. You are one of the Shorpy Colorists now. Excellent job on the u ... 
 
Posted by joleine - 06/05/2015 - 7:38pm -

Colorized from this Shorpy original. My second attempt at colorizing. I think I'll try to do one every month. View full size. Keep Goingjoleine, please keep going. You are one of the Shorpy Colorists now. Excellent job on the umbrella. Whatever technique you are using is working. (Colorized Photos)
Louisiana (Colorized): 1937
From this Shorpy original. The color gets a little compressed. I just thought she was beautiful and wanted to try colorizing. View full size. (Colorized Photos) ... 
 
Posted by Deborah - 02/15/2013 - 8:58pm -

From this Shorpy original. The color gets a little compressed. I just thought she was beautiful and wanted to try colorizing. View full size. (Colorized Photos)
Legal Briefs: 1925
... circa 1925. "Tepper Building, Standard Engraving Co., 470 Louisiana Avenue N.W." The Tepper family business is what you might call ... outside. One is wearing pumps. - Dave] Long gone Louisiana Avenue in the northwest quadrant of DC is just a short 3-block ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/12/2011 - 9:19pm -

Washington circa 1925. "Tepper Building, Standard Engraving Co., 470 Louisiana Avenue N.W." The Tepper family business is what you might call vertically integrated: Joe's law practice upstairs, above Saul's "Notions, Hosiery, Underwear." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Two for OneGet defended and hosed at the same time! (Does George Washington live next door?) HeadsThose two heads peering out of the Estes Building entrance give this photo a certain creepy effect. [Plus the three ghosts outside. One is wearing pumps. - Dave] Long goneLouisiana Avenue in the northwest quadrant of DC is just a short 3-block segment running from Constitution Avenue to Union Station, a stone's throw from the Capitol. "Legal Briefs"may be the very best of Dave's pun-ishments of Shorpy viewers! Keep 'em up!! [So to speak. - Dave] Tax BrassSign over the entrance to the building on the left: "Bureau of Internal Revenue," now known as the IRS. 1925 EssexThe car parked at the curb is a Second Series 1925 Essex 6 Coach, built after March of that year. Essex pioneered the first low priced closed car with the introduction of its five-passenger Coach in 1922, which was an immediate success. The 1925 Essex was the first closed car that sold for the same price as an open touring car. By October of '25 you could buy one of these cars for $765, which was only $105 more than the price of the Ford Fordor Sedan. Essex sold 159,634 cars in 1925. The old Louisiana AvenueBefore 1933, this block of Louisiana Avenue was adjacent to Judiciary Square - here it is on a 1911 map: The section of Louisiana south of Pennsylvania Avenue was built over during the construction of the Federal Triangle, prompting Louisiana senators to argue that the remaining, smaller road was an affront to their state's dignity (see "Fight Over Name of Thoroughfare Will Be Vigorous", 11/28/30 Washington Post). The name was being applied in its current location by 1933. The remaining stub of Louisiana became part of Indiana Avenue NW. The city bought the Tepper Building in December 1932 and condemned it to make way for the never-completed Municipal Center complex. I'm not sure when it was finally razed, but it's definitely gone now. Death and taxesThe building at left--462-464 Louisiana Ave., occupied here by the Bureau of Internal Revenue--housed the Army Medical School until its relocation to Walter Reed in 1922. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo)
Nawlins: 1903
... a few court proceedings and in "History of the Jews of Louisiana." By the breadth of the street, I would guess it's Canal. I ... Enjoyable challenge Although I've never been to Louisiana, some brief research indicates that this photo is of St. Charles ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 4:32pm -

Circa 1903. The caption for this glass negative has been misplaced -- who will be the first person to identify this city and its famous thoroughfare? UPDATE: And the answer is, as most guessers correctly guessed, Canal Street in New Orleans! 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Who Dat!Very apt posting a pic of old New Orleans here. If my Steelers can't win the Super Bowl this year, then Go Saints! Would it beNew Orleans? I think it is! Anytown, USAis New Orleans. Krower ClueLeonard Krower had a shop at 536-538 Canal Street in New Orleans. NewOrleans. Might it beCanal Street in New Orleans? Found this through google: http://www.neworleanspast.com/ads/id49.html Canal StreetCanal Street, in New Orleans. Personally, I've never been there, but searching for "Leonard Krower" shows he was a prominent jeweler in the city. New Orleans?http://files.usgwarchives.org/la/orleans/bios/p-000002.txt Never been there, don't know if it looks like it or not. Semi-wild guessMain Street in Charlottesville, Virginia. New OrleansS.E. Worms was a retailer and appears in a few court proceedings and in "History of the Jews of Louisiana." By the breadth of the street, I would guess it's Canal. I haven't found an address of Mr Worms' establishment. I do hope he renamed it at some point. "Hey, you like my Worm suit?" doesn't sound all that great. My GuessCanal Street, New Orleans. http://www.neworleanspast.com/ads/id49.html Yes, Canal St in N.O.http://www.hnoc.org/collections/gerpath/gersect5.html "Dalsheimer & Worms Notions & Gents. Furnishing Goods New York/New Orleans (Canal St.). Business form with elaborate letterhead. Acc. No. 1983.3.1." Looks Like...Canal Street, New Orleans Canal Street, New OrleansIt looks like thats Leonard Krower @ 536 Canal Street in New Orleans, LA (ad for them here: http://www.neworleanspast.com/ads/id49.html) Is this New Orleans?Canal Street. New Orleans?Leonard Krower Jewelers building was my clue. Anytown, USA, foundThis looks like New Orleans, LA., at least according to Google. S. E. Worms and Leonard Krower companies were both there in this time frame. New Orleans, LaWhat did I win? New OrleansCanal Street, New Orleans New Orleans!Looks like New Orleans, here's a pic http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt4b69p81d/?order=2&brand=calisphere Where is This?Canal Street, New Orleans Canal St. NOLALooks like Canal Street. A load of cotton seems to be in the middle of the pic. It could be ...Canal Street in New Orleans New OrleansNotions on 76 & 78 Canal Street. 19 streetcars!On Canal Street, New Orleans. Future Saints fansIt looked like a Southern city even before I saw the cotton bales. Most likely Canal Street in New Orleans. NOLA, maybe Krower Wholesale Jewelers (@ left) and the Bucklin Advertising Concern (obscured sign @ right) both appear to have been New Orleans firms. A few - not 100% convincing - Web sources put Krower at 111 Exchange Place (at Canal). My guess?Canal Street, New Orleans. Found this stereo photo from long ago ... http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt4b69p81d/?order=2&brand=calisphere Canal Street, New OrleansA Google search on '"S. E. Worms" notions' turned up this entry from Google Books on the undated (apparently late 1800s) book "New Orleans and the New South": http://books.google.com/books?id=xrY-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=%22S... The building's 76-78 Canal Street address is helpfully noted right under a charming blue-ink drawing on page 107 of the same building seen here in the photo. And for extra credit, here is a Google Street View of roughly the same address today: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=78+Canal+Street,+New+orleans,+la... Worming That's Canal Street in New Orleans. In the foreground we have 76-78 Canal, the former home of S. Dalsheimer & Co., which was illustrated in "New Orleans and the New South," by Andrew Morrison. Mr. S.E. Worms was the resident partner, and it looks like he took over the business eventually. "The engraving which illustrates this matter hardly does justice to the premises they occupy - premises themselves indicating a house which is conspicuous by reason of the business done by it throughout the trade territory of New Orleans." Some Google-triangulating suggests..Canal Street, Mew Orleans. It could be ...Canal street New Orleans La Identified by the streetcars, cotton bales and Searcy & Pfaff printer business. Future home of the Saints! Who Dat? Saints Alive!We're apparently seeing a scene from Leonard Street in bustling New Orleans. http://books.google.com/books?id=4yrZAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=%22l... Anyone from Nawlins able to tell us if that street's been renamed? Enjoyable challengeAlthough I've never been to Louisiana, some brief research indicates that this photo is of St. Charles Street in New Orleans. A Google search of Searcy and Pfaff printers (displayed here across a 3rd-story window) led to an incredibly-informative biography of William Pfaff. http://files.usgwarchives.org/la/orleans/bios/p-000002.txt "On November 1, 1889, Mr. Pfaff, then only eighteen years of age, became associated with his brother-in-law, David J. Searcy, in the operation of a little job printing establishment occupying one room on the third floor of a building on St. Charles Street, near Gravier." Could it be? Will some true New Orleans people confirm? I think I knowBy looking at that white building with the rounded corner, about a block from the Orpheus Theater, I would say this was Canal Street in New Orleans. If that building is on Carondelet Street, that's got to be it! H.B Stevens et alA short session of Google-business-name-triangulating suggests it's Canal Street, Mew Orleans. [Funny, you're the second cat to guess Mew Orleans. - Dave] Lovely Canal StreetI believe we are looking at Canal and Camp streets. View Larger Map ShreveportHow about Shreveport, La.? According to Shelden's Jobbing Trade & City Offices (published in 1901), the firm operated at 43 Leonard St. http://books.google.com/books?id=4yrZAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=%22S... Holy Toledo, I count 19 cable carson Canal Street. Business is good! [The number of cable cars in this photo is zero. These are electric streetcars. - Dave] Sharp ShorpiansShorpsters were once described by our host as "a school of fact-checking piranhas." I saw this pic about an hour after it was posted and there were already 37 guesses and most were correct. Way to go Shorpsters! I'm in awe!All you knowledgeable people impress me! Is that the spire from Saint Louis Cathedral visible behind the building that says H.B. Stevens? Is that fellow posing?Or is the fellow in shirtsleeves and a bowler, standing on the roof of the building behind Dalsheimer's, just getting a breath of air while enjoying the view? I never fail to marvel at the lack of vertigo apparent among some of the folks caught in these frozen moments. The window washers and roof-ridge-walkers couldn't possibly have realized that they were being included in a camera shot at the time the photograph was taken. Were people that much less fearless then? The spireBased on the time (just after 9 a.m.) and the shadow, the camera is pointing almost due west. So that cannot be St. Louis, which is east of this vantage point. Streetcars and SaintsI spent Christmas in New Orleans with the girlfriend, and was surprised to find out that the city has the oldest functioning streetcar system in the country -- when other cities began giving them up in the 1930s, N.O. hung onto its. And ... GEAUX SAINTS! A lifelong dream has been realized. VantageI think this photo was shot from atop the Custom House. It is looking towards the lake. The big building in the middle still stands at Carondelet and Canal. Find the building with the storm shutters, directly to the right of the picture, towards the bottom. It is the oldest building still standing on Canal Street. It is at the downriver, lakebound corner of Canal Street and Decatur Street. It is now a Wendy's or an Arby's. Great Birthday CityThis is one of the world's great party cities. In fact, next Tuesday Kairha and I embark on a 10 day road adventure, ending up in N.O. And I recently found out that on my birthday (Tuesday, week) the entire city has gotten together to organize a huge celebration for me! With parades and everything! What a city! CaryatidsLeonard Krower has a fine set of them holding up the roof. H.B. StevensH.B. Stevens (Est. 1860) merged with Porter's on Baronne Street to become Porter Stevens in the 1970s. It is the oldest men's clothing store in New Orleans. The building in the picture was built in the early 1880s. Here's another view of the same building. http://www.porterstevens.com/ Photo Taken from Stauffer, Eshleman & Co. Wholesale HardwareWe featured this picture as our weekly photo quiz on www.forensicgenealogy.info. Diane Burkett and Arthur Hartwell, a couple of our top Quizmasters, pointed out that the Godchaux tower was close to the photographer, and that there is no break in the awnings to indicate the picture was taken on the river side of the corner of Canal and Dorsiere Sts. Diane found that Godchaux's was then located at 527 Canal (the street has since been renumbered), and that the most likely location for the photographer was from the upper stories or roof of Stauffer, Eshleman & Co., 519 Canal St. This is now the location of the Marriott. Diane consulted the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps to come up with this conclusion. www.forensicgenealogy.info/contest_294_results.html I am from New Orleans, and have featured several NO pictures in my weekly quizzes. A couple have come from Shorpy. To see them, scroll down the answer page (linked above), and look for the box in the right margin near the bottom. Colleen Fitzpatrick Quizmaster General Forensic Genealogy www.forensicgenealogy.info Yes, Canal St New Orleans towards the RiverAs most figured, this is definitely view down Canal Street in New Orleans towards the lake. Several of these buildings still exist. At least one business also still exists: Werlein's Music (they moved to the other side of Canal after this photo was taken (that building now houses the Palace Cafe restaurant), and in the 1980's moved the suburbs. Note that drays are traveling in both directions on the downtown side of the neutral ground, a situation that lasted into the early automobile days. (The Gallery, DPC, Horses, New Orleans, Streetcars)
Grocery Run: 1940
July 1940. Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. "Mulattoes returning from town with groceries and supplies near ... have no rubber rims, there are no springs, either! Louisiana Creole Creoles in Louisiana are very proud of their heritage. There is a rather large community ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/05/2011 - 7:51pm -

July 1940. Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. "Mulattoes returning from town with groceries and supplies near Melrose." Medium format negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Reversal of FortuneInterestingly, the poor woman is without a hat, but wearing stockings; the poor men are without stockings, but wearing hats. The M-word"Mulattoes" meaning Creoles of various and diverse racial proportions, apparently. Not PCMulatto - now that's a word that's not used very often anymore!! (and with good reason) Mail runLooks like they also picked up the post, from the newspapers and such in the kid's hand. That was probably one bumpy ride. Not only do the tires have no rubber rims, there are no springs, either! Louisiana CreoleCreoles in Louisiana are very proud of their heritage. There is a rather large community around Natchitoches consisting of a number of families that have lived there for generations. If your curious, it's pronounced approximately "nack-a-dish." Isn't always pejorativeAt various times mulatto has meant anything from mixed white/African heritage to Eurasian. Until 1930 it was an official US census entry. Now it's more PC to say someone is mixed race, but a few years from now that may be considered an insult. It's just a word, the use of which can be useful or hurtful. Mulatto I've met a number of persons of color from New Orleans over the years. Many are VERY proud of the term "Mulatto" and are even more proud if they have the correct racial mix to call themselves a "Quadroon." The good folks in the photo appear to be a mixture of mulattos and quadroons. My spirit is transported"Supplies" apparently includes a gallon of 'shine. "Nack-a-dish."I've long wondered how that was pronounced! You learn something new every day on Shorpy! (The Gallery, M.P. Wolcott)
Cane Train: 1897
Circa 1897. "Cane fields in Louisiana." Glass negative by William Henry Jackson. View full size. ... my nose). Tastes like sugar. Beware the cane fields of Louisiana When our family lived in southern Louisiana for a while, we kids would play in the cane fields. I'd use my trusty ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/13/2020 - 2:21pm -

Circa 1897. "Cane fields in Louisiana." Glass negative by William Henry Jackson. View full size. The Cane MutinyAll six gentlemen of yesteryear seem to be glaring into the camera like, Fight Me. Also I have smelled sugar cane growing in the sun (albeit in Florida) and there is no smell like it. Your nose can sense the sweetness. Once, my mom gave me a piece to gnaw on (with my teeth, not my nose). Tastes like sugar. Beware the cane fields of LouisianaWhen our family lived in southern Louisiana for a while, we kids would play in the cane fields. I'd use my trusty Western Auto Barlow knife to cut sugarcane pieces for my pals and me to gnaw on. We quickly learned that snakes were abundant in those cane fields, and half of them were probably dangerous. All were alarming and I decided I'd didn't like sugarcane as much as I had thought I did. Col. Sanders... apparently moonlighted as a railroad worker. A little detective workI blew the photo up to read the initials on the tender's collar, and they are L.N.O. & T. The Louisville, New Orleans and Texas RR ran from Memphis to New Orleans, and became part of the Illinois Central in 1892. This is obviously not that main line, but a dirt track branchline in the sticks. The the crew seems to be in a siding, likely to wait for an opposing train on that rough looking "main track". In spite of the minor assignment this day, the No. 8 looks like a shiny bottle and probably the handiwork of her fireman. Her valve covers (just ahead of the side rods) proclaim her builder as Rogers. She's been around the block a few times, yet still has delicate pinstripes painted on the domes, and had been gussied up with that brass eagle on the sand dome cover, and appears to be in excellent mechanical shape. And that long shank link and pin coupler on the front confirms this shot is before 1900. Attitude 1890s styleI have no idea who the guy on the right is, But I am 100% certain that he is telling the photographer "I'm a mean son of a bitch and I haven't had my coffee yet. What was it you wanted?" No SurrenderShe's flying two white flags, which means she's an unscheduled extra. Possibly the photographer's special train? Maybe a photo taken by their passenger while they wait in the siding, or pulled-off in there to avoid fouling the main line while taking a picture. Canebrake Rattlesnakes are vicious.Those machetes that were used to cut sugarcane came in handy to dispatch rattlers and cottonmouths. (The Gallery, Agriculture, DPC, Railroads, W.H. Jackson)
New Denechaud: 1908
... [Horticulture a la Morticia Addams. - Dave] Louisiana We dont speak French here. We speak Cajun, a 200 year old ... Yes, shells on roof There are no stones in south Louisiana. Mollusk shells dredged from brackish Lake Pontchartrain were used as ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 4:24pm -

New Orleans circa 1908. "New Hotel Denechaud, Poydras Street." A century later, it's the hotel Le Pavillon. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Le PavillonMy wife and I stayed there several years ago, and we had dinner there just a few weeks ago. The dining room is on the ground floor in the corner nearest the camera. It's a very nice hotel with a unique touch. Every night at 11, they serve to the guests peanut butter sandwiches on silver trays, and hot chocolate from silver urns. But the people who work there apparently can't pronounce the name of the hotel with proper French diction. Creole, not CajunNew Orleans is not a "cajun" city. It is creole at best, and if anything most street names aren't pronounced correctly either. French diction?This isn't Paris -- it's Nawlins! CoverageAre those sea shells on the roof in the foreground? I believe most modern roofs use stones. Interesting. Very beautiful building! I can imagine how impressive it was at the time! Roof GardenIs that a little ivy garden boxes on the roof of the building in the corner? Sure looks it! [Horticulture a la Morticia Addams. - Dave] LouisianaWe dont speak French here. We speak Cajun, a 200 year old corruption of French, so don't expect proper French pronunciation. Early Sunday morningGiven the long shadows for the low sun and the orientation of Carroll Street, and the absence of anyone except the lone blurred horse and cart (deliveries), sure looks like an early Sunday shot to me. Real nice photo too! [Also note the shadowy figure in the alleyway. - Dave] Denechaud / DeSoto / Le PavillonIn between its opening as the Denechaud and the current name of Le Pavillon, for generations the hotel was known as the DeSoto. I recall when the question of correct pronunciation of "Le Pavillon" came up, a local old timer piped in "De Soda." The text on the back of the attached early 20th century postcard view of the lobby reads "$1,000,000.00 Hotel DE SOTO New Orleans. The ONLY ABSOLUTELY FIREPROOF HOTEL IN NEW ORLEANS. ALL OUTSIDE ROOMS. Famous for its Creole Cuisine. Rates $1.00 and Upwards." The lobby is still one of the most beautiful in the city. I believe the rates have gone up. Lots of charmLovely building! The chimney is blowing off quite some smoke - must have been a windy day!? Le Pavillon still looks charming today and, I just found out, seems to be famous for the occasional ghost apparition. Max Barnett Furniture Co.Max Barnett Furniture Co. can be seen in the background. It was established there on Poydras St. in 1899, and was located there until they moved in 1928. Smokestacks still thereThe two smokestacks are coal burning stacks, which were used for producing electricity until 1973. They are located in the 1200 block of South Peters Street. Maybe someone else can help identify the other tower, as it was prominent in the New Orleans skyline until a few years ago. Yes, shells on roofThere are no stones in south Louisiana. Mollusk shells dredged from brackish Lake Pontchartrain were used as gravel throughout the area until quite recently. Dredging in the Lake was banned in 1990 to reduce the turbidity and stirred-up pollution. The lake is now clean enough for swimming much of the time. I've also seen oyster shells used for gravel in NOLA. (The Gallery, DPC, New Orleans)
Uneeda Banana: 1921
... Fruit Co." Salvatore Scalco's produce business on Louisiana Avenue. National Photo glass negative. View full size. Banana ... Sure it's Washington? It is Lawrence Ave, not Louisiana - check out the canvas sign - and I can't locate a Lawrence Ave NW. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 11:31am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1921. "National Fruit Co." Salvatore Scalco's produce business on Louisiana Avenue. National Photo glass negative. View full size. Banana Benefit Washington Post, Nov 15, 1925 Sales of Bananas Net $100 For Red Cross About $100 was collected for the Red Cross yesterday by Salvadore Scalco, local fruit merchant, who auctioned a wagon load of bananas to government workers at the Munitions and Navy buildings. A crowd quickly gathered and purchased the fruit as Scalco, with true Italian fervor, delivered an impassioned plea in favor of the District roll call fund of the Red Cross. The groups of government employees appeared particularly impressed with the orator's eloquence after Gen. John A Johnston, chairman of the roll call for the District chapter of the Red Cross, explained that "this native Italian is doing this to show his gratitude toward the great country which gave him is opportunity." Scalco himself referred several times to his appreciation of the advantages accorded him by the United States. He said he had "not forgotten, either, the help the American Red Cross gave Italy." So enthusiastic was the auctioneer that many who came to stare remained to buy. Once a policeman, on duty in the vicinity of the Navy building, interrupted the speaker, but Scalco presented credentials from Maj. Hesse, superintendent of police, authorizing him to hold the banana sale. His cry of "Bananas! Buy a nice bunch for the benefit of the Red Cross!" sometimes brought more that a dollar for a single bunch of fruit. Last year Scalco held a similar sale for the Red Cross, netting about $200 to the organization fund. He did not appear entirely satisfied with the proceeds of yesterday's work, and promised the chairman of the roll call to arrange for another sale for the benefit of the organization. Years ago Scalco came to the United States as a poor immigrant. Today, he has established himself in a profitable fruit business, officials of the Red Cross stated. Annually, he holds a sale of bananas to evidence his appreciation of the opportunities afforded him here. Washington Post, Jan 31, 1926 Banana Ban Stirs City Fruit Dealer Salvatore Scalco, Head of the Largest Company here, Protests Ruling at Jail. Maj. W.L. Peak's reported ban against receipt of bananas by prisoners in the District jail has roused the ire of Salvatore Scalco, president of the National Fruit Co., Inc., one of the largest dealers in bananas in Washington. "Bananas," said Mr. Scalco, "are very nutritive, enjoyable fruit and are not more susceptible to being made carriers for hidden saws than apples and oranges may be made vehicles for poisons or what you will." Not content with his own efforts to have the ban raised, Mr. Scalco has forwarded to national fruit companies copies of the story printed in the Post and insists they get busy against the ban. "If bananas are left on the stalk nothing can be inserted in them without breaking the skin and this can be detected easily," he declared. Sure it's Washington?It is Lawrence Ave, not Louisiana - check out the canvas sign - and I can't locate a Lawrence Ave NW. Unless DC has changed street names..... The tag on the building sign says "OJ Guide CO. N.Y.". Now would they be painting walls in Washington? [You're confusing the name of a business with the name of the street. Lawrence, Abell & Co. was the wholesale grocer at 723 Louisiana Avenue. O.J. Gude (later General Outdoor) is the New York-based ad agency that sold space for the sign. - Dave] Gone BananasI believe those bananas on the cart are of the Gros Michel variety. Bigger and better tasting than the ones we find in the supermarket today. Apparently they are nearly extinct, victims of a banana disease. http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-06/can-fruit-be-saved I wish I could go back in time for a taste test. Back to old LouisianaAnother view of the "old" Louisiana Avenue, a section of which survives as Indiana Avenue NW: http://www.flickr.com/photos/57668330@N00/1638282582 It apparently had a long run as a hub for produce, dairy, and meat wholesalers - here's a view from 1906: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rock_creek/1637147041/ Salvatore ScalcoSalvatore Scalco was my Grandfather. Thank you for posting the articles about him. Joe TortoriceThis is amazing. My great grand uncle Joseph Tortorice was a banana deliveryman for National Fruit from the 1920s until sometime in the '30s. I wonder if that's him in the photo? (The Gallery, D.C., Horses, Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Normal: 1940
... to 'thumb' a ride home over the weekend near Natchitoches, Louisiana." Photo by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Louisiana State Normal School Northwestern State University in Natchitoches ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/27/2019 - 12:13pm -

June 1940. "College boy trying to 'thumb' a ride home over the weekend near Natchitoches, Louisiana." Photo by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Louisiana State Normal SchoolNorthwestern State University in Natchitoches was Louisiana Normal College until 1944. "Normal" indicated teacher-training; it came from French for accepted rules (norms), which is what teachers were supposed to teach. Judging a bookHe looks to be obnoxious company for a long car ride. I would speed by. College boyNo need for the caption to specify which person it’s referring to. Your ChoiceTruman Capote, or a possible Serial Killer. Caring for MotherNorman, however, will not be attending the Normal College. Amazing photoAlthough the college boy seems to be the important figure - for me it is the weedy man in the back. Who is he? What is he doing there? This weird posture, his hands - is rolling a cigarette perhaps? This photo is very poignant and a bit creepy at the same time. Definitely worth more than one look. (The Gallery, M.P. Wolcott, On the Road, Small Towns)
A Friendly Game: 1938
... 1938. "Game of coon-can in store near Reserve, Louisiana." 35mm negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. ... of a Smile That guy fancies his chances. Reserve, Louisiana I grew up in Reserve in the 1950's and '60's. I'd love to get some ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 6:36pm -

September 1938. "Game of coon-can in store near Reserve, Louisiana." 35mm negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Hint of a SmileThat guy fancies his chances. Reserve, LouisianaI grew up in Reserve in the 1950's and '60's. I'd love to get some old photos of Reserve pre-1960. Anyone out there got some? skippadeau@aol.com (The Gallery, Rural America, Russell Lee, Sports, Stores & Markets)
The Rookery: 1938
1938. St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. "The Rookery, Trepagnier House. Norco vicinity. Abandoned plantation ... that evolved in the extremely wet climate here in Louisiana. That's pure Louisiana Nothing to do with Palladianism. Sleep under the stars Do ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 11:03am -

1938. St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. "The Rookery, Trepagnier House. Norco vicinity. Abandoned plantation house now occupied by Negroes." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Whoa!I've been rooked! Trepagnier PlantationThe Trepagnier Plantation was expropriated, along with several others, by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers to build the Bonnet Carre' Spillway. http://www.pbase.com/septembermorn/image/99857528 Amazing perspectiveFrances Benjamin Johnston has definitely become my new favorite photographer. Her capture of dilapidated but still architecturally interesting buildings is beyond compare. While I'm sure this house was never grand, it was well-designed. I would love to have seen the inside of all of the homes FBJ photographed. Needs TLCThe stairs are the definition of negligence, and the porch roof isn't doing its job. Much. Now occupied by photographersInteresting to learn that Russell Lee also photographed this house. Too bad it's no longer available. Stranger than fiction"Always Something Interesting" just doesn't say it well enough. This is the fascinatingest image you have posted. Thanks, Dave, for such wonderful glimpses into our history that the books just don't cover. LaundryI'd guess that a laundress lives here, that the drying clothes are someone else's. Health and SafetyPersonally, I'd move the bed away from the area of the chimney. Wash n WearIf this photo was taken in the middle of summer, those clothes would be dry in no time flat! I know. I live here and it's normal for the summer days to be at 95 degees or more. Also from the tops of the trees, it looks like there might have been a recent hurricane pass through. That's about how they look after one. Fast Forward to...some areas in New Orleans, post Katrina, and there's not much difference! Looks like an old plantation house1700s. I see the timber/columbage construction...turned French columns. In a state of severe decay and I'm sure demolished today? Wash DayLooks like the washing machine works, but the dryer must be out of order. Need a new wordSubstandard doesn't quite work here. Ante-antebellumThat is the predecessor of the Palladian plantation houses you usually see in the Civil War movies. Notice the brick ground floor to protect against water, and the half timbered upper floor that still has some stucco that hasn't washed away yet. It's a combination of traditional European and African architecture that evolved in the extremely wet climate here in Louisiana. That's pure LouisianaNothing to do with Palladianism. Sleep under the starsDo you suppose that's for the cool night breeze, or out of fear of the roof collapsing while you are asleep? No CrackersThat's a Creole House! Yesiree. No white anglo-columns and palladian front doors here. Simple and breezy. It's trueWe may live in a dirty run down house, but gosh darnit our clothes are CLEAN! Tells a long and vast storySo correct about the laundress. This must be one of my very favorite photos seen on Shorpy. Top to bottom, what a picture! 1811 Revolt Trepagnier House was the primary site of an 1811 slave revolt that resulted in the killing of plantation owner Jean-François Trépagnier. Many of the descendants Trepagnier's slaves inhabited the plantation property years after the Civil War, well into the 20th century. Shell Chemical bought the plantation land in the 1950s, which is now the site of a refinery. The building was demolished at that time. Little boyI'm haunted by that beautiful little boy sitting on the stairs looking straight into the camera. Incredible to think that a slave revolt took place here. That's Creole, cherThis house is classic Creole architecture from the earliest years of the 1800s. To see an example of this style that isn't falling down, go to Laura Plantation, outside New Orleans. Trees and HurricanesThe records indicate a hurricane based through Morgan City on June 16th, 1934. This hurricane could have easily struck St. Charles Parish. At the same time, the trees haven't been seriously damaged in the past several years. Notice how fine the branches are on almost every major limb. I'm guessing they are just old trees. I'd also guess that if a hurricane had hit this area, the roof would be in much worse shape than it is. Don Hall Yreka, CA Re: 1811 Revolt Trepagnier House was a site along the way of a failed 1811 slave revolt that resulted in the murder of plantation owner Jean-François Trépagnier. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston)
Fais Do-Do: 1938
... fais-do-do at National Rice Festival ( video ). Crowley, Louisiana." View full size. Medium format negative by Russell Lee. Rice ... remind me of a flamenco dancer's costume. Crowley, Louisiana My wife's family is from Crowley, and not much has changed since ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/15/2008 - 1:00pm -

October 1938. "Cajun musicians at fais-do-do at National Rice Festival (video). Crowley, Louisiana." View full size. Medium format negative by Russell Lee. Rice Festival VideoFais Do-Do FiddlerThe fiddler has a great profile. And his waist looks to be about 28 inches! That's an unusual three-button waistband on his trousers. They remind me of a flamenco dancer's costume. Crowley, LouisianaMy wife's family is from Crowley, and not much has changed since this photo was taken. Her grandmother would have been 26 years old and probably at the festival. She loved to dance. I like the previous photos of this event as well. (The Gallery, Music, Russell Lee)
Vicksburg: 1910
... ♪♫ Way down around Vicksburg, around Louisiana Way...♪♫ ♪♫...lived a Cajun lady, we called her ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/15/2011 - 6:06pm -

Vicksburg, Mississippi, circa 1910. "Washington Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. TodayThe drugstore on the left has gone. The building on the right is still alive. Größere Kartenansicht ♪♫ Way down around Vicksburg, around Louisiana Way...♪♫♪♫...lived a Cajun lady, we called her Mississippi Queen...♪♫ *air guitar* (The Gallery, DPC, Vicksburg)
Birdman of Washington: 1915
... whose grocery ("fancy fruits and vegetables") was at 924 Louisiana Avenue N.W. Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size. ... is the P.K. Chaconas & Company (Inc.), at Ninth and Louisiana avenue northwest. Its officers, P.K. Chaconas, president; P.C. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/27/2012 - 11:52am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1915. "P.K. Chaconas Co. Market." Pictured: Proprietor George Chaconas, whose grocery ("fancy fruits and vegetables") was at 924 Louisiana Avenue N.W. Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size. Genuinely PleasantHow rare it is to see a sincere and guileless smile on a person's face. Such direct and genuous happiness is impossible to fake. This is a kind and happy man. Oldest Greek MarketWashington Post Jul 2, 1922 P.K. Chaconas & Co., Inc. The oldest established Greek-American firm in the Capital and probably the most prominent and successful one is the P.K. Chaconas & Company (Inc.), at Ninth and Louisiana avenue northwest. Its officers, P.K. Chaconas, president; P.C. Nicolopoulos, vice president; Chas. Chaconas, secretary and treasurer. E.G. Nicolopoulos and P.G. Xedes, founded the business seventeen years ago, dealing in fruits, vegetables and groceries. As the commission district grew, so did the company. Their slogan reads: "Honesty in all business dealings," and it is safe to say that is quite correct. The charter member of the firm, P.K. Chaconas, first started the business at 1440 P street northwest, near Riggs market, more than a quarter of a century back. The latter is accredited for having originated in Washington the store on wheels, more familiarly known as the huckster wagon. The aforementioned members of Chaconas & Company are active in all Greek-American affairs in business and society. Additional Notes: Moved to pictured location ("Pickford's Old Stand") circa November 1906. The location of Louisiana Ave has changed over time such that Ninth and Louisiana do not intersect on the contemporary map of Washington D.C. The location of this photo would be in what is now eastern edge of Federal Triangle - just west of the current National Archives building. Top portion of Washington Monument visible in backgroud. The Washington Post refers to "huckster wagons" as early as 1878 Earliest mention of 'Chaconas' in Washington Post archives is Aug 14, 1894: George Chaconas was fined (along with a dozen other Greeks and Italians) for lingering too long and obstructing the street with a vending push cart. This block of Louisiana Avenue is just west of Center Market and seems to have accommodated an overflow of merchants and wholesalers. 1909 map from Baist's Estate Atlas His wife, and fluffy bunnies, tooIs that his wife we see in the left-hand side of the frame? Also note the fresh rabbits, atop the open crates. PrideI see a man who is so very proud of what he has built up (I would bet from nothing) since he, or maybe his parents came to the United States. The Land of Opportunity. Yech.One would think he would stop smiling long enough to sweep that filthy sidewalk he is selling food on !! The Source of GreatnessI fully concur with Lincoln's remarks and would like to take it a step further. Small businesses (like this one) were/are the foundation for a community's and a country's greatness. His genuine happiness was surely the result of more than commercial success. We can learn a great deal by understanding the personal stories of such gentlemen and ladies. Local LandmarksNote the Washington Monument sticking up behind the roof. Xmas 1915I love the Christmas greenery. (The notice by the window is promoting a Charity Ball for Monday, January 3, 1916.) When I was a small child in the mid-1950's, my grandma used to go to a butcher where you could pick out your live chicken and they would kill, clean and dress it for you. This brings back memories. He does look like a happy man, as does she. What made America great!This is a beautiful picture of a man truly proud of what he does and where he does it. Trusting soulTwo cash registers, no waiting! I bet they wouldn't last two minutes out in the open street today. Haconas?The banner at the top center, under the overhang: we can see a partial K and a period, followed by HACONAS & CO. Where's the C? [The left section overlaps the right. - Dave] Central MarketIs this essentially part of the old Central Market? Deja viewIsn't this the same butcher shop that was proudly displaying a row of greasy old possums a couple of weeks ago? [That was in New York. This is Washington. - Dave] My great grandfatherThis is a photo of my great grandfather in front of the business that he built up from nothing. Although our times did not cross, I grew up with the family stories, seeing this picture is like getting a piece of my history. Where did you find this and do you have any others? [This photo is part of the Harris & Ewing collection of glass negatives at the Library of Congress. There's a photo of a Chaconas delivery truck here. - Dave] (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Stores & Markets)
Rice Creek: 1890s
... it Once Was Oh, for a time machine. "Down in Louisiana" Yes, I know this is Florida, but as soon as I clicked on ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/18/2014 - 12:31am -

Putnam County, Florida, circa 1890s. "Rice Creek near Brown's Landing." A tributary of the St. Johns River near Palatka. 8x10 inch glass negative by William Henry Jackson. View full size. Always the artistI'm most familiar with Jackson's Western photographs. He was such a consummate artist, and nowhere is this more obvious than in the composition of this photograph. Women and Children FirstBefore I left the shore in that canoe I would require three things: life jacket, large bailing bucket and a lifeboat. Make that four things-- a 16 oz. bottle of Alligator-B-Gone will come in handy. Good Deed Doers!My ex-wife, Beth Hollenbeck, runs an outfit called Eco-Action. And every weekend this group is out in their canoes hauling awful trash from these once pristine rivers in Florida. I had the honor of helping them one summer and taking photos. You can not believe what they haul out of these lovely waters! Been there. I was in this river recently and while I did not see a lot of trash, it certainly has changed. During spring break hundrerds of young people from the nearby college go in tubes and drink beer, smoke and play music... That is when, I guess the trash arrives.! Florida as it Once WasOh, for a time machine. "Down in Louisiana"Yes, I know this is Florida, but as soon as I clicked on "hi-def image" and the swamp drew me in, the lyrics to "Polk Salad Annie" by Tony Joe White (1968) popped into my mind, mainly those that say "where the alligators grow so mean" because this definitely depicts a swamp full of breeding alligators. New Orleans has similar scenes with Spanish moss and snakes draping the trees and heaven knows what may be lurking in the sultry stew of swamp water. I love all of the variety of moods and themes in America, but there is something so unique and special and earthy about the deep south, so very real and yet mysterious. It's great to be alive if you don't discuss politics. Good Deed Doers reduxOne afternoon of trash collecting and this was a slow day! Photo: Missing colorsHere's a photo that really needs colorizing. Vernacular WatercraftThat boat appears to be a dugout canoe slightly modified to be more rowboat-like, a fairly common type of craft at that place and time. Some were made into the 20th century. All it took was a cypress log, an axe, and time, all of which were in plentiful supply. At the far right, there's a tantalizing glimpse of dock pilings (Brown's Landing?) and the bow of a larger boat. I'd sure like a better look. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Florida, W.H. Jackson)
Ask About Our Brains: 1920
... of like Lite Butter or Shedd's Spread. Hanging on Old Louisiana Hoover & Denham was a meat distribution firm operating in the 900 block of Louisiana (now Indiana) Avenue NW. We've seen this neighborhood - a hub ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 8:12pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Hoover & Denham." Which is which, the caption doesn't say. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Butterinewas another name for margarine or oleomargarine, made from animal fats and offal. The dairy industry was naturally against it and various fights in legislatures were held trying to force butterine to be colored pink (pink being associated with sick cows' milk) or be marked "adulterated butter" and not served to unsuspecting diners without proper warning. Supermarket 101Hanging is a hind, short for hindquarter. Basic cuts from a hind include round steak, sirloin tip, porterhouse, T-bone, and tenderloin. Hinds typically weigh 160-180 pounds. On the left in the middle, you see the exposed chime bone, aka backbone. The horizontal line in the middle of the chime bone is the exposed spinal cord. The oyster is not what you think, it's actually a small cut from inside the pelvic bone and about the size and shape of a large oyster. I have no idea what butterine is. Twice TastyDoes anyone know what butterine is? It must be good, it's listed twice on the sign. BrainlessCalf brains used to be a delicacy in the South when I was a kid. My grandmother would buy them at the A&P to scramble with eggs. This was in the late 1950s, early '60s. We still can get pig tail, pig feet, tripe and smelt -- but, sadly, no brains. ButterineButterine is an old trade name for margarine, often made in those days using milk or beef tallow. BBQThere was a fire at Hoover & Denham in July 1918. ButterineIt's a mixture of animal fat and vegetable fat. Kind of like Lite Butter or Shedd's Spread. Hanging on Old LouisianaHoover & Denham was a meat distribution firm operating in the 900 block of Louisiana (now Indiana) Avenue NW. We've seen this neighborhood - a hub of meat and produce distribution for decades - several times before on Shorpy: https://www.shorpy.com/node/6379 https://www.shorpy.com/node/4607 1913What is that certificate in the frame? It has a date of 1913. And what look like tear-offs on the side. Looks like well aged beef. I'd sure like to have a chunk of one of those to throw on the barby. Yoe RockieWhere are ya at, in heah? (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
School's Out: 1942
... remember anyone without shoes in school, and I lived in Louisiana! The barefoot kids aren't carrying any shoes so I assume they came ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/11/2023 - 6:25pm -

July 1942. "Dunklin County, Missouri. Children leaving school." Acetate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Office of War Information. View full size. What a Great Photograph!Not much more to say than what a fabulous shot this is! A truly timeless photo especially when you consider it is over 80 years ago! That's a lot of kidsfor a rural area. From what I could find, the school building, and the school district is gone. But its memory lives on in its own Facebook page, Bucoda Public School District No. 57. Interesting reading. Shoes?I certainly went barefoot in the summer on occasion as a kid but I don't remember anyone without shoes in school, and I lived in Louisiana! The barefoot kids aren't carrying any shoes so I assume they came to school unshod? Happy DaysA smile on every face! As old as I am, I can still remember the feeling of bursting out of the schoolhouse for summer vacation. Wonderful feeling. What a variety of kids here. Some barefoot, some in bib overalls and all of them trim and slim. TV, phones and computers will change that. Enjoy the summer kids. [Actually these kids are just starting school. - Dave] Explosive joyWow, those kids are exploding out of that school! Such a high degree of happiness in every single face. What a crazy amount of energy. And I love the bare feet, too. Barefoot studentsI notice that several kids are running toward the camera barefooted. Would this be something common in the 1940's in Missouri. Might be fun, but in a crowd of running kids with mostly shoes on, I would have been worrying about my feet! Reminiscent of a Paul Detlefsen Painting Third ClassThe 102 by 80 foot building was still quite new in this picture, having opened in 1940. No mention if any of those feet were unshod. Many have commented on the youthful enthusiasm, but a 1929 article on attendance hints at the challenges in a poor, rural school of the period; the class sizes - first 51, second/third 32, fourth/fifth 30, sixth/seventh/eighth 47, HS 7 - might seem bizarre until one realizes why: people dropped out (the huge dip after first shows how many and how early.) Unlike today, where school is seen as a place to escape from, it must have been a place to escape to...albeit briefly. Bucoda AlumsI gather the school itself is gone, but there is an active Facebook group for alums: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1219721161462592 (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Education, Schools, Kids)
Shorpy Higginbotham: 1910
... were in old age they moved with with their sons to the new Louisiana Territory, E. Feliciana Parish. My gggfather was Caleb Higginbotham ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/14/2022 - 3:03pm -

December 1910. "Shorpy Higginbotham, a 'greaser' on the tipple at Bessie Mine, of the Sloss-Sheffield Steel and Iron Co. in Alabama. Said he was 14 years old, but it is doubtful. Carries two heavy pails of grease, and is often in danger of being run over by the coal cars." Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Shorpy storyThe story about this boy makes me so sad. The photo is so strong. Esthetically - wonderful - artistic movie like. Thanks for sharing it with all of us. Tamara Razov. His armsThose are the roughest part--it appears that they're rather permanently in that position. Notice His Hands...You can tell Shorpy worked very hard. His hands look like the hands of a 40 year old man, not a 14 year old boy. His arms do appear to be permanently bowed out and his shoulders are sloped from carrying the heavy buckets. How we could ever have gotten to this point in our society is beyond me. Thank goodness for the progressive people back then who put a stop to such practices and gave kids like Shorpy their childhoods. omg. after seeing theseomg. after seeing these pictures, its so hard to believe how far we have gone and what todays world is like compared to back then. The question is, what would they think if they saw what the world was like today and how people are living?! (perfect example, we now have cars that drive for us!!!) Shorpy and child laborThe pictures were taken only 30 years before I was born. When I was 14 I needed a State of California Work Permit in order to get a summer job (picking cotton). We could quit school at 16. I didn't do that but many did. Thank God for the reformers in the early 20th century! "The golf links lie so near the mill that almost every day, the working children can look out and watch the men at play." Don Lest we forgetIt is easy to forget from the perspective of our comfortable North American lifestyles that in many places in the world, child labor still runs rampant, not because families want their children to work endless hours in deplorable conditions, but because their very existence depends on the meager income the children earn. Let's not become too complacent and self-satisfied that we've "progressed" beyond the conditions of the early 20th century until we've globally eradicated those same conditions that continue to exist today. picture from a greaser kid... ... cause of his size he was able to easily go inside all the mechanics stuff.. they see it as a game... some great technologics developments were the outcome of that work-players boys... thats the good one... the bad one is that some of them never play again... So great wonder!Really I'm so scare about you beautiful eye-moment, serious, I think in a lot of stuff's, that amazing like a time capsule... Don't have the exactly words for tell you my reasons... make my day theses snaps. I hope back soon. Carlos "Cx" Shorpy's contemporariesA ten-year-old working in the mines was not unusual. My grandfather was born in 1896 and started in the mines at age ten. He worked for Tennessee Coal and Iron in Jefferson County, Alabama. After his back was broke in a mine accident and suffering from years of black-lung he lived to 84. This was before welfareAmerica is still the greatest place in the world to give. I have traveled to a lot of countries. Yes, they have their pluses, but even the poorest americans live better than 99% of the worlds population. Shorpy HigginbothamI wonder if anyone knows where Shorpy Higginbotham's grandfather, Robert Higginbotham, is buried. Robert Higginbotham is my Great Great Grandfather. Kenny Brown twotreesklb@aol.com Shorpy, descendant of Revolutionary War SoldierShorpy was my father's (Roy Higginbotham's) uncle, a younger brother of my grandfather, John W. Dolphus Higginbotham. Their ancestor Robert Higginbotham was a Revolutionary War soldier who fought in the Battle of King's Mountain. He died in Huntsville, Alabama, where he farmed for many years. He is buried on his farm and the Huntsville D.A.R. had a ceremony a few years ago at his grave site. There is another Robert B. Higginbotham (also a descendant of Robt. Sr.), buried in Remlap, Alabama, I think, but I don't recall him having an intact headstone. [P.H., thanks for the information. You have a fascinating family history. - Ken] ShorpyI found him, he is one of my cousins. Henry Sharp Higginbotham b 23 Nov 1896 d. 25 jan 1928, son of Felix Milton Higginbotham and Mary Jane Graham. We descend from the Amherst Co. Virginia Higginbothams. my line was Benjamin Higginbotham who m. Elizabeth Graves and d. 1791 in Elbert Co. GA. Then his son Francis Higgginbotham m. Dolly Gatewood. When they were in old age they moved with with their sons to the new Louisiana Territory, E. Feliciana Parish. My gggfather was Caleb Higginbotham and gggmother was Minerva Ann Bryant of the Manakintown, VA hugenot BRIANT. All the Higginbothams and Bryant sons fought in the Rev. War. My gggg William Guerant Bryant and his brother John, his father, James and Uncle Isaac and Isaac's son James and His Uncle Thomas were all in the battle of Guilford Court House NC 25 Mar 1781. Thomas was killed and Isaac wounded in the head. Bessie Mine?One of the first posters said that Bessie Mine may still be operational. Is that true? When I look it up online, nothing much comes up. I'd love to see some more pictures of the mine, though, and learn a little more about it! Bessie MineBessie Mine appears to be closed. Information available online shows that the current owner, US Pipe, has filed an application to use the area as a landfill. My grandfather worked at Bessie and other mines in west Jefferson County. He would have been about Shorpy's age but didn't start to work there until he was 18 or so. After a couple of years working in the pits, he was able to get a position tending the generators and never had to work underground again. Then and NowI don't want to go back to the "good old days." But everybody should "work" at least a few days (e.g. move a lot of force through a lot of distance all day while either sweating or freezing, dirty, dog-tired, with something aching). Maybe a kid who did some of this stuff will better appreciate the real things in life rather than Britney, American Idol, text messaging, and Fifty-Cent rap. I'm glad i did - but not too much! In my younger days, I harvested tobacco, hauled hay, milked cows, moved gravel from a creek bed to the barnyard in a mule wagon, picked potatoes behind a mule plow, budded peach seedlings and harvested nursery stock on cold rainy January days. These are cherished memories working with my kinfolk on their farms. I'm glad I did it! I've rolled cement up a hill in a wheelbarrow and finished it, framed and built buildings, plumbed and wired, and swapped greasy motors in cars. It all pays off as I can save money as a do-it-yourselfer. And it paid off as an incentive to study and go to college so I didn't have to do it for a living! Looking at these pictures, I don't feel sorry for the people in them as I don't think they knew how "bad off" they were. So they were not! However, I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for our hard-working ancestors, my aunts and uncles, and cousins. Roy HigginbothamWas your father the Roy Higginbotham who was principal of Minor Elementary School in the 60's and 70's? martyshoemaker@hotmail.com Bessie Mine Locationhttp://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCC&cp=33.657286~-87.03305... Clyde Donald HiggI am also related to the Higg from Va, and also the ones from Ireland. I just loved this about Shorpy Higg. I am still trying to locate more information on the Higg from Ind. where my father was from, his father was Luther, and his father was George. My father's name was Clyde Donald Higg. cindykpiper@aol.com [So you mean Higg, or Higginbotham? - Dave] Feel sorry for us!>> Looking at these pictures, I don't feel sorry for the people in them as I don't think they knew how "bad off" they were. I don't feel sorry for them either. I feel sorry for us, the younger generations. We have no idea what real, consistent hard work is. With the way things are going I desperately want to know someone who has lived the hard life, maybe lived through the Depression but no one is around to glean from. I just turned 33 years old but I see the wisdom in searching out the generation. I have even written my husbands Grandmother for advice but she is too busy to share her knowledge. I don't wish evil for our great country but it might do us some good to have to experience hardship to get our act together. For me, I grew up without hot water, sometimes the electric was shut off, rarely a car and I can tell many a story about cleaning clothes in a wringer washer in the middle of Missouri's wicked winter temps - outside at that. But I still know I have so much more to learn. Roy Higginbotham>> Was your father the Roy Higginbotham who was principal of Minor Elementary School in the 60's and 70's? That particular Roy Higginbotham was not my father, although I had heard about him from my cousins who still lived in the area. No doubt he is related in some way. My father (Roy) was also a coal miner in his younger days like his father and uncles. He died in 1961 at the age of 46. I remember my grandfather John talking about his brother "Sharpe" and how someone "took his picture" when he was a young boy working in the mines. Sorry it took so long for me to reply. Bessie MineI live a few blocks from the mine. It was just off Rt 150 in Bessemer. The mine complex was left intact and abandoned since the 1950's until the buildings were cleared in 2009. I did photograph it before it was destroyed. Happy Birthday Shorpy!Thank you for diligently updating and uploading. I know it takes a lot of time to run a website like this, and I for one am grateful for your efforts, Dave. Thank you! Shorpy Higginbotham: 1910This is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. For those who have not seen it, here is my story of Henry Sharp Higginbotham. http://morningsonmaplestreet.com/2014/11/26/henry-s-higginbotham-page-on... Happy Birthday, Shorpy.com!I've been visiting since day one, so what else can I say? I love this site! Keep up the great work! Daily DoseHappy Birthday Shorpy! You are a part of my daily ritual since you began and I look forward to checking this site as often as time permits. I've learned a great deal since you began these wonderful posts. Thanks gang, and many more! My 2 cents worthI'm just a pup here, having only been on board for a year and a half. Thank you Dave, Ken, tterrace and all who do such a great job on this site. To all the Shorpyites who add so much extra via comments, links and other added information, you all get a big "Attaboy". Thanks to one and all. Happy birthday! Thanks for a Great Five YearsYour very skilled and hard work, along with your thoughtful selection of the right moments from the past is greatly appreciated, Thank You! George Widman A treat each and every dayA great website that really is quite a treat each day,and I never can wait until another post,and the comments are always entertaining. Thank you for 5 years of hard work. I know I used to blog and I know it's something you dedicate yourself to. The best photo blogI'm so glad you've kept it going. Yours is the best one out there. I enjoy how your selection of photographs cover the gamut. They may be from a particular era but not from a particular style or emotion. RemindersThanks to you all for these incredible photos--wonderful work! Some remind me of my own childhood in the south and I have photos, too. My grandmother worked in a textile mill when she was 12, around 1912, never had much schooling, and married at 16. She told me stories of the Depression, when she had 6 children to raise by herself. A wonderful person who was a huge presence in my life, esp when my mother died in 1948, poor and in ill health. In 1955, my first job was at the five and dime at age 14 on Fri night and all day Sat for a grand total of $4.50. Thank you again for the reminders of how it used to be, although I wouldn't want to repeat history. Thanks!Thank you Shorpy and thank you shorpy.com Fast Math"photographed by Lewis Hine 117 years ago" 107 plus 10 years of blogging, er, fast-forwarding gets you 117. Still the best site on the web. Shorpy is my Great UncleHi my name is Timothy Williams, great grandson of Joseph James Williams, who was husband of Susie Higginbotham-Williams, sister of Henry Sharp "Shorpy" Higginbotham. Oddly as it may sound; although, probably not shocking, I think my family might have married into the Higginbotham's more than once. My father was a Williams and my mother was a Higginbotham too. Anyways, It is my honor to share this with you all and I am happy to have found this website and I am so happy to look upon these pictures of one of my family members. I am proud to know he is my kin. While I am not a historian, I have majored in enough history classes, that I could probably teach it at some level. My family ancestry dates back to England and Scotland. I have a Robert B Higginbotham in my family that the Daughters of Revolution, found a grave marker years ago. He was a Revolutionary War hero. I don't know how they would be related, even if they are. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/28768283/robert-higginbotham (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine, Mining)
3rd Int'l Pageant of Pulchritude
... - Ethel Mae Frette KENTUCKY - Vergie H. Hendricks LOUISIANA - Evelyn Smith MINNESOTA - Delores Davitt MISSISSIPPI - Louise ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/07/2011 - 5:40pm -

Third International Pageant of Pulchritude and Ninth Annual Bathing Girl Revue, June 1928. Galveston, Texas. View full size. Proto Emo GirlI think I'm in love with the clad-in-black Miss New Jersey. Meanwhile Miss Nebraska is expressing the love whose name cannot be spoken for Miss Wisconsin. Congratulations to Miss St.Congratulations to Miss St. Louis, 42nd runner-up. Mrs?Shouldn't that be "Mr. France". Oofah! HuhI like how we range from Miss Biloxi to Miss England. I'm surprised we didn't have Miss 22nd Street and Miss Asia, too. By the way, I know standards of beauty have changed, and the women in pageants today are not necessarily more or less attractive, but Miss St. Louis was a beast. I'm sorry, there had to be some corruption in that contest. Miss St. LouisBut look at her body. It's all about the body. NiceMiss Mississippi is fine... Hm.Objectifying women across the centuries! Coincidence??Miss France and her predecessor. Different hats, but that nose ... eerie, huh? Miss St. LouisWhat's the problem with her? Look at her smile... Miss MilwaukeeAll the way ! A beauty any man could fall in love with. Funny that......I was thinking the same about that bloke dressed up as Miss St Louis... SeawallSo they stuck the out-of-town contestants on the beach for the group photo, while the oglers watch from the seawall? Those Galvestonians learned something from that hurricane! Fun, Best Legs, Shock JockMiss California gets my vote, she's looks like alot of fun! Miss Utah has the best legs, and Miss St. Louis is Howard Stern in a bathing suit. PoPI swear Miss Greater New York is winking. Fabulous. Roaring 20's!See the trends move fast near the end of the decade. Some areas chose slimmer gals that appear to better fit the Flapper styles of the times. Many men of the day would see Miss Austin as being horribly sickly, but today she would have the attributes of a runway model! And yes, Miss CA is absolutely adorable, and the St. Louis pageant must have had very few contestants. Miss OhioI think Miss Ohio cornered the Amish vote. Miss Utah is one cute little Mormon pixie, working her flirt something fierce- that girl you could paste into a modern photo and nobody would think twice about it. It's funny how wildly different they all look- a modern contest the girls would all look more or less the same. This photo is a crazy assortment of beauties & cuties, geek girls, dorks, farm girls, prom queens, and linebackers. Awesome! Lots of Fine Choices in Girls Here ...Take a close look at Miss Pennsylvania. She's showing off some ummmmm talents. Not too shabby. And she is the only one with those. But it seems she and Miss Ohio are wanting to trip the light fantastic. So she's likely spoken for, unless a threesome would work. I have to agree, Miss California looks like a good candidate. Also check Miss Colorado, pretty cute looking although zero to concave up topside. But clearly this whole contest is rigged, considering Miss St. Louis and Miss France. Holy cow! Either one would be worth chewing your arm off if you woke up next to them with it stuck underneath. They must have done multiple special couch sessions with a bag over their head and paid a bunch of cash just to get into this line up. What on Miss Spain's forehead? Is that the reset button? 1st Prize to Miss BiloxiShe's quite alluring, but does need to work on her posture. Honorable mentions to Miss San Antonio (very cute), Miss Belgium (best smile), and Miss NY State (quite sexy even by 2009 standards). And I agree, Nebraska's totally putting the moves on Wisconsin. But so would I. Pennsylvania and Ohio must be roommates. Yeah, that's it. Roommates. BZZZT! and the correct answer is...Miss Chicago. hubba... First Runner-UpRaymonde Allain, Miss France 1927, became an actress -- the Internet Movie Database lists her as appearing in 10 films and (in 1974) a television show. She also wrote a book in 1933, "Histoire vraie d'un prix de beaute?" ("True story of a price for beauty"). She married the pianist and composer Alec Siniavine, who composed a love song for her during the Nazi occupation, "Attends moi mon amour." Siniavine also played in a quartet with Django Reinhardt in 1934. [Miss Allain to the New York Times in 1928: "It is certainly great to be beautiful." - Dave] "Galveston Bathing Beauties"The event lasted from 1920 to 1931, when the Morality Police had it shut down for showing too much leg. Miss Chicago took 1st in 1928 and Miss France took 2nd which obviously means ... Miss Missouri was ROBBED!!! Come on, Miss Missouri had the whole package yet she didn't even finish in the top 10?!! Results 1 UNITED STATES - Ella Van Hueson (Miss Chicago) 2 FRANCE - Raymonde Allain 3 ITALY - Livia Marracci 4 COLORADO - Mildred Ellene Golden 5 WEST VIRGINIA - Audrey Reilley 6 CANADA - Irene Hill 7 LUXEMBOURG - Anna Friedrich 8 OHIO - Mary Horlocker 9 SAN ANTONIO (TX) - Anna Debrow 10 TULSA (OK) - Helen Paris Contestants Foreign BELGIUM - Anne Koyaert CANADA - Irene Hill CUBA - Nila Garrido ENGLAND - Nonni Shields FRANCE - Raymonde Allain GERMANY - Hella Hoffman ITALY - Livia Marracci LUXEMBOURG - Anna Friedrich MEXICO - Maria Teresa de Landa SPAIN - Agueda Adorna USA states or regions CALIFORNIA - Geraldine Grimsley COLORADO - Mildred Golden CONNECTICUT - Mary Deano INDIANA - Betty Dumpres IOWA - Ethel Mae Frette KENTUCKY - Vergie H. Hendricks LOUISIANA - Evelyn Smith MINNESOTA - Delores Davitt MISSISSIPPI - Louise Fayard MISSOURI - Margaret Woods NEBRASKA - Bernice Graf NEW JERSEY - Elizabeth K. Smith NEW YORK STATE - Winnifred Watson OHIO - Mary Horlocker PENNSYLVANIA - Anna Dubin UTAH - Eldora Pence WEST VIRGINIA - Audrey Reilley WISCONSIN - Betty Porter USA cities AUSTIN (TX) - Irene Wilson BILOXI (MS) - Fleeta Doyle CHICAGO (IL) - Ella Van Hueson DALLAS (TX) - Hazel Peck FORT WORTH (TX) - Cleo Belle Marshall GREATER NEW YORK (NY) - Isabel Waldner HOUSTON (TX) - Katherine Miller LITTLE ROCK (AR) - Frances McCroskey MILWAUKEE (WI) NEW ORLEANS (LA) - Georgia Payne OKLAHOMA CITY (OK) - Mary Kate Drew SAN ANTONIO (TX) - Anna Debrow ST. LOUIS (MO) - Eunice Gerling TULSA (OK) - Helen Paris http://www.pageantopolis.com/international/universe_1920.htm Now you've got some names to go with the faces. [What was at stake was no less than the title of Miss Universe. Controversy erupted when Miss France, Raymonde Allain, came in second to an American girl. - Dave] Pageant of Pulchritude 2009Seems like the pageant once again is on, after 77 years absence. Found this http://www.houstonpress.com/slideshow/view/13011295 Butter faceis what we would call Miss St. Louis nowadays. Miss Puffsylvania gets my trophy! (The Gallery, Pretty Girls, Swimming)
Barbershop Row: 1936
... in ol' downtown Vicksburg today on the way back East from Louisiana and thought of this series of photos on Shorpy as I was shaking the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/06/2023 - 3:55pm -

March 1936. Vicksburg, Mississippi. "Vicksburg Negroes and shop front." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. American Pie 2I think that's a '29 Chevy. The 1930 models were very similar, but the windshield was tilted back ever so slightly. Something Going OnDown the street How did they do it?The detail is wonderful as usual but I'm amazed at the tonal range in this and the previous photographs. The people on the shopfronts are in full sun yet you can still read the circus poster in the shadow inside the open door. I could do this digitally but it would take a lot of work. The photographers really knew their stuff. [Having a negative the size of a windowpane helps. - Dave] Let the Devil take your cold666 for colds and fever. Not the marketing name I'd pick, but the company is still in business. Reminiscent of "Porgy and Bess"This photo and the previous one "Sweet Home Alabama" both immediately reminded me of the scenes from 1959's Otto Preminger UNFORGETTABLE film named above starring Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge and an all-star cast of outstanding African-American talents. At the time, there were some protests that the characters were Negro stereotypes which offended some African-Americans, but to this "sheltered life" caucasion Caucasian (me), they were incredibly strong, spirited, deeply emotional and never-to-be-forgotten people who have stayed with me all these years. I think it was one of the best movies EVER, in spite of all the controversy it provoked. The street in the movie was CATFISH ROW and the characters were largely fishermen who sold their wares but in my opinion, it opened up a whole new way to tell a story with music. Cannot believe it was fifty years ago. Just outside frame left:Robert Johnson unpacks his guitar and gets ready to entertain the men on barbershop row. 668The neighbour of the beast. American PieChevy with California plates. What year is the car? Monticello Drug Co.666 cold preparation and cold tablets are still made by Monticello Drug Co. Founded in 1908 by Tharp and Thurston Roberts, who "obtained a patent on a prescription known as Roberts Remedies #666. This prescription with a high concentration of quinine within the ingredients became the best selling remedy for malaria, chills, fever, influenza, colds, constipation, and bilious headaches. The 666 lines included the liquid, tablets, salve, and nose drops." "During the depression years, the business continued to grow in spite of the economic situation because the medicine was kept available and affordable. Dr. Roberts was once asked, “How can you make any money when you are only asking 25 cents and 35 cents a bottle?” He answered, "You sell a lot of bottles"; and that he did." 666 for colds666 for colds was manufactured in Jacksonville Florida, the factory (no longer there) at the foot of the old Acosta bridge (also no longer there) I think it was grain alcohol and creosote, or something equally nasty. It must have been sold throughout the South. Odd name for a cold remedy from the heart of the Bible Belt. Barbershop QuartetBy my count, four out of five stores shown in the photograph are barbershops. Today, in the mid-size city in South Carolina that I live in there is a short line, about a half block long, of five or so brick buildings of which I can remember only one not containing a barber or beauty shop. The lone holdout was a pawn shop. So what is with this clustering of barbershops? Whoa!I'm getting dizzy looking at these buildings 666You may scoff at the name, but 666 cough syrup is still hugely popular in the black community. A lot of white people have no idea what it is. The first time someone asked for it at the drug store I work for, I had no clue. Vicksburg BluesThis would make a great cover for a Delta Blues album. Maybe it already did. 666 for Colds Fever666 is such a big deal now; I wonder if it was in 1936. Red, white, red, white, etc.Clever paint scheme on the barber shop. Dilapidated Much?I find the photo very intriguing. Even being from the South I've never seen anything like that, things were so much different back then. Helluva ColdThat would have to be one devilish cold or fever for me to take "666" brand liquid, tablets or salve. Regarding the cluster of BarbershopsMy guess is that unlike more affluent establishments, each of these shops probably had one chair and one barber. So if one guy was busy, you'd go to the next. If they weren't near each other, you'd be more inclined to wait for your guy to free up. This way, everyone gets some bidness. The FactoryTaken in Jacksonville around 1980. VburgMy wife and sister-in-law inform me that this was at 1004-1006 Washington Street in Vicksburg, next to the river. Off-frame to the right would be the intersection with Jackson Street. Today it's an empty lot. The barely visible building in the background is the railroad depot. The Nassours, who owned the grocery, are still a prominent family in town. If you go to Vicksburg today, look for a pink-and-white building at 2710 Washington Street -- the "Nappie Roots Styling Salon." I kid you not. VicksburgThanks for that info about where this photo was taken. As a grad student, I lived near the corner of Monroe and Jackson for one summer while working at the Waterways Experiment Station. Although living in this "city" was quite the culture shock for a native New Englander like me, it didn't look nearly as run-down as this picture. AhaMy aunt has a painting in her living room of a country road with an old barn in the background and on one of the trees is a sign with the 666 on it. I always wondered why it had that number on it and why she'd want that number in her living room. Now I see it was just a weird name for a cough syrup. Roberts Remedies No. 666I stumbled upon your website while researching a bottle that I found recently. It is an old bottle with a cork stopper and the label (mostly intact) for Roberts Remedies No. 666 from the Monticello Drug Co. It sold for 50 cents. I found the "General Directions" interesting: One teaspoonful in water every three hours until it acts well, then three times a day. As cure for Malaria, One Tablespoonful in water every three hours for three days, then three times a day for eight weeks. CHILDREN IN PROPORTION TO AGE. Vicksburg Red Beans and RiceHad lunch (Red Beans and Rice) in ol' downtown Vicksburg today on the way back East from Louisiana and thought of this series of photos on Shorpy as I was shaking the Tabasco into the plate. Could have used a trim too. More than 15 times as effective as Vick's Formula 44 (The Gallery, Stores & Markets, Vicksburg, Walker Evans)
Soldiers Welcome: 1940
... "Construction of Army training camps around Alexandria, Louisiana. East Side Cafe with rooms for rent, 'Soldiers Welcome,' on highway ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/30/2023 - 4:40pm -

December 1940. "Construction of Army training camps around Alexandria, Louisiana. East Side Cafe with rooms for rent, 'Soldiers Welcome,' on highway to Camp Livingston." Acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Dick Whitmanor Donald Draper? Alternate-take photobomb Hello, Danny, come and eat with us.Did the girls from "The Shining" take a job as waitresses? Now Fort JohnsonThose Army training camps around Alexandria eventually consolidated into what was known as Fort Polk, and now known as Fort Johnson. I remember "visiting" Fort Polk when I was on active duty for a training exercise. Sand, pine trees, ticks and chiggers, along with heat and humidity. 904 Main Street, PinevilleAlexandria has no Main Street, but Pineville, just across the Red River, does. 904 Main Street lies on Military Highway, as the caption implies, and is now the City Court. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, M.P. Wolcott, WW2)
Filigree: 1937
... the tourist trade by Helen Pitkin Schertz, "Legends of Louisiana," published by the New Orleans Journal. A photo of the mansion in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 4:36pm -

New Orleans, 1937. "Le Pretre Mansion, 716 Dauphine Street, built 1835-6. Joseph Saba house." Another look at the so-called Sultan's Palace, last seen here. 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Stripped down archictureIf you take off the wrought iron latticework, you would have a very plain looking building. No detailing around any of the windows, no cornicework. It would pass as some other warehouse down by the river. The owners must have blown the project budget on all the iron scrollwork. Harem ScaremThe original source of the bizarre ghost stories and "legends" attached to the Le Pretre Mansion appears to be a nutty little book written in 1922 for the tourist trade by Helen Pitkin Schertz, "Legends of Louisiana," published by the New Orleans Journal. A photo of the mansion in this book is captioned "The House of Tragic Mystery," accompanying Schertz's story "The Brother of the Sultan." Although the house was built and added to by two owners in the 1830s, Schertz dated her almost unreadable story to 1792. Unreadble? You decide. Here's an excerpt from a typical paragraph: Thus it came about that in the grandiose mansion where Christian piety was domiciled, whence conventional young women issued for daily Mass at the Cathedral three squares away in direct view, little shrines were removed and benitiers that had purified thoughts for holy themes. A steamboat bore the always expectant, always happy sons and daughters to the plantation with their horde of slaves, the most zealous care of the daughters being the preservation from sunburn of their creamy skins. What had been the horror—or, perhaps, the interest,—of these convent-bred damsels to learn that into their chaste quarters, converted into a haremlik, were borne palpitating bundles, which, unrolled, revealed lovely, veiled children younger than themselves: Nefysseh of Alexandria ; Mihrima of Stamboul; Sitta of Aboukir; Djumeila of the Nile and, fairest among them, Butheita the daughter of the Bedouins, raped from the desert for a Caliph's beguilement. Still there, etc.Covered in the previous post (scroll down to the comments). I ain't afraid of no ghostThe gents on the banquette don't seem to mind if the house is haunted. They look very relaxed. Restrained ArchitectureWithout the cast iron, the house would appear as it was built - a subdued but grand chunk of Greek Revival. Notice that the stucco has been scored to resemble ashlar blocks. The cast iron was added later... probably in the 1850's when New Orleans was obsessed with the trend. The entablature is missing above the capitals along the length of the ground-level ironwork, and appears to be still missing today. Yes and N.O.Still looking great for a 174-year-old structure. Man, I love New Orleans. For all of its warts, the city draws me back, time and time again. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston, New Orleans)
[1]23…next ›last »
Syndicate content  Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.