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- Jersey Shore: 1910
- "Belmar, on beach." Beachgoers at the New Jersey ocean resort of Belmar circa 1910. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham ... I can barely keep my shirt buttoned when I'm at the shore, there's no way I would be able to wear a full set of clothes. The lady ... Posted by Dave - 02/01/2009 - 2:14pm -
- Jersey Shore: 1904
- The Jersey Shore circa 1904. "Steeplechase Pier and bathers, Atlantic City." 8x10 inch dry ... Posted by Dave - 07/20/2012 - 3:41pm -
![The Jersey Shore circa 1904. "Steeplechase Pier and bathers, Atlantic City." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Women's bathing suits on sale today!Any color you want, as long as it's black.
Shark!Just a dozen years more and to these waters (and Matawan Creek) will come a visitor that would be the primary inspiration for "Jaws" -- the Matawan Man-Eater.
Water WingsIn the center bottom a woman is holding .. donno .. water wings I suppose. Have to wonder what they were made of in 1904.
[Rubberized canvas. - Dave]
So many pee-opleSo little ocean.
WashdayThese folks sure saved money on laundry detergent -- and bar soap, too.
Then As NowToo many people.
Bathing suit bluesOh, for color film in 1904! Even though most of these suits were probably rented, I think we'd see many more dark blue bathing suits than black ones. Among the personally owned suits we'd also see some red, some dark gray, and occasionally a white one. Ads for suits mentioned solid colors along with navy blue or plain black, but the blue ones seemed to be the most popular.
Most of the surviving suits from the period now in museums are some shade of dark blue. Even patterns for homemade swimsuits available in the years before this picture was taken recommend more blue material than anything else. Looking at patterns for eleven different bathing suits spanning nearly twenty years, I found two that were for striped material (one red and white, and one not stated - see the woman closest to the camera at bottom center in the picture), one for white, one for red, and one for patterned material. The other six recommended:
1) Russian blue flannel, with ruffles of white embroidery and consists of drawers, blouse and cap. The cap was made of white oiled silk.
2) Dark blue flannel, trimmed with bands of white on which are lines of red soutache.
3) Navy blue flannel, with a white collar, vest and belt ornamented with feather stitching.
4) Either of dark blue serge or Alpaca, consists of short drawers buttoned to a blouse waist which has a vest and a collar of white serge trimmed with a black braid and a skirt.
5) Red or blue flannel and consists of drawers, blouse, vest and skirt.
6) Dark blue serge, bound with white worsted braid, and ornamented in chain stitch embroidery with white split zephyr worsted.
Even most of the reproductions made today are blue. Below are four surviving suits from museums or vintage clothing auctions, along with a reproduction (on the full-length mannequin).
And in case you were wondering - yes, they wore swimming corsets under their bathing suits too, which were smaller than their normal ones.
CoveredThe straw hat vendor must have made a mint on that beach!
Last of Victorian ModestyWhat an event to actually see a man's underarms, a woman's thighs, the wet bodies that leave so little to the prudish to surmise ! I see that many of the men wear "letter" tops that belie the use of sportswear as swimming clothing & I also wonder if not that the rather ubiquitous floppy straw hats are also worn by men as much as by women. Experiences like these certainly pushed to old morals of the 19th Century right out of the average persons mind quickly. Ready to cakewalk & then tango right into the next fast-paced twenty years, after which even times like these would seen idyllic & far too contrived & controlled for any sincere fun seeker of the new century.
A punch upabout to start next to the woman with the water wings!
Up close and personalScan the surf line and count the number of men holding women (and women holding women). Probably one of the only socially acceptable times to touch or be close to the opposite sex in 1904 without chaperones.
Jersey ShoreLook at the crowds! More than on a holiday weekend today. No exposed skin anywhere on the beach.
Where are the lifeguards? Oh, they had none. Looks like it was "Swim at your own risk."
I found Waldo!Hiding in plain sight, right up front.
Water Wings & SwimsuitsI have an old pair of water wings that are a more teardrop shaped that are made of rubber lined white canvas. I doubt they would keep an adult afloat on their own, at best only offering a bit of help for a weak swimmer or one just learning.
Thanks to Tobacconist for the great commentary and illustrations on vintage swim wear. My research confirms his/hers regarding color preferences during the heyday "skirts and bloomers" era of women's swim wear (roughly the 1850s through the 1910s, or 1920s for the most modest). I suspect the popularity of dark blue was because of the nautical associations that show up almost universally in the trim on women's suits (white trimmed sailor collars, anchors, etc.) Also, dark colors remain opaque when wet. Very important to modesty to be sure!
-- Glenna Jo the swimsuit collector (using her husband's account to comment)
Thanks, Tobacconist!Actually, I WAS wondering if they wore corsets under their bathing costumes! Some of the shapes really look like it. It makes a lot of sense that most of the suits would have been blue too, especially Navy-blue, since that is associated with the ocean. I think it would be very uncomfortable to wear so much clothing in the water, but I guess it wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't heavy fabric. I'll bet it was fairly heavy, though, especially the rented suits, to be able to hold up to a lot of use.
(The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/4a11734a.thumbnail.jpg "Jersey Shore: 1904")
- Jersey Shore: The Prequel
- ... 1080p resolution (click "Play," select 1080p, then click the icon, or else the picture will be fuzzy and small). More videos are in ...
You are spoiling us Watching this fab video "Jersey Shore: The Pequel" was a delightful and mood-elevating surprise. I have ... Posted by Dave - 08/03/2010 - 3:12am
- Jersey Shore: 1908
- Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1908. "Hotel Traymore, bathers on the shore." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View ... Posted by Dave - 07/25/2012 - 3:11pm -
![Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1908. "Hotel Traymore, bathers on the shore." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Time Traveler Alert!The man directly behind "Freud" -- The Captain looking for Tennille.
Unrecorded TolkienHobbit throws stick for dog.
Razor's edge!The Gillette Razor sign in the background would fall over from the number of mega blades we have today!
POOF!No Snooki!
Where's the rest of me?Right behind the kid with the dog I see two legs and feet in wingtips sticking out of the sand, but no apparent torso or head. An early Sopranos reference?
Great Day for the BeachIt must be, or there wouldn't be such a big crowd.
Compared to today, it's odd how many of the people are wearing street clothes -- jacket and tie with starched Edwardian collars and brimmed hats for the men and ankle length full-cut dresses for women. Bathing attire for men seems to be a T-shirt or tank top with tight fitting shorts (which would be acceptable even in most restaurants in Atlantic City today!) Women seem to just have a shorter skirt for bathing -- must have been very clumsy in the surf line.
However, the lifeguards are well equipped. Note the teenage boy in horizontally striped tank top on the left, leaning on a surf boat, lapstrake planked, with thole pins for the oars instead of metal locks. This type of boat, rare today, is the ancestor of the powered "Jersey skiff" used in racing. I think the rowing surfboat version seen in this photo was called the Sea Bright Skiff (after the northern NJ beach town of Sea Bright.)
M-BThe Marlborough-Blenheim hotel is also in this photo. It's the structure with the beautiful dome and chimneys to the left of the Traymore. It was once the largest reinforced concrete building in the world.
AnalysisSigmund Freud pauses for a pose whilst studying the peculiar humans reasons for returning to the sea. Standing directly behind Siggy is William Asher, inventor of the beach blanket.
Inevitable fat commentNot an obese person in sight. Imagine a similar cross section today.
AhhThere's nothing I enjoyed more as a boy than being serenaded by a barbershop quartet as I dug a hole in the wet Jersey sand. Thanks Dave-for the memories.
Clothing Optional?My eyes must be deceiving me. If this man is as naked as he looks, I believe he would be causing more of a commotion than what is evident.
[Eyes deceptive. Bad, bad eyes! - Dave]
Safety razorOh wow, I didn't realize that Gillette safety razor design went back so far. I have one of those razors in my medicine cabinet, although I haven't used it in a while. The last time I tried using it it sliced me up good compared to the latest plastic stuff. I guess safety is a comparative term.
Doncha wonderwhen the first shirt came off on the jersey shore?
My grandpa on the beach"Freud" looks exactly like my paternal grandfather, who always dressed with a wing collar. The daytime collar was smaller than the nighttime collar. As time went by my grandmother had a lot of trouble trying to find the right size or at least what Grandpa said was the right size.
(The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/4a23072a.thumbnail.jpg "Jersey Shore: 1908")
- Shore Fastline: 1908
- Atlantic City circa 1908. "Virginia Avenue from the Boardwalk." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. ... and Ocean City and by traffic agreement with the West Jersey & Sea Shore R. R., operates cars to Longport.
Plant And ... Posted by Dave - 07/22/2015 - 10:15am -
- Jersey Shore: 1908
- ... July 19, 1908. "Negro bathers, Asbury Park." A frolic in the New Jersey surf. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full ... Posted by Dave - 01/19/2012 - 8:51am -
- Jersey Shore: 1905
- The Jersey Shore circa 1905. "Crowded beach, Atlantic City." These boys have been standing ... Posted by Dave - 05/18/2014 - 12:20am -
![The Jersey Shore circa 1905. "Crowded beach, Atlantic City." These boys have been standing here for over an hour, hoping to spy a bare ankle. View full size.
About bathing suitsAn interesting article in the Lewiston Evening Journal, Jul-8, 1905, "The bathing suit of 1905". According to the article, the leading fabrics were flannel, sorge and mohair (also taffeta silk if money was not in consideration). About the colors, the favorite was black, then blue, and brown and red as emerging trends.
Another article.
Magnificent MillineryI have been debating as to which of the glorious hats worn in pics like these is the most beautiful; the shower caps or the straw buckets. At any rate, they are both lovely accompaniments to the "sexy" bathing suits that were worn with them!
Actually, most of the bathing suits weren't black, but they were Navy blue, so that's not a whole lot better! The women even wore corsets under those bathing suits, so that was a lot of layers of fabric, not just hot, but heavy when wet.
All together nowLike birds swarming a birdbath, one would think that with 1600 miles of east coast beach, the people would have spread out a little; there is barely a path for one person to get by and nobody will give up their spot. That was a difference I noticed when I first saw the west coast and the Pacific, around San Francisco, with just a few people per beach in the early 1960's.
[However, San Francisco beaches are generally more, shall we say, brisk, than the one at Atlantic City. - tterrace]
Men in BlackIn black and white film everybody wears black and gray. I really doubt these suits (especially the midi dresses and sailor style tops) are black. They are more likely navy blue. There could easily be brown and red mixed in there too.
How near can you go?I have been to more than a few beaches in my life (both on the West and East Coast) and have NEVER seen people this closely bunched up together. I am TRULY curious; was there a whole different way of looking at how close you wanted to be and/or could be to your neighbor or friend 107 years ago? (It seems like the rule here was the nearer the better but being a rather private person, I would have been the one trying to get a little space-all this crowding would have driven me nuts!)
Answer Me ThisLooks like a great day at the beach. However, why is everyone garbed in black? You'd think that one would be dressed in light colors for a day like this. Maybe even back then, people knew about the effects of a "Wet T-Shirt"!
Beach nearnessI think these are some of the main factors explaining the crowded beach: popular destination, well-kept and well-provided with amenities; easily accessible via abundant train schedules; huge population base nearby; the one day of the week most people had free; hot weather. So, you're in New York City on a hot, muggy Sunday; most likely you can't afford a car or a carriage, but you do have train fare. What to do? Hop on a train to Atlantic City, of course. Along with thousands and thousands of other people with the same idea. Except for those other thousands and thousands creating scenes like this at Coney Island.
Re: MillineryLook at how the women are wearing their wide-brim hats...with string tied under their chin. What great sun protection! We should bring that style back into popularity.
Glimpse o'GamTalk about spying a bare ankle! Faithful readers of Capt. Billy's Whiz Bang were often treated to a glimpse of an entire woman's leg on the cover, accompanied by an implied wink of the publisher's eye.
(The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY_4a27424a.thumbnail.jpg "Jersey Shore: 1905")
- Little Italy: 1900
- ... Publishing Company. View full size.
Where are the people? What strikes me is the absence of people in the current view of ... St. Crispin can accomplish by art or ingenuity."
"Jersey Shore" Those fools on MTV wouldn't last five seconds in this ... Posted by Dave - 05/09/2020 - 6:49pm -
- Jersey Shore Jesus: 1908
- Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1908. "Sand modeling." Kindly remember the worker, and don't forget to visit the gift shop for a postcard or two. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, ... Posted by Dave - 05/20/2011 - 5:43pm -
- Pier Review: 1907
- ... (lower right) and Young's Million-Dollar Pier." Out on the pier just beyond Marine Hall, and modeled after a popular Coney Island ... westerly breeze, blowing in from Pennsylvania, across the Jersey Shore, and out to sea.
(The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming) ... Posted by Dave - 04/10/2024 - 1:58am -
- Hands Up: 1910
- The Jersey Shore circa 1910. "Hands up on the beach at Atlantic City." 8x10 inch dry plate ... Posted by Dave - 07/20/2012 - 3:43pm -
- Beach Baby: 1910
- The Jersey Shore circa 1910. "On the beach at Atlantic City." 8x10 inch dry plate glass ... Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 11:18am -
- Greetings From Asbury Park: 1905
- The Jersey Shore circa 1905. "Pavilion and beach, Asbury Park." 8x10 inch dry plate glass ... Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 11:36am -
![The Jersey Shore circa 1905. "Pavilion and beach, Asbury Park." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
A South Jersey treatThose white boxes that the girls are playing with once held Richmans' Ice Cream, a South Jersey treat. Richmans had been founded in 1894 by William Richman in Woodstown in Salem County. One of the delights of going "down the Shore" was being able to buy his ice cream, manufactured from fine New Jersey milk and cream, at his stalls found along the various board walks.
[The boxes are labeled Ross' Pop Corn. - Dave]
Must check Ancestry.comBy cracky, I do believe one of those snazzy Jersey beachgoers is Jedediah Springsteen!
Dead?The lady on the lower right appears to be lying next to a corpse.
Jersey GirlAny chance that woman sprawled out on the sand is Snooki's great-grandma?
White BoxesWhat are those girls playing with in the foreground? Three boxes tied to a stick? They each have one.
[Popcorn cartons. - Dave]
Asbury Park's recent historyAfter years as a popular beach resort Asbury Park went into a long decline starting in the 1950s. Beachgoers went elsewhere, more and more buildings were abandoned, and urban renewal plans were abject failures. By the late 1980s just about the only surviving "industry" in town were boarding houses for deinstitutionalized mental patients. Salvation came from an unlikely source around a decade ago, namely the gay and lesbian community, and today Asbury Park is in much better shape than it has been in many years.
One day onlyEveryone had to wear the clothes they wore at the turn of the century. Hats, shoes, dresses. Men, woman and children. Hair styles and facial hair. I wonder what that would be like? Just for one day.
I can't beginTo fathom why folks would want to bother going to a beach with all those clothes and then just plop straight down into the sand. That sweet salt air must have been a real draw!
The "style" is goneUnfortunately, the Asbury Park of today bears little resemblance to its glory days. At least the beach is clean and you don't have to worry about discarded medical waste washing up on the beach!
(The Gallery, Asbury Park, DPC, Swimming)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/4a19030a.thumbnail.jpg "Greetings From Asbury Park: 1905")
- Bleak House: 1901
- The Jersey Shore circa 1901. "The Boardwalk and Auditorium Pier, Atlantic City." At Ocean ... Posted by Dave - 01/03/2019 - 11:06am -
- Grand Atlantic: 1905
- Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1905. "Grand Atlantic Hotel -- Open All Year." Someone grab a ... oil that creaky shutter. View full size.
Back in the day, when we Back in the day, when we weren't so paranoid about letting ... car or steam dummy service.
Extract from a Jersey Shore Diary April 25th 1905
I just spent a most enjoyable day and ... Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 6:58pm -
- The Dennis: 1901
- "The Dennis, Atlantic City, 1901." Decades before The Donald came to town. 8x10 ... and landed on the beach.
Trees on the beach, a Jersey Shore tradition Although those don't look like Scotch Pines and Doug Firs, ... Posted by Dave - 06/08/2016 - 7:21pm -
!["The Dennis, Atlantic City, 1901." Decades before The Donald came to town. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Lady on leftEdith, I swear if it get any hotter I'm going swimming clothes and all!
Second Boy from the right"Hey Elmer, check out the ankles on that chick"
No towelsMust have been an extra sandy experience, back then.
The Dennis"You'll love our pine-scented beaches.'
Not wheelchair compliantIt appears the hotel is not ADA compliant. There is a wheelchair at the bottom of the stairs on the left. Looks like the user is hobbling up the stairs to her room. I hope they didn't put her on the top floor.
No light colored parasols here, just dark rain bumbershoots to hide under.
I really enjoy looking at these pictures on my tablet. The spreading of the fingers zoom feature allows one to check the fine detail. Keep up the good work!
[The vehicle at the foot of the stairs is a "rolling chair," used to convey guests along the Boardwalk. - Dave]
Trees on the beachWhy are all the trees stacked up on the beach in front of the fence? Some kind of erosion control?
Strange effect The kid in front of the two ladies looks like he fell out of a Winslow Homer painting and landed on the beach.
Trees on the beach, a Jersey Shore traditionAlthough those don't look like Scotch Pines and Doug Firs, they may be there for the same reason hundreds of New Jersey towns, at least throughout my youth, used to collect used Christmas trees at curbside and send them on a seaside excursion. Yes, it was for erosion control, they claimed... possibly to keep the sands from swirling and shifting during the rough winter-spring transition.
Earlier generationWhile the Dennis Hotel is still used by Bally, this picture is of an earlier incarnation of the hotel:
"The latest version of the Dennis, pre-casinos, was constructed between 1919 and 1925, Kutschera said. It was built in the French regency style, with a distinctive mansard roof."
[Other Shorpy photos show mansard roofs present as early as 1905 and 1908. -tterrace]
Where?Anyone have any idea of where in AC this hotel was. I will be going to AC in 3 weeks and would like to see what's there now.
[It's still there, now incorporated into the Bally's complex. -tterrace]
(The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-4a09096a1.thumbnail.jpg "The Dennis: 1901")
- The Teeming Shore: 1910
- The Jersey Shore circa 1910, continuing our theme of waterfront scenes with stripes. ... Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 10:51am -
![The Jersey Shore circa 1910, continuing our theme of waterfront scenes with stripes. "Bathing at Atlantic City." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size or fast-forward a few years.
"Oh the agony of de-feet"The few times I ventured to AC my wife loved the beach, I the casinos, I couldn't stand the hot sands and I can't believe back then that things were not as hot! Where is the agony of the face that I had?
Too much skin!Muscle shirts, shorts way above the knee, oh my!
Some of those gentlemen are on the verge of being immodest!
Canine SightingAt the bow of the boat upper middle of the picture. Looks like it even has a collar of some kind. The dog looks just like a rescue dog that was our family pet several years ago.
Where are all the towels?Something that always strikes me about these old beach scenes is the severe lack of towels and/or blankets. This shot today would have more towels than beachgoers! I can find evidence of only one blanket in this whole photo - a woman is sitting on one to the left of the walkway just before the hanging chairs. Was washing a sandy towel at that time too onerous to consider bringing them to the beach? Many of the boys are far sandier than I think you'd see at the beach today.
[When this picture was made, there were no towels to bring. At least not what we would think of as a beach or bath towel. Big terrycloth or cotton towels were not a mass-market item in 1910, and laundry was a labor-intensive chore. - Dave]
Now that Spring is NearI can't wait to don my coat and tie, grab my hat and head to the beach for some refreshing salt air.
FlaggedNice set of flags being displayed on the shore side of the first aid tent. On the right is the good old Stars and Stripes, the 1908-1912 46-star version. In the middle is the relatively new flag of New Jersey (adopted 1898). On the left is a display of the US Weather Service's 1887 style forecast flags, a white-over-blue square over a black pennant. The flag indicates local rain (or snow) is forecast within 24 hours while the pennant below indicates the temperature will drop (if it had been above it would have meant a temperature rise). It is interesting to note that back in the pre-radio days many people could read these types of flags with ease; a number of different pamphlets were distributed showing the flag combinations.
Itchy and ScratchyIt must have taken DAYS to get the sand out of their britches.
Same place, same year. Same man?The man on the right of this picture looks very much like this one from the photo "Hands up in Atlantic City 1910" What do you think? Could be the same man?
(The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/4a18708a.thumbnail.jpg "The Teeming Shore: 1910")
- Thisbe: 1900
- Circa 1900. "Thisbe." Who was quite the Babylonian. View full size.
Decolletage Funny how the English ...
Memories of Thisbe I once met a girl on the Jersey Shore who owned a pair of twin little pups named Pyramus (sp?) and Thisbe. She ... Posted by Dave - 07/26/2012 - 4:56pm -
![Circa 1900. "Thisbe." Who was quite the Babylonian. View full size.
DecolletageFunny how the English language never came up with its own name for that sensuous area of a woman's body.
Fun de SiecleThisbe one Victorian hotty!
Egad!This be quite the "Babe" is another way of putting it.
WOW is right !Looks exactly like a young Drew Barrymore.
Phone homeShe reminds me of a younger, drug-free Drew Barrymore.
Memories of ThisbeI once met a girl on the Jersey Shore who owned a pair of twin little pups named Pyramus (sp?) and Thisbe. She was surprised that I was familiar with those names, even though I was not exactly up-to-date with their story.
This Thisbe though, was lovely indeed.
What's she trying to say ?She's trying to send us a hand signal. It's too subtle for me, I can't quite work out what she wants.
Could it be pull my finger?
Wow!Reminds me of Carroll Baker "Baby Doll." But that was over 50 years later. And this girl is way prettier. Any more info? Was "Thisbe" a play? Was Thisbe the girl's name? What could this be? Jim
[Thisbe gets hit on by this dude Pyramus. Who is all like, babe, we gotta hook up. That chick I was seeing last week? Ancient history. - Dave]
Coif, coifShe could have benefited from some conditioner, but she's beautiful.
Twin CaterpillarsWas there no tradition of eyebrow care in 1900?
Do not pass GoGo directly to the Pretty Girls Gallery. Near the top of the list.
Which reminds me,I gotta get back to work on that time machine. Be back later.
Did she escape the noticeof Charles Dana Gibson? Odd, I was just showing a friend an article on Evelyn Nesbit and Stanford White last night.
ExtraordinaryAnother example of a use for the word "timeless"! In any generation and at any time, a beautiful woman. Great picture.
At that moment in timeSome guy was totally sick of putting up with her.
Rose woodA rose in a carved rosewood chair. Timeless! I hope that life was good to this beautiful girl.
Re: Memories of ThisbeHey Bob, I ALSO met that lady many years ago with the twin pups on the Jersey shore and she was in the water just this far. Being a youngster, I stupidly said "Hey lady, if you are going to drown those puppies, can I have the one with the pink nose?"
Simply beautifulThat is one of the sultriest gazes I've ever seen from any era. I wonder if she could ever have imagined she'd still be quickening pulses 109 years later.
SuperciliousI really get tired of the eyebrow comments. Once upon a time it was not considered unfeminine for women to have natural eyebrows! It's a different style -- do you get it?
Conversely, I am fascinated with these older photos because they show lovely young women not bloated by modern diet and lack of physical exertion -- like walking (gasp!) to school, and without a lot of makeup.
NSFWShorpy, please!
You need to start labeling these postings:
Not Safe For Work!
IlluminatingI find this beautiful, especially the position of the hands. And the smoothness of the skin in pre-pre photoshop days.I wonder if lighting was from a window. It created a timeless look.
[It maybe pre-photoshop, but emulsion on the negative has been extensively retouched by stippling with a pen or pencil to create diffuse highlights on the finished print, which in that era generally would have used a very soft focus to give an ethereal, painterly effect. - Dave]
I Gotta Say.....that the evolution of eyebrow grooming was one thing that didn't cross my mind as I studied this photo.
What Eyebrows?She has eyebrows? I haven't worked my way up there quite yet.
Re: NSFWI can't imagine any workplace that this photo is not safe for that would allow one to surf the net and look at the Shorpy photos.
Incredible!This is, bar none, the loveliest shot in the entire Shorpy collection. The lighting is amazing and the subject is perfect. She is gloriously beautiful.
Dave, you have outdone yourself. The is the absolute pinnacle of perfection!
MehShe ain't all that. She expects men to find her sexy. It's more attractive when the obvious is somewhat oblique.
From Buffalo..to this! Yowzzzzzer! Thanks Dave!
Oh. My. God.I 'bout fell outta my chair, Dave. You've outdone yourself. Don't see how you'll ever top this one.
Double wowShe looks mighty fine to me just the way she is!
I wouldn't change a thing.
Cool it, GentsYour ardor is misplaced. Everything is not as it seems. She is 130 years old today. Exactly how do you think she looks?
Please turn your attention to us living ladies...
Whaddaya mean, "NSFW"?At most workplaces which don't require burkas, shoulders aren't specifically disallowed. You can probably walk outside of your workplace and see young women wearing more revealing clothing on the sidewalk.
Perfect natural beautyI actually gasped at the sight of this lovely girl. Perfect skin, total natural beauty. Those perfect lips must be kissed again and again. I could gaze at her for hours.
"Hot damn"was the first thing I uttered upon seeing this photo. She's absolutely stunning.
A classic beautyShe is absolutely gorgeous. Your mention of Babylonia made me think of King Tut via Steve Martin:
Born in Arizona
Moved to Babylonia (King Tut)
Dancing by the Nile
Ladies loved the style (waltzing Tut)
Thisbe and Pyramus: think Romeo & Juliet, West Side Story, The Fantasticks; with a dash of A Midsummer Night Dream.
Surely you jest...Oh brave new world that would consider this innocent portrait of youth and beauty "not safe for work". Somehow, I'm glad our Thisbe isn't here to bear such absurdity.
[Yes, they were jesting. Of course the real humor (the "meta-joke") comes from the replies of people who took the comment seriously.- Dave]
Finally!I have new desktop wallpaper.
I wish I knew who she wasSome more photos of her would be grand!
Yes, question in back?Will Thisbe on the test?
It's hard to tell at this resolution.....but it looks like there is some well done work with the etch knife. Yes, even then, beauty was being enhanced by the skill of retouchers. I'm not saying saying she wasn't pretty, just improved.
[As noted below it would have been a pencil or pen. - Dave]
OMG!That could have been my grandmother (b. 1884)!
O Tempora! O Mores!I can't help thinking of the line in "The Devil Wears Prada" where the Meryl Streep character refers to the character played by Anne Hathaway (!) as "the fat girl."
Kudos to the Photographer!The pose is beautiful, the lighting is gorgeous and accentuates all the right bits. Thisbe herself is attractive. But I really think the photographer did an excellent job of lighting and posing the subject to make her look so becoming.
Decadent innocence?The hands remind me of classical Greek sculpture. There is a dreamy, ethereal, but three-dimensional quality about her. "Drew Barrymore" leapt to my mind also.
Oh wowShe is gorgeous.
pre-MadonnaI agree with some others that this is ravishingly honest ruebenesqe. The message (whatever it is) is for virile young men.
French name?I believe that Thisbe is a French name. If this is so, the "h" is silent and the name is pronounced "Tis-be."
["Thisbe" is Latin. This photo is an allegorical depiction of a figure from Roman mythology. The legend of Thisbe and her lover Pyramus is an archetypal tale of doomed love that would see its themes recapitulated in works like "Romeo and Juliet." - Dave]
Beautiful!So a beautiful girl!
Oh my.She is absolutely breathtaking. The lady and the photo are both exquisite.
Pyramus & ThisbePyramus & Thisbe was the play that Bottom and his cohorts were preparing to perform for the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta when Puck made an ass (or at least half an ass) out of Bottom.
Thisbe the truthPyramus have been smitten.
Florence Evelyn NesbitThis is Florence Evelyn Nesbit (December 25, 1884 – January 17, 1967) an American artists' model and chorus girl, noted for her entanglement in the murder of her ex-lover, architect Stanford White, by her first husband, Harry Kendall Thaw.
[It's not Evelyn Nesbit. Below, Evelyn in 1901. - Dave]
Fifty Comments!Yes! This girl deserves it. Hello, beautiful!
How'd I miss this one?One word: WOW!
Another ColorizationVery Beautiful
I See a AngleI think she looks today just like she did 130 years ago when she slipped out of this world. She's my idea of what a Angle in Heaven looks like.
[Acute or obtuse? - Dave]
Words Escape MeBut colorizing her does not. Here is my take:
NOT Evelyn Nesbit!I keep running into sites that have this picture posted, claiming that it is Evelyn Nesbit. Some even have pictures of Evelyn right beside them, where I would think it would be obvious to anyone who didn't have extremely poor eyesight that it wasn't the same girl. I have seen the same thing with pictures of many other semi-famous people, such as Virginia Rappe, as well as celebrities as familiar as Joan Crawford. Obviously, it is not of any Earth-shattering importance, but it is one of those things that just bug me!
Dave, does it bug you?
[It's not at the top of my list. - Dave]
It bugged you enough to point it out on the Shorpy Store! Actually, I think this girl is much prettier than Evelyn.
CaptivatingThis girl was absolutely beautiful. Does no one really know who she was? For example, where was the picture found?
Had we but world enough, and timeI look at this and think of the line "Had we but world enough, and time..." I love the time travel we can do with old photographs. She is mesmerizing. A Mona Lisa of photography.
Drew Barrymore?I agree with all comments regarding the beauty of both the woman and the photo, but does anyone else think she bears a striking resemblance to Drew Barrymore?
(The Gallery, DPC, Portraits, Pretty Girls)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/4a05742a.thumbnail.jpg "Thisbe: 1900")
- A Distant Shore: 1900
- The Jersey Shore circa 1900. "The beach at Long Branch." 8x10 inch dry plate glass ... Posted by Dave - 04/20/2017 - 2:01pm -
- At the Shore: 1920
- My great-grandparents at the Jersey Shore circa 1920. View full size.
Restoration Recommendations? Good ... Posted by CG-STX - 11/11/2016 - 8:43pm -
- Shore Patrol: 1905
- Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1905. "A life saver on the lookout." 5x7 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
(The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming) ... Posted by Dave - 09/15/2016 - 11:57am -
- On Pleasure Bent: 1905
- Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1905. "Three little maids on pleasure bent." Which I guess would be the 1905 equivalent of "Girls gone wild." Show us your elbows! 8x10 inch glass ... yellow stockings, and cross-gartered."
Sandbags at the Shore I, for one, am happy that the Unibosom look never caught on.
... Posted by Dave - 08/24/2011 - 1:25pm -
- Jersey Hotties: 1911
- ... Bain Collection. View full size.
It's the Dad! My guess is that the man smoking, looking disinterested in the ... photoshop contest crowd gives it a shot.
P.S. -- The Jersey Shore still attracts some of the most attractive women in the world. ... Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 11:34am -
![July 11, 1911. "On beach near Casino, Asbury Park." Anyone up for a nice cold lemonade? 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.
It's the Dad!My guess is that the man smoking, looking disinterested in the children and clearly setting himself apart from the little ones, is of course, their father. Who else could look so disengaged?
Hat manThe guy on the left seems a teensy bit overdressed.
The Butler did it!Who the heck is the creepy guy in the suit and tie?
"The look"The stare of the young lady -- straight on and unwavering! Marvelous!
Gibson GirlyThose women have their arms bare all the way up to the elbows! What's next -- exposed ankles?
Sand paleIt would be some time until suntanned skin would be considered attractive on women. That was popularized by our old friend Coco Chanel, who also popularized extremely heavy smoking for women (she suggested 3 to 4 packs a day, to keep weight down).
Very Now in a Then Sort of WayWith a change of costume but not necessarily much change in hairstyles, the two young women and their children can be seen in the same poses on any summer beach today (you won't even have to wait for summer here in San Diego where I'm writing), not to mention the boy behind them who's smiling as he notices the camera. I've an old friend who lived out here in the 1970s who looked quite like this girl and who frequently wore her long hair in the same Edwardian crown roll, and looked smashing in vintage shirtwaists with boned collars. Same thoughtful gaze, too, but I can't say that I remember her showing up on the beach in those shoes.
PainterlyFrom the composition to the use of lighting and shadow - add a few brush strokes and this is Renoir or Seurat.
MesmerizingI spent five minutes absorbing the details of this image. I've always found the Gibson Girl look very fetching, and the young woman holding the child is, well, I'd love to meet her.
Gosh, to know the whole story of this simple scene. Where and how they lived, what did they have for lunch, what happened at home that evening, or throughout the rest of their lives for that matter. These pictures resonate in some deep place for me and I'm sure many others.
Still waiting for that time machine. Somebody, please hurry.
Que Seurat, SeuratI have to agree with T.U.M., it sure looks like it would make a perfect Seurat subject. Hope the photoshop contest crowd gives it a shot.
P.S. -- The Jersey Shore still attracts some of the most attractive women in the world.
A TuesdayA Tuesday if I remember correctly, around noon on a sunny summer day ... Just inspired me to write a story.
This is a remarkable photo.This is a remarkable photo. The ladies are lovely, the voyeur looks the same as he would today... The boy on the right in the seersucker suit looks as uncomfortable as can be. I love this photo.
Heaven forbid!This really is a wonderful picture in so many ways. It's probably my all time favorite photo here on Shorpy. My take on the people follows:
The woman holding the little girl and saying something to the boy is their mother. The woman in the foreground is her sister and the other little girl is hers, the cousin of the boy and his sister.
As for that oddball in the straw hat being the boy's father, heaven forbid! At best I'll let him be the uncle, and even that's a stretch, although it would leave open the question of just who the heck he is. I'm tempted to Photoshop him out of this otherwise enchanting scene, but that would be "lying" and so I won't do it.
As Anonymous Tipster commented: Gosh, to know the whole story of this simple scene! If ever a time machine was needed, this is the moment!
Was this 1911 or 1908?I've just checked the Library of Congress website and the date given for this GG Bain photograph is July 19, 1908.
[The date (7-11-1911) is written on the edge of the negative. Someone seems to have confused it with the date written on this negative. - Dave]
Two very different daysThanks for the clarification! So it really was 7-11-1911, a Tuesday. In that other picture, the one dated 7-19-08, the surf is high and wild. Couldn't possibly have been taken on the same day as this placid "Seurat"-like scene.
Glad to know that Shorpy leaves no stone unturned to assure accuracy.
100 years ago todayand today is 7/11/11!
Stewed PrunesNothing screams beach outfit like an overcoat, shirt, tie, trousers, black socks and shoes. Luckily, the straw hat deflects the 90 degree heat rising from the scorched sand preventing this hallucinatory individual from spontaneously combusting. Later in the day, this gentleman was reported to be seen leaving the Casino wearing only his trousers and hat. He immediately left Asbury Park, went home to find a wool suit and promptly returned to his spot on the beach.
(The Gallery, G.G. Bain, Sports)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/02020u_0.thumbnail.jpg "Jersey Hotties: 1911")
- Fun in the Sun: 1904
- The Jersey Shore in 1904. "The bathing hour, Atlantic City -- Steeplechase and Steel ... Posted by Dave - 07/01/2019 - 8:08pm -
- Rockaway Bungalows: 1910
- ... with seashells.
Sand in Queens I wonder if any of the buildings are still standing. Since they are tract of small bungalows, I ... -- Italians in the Jewish neighborhood and we came in from Jersey! My mom grew up in Brooklyn and her family started coming in the '40s! ... Posted by Dave - 08/04/2012 - 3:56am -
![Vacation bungalow colony at Rockaway, Queens, c. 1910. View full size. George Grantham Bain Collection. Note "front yards" of sand decorated with seashells.
Sand in QueensI wonder if any of the buildings are still standing. Since they are tract of small bungalows, I wonder what company supplied that lot for workers to live in.
Sand in...Queens?! Wow.
[Never heard of Rockaway Beach? - Dave]
BungalowsWere these for living or vacation rentals? They sure are cute. Does anyone know how far from the water they were?
Rockaway[Never heard of Rockaway Beach? - Dave]
Well I've heard of Rockaway Beach here in Oregon. :)
Re: BungalowsThe were seasonal at first. More info at the Beachside Bungalow Preservation Association:
By the 1920s, Rockaway Beach was the poor man's Riviera. It had a six-mile long boardwalk lined with amusements, and thousands flocked to the beach every summer weekend. Many families rented tents for the entire season, while those a little more affluent rented small bungalows. The concept of the bungalow in America was well established by this time as they were built for summer communities on both coasts. The plans could be purchased from catalogues and were designed in numerous styles.
This last remaining bungalow colony was built by Richard Bainbridge in the 1920s. The one and a half story houses all have front porches and pitched roofs. The design and style vary from street to street. Some of the bungalows are in a Spanish Revival style of stucco with wood trim and green the roofs, and others are in an English Tudor of brick. Lacking heat, they were closed for the winter months. The lanes leading to the beach have permanent easements for common access.
As development pressures change the Rockaways, this small district has become endangered. But it would be appropriate to preserve and restore this remnant of past summer amusements.
The yards are super.The yards are super. Send the kids down to the beach to bring back sea shells to decorate with! Talk about a family project.
Rockaway BungalowsI'm pretty sure these are not there anymore. In fact Rockaway Beach today is quite run-down. If you take the A Train out there, these must have been between the tracks and the water, where there are now streets with no houses. Only weeds.
Sadly, most of theseSadly, most of these bungalows are gone, as Doug points out above. There are only a few left, and they face demolition by developers who want to turn the Rockaways into yet another bland housing development. These were vacation homes for folks in Manhattan and the other boros, not company houses for factory workers. How close were they to the beach? How does less than a city block sound? In the Rockaways, as at Coney, Manhattan, Brighton, and other New York City beaches, the streets are set up perpendicular to the beach and are only a few blocks long. The last block actually ends at the boardwalk. Across the boardwalk is the beach. The Ramones were from the Rockaways.
Beach 29th streetMy family rented a bungalow on Beach 29th street until I was around 12 years old. As soon as school was over, my parents would pack up a van and off we went until Labor Day. It was the most amazing summers of my life. No locks on doors, showers in the backyard, fireworks Wednesday nights. My parents belonged to a group called FROGS- Far Rockaway Ocean Goers. The Bungalow owners, Mr. and Mrs. Herman, would let my Dad come before the season to fish. The last time I was there was about 36 years ago. It was so sad to see the destruction of these amazing bungalows. Ours was white and green, and all the furniture inside was painted a sticky tacky gray. My Grandma and Nana lived a few blocks up in a rooming house. It was very sad to watch as these homes burned to the ground. Such a day-gone-by era.
Beach 29th StreetHi!
I am very curious exactly where on 29th Street the bungalow was. I lived on 29th just off Seagirt Blvd. It was a year 'round dwelling. The area was VERY crowded during the summer and VERY empty from after Labor Day until Memorial Day.
Do you have any pictures from there? I would love to see them!
Thanks,
Marc
Far Rockaway refugee now living in Bayside, NY
Rockaway BungalowsThere was nothing better than spending the summer in Rockaway. Most of your family members rented bungalows in the court. Everyone was out every night. The beach was just a few steps away. Fathers came out only for the weekends, even if you lived in Queens...
Beach 107 StreetMy aunts, grandmother and uncle would whisk us away to Rockaway the minute school closed for the summer. We would stop at Weiss's for fish and chips, then drive over the old Cross Bay Boulevard bridge and see the top of the roller coaster and the ocean beyond. In a few minutes we would be at our bungelow in Highland Court, the second one in. We thought we had arrived since we had a hot water heater. It was a great place for kids to grow up. Every day my sister and I would open the window with the sun shining down on us. We would get into our bathing suits and run to the beach, riding the waves until we were dragged out by our relatives.
Beach 106 StreetBetween 1951 and 1958 or so I stayed with my good friend Donald Sullivan and his family in bungalows on Beach 106 Street. I don't remember the court name - if it had one. I do seem to remember Highland Court but this was centuries ago and memory may play tricks.
Sand in QueensA similar group of bungalows still exists in the Breezy Point Coop and Roxbury in Queens. Many have been expanded and converted to year round use now, though some are still used only for the season. They refer to Breezy Point and Roxbury as the "Irish Riviera" due to the strong Irish presence.
B. 29th bungalowsI know EXACTLY where you were. My grandmother too had a bungalow, about 5-6 before the boardwalk ramp. They were on the left side, because on the right side was a parking lot or a building (I can't remember it exactly). But up the block was two hotels - the Regency and another one. They were both owned by the same people - Mr. and Mrs. Hecht, german/lithuanian-jewish folks. If you remember, there was a wooden bridge that connected the two buildings, and the courtyard was shared by the two. The showers were both underneath the front of the buildings behind the, lattice and then common showers/bathrooms in the hallways. There was one public phone on each floor and a television on each floor. When my grandmother could no longer stay in the bungalow (either they were sold, torn down or condemned), she went into the Regency Hotel. She was in the basement which was very cool in the summer. They dodn't need air conditioning.
The last party of the season was Mardi Gras. My grandmother, being on the heavy side, loved to wear blackface makeup and put her hair up with a tied kerchief - she was "Aunt Jemima."
I only wish I had a place like 29th street to bring up my children in the summers. We ended up renting cabanas in Atlantic Beach from when they were little, then moved to Atlantic Beach, but retained memberships at the beach club. We can't get the sand out of our shoes!
Belle Harbor's Bungalows I was searching for a picture of Weiss's Restaurant and stumbled across this site. I found one taken before the war, but was hoping to find one more recently, like late 1950s or early 60s. Looking at the group of bungalows, there were similar ones along the beach 2 rows deep at B129th Street in Belle Harbor, Rockaway. They looked very similar to the ones in the pics if memory serves. I was there last year and although they still occupy the same footprint, most have either been completely reconstructed or torn down and replaced with more modern ones. I recall every summer going to the beach and seeking out the "city" kids here for a few weeks. We made lots of new friends every summer. Then there were the bungalows out on RockyPoint/BreezyPoint.
My mother spent her childhood summers, probably right there in that picture. Her parents owned their own bungalow. I have a picture of it from around 1941. Mom's 83 and I'll have to print this off and show it to her.
Maple Court, Beach 28th st.I've been searching for info on Far Rockaway. I've been strolling down memory lane thinking about my wonderful summers there. My family rented, and we stayed for a total of five summers. The last two were in Maple Court, which, I believe, was on beach 26th or 28th Street. Before that we were in B Court and A Court on 28th. I agree with the posters who spoke of these summers as paradise! I felt truly free there. And yes, nothing was locked up. There was no schedule to keep. Just pure fun. My last summer there was in 1969. I remember this because of the moon landing. We returned home from the fireworks display on the beach and watched it on TV. My grandparents owned a fruit store on the main street, and they stayed at a wonderful hotel called the Manor. My happiest memories from my childhood are from Far Rockaway.
Maple Court bungalowMy family purchased a bungalow at 29 Maple Court in 1969 when I was 9 years old. I too had the greatest memories there. We took so much for granted thinking everyone lived as we did. Now I realize how lucky we were back then. Being able to stroll down the street to the boardwalk, watching the fireworks Wednesday nights, and winning prizes at the arcade games are fond memories. Do you remember the pizza shop on the corner? Because the bungalows were so small and cozy, to this day I prefer smaller spaces. Thanks for letting me relive those memories for just a short time.
The EmbassyWe stayed in the Embassy on 29th Street (right next to the ramp to the beach). Many of my friends were in the bungalow courts between 28th and 29th. We stopped going in 1967 but those were the best times -- those summers were magical. My husband and I went back in 1998. There is a school where the Embassy used to be and nothing much else. I went down to the beach and I cried.
Who were your grandparents?Carolyn, my parents owned the Manor at 2400 Seagirt Blvd (beach 24st). My last summer on Rockaway Beach was 1967 just before I entered the Army. My parents and I moved to South Florida shortly there after. I was 6 miles from the DMZ in Vietnam when we landed on the moon.
Fruit storeCarolyn, if memory serves (pretty fuzzy by now), your grandparents were the Lebowitzes. The fruit store was on Edgemere Avenue just off Beach 24 next to Willy's Market.
If I am right, I am amazed.
The EmbassyMy family had a bungalow on B29th Street on "the ramp" from the 1950s until around 1970.
I got thrown out of the Embassy by the owner because we didn't live there. I bought ice cream at the candy store under the porch of the hotel.
I saw the school, it was a bummer. I remember Lenny's, skee ball, Jerry's knishes, Sally & Larry's pizza, movies on the boardwalk, Dugan the baker, softball games, basketball in the parking lot. I used to sell lemonade to the ball players on hot days. Memories ...
I remember a girl named Cherie or Sherry. She had a boyfriend, Arnie. I used to hang out with Arnie's brother Marvin.
lmc2222@aol.com
Far RockawayI also have childhood reminiscences of Far Rockaway. My family lived in a small bungalow rented for a group of Russians in 1970s (yep, I am Russian, living in Moscow now). I was 3 or 4 years old at that time, so I do not remember much. What I know is that these are one of the brightest memories of my early childhood. My pa said the house was really small. I do not know what street it was on, or if it still exists.
What matters are the snapshots of my memory: me sitting on a porch on a rocking chair, and the arches of the porches, of the same form and shape, go all the way down to the ocean. Me playing in sand, building garages for toy trucks, with other children running from waves that seemed - wow - so really huge. And above all and around all, the salty smell of Atlantic, which is different from any other seaside smell.
Great pity the place is devastated today. Hope that everyone who has ever had good times in Far Rock keeps his own memory snapshots of the place, where it looks as it really should.
Fruit StorePeter, you have an incredible memory! My grandparents were the Leibowitzes. That's such a specific memory. Did you know them personally? I would love to hear about any memories you have of them or the store. Were you a child at the time?
The EmbassyCheri, I can understand your crying. I went back many years ago and was also upset to see the area so demolished. At that time, it seemed the only bungalow left standing belonged to a lady we were all so afraid of on Maple court. She seemed to hate kids (probably we just annoyed her mercilessly!). But going back as an adult, I saw her situation quite differently. The bungalow was all she had, and so she stayed there while everything around her seemed to be destroyed.
Maple Court BungalowLillian, we must have known each other since we were there at the same time, and we were around the same age. I was in the first bungalow on the right, facing the main street. You might remember the pile of junk in front of the house (left by the owner, which we were waiting for them to take away!) Where in the court were you? I remember a girl named Elena, and a boy everybody had a crush on named Eddie.
The ManorWow... your parents owned the Manor! What an interesting and exciting experience that must have been. If I recall correctly, there were an eccentric bunch of characters staying there.
Carolyn! What a great happening!Hi Carolyn,
Glad you found me on Facebook. Your ability to put me together with my earlier Shorpy post was remarkable, so I am posting this for the benefit of "Shorpy page readers."
Your recollections and mine from the 1960's certainly attest to how great having the internet and pages like Shorpy's are. (Shorpy..thank you!) The fact that I remembered your grandparents is somewhat unique cause I can't remember anyone else's grandparents from way back then, other then mine. I must have really liked them and was destined to cross your path again. I remember sitting and talking with them on porch of the Manor in one of those green rocking chairs. They were "grandparent" types, had a European accent like most grandparents back then, and easy to be comfortable with.
Just to put things into focus, I am now 63. That was back when I was 16 or 17 and younger, but your grandparents returned to the Manor for quite a few summers in the 1960s. How could I have remembered your grandparents' name? I too am amazed and flabbergasted.
Memories of Far RockawayYes, this website is truly wonderful for allowing us to stroll down memory lane and recall the sights, smells and feel of Far Rockaway... and what an extra treat for me to find someone who actually knew my grandparents. Thank you Shorpy's for allowing us this exchange of information and memories... and thank you Peter for your kindness and your very sharp memory!
Far RockawayMy sister directed me to this site. We stayed in the Jefferson Hotel, right between Beach 29th and 30th, next to the Frontenac. My good friend Faye's grandparents, the Kratkas, owned the Embassy and both Faye and I worked the concession stand which her parents ran.
The memories of the boardwalk are still strong. Not only did we have the luxury of a fantastic beach at our doorstep, we also had nighttime fun. Cruising up and down the boardwalk -- eating pizza at Sally & Larry's, or Takee Cup (originally called Tuckee Cup until the owners got disgusted of painting out the alternate name it always received over the winter months) and listening to Eddie, with his ever-present songbook, sing requests. All added up to good, clean fun.
I left in 1968, went back from time to time, but haven't been back in years. Unfortunately, you can see enough from Google Earth.
My two auntsMy father's two aunts had a bungalow in Rockaway Beach in the late 50's early 60's. It had flowered wallpaper and a musty smell, but it was the most interesting home I have ever been in. I was allowed to leave and explore without my mother's glare. I cannot tell you what food we ate there. I have no memory of meals which is odd. I do remember being bitten by my aunt's dog, which scared me for a long time. I think their names were Bernice and Ruth Cohan. If you have any thing to share please do.
thanks, Mary Donaldson
neversynvr@aol.com
Twin HousesThe houses with the bridge were known as "the twin houses", possibly the Claremore & Edgewater, both owned by the Hechts. I spent the happiest summers of my life there!
Like Cheri, I've wanted to return, but haven't as I know how sad it would be. Better to revisit in memory, sometimes in dreams.
I probably know Cheri (from Arnie & the Joey days) and Les rings a bell, as does singing Eddie...
Marcy
Sand in my shoes on Beach 107thMy mother's family went to Beach 107th in the summers of 1917 through 1929. After the Depression hit they couldn't afford it. I still have photos of that period.
In 1951 our family went down to the Rockaways and rented a bungalow for the season. The courts I remember were Almeida and Holmenhurst.
My dad came only for the weekends, arriving Friday evening. The first thing he did was put on his trunks and head for the beach with me. When he hit the ocean you could see all his cares and worries leave. At night the parents would gather on the porches and play cards, drink a Tom Collins or have a beer and just have a good time.
As a 10-year-old I wondered what was so much fun doing this every weekend. It occurred to me many years ago that boy, did they have it made. Sitting on a porch with a nice summer drink, a cool ocean breeze along with good friends to talk with and play cards with. Life was so laid-back and simple then.
Does anyone remember the doughnut shop Brindle's or the bakery Dudie's? What about Nat's Ice cream shop, where you could get a walk-away sundae. Bill's Deli had the best salads and cold cuts.
Wonderful summers that will always keep me warm in the winters of my aging mind.
Beach 28th Street & A B and C CourtsI too remember the pizzaria on the corner of Beach 28th street. I remember my friends Randy, Shmealy, Risa, Brenda and Jody. I don't remember Shmealy's given name, but I remember he was hyperactive and a lot of fun. Made up a song from the commercials of the time for Halo Shampoo. "Halo Sham-poo poo, Ha-a-lo! Jodi's mom didn't want me hanging around Jody because I blinked my eyes too much. Oh well. HEY: Jody from Beach 29th street who wrote a post here on 11/12/2007 - I wonder if you're the Jody I remember!? I hung around with Risa a lot. I still have a photo of us and my dog Suzie on the porch of my Bungalow. I once disappeared into the Courts of Beach 28th street while walking my dog. I ended up talking to a boy for 2 hours, not knowing my parents had called the police and had an all-out search for me. My father finally found me. I was the talk of the town that day! I hope someone remembers these people or IS one of these people, or remembers the lost girl incident and would like to contact me at orangechickens2@aol.com. It would be wonderful to hear from you!!
Anyone remember dogball?My dad wrote about playing dogball on the beach at 110th Street on his blog at willhoppe.com.
I'm going to show him all of your comments later tonight.
The BungalowsI was born in Far Rockaway in 1942. I lived there for 16 summers. My dad owned a small grocery on B 28th street. It was the best time of my life. Maple Court faced 28th. To me it was a very exotic place. The renters/owners vacationed there, my dad was a workman. We lived in roominghouses with a bath on the floor. One year I begged my dad to live in Maple Court and we got a small apartment in the back of a bungalow there. The bungalows were the BEST.
Rockaway native from HammelsBorn in Rockaway in 1941 at Rockway Beach Hospital. Went to PS 44, JHS 198, Class of '59 from Far Rock. Worked as a locker boy at Roche's Beach Club in Far Rockaway. For two summers I worked in Rockaway Playland. I lived on 90th, where my parents rented out the bungalow in the back of our house every summer. My father at the end of his years as a waiter worked in Weiss's dining room, and the Breakers restaurant on 116th Street.
I met my wife in 1965 at McNulty's on 108th Street. She was from Woodhaven and Breezy Point. We got married in '68. I am writing this on the back deck as we are still enjoying the summer weather here at Breezy. We both still have sand in our shoes.
Our 1940s summersA group of Bronx families spent the summers of the early '40s in a few bungalows. Sundays the working fathers would appear for a community breakfast. We celebrated V-J Day with a parade on the boardwalk. Takee Cup was a part of our diet. A noodle cup to be eaten after the chow mein was devoured. The ultimate hand held food treat.
Beach 25th StreetI grew up in Far Rockaway in the 1960s and 70s. We lived in the Bronx and rented every summer on Beach 32nd Street (now two big apartment buildings -- Seaview Towers). When I was 9 or 10, we moved to Beach 25th year-round. The summers were great -- we didn't wear shoes most of the time.
Every Friday night, "Bingo Al" held a game in the court behind the bungalows, between 25th and 26th. One summmer he had a "Chinese auction" and dressed up in an oriental robe and Fu Manchu mustache and beard.
Many of the residents got seltzer water delivered in bottles at their back porch. They would gather in the evenings out in front of the bungalows and talk and joke. I would lie in my bed, with my ear pressed against the window screen, trying to listen, and also trying to stay cool -- no air conditioning.
Sol "The Cantor" Gerb would play his little electric organ as people sipped their drinks, chatted or played cards. It was like a different world from the rest of New York.
I read where one commenter talked about the bungalows rented for the Russians. This was on Beach 24th Street. They worked at the United Nations and rented a block of bungalows. Every Monday morning passenger vans would show up to take them to work at the UN. We played with the Russian kids. They were a good bunch. I stayed over at one of their bungalows and we had crepes for breakfast. I had no idea what crepes were! I learned to play chess, as the Russians were crazy about it. I recall one time when members of the Jewish Defense League blew up a small BMW belonging to one of the Russians. The news came out and I was in the background, behind the reporter. A sad time for Far Rockaway.
One of the amazing things was the backgrounds of the bungalow residents -- former concentration camp prisoners, Russians, Irish, Jews, some Italians and Greeks, but we all got along so well. A great place to grow up!
At the FrontenacMy family spent summers at the Frontenac from the late 40s until 1957. When I describe it to my daughter, I have to confess it was really more like a boardinghouse. My mother, father and I shared a room that was also the kitchen. Bathroom on the floor, showers were out back for when you came back from the beach. It was great community. Juke box for dancing, card room for gin and mah jongg and the television on the porch.
I loved Jerry's cherry cheese knishes. I remember the movie theater on the boardwalk in the 30's (it could barely be called indoors)
I bought the News and Mirror off the delivery trucks for 2 or 3 cents and sold them for a nickel.
My parents would pay the guy who ran the first aid station under the boardwalk to hold our beach chairs overnight so we wouldn't have to "schlep" them back and forth.
We played softball on the blacktop parking lot on 29th street right off the boardwalk.
My wife, who I did not know then, stayed with a friend's family in a bungalow on 29th street. I think her best memory was playing Fascination.
Best summers everI used to stay at my grandmother's bungalow on B 28th st. in the mid to late 60s. Those were the very best summers ever! Walking just a few yards to the boardwalk and beach, pizza from the store on the corner, hanging with Howie and the crowd there. Playing Fascination for a dime, huge french fries in those cone cups.
If anyone knows the whereabouts of Howie Young I'd love to get in touch with him. My email is belongtoyou@hotmail.com
Hugh McNulty Hotel, Rockaway BeachI am trying to learn about Hugh McNulty's Hotel. I am not sure what street it was on, but there was also a bar in it. Hugh was my mum's uncle and her father came to stay with him and work for him. The time period may have been 1924-1930. I know the hotel was still in operation in 1953, as my grandmother visited him at that time. Any help is appreciated. libtech50@comcast.net
Edgemere memoriesMy family lived many places in the Edgemere section of Far Rockaway (I don't know the exact boundaries of Edgemere, if there were any), but my memories centered on Beach 48th Way and Beach 48th Street. Fantastic place to spend the summers and escape the hell of the South Bronx. I had wonderful Jewish friends and I worried that they would go to hell because they weren't Catholic. Now I laugh as such perverted theology, but back then it was serious stuff.
I loved the beach, the ocean, the starts, the jetties, playing every group game known to humans, going over the the "bay side" to play softball with the "project people" -- those who lived beyond the marshes and spent the winter there.
No doubt about it, the best part of my childhood was Rockaway. Too bad it was taken away from us and to my knowledge, still is just a bunch of sand with no houses where we used to live, right near the boardwalk.
Beach 48th Way, RockawayIn the early 1960s there were two brothers that were lifeguards when my family was there, Dennis and Tom Fulton. Anyone remember them? Also there was a man named Warren who would feed pigeons at the end of the block every day. My parents would rent a bungalow in the summer months to get us out of Brooklyn for awhile. Great memories.
Rockaway, a kid's dreamI remember growing up in Rockaway. We had two boarding houses on Beach 114th Street. When my mom was a kid, Carroll O'Connor, his mom and brother Frank stayed with them. He returned to see my parents back in the mid-eighties and I received one of his last e-mails before he died. I worked my way bartending at Fitzgerald's on Beach 108th and Sullivan's on Beach 116th (1967-1970). You could leave the house at 7 years old, walk to the beach without crossing the street and never had to worry one bit. The neighbors looked out for everone's children. Great memories and thanks to Shorpy for an incredible site. Brilliant job!
Cohen's CourtThe picture above is very much how I remember the bungalow court where my parents rented in the summers of the early 1950s. I think my mom said it was Cohen's Court. Ours was at the end of the court on the left. I don't remember too much, I was really little. But I think there was a center row of garden where parents hid treats for us to hunt. I remember a corner candy store we kids could walk to and my mom confiscating a tube of plastic bubbles I bought. I guess she thought the fumes would get me high or something. There was a little girl across the court who would stand on her porch in a towel and flash us once in a while. And I have a memory of being on the beach with my parents, I in the sand and my mom in a beach chair, and my dad taking me into the water. I went back with my parents in the early 60s because they were thinking about renting it again. But it was so musty and dirty and ramshackle that they decided against it. I had a girl friend with me and I have to say I was embarrassed about the way the place looked and smelled. Too bad, that bungalow was a great summer getaway for a working class family from Brooklyn.
Elisa on B 29thWas your grandma named Bessie? I lived in the Claremar, one of the twin houses, and I remember her. Did you have a brother too? My sister, parents, grandmother and baby brother and I all lived in two rooms in the basement. I remember Crazy Eddie and his huge black book of songs. Tina and Elise ... Elliot ... Donna ... Jackie ... smiling in memory!
Palace HotelThe last place my family stayed at for quite a few years was the Palace Hotel on Beach 30th Street right near the boardwalk. Those were the days my friend. All the arcades and food places on the boardwalk, Cinderella Playland for the little kiddies, the Good Humor man , Ralph was his name.
Life was simple. No internet, cell phones or video games yet we had great times and wonderful memories. We played board games and cards and rode our bikes. The guys played baseball in the parking lot adjacent to the Palace Hotel.
The team was a mix of every race and ethnicity and everyone managed to get along and looked forward to playing together the next Summer. The beach was the best. Dads could go to work and come back every day rather than only on weekends as they do in the Catskills. Such a shame that this no longer exists. The last summer I went there for a few weekends was in 1976.
The JeffersonMy grandparents rented a place in the Jefferson for many years. I have great memories of the place, the back stair cases, the porch, and the beach just a short walk away. Does anyone have relatives who stayed there?
Rockaway summersI spent virtually every summer till the age of 22 in Rockaway. We stayed on Beach 49th till they knocked them down, then kept moving to the 20's.
Best time of my life. My family was unique -- Italians in the Jewish neighborhood and we came in from Jersey! My mom grew up in Brooklyn and her family started coming in the '40s!
Wish I could connect with friends from back then. If I sound familiar please let me know. You would be in your mid to late 50s now.
Rockaway Beach Bungalows on PBSI received a message, last night, from my girlfriend who stated that "The Bungalows of Rockaway" was on PBS @ 8PM. I started watching at 8:30 and to my surprise I could not stop watching.
I was born at Rockaway Beach Hospital and I am a lifer. I never lived in a Bungalow but I have always wanted to purchase one. I was taken aback by the fact that there were at least 6,000 bungalows and now there are approximately 300 (big difference).
I also found out in this documentary that there is hope that the bungalows can be landmarked and I hope that it happens. The bungalows are a unique attraction to this area and I hope that the 300 remaining can be preserved.
Elisa on B. 29th Street - the hotelsTo Anonymous Tipster on Fri, 08/13/2010 - 3:15am - YES! My grandmother was Bessie. I do remember your family - your grandmother, parents and the little ones. Your mom wore glasses and had blonde hair. She always wore her hair pulled back and up on her head, curlers in the evening.
Also, Harry and Dottie lived in a large room in the corner of the basement of the hotel.
I have 3 brothers and one sister. My Aunt Rose and Uncle Leo used to come to the hotel as well to visit with Grandma Bessie.
Please e-mail me @ medmalnursing@msn.com
Sally's Pizza and the Lemon & Orange Ice StandI spent the best summers of my life on Beach 28th Street. Coming from a Bronx apartment, it felt like our own private house. Our own family doctor came out to Rockaway every summer and stayed on Beach 24th Street. I now wonder what happened to his patients during July and August. How come nobody has mentioned Sally's pizza, on the boardwalk around 32nd Street? You couldn't forget Sally-- with her bleached blond hair, tight pants, and backless highheels. Near Sally's was the fresh lemon and orange ice stand with the fruit stacked against the wall. The ices even contained pits. No artificial coloring or corn syrup in those ices.
Grandmother's bungalowsMy grandmother owned 10 bungalows on the beach on 35th Street from the 1930s thru the 1950s. They were the ones nearest the water. I loved going to help her get them ready each spring and clean them up each fall. Playing on that wonderful empty beach at those times of year with no one else in sight.
We lived in Far Rockaway at 856 Central Ave., so going to the bungalows was not a long trip. Great memories.
Mom's RivieraMy mother loved Rockaway so much that we called it "Mother's Riviera." She couldn't have cared less about the beautiful beaches across the ocean in France or Italy, for Rockaway Beach was her greatest joy. We spent many summers in a bungalow court on 109th Street and my grandmother and her sisters also spent their youthful summer days in Rockaway Beach. So our family goes back generations loving Rockaway.
Every Memorial Day the court always had a party to celebrate the beginning of summer and the courtyard inhabitants were usually Irish. The courtyard came alive with Irish songs and jigs and reels. Of course, the people of the courtyard always chipped in for a big keg of beer. It was repeated on Labor Day as we all said our goodbyes to our neighbors and to our beloved Rockaway Beach.
Saturday nights in Rockaway were spent at the closest Irish bar and some nights the local boys slept under the boardwalk after having a wild time. They always managed to get themselves together for Sunday Mass or otherwise they would get holy hell from their families.
Sands of TimeI spent every summer in the Rockaway bungalows from the fifties until the mid eighties when we were forced to leave because of the deteriorating situation. I was a child on Beach 49th and remember George's candy store where you could get a walkaway sundae for 50 cents.
Sue, I remember the Fulton brothers, who were lifeguards. Handsome devils, had a crush on Tom when I was 14. Times were safe. There were a thousand kids to play with. We went from 49th, 40th 39th, 38th, 26th and finally 25th Street with my own kids trying to hold on to that wonderful way of life. Unfortunately it disappeared.
Some of the best days of our liveswere spent on Beach 25th. When I was 12 (1936) until I was 17, we stayed every summer at my grandmother's at Beach 66th Street. Those were glorious days on the beach. The boardwalk at night was wonderful, too. We played pinball, and games of skill for 5 cents to collect prizes. Bottled soda and ice cream were 5 cents then, too. We used to run up to the boardwalk to eat the delicious knishes. My summers at Far Rockaway were the most unforgettable of my growing up. Tuna fish and bologna sandwiches on a roll never tasted as good as it did at the waterfront.
In 1961, when I was married with children, we rented a bungalow on Beach 25th and loved it! It was a rainy summer and we spent a lot of time in Far Rockaway shopping, eating and going to the movies. Every sunny day, however, we quickly rushed to the beach to enjoy it with family and friends.
The Jefferson, Beach 30thI stayed with Grandma and Grandpa every summer for years in a small room at ground level. Grandpa would take me to the beach in the morning, then off to the stores on 24th Street. The back patio was for dancing on Saturday night and the concession inside had bingo. The porch! As I grew up to teenager, I met Ronnie Schenkman and family on the second or third floor (used the back staircase). I don't remember where Eleanor stayed. Crazy Eddie and his songs. Hal and his girl of the night. Warm nights and days. Very sexy!
As a working girl I still took the RR to Far Rockaway, then the bus to Edgemere. Took my children to visit Grandma when it was becoming sad looking. Then went to the area years later and found a burnt shell with a wicked fence surrounding it. Took pics and had a good cry. We are all lucky that we were able to experience the wonderful warm sun and sultry nights.
Belle Harbor BungalowsI think the two rows of Belle Harbor bungalows on Beach 129th to which another person referred were probably the Ocean Promenade Apartments. I have very happy memories of living there in the mid-i950s in the winter.
Beach at 37th streetWhat a trip to see all of the these comments. I grew up and lived year round on Beach 37th until 1950, when we moved to Bayside. Takee Cup was a treat as well as the movie theater on the boardwalk, Italian ices and of course the arcade. For a penny you could get great photos of famous cowboys and movie stars.
Rockaway in 1958My family spent the summer in Rockaway in 1958. Most of our friends were in the court, but we were outside it on the main street. I don't remember the street, but I suspect it was around Beach 45th, as the El was right on the corner.
We had a bungalow with a porch. I was climbing on the outside of it, fell when I saw a neighbor's dog that I wanted to play with, and broke my wrist on broken concrete. Today, one would sue the owner. Back then, we just made do.
Later that same summer, I ran across the street to get Italian ices from the local candy store, but looked the wrong way crossing the one-way street and almost got hit by a car. I didn't think that much of it, but the woman driving was hysterical.
I also remember a movie theatre on the Boardwalk. In those days, an 8-year-old (me) could feel safe walking the boardwalk without an adult present. The back of the theater opened up at night so you could sit outside. I saw "The Colossus of New York" there, an incredibly bad "monster" movie.
Most of the bungalows in the Rockaways were destroyed by Hurricane Donna in 1960. So-called "urban renewal" took care of the rest. Now some sections of the Rockaways, especially those facing the ocean, are filled with expensive new condos.
The Jefferson 1950s I stayed at the Jefferson in the 1950s. It was far far away from the Bronx.
Our father worked two, sometimes three jobs, so my brother and I could escape the Bronx and spend each summer --the whole summer-- in Rockaway. Dad took the train to work every day. We turned brown by July 4th; skinny brown kids always running, scheming, cunningly evading the watchful eyes of Jewish mothers.
We played softball in the parking lot by the beach in the early mornings before the cars showed up. We played kick the can in the street, ring-o-lerio (sp?), off the stoop. And then there were the long long days on the beach, hopping on hot sand from blanket to shore, waiting the magic 45 minutes to go in the water after eating lim and sandy salami sandwiches, early versions of body-surfing, acting like we couldn't hear our mothers calling that it was time to come in from the water. Crawling into the cool dark sand under the boardwalk.
Some kid named Howie always had a piece of fruit in hand, juice dribbling down his chin. And then there was a kid whose own family called him "Fat Jackie" -- at least that's how I remember it. Once in a while we were treated to Takee cups or lemon Italian ices, and chocolate egg creams. Always sneaking off with so much watermelon that your belly ached, and sand -- always sand -- in your bed.
Jumping off the wooden steps to the beach, higher and higher, until you dared to jump from the railings along the boardwalk. I think it was Friday nights we would go to the boardwalk to watch the fireworks display from Playland. Flying kites over the surf when the weather cooled, and sneaking out to the Boardwalk to watch, awestruck, huge summer storms -- was it hurricane Carol?
Evenings with men playing pinochle, women playing mah jongg. Ping Pong, hide & seek around the Jefferson. Costume parties with fat hairy men wearing grass skirts and coconut shell brassieres, and mothers with painted mustaches and sideburns, wearing huge hipster hats, chewing cold cigars.
Then, dreaded September, back to school and insanely diving under your desk to practice for the upcoming atomic war, or wondering whether you were one of the kids who got the fake Polio vaccine. But somehow, during those summers at the Jefferson, there was nothing to fear. Nothing at all.
Beach 45thDoes anyone remember Scott Whitehill or Laird Whitehill? If so, please e-mail me at scott@scottwhitehill.com
Moe's Grocery Store on Beach 28thBarbara posted a comment earlier about her dad owning a grocery store on Beach 28th Street. The name of the grocery store was Moe's, and they carried lots of things for a small store. I lived in bungalows on Beach 28th and Beach 29th Street. These were the most memorable times of my life. I only wish that I could go back and see and relive these wonderful times.
Beach 49thMy family and many of my relatives owned bungalows on Beach 49th and Beach 48th Street. We spent every summer there until the city condemned the properties. My father brought one of the first surfboards there in the early 60s. I have many fond memories of the beach and the friends I made.
(The Gallery, G.G. Bain, NYC, Travel & Vacation)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/01983u1.thumbnail.jpg "Rockaway Bungalows: 1910")
- Stripes and Solids: 1905
- New Jersey circa 1905. "On the beach at Atlantic City." A lively group seen earlier ... shows the Steeplechase and Steel piers. - Dave]
Shore fast line My grandparents would have ranged in age from toddlers to ... Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 12:55pm -
![New Jersey circa 1905. "On the beach at Atlantic City." A lively group seen earlier here. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Gym, tan, laundry.Gym, tan, laundry.
Family TraditionI could weep as I look at this, the life and pleasure of the young who are now all more than 110 years old. This was my grandparents' generation. They loved to visit Atlantic City and 20 years later my father and his three older siblings would be dancing and performing on the Million Dollar Pier, which I believe is pictured here. The stories of my father's boyhood years, summers in Atlantic City, "the playground of the world," and especially the sights and sounds of the Million Dollar Pier, are among my favorites of his. Perhaps like the people pictured here, his family would come by train from Philadelphia (well, they had to cross the river by ferry into Camden and then get the train). The family-- grandmother, uncles, mother and children, would come for the summer, while my grandfather remained in the city, working in the foundry, earning money to keep them there.
[This photo shows the Steeplechase and Steel piers. - Dave]
Shore fast lineMy grandparents would have ranged in age from toddlers to teenagers at this time. They were more likely to have spent summer holidays in Wildwood, though one pair of grandparents rarely missed the Miss America Pageant, which originated at Atlantic City and remained there until it was moved to Las Vegas for reasons that remain a mystery to this writer.
Reading Railroad passengers from Philadelphia took the ferry to Camden's Reading Terminal for trains to Atlantic City but after 1896, Pennsylvania Railroad passengers had the choice of through trains that crossed the Delaware River at the Pennsy's Delair Bridge. Early in the Depression, the joint Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines railroad was formed and the Pennsy lost its monopoly on the Delair bridge.
Those women must have been rather uncomfortable in such voluminous bathing costumes.
Anyone?I have never understood why, in these shots of Atlantic City in the early 20th century, seemingly everyone is a) in the water and b) all bunched together. Nowadays if anyone goes into the ocean, they pretty much keep their distance (unless you are related-and surely all these people weren't) Was it just considered the social thing to do then? I am truly curious.
[I'd say it's because of a) hot weather, and b) the sheer quantity of people. - tterrace]
About ten years laterMy grandfather Harry A. Fox (far right in both images) and fellow sailors from the _USS Indiana_ on the beach at Atlantic City in 1918. In the second image they are clowning with some local children.
(The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY_4a17340a.thumbnail.jpg "Stripes and Solids: 1905")
- Lifting the Nets: 1910
- The Jersey Shore circa 1910. " Lifting the nets -- Young's Million Dollar Pier, ... Posted by Dave - 06/26/2023 - 2:59pm -
![The Jersey Shore circa 1910. "Lifting the nets -- Young's Million Dollar Pier, Atlantic City." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
That's entertainment?Large crowd out in their Sunday best. To watch as some conspicuously empty nets are raised from the Atlantic. Better than watching grass grow, no doubt, but still ...
There's something missing here: context, to put it in the 21st-century way. This is an oddly interesting photograph in need of a 1910-ish caption that explains what the attraction was. My best guess is that it was a chance to get some ocean-breeze relief from the muggy heat of a cloudy-bright summer day.
[Did you not click on the link in the caption? "All manner of fish plucked from the deep spilled onto the deck, as the crowd leaned on the wooden railing and gawked." - Dave]
What the?What the heck is going on here? All those lines, and all those people? Looks chaotic!
A Magical DayAtlantic City was the go-to destination in the mid 1950s for my family and the Million Dollar Pier was another must-go-to attraction. I saw Pat Boone in person. He was a little bland for my taste (Little Richard rocked the songs Boone covered much better) but Mom and Dad enjoyed him.
After Pat Boone we saw a first run of an all-time classic Western, "High Noon". Dad and I loved it and Mom and older sister thought Grace Kelly was nice.
I took a dive to the bottom of the ocean in a diving bell. This disappointed me for I had expectations of being in the middle of a giant aquarium with schools of fish dancing in front of me. All I saw were a few unknown fish swimming in muddy water.
There was a smaller scale fishing-net raising then shown on the pic but still neat. Being an avid fisherman I never understood why the just lowered the nets and let all those fish go.
Pier Day ended with trip to the end of the pier to see a very good comic vaudeville skit with expert divers doing zany acrobatic ocean diving somewhat akin to a Marx Brothers At Sea movie. After that came the famous diving horses. I was impressed by both the horses and the ladies riding the horses. (I was a teen with raging hormones.)
That was almost 70 years ago but it remains seared in my memory so that it seems I can taste the frozen custard and saltwater taffy I had that day.
(The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-4a23377a.thumbnail.jpg "Lifting the Nets: 1910")
- Working Horses of Hoboken: 1910
- Hoboken, New Jersey, circa 1910. "Holland America docks." Lefthand section of a three-part ... Company. View full size.
Timeless Except for the boxcars, it looks more like 1810 than 1910.
Two HP It's amazing what ... to the sidewalk along Frank Sinatra Drive.
Hoboken Shore RR The "tipsy building" is the office of the Hoboken Shore RR, ... Posted by Dave - 08/15/2012 - 4:35pm -
- Wildwood Casino: 1910
- The Jersey Shore circa 1910. "Casino and pier, Wildwood." A popular amenity: "Bathing ... Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 2:05pm -
![The Jersey Shore circa 1910. "Casino and pier, Wildwood." A popular amenity: "Bathing robes to hire." Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size.
Loving these south Jersey photosFirst Cape May, now Wildwood. Keep 'em coming! As one commenter said on the Cape May Point life saving station photo, the area has a distinguished history. Cape May Point has always fascinated me, with the many blocks it's lost to the ocean and the ghosts of an abandoned World War II base that is also eroding away.
Steamers"Hot Sea-Water-Baths"
Sounds like something you'd give a lobster, crab or clam. May I have a little melted butter and lemon with that?
What does it refer to?I have seen the word "casino" used to describe old-time establishments like this. They are usually seaside bathing places from around the early 1900s, and have no association with gambling. Anybody know the origin of this usage of "casino"?
["Casino" (Italian for house) generally means any structure used for social amusements, including gambling. - Dave]
(The Gallery, DPC, Sports)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/4a19484a.thumbnail.jpg "Wildwood Casino: 1910")
- A.C. Pier: 1904
- The Jersey Shore in 1904. "Pier at the inlet, Atlantic City." 8x10 inch dry plate glass ... Posted by Dave - 06/16/2014 - 10:01am -
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