MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME

Search Shorpy

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

Search results -- 30 results per page


Safety First Train: 1917
1917. "Baltimore and Ohio Railway. Safety first train." The train, according to ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/23/2012 - 3:30pm -

1917. "Baltimore and Ohio Railway. Safety first train." The train, according to newspaper accounts, carried exhibits "informing the public of the careful and effective means that are being taken by the government in the interest of good health, safety and preparedness." Shown here at Union Station in Washington. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.
More Tandem EnginesDouble-heading of steam locomotives was rather common, actually.  Getting them started together and running was no harder than it is with diesels or electrics.  Problem in those days was that you had to use two engine crews, therefore driving up the labor costs of operation.  Things are different now; several diesel locomotives can be controlled by one engineer due to a feature called Multiple Unit Control, known as MUing.
Tandem engines I don't see many pictures of tandem steam engines.  I would think it would be difficult to synchronize their operation- unlike diesels and electrics which can be cabled together for common control. 
Pacific 4-6-2sAccording to this steam locomotive site, these two engines (#5115, #5117) were part of 30 P-3 Pacific class locomotives built for B&O by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1913. The Pacific class 4-6-2 engines were the most common steam locomotives for passenger service in the early 1900s with over 6000 operating in the U.S. and Canada.
No. 5117 was not without safety incidents.  On Sept 19, 1919, faulty fasteners caused the ventilator to fall off the back of the cab, injuring one person. 
Baldwin LocomotivesBoth locomotives shown were designated as Class P-3 engines by the B&O and are of 4-6-2 wheel arrangement. They were both built at the Baldwin plant in Eddystone, outside of Philadelphia. During Baldwin's lifetime, 1839-1956, the company produced more than 70,000 locomotives; all but a small number were steam engines.
Gorgeous!Gorgeous locomotives! What I would give to be able to step into this photograph...
DoubleheaderWhen there are two engines on the head end it's called double-heading, not tandem.
More Double-HeadingIf you read my post you'll see that I call it that as well.  In the meantime, you might want to look up the word tandem in the dictionary.
(The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Railroads)

Deck the Halls: 1959
"Janet, Christmas 1959." We return to the Baltimore home of Kermy and his sister , who has the look of a kid who just ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/25/2015 - 8:18pm -

"Janet, Christmas 1959." We return to the Baltimore home of Kermy and his sister, who has the look of a kid who just got ... clothes for Christmas. 35mm Kodachrome slide. View full size.
I spyPretty sure I see a GINNY Doll upside down on that pink box!  I LOVED them & had about 10!  All named Debbie, silly me.  Happy New Year all!
Stamp collectingSomeone (maybe Kermy?) got The Big Bag of foreign Stamps for Christmas.
From eBay: 
The big bags of stampsI remember those being in every five-and-dime store as a kid.  The bright orange bag was quite an attention getter but I never knew anyone who actually wanted one of them, let alone bought one.
Memories of a 50's ChristmasAside from the stiff, uncomfortable dress, of which I had many, 2 things caught my eye - the Big Bag of Foreign Stamps, which would have kept me busy for hours, and the mirror over the fireplace, which is stenciled with Glass Wax stencils.  Not long ago I found an unused set at an estate sale.  
Clothes For ChristmasParental rule: Never give clothes as Christmas presents. Clothing is a natural requirement for kids during the year as they outgrow or wear out. Now if it was some special piece of clothing they hinted they wanted, okay. Just MHO.
Good Morning, Sister!Lengthen that skirt about four inches and this little lady is good to go at Our Lady of Perpetual Travail Junior High.
Love those frecklesbut she probably hated them!
WOW the memories in this imageI too started stamp collecting with one or more of those orange bags of stamps. And the previously mentioned Glass Wax stencils were used at Christmas too.
The Tall Mystery Box with the TreesIt's probably for Dad. Could be Dewar's White Label or Johnnie Walker Red, but my money is on Windsor Canadian.
Another Kit for KermyLooks like brother Kermy got a Strombecker Maserati 250F Grand Prix car model.  
(Christmas, Kermy Kodachromes, Kids)

V: 1942
... a quarter to four, read a magazine and then you're in Baltimore, dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer, than to have your ham ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/05/2012 - 7:10pm -

August 1942. "Crowds at Pennsylvania Station, New York." Medium format negative by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size.
Sentimental JourneyAlthough it is apparent that all the men in uniform have an appointed destination and mission to accomplish, one has to wonder where all the other people are headed with  children and cardboard suitcases.  There seems to be no business men getting on these trains as one would see at Grand Central Station.  I was in a similar line with my mother at the same place just one year later when my grandmother died in Pennsylvania and we took the night train to get there, my first experience as a youngster with a family death.  Quite unforgettable.   
V for Victory, and moreThe “V for Victory” banner dominating the background includes, as you see, the Morse code for the letter: three dots and a dash. Early in WW II the letter began to be used as a rallying signal, expressed by holding up one’s first two fingers with the intent of showing defiance to the Nazis.  The BBC took this idea and created its V for Victory campaign, which continued through the war and essentially was used by all Allied nations and their armed forces.  Mass communication then, obviously, was by radio, and the BBC gave a sound to the campaign for its broadcasts into occupied Europe by using the opening notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. I have no idea if this choice was some wry British humor or what, but Beethoven, of course, was a German.
[It was used because the opening notes of Beethoven's Fifth are three short notes and a long (da-da-da-daaaa), which corresponds to the Morse code for the letter V. -tterrace] [Ahem. That's what I thought I was saying in my first sentence, but I forgot to include the part about the notes.]
As a very young child during the war I traveled through Penn Station quite often and remember two details: the hundreds of model airplanes hanging from the ceiling (black Bakelight plastic aircraft recognition models, identical to a few I had at home) and the crowds of troops arriving and departing, as this photo illustrates. To this day I wonder about the fate of that uniformed generation of Americans that I saw; for some it had to be their last few steps on home soil. 
Next weekend my wife and I will be in Penn Station en route to a place without question much nicer than the destination of many of the military men and women who visited there, all those years ago.
glass tileThat glass tile floor provided light to the tracks below. You can still see some portions of it looking up at the ceiling of the NJ Transit tracks.
Vault LightsNote the glass prism vault lights imbedded in the floor, which were used to illuminate the room underneath. As a kid I remember seeing these in San Francisco, but I think most large cities had them. There's an interesting web site that tell the full story at: 
http://glassian.org/Prism/Vault/index.html
You could make millions!Every person in this photo could have become a millionaire if only he or she had the sudden thought:  "Hey!  Why not build wheels into these suitcases?"
Dinner in the DinerBack in the 1980s, I belonged to a singing group that performed for many "snow birds" in the Phoenix area.  One of the favorite songs of our audiences was "Chattanooga Choo Choo", which includes the lyrics: 
"You'll leave the Pennsylvania station 'bout a quarter to four, read a magazine and then you're in Baltimore, dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer, than to have your ham and eggs in Carolina"  
As one of the oldest in the group, I had to explain what it meant, and keep reminding the other ladies that it wasn't "dinner AT the diner"!  I was the only one who could remember dining cars on trains. In the early to mid 1960s, at 9 and 10 years old, I really didn't think much COULD be finer than dinner in the diner, during a cross-country train trip!  
On a more serious note, I would love to be able to hear what experiences each person in this photo was having, that day, and in the next few years.  Certainly, everyone in it was affected by the global war in some manner.
He's not ordering two more Pimm's CupsHere's Winston Churchill in one of his iconic images, flashing the V for Victory sign.
LIRRThe Long Island Railroad also uses Penn Station as its NYC terminus. At he time this picture was taken it was the best route to that Shorpy favorite, The Rockaways, on the Queens County Shoreline. After a 1950 fire on the tracks running across Jamaica Bay, in Broad Channel, the LIRR felt that the line was too costly to operate and they sold it to NYC  and in 1956 it became the IND Subway System's Rockaway line.  That opened up those great beaches to the rest of the city.
(The Gallery, Marjory Collins, NYC, Railroads, WW2)

Whistle Bottling Works: 1925
... was Christian Heurich but the local beer center was Baltimore, which had dozens of breweries in the '50s and still had five ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 2:22am -

"Whistle Bottling Works." The Whistle beverage plant in Washington, D.C., in 1925. View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.
703 North CapitolThis appears to be a recently opened bottling plant at 703 North Capitol Street.  Papers as late as February 1925 list Whistle Bottling Works at Fourth and F Street Northeast (possible the same facility as the old Jueneman/Carry brewery).  However, by the summer of 1926, S. Farber was bottling Green River ("The Snappy Lime Drink")  at 703 North Capitol NW.  Consistent with this is a 1922 ad for Phillips Bros. & Co (Sausage, Smoked Ham, Bacon, Cooked Ham, Frankfurters) at 705 North Capitol. 
This complex saw earlier use (circa 1900) as a Pabst brewery.  Indeed the top edge of a "Pabst" seal appears visible behind the For Rent sign at #705.
#705 was also site of Plaza Wine and Liquor which was owned and operated by H. Gilmour (Gillie) Young from 1934 to 1980.
Now this entire block is high-end office space.
Whiskey Bottling Works......is how I originally read the title of this post. "Ah, for the days when they distilled American whiskey somewhere other than Kentucky" was going to be my comment. It wasn't until I saw the Hires logo that I realized I'd misread the title.
I know I'm not as cask-conditioned as some of the commenters here, but I am old enough to remember when you could buy the Hires kits and make root beer at home. I always wanted to get my parents to buy some Hires extract, but they had too many horror stories of perfectly good closets ruined by exploding bottles of home-brewed root beer.
Were there any distillers in pre-Prohibition D.C.? I'm fairly new to Shorpy, so maybe you've posted some previously.
[Arlington Brewery is the closest thing I can think of. My dad and his brother tried making root beer at home when they were kids. Their glass gallon jugs exploded in the attic. Too much yeast, Dad said. - Dave]
Ladies WelcomeThe luncheonette on the right has "ladies welcome" on its window... were there some luncheonettes just for men back then? Why would they put that on their window?
[Eating alone (or without a male escort) in a restaurant was something a lot of women had never done before, or felt uncomfortable doing. - Dave]
Home BrewWhen I was roughly Jr. High/early High School age, a friend's mother made root beer at home.  I don't recall anything exploding, but then she was a Home Economics teacher and knew how to follow a recipe.  The stuff wasn't all that great, but it was free, so who was I to complain?
Utica ClubInterestingly, Prohibition had been in place since 1920 and continued until 1933. Yet, the building has an advertising sign for Utica Club Pilsener, which sounds like beer to me. I can't imagine that they were selling it out in the open or that they were selling it at all. Was it just nostalgia or were they expecting the repeal momentarily. The "ladies welcome" sign may have been code for "not a speakeasy."
[Low-alcohol beers and malts were legal during Prohibition. Utica Club Pilsener was marketed as a soft drink. "Ladies welcome" and "Tables for Ladies" was common restaurant signage from the early part of the century into the 1940s. - Dave]
Hi-res BottlingYou know you've been geeking around with computer graphics for too long when you see a sign for Hires pop and instantly read it as "Hi-res".
Area Brews and suchThe big DC brewer was Christian Heurich but the local beer center was Baltimore, which had dozens of breweries in the '50s and still had five (including the brand-new Carling plant) in the mid '60s. There was also the huge Calvert distillery on the south side of town and a Seagram's facility in Dundalk. Everything is gone now.
On that blockIn 1925, my grandfather and his brothers had the "P.O. Visible Lunch" on that block at 727 North Capitol, so named because it was between the Post Office and the Government Printing Office. 
"Visible Lunch" referred to the glass-front cases that allowed customers to watch food being prepared; my dad always told me it was one of D.C.'s first cafeterias.
Any pictures of the P.O., Dave?
[We have pics of the City Post Office here, here, here and here. - Dave]
Phillips Bros. & Company

Advertisement, Washington Post, Oct 8, 1920 


Have You Tasted
Phillips' Old Time Sausage
 all pork and a perfect blend.


Made from the finest quality of pork and spices under the supervision of experts.  Now on sale in all markets and leading grocer and meat stores.  Specify "OLD TIME" if you want the best. There's none just as good.


 manufactured only by
Phillips BROS. & CO.
Factory at 705 N. Capitol St.
Telephone Main 5926





Advertisement, Washington Post, Dec 24, 1920 


Is It Clean?


Some sausage is made under the cleanest of conditions and from the choicest of pork and some isn't. OURS IS!
If you don't believe it, drop into our plant at 705 N. Capitol Street any old time and see


Phillips' Old Time Sausage


in the makeing.  IT'S sold in the green wrapper.


Phillips Brothers & Co.
704 N. Capitol St.
Telephone Main 5926


(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)

Eckington Yards: 1923
... June 4, 1923." A rare and unusually detailed look at the Baltimore & Ohio rail yard in Washington, D.C., during that year's big ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/20/2014 - 7:20am -

        UPDATE: Click here for a better look at the big locomotive barely visible behind the freight yard sign.

"Eckington Yards, June 4, 1923." A rare and unusually detailed look at the Baltimore & Ohio rail yard in Washington, D.C., during that year's big gathering of Masonic lodges. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.
Just extend the parking area quicklyIt looks as if some tracks are laid only temporarily. Especially, the right-most track (that on which the boys sit with the tuba on the last Sleeper) and track 11 1/2 looks as if as the rails were laid without any gravel on the pavement. Also between 14 and 15 seems to have been laid a track. Maybe there were too many Masons in the city for the normal freight sidings.
And in the foreground a tram track with underground power line is to be seen. Unfortunately, the steam locomotive with Vanderbilt tender is covered by the B & O plate. Can eventually someone on the base of the few recognizable details see (Vanderbilt tub, slider control) recognize the loco? 
(To the Moderators: Excuse my English, it is not my mother's language!)
[Sie schreiben ein geläufiges englisch! - Dave]
East of EckingtonI'll surmise that this parcel of land is bounded by R Street NE to the north, the B&O rail line's junction with the Pennsylvania RR to the east (the core of today's Ivy City rail shops),  New York Avenue to the south, and Eckington place to the west.  If so, the photographer was facing east-northeast on a rooftop on the west side of Eckington Place.  B&O team tracks remained on this site until at least 1980.  The streetcar rails in the lower left foreground lead to and from the the streetcar barn at 4th and T Streets NE.
[Click to enlarge. - Dave]

Honey-buckets abound!It looks like the sleeping cars here were being used as lodging for the conventioneers. Waste cans are placed under the cars' toilet outlet pipes. There must have been a shortage of those as well since some look like ordinary cooking pots (Yikes!) instead of the galvanized pails with chutes attached.
I agree with tangoo2 that at least two of the tracks look like they were hastily laid right over the brick pavers.
I agree with chrmerOut of nosiness, I went in and looked at an old USGS topo map from about 20 years after this photo was taken, and you can see where the rail lines swing inwards.  If the topo map is accurate., *all* the tracks left of the shelter in this shot are temporary.  The row of houses visible in the background would be the rear of the rowhomes along R street, and the shot would have to have been taken somewhere on Eckington Place just above the intersection with Florida Avenue.
The tracks are clearly visible in this map from 1945.
This must bethe largest gathering of passenger cars, and across the smoke covered background there seems to be the same amount.
Fractional ObjectsNote the Tracks 11-1/2 and 13-1/2.  I used to work in a building that was specially constructed to make Curtiss-Wright propellers during WWII.  The building was laid out on a grid system, only I didn't realize it at first.  When I asked for directions and was told that my destination was "over by Door 8-1/2" I said, "Wha...?"
The locomotiveFrom what little is visible it appears to be a class EL-1 2-8-8-0 in original condition. They were built by Baldwin as Mallet-system articulateds -- compound engines with slide valves on the leading engine unit.
[For a better view of the locomotive, click here. - Dave]
Thanks Dave, that's a great photo. Two engines I'd love to run, for different reasons! :)
Re: The LocomotiveEL class mallet indeed.  And judging from its shiny condition it is on display.  Such a low-drivered freight slugger would never have been used to haul passengers into DC.  Mallets were built for tortuous routes over mountain grades, and on the B&O were rarely run east of Cumberland MD.
Dorms on railsAccording to Herb Harwood this sort of dormitory setup in Eckington happened several times in this period. The extra sidings are made up of what's called "panel track", which is just what it sounds like: preassembled lengths like in your HO or Lionel set. They were normally used for temporary repairs but could also just be set down for this sort of arrangement.
(The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Railroads)

Slush Bus: 1942
... likely was taken during the Palm Sunday Blizzard that hit Baltimore and Washington on March 29-30, 1942. Twenty-two inches of snow fell in Baltimore and about a foot fell in Washington. The Infamous Palm Sunday ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/17/2019 - 5:53pm -

March 1942. Washington, D.C. "Bus going through the snow near Connecticut Avenue and Chevy Chase Circle." No one ever moved to Washington for the weather! Photo by John Ferrell for the Office of War Information. View full size.
Bus TurnaroundThis pic was probably at the bus turn-around on the west side of Conn Ave just south of the Circle. DC buses couldn't continue into Maryland. The Maryland buses were allowed to enter the DC to use the turn-around ... but not farther. The restriction on "transborder" service ended some time after WW2.
Sweet Nepenthe!With more than ten years' residence in the greater DC area, I am bound to say that despite the occurrence of heavy weather at least once most winters, the civil authorities usually react as if the blizzard in question were the first since Pangaea broke up, and any motorists with experience of driving in slippery weather have that knowledge wiped from their minds.
LetterboxedThis bus is identifiable by the very short windshield, which must have had lots of blind spots. Not to mention the minuscule driver's outside rear view mirror. It appears to be a late 1930s White, and here is a photo shows one that is preserved by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) in operating condition. 
Palm Sunday BlizzardThis photo likely was taken during the Palm Sunday Blizzard that hit Baltimore and Washington on March 29-30, 1942.  Twenty-two inches of snow fell in Baltimore and about a foot fell in Washington.
The Infamous Palm Sunday BlizzardI grew up in Baltimore in the 40's and every time there was a storm over three inches in depth the "Old Folks" would go into detail about that Palm Sunday Blizzard. 
My mother (b. 1904) who lived into the 1980's was still talking about that storm in her 80's. Her eyes would glaze over whenever a big snow storm hit and out would come, "This is bad but on Palm Sunday in '42 we really had a bad storm."
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., John Ferrell)

Capital Transit: 1935
... cable vault. Conduit runs north to Silver Spring and on to Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York (and south to Richmond). The original Long ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/03/2014 - 12:38pm -

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

Sikorsky Christening: 1925
... The plane left New York at 10 o'clock. At Logan field, Baltimore, it was forced to earth on account of a water leak, which was quickly ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/03/2012 - 9:42am -

May 8, 1925. Washington, D.C. " 'Yorktown.' Christening of Sikorsky plane." View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.
S-29-Athis appears to be the Sikorsky S-29-A. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_S-29-A
SikorskyInteresting mix of clothing, from the knickers on the left to the women's coats and hats to the brass and the big wigs--plus the mechanics/engineers on the craft. Is the girl standing on the chair going to do the honors?
The DesignerThat's Igor Sikorsky himself third from the left in the Homburg (his personal trademark).
Yorktown Airplane Service InstitutedWashington Post, May 9 1925
Yorktown Airplane Service Instituted
Six days were required by messengers on horseback to carry news of Cornwallis' defeat from Yorktown, Va., to New York in 1781.  Yesterday the same distance was covered in a few hours by the giant Sikorsky transport which instituted airplane passenger service between New York and Yorktown, and was christened with brief ceremonies at Bolling field.
The plane left New York at 10 o'clock.  At Logan field, Baltimore, it was forced to earth on account of a water leak, which was quickly remedied by workmen.  The plane loomed into sight above Bolling field at 1:45 o'clock, ten minutes before it was expected.  Army officers and guests welcomed the passengers.  An address was delivered by Gen. R. Allyn Lewis.  Count Igor Sikorsky, designer and builder of the plane, who piloted the craft to Washington, also spoke.
A bottle of water was broken across the bow of the plane by Miss Elizabeth Owens, who christened the plane the "Yorktown."
Following the christening, the plane flew to Yorktown, where zero milestones commemorative of the event are to be placed.  The service has been established for New York business men who spend week-ends in Virginia.
Connection to Howard Hughes!This aircraft is indeed the S-29A (The A stands for first Sikorsky model built in America).  It was eventually sold to famed stunt pilot Roscoe Turner, who in turn sold it to Howard Hughes.  Hughes had it disguised as a WWI German Gotha bomber, and it was crashed (spun in) during the filming of Hells Angels.
I have a later original print of the same airplane with Roscoe Turner in it.  Shorpy is an amazing website!
(The Gallery, Aviation, D.C., Natl Photo)

Aero Mail: 1918
... Emergency landing fields have been established at Baltimore and Havre de Grace, Md., Wilmington Del., and New Brunswick, N.J. In ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/22/2012 - 8:38pm -

"Inauguration of Aero Mail service. Polo Field mechanics." On May 15, 1918, "America's first aerial mail service was put into operation when aeroplanes piloted by Army aviators carried consignments of mail from New York and Philadelphia to Washington, and from Philadelphia to New York." View full size.
Jenny Was No LadyLooks like a Hisso-powered Curtiss Jenny (JN-4H). If you recall, there are some really rare air mail stamps out there with an upside-down Jenny printed on them - that would be this plane.
http://www.ancientalley.com/ancient/rhinebck/jenny/jenny1.htm
Rare version of a classicThis is a Curtiss JN-4H "Jenny," widely used in pilot training. What makes this picture unusual is the Jenny's engine, a 150 hp Hispano-Suiza, the same type used in Eddie Rickenbacker's famous Spad fighter plane of the Lafayette Escadrille. The much more common JN-4D Jennys used the underpowered 90 hp Curtiss OX-5, with its Rube Goldberg open-air rocker arm assembly, unlike the modern Hispano-Suiza's smooth valve covers seen here.
The 150 hp JN-4H was quite the hot rod for its time and is fairly rare compared to the rank-and-file JN-4D. Incidentally, it's considered bad form to hang on the propeller, these things can have a "hot magneto" and start at any time.
George Clooney, is that you?Between the guy on the left with his fly undone and the one in the middle who's still too young to shave.
Almost as Safe as an Auto

Mail Air Line is Ready
Puts Locomotion Now Familiar to a New Use for People.

With the establishment of a regular aeroplane mail service between Washington and New York on Wednesday, the Postoffice Department considers that the project is experimental only in a sense that a means of locomotion now familiar is to be put to a new use.  The war has demonstrated effectively that the aeroplane as a conveyance is almost as dependable and safe as an automobile, so the only real obstacle in the way of successfully operating the new air lines lies in the maintaining service under all kinds of weather conditions.
Twelve large training planes, each capable of making a maximum speed of 90 miles an hours, have been furnished by the War Department, to be used in the new service.  The planes are one-seaters, as to maximum of space is desired in the fuselage for the storing of mail bags.  They are built along the lines of the regulation bombing machines.
These planes are now being assembled in Mineola, N.Y.  Three will be station in New York, six in Philadelphia, and three in Washington.  Those for Washington will be shipped here either today or tomorrow.
Aviators for the service have been detailed from the ranks of the fighting airmen, in that War Department officials believe that the fliers will acquire valuable training in piloting the big mail aeroplanes over the long cross-country flights.
The schedule provides for the departure of one plane each day from this city and New York.  The machines will leave at 11:30 o'clock in the morning and it is hoped to have the mail deposited at the other end not more than three hours later.   Starting from the aviation field in Potomac Park, the trip to Philadelphia, about 135 miles, is expected to be made in about an hour and twenty minutes.  At the hangers in North Philadelphia another machine will be waiting, ready to start the flight to New York as soon as the incoming plane lands and the transfer of mail bags has been made.  The second leg of the journey from Philadelphia to Belmont field, in the Long Island suburbs of New York should be made in about an hour.  The large planes are equipped to carry 600 pounds of mail or approximately 24,000 letters.  The smaller machines will carry about half that amount.
Emergency landing fields have been established at Baltimore and Havre de Grace, Md., Wilmington Del., and New Brunswick, N.J.  In the event of a machine breaking down at some interurban point in its journey, the mail sacks will be rushed by motor truck to the nearest railroad station, where they will be sent forward in care of a courier.
...
[Article continues with discussion of air mail stamps]

Washington Post, May 13, 1918 


Wutta Prop JobNote the beautiful varnish finish on the propeller.  Usually, that's all that's left of these machines today, since the finish preserves the wood so well.  The same can't be said for the fabric.  You can find any number of prop blades of similar vintage in antique shops across Cape Cod.
Intrepid aviatorsThe rate of fatalities among these early service pilots is chilling.  The mail had to get through and brave pilots like these did their utmost to accomplish the mission.  They pushed weather to the extreme limit and often paid with their lives.  Every early mail pilot is a HERO!
Inauspicious BeginningsThose mechanics needed to be spending a bit more time checking out the aircraft and less time posing for photos. The following account of inaugural flight mishaps is from 2009 book Flying Across America: The Airline Passenger Experience by Daniel L. Rust.


Employing U.S. Army pilots, the service began on May 15, 1918, from the Washington, D.C., polo grounds.  An array of dignitaries, including President Woodrow Wilson, attended the event.  They witnessed Lieutenant George L. Boyle climb into the cockpit ready for flight, only to discover that the plane's engine refused to start.  Minutes passed before someone checked the gas tank — it was empty.  The crowd laughed as mechanics scrambled to fill the tank.  At last, Boyle took off, bound for Philadelphia.  But he mistakenly flew around, rather than past, Chesapeake Bay, away from this destination.  Upon landing 24 miles way from the starting point, Boyle's craft flipped over, and the mail was transferred to a train for transport to Philadelphia.

The Army flew the mail again...in the spring of 1934, when negotiations between the Post Office Department and private air carriers broke down. 
Again, considerable lives and aircraft were lost because AAC pilots didn't have the training or equipment required to meet constantly changing conditions and urgent schedules. Hap Arnold, then a lieutenant colonel in command of the western sector, admitted weather forecasts were essentially worthless to his fliers. 
Maurer Maurer, an Air Force historian, wrote much about the mail flights of 1934 in his book Aviation in the U.S. Army, an amazing resource for the interwar era of military flight. They did much with little in those days.
(The Gallery, Aviation, D.C., Harris + Ewing)

Batteries to Bananas: 1939
... It's on a diesel engine aboard Torsk, a WWII submarine in Baltimore's inner harbor. PENETRO Inhaler The secret ingredient? ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/14/2018 - 12:02pm -

October 1939. "Grinding coffee. General store selling everything from batteries to bananas in Lamoille, Iowa." Medium format acetate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Industrial-looking GrinderWow! My earliest memory of a coffee grinder involves an Eight O'Clock machine in an A&P market in the early 1950s -- completely self-contained and smelled just fabulous. Can you imagine a giant machine like this in today's world of consumer and employee safety?
I must know!What kind of ancient Iowa torture device is this?
Product PlacementI'm not sure putting shoe polish next to spices is the way to go, but it might make for some unique odors.  
Torture device?Those look like the grip pegs on the sled for a meat slicer, with the blade just out of frame.
PenetroPenetro was a nasal inhaler that apparently contained (mostly) camphor and menthol. 
You stuck in in one nostril, pinched off the other and snorted it in, and the menthol gave you at least the feeling of relief. 
Vicks still makes a similar product, I used them as a kid in the '70s, not terribly effective but when you're sick any relief is welcome. 
Picture found on the Internet.
Fairbanks-MorseNow that's a name I've not heard in a long time.  It's on a diesel engine aboard Torsk, a WWII submarine in Baltimore's inner harbor.
PENETRO InhalerThe secret ingredient? Mutton suet.
Finger smasherI don't know how people kept fingers in those days. Unshielded belt drives aren't allowed even in factories today, let alone in a public store!   
Cumquats!I want my cumquats!
Fairbanks Morse ContinuedThey were a firm primarily known for their opposed-piston diesel marine engines, but apparently had their hands in sundry other things. They started building diesel locomotives in the 1940s using the same type of engines, eventually producing the legendary FM Trainmaster.
Fairbanks Morse & Co.

Brands, brands, brands

Very difficult to find with "Breakfast" between "Hershey" and "Cocoa".

(The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)

House Beautiful: 1950
... bronze pointing men (there are seven casts in all) to the Baltimore Museum of Art; three years later, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/12/2015 - 12:11pm -

Nov. 12, 1950. "John D. Rockefeller III, residence at 252 E. 52nd Street, New York City. Living room to fireplace with model." Note the Giacometti "Pointing Man." Large-format acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.
A Johnson JewelEvery week I take my son to the Turtle Bay Music school at 244 E 52nd. It is directly next to this very building (242, not 252). I had no idea this was a Philip Johnson-designed Rockefeller "crash pad", what a great discovery!
Yowza!That 20th century life size bronze sculpture (5 ft. 10" high) by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti, just sold yesterday at Christie's  for an eye-popping $141.3 MILLION!
[That was another of the six casts made, not the Rockefeller piece, however. -tterrace]
The Giacometti is now in MOMAAccording to Christie's,
"In 1951, the adventurous American collector Saidie May, an early patron of the Abstract Expressionists, bequeathed another of the bronze pointing men (there are seven casts in all) to the Baltimore Museum of Art; three years later, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller donated her cast of the sculpture to the Museum of Modern Art."
It's still there.
Not a place where I would want to live.Looks like a very sterile place to me.  
Eye of this beholder....All the warmth and ambience of a hospital lobby.
Someone has to askWhat the heck is on the the coffee table?
Landmark DesignationThe report and approval for Landmark status by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, the year 2000: see it here.
By the fireplaceHe's got a genii bottle, no wonder he was so rich!!!
Musically inclinedIt appears that the woman is reading sheet music.
The object on the coffee table......is a shmoo.
(The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, NYC)

Minute Service No. 1: 1925
... including Minute Service Station No. 3, and Lord Baltimore No. 6 . Other Minute Service Stations seen at Shorpy are No. 2 ... American Oil was not part of the Trust, Amoco was based in Baltimore before Indiana Standard acquired it. Sun Oil (Sunoco) was also not ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/12/2011 - 6:03pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1925. "Minute Service Station, 17th & L streets N.W." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
GaseteriaI see Amoco, Sunoco, and Standard. How many brands do they have at one station?
A real life game of MonopolyIt was actually quite common for the full service stations of early days to give patrons a choice of petroleum brands.  Just look in the Shorpy archives at other 1920's filling stations and you will see many stations with various "brands" at their pumps. However all of these particular brands are related. Standard Oil of John D. Rockefeller fame was broken up in 1911. But Amoco, Sun Oil and Standard were all once part of the Rockefeller monopoly that got trust-busted.
PerspectivesThis appears to be looking north on 17th Street with the Mayflower Hotel in the background.
17th and LLooking northwest. Tom has correctly identified the Mayflower Hotel (the only landmark)
View Larger Map
Oiling and GreasingA fine modern design by architect Robert F. Beresford, previously seen in final construction.  Beresford aided in the design of the adjacent Mayflower Hotel as well as other service stations seen on Shorpy including  Minute Service Station No. 3, and Lord Baltimore No. 6.  Other Minute Service Stations seen at Shorpy are No. 2 and No. 5.
I find the advertisement for the L street Garage interesting in that original business model for the garage was to provide overnight, heated parking for the finicky autos of the day. The L street Garage was later renamed Mayflower Garage and provided parking for both guests of the hotel as well as shoppers on Connecticut Avenue. The service station and garage were razed in 1960 to make way for office space.



Washington Post, Apr 9. 1922 


Open Largest Gas Station Tomorrow
New Building is Last Word in Completeness,
Beauty, Speed and Arrangement.

Washington's largest and most attractive gasoline station will be opened for business tomorrow.  The announcement will be of interest, particularly to motorists of the large northwest section, and will mark the coming of something new in gasoline stations.
The Washington Accessories Company, composed of Messrs. W.T. Gallither, president of the American National Bank; C.E. Galliher, of W.T. Galliher & Bro., lumber dealers and Allan E. Walker, president of Allan E. Walker & Co., is the owner of the new enterprise, which represents an investment of more than $150,000, in ground, building and equipment.
...
Particular stress is laid on the fact that the station is so designed as to have free entry to every pump for either side, and to make it possible to drive out when ready, no matter how many cars are at the pumps ahead.
Calling attention to a rapidly growing evil in gas stations - that of tipping - the company announces that its employees are positively forbidden to accept tips under any conditions.
...
A large two-story granite stucco building has been erected on L street.  This houses the accessories store.  A very complete stock of automotive supplies will be carried, and both wholesale and retail business will be featured.
A second building, similar in construction, in in the rear of the first, and contains an auto laundry, battery station, and tire repair departments.
...
Edward E. Lipphard, who has been connected with the automobile accessory business in Washington for several years, and who enjoys a wide acquaintance, throughout the Capital, will manage the new enterprise. 


(click to enlarge)




Washington Post, Sep 30, 1923 


New Garage Opening

The L Street garage, a new four-story, fireproof garage building, located at 1705 L street northwest, will be opened for business tomorrow, according to an announcement made by the company.
The garage will be operated by the L Street Garage company incorporated, which is owned by Galliher-Walker Investment corporation.  D.M. Gordan is the manager of the new enterprise.  It adjoins the splendid filling station and accessory store of the Washington Accessories Company which is owned by the same corporation.  
The L Street garage is a splendid 4-story, fireproof building with lime-stone front, which presents a very attractive  appearance.  It is located on a lot 43 by 130 feet with over 5,500 square feet of floor space on each floor, a total of over 22,000 square feet.
One of the unusual features of this building is that the supporting pillars are place within four feet of the side walls, thus leaving practically the entire width of the building free for easy movement and arrangement of cars.  Very liberal window space provides unusual light on every floor. Wide entrances are located on L street and on the alley at the rear of the building.  Offices and an accessory store are located on the the first floor with comfortable and attractive waiting rooms adjoining.  A ladies' rest room is located on the mezzanine.  


(click to enlarge)

You don't see that anymoreI have to say that all gasoline stations of the 30-40's just seem so much nicer, safer and friendlier places than they are today.  Perhaps it is because you have people waiting to assist you, the down side of course it that they closed, they certainly were not open 24 hrs a day.  I would love to visit that station and ask them to "fill er up."  
Many faces of Standard OilThe Standard Oil in DC was the New Jersey company, and fits the bill for the pre-bust comment. American Oil was not part of the Trust, Amoco was based in Baltimore before Indiana Standard acquired it. Sun Oil (Sunoco) was also not part of pre-1911 Standard Oil. It did buy in to the Standard legacy when it bought the remains of the old Atlantic Refining Company of Philadelphia (Atlantic) from Arco in 1988. Atlantic was part of pre-1911 Standard. Sunoco's A-plus convenience stores are the biggest legacy of old Atlantic.
+90Below is the same view from May of 2015.
(The Gallery, D.C., Gas Stations, Natl Photo)

Sign Here: 1924
... his own somewhere in the Middle West. The Baltimore Sun, July 1928. Tracking down the Autograph … ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/08/2015 - 1:09am -

        UPDATE: This is the Croatian-American "world walker" Joseph (Josip) Frank Mikulec. More here and here. And here.
August 6, 1924. "Joseph Frank [illegible] at White House with album for autographs." His pencil, however, was not allowed in. View full size.
Joseph Frank Mikulec
No word on what happened to Joseph’s giant books of autographs.



New York Times, September 2, 1923.

Autograph Collector Here in World Tours


Joseph Mikulec, autograph collector, has covered several hundred thousand miles and twice traveled around the world to get signatures of prominent persons in all countries. In travel-stained clothes and with his huge book strapped upon his back, he went to City Hall a few days ago and got the signature of Mayor Hylan.

After visiting several local celebrities in financial circles, Mikulec started West again. His leather-bound book, which weighs fifty-seven pounds, is the second he has carried to the far corners of the world. In it he proudly exhibits the signatures of five Presidents—Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. The book is heavy with seals of many States and cities, and contains the names of Lloyd George, Lord Curzon, the Prince of Wales, Prince Lubormirski, the President of China, Admiral Togo of Japan, J. Pierpont Morgan, a long list of United States Senators, American Ambassadors, Ambassadors to the United States and many editors and noted writers.

Mikulec left his home in Stubica, Croatia, twenty-two years ago, when he was 23 years old, and began his long pilgrimage on foot, traveling from city to city in Central Europe. After several years of incessant travel on the Continent he visited the United States, making his home in Philadelphia and becoming a citizen in December, 1910. Later he returned to his wanderings and visited Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, India, Egypt, the Holy Land and South Africa.

Mikulec said he was now about ready to settle down. He hoped to see his autograph books placed in a position of honor in a museum. Then, he said, he would get a small farm of his own somewhere in the Middle West.




The Baltimore Sun, July 1928.

Tracking down the Autograph


… The enlightened collector seeks items which stir his feelings for the past. This change in the aim of autograph collecting has been the tragedy of one man, Joseph Frank Mikulec, who twenty-nine years ago started around the world collecting the autographs of the great ones of every land. When he ran out of money he painted portraits, houses and landscapes until he had a stake for his next pilgrimage. As he circumpedaled the globe his album grew until it became a sort of great register of the noted men and women of the nineteenth century. Mikulec developed a set of Atlas-like shoulder muscles from packing his giant album on his back. Finally, when he found himself staggering under the fifty-eight pounds of autographs, he had a perambulator made and today he wheels his life work about. A generation ago his book might have been a treasure, but today dealers are not interested.

Trend SetterAbout fifty years thence, his carry style would make a big hit with owners of portable stereos.
Dream StirringI'm really disappointed the book is missing because this post really piqued my interest.  I think to view it would be utterly fascinating the way Mikulec attached notes, photos, seals and postage stamps of the people concerned.
I need to do some researchI'd be interested to see if he's in our family tree somewhere down the line. My dad's parents emigrated from that area back before World War 2.
(The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo)

Randle Elementary: 1940
... to make the section as beautiful as Roland Park, in Baltimore or Bryn Mawr, near Philadelphia. When I was a kid The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/11/2015 - 3:40pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1940. "Nation's Business. Children leaving Randle School." Nitrate negative by Theodor Horydczak. View full size.
The carCouldn't help investigating what the car is: Pretty sure it is a 1938 Plymouth P6 Sedan. It has a six cylinder 201 cid side valve engine and a 3 speed manual transmission. When the car was introduced in autumn 1937, people found it ugly. The factory soon made slight changes to its appearance. I can't say if this is a modified model or original. Anyway, I would be happy to have one.
Fat chanceHow many obese children can you count in this photo? Today, where I live, the challenge would be to find one or two children who are of an appropriate weight for their age.
Arthur E. RandleCol. Arthur Randle was a wealthy real estate entrepreneur who donated lands to the District of Columbia.  He also developed Randle Cliff Beach several miles south of Chesapeake Beach. That was a long time ago. Col. Randle died in 1929. He is buried in the old Congressional Cemetery in Southeast Washington near the grave of John Philip Sousa.
Sans IvyBuilding is still there, but the neighborhood has changed.
View Larger Map
No Hovering ZoneNote the lack of "helicopter parents" picking up their children. Unlike today, these children seem to enjoy a bit of freedom in the journey from school to home.
Note that the women are all wearing seamed stockings.
Ivy leagueI pity the fool who had to strip off all that vegetation.
Rooftop Classrooms

Washington Post, Oct 11, 1911


New School is Named
Children Lay Cornerstone

At the request of the Randle Highlands Citizens' Association, the new $64,000 school building in course of construction in that locality has been named the Randle Highlands School.  The cornerstone was laid yesterday by four children — John R. Woodward, Charles A. Barker, and Mabel L. and Kate S. Reilley. After the stone had been raised by a derrick the children clasped their hands around the top of it and pressed it into position as the workmen guided its corse.
The cost of the structure is exclusive of the ground, which was donated by Col. Arthur E. Randle.  The grounds contain 3½ acres, being large enough for a playground, and are more extensive than any similar site in the District.  The building is upon a high elevation, from which a magnificent view of the entire city can be obtained.  Kinker & Garrett are the contractors.  It will be completed in March, 1912.
Provisions will be made on the roof for an open-air school.  There will be eight rooms, exclusive of the halls and playrooms.  Frederick brick are being used with stone trimmings on the front.  City water and sewer mains will be extended to the new building.
The new engine house is completed, and will be dedicated with the next two weeks.  Congress has recently appropriated over $700,000 for the improvement of this section.  It is planned to make the section as beautiful as Roland Park, in Baltimore or Bryn Mawr, near Philadelphia.

When I was a kidThe building is upon a high elevation, from which a magnificent view of the entire city can be obtained.
So the kids really DID have to walk to school uphill, both ways.
Randle highlandsI drive by it all the time, to say the neighborhood has changed is an understatement.  Its a pretty kool school, children are the same everywhere.  But it's all uphill from most directions. 
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Education, Schools, Kids, Theodor Horydczak)

Organ Meet: 1924
... McDonogh died in 1850, the residents of New Orleans and Baltimore were surprised to find themselves the beneficiaries of his ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/05/2020 - 3:46pm -

"Organ grinder, New Orleans, 1924." Nitrate negative by Arnold Genthe. View full size.
Offal TitleOh, man --
724 Saint Philip StThe large building on the left, across from Montalbano's Italian Grocery, is now gone, but everything else looks basically the same.

Organ Grinder Econ 101? How did one actually make a living as an organ grinder? 
The Missing BuildingThe sizable gap was a building that explains the group of kids seen in the photo. It was the McDonogh Public School #15 on St. Phillip Street.
New Orleans once had more than a dozen schools numbered and called McDonogh. Why? A local history of the schools explains:
"When wealthy recluse John McDonogh died in 1850, the residents of New Orleans and
Baltimore were surprised to find themselves the beneficiaries of his considerable estate.
His will specified that the money was to be used for the purpose of establishing public
schools in the two cities for "education of the poor of all castes and races."  When the
complicated details had been hammered out and the bequest had been honored, over 30
public schools bearing John McDonogh's name had been constructed in New Orleans.
Finding photos of the original McDonogh schools was more difficult than I thought it would
be.  Most of the McDonogh schools were demolished and rebuilt very early on, as the
population increased and larger buildings were required.  (Many of these second McDonogh
schools are still standing, more than a century later.)  Some were even rebuilt a third time. "
But not McDonogh #15. Farewell ...
Where's The Monkey?The little girl appears to be looking for something.
Flora PowerThese kids undoubtedly had ironclad immune systems. 
Grinding for penniesOrgan grinders made money by receiving tips for their musical performance. Many folks considered them to be only one step up from beggars. However, at that time music itself, particularly for the less fortunate, was a rare thing to hear unless one's family had talent and instruments, so the performance was actually worth spending a few pennies. Often the grinders would have a monkey or human performers with them, sometimes in costume, who would stage a kind of street performance to jazz it up a bit.  
Ultimately the grinders were driven out because music licensing came into effect, effectively preventing grinders from performing the current hits, such as they were. Very few actual grind organs still exist as a result.
This fellow works a long day, since he has a lit lantern with him, foretelling his lengthy evening's work ahead. 
I love the fact that the performer has stuffed his ears with cotton to dampen the deafening noise.
[I suspect the lanterns were a city requirement for carts. - Dave]
Not a Mighty WurlitzerHere's a video demonstrating what those simple pipe organs sound like along with a glimpse at how they work.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_PsFtxIIcw
Another with a trove of period photographs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9efnMNP-s0Q
You Too can be an Organ GrinderA quick search of the internet reveals a kit organ that is operated by hand power and a punched paper roller not unlike a player piano. This one, while new, seems a tad wheezy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_PsFtxIIcw
Organ grinder girlThe recent run of circa 1910 photos have been wonderful: Manchester NH, Cleveland, NYC, Charleston, LA.  (Not so big on the four doctors and the arthritic foot in 1949.)  But I keep going back to New Orleans in 1924, on Tuesday, four days ago, to reinspect the central character (for me) that I’ve come to think of as the organ grinder girl: her face in profile, prominent nose, and a distinct spark in her step.  She is so taken with the cart and maybe even the organ grinder fellow.  All the other kids have something going on, too, but I have come back every day, for these past few days, as one does frequently on Shorpy, to look at this arresting girl.
(The Gallery, Arnold Genthe, Kids, New Orleans)

Speed Racer: 1920
... for women and five young ladies who rode in the event in Baltimore on July 4 have entered. All men in uniform will be admitted free ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 10:32pm -

Washington, D.C., 1920. "Donnie Moore in Duesenberg." View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative, Library of Congress.
HoodDont know if I would be wanting to sit behind that hood.Car doesnt really look up to going fast..
SpeedRacing cars of this period had huge in-line aero type engines and were capable of high speeds. The main problem in attaining this, was the dirt roads of the time. Without fenders over the wheels, flying dirt and stones were a major hazard to the drivers.
Drive Slow, My Foot!This Doozy was a powerful machine. I wonder what the building in back was...looks very modern for a 1920s "skyscraper". Any info on where this building was/is?
[Wardman Park Hotel at Connecticut Avenue and Woodley Road. - Dave]
Gran Turismo XXThat car was meant to race. The hinges on the hood are set on the side so it won't fly up into the face of the driver. This is not a pampered track racer, that spare tire indicates longer races through the countryside. Add in the quick change lugs and the wire wheels and you're ready to race on the dirt.
Donnie Moore: Southern title holder The Washington Post, July 31, 1918 
Auto and Motorcycle races will beheld at Benning Saturday afternoon for the benefit of the Camp Meigs athletic fund. Many racing drivers and factory experts have been brought to Washington by the war, and the entry list will contain the names of many well-known pilots.
"Krazy Horse" Verrill, the circular dirt track champion; Donnie Moore, the Southern title holder; Shaffer, Denham, Harley, Cooksey, Spindler, Zimmerman and Parkhurst are among those who will compete.
Eight events have been listed, the feature being a 10-mile race for a purse of $500 between Moore and Denham.  Another special will be a 5-mile race for women and five young ladies who rode in the event in Baltimore on July 4 have entered.
All men in uniform will be admitted free and the charge to others will be 50 cents.
A real DoozyThis is one of the cars that established the Duesenberg legend. It was hot stuff all through the twenties. Also the origin of the slang term "doozy."
http://www.duesenberg-racing.com/historyauto.htm 
ErrataDave
My fingers must have gotten carried away while typing.  The size of the purse quoted in the Washington Post account was $500, not $5000
also, on a more minor point, it should be "factory workers" not "factor workers"
[Fixed, thanks. And as I like to remind people, if you register as a Shorpy user and log in to leave comments, you can go back and edit them at any time. Hint, hint. - Dave]
A word from the Partnership of English Majors...It's "Drive Slowly." Geez.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Sports)

The Big Pennsylvania Hole: 1908
... about a quarter to four, read a magazine and you're in Baltimore? Eighth Avenue The large concrete structure in the center of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 7:00pm -

New York circa 1908. "The big Pennsylvania hole." Excavations for Pennsylvania Station. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
All Gone to HeavenThe church on the left was the last survivor of all the buildings shown on the north side of 33rd Street (between 8th and 9th Aves). It finally went under the wrecking ball just within the last few years. On the latest Google Maps image it is a vacant lot with a "Build to Suit" sign in front. I don't recall the name of the church.
If Gimbel's doesn't have itA most excellent, awesome and amazing image. The view is to the east/northeast. Macy's is on 34th Street, between 7th Avenue and Broadway.
Is this really whereyou leave the Pennsylvania station about a quarter to four, read a magazine and you're in Baltimore?
Eighth AvenueThe large concrete structure in the center of the hole is the 8th Avenue Viaduct, still quite visible from the track area in Penn. The area being excavated is currently under the old Moynihan Postal station. Which is out to bid to turn it into a new version of Penn Station, appropriately called Moynihan Station. The first phase was bid several weeks ago and will probably be awarded in about 2 months with construction starting 4th quarter 2012.
Hole other viewPennsylvania Excavation by George Wesley Bellows at the Smith College Museum of Art:
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)

The Clerical Army: 1924
... desks from surplus stocks, including 125 brought from Baltimore in army trucks, which he estimated represented a saving of $100,000. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 2:28am -

From 1924, another view of clerks calculating the "soldiers' bonus" for the War Department. View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.
Change of SeasonsComparing this photo to the previous posting, I expected to see the same individuals in the same seats. Not so. Not only is this a different day, its an entirely different season.  In the previous photo, everyone was dressed in dark sweaters  and the electric fans were stationary.  Here, light colored short-sleeves abound, the fans are whirring, and the windows are wide open.
Also that very orderly line of wastebaskets has now appeared.

Clear measures of thriftiness in the following article regarding desks and electric fans but no mention of tabulators. If only Haliburton would show similar measures of patriotic "economies" with taxpayer dollars today.
 Washington Post, Aug 26, 1924

 Bonus Bureau Saves $250,000 in Salvage
Correspondence showing that the coat of equipping offices in the War and Navy Departments to handle the huge task of record searching required under the bonus bill has been reduced by nearly a quarter million dollars by utilizing surplus equipment of various departments, was made public yesterday by the War Department.
"This achievement was made possible by the adjutant general and his assistants and the cooperation of other agencies of the government," Brig. Gen H.M. Lord, director of the budget, wrote to Secretary Weeks in calling the matter to his attention.  Gen Lord predicted "further economies" in the same way.
Among the items mentioned by Gen. Lord were 2,000 desks from surplus stocks, including 125 brought from Baltimore in army trucks, which he estimated represented a saving of $100,000.  Another was 160 electric fans obtained from Brooklyn, N.Y. and put in shape by the typewriter repair force of the new office, the saving being placed at $2,240.  More than $20,000, he added, was saved by reconditioning 350 old typewriters and the salvaging of old office supplies from other government departments added another $10,000.

ChairsAm I right in observing those chairs have no cushions? So, no air conditioning, the room was loud and you'd end the day with a sore behind. I hope the job had good benefits!
40,000 JohnsonsReno Evening Gazette May 20, 1924 Page 6
TO PAY WAR BONUS MEANS GIGANTIC CLERICAL JOB
Associated Press
WASHINGTON, May 20. — Enactment of the war veteran bonus bill into law has laid upon the shoulders of the government departments an administrative task so huge that the figures involved stagger the imagination.
They must explore a veritable mountain of war records. From that mass of musty documents they must pick out the individual war histories of more than 6,898,000 men to provide the data upon which alone bonus payments of any kind can be made.
The daily service of every soldier, sailor or marine who served under the flag in the great war at home or abroad is subject now to minute examination. Through his days of sickness and health, of training at battle abroad the searchers must follow each man through the wilderness of official records. And the bulk of the task must be done in the close-packed filing cases of the War Department where the intimate official story of America at war alone is told.
In those records alone are more than 167,000,000 separate documents, each of which it may he necessary to handle many times before the veterans can all be assured of bonus payments. It will require twenty-seven separate checking operations to make the examination of the file and it will take 2800 clerks to do the work in the War Department alone.
There are amazing stories by the hundreds of thousands among these individual war records. There are tales of highest heroism, of great adventure; tales, too, rich in pathos and sacrifice. They are the war story of each one of the millions of men gathered into the vast volume of the files that must now lie opened for perusal. Among them are the brief records of the many who were called for service but to whom death came in the hospitals almost before they had taken their soldier oaths.
And among them also, never to be recognized for what it is, lies the brief story of America's Unknown Soldier, the record that would show, if it were in the power of man to pick it out, who he was and where he fought and how he died.
By comparison the army's share in the task of record searching overshadows the work that must also be done by the navy and marine corps to carry out the will of congress. In the many files are the records of 5,250,000 men who may make claims. Each must be examined as to the soldier's record before it can be passed upon. In the navy files are the records of 551,736 enlisted men and of 11,880 women who served in the rank of "yeoman-F." in the marine corps there are some eighty thousand records to be combed out.
The War Department files are located here in Washington. They are crowded into the three floors of the historic old arsenal at Washington Barracks, scene of many historic events. It was there that the conspirators were tried for the assassination of President Lincoln and close by is the spot where some of them paid the penalty with their lives.
The documents, grouped in their enveloped Jackets, are now set in soldierly ranks in 7,066 steel filing cases that placed end to end would cover more than five miles. They occupy 2.36 acres of floor space and they weigh 1,080 tons and would fill fifty-four freight cars.
The very compactness of the files adds to the task of ascertaining the individual stories they tell. It is physically impossible to employ more than the 2,800 who will be put to work about them. During the war the draft operations were far greater in scope because they dealt with men by the tens of millions. But that work was decentralized over the entire country and endless clerical help could be used. Now, the product of the draft in fighting manhood alone is to be dealt with, but that record is all here in the crowding file cases.
The War Department, and in cooperation with it, the other two military services, began preparatory work more than two years ago to make ready for the day when bonus legislation might be enacted. At that time Col. Robert C. Davis, then commanding a regiment of infantry at Plattsburg, N.Y., barracks, wan summoned to Washington to begin a study that has resulted in the completion of plans for the gigantic clerical machinery it now becomes his duty to set in motion as he is now adjutant general of the army.
The youngest of American major generals, Gen. Davis served in France as adjutant general of the American expeditionary forces. In that capacity he conceived and created the central war records office of the American land forces in France, an agency unequaled by the Allied armies. He began that work with himself and one clerk as the personnel of what ultimately reached a peak of seven thousand clerks, aside from the many officers it required.
It was against that background of experience that Gen. Davis visualized the task before him in Washington. He saw at once that there were three main elements in the war records of the army, the overseas records, the War Department original records, and the records of the embarkation service. He began his work by calling to his aid the officers who during the war had the greatest knowledge of each of those groups of records and it is with the aid of that staff of less than a score of tried and experienced "two-fisted" men that the plans were shaped in readiness for the bonus bill.
Some idea of the complications that must be met may be gained from the fact that the army files contain the records of 50,328 Smiths who served during the war; 40,101 Johnsons; 28,902 Browns and 27,938 men named Williams. In countless cases initials and even the first and second names are identical, yet the records must separate the one from the other and to each give his proportionate benefit completed on the actual service he tendered in the war.
Another complication foreseen lies in the fact that twenty-three per cent of all these five million potential claimants can not read nor write the English language. A corps of interpreters, having among them knowledge of almost every tongue, must be included in the great office force to deal with the analysis of the records.
The starting point for every veteran in seeking compensation must be the filling out of application blanks already printed. It is here that Gen. Davis fears there may be delay and to reduce that danger as much as possible, he has not only revised the form time and again to reduce it to the simplest possible terms, but has called in his aid the American Legion, patriotic and civic organizations and every ramifying agency of the Federal government over the country to distribute the blanks and to help the veterans fill them in.
"Do not pay fees other than a notary charge," runs the language of an emphatic notice which will be circulated everywhere. "The law prohibits any persons from charging a fee for assistance in the collection of the compensation."
Legion posts everywhere have agreed to serve not only Legion members but all war veterans in filling out the blanks. In the same way every army post or detachment, every national guard center, and every official of the Federal government of whatever kind will give voluntary aid to the veterans as they need it.
Gen. Davis has laid down one other rigid rule. Applications for blanks will not be received by the War Department directly from the veterans. There will be no necessity for that as the blank and the envelopes in which to mail them will be made available everywhere and correspondence direct with the department would crush it under the load of clerical work before it could begin on its real task.
When the applications are received they will go into a "receiving station" and notice will go back to the applicant that his case is in hand. From then on the application will move in orderly way through the ramifications of the files to be checked and rechecked time and again.
There will be reference wherever necessary to the muster rolls of regiments and even small detachments and there will be comparison of finger prints to insure identification. The applications which can be checked in the regular way will move directly through the main channels of the files. Where difficulties are encountered, however, the troublesome application will be promptly sidetracked to a "trouble clerk" for special treatment and in order that there may be no delay and congestion, in the main traffic.
Gen. Davis estimates that with the system he has mapped out it will be possible to attain an average output of thirty-thousand certificates, checked and delivered to the veterans' bureau, every day for six days of every week which means about nine months of work. In order to reach that average, however, the system devised has been made sufficiently flexible to reach a daily total output of seventy thousand certificates as a peak load in the full stress of the work.
The product of all this vast clerical labor will be in the typed certificates forwarded to the veterans' bureau containing the records of each man's service and the computation of the exact amount of compensation to which he is entitled under the law. It is from the War Department, navy and marine corps certificates that the checks for cash payments and the insurance policies will be filled out by the veterans' bureau and mailed to applicants.
WASHINGTON, May 19 -- The bonus bill provides for paid up 20-year endowment policies for veterans and cash payments to those not entitled to more than $50 in adjusted service credit.
Adjusted service credit, which will be the basis also of the valuation of the insurance policies, is figured at $1 a day for home service and $1.25 a day for overseas service, The first 60 days cannot' count. The maximum is fixed at 500 days.
All veterans up to and including the rank of captain in the army and marine corps and lieutenant in the navy would be entitled to the benefits of the bill.
The insurance certificates would be dated next January 1 while the cash payments would be nine months after enactment of the bill. 
War Department BuildingI wonder if this and the earlier photo were taken inside one of the War Department temporary buildings that lined the Mall in Washington DC until the 1940's.  See this photo from Wikipedia.
[The article below mentions the files being at "the historic old arsenal at Washington Barracks." Another article describes this work as taking place at the adjutant general's offices at Sixth and B. - Dave]

Summers Past...When I was in school, we had similar windows and the tops had to be opened with a long hardwood stick, possibly about 6 feet long, made just for that purpose, which had a hook on the end that fit into the upper windows to pull them open.  Sometimes the teacher would appoint the most responsible student to open the top windows, but the stick was stored in a safe place as it had potential to do some damage as a weapon.    Another nostalgic memory are the girls in pastel summer dresses and white shoes, the men in seersucker suits, (and I'll bet they all had airy straw hats for streetwear).  I am so dependent on looking at these old photos on Shorpy every day, it is now like a tobacco addiction.  Thanks for the look back to the way we were, I love Shorpy.
A Shocking Degree of Non-WasteThe most shocking thing ever encountered in Shorpy: a time when the Government was actually trying to spend money prudently.
Tabulating RoomThis appears to be the exact same room as the previous photo, but from an earlier date.  The overhead lighting has not been installed, but the windows, fans and desks all appear the same. 
(Technology, The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, The Office)

Apres-School: 1941
... them alongside one hip. Boys and books In the Baltimore of the late 1950s, Junior High School boys would carry their books in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/05/2015 - 9:33pm -

January 1941. "Sarasota, Florida, trailer park. Students coming from school in the afternoon." Medium format negative by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size.
Name on signI've been trying to figure out what the name is. A.E. Grady? Brady? Brant? Grant?
No knapsacks?I remember when high school students carried their books and scribblers loose, in a pile against the chest if the load was large.  I can't remember boys doing this, though.
Coming or Going? I would say they are going to school. Notice the dew on the trailer and one girl appears to have her lunch in hand. 
Afternoon?I don't think this is coming home in the afternoon, it feels like morning to me.  The angle of the sun is too low for afternoon.  One girl carries a lunch bag. The moisture streams on the closest trailer look like morning dew burning off.
Another brutal winterThe girls are having to wear sweaters.
Three little maids from school are weMaybe this is the Sarasota, Florida's 1941 version of "The Mikado"?
Re: No KnapsacksAs I recall it from High School in the late 'fifties, girls carried their books in front (as here), and boys carried them alongside one hip.
Boys and booksIn the Baltimore of the late 1950s, Junior High School boys would carry their books in sacks made of sturdy denim cotton; closed with drawstrings and thrown over one's shoulder.
In high school, we had "book bags" -- oversized briefcases to hold our books and supplies. This was especially useful as we moved from class to class.
Oil Range For SaleIt seems that the A.F. Bradts were shedding their old appliances, as of September 30, 1938, when this ad appeared in the Virginia Beach News.  Were they headed for Sarasota that winter?  And as an aside, my grandmother wintered at the "Palm and Pines" trailer park in Sarasota for two decades ('60s-'70s); this place clearly has palms and pines, but so far I've been unable to link the two. (image courtesy of archive.org)   Addendum: Apparently this was the Sarasota Trailer Park; Marion Post Wolcott's work there is documented at this Sarasota history site:  http://tinyurl.com/omm49z6
(The Gallery, Florida, M.P. Wolcott)

Clean, Well-Lighted: 1953
... Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. (The Gallery, Baltimore, Education, Schools, Gottscho-Schleisner) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/22/2016 - 8:55pm -

April 24, 1953. "Goucher College, Towson, Maryland. Library interior. Moore & Hutchins, client." Large-format negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.
(The Gallery, Baltimore, Education, Schools, Gottscho-Schleisner)

Fireside Cats: 1955
... In Your Penny Loafers. In my peer group in North Baltimore in the mid 50s the coins in your loafers meant something. The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/25/2017 - 2:34pm -

Columbus, Georgia, circa 1955, and the youngsters last seen here. The Buick is out of the picture, replaced by a battleship and a cat; clothes and hair have been upgraded. 4x5 negative from the Shorpy News Photo Archive. View full size.
Pennies In Your Penny Loafers.In my peer group in North Baltimore in the mid 50s the coins in your loafers meant something.
The exact meanings are lost in the cobwebs of my senior moments but it went something like this.
.00 meant no girlfriend and not looking.
.01 meant looking but not too hard.
.05 meant seriously looking.
.10 meant going steady.
If I had gone to New York at the time subway tokens would have confused me to no end and probably would have put a scar on my permanent record.
BattleshipsI probably built that same battleship a few years later.  And a year or so after that either blew it up with firecrackers or shot it up with BB guns.  Then torched it for good measure.
Our family had the same shovel, poker, broom fireplace kit.  
Iowa Class BattleshipThe model is of an Iowa-class battleship (USS IOWA, USS NEW JERSEY, USS MISSOURI, or USS WISCONSIN)
All of the above are still afloat as museums.
The plastic model kits for these ships are perennially popular with American boys because they were the last and best true battleships built by the US Navy.  Everything about them is superlative.
As you look at the ship model in the photo, note that, like most boys his age, he wasn't quite able to get all the joints glued correctly: there's a gap between the afterdeck and the topsides.
Oh, and Nice Cat, too!
WonderingSylvania TV? 
Could it beSears Silvertone TV
Rich kidsI'm about the same age as these two, probably more the sister's age, and I lived in Georgia (Augusta) at this time, too. As the son of an Army officer, we felt we were pretty middle class, and we thought of kids like this as "rich" kids. The giveaways to us back then are 1) they lived in a house with a fireplace, 2) and they had wall-to-wall carpet. It's amazing how things that were luxuries only 60 years ago are commonplace now. 
Good-natured kitty with that stranglehold. 
A penny for your thoughtsbut no pennies in his loafers. And while the cat looks like it's asleep, the little girl's dimples look really sweet.
Revenge is felineI know that look. The cat may look asleep, be he's actually plotting mayhem, once she releases him.
[The cat is squinting from the photographer's flash. -Dave]
Better Homes and Gardens CookbookOver on the bottom shelf -  as a bookseller I still this one very often.  What's interesting is that several of the books were newly published at that time, and they still look older and worn.  (I have this complaint with time period movies- they show full bookcases of "old" books, and they look old. But they would have been published recently at that time, so shouldn't they look new?)
Fireplace toolsWe bought our house in 1987, bought our fireplace tools - identical to the ones in this picture - at that time.  No reason for any change....
(Cats, Columbus, Ga., Kids, News Photo Archive)

Junior Marines: 1919
... Since the lettering on the overhead structure reads Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, I suspect that the trucks are being loaded on ... a shipyard for loading onto a cargo ship. Finally, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad trestle seems to confirm that this is a railheading ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/29/2012 - 2:13pm -

Washington, D.C., 1919. "Junior Marines." Engaged in a spirited game of truck-toss. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.
Hey Buddy!Wanna go stand behind that flimsy overloaded truck on a steep ramp with me?
Early PiggybackSince the lettering on the overhead structure reads Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, I suspect that the trucks are being loaded on railroad flat cars the same way the circus does, but without the help of elephants.
Railcar LoadingThis looks like they are practicing loading vehicles onto railcars.  
One of the other LOC photos, Call Number LC-H261-30881, of "Junior Marines" from 1919 shows the flatbed railcars, but it does not show these trucks.  It does show a similar trailer on the railcar and has similar bricked surfaces on both sides of the train tracks.  A low resolution picture of this photo is below.
As a truck driver in the Army we used similar ramps to drive our 2 1/2-ton and 5 ton trucks onto a row of flatbed railcars and then tie them down for transportation.  The railway takes the trucks to a shipyard for loading onto a cargo ship.
Finally, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad trestle seems to confirm that this is a railheading operation.
Teaching Manliness


Washington Post, September 21, 1919.

Washington Junior Marines and Naval Scouts in Training Camp.
by Aunt Anna


The newest organization for the training of young Americans opened its first training camp Saturday, September 6, at what was formerly the camp of the National Service School, on the Little Falls and Conduit road about halfway between Georgetown and Glen Echo. 

The camp is known as Camp Barnett in honor of Gen. Barnett, the head of the United States marine corps. The organization is sponsored by Mrs. Barnett, and the object is very much the same as the Boy Scouts, namely to teach the boys manliness and patriotism. 

Sergt. Al Krieger, of the Thirteenth company, Tenth regiment camp of Quantico, Va., was detailed to instruct the boys and command the camp. They were taught infantry drill, calisthenics, signaling, both radio and visual (wig-wag and semaphore), grenade throwing, trench warfare, personal and camp hygiene and the traditions of the marine corps. 

About 50 boys attended the first camp which lasted a week. Not all the boys were equipped with uniforms but their interest was none the less. …

On top of the chockAgreeing with bewswain and looking closely at the picture and the angle of the rear axle, the rear right wheel looks to me as thought it's actually on TOP of the chock that one assumes is there to stop it rolling backwards!
Personally, I would not be standing between those ramps, where you couldn't even jump sideways to get out of the way if it started to roll.  Ouch.
Overhead B&O StructureThe structure is a gantry from which a winch and pulley could be attached to hoist cargo at this "team track." More modern versions would include a crane on the gantry.
Tail End ActionThe three guys behind the truck (and dark haired guy partially visible to the left of the left ramp) appear to be in motion, having just finished hand-pushing the truck up the ramp (in concert with the driver accelerating the engine, no doubt). Note the blurred legs and the body positions. My guess is they helped the truck get the wheels up and over the chock.
So, the truck had plenty of forward/upward momentum when the shot was taken, and they were in little to no danger of the truck rolling back on them.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Railroads)

Cabanarama: 1955
... hose sprinklers just like the couple I use in my lowly Baltimore yard. Either this joint was created before pop-up watering nozzles ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2013 - 10:22pm -

March 30, 1955. "Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach. Roof view of pool, cabanas and garden. Morris Lapidus, architect." The valet will be happy to park your Cadillac. Large-format acetate negative by Samuel H. Gottscho. View full size.
Long time no seeLOVE.LOVE. the diving structure.  Too bad they don't do many of these anymore due to liability.  That would have been a ball!  I am too old now probably but just the right age to remember them!!!
Bellhop!The squids are in the garden again.
Diving platformWow.....now THAT's a platform.
As a kid we would have lived all day on that thing.
Parents would have to drag us off it at the end of the day.
Goldfinger slept here. Welcome to Miami Beach! One of the best sequences from the movie shows the Fontainebleau Hotel.

Attention! -- you in the pool!the pool is for effect only !
Where were you when the fountain blew ?I never could figure it out. They built a fabulous hotel, gave it an elegant French name, then must have asked Jerry Lewis how to pronounce it.
[Exactly right. "FON-tin blow" if you're from France; "fountain-blew" if you're Jerry. - Dave]
I can just seeAuric Goldfinger cheating at Canasta poolside, and I can imagine James Bond thwarting it all...
Goldfinger trickeryUnfortunately for Sean Connery and Gert Frobe, neither of them got Fontainebleau vacations; all their scenes were filmed at Pinewood Studios in England. Those in which they appear to be at the hotel were accomplished by means of matching studio sets, rear-projection or traveling matte effects shots and, in one case, a body double for Frobe. Speaking of Frobe - or rather speaking for Frobe - English actor Michael Collins dubbed all of his dialog, as Frobe's accent proved incomprehensible. Frobe is heard in the German-language version, however, having re-dubbed himself.
That VideoI also shows that the original building, in the posted photo, was destined to expand and was really only about half finished in 1955.  Haven't been there in a while, hope much of the original flambounce has remained.  Lapidus always wanted his hotel designs to help you escape into a fantasy world, as far removed from your everyday life as possible.
[flambounce (flam' bounce), n., a spectacular dive from a swimming pool platform at a resort hotel, esp. in Florida. Origin: Shorpy, 2013. -tterrace]
HA!  Fantasy worlds call for fantasy words.
Planned before pop-ups, possiblyI see at least four hose sprinklers just like the couple I use in my lowly Baltimore yard. Either this joint was created before pop-up watering nozzles were invented or, judging by that puny, laughably underscale fountain, the budget had no room for such flambounciness.  Say, what's with my "watering nozzles" becoming a hotlink to a commercial site? Same thing happens with my own photography site.
[Your computer has picked up some malware; those links appear only to you. -tterrace]
(tterrace, thank you for the note.)
(The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, Miami)

Truck Museum: 1941
... tone, area code, star and pound. Back in the day in Baltimore the names which still reside in my memory are Calvert, Eastern, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/02/2012 - 9:54pm -

Chicago, July 1941. "Produce market where commission merchants sell to retailers." Photo by John Vachon, Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Bald tires!The Wulfstat Brothers better get some new tires soon, the cords are showing on that rear tire!
Hey buddy!I'm taking a picture here!
Cab OversIn the center of the photo there are a trio of cab-overs. Could these be Autocars from the later 20's/early 30's?
The Trucks Are Long GoneI drive past these buildings on the way to work. They have been converted to condos. This area is known as University Village, just south of the University of Illinois at Chicago.
As a former truck driverIn a truck with power steering, modern air brakes, 500 horsepower and a/c, I wonder what it was like to drive one of these, especially the semi on the right.
Safety FirstNo right side mirrors, tiny left side mirrors make lane changes a crapshoot, but reinforce the back to the left rule.
Suicide DoorsI don't know the make, but unit #110 of Green Bay Chicago Lines has suicide doors. I've never seen those on a truck tractor before.
Comment for Glocke380The last company I drove for back in the '90s before disability claimed me offered us as drivers when our trucks needed replacing the choice of either power steering or air conditioning. I drove the night shift from 6PM to 6AM in a tanker carrying 80000 pounds when full and weighing about 27000 empty. The day driver with whom I shared the tractor wanted power steering so that is what we ended up with. 
The units without power steering had a steering wheel over 2.5 feet in diameter. The new fangled power steering made keeping the shiny side up very easy and you didn't have to be Charles Atlas to drive it. Six months after we got our new tractor, the company changed the replacement program to all new units had power steering and air conditioning. Because of my day driver's seniority (he had been driving for them since 1971 when he came home from the Army.
We thought we had died and gone to heaven! 
As for that kind of tractor in the picture, cab overs are very hard on you ride wise but steer quickly. I drove a cab over with a sleeper when I drove over the road before the gas tanker job. You have to pay very close attention because they tend to oversteer and can go into the ditch very easily if you get distracted. 
Driving big trucks - the best job I ever had till I couldn't do it anymore. Too old and wore out now but it was great while it lasted.
Ahhh Lackawana 9868Before there was Caller I.D., there was the telephone exchange.
This is a term that must baffle those who know only touch tone, area code, star and pound.
Back in the day in Baltimore the names which still reside in my memory are Calvert, Eastern, Broadway, Saratoga, Belmont and Orleans.
Those were telephone exchanges -- actual neighborhood buildings where operators toiled to hand-connect wires on a switchboard.
You knew if a girl gave you an Orleans number she lived around Belair Road or if it was Broadway than maybe she was a Fells Point girl (present Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski had that one) and Eastern ordinarily made her a Highlandtown girl.
The present day strings of number have no romance or adventure but a number preceded by Plaza, Chesapeake or Belmont could only lead to fantastic fantasy. 
Like my SSN and USN service number my first phone number Orleans 5-1418 remains firmly in my databank.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chicago, John Vachon)

Sliding Into the Seventies
... whose house was less than a quarter mile away here in Baltimore Canyon. From time to time, we'd see also Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 09/29/2011 - 6:15pm -

Yes, even in Idyllic Larkspur™ we had graffiti, but since this is 1970 and since my home town was something of a counterculture mecca at the time, instead of gang tags, the playground equipment is emblazoned with Peace and Love. Who knows, it may have been applied by Janis Joplin, whose house was less than a quarter mile away here in Baltimore Canyon. From time to time, we'd see also Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters bus tooling about town. But as you can see, the counterculture was not exactly my bag, man, unless my groovy belt could be interpreted as a sign of a repressed desire to turn on, tune in and drop out. But nothing like that happened until a few years later, and then only for special occasions. Anyway, by that time all that kind of stuff was becoming rather mundanely mainstream. Snapped by a friend with my Polaroid camera. View full size.
Greg and RalphieIronically, given all the comparisons of those guys to me here on Shorpy, I have never once in my entire life watched a single Brady Bunch episode, nor A Christmas Story in its entirety. I did catch bits of the latter, though, when burning my laserdisc (which I inherited from a friend) to DVD-R in the process of joining the two sides.
Looks like my high school wardrobe!I had the short sleeved sport shirt,wide belt, and flared pants thing going on! My pants often consisted of weird colors with vivid stripes. 
In my little slice of surbubia,we were not so counterculture. It was a few years after this picture was taken,that I went to see Jane Fonda speaking at Mount San Antonio College,where I attended after my HS graduation. I felt like such a lefty!
Hurry up and take the picture Marcia,Alice will have lunch ready soon!
The slideAnother fine product of PW MFG CO, whose name is cast into the rungs of the ladder. I wonder if that led to many sales.
FATHER: "Hon, the kids' swingset is pretty much shot. I'm heading over to Sears for a new one."
JUNIOR: "Sis and I want a slide made by PW MFG CO, just like the one at the park!"
HaSo are you hinting that the sangria was not the only libation that evening?
Idyllic FarkspurFarked again!
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Farked, tterrapix)

Sailing Along: 1903
... won by only a few lengths." So writes Mr. D.A. Willey, of Baltimore. Great work! Well done stanton_square, good ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 3:55pm -

Volusia County, Florida, circa 1903. "Sailing bicycles on the beach at Ormond." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
A spot of botherI see the man on the right had a serious control malfunction about 30 feet back. Now that would have been a picture!
Uh oh, watch out!You couldn't see where you were heading, but it got you there!
Sail-Bike v. Motor

The Strand, Vol 21, 1901 



Sail-Bike v. Motor

"This is what might be called a twentieth century race, and it is undoubtedly the first photograph ever published of a contest between an automobile and a bicycle 'under sail.'  The affair came off recently at Ormond, Fla.  Here the beach along the coast is so smooth and hard that it has long been a favourite place for trotting horses and for taking bicycle trips.  This winter several 'mobile' owners brought their machines with them.  Taking advantage of a favourable wind, two of the wheelmen 'rigged up' sails by attaching masts to the front framework of the bicycles.  Hoisting the sails they jumped on and let the wind carry them.  Frequently the wheelmen can coast at a speed from twenty to twenty-five miles an hour.  In the contest illustrated the automobile won by only a few lengths."  So writes Mr. D.A. Willey, of Baltimore.


Great work!Well done stanton_square, good work! Is this how James Finlayson made ends meet before his supporting role in Laurel and Hardy films?
Still a vacation spotVery cool!  I spent my winter vacations on Ormond Beach for the last 2 years!  The beach and dune on the left hasn't changed a bit.  The beautiful old houses and hotels on the other hand are gone.  It's now "Florida A1A" on top of the dune and across from the road: condos condos and more condos as far as the eye can see.
A bit of history for the Hotel Ormond here.
(The Gallery, Bicycles, DPC, Florida)

The Babe: 1923
... Giants manager John McGraw at an exhibition game with the Baltimore Orioles on October 3, 1923, at the Polo Grounds. Ruth played in the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 10:59pm -

New York Yankees outfielder Babe Ruth, in a Giants uniform, with Giants manager John McGraw at an exhibition game with the Baltimore Orioles on October 3, 1923, at the Polo Grounds. Ruth played in the Giants outfield for the game, which was a benefit. View full size. George Grantham Bain Collection.
Larger than lifeHe was the "Babe" - thanks for posting this great shot
The BabeAnother great baseball pic, and probably pretty rare. Does anyone notice anything peculiar about the Babe's uniform? It's a Giants uniform. The year is correct. The only year the Giants wore the N.Y. logo on their chest with those socks was 1923 (according to the Hall of Fame's website). Why he is in a Giants uniform is anyone's guess, since he never played for or coached the Giants.
One thing to keep in mind while viewing this picture is the fact that McGraw really didn't like Ruth. He thought the Babe was ruining baseball with his power game of home runs and more home runs.
Actually if I had read theActually if I had read the whole blurb below the picture I would have found out why the Babe is in a Giants uni, my bad.
[Actually I added that info to the caption after you pointed it out! - Dave]
The BabeIn honor of the Philadelphia Phillies' 10,000th loss today we look to the greatest batter who ever played, Babe Ruth. Gee we wish we had you at any time in our history.
(The Gallery, G.G. Bain, NYC, Public Figures, Sports)

Rules of the Sale: 1920
... by Jack H. Koppelman. A fire at their warehouse at 116 E Baltimore Street, in Baltimore, Maryland, preceded the sale scene shown in the photo here and in the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/29/2018 - 9:39pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Conbro clothing store, interior." Happy shopping, everyone. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.
And free alterations too!A couple of the salesmen have tape measures around their necks so they can make the clothes fit perfectly.  This looks like the wedding gown sale at Filene's except they are all men and it may be a summer clearance since they are wearing straw hats.  Imagine, not a single domineering wife or girlfriend is visible in there to tell her guy what to wear.
[It's spring ("spring suits," palm fronds). - Dave]
Re:  "free alterations"I take that back.  After further scrutiny, I see ONE "battle-axe" facing the camera who IS going to have a voice in her man's attire.  She's wearing earrings and a turned-up brim.  Sorry.
"Sale" prices?Wow! For a clearance sale, these seem lofty for the time!
Today, that $24.44 suit (or jacket?) would cost $262, using the Consumer Price Index, or $1350 (!!) using GDP Per Capita, an estimate of "affordability."
AlterationsWell of course you could get alterations, but they're not included in the sale price.
A week's pay for a pair of pantsI was surprised by the prices as well. This illustrates how much we would all likely be paying for clothes right now if they were all still made in the USA.
Mystery SolvedCONBRO Clothes, which was located at 930 F Street NW, was next to the Metropolitan Theatre. It appears to have been in business for approximately one year with advertisements for the store starting to surface in local newspapers in December 1919. This store was managed by Jack H. Koppelman. A fire at their warehouse at 116 E Baltimore Street, in Baltimore, Maryland, preceded the sale scene shown in the photo here and in the sale announcement below from the Washington Times on August 4, 1920. No date for the fire was given in the other ad. 
Conbro claimed there were a total of 10 stores in the chain, but no details of other locations were provided. Possible locations, culled from multiple sources, seem to have been Pittsburgh, Akron, Indianapolis, Flint, and Detroit.
(The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)

20 Handsome Girls: 1904
... girls. As a youngster entering junior high school in Baltimore, during the late 1950s, I was surprised to find boys and girls were ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/24/2015 - 3:54pm -

1904. "Boys' High School, Philadelphia." Our titillating title comes from the Star Burlesquers billboard far right. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size.
Bob White - Quail SongWhen the leaves are falling
And the quail are calling
Bob White! Bob White!
Steady, Don - no flushing!
Hold, there! Don - you're rushing!
Bob White! Bob White!
Bang! Bang! Shots are ringing
At the covey springing
Bob White! Bob White!
Come ere the sunshine has kissed off the dew
Of the scent laying morn with it's bright Autumn hue
Bob White my first love, to thee I'd be true
Ah! little quail, I love you.
Miss Bob White: An Original American Pastoral Comedy Opera in Three Acts
By Willard Spenser
That Funky Streetlight !The funky streetlight in the left foreground must be some sort of an arc lamp. It has a counterbalanced arm for lowering the lamp so that the carbons can be adjusted or maintained. The old-time arc lights required a lot more maintenance than an incandescent lamp. 
Gender segregationAs high schools became commonplace in public education, there were separate facilities for boys and girls.
As a youngster entering junior high school in Baltimore, during the late 1950s, I was surprised to find boys and girls were separated in classrooms (boys on one side, girls on the other) and while moving between classes. Perhaps this was due to boys and girls becoming "interested" in one another. The school had separate gym facilities for the sexes.
Broad and Green St.A search shows it was at Broad and Green St. and was torn down in 1961. The dome contained a 15 inch telescope. 
What a place to explore. I wonder what the students thought of it. 
Observatory atop the towerIn the 1922 Handbook of the school the opening photograph of the building from the Broad Street side (but from a different angle) shows that the dome atop the center tower is not decorative, but served as an observatory. The Handbook also reports that the observatory's original fifteen-inch telescope was ruined (along with most of the tower's apparatus) in a "disastrous fire on March 9, 1905," and a complete rehabilitation of the observatory had yet to occur. 
Just down the streetFrom the Baldwin Locomotive Works. I thought that observatory rang a bell.
Location?It would be nice to know the school's location. As far as I know, it no longer exists. Any info would be appreciated.
[A commenter below has identified it as Broad and Green Sts. -tterrace]
Miss Bob WhiteOn 24 March 1904 the Cornell Daily Sun gave Miss Bob White an All American review.
"Miss Bob White" Saturday.
"Miss Rob White" Willard Spencer's successful pastoral comedy opera is perhaps the sole example of a work of that kind that ii thoroughly and exclusively  American, not oniy as it regards its authorship and production but in theme, treatment and cast. 
It is thoroughly saturated with the Spirit of the Stnrs and Stripes. Its great success therefore surrounds Mr. Spencer with quite an atmosphere of patriotism.

 
(The Gallery, DPC, Philadelphia)

The New World: 1936
... building in the city. A gaudy Trump tower has replaced the Baltimore and Ohio bus station. Abbot took this photo from the top of the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/10/2016 - 1:04pm -

Feb. 10, 1936. "Columbus Circle, Manhattan -- Looking northwest from above the circle, statue of Columbus, B&O bus station topped with Coca-Cola sign, other signs, Mayflower Hotel, Central Park with snow." 8x10 gelatin silver print by Berenice Abbott for the Federal Art Project. View full size.
We have your shirtsNote the laundry truck. Four bags on the roof and another wedged  between the fender and hood.
Airy Columbus CircleI can remember the Mayflower, a modest hotel where ordinary people could stay and enjoy a Central Park view. Now it's occupied by 15 Central Park West, the most expensive co-op apartment building in the city. A gaudy Trump tower has replaced the Baltimore and Ohio bus station. Abbot took this photo from the top of the building where  the Museum of Art and Design now stands. It's nice to see the streetcar on Broadway. Central Park West is quite crowded compared to Broadway. Maybe it's Sunday? 
Rye signSchenley?
Why a "motor coach" stationThis building was the last of the B&O's various NYC termini built (it opened in 1929). Due to the influence of the Pennsy the B&O was never able to bring its trains into Manhattan; instead, they used the CNJ terminal in Jersey City, from whence a fleet of "motor coaches" (never, ever "buses" in B&O literature) took ferries across the Hudson and to various stations and stops in the city. This service stubbornly lasted until 1958; at the end of the year this picture was taken, a new set of, er, motor coaches arrived complete with "air conditioning" (actually a block of ice and a fan).
"Always Something Interesting"This time it was marysd that had all the answers to all my questions about this wonderful photo; I only had to wait one day to get them. My thanks to Dave, marysd, and all the commenters and contributors. Shorpy.com is one of the finer things in life.
There Goes the NeighborhoodIn 1959, my wife-to-be worked in that B&O building when at the time we were  "keeping company." The bus terminal was gone by then. She worked for the Monroe Greenthal Agency, a boutique ad firm that handled motion picture promos. I usually had a day off midweek and I would drive down and pick her up. Out of sight in this photo was the NYC Coloseum, a convention center, and there was always something happening. It has been replaced by the Time Warner Center with its multi-million-dollar condos and high end shopping venues.  The neighborhood behind the convention center was the north end of Hell's Kitchen.
So much to loveThere is so much I love about this photo, I hardly know where to begin. I love the Majestic Theater sign advertising "At Home Abroad" with Ethel Waters and Beatrice Lillie, Herb Williams and Eleanor Powell, the architecture of the building directly behind the Coca Cola sign, the news vendors on every corner, what looks to be a roof garden atop the Mayflower Hotel, the park across the street and a glimpse of a streetcar whizzing by through the bottom right of the Coca Cola sign, the anchors on the Columbus monument, the bubbles on the Coke sign (which I'm sure lit up and moved at night), all the pedestrians and 1930s cars! It just screams, New York!!
At Home AbroadA Little Song, A Little Dance
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.