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The Rollicking Girl: 1905
October 1905. The New Montauk theater in Brooklyn at Livingston Street and Hanover Place. Now playing: Sam Bernard as ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 9:54am -

October 1905. The New Montauk theater in Brooklyn at Livingston Street and Hanover Place. Now playing: Sam Bernard as Schmaltz in the vaudeville comedy "The Rollicking Girl." Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size. Livingston & HanoverView Larger Map Which Year?Not that it matters, but I think your date is out by a year Dave. This is 1906, the show opened on May 1st 1905 at the Herald Square Theatre, then transferred to the New York Theatre in April 1906 where it ran for a month or so. It must have come to the Montauk Theatre after that. [The year was 1905, not 1906. - Dave] No SparkIt's amazing how bland the exterior is in the pre- electricity days. I would have thought that a theatre would have something bigger and more eyecatching than sandwich boards. [Electric lighting had been around for well over 20 years in 1905. This photo has light bulbs aplenty, including the arc lamp on the corner. - Dave] Bland?For such a utilitarian building, I think it's quite well done. The ornate brickwork and the stained glass windows on the corner are very nice touches. The "White Wing" street cleaner is interesting. Clearly the photographer could have waited a couple of minutes for him to move out of the way, but didn't. Is the water tank on the roof for the sprinkler system? Did this theater have one? [The tank, like the tanks atop the building next door (and any building of six or more floors in New York) is water storage for general use. More in the comments here and here. - Dave] Rich in neat little detailsAnother one of those Shorpy photos so rich in detail. Starting with the brickwork of the building. No present-day builder would consider (and no client could afford) doing a diamond brick pattern across an entire wall. How about that large curved glass window, complete with an inset "face"? Then there are the stone dentils in cornice. The decorative finial on the water tank...and a similar finial on the streetlamp. Finally, the street sweeper. Back then New York's sanitation workers were known as "White Wings." It's a shame that such beautiful buildings were razed during the postwar years. More was lost than gained. A very nice buildingLots of intricate brick work, and what appears to be stained glass. Only to be replaced by that monstrosity shown on the Google site. What a shame. Also, I love the white suit the street sweeper is wearing. Reminds me of the guy on the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons (was it during the "Fractured Fairytales" closing credits when they showed that guy?). CratesLooks like the luggage of a traveling diva is piled up on the sidewalk on the left. Dot matrix signThis sign is quite curious. It appears to be able to display a three digit number. Close inspection shows special rows of bulbs to make slanted lines for 4 and 7. But why a three-digit sign? What quantity was it intended to display? [I think those would be letters, not numbers. Maybe for a bar. - Dave] AwningsI think it's interesting that they have the tarps rolled up on the canopies over the sidewalk. I guess they're just rolled out for performances and not for everyday use. Not something you normally see these days. I beg to differ...The LOC data for this photo states 1906 as the created/published date and the photo as well has that date on it. Why do you state the date to be 1905? MEDIUM: 1 negative : glass ; 8 x 10 in. CREATED/PUBLISHED: c1906. ["c1906" means the copyright date is 1906. Not the same as when the picture was taken. Which, as we see from the newspaper clipping below, and from the date on the sign on the sidewalk, was October 1905. As noted in my previous comment. - Dave] (The Gallery, DPC, NYC)
INSPECTION: 1936
... May 22, 1936. "Warehouse district, Water and Dock Streets, Brooklyn, looking west under Brooklyn Bridge to Lower Manhattan." 8x10 gelatin silver print by Berenice ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/13/2016 - 4:06pm -

May 22, 1936. "Warehouse district, Water and Dock Streets, Brooklyn, looking west under Brooklyn Bridge to Lower Manhattan." 8x10 gelatin silver print by Berenice Abbott for the Federal Art Project. View full size. Thank you, BerniceBernice Abbot took her camera around New York City, stubbornly photographing the marginalized spaces (and occasionally people) that most people ignored. As Craig points out, this area is all spiffy and gentrified now. Thankfully, we have Abbot's record of how this area looked when it was a no-nonsense warehouse area. Still ThereThe skyscraper in the foreground on the Manhattan side is now known as "70 Pine Street." It is surprisingly little known, considering it's 900 feet high. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/70_Pine_Street 80 years later, it's a different DUMBOI remember this corner from my years wandering around forgotten sections of Brooklyn. The warehouse on the right is now a 2-story shell used as a performance space (St. Ann's Warehouse), and the building that's going up in this picture came down in 2008. The cobblestone streets survived, but the sidewalks got paved. Neat to see it way back when! (The Gallery, Berenice Abbott, Boats & Bridges, NYC)
Louis Chevrolet: 1918
... in their Frontenac at the Sheepshead Bay Speedway in Brooklyn, racing in the Harkness Handicap. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham ... "mechanic" is in your photo of Chevrolet at the wheel in Brooklyn, 1918? I think it may have been my grandfather, but I only have one ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/06/2012 - 1:57pm -

June 1, 1918. French driver Louis Chevrolet and mechanic in their Frontenac at the Sheepshead Bay Speedway in Brooklyn, racing in the Harkness Handicap. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size. Not Catchy EnoughSee the USA in your Frontenac didn't catch on. Sacre bleu!Monsieur Chevrolet, he is indeed an impala, no? IdentificationDo you have any idea who the person identified as the "mechanic" is in your photo of Chevrolet at the wheel in Brooklyn, 1918? I think it may have been my grandfather, but I only have one picture of him, He reputedly worked as a mechanic with Chevrolet. Thanks. Linda [The file for this negative at the Library of Congress, the source for this image, has no other information. -tterrace] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, G.G. Bain, NYC, Sports)
Bowling Green Offices: 1919
... Brothers Contractors built Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Today we would call that "local sourcing." Wrong ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/31/2013 - 2:05am -

Sept. 20, 1919. "Bowling Green Offices, New York." An interesting view of a construction site next to this early skyscraper, and what might be a new Shorpy record for ghost pedestrians. Photo by Irving Underhill. View full size. Gambling?Is that group of men in the park to the left of the news-stand playing dice? [I'm guessing some shoe-shining going on. -tterrace] Still there!And still quite a grand piece of architecture: View Larger Map A demolition siteAt this point, as the city begins to rise from the ground. Are those buildings across the street shuddering with fear? FascinatingThe street life and vehicles are really interesting. The lighting well in the near side of the Bowling Green Buildings shows what you would get for air circulation in the interior offices in the days before a/c, and even into the 1960's. Note the awnings on the windows in the background. Cunard BuildingThe building shown in the very early stages of construction in this photo became the Cunard Building, named after the famous steamship line. In those pre-Travelocity days the usual way to book travel on one of the grand ocean liners like the original Queen Elizabeth or Queen Mary was by going to the enormous ticketing hall located in the building's lobby. Other shipping lines and transportation-related companies rented space in the building. Cunard moved out of the building in the late 1960's, and much of the structure actually was vacant for many years. The grand lobby hall became a post office several years later, and the building now houses a variety of tenants. It is located directly across the street from the famous Charging Bull statue. Note the painted signs on the side of the Bowling Green Building. They were lost to view when the Cunard Building went up, but chances are very good that they are still there, and still readable thanks to being protected from sunlight. If someday the Cunard Building is demolished while the Bowling Green Building still stands, the signs will (literally) come back to light. It has happened before: http://forgotten-ny.com/1998/05/keals-carriage-manufactory/ On both the right and left sides of the photo you can see an elevated train line. That's the Ninth Avenue El, which ran along Greenwich Street in lower Manhattan, one block west of Broadway. It closed around 1940 and the structure came down soon afterward. On the left of the picture there is a subway entrance in Bowling Green, serving the IRT subway line. There is no longer an entrance at that location. White Star Linewas located up the steps in the center of the building. Mrs. Benjamin Guggenheim called at the White Star Line to get status of her husband following the sinking of RMS Titanic April 1912. Still no exorcism?By 1919, one would think, advances in shutter mechanisms and the availability of faster films should have eliminated the ghost pedestrian effect without unacceptable sacrifice of resolution, unless, of course, this was taken with a humongous view camera and plates. [It was exposed on a glass plate in a view camera, plus a small lens aperture would have been used to maximize sharpness and depth of field; all contribute to the necessity of a longer exposure time. -tterrace] Sept. 20, 1919On this day Babe Ruth tied Ned Williamson's major league mark of 27 HRs, a record that had stood for 35 years previously. A bit over two months later, the Babe left Boston for New York and became a Yankee. One BroadwayI had read elsewhere that the current 1 Broadway (the building to the left of the Bowling Green Building) was not built as a new building in the early 1920's, but rather had a limestone facade installed over the extant brick. Discussed in more detail in this post at ScoutingNY. Castle Brothers steam shovelsCastle Brothers Contractors built Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Today we would call that "local sourcing." Wrong DirectionThe building to the left is 17 Battery Place, still standing, though the roof has been altered. # 1 Broadway is not in the frame, and it would be to the right of this building. [17 Battery Place is around the corner and two blocks down. -tterrace] Aha - the subway entrance threw me. I thought I had Battery Park not Bowling Green Park before me. Mea Culpa. What's the name again?Are you sure it's the Bowling Green Offices building? I'm just not positive, there are *only* four signs that say so... On a side note, the construction site next door reminds me of one of my favorite childhood stores, "Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel." Sixth Ave. lineThe elevated line in the picture is the Sixth Avenue line, on Trinity Place. The Ninth Ave line is on parallel Greenwich St, behind those low buildings along Trinity Pl. Out of sight behind the Bowling Green Building, the two lines come together, and run through Battery Park to South Ferry Station. A bit of the jointly used structure is visible at the left of the picture. The site for the Cunard Building had been acquired by the City and cleared of older buildings, for construction of the BMT subway angling across from Trinity Place (under the IRT on Broadway) to Whitehall Street. After the subway was completed, the site was sold (with a permanent easement for the subway) and the Cunard Building built. At the north edge of the site, 39 Broadway was the original terminal of the Metropolitan company's 6th Ave line in 1878. The tracks curved from Trinity Place into this site and ended at Broadway. The original intention of the Metropolitan had been to continue across Broadway into Beaver Street, and then turn north paralleling the Third Ave el. At that time the Metropolitan was a competitor of the NY Elevated RR, which owned the 3rd and 9th Ave lines. When the two companies merged (1880?), this terminal was abandoned and the 6th Ave line made the junction with the 9th Ave to go to South Ferry. The company probably sold the Broadway frontage of the old terminal site, but retained a piece on the Trinity Place side, which was used for a terminal for a package express operation of the el. A siding from the 6th Ave line went into the top floor of this building. This would have been one of the buildings cleared for the subway construction. Hudson Terminal was several blocks to the right, out of the picture. (Two stops further uptown on the IRT, the BMT and the 6th Ave el). (The Gallery, Irving Underhill, NYC, Streetcars)
Hitler's Children: 1943
... Rock and Roll show at the Paramont (it also was at the Brooklyn Fox). The show had a whose who of headliners at the time. His co-host ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/20/2013 - 5:00pm -

March 1943. "New York. A dairy truck on 44th Street." At the Paramount, a double bill where the distinction between "on screen" and "in person" matters, especially if you're Xavier Cugat. Photo by John Vachon. View full size. Right in the districtIt's not surprising that Dunkel's butter, egg and cheese business was located at 345 Greenwich Street, as that Tribeca address is in the heart of the old butter, egg and cheese wholesaling district. These products were known as "staples," a usage which lives on in a short street called Staple Street right around the corner from 345 Greenwich. At its peak in the 1930's the district was home to over 100 wholesale businesses with thousands of employees. It began to decline in the 1950's, though the last few wholesalers held on until the 1990's. Cuchi-cuchi!For those of a certain age, if you don't know what that means...you weren't really there! I'm embarrassed to admit that I've seen "Hitler's Children." The star of this 1943 anti-Nazi gem is Bonita Granville, who later went on to produce the "Lassie" TV show. As a tiny one, I spent many a Sunday evening negotiating with my Dad over whose turn it was to watch "Maverick" or "Lassie," as they came on at the same time. I usually won. Xavier CugatThat must have been a step down from the Waldorf-Astoria. That's the side entrance of the ParamountParamount's main entrance was in the heart of Times Square on Broadway at the corner of W. 43rd Street. Opened in November 1926, it became one of the most famous theatres in the US. Xavier Cugat was in good company playing there. Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Eddy Duchin, Glenn Miller and Guy Lombardo all performed there at the height of their careers. Frank Sinatra, the Andrews Sisters and the Ink Spots sang there. The 3,664-seat Paramount was originally owned by William Fox and contained one of the largest pipe organs the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company of North Tonawanda, NY, ever built. It contained 36 sets of pipes and weighed in at around 33 tons. It still exists in the Century II Center in Wichita, Kansas. The Paramount closed in 1966. The interior space was remodeled to accommodate various businesses. One of them, the Hard Rock Cafe, still uses the Paramount's massive marquee. Samuel Dunkel & Co.Samuel Dunkel & Co. and Sondra Egg Products Corp. were found guilty in 1943 of “conspiring to defraud the United States of approximately $650,000 by delivering under contracts with Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation about 650,000 pounds of rejected egg powder and falsely representing that it had been tested and found to comply with the terms and conditions of the contracts.” They were also convicted of conspiring “to defraud the United States by obtaining the payment of certain false claims.” The sentences included fines and jail time. Slight CorrectionThe small marquee in the photograph was actually located on the north side of West 43rd Street just west of Seventh Avenue, not 44th Street. The stage door and the loading entrance was located on the south side West 44th Street, just west of Seventh Avenue The Hard Rock marquee is a repro, the original having been destroyed when the building was converted to offices in the mid 60's. Not too shabby for a repro. Special Added AttractionMy most vivid recollection of the Paramount Theatre was back in the early 1950s, they were showing the film "The Lemon Drop Kid". I was there with a few friends just killing time before cruising the Times Square area later that night looking for whatever. After the movie ended, the mighty organ could be heard as the stage rose up from its pit. I sort of remember Johnny Long as the band leader. An announcer introduced a special guest, Bob Hope. He was there to promote the film and he read the monologue that he would use on his radio show that week. It was better than the movie. I guess Mr. Dunkelwas a real butter and egg man! Finally, one of mine!That's a 1941 Dodge Luxury Liner peeking out behind the truck, probably a coupe, with the uncommon factory turn signals and fog lights, plus a radio. It's a very fine, if somewhat mundane, car. Its flathead Six and Fluid-Drive transmission offer smooth, quiet, and may I say, leisurely, performance. Let's RockIn 1958, my friend Billy and I took the subway into Times Square. We saw The Allen Freed Rock and Roll show at the Paramont (it also was at the Brooklyn Fox). The show had a whose who of headliners at the time. His co-host was Murry the K (Kaufman). What a great time. Paramount marquee restoration...was paid for by the World Wrestling Federation of all things. They had their restaurant there for a few years before moving out. Really good burgers and lots of rasslin' merchandise if you were into that sort of thing. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, John Vachon, Movies, NYC)
Prairie Schooner: 1915
... Manhattan yesterday, and today a trip will be made through Brooklyn. Tomorrow at noon Charles J. McCormack of Richmond Borough will start ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/27/2012 - 2:41pm -

March 1915. "San Francisco by wagon from Staten Island, New York." Three guys and a dog and their two-horsepower hybrid in Washington, taking the Overland Trail west. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Wandering and Wonderingif they made it to San Fran and how many spare wheels they carried. Not to mention support for the horses. Looks cosy enough though for three. Maybe it's their midlife crisis. FriendsI wonder how good friends they all were when they finally got there? Any more details?Any more information on this trek? Trying to discern some details on the canvas (with the peculiar map drawn on the side with east to the left): Highlandtown, Maryland seems to be a neighborhood inside Baltimore. I can't find anything on Frank A. Blum. "Ask the driver for a booklet"? Anyway, it's nice to see the Capitol again with private cars driving right up to it and no surrounding guardhouses, fences, and bollards. Coastal ConfusionStrange that they have the Pacific Ocean (and west coast) east of Staten Island. I hope they didn't just drive off a pier into the Atlantic. Boosting the Eden of NYCI noted the curious geographical sense of these boys as well. I think the map might be drawn this way (flipping East and West) so that as they travel westward, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are oriented with the wagon. In Wagon to San Francisco Staten Island Boosters Reach Washington On Coast-to-Coast Trip. Three hardy young men, tanned with exposure incidental to life in a prairie schooner passed through here last week en route to the exposition at San Francisco over the old overland trail. They were all residents of Staten Island and are boosting that particular spot as the Eden of Greater New York. They are John Drebinger, William Stephens, and Edward Smith. They left Staten Island February 27, and expect to reach California about September 1. The trio paid a visit to Secretary Bryan yesterday. They Secretary greeted them cordially, they said. An expressed desire to see President Wilson was not gratified. The party will continue on their way today. Washington Post, Mar 14, 1915 UPDATE: It appears the boys made it as far as Denver. I'm not positive, but it seems likely this is the same John Drebinger who was a baseball reporter at the New York Times for over 40 years. Drebby's Hobo LifeNew York Times, Oct. 24, 1979 John Drebinger, 88, Baseball Reporter, Is Dead John Drebinger, who was dean of the nation's baseball writers when he retired in 1964 after 40 years with the New York Times, died Monday at a nursing home in Greensboro, N.C. He was 88 years old. His colleagues called him Drebby and one of them related his departure to "the retirement of Winston Churchill, the storming of the Bastille, the discovery of gunpowder or the instituting of income taxes: life goes on, but an era has ended." Indeed, when 11-year-old John Drebinger saw his first baseball game, it was played in the afternoon on real grass. The Boer War had ended in that June of 1902, ZuZu ginger snaps first appeared on grocery shelves, Wanamaker's was selling patent leather shoes for $1.90 a pair and a pound of coffee was 10 cents. The youngster was on his way to becoming a concert pianist -- his father was a violinist with the New York Metropolitan Orchestra -- but a thumb wound suffered while sharpening ice skates ended that aspiration. After an eight-year stay with the Staten Island Advance -- which included an ill-fated cross-country journey in a covered wagon that he termed the most exciting experience of his life -- Mr. Drebinger joined The Times for the "hobo life" of a baseball writer. For the next four decades he traveled 30,000 miles a year with the Yankees, the Giants and the Dodgers, saw 6,000 baseball games and ate "tons of hot dogs." From 1929 through 1963, he covered all 203 World Series Games. Not heard during the course of the trip...."Are we there yet?" Westward Ho! By Wagon"Staten Island Prairie Schooner is Going to S.F." Driving up to the City Hall yesterday in an old-fashioned prairie schooner drawn by two horses, John Urflinger and William Stevens obtained a letter from Mayor Mitchel to deliver to Mayor Rolph of San Francisco. The odd trip across the continent is being made in the interest of Staten Island business men, who want it advertised that Staten Island is the gateway of the Eastern Coast, just as San Francisco is supposed to be the gateway of the Western. The schooner was driven about Manhattan yesterday, and today a trip will be made through Brooklyn. Tomorrow at noon Charles J. McCormack of Richmond Borough will start the wagon on its long overland trip to the Western city where it is due to arrive before the Panama-Pacific International Exposition ends. NY Times, 24 Feb 1915 That title Panama-PacificThat title Panama-Pacific International Exposition kind of threw me for a second since I live in San Diego and thought that was held in San Diego's newly completed Balboa Park, not San Francisco. But then it dawned on me that ours was called the Panama Exposition in the same year, 1915. Never thought why it had the Panama in the name, but now I know from Wikipedia that both these events were celebrating the Panama Canal opening, along with some opportune marketing. Okay by me, Balboa Park was a great result, and is still a jewel as far as I'm concerned. (The Gallery, D.C., Dogs, Harris + Ewing, Horses)
Tuskegee Airmen: 1945
... G. Clifton of San Francisco and Richard S. "Rip" Harder of Brooklyn. View full size. Photograph by Toni Frissell. Tuskegee I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/05/2009 - 3:09am -

332nd Fighter Group airmen at a briefing in Ramitelli, Italy. March 1945. Foreground: Emile G. Clifton of San Francisco and Richard S. "Rip" Harder of Brooklyn. View full size. Photograph by Toni Frissell. TuskegeeI was fortunate enough to have worked with a guy who flew with the 332nd. He was never bitter about any race issue in the military. He was just dang proud to have done something for his country. He also said the planes were a blast to fly. I salute the group, and all vets, this holiday weekend. Tuskegee AirmenIt is indeed refreshing to find a photo of the Tuskegee airmen I haven't seen. A reminder of men who excelled in the face of adversity. For despite all the challenges they knew this was a country worth fighting and dying for! 332Can anyone ID the subjects. Have a friend whos dad was with the 33rd and would like to get this for him. Konjo Koiff the Mad-GicianEmile G. Clifton, Jr., known as "Cliff", was a magician from the San Francisco area that performed as Konjo Koiff the Mad-Gician in the 1950s. He was a captain and fighter pilot for the famed Tuskeegee Airmen during World War II and was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross. Clifton was a member of IBM Ring 38 in San Francisco and a magic instructor at Tom Dethlefson's Golden Gate Magic Co. in San Francisco. He was listed as the "staff artist" for the first issues of Woodfield's Magicana and also illustrator for some magic books. Died 1984. (The Gallery, Aviation, Patriotic, Toni Frissell, WW2)
Leo and Benny's: 1943
... Six" in the 1942-43 season, both the Montreal Maroons and Brooklyn Americans (previously the New York Americans) franchises existed ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/27/2013 - 11:42am -

March 1943. New York. "A street cleaner on Washington Street." Medium format negative by John Vachon for the Office of War Information. View full size. Nineteen Forty!!!I would love to go back in time to tell any Ranger fans lurking about New York in 1943 that, even though their team had won three Stanley Cups in their 17 year history in the NHL (1927, 1933 and 1940), it would be more than fifty years before a player in a Rangers uniform would hoist the Cup again (1994). Original NHL sixOh, I do so love that large poster advertising Rangers games at the Garden, curiously listing the Black Hawks and Red Wings by their city names but Montreal by its team name. Plus the truck up the street with its side door open, and the two seated guys, and the look of the passing street cleaner, and a restaurant named Leo and Benny's. There's so much great stuff in this delicious photo! Oops!Love how the street sweeper is looking at the camera as he walks right past the trash in the street. Leo & Benny'sThis particular dining establishment must have washed its last greasy spoon in the 1930s. There is no entry for "Leo and Benny's" in the 1940 Manhattan Telephone Directory. StoryMakes you wonder about the story behind "Leos and Benny's", brothers? Chums? Think the two fellas sittin' there are hoping for a re-opening. Or maybe that's Leo and Benny trying to decide what to try next. Fight cardIn the fights at Madison Square Garden advertised on the poster at right (which already had taken place by the photo date), Johnny Greco won a decision over Cleo Shans in a ten-round lightweight match, while Sal "The Pride of East Boston" Bartolo outpointed Pedro Hernandez in a 10-round featherweight match. Trivia: this was the first of the 12 fights that Bartolo would have in 1943. Today a boxer who fights 12 times in five years would be considered unusually active. Boxers were a tougher breed back then. High LinerWashington Street is in the heart of the very trendy Meatpacking District. The area is also part of the new High Line Park neighborhood. You can rent a 1 bedroom apartment in the $5,000 a month realm or buy one in a condo for about $2 million. Too bad Leo & Benny couldn't hang around longer. Attached is a view of the Meatpacking District that I took a few years ago as I was walking through the High Line Park. Real hockey fansknow that you never put "Ice" before hockey, it's a Canadian thing, and no sissy helmets back then. Charlton & WashingtonThe corner of Charlton & Washington with Greenwich St in the distance. The cameraman is standing on Washington St looking east. Today, Charlton St no longer extends to Washington, the UPS distribution center is now built there. The building in the background is 345 Hudson St. Standard and Poor's moved into 345 Hudson in 1930. re: Original NHL sixMy thinking is that the team was referred to as the Canadiens and not Montreal because there was another team from Montreal named the Maroons. While the Maroons were basically defunct as of 1938 and didn't play for several seasons they were still technically a part of the league until the mid-40s I think. MaroonsInteresting speculation, sanman9781, but the last time the Maroons played was 1938, and this is 5 years later, so I don't think anyone would need clarification on which team was Montreal. By the way, it was back to just the original six in 1942-43 (Black Hawks, Maple Leafs, Red Wings, Canadiens, Bruins and Rangers), and the Stanley Cup was won a month later by Detroit. The Myth Of The Original SixBoth sanman9781 and davidk are technically correct. The NHL was down to the six teams that would come to be known as the "Original Six" in the 1942-43 season, both the Montreal Maroons and Brooklyn Americans (previously the New York Americans) franchises existed although both were suspended. In the case of the Americans the League had promised to revive the team after the end of the war, a promise that was reneged upon in 1946. The American's owner "Red" Dutton was convinced that the cancellation of the franchise was demanded by the owners of the New York Rangers. He cursed the Rangers saying that they wouldn't win another Stanley Cup in his lifetime. They didn't win the Cup again until 1994, seven years after Dutton's death. Actually the NHL didn't go "back to just the original six in 1942-43" simply because that was the first season in which the so-called "Original Six" alignment of teams existed. The NHL's first season - 1917-18 - started with five teams and ended with three: Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto St. Patricks, Quebec Bulldogs (didn't start the season though they'd be back in 1919-20) and Montreal Wanderers (who started the season but withdrew when their arena burned down). The notion of the "Original Six" only came about after the equally misnamed "first expansion" in the 1967-68 season - misnamed because the NHL had expanded from the three teams that finished the 1917-18 season to ten teams by the 1925-26 season. (The Gallery, John Vachon, NYC)
Dos Hermanos: 1964
... memories of taking walks with my grandpop in Manhattan and Brooklyn right around the same time this shot was taken. We'd stop for a slice ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/28/2021 - 9:13pm -

July 1964. "Two boys in street, one riding inside hand truck." First selection from the epic oeuvre of New York street photographer Angelo Rizzuto (1906-1967), a "troubled recluse" whose work remained unknown and unappreciated until long after his death. View full size. 1960 Flat-top Pontiac Bonneville 4 door hardtop, my older brother's wedding chariot in June 1960. Huge trunk area, but rather sedate, finless rear-end treatment compared to most GM offerings that year. Boyhood chums, hope their friendship is an ongoing one. 93 Stanton Street, between Orchard and LudlowStill there, although the storefronts have become the back of a bar. Scene right out of the movie A Bronx TaleHalf expected to see Chazz Palminteri standing beside the Bonneville. Arlene's GroceryWas essentially attached to the butcher shop on the left, and really was a grocery for a long time, until becoming one of the really hip Lower East Side music joints for many years. They kept the name and signage, because ... well, why not? Stanton Street Pizza is no longer astride but the good news is there's plenty of out the window pies still available on Stanton but now, instead of 15 cents, it's more like 99 cents. Fold over inflation. Lower East SideStill a fantastic part of town, one of my favorites in Manhattan, extremely vibrant and various like this photo from over 55 years ago. Not as theme-parky as other great neighborhoods like the Village. And adjacent to other wonderful places like Chinatown and Little Italy and Soho and the Village. A slice of life back thenWhen "pie" was still appended to "pizza." So much to see hereThe plaid-shirted kid pestering the butcher, the couple buying street food next door. And that Bonneville! Seeing the pizza shop really brings back memories of taking walks with my grandpop in Manhattan and Brooklyn right around the same time this shot was taken. We'd stop for a slice or a frank at places with those walkup windows. Looking forward to more from Mr. Rizzuto. Still there?Just up the street at 127 Stanton there's a small place called Stanton Pizza. I wonder if that's the same business, just moved into a smaller place. Give 'em a call ...It appears there was little trouble in locating this scene, but the Dos Hermanos telephone number GR3-7230 provides a clue, too. That was the GRamercy exchange on 18th Street, a reference to Gramercy Park. Haddad v. FarbsteinWilliam Haddad (1928-2020) unsuccessfully challenged Democratic congressman Leonard Farbstein for his seat in New York’s 19th congressional district in June of 1964. Farbstein won renomination by a margin of more than 3,000 votes and was re-elected to a fifth term in November. Haddad, who ran as a Reform Democrat, charged fraud and demanded a recount in election districts in the Lower East Side and refused to formally concede defeat. (The Gallery, Angelo Rizzuto, Eateries & Bars, Kids, NYC)
Maritime Manhattan: 1898
... circa 1898. "Produce Exchange with tower, East River and Brooklyn from the Washington Building." 5x7 inch glass negative by William ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/18/2020 - 12:22pm -

New York circa 1898. "Produce Exchange with tower, East River and Brooklyn from the Washington Building." 5x7 inch glass negative by William Henry Jackson. View full size. Toot, toot!Can you imagine the sounds? When my grandfather was telling me about arriving in NY harbor from Croatia in 1914 he said that one boat; "toot, toot!" and the next boat answers "Toot! toot!" Hundreds of boats blowing warnings and intentions to other boats. The Produce Exchangewas replaced by 2 Broadway, a glass box erected in 1958/59. 2 Broadway served as a backdrop for Billy Wilder's 1960 film The Apartment. I took this photo of 2 Broadway as I emerged out of the Bowling Green subway station back in May 2015. Still Sailing after All These Years Although the dominance of labor-intensive commercial sailing vessels may seem paradoxical in a scene dating from so late in the Age of Steam, the fact is that, during most of the 19th century, steamships were not efficient enough to cross oceans without having to devote a large portion of their capacities to the carrying of their own coal for fuel. Sailing ships, which had made significant gains in speed during this period, remained competitive on certain freight routes until the eve of the First World War. Sustainablility, sailsistance, sailstainablilityI am always fascinated by the fact of how long commercial sailing ships kept sticking around. Judging from this photo one would assume that sails still accounted for the bulk of all commercial maritime traffic at the time. A lot more merchies with masts and sails in sight than merchies with those (relatively) newfangled steam engines. Well, coal cost money, wind was free, and labor was cheap, I guess. There until 1957The interesting history of the Produce Exchange building can be found at this blog. Masts and steeplesChimneys and smoke. And three hatted gents on the observation deck of the tower. It must be a Monday in NYLooking at the roofs, there's a lot of wash on the line. Tower ViewThe view from the tower must have been a special treat - Like this https://www.loc.gov/resource/stereo.1s06658/ Raising cane Three on the right, one on the left with his cane in the air, seems they knew the photo was being taken. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC, W.H. Jackson)
The Apartment: 1935
... hutch-like cabinet. My Grand-mama had it's twin in her Brooklyn, NY, Brownstone walk-up through the 50's. The stove had been up-graded ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 10:42pm -

July 1935. "Kitchen of an apartment available for rent in the District of Columbia." One of hundreds of photographs taken by Carl Mydans to document housing conditions in the poorer sections of Washington, D.C., during the Depression. 35mm nitrate negative for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. APARTMENT FOR RENTAdorable D.C. studio apt available downtown. Amenities include charming turn-of-century hardware, gas stove, spacious enamel sink. Quaint period flooring lends provenance to this cozy historic prize. Such potential! 2500/mth, utilities not included. No pets. Dwelling in the pastMy apartment in the Bronx (1990s) had a built-in just like this. Maybe a little less lopsided than this one, though. Common bondIt's funny to think that many people in American cities have lived in just such an apartment, even to this day. The place is probably 40 years old in this photo. I've lived in three just like it. Kitchen archeologyMy NJ apartment in the 1990s looked just like this, too, without the old stove, which was to the distant right of the sink, the whole room being only 4 and half feet wide and 11 feet long. One section of wooden cabinets had been removed to make room for a refrigerator, with a single outlet, and along the wall facing the sink was another, single outlet. Made making toast and coffee at the same time impossible. Not a problem in the 1920's, when mine was built, either, since both would likely have used a stove in that era. The countertop had at least ten layers of oilcloth, wallpaper, contact paper and a top layer of thin plastic that I had to remove at one point before painting it all white. Thought I was being "Modern" - but I guess not! For Real?That kitchen in Dupont Circle is considered charming and the apartment goes for $3,500 a month. Clearance issuesUnless it is the focal length playing tricks on me, it would be hazardous to approach the sink while the left burner is on. [Check the floor. There are four and a half diamonds of space between stove and sink. - Dave] Speaking of hazardsNewspapers piled atop the burners is a nice touch. POVIn most of the world today this would be a very luxurious kitchen. Looks good to meI'm sure the photographer took this shot to illustrate bad housing conditions, but a sink and cabinet almost exactly like that were one of the main selling points for me when I bought my house three years ago -- and I plan to put in a similar linoleum floor. NYCI lived in a basement apartment in Greenwich Village until 1996. Same sink, much worse cabinetry, slightly better gas stove, linoleum flooring (like the one pictured), only, no windows. Paid $900 a month, and considered myself lucky. Prolific Carpenters? It seems everyone recognizes that hutch-like cabinet. My Grand-mama had it's twin in her Brooklyn, NY, Brownstone walk-up through the 50's. The stove had been up-graded to white porcelain by then, but many a turkey and pie sat on the sturdy shelf. (The Gallery, Carl Mydans, D.C., Kitchens etc.)
East River Bridges: 1908
... York circa 1908. "Manhattan and East River bridges from Brooklyn." The Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge (under construction) and Williamsburg Bridge ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/04/2018 - 2:17pm -

New York circa 1908. "Manhattan and East River bridges from Brooklyn." The Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge (under construction) and Williamsburg Bridge as seen in a panorama made from five 8x10 inch glass negatives. View full size. I searched and searchedand found the Moxie sign, my favorite beverage. It's for you, DumboAll this area in Brooklyn is now prime, expensive real estate especially popular with hipsters and Gen X-ers. It's referred to as Dumbo: Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. Old New YorkGreat photo. So much detail, it's easy to lose oneself imagining another time. (Panoramas, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC, Railroads)
War News: 1942
... AM to listen to the Ol' Redhead Red Barber announce the Brooklyn Dodgers game. All true blue Flatbush residents were Dodgers fans. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/07/2013 - 7:49am -

August 1942. "New York. Chinese-American boy in his home in Flatbush." Medium-format nitrate negative by Marjory Collins. View full size. Tuned inDespite having his finger on a Station Preset button, he might be listening to shortwave on the top dial band labeled C. It All Fits TogetherThe radio, the great clock, the framed photo, the drapes, the upholstery and the antimacassar. It's one great bunch of stuff. Au ContraireThe assertion that all the great mystery shows, cowboy programs and serials got their start at big city radio stations, such as "The Shadow" and "The Lone Ranger" and so many more, is not completely true. Amos 'N' Andy first hit the airwaves from a small studio/station located on Milwaukee Avenue just north of Deerfield and south of Lake Forest, Illinois. The building was later converted to a private residence that I was privileged to see in the 1960s. The location was an Art Deco masterpiece with the old studios still isolated in plate glass. Republic of ChinaThe flag crossed with the American flag is that of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Not So YoungHe's reading a copy of "The New Soldier's Handbook," probably not out of idle curiosity. Ming ThingThe picture hanging on the wall above the radio is of "The Temple Of Heaven" also known as "The Altar of Heaven" and is situated in a huge park in Beijing. Built in the 15th Century, it is a major tourist attraction. Attached is a photo that I shot in 2007. WNBCHe's listening to WNBC-AM 660. Imus didn't start there until the 1970s, so who knows what it was then. Everything style radioBig city radio stations then were only on the AM dial, of course, and offered a little of everything for everyone. Mostly, they had news and musical programs, usually including a live studio orchestra. All the great mystery shows, cowboy programs and serials got their start at big city radio stations, such as "The Shadow" and "The Lone Ranger" and so many more. It's how Gene Autry and Roy Rogers first sang to their horses, too. RCA K-80Radio appears to be a RCA K-80, from around 1939. http://www.radioatticarchives.com/radio.htm?radio=6510 WEAFwas the flagship of the Red network, then one of NBC's two networks. Antitrust actions in 1943 forced NBC to sell off the other (Blue) network, which went independent as The Blue Network and, in 1945, ABC. The station had been founded in 1922 by AT&T, who supposedly got the call sign from the four elements: Water, Earth, Air, and Fire. It first changed to WNBC in 1946, then to WRCA from 1954-60, then back again. Lapel IntelThis fellow's lapel pin seems to be an American flag crossed with what I suppose is a Chinese national or maybe a Chinese fraternal flag. The boy looks to be 12-14 years old to me, making him in his 80's now. Oh, how I'd like to hear the story of daily life from his perspective. Go Bums!Once the photographer takes the photo, the young man pictured will move the dial to WHN 1050 AM to listen to the Ol' Redhead Red Barber announce the Brooklyn Dodgers game. All true blue Flatbush residents were Dodgers fans. (The Gallery, Marjory Collins, NYC, WW2)
Sale To-day: 1905
... hanged. 1/4 Sizes! From The Daily Standard Union (Brooklyn), March 22, 1907. In tiny text, under Men's Stores in NYC, the first ... the "WOMEN" sign overhead. According to a 1906 ad in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Regal's store at Ann & Nassau sold men's shoes, and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/01/2013 - 6:44pm -

Circa 1905. "Nassau Street, New York City." So, $3.50. By the hour? By the pound? Oh wait. Per pair. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Damn inflation.Today those women would be $88.07. 93 Nassau StreetThe white cast iron building on the right is 93 Nassau Street and it is still there. The view is looking south, towards Wall Street. Broadway is one block west. The World Trade Center was two blocks farther west from Broadway. Commercial Cable BuildingThe domed tower at the end of the vista (but not the end of the street) is the 22-story Commercial Cable Building, built 1896-1897 to the designs of Harding and Gooch. It stood at 20 Broad Street, right next door to George B. Post's Stock Exchange (a small sliver of which is visible just below it). The Commercial Cable was demolished in 1954. Hanover BuildingNorth of the Cable building is the Hanover Bank Building (1903) demolished to make room for the Bankers Trust annex tower (1931). Bring money if you want to live thereThe building just to the right of center, with the rounded corner, is another one still around today. It is known as the Fulton Building and has an address of 130 Fulton Street. When it was built in the mid-1890's it was one of the last Manhattan office buildings constructed with load-bearing masonry walls as opposed to the steel frames that soon became universal. The Fulton Building was converted into residential condominiums in 2005, one of many office-to-residential conversions which occurred about that time in lower Manhattan. This wasn't terribly good timing for buyers, as within a couple of years they found themselves living next to the massive Fulton Street Transit Center construction project. Not that market value has suffered too much, as units are selling at upwards of $1.5 million. Hanging or MeditationCorner window of Fulton Building's 3rd floor (?) is a gentleman either looking out, thinking, or hanged. 1/4 Sizes!From The Daily Standard Union (Brooklyn), March 22, 1907. In tiny text, under Men's Stores in NYC, the first item in the listing is 102 Nassau St. at the corner of Ann St. Predecessor to the $5 footlongRegal Shoes ads from that decade help to explain the odd juxtaposition of "women" and "$3.50." Regal's business model was positively 20th century: sell most of your products for a flat, highly-publicized price ($3.50), open up new branches like crazy, and deliver to the rest of the masses by mail. What was less modern was the company's use of gender-specific stores. Woe to the lady who was attracted to the Ann & Nassau location by the "WOMEN" sign overhead. According to a 1906 ad in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Regal's store at Ann & Nassau sold men's shoes, and its closest ladies' shoe store was at 785 Broadway. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC)
Spring Forward: 1942
... of the occupation in 1918 and eventually made his life in Brooklyn as a welder & pipefitter in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The pic I've upload shows my Mom holding me in early 1953. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/13/2021 - 7:21pm -

April 1942. "Portuguese-Americans in California. Mr. H. Ormond, who is a leading jeweler in San Leandro, came to the United States from the Azores Islands 23 years ago when he was 17 years old. For three years he lived in San Francisco and then moved to Oakland, where he worked in a jewelry store for ten years. In 1932 he opened his own store in San Leandro. Mr. Ormond and his wife have worked long hours to build their establishment and now hold a respected position in the social and business life of San Leandro. Mr. Ormond said, 'I received my education as a boy in the Azores but I have found that all the things that I learned there as well as the principles of honesty and integrity and thrift and industry that my parents taught me have served me well in my adopted country. While I now speak a different language, all the principles of life in the United States and the Azores are the same'." Photo by Russell Lee for the Foreign Information Service of the U.S. Office of Coordinator of Information. View full size. Assignment: nationalities in CaliforniaIt's astonishing how a Shorpy photo of a man holding a clock in a town outside San Francisco evokes complex but little-known international politics during World War II. Lee took this photo the same month as the one of Japanese 'evacuees' that recently sparked spirited commentary on Shorpy. The 'Foreign Information Service of the U.S. Office of Coordinator of Information' was in the same alphabet soup as the Office of War Information that is credited on Lee's photo of Japanese-Americans. It would be interesting to know the specifics of Lee's assignment during April 1942, though one motive is not difficult to figure. Portuguese-Americans were particularly important because neutral Portugal was one of the few places in continental Europe not under strong German influence. (Dictator Salazar ran a government not unlike Spain's, but disliked Franco's ties to the Axis.) That made Portugal a key destination for refugees and a jumping-off place for the Western Hemisphere. (Characters in 'Casablanca' are trying to get there.) Mr. Ormond's origin in the Azores is particularly noteworthy because both sides were eying the strategic location of that archipelago in the mid-Atlantic. While maintaining neutrality into 1944, Salazar's government gradually increased the Allies' access to the Azores, something that continued into the Cold War--and today. Tik-Tok-Tik-TokTry to sleep with one of those in the room. Let's just say they keep you up until you surely miss the alarm. Ask me how I know. The AzoresThis one has me all nostalgic this morning. My wonderful grandfather, like Mr. Ormand here, came to the US from the Azores. He arrived as a stowaway in Key West circa 1915, worked his way up the coast to his relatives in New Bedford, Mass. and then fibbed his way (he was about 16) into the US Army. He was gassed and wounded in The Battle of Belleau Wood, met my German grandmother as part of the occupation in 1918 and eventually made his life in Brooklyn as a welder & pipefitter in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The pic I've upload shows my Mom holding me in early 1953. My Dad is on the left, my grandfather on the right. The other two ladies are my aunts, my fathers sisters. Seems that Mr. Ormond, like my Pop, found a place here and prospered. Part of our unique blended culture. Enough to Wind Him UpDaylight Savings days were probably not Mr. Ormond's favorite days of the year. [DST was instituted 365 days a year during the war, so Mr. O got a reprieve. - Dave] Daylight Savings EYAHHHHHHH!Love the clocks, love the photo, but thinking of all those clocks and Daylight Savings is giving me acid reflux. And I thought **I** had a lot of clocks to change! Scream AlarmIs that an Edvard Munch clock just over Mr. Ormond's right shoulder? Wondering how that alarm might sound. The time of his lifeYesterday I ate a clock. It was very time consuming but I went back for seconds. A woof not a screamThe clocks at both of Mr. Ormond's shoulders look like puppy clocks to me. And one of my aunts had the cat clock with the tick-tock tail. (The Gallery, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets)
Scrambling for Pennies: 1911
... we went out in groups in the old neighborhood of downtown Brooklyn. I preferred it to Halloween as the kids actually did tricks on ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 8:35pm -

New York, November 1911. "Scramble for pennies -- Thanksgiving." Before Halloween came into its own as a holiday in this country, there was "Thanksgiving masking," where kids would dress up and go door to door for apples, or "scramble for pennies." George Grantham Bain Collection glass negative. View full size. Now that's…creepy! Little BeggarsWhen I was growing up on Long Island (1950s) we would dress as "hobos" and go door to door begging pennies on Thanksgiving. Now I guess you would have to beg for a dollar or two. Boo.Sheesh, this is a downright eerie picture. I'm not sure Halloween is actually scarier. UnrecognizableI think what people find so creepy is that there aren't any costumes based on anything famous. No Shrek or Joker or Barbie. Just a bunch of featureless, undefined faces on these kids, with the only meanings being what you attach to them. Wonderful! Thanks for the explanation!If I ever got my wish to do some time-traveling, I sure wouldn't want to "land" in the middle of that scene without being briefed beforehand! ThanksoweenThis is your basic high grade nightmare fuel! It would have been interesting to post this and let us try to figure out what in the world is going on. Uh, "Trick or Turkey?" Halloween PostcardsDoes anyone have Halloween postcards from the 1920s-1930s? I have a couple from my grandmother's belongings, and they are lovely. The images are all "cutesy" (nothing scary) illustrations. I do not know who the illustrator was; they are unsigned. And there is no artist information conveniently printed on the reverse. If anyone has info about such cards, I'd love to know. niceleyj@k12tn.net Cross dressing on ThanksgivingIn 1947 I dressed up as Happy Hooligan, a comic strip character of my parents' generation, and my brother dressed as chorus girls. We went around on Thanksgiving morn begging "Anything for Thanksgiving?" People gave us fruit and dimes but we were the only kids doing it in our new neighborhood of Woodhaven, Queens. Before that, we went out in groups in the old neighborhood of downtown Brooklyn. I preferred it to Halloween as the kids actually did tricks on Halloween if they didn't get anything -- broke milk bottles, soaped windows, turned over trash cans. (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, Halloween, Kids, NYC, Thanksgiving)
New York World: 1905
... in 1955 for the expanded car ramp entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. The newspaper folded in 1931 after being sold by the heirs of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:47pm -

Circa 1905. "City Hall and New York World building." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. World Building in early movie SpeedyI used this photo of the World Building, and another great Library of Congress view of the New York skyline, to identify all of the New York skyscrapers appearing in this opening shot from Harold Lloyd’s final silent comedy Speedy, filmed on location in New York during the summer of 1927. Here’s how the World Building appears in my book Silent Visions, and how it appears (marked with an oval) in the movie. You can see more vintage New York settings from the movie at my blog http://SilentLocations.WordPress.com GoneThe New York World Building was demolished in 1955 for the expanded car ramp entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. The newspaper folded in 1931 after being sold by the heirs of Joseph Pulitzer. Weird Coincidence!I was just checking out John Bengtson's Silent Locations web site yesterday, connected via Leonard Maltin's recommendation. Well worth checking out by all the Shorpy fans, and no, I received nothing for this endorsement! HA!Excellent! George B. PostThe New York World Building was one of the finest efforts of George B. Post, sometimes known as the father of the New York skyscraper. This building was built using a conservative variant of skeleton frame construction known as "cage construction." In this technique, the exterior facade walls are self-supporting, but the floors and the interior structure are carried on an iron framework built right next to the exterior masonry walls. The World Building made a rather questionable claim for the title of the world's tallest building, topping out at 309 feet, but that number was valid only when measured from the back door down the hill on Frankfort Street (a full story lower than the front door facing Park Row) to the top of the flagpole. The Masonic Temple in Chicago -- seen here last year on Shorpy -- had a much better claim at 302 feet. As for the critical reception of the World Building in the architectural press, the less said the better. Classical The New York World building is incredible. It stretches the limits of "classical" to its virtual breaking point; imagine if it had been as tall as the Empire State building. The mind reels at the implications. Please tell us that it is still there. Magnificent AtlantesThose are the male supporting figures near the top of the building. They are also called telemones. Both new words to me. The female version btw is caryatids. The World in colorThe photo below was taken by Charles W. Cushman in June 1941: The entire Cushman collection of Kodachromes from all over the world over 32 years (from 1938 to 1969) can be seen on the Indiana University Archives site. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC)
Light Reading: 1941
January 21, 1941. "Brooklyn Public Library, Prospect Park Plaza, New York. Popular Room." 5x7 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/05/2012 - 7:08pm -

January 21, 1941. "Brooklyn Public Library, Prospect Park Plaza, New York. Popular Room." 5x7 safety negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. That's a proper library.Our local branch remodeled itself into a pale imitation of a Borders bookstore. Low shelves that hold only a fraction of the collection, tiny little tables that are no good for research, a superficial reference section, and only one lonely shelf of sale books. But they're very proud of their new overstuffed chairs. It's trying so hard to be hip and trendy that it's depressing. Sir, Anthrolopogy is in the East Wing, Three Miles South...The more I see of this library, the more I think they should have rented bicycles so you could get from one section to the other. I prefer my libraries smaller and less a tribute to progress, or whatever the heck they were trying to do here. Look at the time!I better get my suit on and head to the library. A little dab'll do ya!Obviously didn't use enough Brylcreem to keep that cowlick down. MLISIn library school I practiced pulling the pencil out of my bun and swinging my hair around. I'm saddened that no one has a bun. The more things changeLooked the same when I was last there in 1984 (except clothing styles). Wide Open spacesI can't believe how much ROOM there is in this place! I work at the public library here in town and we have stuff crammed into our areas. Our town has grown, but because of budget restrictions, we haven't been able to expand much and we are a BUSY library! MismatchedThe chairs don't go with the tables at all I've heard of these!Back in the olden days, it took two days for Kindles to recharge, leaving people stranded with no way to read books - thus, the library was invented. I understand some still survive to this very day. (The Gallery, Education, Schools, Gottscho-Schleisner, NYC)
Infrastructure: 1905
... This is old home week for me, both my birthplace (Brooklyn Navy Yard) and childhood nabe show up on Shorpy. We lived at 552 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 10:48am -

New York City circa 1905. "Where the subway is an elevated." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Does anyone knowWhy and when was the brick head house torn down? Date of photoI'm curious about the 1905 date, as the Belasco Theater, advertised here, was built in 1907. Perhaps this photo was a few years later? [The 1905 date is correct. The original Belasco Theatre opened in 1902. Below: Ad from September 1902. - Dave] 125th and BroadwayI do believe this 125th and Broadway on the IRT line. Bedrock in North Manhattan was to dangerous and labor intensive to blast, so an extremely high elevated was the course of action. Spent many a day working there on the signaling during the 1980s. Impressive structure. Manhattan StreetThis is definitely the 125th street viaduct. We're looking downtown along Broadway. The cross street, Manhattan Street, is present-day 125th Street (the name changed in 1920). There's now a McDonald's on the property where the Belasco Theatre sign is located. Found it!The building between the frame is gone, but 125th and Broadway seems to be the right spot indeed. The condition of the steel today looks rather bad, I must say. View Larger Map Why it's elevatedWest 125th Street actually follows a fault line. It's at a lower elevation than the streets to its north or south, so keeping the subway underground as it crosses 125th would have required a massive amount of tunneling. The result is the only elevated subway line in Manhattan, except for a short segment of the 1 Train in the very northern end of the island. SinbadPartially obscured at the lower left of the photo is a theater poster for the show Sinbad. A quick look-up at Proquest reveals that the show opened March 13 for a week's engagement at the Windsor theater. This was after a run at the Murray Hill theater that ibdb.com says was 2/27/1905 - 3/4/1905. An amusing court case emerged from that run in which a chorus girl was said to have attacked a midget in the cast, after he pointed a stage cannon at her. He objected to being dandled by members of the chorus. My old neighborhood!This is old home week for me, both my birthplace (Brooklyn Navy Yard) and childhood nabe show up on Shorpy. We lived at 552 Riverside Drive from 1947 till 1955. Our building was right up the hill from this spot. This stop had great old wooden escalators in the early 50's, and big heavy wooden turnstiles that made a very satisfying KA CHUNK sound when you put your 15 cent token in and pushed through. And it had a wonderful woody smell, as well. It's all efficient stainless steel and plastic now. When I lived there there was a Daitch Shopwell supermarket where the McDonald's now stands. And right under the escalator, on the corner of Broadway and Tieman Place, was Claremont Chemists, which I'm happy to say is still there (without its soda fountain). And there were still trolleys on Broadway, and 125th St led down to the Ferry to New Jersey. And there was a horse drawn vegetable wagon on Broadway as well. Oh, my, the memories are pouring out! ManhattanvilleThis is a terrific view looking north up Broadway as it crossed Manhattan Street, the signature street of Manhattanville, a once-vibrant town that is now a less distinct section of West Harlem. Except for the magnificent Manhattan Street Station seen in the photo (note the name on the wall of the masonry structure below the tracks), whose name changed in 1921, 17 years after opening. The Belasco sign on the right is the NE corner of the cross streets. The apartment building under construction is still there, as are most of the surrounding 5- and 6-story apartment buildings that went up in 1905 and 1906 as part of the "Manhattanville Building Boom" (NY Herald) that was a direct result of the new rapid transit line. The buildings beyond the "Sinbad" sign to the extreme left were at the juncture of West 129th Street and Manhattan Street (now called St. Clair Place and West 125th Street, respectively). Unfortunately, Columbia University just demolished them last year (2010) in the course of expanding its campus into Manhattanville. This impressive subway structure was considered "worthy of Eiffel" when it opened in 1904. It, and the unseen Riverside Drive Viaduct, are centerpieces of the historic old New York neighborhood I discuss in my book "Manhattanville: Old Heart of West Harlem." -- Eric K. Washington (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads, Streetcars)
The Clerical Army: 1924
... 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 ... 
 
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)
Apartment 17: 1912
... the Ruppert Brewery survives today at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. The tower may be gone, but the works are still with us. (The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/30/2012 - 4:09pm -

January 1912. New York. "Basso family, 2 Carmine Street, Apt 17. Making roses in dirty, poorly lighted kitchen. They work some at night. Pauline, 6 years old, works after school. Peter, 8, works until 8 p.m. Mike, (cross-eyed), 12 years old, until 10 p.m. Father keeps a rag shop." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. A million barrels of beer on the wallIn late 19th century New York City, George Ehret was its most successful brewer, and the partly obscured line on the calendar page bottom (“1,000,000 barrels sold every year”) was no empty brag. He made a trip to Germany during the First World War, couldn’t get back to the U.S., and the government, caught up in anti-German actions, seized his business. When he managed to return, he worked to straighten everything out, and sponsored a number of pro-American ads for War Bonds. Here's a calendar similar to the one in the Basso home. (Note the Star of David incorporated in the company logo. He might not have made it out of WW II Germany.) What the war couldn’t do to Ehret’s business Prohibition did; the company floundered and in 1935 was bought by the Jacob Ruppert Brewery, also in New York. [That "Star of David" -- the hexagram or Bierstern (beer star) -- is a symbol of the brewers' guild in Germany. - Dave] Apartment 17: 1912This is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. I did some quick research this morning. In the 1940 census, Mrs. Basso (first name Columbia) was a widow, and lived in NYC with three sons, John (50), Michael (40) and Peter (36). John is not in this picture, but Michael and Peter are. John was working, oddly enough, as a flower dyer. Michael was a trucker, and Peter worked in a print shop. Michael died in New Jersey in 1986. I could find no certain death records for John, Peter or Pauline. I hope I can find more when I get time. This kitchenlooks neither particularly dirty or poorly-lit for the standards of the day. The room is humble but it looks fairly clean to me, especially considering the activity they're engaged in. [The magnesium flash took care of the lighting. - Dave] Jacob Rupert BreweryThe Rupert Brewery, brewers of Knickerbocker Beer, took over the Ehret's Brewery in 1935. Col. Rupert, of the beer company, also owned the NY Yankees. The Brewery was torn down around 1965 and the Rupert Houses, a group of high rise residential buildings was built shortly after that. Last CallAs a footnote to a footnote, a recent Streetscapes column in the New York Times outlined the rise and fall of Ehret's Brewery. It was demolished in 1969 for an apartment complex. The clock tower pictured in the calendar was intended to be saved, but wound up being destroyed by vandals. To Joe ManningThis is the first chance I've had to mention seeing you on the CBS Evening News last week. The item Seth Doane did on you and your work with the Lewis Hine photos was excellent, and the interview with Mamie La Barge's granddaughters gave the topic a sense of relevance. The video can be found here. 2 Carmine St.I'm guessing this is what 2 Carmine looks like from the outside today: View Larger Map Maxfield Parrish CalendarI always enjoy seeing these in old photographs. His art was ethereal The Basso Family through the yearsFollowing up on Mr. Manning's post, I can see the Basso Family on the 1910, 1920 and 1930 US Census. Also on the 1915 NY State Census. The original family in 1910 was: Antoine (father), Columbia (mother), John (20), Antoinette (14), Michael (10), Edith/Aida (9), Peter/Pietro (7) and Pauline (4). 1915: The father, Antoine (on 1910 Census), either died or skipped town between 1912 and 1915 as the mother Columbia is shown as the head of household in 1915. All sibs are still there at 2 Carmine St. 1920: Antoinette is gone so she either married or died between 1915 and 1920. Probably married as she was in her 20's. Everyone else is still there, but they have moved to 28 King Street which is a few blocks south of Carmine. 1930: Edith is gone so like Antoinette she either married or died between 1920 and 1930. Left are Columbia, John, Michael, Peter and Pauline. I couldn't find anything on Pauline after 1930. Clock WorksThe clockworks from the Ruppert Brewery survives today at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. The tower may be gone, but the works are still with us. (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine, NYC)
Out for a Spin: 1904
... County. The item below is from the Oct. 30, 1915, issue of Brooklyn Life. - Dave] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/23/2019 - 12:06pm -

Circa 1904. "Patchogue Avenue, Manhanset Manor, Shelter Island, N.Y." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. If you don't like my drivingkeep off the grass. A Country Song Comes to Mind"Jesus take the Tiller!" Wondering1902 Flint Roadster, maybe? One of 149?The vehicle in view appears to be a 1903 Pierce Stanhope, of which 149 were made. The carThat looks like a Studebaker Electric. Not an electricThere's a radiator under the front valence (which is hiding a folded-up seat). LimericksThere once was a man from Nantucket Who kept all his cash in a bucket. His daughter, named Nan, Ran away with a man And as for the bucket, Nantucket Pa followed the pair to Pawtucket, The man and the girl with the bucket; He said to the man, "You're welcome to Nan", But as for the bucket, Pawtucket. The pair followed Pa to Manhasset, Where he still held the cash as an asset, But Nan and the man Stole the money and ran, And as for the bucket, Manhasset. (Yes, there is another Man from Nantucket limerick, but we won't go there) Maybe they're lost?I'm having some trouble making sense of the address given in the description here. In the present day, at least, Manhasset and Patchogue Avenue are in two very different parts of Long Island. And Shelter Island sits even farther away, out between the forks at the far eastern end of Long Island. The carI found a photo of another example of the car, in a similar position, for comparison. Tough Life?Oh, the poverty in this neighborhood! 8 Gardiner Way This was somewhat difficult to find, as "Patchogue Avenue" has since been renamed and there is no town today called "Manhasset" on Shelter Island. Thank you to the Rumsey Historical Map Collection! Where should I park, dear? "Park the car anywhere you like, honey!" RE: 8 Gardiner Way | Maybe they're lost?If memory serves, there was a Manhasset Hotel on Shelter Island (on the north shore of Shelter Island, near the modern day Gardiner Way) that burned down in the early 1900s --named for the Manahasit Native American tribe local to the area; the town of Manhasset that is quite a bit west of Shelter Island on the north shore of Long Island was also named after them. I believe there were even some old photos of the hotel posted here a while back. [You are perhaps thinking of Manhanset (not "Manhasset") House, on Dering Harbor. - Dave] Yup; Long Island I'm good at; spelling, not so much. Lots of locales on Long Island named with variations of the local Native American tribes of the area. The house pictured can also be found at this address: 8 Gardiner Way, Dering Harbor, New York. [Further research reveals that the village at the time was called Manhanset Manor (location of the Manhanset House and Cottages resort); in 1915 the name was changed to Dering Harbor. The Library of Congress errs in correcting the place name "Manhanset" to "Manhasset" in these Shelter Island captions; Manhasset is much farther west on Long Island, in Nassau County. The item below is from the Oct. 30, 1915, issue of Brooklyn Life. - Dave] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC)
Steam Players: 1907
... 1860's and still used today. Roebling also designed the Brooklyn Bridge. "This way to join the Paddlewheel Navy" says ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/04/2015 - 11:38pm -

The Ohio River circa 1907. "Along the levee at Cincinnati." The Coney Island Co. sidewheeler Island Queen and her retinue. 8x10 glass negative. View full size. The side wheeler just moved up riverGoogle street view. [That was a sternwheeler, originally the steam towboat John W. Hubbard, built in 1936. It was moved to Newport in 2014. -tterrace] Nooner!Taking a short nap on the riverbank next to the barge? Side wheelersWhat a sight it must have been to see all those big paddlewheel boats! I grew up in a Mississippi River town. There was an old paddlewheel boat rotting on the shore when I was a kid. It always set my mind dreaming of the days in this photo. Teeny tiny and gigantic!Those three small boats in the foreground give some scale to the Queen in her magnificence. I once lived in a houseboat like the closest one, but the teeniest one looks no bigger than a camper! And the warehouses look mobile as well! Bridge to KentuckyThat's the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge in the background. Built in the 1860's and still used today. Roebling also designed the Brooklyn Bridge. "This way to join the Paddlewheel Navy" says StanOllie is noticing the mud on his shoes and saying "Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into." What a great comedy team they were! More hogging chainsMore hogging chains in evidence. This time even on the floating pier. Version 1.0This is the first of two boats named Island Queen. It was built at the Cincinnati Marine Railway Company in 1896, 281.4 feet long, 42.6 feet wide. Destroyed by fire in 1922. SS TrystI wonder what was the function of the small, curtained vessel moored near the shore. It lacks the stovepipe of a 'live aboard'. Cleopatra's mini-barge? (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cincinnati Photos, DPC)
Colossus of Pike Street: 1936
... Street and no further away based on the appearance of the Brooklyn shore in relation to the bridge's western pier. I think it is safe to ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/11/2016 - 11:17am -

March 6, 1936. "Looking down Pike Street toward the Manhattan Bridge, street half in shadow, rubble in gutters, some traffic." 8x10 gelatin silver print by Berenice Abbott for the Federal Art Project. View full size. Except for the BridgeEverything else got "urban renewaled." Shorpy's Forteperfectly illustrated in this photograph. Hauntingly Magnificent. Once Upon a Time in America This picture is about a generation after, but I can almost see those kids from that Sergio Leone movie rolling down the street. Buildings on left@kozel, I think you're a bit off based on the angle of the cables. I believe the 4 buildings on the left are still there. The red one at the front is the same corner building after the Cut Rate Pharmacy. Keep the Berenice Abbott Images comingI just started reading about the life of Berenice and want to thank you for starting to post some of her work. Keep 'em coming. Memories!I spent part of the first five years of my life living on Pike Street in the early 50's. Here's a photo of me dancing for my baby sister in our Pike Street apartment. A Bridgein your front yard! Amazing picture. It has it all. Location@aep, if you are right you'd have that photo taken about 5 long blocks from South Street and beyond East Broadway which I think is too far away. If that red building is in the original photo, then the adjacent building that was a synagogue (now the Sung Tak Buddhist Temple) built in 1903 would also be there. I think the photo was taken around Madison Street and no further away based on the appearance of the Brooklyn shore in relation to the bridge's western pier. I think it is safe to say a telephoto lens was used. I've driven this street hundreds of times. LocationThe photo is taken from the corner of Henry Street looking toward Madison Street. The progression of streets in the photo is Henry, Madison, Monroe, Cherry, South. (The Gallery, Berenice Abbott, Boats & Bridges, NYC)
Manhattan Terminal: 1906
New York circa 1906. "Manhattan entrance to Brooklyn Bridge." The street railroad terminal. Detroit Publishing Company ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 2:56pm -

New York circa 1906. "Manhattan entrance to Brooklyn Bridge." The street railroad terminal. Detroit Publishing Company glass negative. View full size. DesignedBy Escher? What a marvelous mix of angles and forms concatenating into such a simple, utilitarian structure. Gold RushThe Gold Dust Twins, Goldie & Dustie were used to market Fairbanks Gold Dust Washing Powder. It was around until the mid 1950s, when the characters were no longer acceptable. Handsome characterWearing a derby and standing on the platform, apparently much happier than the dour fellow in the straw boater on the same level- NYC MuggingThose two men in the peanut gallery (upper left) look they are planning to relieve the photographer of his equipment, posthaste. Leaning on the railingis a man who knows something that you don't. Watch out ladiesfor the dashing and debonair young fellow on the second deck to the left. Just waiting to unleash his charms on some unsuspecting lass. Another fine messIsn't that Stan Laurel on the far right? (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC, Railroads)
A Hot Mess: 1900
New York circa 1900. "Mess boys, Brooklyn Navy Yard Hospital." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/08/2015 - 11:49am -

New York circa 1900. "Mess boys, Brooklyn Navy Yard Hospital." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Coming or going?Are they coming from feeding or going to feed the patients? The plates appear to have left overs on them and judging by the loose grip on the pail, it's almost empty. I was a Tin Can sailor during the 60s. I seem to remember the mess cooks wearing whites even if the uniform of the day was blues. Each division had to supply two or three mess cooks depending on the size of the division. Maybe that's why the two different uniforms. I'm no expertbut in the days before the Navy issued dungarees for work, didn't sailors wear old worn-out dress uniforms for that? Seems that even the engine room crews in these old photos are dressed this way. Appliances do helpModern appliances, washing powders and detergents not only give a hand to the working homemakers of either sex to keep the house shipshape and copper bottomed. They also help the modern sailor to look neat and clean, freshly machine-washed and electric-ironed most of the time. Not to mention that air conditioning keeps the mildew out. Not having to man-haul thousdands of tons of coal every other week may help, too. By the way, is that hat on the blue sailor's head regular issue? Looks like a floppy hat used by modern sport fishermen. Heck,you never messcranked? I only wonder why blues and whites. Uniform Of The DayWhen I was in the Navy (early to mid-60's) the Uniform of the Day was promulgated by the Naval District. For enlisted personnel it was either the dress or undress (working form) of Whites (our sailor on the right) or Blues (on the left) but definitely not both on the same day. Shared memoriesWith JohnMB, Glenn555 & landtuna: Hot pot! Make a hole! CuspidorMaybe it's my 21st century sensibilities, but it's pretty unnerving to see a cuspidor on a hospital floor. [Better to spit on the floor? -tterrace] Yes, they are a mess.I was in the Navy (late 50's). We kept out uniforms clean and pressed. We wore them such that we would at least look neat. These mess boys could not look any worse, but let us not forget at that time they were our heroes. Gas or electric lightYou still have a choice. If you flip a 'dixie cup'The hat worn by the swabby on the left is likely a 'dixie cup' flipped upside down, or turned inside out. When I served, the POD would specify the uniform of the day. In this case, it may be a watch-stander is helping the mess decks get their food delivered while it is still hot. They are no longer around to answer our insipid questions. I thank them for their service posthumously. (The Gallery, DPC, Medicine, NYC)
Summer Games: 1938
... elaborate stoops like these are more characteristic of Brooklyn than of Manhattan. There's a good chance that the picture is from one of the older Brooklyn neighborhoods such as Park Slope, Prospect Heights or ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/18/2014 - 8:01am -

Summer 1938. "New York street scene -- boys playing." Photo by Jack Allison for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Kings CountyBrownstones with large elaborate stoops like these are more characteristic of Brooklyn than of Manhattan. There's a good chance that the picture is from one of the older Brooklyn neighborhoods such as Park Slope, Prospect Heights or Bedford-Stuyvesant. Killer DillerThose boys are playing Skully or Skelly. A great game. "I am the killer diller of this game!" More to the pictureOne of the most-fascinating things about Shorpy pictures is that there's always something more to so many scenes than we first visualize. For instance, I wonder why the center youngster has an eye patch over his left eye? I doubt they treated many kids in this neighborhood for "lazy eye" in 1938. Maybe he suffered an injury. Plus, the ornateness of the porch stair bannisters shows a true artist's touch. Today, they're molded in a factory and placed, with darn little creativity. SkullyI grew up in the Bronx in the 50's. Skully was a common summer pastime. We used to draw the box with old plaster we found in the vacant lots and true to the name of the game we would put a skull in the center box which was # 13. Those shoes!3 of the 4 visible boys appear to be wearing Frye athletic shoes. Founded in 1863, Frye's was the oldest shoe company in America, and one of the most popular. A pair of Frye athletic shoes like the ones these boys are wearing, now cost about $150. The other lad appears to be wearing plain toe dress Oxfords, which also never seem to go out of style. (The Gallery, Jack Allison, Kids, NYC)
Good Night, Mrs. Calabash: 1952
... Great talent! Also had a nice role in "It Happened in Brooklyn", but more of a straight role, no major buffoonery, just a nice normal ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/06/2013 - 12:44am -

1952. Jimmy Durante rehearsing for the "Colgate Comedy Hour" or "All-Star Revue." Photos by Maurice Terrell and Earl Theisen for a Look magazine article about the TV producer Sam Fuller, "He Keeps Them Happy." View full size. Ham it upThe exaggerated facial mugging was the norm for a dancing girl on that show. On the old kinescopes you can see the dancers projecting a huge amount of personality, and to a very charming effect. Those gals were more than just decorations, they were personalities. Add to that mix that it took a very extreme expression to come through at all on those old TV sets. And as we see here the body language was no less exaggerated. In early TV you had to play to the last row as much as in Vaudeville. Inka Dinka DooWe had our first television in 1950, I believe, a 12 inch Admiral. I was way too young then to fully appreciate some of the remarkable entertainers in those early days of the medium---which was really just an extension of vaudeville. Durante was one of them of course, and other names like Milton Berle, Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca and Burns and Allen come to mind. Keep in mind this stuff was all live, which ruled out second and third takes. Yet week after week these extraordinary people pulled it off to the delight of millions. Sid Caesar once mentioned in an interview that frequently the writers (Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner, among others) for Your Show of Shows would be writing material for the last half of the program at the start of it. Regarding Berle, my understanding is that every program was recorded on 16 mm film, and it was all kept in a storage room at NBC. Then some upwardly mobile executive type decided the space would be better used for one of his pet projects, and he ordered all the Berle film burned. As for the Schnoz, I’ll always remember him signing off singing, “I’ll See You in My Dreams” on a darkened stage, with him in the center of a spotlight beam. And when he had finished the last note, it was, “Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.” The spotlight then went dark, and we were ushered into a Pard dog food commercial, or some other such thing. What a guy!My grandfather, born in 1898, recalled seeing Jimmy and a partner entertaining in a beer garden in Coney Island. This must have been in the summer of 1919, just after my grandfather returned from Europe and WWI. They were both troupers. HilariousHis turn in "The Man Who Came to Dinner" has always been a favorite. Great talent! Also had a nice role in "It Happened in Brooklyn", but more of a straight role, no major buffoonery, just a nice normal fellow. And, of course, "It's a MMMM World" was/is a classic. Up FrontI often wonder how it's decided who gets to be in the front line of dancers and who gets relegated to the back. In this case it would be an easy choice--the young woman on the left almost outshines Mr. Durante, which is no small feat. The TrioFrom the vaudeville days: it was Clayton, Jackson, and Durante. They had various combinations over the years. You can catch them on You Tube. Jimmy the JazzerJimmy Durante was a member of an early jazz group called The Original New Orleans Jazz Band in 1918-1919. He was the only non-New Orleanian in the group. Scary?As a tiny child, I thought his "Ahtchhaaaaachhhaaaachaaa" move was a bit scary. Now I wonder why. Kid brains are weird. (LOOK, TV)
World Series: 1912
... because the Yankees, Giants (NY that is) and/or Dodgers (Brooklyn, that is) were usually in the series. Variety Even though a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 8:24pm -

"Baseball, Professional. Crowds at scoreboard." Watching the 1912 World Series courtesy of the Washington Post on an electro-mechanical scoreboard that looks something like a big pinball game. In the years before the first radio broadcasts in the early 1920s, newspapers, linked to reporters by telephone, wire service or "wireless telegraph," provided live coverage of sporting events like prizefights and baseball games to crowds on the street, with announcers and scoreboards giving play-by-play results. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Men without hatsI see two! The WillardI'm a little confused looking at this photo. I know that the Washington Post was once on E St. just north of what is now called Freedom Plaza. And there was a Hotel Johnson at 13th and E, which would be consistent with the idea that this is shot looking east down E Street from about 14th Street. But I'm confused because the building looming in the background looks like the Willard, which would be behind the camera if I'm right. Was there a building at 12th and Pennsylvania that looked exactly like the Willard? [Update: We are looking down E Street at the Raleigh Hotel. - Dave] Officer! Arrest That ManYou there! Without a jacket or a hat. Come with me. You are under arrest as either a vagrant or a visitor from the future - and with those suspenders and bow tie, the latter is obviously not the case. E StreetI think that this view is indeed looking eastward along E street. At some point, Mr. Foster's shop moved, a careful study of the buildings show that they are different. An alternative view of some of the buildings, and the "Velvet Kind" sign, is seen in the nighttime Washington Noir photo. The 1400 block of E street is visible in the background of one of the many views of the Hayes roadster. But this puzzles me. The National Theater building, with the blocky projecting bays, is perhaps seen in both. However, the Munsey Building, the large white block built in 1905, is seen behind the roadster but where is it in this photo? [In 1912 Mr. Foster's shop was on 14th Street across from the Willard (ad below from December 1912). The store in the 1924 photo, when he had two locations, might be the one at 1229 Pennsylvania Avenue. In any event, that's the Raleigh Hotel in the background. The cupola was at 12th and Pennsylvania, so this would indeed seem to be E Street. - Dave] Update: There is a reference in the Post in 1908 referring to address of National Remembrance Shop at 1333 E street. The Historical Society of DC has an image of the corner of 14th and E showing Mr. Foster's at the 503 14th site. Note the trusty policeman directing traffic in the foreground. Washington Post, Apr 26, 1914 The Munsey Trust Company yesterday bought the property at 1335 E street, occupied by William A. Engel, who conducts a saloon, bowling alley, and restaurant. The purchase of the property gives the Munsey Trust Company ownership of all the buildings and ground between the New National Theater and the Washington Post building. The trust company announced that an eleven-story office building is to be built on the site now occupied the by Shoomaker company and Engel, to adjoin the Munsey building. The new building will be of the same height as the Munsey building, and will be surmounted by a tower. The entrance of the present Munsey building will be changed. Work on the new building will begin June 1. McKim, Mead & White, of New York, will draw the plans for the building. So I take from this, that the large columns in this photograph are the entrance to the original Munsey building. when the building was expanded The facade was rebuilt to the appearance seen in the roadster photo. This suggests the roadster photo was probably taken after 1915. The World Series is the Big EventThe best thing of all is that this crowd is gathered on a Washington street to watch the results of a World Series played by franchises in two other cities. Subway SeriesThere was a time, before TV sets were common in homes, that people would gather in front of stores that sold them. In most NYC neighborhoods, they were radio repair shops. There they watched the telecasts the same way the folks in this picture watched the scoreboard, but the crowds were nowhere as large as this. However, in the 1940's and 50's there was local interest because the Yankees, Giants (NY that is) and/or Dodgers (Brooklyn, that is) were usually in the series. VarietyEven though a casual glance reveals a sea of derbies and homburgs, careful examination reveals quite an interesting variety of hat styles and "bashes" (crown shapes). (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Sports)
Larry's Beer Garden: 1934
... was the Fulton Fish Market, and a few blocks farther, the Brooklyn Bridge. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Gottscho-Schleisner, NYC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 1:59pm -

April 20, 1934. "New York. Fulton Market pier, view to Manhattan over East River." 4x5 inch nitrate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. South StreetAny idea of where that Manhattan neighborhood was? The buildings along the waterfront look like South Street, near Fulton or Peck Slip. I'll bet you could buy a cold Rhinegold, Trommer's, Ruppert, Schaeffer, Rupson & Horman, or even a Ballantine at Larry's. Strong manI don't believe I would want to tangle with the guy on the boat. Look at those thick wrists and forearms, likely from years of hard work. On the Waterfront"I coulda been a contender ... now I'm just a bum who gets blotto every night at Larry's Beer Garden." I knew guys like this, they worked very hard and had hearts of gold, would give the shirts off their backs, not at all the thugs fiction would have you believe, at least not the ones from the mid-20th century. Today's longshoremen might be a different story as I am out of the loop. A wonderful photo. Naturally"Larry's," like Duffy's Tavern, would be where "the elite meet" to share tales of the sea and Wall Street wizardry over a stein of beer. Seems logical, just a step away from the docks and near the City canyons. Great photo. Primo locationLarry's must've done a booming business with longshoremen coming in every day after work. I wish there was a tavern in the lobby of my office building, but then I'd probably never go home. Gloucester SchoonerHas no one recognized the classic lines of the fishing schooner alongside the pier at bottom left? Visible are 2 nested dories on the starboard side, the tackles used to launch them immediately forward and aft, respectively, of the shrouds of the masts, the curved molding at the rail that marks the "great beam" where the deck stepped up to provide more room in the officers' cabin, and what's even more unusual, a power "donkey" winch in the little house amidships alongside the dories. This winch would have been powered by a gas or diesel engine. The ship might or might not have had a main propulsion engine; if she had it, it would have been used only in calms or to get in or out of harbor. Most of these schooners were built in Essex, Mass, by a handful of specialist yards, one of which was still in business when I visited the town in the 1970's. Almost all were homeported in Gloucester, Mass, and I wasn't aware they routinely traded into New York. Their main catch was cod, which was cleaned and salted on board. Some halibut and a few other species were also caught. The fishermen used longlines -- lines more than 1000 feet long with hundreds of hooks that all had to be baited separately -- that were set and recovered from the small dories shown, with one or two men to a dory, while the captain and cook managed the ship. This was one of the toughest ways of fishing, as it went on even in winter. The schooners were of highly refined design because the first back to port got a premium price for its catch, and very seaworthy because of the extreme northern fishing grounds off Newfoundland. (There were also a large number of similar schooners under the Canadian flag, most sailing out of Nova Scotian ports such as Lunenberg). In the 1920's and 30's, many replicas of them were built on a smaller scale for use as yachts. I spent a week on one of these replicas in 1969 so I can testify first hand to their superb sailing and seaworthy qualities. Grand BanksThe schooner appears to be a Grand Banks fishing boat, the dorys would be lowered over the side and set adrift with a fisherman aboard. Hopefully when the boat was full of fish the schooner would come back and find the fisherman. South and Fulton.This is taken on Pier 17, where Fulton Street ends at South Street along the East River. The corner building is at the end of Schermerhorn Row (1810). It was featured in Joseph Mitchell's "Up in the Old Hotel." To the left (slightly darker) was Sloppy Louie's. Just to the right was the Fulton Fish Market, and a few blocks farther, the Brooklyn Bridge. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Gottscho-Schleisner, NYC)
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