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Grrr!
... View full size. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses) ... 
 
Posted by delworthio - 09/22/2011 - 4:34pm -

The business end of that Cadillac. View full size.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses)

High-Class Vaudeville: 1915
... is part of a modern office building. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Streetcars) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/10/2017 - 6:15pm -

June 1915. Washington, D.C. "Fifteenth Street north from G Street N.W." Starring the Keith's Theater building, whose corner bar is now the address of the Old Ebbitt Grill. 8x10 inch glass negative, National Photo Co. View full size.
+95Below is the same view from April of 2010.
Your Name In... Lights?I would assume the individual letters of the names on the marquee above the awning would be lit with bulbs... but I can't figure out how they were wired?  I can see "blanks" for example on either side of "HYAMS", so would those be removed before accepting a new letter-square?  Or perhaps the letters were magnetic, and just "stuck" to the frame?  I never thought about it until I saw this picture... and still can't figure out how each bulb would get electricity.  Oh well.  It's showbiz!
Just a facadeThe building to the right ("Keith's High Class Vaudeville") is where "the new" Old Ebbitt Grill is today.  Now called Metropolitan Square, the building is a just a facade fronting a large enclosed atrium that is part of a modern office building.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Streetcars)

Naked Truck: 1919
... be an excellent guess. - Dave] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/04/2017 - 1:49pm -

San Francisco circa 1919. "Sandow motor truck." Latest entry on the Shorpy List of Lapsed Lorries. 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size.
Seatbelts ON! Just think,  this truck has solid rubber tires, providing no cushioning that pneumatic tires would provide, has no  shock absorbers to speak of, and no seat belt. The beefy leaf springs don't look as if they would flex much on each pothole.  The only cushioned thing is the horsehair he's sitting on.  The driver must have had to hang onto the steering wheel to stay seated.  Lacking a windshield, if that bowler is not jammed on tight, it might take flight, but driving at night must have been difficult by kerosene light.
But each wheel spoke has pinstripes.
GreatRadiator; very distinctive and memorable. Regarding windshields and such, sure most of those items would be part of the final vehicle design as specified by purchaser. 
BTW, wonder if Sandow was the same strongman featured by Flo Ziegfeld and depicted in the movie The Great Ziegfeld. Probably so, interesting factoid.
Pretty awesomeThere is virtually no information extant these days on this Sandow truck, which is a pity. The rear suspension is very advanced for the time, and better than what you get on a five-ton truck today!
The springs are not required to do anything but be springs. Location of the axle fore and aft is by huge trailing arms, and a Panhard rod locates it laterally. The usual arrangement is for the leaf springs to do both as on brand new Ford and Chevy pickups and medium duty Navistars, and it isn't elegant mechanically.
The rear axle itself is a worm drive from an outside supplier, quite common at the time. Nice photograph by Helin, the Hearst motoring and travel writer from 1915 to 1929, who seems to have done quite well for himself.
http://yosemiteblog.com/2011/03/28/a-look-back-at-yesteryears/
PinstripesNo greasy t-shirt for this truckie! (Yes, I realize it's a publicity shot, and he's probably the regional sales manager, trying to look like he's doing real work)
A Strong NameProbably named after Eugen Sandow (1867-1925), the pioneering German bodybuilder and legendary strongman.
[That would be an excellent guess. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)

Petro-Palace: 1922
... station. Was there a Minute Service No. 2 for cars that had their gas filler on the driver side? Or were the hoses on those ... (unlike the ones of today) to reach the "other" side of cars that were forced to enter the "wrong way" by the cutesy signs? High ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/24/2013 - 3:25pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1922. "Gas station, 17th and L streets N.W." The recently opened Washington Accessories filling station, also seen here under construction, three years later as Minute Service No. 1 and finally around 1928. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Six Pumps in 1922!Wow!  You can tell the center of government had plenty of autos running around, even back then!  In most of the country back then, there would be one pump out front of a grocery store or small service station.  This place was a contemporary gas/convenience store 80 years ahead of its time.
This is the corner nowView Larger Map
The hotel later built behind the station and opening in 1925 is the Mayflower, still operating as the Mayflower Renaissance and owned by the Marriott Corporation.  The dome at center in the 1922 photo is the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle located at 1725 Rhode Island Ave. NW.
Defunct tire companiesHood Tires were from the Hood Rubber Company of Watertown, Massachusetts.  The company began operations way back in 1896, although tire production may not have started until sometime later.  Many of the Armenian immigrants who formed a still-extant community in Watertown worked at the company's huge manufacturing complex.  B.F. Goodrich acquired the company in the late 1920's and phased out the brand name.  The Watertown plant remained in operations as a Goodrich facility, albeit one that made footwear rather than tires, until it closed in 1969.
Founded in 1905, the Ajax-Grieb Rubber Company of New York manufactured Ajax tires in Trenton, New Jersey and Racine, Wisconsin.  The company struggled through the 1920's, and in a last-ditch attempt to cut costs it closed the Trenton facility in 1928.  In 1931 Ajax-Grieb became one of the many companies that could not survive the Great Depression and went out of business for good.
Still neededThose nifty metal policeman directional signs of "in" and "out" would be useful even in today's gas stations since it seems no matter how many pumps or how large or small the station, there is always one or two drivers who enter the wrong way and mess up everyone else.  This also happens at "all-you-can-eat" buffets where you can bet that one or two plate fillers will be going against the grain, coming at you head-on.  I suppose that is why cattle are always herded into narrow pathways that are one direction only. 
17th and LThere's the dome of St. Matthew's Cathedral in the background.
Standard Oil New JerseyJudging by the globes on the gas pumps it is a pre-Esso Standard Oil of New Jersey station.
Was there a Minute Service No. 2for cars that had their gas filler on the driver side? Or were the hoses on those pumps long enough (unlike the ones of today) to reach the "other" side of cars that were forced to enter the "wrong way" by the cutesy signs? 
High Gas PricesIs the Lightning Motor Fuel sign, behind the bushes, advertising a gas price of 31 cents?  If so, gas was more expensive than I thought in those days.
I see the oil sign of 31 cents per quart.
Convex-bottom bucketsI have seen those convex-bottom buckets in lumber yards, intended for fire extinguishing service. Are they employed here for radiator service, or for conflagrations?
[Fires. Below, a listing in an 1896 tool catalog. -tterrace]
(The Gallery, D.C., Gas Stations, Natl Photo)

Littleton Fruit: 1908
... to reflect the sun, and finally in railroad refrigerator cars from the port to the train station shown in earlier views of Littleton. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/13/2013 - 2:47am -

Circa 1908. "Main Street -- Littleton, New Hampshire." Yes, they have bananas, and Moxie, too. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
RE: MoxieFor anyone who is curious, Moxie tastes something like root beer with cherry cough syrup.
How did they do that?In 1908, how would you get bananas from Central America to inland New England before they spoiled? This little shop seems to have an ample supply.
I imagine that bananas were still a bit of a delicacy in 1908.
[USA annual per capita banana consumption in 1909: 19.3 pounds, according to the USDA. -tterrace]
Wires were different back thenIt's so strange to see the telephone wires above the power wires. There's a strict hierarchy these days of putting higher voltage wires above lower voltage wires. It's also strange to not see any high voltage lines or transformers on the poles. 
At least two survivorsThe building on the left with the columns and the sharply peaked roof is the well-known Thayers Inn.  It was almost 60 years old at the time of this picture and is still going strong today.  Also still extant is the Congregational Church whose steeple is visible in the distance on the left side of the street.
The far church is still thereAs are some left hand buildings in the background, starting with the flat face storefront with the four windows, and the inn behind it, with the tower, and four columns facing the street.
View Larger Map
Use and CareThe lady crossing the street wearing the long white dress obviously spotted a clear path to the other side. Rules of the day insisted on long skirts even though traversing a roadway could be hazardous to the well-being of the garment.
Thayers InnHere's a photo of the historic Thayers Inn I took while on vacation there in 2006. Established 1843, and glad to say it's still a very hopping hotel.
Bananas travel cool.The bananas probably sailed in United Fruit Co. steamships painted white to reflect the sun, and finally in railroad refrigerator cars from the port to the train station shown in earlier views of Littleton.
High voltageThe high voltage wires are there. The bottom crossarm carries the 110/220 household circuits, and three of the four larger insulators on the second crossarm carry the "high" voltage. It could be 1,100 volts, obsolete as soon as it was introduced in the 1890s, or it could be 2,200 volts, a system which was overwhelmingly common until the postwar era. The transformer is the horizontal black oval on the backside of the second pole. (If any transformers of this type are still in existence, there are collectors who will pay ridiculous amounts of money for one.)
The fourth wire on the second crossarm is for street lighting. Only one wire was needed, because it ran in a loop around the neighborhood, with the bulbs wired in series like Christmas lights. Nixiebunny is correct that running power below telephone would not meet current code. The reason it is like this, probably, is that the telephone wires were already in place when the power was installed.
MoxieMoxie, for anyone who has never tried it, is an experience.  Despite living in New England all my life I never acquired a taste for it.  I wonder if perhaps it tasted better in 1908 than it does today?
As for Thayer's Inn, it's a lovely old hotel. My husband and I stayed there around 2005.  We keep meaning to go back but haven't yet.  There are photos of Bette Davis all over the Inn because she lived in a nearby town in the 1930s (rumor has it she visited Thayer's quite often too) and one of her movie premieres took place at Thayer's.   
Moxie IIMoxie must have been good; Ted Williams endorsed it.
(The Gallery, DPC, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)

Minnesota Merc: 1954
... front bumper? Brings back memories of the days when cars had REAL STEEL bumpers that did the job -- without requiring expensive ... show. By that time, they were only found on "old people" cars, along with continental kits, wire wheel covers, vinyl tops, etc. I ... 
 
Posted by mpcdsp - 10/06/2013 - 12:22pm -

My brother's friend Jerry returns from a "pedal to the metal" test drive of my brother's new Mercury. Minneapolis, 1954. View full size.
Oh no! - Is that a "Curb Feeler" I see fixed to that front bumper?
Brings back memories of the days when cars had REAL STEEL bumpers that did the job -- without requiring expensive repair.
Failed expectationsThis particular Merc didn't live up to my brother's expectations. Perhaps because the engine was a new design, he claimed it never ran right. Within a year he had sold it and replaced it with a '51 Nash. (!)
In the background are the Soo Line yards between 47th and 49th Avenues North in north Minneapolis.
PhotobombI remember curb feelers in the '80s, certainly the last time they made an appearance outside of a vintage car show. By that time, they were only found on "old people" cars, along with continental kits, wire wheel covers, vinyl tops, etc.
I admire Jerry's care in picking a flannel shirt to match the pumpkin color of your brother's car. I'm also loving the wood-sided Soo Line boxcars, which must have been nearing the end of their run.
But most of all, props to the photobombing feline!
Detroit, please bring them back!Curb feelers AND wind wings!  (And doesn't the cat look modern?!)
First yearFor Ford's new overhead valve engines, replacing that venerable hotrodders' favorite, the flathead.  For Mercury, the new motor displaced 256 cubic inches and made 162 HP, 37 more than last year. V8-equipped Fords got the 239 cubic inch version making 130 HP.  Any young man would be eager to give it the full-throttle test.
Those boxcarsindicate he may be near the Soo Line.
Mystery solvedThe photobombing feline is "Fraidy Cat", which belonged to our neighbors but spent much of her time at our house. What is she about to pounce on? The curb feeler -- which is probably vibrating slightly. 
I know where you areThat is looking north towards Humboldt yard and the mainline for the Paynesville sub.  I run CP trains that way everyday.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)

The Great Race: 1908
... 2 more hours down the drain Just finished Link 1 to old cars and don't know whether to thank you or curse you. Once in, I couldn't ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 11:25am -

February 12, 1908. "Scarfoglio and companions in Zust car, New York," at the start of the New York to Paris automobile race of 1908, in which the contestants drove west across the continent to San Francisco, continued to Alaska by ship, took a steamer across the Bering Strait and continued the land journey in Siberia. View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. Below, the competition itinerary as printed in the January 26, 1908, New York Times.

Great Race Documentaryhttp://www.thegreatestautorace.com
[Plus the 1965 movie "The Great Race." - Dave]
Zust driverWhat a combination of confidence in the face of risk and derring-do.
The Italian teamThe three in the picture would have been the Italian team: Antonio Scarfoglio (a reporter for Il Mattino, at the wheel), Giulio Sirtori (main driver), and Heinrich Haaga (the mechanic).
I love this photo, the look on their faces and most of all, those awesome coats. I want that look for me.
New York to ParisIn 1908 automobiles were unreliable in every respect, especially the tires. There probably weren't any suitable maps even across the US lower 48, not to mention Alaska. As far as I know, there are no roads from Fairbanks to Nome today. 
The Siberian leg of this would be tough even today; and in 1908 they would have had to stage their own gasoline and other mechanical necessities. Those things would have to be hauled in by rail where it existed, otherwise by horses. The route description just blithely mentions Irkutsk then Moscow. This was a massive undertaking. 
Back from the Dead
More on the Zust and its restoration:
Link 1
Link 2
2 more hours down the drainJust finished Link 1 to old cars and don't know whether to thank you or curse you.  Once in, I couldn't stop.  Thanks for the wonderful distractions you so often provide.
Monty PythonThe driver looks like Graham Chapman of Monty Python: "...ello, ello, ello! What's all this then?"
(The Gallery, G.G. Bain, NYC, Sports)

Petit Hearse: 1919
... The *groan* heard 'round the group! (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/23/2017 - 5:26pm -

San Francisco circa 1919. "Chalmers touring car at Golden Gate Park." Fitted with a funereally swagged top, complete with flowers. Latest addition to the Shorpy Mortuary of Marmoreal Motorcars. Photo by Christopher Helin. View full size.
A first?Are we being treated to a first on Shorpy? Referring to the elegant add-on side mirror.
Pun-ishmentThis has to rank near the top for subtle pun titles on Shorpy.  It is up there with "That's All Folks," from a few weeks ago.
Shorpy, the last bastion of punnage....The *groan* heard 'round the group!
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)

Coal Wagon: 1928
... where they hung out waiting for jobs. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/26/2013 - 12:29pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1928. "Semmes Motor Co. -- Consumers Co. coal truck." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
The Coal RacketI remember the coal trucks of my youth while growing up in the Bronx. They were humongous chain driven electric behemoths. The coal would be dispensed by raising the dump mechanism and sliding the coal down a ramp into the tenement's coal chute. I think it took about a half hour or so to complete the delivery. The noise was deafening. Ironically the supplier was the Gassman Coal Company.
Our local coal companywas "The Burngood Coal Company". The owners name was Goodburn.
40 Years Later  Although greatly diminished, the home coal delivery business was still around. I drove a coal truck part-time to make ends meet while serving in the Air Force at Niagara Falls International Airport in 1968. My truck bed was partitioned and I could load different types of coal (lump, stoker, run-of-mine, etc) for up to four different houses on one load.  After leaving the coal yard, I would pick up a casual laborer to spread the dumped coal in the customer's cellar. Usually one trip was enough for any cellar man, that job being extremely hard and dirty. After a while, I could see the laborers scatter as I approached the corner where they hung out waiting for jobs. 
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)

Coupe de Grass: 1931
... moment to use that one, haven't ya? (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/29/2017 - 7:19pm -

San Francisco circa 1931. "Willys Six Model 97 roadster on Gough Street at Lafayette Park." 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size.
Pretty in GreenModel 97 was offered only in two-tone green. The one in the photo appears to have the optional cream-colored wheels.
Here's one still doing business, in Veterans Day and Christmas-Parade liveries, Huntsville, Alabama, 2013.
Coupdeaux on the titleYou've been waiting a while for the right moment to use that one, haven't ya?
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)

Fayetteville: 1941
... renumbered back to US 401. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Jack Delano, Stores & Markets) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/25/2018 - 11:40am -

March 1941. "Traffic on the main street of Fayetteville, North Carolina at about five o'clock, when the workers start coming out at Fort Bragg." Medium format negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Merry ChristmasChristmas won't be Christmas without another Dickey snap in front of the tree but I guess we'll muddle through somehow.
A very merry Christmas to Shorpy and all the Shorpy-ites! I look forward to another year of excellent pictures and even more excellent comments.
US 15 ASpecial routes of U.S. Route 15:
U.S. Route 15 Alterboro–Creedmoor alternate route
Existed	1936–1957
Established in 1936 as a renumbering of U.S. Route 401, from the South Carolina state line to Creedmoor, going through the cities of Laurinburg, Raeford, Fayetteville, Lillington, and Raleigh. In 1950, South Carolina discontinued the US 15A concurrency with US 15, but was not till 1953 when North Carolina followed and moved US 15A's southern terminus in Laurinburg. In 1957, US 15A was renumbered back to US 401.

(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Jack Delano, Stores & Markets)

Minute Man Men: 1921
... I am betting that rickfred wins his bet! (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/04/2015 - 9:02pm -

San Francisco circa 1921. "Lexington 'Minute Man Six' dealer window, Van Ness Avenue." Another of those promotional events whose significance has vanished along with the product. 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size.
I'm bettingthe event being commemorated and used to promote the car is the Lexington's 1st and 2nd Place finishes in the 1920 Pike's Peak climb and that the guy sitting up on the seat is one of the drivers.
Aptly namedI'm pleased to report without any irony that this is the Kaar showroom. (From 1921 Crocker-Langley directory)
Just saying...A car like this is one of the best props ever. It gives a pose depth and balance, while the participants look really focused, lacking, fortunately, that touch of uselessness so frequent with group photos.
Subject of the MeetingGiven the utilitarian garb of the three occupants of the car, I suspect that some endurance run or other was being celebrated.  Though the practice had become less frequent by the time World War I came to pass, in the first decades of the 20th Century many manufacturers sought publicity (and attendant increased sales) by demonstrating their products' ability to travel long distances in record time or over rough terrain or consuming less fuel than competitors or while towing heavy loads, etc.
Never a major "assembler," Lexington became part of the United States Automotive Corporation, was acquired by E.L Cord (of Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg fame) in the mid-1920s, and was extinct as a marque by 1927.
ADDED:  And I am betting that rickfred wins his bet!
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)

Garage Américain: 1919
... at 79 Rue Laugier." Note the sign advising that LOAFING IN CARS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. 5x7 inch glass negative, American National Red Cross. View full size. (The Gallery, ANRC, Cars, Trucks, Buses, WWI) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/12/2017 - 8:43pm -

March 17, 1919. "Paris. Interior of the American Red Cross garage at 79 Rue Laugier." Note the sign advising that LOAFING IN CARS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. 5x7 inch glass negative, American National Red Cross. View full size.
(The Gallery, ANRC, Cars, Trucks, Buses, WWI)

Back-Road Buick: 1930
... agree with the North Bay suggestion. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/03/2020 - 7:16pm -

"Unidentified couple with Buick, California, 1930." Now at their final destination, 90 years down the road.  5x7 inch Kodak nitrate negative scanned by Shorpy. View full size.
LocationWell, not precise, but everything in this photo nearly screams out north coast counties to me, Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino - having grown up in the first and much frequented the other two.
Not OaklandSimply because there's no sign of an accident.  As a former Marin resident, I'd agree with the North Bay suggestion. 
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses)

Investment Building: 1925
... is the same view from April of 2010. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/04/2012 - 1:00pm -

The Investment Building in Washington at 15th and K Streets in 1925, shortly after its completion. Home to the barber shop seen here yesterday, the Investment Building was touted as being the first big office building in the East with an underground parking garage. Ten years ago it was torn down and replaced with a new structure designed by Cesar Pelli, who used the original limestone for the street-facing facades, which were propped up during demolition with a framework of steel girders. Except for the modern superstructure peeking over the top, the new Investment Building looks pretty much like the old one. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Google Street View: DCGoogle has finally launched Street View for the Washington DC maps (Nov 4, 2008).  Is it the result of more complete surveys, settled lawsuits, or a new hope? I don't know.  In any case, its a great additional supplement for the purposes of "Then & Now" comparisons of many photos on Shorpy.  Here's a first look for the Investment Building at 5th and K, NW.
View Larger Map
+85Below is the same view from April of 2010.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)

Working on the Railroad: 1901
... hoboes would crawl up on the brace rods under railroad cars like this one and hang on until their destination. What a ride! Always ... The rods beneath the car are truss rods. These old cars had wooden center sills and the truss rods helped support those sills. As ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/16/2018 - 11:59am -

October 1, 1901. "Track elevation and stone mixer, Chicago." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size.
Big 4I wonder if that refers to Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, Collis P. Huntington, and Charles Crocker - founders of the Central Pacific railroad. They were often referred to as the Big 4.
All That ScrapThat wood scrap is treasure today. And to imagine where that tongue and groove, and I'll be guessing, 2 x 6 came from, would be amazing. I would love having some of that wood now.  
Ridin' the RodsWas never really sure what this meant until I saw the gondola car in this picture; apparently hoboes would crawl up on the brace rods under railroad cars like this one and hang on until their destination. What a ride!
Always find it amazingIt wasn't Romance of the Rails so aptly depicted at times. Somebody had to do the actual work.
Big FourThe railroad nicknamed "Big Four" was the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway. CCC&StL.
Big Four againOfficially known as CCC&StL has appeared in Shorpy before:
www.shorpy.com/node/20673 
The rods beneath the car are truss rods. These old cars had wooden center sills and the truss rods helped support those sills. As the car aged, the frame would tend to sag, so the truss rods were tightened through turnbuckles, visible in the middle of the rods, to compensate. 
Where is the Instrument Man?Thirty-two years a surveyor and if I'd EVER left the level alone, my party chief would have shot me. Also, that level now (looks to me like a Wye level), while a genuine antique, would bring between five and ten thousand on the open market. Our division had two of them, both serviceable that one of our bosses ordered thrown out ("Nobody uses them anymore!") Somehow, they never made it to the dumpster.
Big fourThe gents you mentioned are the big four of the Central Pacific, but the sign on that car here is the railroad nicknamed that way from its corporate title cities. Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis. The line was a subsidiary of the New York Central. 
(The Gallery, Chicago, DPC, Railroads)

Big 4 Candy: 1926
... uses whatever board width came to hand. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 5:51pm -

1926. "Semmes Motor Co., Schrafft's truck." A Dodge truck in Big 4 Candy livery at 608 E Street N.W., Washington. National Photo glass negative. View full size.
Brick BondsThis side of the Atlantic, this pattern is usually referred to as "Common Bond" or "American Bond." The vast majority of 1800s brick buildings in Washington (including my house) use this bond.
Scottish Bond Alert!The brick laying pattern is Scottish Bond: five layers of "stretchers" - or, long brick and one layer of "header" - or, the end of the brick. I would never have known about this if I had never browsed the archives here. Who says that this site isn't educational? For the remainder of my life I'll be noticing brick patterns - something I have never given a moments thought to before. A tip 'o' the hat to the commenter who first brought this to my attention in a photograph taken behind a Civil War hospital. 
What's in a name?As a retired graphic designer in corporate marketing, I am always intrigued by trade names and visual treatments. The name is spelled out on the truck - but with a numeral 4 logo treatment for the text to wrap around - yet the sign over the entrance only employs the numeral (definitely not a space issue there). Being a wholesaler, the name has no need to appeal to the consumer, but does it refer to the number of owners, categories of confections, or is it merely arcane? The sign painter knew a thing or two about compressing (condensing) fonts to fit the space and enhance the flow (note "wholesale" as opposed to "confectioners"); this was a common period design feature that began in Victorian graphics but was soon to disappear from the scene as advertising typography became more austere as images began to carry the message between the great wars.
Nice hanging gate to the alley/courtyard -- and no using both entrances at the same time! The fence to the right uses whatever board width came to hand.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)

Good Roads: 1914
... that support the electric wire to power the interurban cars. After the road is improved, the line will eventually be abandoned. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/15/2011 - 12:16am -

New Jersey circa 1914. "Good Roads -- a scraper." One manifestation of the "Good Roads" movement, started by bicyclists in the late 19th century and carried on by advocates of the automobile. G.G. Bain Collection glass negative. View full size.
Farm ScraperWe had one like it on the farm still made of wood but we put steel wheels from a seeder on it and pulled it with the tractor to maintain our road.
Not exactly smooth sailingAnd people today complain about the occasional pothole. Imagine riding down a road like that for hours in a turn-of-the-century automobile. You would have a mouth full of loose teeth.
Fresno Scraper"Easily made from the simplest materials". The planks go over the logs (lifted aside to reveal the construction), and the driver stands on top with reins in hand to urge the team forward. A common, and frequent, maintenance task to smooth down the ruts that form on a dirt road. 
Good road?I'd call that a hard road -- a hard road to make! 
Is this the infancy of the DOT perhaps?
Let's hear it for the cyclists!The Good Roads program was started by bicyclists so let's give them credit for our good roads and stop telling them to get off the street.  
Innocents At HomeI remember from The Innocents Abroad that when Mark Twain visited Paris, he was extremely impressed with their paved roads (they were covered in the finest "macadam," I think his phrase was). His visit was in 1868 or so. By 1914, there would have been plenty of good roads in the United States, I believe. This just happened not to be one of them.
100 years laterand here in rural Colorado this is what the road to my house still looks like.
The interurbanAfter the bicycle, before the automobile, for a brief time there was the interurban electric railway. Paralleling the muddy road is a single-track rail line, lined with wooden poles that support the electric wire to power the interurban cars. After the road is improved, the line will eventually be abandoned.
Electric interurbanI'd take odds that the citizens of New Jersey would love to have the Interurban line back with $4 gas and the crowded roadways of 2011.
Fresno ScraperThe Fresno Scraper was an iron improvement on the wood scraper developed by James Porteous in 1883 and built by Fresno Agricultural Works.  They were so popular that the term "Fresno" was synonymous with scraper.  The horse pulled the metal scraper and a strong fellow followed along behind to guide it with a wood handle called a Johnson Bar. He could also be an unlucky fellow as the scoop could catch and the Johnson bar could whack you on the jaw, or worse, on your Johnson! My grandfather leveled a lot of ground with a Fresno and I am happy to say he fathered  five children despite the Johnson bar. :)
(The Gallery, G.G. Bain)

Special Pleating: 1941
... it will likely have to last at least until the post-war cars debut in 1946. MAgnolia 2239 Originally New Orleans used geographic ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/15/2014 - 7:49pm -

January 1941. "Old buildings in New Orleans." Custom Buttons and "Sandwiches of All Kind." Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size.
Ladies!Ladies Invited, it says next to the entrance. Normally they aren't welcome?
For such a small perimeterthe number of street lids is quite impressive!
Bourbon Street and IbervilleEast corner to be precise. :)
1941 ChevroletIt's very shiny, two-tone and new but already has a dented passenger side rear fender, perhaps from navigating the narrow French Quarter streets. The car's worth repairing, especially since it will likely have to last at least until the post-war cars debut in 1946.
MAgnolia 2239Originally New Orleans used geographic telephone exchange names, such as ALgiers, GAlvez, UPtown and CAnal. In the 1950s the two letter/four number configuration changed to two letter/five numbers, and new office names such as WHitehall and ATwood were introduced. The history of New Orleans telephone prefixes can be found here

Buggy Buffet: 1919
... and Steiner streets: (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, Kids, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/04/2017 - 11:35am -

San Francisco, 1919. "Grant Six touring car at Alta Plaza Park." Manifesting a variety of conveyances for young and old, in this latest psalm from the Shorpy Bible of Bygone Buggies. (Footnote: running-board doormat.) View full size.
Dealer License PlatesThe earliest dated ones that I have seen.
[California dealer plates with both the word and the date were first issued in 1915. -tterrace]
Love the descriptionShorpy has the best descriptions. "Shorpy Bible of Bygone Buggies". I also particularly liked "Forgotten Phaetons" and "Brobdingnagian Broughams".
And The Dealer Is ...Frank O. Renstrom, who was previously seen here.  The driver seems to be Renstrom.
The entrance to the park behind the car appears to be at Washington and Steiner streets:
 
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, Kids, San Francisco)

Coffee Shop Cadillac: 1964
... an unusual coincidence, perhaps. (The Gallery, Boston, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Eateries & Bars, Found Photos) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/20/2015 - 10:44am -

"St. Clairs Coffee Shop and Mosher Record Store, Boston, night." Neon with a side of tailfin. 35mm negative, photographer unknown. View full size.
HeadscratcherThe 1969 Boston phone directory lists the St Clairs Coffee Shop at 180 Tremont St., which matches the number on the door, and Mosher Music next door at #181 (indicating street numbering only on one side of the street - the Boston Common is on the other side of Tremont). But the building now at that address (as seen in Google Street View) has clearly been there since at least the 20s or 30s based on the architectural style. I'd be curious if any of the folks who have posted remembrances on the other photos from this set recall where this building was - has Tremont been renumbered since the 60s?
Tremont doorwayThe doorway with the "rosette-like" decorations around it marked 182 Tremont at the far right in our photo above seems to match the door currently marked as 180 Tremont in the Google street level view. 
Edison Electric Illuminating CompanyGood eye, gwad! That is definitely a match. So, this places the St. Clairs' and Mosher Music on the first floor of the Edison Electric Illuminating Building, originally 180-182 Tremont St, but now renumbered as just 180 Tremont. Perhaps if the photo had been taken in daylight we'd be able to see the distinctive metal-edged overhang that appears on the building today, although it's possible that that's been retrofitted and wasn't there in the 1960s.
Interestingly, the Edison building was home to one of Boston's first radio stations, WEEI ("EEI" standing for Edison Electric Illuminating). It still exists as an AM/FM sports station, although it's now located elsewhere in Boston. And now that the building is owned by Emerson College, their own radio station, WERS, has its studio space just where the St. Clairs' was. I always wondered why they put the radio station there; perhaps it was because the building was already fitted with an antenna (although I'm sure it had to be upgraded).
In my research online I found that there was a St. Clairs' Fine Foods located nearby, on the corner of Berkeley and Boylston (where the Starbucks is now, for locals). I wonder if they were related businesses - the apostrophe in the same unconventional location is otherwise an unusual coincidence, perhaps.
(The Gallery, Boston, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Eateries & Bars, Found Photos)

Industrial Winter: 1942
... finished his delivery, and is waiting to pick up transfer cars for Gibson Yard on the NYC, or any of the other roads the IHB interchanged ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2012 - 10:01pm -

Chicago & North Western railyard, Chicago. December 1942. View full size. Kodachrome by Jack Delano. Camera: 4x5 Graflex Speed Graphic.
Great pictWould anyone know where this was taken from? The yard tower perhaps? How many steamers are in hte picture, any guess?
Delano Yard PhotoThis is C&NW's Proviso Yard in Chicago, shot from the Ill. Route 83 Bridge. If you look closely at the steamers in the near horizon, you can see the characteristic C&NW 'bowtie' herald on the tenders. Also, in the near foreground, at about 3 o'clock, you can just make out the Indiana Harbor Belt herald on the side of the tender. He is there either making a pickup, or has just finished his delivery, and is waiting to pick up transfer cars for Gibson Yard on the NYC, or any of the other roads the IHB interchanged with. 
ProvisoThis is NOT taken from "Rte. 83 bridge" - which doesn't exist! This is looking east into Yard 4 and Yard 2 from the east end of the Yard 5 light tower which still stands just south of the Diamond at the east end of the Yard 5 Yard Office behind the Diesel Shop at Proviso.
The closest 'steamer' is sitting on present-day Track 10 in Yard 4....the Yard Office currently stands to the far left, farther north and out of the picture...the long, red-walled shed that is there in this picture is long gone, as is the shanty to the south of the Diamond, which is just out of the picture (bottom) to the west.
The bridge in the distance is the Mannheim Road Bridge, which was last rebuilt in 1999.
You want a guided tour of Proviso on a remote-controlled engine ? Stop by the East 5 Yard Office any day except Sunday or Monday and ask for me.
[Hello, FlangeSqueal. One of our readers would like to take you up on the tour offer. Do you have a method of getting in touch so that they can arrange the visit? - Ken]
Proviso YardNo, you cannot see Proviso from Route 83, which is way west of the yard. But FlangeSqueal is correct. This photo is looking east towards Yards 4 and 2. All the way to the right of the photo would be Track 18, Yard 2 and the third track from the left would be Track 1 of Yard 4. The two straight tracks to the very left would be 20 and 19 main (respectively) and where you see that container to the bottom left would be the east end of the East 5 yard office parking lot. Those old iron light towers are still there today.
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)

Bus Triptych: 1943
... Talk about "working hard for the money." (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Cincinnati Photos, Esther Bubley) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/24/2017 - 1:36pm -

September 1943. Cincinnati, Ohio. "Loading baggage on a Greyhound bus at the bus terminal." Medium-format nitrate negatives by Esther "Burst Mode" Bubley for the Office of War Information. View full size.
FedEx and UPS back in the dayWhenever I tell young people that when I worked in a statewide political campaign in Alabama in 1978 we used to send all of our election paraphernalia (yard signs, billboards, bumper stickers, etc.) by Greyhound and Trailways, they think I'm kidding. There was no other alternative any faster.
The Original3D Tetris player 60 years early.
No Louis Vuitton or GucciMost of this luggage looks like it has seen a lot of wear and tear and much of it is tied together with ropes or tape, so it is surprising that none of it seems to have burst open, as I've seen lots of airline luggage on the arrival turntables that just could not withstand the handling and comes through in pieces.  Also, having this job would keep one from having to work out at the gym because there was no automated moving carousels, etc. and it was sheer strength and manpower moving this stuff around.  Can't help but wonder how much a baggage handler would have made in 1939.  Talk about "working hard for the money."
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Cincinnati Photos, Esther Bubley)

Mug Shot: 1919
... store was at 916 Seventh St. NW. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/30/2016 - 12:57pm -

Washington, D.C, 1919. "Police coffee." Continuing this caffeinated, steamy saga. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Coffee CopBased on the following city directory entries, the corner they are at is 13th and F Street NW.
L. K. Liggett Co (Liggett Drugs), 1301 F St. NW
George T. Keen (Merchant Tailors), 1310 F St. NW
Veerhoff Galleries, 1320 F St. NW
Reid S. Baker (photographic materials), 1322 F St. NW
Another one of the Liggett Drug Stores can be seen here.
A photo of the current Google view of the same location is below.
Not what it steams ... uh, seemsThe city of Washington had few intersections controlled by traffic lights in the 1920s. Police officers were stationed at each one to keep things moving. I suspect this car is making the rounds giving a much appreciated cup of joe to each man.
[In 1919, when this photo was taken, Washington (and the nation in general) had zero traffic lights. - Dave]
Note the officer is downing his brew as the fellows wait. Each  cop gets a fresh mug, but it won't stay hot for long. Drink fast man. (This is obviously before paper cups or Thermos bottles were the norm.)
Imagine standing in an icy intersection for hours directing traffic with the wind slashing through you, even with that heavy coat. Now where IS that coffee crew?
Veerhoff GalleriesThe original store was at 916 Seventh St. NW.  
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)

Garbage Out: 1943
... catch the can when tossed back empty. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Gordon Parks, NYC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/27/2014 - 8:41pm -

May 1943. "New York. Emptying garbage and trash from Harlem apartment houses." Photo by Gordon Parks, Office of War Information. View full size.
Gold star?I can't tell from even the larger photo, but if the banner with the three stars is as Mack W posted, the family has two sons on active duty (blue stars) and a third who died while on active duty (gold star).  A family who gave a lot to their country.
My grandparents had two blue stars for my father and my uncle until March 1945, when my uncle was killed in Europe.  Then one gold and one blue.  I have been told that my grandmother was never the same after she heard the news, and she lived another 19 years.
MemoriesMemories can be found in the smallest, most mundane objects. Take a look at the second floor window on the left. You can see a circular shade pull. My father was an accountant for a texile mill and I remember him taking me through the factory one day. Seated around a table were three grandmother-types who were crocheting these around a metal ring. They were able to produce a completed pull in under ten seconds, all while carrying on a lively conversation.
Service StarsSecond floor window above the trash cans - this family has sons serviing in the military.  Given that the date is 1943, this makes perfect sense.   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_flag
EscalatorI recall these "escalator" garbage trucks (in NYC we did not say "trash") from the days before hydraulic compactors.  These were predated by open top trucks - the poor guys in the street would empty the cans thru a side door in the truck, or sometimes have to toss a loaded steel can up to his partner in the truck, and then catch the can when tossed back empty.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Gordon Parks, NYC)

Park Forest: 1954
... A pretty hot trip in July on those 1920's vintage cars - they were still around when I rode the IC to work in the early '70's. ... still more comfortable than the Rock Island's old "Capone cars" in which I logged a lot of miles, too. Thursday, July 22nd? From ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2013 - 10:43am -

July 1954. "Commuters on platform after getting off train. Park Forest, Illinois." Photo by Bob Sandberg for Look magazine. View full size.
Everyone dressed so much better!We might be more comfortable today but every one is a slob today compared to a few decades ago.
[They were thinner, too. - Dave]
White SoxThe Chicago White Sox are finally featured in Shorpy.  Yes!  
The CWS were in third place from July through the end of the season, behind NYY, and CLE who took the AL pennant.
Suits?  Not dead yet.As someone who commuted daily on the Long Island Rail Road from 1997 to 2009, and still rides it on occasion when I have a work assignment in the city, I can say that men's suits are very much alive and well on commuter railroads today.  There's probably no other public place where you'll find as many suit-wearing men.  "Business casual" is a concept that doesn't quite live up to the hype.
Get rid of the hats, update the haircuts a bit, and add some laptop bags and cellphones, and this picture could almost be taken at a commuter rail station today.  About the only real difference is that the percentage of women might be slightly higher, and depending on the station there probably would be more racial diversity.
Speaking of hats, there's the urban legend that most men wore hats until a bareheaded JFK at his 1961 inauguration suddenly made them unfashionable.  Yet in this picture, taken more than six years earlier, about two-thirds of the men are hatless.
"If the picture was taken in the early evening, I believe it is possible that the early baseball scores and the stock market results for the same day might be included in the late editions of the papers."
This picture is definitely from the early evening, as you can tell by the shadows that the sun is low in the sky, and newspapers back then often had multiple editions and reported news in a very timely manner.
By the way, there is and was no Park Forest station on the Illinois Central/METRA line.  Two stations, Lincoln Highway and Matteson, serve the town.  I believe this is Matteson because if it were Lincoln Highway we'd see the thoroughfare of the same name in the background.
End of the lineThis is just about as far as you could go on the Illinois Central (now Metra) electrified trackage southbound out of Chicago.  About an hour's ride.
A pretty hot trip in July on those 1920's vintage cars - they were still around when I rode the IC to work in the early '70's.   But still more comfortable than the Rock Island's old "Capone cars" in which I logged a lot of miles, too.
Thursday, July 22nd?From what I can see of the legible newspaper headlines, there's a reference to ending a filibuster (there was a filibuster of an Atomic Energy bill that began on July 21st and ended at about 1:30 a.m. on July 23rd), a stock surge (the DJIA posted one of its largest gains of the month on July 22nd) and something about the White Sox that, in my experience of reading baseball headlines, seems like a result of an extra inning game " . . . White Sox in . . ." (the White Sox dropped the opener of a doubleheader that day to the Yankees in 10 innings). If the picture was taken in the early evening, I believe it is possible that the early baseball scores and the stock market results for the same day might be included in the late editions of the papers.
Straw boater on the rightRight out of the 20's, obsolete even in that day!  Very snazzy!
The one woman...Looking at the camera holding the newspaper and jacket looks exactly like my Grandmother did back then. She did live in Olympia Gardens (a then very new development in Chicago Heights).
I am trying to find more pictures of my Grandmother from that time but one of my siblings has them put away (and lives across the country). This would be wonderful if it turns out to be her. It is so wonderful to go back in time on a site like this. Thank you for having it as there are many history buffs out there who appreciate these older photographs.
(The Gallery, Chicago, LOOK, Railroads)

The Wrong Side: 1938
... This scene just about has it all -- forlorn woman, old cars, derelict buildings, turkey, scrap pile, outhouse. Got to be a country ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/02/2017 - 9:26am -

November 1938. "Houses along the railroad tracks. Omaha, Nebraska." Photo by John Vachon for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.
Omaha? Are you sure?Couple of my Omaha friends and I have been trying to site this shot, but are striking out. First, we have not found Gross Manufacturing in any of the City Directories for the 30's - either before or after 1938.
Next, we see a UP and a C&NW box car in the upper left, but the locomotives in the upper right look like CB&Q engines. We are not objecting to the scene as depicting Omaha poverty in the '30's, but are trying to place the buildings and location. No doubt Vachon was photographing in the area of the UP and CB&Q yards in and near the Missouri River (witness the coal-fired power plant earlier) but this shot is tough to place!
Some of that turkey's descendants roam my neighborhood even today!!!
Lucky TurkeyI'm amazed the gobbler managed to get that big in this neighborhood. He's definitely living on borrowed time.
Omaha, Sure?@rcadog: The 1940 Omaha White Pages lists Gross Mfg & Box Co at 610 Leavenworth (ATlantic-9414, if you had a nickel).
On today's Google Maps, 610 Leavenworth is between 6th and 7th Streets, about a quarter mile west of the river, and just north of the present-day Amtrak station, which abuts a former rail yard. It is also just west of railroad tracks that run north-south along the west bank of the river.
Perhaps the elevated structure in the Shorpy image that ends to the right of the Gross building was a track (or road) leading to/from a bridge over the river.
A period map of Omaha might provide the answer.
John Vachon, storytellerWow! This scene just about has it all -- forlorn woman, old cars, derelict buildings, turkey, scrap pile, outhouse. Got to be a country song in here somewhere.
Bad pressOmaha has not been getting a lot of good PR on Shorpy these last few days. Very slovenly.
Cold ComfortI sure hope that small square structure in the left foreground with the lattice work isn't the "necessary". It's going to be awfully cold in Omaha during the winter while using that thing.
Gross Manufacturing Co.Merged with Disgusting Products in 1952.
Paint and tarpaperWhen looking at Depression era (or even some later) pictures of buildings, I am always struck by the fact that tarpaper is substituting for shingles, and the walls clearly haven't been touched by paint for a long, long time.  Even abandoned homes in places like Detroit don't seem to show that level of neglect today. 
Agreed that those turkeys are living on borrowed time, or their owners are quite vigilant!
For those wondering, Yes - this is Omaha in the picture. I found out for sure now that this picture is 100% taken in Omaha. In the attachment of this comment is a picture of this same area but from a different angle. The Harriman Dispatching Center can be seen on the top left of the picture. When you zoom in, you can see the distinct brick patterns that are above the windows. A zoomed-in shot of the brick pattern can be seen in the second attachment, and can be compared with the pattern of the top left building in the first attachment. This means that this picture from 1938 is located where the Conagra Brands buildings are today. 
It’s Omaha! I was looking myself, but thanks to another Shorpy user, we can confirm it’s Omaha!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Omaha/comments/e566he/omaha_ne_during_the_depre...
(The Gallery, John Vachon, Kids, Omaha, Railroads)

Sachs Third Avenue: 1940
... operation for another 18 years. It used 1920's-era "Lo-V" cars until the late 1960's. For the last few years of the line's existence R-12 "Redbird" cars from 1948 operated on the line. On April 28, 1973, revenue service ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/22/2013 - 6:24am -

November 5, 1940. "Sachs Quality Furniture Inc., 150th Street & Third Avenue, New York. General exterior, daylight. Morris Lapidus, Ross-Frankel Inc., clients." Large-format acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.
Sachs' Bronx BranchIn Manhattan, Third Avenue terminates at 128th Street to become the Third Avenue Bridge. This street corner is in the South Bronx. It's now occupied by a pawn shop.
No Area Code NeededMelrose 5-5300 was the telephone number that Sachs Quality Furniture used in its radio commercials. It was sung in a jingle that became instantly recognizable. Glen Miller's Pennsylvania 6-5000 it wasn't, but it did deliver the message efficiently. Please don't confuse Sachs Quality Furniture with Saks 5th Avenue, the upscale Department store or Saks 34th Street of "Miracle on 34th Street" fame.
Ahead of its timeEven though it was constructed in the late 1930s, the Sachs storefront has many of the elements that defined "googie" coffee-shop architecture of the mid to late 1950s, from the lazy roof edge curves and tall skinny columns to the vast expanses of glass and the "floating" inner roof of the showcase.
[This is actually classic Streamline Moderne. -tterrace]
MemoriesI just spoke to a 92-year-old friend of mine who grew up a few blocks away from this location in the Bronx and he immediately recalled Sachs' radio jingle with its phone number: MElrose 5-5300.
Another ghostly remnantVisible at the upper right corner is some of the track structure for the late lamented Third Avenue El.  This would be just north of the 149th Street station, where a free transfer was available to the Third Avenue station of the White Plains Road/Dyer Avenue subway lines, today's 2 and 5 trains.
Although the Manhattan and southern Bronx portions of the El closed in 1955, in anticipation of the (sarcasm alert) coming real soon! (/sarcasm alert) Second Avenue Subway, the Bronx portion from 149th Street north to the Gun Hill Road terminal remained in operation for another 18 years.  It used 1920's-era "Lo-V" cars until the late 1960's.  For the last few years of the line's existence R-12 "Redbird" cars from 1948 operated on the line.  
On April 28, 1973, revenue service finally ended on the Bronx portion of the Third Avenue El, although there was a "fantrip" for rail enthusiasts the following day.  The R-12's went to Flushing 7 line, where they ran for about another decade before being scrapped.  Unlike the Manhattan portion of the Third Avenue El, which came down almost as soon as service ended in 1955, the Bronx section north of 149th Street wasn't demolished until several months after the end of service.  Some of the old line's steelwork is still visible at the Gun Hill Road elevated station on the 2 line.
Aware that the Bronx Third Avenue El's closing could be a financial burden for the residents of the mostly lower-income neighborhoods along the line, who normally would have to pay separate fares to ride buses to the nearest remaining subway stations, the Transit Authority created a new bus line following the El's route and offering free transfers to the subway.  This arrangement lasted until 1996, when the MetroCard fare card allowed free subway-bus transfers systemwide.
Sach's jingleI too, remember the MElrose 5-5300, along with many other jingles of the time. I'm sure some will recall "National Shoes ring the bell, for all smart women who want to dress well." And, "Nedicks B1." For those of us who were youngsters in the early forties probably remember Tom Mix's song which started "Shredded Ralston for your breakfast" and ended with "Take a tip from Tom, go an tell your mom, Shredded Ralston can't be beat." Ah those memories . . .
(The Gallery, NYC, Stores & Markets)

Beauty & the Beast: 1922
... snapped at Hershey PA, October 2011. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/26/2018 - 1:44pm -

San Francisco circa 1922. "Paige 6-66 touring car." Advertised as "the most beautiful car in America." 5x7 glass negative by Chris Helin. View full size.
Got me!For a second there, I was thinking "THAT is one heck of a hood ornament!"
It is rather beautiful, but ...I give up.  Where's the beast??
[Model 6-66. Hello? - Dave]
[Aaarrgh - bohneyjames]
A most beautiful carA few minor differences, but here is a survivor, snapped at Hershey PA, October 2011.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)

Maine Street: 1910
... there! View Larger Map (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Stores & Markets) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/04/2012 - 11:54am -

Portland, Maine, circa 1910. "Congress Street, looking north." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Portland todayA familiar building or two can still be seen there!
View Larger Map
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Stores & Markets)
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