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Sidewalk Star: 1924
... of the clutch was certain and rapid. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/07/2018 - 1:16pm -

San Francisco circa 1924. "Star Car Sedan at Star Motor Co., Van Ness Avenue." Demonstrating one way to get your Star on the Walk of Fame. 5x7 inch glass negative by that automotive impresario Christopher Helin. View full size.
Unfashionable FashionsI feel sorry for the style of clothing those ladies felt the need to wear back then. I wonder how many of them thought those hats were actually stylish? Most images from the era look similar with lots of dark, presumably heavy fabric draped all over them too. Hope this is one fashion that never makes a comeback. 
The Star is the car.The Star was a "cheap" auto introduced by William Durant (General Motors) that was supposed to compete with Ford's Model T for the inexpensive-auto market.
I knew a fellow who restored one and he said that the process was "one-step-forward and two-steps-back" difficult.  His example; the clutch underneath the car had no housing and was open to water, mud and the elements.  Deterioration of the clutch was certain and rapid.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)

Stop Ahead: 1925
... is $2,472,952. I'm speechless. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/29/2016 - 10:07pm -

San Francisco, 1925. "Jewett touring car from rear." Going forward, the end of the road for the Jewett brand was just a year away. 5x7 glassneg. View full size.
Harry's Prediction for 1927In January of 1926, Harry M. Jewett, president of both the Paige and Jewett car companies, predicted that fewer car companies would exist in 1927.  He probably did not believe his firm would be one of the enterprises that had vanished.  Below is the beginning of an article from the Healdsburg (California) Tribune, from January 2, 1926, which stated his prediction.  Farther on in the piece he stated, "The weak and inefficient are going by the wayside."
When Jewett ended production, after about 40,000 had been made from 1922 - 1926 (some sources mention production actually ended in January 1927), the Jewett car became the Paige Model 6-45.  The 6-45 can be seen on Shorpy here.
72,000 and Still GoingEven though I remember the days when 72,000 miles on a car meant it was nearly ready for the junkyard, I have to comment on my recent used car purchase.  I just bought a 1999 Jeep Wrangler and I paid a bit of a premium because it was advertised as having low miles.  The Jeep has 91,000 miles on it and most of the Jeeps of this age range from 130,000 to 160,000. Times have changed.
Spare Tire CoverThe spare tire cover message was painted by Clyde C. Hinshaw. Clyde and his wife Sadie resided at 1910 Divisadero Street while his shop was located at 1728 Sacramento Street. The Zillow estimate for apartment 6 (2 br 1 ba) at 1910 Divisadero, if on the market, is $2,472,952. 
I'm speechless.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)

Boston Harbor: 1906
... Illuminating Company of Boston, Station # 3. The railroad cars on tracks in the foreground are quite likely about to the cross the harbor ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/15/2012 - 4:36pm -

Circa 1906. "Boston Harbor from East Boston." Our second glimpse at this bustling transport hub. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size.
If you are talking about theIf you are talking about the dome to the left of the White Star Line, I don't think that is the state house. I think that is in Charlestown, close to the present location of Bunker Hill Community College. I'm not sure of the name of the section of Charlestown. I think that was a police station. It was located near the old expressway. There was an entrance to the expressway/93 north there. 
Old Boston This photo apperently shot from East Boston shows the Bunker Hill Monument at the far right located in Charlestown. The Golden Dome of the Massachusetts State House, quite possibly the old North Church of Paul Revere fame, middle right. The black smoke stack and hulking building toward the left is either the Boston Cold Storage Building or the Boston Electric Illuminating Company of Boston, Station # 3. The railroad cars on tracks in the foreground are quite likely about to the cross the harbor channel to railroads yards on the other side of the harbor located not far from where the old Anthony's Pier 4 was located.
Different WorldI live and work in this City, but the only thing I see in this picture that is even remotely recognizable is the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown, way over on the far left of the picture.  If this photo was taken in East Boston, it may have been taken from roughly the location of where Logan Airport is today.
Real live Lionel train tracks ....Note the three-rail tracks going into the end of the building in center foreground: honest full-sized Lionel train tracks??? 
Skip
The Electric Company"The black smokestack and hulking building" was a power plant.  Now it's a condominium! Note to the right of the building under the Boyle Brothers sign: an elevated train and the head house for the Battery Street Station.  The El was new in 1906, ran along the Atlantic Ave./Commercial Street waterfront (same street with two names).  Last service was circa 1938, torn down in 1942 when I was 10. I remember it.
Looked at the area using Google Earth at street level. Very little left now I recognize from my childhood.  But it's a great improvement over what was.
After Poking Around a BitAs a couple of folks have noted, the Bunker Hill monument is the one easily recognizable feature. Moving straight down from there to the water was (and still is) the Navy Yard, though I don't see the USS Constitution. Browsing some old Boston Maps, I've matched the "Merchants and Miners Transportation Company" to Battery Wharf, which means this picture was most likely taken near (but slightly northwest of) present day Logan Airport, say the end of Marginal Street near Lewis Street. If that's the vantage point, the domed building looks (agreeing with soupman22 below) to be too far north to be the State House, and is probably still Charlestown, or even the West End(?). The water below the "White Star Line" signage, and passing behind the cranes just to the left of "WHITE" marks the path to the present day locks and the beautiful new Zakim Bridge).
The Old North Church is most likely directly behind the structure that looks like a power station, and that tower to the right is tantalizing but I haven't been able to figure it out. 
One distinctive building I think I can identify (thanks to that cool faked 3D angle view Google maps does): From the water tower in the center right (just to the right of the large rectangular building), go to the steeple a bit further right. I'm 99% certain the lower rectangular building just to the right of the steeple, with the slightly taller left tower and the slimmer column on the right is Saint Mary's Parish, at the corner of Winthrop and Warren Streets in Charlestown.
Still there!It's good to see the three masts of the Constitution docked in the Charlestown Navy Yard. It's the only thing I recognize other than the Bunker Hill Monument. Wow, it's an amazing shot and the city was much different than it is today. I wonder if the large brick building is Mass General, it's in about the right spot. And the West End, that the city razed in the 1950s is here intact and thickly settled. Thanks Dave!
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Boston, DPC, Railroads)

No. 8 Bus: 1940
... View full size. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Cars, Trucks, Buses) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 10:29am -

February 1940. Getting on the bus during a snowstorm in Chillicothe, Ohio. 35mm nitrate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the FSA. View full size.
(The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Cars, Trucks, Buses)

Ghost Hotel: 1905
... Not cable car tracks What appear to be tracks for cable cars are actually tracks for electric cars which pick up their electricity from a bus bar inside that slotted ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/25/2016 - 10:04pm -

"Mills House No. 2, Rivington Street, New York, N.Y." This "hostel for poor gentlemen," one of three erected by the banker Darius Ogden Mills as lodging houses for working-class men, contained 600 small rooms that rented for 20 cents a day. Our title honors the several ectoplasmic pedestrians whose shades inhabit this time exposure. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
Not cable car tracksWhat appear to be tracks for cable cars are actually tracks for electric cars which pick up their electricity from a bus bar inside that slotted conduit. The pick-up shoe was sometimes called a "plow"
Several cities, notably Washington D.C. and NYC, did not accept the overhead trolley wires. They insisted on the underground conduit pick-up. This is a problem when the street floods!  
The square cast-iron covers every few feet are used for maintenance access, as explained here.
Hydrant talk1st hydrant: Water you up to?
2nd hydrant: I'm all plugged up today.
1st hydrant: Me too. Let us spray we get some relief soon.
2nd hydrant: I think I hear a fire truck - we're hosed!
1st hydrant: Last time that happened, my back got wrenched. 
Flowing ConversationI wonder what those fire hydrants were saying to each other.
The Battle with the Slum (1902)By Jacob A. Riis (1849-1914).  Excerpt: "Mr. Mills gave to the lodger a man’s chance, if he is poor. His room is small, but the bed for which he pays twenty cents is clean and good. Indeed, it is said that the spring in it was made by the man who made the springs for the five-dollar beds in the Waldorf-Astoria, and that it is just the same. However that may be, it is comfortable enough, as comfortable as any need have it in Bleecker Street or on Fifth Avenue. The guest at the Mills House has all the privileges the other has, except to while away the sunlit hours in his bed. Then he is expected to be out hustling. At nine o’clock his door is barred against him, and is not again opened until five in the afternoon. But there are smoking and writing rooms, and a library for his use; games if he chooses, baths when he feels like taking one, and a laundry where he may wash his own clothes if he has to save the pennies, as he likely has to. It is a good place to do it, too, for he can sleep comfortably and have two square meals a day for fifty cents all told. There is a restaurant in the basement where his dinner costs him fifteen cents."
Coulda been a contenderNo longer standing, but one of its two siblings is a landmark as of 2014.
And about the first one here.
I wonderHow many bricks?
Charles
My 20¢The Mikco Building Materials Company now stands on that site at the corner of Rivington and Chrystie.  The building on the far right occupies space that is now part of Sara D. Roosevelt Park.  The two low buildings to the left are long gone, but the three beyond still survive.  
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC)

Dodges of War: 1942
... Motor Speedway (to test James' and his friends race cars) and many other endeavors. Presto-O-Lite is now part of Union Carbide and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/27/2013 - 11:56pm -

August 1942. "Detroit (vicinity). Chrysler Corporation Dodge truck plant. Hundreds of deft operations are required to assemble and finish the long lines of Dodge Army truck bodies that move daily to final production lines." Just one of the thousands of production lines that spelled doom for the Axis. Medium-format negative by Arthur Siegel, Office of War Information. View full size.
Prest-O-LiteAt the bottom right corner is a Presto-O-Lite acetylene tank used for welding and heating torch sets.  Note that just above the tank one can see the "oxygen" regulator attached to and using the shop air system rather than oxygen.  Presto-O-Lite was formed in part by James Allison of Allison Engineering fame to produce compressed acetylene for early automobile headlights which were reportedly "Nominally superior to darkness."  Out of James Allison's hobby of racing early automobiles began Allison Engineering, Allison aircraft engines, Presto-O-Lite, Indianapolis Motor Speedway (to test James' and his friends race cars) and many other endeavors.  Presto-O-Lite is now part of Union Carbide and General Motors purchased Allison Engineering which became the Allison Division of General Motors.  There is a lot of history behind that little acetylene tank.
Dodge WC53 CarryallAccording to this photo.
Book on war productionAn interesting read on how we ramped up war production, see "Freedom's Forge" by Arthur Herman, 2012, Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6964-4.
Among the subjects discussed was the role that the auto industry played - especially GM which produced 10% of all the war goods (by value) during WWII.
Versatile vehiclesIn the right background is a line of Command Car bodies being prepared for the same chassis. They also produced an ambulance body (as seen on "MASH") and a 3/4 ton pick-up known as the Weapons Carrier.
Shedding more light on the subjectI believe this picture was taken inside the Albert Kahn designed Dodge Truck Plant in Warren Michigan, just north of Detroit.  This plant, like many other Kahn designs, was famous for ushering in a new era of the use of glass in industrial architecture, bringing much more light into once-dark factories.
Fighting Fool1942 War Production Board poster by artist Fred Ludekens previously seen at Give Him The Best You've Got: 1942.

(The Gallery, Arthur Siegel, Detroit Photos, WW2)

The Buick Building: 1921
... (Washington Post, April 18, 1920) (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Factories, Natl Photo) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/05/2020 - 2:18pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1921. "Buick Building, Fourteenth and L Sts. N.W." 8x6 inch glass negative, National Photo Company Collection. View full size.
New Buick Plant Here
        Factory branch, Buick Motor Company's new assembling plant and office building, will be erected on site of the Unitarian Church property at Fourteenth and L streets northwest. The property has been leased by the company for ten years at a total rental of over $300,000. (Washington Post, April 18, 1920)

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

Family Jalopy: 1919
... they do come across as a tad funereal. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, Kids, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/16/2015 - 7:35pm -

San Francisco circa 1919. "Haynes touring car." Accessorized with a dapper "California top." 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size.
GenerousThe massive shock absorbers attached to the front springs must be an after-market application as most Haynes photos do not have them. Extensive Internet searching has not yielded any info as to the manufacturer. Any chance the nameplates can be enlarged from the original negative?
[They are Gruss air springs. - Dave]
Dapper?Although the curtains may have been meant to convey a sense of privacy (blocking the sun & perhaps not allowing the unwashed masses to spy on their "betters"), they do come across as a tad funereal.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, Kids, San Francisco)

See Grand Caverns: 1930
... (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/27/2015 - 1:08pm -

Circa 1930. "Vice President Curtis at Capitol with steam car." Which, as evidenced by the news item below, encountered a bit of trouble during its stop in Washington. National Photo Co. Collection glass negative. View full size.


Auto Locomotive Leads to Arrest
Man to Be Tried for Using Car
For Advertising Railroad.

The Washington Post -- May 17, 1930
        Albert E. Lentz, of 501 Twelfth street northwest, will be tried in Police Court next Thursday on charges of using a motor vehicle for advertising purposes and of driving an automobile with view obstructed.
        The latter charge was placed against the man after traffic officials had inspected the vehicle, a locomotive on an automobile chassis, at the Traffic Bureau. The vehicle, which is used to advertise the Norfolk & Western Railway and the Grand Caverns of the Shenandoah Valley, was driven to the Police Court Building and was inspected by Judge Isaac R. Hitt before the case was continued.
        Lentz was arrested yesterday morning on Madison Place Northwest by Sergt. Milton D. Smith and Policeman J.R. LeFoe, both of the Traffic Bureau.
First Native American Vice PresidentCharles Curtis was the first person with significant acknowledged non-European ancestry to reach either of the two highest offices in the United States government's executive branch.
I was not asleep in history and I had never heard this before. Guess they didn't mention it.
He served under Herbert Hoover, who Shorpy showed us recently was the first president to regularly invite African-Americans to the White House. This makes me believe more than ever that Hoover's reputation would be much better if it were not for the Depression and the Bonus Army mess.
Unobstructed view...... of the car with an obstructed view.
Buick-based?http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/tag/locomotive-automobile/
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Railroads)

Fords in the snow
... old bobsled? Great shot. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses) ... 
 
Posted by mhallack - 01/29/2010 - 2:53pm -

Unknown date or location of this picture, likely late 1940's and taken either in the Sierra Nevada mountains or near Salt Lake City. I know the Ford is a pre-war model. View full size.
Definitely a '40The first car is a 1940 Ford Deluxe 2-door sedan and the second is also a Ford, probably a 1935 or 1936 .  1936 was the last year they had a soft top insert in Fords.  My question is what are the people doing...Is that an old bobsled?  Great shot.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses)

Swing Time: 1955
... of the late 50s. We played fine with boxes, wrecked cars and asphalt. Deadly Those monkeybars or Jungle Gyms could really be ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/24/2013 - 5:05pm -

February 9, 1955. "PS 122 playground, Kingsbridge Road and Bailey Avenue, the Bronx, New York. Brown & Blauwelt, engineers." Subcontractors: Cheerless & Grimm. Large-format negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.
Play ...groundMy grade school had similar equipment, thankfully we had grass underneath us.
Play At Your Own Risk!I grew up in Queens County, another borough of NYC. I played in a playground similar to this one, and remember them quite fondly.
However, you played at your own risk: playgrounds back in 1955, when I was seven years old were not designed to protect against spills and falls. There was no padding: the ground was concrete or ashphalt. If you fell off the monkey bars, you got hurt. If you came down the slide too fast, you skinned your butt.
The mother placing the child on the swing reminded me that the seats for young children were L-shaped, with a metal bar that slid up the chains to seat the child, then slid down in front to hold the child in place.
That was it! No soft ground padding anywhere....
Vernacular design?I heard of some city that didn't want someone to tear down a chain link fence because that was "vernacular architecture".
Ah yes! The Bronx.Now we're getting into my neck of the woods. Didn't quite expect to see this! It certainly looks grim. I just can't believe I survived this style of playground growing up. Those are NY Housing Authority apartments now. School trailers sit where this park was.
Just to the north of this view sits Van Cortlandt Park, 1100+ acres of parkland which contains (possibly) the oldest house in the Borough, Van Cortlandt House, built in 1748.
The Albany Post Road (aka Broadway aka The Great White Way), begins its trip at the tip of Manhattan and heads north; crosses that unnatural bend in the Harlem River, continues through Marble Hill, alongside Van Cortlandt Park and on through Riverdale (my town), eventually crossing into Westchester at the Yonkers line and losing its famous designation. It becomes just plain Route 9.
I happened to grow up on a still existing portion of the Albany Post Road, just down from the other "oldest" house in the borough, Hadley House, which possibly predates Van Cortlandt House. So, while it looks grim here, it gets lovely, green and very historic quite soon.  
The SwingsetThe swingset appears to have survived.
http://tinyurl.com/qg48e5n
If you turn the image clockwise, you will see the view of the apartment buildings that is in the photo.
My school had a playground like that, too.I went to PS 46 on Staten Island 1961-64. It had a playground that looked like the one at PS 122. Lots of swings and slides, and they all looked very well built.
We were never allowed to play on them. The gates were always locked.
LitigationIn my lifetime we have become so litigious. Playground bruises, scrapes, cuts, chipped teeth, black eyes, etc. were part of a kid's life.
My childhood stomping ground was the Mount Penn (next to Reading) PA playground. Except for the ballfield and some elderly trees it was paved with asphalt.
The 3D grid structure to the left was called the jungle gym. The term was also and later applied to various climbing structures and even swingsets.
The monkey bars were a horizontal ladder structure  6-8 feet above the asphalt and accessed by a couple of vertical rungs and an upward stretch at each end. Besides traversing the length, it was fun to hang one-handed or by the upside down by the crooks of your legs. 
Our swings, maybe (beat me daddy!) six to the bar, I recall as having chain and later rubber or plastic seats. You could have a buddy twist you around for a spinning, dizzying descent.
The sliding board was kind of tame but the more thrilling one was at nearby Pendora Park which was twice as long with a double dip and a use-pitted dirt landing. We also made bicycle pilgrimages to the Jacksonwald elementary school which featured a tubular steel fire escape from the second floor. A hazard on all of these was involuntary (from fright) or intentional (from spite?) urine puddles at the bottom lip of the slide.
The merry-go-round was a heavy lumber and strap steel affair that developed a fearsome momentum when shoved by two or three kids. You were safe on the inside of the steel perimeter bars but would hang on for dear life on the outside.
There were a couple of box hockey "arenas". You could play slow (like miniature golf) or fast (kid to kid), which featured stick-ball-stick slams or "frenches" i.e. back and forth sliding moves at each hole. You could also sail the ball over the center divider. I think we called one game "Cincinnati" for some obscure reason.
We also had a circular exposed aggregate concrete wading pool with a raised center around the water fountain.
Seesaws were very heavy duty. You had to avoid getting your ankles embossed by the bolts under the seats and also malevolent "friends" who might jump off and let you free fall.
A basketball court and a pavilion rounded out the scene. Craft sessions were held in the latter and I once made a wallet there for my girlfriend. She visited Mount Penn for two summers and hailed from Orange NJ.
Ahhh, sweet youth!!!
RenumberedAt some point this school was renumbered P.S. 310.  The P.S. 122 designation is now used for a school in Queens.  
Most NYC elementary schools have a name as well as a P.S. number.  P.S. 310 is known as the Marble Hill School as it serves the Marble Hill neighborhood, though it is located just outside the neighborhood.  Marble Hill is a geographic anomaly as it is legally part of Manhattan yet located on the Bronx mainland, the result of a 19th Century rechannelling of the Harlem River. 
Bleak?It looks okay to me. Bright colors were a conceit of the late 50s. We played fine with boxes, wrecked cars and asphalt.
DeadlyThose monkeybars or Jungle Gyms could really be dangerous. I was stationed in the Navy with a guy that was only in his late teens or early 20's and he had a full set of dentures. I asked him what in the world happened to his teeth. He said that, when he was younger, he had been playing on the monkey bars and was hanging upside down. His legs slipped and he fell down through the middle of the bars. The last thing he remembered was smashing his mouth on one of the bars and hearing a loud "Chung". When he woke up he was in the hospital with all of his front teeth, upper and lower,  smashed and broken off. I still cringe just thinking about it.  
Re: The SwingsetLilyPondLane's link does indeed take you to the swingset in a Google map image from September 2007.  But as soon as you navigate right or left, you're taken to June 2011, and the swing set -- magically, sadly -- disapppears.
(The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, Kids, NYC)

Dad's True Loves
... the Aquitaine region. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses) ... 
 
Posted by Rabia - 09/21/2011 - 12:19am -

My Dad and my sister besides his new Simca roadster, in the 50's, somewhere in France. Dad a good pilot who drove very fast until my sister turned sick! (About 15 minutes) View full size.
How fast is fast?Nice looking car. Simca 8 Sport.  It was quite expensive for those times, priced at $3495. Eight didn't stand for the engine size though as you might think. It was a four cylinder producing a whopping 50 horsepower. Zero to 60 mph in 27.3 seconds and a top speed of 76 mph.  But back in those days it felt faster.  Good for your sister he didn't have a Jaguar.
Department #33Looking at the license plate of the car, that "somewhere" might possibly have been in the Gironde, #33 of the  Departments of France, the Aquitaine region.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses)

The Clerical Army: 1924
... they weigh 1,080 tons and would fill fifty-four freight cars. The very compactness of the files adds to the task of ascertaining ... 
 
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)

Colorado Choo-Choo: 1900
... the steepest grades. Only one car trains are run, and the cars are pushed ahead of the engines in ascending, and return in the same ... mountains during the winter prevents the running of the cars. Journal of the Association of Engineering Societies, 1894. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 4:07pm -

Pikes Peak, Colorado, circa 1900. "Summit, cog wheel train, Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway." 8x10 glass negative by William Henry Jackson. View full size.
How they did it.Taken a few years ago:
Dinosaurs in the mountainsThe sister to this locomotive, M&PP #4, is still nominally operable and is as far as anyone knows the only operable Vauclain compound. The two cylinders you see are both power cylinders; the valves are hidden on the inside. Vauclain compounds, named after the head of Baldwin, were briefly popular around 1900 but fell out of favor along with most other compound locos with the introduction of the superheater; in this case part of the problem was unequal forces from the two pistons which produced wear problems at the crosshead. On this little bitty engine it apparently wasn't too bad a problem.
Nice Trip!Today a ticket on the Railway costs $34. You can hike up and take the train down, but if you miss the last train and have to be evacuated, the fee per hiker is $500!
I'd stick with the train. Looks lovely.
http://cograilway.com/Pikes%20Peak%20train%20videos-A.htm
Oh My. Call a Tow Truck, er Train"But officer, just look -- that passenger car was heading the wrong way on my side of the tracks. Now how am I ever gonna get the front end of my engine out from under it??"
Cog and Pinion Appliances


Crofutt's Overland Guide, 1892. 

The Manitou & Pike's Peak Railway, a recent organization, commences at a point just above the Iron Springs and runs to the summit of Pike's Peak. The road is about 8¾ miles in length. The average grade is 18 per cent.,the maximum being 25 per cent. and the minimum 8 per cent., with 16 degrees curvature. The rails are the standard T rail, with a double cog-rail in the center, weighing 110 tons to the mile. Each engine has three cog and pinion appliances, which can be worked together or independently; in each cog appliance is a double set of pinion brakes that work in the cog, either of which when used can stop the engine in 12 inches going either way, on any grade and at a maximum speed of eight miles an hour. Fare for "round trip," $5.00.



The Street Railway Journal, April, 1893. 


Manitou & Pike's Peak Railroad,

which is known as the "Cog Wheel Railroad," and which runs to the top of Pike's Peak, a distance of about about 8,000 ft. higher than Manitou. The road was opened for traffic in October, 1890. The fare for the round trip is $5, and the round trip is made in about three hours. The rack, which is placed midway between the rails, consists of two steel bars, notched to a depth of about two and a half inches, with teeth staggered, and which are firmly fastened to the ties by means of bolts and shouldered chairs.
The engines are of peculiar shape, and the power is transmitted to two pinions located under the boiler, which mesh with the gear of the rack, so that sufficient power is obtained to force the engine and car up the steepest grades. Only one car trains are run, and the cars are pushed ahead of the engines in ascending, and return in the same relation. The engine and car are not coupled, but there are bumpers consisting of perpendicular and horizontal steel cylinders about five inches in diameter and eighteen inches long, which provide for the varying grades and angles. The car, as well as the engine, is equipped with pinions which mesh into the rack and which are controlled by powerful band brakes, so that the car can be controlled independent of the engine, every known safety appliance being employed to prevent the possibility of an accident.
Formerly, high pressure engines were employed, but during the last season one compound engine was run, and the other three engines have recently been sent to the Baldwin Locomotive Works where they are being made over into compounds. The line is operated only during the summer months, as the accumulation of snow upon the mountains during the winter prevents the running of the cars.



Journal of the Association of Engineering Societies, 1894.


Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway.
The Engines

During construction and the first year's operation, the Pike's Peak Railway had three engines built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. These weighed about 26 tons each, loaded with fuel and water. The cabs and boilers of these engines were much like those of ordinary locomotives, but here the resemblance ceased, for the bearing-frame of the engine was inclined, so that the boiler was level on a 16 per cent. grade, the average grade of the road. The engine had no tender, water being carried in two tanks at the side of the boiler, and coal in a box at the rear of the cab, holding one ton. The engine rested on three axles, the forward two being rigidly fastened to the frame, while the rear one was furnished with a radius bar, the rigid wheel-base being 6 feet 8 inches, and the total wheel-base 11 feet 2 inches. To the two forward axles was fastened an inside frame carrying three sets of two pinions each, making six pinions in all. The specifications for these pinions called for hammered crucible steel, with ultimate tensile strength of 100,000 pounds per square inch, stretch 16 per cent, in 8 inches, the teeth to be cutout of the solid disk.

SynchronicityWhat a coincidence! We just rode the Pikes Peak Cog Railway three days ago with children and grandchildren. It still takes about three hours, and it is an amazing ride. Temps were about 90 degrees in Manitou Springs and below 50 degrees at the summit. We even had a little skiff of snow up top. We passed by the original water cranes that supplied the early steam engines. The trip is spectacular, but I kind of wish I could have taken it in the steam days. (Of course, I would be dead by now, right?) It was great to get back to internet civilization and find this picture on Shorpy!
(The Gallery, DPC, Railroads, W.H. Jackson)

Instant Messenger: 1913
... that I remember came later. Bike to the Future The cars from 1913 have hardly any resemblance to the ones made these days other ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/28/2014 - 7:41pm -

November 1913. Shreveport, Louisiana. "Western Union messenger No. 2, fourteen years old. Says he goes to the Red Light district all the time." Glass negative by Lewis Wickes Hine for the National Child Labor Committee. View full size.
Telegram for Miss ScarletAs pointed out in another photo's comment, Mr. L. W. Hine seems to have had a broad assortment of moral axes to grind.  I'd be surprised if prostitutes were really frequent recipients of Western Union Telegrams. The bicycle's tires look to be skinny like modern day bike tires are.  I guess the big balloon tires as used on the Schwinns that I remember came later.
Bike to the FutureThe cars from 1913 have hardly any resemblance to the ones made these days other than having four wheels and a body, but this bike is within a few percent of a modern coaster brake bike. Sure, a few subtle details are different, but wheels and the drive train could have been made last week. 
Red LightMy question has always been with regards to this "red light district" line that Hine usually put with his messenger photos is, are the prostitutes ordering "drugs" and abusing them? Were the drug stores not under strict scrutiny like today? I imagine this to be true. Anyone else out there have any knowledge of this being the case?
[If you were in that line of work, there's one item in particular you might need plenty of that comes from a drugstore. And it's not drugs. - Dave]
SchwinnishIt might actually be a Schwinn. The circles within a circle pattern in the front sprocket is definitely a pattern that later Schwinns used. 
And if you look at the shadow you can see that it is a skip-link. On modern bikes the teeth on the sprockets are right next to each other. But on this bike, there is a large gap between the teeth. This is due to the way the chain was made. On modern chains the pattern is hinge, hole for the gear tooth, hinge (ASCII art: *-*-*-). On old bikes the pattern was hinge, hinge, hole for the gear tooth, hinge, hinge (**-**-**-), so there needed to be a big gap between the teeth on the gears.
This concludes Hank's obscure bike trivia lesson.
[Click below to enlarge. - Dave]

Midnight SpecialFrom 1903 till 1917 Shreveport had legalized prostitution confined to a designated Red Light district. This was an area near Fannin street in the St. Paul Bottoms area.
The area was named after a nearby church and the low lying area. St. Paul Bottoms was recently renamed Ledbetter Heights in honor of blues singer Huddie Ledbetter, Lead Belly, who honed his style playing the Bottoms' brothels, saloons, and dance halls. Midnight Special is one of his most famous songs. Maybe Messenger #2 heard Lead Belly play Fannin Street! Selected Lyrics:
My mama told me
My sister too
Said, 'The Shreveport women, son,
Will be the death of you'
Said to my mama,
'Mama, you don't know
If the Fannin Street women gonna kill me
Well, you might as well let me go'
I got a woman
Lives back of the jail
Makes an honest livin'
By the wigglin' of her tail
Even after the optimistic name change the area is still referred to as The Bottoms by many locals and remains one of the poorest downtrodden sections of town.
(The Gallery, Bicycles, Kids, Lewis Hine)

Lady and the Nash: 1925
... I'm talking about the tires. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2015 - 3:12pm -

San Francisco circa 1925. "Nash Special Six two-door sedan." Equipped with "full balloon tires, five disc wheels, four-wheel brakes, Duco finish, mohair upholstery." Driver optional at extra cost. 5x7 glass negative by Chris Helin. View full size.
Fear Not, Mother!It will be nearly a quarter century before a girl with a Nash will have a car whose front seats convert to beds.
Nice Balloons.I'm talking about the tires.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)

Dangerous Passing: 1910
... close to Niles Beach. Well excuse me. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/15/2018 - 11:23am -

Circa 1910. "Gate lodge and Niles Beach, East Gloucester, Mass." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
FreedomThe children running on the beach are wonderful -- so carefree!
Still privateTried to get a better look at the area but Google won't let you drag the little yellow man anywhere close to Niles Beach. Well excuse me. 
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC)

Sport Touring: 1928
... for 1928. P.S. I want that hat, (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/10/2015 - 9:23am -

San Francisco, 1928. "Franklin Sport Touring at Golden Gate Park." Latest entry in the Shorpy Pantheon of Forgotten Phaetons. 5x7 glass negative. View full size.
Air CooledThe driver in this top-down photo is not the only air-cooled item here; the engine was air-cooled as well -- as was the case in all Franklins.  That feature was not the builder's only unique engineering approach; another was a continuous attempt to keep Franklins as light as possible -- long before government CAFE standards prompted carmakers to lighten up in the name of fuel efficiency.
And the award goes to...In the category of best dressed driver for 1928. 
P.S. I want that hat,
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)

Thirteenth Ave. Retail Market: 1965
... The car: 1960 Dodge Dart Pioneer. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Stores & Markets) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/11/2007 - 10:22pm -

Exterior of Thirteenth Avenue Retail Market, Brooklyn. 1965. View full size. Photograph by Phyllis Twachtman. The car: 1960 Dodge Dart Pioneer.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Stores & Markets)

Cloud Mountain: 1943
... safety device, designed to make it less likely that train cars will overturn and plummet off the trestle in case of a derailment. The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/15/2013 - 8:14am -

March 1943. "Coming out of the mountains on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe between Vaughn and Belen, New Mexico, into the Rio Grande River Valley. In the distance is a quarry on the mountainside where the railroad gets its rock for ballast." Photo by Jack Delano, Office of War Information. View full size.
Belen Harvey HouseBack up the track in Belen the ATSF depot still stands and is used by BNSF and Amtrak (though that segment is in danger of losing Amtrak service). Right next door is a Harvey House that now (thankfully is preserved as a museum).
Those cattle guardswe referred to in Alberta as Texas Gates.
Yep, that's what it isCattle grids similar to this are common in Australia. They stop movement of all animals, as animals won't step on something with a sharp top edge, or even a rounded top, such as pipe. Generally, about a 3" gap between the grid strips also provides a barrier, because animals are fearful of gaps where they put their feet. Grids built with spaced rail line are also used in Australia where strength is needed, such as a grid on a road used by heavy trucks. However, I've seen a grid where one of the narrow boards on the angled side section, fell down onto the grid - and 345 sheep walked out over the grid, in single file - as sheep do!
Never knew about the double rail - thanks for that interesting info!
Is this a cattle grid?I'm curious: I guess this wooden construction is built to hold back cattle or deer but how does it work? It looks like the iron strips make it hard for a large animal to cross, but I don't understand these wooden triangles. Wouldn't a straight fence be simpler? Can anyone shed some light on this?
Inner railsThe inner set of rails over the trestle are a safety device, designed to make it less likely that train cars will overturn and plummet off the trestle in case of a derailment. The wheels on one side of a derailed car would be caught between the regular rail and the inner rail, with a bit of luck keeping the car upright.  
Inner rails are sometimes called Jordan rails. I'm not sure why, but presumably it is not related to the Hashemite Kingdom.
Still ThereFound it.  20 miles southeast of Belen and we're looking south here.  The track makes a short S-turn here and this is the middle of the S.  You can see the eastbound curve up ahead.  Looks single-track then but twin-tracks now.  The quarry is still there but looks to have been abandoned long ago.
EDIT:  SouthEAST of Belen, not southwest.  Sorry for any confusion!    
Other worldlyThis almost surreal photo showcases the mystical, mysterious side of the well-named Land of Enchantment. 
Cattle gateI believe we're looking at a cattle gate here.  
Barb-wire to either side of the tracks, barriers, and the funny looking treads on the road-bed. I've been told that cattle don't like to step on these "treads" and that's what keeps them on the other side of the gate.
LocationThe bridge is the one at 34.457N 106.5038W
http://binged.it/1b0hrrN
Cattle guard...It appears to be a cattle guard, as I have always heard them called.  They work because cattle are afraid to walk over the open grid they create.  the triangles on the ends are just so the cattle don't walk around it, but it still give clearance for the train.  A fence would mean the train would have to stop and open and close a gate each trip!  I don't know if they work for deer or not, but rather doubt it given the deer's leaping ability.
(The Gallery, Jack Delano, Landscapes, Railroads)

Potatoes, Corn, Apples: 1917
... these were ripe and hard as a rock! (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/18/2012 - 5:47pm -

Our second look at this Washington, D.C., produce market in 1917. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. Library of Congress. View full size.
The Farmers' MarketStarted up in mid-July in our neighborhood. Carrots, cucumbers, peas in the pod, potatoes and all the regular vegetables were available. We could even buy honey in the comb! At the end of summer, the McIntosh apples came in. We could buy a whole bushel basket for a buck!
They were ungraded as to size, but they were FRESH! Not like the mushy ones in the supermarket of today; these were ripe and hard as a rock!
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)

Hotel Hillman: 1906
... don't see. No tire skid marks, no oil stains, no parked cars. (The Gallery, Birmingham, DPC, Horses) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 2:54pm -

Birmingham, Alabama, circa 1906. "Hotel Hillman." And the Dairy Depot next door. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
This is greatI have a daily photoblog of Birmingham and have lived here most of my life. Never heard of this hotel but do know there was the old Hillman Hospital on southside. Thanks for this glimpse into Birmingham's history.
A youngsterThe Hotel Hillman was only 5 years old in 1906!
Every picture tells a storyThe guys in the alley have no money to go anywhere else, or maybe they're waiting for work in the hotel, and it's a cold morning in Birmingham.
Call 911Those guys hanging out in the alley next Mr. Linnehan's Jewelry store are up to no good.
Another lost treasureThe Hotel Hillman was on the southwest corner of 19th Street and Fourth Avenue North. In 2010 this location is a vacant lot. Using my Sunrise, Sunset software and being in downtown Birmingham, I can determine the azimuth and inclination of the sun from the shadows and guess this picture was made in late November, about 10 a.m. 
MDCCCCII haven't seen a date in Romans stretched out like that. Ordinarily 1901 would be MCMI.
Bring them backWhen I look at the details on these old buildings it's a shame that they're torn down to make parking lots or even to build modern buildings. They have a lot of character and would be great apartments/lofts today - a way to revitalize downtown areas. I guess back then cities were always looking to the future, but not realizing the nostalgia for these human scale buildings modern life would bring. 
Windy dayGuessing it was not only cold but windy, too. The awnings are mostly retracted and the top of the trash/cigarette butt can is lying a few feet away from the base. Even the horse's blankets have been upset by the breeze.
Funny what you don't see. No tire skid marks, no oil stains, no parked cars. 
(The Gallery, Birmingham, DPC, Horses)

Pontiac Noir: 1948
... these noir shots! Great photography. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/09/2015 - 12:38am -

1948. "George Daniels Pontiac, Van Ness Avenue." The San Francisco car dealer­ship whose interior we've seen here. 8x10 acetate negative. View full size.
Miss NeonI recall there were a lot more neon signs around when I was young. It seems that internally lit plastic signs replaced them but I think the neons were more colorful and vivid.
[As well as more expensive. I miss them too. - Dave]
WowLove these noir shots! Great photography.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, San Francisco)

Potomac Park: 1908
... not seem as crowded as it does today. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., DPC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/19/2013 - 10:18am -

Circa 1908. "The Boulevard, Potomac Park, Washington, D.C." Various national landmarks in a strikingly uncrowded capital. 8x10 glass negative. View full size.
Finished a half-century beforeConstruction on the Washington Monument was halted between 1854 and 1877 due to budget problems, the Civil War and other slowdowns. Here, it's just 24 years after completion in 1884, and the "interim joint" is very visible about one-third up the obelisk, more so than it is today.
Before government became big businessWonderful see the wide open spaces.  The way the city planner had in mind.
Visited DC in the mid 1950's and it did not seem as crowded as it does today. 
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., DPC)

Service Above Self: 1925
... the Graham Paige briefly, then Graham. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/31/2014 - 11:08pm -

July 23, 1925. Washington, D.C. "Central Union mission outing -- orphans' picnic." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Hood OrnamentGotta love that Rotary International logo hood ornament!
Bus IDIn the 1920's the larger Dodge commercials were outsourced to the Graham brothers using many Dodge components. This is an example. Later they split and the Graham brothers bought Paige renaming it the Graham Paige briefly, then Graham.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo)

Sarasota Cyclists: 1941
... Oldsmobile Eight. - Dave] (The Gallery, Bicycles, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Florida, M.P. Wolcott) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/19/2019 - 6:56pm -

January 1941. "The cycle club of a Sarasota, Fla., trailer park." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Pontiac?That's my best guess, but I hope someone with more expertise will identify the nifty car pulling the trailer.
[1938 Oldsmobile Eight. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Bicycles, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Florida, M.P. Wolcott)

Portland, Maine: 1904
... up the mornings leaves and horse puckey. And the trolley cars filled with well dressed folks, all shaded by the mantle of those damn ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 12:37pm -

Portland, Maine, circa 1904. "Congress Square." 8x10 inch glass transparency (something of a novelty for this collection), Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
Flatiron WannabeI see they added one story to the skinny building since 1904.
Getting AheadQuite a diverse lot of men's hats.
Great PhotoTransparency? I had no idea there was such. It seems to have some speed to to too. I will have to check into this! Thanks much.
[To to too? A transparency is just a copy of the original glass plate negative. Both of which are transparent. When you copy a negative you get a positive, which can then be projected as a lantern slide.- Dave]
Gotcha! Thanks much.
+104Below is the same view (looking north on Congress Street from High Street) taken in October of 2008.
Office SuppliesNow we know where the first Staples stores was, before Mr. Staples bought out his two partners.
Precious ScenariosProbably a Saturday, maybe a Sunday.The two young ladies crossing the street while horse and carriage wait between the church and the pharmacy in the "skinny building". The two young girls sitting on the curb sharing secrets while their older sister or Mom stands waiting for who knows what. The elderly gent sweeping up the mornings leaves and horse puckey. And the trolley cars filled with well dressed folks, all shaded by the mantle of those damn telephone/telegraph/electrical wires, which is about all I can see when I look out of most of windows of my apartment. As a retired photographer, I have grown to despise the early use of poles that are now too expensive to relocate to underground. Grumble.
(The Gallery, DPC, Streetcars)

Check Coolant: 1939
... -- that the change was permanent. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, On the Road, Russell Lee) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/22/2018 - 1:23pm -

July 1939. "En route to California. Pouring water into radiator of migrants' car in the streets of Muskogee, Oklahoma, where the Elmer Thomas family has stopped to say goodbye to their friends in that town." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
The Rest of the Story50 Years Later, Family Writes Epilogue To 'The Grapes Of Wrath'
Moving Out of TownIn the summer of 1963, just before my seventh birthday, we had fallen on hard times and had to move away from the town where I was born.  I remember being all excited about the move.  About two days after we moved into our next home, I told my parents that I was done and ready to go back to the old house.  Somehow, I didn't get that this wasn't just a vacation -- that the change was permanent.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, On the Road, Russell Lee)

Hanover National Bank: 1903
... size and delightful architecture could be built before cars and trucks existed. I want to watch it being done -- and experience the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/12/2021 - 1:28pm -

Lower Manhattan circa 1903. "Hanover National Bank Bldg., New York City." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size.
On Broadway?What building is under construction just left of the top of the Gillender Bldg?
I need to go back 118 years... to see how a building of that size and delightful architecture could be built before cars and trucks existed. I want to watch it being done -- and experience the marvel of watching hundreds of humans doing it.
Nothing personal, it's businessThe Hanover National Bank building was new when this 1903 photograph was taken but Wikipedia says it was demolished in 1931. A very short life for such an impressive building.
I cannot embed a Google Earth map, so here is a current photo of the corner on which it sat.  I don't think any of the buildings in the 1903 photograph exist today.
Manhattan Life Insurance BuildingTo answer Timz's question, the building under construction on Broadway is the Manhattan Life Insurance Building, designed by Kimball and Thompson and built in 1893-1894. In 1904, the building was extended to the north (toward the right in this photo), ending up with the address 64-70 Broadway. This operation, shown in this photograph, involved "stretching" the dome of the original building, transforming it from a regular octagon in plan to a distended oval. At 348 feet, this building was actually the tallest in the world between its completion in 1894 and the completion of the Park Row Building (still standing!) in 1899. It was demolished in either 1963 or 1964 in order to make way for an expansion of the Irving Trust Building (1 Wall Street).
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC)

Uncle Paul: 1957
... a stab at it, though. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Tonypix) ... 
 
Posted by Tony W. - 09/19/2011 - 2:10pm -

Here's my great uncle Paul at my great grandparents house in East LA. The photo was taken in May, 1957. Unfortunately I didn't have the negative and had to scan the badly faded Kodacolor print which I cleaned up a bit in Photoshop. View full size.
That's what I call a HudsonWow, what a beautiful Hudson! I'm not up on all the various Hudson flavors, but I'll take a wild guess and say it's a 1953 Hornet Club Coupe. Thanks for posting this!
Unfortunately this was right smack dab in the middle of the period when Kodacolor prints, instead of fading fairly evenly to yellow as they had previously, just totally lost some colors altogether, and there's no way to get them back. Even with correction they look something like old two-color Technicolor, or colorized black-and-white. I took a stab at it, though.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Tonypix)
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