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Flatiron Rising: 1902
"Flatiron Building, New York." The Manhattan landmark under construction circa ... scared the horses half to death. Gotham Gem! The Flatiron Building and the Chrysler Building in NYC are two of the most ... This is absolutely one of the best early shots of the Flatiron I have seen. The detail is amazing, and there are so many of the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/02/2012 - 3:16pm -

"Flatiron Building, New York." The Manhattan landmark under construction circa 1902. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
StreetcarsAs noted elsewhere, by this time most of the streetcars in New York were running on electricity, with the electric supply on almost all the lines being underground. The same plow-and-shoe system as used in Washington, D.C.
IconicOne of my favourite buildings and, speaking as a Brit, a real iconic image of New York. Stunning photo.
The facadeIs limestone and glazed terra cotta. I looked it up in Wikipedia.
23Skidoo!  The building that coined the phrase due to the updrafts.
Times are a ChangingThe lone auto is I believe a curved dash Oldsmobile. Note the tiller steering. Probably scared the horses half to death.
Gotham Gem!The Flatiron Building and the Chrysler Building in NYC are two of the most beautiful structures in the United States. To see them in person and to tour them is an education in itself! 
With my little eyeI love shots like this -- it's like "I Spy."
AstoundingThis is absolutely one of the best early shots of the Flatiron I have seen. The detail is amazing, and there are so many of the surrounding buildings still there today. Thanks for posting! 
AwesomeFlatiron is my favorite building in Manhattan. This is a super shot.
They knew what they were doingBut I still can't understand why the stonework was interrupted between the 4th and 5th floors and continued above. One would think they'd start at the bottom and continue up. There must be a reason.
[Only the lower part of the facade is stonework. The top part is terra cotta tiles. They're still working on the bottom (limestone) section. - Dave]
HorselessNote one horseless carriage lower right.  Right smart fellows I reckon.
Dear George ReadI'll take footage on the 18th Floor facing north, please!
This picture shocked meSomehow it seems like this icon has always been.  To think of it as being constructed is, well, kind of freaky.  What a visionary design.
What powers the streetcars?Is there voltage under that third rail?  It would short out all the time in rain, so it's doubtful.
No overhead wires though.
[The underground power supply is accessed through a slot running between the tracks. There is no third rail. - Dave]
George A Fuller Co.The contractor was a major player in the field of early skyscraper construction. Fuller built many buildings that are still around today and was credited with many innovative techniques for this type of construction. The company was liquidated in the 1970s.
Spectacular!Everyone should stand at this intersection someday: Fifth Avenue on the right; Broadway receding into the distance on the left; 22nd Street running behind the building (where the buggy sits at the corner under the "Slosson" sign); 23rd Street just below the bottom edge of the photo.  Stand on the sidewalk right at the rounded (northern) corner of the building, where today there is a Sprint cell phone store, of all things, and contemplate a city street scene from a century ago, filled with horse-drawn buggies, street cars, and Victorian finery.  It will take your breath away.
Egad!How thin!
NervousApplying the skin stones looks like a job for the non-timid. Those scaffolds are hung from ropes! 
It's interesting to see how things were done before the invention of the tower crane. That boom on the right and the one on the roof did all the heavy lifting of stones and beams, I'm guessing. 
TransitionWhat I find fascinating about this photo is it shows the transitional nature of tall construction at the turn of the century. The steel frame here is clearly very sturdy and over-engineered, and yet they're wrapping it in brick and massive stone blocks, and not curtain-wall hung panels as would become the norm in 20 years or so.
AmazingI think it's an amazing building. A work of art indeed!
Super InsightAn icon in the making and the photo shows what we can't see today: the skeleton of this wonderful building before the "skin" was installed!  Great find!  Thanks, Dave.
Water Wagon?I wondered where all the water was coming from & then I spotted it, maybe:  up the street you can see a wagon with a rounded tank and what looks like water spraying from the back.  Looks deliberate, unless the wagon got up enough speed for the wheels to do that.  What could it be?  Dust Control?
[Poop control. See all those horses? The Department of Sanitation cleaned up after them. - Dave]
One of these daysGorgeous building and the longtime object of my faraway architectural dreams. It's on my so-called bucket list to see this beauty in person some day. 
Flatiron TodayThe detail on this building is really mind-boggling. Definitely my favorite building in Manhattan. Click to enlarge.

Fuller BuildingThe Fuller Company made sure their next HQ didn't get renamed by popular fancy: they set the name in stone over the door, and there it remains to this day.
http://www.nyc-architecture.com/UES/UES107.htm
Another Flatiron FanLike most of you, I've always loved this building. I've also had the privilege of working in it, on the 14th Floor (for Tor Books, a company I now consult for, so I'm still there periodically).
There are lots of interesting facts about it, such as that the Flatiron name predates Fuller's construction of this icon, being applied to the block itself in those days. 
I first visited the building in the 70s, when I applied (unsuccessfully) for a job at St. Martin's Press, which is still there. Back then, the building still had its original painfully-slow hydraulic elevators. Those were replaced before I began working there in 2000.
What I was most surprised to learn after I began working there is that almost all photos taken of it are misleading.
That's because they're usually framed to emphasize the structure's thinness, as in the 1902 image here, or to make it look symmetrical (like an isosceles triangle), as in Seinberg's lovely color shot. (Great lighting, btw. What time of day was it?) 
So what was the surprise? Its footprint (or floorplan, if you prefer) is actually a right triangle, with the long side on Broadway.
As you'd expect, the view from "the point," as occupants call it, is fabulous, looking straight uptown toward the Empire State Building, and down on Madison Square Park.
An architectural tidbitGenerally speaking nowadays when buildings of this era are renovated, damaged or missing pieces of decorative masonry are replaced with fiberglass replicas. These cost much less than stone and are easier to install. The exterior of Shepard Hall at CCNY, for example, would probably blow away in a strong breeze.
A few years ago, when the Flatiron building underwent a significant cleaning, tons (literally) of the decorative stonework was discarded in favor of replicas. Friends of mine who lived nearby dug through dumpsters and collected pieces they could cart home as souvenirs.
Thanks to Team Shorpy for these excellent New York images.
Love it!I love this building.  I've visited Tor in their offices there (hi, Moshe!) and got to look out, as well as seeing the place from the outside.  It's wonderful.
Is the plan to convert it into a luxury hotel still in place?  How are they going to deal with the historic elevators?  (This building has hydraulic column elevators, and is really too tall for them, so they require constant maintenance.  Plus they're fairly old by now.  But it's a historic landmark, which strongly limits what can be changed.)
[Another commenter (below) tells us the elevators have been replaced. - Dave]
(The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC)

Flatiron: 1909
... The 900 block of Broadway, just behind and left of the Flatiron Building, includes the perfume manufactory of Richard Hudnut at 925, ... cover and Van Gaasbeek's long-running print ad. The Flatiron in Harold Lloyd's "Speedy" I used a nearly identical ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 2:05pm -

August 1909. "The Flat Iron building, New York." Yet another iteration of everyone's favorite proto-skyscraper. 8x10 glass negative. View full size.
AwningsOK, so how did they keep these canvas window awnings from flying off into the sunset on a windy day?
An August morning at 9:30Great pic, looks like you could just step right into it and go back 102 years ago!
Carriage Trade ShopsSome of the signs visible in this photo announce the shops of well-known New York dealers in luxury goods. The 900 block of Broadway, just behind and left of the Flatiron Building, includes the perfume manufactory of Richard Hudnut at 925, and the showrooms of carpet importers Van Gaasbeek & Arkell Oriental Rugs on the corner at 935. Here's Hudnut's 1909 perfume catalog cover and Van Gaasbeek's long-running print ad.
The Flatiron in Harold Lloyd's "Speedy"I used a nearly identical photo to show the path of Harold Lloyd's taxi up 5th Avenue, crossing Broadway in front of the prow of the Fuller Building, during his final silent comedy, "Speedy," filmed on location in New York during the summer of 1927.  
You can see some of the 50 New York locations where Lloyd filmed by checking out my blog. I am presenting Speedy at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria-Queens on Sunday, October 16.  
View Silent Visions of New York in a larger map
Here’s how the Fuller Building appears in my book Silent Visions, and how it appears during the movie.  The arrow points north up 5th Avenue, while the trolley in the back is headed up Broadway.  
Don't know how they did itAugust.  New York City, and no air conditioning. The horror, the horror.
Where to Cross?Crossing the streets looks like a free-for-all.  When were painted crosswalks invented?
That Flag!Close behind the Flatiron.  Does it not say "Lord and Taylor"?
Again, it's a good thing the average mph was something like "10" with the way people wandered across thoroughfares willy-nilly.  Fatalities would abound nowadays.
Richard Hudnut.  One of the sponsors of TV's "Your Hit Parade" in decades to follow.
Pach Brothers StudioIf you look close at the building behind the Flatiron you can see a billboard (on the roof) for Pach Brothers Studio. I took portrait classes from the last owner of Pach Brothers, Oscar White. When he closed the studio it was the oldest operating studio in North America. He had an amazing archive of famous clients' images. President Ulysses S. Grant was involved in getting the studio started.
(The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC)

Frosty Flatiron: 1905
... in the city Two days ago in Zip Code 10010, where the Flatiron Building is located, 20 or more inches of snow fell. In December 1905 ... before. [I think you probably have -- it's the Flatiron Building . - Dave] The streets are plowed quite well. I'm ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/18/2012 - 6:55pm -

New York circa 1905. "Flat-iron corner after snowstorm." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Wow!I'm constantly amazed at the work you do with these photos, this could have been taken today (literally, judging by the weather you guys have been getting).
So CleanNo salt on those carriages. 
Snow in the cityTwo days ago in Zip Code 10010, where the Flatiron Building is located, 20 or more inches of snow fell. In December 1905 there was a blizzard that dropped 21.6 inches. That was followed in January with another 18.4 inches. I guess the cleanup  was no more fun then that it is now. In any case, now that the rains in Southern California have abated it's time for us to head for Palm Desert, where we'll spend the rest of the winter. Frankly, the cold doesn't bother me that much, but the snow and ice covered streets can be very intimidating.
Classic!Amazing photo. The fact that there isn't an automobile in sight is interesting.  Maybe horses worked better in this weather.
I remember last time I was snowed in during a Manhattan blizzard, the traffic cop went around digging holes through the snow piles to put tickets on the windshields.
Luckily they couldn't do that back then.
Could've Been MondayI was actually walking around this area on Monday and this picture gives me the chills from how similar it is to two days ago—except for the roads, of course.
Winter WonderlandThere's so much to take in here. It's 11:30, and the man who's in the forefront on the sidewalk has real pep in his step. He looks so modern. Not many women around, unless they're in the carriages. I've never seen that interesting thin building before. [I think you probably have -- it's the Flatiron Building. - Dave]
The streets are plowed quite well. I'm amazed at how some photos look so much like today. A few changes and this looks like Anytown, USA. I guess it's because everything is covered up. 
Clearing the streetsThis picture raises a question I never thought about before. What did they use to plow snow then? Something like the horse-drawn road graders of the day?
White Snowand stayed that way for a long time I'm sure with no car exhaust. I wonder if the air pollution made the snow less pristine over time.
[The winter air in any big city a hundred years ago would have been full of coal soot -- much dirtier than it is today. - Dave]
Pristine for nowWith all of those horses, I'm sure the pure even whiteness of the snow didn't last for long.
EpicOnly discovered this site today, can't stop watching. Incredible.
(The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC)

Your Country Needs You: 1917
... April 1917. "Recruiting address -- 23rd & Broadway (Flatiron Building)." George Grantham Bain Collection glass negative. View ... I had no idea the architectural details on the flatiron are so beautiful. (The Edward Steichen one does not do it justice.) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 7:24pm -

New York, April 1917. "Recruiting address -- 23rd & Broadway (Flatiron Building)." George Grantham Bain Collection glass negative. View full size.
Your Country Needs YouWe're sailing this battleship uptown!
Also: don't forget your cigars.
Apex OfficesI am from an era when everybody coveted a corner office because you had windows on two sides. I like to imagine what one of the end offices here would be like. It might be small and oddly shaped, but windows on three sides! It probably helped on hot pre air conditioning days too if there was any breeze.
I love this picture!The hustle, the bustle, the streetlights.
Love it.  Thanks!
-Eric
United CigarThere's a different picture of this store in the Wikipedia article on United Cigar Stores. Apparently the structure atop the store is supposed to represent a fort, probably a coastal defense fortification. Or at least that's what the caption in the Wikipedia article says it is. Given the shape, the layout of the guns and what appears to be "mortar lines" between "blocks of stone" I suspect that's more accurate than calling it a ship.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Cigar_Stores
United Cigar Stores Limited was and apparently is still in existence in Canada but I don't believe it's the same company as the American firm shown here, although both were/are chains. There isn't one around here anymore but I remember the stores not particularly specializing in tobacco products. They were as much about knick-knacks and magazines as about tobacco. As a kid I got most of my Matchbox cars from a United Cigar store, and later it was a great place to browse for comics.
Three observationsThree observations:
I had no idea the architectural details on the flatiron are so beautiful. (The Edward Steichen one does not do it justice.)
I enjoy how so many in the crowd stop to observe and probably supervise the painters.
Everyone had such uncomfortable shoes back then.
A question: What is that line (electric?) that runs down from the street light?
Early TransformerNot a battleship, but a giant snail!
23 SkidooDoctor K, it's funny you should mention breezes.  The Flatiron Building's unusual prow shape was noted for causing a windsplit effect, like a ship breaking through waves.  Legend has it that men would gather here to watch women's skirts fly up in the gusts. The expression "Twenty-three skidoo" is said to have come from cops basically saying "Beat it, perverts, move on."    23, as in 23rd Street.
At the Foot of the FlatironThe wind-whipped sidewalk action past the then recently-constructed Flatiron Building was captured in motion by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company in 1903. The two-minute film shows it all: men grasping their hats, women struggling to control their billowing skirts, idlers hanging around watching, adolescent boys making faces at the camera, the cop on the beat monitoring it all. It's included in a DVD set called "More Treasures from American Film Archives."
At the Foot of the Flatiron"At the Foot of the Flatiron" (1903).

I prefer the one below, "What Happened on 23rd Street" (1901). It's a bit risque at the end. You can see her knees!
Offices in the PointI work in the Flatiron Building now, right outside one of the offices in the point.  They're great--the views over Madison Square and down Broadway are something else.
But the building is entirely book publishers (except for the ground floor) and with all the windows in the point, there's hardly anywhere to put a bookcase!  It's rather frustrating.
Oh, and it's still often that windy at the point.  Just yesterday I had my skirt blown up to my shoulders (thank goodness I was wearing shorts underneath).  The long string of subway grates on the Broadway side exacerbates the issue.
H. I. Wagner, Exporters.Now H. I. Wagner, Importers.
See the fellow who loses his hat in the "at the foot" video, very funny.
A wonderful elderly man I once knew had told me that as a young lad coming of age, he and his pals would loiter city streets watching for the provocative flash of a lady's ankles.  I would imagine this was 1910 to 1915 or so.  The Kelly-Springfield girl of 1910 was the subject of great scrutiny when she blatantly had her ankles exposed in the infamous tire ad of that day.  OMG, how things have changed. 
NowI worked on the block for 12 years, and the Sprint store has been there as long, at the storefront glass area. You can actually see it in the commercials for Sprint. 
+93Below is the same perspective from April of 2010.  The buiding has been disarmed.
(The Gallery, Flatiron Building, G.G. Bain, NYC, WWI)

Skyscraper: 1909
... yet another view of that enduring architectural icon, the Flatiron Building. 8x10 dry-plate glass negative. View full size. ... was there in 2005, Sprint occupied the first floor of the Flatiron Building. Kind of sacrilege, really. 6 E. 23rd The FDNY ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/28/2012 - 10:52pm -

New York circa 1909. "Panorama of Madison Square." This glass plate, part of a nine-exposure panorama, affords yet another view of that enduring architectural icon, the Flatiron Building. 8x10 dry-plate glass negative. View full size.
SprintLast time I was there in 2005, Sprint occupied the first floor of the Flatiron Building.  Kind of sacrilege, really.
6 E. 23rdThe FDNY suffered its largest loss prior to 9/11 on the site of the Bartholdi Hotel.  On October 17, 1966 a fire spread from an adjoining property on 22nd street to the basement of 6 East 23rd street. Twelve firefighters were lost that night when the floor of the Wonder Drug Store collapsed.
http://nyfd.com/history/23rd_street/23rd_street.html
Manure guyIn the foreground, white uniform, big shovel.
Awful AwningsBeautiful building, but the aesthetic is somewhat spoiled by the awning obsession of the era.
S.S. FlatironWith that puffy plume at the top, it looks like it's steaming up Broadway.
Deja Vu All Over AgainWe return to Madison Square Park (bottom left) and the back of the statue of William H. Seward, he of the folly. Also we see the Hotel Bartholdi, named after the Statue of Liberty sculptor. The corner storefront of the Flatiron Building appears to contain our old friend the United Cigar Store. On the next block, East 22nd Street, the corner is occupied by the VanGaasbeek Oriental  whatever. That corner now houses a usually deserted Restoration Hardware, which appears to be in the original building that we see in the photo.
1 of 9Please don't leave us hanging; we want to see all 9 negatives!
As always, thanks for this.
And I wouldn't describe it as an awning obsession, more like a necessity on those hot New York August afternoons.
Ahhh summer!I am sure that the awning helped to keep the stores and offices cool in the summer.  All the open windows (at least even one with a curtain blowing in the breeze) in skyscrapers!  How odd to today's eyes of closed up buildings.
That sign selling cordial sure gave me a start.
Look at the TimeThe first thing that stuck out to me was the standing clock, which is very recognizable. It still stands there today. Also interesting is that that 200 Fifth Avenue, or International Toy Building (to the right of the Flatiron, next to the clock), was just built in 1912. It recently underwent an interior overhaul.
Awnings were a necessityThis was long before air conditioning was prevalent so awnings were a common method used to cool down a building while still maintaining the view out the window. 
23 SkidooLegend has it that the unique winds created at this intersection (Fifth and Broadway at 23rd Street) would lift many a lady's skirt, much to the delight of the male audience that would congregate here (at least when women still wore dresses).
Awnings againThe main advantage of awnings (as opposed to, say, shades or venetian blinds) was that they let you keep the window open in the rain. Open windows were necessary probably as much for ventilation as keeping cool.
[Although they do seem more prevalent on the sunny side of the building. - Dave]
American ParthenonAlfred Stieglitz also saw the Flatiron as a kind of steamship: "With the trees of Madison Square covered with fresh snow, the Flat Iron impressed me as never before. It appeared to be moving toward me like the bow of a monster ocean steamer, a picture of new America still in the making. The Flat Iron is to the United States what the Parthenon was to Greece."
98 Years AgoIn the great span of history, 98 years isn't really all that long, and the march of history in centuries past wasn't all that brisk.  But here we have a 1912 street scene from midtown Manhattan, less than a century ago (almost), within living memory of at least a few souls still among us, and the horses still outnumber the motor vehicles.  I'm guessing that in another five years, by 1917 or so, the cars would outnumber the horses, and that in 10 more years -- 1927 or so -- the number of horses would be very small indeed.  This is really a glimpse at the very last days of the pre-automobile world.  We haven't lived with these infernal, gas-guzzling contraptions for very long. 
M&L Hess Real EstateSign was still somewhat visible as of 2003.
http://www.14to42.net/20street1-2.html
From 1 to 9, slowly.If I look at the panorama too quickly, I may get dizzy.
Hotel BartholdiI am fascinated to find that this is the location of the Hotel Bartholdi. A few weeks ago I posted an image in the members gallery, of an electric charabanc parked, I assume, in front of the hotel.
The streets are full of peopleThat's something you don't see these days. People are afraid of speeding cars. I assume that horse-drawn carriages weren't quite as dangerous. 
EntrancesComparing this picture with StreetView, the building entrances in the middle of each side seem to have been remodelled.  Instead of the pillars supporting the canopy being proud of the main building, they are now just a relief on the surface.
White WingThe Department of Sanitation's "White Wing" sweepers did their level best keeping those NYC streets clean.  I don't know if white was the best color for their uniforms though!

Google Clock ViewView Larger Map
The streets are full of streetcars, too!Including the blurry end of one on the extreme left, and off into the distance, I count no less than 20 streetcars. Is it 1912 rush hour?
OmnibusOk, I'm the first to spot the motorized bus! It looks more like someone chopped the back off a 1920s bus and shoved an open cab on the front with an engine.  Neat! Also, notice the peculiar way of routing with a lampstand in the middle of the open street and ropes and posts in a line from it.
The clockWho maintained it?
I know there were lamplighters during the times when gas lamps lit city streets, but the clock must have been mechanical. Did someone wind it, or were they electric even back then?
Pach Brothers StudioIf you look close at the building behind the Flatiron you can see a billboard (on the roof) for Pach Brothers Studio. I took portrait classes from the last owner of Pach Brothers, Oscar White. When he closed the studio it was the oldest operating studio in North America. He had an amazing archive of famous clients' images. President Ulysses S. Grant was involved in getting the studio started.
Re: S.S. Flatiron and American ParthenonSomething as glorious as this had to appear sooner or later.
(The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC, Streetcars)

Flatiron Building: 1910
1910 Irving Underhill photo of the 22-story Flatiron (Fuller) Building at 175 Fifth Avenue, one of the earliest (1902) ... and I cannot stop coming back. P. Stern (Flatiron Building, Irving Underhill, NYC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2018 - 11:01am -

1910 Irving Underhill photo of the 22-story Flatiron (Fuller) Building at 175 Fifth Avenue, one of the earliest (1902) buildings in New York to attain such heights. View full size. More here.
Thank you for your websiteHello,
I just wanted to thank you for your beautiful website. I love history and your site has introduced me to a variety of events. I have continued to research information on newsies, Irving Underhill, and a several other interesting topics thanks in large part to you. Thank you very much for your continued efforts and the beautiful site. It is truly invaluable and I cannot stop coming back.
P. Stern
(Flatiron Building, Irving Underhill, NYC)

The Flatiron: 1903
The Flatiron Building circa 1903, with Broadway on the left and Fifth Avenue on the ... Have You Noticed? In just about any early photo of the Flatiron Building you can see one or more brave souls roaming around on the ... along 23rd Street to Lexington Ave (right in front of the Flatiron here) and up to 105th street. [These are electric streetcars. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 2:03pm -

The Flatiron Building circa 1903, with Broadway on the left and Fifth Avenue on the right, and lots of street traffic all around this early skyscraper shortly after its completion. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
A wonder of the ageWhat a great shot but I have to wonder; what makes all those trolley's go?  No overhead wires but it seems a slot between the tracks.  Cable cars?
[They're electric streetcars. The power supply is underground. - Dave]
ThanksAlways a treat to see another shot of this iconic building as it was intended to look.
What a Beauty!As much of a beauty now as it was in 1903!
Pach Brothers, PhotographersAt least five NYC locations since 1867 for these portrait photographers of some repute. The last shop closed in 1947. The studio here was 925 Broadway. The retail operation in the building was a firm called Van Gaasbeck Oriental something. The building still stands; the ground floor houses a Restoration Hardware that is usually deserted.
Manhattan TractionHere's the Cable Building at Broadway and Houston Street in Manhattan. Built in 1893 to turn the cables of Manhattan's traction cars, which first started running in the mid-1880s. The basement housed the steam engines and cable wheels.
[An impressive infrastructure that was phased out in favor of electric streetcars in the early 1900s. - Dave]
Have You Noticed?In just about any early photo of the Flatiron Building you can see one or more brave souls roaming around on the lower ledges. I suppose today that'd be the Designated Smoking Area!
Cable cars, absolutely!The streetcars visible are all cable cars.
The Metropolitan Street Railway main line ran along Broadway from Battery Place up to 7th Ave, and then along 7th to 59th Street at Central Park. One of its branches ran along 23rd Street to Lexington Ave (right in front of the Flatiron here) and up to 105th street.
[These are electric streetcars. The traction line on Broadway was converted to electric power in 1901. Below, news item from May 27, 1901. - Dave]
Pach Brothers StudioActually Pach Brothers Studio continued operation (at a different location until 1994. I took portrait classes from the last owner, Oscar White. Interesting man, he did presidential portraits form either FDR or Truman to at least Johnson as he brought that portrait into our class to show us. I took his classes in the mid-1970s to late 1970s. More information is available here.
(The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC, Streetcars)

The Flat-Iron: 1903
... is just startling. Truly an icon. (The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/30/2015 - 4:16pm -

New York circa 1903. "Flat-Iron Building, Fifth Avenue and Broadway." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Automobile?Any idea what type of automobile that is on the far right?  
TaxiThe car in question is a Hansom cab built by The Electric Carriage and Wagon Company for use in New York City. They were a failure as they were very costly to maintain. They were replaced by a fleet of French Darracq gasoline autos that proved to be more practical.
+103Below is the same view from April of 2006.
Equitable Life Assurance SocietySign on the third floor reads (with assistance of a magnifying glass):  Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States will occupy this entire floor Oct lst 1902.
StartlingSeeing the building today, it still stands out as something special. Seeing it in the context of yesteryear and its surroundings is just startling. Truly an icon.
(The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC)

The Portland: 1917
... glass negative. View full size. Poor Man's Flatiron Looks like a wannabe Flatiron Building complete with cigar store in the point. More like twenty ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/16/2023 - 8:10pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1917. "Portland Apartments, 14th Street & Thomas Circle." Mold on the emulsion lends an eerie aura to this already spooky-looking structure (also seen here). National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Poor Man's Flatiron Looks like a wannabe Flatiron Building complete with cigar store in the point.
More like twenty tedious minutes in Managua...Courtesy of Cigar Aficionado:
In his youth, Groucho Marx was too poor to smoke anything but nickel cigars. Only once before he came into big money did he loosen up enough to spend a dime for one. This was the result of an advertisement he had seen for a brand of ten cent pure Havanas called La Preferencias. The ad fascinated him, for it promised the smoker "Thirty glorious minutes in Havana." 
Groucho returned it because it only lasted twenty.
Demon MoldHere we see not just mold but evidence of a counterattack -- wash streaks where someone scrubbed the plate with a rag. (Which in my experience works pretty well, but hard to do without losing emulsion.)
All that's there nowIs this tired-looking Residence Inn.
Cool!I want to live there.
Street View BluesWhenever you guys post present day street view scenes, I find it incredibly upsetting. Man oh man does progress suck.
Lost gloryOnce-beautiful Thomas Circle is now surrounded, except for two churches, by hideous office buildings.
1880-1962The Portland ended life as an office building. Its fifteen minutes of fame came in 1922, in a four-alarm fire that started in Senator Kenneth McKellar's apartment. Having sunk into decrepitude over its many years, the place was torn down in 1962.
WonderfulI love this building.  It even has stained glass windows.  I would live there.  Too bad there is nothing left of such a grand building except this photograph.  
(The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo)

Going Up: 1905
New York circa 1905. "The Flatiron building." The iconic proto-skyscraper early in its life. Detroit ... negative. View full size. Second Banana The Flatiron's diminutive neighbor always gets short shrift. The Western Union ... & Co. was certainly the architect of record for the Flatiron, but I bet most of the exuberant exterior detail was the work of the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 1:59pm -

New York circa 1905. "The Flatiron building." The iconic proto-skyscraper early in its life. Detroit Publishing Company glass negative. View full size.
Second BananaThe Flatiron's diminutive neighbor always gets short shrift. The Western Union Building at 186 Fifth Avenue is also a survivor (seen here at right with the "Guide Magazine" sign).
Lest we forgetDaniel H. Burnham of the eponymous firm of D. H. Burnham & Co. was certainly the architect of record for the Flatiron, but I bet most of the exuberant exterior detail was the work of the project architect, Frederick Dinkelberg.
5 - 4 - 3 -2 - 1  liftoff.
Time stands stillAwesome pic! A brief look into the everyday life of people on a busy New York street, at 5 minutes to 10 in the morning, 105 years ago!
A Window on the WorldI would love to know who got the office with the three windows, on the top floor, right at the point of the building - What a view that person must have had!  Would that it were me!
Everyone's FavoriteAnd, thanks to Dave, I know it was faced with tile!
Beloved but EccentricJust last week the NY Times had a story and slide show about what it is like to work in the beloved but eccentric Flatiron building.
Something's missingNo awnings -- yet.
+104Here is the view taken in July of 2009.  Since it was taken as a "now" view of a very similar picture (this has to be one of the most photographed buildings ever), it's not identical but very close.
TimelessI feel like a time traveler with a camera.
Wonderful!Absolutely wonderful masterpiece of architecture! Thanks to Daniel H. Burnham!
Uber-realIt would surprise me only just a little bit if this photo just started running like a movie. You can practically hear what the man in front of the clock is saying to the other man.
"You go ahead, I want to stay right in the shot."
A View From the FlatironThe views from the upper floors had to be magnificent. To the west, the Hudson River. Possibly on  a clear day Pennsylvania could be seen. To the east they had the East River and Long Island. To the north, Westchester and Northern New Jersey. Ths south view was probably the best, the new skyline featured office towers like the  Singer Building and later the Woolworth Building. The best would have been the views of the harbor which featured the last of the tall masted sailing schooners and the Statue of Liberty.
The view.Check out the Wilkipedia article, which includes an inside view of one of the "point" offices. Imagine having the Empire State Building to look at from a few blocks away all day. Not bad.

My great great grandfatherMy great great grandfather helped build that building, but fell and was crippled for life. Whenever I pass this building, I think of him. My family has been NYers for generations. This building means a lot to my family. 
+109Below is the same perspective from September of 2014 (updating my +104 post below which was a comparison to a similar view).
(The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC)

Hansom Fillies: 1900
... our attention, even with all those layers. Near the Flatiron Also note the sign in the far background promoting The Steel Pier ... the photo the park is on the left and you can just see the Flatiron through the trees. I couldn't move the vantage point any closer to the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/18/2012 - 3:31pm -

The latest stop on our circa 1900 walking tour of New York: "Cab stand at Madison Square." Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size.
Bold FilliesOh those bold fillies, showing their ankles. Again, wonderful detail.  Some things never change.
Shorpy does it againAnother awesome picture Dave. I love the way the two girls are ignoring the sly look of the cab driver.
In olden days  a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking but now, God knows, anything goes.
How many beads do you get for flashing the ankles ?
The more things change...Yes, indeed -- over the years, the ladies always get our attention, even with all those layers.
Near the FlatironAlso note the sign in the far background promoting The Steel Pier in Atlantic City. I really like any of the pix that show signage (and ladies' fashions and personal good looks, for that matter) from back in turn of the century Manhattan.
Window undressingWe have not lost the sun, so I wonder why we did away with the awnings that seem to have been common when this wonderful photo was taken. Did AC render them useless?
Main SqueezeLook at those waistlines!  How were the ladies able to walk without grimacing?
Wasp-waistedOne can only imagine the agony of getting into the tight corsets that produced those very slim waistlines when hourglass figures were fashionable at the turn of the century,
GiGiThis wonderful picture could be Paris and we might expect to see Leslie Caron at any moment!
Be still my heart!Dearest Dude Dave,
Every so often I think you've put my dear NYC on the back burner for too long -- and then four of the best you've ever posted, all in a row. 
God Bless You.
Aid to AnachronismPics like this one often make me imagine the same scene a hundred years earlier, and somehow these photos makes it easier:  same scene, only ladies and gents in different dress, slightly different tack on the horses and design of the carriages, and the buildings lower -- but with the aid of a pic like this I can imagine more easily what reality really looked like circa 1800.
The girls aren't ignoring them,they're concentrating on breathing. Those have to be the most cinched-in waists I've ever seen.
Great Title!Yes indeed, those fillies are certainly handsome! Horses nice too.
[They're also "Hansom." Get it? - Dave]
Got itThe rigs are Hansom cabriolets, or "cabs" for short. Named for their designer, the architect Joseph Hansom.
O Pioneers!With one daring and coquettish swish of their skirts, the ladies sashay fashionably into the new century. You go, girls! 
New York WomenEven 110 years later, these two women are instantly recognizable as New Yorkers. You would have no problem finding that same expression of hostile aloofness on the streets of Manhattan today.
I imagine that just out of the frame to the left are a couple of Irish nannies taking care of the children of these two.
Great picLove this picture. Makes me wish I could paint and reproduce it. So much human interest -- two beautiful girls passing by completely oblivious of the admiring look of the cab driver This picture has been "done" many times in later eras  but it is even more intriguing because of the era.  I love the swish of the girls' skirts. They are hurrying and too busy to notice the cabbie's glance.
Joie de VivreA really nice image. It feels "alive."
110 Years LaterUsing Google Maps, I found the location of the photo. We're looking south along 5th Avenue where Broadway crosses at Madison Square Park. In the photo the park is on the left and you can just see the Flatiron through the trees. I couldn't move the vantage point any closer to the photographer's position since the Google vans don't drive on the sidewalks.
View Larger Map
Sex and the City 100 years priorCarrie Bradshaw and Charlotte 100 years earlier?
Lovely photo!
(The Gallery, DPC, Horses, NYC)

Bustling Broadway: 1910
... York circa 1910. "Broadway and Hotel Victoria." With the Flatiron Building looming in the distance. 8x10 glass negative. View full ... to amaze me: the fact that even skyscrapers like the Flatiron Building had functional double hung windows right up to the top, and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/12/2014 - 11:17am -

New York circa 1910. "Broadway and Hotel Victoria." With the Flatiron Building looming in the distance. 8x10 glass negative. View full size.
The man on the rightlooks like he is about to do something wrong; or else he just did something wrong and thinks he was caught by the camera. 
Double hung, with awningsTwo things about these early 20th Century street scenes continue to amaze me: the fact that even skyscrapers like the Flatiron Building had functional double hung windows right up to the top, and the startling frequency with which the photographers catch people doing who knows what on building ledges - in this case on the third floor of the Victoria.  Keep up the good work.
"Chiropodist and Manicures"Reminds me of the old "Barber and Surgeon" signs.  Two chiropodists directly across the street from one another - lots of toe woes. 
Night LightThe "Bishop's Crook" lamppost introduced electric lighting to New York City streets. Taller and brighter than its gas predecessors (five of which are visible in front of the Hotel Victoria), it was designed in 1896 by Richard Rogers Bowker, an Edison Company executive. The first lamps were placed at the corners of major avenues, pointing diagonally into the intersection.
Madison Square ParkMadison Square Park is one of the most beautiful parks in the city.  It is not expansive like Central Park but a pleasant square that still has the turn of the century feel.  The Flat Iron building is in the South West corner but many of the buildings that border the park are from this period.
Under ConstructionI believe that the building under construction that we can glimpse in the upper right left corner is the Met Life tower.  If so, this photo was taken no later than 1909.
Much has changed but the Flatiron is still thereView Larger Map
Empire State Bldg?Is that the ESB being constructed at the upper-left corner?
[Once they invented elevators, the thing really took off. - Dave]
Donovan's TrussesAt 1164 Broadway, underneath Cohen Typewriter Agency.
Photographer's signage"Secure the shadow ere the substance fades" on Mr Scherer's photography studio advertises a very creepy offering.
+104Below is the same view from September of 2014.
Pach Brothers StudioThe prominence of the Pach Brothers Studio sign (in the haze down the street past the Flatiron, about five stories up) must have meant it was a very large studio. The last owner of Pach Brothers was Oscar White who as far as I know still lives in Pearl River, NY, Rockland Co. (as of the end of 2014). He used to teach portrait classes at Rockland Community College.
(The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC, Streetcars)

Times Square: 1943
... must be. I also notice the "Buy War Bonds" sign on the Flatiron Building, and the WAAC sign. Is that a recruiting station or ... with so few people on the street. [That's not the Flatiron Building. Which is taller, and not on Times Square. - Dave] ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 1:35pm -

New York, March 1943. "Times Square on a rainy day." Medium-format nitrate negative by John Vachon for the Office of War Information. View full size.
Color me grayThis would be fun to see in color: the brightness of the billboards and the taxis would really stand out against the steely cold damp drabness of everything else.  Colorizing after the fact wouldn't quite capture the atmosphere, but maybe I'll try anyway.  Unless someone else wants to...?
Saludos Amigos en la Plaza del TiempoThe Globe Theater on the right has put up a lavish display for Walt Disney's "Saludos Amigos," a 42-minute feature cartoon that encouraged our wartime "Good Neighbor Policy" with South America. Here's the Disney lobby poster that the Globe copied for its building-high banner. 

March 1-17, 1943Well, the only way I can narrow down the date is to find out that the movie at the Globe changed beginning Thursday, March 18 (Saludos Amigos had its last showing on the 17th). Are there any other little hints in the picture to help date it?
Blackout!Check out the blackout headlights on the taxicabs.  My mother remembers those.
Taxi!Those taxicabs look particularly strange, kinda like a 1930s front plastered on a 1940-ish body shell. And the coupelet back makes them even stranger! Any idea what they are?
[Circa 1940 Checker Model A. - Dave]

Mother & Father DuffyAt the far left, you can see the Father Duffy Statue. Here's the statue in 1944. The pretty woman in the middle is my mother.

BeerSchaefer is the one beer to have...when you're having more than one!
Now you know the rest of the jingleSchaefer is the one beer to have...when you're having more than one!
Schaefer's pleasure doesn't fade even when your thirst is done.
The most rewarding flavor in this man's world, for people who are having fun.
Schaefer is the one beer to have when you're having more than one.
I wonder how long it's been since that was on the airwaves...
Stop n GoIs that one of the old-fashioned stoplights that only had red and green lenses?  I would have thought those were all gone by 1943.
BroadwayThis picture shows Seventh Avenue, which looks like it was a two way street then. Out of the photo, to the left, would be Broadway. Mayor Bloomberg has shut off any traffic between 47th and 42nd Streets on Broadway. It is now a mall, complete with folding chairs and is mobbed on the nicer days.
GloomyIt makes me shiver just to see this photo. How gray and cold that rain must be. I also notice the "Buy War Bonds" sign on the Flatiron Building, and the WAAC sign. Is that a recruiting station or something? Also visible above the marquee is an Orpheum sign, presumably from the old Vaudeville days. A real step back into America's past. I wonder if it was Sunday, with so few people on the street.
[That's not the Flatiron Building. Which is taller, and not on Times Square. - Dave]
Laffmovie Here, a 5/15/43 NY Times entry about the theater to the right of the Astor.   
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802EFDD103CE03ABC4D52DFB...
Parts of the 42nd Street sister-theater mentioned in the article have been put to good use as the AMC Empire 25.
http://cinematreasures.org/theater/255/
Depression	That brilliant facade of the night, the signs that scream see this, drink this, buy this, are stripped of their promise by the harsh drab light of day.  Across the street is the Orpheum.  A gilded palace where baggy pant top bananas tell stale jokes and cheap B girls shimmy and strip to the cat calls and wolf whistles of the lonely and desperate.  I pull up my collar against the wind and start across.  My feet make pearlescent rings in the oil drenched street.  It's a cold rain, but not enough rain to wash the dirt from this city.  Depression is daylight, and rain and Times Square.  
Crossed StreetsPerhaps Mr. Mel has Bway and Seventh reversed. In the foreground Broadway is on the right -- a two-way avenue at the time, one-way going south when I moved here, no-way as of last month (pedestrians only). Seventh Avenue is out of view on our left. In the distance where the Times building is (with a V for "Victory" and War Bonds), the two cross and Broadway goes away down the canyon to the left and Seventh Avenue continues down the canyon to the right.
WAAC = Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, soon changed to Women's Army Corps (the famous WACs of the WACs, WAVEs, WASPs, and SPARs).
Re the Flatiron Building misidentifications, I myself got the Times tower confused with yet a third building in the Central 40s (still standing) in another Shorpy last week. It's too easy to get confused because with the ugly sheathing obscuring all the turn- of- the- century beauty, the Times tower shell we see today isn't recognizable to its appearance in photos.
This is wartime and the neon signage is a sad subdued shadow of its peacetime glories.
Admiral -- Canadian ClubNot only is that not the Flatiron, it's the building Times Square was named after -- the old New York Times headquarters. Known mainly for the past 60-odd years as the building that holds up the big billboards at the end of Times Square. It's encased almost entirely in signage.

Now that's Times Square!Mysterious and alluring, rain or shine, night or day. Not the sterile, Disneyfied pedestrian mall that's closed off to traffic now. 
Red and GreenI'm not sure when New York replaced all the older two-color lights, but I can remember them still being around during my childhood in the mid- to late-1950's. As I recall, at one point they had them showing both red and green to mean "caution" in place of the yellow light. 
Some things never changeThe manhole covers look the same today. The potholes, too.
Taxi grabThat shot of the Checker Model A taxi is a frame grab from the film Kiss of Death (1949). The one where Richard Widmark pushes the old lady in a wheelchair down the stairs.
Trash basketsI love the wire trash cans. They're right out of a Looney Toons reel. Do these still exist?
47th StreetThis is looking south from 47th Street.  The building on the right has been replaced by the W Hotel and the Marriott has replaced the building just south of that. This is where the TKTS booth is nowadays.  
And as a matter of fact, my office window (where I am sitting right now) is on the left -- just to the right of the letter A in "State".
MasterpieceAlso visible is a billboard for "The Human Comedy," a superb movie, a bit maudlin now, but still a classic and well worth watching.
Admiral-Canadian Club ReduxThat Admiral - Canadian Club stack of signs was at the north end of Times Square and not hung on the Times Tower on the south end. Notice that the Astor Hotel is on the left, or west, side of the Square. The Astor Theater was a favorite with my family, when we were in town just to see a movie, and not to go to the Paramount, Roxy or the Music Hall (or to the Center Theater for the ice show), all of which complemented their movies with stage musical and comedy shows, such as The Phil Spitalny All-Girl Orchestra featuring Evelyn and Her Magic Violin, Phil Silvers, and Danny Kaye. Wow! There were giants (managed by Bill Terry and Mel Ott) in NYC in Those Days!
And weren't those funny-looking cabs DeSotos?
[The ones in this photo are Checkers. - Dave]
Movie schedule"The Human Comedy" opened at the Astor Tuesday, March 2 so that eliminates one day.
The Lonely CrowdI love the complete anonymity of the few people in this photo. You can't see their faces. They could be anyone, lost somewhere in the sprawling metropolis. 
Horn and HardartThe building just to the right of the Globe Theater (partially shown) is Horn and Hardart Automat. If this is 1943 it may not have been the Automat yet, as I didn't get to New York until 1947, at age 15, but by then it certainly was the Automat as I was in it a lot. Coming from Boston and all alone I was a scared kid to be in middle of Times Square. The Palace theater was across the street showing "The Spiral Staircase." I believe to the right of the Astor was the Victoria Theater, probably yet to be where the Laff Movie seems to be in 1943. I think the Globe was later to be the Times Square Theater or something like that. I remember seeing "An American in Paris" there around 1953.
Times bldg. & Flatiron bldg.Sorry, Dave, but according to emporis.com Times is taller than Flatiron (110.64 m vs. 86.87 m).
Funny thing is that I too misidentificated these two buildings before I started read more about Manhattan skyscrapers. Now I'm old NYC highrise fan and I love your site.
[Maybe you're still a bit confused. The Times building is behind the "Buy War Bonds" building, which is just 16 stories tall.  - Dave]
The 1943 Father Duffy area in 2009As of 2009, the large Celtic looking stone cross to the left in the 1943 pic is now directly at the bottom of the steps of the TKTS booth in Times Square. 
The other side of the cross has the statue of Father Duffy so the 1943 pic is facing south. I think that spot is still called, Duffy Square? Interesting how the subway entrance used to be in what is now pavement in the middle of the two streets.
Here's an example to compare it to. "Times Square: 1943"
http://www.nytix.com/repository/broadway/TKTS/times-square-steps1.gif
And the ladies under the Father Duffy pic in 1944. "Mother & Father Duffy"
http://gothamist.com/attachments/jen/2008_10_tkt18.jpg
+66Here is the view from the identical location and angle from August of 2009.  As Azelzion noted, the Horn and Hardart Automat is visible on the right of the original photo (my father told me that the one time he visited New York City was when he was in the Marines in the early 1950's and had Thanksgiving dinner at that automat).  The Grand Slam souvenir shop now occupies that site.  I believe it is the same structure but under a new facade (no traces of the automat can be seen inside, either).  The Globe Theater, which also has an "Orpheum" sign, next door to the automat was replaced by a Howard Johnson's restaurant in 1955 and was a Times Square landmark until it closed in July of 2005 (I was fortunate to have had lunch in the aged but still charming restaurant in November of 2004).  The site is currently undergoing construction of a new building to house a retail store.
WAAC BoothHere's a closer view of the WAAC booth with my Mom and her friends.  Taken the same day as the pic below with Father Duffy.
Locus of creativityThis wonderful image adds another dimension to the descriptive work from that era left to us by Kerouac; it is the Times Square of Edie Parker, Huncke, Lucien Carr, Burroughs, Ginsberg, and late-night camaraderies that inspired some of the best writing of that generation.
Almost exact location, 11 years laterAbout 11 years later, my grandfather took a picture on a very similar, rainy day. He was about half a block farther south, and little bit to the left. 

One thing that surprises me is that the first movie theater just south of 46th has a Planters ad over the marquee, and not an ad for what's showing, like in the 1954 image. Other little changes, like light poles are different, no WAAC globe in 54, and many more pigeons!
In Living ColorA large full colorized version can be found here.
More on the Checker Model A here.
About that traffic lightA couple commenters noticed the traffic light with only red and green; New York City didn't start using red-amber-green until the early 50's, and the transition took about 40 years to complete.  I remember seeing some red-green signals still hanging on here and there in the city through the 70s.  
The other interesting thing about this particular light is that you can see here that the lenses are masked for war-time darkening.  There is only a very small cross of light visible for each indication, rather than the whole 8"-wide ball that would normally be visible.  I find it amazing that anyone could see these signals darkened like that.  
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, John Vachon, NYC)

Back the Invasion: 1944
... good stuff at the Safe Rainewear Co. That's the Flatiron Building at the far right The Nic Nac, Freud Bar, and Adam Hat ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 6:18pm -

June 6, 1944. "New York. Part of the parade on D-Day, Madison Square." Medium format negative by Howard Hollem, Office of War Information. View full size.
Were there any anti-invasion people?I know during WWII this country had a very small minority of objectors but it's hard to believe at that time there would be any anti-D-Day people out counter-marching. Unless they were daredevils with a death wish. Especially in NYC!
New York City slickersThank goodness I can finally get rid of this unsafe rainwear and pick up some of the good stuff at the Safe Rainewear Co.
That's the Flatiron Building at the far rightThe Nic Nac, Freud Bar, and Adam Hat buildings are still there.  The view looks to the SW from the SE corner of Madison Square Park.
View Larger Map
Who Were They?Any idea what group this was? There seem to be quite a few draft-age men in it: what looks like "ime" and a ship's wheel on the banner makes me wonder if it might be some sort of maritime or merchant marine union.
[National Maritime Union of America - CIO. - Dave]
That Nurse better be carefulThere are Rogue Sailors going around sweeping Women off their feet and kissing them hard on the lips.
Mayor's D-Day CommitteeThe next morning, the New York Times reported on the events surrounding a rally held on June 6 near the Eternal Light at Madison Square Park, featuring clergy and rabbis, singers of the major allied nations, and of course Hizzoner, Mayor LaGuardia.  It also described the work of members of the "Mayor's D-Day Committee" in publicizing the rally through leafleting. 
Bar sign is still thereThe bar sign for Metro Bar is still prominent as a sign for the Live Bait Restaurant and Bar.  Either it's the original or an identical one.
Check out that AmbulanceWhat model of truck was that ambulance? I never saw one with a window in the shape of a cross! Much more stylistic than utilitarian.
"Good Like Nedick's!"Nedick's had a superb orange drink that could never be duplicated and the hot dog on a toasted bun was a special treat. When Mom bought you a "dog and an orange" you knew she loved you dearly. On the radio when the Knicks sank a basket you'd hear announcer Marty Glickman exclaim, "Good like Nedick's!"
Nic-NacNic-Nac is now a Quiznos, the Metro Bar is now Live Bait, a Cajun themed bar/restaurant.  The building that housed The Safe Rainwear Co and those to the west of it were destroyed by fire October 17, 1966.  Twelve firemen died fighting the blaze.
1944New York City police used Plymouth coupes, white on the top and dark blue-green on the bottom.  The one in this picture looks so good to me.  That bus type was used on the cross towns. 
Safe Rainwear Co connectionFunny that Jon commented on the Safe Rainwear Co. - That was actually my wife's grandfather's store.  He hailed from Poland, emigrating to Italy in the 1930's, finding himself an Austrian wife (also originally from Poland) and settling down in Rome.  Just prior to the start of WWII he prudently realized it was time to say goodbye to Hitler's Europe and emigrate to the US.  With his wife and two (soon to be three) small children in tow, he embarked on a 2 1/2 year long journey which took them through France, Cyprus, Spain, and Portugal, finally arriving in NYC in 1941.  Not speaking a lick of English when they got here (although they both spoke multiple languages), they quickly achieved English proficiency, and opened up this store on 23rd Street. Over the years he opened up several stores in NYC, including one down on Nassau street. When his son (my father-in-law) took over the 23rd street store, he changed the name to "Victor's", and eventually sold the store in the early eighties.
Update:  Talking to my father-in-law yielded the origin of the name "Safe" rainwear - his father concatenated the first two letters of his and his wife's first names (Samuel and Sadie) and last name (Feiwel).
(The Gallery, Howard Hollem, NYC, Patriotic, WW2)

Manhattan: 102 Years Ago
... [It's on Shorpy's to-do list! - Dave] The Flatiron's diminutive brother was the German-American Insurance ... in it. What's that building? What's that Flatiron-looking building just to the left of Rogers & Pyatt Shellac? I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/18/2012 - 6:55pm -

Manhattan circa 1908. "New York skyline." Part of an eleven-section panorama. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
White FlierFrom the pre-aviation era when "flier" meant fast ship. The Bunker Hill is an example of first quality American shipbuilding circa 1908.  While "modern" in terms of amenities, ships of this time were not required to carry sufficient numbers of lifeboats for all people aboard.  The Bunker Hill appears to be carrying four. 
Scheduled "White Flier" time for one-way passage between New York and Boston was 15 hours.



ABC Pathfinder Railway Guide, 1912 


Eastern Steamship Corporation
All-the-Way-by-Water
The Great Express White Steel Fliers Massachusetts and Bunker Hill.
Splendid Steel Freight steamships are operated by the Metropolitan Line between Boston, Mass. and New York.

The Massachusetts and Bunker Hill are notable examples of Modern Marine Architecture. Many of their staterooms are en suite, with connecting bath and toilet facilities. All staterooms are most attractively furnished, and equipped with the most modern sanitary fixtures. Inside staterooms are provided with electric fans. They are provided with a most attractive outside dining-room on the Main Deck, a Hurricane Deck Cafe; are equipped for the burning of oil as fuel, with Automatic Sprinkling Appliances, Wireless Telegraphy, Submarine Signal Service, and all other modern facilities to insures the Security and Comfort of passengers. All outside two-berth rooms, $2.00; Inside, $1.00. Electric Fans in inside room.

More of the NYC navyIf you look to the left side of the picture, those boxy barges lettered for the New York Central are lighters used to service ships in other parts of the harbor besides at the railroad's own dock facilities. This page gives a nice overview of the kinds of facilities in the city including a map that shows an overall picture of where they were. Containerization finally killed this kind of transloading off in the early sixties when someone finally figured out that giving the stevedores two passes on the goods wasn't exactly labor-saving.
Manhattan, 1908 on ShorpyAre you going to put up the other 10 sections of the panorama - they would be of great interest to Rail Marine modellers along with many others.
[It's on Shorpy's to-do list! - Dave]
The Flatiron's diminutive brotherwas the German-American Insurance Building, on Liberty Street.  It is now Louise Nevelson Plaza. Read all about it.
Re: Steampunk?Steampunk is fairly reasonable, but I see it more as "Metropolis" - and I don't mean Superman's version!
Steampunk CityThis image excellently represents the zenith of Steampunk USA -- look at all the plumes rising from the soaring skyscrapers, and the stalwarts of steam power on the mighty river.
A nation is coming into its own -- work is getting done.
Regard with awe the rising Manhattan silhouette –- all correct angles forming the canyons that will forever define the island, with just the right amount of added artistic flair that decorum & modesty would allow.
This is at the very moment prior to the time when noxious internal-combustion engine -- fueled by the devil's excrement -- began its century of degradation & domination.
[It was filthy, sooty coal that made the steam. The air over New York is a lot cleaner now. - Dave]
DazzlingThe former Bunker Hill in 1918.
City Investing BuildingStanding shoulder to shoulder with the Singer Tower is the picturesque City Investing Building, designed by Francis H. Kimball and built 1906-1908. This view, which I've never seen before, shows how close together they really were. Sadly both were demolished together in 1968 to make way for the US Steel Building (now known as 1 Liberty Plaza).
Had to happenThe day has finally arrived. I have been shorpyized, One look at this photo and I recognized the Singer building right away. Mother said there would be days like this.
NYC TugboatsThe New York Central boats are tugboats.  The NYC along with Jersey Central and I believe the B&0, all operated tugboats which were used to move their RR barges to and from New York City.
South Street SeaportPier 16, along with the unseen Pier 17 out of the photo on the right, is now part of the South Street Seaport, so it's likely that many of the smaller buildings on the extreme right-hand side of the photo still survive! Pier 15 bit the dust at some point, though.
All Too HumanYes. So many wonderful buildings, of which few we see here survive. This, however, to me, seems to be a view of humanity of a past time. A photo taken from the same spot today probably wouldn't give you the same feel.  
"Bizarre camouflage" on former Bunker HillThat type of ship camouflage was called a "dazzle pattern."  It was widely used in WW I and also in WW II. Dazzle camouflage was meant to confuse attackers as to the ship's course and speed. It also confounded early range finders.
OK I wanna see the whole panoramaCan someone stitch it together?
[Have at it. - Dave]
Camo aheadSteamship Bunker Hill apparently became USS Aroostook, a mine laying ship, in WWI. The  naval historical center has an interesting series of photos of her. Some of the photos show a pretty bizarre camouflage pattern, too.
S.S. Bunker HillNew England Steamship Co. was the New Haven Railroad's dominant marine operator and served the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket from New Bedford. The Bunker Hill and others were overnight steamers to New England from New York.
More Singer!Thanks for yet another great photo of the old Manhattan skyline with the Singer Building in it.
What's that building?What's that Flatiron-looking building just to the left of Rogers & Pyatt Shellac? I wonder if it's still standing.
50 storiesThat Singer building dominated the skyline back in the day. Many buildings in NYC are 50 stories and over now, but it would be still be a very interesting landmark structure if it survived today.
1908 ShellackingFor best quality shellacking … 



Stubbs Buyers Directory for the Wholesale Drug, Chemical, and Allied Trades, 1918 



 Rogers & Pyatt Shellac Co.
79 Water St., New York. 
[Suppliers of:]

 Gum Copal
 Gum Kauei
 Gum Sandarac


Horizontal vs verticalThe long white boat and its wake make a pleasing and flourishing contrast with all the vertical lines.
Where would those "New York Central" boats have been going to/coming from? Do they connect with the railroad? Were they taking passengers across the river?
Steampunk? Really?Hey I know the internet has to reuse the same old boring subculture buzzwords over and over again but stop misusing the term "steampunk."
The Industrial Revolution wasn't about form over function.
[So I suppose we could call you Anti Meme. - Dave]
For Tim DavidOk, it's not quite perfect, but HERE is the full panorama.
Aroostook ConversionBelow is a before/after image of the Bunker Hill/Aroostook refit. (Stitched from the above Shorpy post and the image at Wikipedia, flipped left-right.)
Old NYCI love drawing old NYC and I love Shorpy.
Check out my site for more.
www.erosner.com
ManhattaI bet Manahatta was given the nickname The Big Apple because of all the road apples on the streets. Come for the stunning architecture, run away gagging from the smell. 
What I'm learning from this phenomenal site are the minimal changes from Civil War customs and architecture up through the 1910s. Regardless of incredible inventions, social norms hardly shifted at all till WW1. 
Yes!I would also like to see the entire panorama. Even if bit by bit. 
Someone say Panorama?Sorry for a bit of a screw-up where the Harbor starts on the left side because Photoshop has a bit of a malfunction, but here's the full panorama. Enjoy! 9528x960

(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)

Portland, Maine: 1904
... Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Flatiron Wannabe I see they added one story to the skinny building since ... 
 
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)

Thronged Thoroughfare: 1908
... goods store, Lilliputian Bazaar and our old friend the Flatiron Building . 8x10 glass negative. View full size. Best & ... at the Performing Arts Archive. (The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC, Streetcars) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/18/2015 - 7:03am -

New York circa 1908. "Twenty-Third Street east from Sixth Avenue." Featured players in this picture include the McCreery dry goods store, Lilliputian Bazaar and our old friend the Flatiron Building. 8x10 glass negative. View full size.
Best & CompanyLater famous for their small, white brick branch stores in the suburbs of NYC and DC.  Some remain, though repurposed after McCrory's, which acquired Best in the mid '60s, liquidated the company in 1970.  There is presumably no connection between the McCreery's shown here and McCrory's, which also owned Lerner's and S. Kline ("On the Square").
In the 1940s, I had a few outfits my mother purchased for me at the Lilliputian Bazaar, a name that by then had been relegated to a subtitle as the stores' proportion of adult clothing increased.  As a kid, I found those ensembles decidedly "sissy" and, like the long and boring church services to which I was forced to wear those togs, just another in an infinite series of adult injustices to be endured.
Pictured here is the chain's original flagship store, established in 1879. 
Early wireless NYCthanks to the Great Blizzard of 1888 which took down all the overhead wires. It also took down ex Senator Roscoe Conkling, famous womanizer and philanderer, who symbolically overlooks this same 23rd Street in the form of a bronze statue on the nearby southeast corner of Madison Square Park.
The Twenty-third Street Railway went through several gyrations before being replaced by the M23 bus, to the delight of Big Oil/Auto conspiracy theorists.
Small price to payFor such items as 'Lawn Russian Dresses', whatever they may be. New York Daily Tribune, May 17, 1908.
Stern Bros.The most obvious survivor in this shot is the old Stern Brothers store, what is now Home Depot.
View Larger Map
Photographer's locationI’m trying to figure out where he would have been, so high above the road in the middle of the streetcar track.  On top of a streetcar?
Note: Thanks to the suggestion in BigAl42’s comment above (Puzzled), it is now clear to me that the vantage point is the platform of the 23rd Street station of the Sixth Avenue elevated railway.  In fact, much further down the street, one can make out the 23rd St. station of the Third Avenue El.
Best PricesBest & Co. was a top-drawer retailer, with prices to match. They were still around when I was young; they had a store in the Oak Brook Center in the tony western 'burbs of Chicago.  I loved when Mom shopped there, as they had a stuffed 3/4 scale horse, with a western-style saddle and covered with real horsehide, for young equestrians to play on.  Fabulous diversion, and one that probably escalated the average sales ticket exponentially.  
Speaking of prices, I ran both the sale prices on a couple of items in that "Special Sale" ad through an inflation calculator site I frequently use. Get a load of this:  
The linen jumpers and "wash suits": "What cost $9.85 in 1908 would cost $255.67 in 2014."
The "Sailor Suits," presumably for boys: "What cost $12 in 1908 would cost $311.47 in 2014."
 The regular price on those jumpers?  "What cost $29.50 in 1908 would cost $765.71 in 2014."
Mind-boggling.
[Maybe not so mind-boggling when you consider that the average wage in 1908 was 22 cents an hour, as opposed to $24 now. So those $29 jumpers would have taken 131 hours of work to pay for in 1908, as opposed to 32 hours today. (If a pair of jumpers actually cost $765 today, which seems very unlikely!) - Dave]
Could this scene be part of the famous NYC Easter Parade?  The street crowds seem very well-dressed for just a regular day, and there are so many carriages and liveried coachmen about.
Wonder if it is Easter.Even for 1908, the people on the street are well-dressed. Can you imagine someone from 1908 seeing today's New York, especially in the summer?  They'd faint.
Toys and Dentists.Two things I can't help but think of.
1. Oh boy would I love to walk into that toy store (on the left).  Probably find myself a brand new SturdiToy pressed Steel Fire Engine with working ladder.  I wish we had a picture of that interior.
2. Those "Dental Parlors."  Imagine having a toothache in 1908.  The treatment may have been worse than the toothache.
I believe that Shorpy has shown some photos of old dental offices.
No Dandelions on a Lawn RussianLawn is a specific weight/grade of cotton.
It is still called cotton lawn today, though it is pretty rare that we leave out the fiber name when we have so many synthetic fibers to compete with cotton.
My best guess is the flowing Gibson Girl style dress in question has its buttons down one side of its front, rather than down the middle of the front, in homage to the traditional Cossack style.
PuzzledWhere this photo was taken from? It appears to be at first floor height almost directly over an active tramline. So it's not been taken from inside a building? Was there an elevated railway on 6th?
6th Avenue Elevated TrainTo Big Al's question, yes there was a 6th Avenue Elevated Train (until 1940) and this photo appears to have been taken from its 23rd Street station.
WhoisitWonder who face adorns the building on the far right of the picture?
Stern Bros Dept StoreThe white 6-story building in the middle of the photo (40 W 23rd Street) was once Stern Bros Dry Goods store. The building  has possibly the largest cast-iron facade in Manhattan. Today it houses a Home Depot store.
Just the other nightI was in NYC this past weekend and, although it was night-time and snowing and there was no more Sixth Avenue El to take the picture from a raised vantage point, I did dash out into the westbound lanes to do my best (and I ain't no timeandagainphoto) to show you this stretch of 23rd Street two nights ago.
William ShakespeareThe bust Phaedrus asks about is the one and only William Shakespeare. Apparently this building was the site of Booth's Theatre, which opened in 1869 with a production of Romeo and Juliet. When McCreery bought the building, he installed the bust as a tribute. For an in-depth look at the theatre and the fate of the bust see this page at the Performing Arts Archive.
(The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC, Streetcars)

Woodward Avenue: 1917
... Burnham. Among other things, Burnham also designed the Flatiron Building in NYC, and oversaw the construction of the 1893 World's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 9:50pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1917. "Looking up Woodward Avenue." Dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
"Mellow as Moonlight"If I was a drinkin' man, I would be sippin' some a that Cascade whiskey.
Motor city, for sure!Not one single horse in view.
Temporal AcheMan, this is one of those Shorpy photos that really make me wish I had a time machine.
Not much leftAbout the only thing still remaining is the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, and even it has been moved about 300 feet from where it stood for 130 years.
An amazing photo.
Casting against TypeI see the film "Somewhere in Georgia" is playing, where Ty Cobb stars surprisingly as a small-town Georgia baseball player who signs with the Detroit Tigers.
Health InsuranceAlmost 100 years later, the country is in a major pique over health Insurance and the Detroit Creamery had the answer all along. This maybe the best urban photograph yet, it certainly is the busiest.
Notice the #2 streetcar?It's got one of those fancy-schmancy 'people scoopers' on it, like this:
https://www.shorpy.com/node/4468
HodgepodgeOne of the best urban pictures yet!  Too much to take in at one sitting; The Opera House, that wonderful memorial, the traffic, those streetcars. I wonder what the tent was for in front of that fountain, just across from the Opera House.   
FascinatingThere's so much to look at in this photo. I especially enjoy seeing people going about their daily lives, not posing for a camera.
The movie theater sign says "All Next Week, Somewhere in Georgia".  According to IMDB.com "Somewhere in Georgia", starring Ty Cobb, was filmed in the winter of 1916 and released in June 1917.  Is the 1915 date on the photo in error?
[Do we know what "circa" means? - Dave]
An Edison ElectricI notice that the Edison Electric is being driven by a woman. My grandmother (who lived in Detroit) said that the only car she ever drove was an Edison Electric. She was afraid of driving a gasoline-powered car.
[Women liked electrics because there were no gears to shift, and no clutch -- shifting and clutching on cars of that era required quite a bit of muscle. - Dave]
Cloudy crystal ballCover story in Time Magazine, October 5, 2009: "The Tragedy of Detroit: How a great city fell, and it it can rise again."
Speaking of moonlightFarewell, good moonlight towers.  Twenty years gone by the time of this photo.
Is it a coincidence that Shorpy has hit upon another star of the silent screen? The theater beneath the Blackstone Cigar sign (far right)features Gladys Brockwell, who, like Kay Laurell (1890-1927), died in her thirties. Horrific 1929 car crash in California.
Merrill FountainThe Merrill Fountain in front of the Opera House still exists, too. Granted, it was moved about seven miles up the road to Palmer Park. 
Before it was called Wootwart (Woodward)The definition of the "good old days" ...
Traffic LightsGreat image.  Did traffic lights look different then, or did they not have them in Detroit?
[In 1917, traffic signals came on two legs. - Dave]
Re: An Edison ElectricLooks more like a Detroit Electric car than the very rare Edison.
The main reason the ladies like the electric car was no crank starting. Charles Kettering changed that a few years later with the electric starter motor if IC engines.
Notice the complete absenceof horse poop. And horses.
Stop sign doesn't apply...Surprised to see that pedestrains do not follow traffic signs as they crossed the streets. It seems that those signs were for trolleys and cars only. It anwered my question why my g-g-great uncle got killed by a trolley. 
ProsperityWow!  You can almost hear the hustle and bustle of prosperity in this amazing photograph -- the essence of early 20th century proud American urbanity.  Go to Google Earth or some other mapping web site and visit the corner of Woodward and Fort today -- a dreary, faceless, lifeless desert of glassy highrises without a pedestrian in sight.
HeartbreakingWhen I go through Detroit now it is a vast third world, broken down, trashed city, with gangs and thugs peering from behind collapsed buildings. How in the name of all that is worthy could this magnificent American city come to what it is today? Almost makes me want to watch Glenn Beck.
Oh what a feelingI had to smirk a bit when I opened of the intersection on Google streets and the first thing I saw was a shiny Toyota.
FABULOUSThis image is go busy and wonderful.  There is so much to notice.  I wonder what the conversations were and so much more.  
There is a tent in the middle of the square to the left of the statue.  Why?  What is the statue of?
All in WhiteI love the woman all in white crossing the street with her plaid skirted friend (near the front of the photo, just before the frontmost car). She looks so different than everyone else. 
I bet the two women just walking into the frame below them are talking about her. She's showing ankle AND calf! I'm sure she'll be a flapper in a few years!
The girl in whiteI think that the girl in white is in fact a girl - probably a young teen accompanying her mother (the lady in the plaid skirt).  Therefore she would be perfectly well dressed for her age.  However that also means that she would be in the right demographic to become a flapper once the twenties (which would coincide with her twenties) rolled around.
Great picture - Lord I could look at it for hours!
That banner over the street"ENLIST NOW! YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU"
And to your left...Seems even Detroit had its requisite "Seeing..." touring bus company. I count three "charabancs" in this photo, one across the street from Bond's with "WELLS" emblazoned on the back, and two in the centre-left crammed with mostly female tourists. Wonder what they were off to see next?
I'm loving the little insignificant human moments the photographer caught and immortalized: the man at the lower left trying to make something out on a bulletin board; the hefty many putting his arm around his companion's waist next to the memorial; three ladies converging outside the theater. Fantastic.
The building on the far leftis the 1896 Majestic Building, designed by the famous Chicago architect Daniel Burnham. Among other things, Burnham also designed the Flatiron Building in NYC, and oversaw the construction of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The Majestic was Detroit's tallest building until 1909, when the Ford Building (also a Burnham creation) was completed. The Ford still stands today, as well as Burnham's other Detroit creations, the David Whitney Building and the Dime Building. Sadly the Majestic was torn down in 1962 to make way for the exponentially less-interesting 1001 Woodward Building. 
“Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die, but long after we are gone be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistence. Remember that our sons and our grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty.”
-Daniel H. Burnham
Sight Seeing in Detroit ca. 1917The Dietsche Sight Seeing Company was one of several companies that offered tours of Detroit back in this time period.  Below is a photo of their advertisement offering their services to local companies who might want to entertain their out-of-town customers with a "Sight Seeing Trip around the city, Belle Isle, or Water Works Park."
Given the description of the street banner, this photo was probably taken sometime around June 5, 1917, which was the date on which all men between the ages of 21 and 31 were required to register for the draft.
Soldiers and Sailors MonumentStill nearby, but not as nicely maintained.
Very Nicely MaintainedThe Soldiers & Sailors monument is actually very well maintained. Notice how it's not all blackened with soot as in the old photo. When you view it up close you can also see where some very nice restoration has recently been done. Not everything in Detroit is a rotting hulk.
Still busyNot like this, but the ice skating rink at Campus Martius is already set up and would be approximately directly in front of the Detroit Opera House. Downtown Detroit is not the home of thugs or crime at all, really, but is sadly quiet when the businesses are closed. Many of the buildings are still here, and magnificent. Come visit before they tear them all down. 
I'll be ordering a large print of this image! Thank you Shorpy.  
Re. "Mellow as Moonlight"I saw this photo a few days ago, and, like GeezerNYC, I was quite struck by the Cascade Whiskey billboard. Now, I know that Geo. Dickel is still in business, and I was familiar with Dickel's Tennessee Sipppin' Whiskey and Old No. 8, but I had never heard of Cascade. It must have gone the way of the buggy whip and Lydia Pinkham, I thought.
But then today I stopped at the liquor store after work to pick up a bottle of wine, and GUESS WHAT THEY HAD?!?! shhhh...too loud. So, then
and I bought some. And do you guys know what? It's pretty goood. I';m drikning it right now. And I just wanna 
True story I swear.
Hey! do you know what? I bought some oft hat Cacsade whiskey? Or is it whishky? Aanyway, I just wanna
You know what/ You guys are greatf. I just wanna
Hudson's Grows, and...Hudson's grew with Detroit, and perhaps inevitably, declined with Detroit.  
Cascade HollowThe current Cascade Hollow Whiskey was created to deal with a shortage of the Dickel No. 8 and then just hung around.  They didn't have enough whiskey of a certain age so they made a new brand and put their younger stuff in it so that the quality of the No. 8 wouldn't suffer.  The Cascade Hollow has been discontinued, but it's still on the shelves in many places.
The name Cascade was replaced by the Dickel name after Prohibition and a number.
In order of price (& quality) the current Dickel offerings are:
(Cascade Hollow)
Dickel No. 8
Dickel No. 12
Dickel Barrel Select (which is one of the best whiskeys I've ever had.  And I've had a lot.)
Anyway, Dickel is currently owned by the evil international spirits conglomorate Diageo, which also owns Guinness, Hennessey, Smirnoff, Johnny Walker, Tanqueray, Bushmills, Cpt. Morgan, Jose Cuervo, Crown Royal and many many more.
I can't relate to this picture at allThere is no one in this picture that looks like me or anyone else in my family and for that matter most of my friends...maybe that's how most of the people making comments about it want Detroit to look like.
Movie ID helpIn the background, there appears to be a movie showing called "The Spoilers", but Wikipedia says it came out in 1914, not 1917. Just below that it looks like "Barrymore (?) as Georgia" and to the left of that is "Ty". Anyone have some ideas as to which movies are being advertised?
[The movie is "Somewhere in Georgia," with Ty Cobb, released in 1917. - Dave]
Re: Re: An Edison ElectricMy great-great-grandfather Frank Montgomery Foster was selling Kissel Kars in Detroit.  In 1913, he also had "one of the Detroit's finest garages at the corner of Gratiot Avenue and Grand Boulevard."  It looks like the two cars in the bottom left of the photo (with the barrel fronts) may be Kissels, but I don't know enough about autos of the era to ID them.
KernsMy co-worker's last name is Kerns. I showed him this picture one day and eventually forwarded it to him. He then forwarded picture to his family and learned that his mother Americanized their Polish name around 1917 after seeing that building "Kern's Children's Clothes."
One of the best!The photo is insanely busy and the comments led me on a couple scavenger hunts online.  Introduced to Gladys Brockwell, Daniel Burnham, Cascade, Dietsche company, etc.  A very entertaining hour and a half on this one pic!  Of course, being from Detroit makes it that much more interesting.  Also, Heartbreaking, Detroit is a pheonix.  You watch what she can do!  The people have so much spirit. We love our city like a member of our family.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

Actually Eckman: 1938
... voices state, this photo location is of Eckman, WV. Flatiron South It seems one of Shorpy's favorite buildings had a son who ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/08/2019 - 11:29am -

September 1938. "Coal mining town of Welch [i.e., Eckman], in the Bluefield section of West Virginia." Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size.
Bluefield section of WelchFatal Powder Blast
The Washington Post, District of Columbia
December 15, 1906 
Bluefield, W. Va., Dec. 14. — An explosion at Eckman today of 10,000 pounds of powder, which was being transported on three mine cars from a freight car to the powder house of the Pulaski Company, resulted in the death of one, the fatal injury of two, and the serious injury of eight others.  Three of the injured are women whose homes, near the scene of the explosion, were wrecked. 
The dead:
Joseph Steel, 19, died on the way to the hospital
Fatally Injured:
Alex Finney, 36
Mrs. George Johnson
Seriously Injured:
Edward Mullin, 22
Felix Harduett
Mrs. Mary Forbes
T. Hairston
George Bland, 22
Oscar Cowns
C. W. Case
Mrs. Mary Rhoads
Wrecked Houses Take Fire 
The wrecked houses took fire, and the scene was soon thronged with people.  Timbers and empty powder cans were scattered over a large area. 
The men were on the powder-laden cars and the women were in the houses nearby.  The powder was in tins, and was moved from a freight car to the magazine, when sparks from the motor wheels or current from the motor set it off.  The houses nearby were torn into splinters, and the detonation rocked the entire village.  In a few minutes hundreds had congregated and engaged in fighting the fire, which broke out as soon as the explosion occurred.  Some of the wounded were horribly burned, several of them lost their eyes, and the flesh hung in tatters from their bodies. 
Note:  According to the web site of the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training, this explosion killed 4 employees and 2 individuals on the surface near the mine.
Dichotomy Stunningly beautiful country up that way.
Absolutely dangerous and difficult way to live.
Going BOOM!About this time, a Mr Nobel realized that if you mixed highly volatile nitroglycerin with clay (or other inert substance) you created, what came to be named dynamite, which is so safe it take a strong primer to set it off.  The E.I. duPont company began production and promoting it.  The rest is safe blasting history.
[Check your facts. Alfred Nobel died in 1896. Dynamite was invented in the 1860s. - Dave]
EckmanAs Walter’s post would indicate and ex-N&W voices state, this photo location is of Eckman, WV.
Flatiron SouthIt seems one of Shorpy's favorite buildings had a son who settled in West Virginia. He is not as tall as dad but you can see the  resemblance.
(The Gallery, M.P. Wolcott, Mining, Railroads, Small Towns)

Manhattan: 1932
... views, skyline." Front-and-center is our old friend the Flatiron Building . 4x5 nitrate negative by Arnold Genthe. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/06/2014 - 10:14am -

1932. "New York City views, skyline." Front-and-center is our old friend the Flatiron Building. 4x5 nitrate negative by Arnold Genthe. View full size.
MurkyThis is a surprisingly low quality image from the well-known photographer.  Selecting a gloomy day, and using what we used to refer to as the bottom of a milk bottle for a lens, it is a wonder this shot was actually saved.
Grainy4x5 negative!  I'd have guessed a slow 35mm film pushed to 3200 with underdiluted D76.
[A lot of that is because haze and because Photoshop. Also because film -- generally speaking, Genthe's work on glass negatives is much smoother looking. Unadjusted image below. Click to enlarge. - Dave]

Union Square constructionThe big construction site on the left of the picture is Union Square Park, which although almost 100 years old at the time of the photo had been torn up in 1928 to build the subway concourses that are still underneath it.  Reconstruction was complete by 1934.
The mounted statue of George Washington by Henry Kirke Brown, which dates back to 1856, is visible near the far end of the park. 
If buildings could talkI would ask them to show me exactly where my ancestors disembarked from their ships onto American soil for the first time, I would request a look at my great Uncle's "free lunch with beer" bar where my mom was a kitchen helper and that one fateful day she served a sandwich to the 20 yr. old (construction worker) man she would marry that same year (1932).  I'd attend the church where they tied the knot, just the two of them and a priest. I'd want to see the exact third floor walk-up flat on the lower east side that was their first dwelling, the streets and stores they shopped in, the hospital where my older siblings were born and the beaches at Coney Island and other amusement parks where they spent long, fun-filled summer Sundays.  I'd have them show me the 1939 World's Fair buildings where my Uncle John was on police duty walking the beat every day and yes, even the avenue where my seven-year old cousin Stephen was tragically killed by a speeding car.   I'm sure there are a million other stories for a million other people who would like to see the actual locations where their loved ones might have had various New York experiences in which these buildings played a part. I've never had the privilege of actually residing in NYC.  As the family grew, my parents moved out to a small town in Conn. where I was born and even though I always wanted to be a "New Yorker", I never actually was.  I'm pretty certain though that their ten yrs. in N.Y. were really the happiest and most exciting time in their lives.  The fog hanging over the city seems to represent the Great Depression since they were in the throes of it at this time but even though my parents had no money and lots of kids, it was their time to be young and they were always optimistic there.  With a skyline like that and those thousands of wonderful buildings, where one can get anything from anywhere in the world, hope springs eternal.
AtmosphericThat air over lower Manhattan looks like it would really stick to your ribs!
Home, Sweet Home!My dad was born in 1919 on 39th Street and 11th Avenue (then, as now, called "Hell's Kitchen") in this wonderful city.
My grandparents (all four of them) came through Ellis Island, and settled first in Manhattan, then eventually to the "outer borough" of Queens, in areas like Astoria (where I was born).
OTY: your comments are so eloquent and nostalgic! You captured the essence of the photo and the era completely! Excellent piece of writing.
New viewMore than likely a shot from the newly constructed Empire State Building (1931). Cool picture!
(The Gallery, Arnold Genthe, NYC)

Three Sides to Every Story
New York circa 1903. "The Flatiron Building." Topping the list of favorite triangular skyscrapers. ... are currently for sale. Sorry. The dome just to the Flatiron Building's right is on top of 141 Fifth Avenue, which was built in ... It sold a couple years ago for $12.9 million. The Flatiron Building itself houses the Macmillan publishing company, with retail ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/23/2013 - 6:52pm -

New York circa 1903. "The Flatiron Building." Topping the list of favorite triangular skyscrapers. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size.
SteamerI think the lone automobile in the lower right is a steam powered Stanley, White or Locomobile. These firms all made runabouts of this type beginning around 1899. I find their products impossible to differentiate from any distance, but they all have a narrower, more upright stance than the curved-dash Oldsmobile. This one appears to be a four-seater, less common than the two-seat buggy configuration.
With all those horsesIt's not surprising that there at least four Department of Sanitation workers within the field of view, busily trying to keep up with the output of those animals.
With an average production of about 22 pounds of manure per animal, per day, the horse population certainly created job security within the DoS, but the advent of the automobile brought a swift change to that particular activity.  
+105 yearsFrom the Empire State Building.
Durable domesThe two flag-adorned domes seen on the right may look particularly old fashioned, but both are still around today.  The dome on the right is atop 170 Fifth Avenue, on the corner of 22nd Street, built in 1897.  It housed the offices and showroom of the Sohmer Piano Company and is still called the Sohmer Piano Building even though it was converted into 12 full-floor condominiums in the late 1990's.  The most recent unit sale was a couple of months ago, for the unit occupying the second floor.  It went for $3.875 million.  None of the other units are currently for sale.  Sorry.
The dome just to the Flatiron Building's right is on top of 141 Fifth Avenue, which was built in 1900 as the headquarters of the Merchant Bank of New York.  It too has been converted to condominiums, though with over 30 units the building's rather less exclusive than 170 Fifth.  It does, however, have a penthouse which includes the dome.  It sold a couple years ago for $12.9 million.  
The Flatiron Building itself houses the Macmillan publishing company, with retail on the ground floor.  Its narrow profile means that there is only about 5,000 square feet of space on each floor and many of the offices are oddly shaped.  In fact, space is at such a premium that the men's and women's restrooms are on alternating floors.  One advantage is that most offices have windows.
As originally constructed, the Flatiron building had 20 stories.  Almost as soon as it was finished, however, the developers decided to add a penthouse. It might have been under construction at the time of this photo but isn't visible due to the low angle.  As it would have been too expensive to extend the existing elevators, getting to the penthouse required taking an elevator to the 20th floor, and then getting on a different elevator or using the stairs for the one-floor trip to the penthouse.  As far as I know it's still that way today.
In addition to its architecture, the Flatiron Building was noteworthy in another respect: it was one of the first large office buildings that was built on spec, in other words without any tenants already having signed leases.  
The area shown here, usually called the Flatiron District, is thriving today, with office and retail rents at levels close to those in Midtown.  Many software and other technology companies are drawn to the area.
Squares in the DistanceThe view is to the south. The wide road heading south-southeast (to the left of the Flatiron Building) is Broadway (an old Native American trail running the diagonally the length of Manhattan for about 11 miles). Six blocks down Broadway from 23rd Street (the street the northern tip of the Flatiron Building touches, with crosstown streetcars visible) is 17th Street. 17th is the northern border of Union Square, which is visible in the distance.
The wide road leading south (to the right of the Flatiron Building) is 5th Avenue. It ends at Waverly Place / Washington Square North (equivalent of 7th street) at Washington Square Park (not visible in the picture). On the far side of the Square/Park is NYU.
One automobileThe only horseless carriage I see in the photo is in the right foreground. Could that be the famous curved-dashboard Oldsmobile?
One more thingI just noticed that the caption on the photo says circa 1903. The clock in front of the toy building was built in 1909, so this photo would date no earlier than 1909.
[Two different clocks. This clock is in front of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, and was removed when the building was demolished in 1908. The current clock was installed in the same location when the Fifth Avenue Building - now the Toy Center - was erected the following year. -tterrace]
Toy BuildingThe building on the bottom right, with the clock in front on the sidewalk, is 200 5th Ave. also known as the 5th Ave.Building. During WWI, the building became the home of the toy industry, hosting the annual Toy Fair, the industry trade show. Toy Fair was held there, and in an adjacent building until 2007 or so, when the buildings were sold. The iconic clock was the unofficial symbol for Toy Fair for many years, and was declared a historic landmark in the 1980s.   I loved going to New York for Toy Fair, and a highlight of being in the "Toy Building" was seeing the Flatiron Building across the street. It's an awesome sight!
HorsesThe danger of disease-carrying horse manure to public health (a knee scraped in the gutter might ultimately kill you)led to a drive in the late 19th century to get animal powered vehicles off city streets.  This directly led to the rapid development of the cable and electric street railway industries, as many municipal governments mandated the end of horse-car lines as soon as possible.  I stopped counting at 21 trolleys in the picture--imagine two horses pulling each. That's almost 1,000 pounds of manure in a few blocks.
Picture SpotWhen I went to NYC for the first time last year, how could I not get my picture taken with the Flatiron Building? I mean, c'mon.
Maillard'sAt the lower right of this picture is the Maillard Candy Shop. It was in the 5th Avenue Hotel one block north of the Flatiron Building. I found this interesting article on Google:
Mr. Maillard came to the States from France in 1848, opening his first store at 401 Broadway, NYC. A Maillard’s shop was a tenant at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, eventually evolving from a confectionary into a ladies’ restaurant. In 1908, after the Fifth Avenue Hotel was demolished, a much larger store and ladies’ luncheon restaurant opened at the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 35th Street.  The decor was Louis XVI, the ceiling was graced with lovely paintings, and the settings were completely French. Mr. Maillard, whose award-winning chocolates were exhibited around the world, furnished the inaugural banquet of President Lincoln, thereby making himself a household name. The shop was renowned for chocolates, bon-bons, cocoa, and ice cream.  Although Maillard’s has long been out of business, their advertisement and trade cards are still collectible items today.
I wish these photographs were scratch-and-sniff, because I’ll bet the fragrance inside the shop was heavenly. Have a chocolate day.
~ S.G. Rogers
(The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC, Streetcars)

A Familiar Facade: 1909
... 97 percent occupancy It looks like most of the Flatiron is occupied with tenants due to all the awnings that are extended on ... too long ago, riveted in rapt admiration. Thrilling. The Flatiron's grace and mystique is timeless. Better get a move on It's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 2:00pm -

August 1909. "The Flat Iron Building, New York." One of Detroit Publishing's favorite subjects, making its eighth appearance here. View full size.
Pieter Brueghel the ElderThis photograph evokes a Brueghel painting.
Billions of blistering bollardsThey are skinnier than usual, but this is the most bollards I remember seeing in a shot on Shorpy. Here they seem to function as yellow and white lines would today.
Trompe l'oeilUntil I clicked "View full size" I thought it was a winter scene with lots of beautiful snow in the foreground.  But now I see they're all in summer togs. The street paving seems unnaturally even -- except that part where I guess a giant water wagon came through and made a hard right.  A couple of street sweepers with tools unequal to the task seem to be following along.  And the hatted horse from Philadelphia has turned up here!
Oh say can you seeI count 15 flagpoles in the neighborhood but only five flags, only two of which are the Stars & Stripes. Guess it's not the Fourth of July. I love this building -- even more impressive in person.
97 percent occupancyIt looks like most of the Flatiron is occupied with tenants due to all the awnings that are extended on the sun side. The small buildings to the left and directly behind are still standing and the building in the foreground to the right is there as well according to Google street view.
It's interesting to view how city planners allowed for those wide sidewalks during this era. Love the rare automobiles lurking about in this shot.  It can't be long before they take over in NY.
Beloved iconI stood not far from there not too long ago, riveted in rapt admiration. Thrilling. The Flatiron's grace and mystique is timeless.
Better get a move onIt's almost 9:30. Some of those folks are going to be late for work. 
All that trafficand no honking!
Olden ArchesFifth Avenue, to the right of the Flatiron, ends at Eighth Street. There we have a fading glimpse of the Washington Arch and behind that, Washington Square Park. The Arch, dedicated in 1895, is really Greenwich Village's most famous landmark. The park attracts a most varied clientele including NYU students and faculty, chess players,  buskers, dogs and their owners, break dancers, soapbox orators, potheads plus their vendors and that's during the daylight hours.
WindowsWhy are there so many awnings out of the windows?
[Sun hot. No AC. - Dave]
One horse townSomeone else pointed out how quickly street scenes went from mostly horses to mostly cars over a short period.  Compare this photo with the 1916 photo in Harrisburg.
Creepy CordialsThat huge guy at the top left serving the cordials was a little creepy...look at those eyes. I assume he was selling this....
Must be cars around!Or perhaps those are not oil stains on the road?
[Shorpy veterans will recognize the isolated dribbles as horse pee. - Dave]
I get lost in this imageEvery time I see the Flatiron Building I think about Michael explaining his love and excitement of the Flatiron to Walt. That one building inspired him and changed his life. 
Like Michael told Walt, "You've gotta see it!"
I can get Lost in this image. It is a trip through time.
Peculiar vehicleCan anyone explain the reason behind the design of the vehicle in the center foreground? It looks like some sort of bus, designed so that customers are funneled past the driver, perhaps to facilitate payment.
[It's the rear end of a double-decker bus. Hence the spiral stairs. - Dave]
1908 or 1912?I don't know which year this photo was taken in, but it was definitely taken about 15 minutes after this photo, which is dated 1912. The awnings and windows in the buildings are in identical positions in both photos, and the same trucks are parked in front of the Hotel Bartholdi.
[A good observation. Aside from the clock, people and vehicles (and the big wet street-cleaning path), the two photos are almost identical. Library of Congress gives the year of this image as a qualified "1908(?)"; the other image is part of a nine-part panorama with the date range "1910-1915"; I averaged that out as "circa 1912." Further scrutiny of each of the nine images in the panorama turned up one showing an Order of Acorns banner with the slogan "Give us Home Rule, We will do the rest" flung over Broadway -- a banner mentioned in the August 29, 1909, New York Times. So, dates of both images henceforth changed to 1909. Thank you and good night. - Dave]
P.O.V.Nice to see a photo of this icon from a slightly higher perch.  I wonder if it swayed like a sailboat in a really strong wind?
A Little AstronomyGiven the clock that reads about 9:28, and the direction of shadows, one could estimate the day the photo was taken.
Not much has changedWhat I find amazing is that so many of the buildings down both Broadway and Fifth Avenue are still in existence today. I used to work in 141 Fifth Avenue (the domed building behind the Flatiron to the right)
StreetcarsWhat is the power source for all those streetcars? -- I don't see any overhead wires.
[The power source is underground. Note the slot between the tracks. - Dave]
(The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC, Streetcars)

Harvard Gold Coast: 1911
... Co. View full size. That face! On the little flatiron building. Still Whimsical After All These Years ... ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/05/2023 - 1:03pm -

Cambridge, Massachusetts, circa 1911. "The 'Gold Coast' -- Dormitories of wealthy students." Mount Auburn Street, with Ridgely Hall and Claverly Hall on the left; the whimsical Harvard Lampoon building on the right. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
That face!On the little flatiron building.
Still Whimsical After All These Years ...
Anon, a Nun --And some kid.

Gentlemen, remove those silver spoonsI found two news articles.  The January 30, 1904, edition of American Architect & Building News stated construction was about to begin on Ridgely Hall, next to the existing Claverly Hall.
Then an article in April 11, 1927, Time Magazine, about how Harvard President Lowell wanted each class to share the same dormitories, regardless of social status.  I have no doubt his attempt to mix students by their education class and not social is why Alan Jr., Robert, and Henry Hudson refused to attend Harvard (joke), costing them an inheritance (no joke).
Ohhh the fog!Some memories are crystal clear ... others are curiously shrouded in fog!
That face, by the way, is the Lampoon Castle, "clubhouse" for the Harvard Lampoon ... creative incubator for the likes of Fred Gwynne, John Updike, George Plimpton, Conan O'Brien, and B.J. Novak.
The Gold Coast did house Harvard undergrads, but they were originally privately owned buildings. They rented to Harvard families who didn't want their young men to endure having to live in the antiquated dormitories in the Yard. For their time, they were luxury condos, marble and dark oak foyers, with electricity, gas, and running hot water. All the units were suites, comprised of a common room with a fireplace, two or three bedrooms, and a private bath. Likely one of those would be for students' personal valets (students didn't have time to do their own washing and pressing). There are no dining facilities in these buildings as the residents took their meals either on campus or at their respective finals clubs. By 1930, the buildings had been bought by Harvard and absorbed into what is now Adams House. A bit of irony... by then, most Harvard students preferred to live in the newly built River Houses, and Adams was a bit of an "if you must" choice. The building with the archway entry is Claverly Hall (recently renovated), designed with students who did crew in mind. And there is an Adams House suite that's been renovated and appointed to be exactly as it was when Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Class of 1904) was living there. I stayed in a Claverly Hall suite during a reunion ... one of the foggy memories. 
Well played, old man -- thanks for stirring up the foggy ghosts, Shorpy! 
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Education, Schools)

Great Northern: 1900
... It was designed by Daniel Burnham, who also did the Flatiron Building. It was demolished in 1940 and has since been replaced by the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/14/2022 - 10:29am -

Chicago circa 1900. "Great Northern Hotel and office building, Dearborn and Jackson Streets." Along with perhaps the earliest appearance on these pages of Coca-Cola signage. Also: a "Lady Barber Shop." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size.
Urban TotemsIf the colorful carved pole is in front of the barber shop and a perched spigot is at the entrance to the bath-house, I would think the next place would be a locksmith?
[The sign says Chicago Bronze. - Dave]
Lady barbers!?Women cutting men's hair, ladies smoking cigars, or Lady as a last name?
Unfortunately the Great Northern building was demolished. Also, there is no Google street view of this block (Dearborn and Jackson) for some reason. 
Knot a typoIf you wore Ruppert's shoes then you "knew" the feeling of dry socks…I guess. Otherwise, big multiple typo! Elsewhere, great fire escape where the tall buildings join!
Nice!"Chicago School" architecture. It was designed by Daniel Burnham, who also did the Flatiron Building. It was demolished in 1940 and has since been replaced by the Dirksen Federal Building.
WowI can actually see the characters come to life from "Sister Carrie." One of my favorite novels from 1900.
What in the world ......does "Slaunch and true, thru and thru" mean?  Besides "knew/new," "slaunch" struck me as odd.  Possibly a word that's out of usage?
[The word is "staunch," not "slaunch." - Dave]
At the sign of the spigotI've seen plenty of giant eyeglasses outside opticians' offices on Shorpy, but never a spigot outside a bathhouse. What a great idea.
And a great picture--keep the Chicago pictures coming.
Someone doesn't wear Ruppert shoesAny idea who the guy in the drink in the Ruppert shoe sign would be?
[A lost sole. - Dave]

Did I miss it?Where's the milk bottle?
Tennis anyone?Is roof fenced off for athletics, possibly tennis on the building behind the Great Northern at the top far right?
Southern Serves the SouthBehind the Great Northern there is an office for the Southern Railway.  My Pop was a designated Southern Railway railroad doctor, and when I was a kid I had a bright red billed cap that had the SR with the arrow logo as seen on here.  It was my favorite cap. . . .
The railroad liked having doctors in the various towns through which its lines passed, so that local workers, if injured, had a local doc to go to.  Incidentally, Dad is still a railroad doc, though for Norfolk Southern now.  Southern merged with I guess the Norfolk and Western line about 1985 & was later renamed Norfolk Southern.  
Ye Olde Old GloryWe can narrow the date range a little bit thanks to the American flag flapping on the left side of the photo. That flag design was used starting July 4, 1896, when Utah became a state.
Too bad JJ Astor IVdidn't wear a pair of Ruppert's Dry Sox on his 1912 crossing!
View from The MonadnockEvery building in this photo is gone. Although the photographer's vantage, Burnham & Root's 1893 Monadnock building, still stands.
Chicago Federal Centerhttp://www.panoramio.com/photo/1307733
I believe this building covers the entire block where the hotel stood.
Similar buildingsI am struck by the similarities between these buildings and the Old Colony (where I worked in the mid 1980s) and the Manhattan, which still stand in the block between Van Buren and Congress and Dearborn and Plymouth Court.  The Old Colony has the round corners, but the windows are very different.
Cigars vs. CigarettesIt's hard to imagine now that long ago cigar smokers far outnumbered cigarette users, as evidenced by the many advertising signs in all these photos. When I was a kid in the 1960's the drug stores still had large glass-front humidor cases with open cigar boxes so you could purchase individual cigars, but this practice died out before the decade ended. Then we had to find another way to light our firecrackers. 
Coke advert?Where is it in the pic?  I can't find one.
Political unbuildingas noted below - way below - the hotel itself, and the Bedford Building at the far left of the picture (whose spectacular corner spire has unfortunately been cut off), were among a large number of buildings in Chi-town demolished around 1940. The Tribune tried to turn their demise into a partisan issue, illustrating their removal in a 02/17/40 article headlined "Some of the Chicago Buildings Wrecked During New Deal Depression," but it failed to note the reason for their demolition: construction of the Dearborn Street Subway (there was concern the digging would undermine their foundations).
Catarrh cureAs a longtime sufferer from catarrh--the name sounds both ridiculous and ominous--I am wondering how to get my hands on some of that Blue Gum Compound. Surely a more pleasant treatment than pseudoephedrine, phenylephrine, or guaifenesin.
In fact, blue gum honey (eucalyptus globulus) is sold today as a treatment for various effects of "phlegmatic deposition." Australian brands are widely available.
But alas, even 122 years later, there is no cure for catarrh.
The Gunning SystemGunning was a big player in the world of giant urban advertising billboards.  The City of Chicago fought them tooth and nail:  https://chicagology.com/advertising/chicagobillboards/
The photo appears to have been taken during the transition from "Every sign must begin with a capital letter and end with a period.  Period." to "If there's no period, the letters can be a little larger"
[Mighty internal struggle to avoid using "period of transition" above.]
Eyes goin' badI'm gonna have to go and get a free eye exam at Sweet, Wallach & Co.  People are gettin' kinda fuzzy.
Haven't we met somewhere before?I know -- it was at one of Gatsby's parties.
Whither Lady Barbers?I can't understand why this didn't catch on. I'd rather have my hair cut by a woman, but for most of my life, lady barbers were not an option.
Chicago School "bay window" style at its best.You can still see some around town.
Cable Car TrackChicago had a large cable car system that lasted until 1906. The far track had a centre slot for the grip to clamp onto the cable. Many of the lines turned downtown in loops, which may be the source of the term Loop in Chicago. More details here.
(The Gallery, Chicago, DPC, Railroads)

Seeing New York: 1904
... Circa 1904. "Seeing New York." Electric omnibuses at the Flatiron Building. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing ... group is. If you wander over to Times Square, or even the Flatiron these days you see a lot of people in shorts and T-shirts, many ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 9:51pm -

Circa 1904. "Seeing New York." Electric omnibuses at the Flatiron Building. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
In living colorColorized version of a very overloaded one used by the Fifth Avenue Coach Company:

PricelessThis is one of my favorite Shorpy pics ever. The expressions on all the faces speak volumes. Great.
I believe it's called a charabancThere's a picture of another electric charabanc at https://www.shorpy.com/node/7251 . The name is a good description: charabanc = char-à-banc = bench carriage. According to Wikipedia, mostly used for sightseeing and daytrips, safety record not great.
How very usefulA Telephone Connection is mentioned on the omnibuses - but not the number.
OMGWhat about the ghost lady in the back?
The choice of the futureIt was a time when there was not yet a clear choice on which energy would propel the cars and trucks. You had electric engines, gasoline engines and even steam engines in almost equal numbers on the streets.
Hard work.It must have been a real handful to navigate that beast through the streets of Manhattan. 
TouristsI can't get over how well dressed this visiting group is.  If you wander over to Times Square, or even the Flatiron these days you see a lot of people in shorts and T-shirts, many overweight and continuously  munching. The more formally dressed 1904 crowd may have been a bit much, but somewhere in between there is an answer.
The Case of the Toppled TouristsWow, no sidewalls, safety belts or anything. I don't imagine those bus boats were in service for very long. 
Electric?From what's visible of the undercarriage, it looks like these are driven by electric motors.
[Hmmm. Maybe that's why they are described in the caption as "electric omnibuses"! - Dave]
Guess I really ought ro read 'em once in a while, eh?
A warning for the ladiesDon't visit the Heel Building!
QuackThese sightseeing contraptions are as ugly and ungainly as the "duck" amphibious sightseeing vehicles which are seen in many cities, these days. Ottawa has a number of these monstrosities blocking traffic during tourist season. 
Nothing beats making tourists stick out like sore thumbs.
Fred MacMurray  You can't hide behind that mustache. Smart to have your hat attached by that wind trolley too.
  People were just so civilized back then. Being clean and proper was the order of the day. Lady in Row 5 seems to be making sure her companion is up to  snuff.
OK, so I want to know:Who killed the electric omnibus?
Tourist DestinationAt what point did NYC become a tourist destination, where people come just to see the city itself, as these people are doing?
I guess that sort of thing doesn't just happen at a "point in time," but gradually.
Timely questionsI surmise that the doors on the sides of the cars open up to allow for artfully placed hidden steps for boarding?  How else would a lady's delicate and well turned heel ascend and descend the bus?
How far could an electric omnibus go before needing a recharge?  
Duck ToursThese remind me of the Duck Tour vehicles in Boston and other cities. Refurbished WWII amphibious vehicles. It's also neat to see the guy in the last row with his hat clip attached so he won't lose it in the wind.
Vehicle Equipment CompanyThese “Automobile buses” were made by the Vehicle Equipment Company of Long Island City, New York.  Their literature called them “A combination of the commercial and pleasure types.”
The Vehicle Equipment Company was started in Brooklyn in 1901 by Robert Lloyd and Lucius T. Gibbs.  By 1903 they had relocated to Long Island City.  Up until mid-1906 they built a large number of commercial electric vehicles.  From 1903 to 1905 they also built a 3-seat electric car called the VE Electric.  Almost all of their vehicles were single motor shaft-drive.  The company went into receivership in 1906, and the General Vehicle Company (owned by the General Electric Company) purchased the factory and reorganized to build both gasoline and electric vehicles, as well as replacement parts.  Vehicles built from mid-1906 on were known as GV Electrics.
By 1915 there were some 2,000 GV Electrics in New York City alone, representing more than 25% of all trucks of all types working daily in the city.  The style of “Automobile bus” seen above was also very popular in Washington D.C. and other cities as well.
General Vehicle Company ceased production around 1917.
AdvertisementFrom the Daily News Tribune of June 26, 1904.  This ad occurs only in June and July issues. Most likely, they did't work so long.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC)

The Tenement: 1905
... It is faint in the photo, but it appears there is a flatiron leaning against the baseboard behind the corner of the stove. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/23/2012 - 3:40pm -

Circa 1905. "New York tenement." With a number of tiny inhabitants in evidence. Dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Typical catWon't hold still for a photo!
Lord of the FliesSee the little black kitten in front of the stove? Hopefully he (she?) won't get a paw in either of the two sheets of flypaper, one on each table. Plenty of flies to keep Kitty entertained. 
The dressing tableNotice the hat pins, scent bottles and other such items on the dressing table. This tenement dweller did not leave home unadorned!
Photo on shelfLooks like a National Guard Company group photo
Not your typical tenementWhile we can't quite see through the window to the left of the oval bedroom mirror, it is evident from the amount of sunlight coming through that the window opens to the outside.  It's a sign that this tenement is of higher quality (and rent) than most.  Tenement bedroom windows usually opened onto narrow airshafts that admitted dim light and very little fresh air.
Also, many tenement dwellers in 1910 would have been first-generation immigrants, mostly from southern or eastern Europe.  If immigrants, the occupants of this tenement are at least knowledgeable enough in English to be reading an English-language newspaper.  Again, if they're immigrants at all: the picture of soldiers looks like it could have been from the American Civil War, more than a generation in the past when this picture was taken.
Basement catThe first known photo of Basement Cat emerging from the shadows.
Tenement 1910Million-dollar condo 2010.
Evening JournalThe New York Evening Journal was a daily (except Sunday) published by William Randolph Hearst from 1897 to 1909.  The paper was sold in 1909 and ceased publication in 1911.
Tenement MuseumIf any Shorpsters find themselves in NYC, they can visit the Tenement Museum and see a re-creation of a tenement much like this one.  It is a fascinating place with, yes, some old photographs.  It is on Orchard Street on the Lower East Side.
RemodelThe disk high on the wall is a decorative cover used to plug an opening where an old flue pipe went through the wall, probably from a coal stove. Judging from the matching cover in the bedroom, the flue went horizontal for a while before heading up and out. The cover had spring clips on the back that snapped into the circular opening. 
Anyone make out what's in the mirror?
Location, Location, LocationThe photo doesn't let us know where in NYC it is. 1910 tenements usually conjure an image of the Lower East Side, a neighborhood of immigrants. In this picture, which could be in Midtown, Yorkville or  the Upper West Side or even Harlem, we have reasonable living quarters for 1910. The newspaper on the table appears to be in English.  One picture on the wall show a Military unit, possibly a  Spanish-American or Civil War Unit that a resident or relative served in. A tenement building was and is a way of life in many American Cities. Many remain in the poorer neighborhoods today, however the very upscale Upper East Side of Manhattan has  them on almost every block east of Madison Avenue. A few are run down, but most are well kept and the monthly rents, where they are not controlled, are in the multiple thousands. The vacancy rate is around 1%.
IronIt is faint in the photo, but it appears there is a flatiron leaning against the baseboard behind the corner of the stove. 
What is it?Can anyone tell me what the woven wooden object is that in propped up on the wall shelf?
[A fan. - Dave]
Home Sweet HomeAs somebody who lives in a 274-square-foot tenement from 1871 in the West Village, I find this photo wonderfully revealing. My home as been updated (in 1934), but still retains a lot of quirks. This shot is such a wonderful view into the personal lives of folks that lived in homes like my own. I can only imagine how warm the home must have been in the summertime with the cast iron stove and gas lighting.
More photos like this please!
The Evening Journal revisitedSince the old New York Journal-American was my late father's favorite newspaper, I'm going to have to quibble with Old Molly's history of the New York Evening Journal. The history account I found has William Randolph Hearst publishing both the morning American and the Evening Journal in New York from 1895 until they were combined in 1937 into the afternoon Journal-American, which continued as a Hearst publication until 1966, when it was merged with the old World-Telegram and Sun and the Herald-Tribune into the very short-lived World-Journal-Tribune.
Love the Rohrshach tableclothNot about to divulge the things which popped into my imagination by that design along the bottom edge. Okay, one. I see a bearded gent with spectacles peering through an arbor.
Another thought came to mind while examining the photos in the room. Which was the chance we just might come across a Shorpy photo hanging on the wall in another Shorpy photo. I'm too old to use the phrase "that would be so cool," but that would be apt. 
Quibble acceptedOld Molly agrees with the Tipster and stands corrected. Through mergers and various name changes, the paper survived until relatively recent years. 
Yarn swift The thing reflected in the mirror appears to be a yarn swift, or winder. The bag would be used to store it.
Those are definitely flatirons (or, as they are known down here in the South, "sad irons," as it was a sad day when you had to use them because no matter the weather a lot of heat was involved).
 Great photo with lots of history which is somewhat lost except in museums or as one contributor pointed out a Tenement tour in New York.
Stove Update A little Google research indicates my earlier thought the stove was a conversion may have been wrong. The Gem City Stove Company in Dayton, Ohio, produced a gas stove from the late 1800s up until the Depression known as the "Perfect."
Boat modelTo the left of the doorway is a half-model of a boat hull with a centerboard. It's a technical rather than a decorative object and makes me suspect that someone in the tenement was a boatbuilder.
It's definitely a well kept room and a superior tenement, but I bet that on a hot day it SMELLED. 
Basement CatI often wondered where Basement Cat got his start. Now I know. (I wonder if anyone else got that).
Lewis Hinemust think everyone lives a wealthy life.  This apartment looks clean and lovingly "decorated" to the best of the tenants' ability.  I don't think it is all that bad!!
[Perhaps, but this is not a Lewis Hine photo. And did anyone say it was bad? - Dave]
The Gift of the MagiI have never felt closer to O. Henry than at this moment.
Flash of memorywhen I noticed the wooden match holder next to the stove! Haven't seen one of those in a kitchen since the '50s.
What are those pipes for?Does anyone know what use the pipes from above have? They might be a fire suppressant, but I am not sure.
[The "pipes" are gas light fixtures. - Dave]
Tenement DefinedIt's a little puzzling how the word "tenement" came to imply poverty or deprivation. I suppose the constant association by Lewis Hine and others of the word to their photographs of dire poverty would do the trick.
Technically, the word tenement, as defined by New York City anyway, means any building that houses three or more unrelated families. The doorman buildings on Park Avenue are, by strict definition, tenements as well.
GaslightDid one have to climb a ladder or stand on a high chair whenever they wanted to light the gas jets?
PerfectI actually have an ad for this very oven - posted in a Dayton publication from 1904.
It was placed by the Dayton Gas Light and Coke Company.
COKE COKE COKE
SMOKELESS FUEL
Recommended by all Range and Furnace Manufacturers as being the cheapest, cleanest and most reliable fuel.
Orders received at the Dayton Gas Light and Coke Co's Office
etc. etc.
Try and visitGeezerNYC submitted the comment that shorpsters can visit the Tenement Museum in NYC and see a recreation. In fact,you can enjoy an in depth online recreation and 360 degree walkthroughs of these wonderful tenements at http://www.tenement.org
The site is dedicated to the stories of immigrants who lived in 97 Orchard Street, a tenement built in 1863 on Manhattan's Lower East Side. There are TONS of picture archives, a virtual tour, collections, first hand accounts of several families that lived there and LOTS more. I've visited it several times and I love it every time. I'm sure it is NOTHING like taking an actual walking tour of the tenement museum but it's as close as I can get for now. I suggest that everyone check this out. I'd also like to say that the comment such as how it had to have "smelled" in the heat of summer, etc. just bummed me out. So it may have smelled. so what. Many of these people struggled and busted their rear ends like no tomorrow just to get bread on the table and clean clothing to wear, to put shoes on their kids feet and on and on. We truly can't even begin to compare our lives today to the lives of the vast majority of those who lived in these tenements. They made the best of what they had. It was home. 
PipesThe pipes above the stove are gas pipes. Note the shut-off valves on the pipes. 
(The Gallery, DPC, Kitchens etc., NYC)

Longacre Square: 1904
... the middle of all this urban confusion is the newly minted Flatiron Building. Can you imagine the impression this building must have made ... the tall building is the New York Times tower. The Flatiron building is 20 blocks away. - Dave] Re: Center Stage Could I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:35pm -

New York circa 1904. "Longacre Square." Soon to be renamed Times Square after the recently completed New York Times tower seen here. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
106 Years Ago…Or thereabouts. It is utterly amazing to see a photo of Times Square from this era. To think of how far we have evolved as a nation is evident in this photograph. This area of NYC is a place where my great-grandfather worked and lived a portion of his life. I cannot help but think how the world will be when my future great-grandson (or granddaughter) ventures out into the world 106 years from now. 
Guys and DollsI'm sure others have noted/ commented how few women we see in some of these "downtown" pics, in any U.S. city.
Also, I don't know that much about how many people had their own horse and carriage for transportation. For example, the guys on the far right, both wearing hats, both sitting "up front"  - what's the deal? Driver and passenger? Coworkers in a company vehicle? Two guys commuting together? 
Extraordinary photo!It's hard to believe that people once lived there in apartments with flowers in the window and, probably, clothes drying on a line in the back.
This may well be the most remarkable glimpse I have seen of my hometown's past. Thank you Dave!
Pre MouseWow!  Times Square looked great before Disney took it over.
Oh, to explore this scene in person..This image comes alive like few have, you can almost hear the clippity-clop of the horses' hooves. 
Makes me wish I had a time machine and could spend a day or two exploring those streets.
Thank again Shorpy!
Cohan & Packard1904 was the year of George M. Cohan's big hit, "Little Johnny Jones," which opened at the Liberty Theatre on 42nd Street (somewhere to the right of this picture) in November 1904. The run didn't last long, but "Little Johnny Jones" was successfully revived in 1905 at the New York Theatre, apparently the one we see here with Cohan's name in lights. 
So should this picture be dated 1905, or was something else by the great Cohan also showing?
On another front, I thought surely 1904 was early for a full-scale Packard dealership. Wrong! Packard went big time in October 1902. 
New York's FinestPolice protection seems abundant. I seem to count six policemen in this photo. And, oh, the glorious, glorious signs, including George M. Cohan at the New York Theater.
Center StageAnd right in the middle of all this urban confusion is the newly minted Flatiron Building.  Can you imagine the impression this building must have made at the time.  It looks, from this angle, like it could lean over at any moment!  Great Photo!
[Another tourist lost in Manhattan. As noted in the caption, the tall building is the New York Times tower. The Flatiron building is 20 blocks away. - Dave]
Re: Center StageCould I sell you a map, sir? Or perhaps a bridge.
Getting in on the ground floorI've scanned the photo carefully--am I right? The Packard dealership has a wide field for growth--no autos on the street. And what was the history of the building it occupies? I'm vaguely thinking a church.
IntriguingWait, you mean there's a building under all those billboards?
Understandable MistakeOne might be forgiven for mistaking the Times Building for the Flatiron.  They both occupy a similar triangular-shaped block created by the angular intersection of Broadway with (in the case of the Times Building) 7th Ave. and (in the case of the Flatiron Bldg.) 5th Ave.  But the top half of the two buildings are quite different.  Very difficult to determine whether any of the buildings in this photograph are still in existence today.  Today everything is plastered with electronic billboarding.  As in "everything".  The Times Building is still there (I believe), but is today vacant and serves only as an easel for a number of extremely large, electronic billboards that completely cover the once-grand exterior of the building.  The New Year's Eve ball descends from its roof top, but it has really ceased being a "building" in the true sense of the word.  The functioning NY Times Building is today a new skyscraper over on 8th Avenue.
Packardoccupied the showroom at 1540 B'way from November 1904 to June 1907.  Can't find any info on previous tenants.  1540 B'way is now occupied by the Bertelsmann Building.
Just four years laterMontague Roberts would be pulling away in the Thomas Flyer automobile right in front of the Times building to begin the NY-Paris Race. 
1540 BroadwayIt seems I took a photo at a similar angle back in 2000 (as, I'm sure, did a few million other people) that includes the Packard dealership's address of 1540 Broadway.  A little snooping indicated that this address now contains the Bertelsmann Building and the Virgin Megastore - which I think may be closed now.  In my crappy little photo can be seen across the top of the Virgin sign the partial "LSMANN BUILDING" sign at far left.
More About the Times TowerYes, there really is still a building under the electronic signs. It recently added a new tenant on the bottom floors (the ones with visible windows): Walgreen's new flagship store. (In the early days of the Times Square renewal project, this had been the home of a Warner Brothers store that had some fun items that combined WB characters and Times Square references.)
Sadly, however, if you stripped off the signage, you would not see the grand old facade of the Times Tower. At an intermediate stage in the building's evolution it became the Allied Chemical Building, and the decorative stone and terracotta were stripped away and replaced with a bland white "modern" facing. The present hodgepodge of signage is actually preferable.
The AIA New York Chapter's Urban Center gallery once had a great show with all kinds of serious and whimsical proposals for how the Times Tower might be restored or adaptively reused. I seem to recall that one included a roller coaster! It's too bad none of the better ones were ever adopted and carried out.
Packard BuildingI would venture to say that the Packard building was a stable or carriage repair facility of some kind. That's what The Longacre was known for-If you look around on 8th Ave, there are still a very few buildings that look like the 2 just north of Packard. What a picture! Oh, and Happy New Year
Electric cabOn the right, facing away from us in the distance past two hansom cabs,is an electric hansom cab with pneumatic tires. You can see the electric motors on the rear axle.
The Times TowerThe building was empty for a long time, but has since been renovated and has tenants, including a Walgreens on the ground floor.
Last year, Mayor Bloomberg drove through an initiative to reserve much of Times Square for pedestrians, with the result that it today looks and feels in some ways more like the 1904 photo than the one shown from 2000.
+106Below is the same view (south from 46th Street) from November of 2010.
(The Gallery, DPC, Horses, NYC)

On the Edge: 1905
New York circa 1905. "Flatiron Building, Broadway and Fifth Avenue." Another view of everyone's ... at one time mayor of New York City. (The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC, Streetcars) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/23/2013 - 6:47pm -

New York circa 1905. "Flatiron Building, Broadway and Fifth Avenue." Another view of everyone's favorite proto-skyscraper, at anchor in Manhattan. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
On the edge is right!Did you notice the man standing on the 2nd floor ledge, right toward the front of the building? I can't figure out what he's doing - any speculation?
[Something to do with that sign. - Dave]
The guy on the ledgeIt's Harold Lloyd's dad. 
No Overhead WiresThis is a great shot but I'm wondering whats powering all the streetcars in view. Was it an electrified center rail? Couldn't be a cable the way all the tracks are crossing. When did the overhead "trolley" era begin?
[Manhattan streetcars used an underground electrical power supply, accessed through a slot between the rails. - Dave]
The OTHER guy on a ledgeWhat about the leg coming out the window two floors up from the sign guy? What in the world is HE about to do?
[Good question. Maybe like all those window-ledge milk bottles we've seen, he's chillin'. - Dave]
C.G. Gunther  The flag at the top right reads: C.G. Gunther. He was a furrier and at one time mayor of New York City.
(The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC, Streetcars)

Windsplit: 1903
New York circa 1903. "The Flatiron Building." Yet another view of this early skyscraper, from what seems ... In this picture, the Hotel Bartoldi, just east of the Flatiron Building on 23rd Street, has a sign on its roof hawking the ... down those streets nowadays. (The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 10:36pm -

New York circa 1903. "The Flatiron Building." Yet another view of this early skyscraper, from what seems to be the favored vantage. This is the uncropped variant of a Detroit Publishing view seen here last year. View full size.
FlaglessI count 13 flagpoles and no flags. What gives?
2nd storyIs the guy standing outside washing the windows or painting a sign on the glass?
Sighs --Can I just "like" this?
The ContinentalAbout 10 years after this picture was taken, Thomas Riley Marshall, Woodrow Wilson's vice president, said something about the Country needing a good five-cent cigar. In this picture, the Hotel Bartoldi, just east of the Flatiron Building on 23rd Street, has a sign on its roof hawking the Continental Cigar for 10 cents. That had to be one good smoke.
"Rear End" ViewNot quite as impressive from the rear, but still a beautiful building!
VantageAny idea where the photographer may have stood to take this?
Hay!You probably don't see many haywagons traveling down those streets nowadays.
(The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC)

Snow King: 1905
New York circa 1905. "Flatiron Building, corner after snow storm." 8x10 inch dry plate glass ... this picture does an unusually good job of depicting the Flatiron's actual asymmetry, something most pictures of it attempt to disguise. ... and its hypotenuse on Broadway. (The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 2:54pm -

New York circa 1905. "Flatiron Building, corner after snow storm." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Deja vu all over againIt looks as if this photo was shot just awhile after what we see in this thread.
BeautifulThis is such a great photo. The composition, mood and perspective are fascinating! And it's cool how clean all that snow is!
Putt puttThat automobile really is a "horseless carriage."
FlagpolesI count 17 readily visible flagpoles (and/or spires)--2 in use.  
Also, I'm very glad my car has heat.
The city where I live, however, takes no better care of the snow-covered sidewalks than NYC in c. 1905.
How does NYC do today?
Extraordinary field of focus.Most of the photo is in focus across the horizontal and vertical planes. 
Most photos cannot hold up to the intense scrutiny Shorpy provides.
This is one of the few that do.
A Familiar SceneSave for all the horses, this could be a scene from the last few weeks here in NYC.  Even most of the buildings are still there.
Deja Vu VuThis photo was taken before the other one, judging by the clock.
It must have taken the photographer some forty minutes to walk across the street, set up his camera, focus and compose the shot, load the glass plate and take the exposure.
[Assuming the exposures were made on the same day. And there are more than just two. - Dave]
Widespread cold of 1904-05 winterMany records were set in that winter season. Many of the old time cold records still stand today. Arkansas's all time low temperature happened in February 1905. Minus 29 degrees is that record of 105 years and counting.
Ahoy!Keep a sharp lookout for icebergs!
The MaillardThat is the Fifth Avenue Hotel to the right.  It was closed and demolished in 1908.  The restaurant on the bottom floor, The Maillard, was quite famous as a candy store and French restaurant.  It moved to Fifth and 35th, and then again in 1922 to Madison at 47th.  James Beard frequented it and commented on its hot chocolate.  Sadly the Depression was its demise.
Now and thenOne major difference is that traffic on lower Broadway runs downtown now.
Snow-white snowThe difference today is that after using salt, sand and other chemicals, the snow always looks so dirty after a couple of days!  This looks so pristine!!!
Geometry exposed in the wintry airI love this shot of one of my favorite buildings for two reasons.
First, it wonderfully captures the atmosphere and light of a post-snowstorm day, not to mention many evocative period details.
Secondly, because of the way it's aimed down Fifth Avenue, this picture does an unusually good job of depicting the Flatiron's actual asymmetry, something most pictures of it attempt to disguise. Looking at this, you can readily appreciate that the building is a right triangle with its base on 22nd Street, its straight long side on Fifth, and its hypotenuse on Broadway.
(The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC)
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