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- Triangle Service Station: 1925
- 1925. The Triangle Service Station in Arlington, Virginia, at Mount Vernon Avenue and Military Road. ... across the roof
Pumps? Does anyone know what those gas-tank-looking things in the center behind the "Diamond" sign are?
... might have knowledge, what do the numbers 23 and 27 on the gas pump columns signify? Perhaps an earlier measure of octane, or simply the ... Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 10:06pm -
![1925. The Triangle Service Station in Arlington, Virginia, at Mount Vernon Avenue and Military Road. View full size. National Photo Company Collection.
AntennaInteresting to see the long-wire (shortwave) antenna suspended across the roof
Pumps?Does anyone know what those gas-tank-looking things in the center behind the "Diamond" sign are?
[Lube carts -- mobile motor oil pumps that could be wheeled over to your car. - Dave]
23, 27Why are there numbers 23 and 27 on the pumps? Were those early octane ratings, or prices for regular and premium (called high-test in those days)?
And, I think Triangle later merged with Cities Service, later Citgo.
Re: AntennaIn those days, even normal broadcast (medium wave) radios commonly used an outdoor random-wire antenna. Loop type antennas that were contained totally within the radio hadn't been invented yet.
Service StationIt appears the road was recently re-asphalted what with dark pebbles on the entry apron. But the question for anyone who might have knowledge, what do the numbers 23 and 27 on the gas pump columns signify? Perhaps an earlier measure of octane, or simply the price at each pump? In any case, there does seem to be some sort of differentiation in the fuels.
[They mean 23 and 27 cents per gallon. - Dave]
Triangle Service StationAccording to a 1931 display ad in the Washington Post, the Triangle Service Station (Esso) was in Arlington ("South Washington") at Mount Vernon Avenue and Military Road.
Military & Mount VernonAt present, Military Road and Mount Vernon Drive aren't even vaguely near each other. It is of course possible that road renaming has eliminated the intersection, but I haven't had any success in locating this one.
[Sections of Glebe Road were at one time also called the Military Road. Back before route markers and street signs became common, what a road was called often depended on who you asked or whose map you were using. - Dave]
Triangle ServiceMount Vernon Avenue and Glebe Road intersect here in Alexandria. There's a car wash on the corner now, but houses like the one in the photo are very common farther down Mount Vernon into the DelRay neighborhood.
Roof tilesI live about half a mile south of where this service station used to be, in the Del Ray neighborhood e*c mentions in his comment. If the indicated location is correct, none of the adjacent homes survived I'm afraid.
Very interesting architectural details though - take for instance the clay tile roofs on the station and the homes in the background - you won't find those anywhere anymore today. I'm also surprised to see that again both the service station as well as the homes already have K-style gutters mounted all around. I always thought that those were added decades later.
The home in background on the right has somewhat odd decorative keystones built-in around the windows. Can't say I've seen those before either. And did you notice all the open windows? No AC in 1925 and judging by the grass and foliage it's late spring or early summer...
Gas StationRare Spanish Colonial Survives
http://www.curatorofshit.com/2010/05/03/gas-station-architecture-dies-he...
(The Gallery, Gas Stations, Natl Photo)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/27167u.thumbnail.jpg "Triangle Service Station: 1925")
- Minute Service Station: 1925
- 1925. "Minute Service Station No. 3, 10th and E Streets N.W." A Standard Oil gas station in Washington, D.C. National Photo Co. glass negative. View full ...
Washington Post May 25, 1924
Modern Gas Tanks Give Real Service, Sterzer Declares
Founder of "Minute ... Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 10:09pm -
![1925. "Minute Service Station No. 3, 10th and E Streets N.W." A Standard Oil gas station in Washington, D.C. National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size.
10th and EAh, that corner is now right across from the FBI's Hoover Building, and of course, just up the block from there is Ford's Theatre, where the infamous play "Our American Cousin" once played. In fact, if this is a northeast-facing view, then wouldn't that be the rear of the theatre building at upper left?
10th and E AgainThat's the current site of the Hard Rock Cafe.
That small building next to the station is now incorporated into Ford's Theater as the ticket booth, and at one time was the Star Saloon.
The larger building is Ford's Theater, and I believe the building with the fire escapes is the rear of the Atlantic building. You can barely make out the roof of the National Union Fire Insurance building at 918 F St. in the back.
Tile StyleI'm surprised to see that tile roof over the filling station. That style is everywhere here in Southern California, looking almost exactly the same.
Minute Service Station Washington Post Oct 8, 1922
Extensive improvements have just been completed at the Automotive Accessories Company which conducts a large filling station and accessory business at Tenth and E streets northwest.
A large tile canopy has been placed over the pump platform and several oil and gasoline pumps have been added. Driveways have been widened and other improvements made to facilitate service. The downtown station is in [the] charge of Henry J. Sterzer. William T. and C.E. Calliher and Allan E. Walker are the proprietors.
Washington Post May 25, 1924
Modern Gas Tanks Give Real Service, Sterzer Declares
Founder of "Minute Stations" Says Public Appreciates Saving of Time.
Present Plants Represent an Investment of $1,000,000 in District Alone.
The fine, modern filling station, conveniently located and well managed, renders a real service to the motoring public. It is a highly specialized business, requiring intelligent study, progressive methods and large investment.
This is the opinion of Henry J. Sterzer, general manager of the Minute service stations, which have been pioneers in placing the sales of gasoline, oils, filling station service and accessories on a higher plane in the National Capitol.
Mr Sterzer says the prime requisite for a site for a modern filling station, is not only location on a prominent thoroughfare, but the use of sufficient ground space to permit the construction of very wide driveways and the placing of pumps sufficient distances apart. The combination of wide driveways and multiple pumps permits easy entrance and exit, makes blockades impossible and difficult maneuvering with danger to fine cars unnecessary.
"Robert F. Beresford, architect of the Minute service stations, has made wide driveways and numerous pump locations a feature of his plans at all the stations," said Mr. Sterzer.
...
"Experience has taught us that the average motorist appreciates the definite knowledge that he is receiving the exact amount of gasoline or oil that he pays for. For that reason all of our stations are equipped with Fry visible measure pumps, which not only give absolutely accurate measurements mechanically, but which measurement can be checked visually."
...
The minute service stations, which represent an investment considerably in excess of $1,000,000 include the following: American Accessories company at Georgia avenue and Upshur streets northwest; the Automotive Accessories Company at Tenth and E streets northwest; the Automotive Supply Company at Twenty-First and Pennsylvania avenue northwest; the L Street Garage at 1705 L street northwest; the Linworth Auto Supply company at Linworth and C sreets southwest and the Washington Accessories company at Seventeenth and L streets northwest.
Tile RoofsThat sort of barrel tile roof isn't uncommon in buildings from the twenties and thirties. There seems to have been a Spanish influenced design craze in this period. I know of several buildings here in Saskatoon from this period that have exactly that type of roof.
Robert Beresford, Modern architectIt is amazing to compare the modernity of this service station with others recently posted to Shorpy
https://www.shorpy.com/node/3535
https://www.shorpy.com/node/3510
https://www.shorpy.com/node/3515
The roof over the pumps is a feature greatly replicated in modern stations both for the function (protection from the elements) as well as style.
Robert Beresford, a local architect, designed many residences as well as contributing to the Mayflower hotel.
"Robert F. Beresford spoke on "Colonial Architecture." Beresford designed hundreds of Colonial style homes in the Washington area. In 1923 and 1924 he worked with the New York firm of Warren & Wetmore (architects of New York's Grand Central Terminal) on the design of the Hotel Walker [now the Mayflower Hotel]. In 1927 and 1928 he designed Washington's only Art Deco office building, the Tower Building at 1401 K Street, N.W."
http://users.starpower.net/oshel/H05.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower_Hotel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_and_Wetmore
Street Car TracksIs that a cable car track in the foreground?
[No, they're for electric streetcars with third-rail power. - Dave]
+85?Below is the view of the northeast corner of 10th and E Streets, NW taken in September of 2010. I'm not entirely convinced the 1925 shot is that corner. The extended roof does look like a theater and it could indeed be Ford's Theatre (the detail barely in the frame on the base of the roofline look like the current view) and the three-storey building immediately next door that was converted later into a ticket booth does look similar (although the second storey windows appear to be taller in the 1925 shot). However, the photo of the Potomac Electric Power Company Building taken in 1938 (which now is the Hard Rock Cafe) below which then occupied that corner does not show the three-storey building. It does show the vent pipe on the roof of what appears to be the theater building where today there is a larger vent structure reproduced on the roof of Ford's to look like the original. I'm also unsure as to when the Potomac Building was constructed which could rule out that corner if it predated 1925 (perhaps Stanton_Square could work his magic on that). It was also noted that the back of a building on F Street can be seen, but I do not know what the backs of those buildings look like (they are still there, though). I have seen photographs of the northwest corner from about 1900 and 1940, and I know that that couldn't be the corner where the station was located. However, where the FBI building now stands on the southeast corner and across the street on the southwest corner are possibilities (there were several theaters in that area). Then again the incline of the street would seem to indicate that this is indeed the proper view.
Tile Style reduxThat was a common style of architecture for filling stations all over North America (probably in the UK, too).
There are still a few examples extant, here in Ottawa. many, though, are gone. There was one at the main corner of the neighbourhood where we lived for over 30 years. It was torn down in the 1980s.
The best preserved is at Main Street and Hawthorne Ave., now an architect's office.
The second has been a used car dealership for decades and up until recently pretty run down. It has been renovated but the tile roof has been replaced with flat tin. At least it has been saved.
10th & E Sts NWThe building now housing the Hard Rock Cafe was Potomac Elecric Power Company's general office until it moved to Pennsylvania Avenue in the 1970s. The original DC substation supplying the local 250-volt Edison system as well as the 600-volt street railway was across 10th Street from Ford's Theater. The "Lincoln" substation is long gone, along with the street railway, but the building was still there in commercial use last time I was in the area.
(The Gallery, D.C., Gas Stations, Natl Photo)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/27337u.thumbnail.jpg "Minute Service Station: 1925")
- Railroad Avenue: 1925
- ...
1925. Washington, D.C. "Texas Co., Minute Service Station No. 8, Twining City." Pennsylvania Avenue at Railroad Avenue S.E. near ... [It's not really broken. It's just missing. - Dave]
Gas Bar Selling multiple brands of gasoline was much more common in the ... Posted by Dave - 05/19/2018 - 8:05pm -
![ First posted here 10 years ago, and now updated with a better-quality image.
1925. Washington, D.C. "Texas Co., Minute Service Station No. 8, Twining City." Pennsylvania Avenue at Railroad Avenue S.E. near the Sousa Bridge. 8x10 inch glass negative, National Photo Company Collection. View full size.
4 or More FlivversLooks like at least four of the autos here are Model T Fords, which would be as expected given their prominence on the road in the mid-'20's. While it's easy to love the architecture seen here, with those great old Victorian survivors, the street was a mess, and the mass of phone poles unaesthetic as well. Note the broken light pole globe, I wonder if that was the work of vandals?
[It's not really broken. It's just missing. - Dave]
Gas BarSelling multiple brands of gasoline was much more common in the early days. Other countries still use the "gas bar" concept. The streets were in sorry shape in 1920's Washington.
StreetsIn sorry shape, yes, and unless I'm mistaken about that pile in the middle, apparently still used by the occasional horse despite the convenient availability of gasoline.
Twining CityThe intersection of Railroad and Pennsylvania avenues was in the neighborhood of Twining just across the Sousa Bridge over the Anacostia River in the 1907-ish map below. It seems Railroad is about where Fairlawn Ave SE is today (all the other streets in the old map line up pretty well to today's view) with several gas stations still on the corners.
[Oh thank you. I knew "Turnning" couldn't be right. - Dave]
New Filling Station Added Washington Post, June 28, 1925
New Filling Station Added
Store Number 8 of Minute Service Stations Opens Today
The Minute Service Stations operating a chain of filling stations and accessories stores throughout Washington, announce the opening of their newest plant, at the intersection of Pennsylvania avenue and Railroad avenue, southeast, at the south end of the Pennsylvania avenue bridge.
The opening of this station marks the advent of the Minute Service stations into Southeast Washington. The new station will be known as No. 8.
The station is exceptionally well planned with very wide driveways, numerous visible pumps, air towers, drainage pits and other modern equipment.
Pies to GoI am not old enough to remember this gas station, but years later directly across Pennsylvania Avenue was Stevenson's Pies. They came in a black and white checkerboard box, best pies in D.C. Saturdays there was always a traffic jam trying to get into the parking lot to stock up on pies for Sunday. Wish they had a picture of that.
Stevenson's or Stephenson's?Either way I remember them from the late 1950s. I lived up the hill in Congress Heights and once a month we would stop by and get the big box (I remember it as being 500 cookies but not sure if that is accurate or a little kid's wishful thinking) of their cookies. Have never run across any cookies that were so heavenly since then, sort of a "tea cookie" I believe.
[The name was Stephenson Pie Bakery. - Dave]
Congress HeightsI lived in Congress Heights also. Graduate of Anacostia in 1957. Lived on Brandywine Street down near Atlantic and later on Oakwood. Worked at the Congress Theatre while in school. Small world.
Suggested locationGiven the acute angle at which Pennsylvania and Railroad avenues met, this seems to me more likely to be a short distance west of that intersection. The street in the foreground appears to be 22nd, as it approaches Ellicott Circle/Pennsylvania Avenue, while the street at left is almost certainly Railroad Avenue as it dead-ends.
Based on the 1921 Baist atlas, my best guess is that the camera is facing west along Railroad Avenue as marked with the blue line below.
My old stomping ground!!Stephenson Pie Bakery was an every-Sunday event in my family. We would go to church at St. Francis on Pennsylvania Avenue and head right to the Bakery -- the best in all of Washington D.C. Yep, Black and White checker boarddesign on the floor, too.
The display was huge, the entire width of the store. People lined up and waited, but unlike today, talked and laughed and just looked forward to getting their goodies, and didn't care about rushing. Their pies are like no other I have ever had since it was taken down.
My memory is that it was to the right of the bridge as you started over. Even on Sunday there was always a traffic jam because of the people waiting to get into the lot. I did find several huge napkins on eBay that were from Stephenson Pie Bakery and they even have the phone number on them and the checkerboard design. I sure would love to find a picture of that old bakery.
To think, my uncles used to sell Christmas trees right up the street from the above photo!! At the parking lot where the old Highland Theatre used to be. Every Christmas they were out there and almost froze to death selling those trees, but they loved it, and so did those that came back year after year.
Early Amoco Gas Station?This station is selling Standard Oil of Indiana (Amoco in later days, which came from the gas brand listed on top of the far right pump). I think whoever took the picture thought it was The Texas Company (Texaco in later days) but the Standard pump globes give it away. Minute must have been a franchisee for Amoco!
[This picture was taken for the Texas Company -- Texaco was a National Photo client and commissioned dozens of these photos. - Dave]
(The Gallery, D.C., Gas Stations, Natl Photo)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-27338u.thumbnail.jpg "Railroad Avenue: 1925")
- Our Lady of Lourdes: 1914
- ... a doorman but by the two doors.
I seem to remember a gas station near your friend June's house...other side of Broadway from the ... Posted by Dave - 12/13/2022 - 12:33pm -
![ A newly restored version of a Shorpy favorite that has collected three pages of comments since it was first posted in 2007 --
The caption for this one just says "Post Office." Thanks to our commenters we now know that the building with the statue is the Our Lady of Lourdes School at 468 W. 143rd Street in New York circa 1914. 8x10 glass negative, Bain News Service. View full size | The school in 2007.
Post office?Looks like a Catholic school, actually. This is just a wild-a**ed guess, but St. Jean Baptiste on East 75th? This would coincide with the warehouse cart on the left (sort of).
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic SchoolThis is Our Lady of Lourdes School in New York City on 143rd Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Convent Avenue. The school was built in 1913 in Washington Heights, an exclusively white, upper middle-class neighborhood. It was built and equipped at a total cost of one hundred and forty thousand dollars.
Besides classrooms for five hundred pupils, the building contained an auditorium with a stage lavishly equipped for theatrical productions, a gymnasium, a roof-top playground, an assembly room for parish organizations, rooms for classes in cooking and sewing, and offices for the school officials.
The associated church (Our Lady of Lourdes) is located directly behind the school on the next block, 142nd Street.
Yes...Which is the Post Office? The large building in the center must be a Catholic School, what with a saint on the roof and all.
As for the location, I have no clue.
Post OfficeWhich building is the Post Office?
post officeBuilding with street level entrance and flags would be my likely guess.
Today...Google Street View. It's always interesting to see NYC in the early years, and how it's changed.
Our Lady of LourdesI attended this school for eight years in the 1950s. The lower grades entered by one door and the higher grades used the other. City College frat houses faced the school. Recess was on the street out front. We didn't have any cooking or sewing classes, no classrooms equipped for that. There wasn't any gym. We weren't allowed to go up on the roof and there wasn't an assembly room. We did have a annual spring play using the stage and we had a Christmas concert. There was a way into the church from the back of the school. The nuns that taught there were called Society of the Holy Child. Father Kline was one of the priests and Mother Mary Edward taught there. A good school, good memories.
Johnny PumpThat fire hydrant probably was installed in the late 1880s. Was born and bred in NYC and traversed all five boroughs many many times, but NEVER laid eyes on a johnny pump like that. Every boy who ever grew up in "The City" is instinctively drawn to hop over as many hydrants as possible. However that one is a KILLER.
Our Lady of LourdesI attended OLL from 1933 to 1941. The lower grades kindergarten to fourth were taught by the Ursuline Order of Sisters. The upper grades fifth to eighth were taught by the Sisters of the Holy Child. The school was funded and guided by the priests of the adjoining OLL Church.
We were there to learn,to pray: no play, no library, no lunch room, no outside activities. It was not an easy life for children of poor families during this Great Depression Era. I often cried and asked God to help me through the day, the year. I know I received a very good education but not a happy one. There were nuns I would have died for, however there were many that should not have been allowed to teach children.
The Church and school were founded by Monsignor Thomas McMann. There is a bust of the good priest near the entrance to the upper church.
In the 1930s we were allowed on the roof for various activities.
The term "very stern " comes to mind.
The statue is Our Lady of Lourdes, similar to the statue in the grotto in the lower church on 142nd Street. It was removed a few years ago as it decayed and was ready to fall off the roof.
Convent AvenueThis photo faces east, and the townhouses in the background are along the east side of Convent Avenue. All of them still stand, most are in superb condition. This is the finest real estate in Harlem; a house across the street sold for $3.89 million about 18 months ago. Here is a listing for a house a few doors down from the ones seen here: http://tinyurl.com/2396kb
Note the terraces on two of the buildings -- those are stunning and almost never seen in New York.
Does anyone remember anDoes anyone remember an Irish nun by the name of Sister Gerard? She was one of the Ursula ? nuns at the Our Lady of Lourdes in Manhatten. She emigrated about 1910, so am not sure anyone would remember her...
Is there a cemetery associated with Our Lady of Lourdes?
Upper and Lower ChurchCan you tell me if the Upper and Grotto Church still exists and do they have mass on Saturdays and Sundays? I lived 2 streets away a long time ago and would like to see the old neighborshood. I have never forgotten the Grotto. It's so unique. Would like to share it with my spouse.
Or maybe I can speak with someone in the convent. Are the nuns still there?
Thank you.
Diana Gosciniak
Our Lady of LourdesI also went there in the 1950's. The nuns were very dedicated to teaching. Our religion was the major reason they and all of us were there. The grotto was under the main stairs and confession was held downstairs at 4 pm on Saturday. The children's Mass was at 9 am on Sunday, a High Mass in Latin. The doors of the main church came from old St. Patrick's downtown in Little Italy.
The sisters made sure that the majority of 8th grade students got into Catholic high school. A lot of the girls went to Cathedral H.S. and the boys went to Cardinal Hayes.
The church was around the corner with a connection to the back of the school. The convent was right next door to the church and the rectory was across the street.
Once in a while we were invited to go to the convent on a Saturday to see the nuns. The neighborhood was pretty good, all kind of stores that tolerated all of us kids.
It was nice going there for eight years. Fond memories.
O.L.L. Upper and lower churchYes, the upper church is still active with most Masses in Spanish. The lower church {the Grotto) is not used. However the statue of the Blessed Mother is still on view. The sisters left about 10 years ago. I visited the school and was told the Church no longer had any say in its operation. When did you attend? I was there from 1933 to 1940.
J Woods
Theatrical productions?Oh, how I wish I had your recall. However, I did attend O.L.L. from 1933 through 1940. Yes, the stage was used - but with limited equipment. I never saw or played on a rooftop playground. There was no gymnasium. The seats in the auditorium were moved to the side for military drilling by boys from grades 5 to 8 once a week. The girls exercised in a nearby room. The children in the lower grades had no physical training. I don't remember an assembly room for any parish organizations. Family members were not encouraged to come to the school except on Graduation Day or if the student had a serious problem that required a meeting with the principal and/or a parish priest. I must say we all received a very good education and were farther ahead in our studies than the Public School kids.
Yours truly and in friendship,
Jackie Woods
OLL NeighborhoodI lived on Amsterdam Ave for 16 years. Where did you live? When did you attend OLL School? The few friends I had from the old days have passed on. I answered your other message; The Nuns left about 15 years ago. You need to have someone open the lower church to visit there. The Blessed Mother's Statue is still located in the Grotto but masses are no longer read there.
Regards and in friendship.
Jackie Woods
Our Lady of Lourdes, 2008I had a chance to stop by West 143rd street and take a snapshot today. The cornerstone is dated 1912. As you can see, every building shown in the "1914" photograph is extant and all are in excellent condition. There is even a fire hydrant in the same location as the fire hydrant shown in the photo. As for changes — there are trees on the block now, and the cornice has been removed from Our Lady of Lourdes, as has the statue of the saint. And, of course, as with all modern photos taken in New York, it is full of automobiles.
(Click to enlarge)
The reddish sign on the left side of the street, behind the motorcycle, identifies this block as part of the Hamilton Heights Historical District (Hamilton Grange is only a few blocks away). Today was garbage day, so a distracting pile of trash sits in the foreground, sorry about that.
Our Lady of LourdesCentral Harlem, did you attend Our Lady of Lourdes? If so what years?
Thanks for the picture
Jackie Woods
Our Lady of LourdesI attended an Episcopalian school. I contributed that photo because of my joy in Harlem history, not any tie to this school in particular.
Last weekend, I found a photograph of this block dating to 1908! All the buildings looked the same except for OLL, which was then an empty lot. Perhaps Team Shorpy can enlighten me -- would it be compliant with copyright law for me to scan and post it?
[Is there a copyright notice on it? If it was copyrighted before 1923, the copyright has expired. - Dave]
Our Lady of LourdesThank you for your latest information, Central Harlem. Where was your school located? Did you live nearby? I'm 80 years old going on 81 and all I have are my memories (mostly fond). And my memory is outstanding. I was hoping to hear from anyone who attended OLL with me.
By the way, the folks on Amsterdam Avenue always envied the folks on Convent Avenue, always a beautiful clean street. (Today we would say "upscale.") Three of my children were born in The Lutheran Hospital of Manhattan on 144th off Convent. I had moved to upper Washington Heights by then but my doctor was still working out of there.
Thank you and in friendship,
Jackie Woods
Our Lady of Lourdes, 1909I had a chance to scan the old photo I found of this block. It dates to 1909, not 1908 as I had first said. Every building seen in this photo remains, though some of the lots on the right-hand side of 143rd street were empty in 1909, including the lot that would house Our Lady of Lourdes three years later.
Anticipating the interest of Shorpy's crew of automotive experts, I provide a closeup of that car on Amsterdam Avenue, below.
Also, a note to Jackie Woods: we're of different generations. It is good to exchange notes here, but I'm sure we've never met.
Our Lady of Lourdes SchoolWhat wonderful memories of days past. I attended OLL from 1943 and graduated in 1951. One of five brothers to do so. You may have known my older brothers, Larry, Dick or Bill. We lived in that apartment building at the end of the street on the OLL side. That was the location of Alexander Hamilton's house, Hamilton Grange. When it was built, it forced the move to its present location behind the church. It will be moved again to the SE corner of Convent and 141st Street. You also mentioned Lutheran Hospital. It wasn't so great for our family. My brother Dick was taken there after being hit by a car. While recovering, he contracted rheumatic fever in the hospital and later died at New York Hospital. We also lived at 310 Convent Avenue because my mother's family, the Healys, lived on 141st Street. If you have any other questions, ask away. I'm still in contact with several classmates and between us, we should be able to answer.
"Thanks for the Memories"
Bob Phillips
OLL graduatesHi, Yes, I do remember a Phillips family. The boys or boy were in a higher grade with one of my brothers. As you can see, I had already left OLL when you started there. I am pleased you have good memories of your early years. Unfortunately, mine are mixed. An incident: a bunch of us, about 12 years old at the time, were fooling around and one of the boys fell out of a tree and broke his arm. We carried him to Lutheran Hospital They wouldn't let us in the front door. Told us to take him to Knickerbocker Hospital near 131st Street, and so we did. Today, I ask why no first aid was administered or an ambulance called. However, I have nothing but good words about the hospital in later years. I was sorry to hear about brother RIP
Regards and in friendship,
Jackie Woods
PS My oldest sister, Ellen, class of 1936 Won scholorship to Holy Child Academy
My older brother William (Billy), Class of 1937, won a scholarship to Regis High.
MemoriesI graduated from OLL in 1973 and it is so wonderful to see a website with the School and the information that it offers. I too wondered about the Masses in the lower church. The grotto was always so beautiful and special. I have lived in Florida since 1986 and hope to make a trip to NYC just to visit the old school. Thanks again for bringing a smile to my face today. God bless.
OLL MemoriesHi. I attended OLL from grades K to 5. I have the most beautiful memories of my childhood there. I loved the nuns. I can't believe how time has gone so fast. If anyone remembers me or remembers Sister Mary Owen or Ms. Valentine or the gym instructor George Izquierdo. I am talking about late 1960's, early 70's. Please contact me. Are the sisters still there? I went to visit Sister Mary Owen a couple of years ago. She wasn't wearing her habit any more. Those were good old days. I was so mischievous, always getting into trouble. Oh my God. I had the best early education there, never will I forget. I love history and I love these pictures that were posted up above, everything looks the same. Thanks! My family still lives up in Washington Heights.
Our Lady of Lourdes School and ChurchAnd a HI to you,
The good sisters left about ten years ago.
You can reach the school online, it has a Web site.
The school is no longer under the supervision of the Church.
If you look over the rest of this page you will see that I have answered a number of postings that may be of interest to you.
"Memories are made of this."
In friendship,
Jackie Woods
OLL AlumniHello OLL'ers
Head over to the OLL website www.ourladyoflourdesschool.net
There's an alumni page where you can send your information and be put on the mailing list.
OLLCould not connect with your e-mail: kbarkley@ourladyoflourdesschool.net
Would you please check it.
When did you attend OLL?
I gave my information previously on bottom of page.
Look forward to hearing from you.
In friendship,
Jackie woods
To Jackie WoodsI knew Dennis before the war, and graduated OLL in 1937. My sister Marie graduated in 1936 and received a scholarship to Holy Name. Finding your web site after all these years is a small miracle. I'm sorry to say Marie, such a special person, passed away in 1977. Andrew, a 1943 or 44 graduate, died in 2000. I did not marry till 1985, had a daughter in 86. My wife Alice and I celebrated our daughter Colleen's wedding Nov. 24, 2007. I hope this proves I was not as bad as the sisters believed. They wanted so to see me go that they created the first coed class and skipped me from 6th to 8th grade. Yes we marched on the roof, auditorium, basement and in far away competition. I believe we had a West Point officer, but not certain. I just hope that life was as rewarding to all OLL graduates as I. God bless.
John Orlando
Wideawake80@verizon.net
OLL, late 1950s and early 60sDon't know how I found this website, but so glad that I did. I graduated OLL in June 1961. The nuns are my most vivid memories of the school. The spring and Christmas plays that were held each year. Recess outside during lunchtime. Walking to school each day and spending the few pennies we had to buy candy at the store on Amsterdam Avenue, and the bicycle store there where we rented bikes on Saturday afternoons. Going to confession every Saturday down in the grotto. Checking the Legion of Decency list for movie listings. Learning to sing the Mass in Latin for every Sunday High Mass and, most important, the foundation the nuns gave us for our religion that is still strong to this day. A few years ago, we drove from Jersey up to the old place and convent still looked pretty good. Can someone please explain about not being under the archdiocese any longer. Thanks again.
Lutheran HospitalI found this link when looking for the Lutheran Hospital. Very interesting information.
I am researching my family history and found out this hospital is where my great grandfather passed away. Thinking that there may be additional information on the records, I searched for the hospital but have not been able to find any recent reference to it. Has the Hospital been closed? Can anybody give me some background information? I will certainly appreciate it,
Anne
[You might try the Archives search box on the New York Times Web site. Lutheran Hospital of Manhattan, at 343 Convent Avenue, merged with Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Hospital in 1956 to form Our Saviour's Lutheran Hospital at the Norwegian Hospital facility on 46th Street and Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. It's now called Lutheran Medical Center. - Dave]
Lutheran HospitalHello Anne,
Yes, I know Lutheran Hospital. My three oldest boys were born there: 1951: 1952: 1954. My brother-in-law's father died there c. 1937. When I last passed by the neighborhood, three years ago, I saw that the hospital had been converted to an assisted living facility.
The neighborhood is looking great - real upscale. The brownstones that one could buy in the 1930s for a song are now selling for well over a million dollars. In the 1930s they were empty, thanks to the banks that foreclosed during the Depression. As kids we ran through them and at one time had a clubhouse inside one.
In friendship,
Jackie Woods
Lutheran HospitalThanks you both, Dave and Jackie, for your responses.
I will follow the advice and hope to be able to pass soon by the neighborhood.
Anne
OLL MemoriesHi Henry,
I too remember Sister Mary Owen, my brother David Mora had her and she was really strict. We keep in touch with George Izquierdo and he is doing great. Sister Rosemarie passed away. I try to stay in touch with O.L.L. It was really a happy time in my childhood and the happy memories will always be a part of my life.
Maxine Mora
Lutheran Hospital of ManhattanLooking for pictures of the Hospital. I was born in 1940 in the facility and would like to see what it looked like in that era--anyone have a picture?
Dad Was an AlumnusHello Jackie,
I am curious to see if you know my father, Frank Corrigan, who was born in 1926, which would make him 82 this August. I think he was in the Class of 1941.
I am also curious to see if you have any contact or info on Alfred Pereira or his sister Clara Pereira Mercado. Any help would be appreciated.
Stephen Corrigan
Please email me when you get a chance, stephenjcorrigan@aol.com.
Frank CorriganYes, I knew Frank Corrigan, Class of 1940, not 1941, he was closer to my brother Dennis than me, I was a year younger. Didn't Frank have a younger very pretty sister? I last saw Frank c. 1968 in the upper Washington Heights area where many of the families from OLL had moved to from the 140th streets.
I knew Pancho Pereira (the name Alfred does not ring a bell) and Clara, his younger sister. His little brother JoJo was killed in Korea. Pancho had a birthmark: strands of very white hair in the front of his head of very black hair. They were wonderful good people.
Pancho was good friends with Jackie Koster, whose sister Barbara married Burl Ives in Hollywood and lived happily everafter.
In friendship,
Ed and Jackie Woods
eandjwoods50@yahoo.com
Vacant Houses in Hamilton HeightsI thought we were the only ones that got into those empty houses. Afternoons we'd go in through a back window to study and do our homework. We didn't break anything, and at our age we always wondered why the houses were vacant. The Depression angle we didn't figure out until later. Tom Calumet and Frank Howe went with me. I understand Frank has died and Tom Calumet left NYC around 1945 to go out west with his parents.
I graduated from OLL in 1941, and now live in Hopkins, MN
OLL MemoriesI graduated in 1960. There were about 10 of us cousins who graduated between 1955 and 1960. I remember Father Cline, Fr. Malloy, Monsignor Hart, Mother Bonaventure, Mother Dominica and others. Does anyone remember the day the frat boys across the street pushed the dummy out the window during our recess? I can almost taste the corn muffins and egg creams at the soda fountain around the corner on Amsterdam Avenue while "Barbara Ann" played on the jukebox.
OLL PhotoI have a great a picture of my Confirmation Day. I'm in full OLL uniform dated c. May 1935. How can I send it to the OLL Shorpy site?
Yours truly,
Ed Woods
[Click the links under "Become a member, contribute photos." - Dave]
Frat boys 0, Mother Mary Edward 10I sure do remember that day. Mother Mary Edward
marched over and blasted them. Also the candy store around the corner used to sell two-cent pumpkin seeds out of a little red box.
Does anyone remember the rumor going around that the
Grotto Chapel was haunted? I remember walking home with "Little Star" playing on the transistor radio.
The OLL GrottoI remember serving at what was called the Workmen's Mass in the Grotto in the 1930s - 6 o'clock in the morning! I know the Grotto is not used any more (I visited there in December 2007). As to the candy store on the corner of 143rd and Amsterdam, it was a very busy place: candy, pen nibs (no fountain pens), book covers etc. One day the owner came to school and told Sister Casmere, the principal, that we were disorderly and she must tell the students to behave when shopping in his store. Her solution was to tell the entire student body that they were not allowed to shop there. In a day or so, the man was back begging forgiveness and asked to plaese allow the children to return to his store. The kids were his main business.
HelloHi Maxine
How are you? Thank you for responding to me. It was very nice to hear from you. Sorry to hear about Sister Rosemary, but I don't remember her was she the pricipal of the school. I do remember Mr. Izquierdo he was the gym instructor with another man don't recall his name I believe he became principal of the school later on. Oh! now I remember his name was Mr. White I believe. God trying to recall, it is getting a little difficult now a days but I like it. It brings me back in time. How time have changed it was so innocent back than not like now. Looking back in time, makes me feel like I grew up to fast. How is Mr. Izquierdo doing? How can I contact him? Please let me know. My e-mail address is Je_Ocejo@yahoo.com. I remember he got married back than to a girl name Rocio, I don't know if they are still together but that lady was my father's friend daughter. Who else do you remember. Please get back to me with pictures. I have pictures too. Let me know how can I e-mail them to you. Would you believe that we are talking about almost atleast 35 years ago but I don't forget. God Bless you. Henry
OLLBob,
Any recollections of my father, Frank Corrigan, Class of 1940? Maybe not yourself but some of your older brothers.
Steve Corrigan
More OLL MemoriesI graduated in 1937 and was probably a fellow graduate of a brother. I had skipped 7th grade and so did not get to know classmates well. It is possible that the Waters family lived across the alley on the second floor of the building on 142nd Street. We lived on the top floor of the next building on Hamilton Place. In the same building lived Buddy Sweeney and Sal Guizzardi, also a tall blond kid who graduated with me. I believe your mother and my mom, Agnes Orlando, were friends. I believe your mother visited mine in 1952-3 in our new home in Bergenfield, N.J. I remember a sister who must have graduated with me or my sister Marie Orlando in 1936. My brother Andrew graduated 1947. My mother, brother and sister have passed away. I remember Poncho, the Kosta family, the Madigans, Woodses, Rendeans, Glyforces, McCarvils, Walshes, Philipses, Flynns, Duggans, Hooks, Rodriquezes, Craigs, Hugheses, Conways etc. I am sure we had many things in common being OLL graduates at a very special interval of time. I wish you well in your very beautiful state which I have passed through on three occasions. Best wishes and fond memories.
John and Alice Orlando
OLLLot older than you. Attended OLL from late 1930s to early 40s. Baptized, first Holy Communion and Confirmation (Cardinal Spellman). Lived at 145 and the Drive. Remember principal when I was there, Mother Mary Margaret. First grade teacher was Mother Mary Andrews. Remember playing on roof and being shocked by Mother Mary Andrews jumping rope. Believe there was a Father Dolan around that that time. Only went to through the 3rd grade there and then moved to 75th St and the Blessed Sacrament -- a whole different world, and not as kind or caring.
Memories of OldHi Henry. You may not remember me but I also taught gym with George and sometimes Ms. Ortiz. George is with the Department of Education on the East Side. I work for the Bloomberg Administration. Sister Mary Owen has moved to Rye and of course all the nuns are now gone. I left in 1996 but I still miss all of the good times shared during my years there.
Memories Are GoodHello, You taught me gym and we also had alot of good times with the High School Club on Friday nights. I have most painful memories of O.L.L the day Msgr. Cahill passed away. I never knew how much a heart could have so much pain and yet go on. My dad died on 4-29-96, Max Mora and I felt the same pain all over again. Do you know where Mother John Fisher has gone ... her name had changed to Sister Maryanne. I would love to hear from you.
Maxine Mora
Hi HenryMy email address is mmorafredericks@aol.com. I have yours and I am so happy to be in contact with you I graduated in 1973. I went to Cathedral High School. Later moved to Florida. My brothers and sisters are still in NY and I miss so much of it. I look forward to catching up with you. I will write soon. God Bless.
Maxine
Fellow ClassmateHi Tony,
It has been more than 48 years since I last saw you - at our graduation from OLL in 1960. Let me know what you have been up to in the past half century. My e-mail address is kmckenna@clarku.edu.
Kevin
LTNSMr. White! Not sure if you still come to this site, but on the off chance that you still visit i thought i would write. It's been so long since I've seen or heard from you, not since "Len Fong" closed. For all others that may still come by this site, I graduated in 1983 (possibly 82). Would love to hear from a blast from the past. Please email me at kellyw88@gmail.com
John McKennaHi Kevin,
Any chance you are related to the McKenna family? John McKenna, Class of 1941
Your name sure rings a bell, however there must be 20 years difference between us.
Have a healthy and happy 2009
In friendship,
Ed Woods
John McKennaHi Ed,
I'm afraid that I'm not related to John McKenna. My brothers, Donald and Desmond, graduated from Our Lady of Lourdes in the fifties. I wasn't aware of another McKenna family in the parish when I was at OLL.
Happy and healthy 2009 to you as well, Ed.
Cheers,
Kevin
McKenna FamilyThe John McKenna family I knew lived on the northeast corner of Hamilton Place and 141st street. I had other friends and schoolmates in that building. Thinking back, you probably had to be an Irish Catholic to live there. Whatever, I think you had to be an Irish Catholic to attend OLL. I never knew any others at that time, the 1930s. Most fathers worked for the subway and trolley systems or at the milk delivery companies along 125th Street near the river.
Those were the days, my friend. Innocence prevailed!
In friendship,
Ed and Jackie Woods
The Mc KennasJim McKenna and his younger brother Tommy lived in that house above Grizzardi's grocery. Tom hung around with Marty the Hanger Phipher and the Warriors. Billy Vahey and his brother Eddie who retired as a Lieutenant in the NYPD lived there also. Their mother was still there in the early 80s.
You probably knew the Schadack family, who I believe owned Schrafft's or Donald York. I think the building was 644 West 145 St. It was the first apartment house in the city to have a self-service elevator.
When we lived there the neighborhood was known as Washington Heights. For some reason it's now referred to as Hamilton Heights. A couple of great web sites -- Forgotten NY and Bridge and Tunnel Club. You can spend hours & hours on Rockaway Beach alone. Lots of good memories!
How about the movie theaters -- the Delmar, the RKO Hamilton, the Dorset, the Loews Rio, the Loews 175 (now the Rev. Ikes Church) and all the theaters along 180th Street?
Hamilton HeightsNorm,
Many thanks for your fine memories of our old neighborhood but there are a few minor corrections I have to make. The first is the name Shadack family. I believe the correct spelling is Shattuck and his address was 676 Riverside Drive on the corner of 145th Street. We lived there and my brother Bill was classmates with Gene Shattuck. No relation to the Schrafft's empire.
Secondly, Hamilton Heights was always known as such. Outsiders didn't know where that was so we usually said Washington Heights for simplicity. Washington Heights doesn't really start until 157th Street and is separated from Hamilton Heights by the Audubon plot.
The Old NeighborhoodAlex Hamilton lived nearby. There was a very pleasant young man (OLL Class of 1941) named Eugene Shattuck who lived near 145th Street and Riverside Drive. His father was a professor at Manhattan College and his family owned the Schrafft's Restaurants.
I fondly recall Eugene having the wonderful hourglass-shaped bottles of hard Schrafft's candy brought to school and distributing one bottle to each of his classmates at Christmas time.
Needless to say, the poor Amsterdam Avenue kids were in awe of one who could afford to do such a good deed. You mention the Warriors, I knew the (Gang) but not any of the names mentioned here on Shorpy.
In friendship,
Ed and Jackie Woods
P.S. My in-laws the Boyd family lived at 676 Riverside Drive. Les Sr. had a radio repair shop on 145th and Broadway.
676 Riverside DriveI lived at 676 as well. The family's name was Shattuck. In my day, many, many years ago, the elevator had an operator. A sweet man in full uniform. There was a doorman as well. Saw the building years later and was appalled at the change. Then went up to OLL and hardly recognized it. It was the best school I ever went to. Thank you for reminding me of the fun. And yes, of the education I got there. By the way, 676 on the Drive was called the Deerfield.
OLL StudentsI am researching my family history and I came upon this great site. In 1930 my grandparents Michael and Marie Murphy were living at 1744 Amsterdam Avenue and later in the 1930s at 115 Hamilton Place. All of the Murphy children attended Our Lady of Lourdes School. They were:
Maurice (born 1916)
Rita (born 1917/ my Mother)
John (born 1918)
Theresa (born 1920)
Vincent (born 1922)
Veronica (born 1925)
My mom had such fond memories of her time spent there.
Rita Harmon Bianchetto
Hi Neighbor!!Hi Rita,
I'm a former resident of 676 Riverside. My family lived there from 1940 to 1960 in apartment 4A. Bobby Foy lived next door to us. I think you may have left just after we arrived since I remember the elevator operator. The change to automatic was somtime during or just after WWII.
I remember they put up this 10 foot wall with a door to limit access to the building. Fat lot of good that did us as my mother was robbed in broad daylight in the service chamber of our apartment in 1960. That's when my Dad had us pack up and leave for a secure location in the Bronx.
Anyway, the apartment was great. We had a balcony looking over 145th Street and the river. My brothers were Larry Jr., Bill and Nick. Bill was a good friend to Gene Shattuck and went to Xavier with him. Nick and I also went there. Larry had a scholarship to All Hallows.
Judy, can you tell me your last name and if you knew me.
Hope to hear from you.
Bob Phillips at bobbyphilly@msn.com
Your DadSorry Steve, I graduated in 1947 and my three brothers have died. But the name Corrigan does ring a bell. Probably from my brother Larry who knew just about everyone in OLL.
Sorry I couldn't help out but it was great hearing from you.
Bob Phillips
Andrew.Yes, I remember your brother Andrew. We were in the same class and we used to kid him about his name - Andrew Orlando and how tall he was. What's he doing these days?
Bob Phillips
Those were the days, my friendsHello Rita,
I remember the name Murphy but not the faces. We lived a block south of you at 1704 Amsterdam. My sister Ellen, Class of 1936, and brother Bill, Class of 1937, would have known your family.
We had many friends on Hamilton Place, the Koster family for one: Anita, Class of 1936, her younger sister Barbara married Burl Ives, and her other sister Mary Lou married Eddie Byrne (1710 Amsterdam). Ed's sister married Chump Greeny -- killed at Anzio Beach. He must have lived near your family.
My brother in law Les Boyd lived in the Deerfield and had an electric appliance store on the corner of 145th and B'way and a sporting goods store on the next block next to the Chinese restaurant.
In friendship,
Ed and Jackie Woods
Hello RitaHello Rita,
I attended St. Catherine's Academy on 151st between B'way and Amsterdam (It cost my dear old dad $10 a month for what was considered a private school.) I graduated in 1943 in a class of only four girls. I then went to the Sacred Heart of Mary Academy in Inwood (I had to climb the long steps up from B'way every day for four years -- Class of 1947.
Most of my relatives went to OLL as did my husband of 59 years, Ed Woods. We are still alive, kicking and fighting and making up every day.
In my Class of 1943, one of the girls was Ann Murphy -- any relation? Also a Virginia O'Malley and my best friend, June McAvoy, who keeps in touch with me. June's grandfather was Judge McAvoy, who had died by that time.
I loved when my folks took me to McGuire's Bar and Restaurant on B'way and 155th. Oh that Roast Lamb (Irish style) on a Sunday or a holiday. The girls used to go to Nuestra Senora de Esperanza (Our Lady of Hope) next to the museum complex. We were told not to go there for confession, but the Spanish priests were limited in English.
Thinking back we had but little to confess at that time.
Eddie and I had an apartment on 150th near the Drive for a few years until 1956, then it was off to Long Island to raise our six children.
In friendship and love hearing from you,
Ed and Jackie Woods
The MurphysHi Ed and Jackie,
Thanks so very much for your reply. I wish my mom was still with us but she died in 1998, the last of the Murphy kids.
My grandfather Mike Murphy worked for the Post Office (a mail carrier working out of the General P.O. at 33rd and 8th). My grandmother Marie Murphy died in 1939 while living at Hamilton Place. Uncle Maurice went to Regis H.S. for several years before leaving to attend All Hallows; John and Vincent then attended All Hallows; my mom, Rita, attended Cathedral; Veronica, I believe, attended St. Vincent, and Theresa died at age 25 in 1944 (not sure of her high school). Mom worked at Woolworth's on 145th Street and Broadway, and after high school at New York Telephone, retiring about 1980. She got married in 1943 and moved to 152nd Street, and we attended St. Catherine of Genoa on W. 153rd. I graduated in 1958. So I know the neighborhood.
Peace, Rita
Hi Ed and JackieSo Jackie you are a St. Kate's gal like me! My tuition was a dollar a month, so your education was really a private school. You have listed the Academy at 151st Street but I think that it was on 152nd between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. I took my high school entrance exam at SHM so I am sort of familiar with the school -- fireworks were going off during our exam. The end result was I did fine and attended Blessed Sacrament on West 70th, Class of 1962.
I last saw the "girls" at a reunion in 2002. My Spanish teacher just celebrated her 70th anniversary as a nun with the Sisters of Charity.
I am not familiar with any of the girls names that you mentioned,including Ann Murphy. I do know McQuire's, where I had my first Shirley Temple, Mass at Our Lady of Esperanza, Trinity Cemetery & loved visiting the museums.
Do either of you recall Eugenio Pacelli, before he became Pope Pius XII visiting at OLL ?
Please tell me about your days on 150th Street near the Drive since I may have been the little skinny blond kid you both passed on the street.
Peace,
Rita in Northern New Jersy
West 150th NYCHello Rita,
Yes, we lived at 615 W. 150th from 1950 to 1956. Four of my children were born there (three at Lutheran Hospital and one at Jewish Memorial). We had many friends from school and the neighborhood living nearby.
However, by 1956 it was time to move on; many changes in the neighborhood. One of my nearby friends was Juanita Poitier; Sidney was just getting started with his acting career. A real nice couple.
Was Father Tracy (Pastor) still there when you attended school? How about Father Brady? He was always telling stories during Mass about his sea time with the Navy. Eddie remembers going to the Woolworths lunch counter (145th and B'way) in the early 1940s just to have an excuse to talk with the girls. He knew many of them from school and the neighborhood.
In friendship,
Jackie
West 152ndHi Jackie and Ed,
I lived at 620 West 152nd Street, just a stone's throw from you folks. My sister was born at Jewish Memorial Hospital in March 1952 -- Dr. Sandler from Broadway 150/151st St. delivered. Those were the days of Dave's deli on the corner of 151st & Broadway famous for pastrami on rye and a cold beer for the dads, Rafferty's Bar and Grill on the other side of B'way, Harry's or Pierre's homemade candy and ice cream parlor, Cora's beauty salon where my Nana would get a cold wave and blue tint. And not to be forgotten, Snow & Youman's drug store on B'Way and 151st. I recall the name Fr. Brady but it was Pastor Kane and Fr. Tracy (and his Irish Setter, Rusty) that I recall. I just sent a photo of Fr. Tracy to my classmates.
Rita
Japanese BazaarWho remembers the Japanese-American bazaar in the brownstones across from the OLL lower grades school during the war? They had the blue star & the gold star pennants hanging in the windows. They also had a store on Amsterdam Avenue near 144th Street and when they sold coffee the lines would go all around the block.
How about the punchball games out side the school, or stoop ball? Anyone remember playing basketball and using the bottom rung on the fire escape ladder as a basket? The nearest basketball court was at 148th Street by the river. If you wanted to "take out" a ball from the park, you would leave a shirt as a deposit. I remember shoveling snow off the court in order to play.
Unfortunately those days were the last time the country was almost 100% together. Twenty years from now, these will be the "good old days."
Your brother AndrewI palled around with Andy & another kid named Eddie McGlynn. As a matter of fact I have a picture of Andy, Buddy Ayres & me at Rye Beach. Buddy went to Bishop Dubois with us. He was from Vinegar Hill. You didn't mention the Wittlingers. They lived on the first floor in your building. Brendan lives in Virginia. I'm still in touch with him, Matty Waters and Les Scantleberry. Pancho Pereria made a career of the Navy. He died several years ago. JoeJoe, one of my closest friends, was killed in Korea.
Dave's DeliI haven't had a good hot corned beef sandwich since I last had one at Dave's. His son Milton was running the store in the 1950s after Dave retired to Florida. Dave's used to have a window in the summer that sold potato knishes (5 cents, with mustard) and of course kosher hot dogs.
I heard a Clement Moore fan club still meets every Christmas Eve next to Trinity Church Cemetery and recites "The Night Before Christmas."
I was born in 1928 at 853 Riverside Drive. When 90 Riverside was built in 1941 and blocked the view of the Hudson, we moved there.
Warm regards,
Jackie and Ed
The old neighborhoodThe Wittlingers (the twins were the same age as my two younger brothers, also twins), Matty Waters, Les Scantleberry, JoJo: All those names I remember, especially Pancho and his family. For the life of me, I cannot understand why your name doesn't ring a bell. You mentioned the Warriors. Did you know Tommy or Willie Taylor, the Conroys, Drago, Jackie Hughes, etc. What years did you attend OLL?
I looked up some old friends on the Internet over the past few years -- said hello and then goodbye when their families called to give me the news: Vinny McCarville, Bruce Boyd, Phil Marshall, Eddie O'Brien -- all gone to their maker. They were spread out all over the country. It was satisfying, however, just to say hello. I met Vinny in New Orleans and we had a beer for the first time in many years. We had gone to sea together during WWII and had a lot of memories.
You must forgive my spelling etc. My eyesight is on its way out (along with everything else). I will be 82 in a few months but active and still traveling. I have been to six of the seven continents and my wish is to have breakfast at the South Pole.
In friendship,
Ed and Jackie Woods
ToppersWas Dave's on B'Way near 140th Street? I sold the Sunday News there for 25 cents during the news strike. It was normally a nickel. We had to go down to the News Building to buy them. Overhead!
Who remembers the Sugar Bowl on the corner of 143rd and Broadway? A great hangout for different age groups. How about Toppers Ice Cream parlor on B'Way between 139 & 140th?
In the 1940s and early '50s you could go to the Audubon Theater at 168th and B'Way on Sunday for 77 Cents and see three features, 23 cartoons, newsreels and an eight-act stage show with such luminaries as Billy Halop of the Dead End Kids or Lash LaRue or Ferdinand the Bull. Top shelf. They must get at lest a buck fifty for admission today!
Tea and Nut StoreHi Norm,
My mom (Rita Murphy) mentioned there was an Asian family owned Tea and Nut shop in OLL Parish when she was a child (born 1917). She said her brothers, Maurice and John Murphy, would sometimes play with the owners' son. I am wondering if this could be the same shop.
Rita
ToppersDave's was on the southwest corner of Broadway and 151st Street, a short trip from my home on 152nd near Riverside Drive. I do recall the Sugar Bowl and maybe was in it once or twice but never hung out there. Topper's is a name I never heard before, as far as ice cream parlors go. Thanks so much for mentioning the name and location. Perhaps before my time (1945 baby) or too far from my home. Many people have mentioned the Audubon Theater to me (165-166th Street) but I have no memory of it at all. I do recall the San Juan Theater that took over the space of the old Audubon.
I love hearing about Mom's (Rita Murphy's) old neighborhood.
Thanks for sharing.
Rita
Your Name?No, Dave's Deli was on 151st and Broadway. Yes, Toppers & the Sugar Bowl were popular hangouts, however the Piedmont, the Staghorn and the Chesterfield were more popular later on. I have pictures of the great snowfall of December 27, 1947 taken in front of the above mentioned restaurants with a bunch of the guys posing in the cold.
The Audubon Theater became better known when Malcom X was murdered in its ballroom. I saw Milton Berle there in the early 1940s. Actually, the Bluebird and the Washington were also popular as they only cost 10 cents (no heat or air conditioning). Memories, memories, dreams of long ago.
Ed and Jackie Woods
The OLL ChoirI sang in the OLL choir for about 5 or 6 years and hated it.T he only advantage was that we skipped the last class for practice. The downside was that after attending 9 o'clock Mass we had to sing at the 11 o'clock High Mass, which interfered with our Sunday football game. I played with the Junior Cadets. We had a very good team coached by Joe Romo, who went on to be the trainer for the Oakland A's for many years. I saw him at Yankee Stadium whenever the team played the Yankees at home. Joe died several years ago.
Mr. Skyler, the choirmaster, wore a wig that could easily be mistaken for road kill. I used to wonder if he was committing a sin by wearing something on his head in church. After all it was no different then wearing a hat during Mass.
Mrs. Daly was a very lovely lady who played the organ and gave piano lessons. She lived down the street from us on 142nd between Broadway and Hamilton Place and had something like 10 kids. My sister Maureen was friends with Theresa and Billie. John was I believe the youngest son. Maureen graduated from Notre Dame de Lourdes on Convent Avenue.
My sister Frances was close friends with Helen and Rita Nerney, who lived across the street. Fran died in 2002.
ToppersI lived at 635 Riverside Drive. I recall Toppers being near the corner of 141st, next to a Jewish deli. In the summer my dad took my brother Tom and me for ice cream there every evening. Happy memories!
Bishop DuboisI graduated 1953 from Bishop Dubois. I believe your brother Ernie was in my class at OLL. I hope he is doing well. Give him my regards.
Bill Healy
Names from the Old NeighborhoodBrendan & Bernie turned 76 on February 2. Don't ask how I remember things like this. I forgot what I had for breakfast this morning. I'll be 76 August 11, weather permitting.
Everyone seems to forget Pinky (Michael) Pereria. You are closer to my late brother Jim's age. Jim hung out with Jimmy and John Bartlett, Donald LaGuardia, Tommy & Willie Taylor (born on the same day a year apart -- Irish twins). Again I don't know why I remember these things.
Eddie O'Brien used to go by the name Drawde Neirbo, his name spelled backwards. He was a close friend of Big Jack Hughes. I recall a group of you guys joining the Merchant Marine during the war. The Dragos lived on 141st Street between Hamilton Place and Amsterdam Avenue. The youngest (Joseph?) was in my class.
A couple of years ago I went down to the old neighborhood with my sons. Surprisingly, it looks great. Lots of renovations going on.
My beautiful wife June is a BIC (Bronx Irish Catholic) from the South Bronx. It's not as great a neighborhood as it used to be, but lots of great people came out of there. I took her away from there, married her 50 plus years ago and got her a decent dental plan and raised five kids in New Jersey.
I graduated in 1948. It should have been 1947 but Mother Mary Inez red-shirted me in the 6th grade.
Will stay in touch.
Norm Brown
Norm Brown??Norm, I graduated in 1947 from OLL. I knew a kid (Norman Brown) who lived on 141st between Hamilton and Broadway. I think he had a younger brother. He went to OLL with me, but he did not graduate from OLL. Eddie McGlynn was in my class, and the Wittlingers. I lived at 510 W 140th. Are you that Norman?
Bill H.
The Summer of '66Hi Jackie and Ed,
I never had one of Dave or Milton's corned beef sandwiches but I can say that the pastrami on rye was a thing that dreams are made of. I recall the knishes out the window in the summer and the hot dogs. Thanks so much for taking me back in time. Milton would take the pastrami out of that silver steamer box sharpening his knife, and the rest was heaven on rye. Milton was still behind the counter in the summer of 1966 but after that I can't say.
I am sure that "The Night Before Christmas" is still recited next to Clement Moore's grave, in Trinity Cemetery. In my day the Girl Scout Troop that met at the Church of the Intercession would participate in the recitation of the Moore piece.
I know that 853 Riverside Drive is on the Upper Drive, since I sat on "The Wall" on summer evenings as a teenager. You said you moved in 1941 to 90 RSD -- did you mean 90 or 890? I am not familiar with the numbering of the "lower" drive where the red house sits (so it was called).
I am off in search of a good sandwich.
Peace,
Rita
Stagershorn & ChesterfieldMalcom X was shot in the Audubon Ballroom at the back of the theater, which later became the Teatro San Juan. I saw Abbott and Costello there en Espanol. At 7 years old I was run over by a truck at 142 Street and Broadway, right outside the Staghorn, I managed to live!
I would hang from the window outside the Chesterfield, watching football games on TV with Bobby Heller and Herby Gil and Buddy McCarthy.
That was a hell of a snowstorm in '47. Remember digging tunnels through the snowbanks? You forgot to mention Larry's, just next to the Sugar Bowl. I would watch "Victory at Sea" there.
A couple of years ago I took a walk through the OLL neighborhood and realized that when you are a kid everything you see is at eye level and taken for granted, but as you look up and around from a mature aspect it becomes a whole different world. It is really a beautiful area.
90 Riverside Drive WestHi Rita. I'm positive 853 was on the Lower Drive. When the new building went up next to it around 1941, the address was 90 Riverside Drive West. However, it caused so much confusion with 90 Riverside Drive (downtown) that the address was changed to 159-32 Riverside. The plot originally hosted a small golf course.
I also went to the Church of the Intercession with the Girl Scouts. Small world. And the wall -- on a hot summer night, standing room only.
Jackie
West 140th NYCThe kids I hung around with were in the OLL classes of 1940 and 1941. I had a weekend job in 1941 with Ike's Bike Rental on 141st. He needed someone to identify the kids who rented there (bikes rented for 20 cents an hour -- and that's the truth). We started a Junior Air Raid Wardens group and had a store next to Ike's. Collected paper etc, for the war effort.
And you are correct, within three years, when we turned 16, McCarvill, O'Brien, Drago and I joined the merchant marine.
Did you know the Kieley family -- lived at 1628 Amsterdam before moving to the lower Bronx: Pauline, Rita, Josephine, Peggy and the two boys Nicky and Jimmy. I loved going to their upstairs apartment for tea, especially when Mrs Kiely made Irish Soda Bread. My wife (then girlfriend) Jackie sponsored Jim Kieley when he became a citizen around 1948. He was from County Waterford, the same as her family. We celebrated our 59th anniversary last week.
Regards,
Eddie Woods
My Brother JimYou probably knew my brother Jim Brown. He too was born in 1928. He died three years ago today. He graduated from Cardinal Hayes, spent a couple of years in the Army and graduated from Fordham University. Jim lived in Wycoff, N.J. He was very successful in business.
Amsterdam AvenueThe Denning family (10 kids) lived on Amsterdam Avenue between 141st and 142nd. Hughie had polio and wrote away to FDR for an autograph during the war. As it turned out he was the last person to get one. He was in an iron lung at the time. It was a big deal. Lots of press. One of the boys, Peter Schaefer Denning, was born on the back of a beer truck on the way to the hospital. Hence the name.
The Connolly brothers, Eamon and Timmy, lived in the same building. Everyone in the family had red hair. Not unlike Bobby Foy's family. If I recall properly, the father looked like Arthur Godfrey, his mom like Lucille Ball, Bobby like Red Skelton, and they had a red cat plus an Irish setter.
It took a lot of guts for a group of 16-year-old kids to join the merchant marine. A belated thanks for your service.
My wife makes great Irish soda bread. Is there any other kind? You can give ten women the same ingredients for soda bread and you'll get ten different tasting breads. All great! Especially with a cup of Lynches Irish tea. The season is almost upon us once again.
The only Kiely (different spelling) I knew was my NYPD partner Timmy, who was from the South Bronx, Hunts Point. Tim grew up with Colin Powell. Having worked in the South Bronx for 25 years and marrying June Margaret O'Brien, one of six girls from there, I pretty much connect with the people of SOBRO, as the area is now known. Sooner or later everything gets yuppified.
How about this web site? Something else!
Take care,
Norm
Mea CulpaHi Jackie,
Of course you know 853 RSD is on the Lower Drive but Google Maps does not. "Looks like 800 Block of Upper Drive is even numbers and 800 Block on Lower Drive is odd numbers." I did not locate 159-32 but I did find a 159-34 and 159-00, seems to be the last structure (red brick) on the Lower Drive area that we are speaking of, now a co-op but the year of construction is not listed.
I have very fond memories of the folks I spent time with on "our" wall.
Peace,
Rita
Yes, it's Kiely I was in error. For whatever resaon, The Dublin House on 79th off the NE corner of Broadway became a meeting place for many of the kids from the OLL area up until the early 1970s: Eamon Connolly, Tommy Taylor etc. I worked with Tom for a short time before be went on the force and then as a T Man. I have not heard from him in too many years. One of great fellows from the old neighborhood.
In friendship,
Ed Woods
My e-mail: eandjwoods50@Yahoo.com
P.S. The Kiely family moved to Crimmons Ave in the Bronx
West 159th Street NYCDear Rita,
I do enjoy rehashing the old neighborhood and the wonderful memories we can recall. Yes, it is the last buillding on the street and I lived there until 1950, when I married Ed. My uncle George lived there until c. 1981 in a rent controlled apartment, and yes, it did become a co-op.
When first opened, the building had four entrances. Later, in the 1980s, it was down to one main entrance on the via-dock for safety reasons. I loved our apartment there, which had a beautiful view of the Hudson and the George Washington Bridge.
My friend June, nee McAvoy, lived at 3750 B'way. We were together in school for 12 years at St. Catherine's and Sacred Heart. June lives in Maryland.
By the way, my e-mail is eandjwoods50@yahoo.com
Jackie Woods
The Red HouseDear Jackie & Ed,
How lucky you were to have lived in the Red House, especially with the views of the bridge and the river. Growing up I never knew anyone who lived there, so never saw the interior, I'm sure it was lovely. I heard that David Dinkins lived there at some point before he became mayor. Many of my classmates lived in 790 Riverside Drive and I was always so impressed that their apartments had two doors. Our apartment was on the fourth floor of a walkup and across the street from a garage. Funny how I was not really impressed by a doorman but by the two doors.
I seem to remember a gas station near your friend June's house...other side of Broadway from the museum, now college. One of my St. Catherine's classmates, last I heard, he was teaching at the college.
Was Rexall Drug on the corner of 157th, with the newsstand outside the door, when you lived in the Red House? In my home we seemed to have all of the city newspapers -- morning, afternoon and evening, some selling for 4 cents. To this day I read two papers every day and still long to go out Saturday night to pick up the Sunday paper.
Thanks for the email.
Peace,
Rita
Class of 1959I attended O.L.L. from 5th to 8th grade. My 5th grade teacher was Mother Mary Edward, what a wonderful woman, 6th was Mother Mary St. Hugh, 7th Mother Mary Edward and 8th Mother Mary Bernadette. Graduated in 1959. Classes were mxed -- black, white and Latino. Memories are mostly good ones -- Father Kline, Father Malloy, Father Hart. The religious experience most memorable, especially during Lent, novenas on Wednesday afternoon and Stations on Friday after school.
Liggets / RexallHello Rita,
I loved the lunch/soda counter at Liggetts/Rexalls. for whatever reason, my family used the pharmacy across the street, on the east side of B'way, to have prescriptions filled.
The family that owned and operated the newsstand helped us lease our first apartment at 600 W. 157th. Apartments were in short supply in 1950. We lived in the unit formerly rented by the Singer Midgets next to Peaches Browning of Daddy Browning fame. Of course they were long gone when we lived there. My father was very active in the Tioga Democratic Club with the Simonetti family.
Do you remember Warner's Cafeteria between 157 & 158th? We visited St. Catherine's Church Christmas week 2007 with our niece who wanted to see where she was baptized in 1953. She is on Mayor Bloomberg's staff.
Warm regards,
Jackie Woods
eandjwoods50@yahoo.com
Oh, as the poet said, "To return to yesteryear and our salad days."
My brother ErnieBilly, Ernie and I went to Bishop Dubois. Ernie for two years and I for three. We both were bounced in 1951 and transferred to Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J. We went there on a Schrafft's scholarship. Our mom waited on tables at Schrafft's in order to send us there. In those days it was pretty much a blue collar school. It wasn't that far removed from being a reform school. VERY STRICT. Today it's much more hoity toity. I'm still in close touch with my old classmates, most of whom have been successful in life.
Ernie was a great basketball player, the first to score over 50 points in a game in Bergen County (three times), breaking Sherman White's record. White was an All American but messed up his career in the 1950-51 college season. Ernie went to Fordham on an athletic scholarship.
Ernie died in 2002. He was a very special guy, extremely generous and giving. We miss him a lot. He lived a couple of blocks away from me as did most of my siblings. Sad to say, the circle grows smaller.
1959 OLL gradsAre you out there, does any one remember or know of any of the following graduates of O.L.L. -- Starr Martin, Carol Long or her sisters, Carlotta and Tony, Josephine Velez, Melvina (Kinky) Boyd, Chicky Aponte. I went of to Cathedral and the others to various Catholic high schools and lost touch. After finding this site, many memories have come back. Would like to know how old friends are doing.
600 W. 157thHi Jackie,
You lived around the corner from the post office. I remember going there once to get a money order and losing Mom's gray umbrella. Your building was by the Grinnell, where a friend's father was the superintendent during the 60s.
Liggett/Rexall -- we went to Snow & Youman's for drugs but to Rexall for film, flashbulbs and of course the soda fountain. The last time I was there was April 1965, just before my son was born. I do not recall a Warner's Cafeteria but do remember the famous, and oh so good, Imperial Deli, Lambos Flower Shop, Commander Bar & Grill, Full Moon & McGuire's.
I visited St. Catherine's about 1994 and it was like being in a time warp, except for the piano near the altar. The church was just as I remembered when I got married in 1964, only smaller. The school is now public. I am in touch with some of my friends from the Class of 1958. It was nice that your niece was able to visit the church where she was baptized.
I never heard of the Tioga Democratic Club or the Simonetti family (the only Simonettis I know are the family whose niece and son are engaged).
Jackie, was the pharmacy on the east side of B'way United or perhaps that was a sign for United Cigar?
So nice this walk down memory lane.
Best to your Eddie.
Peace,
Rita
Memories: dreams of long agoHi Rita,
My close friend June's, nee McAvoy, family lived in the Grinnell for many years. Her grandfather was Judge McAvoy. Eddie claims to have an exceptionally good memory but he says he needs to yield to you. You do have a most wonderful recall. However, he is more familiar with the OLL school and church neighborhood.
My brother-in-law (much older than Eddie and me) was in the vending machine business: Ace Distributing -- jukeboxes, cigarette machines etc. Eddie worked for him for a few years when we first married and the company had locations in almost every store in the neighborhood (including the Commander). That is a dead business today. How about Pigeon Park? You couldn't sit there.
Warm regards, Jackie Woods
GrinnellHi Jackie,
Do you recall a Doctor James Farley living in the Grinnell? Doctor Farley must have taken care of half of Washington Heights over a period of many years (had an office on 178 St. between Broadway and Ft. Washington Ave.).
Ah, Pigeon Park...I remember it well and always tried to circumvent it!
All the best.
Rita
I remember it wellHi Rita,
Our family physician was Dr. VanWorth, as an adult I visited Dr. Liebling, who had an office c. 156th. He later moved down to 72nd Street. A wonderful caring man (who made house calls). My son Ed Jr. was 58 years old this week, I have a picture of him when he was 1 sitting on a pony taken on the corner of 155th and B'way. John Orlando's brother married a St Catherine's girl. I don't know her age.
Ain't we got fun?
Jackie Woods
Current resident of the neighborhood (Grinnell)I'd like to invite you to visit www.audubonparkny.com, which is a virtual walking tour of the neighorhood you're discussing. You can "take the walking tour" online or go to the Sitemap/ Index of Images to read about specific buildings and see pictures from many eras.
I'm happy to post any pictures (and credit the owners) of the neighborhood that you'd like to share - focusing on the Audubon Park area (155th to 158th, Broadway to the river).
www.audubonparkny.com
Walking TourThanks so very much for posting the site for the Audubon Park area...I had a delightful walking tour.
Down Memory Lane at OLLWhat happened, did we all run out of memories?
Who remembers the stickball field comprised of Hamilton Place from 140 to 141st Street. A ball hit over the small roof on 141st was a double and over the roof at 95 Hamilton Place was a homer. After the war the street was so crowded with cars that the games were moved to Convent Avenue in front of CCNY. There was some heavy money bet on these games.
Walking TourThanks, Rita, I'm glad you enjoyed the walk! Please come back and visit the site again. I post a Newsletter on the homepage (www.AudubonParkNY.com ) each month highlighting new pages, information, and research, as well as updates on the Historic District project.
Matthew
The Prairie StateDoes anyone have memories of the Prairie State? It was a WWI battleship moored in the Hudson River at about 135 Street and I believe used for Naval Reserve training. As kids we snuck on board and played basketball on it. The deck (court) had a bow on it which is partially responsible for the replacement parts in my ankle today.
How about the "Dust Bowl" at 148 Street next to the river where we played football and baseball? Today it's state of the art, at least compared to what we played on. Now there is grass on the field. Progress!
Under the Via DockFar from being a battleship, the Prairie State (also called the Illinois) was an old transport. However, as youngsters we would have been impressed by its size.
Pancho and another neighborhood boy whose name I can't recall trained there before being sent to England as frogmen in preparation for the D-Day landing. It was decided that those boys with big chests (big lungs) could do the job best. I can recall Pancho telling me after the war that he had only a few days of Boot Camp.
Sports -- we used the oval near City College. Stick ball -- 144th between Amsterdam and B'way. A ball hit to any roof was an out, never a homer. Spaldines was Spaldings were costly in the 1930s. One had to learn to hit as far up the street as possible, over the sewers. That is why the good hitters (one strike only) were called three-sewer hitters.
The Prairie State was docked under the Via Dock c. 130th St. Like you, we visited it often. Nearby were the meatpacking/butcher plants. During the 1930s there were two "Hoovervilles" (hobo camps) under the dock. The overhead gave the men some some protection from the elements. I had an uncle who took me fishing off the piers. I felt sorry for the "lost souls." Then one day they were all gone. Hosed away! I used to wonder where they went.
In friendship
Ed Woods
eandjwoods50@yahoo.com
PanchoAs you recall, Pancho was short, about 5'8" and maybe 200 lbs. and a very good athlete -- basketball, baseball and could hold his own on a basketball court. I remember speaking to him about the UDT (Underwater Demolition Teams,the precursor to the Navy Seals) and asking him if they were relegated to swimming all the time. He told me they spent most of the time running, running, running to build endurance.
As I remember, the Oval was near Convent Avenue. We never used the term two sewers in stickball. That was a Bronx expression. We bought our pink "Spaldeens" at Rutenbergs candy store on Amsterdam Avenue between 140 and 141 Streets for a nickel. He also sold kids twofers, two for a penny loosies, and Bugle Tobacco so you could roll your own or purchase a corncob pipe to puff away. Loosies were two cigarettes for a penny. I understand due to the cost of smokes they are doing that again.
We played "swift pitching" in the park at Hamilton Place between 140 and 141 streets. It was comprised of drawing a box (a strike zone) on the the handball court wall and throwing balls and strikes as hard as you could. I'm a little younger then you but I remember the Swift Meat Plant down by the river and the time John Garfield filmed a scene from a movie, Force of Evil, running down the steps toward the river. Somehow he ended up at the red lighthouse under the GW Bridge and discovered his brother's body, played by Thomas Gomez, in the river. As kids during the war we would fish and crag off the docks right near the old Two Six Precinct. I'll never forget the time my younger brother came home with a catfish and an eel and damn near burned the house down trying to cook them.
Boy, life was a lot simpler then. Even with a world war raging.
Amsterdam AveRutenbergs, address 1628 Amsterdam, I lived in the upstairs bldg for five years. The Rutenbergs lived in an apt in the back of their store. Tommy Smith worked their paper route for many years. Tommy lived in 1626 next to McCarvill. The Conroys (Johnny the Bull) lived in 1630. Eddie O'Brien lived in 1634 over the Rothschild Deli where we could buy Old Dutch beer for 14 cents a quart plus a 5 cent deposit. "It's for my father." The playground around the corner was busy at night after it closed for the day.
My recall of loosies is six for five cents in a small paper bag with six wooden matches.
You refer to the station house as the "Two Six Precinct."
Something tells me you were "on the job." A good family friend, Frank Lynch, became the Captain at 152nd and Amsterdam (The Three Two)?
Your e-mail?
In friendship,
Ed Woods
Three Oh PrecinctYes I worked in the South Bronx for 25 years which included 10 years at the Yankee Stadium,ten of the best years of my life. A ring side seat at the world. We played many games there-- Shae, West Point, etc. -- and traveled to Venezuela with the New York Press team. I worked out with players on the DL. Thurman Munson was a good friend as was Catfish Hunter. Lou Pinella and Graig Nettles.
We guarded Pope Paul and Pope John Paul II. John Paul II gave off an aura that was indescribable. I was very close to him on three occasions and he made you weak in the knees and start to shake. Believe me it wasn't his celebrity status. Some of the people I knew were Cary Grant who used to look for me when he came to many games. Someday I'll tell you how he saved my marriage. A funny story! Jimmy Cagney came to a few games. Boy was that sad to see Rocky Sullivan, every Irish American kid's hero, all crippled up with arthritis.
I finished up in the Bronx Detective Task Force and never looked back. It was a great career if you rolled with the punches.
The six for five must have been filter tips.I forgot about the wooden matches. Do you remember the Hooten Bars they sold? One by two inch chocolate candy stuck on wax paper. Nobody seems to remember them. Rutenberg had the greatest malteds. They kept the milk frozen. God! Were they good!
The Three Oh Precinct was at 152 Street & Amsterdam Avenue across from St. Catherines Grammar School where I went to kindergarten for a day. Later it became Bishop Dubois H.S., which I attended for three years before getting bounced along with my younger brother.
There was a kid by the name of Neally Riorden who may have lived in your building and a kid by the name of Brian Neeson Hannon who died around 1945. I remember going to his wake on Vinegar Hill. Next we should take a trip down Vinegar Hill.
My e mail is fuzz408@optonline.net
God bless & HAPPY EASTER
Rutenberg'sRutenberg's had the greatest milkshakes mainly because they kept the milk semi frozen. They also had Hooten bars, sheets of one by two inch chocolate that sold for a penny each. I've never met anyone from a different neighborhood who heard of them.
Yes, I was on the job for 25 years in the South Bronx. Check your personal e mail. The Three Oh was at 152 Street and Amsterdam Avenue. It's now a landmark. The new precinct is on 151st Street of Amsterdam.
How about Wings Cigarettes with the photos of WW II planes?
The Shamrock Bar was on the corner of 140th Street and Amsterdam. On weekends guys would pick up containers of beer and carry them over to Convent Avenue for refreshments during the stickball games.
Take care,
Norm
PanchoLooking for any info on Pancho Periera. He is my godfather and was best friends with my dad, Frank Corrigan.
OLLumnaI went graduated from OLL in 1950. I came across this great site and I am wondering if anyone graduated the same year. I have been trying to get in contact with my fellow classmates and this looked like a great opportunity!
The Old ShamrockI visted the 140th Street area a few years ago and took a few pictures. The Shamrock is gone with the wind -- history.
I showed a picture of the building (1626 Amsterdam) to Vinnie McCarvill, who had lived there, when I met him for a beer in New Orleans a few years ago, and he almost wept. Some great memories of our Salad Days came to mind.
"Oh the nights at the playground on Hamilton Place." It's the place where we came of age.
In friendship,
Eddie and Jackie
ParishesOne thing folks from New Orleans and New York City have in common is that you identified your neighborhood by the parish in which you lived.
Agnes GerrityMy mother, Agnes Gerrity, born 1916, and her brothers Thomas and Richard (born c. 1914 and 1920) attended Our Lady of Lourdes until high school. All three have passed away but I'd love to hear if anyone happens to remember them. Like your mother, my mom loved that school and spoke of it often.
Anne Collins
OLL Confirmation Day 1935I thought former students would enjoy seeing the uniform we wore in Our Lady of Lourdes School Primary Dept (1st to 4th Grade) during the 1930s.
KnickersIt was humiliating having to wear knickers. Remember pulling them down to your ankles and thinking "maybe people will think they are pegged pants"? Boy did we ever fool the public! And how about the high starched collars -- I don't think they could have even gotten Freddie Barthomew to wear them. Didn't we replace them with waterboarding?
However Ed, they look great on you. Do you still wear them?
Old OLL picsDoes any one have some old OLL class photos or just some neighborhood pictures to post here in the comments? I'm sure a lot of Shorpy addicts would appreciate them.
OLLi go to school at lourdes now im in the 8th grade and i think its really cool to see people talk about the memories they had about my school before i was even born and i would love to see some kind of picture of the inside of the school like a class picture so i can see what it used to look like
[Just wait'll you get to Capitalization and Punctuation. - Dave]
Class of 1964I too went to OLL from '57-'64. My parents and I moved to 3495 Broadway at 143rd St. in 1956. I started in the 4th grade with Mother Mary William. The school in those days was no longer a military academy. We wore navy blue uniforms, white shirts and the school tie and the girls wore navy blue jumpers with a white blouse and blue tie. It was very interesting reading about all the students who came before me and where they lived. I always was so curious to find out how this old neighborhood looked like years before we moved in. As you all know, the area changed at some point racially, although when I was at OLL the school was still predominantly white with a handful of Black children. I will always have wonderful memories of my time at OLL. My parents moved out of the area in 1969 and I since been back once to recapture some old memories of my childhood.
NostalgiaThe picture that follows is the 1937 graduation class with the girls omitted. Monsignor McMahon built church and school(1901-1913); after 15 years as Curator at St Patrick's Cathedral, constructed 7 years earlier. See church of Our Lady of Lourdes for construction details. At the time of graduation, Fr's Mahoney, Dillon and Brennan resided across from the Church. The Poor Clares home was to right of the church, and secondary had Society of the Holy Name Jesus sisters. School and Church gave us faith and hope and discipline. Our world was the depression years followed by the wars. Our class of 1937 was just in time. The handsome lad below the sergeant stripes is the brother of contributor Ed Woods.Ed,and brothers Bill and Dennis served with distinction. Andy Saraga bottom right was a highly decorated Marines The others served as well. I hope Our Lady of Lourdes provides the inspiration our families sought for us.
Nostalgia 1937The 1937 graduation photo is great. It's with both sadness and pride to think that most of these wonderful kids would be defending our country in a very short time in different uniforms.Believe it or not this military training was useful. How about more pictures like this and some candid neighborhood shots.
OLL in the NYThttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/nyregion/16priest.htm
So interesting: A more recent residentJust want to say that I've read every entry on this post. It is so interesting to read the memories shared by those that lived way before you in the same neighborhood. My mother and I live on 135th Street near Riverside between 66th and 77th, then moved to 138th between Hamilton and Amsterdam. I went to PS 161 and graduated from CCNY. I also have fond memories of my childhood. I used to play basketball in an after school center at Our Lady of Lourdes as a young kid, visited the area a couple of years ago and brought back great pics.
Cheers to all
Mauricio
The Grinnell: Celebrating Its Centennial Those of you who remember The Grinnell (800 Riverside Drive) may be interested to know that the residents have just begun celebrating the building's centennial. We're having a year of events,so this is a great year to visit!
Check the website: http://www.thegrinnellat100.com/ for photos, historical news articles, and residents' memories (and contribute your own).
Click the calendar tab for a listing of the events between now and July 2011.
Matthew
Why Grinnel!The hundredth anniversary of a building? Forgotten is the fact that it's also the anniversary of the site building, and all the memories fast fading. I think Ed Woods of all the graduates, always hit the mark. Several others struggled to add something. If someone remembers the names of the sisters and preferably anecdotes please don't deny this information from this site. I personally remember sister Rose from 4th grade 1934. I believe Mother Michael provided my brother Andy's Confirmation name. Others with better memories speak up. Also it wasn't only our generation that owes recognition for all given freely.
Christmas at Our Lady of LourdesAt Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, the statues in the creche would be replaced by live students. The scene would be repeated the following day at the 9 o'clock Children's Mass and the 11 o'clock High Mass.
A live baby would be borrowed to lie in the manger. The girl who posed as the Blessed Mother and the boy who posed as Joseph were the envy of the entire student body.
"Oh to return to yesteryear."
Happy New YearThank you SHORPY for bringing back to us so many wonderful memories. It has been said pictures are worth a thousand words. Shorpy's pictures, however, are worth so much more -- just can't put a number on them. Thank you and a Happy New Year to the Shorpy Staff.
Ed and Jackie Woods
[And thank you, Ed and Jackie, for inspiring the hundreds of interesting comments in this thread. - Dave]
The OLL neighborhoodIt's nice reading and re-reading your stories about OLL, Hamiliton Place,and seeing the names listed.
Many years ago, in my past, I visited the old neighborhood only to find it somewhat depressing, old and in poor shape. One time in particular I had parked my new "rental car" near West 144th street, and was showing my young children some of the places I lived on Amsterdam Ave, Hamilton Place ( 95 and 115 buildings) when two older African Americans came up to us, and said you'd be better not park here." It wasn't said as a threat, but more it's unsafe here, now that the area has changed. I had told them that I used to live here many years ago.
I am glad to hear from Norm, that the area has rebounded, and in looking at the prices of the real estate I wish we had stayed here.
Keep up the good work.
Matt Waters mattminn@aol.com
Hi Anon Tipster 1959. I used to date Carlotta Long & visited her lovely home many times. 147 off Convent as I recall. I often wonder in my old age (69) whatever happened to her & how her life turned out. I did graduate from Dubois in 1960, so I'm very familiar w/the sights & places referenced here. So glad I found this site.
Tis That Time of YearThank you SHORPY for another year of nostalgic pictures and comments. Brought to us in Black and White and Living Color.
Such fond memories of long ago, especially the itchy bathing suits. In the 1920s and up to the early 1940s, when on or near the beach and boardwalk, boys had to wear the coarse wooolen suits with the tops on at all times.
Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New York to Dave and staff.
Ed and Jackie Woods
Our Yearly PlaysI graduated in 1960 after 8 memorable years. I remember our yearly plays in the auditorium and all the hard work and practice we put into it. Father Hart was our pastor and I remember our farewell speech to him. My best friend was Lydia Marin and I remember Maria Santory, Joyce Brown, Maria Matos, Alma Mora, Maureen Quirk. If any of you from this class are around, give a shout.
Jackie Erick
Class of 1964Class of 1964 where are you guys? Write something here you remember. Do you remember me?
OLL Class of 1957Here's the names of the boys' teachers from 1949 to 1957. I think I have then all correct.
Grade 1, 1949-1950: Mother Mary Theodosia
Grade 2, 1950-1951: Sister Mary Macrina
Grade 3, 1951-1952: Mother Mary Eulalia
Grade 4, 1952-1953: Mother Mary Declan
Grade 5, 1953-1954: Mother Mary Edwards
Grade 6, 1954-1955: Mother Maria Del Amor
Grade 7, 1955-1956: Mother Mary Euphrates
Grade 8, 1956-1957: Mother Mary Rosario
Eighteen nuns lived in the convent adjacent to the church on 142nd Street: eight boys' teachers, eight girls' teachers, the school principal, known as the Reverend Mother, and the housekeeper.
Six priests and the pastor lived in the rectory on the south side of 142nd Street.
OLL was also known as Old Ladies' Laundry.
I've written down the names of almost all the boys who, at one point or another, were part of the class of 1957. Only 27 graduated in 1957. Many were expelled in 1956 as part of a crackdown on gang membership. Mother Mary Rosario was brought in to preside over a difficult situation, but after the expulsions her job turned out to be not that complicated.
I'll post the list of names another time.
Our Lady of Lourdes Alumni ReunionHello out there.
I am a current parent at Our Lady of Lourdes. As we enter a new decade, OLL would would like to start planning a few reunions. I am looking for some potential organizers to help us reach out and plan events in the new year. Please reach out if you are interested in planning or connect dots.
There are many new happenings at the school. We will be launching a new website by the end of the month with an alumni portion.
Thank you!
Vanessa
vdecarbo@ollnyc.org
Class of 1971Hi! I graduated in 1971 and our teacher was Sister Patricia. I remember Marlene Taylor, Karen, Miriam, Dina, Elsie, Maria and Robin, Carla, Margaret and Giselle. Our class was an all girl class. I also remember Sister Rebecca, Sister Theresa, Sister Rosemarie (our history teacher). I continued to Cathedral High School but I miss all my dear classmates. Is there anyone out there who enters this site? My email is n.krelios@yahoo.com I would love to hear from someone. Marlene Taylor became a doctor (wonderful!!!).
Shorpy Hall of FameIf there were a Shorpy Hall of Fame, this photo would definitely have to be in the inaugural class. I've enjoyed going through the many comments for this photo going back to 2007 even though I have absolutely no connection to the school other than being Catholic. What is equally as awesome is that a look at the location today via Google Maps indicates that, other than a few trees, fire hydrants, automobiles and removal of the statue, everything is basically the same today.
Double DutchKllroy is correct about not much having changed, but it looks like even the foreground fire hydrant is in the same place (but a newer model).
It looks like the circa 1914 photographer was set-up on the northeast corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 143rd Street. The Google Maps photo was taken travelling northbound on Amsterdam Avenue. So basically both photos are shot from almost the same location; it is interesting how the vintage image makes 143rd Street appear much shorter than in the Google image. I guess it's the result of different formats and lenses.
By the way, the buildings at the far end of the T-intersection, on Convent Avenue (mostly blocked by the trees in the Google image), reflect NYC's Dutch heritage [ETA:] as does "Amsterdam" Avenue.
(The Gallery, Education, Schools, G.G. Bain, Kids, NYC)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-01818u2.thumbnail.jpg "Our Lady of Lourdes: 1914")
- Union Station: 1906
- Circa 1906. "Union Station, Indianapolis." If we step on it (but not in it) we just have time to ... traffic would not impede vehicular traffic.
The station house and tower remain intact but the structure has seen considerable ... your fussy arc lights failed, we see several old-fashioned gas fixtures back by the station building.
Fringe On Top, Grade Below If ... Posted by Dave - 08/25/2013 - 3:08pm -
![Circa 1906. "Union Station, Indianapolis." If we step on it (but not in it) we just have time to make the 3:25 to Terre Haute. 8x10 glass negative. View full size.
Before it was elevatedAbout 10 years later, the tracks were elevated throughout the city so train traffic would not impede vehicular traffic.
The station house and tower remain intact but the structure has seen considerable modifications to its exterior. In addition, the area under the tracks and directly south of the station house was enclosed and docks put in place for use by freight companies.
You can see the Illinois Street tunnel heading south under the rails. It was removed and the street returned to ground level. I think this was the only tunnel, all other crossings were at-grade. It must have been tough getting to anywhere south or east of the tracks as they formed what was called the Belt Railway. As you can imagine, expansion of the city was primarily northward until this barrier was alleviated.
Why Union?Why are so many train stations named "Union?"
[Wikipedia says this. -tterrace]
Electric light gains a toeholdIn the foreground, an arc light is seen on a particularly tall pole... in 1906, they're fairly well established as the modern, whiz-bang way to bring noonday brightness to the public places in your city, like the plaza in front of Union Station. Edison's long-life, low current incandescents would eventually dominate, replacing the buzzing, sparking novelty fixtures. And just in case your fussy arc lights failed, we see several old-fashioned gas fixtures back by the station building.
Fringe On Top, Grade BelowIf this were Oklahoma, that surrey would have a fringe on top.
A deeper thought: I'm surprised at the steep grade change between street and rail tunnel. Wonder if it caused problems for the engineers/drivers.
and today --View Larger Map
+117Below is the same view from May of 2023.
(The Gallery, DPC, Indianapolis, Railroads)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY_4a11603a.thumbnail.jpg "Union Station: 1906")
- Esso Extra: 1942
- ... per gallon? Am I reading the price correctly on the gas pump?
[Um, no. - Dave]
Fill 'er Up! Tell me ... Wonder why there are two "extra" pumps sitting inside the station in the background apparently not (yet) in use. Maybe the station was ... Posted by Dave - 01/15/2024 - 11:46am -
![December 1942. "New York, New York. Girl at gasoline pump." Medium format acetate negative by Royden J. Dixon for the Office of War Information. View full size.
Outfit materialVelour? Corduroy? It has a soft, plush look.
8 cents per gallon?Am I reading the price correctly on the gas pump?
[Um, no. - Dave]
Fill 'er Up!Tell me that's not Ethyl manning the pumps!
Neatness countsWomen employees had certainly improved the look of stations since John Vachon photographed one two years earlier.
The smoking sectionA fine example of modern looking "computer" pumps, at least if we ignore the archaic sight-glass (and those weird dome tops, that give them the appearance of small mosques).
What particularly caught my eye, however is the curious(ly skimpy) "No Smoking" signage: the placement gives the illusion that the proscription only applies to the regular grade
That is no girl!An adult woman, to my eye. But those were different days.
"Extra" pumpsWonder why there are two "extra" pumps sitting inside the station in the background apparently not (yet) in use. Maybe the station was in the process of converting over to the "new" style pumps and that's what motivated this photo.
[There are pumps on both sides of the island. What motivated the photo is wartime girl station attendants! - Dave]
Price per gallon todayAdjusted for inflation, 20 cents in 1942 would be $3.83 today.
Outfit material continuedI guessed it might be cotton velveteen?
Want to feel old?Few people who are less than solidly middle aged have seen gasoline pumps that show a sale's cost with only three digits. Yet before the 1973 oil embargo they were ubiquitous.
PeekabooI wonder who is that hiding behind the bulk oil dispenser? Doesn't appear to be wearing a pump jockey uniform.
When People Didn't Throw Away Pennies8 and 10 cents a gallon are $1.56 and $1.95 in today's dollars.
[The prices on these pumps are 18 and 20 cents a gallon. - Dave]
Mystery equipmentWhat is the equipment on the right in front of the two pumps and the person in black on the back side of the island?
Gas Is Less Expensive Today If 20 cents equals $3.83 today, one must remember that cars today get almost twice the mileage they got back then. So back then to go to and from the same distance as one would go today it would cost them 40 cents, adjusted for inflation should mean that gas today should be $7.66.
IMO, the reason we think gas prices are so high is because of all the "stuff" we simply must have that did not exist back then, like computers, cable TV, the Internet and more, that comes out of your paycheck each month. Take all that away and $3.50 a gallon would be less a drain today than 20 cents was back then.
In Case of Fire ... There is a handy soda-acid fire extinguisher hanging on the wall to the left. It appears that there was some wear and tear on the filler hoses dragging on the ground. The fix was to wind some heavy rubber tubing around the area on each hose. The Imperial Oil Company in Canada still uses the name Esso for its gas stations.
Silver LiningCoins were made from real silver back then! Take that into consideration when adjusting for inflation.
(The Gallery, Gas Stations, NYC)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-8d09847u.thumbnail.jpg "Esso Extra: 1942")
- Low Miles: 1942
- ... would have been.
Four Gallons a Week That "A" gas rationing sticker in the rear window allowed the owner to buy four gallons ... (haha) AC spark plugs describes it as a "Vintage Gas Station Display/Sign. Nice early Spark Plugs Display consisting of two old ... Posted by Dave - 01/12/2024 - 6:40pm -
![November 1942. "Lititz, Pennsylvania. Showroom of the Pierson Motor Company owned by Al Pierson, who is showing his one second-hand car to a local farmer. Before the war there always were three brand new cars in his showroom. Now the chief business of garages is repairing." Acetate negative by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size.
Al Pierson at warMarjory Collins also photographed him sitting resignedly at his dealership desk. She reported that, in addition to keeping the garage open, he was working a defense job at Armstrong Cork Company in Lancaster, and serving as an air raid warden and aircraft spotter.
Hmmm. Rare photograph Usually the car salesman has his hand in the customer's pocket.
Spiel"This sweet thing was previously owned by a little old lady, who only drove it once a week to church -- "
Of light and colorThis is a good example of a photo often seen from this period that shows the position and number of flashes. And it makes me think of how much equipment these photographers were lugging around, and how much effort they had to put into getting the shot. Not to mention knowledge and skill.
Also, the car appears to be two-tone. And I'm sure someone here can tell us what those two colors would have been.
Four Gallons a WeekThat "A" gas rationing sticker in the rear window allowed the owner to buy four gallons of gasoline a week. Rationing wasn't done so much to reduce gasoline use as it was done to reduce use of tires and conserve the limited rubber supply.
I guess the farmer cleaned out the inventoryWe can see in the above photo that, in November 1942, Pierson Motor Co. had one used four-door car. But the inventory was triple that in January 1943, as evidenced by the ad below in The Lititz Record-Express. I also learned exploding antifreeze was a thing.
I found the ad looking for an address, which I guess Al Pierson felt wasn't necessary. In another ad the location was listed as Main St. I looked down Main Street on Street View and did not see a building like the one in the 1942 photo.
Reeling him in?Spiffy salesman appears ready to set the hook and close the deal on an attractive two-tone 1941 Plymouth Special Deluxe Sedan. A 1939 version from the same manufacturer is parked across the street.
Collins' techniqueOkay, there are the shadows from the two flashbulbs -- but why are the farmer's head and right arm transparent, as if she had done open flash?
Brilliant new PlymouthInformation on Plymouth two-tone paint combinations for 1941 is minimal at best. Eye-catching color palette combinations can be visualized in period advertising, links below.
https://vintagepaint.biz/images/source/Chrysler/Plymouth/1941_ply.jpg
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/VE4AAOSwSpZd1C7s/s-l1600.png
https://s.car.info/image_files/360/0-940480.jpg
RedefiningJail birds.
Tire treads?I don’t know anything about tires from this era, but the tire treads look a bit worn to me. Can anyone tell if they were in decent shape? Or during wartime, did we just take what we could get and save the good tires for the war effort?
Future military manI wonder what would happened to the young farmer. He seems to be of the age the military would mobilize for the war.
Seems to be goneListed at 28 West Main Street, looks like a new fire department and a parking lot took over as usual.
Making ends meetAs GlenJay noted in the first comment below, Mr Pierson was holding down three jobs. But "serving as an air raid warden and aircraft spotter" would seem to be a cosy gig. As we all know, in 1942, swarms of German bombers made repeated non-stop transatlantic return flights of 40 hours in order to disrupt the operations of the Armstrong Cork Company, a key part of the US weapons industry. Seriously, who in government was that far out-of-touch that a ridiculous position of air raid warden and aircraft spotter was funded in nowheresville Pennsylvania?
My dear departed mother was an incendiary bomb rooftop spotter in Oxford, England during the 1940/31 Blitz. For some reason, Germany never bombed Oxford despite the huge Morris Car factory churning out Bren Gun Carriers. But German bombers regularly flew over Oxford on the way to Coventry. Kept her watchful. All Mr Pierson ever had to do besides filling out forms full of zeroes in the Qty columns every day, was to have a darn good sleep every night and collect a paycheck now and then. Truly farcical and illogical to have such official positions, but governments wanted people to be in constant fear of armed alien hordes invading their one-horse towns, apparently. Still at it today.
Light and DarkSeems this image was edited in the darkroom to balance light and dark areas, outdoors and indoors, but not consistently edited. Look out the window on the left, there is a straight vertical strip almost the full height of the window where the house and the trees are all lighter within that strip and darker on both sides outside the strip. Light and dark editing would also explain farmer's transparent effect. Probably not a flash or other artifact, just darkroom work. They could do a lot in the darkroom before Photoshop.
[There was zero editing "in the darkroom." This is a scan of the camera negative. - Dave]
Re: technique, and paint colorsI googled "1941 Plymouth Special Deluxe Sedan colors" and was surprised to discover how many possible colors this car might have been.
I'm also surprised that no one has commented on the gas thief bird cage.
As for the partially transparent farmer, I think I have a plausible explanation. The most obvious and visible image we see of him is the result of the exposure during the flash. But the film was exposed for a longer duration than that, in order to fully capture the outside elements, and during that time, he moved the parts of his body that appear to be a double exposure (his right arm and the back of his head).
Reminiscent of 2020-22The idea of one used car in a dealership is reminiscent of what we saw during Covid, when supply chain was so badly constrained.
I recall showing up at the local Subaru dealer for service and they had absolutely nothing on the showroom floor. No new cars available, and few used.
Third brake/tail light Didn't realize they had that back in the 40's . Thanks !
Lively ACIntrigued by the bird cage with its catchy sign, I did some digging.
An online auction listing for a bird cage similar to this one but plugging (haha) AC spark plugs describes it as a "Vintage Gas Station Display/Sign. Nice early Spark Plugs Display consisting of two old spark plugs posing as birds in a bird cage with a double-sided tin sign hanging underneath that reads: 'These Birds Were Caught Stealing Gas! And replaced with Lively AC spark plugs' The early ones did not have the AC brand on them; they did that later."
So it seems that our sign is one of the early ones without the branding. Now I just wonder why it appears that there is a single stuffed bird in the cage, and not two spark plug birds. Maybe those flew away.
The wall hanging (not the car)Your next car _ De Soto. Styled to stand out _ Built to stand up!
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Marjory Collins, Small Towns, WW2)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-8d10123u.thumbnail.jpg "Low Miles: 1942")
- We Fix Flats: 1942
- April 1942. "Service station. Hamilton, Ravalli County, Montana." You want Coke with that? Medium ... I notice John Vachon called this a service station, not a gas station. I remember the days when you pulled your car up next to a gas pump and told the attendant who came out to greet you how much you wanted ... Posted by Dave - 10/27/2021 - 2:13pm -
![April 1942. "Service station. Hamilton, Ravalli County, Montana." You want Coke with that? Medium format negative by John Vachon for the Office of War Information. View full size.
That oil stove/furnace in MontanaI imagine got a good workout in the winter months. Looks like a great place to hang out and have a game of checkers and catch up on the local news.
This is a service stationI notice John Vachon called this a service station, not a gas station. I remember the days when you pulled your car up next to a gas pump and told the attendant who came out to greet you how much you wanted of which grade. While you sat in your car or did whatever you needed to do the attendant put gas in your tank, cleaned your front and rear windshields, checked your oil and told you the results, maybe put water in your radiator or windshield wiper tank, and checked the pressure in all four of your tires. As a norm attendants were not given tips; it was just part of going to a service station.
The Plymouth was getting tiredOn March 18 Roy Stryker had written to Vachon that he was trying to get new tires for his old car. Even being a government employee was apparently not a free ticket during war rationing. I wonder if Vachon had eyed the tires in this station, but the approval wasn't expected until near the end of April.
What a Great Looking Gas StationThe only thing missing is the rubber hose to ring the bell to indicate that someone is waiting at the pumps. In reality it is probably hidden by the bushes and the car.
Open QuestionDo the garage doors slide or fold? I think they slide. Any ideas?
[Perhaps they pivot. - Dave]
Open Question - slide or fold?From the handle placement and orientation plus the state of the right hand door, my guess is that they are hinged vertical panels that slide sideways and bend at the side to travel back into the bay. Sort of like the modern vertical garage doors mounted sideways.
(The Gallery, Gas Stations, John Vachon, Small Towns)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-8c21661a.thumbnail.jpg "We Fix Flats: 1942")
- Fill 'Er Up: 1942
- ... California. Tank truck delivering gasoline to a filling station." Photo by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full ... that this truck is a 1937-1942 White model 820.
Gas station memories See Again It Saturday: My father's Gulf station c. ... Posted by Dave - 05/29/2015 - 12:49am -
![June 1942. "Tracy, California. Tank truck delivering gasoline to a filling station." Photo by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size.
StreamlinedBack when even utility vehicles had style.
Missed my chanceThe Tracy Inn is still there. For several years I drove past Tracy on 580, never knew there was anything there to see.
Several identification clues hint...that this truck is a 1937-1942 White model 820.
Gas station memoriesSee Again It Saturday: My father's Gulf station c. 1955. I remember peering into the water-filled Coke cooler.
The pause that refreshesThe Coca-Cola box at far right looks like one that would have had bottles of Coke submerged in icy water so cold you thought your hand would freeze while you fished one out. But, oh, that taste on a hot day! And the curvature of the cold bottle was perfect for rolling across your forehead between swills.
At the gas stationThe car parked at the Associated gas station building is a 1941 Studebaker sedan, rather dowdy looking when compared to the very aerodynamic styling of the post-war Studebakers. When introduced to the public at dealerships in June, 1946, the 1947 models were truly futuristic in design and about equally loved (or despised.)
Coke ice boxLarc, my grandfather had a gas station in Callahan, Florida, with one of those Coke ice boxes and you are correct about how cold the bottles got. His had a sort of track that held the neck of the bottles and you slid the one you wanted to get it out. My favorite was Grapette. Sometimes I got to fill the thing with bottles and dump out all the bottlecaps.
As you may remember, there used to be promotions where a kid could get into a Saturday movie matinee for a couple of bottlecaps of a certain brand and a quarter, and I took full advantage of that at the movie theater in Fernandina, where we lived.
My grandfather must have had thousands of the attached postcard made of his station and the adjoining restaurant and motel, as they are always available on eBay. The site is now a CVS.
Correct me if I'm wrong...but weren't Flying A gas stations owned by Gene Autry? Never much of a singer or actor, but a damn smart businessman.
[OK. The "A" in Flying A gas stations came from the Associated Oil Company. No connection with Gene Autry's Flying A Ranch, Rodeo and later TV production company. -tterrace]
Now a parking lot...but the building next door still stands tall.
Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away,before the invention of the octagon for stop signs, there were "Comfort Stations." Some of them were Certifiably Clean. Clean enough for a baby.
[Note that there is an octagon, however. -tterrace]
Grape drink in ice-cold vending machine. Yum!All this talk of icy cold Coke... I guess my favorite was Grape Fanta in a coke machine that was full of ice-cold water with the track holding the bottle like the ones mentioned above.
I loved the old-fashioned gas stations with full service bays, tires, and wash racks. I miss those times, and thank Shorpy for bringing back the memories.
Octagon?Sorry, tterrace, but the star in your example on JDC-OKC's comment is 7-pointed so it must be a heptagon.
[Not the star, the octagon. -tterrace]
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Gas Stations, Russell Lee)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-8c32173a1.thumbnail.jpg "Fill 'Er Up: 1942")
- War Kitchen: 1941
- ... accurately on the home front during wartime. Those Servel gas refrigerators always seemed to produce a faint odor, but they did work ... in Washington DC, where Senior is manager of a service station. Lenore works for the Federal Power Commission.
Senior died in ... Posted by Dave - 06/21/2022 - 10:31pm -
![July 1941. "War housing. Mrs. B.J. Rogan and her small son, Bernie, in the kitchen of the Rogans' new war home at the Franklin Terrace housing project in Erie, Pennsylvania. Mr. Rogan is a drill press operator at a nearby plant which is working three shifts on war contracts. The Rogans pay about twenty percent of their income for rent." Medium format acetate negative by Alfred Palmer for the U.S. Office for Emergency Management. View full size.
Light bulb in the trash canThat used to be a familiar sight, as manufacturers held to highly inefficient--thus highly profitable--incandescent bulbs long after alternatives were possible. It took an act of Congress (Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007) to phase out incandescent bulbs that typically lasted 750-1000 hours, as opposed to today's LED bulbs which won't need replacing for 25,000 hours.
That CoffeepotWas my worst enemy after visiting my father-in-law's house for the first time for an overnight stay and being asked by my wife to "make coffee." Of course I had no idea how to make coffee in that kind of pot.
We had only been married a year and I had been in the US for the same.
Needless to say, I greeted everyone to breakfast with the best coffee sludge a newbie could make.
Still thereThe Franklin Terrace apartments are now called the John E. Horan Garden Apartments. The old kitchen was tiny but charming; now, not so much.
https://www.hace.org/housing-info/hace-rental-properties/john-e-horan-ga...
https://www.hace.org/about-us/revitalization/
Snack TimeIt's about 2 pm according to the clock on the wall. I am just wondering what he did to get a snack at 2 pm.
When I was his age, I didn't dare ask for a snack that soon after lunch. I usually waited until about 3 pm. Chances were 50/50. If if got to be 4 pm - it was too late - 'dinner is soon'.
There's a busted light bulb in the trash bin. I wonder what wattage it was.
Looks peaceful to meEverything spic and span and in its place while Mrs. Rogan whips up something tasty for her family, but I'm sure it reflects accurately on the home front during wartime. Those Servel gas refrigerators always seemed to produce a faint odor, but they did work using a science I never understood of how to make cool with a gas flame. Between 1955 and 1960 with I was in Boy Scouts, we'd spend Memorial Day weekend at a deer lease in the Hill Country of Texas between Kerrville and Medina. The first thing our Scoutmaster did upon entering the asbestos sided cabin was light the Servel refrigerator and that odor lingered throughout the weekend, but we had a lot of fun.
[Fun fact: Servel is a contraction of "Serving Electricity." - Dave]
Movin' on upIt's new, nice, clean, and not an attic nor a small travel trailer still on wheels.
I couldn't find the Rogan family in the 1940 Census, but did find this description of their living arrangement progress: "Defense housing, Erie, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. B. J. Rogan and their small son, Bernie, at home in the living room of their new defense home in Erie, Pennsylvania. Mr. Rogan is a drill press operator at the nearby General Electric Company plant. He earns $42.50 a week, and pays about twenty percent of his income for rent. Before moving into a newly constructed defense home at the Franklin Terrace housing project, he lived in a remodeled attic, and then a trailer. For the latter he paid 6 dollars a week, including all utilities."
I'm pretty sure the B. stands for Bernard. The Franklin Terrace housing project is now the John E. Horan Garden Apartments. Horan was/is the director of the Erie Housing Authority. These units are now public housing.
PercolatorI suggest Baxado ought to retry the percolator for making coffee. I still have my parents' percolator which is used extensively on camping trips. Makes a great cup of coffee, but be careful of the grounds!
Encyclopedias, The seat of knowledge
Loco ...... motive on the table.
1941, huh?Since The U.S. didn't enter the war until December, why was this family living in "war housing?"
[Yes, huh. Some googling might provide enlightenment. Keywords: Lend-Lease, Battle of Britain. - Dave]
Found 'em Bernard J. Rogan, Sr., wife Lenore, and son Bernard Jr. are in the 1940 census, living in Washington DC, where Bernard Sr. is an insurance agent. All 3 were born in Pennsylvania.
In 1948 they are living at 2130b Gladstone Ct., Erie PA. Occupation was listed as "Tool Rpr".
In 1950, they are back in Washington DC, where Senior is manager of a service station. Lenore works for the Federal Power Commission.
Senior died in about 1983. Lenore died in 1992. Junior died in 2016.
Let there be (free) light."Light bulb in the trash can" reminded me that here in Detroit (and I assume other cities) the Edison Co. would exchange light bulbs (burned out for new) at no charge. That went on for years until some local store owner sued Edison for restraint of trade because he wanted to sell more lightbulbs. And won! What a yutz.
Monday ... is laundry day. And this kitchen appears to have a combination kitchen sink and deep laundry tub. If Mrs. Rogan was lucky she would have an electric wringer washer, otherwise it would be the old washboard. It would lean against the angled portion of the laundry tub. My 1928 house still has its original double concrete laundry tubs.
There were also refrigerators that operated on kerosene.
Re: Snack Time by Soda_PopGiven his age, the social conventions of the time regarding raising children, etc., it's highly likely that Junior had a relatively early lunch - between 11:30 and noon, followed by a nap. Upon rising from said nap, he could have had a regular snack, followed by playtime in the yard all afternoon. Dad may have been at work until 3 or 3:30, and walked home by 4. Dinner may not have been until 5, so a 2 o'clock snack for Junior wouldn't have been out of place. Kids' stomachs are smaller than adults are, and their metabolism is generally higher.
(The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, Kids, Kitchens etc., WW2)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-8b00438u.thumbnail.jpg "War Kitchen: 1941")
- Petro-Hut: 1920
- ... "Penn Oil Co., Massachusetts Avenue & Wisconsin Avenue station." National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.
Neato ... and Garfield Street NW:
Penn Oil I love the gas station photos Shorpy has been featuring. Nice variety, from petroleum ... Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 4:25pm -
- Pearl Harbor Bar: 1942
- October 1942. "Tulsa, Oklahoma. Gas station converted into a bar." Libation station for the Duration. Acetate ... S Main.
(The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Gas Stations, John Vachon, WW2) ... Posted by Dave - 12/07/2023 - 3:37pm -
![October 1942. "Tulsa, Oklahoma. Gas station converted into a bar." Libation station for the Duration. Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Office of War Information. View full size.
Infamy in a boothThis was looking north(west-ish) on Main from Ninth.
To the disappointment of many, I imagine -- but the surprise of few -- it's currently a vacant lot. The PHB seems to have lasted at least a few years, mostly making the pages via the police blotter: various nefarious goings-on which recalled the namesake in all the wrong ways.
[Meanwhile back at the mall, City Briefs is now called Urban Underwear. - Dave]
Ah yes, next to Wisenheimers.
But back to our station, it seems to have started life under the Rainbow Oil Company
operating under a number of titles - "filling station", "service company" - and mottos.... "Limp in and Leap out!" scored well on the Cleverometer
A question of tasteIt's difficult for me to imagine a "World Trade Center Bar" in early 2002.
Matriarchical neighborhoodThe full name painted on the window is Ava's Pearl Harbor Bar, right across the street from Cathey's Furniture. I guess it was a time when women brought home the bacon and fried it up in a pan.
Seldom seen nowI had a good buddy who was an accomplished artist and a sign painter. He had to make ends meet, ya know. I always liked being able to identify his signs by the signature applied in one corner or the other. Now, with more and more signs done in other mediums, that characteristic is nearly vanished. Gone with the painter's touch under the modern vinyl or something. So, it was a pleasant thing to see the proudly added signature of "Cruzan" above the alcove's header. Hope he did well for himself, and my friend too. Nice picture, Dave.
Keys, keys, keys!I think they also make keys.
Out of luckProperty looked good, apparently a vacancy as well -- just had to make it over to "1102 So. Boulder" to make an inquiry. Alas, the owners seem to have permanently moved out, like the Pearl Harbor Bar itself.
LovelyA technically beautiful photograph. Great contrast. The diagonal slash of sunlight across the upper reaches of the dark-brick building in the background is mesmerizing.
That posteron the right side of the building is, I believe, this one.
Easier to sayI would have named it Pearl Harbar.
Near two main streetsThe owner's choice of an eye-catching name for the business may relate to its proximity to "The Main Street of America - Route 66 (which passed a block or two south of the intersection of Main Street and Ninth Street in Tulsa). No doubt the "Pearl Harbor Bar" name appeared among the many billboards facing those whose non-replaceable tires (and soon, ration stamps) enabled them to travel by car or truck during wartime.
Tough state to own a barOn Oct. 24, 1942, after what photographer Vachon called his "two wonderful wasted sunny weeks in Tulsa," he complained in a letter to his wife Penny written in Oklahoma City's Biltmore Hotel that "this hotel, in this dry state, has a nice bar for army or navy officers only." In 1942 Oklahoma was mostly dry; hard liquor was illegal but watery beer (not more than 3.2% alcohol) was legal. (The governor and AG didn't concede an exception for military personnel, and tried and failed to convince the Supreme Court to let it keep whiskey seized en route from St. Louis to Fort Sill's officers club.) So with vast numbers of young men temporarily encamped or employed within Oklahoma's boundaries due to the war, an off-base bar like the Pearl Harbor could barely benefit from it.
Tulsa is confusing!For those of trying to figure out where this is - Google informs that there are no fewer than 5 intersections between "9th Street" and "Main Street": N 9th & W Main, W 9th & N Main, E 9th & S Main, E 9th & N Main, S 9th & E Main; there may be more, google only ever lists five suggestions.
If internet chatter is to be believed, Pearl Harbor Bar was where E 9th turns into W 9th as it crosses S Main.
(The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Gas Stations, John Vachon, WW2)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-8d09182u.thumbnail.jpg "Pearl Harbor Bar: 1942")
- Vacation Wagon: 1964
- ... 27, 1964." This Kodachrome of a 1960 Chevrolet Parkwood station wagon is from a box of slides found on eBay. View full size.
... discs, which I found very impressive at the time. A real gas guzzler by European standards.
Family Truckster This is probably ... Posted by Dave - 05/31/2022 - 1:09am -
![ Our annual salute to the start of vacation road-trip season, first posted here 15 years ago. Everyone buckled in? Let's go!
"Great Falls, Montana. Return after 3 weeks Vacation. June 27, 1964." This Kodachrome of a 1960 Chevrolet Parkwood station wagon is from a box of slides found on eBay. View full size.
family trips in those carsI also spent some hot days in a car like that on the way to the grandparents. My mother flattened the second seat, put a mattress on the floor and loaded three of us and the stuff in on top of it, us and the stuff equally loose and not tied down. We whined and fought and slept our way to Cape Cod from southern NJ. My father always "had to work" (they were her parents), so she did the drive alone, I think maybe 12 or 16 hours? Seemed like forever.
NostalgicThese people still had a bright future ahead of them, full of great hopes for the days to come. They hadn't gone to the Moon yet, and to them, by 2007 we'd have personal helicopters and robots would run everything. The possibility of the President being indicted for a crime was unthinkable. My job as a web designer hadn't even been invented yet.
The lawn looks like it's literally astroturf. Were the colors really like that, or is it an effect of the kodachrome?
Holy cow! We had a 59 chevyHoly cow! We had a 59 chevy stationwagon back in the day. Does this bring back memories. We would drive to Florida from Virginia a two day trip usually in the heat of the summer to visit grandparents. Five children two parents no ac. Damn!
[This is a 1960 Chevrolet. - Dave]
DeflectorsDoes anybody know/remember what the deflectors left and right of the rear window were for? These may have been an aftermarket item.
It is amazing how well the colors in this slide are preserved after almost 50 years. It looks like Kodachrome all right, including the telltale blue cast in the shadows
The Astroturf look......to my eye, seems to come from the little flowers (or toadstools?) that are in the lawn. At the smaller image size, they look like specular reflections, making it seem like the grass is shiny.
[The white flowers are clover. - Dave]
1964As I remember it, this was less than a year after the assassination of JFK, there were race riots in the south and we (I was 14) were all starting to question attitudes towards women, blacks, hispanics, homosexuals and the culture we had grown up with. One of the more minor cultural things was the importance of your front lawn.
50 years?I was born in 1964, and trust me, it hasn't been 50 years since then, yet.... ;)
Re:DeflectorsThe deflectors on either side of the rear window were intended to blow air across the rear window to prevent snow from accumulating. A similar deflector is often fitted along the roof on station wagons from the 60s on. I think they were usually a factory or dealer option in later years, but I really don't know specifically about this model or when they might have first been used.
OK, 40 years.Sorry, I was too vexed on the year of manufacture of the car.
I remember that someone in our street had the sedan version of this Chevy. Like any 8 year old, I was fascinated by the winged tail and the panorama windshield. You didn't see many of these in Europe around 1960; everbody, including my father, was driving Volkswagen Beetles. (He later had a new Ford Mustang 1964 1/2 , with a 289 ci V8 and a four speed box, rally pack and (optional) front discs, which I found very impressive at the time. A real gas guzzler by European standards.
Family TrucksterThis is probably what Clark Griswold's dad took the family on vacation in. It's a 1960 Chevy, and I'm guessing it's a Kingswood model. The Brookwood was the more stripped down model and I think the "full dresser" was called a Nomad. This one isn't completely chromed-out and it has the small, dog-dish hubcaps so I'm thinking it's the middle of the line model.
I think the rear air deflectors also helped keep exhaust gas from entering the rear passenger compartment when the vehicle was moving with the tailgate window was lowered. Though it doesn't look like there's room for anybody in the third row of seats for this trip. With the window up they also helped keep the rear glass clear of snow and dust.
These are Parents of the Year......in my book. Can you imagine going across country now without all of the luxuries and Wendy's and portable DVD players and Nintendo and cell phones and credit cards?
These parents did it all the HARD way...and I'll bet they made a lot of memories that summer!
My jaw droppedOnce again the red stationwagon family blows me away. The color composition here is perfect.
Chevy ParkwoodThis is a 1960 Chevrolet Parkwood. Parkwoods and Kingswoods both use Bel Air trim (mid-level). The Kingswood, a nine-passenger wagon, has the third-row rear-facing seat, and two steps on the rear bumper (one on each end just outside of where the tailgate would come down). Less obvious is that all Kingswoods have power tailgate windows, an option on the other Chevrolet wagons.
I still drive a '59 ChevyI recommend owning one. In 2000 We took the ultimate road trip with mine from near the Canadian border in Washington State through the desert to Las Vegas and back up through California and Oregon. There really is nothing like seeing the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet. Cruising the Strip in Vegas was a blast. We might as well have been driving a space ship with the reactions we got. Sadly, these Chevrolets were mostly scrapped and very few survive.
60 ChevySadly, the third row seat had not been invented as of yet and the deflectors were used to deflect air into the rear of the stationwagon at slower speeds. I may not be an expert but I'm old enough to have ridden and slept in the back section of a folded down stationwagon. We didn't know about SUV's yet.
Chevy WagonChevy's Parkwood and Kingswood wagons could both be had with a third-row seat. And back then, for the record - wagons WERE the "SUVs" of the day!
[According to the 1960 Chevrolet sales brochure, only the Kingswood was available with third-row seating. The International Travelall and Chevy Suburban Carryall were two of the SUVs of the day. - Dave]
The luggage rackis something you don't see anymore. It hung on the wall of the garage when not in use. Once my dad, who was in a big hurry, didn't secure the tarp on top properly...
We played car games, like Alphabet, Road Bingo, and License Plates, read books, colored,sang songs and squabbled. You took your chances with local restaurants. We hadn't got used to entertainment on demand, so we didn't miss it.
And to Dave Faris: It's the film. I once assured my daughter that colors when I was a kid were the same as today. "The Fifties," she said, in her narrator's voice, "were an oddly-hued decade."
Slide ConversionHow does one convert slides to digital photos? Any website links or advice?
[You'd use a film scanner. I used a Nikon 4000 ED for this one. - Dave]
Family TrucksterWe had a green Ford station wagon, not nearly as nice as this, and with our family of six, it was a masochistic experience to take family vacations. Every summer we said that's it, we will never do this again, until the following summer when we did it again. The best part was arriving home again, but I will say that NOT having DVD's and high tech electronic gadgets forced the kids to look out the window and they gained incredible geographic knowledge from seeing the U.S. I could truthfully call these annual trips "purgatory on wheels."
Road TripMost all of my long-distance car trips were connected with moving as my father was in the USAF. In August 1954, after being in the UK 2½ years, we got in our in our '53 Chevy coupe and went from New York City to the SF Bay Area, mostly along US 40. Entertainment consisted of looking at the scenery and checking off the towns on the free roadmaps that the service stations provided in each state. Iy being the pre-Interstate era, one did go thru many towns back then! (Excepting on the PA Turnpike) Burma-Shave signs relieved the boredom in the rural areas. We had a car radio (AM only, of course), but for some reason I can only recall it being used while crossing the salt flats west of Salt Lake City.
Westward HoIn 1951 our family, my wife, son and daughter, living in Detroit, started taking trips to Cheney, Washington, to visit my WW2 buddy. All on old state highways, no air conditioner, 4½ hours to get through Chicago and the kids loved it. Took these trips out west to the 1970s. We still go west to see my buddy and my daughter in Seattle and we enjoy crossing Nebraska on old U.S. 30. It is a treat to be off of I-80.
Nostalgia Ain't What it Used to BeDon't look at this picture and pine for the old days.
Change the car to a green Olds Vista Cruiser and that's us in 1969. Back then, dads bought a new station wagon to kick off the summer vacation. Dads don't buy an SUV today for that reason.
Without repeating some of the horrors already mentioned below, there was the additional joy of Mom sending back a Coca Cola bottle for one of her sons to use in lieu of a loo. If the girls had to go, we had to pull over. Not so with the boys.
Watching mom backhand-fling a Coke bottle out her window, filled with fluid far different that what was originally intended, and seeing it bounce and spill along the shoulder as we whizzed along at 75 mph (pun intended), that's about the fondest vacation memory at least from the car perspective.
Today with the daughter hooked up to a video iPod and the sons enjoying their PSP, it's a pleasure to drive for distances. Back then, we didn't play License Plates. We played Punch Buggy and Slug Bug, etc. Fistfight games.
Let's go!I loved car trips, and I never had DVD players and Nintendo. I watched the scenery and kept a travel diary. those were some of the greatest times of my life.
Road TrripWe had to make do with pillows & blankets. A mattress would have made it actually comfortable. I don't know if Dad didn't have the imagination for that, or just not the money. I suspect the latter.
We'd sing sometimes. It was 12 hours from north Georgia near the North Carolina line to south Georgia, near the Florida line, where my grandmother lived.
I see the moon; the moon sees me.
The moon sees the one that I want to see ...
Thanks for the memoriesMy folks had the four-door sedan version of this car, in sky blue & white. My mom used to have a station wagon, don't remember what kind, but it was memorable for its pushbutton transmission on the dash instead of a gearshift! However my favorite "finned" car was our family's Buick Invicta. Now that was a car!
Third Row SeatsFords had third-row seats in 1955. I'm pretty sure Chevy had them by 1958 at least. Chevy didn't offer woodgrain sides until '65.
Sunday ridesWe had that same car, only in light blue.
No seat belts or infant seats for us! We'd put my baby sister in one of those deathtrap baby seats that hooked over the front seat and off we went!
What a picture!This picture takes me back almost 40 years to the road trips our family did during summer holidays when I was a little boy. It feels like I myself am stretching my legs after coming home. The colours, the moment -- one of my favorite pictures in Shorpy.
My Favorite Car was a 1960 Chevrolet Impala 2-dr hardtop. Bluish gray with white segment on the side, red and white interior. The first car my wife and I bought. Paid $1750 for it used in 1962. We made some wonderful trips in that car.
Re: Family TrucksterJust saw this item on TV yesterday about a real family named Griswold that had their station wagon modded to look like the Family Truckster from National Lampoon's Vacation movie for their trip to Disney World.
http://tinyurl.com/plo5kub
See the USA in Your ChevroletFor our family, it was a 1962 Buick Invicta wagon. Huge car designed for doing massive mileage on the interstates and that's what we did -- six or seven hundred miles a day from Indiana to the Rockies for our annual vacation.
Procedure for Accessing the Cargo AreaWe had one of these when I was a kid as well. Ours was a silver gray color. See the chrome disk on the trunk door? Upon arriving at destination, here's what you had to do:
1) Put trunk key in center slot (separate keys for ignition and trunk back then)
2) Open flap (as seen in photo)
3) Rotate flap several times till rear window is fully down
4) Reach in and grab handle to drop tailgate
Simple, huh?
Looking at old red carsmakes my elbows hurt! Seemed like some of those old single stage paints, reds in particular, had to be waxed every two weeks to keep them looking decent. The widespread adoption of clearcoat finishes in the late 80's to mid 90's freed modern kids from the dreaded frequent waxing chore, thereby giving them the leisure time to start the video gaming revolution...
As Long AsThis isn't really the "End of the Road"! That's a scary title for all the Shorpy Faithful.
3 Adults + 7 Children =1000 mile round trip to see grandma.
We kids didn't mind a bit.
Seat belts?I don't think you heard "Everybody all buckled up?" all that much in '64. I'm not sure of the exact dates, but if you had seatbelts back then, you bought them at a discount store or an auto parts store like Western Auto or J. C. Whitney, and they were lap belts only. Three point seat belts didn't come along for several more years, if I recall correctly, and it wasn't until the government mandated new cars with ignition interlocks in the 1970's that "real men" started to actually use them.
Back then, we used to spend our vacations camping, so the car was packed to the gills, including the center of the back seat. My sister and I each got little cubbyholes next to the doors, with just room enough to sit for the trip to northern Wisconsin. My dad drove a two tone green '55 Oldsmobile Delta 88. I saw a picture of that car a few months ago, and as soon as I did, I started remembering a surprising amount of detail about the car's details. It was handed down to me when I went off to college in '64.
Seat beltsbobdog19006 is correct in that seat belts were not standard equipment in 1960. However, they had been available as a dealer-installed option since the 50s. By 1966, they were standard in all Chevys, and by 1968, they were federally mandated.
I spent many a happy hour on family roadtrips in our '68 Ford wagon, nestled in the narrow gap between the second row and the rear-facing third-row seat, no seat belt, of course. Neither did my siblings in the third row.
Service StickersI remember those stickers that service stations or car dealers put on the inside edge of the driver's door when you got your car serviced. This Chevrolet has two.
Our road trip rigWe had a '76 Chevy Beauville van, a ho-hum light brown rather than red, which made up for the lack of chrome spears with its cavernous interior: two bucket seats in front for Mom and Dad, two bench seats, and a homemade plywood bed. Strangely, all that space wasn't enough to prevent sibling quarrels.
The best story of this van was the return trip of its maiden voyage, when my uncle, who owned a small niche-market manufacturing firm, talked my dad into towing a piece of equipment from South Texas to a parking lot near Chicago, where we would deliver it to his customer from Wisconsin. We quickly got used to being asked at every single hotel, gas station, and rest stop, exactly what was the three-wheeled contraption with the hydraulically-actuated vertical roller-chain conveyor with teeth.
The looks on everyone's faces when my dad told them it was a grave-digging machine: Priceless!
Curtains?Every August for years we travelled from Birmingham to Cincinnati for a week of visiting my parents' relatives. Before our last such trip in '69, we went through a black-and-white '57 Plymouth Savoy, a metallic-beige '63 Ford Country Sedan wagon (the one without wood on the sides) and a '67 Olds VistaCruiser. I'd love to have that VistaCruiser back today. Ours was burgundy red and my dad put red stripe Tiger Paw tires on it. Imagine a 442 station wagon.
As for Shorpy's '60 Chevy wagon, I only just noticed the homemade or aftermarket side curtains, with vertical stripes of brown, gold and red to compliment the bright red car.
Thanks, Dave, for showing us this photo again... and including all the original comments, too. Great to relive all the great summer vacation stories with everyone!
Re: deflectorsIn the days before the rear window wiper on a station wagon, some folks put these on and the deflected air current would help to clean off that window to a degree. Not having either, within a mile that rear hatch would be almost impossible to see through. Been there, done that and got the tee-shirt.
This does bring back memoriesWe had a similar station wagon, but it was salmon (or was it mauve, or ecru?) colored with a white top (I think). It had a 460 a/c (four windows down while traveling sixty miles per hour, some times 560 with the rear tailgate window down). I remember taking a trip from Mississippi to Six Flags over Texas on U.S. Highway 82 (two lane most of the way) in Summer, 1964. The back seats were folded down, and the four of us kids had pillows, blankets, books, and board games to pass the time. It was replaced soon after with a 1965 Ford Country Squire Wagon with a/c, and fake wood paneling on the side. Instead of a rear facing bench seat, it had two small seats on either side that faced each each other.
Memories of summer tripsWe also lived in Montana back then, and our family truckster in the 1960s was a 1963 Rambler Classic station wagon. (Yes, I suffered greatly for it among my friends.) That's what I learned to drive, and we ranged all over the western US and Canada in it.
Before that, however, we traveled in a 1949 Studebaker Land Cruiser 4-door sedan, which my dad (both inventive and frugal) had outfitted with a set of three back seats that, when covered with the mattress from our roll-away bed, filled the back seat and trunk area with a very passable sleeping unit. That's where I spent most of my time on our travels. At other times, I would climb over the front seatback into the front bench seat between my parents. That's where I was on August 5, 1962, when we were preparing to leave Crescent City, CA, and heard on the radio that Marilyn Monroe had died.
Deflector's actual purposeWas to break the "vacuum" the "wall" that was the rear of that wagon created which would suck exhaust into the car if that rear window was open even a little bit. The fresh air, the snowless/cleaner rear window were merely bonuses...
Buckle up?A 1960 Chevy wagon probably didn't have seat belts unless the owner installed them. The kids in the back were pretty much free range as long as they didn't make too much noise. Lots of people piled the stuff on the roof and put a mattress in the back for the kids.
It was a great way to go and most of us survived.
[Seat belts were optional on all 1960 Chevrolets. - Dave]
Car playgroundMy folks had a Ford wagon of that era. No seatbelts. Folks put a mattress in the back. Became our playground on long trips. We had no desire to "sit" in a seat.
Miss station wagonsI miss station wagons. I prefer them to the SUVs that replaced them.
I also miss the bold bright colors that cars use to come in.
No SquattingLooking at all the stuff already loaded, I'm surprised the back of this wagon isn't dragging on the ground. In fact it's sitting pretty level. I wonder if dad had overload springs installed?
We've had one built for you.To BillyB: Station wagon suspensions were designed with the idea that they would have to haul some combination of eight people and their luggage, so they did OK when loaded down. They *were* softer than contemporary pickup trucks, so the back end of the station wagon wouldn't bounce all over if there were only one or two people in it. Especially at the time of this photo, gas was 25 cents a gallon and would be that price forever, so the factory didn't mind spending a little extra weight on a beefier suspension.
Also, most of the really heavy luggage went on the roof rack, which was fairly close to being in the middle of the wheelbase. The back-back, behind the rear seat, tended to contain lighter things, like blankets, pillows, the picnic basket, and - as the trip progressed - bags of souvenirs. If Dad wanted to use the inside rear-view mirror, you couldn't stack stuff much higher than the seats, anyway.
Source: I rode in the back of a '79 Oldsmobile wagon every summer from '79 to '87. I think the longest trip we took in it was from Kansas City to Washington, DC and back.
WagonsWe had a 1956 Ford wagon, then '61 Mercury wagon, finally a (I think) 1964 Ford wagon.
I remember one year with the Mercury, my mom ran low on gas. We were up in the mountains in a resort town. To get to the gas station, she had to reverse up hills, turn around for the downhills, turn around again for going up the next hill. What a ride.
Another time, 1965, we were in a typhoon in the current wagon. There were eleven of us in it. Another wild ride driving on a road along the bay. Waves washing over us, my mom hugging the middle of the road (there was an island we could not get across).
Wagons were great.
The 283 V-8with its 170 gross horsepower is not going to have much highway passing reserve with all that weight. Cross-flags over the V on the tailgate would have indicated one of several 348's which would have given more than enough reserve. That car is 58 years old but properly equipped could have kept pace with most cars on the road today in equal comfort. A 58 year old car in 1960 by comparison was barely even recognizable as such it was so rudimentary by comparison to the 1960 version in its looks and capabilities. The same comparisons held true in all other realms of life comparing 1960 to 1902--homes, conveniences, dress, you name it. Virtually any of those later areas are not that significantly different from their 1960 versions.
Those deflectors... were supposed to keep dust off the back window
Nikon CoolscanI am having a problem with mine. Can you recommend a place that can repair them.
[There aren't any. Try buying them used on eBay. - Dave]
283 V8Although I agree that a 348 engine would have been a better choice for this station wagon. The 170hp 283 was the base V8 engine with just a single two barrel carburetor. The next option up was also a 283 but with a four barrel which the above wagon may have had, which would have given it a little more passing power.
Koolscan softwareDave. What software program do you use with your 4000? As it seems the program that came with it is only works for Microsoft VISTA.
[I use the NikonScan software that came with the scanner, on a Windows 10 workstation. To install the software on a modern operating system, you have to disable Driver Signature Enforcement. And it's Coolscan, with a C. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Kodachromes 1, Travel & Vacation)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/vacation_1960s_00.thumbnail.jpg "Vacation Wagon: 1964")
- Mitiguy Hardware: 1941
- ... sedan is a 1941 Buick.
The most interesting gasoline station I have ever seen. I have NEVER seen a gasoline station right in the ... at home now Here's the Google street view. The Mobil gas station is now a thrift store. The nearest gas pump I could locate is now ... Posted by Dave - 10/07/2021 - 1:48pm -
![September 1941. "South Royalton, Vermont. The main street." Medium format acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Wouldn't You Really Rather Have a Buick?I'm usually not that good at identifying pre-1950 cars, but I do believe that great looking black sedan is a 1941 Buick.
The most interesting gasoline station I have ever seen.I have NEVER seen a gasoline station right in the middle of the block like that. That is quite uniquely strange. Also, this is the earliest instance of a credit card being mentioned that I have ever seen as well. Double interestingness there.
And the monument is still there but the quirky gasoline station is gone.
[That "monument" is a horse fountain. More curbside gasoline here. - Dave]
Dobbin knows ---- just ask him.
Allegedly that round road menace is a watering trough. Amazingly -- even for Vermont, one adds (snidely) -- it's still there.
Ya gotta water your horse at home nowHere's the Google street view. The Mobil gas station is now a thrift store. The nearest gas pump I could locate is now about a quarter-mile behind where Jack Delano was standing, down Chelsea Street on the other side of White River. There are railroad tracks where this group of buildings end. The horse trough was probably placed there because the town square is across the street from these buildings. It's now planted with flowers. Looking around on Google maps I was surprised to see nearby White River Valley High School has three soccer fields and baseball diamonds, but no football field.
80 years later, oddly enough (or not), there are still several thousand lodges worldwide, and the local IOOF still draws enough members to hold twice-monthly meetings.
Chelsea Station and Odd FellowsI noticed in Doug's Google Maps view of the current location that the awning says "Chelsea Station." I wonder if that's a nod to it's its former role as a filling station. Additionally, it appears the The Independent Order of Odd Fellows still occupies the second floor above the hardware store.
Two Forms of Filling UpWater for your horses and fuel for your car. One free, one quite pricey.
(The Gallery, Gas Stations, Jack Delano, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-8c07142a.thumbnail.jpg "Mitiguy Hardware: 1941")
- Jackson Sevens: 1939
- November 1939. "Gas station in front of old colonial house (306 North State Street). Jackson, ...
The neighborhood changes and by 1939 a Sinclair gas station is a profitable option for the corner property upon which the house ... Posted by Dave - 04/10/2019 - 1:10am -
![November 1939. "Gas station in front of old colonial house (306 North State Street). Jackson, Mississippi Delta." The 777 Service Station, pumping Sinclair "H-C" gasoline. Acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size.
300 North StatePhone 2-0777
Case of the spying Sinclair servicemanThis one gave me a little chuckle. Ms. Wolcott probably asked the owner if she could take a photo of his station. Distrustfully, he may have said: "Well, alright. But don't put me in it, I will go inside until you are finished." If he were around today, he might be surprised to see himself through the station window, peering out at the photographic proceedings -- again -- distrustfully.
Spite stationThere must be a good story behind this one involving a zoning dispute. This looks to be almost as egregious as the Crocker spite fence!
Lost JacksonSadly, this charming scene from 1939 has been replaced by a sea of faceless warehouses and parking lots.
EvolutionThe first iteration of the Sinclair dinosaur was apparently an "old colonial house."
Changing TimesI think this is more a case of a property owner making the best use of their property as the area around them changes. My scenario is:
Long before 1939 an owner built a large, columned mansion in the country on a large lot or acreage on small hilltop (to catch any breeze).
The neighborhood changes and by 1939 a Sinclair gas station is a profitable option for the corner property upon which the house now sits. I believe this is the station in 1979.
In this photo the house is gone and the small hilltop is leveled. Using the location in this photo of the NE corner of Hamilton and Mill streets you can use Google Maps to see there are railroad tracks nearby to the east. In Shorpy's photo you can see an address 306 for the house. 306 Mill Street puts the house at the correct corner in the 1979 photo. And if you switch to satellite view you can see that immediate area is pretty much industrial now. I suspect the 1939 owners saw it coming.
[As noted in our photo caption, the address of the house is 306 North State Street -- not Mill Street. The service station, whose address was given in the first comment below, was at the corner of North State and Yazoo. - Dave]
Now either the Eudora Welty Public LibraryOr the parking lot for said library.
At least the library is historically significant, from the time of the Civil Rights movement, where a large sit in originated at the library. The photo in question was probably taken from across the street, in front of the (now gone) 1st Presbyterian Church of Jackson, which closed in 1951, at least per the two historic street markers there.
Long goneso much for the luck of sevens - both the gas station and the home are long gone, replaced by the Eudora Welty Library.
No Survivors to This DisputeNeither the filling station nor the fine old home survive. There is the Eudora Welty Library and a parking lot. Not able to google up the explanation how zoning, bad taste, or a family dispute let this combination happen.
What Google does tell me is that, in 1947, a Sears was built on this site, and that when the Sears closed in the late 80s, it became the Eudora Welty Library.
77Mill Street or North State Street, the cutoff sign mid-left foreground makes me wish it were Sunset Strip.
Dual 777 StationsThe address on N. State must be the Sippiana Succotash station with picture here; http://sippianasuccotash.blogspot.com/2012/09/777-service-station-and-mu...
Whereas the link to the 1979 picture provided earlier is definitely the station in the image today. At the corner of Hamilton and Mill St. like the picture says. The Church just east of the station in the 1979 image is still there if you fly in on Google earth. https://misspreservation.com/2017/07/14/friday-is-a-gas-sinclair-station...
[You are perhaps confused by the fact that most Sinclair stations of the era used the same design, and so look exactly alike. The house has a sign in the yard that says "306 N. State." The station is at 300 North State. - Dave]
The Library in Questionused to be a Sears store. The large, gray disused building on the west side of State Street used to be the library. Furthermore, Jackson is nowhere near the Mississippi Delta.
(The Gallery, Gas Stations, M.P. Wolcott)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-8c10739a.thumbnail.jpg "Jackson Sevens: 1939")
- Grease: 1920
- ... yet antique equipment is in the crates. Love the ancient gas pump.
Classical Gas The place looks decidedly closed, despite the ... '50s.
View Larger Map
From service station to Metro station This is today the location of the Georgia ... Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 9:42pm -
![Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "York Auto Supply Co., Georgia and New Hampshire Avenues N.W." National Photo glass negative. View full size.
Pardon our dustStill under construction, despite the sign. I wonder what brand-new yet antique equipment is in the crates. Love the ancient gas pump.
Classical GasThe place looks decidedly closed, despite the sign. All that remains of the site today are the three row houses visible at the right. They have lost their porches and the brick is now painted. With its angular shape, large areas of plate glass and horizontal lines, this building really foreshadowed a lot of gas stations that were to follow in the '50s.
View Larger Map
From service station to Metro stationThis is today the location of the Georgia Avenue-Petworth Station.
View Larger Map
Unusual in WashingtonI like the sign in the background, lower left: "Free Air."
Is that the gas pump?That is a cool looking piece if it is, when I first looked I thought it might be a vacuum! Like to put that up in the front drive.
No HeatFrom all the frost on the windows, I'd say the building had very little heat or none at all.
[I feel like such an old geezer explaining this. But: That would probably be soap on the windows. The glass is obscured because, sign notwithstanding, the place is still under construction and not open for business yet. - Dave]
York Auto SupplyI posted a brief history of this site a while ago, which you can read here.
(The Gallery, D.C., Gas Stations, Natl Photo)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/28513u.thumbnail.jpg "Grease: 1920")
- Old Reliable: 1940
- July 1940. "Auto of migrant fruit worker at gas station in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin." The other end of the jalopy we saw here ... Posted by Dave - 06/08/2012 - 11:01pm -
- 20 Cents a Gallon: 1925
- ... Washington, D.C., 1925. "Texas Company, James Burke Station." View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative, Library of Congress.
Another Great Gas Station I love these photos you have been showcasing lately with the ... Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 10:05pm -
![Washington, D.C., 1925. "Texas Company, James Burke Station." View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative, Library of Congress.
Another Great Gas StationI love these photos you have been showcasing lately with the early service stations. This one offers a lot of eye-candy: the station equipment, the cute little station building, the rural flavor just down the street, and of course those gorgeous billboards. Fantastic!
Gas LoansSubstitute today's gasoline prices and an adjacent loan office seems quite appropriate.
East of the River?This looks like it might have been taken in Anacostia. It was probably the most rural part of the District back then. I like the F Street and Pennsylvania Avenue businesses on those billboards, too.
InflationInflation is always a factor when looking at these old photos. But even so, we a still paying much more per gallon, as one of the internet inflation calculators gives a price in today's dollars of $2.42.
http://www.halfhill.com/inflation.html
20 cents a gallonAll things considered, 20 cents a gallon is expensive when you consider the median income in 1925 was around $1200 a year. I remember buying gas for 25 cents a gallon during the early 1970s.
Don't Forget the TaxesWhat was the gasoline tax back then, if there was one? And what is the tax today? Add that to the total.
[You wouldn't need to. The price per gallon includes taxes. - Dave]
Expensive?At least you could "Look Prosperous!"
Steve Miller
Someplace near the crossroads of America
LoansWe will probably see more "neighbor situations" like this in the near future....loan office near gas station. How appropriate!
GasolineTwenty cents per gallon was expensive then, just as $4 a gallon is expensive now.
A car still costs half a year's pay after taxes - the cost of a tank of fuel is (and was) about 1/200 of the price of the car.
Cars were an expensive luxury (expensive necessity for rural doctors) and it was only a very flat cost of oil over 5 decades that kept oil and gas really cheap until the '70s.
It looks like cars are going to be an expensive luxury in the future.
Location?This place could be Oregon, considering the Bartholdi Cafe uses the "N.W." designation for part of its address on the upper right billboard (however, I'm not familiar with any other states that might do this). I'd never heard of a "shore dinner" before -- could this be a precursor to the "surf & turf" term?
[The photo caption says where this is. - Dave]
Texaco: Alexandria HwyA display ad from 1924 Washington Post for Geo D. Horning Loans lists location as "South End Highway Bridge, Va. opposite speedway on Alexandria Highway."
Expensive Luxury"Cars were an expensive luxury (expensive necessity for rural doctors)..."
Is this really true though. Googling "Model T Prices" brought up a chart of the price for new Model T Fords by year. In 1925 - the year this picture was taken - the price of a new Model T Runabout was $260, the Touring Car $290 and the high end of the line, the Coupe, was $520. Now my math skills have deteriorated over the years but figuring a 40 hour work week and Zippy's statement that "A car still costs half a year's pay after taxes", that would mean that someone who bought a Model T Runabout in 1925 and spent half a year's pay after taxes earned about 25 cents an hour.
Location of Photo - not DC in 1925This photo is more likely of the site of Geo. D. Horning's business on the VA side of the Chain Bridge where he relocated it from downtown DC after DC essentially outlawed the pawnbroker business.
(The Gallery, D.C., Gas Stations, Natl Photo)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/27316u1.thumbnail.jpg "20 Cents a Gallon: 1925")
- Ambulance Station: 1919
- ... D.C., circa 1919. "Red Cross emergency ambulance station." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. ... a "tank car." There's what also looks like what may be a gas station. Huh. Could be connected.
[For another view click here . - ... Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 5:42pm -
![Washington, D.C., circa 1919. "Red Cross emergency ambulance station." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Left out?I wonder why the lady in the top left window wasn't allowed in the picture. She looks sad about it.
Red Cross Motor CorpsThe American Red Cross Motor Corps was first organised by Florence Jaffray Harriman and had about 45 members (mostly made up of women of independent means). Its garage at 16th and M streets was shown here in an earlier post.
The War and Navy department primarily used the service to transport war workers who had fallen sick, although in most cases it dealt with those suffering from the influenza pandemic of 1918.
UpstairsSomeone appears to be getting a timeout.
So much for my morningThese wonderful old photos that present something familiar in an unexpected way are my favorites. I wonder how much productivity I'll lose this morning researching if The Red Cross provided standard ambulance care in our cities the same way they did on the battle fields. The attire, the trucks, and now the research.
[Browse no further than this post, and in particular this comment. - Dave]
Grounded?Looks like someone didn't make it to the party.
Tank WagonWonder about the wagon partially visible. It appears to be a "tank car." There's what also looks like what may be a gas station. Huh. Could be connected.
[For another view click here. - Dave]
Those Atlas ambulancesseemed to be popular with the Red Cross. They were manufactured by Martin Truck and Body Corp. of York, PA. According to this item in The Hub for January 1918, 8 were delivered to the NYC Red Cross.
Remodeled?Is this the 16th Street station shown in other photos here? Same diamond pattern roofing, lighted cupola and striped awning but with a completely different roofline and dormers.
[This is an interesting question. Seems to be the same general location (same buildings to the right and in the background). Another version of this photo shows a 1919 license plate on the truck. Yet this image, with 1920 plates, and another image, dated 1917 and showing a 1918 license tag, both show the shorter building. Leading me to think there are two similar buildings in close proximity. - Dave]
FluRemember, this was the height of the Spanish Influenza that killed so many people. These volunteers are brave!
Awesome BootsI spent 15 years in EMS and never had cool boots like that.
Red Cross RankCommonly misinterpreted as overseas service bars for duty in World War I, the bars on their left sleeves are actually rank insignia. The Red Cross had a rank system for nurses from one (highest) to seven (lowest). The rather matronly nurse on the far right, for example, would be described as a "Grade Four." No insignia on the sleeve meant they weren't fully qualified as nurses yet.
MaypoleCheck out the maypole electrical pole camouflaged by the trees to the right of the house.
[Those are telephone lines. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/28586u.thumbnail.jpg "Ambulance Station: 1919")
- Lock, Stock & Barrel: 1942
- ... radio lid? (And I'm sure someone out there knows what station it's tuned to.)
[It's a girl! Hugging a pillow! - Dave]
The ... 1958.
Shiny It appears that the dark finish of the gas cylinder on Sergeant Camplair's M1 has worn off, exposing the stainless ... Posted by Dave - 11/05/2023 - 1:48pm -
![September 1942. "Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Sergeant George Camplair cleans his rifle regularly." Acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size.
Best wishes, Sgt.Hopefully the Sgt. made it home safely and had a good, long life.
"This is my rifle,... this is my gun." The immortal scene from Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket."
PatchesIt won't be his mom complaining about oily patches on the bed, as might have happened to this young man https://www.shorpy.com/node/24096.
Seems he has the warmest spot during winter months.
What's taped to the inside of the drop-down radio lid?(And I'm sure someone out there knows what station it's tuned to.)
[It's a girl! Hugging a pillow! - Dave]
The Zenithappears to be tuned to 1090 kilocycles, WBAL in Baltimore, which at 50kw power would have come in well in greater Washington.
Nice & ToastyI'll bet that's a warm bed to sleep in with that radiator right there.
What is the purposeOf the large magnet, also sitting on the radiator? I hope the answer has something to do with attracting attractive women.
J W Wright, thanks for the answer and the link. So, the Zenith Radio Wavemagnet is today what we call an antenna? I wasn't even for sure it was attached to the radio.
Zenith "Wavemagnet"Click image for more information than you wanted:
Aught-SixLooks like a WW1 surplus 30.06 rifle?
Chutist Looks Vaguely FamiliarEschewing his sleigh, Santa parachuted into Vietnam so as not to grab unwanted attention. Sgt Camplair's radio attachment is, however, somewhat familiar.
M1 GarandThe rifle is an M1 Garand, in 30.06, semiauto, fed by a 8 round clip.
The fact that these new front line rifles were being issued stateside as early as 1942, rather than being reserved solely for the overseas theaters, shows the power of US industry.
M1 GarandFor missing link - that is not a WWI surplus rifle. It is an M1 Garand. It is in .30-06. I've cleaned many of them.
M1 Garand RifleThe rifle is actually an M1 Garand semi-automatic. Shoots 30/06 ammo out of 8 round clips.
M1 IDIt is an M1 Garand. An unmistakable profile. The M1 replaced the bolt-action M1903 Springfield as the U.S. service rifle in 1936 and was itself replaced by the selective-fire M14 rifle on March 26, 1958.
ShinyIt appears that the dark finish of the gas cylinder on Sergeant Camplair's M1 has worn off, exposing the stainless steel (can't tell for sure though). If so, it's odd that it would wear off so early in the conflict. Shiny bits on oneself is not a good thing in combat.
He'd also better be careful in cleaning the bore so as not to damage the muzzle, as he might at the angle shown. The cleaning rod has to be in direct line with the bore.
On a side note, it's great to see that fellow Shorpyites own M1s as well. Now if M2 ball ammo was readily available again...
WW2 M1It has all the earmarks of a WW2 M1 Garand. I remember stripping them down followed by the reassembly process from ROTC training in 1963. It is definitely an M1 receiver by his left knee on the edge of the bunk.
DownrangeU.S. ‘Rifle, .30 Caliber, M1’ AKA: M1 Garand, a .30-06 caliber, gas operated, magazine fed, semiautomatic rifle once described by General George S. Patton as "the greatest battle implement ever devised”.
When the USA entered World War 2, mass production of the M1 rifle began at the Springfield armory and at the Winchester plant. During the war, both companies produced between them approximately 4 million M1 rifles, making them the most widely used semi-automatic rifle of World War 2.
M1 Garand "stripping" for cleaning and inspection here.
M-1 Garand semiautomatic shoulder weaponGen Patton called it the greatest combat weapon ever invented.
I have one I bought from the CMP.
Ping!
(The Gallery, Jack Delano, WW2)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-8d08444u.thumbnail.jpg "Lock, Stock & Barrel: 1942")
- Washington Accessories: 1922
- "Filling station, 17th & L." The Washington Accessories Co. service station under ...
It's amazing how much quality that went into a simple gas station.
St. Matt's That dome in the background is St. ... Project Washington Post Oct 9, 1921
Fine Gas and Oil Station for City
Washington Accessories Co. to Build at Corner ... Posted by Dave - 09/04/2012 - 12:05pm -
- Sootyscape: 1904
- ... circa 1904. "Yard and tracks, South Terminal Station." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full ...
The building on the far right is the power plant and gas plant for power and lighting of the station (replaced by the South Postal ... Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 6:23pm -
![Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1904. "Yard and tracks, South Terminal Station." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Rough (rail)road aheadIf you ask me, that switched diamond junction in the lower-right looks a bit treacherous. Maybe if you get up enough speed and Evel Knievel it to the next track...
NiceReally love the geometry of the tracks. I pass through this station every day on my way to the office in downtown Boston.
What a mess of double slip switches that is! Those switches are double slip,meaning that each one handles the duties of two normal switches.
Puzzle SwitchesThese are "double slip" or "puzzle" switches. They combine four switches and a diamond crossing in only slightly more track length than a single switch or crossing. Very common at big passenger stations, due to the tremendous space saving, but hard to maintain, thus very rare outside that context.
I hand built one in HO some years ago, doubt that I will ever build another. I count 28 of them in the picture, plus many conventional switches.
Handling all those switches isn't that stressful, since there is a mechanical interlocking frame in the tower to prevent lining up conflicting routes, and the switches are thrown pneumatically. There is a large track diagram in the tower, with every switch and signal numbered, to use as a guide. However, keeping trains moving in and out efficiently is highly skilled work, little different from air traffic control. These tower operators would "have a lot of whiskers," or high seniority.
It appears that at lower right, the ramp track to the lower level was in the process of being abandoned, I vaguely remember reading references to that, apparently the lower level platforms didn't work out as planned. There is also evidence of some track rearrangement in the form of extended ties and switch machine parts at lower center, just beyond Signal Bridge 8.
Regarding the cars at the left, passenger trains were the airliners of the day, and carried much more than passengers - mail, express parcels (Railway Express and its competitors, the FedEx of the era), and perishables. In many metro area commuter zones, including Boston, milk was carried from farm to the city in special refrigerator cars cut into passenger trains.
Switches!Being in charge of switching all those rails correctly, every time, must have been one heckuva stressful job.
And probably sold a lot of headche powder and Bromo Seltzer, too.
Mail?I'm curious what those railcars on the left would be used for.
South StationWonderful photo of a building that still exists. You can see the back of the clock and eagle which stand above the front of this station. The station has been remodeled, fortunately the facade of the building was preserved, the interior has been changed. Progress, some people say.
Attention model railroadersBet you can't model that switchwork.
The Big SootyThe filth (and smelliness) of cities at the time when coal was widely used for heating and, as here, railroading would astonish people today.
Many buildings in Milwaukee were built in the 19th century from a local clay that's light tan in color -- "cream city brick." But they didn't stay cream-colored for long, thanks to the coal soot belching out of every chimney.
Downtown still has many of these brick buildings, and while many of the more prominent ones have been scrubbed back to their original color, lots of others -— the less important ones, and those on side streets — still have the blackish patina they acquired before about 1960.
South StationSouth Station is only 9 years old in this photo. All 28 tracks are in use, and at this time it is the busiest passenger terminal in the world. It was capable of handling 8 simultaneous train movements through the yard throat.
This picture most likely was taken from the drawbridge control cabin over the Fort Point Channel. This 3-bridge, 6-track structure was only torn down in the past 10 years or so for the Big Dig.
The large train shed was torn down in the 1930's due to the expense of maintaining it and the corrosive effects of the coal smoke on the steel and concrete structure. Not to mention keeping the glass clean.
The building on the left is the outbound express building, which was originally used by a predecessor of the Railway Express Agency. Most if not all the cars in the photo are wood framed cars. The 3 cars behind the leg of the tower are especially ancient with their flat arched roofs.
The building on the far right is the power plant and gas plant for power and lighting of the station (replaced by the South Postal Annex in the 1940's). The coal carrying cars are of the drop bottom gondola type, rather than a true hopper car. The reporting marks on that old tank car is "W.O.W.", and I have no idea what railroad or shipper that is.
The two ramps on the right lead to the abandoned underground commuter loop. This was to be used with electric commuter cars like the ones used on the Nantasket Beach Branch of the New Haven Railroad. This was center 3rd rail, like Lionel toy trains. Safety complaints and projected expense kept the New Haven from electrifying all Boston commuter traffic like it wanted to. South Station was the 1st terminal in the world to be designed for electric trains, and yet it didn't happen until the 1990's for Amtrak on the upper level. The reason for two ramps is that the one on the right was to be used for all Old Colony RR lines to the South and East, while the ramp to the left was to be used for all Providence, Franklin, Needham, Dedham, and Stoughton lines. From what I read, they tried to use the loop once with a steam engine test train, but almost killed everyone on board due to the total lack of ventilation.
The loop station was used at various times as a parking garage and a bowling alley. It was not fully removed until South Station's reconstruction in the mid-1980's.
The Atlantic Street wing of the station (visible at left) was torn down before preservation efforts started. It was rebuilt much wider in the 1980's for a food court. They reopened the same quarries used in the 1890's to get the same color granite. The Summer St. wing was shortened by half for the Stone & Webster tower.
All of South Station was owned by the Boston Terminal Co., which was jointly owned by the railroads that had their own stations replaced by South Station: Old Colony RR, Boston & Providence RR, Boston & Albany RR, and the New York & New England RR. Each RR owned 20% of the BTCo., plus the New Haven RR which owned the OCRR, NY&NE, and B&P (giving the NHRR 80 percent control).
Today, South Station is at 13 tracks, yet it has more scheduled trains than in 1940. There is serious talk of moving the Post Office out, and expanding the track diagram to 20 tracks.
W.O.W. - The Company Became Part of ValvolineThe W.O.W. marking on the tank car stands for the Wilburine Oil Works, Ltd. which was essentially a subsidiary of Valvoline Oil Company (97.04% of stock was owned by Valvoline by 1898).
A predecessor company of the American Association of Railroads (AAR) later assigned the "WOWX" mark to Wilburine rail equipment and they used this mark during the period 8/1920 - 7/1923.
Valvoline Oil Co. used the "WOWX" mark after 7/1930.
Car number 225 shown here is listed amongst Wilburine's holdings in the Official Railway Equipment Register for September 1901. In fact, the next car number, car 226, is the highest number shown.
Originally an abbreviated company name alone was used to designate the owning company of a railroad car. With the growth of international and transcontinental shipping a standardized naming convention was introduced. Most companies retained their old abbreviations, but suffixes were added to differentiate various type of shipping equipment. The letter "X" designates a commercial railcar.
Sometime after 1911 but definitely by 1917 Valvoline was using the VOWX (Valvoline Oil Works, Ltd.) mark and Wilburine was using the WOWX mark.
The W.O.W. car sitting in the yard makes sense because steam trains needed lubrication for their valve gear(s). Valvoline was a principle supplier of this type of oil for more than 70 years.
Valvoline was founded in 1866 as the Continuous Oil Refining Company by Dr. John Ellis. The name “Valvoline” was established in 1868 (VALVe OIL [for the] LINE) and it was trademarked in 1873. Valvoline Oil Works and Wilburine Oil Works finally merged in 1925 according to Moody’s' Industrial Manual (1929 edition, Volume 1).
Is That Fire?!Is that fire shooting out from the chimney of the tall building on the far left, or is it just the result of a deteriorated negative? If it's fire, there must be a lot more going on inside the building that can't be seen.
(The Gallery, Boston, DPC, Railroads)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/4a11368a.thumbnail.jpg "Sootyscape: 1904")
- Good Gulf Gas, phone 262
- Grand opening of my father's Gulf Gas station in Gulfport, Ms, circa 1955. The family's 2-door Ford station wagon to ... I passed by many times in those years, maybe even bought gas there in the late '50s and early '60s.
And I see only two bathroom ... Posted by DoninVa - 04/06/2009 - 9:38am -
![Grand opening of my father's Gulf Gas station in Gulfport, Ms, circa 1955. The family's 2-door Ford station wagon to the right of the building would make two cross-country Mississippi to California trips in a few years before we finally settled in The Promised Land of southern California. The clown's outfit was covered with Gulf embroidered patches and he has poorly made-up. I was about 7 at this time. View full size.
So which hurricanefinally put this station out of business?
The other promised landGulfport is now, to many, The other promised land.
2 door Fords were "Ranch Wagons", big open area in the back for us pre-seatbelt boomers to bounce around in.
Great picture, thanks for sharing.
Sound RentalIt's good to know that that Rambler wagon is "sound"; I'd hate to think it was otherwise! I do like the term "sound"; no longer a familiar usage. Cool.
[It's a "sound car" because of the giant bullhorn on top. - Dave]
Just Wonderin'I see a median strip--was this on U.S. 90? If so, I passed by many times in those years, maybe even bought gas there in the late '50s and early '60s.
And I see only two bathroom doors. Was there a third around back? (Men, Women, and Colored.)
Torn DownJust last year a service station identical to the picture was torn down in my town. I also heard on the news today that a service station built in 1933 was being moved so as to preserve it. I missed where that station was located.
Sound Car For HireWe had a 53 Ford wagon too. I like the "Bathtub Nash" with extra added features -- a large paging horn and a roving billboard. For a moment I thought the service station also rented "sound" cars, until I saw the loudspeaker. Come one, come all, and join the fun!
Hi kids! I'm Gulfy!I don't suppose you have any close-up shots of the clown? Those would be priceless. A guy in Mississippi dressed as a clown, covered with Gulf patches. You can't make this stuff up.
Love that station design. Goober Pyle'd sell his mother to own a station like that. Minus the clown.
Nash wagonThe car with the sign Sound Car for Hire looks like a Nash. I would love to see what this looks like today.
How long...was the station there? Could it still have been there in the early Seventies?
If so, I think I might have bought gas there on one of my trips between east Texas and south Georgia; I typically diverted from the direct route just to see the countryside.
A Simpler TimeThat was a time when my friends and I, standing on a street corner, could identify the make, model, and year of every car that went by. I can almost identify all the cars here except I can't see the details to get the years right. The big dark fourdoor sedan reminds me of our family 1948 Plymouth Deluxe but I can't see the trim well enough to be sure of the year. I loved that car. I also got in a bad accident with it but I can honestly say it was not my fault. My father then got a 1954 Plymouth Belvedere with a strange kind of breakdown-prone no-shift fluid drive whose proprietary name I can't recall.
Moving onWhen I was last in Gulfport, 1990 or so, the building was still there on Pass Road but had become a quick oil change place. My father and mother decided on California and we left Gulfport. I never learned the details of the business decisions to open the station and then leave it, but in California he found his niche selling Fords. We are descended from pioneer folk who in colonial times moved from Virginia to Georgia, and then on to Alabama and Mississippi; so, the trek to California was another step in the process. Perhaps curiously, I have spent most of my adult life in the South...but my favorite baseball team is the Angels.
Somewhere in the dusty archive is a photo of the clown and he was a truly amateur joey. Today we have guys with twirling signs and huge foam hands to entice us; an improvement in marketing?
1954 PlymouthThe transmission you're referring to was called Hy-Drive.
What Is It About Clownsthat is so scary? I would drive clear of any clown in a gas station - especially this one.
HyDriveThe Plymouth scheme of combining a fluid clutch with a three speed manual transmission was called HyDrive.
Happy DaysI love this picture! My dad was a salesman for Atlantic Refining in the early 1960s in North Carolina. I have some photos of an Atlantic station grand opening that looks almost identical to this picture, right down to the clown!
I recall being scared of the clown as a 3-year old. It was common then at grand openings to have a clown, helium balloons, the trianglar flag streamers (in primary colors like red, blue, green, etc) and a big stack of Coca-colas to give away with every fill-up.
Even after the hoopla died down, attendants in pressed uniforms washed your windshield and checked the oil and tires, at least until the first oil shock in '73 put an end to that luxury.
What a great time to start a business!
City or country locationIt is hard to tell. During my Greyhound driving years I would come upon a little cinder block gas station that still had the "Good Gulf" or "Chief" logo with the trademarked lettering styles over the garage bays in the deep rural South. We had a Phillips 66 in our part of the county, part auto center (gas, service, etc), part convience store and part boyhood education (auto parts calendars).
Sound carsI remember the "Sound Cars." They would drive through your neighborhood and you would hear this deep voice saying something like "Come to Meyer's Department Store today for our pre-fourth of July sale, everything 25% off." The voice sounded like the voice of God on an old Charlton Heston movie and it was so loud you could hear it all through the house. Usually the speaker would pause 30-45 seconds before repeating it again as he drove by slowly. Looking back on it, it was a bit eerie. I never heard them after the mid-60s, they probably were outlawed in most towns.
Where in Gulfport?Was the station on Highway 90 or on 49?
P-15It's definitely a P-15 sedan. I'm betting on '48. I've one in the garage and I'd know that shape anywhere.
An "After" PicIf you could remember the address, I could take a pic of whatever's there now for a before and after... I live right next door in Biloxi.
Gas Prices in 1955Can anyone zoom in on this to tell me how much per gallon regular gas was selling at this station? When I bought my first used car, a 3-toned two-door 1952 Pontiac Catalina. purchased off a lot in Port Arthur, Texas, not far from a big Gulf refinery there, I think the price of regular leaded was about 31 cents. A year later, in Plainfield NJ, the price was about the same, but the car had worn out completely by then. So my dad co-signed a loan and I bought a brand new, stripped down 1957 two-door Ford Fairlane in Delaware, which was a terrific car.
FillerupIn 1955 we handed the attendant a dollar bill and he pumped about four gallons into our car. And that came with a window wash and an oil check. Not long after, with the same car, we did the usual "fill it with oil and check the gas."
When gas was cheapMy dad owned a gas station & store around this time period & gas was around 25 cents a gallon. Those were the days, huh? And our city must have been bigger than this one - our phone number was 4 digits & I still remember them - 6621!
I have seen this building!I am from Gulfport and I believe I have seen this building just up from the port. I think is was 30th Avenue. My grampa used to paint all the signs around Gulfport. He went by the nickname Munch. Do you know who did the signs Don? Great to see this anyway! Thanks!
Have I been there?I think I may have gotten gas there...if its the one I am thinking of, its on the highway that runs parallel to the gulf of Mexico? I stopped at a similar place on the coast about 5 years ago for gas.
BathroomYes to the question for Just Wonderin, there is a third bathroom around back. It has a very high ceiling and a window over the top of the door.
Gulfport Tire & Auto CareHello - we just bought the old Gulf Gas Station; other than an add-on to the side and read of the building this just as it was then. The address is 1606 Pass Road Gulfport, MS 39501. We will be posting new pictures of the building; we are in the middle of cleaning and painting now.
Re: Gulfport Tire & Auto CareAs a preface to the "now" pictures, below is the Requisite Shorpy Google Streetview of the location.
View Larger Map
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Gas Stations)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/GoodGulfGas_1024.thumbnail.jpg "Good Gulf Gas, phone 262")
- Hotel Wisdom: 1942
- ... It really rankles when the attendant at the Wise River gas station tells him, 'The mail stage makes it every day'.” (Source: Big Sky ... Posted by Dave - 11/03/2023 - 7:48pm -
![August 1942. "Big Hole Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana. Buildings on the main street of Wisdom, Montana, trading center for the Big Hole Valley. This is cattle country." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size.
Battle Of The Big HoleAs American settlers moved west and justified westward expansion as the nation's Manifest Destiny, the Nez Perce had no alternative except to share their ancestral lands.
Eventually, Americans' interest in the land's riches and cultural conflicts between the settlers and the Nez Perce led to a series of bloody battles. One of the many battles, the Battle of the Big Hole in Wisdom, Montana changed the outcome of the Nez Perce War of 1877.
Montana: Big Hole National Battlefield
Last Saturday night ...Paul Bunyan decided to play horseshoes on Main Street and missed.
Rooms to let, 50 centsNo phone no food no pets ... Hotel Wisdom
Phone line Horse sneakers!
Hotel wisdomDon't walk barefoot on the carpet, and sanitize the remote.
Russell Lee and John VachonBoth Russell Lee and John Vachon spent a lot of time in the region in the late 1930s and early '40s. In fall 1942, perhaps they were traveling together, as both have images of Wisdom in the archive.
Quoting Mary Murphy (Montana State professor):
Vachon drove his Plymouth into Beaverhead County in the spring of 1942 with the assignment of photographing stock raising. After several days, he wrote to FSA Director Roy Stryker that he had found “the purest most undiluted West I've ever seen.” (Source: her presentation)
Another interesting tidbit about how Vachon described his drives through the county:
From Butte, Montana, in March 1942 he wrote [to his wife Penny] of “regretting a very abject and cowardly performance about 3:00 this afternoon.” Vachon is reproaching himself for fearing to drive the road from Wise River to Wisdom, which is “one lane bumpy full of puddles holes heavy snow and cliff hanging.” It really rankles when the attendant at the Wise River gas station tells him, 'The mail stage makes it every day'.” (Source: Big Sky Journal)
LIQWhen the boys leave the bar with snootful, it's forgotten that what goes up must come down. And the nearest hospital is (probably at least) 50 miles away.
Measure twice.The carpenter placed the hotel windows symmetrically. The sign painter missed.
Wisdom = Having InsuranceIt seems almost unnecessary to ask, doesn't it? (05/21/60)
Despite what might seem like daunting odds, Fetty's rebuilt, and seems to still be in business. The hotel, however, seems to have checked out.
A tossupWhat's with the horseshoe up on the power lines?
The town that Coke forgotThere's a Chesterfield's ad at the liquor store (the largest of the four buildings shown); but I do not see a Drink Coca-Cola sign, usually a standard feature in 1940s main street photos.
The distances to the nearest towns in either direction reminds me of the saying -- it's not the end of the world ... but you can see it from there.
At some point that horseshoe is going to be an UN-lucky horseshoe for someone.
Lean on me1939 Chevrolet Master Deluxe 4-Door Sedan.
Makes me wonder how many times the Chevy completed
the aforementioned fearsome trek from Wise River to Wisdom.
(The Gallery, Russell Lee, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-8d08251a.thumbnail.jpg "Hotel Wisdom: 1942")
- Bustling Baltimore: 1917
- Baltimore, Maryland, circa 1917. "Union Station showing Charles Street and Jones Falls." 8x10 inch glass negative, ... rectangular blocks on top of a building behind the Union Station building. Two of them are up against the windows in a sort of wavy ... from Richmond to Baltimore twice a week during the gas crisis of 1973-74. Taking the train was, at times, a pleasure but it was ... Posted by Dave - 07/20/2012 - 7:18pm -
![Baltimore, Maryland, circa 1917. "Union Station showing Charles Street and Jones Falls." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Kind to pedestriansLove that railroad viaduct.
What Is Their Purpose?Toward the right side of the photo there are some rectangular blocks on top of a building behind the Union Station building. Two of them are up against the windows in a sort of wavy manner. They look sort of like warped mini-roofs. What is their purpose and why are they wavy and slanted as opposed to flat like the other ones?
[Wavy things: roofs over stairways. Flat things: skylights. - Dave]
Flour, Yeast, Studebakers and CokeWhat else can you possibly want?
Don't forget the ice!Sign behind and to the left of Union Station.
It's Penn Station nowand still in full daily use, including as a main stop on the Amtrak high-speed Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston.
Still vibrant on the eve of WWIBaltimore was my childhood home. This view, dated 1917, shows a Baltimore that was still a vibrant city. Note the tenement homes, in good shape, interspersed with a variety of industry and transportation. Home to the country's first railroad, Baltimore was the second largest port on the East Coast.
The streets are clean and there are landscaped areas to be enjoyed by the residents -- a bit of elbow room to make life bearable. Thirteen years earlier, downtown Balto had suffered a major fire.
The Baltimore of today is but a shadow of its former self, having suffered substantial economic and social decay.
This photo evokes a sad nostalgia of a bygone era.
Bawlmer -- where do I start?You'll need the hi-def version to follow me here.
The freight yard across the top of the photo is the Northern Central Railway, and since 1912, the Pennsylvania RR Bolton Freight Station. My great grandfather was likely working there this day, as he would until Bolton Street was closed. Just off photo to the distant left is B&O's Mount Royal Station, the tracks of which are below grade behind the PRR yard.
The Studebaker/Garford shop was known as Zell Motor Car Company; my grandmother's brother-in-law was a highly regarded mechanic there for many years. The prominent arch-windowed building behind it on Charles Street is now part of University of Baltimore, where I attended classes for a time.
The beautiful massive stone structure in the distance with two stacks was a water pumping station, removed for I-83 construction in the 1960s.
Directly in front of that building is North Avenue "NA" Tower; it's dark because it is painted in B&O's red color. NA Tower protected the crossing between the two track line seen crossing Jones Falls, and the B&O main line, which isn't visible here. Note locomotives on both sides of NA tower.
The water course in the middle is Jones Falls (the name being a peculiarity of the region; instead of Creek or Run, sometimes a channel was called a Falls).
The most distant bridge is North Avenue Viaduct, built in the 1890s and still in use. Close behind the viaduct is B&O's bridge over the Falls, not visible here. At the right end of the viaduct, above the Morgan Millwork sign, can be seen the B&O mainline to Philadelphia and where I labored four decades.
Finally, great big Union Station isn't the only downtown passenger terminal in view. Just left of Morgan Millwork and above the City Ice sign is the peaked roof of the Maryland and Pennsylvania (Ma & Pa) RR's Oak Street Station.
Beautiful shot. Thanks, Dave!
Slow TrainI commuted from Richmond to Baltimore twice a week during the gas crisis of 1973-74. Taking the train was, at times, a pleasure but it was anything but "high speed."
Railway Express & OystersIn the mid '60s I worked for Railway Express and each weekday night we would make a run from our depot on Calvert & Centre to Penn Station. The usual cargo was mainly express packages and barrels of oysters and boxes of soft shelled crabs fresh from Crisfield on the Chesapeake Bay headed to Philadelphia and New York.
We would drive down that ramp to train track level and transfer the barrels to those high-wheeled station carts, which were pulled by a small mule (automotive variety).
As the train entered the station we would drive alongside as it came to a stop so our carts were lined up with the messenger car. We had ten frantic minutes of rolling the barrels into the car until the train pulled out. Thankfully we never hit a passenger or dropped a barrel onto the tracks.
That was always the best part of our night since after that we would take our time getting back to the depot so we got there just about time to punch out and head down Calvert Street to Susie's for an after work beer.
So if sometime you stopped in an Oyster Bar in Philly or New York and had either some soft shell crabs or oysters and remarked about the freshness of the same it might have been me who got them there for you.
Another InspirationI wish I was a kid again. What a grand sight this would be in H.O. Scale!
Morgan Millwork Co.Morgan Millwork Co. was the eastern warehouse and showroom for the Morgan Sash & Door Company.
Architectural Record, 1910.
Correct Craftsmen Style
Morgan Doors are noted for correctness and originality of design and finish. Their construction is guaranteed to be absolutely faultless. Morgan Doors add wonderfully to the permanent value, comfort, beauty and satisfaction of the house.
Morgan Doors are light, remarkably strong, and built of several layers of wood with grain running in opposite directions. Shrinking, warping or swelling is impossible. Veneered in all varieties of hard wood — Birch, plain or quarter-sawed red or white Oak, brown Ash, Mahogany, etc. Any style of architecture. Very best for Residences, Apartments, Offices, Bungalows or any building.
Each Morgan Door is stamped "Morgan" which guarantees highest quality, style, durability and satisfaction. You can have Morgan Doors if you specify and insist.
The National Builder, 1915.
Morgan Sash & Door Company
Department A-22, Chicago
Factory: Morgan Co., Oshkosh, Wis. Eastern Warehouse and Display, Morgan Millwork Co., Baltimore. Displays: 6 East 19th St., New York; 309 Palmer Bldg., Detroit; Building Exhibit, Insurance Exchange, Chicago.
Looks like the early 1920’sby the look of some of the cars
Corpus Christi Church and MICAThe tall pointy steeple in the upper left corner is Corpus Christi Church, and the white building to its left is the Maryland Institute College of Art where I went to college.
(The Gallery, Baltimore, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Railroads)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/4a24911a.thumbnail.jpg "Bustling Baltimore: 1917")
- CO-OP GAS: 1942
- May 1942. "Cooperative gas station at Greenbelt, Maryland, a model community planned by the Suburban ... for seat time and my parents didn’t have to stop for gas on the short trips we usually made.
Stone's eye view
... Posted by Dave - 04/27/2023 - 12:51pm -
![May 1942. "Cooperative gas station at Greenbelt, Maryland, a model community planned by the Suburban Division of the U.S. Resettlement Administration." 4x5 inch acetate negative by Marjory Collins for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.
Cross-Promotion at the PumpThat poster made me realize I need an extra ten cents worth of ethyl -- enough to get downtown to the Greenbelt Theatre to see that Joe E. Brown movie ...
That Sinclair pump brings a memory.When I turned sixteen and passed my driver test I looked for any excuse to take the car for a ride. I found a good way to go for a ride was to check the fuel level in the family buggy and if it was a little low report my finding to one of my parents. Usually I was given two dollars and told to get a couple bucks worth at the store. The store was a Sinclair station and little country store. Two bucks would buy almost half a tank. It was only a four mile round trip but satisfied my need for seat time and my parents didn’t have to stop for gas on the short trips we usually made.
Stone's eye view
I'm not 100% sure this is the same location, but it seems to be the same type of pump (with the addition of globes in the interim). The location isn't as rustic as one might expect ... i.e. less greenbelty.
City Cousin
Altho it's but a footnote to the main photo, the Co-Op(erative) movement was central to Greenbelt, at least in the early years. It might take some explaining to those of tender years - in a gross simplification I would describe it as an effort to put some of the hippy-dippy ideas of the 1930's (and later) on a more business footing - but the name, and Double-conifer symbol are likely familiar to their elders. (Anyway, this particular example was at 36th/Telegraph. One of three in Oakland, we know from past Shorpy excursions that they were a potential launching site for roadway mayhem.)
Historic claimThe Sunoco station at 161 Centerway in Greenbelt is the direct descendant of what Collins photographed, though it's no longer a co-op. Today's owners, Greenbelt natives, bought the place in 1984.
The historic image on their website seems to have been shot from the roof of the building in the Collins photograph. The building has clearly been replaced, but it's at the same address. (The switch from Sinclair to Sunoco gas could have happened any number of ways, given the oil companies' complicated histories.)
The station in 1938Photo by Marion Post Wolcott.
Keeping it reelThe Greenbelt Theater on the poster is now the Old Greenbelt Theater, owned by the city. In addition to hosting community events, it plays a few first run movies as well as classics like Casablanca, the Wizard of Oz and the Breakfast Club (?!?).
Tuned UpOh for the days when we could work on our own cars!
[Back when cars needed to be worked on. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Gas Stations, Marjory Collins)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-8d05177a.thumbnail.jpg "CO-OP GAS: 1942")
- Tobin's Service Station: 1926
- ... last seen here ) at the intersection with 18th. Note the gas station in the background. View full size.
Once a site, always a site ... Posted by Dave - 03/28/2021 - 9:31pm -
![Washington, D.C., circa 1926. "S.W. Barrow," the caption on this National Photo glass negative, name-checks District real estate developer Samuel W. Barrow, who may have had something to do with this work near his home on Monroe Street N.E. (a neighborhood last seen here) at the intersection with 18th. Note the gas station in the background. View full size.
Once a site, always a siteSo interesting that 95 years later, the same corner continues to be the location for a gas station. Thinking about how much the technology, around both the vehicles and the gasoline products, has evolved in the decades since. And it continues to evolve -- charging stations are bound to start popping up here and there. And yet that building across the street remains, as do some of the houses in the background.
HenriettaThis is Henrietta, an Erie B set up as a crane with the bolt on second drum, awaiting restoration in 2018. She's mechanically complete, but the crane boom is in bad shape, may end up with a shovel front instead.
ShovelTo answer Fatcat - technically it is not a shovel but a crane with a clamshell bucket. That bucket opens, clamshell-like, and is dropped to the ground, Its weight gives it some penetration and as it is closed by a separate cable, the jaws bite into the dirt.
We certainly hope that the operator is fully aware that he is working under power lines that appear to be within reach of the boom!
Pull Right Up! No Waiting!With six of the gas pumps plainly visible and a seventh one partially visible behind the clamshell and the tree, I believe this is the biggest array of gravity gas pumps
I've ever seen in one setting.
My daily route, continuity and historyI figure I've driven through this intersection around 8000 times prior to March 2020, and I'll probably drive it again.
The lot where the photographer set up is John Burroughs Elementary School. Tobin's Service Station, on the southwest corner, is now Exxon. Kushner's Market, in the brick building on the northwest corner, has had a number of tenants and is now a nursing care service.
It's a decent neighborhood, but the intersection has some bad history. The proprietor of a corner shop in the brick building was murdered in the 1980s. More recently, a 2017 quadruple shooting at the gas station left one dead.
Neat old steam shovel.Reminds me of reading "Are You My Mother" by P.D. Eastman to my son when he was little.
BTW, did the shovel dig into the ground strictly via gravity and the weight of the shovel?
Little round sign in the centerThe only words I can make out is the word 'Stop' anyone else pick anything out. I like that little sign.
[WASHINGTON RAILWAY COACH STOP. There's another one over to the left. - Dave]
Gas for the automobiles ...Coal for the shovel.
Fatcat beat me to it in linking the steam shovel in the foreground to a children's book.
Just this weekend I was reading "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel" to my construction-obsessed great-nephew for the first time.
Virginia Lee Burton's 1939 story (which I read as a child in the 1960s) is about the demise of the coal-powered steam shovel, with the advent of the "new gasoline shovels / and the new electric shovels / and the new Diesel motor shovels" ... which "took all the jobs away from the steam shovels."
However, much like Mike Mulligan's beloved steam shovel, Mary Anne, this one pictured here could eventually be converted into a furnace (after successfully digging the cellar of a town hall in a single day!), and maybe its operator could then live out his career as the janitor of that building, maintaining his furnace, while enjoying "his rocking chair / smoking his pipe, / and [name of his steam shovel] beside him, warming up the meetings / in the new town hall."
Erie BBuilt in Erie PA. One of the first standardized mass produced steam crane/shovels, giving economies of scale. That's the reason there were so many of them sold, and a fair number of survivors.
The visible hoist drum is a bolt-on, for use as a crane with clamshell or dragline capability. When configured as a shovel, the single rear drum behind it is sufficient, the extra drum isn't needed. They are surprisingly fast, aided by a separate steam engine for each motion in shovel configuration.
The curved shape of the clamshell jaws pulled it into the ground while closing, although the bucket's weight and teeth were needed to start the cut.
Erie merged with Bucyrus in the mid-1920's, and was recently absorbed by Caterpillar.
The Erie B I see frequently is named Henrietta. It/she has the extra drum.
Barber a BushI understand the straight line of trimmed bushes, but I’m not sure what to make of the stragglers in the area to the right. They look like a failed crop of bushes (if bushes could be a crop).
(The Gallery, D.C., Gas Stations, Natl Photo)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-33411u1.thumbnail.jpg "Tobin's Service Station: 1926")
- Texaco: 1925
- Washington, D.C., 1925. "Texas Company station, Rhode Island and New Jersey avenues." View full size. National ... presently, according to the Yellow Pages, is another gas station, the Rhode Island Avenue Service Center. I wish I could go take a ... a gallon? Oy.
[Regular is 19. - Dave]
Gas Prices That nineteen cents a gallon was likely just as expensive to the ... Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 10:13pm -
![Washington, D.C., 1925. "Texas Company station, Rhode Island and New Jersey avenues." View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.
Texaco 1925I grew up in the D.C. area. As near as I can determine, the address of this Texaco station would have likely been 420 Rhode Island Avenue NW. At that address presently, according to the Yellow Pages, is another gas station, the Rhode Island Avenue Service Center. I wish I could go take a look, but I live in Massachusetts.
Do I see ...... 29 cents a gallon? Oy.
[Regular is 19. - Dave]
Gas PricesThat nineteen cents a gallon was likely just as expensive to the consumer back then as four bucks a gallon is today. The main difference is the guy buying the gas wasn't putting two hundred miles a week on his car.
19 Cents a GallonPer www.measuringworth.com, 19 cents in 1925 would be the equivalent of $4.98 in 2007.
InflationAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator (http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl), 19 cents in 1925 is the equivalent of $2.33 in 2008 dollars. Not cheap, but not quite as much as $4 a gallon.
When it was really cheapI remember when we drove across the US in 1969 that regular price was around 20 cents, remembering that "regular" in those days was not the lowest grade at most stations. We had a card from one chain that allowed us to buy regular at the "economy" price. In some places we paid 17 cents or possibly less. The BLS says that gas should have cost 40 cents in 1969; between that and camping in National Forests once we got far enough west, you could have a pretty cheap trip.
TexacoThat map image looks correct - the building on the right side of the map image looks like the one in the background of the old photo, though it looks like they added on to the rear of the building. Cool.
Painted PricesBesides the price, what struck me as interesting is that the prices appear to be painted on the pumps. Did gas prices not change all that often back in the '20s?
CarsYou have to say also that not many people owned a car then. The real reason is people who owned a car then meant you were doing well.
[Not so. In 1925 there were around 18 million automobiles registered in the United States. The year before, Ford had built its 10 millionth Model T. - Dave]
So cool!I live at First and S. There are currently two gas stations at the corner of Rhode Island Ave and New Jersey Ave NW. I believe this site is on the SW corner, which would be across the street from the Hess station pictured above.
Spark PlugsChampion spark plugs at 49 cents must have been pretty expensive back in the day. I bet they didn't last like they do today either.
The big bright Texaco star"You can trust your car to the man who wears the star."
Back when they pumped your gas, cleaned your windows all around (without a squeegee) and checked under the hood looking for worn belts and hoses while pulling the dipstick.
I recently found a service station off I15 outside Helena, Montana, that did that and more. They offered self and full service. Full service cleaned both the outside and inside of all my windows. There were at least four people working on my car at the same time.
The guy who ran the operation was an ex-military type. His employees were super courteous. Needless to say the restroom was so clean, I could've eaten off the floor.
I was flabbergasted!
(The Gallery, D.C., Gas Stations, Natl Photo)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/27318u_1.thumbnail.jpg "Texaco: 1925")
- Minute Service No. 2
- Washington, D.C., circa 1926. "Minute Service Station, Georgia Avenue N.W." View full size. National Photo Company ... a Robert Bedesford design to me. This location is still a gas station today.
Washington Post, May 20, 1923
The American ... Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 9:59pm -
![Washington, D.C., circa 1926. "Minute Service Station, Georgia Avenue N.W." View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.
American Accessories Co.No mention of an architect in the following but it looks like a Robert Bedesford design to me. This location is still a gas station today.
Washington Post, May 20, 1923
The American Accessories Co., composed of Allan E. Walker and Henry J. Sterzer, have opened an exceptional gasoline and accessories station at the intersection of Georgia and Kansas avenues and Upshur street northwest. The new station is flanked on the east by Georgia avenue, on the west by Kansas avenue and north by Upshur street, making it one of the most accessible filling stations in the Capital.
In the center of the large triangular tract is an attractive building of stucco and brick with tiled roof and canopies extending over the wide driveways.
Numerous visible measure gasoline and oil pumps are strategically located on the three wide concrete driveways, making blockades of any sort impossible and contributing in no small part to the rapid, efficient service which the American Accessories Co. promises will be one of the salient features. Airline, water and other services are very easy to access. In addition to the gasoline and oil business, the company in its store on the property will carry a very complete line of tires, automobile accessories and novelties.
A handsomely furnished ladies' rest room is one of the features.
The station ... represents in its entirety an investment of nearly $100,000. This is probably the largest side devoted to a fine filling station in the National Capital.
John R. Briggs, who has had long experience in the automotive field here, is manager of the new station.
The American Accessories Co. is one of four fine modern filling stations directed by Alan E. Walker. The others are the Washington Accessories Co., Seventeenth and I streets, northwest. The Automotive Accessories Co., Tenth and E streets northwest, and the Automotive Supply Co., Pennsylvania avenue and Twenty-first street northwest.
These stations are supplied with the highest grade Standard Oil Co.'s gasoline, from the large wholesale station of the Washington Accessories Co., which is located on River road just across the line in Maryland. Here four great tanks provide 80,000 gallons storage. A very large oil storage house is also part of the wholesale equipment. The gasoline is carried to the various stations in several monster tank trucks owned by the company. All gasoline is triple filtered by a special process, removing all water, dirt, and impurities.
WOWSo much to look at! I'd love to stop at a gas station like this -- I know the gas would be a lot cheaper! Love the truck at the pump! Such fun - thanks.
Then & NowPersonally, I wish readers who live in the area would take a pic of these locations now and post it in the comments. It's endlessly fascinating to me to see how 'progress' has changed the landscape of our communities. This one would be perfect for a "then & now"!
[This just in from the Shorpicopter. Click to enlarge. - Dave]
Stop! And...Gee that's a wordy stop sign. "Arterial Highway" and "No Parking within 15 feet."
Best I can do for a current picture is Bird's Eye View in Live Search, and it shows this location is now a Shell. Click to enlarge.
Then & Now, Cont'dShorpyblog has some great "now" photos from PER of this and other posts. Here, here and here.
Wow..Thanks Dave. And how I also thank all those guys who walked around with their Kodaks & took those (maybe then seemingly pointless) filling station, drugstore or movie theater shots we enjoy here today.
[These were all taken by professional photographers with giant tripod-mounted view cameras. - Dave]
Can you imaginea modern gas bar that sold competing gas brands side by side? Amoco and Esso (at 25 cents a gallon?) is what I see. Dig the station logo, a stylized Minuteman with a hose and a gun! Don't mess with the attendants at this station.
(The Gallery, D.C., Gas Stations, Natl Photo)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/33157u.thumbnail.jpg "Minute Service No. 2")
- Minute Service No. 1: 1925
- Washington, D.C., circa 1925. "Minute Service Station, 17th & L streets N.W." National Photo Company Collection glass ... Washington Post, Apr 9. 1922
Open Largest Gas Station Tomorrow
New Building is Last Word in Completeness,
Beauty, ... Posted by Dave - 09/12/2011 - 6:03pm -
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