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Brooklyn Bridge: 1903
... New York circa 1903. "East River and Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan." Among the many signs competing for our attention are billboards for ... Wikipedia, he was a very successful laxative maker. Did Manhattan need it very badly? Ferry Boats Wonderful collection of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 2:56pm -

New York circa 1903. "East River and Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan." Among the many signs competing for our attention are billboards for "Crani-Tonic Hair Food" and Moxie. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Carter's Liver PillsCarter's Liver Pills may not have had the exposure that Chas H Fletcher's had on these billboards but they gave them a run for the money. Those early 1900 nostrums lasted into the post WW2 Era and even after that. The public finally caught on and I don't believe they're easily found anymore. However the pharmaceutical ads of today are blasting the same cure-all messages but they cost a lot more money. Lots of LaxativeCharles H. Fletcher certainly made his presence known in this vicinity. According to Wikipedia, he was a very successful laxative maker. Did Manhattan need it very badly? Ferry BoatsWonderful collection of vessels on this very busy waterway. In contrast, an almost leisurely pace on the bridge. Top o'the World?This view looks like it was taken from the top of the New York World Building on Park Row, which was seen earlier on Shorpy. Although the advertised height of the World Building (349 feet) was somewhat exaggerated, the top was still pretty high up! Hard to starboard !Looking to the right of the bridge,on the Brooklyn side,you'll see a ferryboat at a really bad angle! She's tilting hard to port while making a starboard turn, churning up the water real bad. Almost looks like she's trying to avoid the dock. Land Ho!What an amzaing picture. Could study it for days and not get bored. From Uneeda Biscuit, to Carter's Small Pill - Small Dose - Small Price Pills; to the two railcar ferries, to the WHOA! WAIT A MINUTE! What's up with the ferry listing hard to port with lots of propwash behind it heading for Brooklyn, just south of the bridge?!? Looks like it's trying hard to bank to port with props in reverse to avoid slamming the pier (but looks like it's too late to miss it!). Maybe the captain had to go too fast to make it across the busy water traffic and didn't have enough room to slow down. But if the captain hadn't sped up, there'd have been a collision. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. The captain probably needed one of the many advertised tonics after that ferry landing! What a country!The year this was taken was during the huge migration from Europe which lasted several decades. Just imagine the amazement of those often poverty-stricken, downtrodden, oppressed people arriving at Ellis Island with everything they owned on their backs and being brought to the city in which they must now make a new life and seeing, for the first time in their lives, this magnificent panorama of mind-boggling industrial activity, ships from around the world, sky scrapers everywhere, phenomenal bridges and modes of transportation, bustling well-dressed, smiling healthy people, ads everywhere for appetizing, abundant food and other worldly pleasures, religious steeples and domes, the smells of ocean and fumes and foods all mingled together and offering an endless buffet of opportunity and freedom. I find this beautiful picture breathtaking. Thank you Shorpy from a descendant of the huddled masses. For those of you good at spotting details:Did anyone notice any "Fletchers Castoria" ads? Mixed trafficIt must be the rush hour. Look how close the electric elevated train from Brooklyn with the trolley poles is to the cable Bridge Only train in front of it. The white disk on the front of the cable train tells which cable, set of interlaced rails, and station platform it is using. The elevated train uses its trolley poles when it runs on the ground beyond the end of the El structure in the outer reaches of Brooklyn. I want more Chas. H. Fletcher ads!Wonderfully detailed photo. I could study it for hours. Ah, memoriesWow, think there are enough ads for Fletcher's Castoria? I remember that gawdawful stuff from my childhood. Whenever we'd visit my grandmother she'd slip us a dose in some chocolate milk. Apparently daily BMs were high on her list. HyphenatedDon't forget the billboard for Pe-Ru-Na! One more thingAnd at least eight signs for Fletcher's Castoria! Steeplechase Park Bargain10 cents for five hours! Heck, I'd give $100 for five hours to be able to travel back to 1903 to experience Tilyou's Steeplechase Park. From the old photos and video clips of it I have seen, it was a happening place. Even today with all our technology, I'd bet folks would still have a wonderful time! Decisions, decisionsWith this dime burning a hole in my pocket I could either buy two Cremo cigars or spend five hours at Steeplechase Park. My BridgeWhat a wonderful picture of my bridge that I just bought last week from a nice man who told me that I could buy the Brooklyn Bridge for a few hundred dollars. Looking at this picture I believe it was a good investment. Running the gauntlet on the Brooklyn BridgeHaving a close eye on the rails for the El, interesting that they are running a gauntlet track on both sides across the bridge...no switch points, just a frog. Under a closer look, it looks like there is a cable between the rails for a...cable car? Seen just past where the switch points would be if it was a normal switch. BTW, first post here at Shorpy! Love the site!! Chas. H. FletcherI believe I count at least 21 Chas. H. Fletcher signs. Some are a bit obscured, but the text is quite distinctive so I believe I have it correct. If I ever get catapulted back in time, I am opening a sign company! Must have been a lucrative business. Fletcher's CastoriaI found 20 signs in this photo and there might be more! World SeriesNow that it is World Series time, in the middle of it actually; can anyone from New York confirm that it's called the World Series because the New York World newspaper promoted the first of these events, and the Series name has no international implications? [That notion is debunked here. - Dave] Fletcher AdsI found 20 of these ads. There might be more! 22 Fletcher Signs !!One wonders what his advertising budget was - apparently unlimited - Personally, I feel this was overkill and would be annoying enough to cause me to choose the other brand - I easily counted 22 if his signs, including 5 on the Brooklyn side of the river. Scuffy the TugboatThis fantastical scene reminds me of the old Golden Books story of Scuffy the Tugboat, when the two children were peering over the bridge on the harbour, watching Scuffy, as he found himself in a bewildering maze of giant ships all around him. What's with the ferry steamer in the upper right side of the photo? His paddles look "full-ahead," while the vessel is listing hard aport and about to ram the wharf? Uh-oh! Great photo; begging to be colorized by some Shorpy artista. Blowin' in the WindThere are almost as many rooftop clotheslines loaded with laundry as there are Fletcher's Castoria signs. It is interesting to note that even though the Brooklyn Bridge had been open for twenty years, the ferries were still running and would continue to do so until 1924. Hang On!Lots o' signs, yes, but my attention was drawn to that hard heeling-to-port ferry approaching the pier on the opposite shore (right in the photo). Was somebody showing off for the citizenry, or were they perhaps initially headed into the wrong berthing space? [Probably not. - Dave] TrafficCan you imagine the insanity on the river? There's even a ship hitting a bulkhead while turning into its dock. Lucky for them the wind was in their favor. (I now see Denny covered this the first comment. D'oh.) And Castor Oil had a predecessor? I never knew. Why pilots are regular officersInteresting factoid about castor oil: WW1 airplane engines were lubricated with it and sprayed a steady stream of the stuff back into the pilot's face, with predictable consequences. More RecentlyI was told that this Fletcher's Castoria sign at Henry & Market Streets, on NYC's Lower East Side, was around until about 2003. There are probably others that are still visible. Cable Power on the Brooklyn BridgeThe original Brooklyn Rapid Transit line that ran over the Brooklyn Bridge to the Park Row terminal was indeed a cable-powered line. The line was eventually electrified. Rapid transit service over the Brooklyn Bridge ended permanently in 1944 when the NYC Board of Transportation decided to terminate Brooklyn elevated train service at Jay Street/Bridge Street station. Trolleys then were briefly used on the Bridge tracks. The huge Sands Street and Park Row terminals were later torn down and the Bridge itself was rebuilt in 1952 and converted solely to automobile use. Today, there are three lanes in each direction on the Bridge for cars. The innermost lanes are the rights of way for the rapid transit/trolley lines. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC, Streetcars)
Herald Square: 1908
... hard to believe, but there seems to be a casino in Midtown Manhattan. I can't forget Lucio's Pearls. They defy detection! and right ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/02/2020 - 2:40pm -

New York circa 1908. "Herald Square." Panorama composed of two 8x10 inch glass negatives, digitally merged, showing Broadway at 34th Street. Landmarks include the the New York Herald newspaper building (with its clockwork blacksmith bell-ringers and electrified owls), Sixth Avenue elevated tracks, New York Times building and Hotel Astor. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. James Gordon Bennett MonumentThe New York Herald Building was built in 1893 and demolished in 1921. The statue of Minerva, the clock and two owls were saved and are now part of a monument to James Gordon Bennett. The Mighty HippodromeThe largest theatre in the world at the time, the Hippodrome, can be seen far down the tracks on the right. Hotel Normandie"Absolutely Fireproof" Made of 100% Asbestos. Wow!Just WOW! An amazing photoThe details are unbelievable. Hours can be spent just studying this photo and I likely will. "Electrified" owlsSo what did Herald's "electrified" owls do? Light up or move? And what is the tall skinny building just left of the Hotel Astor? [The owls' eyes lit up at night. The skinny building is the New York Times. - Dave] Can you find?A head without a hat. I couldn't. Too much... This one is giving me data overload! So much to see in the image! It must be a warm Spring or Summer day because I see a lot of men sporting skimmers (flat topped straw hats) and the women are wearing blouses with shorter sleeves and fancy hats. Toward the lower left of the photo we see a cab (horse drawn type) with the driver, in his top hat, waiting patiently. I suspect that I can see a slight smile on his face. Perhaps there is a pretty girl in his field of view. Then, there are the two members of the constabulary conversing together, in the lower center of the picture. maybe they are talking about going over to the Lunch wagon on the far right to grab a bite to eat. What, I ask, is the "House of Hits"? That phrase seems to me to right out of the early '60s Motown, not 1910 New York. Then there is the Hotel Normandie - Absolutely Fireproof! It seems that Otard Brandy is still available, even today! I find it a bit hard to believe, but there seems to be a casino in Midtown Manhattan. I can't forget Lucio's Pearls. They defy detection! and right above them we have "Paul Jones Pure Rye - Remember the bottle!" There is so much more to take in, in this photograph. [In answer to your questions: Jos. W. Stern ("The House of Hits") was a music publisher. The Casino was a theater at 39th and Broadway. - Dave] 80 minutes apartThe glass plates making up the panorama, exposed at 12:04 and 1:24 p.m. Click to enlarge. Still Where The Action Is!I So LOVE this photo! I would give almost anything to be able to go back to this very spot for a few days to shop, sightsee and experience life during this time. The buildings are lovely, the clothing elegant, the cabs very dapper. I will be studying this one for a long while. Thank you Dave posting this one and for such a wonderful merger of pics. Herald SquareThat answered my question about why the two clocks had different times. [There's only one clock here. The dial on the right is a wind rose. - Dave] FoxyThat Fox Real Estate branding would stand the test of time by today's standards, what a classic. Although the fox better watch out for that self-stropping razor up above. DaredevilWho are those people on the elevated tracks in the distance? And what are they doing? One looks like a kid on a bicycle, dropping something on the people below. [That's a man standing with his hand on the railing. - Dave] Jaywalkers everywhereI have no idea how I could safely drive that street without flattening a well dressed pedestrian or two. The most I can see vaguely in the way of traffic safety is a sign on a lamppost warning about slow moving vehicles. Not even a bollard in sight. Streetcars or cable carsAre those streetcars or cable cars? The center slot between the rails could hold either the electrical source for streetcars (the "conduit" type) or the moving cable for cable cars. I don't seem to see any trolleys on the cars or overhead trolley wires. [New York's streetcars drew their power from an underground electrical supply. - Dave] All those peopleDidn't anyone work? This must be the ultimate Shorpy photo, almost too much to fathom. The city of Vancouver, B.C., had a population of 70,000 in 1907; today the greater Vancouver area is 2.25 million, which most Canadians think of as an unlivable population. Credit where credit is due.Don Y's post was just fabulous. Thank you Dave and thank you Don Y !!!! Herald Square ParkNice 2007 article in the New York Times about the statue of Minerva and her bell ringers, "Stuff" and "Guff" (or "Gog" and Magog"), seen here atop the Herald Building. The Herald Building was demolished in 1923, the statue stored, and then in 1939-40 permanently installed back in Herald Square Park. Present day Herald Square Park as well as the adjacent Greeley Square Park are gores--that is, triangular. Several New York City parks are gores. But, in front of the Herald Building, is the statue that of Horace Greeley, publisher of the rival Tribune? The horseless hansomThere is a very interesting cab (?) with a driver up behind in the middle right. Can anyone ID it? [It's an electric hansom cab. - Dave] Hussy!The forearms of the young woman in the lower left are entirely exposed. What was the world coming to? No point in directing the traffic,may as well stand in the middle of the road and have a chat instead. An amazing photo with superb detail. Excellent piece of stitching. Macy'sLet's not forget Macy's Department store right there on the corner. I used to walk through that very spot almost everyday, and to be honest, it hasn't really changed all that much. Right Hand DriveAnyone know when American autos converted to left hand drive. [The transition was a gradual one, with right- and left-hand-drive autos sharing the roads for many years. - Dave] We may never knowWhat is so fascinating about the carriage with the umbrella? The driver of the Packard, the second wagon and the nearby pedestrians all appear to engrossed. I have visions of a patent medicine barker making an unscheduled pitch, or perhaps a local celebrity on his or her way from the Hippodrome. That Packard, BTW, is one gorgeous automobile. The menace of lunch wagonsIn the center right sits "Lunch Wagon No.9" - precursor to today's bustling midtown street food scene. Wish I knew what was on the menu. Here is a 1907 letter to the New York Times complaining about this very lunch wagon for being obstructive. A letter the day before in the Times complained about a food wagon at Union Square that had wheels but hadn't moved in years. This one looks like it could be the same deal. A couple of years later, there were Suffragette Food Wagons that offered a free side of feminism along with "Suffragette Sandwiches" - shades of Govinda's, a Hare Krishna food cart that has recently disappeared. WatchYour Step!There is an open access panel in the roadway right where the tracks cross. Interestingly enough, it does not seem to be visible in the left hand of two images, but is quite clear in the right hand one and in the composite photo. There is one hatless headand it is in a very prominent position in the square. It belongs to the fine statue of William Dodge (now in Bryant Park) in front of the Herald. Outstanding photograph and merge! Nobody remembers Rogers Peet anymoreOf course, few people remembered them when they were still open. I got one of my first suits on sale there, but I think that store was uptown from here on 42d Street. It was full of what seemed to be very old people. Metropolitan opera houseAlso visible is the original Metropolitan opera house at Bway and 39th... (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads, Streetcars)
Longacre Square: 1904
... any moment! Great Photo! [Another tourist lost in Manhattan. As noted in the caption, the tall building is the New York Times ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:35pm -

New York circa 1904. "Longacre Square." Soon to be renamed Times Square after the recently completed New York Times tower seen here. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. 106 Years Ago…Or thereabouts. It is utterly amazing to see a photo of Times Square from this era. To think of how far we have evolved as a nation is evident in this photograph. This area of NYC is a place where my great-grandfather worked and lived a portion of his life. I cannot help but think how the world will be when my future great-grandson (or granddaughter) ventures out into the world 106 years from now. Guys and DollsI'm sure others have noted/ commented how few women we see in some of these "downtown" pics, in any U.S. city. Also, I don't know that much about how many people had their own horse and carriage for transportation. For example, the guys on the far right, both wearing hats, both sitting "up front" - what's the deal? Driver and passenger? Coworkers in a company vehicle? Two guys commuting together? Extraordinary photo!It's hard to believe that people once lived there in apartments with flowers in the window and, probably, clothes drying on a line in the back. This may well be the most remarkable glimpse I have seen of my hometown's past. Thank you Dave! Pre MouseWow! Times Square looked great before Disney took it over. Oh, to explore this scene in person..This image comes alive like few have, you can almost hear the clippity-clop of the horses' hooves. Makes me wish I had a time machine and could spend a day or two exploring those streets. Thank again Shorpy! Cohan & Packard1904 was the year of George M. Cohan's big hit, "Little Johnny Jones," which opened at the Liberty Theatre on 42nd Street (somewhere to the right of this picture) in November 1904. The run didn't last long, but "Little Johnny Jones" was successfully revived in 1905 at the New York Theatre, apparently the one we see here with Cohan's name in lights. So should this picture be dated 1905, or was something else by the great Cohan also showing? On another front, I thought surely 1904 was early for a full-scale Packard dealership. Wrong! Packard went big time in October 1902. New York's FinestPolice protection seems abundant. I seem to count six policemen in this photo. And, oh, the glorious, glorious signs, including George M. Cohan at the New York Theater. Center StageAnd right in the middle of all this urban confusion is the newly minted Flatiron Building. Can you imagine the impression this building must have made at the time. It looks, from this angle, like it could lean over at any moment! Great Photo! [Another tourist lost in Manhattan. As noted in the caption, the tall building is the New York Times tower. The Flatiron building is 20 blocks away. - Dave] Re: Center StageCould I sell you a map, sir? Or perhaps a bridge. Getting in on the ground floorI've scanned the photo carefully--am I right? The Packard dealership has a wide field for growth--no autos on the street. And what was the history of the building it occupies? I'm vaguely thinking a church. IntriguingWait, you mean there's a building under all those billboards? Understandable MistakeOne might be forgiven for mistaking the Times Building for the Flatiron. They both occupy a similar triangular-shaped block created by the angular intersection of Broadway with (in the case of the Times Building) 7th Ave. and (in the case of the Flatiron Bldg.) 5th Ave. But the top half of the two buildings are quite different. Very difficult to determine whether any of the buildings in this photograph are still in existence today. Today everything is plastered with electronic billboarding. As in "everything". The Times Building is still there (I believe), but is today vacant and serves only as an easel for a number of extremely large, electronic billboards that completely cover the once-grand exterior of the building. The New Year's Eve ball descends from its roof top, but it has really ceased being a "building" in the true sense of the word. The functioning NY Times Building is today a new skyscraper over on 8th Avenue. Packardoccupied the showroom at 1540 B'way from November 1904 to June 1907. Can't find any info on previous tenants. 1540 B'way is now occupied by the Bertelsmann Building. Just four years laterMontague Roberts would be pulling away in the Thomas Flyer automobile right in front of the Times building to begin the NY-Paris Race. 1540 BroadwayIt seems I took a photo at a similar angle back in 2000 (as, I'm sure, did a few million other people) that includes the Packard dealership's address of 1540 Broadway. A little snooping indicated that this address now contains the Bertelsmann Building and the Virgin Megastore - which I think may be closed now. In my crappy little photo can be seen across the top of the Virgin sign the partial "LSMANN BUILDING" sign at far left. More About the Times TowerYes, there really is still a building under the electronic signs. It recently added a new tenant on the bottom floors (the ones with visible windows): Walgreen's new flagship store. (In the early days of the Times Square renewal project, this had been the home of a Warner Brothers store that had some fun items that combined WB characters and Times Square references.) Sadly, however, if you stripped off the signage, you would not see the grand old facade of the Times Tower. At an intermediate stage in the building's evolution it became the Allied Chemical Building, and the decorative stone and terracotta were stripped away and replaced with a bland white "modern" facing. The present hodgepodge of signage is actually preferable. The AIA New York Chapter's Urban Center gallery once had a great show with all kinds of serious and whimsical proposals for how the Times Tower might be restored or adaptively reused. I seem to recall that one included a roller coaster! It's too bad none of the better ones were ever adopted and carried out. Packard BuildingI would venture to say that the Packard building was a stable or carriage repair facility of some kind. That's what The Longacre was known for-If you look around on 8th Ave, there are still a very few buildings that look like the 2 just north of Packard. What a picture! Oh, and Happy New Year Electric cabOn the right, facing away from us in the distance past two hansom cabs,is an electric hansom cab with pneumatic tires. You can see the electric motors on the rear axle. The Times TowerThe building was empty for a long time, but has since been renovated and has tenants, including a Walgreens on the ground floor. Last year, Mayor Bloomberg drove through an initiative to reserve much of Times Square for pedestrians, with the result that it today looks and feels in some ways more like the 1904 photo than the one shown from 2000. +106Below is the same view (south from 46th Street) from November of 2010. (The Gallery, DPC, Horses, NYC)
Great Northern: 1900
... the Old Colony (where I worked in the mid 1980s) and the Manhattan, which still stand in the block between Van Buren and Congress and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/14/2022 - 10:29am -

Chicago circa 1900. "Great Northern Hotel and office building, Dearborn and Jackson Streets." Along with perhaps the earliest appearance on these pages of Coca-Cola signage. Also: a "Lady Barber Shop." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Urban TotemsIf the colorful carved pole is in front of the barber shop and a perched spigot is at the entrance to the bath-house, I would think the next place would be a locksmith? [The sign says Chicago Bronze. - Dave] Lady barbers!?Women cutting men's hair, ladies smoking cigars, or Lady as a last name? Unfortunately the Great Northern building was demolished. Also, there is no Google street view of this block (Dearborn and Jackson) for some reason. Knot a typoIf you wore Ruppert's shoes then you "knew" the feeling of dry socks…I guess. Otherwise, big multiple typo! Elsewhere, great fire escape where the tall buildings join! Nice!"Chicago School" architecture. It was designed by Daniel Burnham, who also did the Flatiron Building. It was demolished in 1940 and has since been replaced by the Dirksen Federal Building. WowI can actually see the characters come to life from "Sister Carrie." One of my favorite novels from 1900. What in the world ......does "Slaunch and true, thru and thru" mean? Besides "knew/new," "slaunch" struck me as odd. Possibly a word that's out of usage? [The word is "staunch," not "slaunch." - Dave] At the sign of the spigotI've seen plenty of giant eyeglasses outside opticians' offices on Shorpy, but never a spigot outside a bathhouse. What a great idea. And a great picture--keep the Chicago pictures coming. Someone doesn't wear Ruppert shoesAny idea who the guy in the drink in the Ruppert shoe sign would be? [A lost sole. - Dave] Did I miss it?Where's the milk bottle? Tennis anyone?Is roof fenced off for athletics, possibly tennis on the building behind the Great Northern at the top far right? Southern Serves the SouthBehind the Great Northern there is an office for the Southern Railway. My Pop was a designated Southern Railway railroad doctor, and when I was a kid I had a bright red billed cap that had the SR with the arrow logo as seen on here. It was my favorite cap. . . . The railroad liked having doctors in the various towns through which its lines passed, so that local workers, if injured, had a local doc to go to. Incidentally, Dad is still a railroad doc, though for Norfolk Southern now. Southern merged with I guess the Norfolk and Western line about 1985 & was later renamed Norfolk Southern. Ye Olde Old GloryWe can narrow the date range a little bit thanks to the American flag flapping on the left side of the photo. That flag design was used starting July 4, 1896, when Utah became a state. Too bad JJ Astor IVdidn't wear a pair of Ruppert's Dry Sox on his 1912 crossing! View from The MonadnockEvery building in this photo is gone. Although the photographer's vantage, Burnham & Root's 1893 Monadnock building, still stands. Chicago Federal Centerhttp://www.panoramio.com/photo/1307733 I believe this building covers the entire block where the hotel stood. Similar buildingsI am struck by the similarities between these buildings and the Old Colony (where I worked in the mid 1980s) and the Manhattan, which still stand in the block between Van Buren and Congress and Dearborn and Plymouth Court. The Old Colony has the round corners, but the windows are very different. Cigars vs. CigarettesIt's hard to imagine now that long ago cigar smokers far outnumbered cigarette users, as evidenced by the many advertising signs in all these photos. When I was a kid in the 1960's the drug stores still had large glass-front humidor cases with open cigar boxes so you could purchase individual cigars, but this practice died out before the decade ended. Then we had to find another way to light our firecrackers. Coke advert?Where is it in the pic? I can't find one. Political unbuildingas noted below - way below - the hotel itself, and the Bedford Building at the far left of the picture (whose spectacular corner spire has unfortunately been cut off), were among a large number of buildings in Chi-town demolished around 1940. The Tribune tried to turn their demise into a partisan issue, illustrating their removal in a 02/17/40 article headlined "Some of the Chicago Buildings Wrecked During New Deal Depression," but it failed to note the reason for their demolition: construction of the Dearborn Street Subway (there was concern the digging would undermine their foundations). Catarrh cureAs a longtime sufferer from catarrh--the name sounds both ridiculous and ominous--I am wondering how to get my hands on some of that Blue Gum Compound. Surely a more pleasant treatment than pseudoephedrine, phenylephrine, or guaifenesin. In fact, blue gum honey (eucalyptus globulus) is sold today as a treatment for various effects of "phlegmatic deposition." Australian brands are widely available. But alas, even 122 years later, there is no cure for catarrh. The Gunning SystemGunning was a big player in the world of giant urban advertising billboards. The City of Chicago fought them tooth and nail: https://chicagology.com/advertising/chicagobillboards/ The photo appears to have been taken during the transition from "Every sign must begin with a capital letter and end with a period. Period." to "If there's no period, the letters can be a little larger" [Mighty internal struggle to avoid using "period of transition" above.] Eyes goin' badI'm gonna have to go and get a free eye exam at Sweet, Wallach & Co. People are gettin' kinda fuzzy. Haven't we met somewhere before?I know -- it was at one of Gatsby's parties. Whither Lady Barbers?I can't understand why this didn't catch on. I'd rather have my hair cut by a woman, but for most of my life, lady barbers were not an option. Chicago School "bay window" style at its best.You can still see some around town. Cable Car TrackChicago had a large cable car system that lasted until 1906. The far track had a centre slot for the grip to clamp onto the cable. Many of the lines turned downtown in loops, which may be the source of the term Loop in Chicago. More details here. (The Gallery, Chicago, DPC, Railroads)
The Iron Pier: 1903
... New Iron Pier (built in 1882). They served steamboats from Manhattan piers and Rockaway that brought patrons of the beach and its ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/27/2023 - 8:47pm -

1903. "Bathers and the Iron Pier -- West Brighton Beach, Coney Island, N.Y." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. What, again?Good grief, Ma wore her lampshade instead of her bonnet! ShenanigansI like the horsing around in the front there, especially the stern look on the face of the woman hoisted by the lifeguard. Oh, and where’s Waldo -- um, everywhere? Cullen's Coney CapersApparently the life saving wasn't always fun and games The musical stylings of Harry Von TilzerVintage ditty referencing the eponymous iron pier: https://youtu.be/-X7q6brOeZw?t=159 (Cued up to the key bit.) Unusual beach sceneFirst time I've seen a two-story pier. Pier reviewThere were two "Iron Piers" constructed on Coney Island in the post Civil War era (one known as the Old Iron Pier (built in 1879) and the other as the New Iron Pier (built in 1882). They served steamboats from Manhattan piers and Rockaway that brought patrons of the beach and its attractions for day and overnight trips. But that came to an end at the beginning of the 1911 season, when the Dreamland amusement park burned after a clumsy worker repairing a roof kicked over a bucket of hot tar into some light bulbs, starting a nine-alarm fire. The two Iron Piers were effectively destroyed by the blaze, with their usefulness negated. Only Steeplechase Pier remained. A Chorus LineIt appears some of the male bathers are auditioning for the Rockettes. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Swimming)
On the Edge: 1905
... view of everyone's favorite proto-skyscraper, at anchor in Manhattan. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. ... When did the overhead "trolley" era begin? [Manhattan streetcars used an underground electrical power supply, accessed ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/23/2013 - 6:47pm -

New York circa 1905. "Flatiron Building, Broadway and Fifth Avenue." Another view of everyone's favorite proto-skyscraper, at anchor in Manhattan. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. On the edge is right!Did you notice the man standing on the 2nd floor ledge, right toward the front of the building? I can't figure out what he's doing - any speculation? [Something to do with that sign. - Dave] The guy on the ledgeIt's Harold Lloyd's dad. No Overhead WiresThis is a great shot but I'm wondering whats powering all the streetcars in view. Was it an electrified center rail? Couldn't be a cable the way all the tracks are crossing. When did the overhead "trolley" era begin? [Manhattan streetcars used an underground electrical power supply, accessed through a slot between the rails. - Dave] The OTHER guy on a ledgeWhat about the leg coming out the window two floors up from the sign guy? What in the world is HE about to do? [Good question. Maybe like all those window-ledge milk bottles we've seen, he's chillin'. - Dave] C.G. Gunther The flag at the top right reads: C.G. Gunther. He was a furrier and at one time mayor of New York City. (The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC, Streetcars)
Yesterday's News: 1940
... years back I read that there is a fault line running under Manhattan. I suppose this may be connected. Earthquake The USGS website ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/28/2018 - 8:56am -

December 1940. Brockton, Massachusetts. "Men and a woman reading headlines posted in window of Brockton Enterprise newspaper office on Christmas Eve." 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size. FedorasYour best bet finding them are in Hasidic neighborhood stores. Anthony UtoI think the sign reads "Enterprise Barber Shop." I have no doubt tho that the sign was changed to something that did not resemble the imperial battle flag! Still AroundUnlike the Seattle Post-Intelligencer or the Rocky Mountain News, the Brockton Enterprise will still deliver a physical newspaper to your home. I find that comforting. You two, yeah you, get out of the wayI really want to know more about problems with the schoolbooks, but those two guys are in the way. Twitter 1.0Just a few short words on a subject, broadcast for all the world (if the world happens to walk by that window) to read. Japanese Barber ShopThis picture was taken in December 1940. I'd be willing to bet that one year later "Anthony Uto's Japanese Barber Shop" was no longer in business. ["Japanese"? I think you're misreading the sign. - Dave] It Comes Full CircleI was wetting my pants in 1940 and here we are back in the same mode, its deja vu all over again. Brockton EnterpriseThe Enterprise of Brockton is still there: http://www.enterprisenews.com/ And it still resides at 60 Main Street in Brockton. And W.B. Mason (2nd Floor) is still going strong as well. R.I.P. Billy HillBilly Hill, Boston native, wrote a number of popular songs including The Last Round-Up, Wagon Wheels, Empty Saddles, In the Chapel in the Moonlight, The Glory of Love. At the age of seventeen he went out West and spent the next fifteen years working at various jobs including dishwasher in several roadhouses, cowpuncher in Montana, payroll clerk at a mining camp in Death Valley, and band leader at a Chinese restaurant in Salt Lake City. Sadly, Billy "lost his battle with alcohol" on Dec. 24, 1940. You can learn more at www.americanmusicpreservation.com Staying connected to your world.Wow! I wish we had a place to go today to read news headlines. Enterprise Barber Shop?Is that what is says? Although, when I saw the "Empire of the Sun" sign, my first thought was "Japanese" as well. School Board,not schoolbooks. The past is prologueInteresting how the formatting of newspaper pages on the window presages the formatting of information on the screen of my iPod Touch. Quake?There was an earthquake? Indeed, two? In Massachusetts? Many years back I read that there is a fault line running under Manhattan. I suppose this may be connected. EarthquakeThe USGS website confirms the headlines in the window. A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck the Lake Ossippee region in New Hampshire on December 20th and 24th of 1940. It reports that aftershocks were felt throughout the northeast. News FlashToday this would be replaced with the news "zipper" like in Times Square, New York. Evergreen street tree?Is that a Doug Fur or Canadian Hemlock in the corner of the picture? It looks like there is an ornament on it, which would make sense, but it seems like an odd place for a Xmas tree that size in the middle of the sidewalk. Keeping an eyeWas everybody a private detective in those days? Hatzoff, Fedora ManAs I grow older (and balder), I find myself coveting those fedoras. Gonna go find me one, somewhere... Get Your News HereUnlike today, there were no text messages, no blogs, no CNN, only newspapers and radios. There were no all news stations but there were morning and afternoon papers. Things changed much later on and I believe we are all the better for it. FedorasGosh, I really like the look of a man with a nice hat on. I remember that growing up in the 50's and 60's, practically all men wore them. I don't know why they stopped, but they sure look elegant. SantaI like that even back then they were "tracking" Santa and that he might not finish up his route until Christmas morning! Men Without HatsThe style changed, I believe, with John F. Kennedy, who was the first U.S. President to regularly go hatless. This encouraged a lot of other young men of his generation to follow suit (but not hat). Then there was the disastrous collapse of the once-mighty Japanese-American barbershop industry, which has yet to be fully documented. Not by me, though. Still, the familiar Kabuki barber in his garish makeup and flowing silk costume used to be a fixture in American cities from coast to coast, like Howard Johnson's restaurants and motels. For some reason or other, they never made a comeback after 1945. Maybe it was because, as my WWII veteran Grandpa used to say, "I'll never, ever trust one of those little guys with a razor again!" Since the average customer wasn't getting shaved bald any more (except for the traditional Samauri topknot, on request), the hat was no longer needed. [Disclaimer: If you don't think that real history is entertaining enough, you can always make up your own]. Marciano and HaglerBrockton is indeed home to boxing great Rocky Marciano. It is also home to another boxing great, Marvelous Marvin Hagler! Window vs. Web LogsBrockton, Mass. Who knew it was the birthplace of blogging? This is also a very early use of Windows Media. The Brockton BomberWasn't Rocky Marciano from Brockton? Eaton CuttersSomething about Eaton sounded familiar. The Eaton Cutters post for the army shoe workers is a reference to the Charles A. Eaton Shoe Company founded 1876 in Brockton, eventually adding their golf shoes to its line. In 1976, the company changed its name to Etonic. Read all about itAs a newspaper editor, this photo is evocative of a time when people truly treasured their daily or weekly newspaper, read it religiously, wrote letters to the editor, subscribed for generations, and hungered for important news as it was packaged in those days--on paper. Sure, they listened to H.P. Kaltenborn, but they still read all about it. Just a year later, when I was a month old, the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor, leaving our generation to question why anyone in 1940 used a rising sun motif for their outdoor advertising! Nowadays, our industry is on the ropes, but I'm glad to see that the Brockton Enterprise is still going strong, right where it started. For how long, though? Reading is becoming a lost art, alas. Re: As a newspaper editorRe: As a newspaper editor, this photo is That's saying this photo is a newspaper editor. I thought it was reporters who fell into the trap of the dangling modifier, and the editors were the ones who pulled them out! Oops, ya got me!Anonymous Tipster is so right. Those dangling modifiers are pernicious. What is missing are the words "I find" from my original draft, inserted just after "editor," and just before "this." Good catch! I know who caused the earthquake!My dad, who would have been 14 at the time of this picture, grew up in Manchester, NH, and told me this story several times: One day he and his younger brother were in their upstairs bedroom doing nothing in particular while their mother was in the kitchen. Suddenly the dishes rattled and the cupboard doors shook. Mom marched to the foot of the stairs and shouted, "YOU BOYS CUT THAT OUT!" They looked at each other, then replied, "We weren't doing anything." (They were fond of fighting and wrestling, so Mom had every reason to blame them.) "You rattled the dishes down here!" "It wasn't us, honest. It must have been an earthquake," they countered. Well, that was ridiculous because earthquakes just don't happen in New England. However, when the next day's paper reported an earthquake, they all had a good laugh, and Mom was reassured that her boys weren't lying. The EnterpriseThe Enterprise is no longer at 60 Main Street in downtown Brockton. Delano's photo shows where the old Enterprise offices were, where the city of Brockton water/sewer offices currently reside, I believe. 60 Main is to the right, on the other corner. The building has been sold to a developer and the presses were dismantled and removed in 2008. In October 2008, part of the newsroom operation moved to a nondescript office on the city limits. Flying SantaThe "flying Santa Claus" referred to was Edward Rowe Snow, a local historian who every year, with the help of the Coast Guard, delivered Christmas packages to lighthouse keepers and their families. You can find more about him here. Grandfather Uto's barbershopThis was not a Japanese barbershop. My grandfather Anthony Uto came to this country from Italy in 1899 and opened his shop under the Enterprise building in the early 1900s. Until his retirement in the late 1960s, that was his shop. (The Gallery, Brockton, Jack Delano)
The District Line: 1942
... overhead wire, which was banned in the District. Like Manhattan, they used an underground conduit, but unlike Manhattan the lines left the conduit area, so there were pits where the conduit ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/05/2022 - 12:25pm -

June-July 1942. "District of Columbia and Maryland boundary line at Wisconsin Avenue in the evening." Acetate negative by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size. Mazza GallerieThose towers in the background were part of the DC Transit bus yard. Apparently, there is enough oil waste pollution under the site that leaked over to the Mazza Gallerie site that it has made it very difficult to sell. Friendship HeightsNo more streetcars, of course, but now the site of the Friendship Heights station on the Washington Metro. Interestingly, "Friendship Heights" approximates "District Line", since that vaguely-defined neighborhood straddles the border, and includes the western end of Military Road to which the Shorpy photo points. However, though it borders the border, the Metro station is entirely in Maryland. Beat It on Down the LineThe boundary marker is still there, but it has a different cordon. Just about everything else is gone. A Shorty on ShorpyEither the stone border marker has been replaced, or the sidewalk/roadway level has been built up substantially! District line = trolley lineMaryland is on the far side of the sign. You can tell because the trolley is using overhead wire, which was banned in the District. Like Manhattan, they used an underground conduit, but unlike Manhattan the lines left the conduit area, so there were pits where the conduit plows were removed and added and then the trolley pole was raised or lowered. Conduit Track BoundariesI thought the same thing as RobtS until I contacted a friend who lives in Takoma Park and is knowledgeable about the DC streetcar system. His response: "Keep in mind the overhead wire ban only affected the old Washington city core south of Florida Avenue, east and south to the rivers, and west to Georgetown." Recent shrinkageThe boundary marker shrank between the Google Street view, posted by perpster, and the photograph provided by Lurk Peruser, of the Sheboygan Perusers. The protective poles around the marker also became bent. Something hit the marker from the sidewalk side, and I'm betting broke it. Capital Transit CompanyRobtS is incorrect. The photographer is standing in Maryland looking south on Wisconsin Avenue. The streetcar pictured is on the 30 route and is beginning its run back into town having just turned around at Friendship Heights. Streetcars did not continue on into Maryland here. One had to exit the streetcar and board a bus to continue traveling northward. This streetcar would be powered by the overhead electrical system for nearly 4 miles until the pole would be lowered and a “plow” attached at Wisconsin Avenue and P Streets NW in Georgetown. Click here for a picture of the "plow pit" where the transition occurred. This is an often repeated, but incorrect belief that Capital Transit did not use overhead wires. In fact several lines within the District used them. The conduit system was only used in the very heart of the city. I believe the confusion may have arisen from early descriptions of the system which referred to overhead lines in “suburban areas.” This did not mean Maryland, as it would have come to mean years later, but rather in more residential neighborhoods of the District. As for the smokestack and water tower: they were originally part of the “Tenleytown Barn” located at Wisconsin Avenue and Harrison Streets NW. The District Line in Pandemic TimeThis is how that location between Washington, D.C. and Maryland appeared in March, 2020, shortly after the initial pandemic shutdowns. Streetcar Named DesireA very cool looking streetcar, with a bus design aesthetic. (The Gallery, D.C., Marjory Collins, Streetcars)
Broadway From Above: 1903
... 03/01/1955 Merge To State President and Directors of the Manhattan Company 03/01/1955 Name Change To Chase Manhattan Bank, The (1799-9/1965) 09/01/1965 Convert Federal Chase Manhattan ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/29/2018 - 7:11pm -

New York circa 1903. "Looking up Broadway from City Hall." With a view of the National Shoe & Leather Bank, and a roving vendor of DESKS. View full size. Rogers, Peet & Co.The building on the left with the flag was originally Rogers-Peet, a clothing store for men and boys. It was at this location for over 70 years, finally closing in 1976. On March 5 of this year, an 1100-square-foot apartment (photo below) in the building sold for over $1.5 million. I wonder if the man who built this little eight story neo-Renaissance tower could have ever guessed that his handiwork would ever bring so high a price. NYC hasn't changed muchNotice the car cutting off the trolley, center left of the photo. [That's an electric hansom cab. - Dave] Looking DowntownCompliments of the Museum of the City of New York: a look at the Chambers Street side of the National Shoe & Leather Bank Building. Apparently the bank was subsumed into the JP Morgan Chase empire. Shoe and Leather Bank 1852 Established Shoe and Leather Bank 1865 Convert Federal National Shoe & Leather Bank of the City of NY 02/01/1906 Converted To Shoe & Leather Bank of the City of New York 04/01/1906 Acquire By Merger Metropolitan Bank (1905-4/1906) 04/01/1906 Name Change To Metropolitan Bank (4/1906-9/1921) 01/01/1921 Acquire By Merger Hamilton Trust Company 09/01/1921 Converted To Metropolitan National Bank of the City of NY 11/01/1921 Merge To Federal Chase National Bank of the City of New York 03/01/1955 Merge To State President and Directors of the Manhattan Company 03/01/1955 Name Change To Chase Manhattan Bank, The (1799-9/1965) 09/01/1965 Convert Federal Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A., The 07/14/1996 Merge To State Chemical Bank 07/14/1996 Name Change To Chase Manhattan Bank, The 11/13/2004 Convert Federal JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association Actually ...This photo could not have been taken from City Hall, as Murray Street is seen to the left (two streets downtown from Chambers) and Murray is south of City Hall. This photo was taken from the old Post Office. [Also known as the City Hall Post Office and Courthouse, part of the City Hall Park complex of municipal buildings. - Dave] Sun in the NorthThat's the New York Sun building just to the north of City Hall Park. Publisher of the "Yes Virginia.. . " letter. Building still stands. You can just about make out a corner (on the right) of "The New County Courthouse" today the home of the Board of Education. Now written in stone is the name "TWEED COURTHOUSE", and it has to be the only building named after a rouge - Tweed and his gang swiped millions from the city, and now he is honored with his name on the building that he used to swindle money for himself and friends. And to think - the city fathers of NY, in building City Hall, never imagined that the city would grow north of here. And all this is facing north. LandmarkThe New York Sun building on Chambers Street was originally New York City's first department store, built for the A. T. Stewart Company. It's now has National Historic Landmark status as well as New York Landmark status and currently houses the New York City Dept. of Buildings offices. TrolleysActually, the 'trolleys' in the photograph are cable cars. You can see the slot for the plough to attach to the cable between the tracks. Also lack of trolley poles and wires is a giveaway. [By this time, all of Manhattan's cable lines had been converted to electricity; the slot is to access the underground electrical conduit. -tterrace] (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Streetcars)
D-Day: New York
... see the views above them while being carried through the Manhattan canyons. The skyscraper with the clock housed the Paramount Theatre, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/06/2013 - 10:25am -

New York, June 6, 1944. ALLIED ARMIES LAND ON COAST OF FRANCE. GREAT INVASION OF CONTINENT BEGINS. "D-Day. Crowd watching the news line on the New York Times building at Times Square." Photo by Howard Hollem or Edward Meyer for the Office of War Information. View full size. Unidentified ObjectDoes anyone know what the curved metal object with letters on it is? It appears to be on top of a car on the right. [DeSoto "Sky View" taxicab sign. - Dave] Internet, 1944is what this could have been titled. The scrolling electric sign was as good as it got then, and I am sure those folks were fairly amazed to see it. I wonder what it took to program it? My great-uncle went in at D Day +60 (August 7) as a replacement in the 2nd Infantry Division (L Company, 23rd Infantry Regiment); he was seriously wounded at Brest, France, a month later, died in 1956...and I was named for him. That was never far from my mind when I served in Iraq in 2004 at the same age he was when he earned his Purple Heart and (I believe) a Bronze Star. To all those who went in on D-Day...and throughout WWII, I stand and salute. So what about that moving sign?According to various sources the NY Times installed the first moving "news ticker" in 1928, using 14,800 electric bulbs. Given the technology of the day, I can only guess that each bulb required a relay, which would have to click on and off almost instantly to momentarily light its bulb, as the text scrolls along. This must have been a maintenance challenge (there seems to be a few extra bulbs lit, and some brighter ones that may just have been replaced). They may have used or even invented the "matrix" technique still used today for LCD displays, which uses "crosspoint" wiring to greatly reduce the number of lines going from the elements to the control system, but my mind still boggles at the number of wires remaining, and what kind of electro-mechanical system translated "operator input" to the streaming text. If only Shorpy's world-wide readership included a retired electro-mechanical sign technician! Just the technology of the news line was something...Before zooming in to see the image full size, on first glance the guy on the left and the guy 2nd from the right were in a posture not to different than someone holding a cellphone to the ear. Of course it's clear they were dragging on fags, sucking on coffin nails, drawing down on Pall Malls while taking in the portentous news. As someone not born until 12 years after the war was over - I am fascinated by what day to day life in the US was like, mobilized for war. Of course I grew up knowing it was a success, but at that very moment, who knew how this was going to work out - the intensity of the moment, even for folks in the street in Times Square, must have been incredible. Pausing to rememberMy brother landed D-Day plus 12 and my uncle D-Day plus 20. They were lucky, I guess, and returned to us to live out long lives. Great photo. Really profound. 6-6-44Yet to be born, a twinkle in my father's eye as he dropped from the sky into Caen with the Canadians early that morning. RIP Dad. 23,740 days later Kind of Gladwe can't see many faces in the crowd. We'd have to start wondering what they were thinking -- Is my son there? My dad? My husband? My brother? Funny but I cannot summon up any memory of D-Day. VE and VJ Days, and the dropping of the two A-bombs are sharp and clear, but not D-Day. I think perhaps that it might relate to what happened in early May. I was out riding my trike when a Western Union messenger rode up on his bike and went into the three-family apartment in which I lived. I heard a terrible scream through the open windows of the first-floor unit. All the neighbors (women since the men were in the military or working) flocked to the apartment with screams continuing for some time. I learned that the woman's son had been killed in action. I did not totally understand the horror, but I was sad because the young man had been very nice to the punk kid airplane nut from the third floor, even letting me hold his model planes. The first-floor family were an elderly couple, with the one child, who had become a fighter pilot in the Pacific. The husband walked with heavy braces and crutches, and, as I later learned, they just quit and gave up life. They moved within days and we never heard from them again. I think that I was in a bit of a void for a while. Walking to churchOn January 6, 1944, I was 6 years old in Fort Smith, Arkansas, part of a young generation which at the time had no knowledge of a condition known as peace. On that day, my mother received a phone call from a fellow church member who was calling everyone in the congregation to say that the invasion was under way. This was the signal to come to the church to pray. Our family; mother, father and two boys walked to the church to pray for the safety and success of our "American Boys" on that day. DeSoto Sky ViewThose great old DeSoto cabs had a sliding roof panel to let passengers see the views above them while being carried through the Manhattan canyons. The skyscraper with the clock housed the Paramount Theatre, a wonderful place to visit for a movie and a live stage show. I saw Phil Spitalny and his "All-Girl Orchestra featuring Evelyn and her Magic Violin" there with my family. The movie was "Miss Susie Slagle's," starring Veronica Lake and Sonny Tufts. Bright Lights, Big SignRadio CoverageThe National Archives in College Park, Maryland has recordings of the entire NBC and CBS broadcast day from D-Day and anyone can go in and listen to them. It's a very good way to get a sense of what the day was like for people at home listening on the radio as events unfolded. News ZipperFrom a 2005 NYT article on the Zipper: The Motograph News Bulletin, to use its original formal name, began operation on Nov. 6, 1928, election night, as a band of 14,800 light bulbs that extended 380 feet long and 5 feet high around the fourth floor of what was then the Times Tower. It was installed for The New York Times by Frank C. Reilly, according to an article in The Times, which identified Mr. Reilly as the inventor of electric signs with moving letters. Inside the control room, three cables poured energy into transformers. The hookup to all the bulbs totaled 88,000 soldered connections. Messages from a ticker came to a desk beside a cabinet like the case that contained type used by old-time compositors. The cabinet contained thin slabs called letter elements. An operator composed the message, letter by letter, in a frame. The frame, when filled with the letters and spaces that spelled out a news item, was inserted in a magazine at one end of a track. A chain conveyor moved the track, and each letter in the frame brushed a number of electrical contacts. Each contact set a light flashing on Broadway. There were more than 39,000 brushes, which had to undergo maintenance each month. The frame with the letter elements passed up and overhead, forming an endless circuit. Mr. Reilly calculated that there were 261,925,664 flashes an hour. D-DayJune 6, 1944, I was 16 years old and in Basic Training with the the US Maritime Service at Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Many of us teenagers had close relatives in the military and wished we were there with them to fight the Axis. A month later, I was in a North Atlantic convoy assigned to a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun hoping that a Nazi plane would dare to fly over. "I'd show 'em." Of course I didn't tell this to my shipmates. skyview cabI believe this is the light-up sign on top of the Sky-View Cab Company. It looks like neon. I was watching an old movie from the forties (?) on TCM and I noticed these cabs. They had a sunroof cut into the roof of the cab so the passengers in the back seat could look up and see the buildings. I can't remember the movie, but the plot involved the passenger looking up and seeing something relevant to the story line. It must have been a gimmick for the cab company. It also must have been one of the early sunroofs in a car! More SkyviewThe Skyview NYC Taxicab that the tipster may have seen on TCM was in the musical "Anchors Aweigh". The scene where Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly are Standing up and looking out at the city in Betty Garrett's Skyview cab. Those DeSoto Skyview Cabs were sold exclusively through James Waters Chrysler Agency in Long Island City, Queens. The price for a new one was about $1100. I once heard a story that he was Walter Chrysler's Son-in-Law but I can't confirm it. The Skyview cabs were all over the placewhen I lived in NYC from 1941 - 44. They were stretched DeSotos with a couple of fold-up seats and the roof had glass so that one could see the tall buildings. There was also a radio built into the armrest on the right. The driver turned it on and the passenger controlled the rest. I had many rides in those cabs. Hovercraft at D-Day@sjack: I don't mean to rain on your parade, and I certainly don't wish to denigrate the memory of your father and his courageous service to our nation in World War II, but I'm quite sure he didn't lower tanks onto hovercraft for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. The US Army did not make use of hovercraft until Viet Nam, and then it was only on an experimental basis. As your comment is titled, memories are funny sometimes. Perhaps your dad talked about loading tanks onto landing craft, not hovercraft, like the LST (landing ship tank) or smaller versions like the LCU (landing craft utility), which were flat-hulled vessels that could approach fairly close to the beach and lower a ramp on the bow, allowing troops and vehicles to exit. The Bronx is up but the Battery's down"New York, New York, A Helluva Town" was sung in the Broadway "On the Town" but for the film changed to "New York, New York, A Wonderful Town" because of those archaic Hollywood codes at that time. Los Angeles may have our Dodgers but they don't have our songs or our Skyview Cabs. RememberingDuring my early teen's in the 1950's I was invited along on several fishing trips with 3 WWII veterans. One had been an Army Ranger, one a sailor who had been on the Murmansk Run, and the third a paratrooper. You can imagine the banter among those guys. The Ranger was in the D-Day invasion and had been wounded in the buttocks. The Navy vet always asked him how he could have sustained that injury advancing from the beach. Curiously, the paratrooper never spoke any particulars of his service. They're gone now, but I remember them being nice to this kid. Thanks guys. UnawareJune 6, 1944 - I was happily gestating in my mother's womb and would be born during the Battle of the Bulge (no relation to mom's condition). My dad, drafted in 1940 into the 7th Cavalry (yes, Custer's old outfit) had been converted into armor and was preparing to sail overseas to a place called Leyte Gulf in the Philippines where he would be wounded and spend the rest of the war, plus another year, in Letterman Hospital in S.F. Until his death in 1996 he could remember most of his company's buddies names and the names of their horses. More on radio coverageThe NBC and CBS D-Day broadcasts are available at the Internet Archive. NBC: http://archive.org/details/NBCCompleteBroadcastDDay CBS: http://archive.org/details/Complete_Broadcast_Day_D-Day That woundHow your Ranger probably caught that one: We were taught in training that buttocks wounds were very common; moving forward under fire without decent cover, one crawls. It is most difficult to accomplish this without making your buttocks the highest point of your body! Let us never forget the men of D-Day.An awful lot of them gave up their tomorrows so we could enjoy our todays. 'On The Town'Is the movie 'Mr. Mel' is thinking of; 'Anchors Aweigh' is set in Hollywood. Right Stars, wrong movie. 'Lest We Forget'A line from Ford's 'She wore a Yellow Ribbon' that fits this day so well. Odd TriviaThere are a couple of boats trading on the Great Lakes today that were at the Normandy invasion. One still carries the battle ribbons with stars on her bridge wings. One other point is that the Times building was of very attractive design before it was covered up with billboards. Communiqué No. 1I followed the NBC link provided by hlupak604 and listened to some of the radio coverage and heard, more than once, the short text of Communiqué No. 1 from Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force, which appears to form the basis for the scrolling text on the news zipper. It runs as follows: "Under the command of General Eisenhower, allied naval forces, supported by strong air forces, began landing allied armies this morning on the northern coast of France." Thanks! Uncle SamMy uncle Sam (no pun intended) landed at Omaha Beach, and immediately sustained an injury to his head. He was fitted with a metal plate to replace the part of his skull that he lost. Needless to say, his fighting days were over. However, he went on to be become an accomplished auto mechanic. Family, friends, and neighbors all asked him for automotive advice. He passed away last year at the age of 90. Thanks, Uncle Sam! - because of your sacrifices, I am free today to write this. Yeah, I remember.Although we didn't know it at the time, my brother was in the sand of Utah Beach just then. He survived the war. I remember vividly the headlines in The Detroit Times that afternoon, "WE WIN BEACHES". Due to the time difference, of course, there was plenty of fresh news of the invasion in the afternoon paper. I've been a news junkie since. May we never forgethow brave these men were. My uncle fought in Okinawa in 1945, unfortunately he never made it out alive. I still have the last letter he wrote to his "beloved mama", what a sweet soul he was. Bless them one and all. Memories are funny sometimesMy father was on a supply ship in the English Channel on D Day, lowering tanks into hovercraft that were being sent to French beach heads. Many, many, times I tried to discuss his experiences that day but he never really had much to say. He said that on D Day he was "on the water" (in the Channel) and they were pretty much working constantly getting the tanks loaded and shipped. They slept whenever they could he said. He landed at Utah beach (but didn't say when) and moved up the coast doing whatever was asked (he was in a supply unit) until he got to Belgium. And that was pretty much all I got out of him. His shared memories of the battle of the Bulge were even more meager ("it was very cold"). I'm jealous of people whose fathers discussed their war experiences; mine just didn't seem to want to share. Cold for JuneI realize most people dressed up in public back then, but most of the women in the photo are wearing overcoats. It must have been cold in New York that June day in 1944. Hovercraft tanks, sort ofOne of many unique innovations for the D Day invasion was the "Duplex Drive" tank, essentially a standard Sherman tank which was fitted with an inflatable, collapsible canvas screen and twin screw props which would enable the tank to float like a boat and wade ashore. Unfortunately, the contraption worked best in calm water, something that was in short supply off the Normandy coast that day. I remember a buddy of mine whose dad had served with the US Navy at the invasion re-telling his dad's stories of the DD tanks being dropped off in deeper, rough water due to enemy fire and sinking like rocks. Fortunately enough of the tanks were able to make it on shore to provide badly needed armor support for the ground troops, and the tanks were deemed successful enough to serve in the invasion of Southern France two months later, as well as during numerous river crossing operations during the remainder of 1944 and 1945. Good article with photos of the tanks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DD_tank Full messageI believe the full message read: "ALLIES LAND ON NORTHERN COAST OF FRANCE UNDER STRONG AIR COVER" (The Gallery, Howard Hollem, NYC, WW2)
Old New York: 1913
... 7th streets to the north and south), looking toward the Manhattan Bridge. The two steeples peeking up over the park, I think, are ... making this the oldest site of continuous worship in Manhattan. This church was erected 1795-99, with a Greek Revival steeple added ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 5:01pm -

Summer 1913. "Bird's eye view of N.Y.C. from roof of Consolidated Gas Building." 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size. The East VillageI used to live in the area a couple of years ago on East 12th between Avenues A & B. Can't quite make that building out in this shot, but there are some noticeable landmarks there. First is Tompkins Square Park (just left of center toward the top, which occupies the area between Avenue A & B on the east and west, and 10th street & 7th streets to the north and south), looking toward the Manhattan Bridge. The two steeples peeking up over the park, I think, are St. Brigid's Church on Avenue B across from the park. The shorter, broader steeple on this side of the park probably is St. Nicholas of Myra Church (1883) on the corner of Avenue A and 10th Street. Moving farther right across the picture, below where the bridge begins to fade off, is the steeple of St. Stanislaus Church (1872) on 7th Street, between Avenue A and First Avenue. Moving a little more to the right, closer to the photographer, is the steeple of St. Marks in the Bowery (its stark contrast jumps out at you) on the corner of 10th Street & 2nd Avenue. "The Bowery" was Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant's farm, and his private chapel used to stand there, making this the oldest site of continuous worship in Manhattan. This church was erected 1795-99, with a Greek Revival steeple added 1828 and an Italianate portico completing the structure in 1854. The graveyard here has some of the oldest burials in Manhattan, including Stuyvesant himself. I see a handful of other steeples in there, but I need the time to identify those, these were the "easy" ones for me. Con EdHere we go again, another picture that is going to have my attention for many days. This one, taken from the Consolidated Gas Building, now the Con Ed (Consolidated Edison) Building is at 4 Irving place. I Guess the shot was taken looking southeast across 3rd Ave (the El is there). The Jefferson Theatre was a major vaudeville house at 214 East 14 St, which puts it between 2nd & 3rd Avenues and on the south side of the street. This places the photographer 1 block away from Union Square Park, the site of some previous, amazing Shorpy pictures. Today that block, houses among others, a high-rise NYU dorm and a very active Trader Joe's. It is an extremely busy street populated mainly by the college kids. TemperatureIs that temperature atop the Jefferson sign showing 25 degrees F? The pedestrians don't appear to be dressed very warmly. [The sign says 10-15-25 cents. - Dave] WaterThere's an amazing amount of cisterns on the roofs. Bad pressure or poor main lines? [Those aren't cisterns. (Cisterns, usually underground, hold rainwater. How would you fill a cistern on a roof?) Penthouse tanks tanks fed by the municipal water supply are common even today in big cities on buildings of more than a few stories. - Dave] Quaker Oats SignLots of interesting signage including Quaker Oats. Also to the right, a church steeple under construction. Painless Dentistry?In 1913, anything but, surely! [Local anesthesia (Novocain, procaine, etc.) was well established by 1913. - Dave] Water TanksToday, water pressure in NYC will only take the water supply up six stories, at best. To go higher, it needs a boost to pump it to individual units or to a tank where it can supply by gravity. In the past several years, the designers of some new quick and nasty condo buildings in Brooklyn were not aware of that. Hello! Up on the RoofAll those lovely roofs and no one up there tending a garden or reading or having a smoke. Water tanksAll buildings six stories and higher in New York City are required to have water tanks. The best, cheapest, way to keep water pressure up in tall buildings. Water TanksThe most amazing thing is that new water tanks are constructed virtually the same as the wooden tanks shown in this photo. The base is supported by parallel wooden joists sitting on a structural steel framework. A wooden floor is laid across the joists. Once in place, the floor is cut into to size of the tank's diameter. Then enough vertical staves are secured in place to permit some of the steel bands to be put in place. Once complete, the tank is pumped full of water. The staves and the wooden floor swell enough after a few days immersed in water that the tank no longer leaks. Most tanks have open tops - some have an additional weather enclosure around them. Wooden tanks like these last about 20 years. A replacement tank of this size can be made on site in less than a day's time. Con EdMy dad worked briefly for Con Ed in that building on the NE corner of 14th and Irving Place for a few months back in 1921-22. It's still there, just a few blocks south of Pete's Tavern on Irving Place, one of my old favorite pubs in that neighborhood. What Bridge?What bridge is in the foreground.....is it still standing? (I don't think so....but?) [That's the Williamsburg Bridge. Still very much there. - Dave] The "CLOTHES" sign, lower leftWhat is the sign that apparently displays 10:15 above the "CLOTHES" vertical sign toward the lower left of the photo? It couldn't be a digital clock, right? If it isn't a digital clock, I wonder what the 10:15 stood for. October 15th? [The sign says "10-15-25¢" And nothing about "clothes." - Dave] Thanks for replying! Sorry, I meant the sign on the photographer's side of the elevated train station that reads "CLOTHES," descending from the top. It looks a lot like the Jefferson Theatre's sign. Quaker Oats location?Can anyone tell me approximately where that Quaker Oats sign was located? (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, G.G. Bain, NYC)
Brooklyn Bound: 1910
... River bridges from the Singer Tower" -- the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg spans. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/05/2023 - 10:42am -

New York circa 1910. "East River bridges from the Singer Tower" -- the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg spans. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Early America was on the moveI am surprised at the high amount of sophisticated building construction for 1910 -- and so soon after the financial panic of 1907. The "never say die" and "get it done" attitude of our country was extraordinary. ["Early America" was about 250 years before this photo was taken! - Dave] "Great deal" “I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn I’ll sell cheap." I Wish This View Were Farther UptownFor years I've been hoping to find a view from circa 1910 of east Harlem, specifically of Union Settlement. Alas, this photograph is too far downtown to show that area. Union Settlement basically took up the block defined by 104th and 105th Streets, and 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue. My great-grandfather Gaylord White was the head of this ongoing community center from 1901 to 1923. I've found the NYC tax photos of the building from the 1940s, but no images have cropped up from earlier. If Shorpy or Shorpy's followers ever track down Union Settlement images, I would be forever grateful! Best, Jeremy Butler Prison Ship Martyrs' MonumentJust southeast of the Brooklyn Bridge is the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Fort Greene Park. The monument was dedicated on November 14, 1908, so was brand new when this photo was taken. The monument commemorates the 11,500 American soldiers who died in captivity aboard 16 British prison ships during the American Revolution. My, how you've grownHere is a Google Earth view of roughly the same area today. I spotted one surviving building, at 84 William Street. It's to the right in the 1910 photograph and behind the skyscraper with the red dot in the attached photograph. Street View below: Hey, I can seethe farm where my house will be in 20 years. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)
Little Pete: 1921
... about a dozen years ago. We talked about ferry service to Manhattan around the turn of the last century, between takes for a NY State ... University. John was a teacher at the Dalton School in Manhattan and later principal of an Ivy League prep school, Fieldston Lower ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/30/2014 - 11:13am -

    Pete Seeger, Champion of Folk Music and Social Change, Dies at 94 May 23, 1921. Washington, D.C. "Professor Charles Louis Seeger and family." Charles Seeger, wife Constance Edson Seeger and their 2-year-old son Pete, of future folkie fame. National Photo Co. Collection glass negative. View full size. Quit That!My mind persists in thinking Dad's got a laptop perched on top of a crate, though I know it ain't so. Pete's brothersWhatever happened to them? A Gifted Violinist Music and Musicians Constance Edson Seeger, of New York, a gifted violinist, and niece of Capt. Templin Potts, U.S.N., retired, of Washington, is visiting this city for two weeks with her husband, Prof. Charles Louis Seeger, a distinguished composer. Last night they gave a lecture and violin recital at the Arts club on "The Trend of Modern Music," illustrated by the playing of rare classical masterpieces and equally rare modern work - a vivid clash between seventeenth and twentieth century ideals. Washington Post, May 22, 1921 Still Going Strong...Pete, of course, is still going as strong as ever in his 90th year up in Beacon, NY, where he has lived for years and has been the driving force for the cleanup of the Hudson River, and the man behind the plan for the sloop Clearwater. I'll always remember his singing of Woodie Guthrie's "This Land" up at the Newport Folk Festival back in the mid-sixties. A related book recommendationI just finished the excellent "The Rest is Noise" by Alex Ross. The book discusses Charles Seeger at length and cites him as an influence on many better-known 20th century American composers. A fascinating read. Still SingingPete Seeger will turn 90 this May. No clue in this serene scene......to the wonderful and tempestuous folk singing career Pete Seeger would have as the Depression crucible forged his world view. As leader of legendary Weavers in the 1940s, and later, as the most extraordinary, if not most controversial, folk voice of the 1960s and beyond, Seeger has indeed rocked the world in his 90 years. GuantanameraI saw him at Yale one winter (mid 60's) where he pleased everyone by performing "Guantanamera" as a singalong. Before singing it he explained the lyrics and the story they told. Later on the tune became a hit on the folk charts by other artists. Must 've been doing something right (or left)My extreme right-wing father hated him. This was a man who, mind you, voted for George Wallace for president in 1968! The kindest (?) word he ever had for Pete Seeger was "commie." So a very happy 90th to this living American National Treasure, who irritated every troglodyte who so richly deserved it. How to become Pete SeegerThe story of the family touring the countryside by motor home is outlined in "How Can I Keep From Singing?" by David King Dunaway, as well as in "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?," the more recent autobiography (to be republished soon), and his "Incomplete Folksinger." According to the retelling, Charles and Constance wanted to bring "quality" music to the people, so they drove deep into the countryside put on little concerts along the way. Yet when they finished, the people would often say, "Wouldn't you like to hear some of OUR music? Charles realized that they had more to teach him than the reverse. The experience developed Charles' interest in ethnomusicology, his eventual career. Along the way he took teenage Peter to a folk festival in Asheville and the rest is history. The oldest son, Charles, a radio astronomer, died in 2002. The middle son, John, is a retired educator. Pete recently released the Grammy-winning CD "At 89" and is preparing for the annual Clearwater Festival, held along the banks of the Hudson. Woody Guthrie said of him, "Pete Seeger is the youngest man I ever knew." A TroglodyteI'm a life-long conservative who cast his first vote for Barry Goldwater in 1964, and I also voted for George Wallace in 1968. I knew Nixon was going to win, I just wanted him to know how many conservatives there were out here. (Not many at that time!) I also spent most of the "Sixties" in the military, fighting so that Pete's admirers could stay free to burn their draft cards. That said, I've got many of Pete's albums, most of Joanie Baez's and all of Arlo Guthrie's. On vinyl, of course. Politics is politics, but talent and good music transcends. Still can't forgive Jane Fonda, though. She got folks killed. After 50 years, an apology... in the news just this last month. The San Diego school district that sought to cancel an appearance nearly 50 years ago has issued an appology, and an invitiation to folk legend Pete Seeger. Good on 'ya, Pete. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/feb/12/pete-seeger-school-board-apo... Ansel Adams had the Zone System... I'm working on the points system. First I points it here, and then I points it there... Pete Seeger todayThis year's Clearwater Festival Great Hudson River Revival (Father's Day Weekend) will include a 90th birthday celebration and tribute for Pete Seeger. My daughter's photo of Pete playing his banjo was in last year's festival program. Pete's still going strong at almost 90.....Bless Him! Thank you for putting this photo up........AMAZING!!!! Love it. [I hope Pete sees it. I wonder if he knows about this photo. - Dave] Dear PeteI wrote a letter to Pete when I was 15 (I'm 37 now) asking him the best way to lengthen the neck on my banjo. He wrote back advising me not to try. A standard length banjo neck is better than a crappy long one. Good advice. Photo whereaboutsThe photo is likely in the Library of Congress' American Folklife Collection. [It's not. As noted in the caption, this photo in the National Photo Company Collection. It would have been taken by Herbert E. French or one of his photographers. - Dave] A few years ago the Seegers donated films, photos and other stuff to the collection. There are a couple of similar photos from this trip too. They all originated from the Seeger family. More info about Pete at the "Pete Seeger Appreciation Page." And more info about that fabulous, one-of-a-kind Clearwater's Great Hudson River Revival also found by Googling. Thanks for bringing us this photo. A Big FanI'm a big Seeger fan. I especially like "Against the Wind" and "Night Moves." P.S.Old Pete had a strong and lasting influence on me, going back 40 yrs, both musically and politically. Thanks for this baby picture. Just love the Bohemianism of it. My dad, a West Pointer, hated him too, but loved my banjo playing. Re: A Big FanThat's Bob Seger, not Pete Seeger. [Up till now everyone got the joke. - Dave] So long, it's been good to know youInterviewed him about a dozen years ago. We talked about ferry service to Manhattan around the turn of the last century, between takes for a NY State film. I sent him a copy of a map I owned showing the numerous ferry lines. Got a handwritten note thanking me a few days later, signed "Pete" with a cartoon banjo next to it. We're Not All TrogsI am one of I hope more than a few West Pointers who found much to admire in Pete Seeger, including his gentle defiance of HUAC. His fidelity to his principles and his environmental activism -- the kind where you actually sometimes get your hands dirty -- placed this humble man on a pedestal far higher than any to which most public figures could ever aspire. When I went back on the faculty in the mid '70s, the Clearwater often birthed at WP's North Dock, and casual visitors were always welcomed aboard. Those who dropped by on the chance that Mr. Seeger would be present found that occasionally to be the case, and his cordiality belied any possibility that he harbored the same antipathy toward the military that many of them presumably harbored for him. I was never a folkie, however, probably the result of hours spent at a municipal swimming pool in downtown Baltimore when I was seven years old: the juke box seemed permanently stuck on "Goodnight, Irene." Thanks for re-posting thisAll politics aside, "songwriter and champion of folk music" says it all. R.I.P., Pete. RosebudJust imagine the excitement if someone should discover that little chair. Thanks, Pete. Grand Old ManAs much as I respected and admired Pete Seeger, I only saw him once in person, and it happened so quickly that it was over in a flash. There was a Maryland Historic Marker dedicated to Mother Jones on Riggs/Powdermill Road in Adelphi, Maryland. I was driving home one afternoon and glanced over to see a small group of people singing a song in front of the newly installed sign. Playing his old banjo, with its warning against hate, was Pete Seeger. There was nowhere to stop or turn in, so I just proceeded the half mile more to our (then) house. I believe his brother Mike worked or still works at the Library of Congress; one of my guitar-playing pals works or worked for him in audio archiving. I wore the grooves out out my Pete Seeger vinyl in the mid-1960s; there was magic in those tracks, and I so wanted to catch some of it. He taught us music can be a force for good, when courage matched conviction. Tom Paxton did a lovely tribute on DC radio WTOP this evening about his friend and our friend, Pete. Pete's older brothersPictured at right are Charles Seeger III, age 8 (born 10-10-1912 and died 8-26-2002 at 89), and John Seeger, age 7 (born 2-16-1914 and died 1-10-2010 at 95). Charles was a pioneer radio astronomer and professor at Cornell University. John was a teacher at the Dalton School in Manhattan and later principal of an Ivy League prep school, Fieldston Lower School in Riverdale, NY. One of a kindI firmly believed Pete Seeger would live forever. It's hard to imagine the world without him. Fortunately he left millions of fans who will keep his music - and his principles - alive. Goodnight IreneNo. 1 in 1950 and "On Top of Old Smoky", No. 1 in 1951, were my first exposures to popular music and I treasure the Decca 78 recordings with their backup by Gordon Jenkins Orchestra to this day! So Long It's Been Good To Know YahAs his spirit moved onto a plane of existence where men of good conscience and strong convictions go he was heard singing... So long, it's been good to know yuh; So long, it's been good to know yuh; So long, it's been good to know yuh. This dusty old dust is a-gettin' my home, And I got to be driftin' along. If there is a folk singer's heaven I'm sure Pete and Woody are having one heck of a good session and giving all Fascists the proverbial hell. So long Pete, it really was good to know a man who stood up for his beliefs and never did any violence toward those who opposed him. All he wanted to do was sing his songs. Check out his stand against the House Of UnAmerican Activities here Brother MichaelMike Seeger died in 2009. What a wonderful man. Now Pete is gone. I suppose there's a terrific hoedown in Heaven. Dad's laptopIt's a portable pump organ. Bye Pete RIPMet him once at a folk festival somewhere with my school. He spoke to our group and I remember being mesmerized by his genuine concern for everything good. Then I discovered his music and political social history. Very saddened when he left us. (The Gallery, Camping, D.C., Kids, Music, Natl Photo)
Times Square: 1943
... and business as usual (it could have been no other way)in Manhattan. Looks like the Checker Cab design team was trying to compete with ... 
 
Posted by Avzam - 10/06/2011 - 4:44am -

This is my first attempt to colorize an old photo (Times Square, photographed by John Vachon in 1943). I researched some of the signs in their original colors so I could be as close as possible in the photo. Such is the case with the "Saludos Amigos" poster and the Schaefer beer sign. View full size. No Business Like Show Business"The Human Comedy" was a timely reminder of how absurd our condition can become at times: men, women and children dying by the score in Europe, the CBI and Pacific, and business as usual (it could have been no other way)in Manhattan. Looks like the Checker Cab design team was trying to compete with their Airflow counterparts. Nice technical work by Avzam. Fooled MeAt first glance I assumed this was Kodak slide film. Great job. Amazing what a different feel this gritty, dark version of Times Square has to what it is now. It reminds me of Europe. One heck of a work!!As an artist myself I've long desired to colorize one of these extraordinary B&W Shorpy photos. I have to admit that you've done an especially wonderful job!! Your work is incredible for a first timer. I hope that I do as well when I finally find the time to colorize one myself. Your colorized image now graces my 30" Hewlett-Packard monitor and believe me - it looks spectacular! Thank you for giving me something to enjoy - and for something that I need to aim for. Thanks again for some wonderful work! Tom Chatterton PerfectionWonderful job, very well done. Note that the taxi cabs have their headlights blacked out, the civilian car near the corner doesen't. But, 'LK' is correct, the photo looks like it was color from the get go. Perfect this way, I think Vachon would approve. Nice first attemptVery good job with the colorization. Looks like you can jump into that picture and hail a cab. Better grab your umbrella though. SuperbThe B&W version of this image was one of the very first pictures I ever downloaded from Shorpy. Such a deliciously evocative scene. The color version is even more exquisite. This is my new wallpaper. Thank you! Off ColorNo question that this is a great colorization job. If I remember correctly that 7th Avenue Trolley car just coming into the picture on the right was mostly yellow. Where the action isThis is a spectacular and extraordinary picture in both black and white and colorized. If you look at and into this photo long enough, you begin to feel the cold rain and atmosphere of March 1943. Some of the events of that month in NYC included the premiere of the musical "Oklahoma" to rave reviews, John Steinbeck married his wife Gwyn in NYC that month. Christopher Walken was born on 3/31/43 in Queens, N.Y. Stephen Benet, author, poet and Pulitzer prize winner died at age 45 in N.Y.C. In Europe, WW2 and the holocaust was in full boil. Americans were using ration stamps and American industry was booming, churning out endless shiploads of supplies for defense. Families were receiving telegrams informing them of their soldiers' news. Patriotism was high but so was fear and worry. After contemplating what might have been happening there and then, you begin to feel you are part of this picture. And you are. Thanks Shorpy for the time machine trip I took this morning via this masterpiece. Well done!!Love those yellow taxis! Ah, SchaeferThe one beer to have when you're having more than one! Great job! Oh wowIf you hadn't said it was colorized, I would never have known. The only things that stand out as not quite natural looking are the taxis. Easily the best colorization job I've ever seen. Impressive work!That is some impressing coloring. Really brings the picture to life. SweetVery nicely done! Superb job!What really makes it for me are the colored reflections of the lights and taxis on the wet pavement. Also the man's brown coat in the foreground. Very well done. Curb cornersWhat are the stripes on the curb -- a no parking area? Color makes this a GREAT rainy day photograph!Super job on the colorization - can't tell it from an original color print. I love vintage street scenes, particularly those taken around dusk on a rainy day. This scene certainly fits the bill, but it's the color that makes this a great photograph. Many thanks. Fantastic.This was the first photo I purchased from you and it looks even better in color! As a fan of the old NYC two color signals (Ruleta's) I will say that if you look closely at the green section of the signal you will see a cross pattern. That was actually a black out plate that was installed during the war to reduce the visibility of the signals from above (thus eliminating the potential for bombing.) The red section was also so equipped and as such the red section may not have been as visible as you have colorized it to be. And now I will go back to picking fly specs out of pepper! lol. Thank you for a great job. I am now torn between the original and colorized version for the next order. Home run!Would love to see a pic taken from this same location today. Checker CabsThose Model A Checkers are fiendishly ugly, yet I'd give my eyeteeth for one. There are only one or two left in existence. They were run into the ground and then stripped for parts to keep the rest of the fleet running. Question for Shorpy-itesDoes anyone know of a website or anywhere I could research what movies were playing at the Times Square theatres and when? For instance, if I wanted to find out how long "Human Comedy" played at the Astor or "Saludos Amigos" at the Globe, where would I go? Just wondering. [N.Y. Times archive. - Dave] Another success!I find the mark of a good colourisation is that I have to study it and think "is it or isn't it?" This one's super; well done. Cold, wet and miserableThe guy just behind the subway entrance looks to be all three of these, with his cap pulled low, shoulders hunched and collar turned up against the rain. I can sympathize with him. Zebra curbsIf I remember correctly the stripes on the curb showed the crosswalk limits. The paint they used back they wore off the streets rather quickly, it wasn't the plasticized stuff that they use today. If you look in the lower right corner, you can see the end of the crosswalk stripe and one of the stripes on the top of the curb. True to LifeOutstanding workmanship! +66Below is the same view from August of 2009. Old Vs. NewAm I the only one who prefers the 1943 version to the newer ole? My all-time favoriteGreat job colorizing my all-time favorite photo shown on Shorpy. I'll be taking my family to see "Wicked" at the Gershwin Theater on W 48th St. in two weeks, so maybe I'll try and get a +68 shot to go along with timeandagainphoto's. I think I have a fedora like the gentleman stepping up on the curb. Re: +66Thanks for the comparison pic of what looks like the exact spot. Very interesting! Sign colors seem a bit too too dullI too have made this my desktop background, but after staring at it for a while, I have to question the colors of the signs, which seem too dull and grey to be realistic, even though you explicitly state that you researched them. Even on a grey, rainy day in a grimy, depressed city, I should think the Saludos Amigos marquee, for example, would be more brightly colored. But as someone with only the most rudimentary control of Photoshop, I applaud your efforts nonetheless! I feel like I'm thereThe cold rain, horns honking, neon crackling; wish I could stop in a diner for some ham & eggs (was ham rationed?). Great, great work - my favorite colorized picture bar none! (ShorpyBlog, Colorized Photos)
South Street: 1933
... Today: American International Building. 3. Bank of Manhattan ( 40 Wall Street ). Today: Trump Building. Farther down the ... I grew up down there in Knickerbocker Village between the Manhattan & Brooklyn Bridges in the 60's & 70's. I can't make out the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 6:34pm -

November 28, 1933. "New York City views. Looking down South Street." 5x7 safety negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. StageI don't see a street scene. I see a Broadway stage with a well-painted backdrop and a constructed set on the right. The open space begs to be filled with dancers, gangsters and so forth. The lighting is already great. ContrastsIt's an interesting placement of the horse and cart to remind you of where all this modern times came from and not that long ago either. Another classic rendition of the "city that never sleeps"! QuestionWhich bridge is that? FDR DriveThe same view is now had on FDR Drive. View Larger Map AnswerThat's the Brooklyn Bridge. Three TowersLeft to right: 1. City Bank Farmers Trust Building (20 Exchange Place). Later known as the First National City Bank Building. Today: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. 2. 60 Wall Tower (70 Pine Street), aka the Cities Service Building. Today: American International Building. 3. Bank of Manhattan (40 Wall Street). Today: Trump Building. Farther down the blockOn the other side of the bridge, near the South Street Seaport, many old buildings remain in this orientation, though the street is mostly overshadowed by the elevated FDR Drive above. AIG_itatedThe American International Building is home to the notorious AIG, or whatever they are calling it now. Hey! I know that horse!Just kidding... but I grew up down there in Knickerbocker Village between the Manhattan & Brooklyn Bridges in the 60's & 70's. I can't make out the street sign in front of the horse... something Slip. Those street signs bring back memories. They were still like that when I was living in the city. Can anyone see what it is? It doesn't look like Catharine Slip... Market Slip maybe? [The sign says James Slip. - Dave] (The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, Horses, NYC)
Mass Transit: 1910
... Myrtle Avenue. The IRT ran wood open platform El cars in Manhattan and the Bronx until the early 1950s. In 1938 the "Q" class El cars ... After that the "Q" cars ran on the Third Avenue El in Manhattan and the Bronx before finishing out their days on Myrtle Avenue in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/14/2020 - 1:25pm -

        A better-quality version of an image first posted here in 2008. Brooklyn, N.Y., circa 1910. "Atlantic Avenue subway entrance." Plus an elevated railway and streetcar tracks. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Rock and FultonLooks like the poster for the Brighton Beach Music Hall (which later became a Yiddish theater) is advertising William Rock and Maude Fulton. They were apparently heading the bill written about here in the Aug. 7, 1910, New York Times. Still StandingThe subway entrance in the foreground is still there. The elevated and the railroad terminal building are not. The Atlantic Avenue-Pacific Street subway station is home to (If I remember correctly) nine subway lines. The LIRR still has its terminus at Flatbush Avenue. Because of the great mass transit, this is the site where the NJ Nets are building their new arena. The surface traffic is horrendous now. That's why the neighborhood is pretty much against building the arena. BreezyI would think that those open-sided cars get a little breezy. Then and NowThe tracks are gone and the Long Island RR Building in the back was transformed into a mall. The small building on the Island that says "Atlantic Avenue" is still there. My son lives around the corner. I'll take a picture and post it for everyone to see. Love the open-sided subway cars!Can we assume these cars ran aboveground at all times? You couldn't go underground in these cars. Or you could.....but you'd need hosing down at the end of the ride. NYC TransitI used to ride these cars as a kid. The transportation system in NYC was so far superior before 1940, at a nickel a pop for over 40 years, that people today cannot even imagine how easily, safely, and pleasantly it was back then. To El and BackJune 1, 1940, was when the City of New York took over the trolleys, elevated railways and subways of the BMT and began the abandonments. The Fifth Avenue El, the Fulton Street El, Fulton Street trolleys, Gates Avenue trolleys and Putnam Halsey cars ran their last on May 30. Both Els were torn down the summer of 1941. Atlantic AvenueThe subway entrance is still there, but it's no longer in use as such. The MTA renovated it when it expanded and refurbished the Atlantic Avenue subway station, but because the entrance is on a traffic island in the middle of a very busy intersection, you can no longer use it to enter the station. Instead, it now serves as a skylight for the underground station. There's a spot in the station where you can stand about 20 or 30 feet underneath the old station house, look up, and see it directly above you, hollowed out and streaming light into the station. If I still lived in Brooklyn, I'd get a photo. You can see it here, photographed from Flatbush Avenue: View Larger Map The mall that 9:26 AT refers to you would be behind you in this shot. I tried to get a Google Map image from the vantage point of the 1910 photo, but a large truck was between the Google Map camera and the old station entrance. I believe the 1910 image was photographed from roughly where the PC Richard currently stands. There's a much better view of the current state of the old entrance here, in a photo from April of this year: http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?82823 You can also see it, boarded over and in disrepair, in this 1997 photo: http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?426 Finally, the New York Times has a good article from 2003 about the renovation of the Atlantic Avenue station, including a couple of paragraphs about the old station house. I used the station daily during the renovation, and the work they did was remarkable. Ashcan schoolThe Ashcan school of artists was known for painting New York street scenes similar to this. John Sloan's famous and, in this writer's opinion, beautiful painting, Six O'Clock, Winter, painted in 1912, may have been painted at this station or a similar one in the city. Open platform El carsAfter the Malbone Street wreck in 1918, wooden cars were banned from the subways. Open-platform wooden cars continued to be used on the Els in Brooklyn until 1958, when the last of the "BU" El cars ran on Myrtle Avenue. The IRT ran wood open platform El cars in Manhattan and the Bronx until the early 1950s. In 1938 the "Q" class El cars had steel ends added to enclose the open platforms of 1903 wood El cars; they were used on the Flushing line for the 1939 World's Fair. After that the "Q" cars ran on the Third Avenue El in Manhattan and the Bronx before finishing out their days on Myrtle Avenue in 1969. Open platform El cars were typical of rapid transit from the 1870s through the mid teens. They were labor intensive, with a conductor needed between every two cars. A nicer timeI live not far from here, and this photo is so much nicer than what it is today -- a mall with trash and insane traffic. Makes me wish I was there back in 1910. Polka dots and moonbeamsI'd love to make the acquaintance of the lovely lady in polka dots. And, check out the lady's amazing hat! Fashion ForwardThe lovely lady in the polka dot dress must just have gotten back from Paris, as she is wearing the latest Paul Poiret inspired hobble skirt/pagoda tunic, with a Japanese- bridal style hat. All of the other ladies in the photo, with full flared skirts, blousson bodices, and huge, but very lightweight picture hats will be following her style by next Spring, at the latest. Famous time travelers caught on glass Now it can be told: many celebrities were also, in fact, secret travelers through time. Although I am not at liberty to disclose their methods, I am permitted to point out a few well known faces. On the far left, we see W.C. Fields, wearing false whiskers, attempting to look casual. Moving right, we see a stylish Brian Donlevy striking a pose as he boldly looks directly at the camera. Just behind the policeman on the right is a young Gary Cooper, who is not quite as tall as he would be later in life. The young lady in the au courant outfit is lovely Laura La Plante. And now we come to the true master of time travel, Charles Durning, who is both the policeman on the right *and* the man in the white hat, on the other side of the pole, with his back to his policeman self. Take the "A" train.Unlike the other els mentioned, the Fulton Street el (in the picture) had been replaced by a subway before being torn down. Through service to Manhattan at last. Yes, the "A" train. "Circa 1910" indeedThere's no "circa" about it given that the "3 Eagles" newsstand is displaying the Aug 6, 1910, issues of The Saturday Evening Post . My old stomping groundsBefore my transfer to Garden City. View of the same location October 2018. By the way the Brooklyn Daily Eagle is archived for free online access: https://bklyn.newspapers.com/ About the policemen's hatsAccording to the Internet (so it must be true), the New York City police wore "custodian helmets," grey for summer and blue for winter, from 1880 to 1912. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads, Streetcars)
Sky Riders: 1905
... The Elevated had to be so high because it was crossing the Manhattan Valley without descending into it. The Broadway Subway crosses this ... Ninth Avenue L at 110th Street and Eighth Avenue in upper Manhattan, with a bit of Central Park in the foreground. This portion of the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 7:36pm -

New York circa 1905. "The elevated." I think the most interesting thing here is the wonderful signage. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Why so highThe Elevated had to be so high because it was crossing the Manhattan Valley without descending into it. The Broadway Subway crosses this same valley on a high arch bridge at 125th Street. The 110th Street station, shown in some of the linked photos, has its own elevator house on the north side of the street. A film clip in the Library of Congress movie collection "Life of a City" has a slightly older view of this curve with steam trains before electrification and the construction of the 110th Street station. Possibly the BronxI am going to take a wild guess here but it looks like the old Third Avenue elevated in the Bronx. Also notice the elegance of the latticework steel including the star on the crossties. As others have noted it is the old Ninth Ave. El I stand corrected. Ridin' HighThose signs are cool, but that track is easily 6 stories up, I wonder why it had to get to that height along this stretch. That could translate to an easy 75 to 80 feet UP. No wonder King Kong was able to wreak havoc as he did. Ouch!That buzzsaw device on the shoe billboard looks just right for the depicted shoe. Dead Man's CurveThis was the famous "S" curve on the Sixth/Ninth Ave El at Cathedral Parkway and, because I can't tell if the photo has been reversed, it appears to be where the line curved to go up 8th Ave at the NW corner of CP. The billboards throw me off since I can't imagine why they would have been placed facing CP in front of the buildings at ground level. [If the photo was reversed, the writing on the signs would be backward. - Dave] Seen here before from a different angle?The same place, or a similar one, was seen in this 1905 photo. Keeping in shapeFolks in the DC area are well aware of Metro's constant battle to maintain its escalators ('escalator' being an ancient word meaning "mechanical staircase not meant to be left out in the rain"). Folks riding this train had an el of a climb. Truth In Advertising"Bordens Malted Milk Has No Equal" Or any other artificial sweetener. Ninth Avenue LThis looks like the famous S-curve of the Ninth Avenue L at 110th Street and Eighth Avenue in upper Manhattan, with a bit of Central Park in the foreground. This portion of the line was opened by the Manhattan Railway in 1891, leased to the Interborough Rapid Transit Co. (IRT) in 1903 (for 999 years!), and closed to service when the city bought all the privately owned NYC subway and elevated lines in 1940. Another view of the curve was published by Shorpy here: https://www.shorpy.com/node/8002 . Ya big apeIsn't that King Kong reaching for the elevated train from behind the building? What a great scene that was, and plenty scary for the times (1933). No doubt it gave elevated passengers pause before boarding for a while, like taking showers after seeing Psycho. I hope someone can identify the brand advertisement on the right edge. Tenth Anniversary for something starting with at T. Any train photos are great - thanks for posting Dave. 8th Avenue and 110th StreetPreviously seen here on Shorpy. Looks like the Borden's Malted Milk galwears American Lady Corsets. A titivating milkmaid!No lack of Malted Milk there. ["Titivating"! - Dave] Dave, don't know if you're flagging the usage or the word. It's a verb used as an adjective, with -ing making it a present participle. The word means smarten, spruce, in the sense of making better, enhancing. I deliberately did not use titillate. It's a close call, maybe a stretch, you may be right, but I'll stick with titivate. Kind regards. ["Titivating"! - Dave] Highest Point ever on New York L'sAs noted in several comments above, it is indeed the "S" curve on the 9th Ave el at 110th Street & 8th Avenue, viewed looking roughly northwest from inside Central Park. The location was notable as the highest point anywhere on the New York els, being approximately 110 feet above street level. The 9th Ave line was closed and razed in 1940, having been replaced by the far superior 8th Avenue subway. Today the highest point on the NYC Transit system is at the Smith & Ninth station on the F & G lines in Brooklyn, which is 80+ feet above street level. Fantana (NOT the soft drink quartet)Fantana (with Douglas Fairbanks) opened at the Shubert's Lyric Theater in January 1905. AdsJefferson De Angelis performed in "Fantana" from Jan 14, 1905 - Sep 30, 1905. Several of the billboards are advertising events in May, including two on May 8. Interesting how closely the picture can be dated. I wonder how often the billboards were changed back then. I bet pretty often, as that was a major form of advertising then. ZAM I AMI think the sign near the top-right is an ad for the painters on the scaffold. It looks like an initial letter, followed by the word ZAM, and then the word PAINTER on the 2nd line. I think he is painting the inside of the window sills with a dark color. Notice how dark the inside of all the window sills to his left appear. Possibly he is just finishing up the sill in front of him. Notice all the sills directly below him are still a lighter color. The sign could be stuck to that window, but it might also be attached to his scaffold. [The sign reads "E. ZAM PAINTER and DECORATOR." Something something. - Dave] Thanks for the blow-up, Dave. I just noticed there is a 2nd painter standing to the left of the sitting painter. He looks to be wearing overalls and his right hand is raised to the glass, probably with paintbrush in hand! Can't be!You sure that's New York? Where's the graffiti on the trains? Obscured from viewI believe the billboards act as a fence hiding a vacant lot or construction site. It was a common practice at the time. Regal, the shoe that proves --What, exactly? Belmont Park AdIf this is indeed 1905, there is an ad on a fence for the inaugral Belmont Park race meet at Elmont, Long Island. Morningside, not Central Park?Are we sure this is Central Park? That stairway looks very similar to this one in nearby Morningside Park. It is Central ParkAnd I think I found the stairs here. This photo is looking out on to what is now Frederick Douglass Circle. I think it's gotta be Central ParkBecause the apartment buildings seen here match those in this view looking north on Eighth Avenue -- they are at the NW and NE corners of 8th Avenue and 111th Street. In addition, the stairway that John Craft showed us in the corner of Morningside Park hugs the line of the street (Morningside Avenue) very closely, while the stairway in this picture descends into the park at a 45-degree angle. Has this stairway been removed and replaced by a roadway? 8th and 110th close but not quite MorningsideThe Morningside stairs may look similiar but the Central Park stairs look exact (allowing for 107 years of change). (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)
Three Brooklyn Bridges: 1908
... 8x10 inch glass negative. From the left: Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge (under construction) and Williamsburg Bridge. Two Bucks ... Too! Way in the background, above the gas tanks in Manhattan, is the Queensboro Bridge under construction. Superb My gast ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/19/2012 - 3:42pm -

Feb. 22, 1908. "Three New York-Brooklyn bridges from Brooklyn." An amazingly detailed panorama of New York recorded by George Grantham Bain. Our 3100 pixel wide version (view full size), detailed as it is, is less than a quarter the size of the hi-res scan of the original 8x10 inch glass negative. From the left: Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge (under construction) and Williamsburg Bridge. Two BucksIf you look under the Brooklyn Bridge on the left hand side of the picture, there's a sign on the pier that says "2.00 to Boston". It would be interesting to know what that would cost nowadays. And I agree with Mr. Mel - a great picture! [In full, the sign says "Neptune Line via Fall River $2.00 to Boston." - Dave] Like 3DThe clarity and depth of this picture is exceptional, especially the tall apartment houses like the one above the Shorpy watermark, and the shorter one to right of it, in the front. We've all seen some great photos here, but this is one of the best. I'm still trying to take it all in. Columbia HeightsThe pillared porch (lower left of both photos) is about 148 Columbia Heights. Which seems to be one of the few areas in the picture not cleared out for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. View Larger Map Not much traffic...Must have been a winter day. Note the snow along the roads. A fascinating image to study for little details like that. [Another subtle clue to winterness is the first word of the photo caption. - Dave] Going UpTall structure going up on the horizon. I wonder if that's the Metropolitan Life Tower. Tallest building in the world from its completion in 1909 until 1913. It's in about the right spot but may be too wide. Just a guess. Still StandingI love Google map embeds. The building with the prominent quoins in the foreground is still standing at the corner of Clark and Willow. It looks like it retains the original fire escape and railing. They ought to get a copy of this photo for their lobby! Amazingly enoughThe whole block of houses still seems to be intact. A Queens Bridge Too!Way in the background, above the gas tanks in Manhattan, is the Queensboro Bridge under construction. SuperbMy gast is absolutely flabbered. Such detail; so well done. Denny Gill Chugiak, Alaska Where are the people?Where are all the people? Looking back on old NY pics, the streets always seem to be filled with people (traffic, cart vendors etc.) It is February and it looks like daylight so I imagine that this pic would not have been taken that early in the day so where have all the people gone. [They're probably indoors, seeing as how it's Saturday and freezing outside. I see two horses and a man and a woman. - Dave] Minor Footnote in HistoryThe Robert Gair Company Factory in the distance is where corrugated cardboard boxes were invented by mistake. Another ClueJudging from the flags, smoke/steam, and drying clothes on the lines (frozen undies, hooray!) it sure seems like the wind is blowing hard. Too unpleasant to go outside if you don't have to, but you have to do your laundry when you have a chance! Brooklyn BridgesAmazing photo... One of my favourites on here... Brooklyn lifeThe picture makes we wish I could just zoom in and see what life is like at that point in time in all those windows. A time machine would be nice. ModernThe Robert Gair Company building looks surprisingly modern, like something I'd imagine people might've built in the 1950-60s. Beautiful pictureI bought this picture from your gallery to give to a friend who lives in Brooklyn, and when it came in, I was amazed at the clarity. She absolutely fell in love with it. Thank you for making her happy. Robert Gair He was one of the first to build with concrete. It resulted in a building that didn't shake from his machinery making boxes and bags. Wow!Talk about a time machine! Why would they take a picture like this? I would think that it would be rather brutal to lug all that equipment onto a roof somewhere in winter and have to wait for the exposure. Some dedication! I'm glad George made the effort. [Exposure time for an 8x10 plate outdoors in 1908 would not have been very long. A few seconds at the most. - Dave] Glass negativesThese old photos from glass negatives look better than the old photos that are from film. Also better than any digital camera today. I know those cameras were cumbersome but the results look better to me. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, G.G. Bain, NYC)
The Lonely City: 1940
... Buildings Survey. View full size. Four-play Manhattan was bisected -- quadrasected? quintisected? -- by a quartet of ... it extended all the way to 155th Street in northern Manhattan, adjacent to the Polo Grounds. The two tracks in the background, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/26/2022 - 12:00pm -

September 7, 1940. New York. "Greenwich Street Study (plot plan). Looking south along west side of Greenwich Street toward Battery over elevated structure (demolished Fall)." 5x7 inch acetate negative by Stanley P. Mixon for the Historic American Buildings Survey. View full size. Four-playManhattan was bisected --quadrasected? quintisected? -- by a quartet of elevated lines that originated at South Ferry (house) and ran north; the lines were consolidated in the downtown area (Second and Third Avenues on the east, Sixth and Ninth Aves -- shown here -- on the west). As indicated, most of the system was dismantled on the eve of WWII, the scrap metal being shipped to ... Japan! But the Third Avenue El survived until 1955, and the Bronx portion two decades beyond that. Most of the larger buildings here still survive, as does New York Bay (though the water has been changed a number of times since this picture). Still thereThis building is still there but after several modifications. Two Elevated Train Lines for the Price of OneThe four tracks in the foreground belong to the Ninth Avenue El, which opened its first stretch in 1868; eventually it extended all the way to 155th Street in northern Manhattan, adjacent to the Polo Grounds. The two tracks in the background, which curve to the left and then come to abrupt halt, mark the already demolished junction with the Sixth Avenue El, first opened in 1878 and extending to a terminal at 58th Street, just one block south of Central Park. The Sixth Avenue tracks were demolished after the end of train service in 1938; the Ninth Avenue tracks we see here were torn down in 1940, not long after this photograph was taken. Both lines originally continued south (towards the top of the photo) to their southern terminus at South Ferry. It still has a lonely feelBased on maxvar confirming the building on the right, here is the Street View today. I'm thinking the building on the left in 1940 is the building on the left below, with the tall arch. On the right is the Manhattan end of the Hugh L. Carey tunnel, an almost two-mile tunnel under Battery Park and the East River, the other end emerging Brooklyn. Submitted for your approvalDave's title made me think of Edward Hopper. So, I went looking for closer up examples of what I think was Hopper's kind of work. Attachment 1 Attachment 2 Attachment 3 (The Gallery, HABS, NYC, Railroads)
Ghost Hotel: 1905
... in 1962, I was a student at the RCA Institutes in lower Manhattan. I worked at the GE building at 570 Lexington Avenue, so I took the ... at Shorpy? In 1961 I was living on West 12th Street in Manhattan as a fledgling employee of Union Carbide, and went by subway over to ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:34pm -

"Hotel St. George, Brooklyn, circa 1905." Plus a ghost or two in this time exposure of the hotel's Clark Street facades. This Brooklyn Heights landmark, which by the 1930s was New York's largest hotel, with 2,632 rooms in a complex of buildings spread over a block, started with the 10-story dark brick structure, completed in 1885. After more than a century, it was destroyed by fire in 1995. The adjoining white building with the flagpoles, designed by Montrose Morris in the 1890s, still stands. Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size. Hotel St. George: 1954In 1954 I stayed with my parents at the Hotel St. George the night of July 30-31 after returning from two years in the UK as a USAF dependent. I might even have the room number in a crude diary from the time. We sort of aborted our first full meal back in the U.S. in one of its dining rooms in favor of a walk down and across the street to the east to some burger joint to sit on stools at the counter! I got a US Road Atlas from its lobby bookstore for the impending seven-day cross-country road trip to the SF Bay Area. I also got one those automated photos done in a booth there, but it's far too poor to even think about scanning. One of the postcards obtained there (click image for details): I've another one showing their famous 120-foot indoor salt-water swimming pool. It all certainly went into a fast decline by just a few decades later. SwimmingI remember going to the St George in the 1950s to swim. They had an enormous swimming pool in the basement. It was a coed attraction for young college kids and singles. It probably didn't cost more than a couple bucks for admission and suit rentals. Back in '62Back in 1962, I was a student at the RCA Institutes in lower Manhattan. I worked at the GE building at 570 Lexington Avenue, so I took the 7th Avenue IRT to the school after work. Boy, was I tired. One night I fell asleep and ended up going under the river. I woke, panicked and got off at the first stop in Brooklyn. It was the St. George Hotel. I was amazed that a hotel had its own subway stop, so to speak. Those were the days! Saltwater PoolsI've never heard of a salt-water swimming pool ... was that common in the past? [Lots of hotels, resorts and even private homes have saltwater swimming pools. - Dave] A Dim MemoryI remember staying there for one night in the early 1950's with my family. My only recollection is of the swimming pool. The St. George Swimming PoolCan you scan your postcard showing a view of the pool and put it up here at Shorpy? In 1961 I was living on West 12th Street in Manhattan as a fledgling employee of Union Carbide, and went by subway over to the Saint George in Brooklyn to swim in that great pool. My other visits to Brooklyn back then were to the Cypress Hills Cemetery to visit the graves of my paternal Wilson grandparents who lived on Madison Street in Bed-Stuy at the turn of the 20th Century. I had commissioned a stonecarver to complete a gravestone inscription for my grandmother. In that effort, I got the birth and death years and month correct for her, but missed the days of the month in each case by a few. St. George salt-water poolLinen postcard. Click to enlarge. THE ST. GEORGE SWIMMING POOL, located in the Hotel St. George, Clark St., Brooklyn, the largest in New York (120' x 40'), was constructed at a cost of $1,263,000. Crystal clear pure natural artesian salt water is used. Swim and gym suits, showers, steam rooms, battery of sun lamps, and air-conditioned gymnasium are included in the admission charge! 4 minutes from Wall St., 15 from Times Sq.; Clark St. Station of 7th Ave. I.R.T. Subway in hotel. I only had a quick peek at it in 1954. The main reason that my parents and I were there was because my father had stayed at the St. George in August 1951 on his way to England on the USNS Gen. Maurice Rose.
42nd Street: 1949
New York, 1949. West 42nd Street in Manhattan just off Times Square. 35mm Kodachrome contributed by a Shorpy member ... October 4, 1951: "Magistrate Raphael Murphy in Manhattan Court yesterday adjourned until Oct. 18 hearings ... charging the Vim ... [NY Times] The chain is long gone. If you shop at a Manhattan VIM (aka V.I.M.) store today, you're far north of Times Square and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2022 - 9:53am -

New York, 1949. West 42nd Street in Manhattan just off Times Square. 35mm Kodachrome contributed by a Shorpy member who found it at a yard sale. View full size. Marquee cluelessElsewhere in the Times Square area, movie or stage theatre marquees make it possible to pinpoint the month and week a picture was taken. Not so for this picture. Neither of the two theatres whose marquees are legible were first-run theatres at this point; the Bryant was showing films released in 1942 and 1940, and the one across the street was showing films released in 1934 and 1948. Bit partA lot one could comment on here, and I'm going to pick something you can barely see: Stern Bros. -- its cornice is visible right above and to the left of the light standard; the whole building front had an uncredited cameo in a celebrated Twilight Zone episode, so consider this an overdue acknowledgment. Probably not much remembered today. At one time it was thought that Stern would form the counter to Macy*s on the low end that Bloomingdale's does on the high, so life might have gone very differently. It was noted for two things in NYC retail history: It was the last big store to relocate "uptown" from the top end of the "Ladies' Mile" -- Lord & Taylor would close out the bottom a year later -- and it was the first flagship to close, or at least the first one that couldn't be rationalized away. They were finally a trend-setter, but unlikely one they would have wanted. I'm there --This is one of those great photos you just want to step into and find yourself in period dress mingling with the crowd. I love it! Vim lost its vigorApril 4, 1948: "Charging that the company negotiated in bad faith, 325 employees of seventeen Vim radio and sporting good stores in New York City and New Jersey struck yesterday morning." [NY Times] March 12, 1949: "Decca Records gained ground in its suit against the Vim Radio & Sporting Goods firm. ... Decca's suit, asking damages of $100,000 and an injunction, alleges that the Vim stores sold Decca platters below prices fixed by standard contract under the Fair Trade Practices Act." [Billboard] October 4, 1951: "Magistrate Raphael Murphy in Manhattan Court yesterday adjourned until Oct. 18 hearings ... charging the Vim Radio and Sporting Goods Stores, Inc. ... with 'untrue and misleading advertising.'" [NY Times] The chain is long gone. If you shop at a Manhattan VIM (aka V.I.M.) store today, you're far north of Times Square and looking for jeans, sneakers and hip apparel. [Below, a couple VIM ads. Click to embiggen. The company's full-page newspaper ads stopped around 1961. - Dave] So busy, so much to see.This photo overloads the senses. Delightful to study. Two signs that no longer dominate. Western Union and Public Telephones. 1948 DeSotos must have made great taxis. My parents had a '48 and it was a great car. This just looks so much more appealing than the boring and sterile views today. Common taxi then, rare taxi nowI believe the cab in the foreground is a Checker model A-3. Out of the thousands built, there's apparently only one known survivor that's been restored. EDIT: Also could be the virtually identical A-2 model. '49 PlymouthA lot to see in this pic, but I'm drawn to the 1949 Plymouth waiting to turn at the intersection bottom left. Our first family car was a '49 Plymouth. New cars back then came out in the fall. [Chrysler's initial, "First Series" 1949 models, basically unchanged from the previous year's bulbous, pre-war designs, began production in December 1948. Its "Second Series" cars, of which the Plymouth in our photo is an example, didn't go on sale until March 1949. - Dave] Kodachrome WonderA casual snap probably by an amateur photographer. The place, time and Kodachrome make it a work of art. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Cars, Trucks, Buses, NYC)
The Dakota: 1912
... Territory Possibly my very favorite building in all of Manhattan. In the late 70s, when I was a teenager, I would cut school and hang ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:43pm -

New York circa 1912. "Dakota Apartments, Central Park West and West 72nd Street." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The KillerIt sort of pleases me that none of the 27 or so commenters has mentioned the name of John Lennon's murderer and neither will I. He is now 55 years old, serving 20 years to life, he has been denied parole six times. Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York houses him, it is a perfect alternative to a death sentence. ImagineWhen this photo was taken, the Dakota was only 28 years old. Here's nearly the same view today. The Dakota TerritoryPossibly my very favorite building in all of Manhattan. In the late 70s, when I was a teenager, I would cut school and hang out there with a fellow John Lennon adorer. We met him many times, and he'd let us walk with him to Broadway where he bought his gum and newspapers. We'd also regularly see the other celeb denizens - Paul Simon, Rex Reed, and Lauren Bacall ( Bacall still lives there.) The night Lennon got shot, we were there within hours, holding a vigil outside with dozens of other people. When I became a horse-drawn carriage driver in the early 80s, it was one of the most requested sites by my customers, as it sits directly facing Central Park at 72nd St. I had a long line of trivia I would tell them about the building, including that it was named "The Dakota" because the owner and builder, Mr. Singer of Singer Sewing Machine Co. fame, was teased by his 5th Ave and downtown friends that his new building was so far away from the chic parts of NYC at the time, that "it might as well have been in the Dakota Territory." A few things - where the man is standing at the right in the Park (near that wonderful sign that should be reproduced and again posted for today's selfish Handy Andys) is about 20 feet from where the Lennon memorial, Strawberry Fields, is today. The building has not, to my eye, changed even one iota - masonry is still all intact, carriageway is still there, planters and fabulous railing all still there. It has even managed to retain its original windows, a great architectural boon in my opinion, with so many other old lovely buildings having had theirs replaced. The one difference is that there has been for decades a large, nice, bronze doorman's booth on the left side of the carriageway. I'm loving the horse-drawn wagon at the back of of the line of cars (taxis?) Kind of a metaphor, as it was 1912 and the horse-drawn vehicle was on its way out. I don't have a magnifying glass - can anyone tell me what it says on the back of the wagon? Thank you SO much for this pic - I have seen many photos of The Dakota, but never this one, what a treat. [Below: Stern Brother department store delivery van. - Dave] Thank you! Dakota TriviaJohn Lennon, who would have turned 70 on Oct 9th, was murdered outside The Dakota. His widow, Yoko Ono, still lives there. The 1968 film 'Rosemary's Baby' filmed some scenes at The Dakota. It was renamed 'The Bramford' in the movie. Happy Birthday JohnJohn Lennon would have been 70 on Saturday the 9th. Nice of you to remember Dave. Thanks. Happy birthday John LennonThat's a grand old building John and Yoko lived in. They don't build them like that anymoreThe Dakota is one of the most beautiful buildings in NYC. BTW, I was a teen watching Monday Night Football when Cosell announced Lennon's death on air. You can hear it here. Si Morley was hereI first heard of this building in one of my favorite books, Jack Finney's "Time and Again," published in 1970 or so. The Dakota is nearly a character in its own right in this book. What a beautiful building. John Lennon at 70Here's a computer image of what John may have looked like when he was 70 years of age. Happy birthday John!John Lennon would have been 70 years old today had he not been shot at the Dakota. Beautiful BuildingA sad way to commemorate tomorrow being John Lennon's 70th birthday. (How is that even possible?) Fitting.Happy Birthday, John. In MemoriamT'is sad that the main thing that this building is known for is the tragedy that happened outside. Performing Flea.I don't intend to be a performing flea any more. I was the dreamweaver, but although I'll be around I don't intend to be running at 20,000 miles an hour trying to prove myself. I don't want to die at 40. ~ John Lennon +70Happy 70th Birthday, John Winston Ono Lennon. Wish you were here. Strawberry Fields ForeverThe site of the murder of John Lennon (born on this day in 1940). Living life in peaceThis was John Lennon's home in New York, and where he was murdered on the street in 1980. Had he lived, Lennon would have turned 70 tomorrow. Film locationRosemary's Baby. If you saw "Rosemary's Baby"rest assured that the interior of the Dakota is a far cry from that which Mia Farrow moved around in. I have seen a few a few of the apartments, ranging from a very large one that Robert Ryan and his wife lived in to a much smaller, but far from cramped one that was Roberta Flack's residence. They ere all quite elegant. I live farther up on Central Park West, so I frequently pass by the Dakota and it is not unusual to see Lennon fans hanging around the entrance. Of course it did not all begin with Lennon, the Dakota was a home to celebrities for a few decades before he and Yoko moved in. A great building that once seemed to stand out of town. I believe that's how it acquired the name—it seemed to be in the sticks. More Dakota TriviaThe Dakota also plays a major part in Jack Finney's novel "Time And Again," a beautifully crafted mystery novel set in the 1970s and 1880s. What were you doing the evening of 9 Dec. 1980?I see that there are many here who also know that John Winston Ono Lennon would have been 70 years old today. I would guess that you also remember what you were doing when you heard the terrible announcement that he had been murdered. I was on my way home from a job I had singing Christmas carols for shoppers at ZCMI Center in Salt Lake City. I shed quite a few tears that night, and the next day. It is hard for most people to understand why some of us love him so much. It is absolutely not your run-of-the-mill celebrity worship. There was something special about John Lennon that was still developing, the older he got. Happy Birthday JohnHis music is so timeless and inspirational. I hope he found the peace he wanted so much in life. Shrubbery defacers, bewareI think this guy intends to see that the "punish" precedes the "arrest." I heard the news that night oh boyI had read about Lennon's upcoming album back in October. And every so often, I'd tune up the AM dial (how quaint) and down the FM dial, hoping to hear one of the new songs. I was doing that the night of December 8, when I caught "Just Like Starting Over" halfway through. I recognized the old-time rock-and-roll style which had been described in the newspaper preview (which Lennon referred to as "Elvis Orbison.") And I liked it-- no avant garde, experimental, primal scream, political stuff-- just fun. When the record ended, the DJ said "We'll have more details on the death of John Lennon right after this," and they went to a commercial break. I was so shocked, I tried to bend what the DJ had said, to something I could handle. Perhaps he had introduced the record by telling people to listen for "clues" that John is Also Dead? (Goofing off on the Paul is Dead hoax.) Or, if he was really dead, I was wondering, From What? Before the DJ returned, a friend called me and said that Howard Cosell on Monday Night Football had reported John Lennon had been murdered. So I had just that minute and a half of "Cool, he's back, and it sounds great!" 12-8-80I was home on leave from the Navy watching the Dolphins/Patriots game on Monday Night Football with my Dad when Howard Cosell came on and announced that John Lennon had been shot. Awful. Unforgettable momentI was living in Madison, Wisconsin on Langdon Street and walked over to Rocky Rococo's Pizza on State Street near campus to enjoy a slab of Pizza and watch Monday Night Football. The game coverage (the voice over commentary) was interrupted and I think I first heard of the news either from an announcement read by Howard Cosell or Frank Gifford. Then they broke in with an actual news bulletin that indicated he had been shot and was en route to the hospital. In the time that it took to walk back over to Langdon Street and enter my apartment it was announced that he had died. I turned on the radio and heard the actual announcement he had died and just recall thinking what a bizarre thing this was. His then recently released album was already getting a lot of play in Madison, and after the news it was complete saturation. Every time I see the DakotaOne of my favorite Christine Lavin songs: The Dakota. [YouTube link] It was a Monday morning, I was coming in from a long trip on the road. I flagged a cab near the East Side Terminal, I said, "Please take me home." We drove up along Third Avenue, crossed through Central Park. When we came out at Seventy second Street, I felt a cold chill in my heart. Every time I see the Dakota, I think about that night. Shots ringing out, the angry shouts, A man losing his life. Well, it's something we shouldn't dwell upon, But it's something we shouldn't ignore. Too many good men have been cut down, Let's pray there won't be any more. ... Words and Music by Christine Lavin December 9, 1980I was decorating my Christmas tree as my first child, who was three months old to the day (she's 30 now, obviously), watched from her infantseat. I was never a Beatles fan but I do remember the night they debuted on the Ed Sullivan Show; I was sitting on the couch after my bath, in my pajamas, a five-year-old wondering what all the fuss was about. The night John Lennon died I was listening to the radio and honestly -- and I know this next part won't be appreciated by many, but it's a free country and I believe we still enjoy free speech, at least for a little while longer -- after an hour or so I got a little tired of hearing the late Beatle practically elevated to sainthood by the announcer and every caller. I called the radio station not to speak ill of the dead, but to point out that perhaps we should temper our comments understanding that this man and what he stood for did a great deal to tear at the fabric of our society. (I don't think anyone really believes hippie-freakdom fueled by rock music has done all of us a world of good. Why do we have to act like it has?) The announcer, once he was onto my gist, hung up on me. So much for free speech. But I do adore Johnny Depp so maybe I'm a great big hypocrite. You make the call. A creepy place.I never liked that building from the time I first saw it in Rosemary's Baby, and that was some 12 years before Lennon was shot. It creeped me out then and creeps me out now, just looking at it. Time and Again and AgainNobody is going to mention Simon Morley using the Dakota as a time machine to travel back to the blustery cold winter days of 1882 in Jack Finney's novel "Time and Again?" It's such a fun and well researched book. [Somebody did mention it! - Dave] In MemoriamIn the new 4-CD Lennon compilation "Gimme Some Truth" there's a booklet that includes a photo of Lennon and Ono in their bedroom. Assuming it was taken at the Dakota, it's far less fancy then you would expect the apartment of a wealthy icon to be today. While it's a large room by New York City postwar apartment standards, it's not large by McMansion standards. The wall behind the bed is painted brick and there's nothing all that fancy in the room. As for Jenny Pennifer's comments, you certainly have the right to make any comments you like, but you obviously don't have a clue as to Lennon's impact, either culturally, politically or musically. To understand that impact, all you have to do is look up the hundreds, if not thousands of other artists who have recorded his songs, see the number of people who gather at Strawberry Fields or at the Dakota each day and listen to the radio where his songs are still played 30 to 47 years after they were written. Lennon did not tear at our society except to try and stop an illegal and useless war (what happened when we finally pulled out? Nothing except people stopped being killed.) and to fight for peace and the rights of all human beings. And I'll take "hippie freakdom" over the money and 15 minutes of fame obsessed (think Jersey Shore) and the cruel internet culture we live with today. I've been inside onceI was inside the Dakota once, at a political fundraiser in about 1995. The apartment belonged to the head of the European equities desk at a large hedge fund. It was very large, and clearly very expensive, but it was not as fabulous as the glass-walled penthouses overlooking the city in many other buildings, or even some of the (probably much less expensive) apartments in less famous buildings, but which have large terraces overlooking central park. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC)
New York City: 1901
... You get the feeling that the bridge is as wide as Manhattan itself. (I know that at this narrow point, it actually comes pretty ... 
 
Posted by Ken - 09/08/2011 - 10:04pm -

New York City as seen from the Statue of Liberty circa 1901. Cyanotype by the Detroit Photographic Co. View full size. SailWhat's interesting in this picture when you view it full size is just how many sailing vessels there still seem to be at this date. The a fairly nice three masted schooner with white hull near the middle of the photo, a steam powered vessel with sails as a supplement behind it, and a forest of masts over by the Brooklyn Bridge. Brooklyn Bridge 1901The thing that strikes me is that the Brooklyn Bridge dominates the landscape, not just in width but in height and massiveness. You get the feeling that the bridge is as wide as Manhattan itself. (I know that at this narrow point, it actually comes pretty close...) It seems like the most substantial thing in the city. That's not the impression you get any more now that the overall skyline is so dense and high reaching. In more recent photos (distant pans like this, at least...) the bridges are dwarfed by the skyline and almost easy to overlook as a detail at all. Bridge under constructionLinked from kottke.org. The exchange there indicates that the bridge under construction to the right, behind the Brooklyn Bridge, is Williamsburg Bridge. These old photographs contain so much information, don't they? Resolutions on old large-format photographs being what they are... New York City in 1901I love such sights. And Today?Oh, please, may we have a picture from the same vantage point as it looks today? Not exact, but you get the idea... +108In August 2009 I took a photo for comparison from the same perspective, in the statue's pedestal. It was a hazy day. I've tried to clear the image up a bit through Photoshop. New York in those days !This is a great feeling for a New Yorker at least. We are enjoying the solitude and tranquility of the great metropolis! (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, NYC)
Jazzdance: 1947
... obit with three productions: "Nellie Bly", "Make Mine Manhattan" and "Catch a Star". I don't believe this still corresponds to any ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/06/2023 - 1:48pm -

Spring 1947. "To unite jazz and dance. Choreographer Lee Sherman and dancers in rehearsal -- Radio City Music Hall, New York." Acetate negative by William Gottlieb. View full size. Flower Children v1.0Cultural appropriation or just a bad hair day ?? You decide. Mr. Sherman, who seems to be demonstrating quite well a likely origin of the phrase "light in the loafers" - one which inhabits the shadowy world between endearing and insulting - was credited in his obit with three productions: "Nellie Bly", "Make Mine Manhattan" and "Catch a Star". I don't believe this still corresponds to any of those, and insofar as he seems to have been associated more with the Roxy than Radio City, an explanation of this pic will have to await someone with much better knowledge of either the theatre or Radio City itself...a population that is, I believe, quite vast. Cultural appropriation?Those are leaves, not feathers. IlluminatingThose lights are great: Jazz HandsI always thought that was a myth! (The Gallery, Dance, Music, NYC, Pretty Girls, William Gottlieb)
Penn Station: 1910
... component of the Pennsylvania Railroad's entrance to Manhattan but even more significant are the Hudson River Tunnels which remain ... came to the realization that air rights above the existing Manhattan station were worth a great deal. The decision to raze the structure ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/26/2012 - 12:36pm -

Circa 1910. "Pennsylvania station, main concourse, New York." Silver gelatin glass transparency, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Present Penn StationInteresting comment on the old Penn Station from Anonymous. I never experienced the old one, but I'll agree that Grand Central is wonderful. The thing about the present Penn Station is that they left the platforms of the old station, but replaced the terminal with a hideous, overcrowded, squalid, nasty ugly dump of a facility. A true commuter's Hell. It would be so nice to have that Farley Post Office converted to train station use, as has been promised for going on 20 years now. OverratedIf I may be a bit provocative here, as someone who experienced the original Pennsylvania Station (albeit briefly), I think this building is probably the most overrated building of the last 100 years — and perhaps even one of the most overrated buildings of all time. Don’t get me wrong, I do think it is a tragedy that we lost Pennsylvania Station. But the building actually had plenty of things wrong with it (e.g., spaces that were grandiose but not really very beautiful or comfortable; a homely, two-block long Eighth Avenue facade, etc.) and very, very little going right. So from this perspective, it's not hard to understand the general public's ambivalence. If New York had to lose one of its great railroad portals, it definitely lost the right one. Grand Central Terminal, even during its worst years, was many, many times better — as architecture, as public space, as a functional railroad terminal, as urbanism, etc. — than Pennsylvania Station was, even in its prime. — Benjamin Hemric, N.Y. Times, 2007 ImagineAll the ghosts of this station... Bazillions of footsteps through the years. So nany memories must be linked to this place. All Those Rivets!All my life I've read about the glories of Penn Station, and now at last I see what I missed. The traceries of steel and glass contrast nicely with the "classical temple" motif, but look at all the hand-assembled pieces, as seen on the closest steel supports and arches. Can you imagine the racket of installing all those rivets? The ExteriorClick to enlarge. Another ViewClick to enlarge. Rail PalaceReminds me of the statement made by Vincent Scully - (paraphrase): In the old Penn Station, one entered the city like a god, in the new, one scuttles in like a rat. This picture is so boringI wish there were some smiling, vacationing kids in it; even if they were out of focus they would give me something to identify with. But because there isn't a single face in it, and because it was taken by a professional photographer, this picture must be Historic. Therefore, I am going to sit back in my chair and be reverent, because that is what one does when one gazes upon something Historic and Artistic. Right? Isn't that what the arbiters of good taste would have me do? There Is a Ghost --just look down the "Exit" stairs, bottom right. Looks like a woman in Victorian-length dress with a parasol. My imagination? Maybe, maybe not. Best Erector Set stationThe old Penn Station surely could have won the Best Erector Set award, judging from the eerie photograph, if there was such a thing. Today's only wins the Worst Possible Space for Human Concourse award. There should be such a thing. Alas, no one wants to photograph the new monstrosity. Penn Station and PreservationDespite critics who disliked Penn Station's imperial grandeur, inspired by the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, the loss of Penn Station in 1963 directly aided the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. This 1963 NY Times editorial summed up the bitterness of its loss: "Any city gets what it admires, will pay for, and, ultimately, deserves. Even when we had Penn Station, we couldn’t afford to keep it clean. We want and deserve tin-can architecture in a tinhorn culture. And we will probably be judged not by the monuments we build but by those we have destroyed." If the photo above doesn't explain the widespread passion for this building, perhaps this one will help. The photo (and the quote) comes from a large gallery that can be found at www.nyc-architecture.com/GON/GON004.htm Historic IndeedI'd ask Jennifridge to cut a little slack. The photograph is obviously from a moment not long before the station was to open - you can still see some scaffolding work on one of the arches. This building, designed by the well-known firm of McKim, Mead, and White, is perhaps the most visible component of the Pennsylvania Railroad's entrance to Manhattan but even more significant are the Hudson River Tunnels which remain in use to this day. "Conquering Gotham by Jill Jonnes is an excellent read on this fascinating subject. Show me the moneyWhatever your perspective on the historical value of Pennsylvania station, the truth behind its demise had everything to do with money -- in particular the Pennsy's lack of it in the years preceding its ill-fated merger with the New York Central. Pennsy's management came to the realization that air rights above the existing Manhattan station were worth a great deal. The decision to raze the structure came easily to a company caught in the squeeze between a government that subsidized air travel and restrictive regulations that added cost to shipping freight. Perhaps if the Pennsy had received as much largess as the airlines, we'd still have that historic building to gaze at. Landmark Opinion"What grew out of the rubble of Pennsylvania Station was the powerful myth that New York's Landmarks Law owed its very existence to the loss of that station. As wonderful a morality tale as that has become, it has just one problem: It just isn’t true." -- Anthony Wood, author of "Preserving New York." More here. Re: Historic IndeedErr... I think Jennifridge expressed a splendidly ironic barb playing off recent comments regarding "dreckful" family photos of summer vacation. MeadowlandsI remember an article in Preservation magazine (maybe early 90's?) that chronicled the loss of Penn Station, and how some folks had actually done some research in Jersey at the site of the Meadowlands stadium, where a considerable amount of demolition debris wound up as landfill. They used ground penetrating radar and were able to identify columns and statues that had been trucked over and dumped. MythWhile the loss of this structure might not have been the reason for the Landmarks Law, the loss reinforced why such a law was needed to avoid aesthetic blunders in the future. RivetsDr Q, those structural members were most likely fabricated before they were erected to form the building, possibly in a workshop off-site. Typical practice of the period would be to use a horseshoe or yoke rivetter during fabrication, rather than knocking the rivets down by hand. Only the field or construction joints would be formed that way on-site. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)
Magic Kingdom: 1931
... Bridge, through the mist at the left, and further down the Manhattan Bridge. The tower on the far left is at Remsen and Court streets in ... then what's now called 40 Wall St, originally the Bank of Manhattan Trust Building, and then the magnificent Woolworth Building. Don't ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 6:34pm -

December 15, 1931. New York. "River House, 52nd Street and East River. View of power house." 5x7 safety negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. What do we see here?OK, perusing this vista I spy the Williamsburg Bridge, through the mist at the left, and further down the Manhattan Bridge. The tower on the far left is at Remsen and Court streets in Brooklyn (I think). The other three spires in the center are (l to r) the American International Building (a gorgeous Art Deco giant), then what's now called 40 Wall St, originally the Bank of Manhattan Trust Building, and then the magnificent Woolworth Building. Don't know what the square topped one is, but the one that seems little by comparison, just to the left of the Woolworth, is the Singer Building. I believe that the Singer was (before the destruction of the World Trade Center) the tallest building ever demolished. The big plant in the foreground is Big Alice, the Con Ed power plant, isn't it? Can't see a single living thing, not a human or a seagull, but the barges by the water with railroad cars are interesting. Once more on Beekman Place.Here we are again, the buildings in the foreground are 1 Beekman Place on the left and 2 Beekman Place on the right. The smokestacks are at the Consolidated Edison site that ran from 35th to 41st Street between First Avenue and the East River. The structures as well as the smokestacks were leveled a few years ago. The area was supposed to be turned into luxury condos and office towers but the project faced delays from neighborhood opposition and the downturn in the economy. Beekman PlaceAll I can think of is "Auntie Mame"! She lived at this trendy address. Auntie Mame was a lucky lady! SmogI wonder how much worse or better is the smog today in this area? [The air back then was full of coal soot. New York today, like most big cities, is a much less smoky place than it was 80 years ago. - Dave] Bank of New YorkThe flat-topped building is the 50-story Bank of New York, built by the Irving Trust Co. in 1929-31. Its address, 1 Wall Street at Broadway, was reputed to be the most expensive real estate in the city. StacksThe power plant is Con Ed Waterside; the smokier stack beyond is a New York Steam plant. Big Allis is/was on the east side of the river, in Queens. The pic only spans 32 degrees edge to edge, so if this is full frame he used a 12-inch lens. He used a more normal lens for the other pic from River House. (The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, NYC)
Seafood City: 1943
... Interesting story of why it was called "The Bank of The Manhattan Company". Not the Manhattan Bank or whatever. Apparently Aaron Burr was a slimy character in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/13/2012 - 8:19am -

June 1943. "A scene at the Fulton Fish Market, New York." Medium format negative by Gordon Parks for the Office of War Information. View full size. BurrrInteresting story of why it was called "The Bank of The Manhattan Company". Not the Manhattan Bank or whatever. Apparently Aaron Burr was a slimy character in colonial New York even before the revolution. He wanted to start a bank in New York (there were no banks in the Colonies at that time). He was turned down several times. Finally, he proposed a company to drill water wells in Greenwich Village. In small print hidden in the text of the proposal, was a provision that would allow the company, to be called The Manhattan Company, to lend money. Since the Manhattan company could lend money that part of the company was call its bank. They never did drill for water. Gordon's work will endureA long time ago I came across a photograph by Parks of a jazz musician. I think it was Milt Hinton (a great photographer in his own right) walking off stage after a performance. Whatever the details, I became an instant fan of Gordon Parks. While looking for more of his jazz musician photos, I discovered the enormous range of the man's talent. For whatever ‘firsts’ are worth, he was the first black guy to direct a major Hollywood film, “The Learning Tree,” 1969. I sat through the movie about four times to get a glimpse of Jimmy, ‘5 by 5,’ Rushing in a bit part. If we last that long, people will be marveling at Gordon’s work (not sure about Shaft, though)even 100 years from now. The three tall boys in the background are...The City Bank-Farmers Trust Building, the Cities Service Building and the Bank of Manhattan Trust Building. Well, that's what they were called in 1943. They're still there and still going strong. Joe MitchellAgain, I refer Shorpyites to Joseph Mitchell's "Up in the Old Hotel", a compilation of four of his earlier books which anthologize his writings from the "New Yorker". It has great pieces about the Fulton and other seaside seafood markets and restaurants. Mitchell placed third in a clam-eating tournament on Block Island in 1937 by eating 84 cherrystone clams. Re: Gordon's work will endureThe 100th anniversary of Mr. Parks's birth will be celebrated this year with exhibits all around the country. Well worth seeing one. PigFishMost mornings I got out of bed and went to the refrigerator.... One day in 1960 I found a whole suckling pig staring at me.... I was puzzled; the refrigerator in our small kitchen had been almost empty when I went to bed. "Where did you get this stuff?" I asked. "The stores aren't open yet." "Oh," said Mom blithely, ... "I woke up early and decided to go for a walk. You'd be surprised at what goes on in Manhattan at four a.m. I've been down to the Fulton Fish Market." Tender at the Bone, Ruth Reichl, page 8 (The Gallery, Gordon Parks, NYC, Stores & Markets)
Freaks Museum: 1942
... the attractions of Hubert's Museum on West 42nd Street in Manhattan. She took a disreputable carnival attraction into high art ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/08/2022 - 2:41pm -

March 1942. El Centro, California. "Carnival attraction at the Imperial County Fair." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Times changeThose may have been freaks in 1942 but a stroll down the sidewalk in 2022 will turn up better examples. Look before you drinkI noticed the fellow at right seemed to be holding a refreshing drink in a glass jar until I noticed the goldfish swimming in it. Must have been a prize at one of the game concession booths. If I remember, you got five ping pong balls to throw at the little jars of fishies, and if one stayed in rather than ricocheting off the lip, you won the goldfish. I learned from hard experience the fish's life expectancy was only a few days before he took the inevitable trip down the commode. One step furtherLess than two decades later, Diane Arbus took her camera inside the freak show. An early focus for her were the attractions of Hubert's Museum on West 42nd Street in Manhattan. She took a disreputable carnival attraction into high art institutions. Hubert's closed in 1969, but can be briefly glimpsed in a street scene in "Midnight Cowboy." Have you "herd" of Ralph ?? Freaks?Judging by the hair (from behind), the audience is overwhelmingly female. A notable exception is the fellow on the right who appears to be scrutinizing the two women with almost identical hairdos on his left. And what’s freakish about a glass blower or a tattoo artist or a Native American or a woman in shiny shorts? I used to stand in the crowd, listening to the spiels, but I never paid to go in. Hurry, hurry, hurryAs I commented in a previous photo, the crowd at the 1942 Imperial County Fair in El Centro, California was nearly all female. Maybe because of WWII? I'm guessing the woman in shiny shorts is a contortionist and the pitch is she can fit inside the box behind the announcer. Few people in 1942 had tattoos, so did not realize the poster does not represent the way tattoo art is made (roll my eyes). The Indian is wrong on many levels. Aside from Native Americans not being freaks, he's holding a shrunken voodoo head, wearing a vest embroidered with a Mexican wearing a sombrero, and is generally dripping with Mardi Gras beads. But his presence causes me to notice the blonde announcer in the white t-shirt has an Indian Chief profile tattooed on his left forearm. Coincidence? The Sultan's DelightShe doesn't look particularly delighted. And that fellow's goldfish is gonna be dead as a doornail before too long. Time travelAnnouncer guy of the show can easily slip into any contemporary photograph and nobody would notice, despite eight decade time span. Guess who won a goldfish I wonder if the little fish survived the trip home. Goldfish BowlThe man on the right has definitely won the prize (you can spy the little fella in the glass jar he is holding), but may be miffed that his date seems more interested in the "freaks" than his achievement. One hopes that the goldfish avoided the fate of so many of its brethren and escaped the toilet bowl to live a long and happy life, peering at the wider world through a window of curved glass. Announcer guyHe's is actually part of the show, the incredible 'Man from the 21st century' Wally Is CorrectModern society has put these carny side shows out of business. (The Gallery, Bizarre, Native Americans, Russell Lee)
Ready for Occupancy May 1904
... opened, 1 Times Square was the second tallest building in Manhattan (after the Park Row building), not the world. There are many ... Times Square is at a higher elevation than downtown Manhattan, the Times Tower "scraped higher clouds" than its downtown ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2012 - 10:11am -

New York circa 1903. "New York Times building under construction." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Half-OffIs that the granddaddy half-price theater ticket kiosk? Gone to Pot!Look at all the potholes!, and, I thought they were a more-modern phenomenon brought on by the horseless carriage. Thank You again for another great photo from long ago. Solves a puzzleI have always been curious as to what that building really looked like without all of the electric signs and billboards globbed around it. Though I have been there a few times, didn't realize the building was that narrow. A famous unknownThis has been described it as the most famous building in America whose architecture is completely unknown. It was apparently the second tallest building in the world when it was constructed. It was gutted and stripped in the 1960s, losing all ornamentation and most tenants above the first floor due to the high costs costs associated with installing a central air-conditioning system, and was restyled as a boring concrete and marble structure with few windows. Today it's a giant billboard, but makes more money than if it were fully rented. It can be glimpsed in the film Taxi Driver, when only the Zipper was on the building. [One side note -- when it opened, 1 Times Square was the second tallest building in Manhattan (after the Park Row building), not the world. There are many cathedrals, hundreds of years old, taller than 375 feet. - Dave] PBR in 1903!Did not know there was Pabst Blue Ribbon back that far. Very cool. Underground PaperArchitecturally, the NYT tower was a mixed bag ("inspired by the Campanile of Giotto at Florence"). It was more interesting structurally. The basement excavation went 60 feet below curb level, with 2,500 tons of presses in the sub-subbasement, whose floor area was three times that of the street-level footprint -- the underground levels ballooned out past the boundaries of the tower the farther down you went. I wonder what all that subterranean space is used for now. The TenderfootRichard Carle's musical play "The Tenderfoot" (poster partially obscured by the streetcar) opened in Chicago in 1903, and was also made into a movie with Joe E. Brown and Ginger Rogers in 1932. Times Building / Allied ChemicalThe Allied Chemical Building on One Times Square inaugurated in 1965 after "modernisation" of the old 1904-05 Times Tower. A rare picture without any billboards on the building. (Thanks to Wired New York) LogisticsWonderful photo! I wonder what kind of vehicles were used for delivery of steel beams for the construction back then? And looks like there was no enough space to store them, so apparently builders had to lift them up right from the vehicle. Second tallest, but not for lack of tryingThe owners of the Times Tower (362 feet high) sought to gain an edge over the reigning record holder, the Park Row Building (391 feet), by two methods: 1) Measuring from the lowest subbasement to the top of the flagpole (476 feet); 2) Because Times Square is at a higher elevation than downtown Manhattan, the Times Tower "scraped higher clouds" than its downtown competitor. I guess that's all the news that's fit to print. Fuller Construction Co.The same outfit that built the Times Building also built the Flatiron building. I know one poster here had mistaken this building for the Flatiron (on 23rd Street). George A. Fuller is the man considered the father of the modern skyscraper, and in fact the Flatiron Building was originally named the Fuller Building. FlooredCan anyone tell me how the floors were constructed in buildings of this era? It looks like there are wooden planks laid down over the steel floor support members. Was concrete then poured over this sub-flooring? Theatre of VarietiesHere's a link to the history of Oscar Hammerstein's Victoria Theatre, visible on the far right ("Theatre of Varieties"). Built in 1899, gone by 1916 or so. Houdini, Irving Berlin and Will Rogers performed there. The forum comments are interesting for any NY theatre buff. More detailsI love the four tilting windows over the entrance of that building just up from the Theatre of the Varieties. I wonder if the William Collier on the posters lining the side of the Tenderfoot building is this guy. I think that building is what eventually became the Times Square Army recruitment site. Funny to see Times Square looking so simple and small town. Given the theme park it's turned into, I kind of prefer this one. With the help of photoshopI was able to distort these two signs. The big sign says "the new building of the new york times in this site will be made for occupancy in ___ 1904". can anyone make sans of what the small sign says? [The title of this blog post, above the photo, might fill in one of those blanks. - Dave] No need for PhotoshoppeThat small sign appears to have the same text as the lowest sign on the end of the building. William CollierAKA Willie Collier - Looking at the posters closely you can barely make out "Charles Frohman Presents" on the Collier poster to the left of the playbill posted for "The Tenderfoot." Which makes this play THE DICTATOR which, according to IBDB.com opened at the Criterion Theater on April 4, 1904 (barely legible on the left hand posters) and closed May 30, 1904. Looking down the street you can see that THE TWO ORPHANS was playing at the New Amsterdam Theater - Mar 28, 1904 - May 1904. Richard Carle's THE TENDERFOOT was at the New York Theater Feb 22, 1904 - Apr 30, 1904. Which I think may place this photo solidly in 1904 because these don't look to be coming attractions? Interesting that the building is scheduled for occupancy in May of 1904. As a sidebar - one of Willie's young co-stars in THE DICTATOR was John Barrymore who in 1904 would have been a callow 22 years old. According to "The Film Acting of John Barrymore" By Joseph W. Garton, Collier was an intimate family friend of Barrymore's father Maurice and was to be Barrymore's informal theatrical mentor for several years starting in 1903. Two years later, on April 18, 1906, Mr. Barrymore in San Francisco on tour with THE DICTATOR would be thrown from his bed into the bathtub by another event frequently chronicled by Shorpy. One amusing account has him doing his bit by serving cognac to his fellow survivors in front of the St. Francis Hotel. In 1915, a 30-something Barrymore starred in the title role of THE DICTATOR in the silent film version produced by Frohman and Adolph Zukor of the Famous Players Film Company. Floor archesAnswer to a two year old question: they used hollow tile terra cotta floor arches then poured concrete over top. Quick questionIs this view looking south or looking north? [South. -tterrace] (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Streetcars)
Hansom Fillies: 1900
... looks, for that matter) from back in turn of the century Manhattan. Window undressing We have not lost the sun, so I wonder why ... same expression of hostile aloofness on the streets of Manhattan today. I imagine that just out of the frame to the left are a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/18/2012 - 3:31pm -

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