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Fountain House: 1899
... tasted like Kool-Aid (they tasted like licking an iron pipe, of course!). (The Gallery, DPC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/15/2012 - 4:36pm -

Macomb County, Michigan, circa 1899. "Fountain House, Mount Clemens." Bath houses and mineral springs were the draw in this 19th-century spa town. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. A brief history of Mt. Clemens, "Bath City"http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=79 Ghosts!I see two! One is obvious, the other one's hiding. You can still get a roomBut in decidedly less swanky surroundings. More information about Mount Clemens and this particular Bath House/ Hotel may be found here. View Larger Map Let's go Bathers! Mt. Clemens' days as a bathing resort may be long over, but there is still one notable remnant of that era in the town's history. The Mt. Clemens High School Battling Bathers! In the treeI don't see the ghost that is hiding, but if you look up into the middle of the tree you see wires. One of them looks like it has snapped and coiled. Three "ghosts"I see the girl behind the tree in front of the house to the left, and the man waking on the sidewalk on the right. Those can be explained by lens and timeing, but how in the world did that lady get to sit sidesaddle up on top of that telephone pole in that huge tree? Spa Town Doppelganger The architecture of this hotel reminds me very much of the former Orkney Springs Hotel in Orkney Springs, Virginia in the Shenandoah mountains. The hotel was built starting in the 1850s, and is said to have served as a temporary hospital during the Civil War. Orkney Springs was a fashionable summer resort from the late 19th century to the 1920s, with seven purportedly healing springs. The former hotel, which is the largest wooden structure in Virginia, was bought by the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia in 1979, and is now part of the diocesan retreat center Shrine Mont. I went to six years of summer camp at Shrine Mont, and a favorite prank to play on first-year campers was to tell them that the red waters of the chalybeate (iron-bearing) spring tasted like Kool-Aid (they tasted like licking an iron pipe, of course!). (The Gallery, DPC)
River Coal: 1910
... a rectangular well built into the side of the hold, with a pipe going down to the bilge. A clear example is at the lower left corner, on barge 2277. The configuration of the top of the pipe, with a smaller pipe from the pump barge coming in the back of the elbow, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/31/2014 - 9:35am -

Circa 1910. "Coal barges at confluence of Allegheny and Monongahela rivers at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania." 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. Steamer Tom DodsworthPreviously seen at Duquesne Incline: 1900, the paddle steamer Tom Dodsworth was the fastest workboat on the upper Ohio River. She held the record time for round-trip between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati (4 days, 20 hours, 15 minutes), for which she earned the nickname, Hoppin' Tom, and the gilded antlers on her pilot house. She also proudly displays an unidentified marker between her stacks. Is it a nautical sign? Maybe a Masonic emblem? AspiratorsIt must have been a full time job to keep all of these tired wooden barges afloat, requiring frequent or constant pumping. It appears that this pumping was done by aspirators, operating on the Bernoulli principle, powered from the single-stacked house barge in the center of the raft, complete with three whistles. Each barge has a rectangular well built into the side of the hold, with a pipe going down to the bilge. A clear example is at the lower left corner, on barge 2277. The configuration of the top of the pipe, with a smaller pipe from the pump barge coming in the back of the elbow, may be the aspirator, or alternatively, the venturi may have been at the bottom of the pipe, like a modern "jet" water well pump. The multi-jointed pipes would have carried compressed air, or possibly steam in the winter, to operate the aspirators. Note the deflector boards to prevent water from the aspirators from emptying into the adjacent barge. It's common even now to see deckhands using portable pumps to pump out the bilges of steel barges on a regular basis. It's going to take a couple hours to see everything in this scene. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Pittsburgh)
The Stamp Mill: 1906
... Apparently they are pumping houses through that big pipe. [The houses are an exact match for another Shorpy image -- who'll ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/28/2013 - 10:16pm -

Copper production circa 1906. "12,000 horsepower compound pump, Calumet and Hecla stamp mill, Lake Linden, Michigan." Note the faint double exposure in this 8x10 inch glass plate. Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Enter Charlie ChaplinLooks like the movie Modern Times could have been shot there. The Main Bearingmust have required constant attention as evidenced by the captain's chair on the platform. Employees of the era were rarely offered the opportunity to sit while on the job. It brings to mind a John Lennon lyric from a 1980 song "I'm just sittin' here watching the wheels go round and round, I really love to watch them roll." The steam engine is a work of art but so, too, is the building with its myriad girder and truss work. Note the sloping outer walls fit to the angle bracing and that huge overhead hoist! Another fascinating Shorpy view! Sitting roomI found two other chairs, just to the right of the big wheel, one on the top platform and one on the bottom. Domestic plumbingApparently they are pumping houses through that big pipe. [The houses are an exact match for another Shorpy image -- who'll be the first to find it? - Dave] The First Exposure or the Second?I propose The Heart of Copper Country: 1905 as the second exposure on the above photo. [We have a winner. -tterrace] Way ta go!Congrats to Orange56! Good eye! CraneCan anyone make out the manufactures sign on the Overhead crane? Thanks in advance (Technology, The Gallery, DPC, Mining)
Old-School: 1953
... indigo dye in brand new blue jeans *A whiff of Cavendish pipe smoke coming from the principal’s office *Sweaty kids – not the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/20/2015 - 10:17pm -

Jan. 29, 1953. "Greenville School, town of Greenburgh, New York. Foyer." At right, "Third Grade Paintings." 5x7 negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. FamiliarI'm sure this looks familiar to Shorpyites of a certain age - it looks just like my elementary school in Michigan. Most of the 50's and 60's schools seemed to share the same DNA. Many of those windows were blocked off and insulated in the panic of the oil crisis in the '70s. Natural Light EverywhereThe complete LOC set is fascinating. Love these midcentury school designs, with abundant natural light in classrooms--and windows that open!--very unlike classrooms in the school where I teach (built in the 1990's). For the nerdiest among us, here is an interesting history of school design 1900-present. Academic AromasAhhh, the scent of a mid-century American elementary school. Our sense of smell and the way our brains organize memory (the olfactory bulb is part of the brain's limbic system) are very closely related; aromas can call up memories and powerful responses almost instantaneously. I guess it works in reverse, too, because seeing this school scene caused ghost scents to appear in my office this morning as I indulged my coffee and breakfast taco and Shorpy habits. The phantom aromas have to be strong to overpower a taco and cup of Ruta Maya…but here’s what I detected: *The indigo dye in brand new blue jeans *A whiff of Cavendish pipe smoke coming from the principal’s office *Sweaty kids – not the sourly rank teen kind, but the innocent 4th grade kind *Mimeograph ink *Fish sticks and sheet cake from the cafeteria *Wood shavings from the pencil sharpeners *Bic pen ink *Cardboard Duo-Tang folders *Cut grass from the playground *Crayola crayons and construction paper *An olfactory stew of gum eraser, chalk dust, and Elmer’s glue *Ms. Borcherding’s rose petal perfume and Aqua-Net hairpspray And perhaps my most vivid olfactory memory: the faintest hint of “Charlie” perfume, booze and cigarette smoke wafting around the hot-before-I-knew-what-hot-was library assistant Ms. Sherri D’Amato (Cherry Tomato). Goober Pea Re: Academic AromasOne more: that green stuff the janitor threw on the floor before he swept. ackModernist architecture and, yes, I went to schools very similar to this. They were, like most modernist designs, stiff, cold, and boring. In this picture, gaze with head shaking at the Danish modern furniture, which I think was designed to be as uncomfortable and unattractive as possible. Thank you. It's good to get that off my chest! More than familiarThis doesn't look like my elementary school, this WAS my elementary school. I went to kindergarten here in 1955. I was put into shock this morning when I woke up to this photo. Funny, the only thing I remember were the naps. My brother went there too. Hey, that's my schoolWhat a surprise today at my daily glimpse of Shorpy as I saw "my" Greenville School where I attended second through fourth grades from 1950-54. That Shorpy would single out such a relatively insignificant school in of all in the country seemed a bit strange so I did a double take to see that it was actually "my" Greenville School. Although I walked past the furniture in the foyer every day, my memory does not recall it after 62 years, yet that memory clearly remembers riding rain, snow, or shine on a 1950 English 3-speed Rudge bicycle to school every day. I rode that Rudge through 1970 in college. The Greenburg area of Scarsdale was a wonderful place to grow up. Strangely, it was a 1958 photo of my new Redwood High School in Larkspur, CA that was posted on Shorpy some years back that got me to looking at Shorpy every day. Great site and many memories. [You're in my 1961 Redwood Log yearbook, your senior year, my freshman. I posted that 1958 Redwood photo my brother took. -tterrace] My Thoughts Exactly, Gooberpea!Upon seeing this photo of what could've been my elementary school at Kincheloe AFB, Michigan I too was overwhelmed with "aromatic" memories. I giggled to myself while thinking, "I wonder if anyone else associates memories with smells", and all at once I read your post, Goober Pea. Apart from Ms. Cherry Tomato, you got it, exactly! Academic Aromas IIMy elementary school had similar smells as Gooberpea mentioned except for Ms. Borcherding’s rose petal perfume and Aqua-Net hairpspray since mine was the Shrine of the Little Flower. No parochial student of my era '46-'52 could ever forget the smell of a rainy Friday. There was the aroma of wet boys' cudoroy school pants mingled with the aromas of the brown bag Catholic lunches of that era. Hardboiled eggs, fried eggs, salmon croquettes, fried fish and for a lucky few crab cakes created a meatless miasma of unforgettable smells. (The Gallery, Education, Schools, Gottscho-Schleisner)
Metropolis in Ruins: 1906
... The pipes across the street match the location of a pipe storage yard that would have been behind "lodgings"; the building to the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/31/2013 - 11:46am -

"Panorama from roof of Ferry P.O., San Francisco." Aftermath of the April 1906 earthquake and fire. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Quake survivorsSome relics of the earthquake and fire survive to this day, thanks to them having sunk below the surface; see this story. Enormous scaleThere are a few men and one horse cart visible on the dirt road in about the middle of the photo. We have no idea what massive destruction resulted from this earthquake. Today, we'd have all types of cars and developed structures broken and twisted, but these are millions upon millions of bricks and blocks and simple wood pieces, throw around like toothpicks. I've never thought the few SF earthquake photos I've seen have shown the intensity that resulted. Those tiny people amid all that mayhem prove that's true. [The subsequent fire rather than the earthquake itself is by far the greater cause of the destruction seen here. -tterrace] WowWhat is that monstrous piece of machinery behind the leftmost walking man? Re: MachineryI see gears and what looks like a flat pulley for a belt possibly parts of an Elevator system? Inflammable NeighborhoodsThe Ferry Post Office was just south of the Ferry Building along the Embarcadero; the building was built in 1900-1901, and rebuilt at the same site in 1915; the 1915 building still exists. Based on that location, the photo is looking over the Embarcadero; the street is Steuart Street, with Spear behind. Market Street would be just to the right of the photo, Mission Street to the left. A 1898-era Sanborn map shows that the ruins with the steel columns on the facade was probably the Seaman's Institute; the near side of the building would have been a ship's chandlery. The pipes across the street match the location of a pipe storage yard that would have been behind "lodgings"; the building to the left with the big gear/pulley would also have been a ship's chandler, suggesting the big machinery was a ship's windlass. The four story building one street back that looks intact would have been the U.S. Commissary Department at Spear and Mission. This area would have burned well thanks to all the industries catering to the shipping trade. Spear was lined with Allen and Higgins Hardwood Lumber, California Mills Lumber House, and the California Planing Mill. On the near side of Spear, there were multiple hay lofts and a lumber yard. Along the street we can see, we would ave had a row of lodgings, and on the near side, ships chandleries, saloons, stores, etc. Sanborn San Francisco 1899-1900, vol. 2, sheet 126. Much more high-rent nowThe location of the photo (between Market and Mission, Steuart and Spear) got a lot more high-rent after the earthquake; this became the site of the Southern Pacific's headquarters building (now known as 1 Market St.). SP had some grand plans to build a great train station behind the building and across the center of this photo, but never quite had the money to get the main line tracks over here. A pair of high-rises eventually ended up behind 1 Market St.; now, it's the home of Salesforce.com. What a difference six months makes!BTW, here's the scene a block to the right six months later. Note that the U.S. Commissary building is still standing, but the other blocks have already been cleared and replaced by new low-rise structures. (The Gallery, DPC, Fires, Floods etc., San Francisco)
Housing Boom: 1923
... over the entire block, a wooden match flaring to light a pipe and a streak of fire as a cigarette was flicked away to land in the gutter ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 1:18pm -

1923. "Allied Asphalt Products Co., 4700 block of 8th St." The Joseph Shapiro Company Exhibit House at Eighth and Crittenden streets N.W. in Washington, D.C. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Brick House(s)Those places were built to last and they have. The hills beyond have sprouted houses since then, too. RowhousesStill there. Eighth & CrittendenHere. Joseph ShapiroApparently, Joseph Shapiro was a very busy builder... Washington Post, June 10, 1923 13 of 15 Houses in Row Sold Before Completion Fifteen attractive dwellings just nearing completion and being erected by the Joseph Shapiro company at Eighth street northwest. With the exception of the two end houses, all have been disposed of from plans. Each contains six rooms and a bath, and the corner houses have built-in garages. Washington Post, Oct 24, 1926 Real Estate Field Entry by Shapiro 7 years ago today. Today marks the seventh anniversary of the Joseph Shapiro Co.'s entry into the real estate field. Starting in 1919 with a small office at 914 New York avenue northwest, this company opened general real estate offices, and two years later opened their building department, their first operation being a group of houses on Crittenden street between Eighth and Ninth streets northwest. Today the company occupies the first and second floor of the Edmunds building, 919 Fifteenth street northwest, and have to their record the erection of hundreds of homes in the northeast and northwest sections of the city and a large number of apartment buildings.... AtticWhat that a tiny, pointy attic up above the 2nd floor, or just a faux front? I wish modern houses were still built that high off the ground, so basement windows could be taller. And having steps up to the front door gives it more of a grand impression. A Good Block To Grow Up InI was raised in a similar rowhouse block in Baltimore. Those porches brought back some on the joys of my youth and the days of stoop sitting. During the dog days of summer the whole neighborhood would sit outside. Cool breezes, marble steps and friendly neighbors made a humid summer night somewhat bearable. We kids would play games of Red Line and Hide And Seek while crunching on cherry snowball or drinking a RC Cola. Our parents might be drinking a beer either out of bottles or a tin filled at the local pub with draft beer. No theatrical visual effect could top the natural sight of the clouds above glowing with snatches of heat lightning, lightning bugs glowing their love serenade, gas lamposts flickering a warm yellow light over the entire block, a wooden match flaring to light a pipe and a streak of fire as a cigarette was flicked away to land in the gutter amid a shower of sparks. There were always radios in the background. As you were running to hide there were sounds of baseball games (minor league Orioles and if the wind was blowing right maybe even a major league game between the Yanks and Red Sox), boxing matches (Joe Lewis or Rocky Marciano), westerns (Gunsmoke with Conrad as Matt Dillon), mysteries (Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of man? The Shadow knows!) ,horror shows (the eerie creak of a door as Inner Sanctum began). All those sounds plus the sounds of children at play, adults bidding in a pinochle game and the woofs, yips and meows of the pets combined to make a sweet music I can still hear today whenever I ride pass a rowhouse block. Life lost a little luster when houses were no longer built with porches and AC replaced summer breezes. Of course I am writing this as I sit in a porchless house with the AC set on 75. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Jaunty Joe: 1923
... Perhaps he is a landscaper, pilot, male model and pipe connoisseur. The Grin Raker He kind of reminds me of the comic book ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/15/2014 - 11:54pm -

Washington, D.C., or vicinity circa 1923. "Joe Roberts." Out standing in his field. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Aeroplane husbandryNo doubt he has planted an aileron in hopes of growing a flying machine. I bet if he really triedhe could tighten that belt just a little bit more and use that last hole. A shovelAnd two rakes. Man Of Many TalentsPerhaps he is a landscaper, pilot, male model and pipe connoisseur. The Grin RakerHe kind of reminds me of the comic book character Smilin' Jack. Airfield cleanupBased on man's flight cap and open aircraft hangar on right edge of photo, our fearless pilot appears to be enjoying some grass field maintenance. I certainly hope-That young Joe kept those straight teeth and handsome smile the rest of a long, happy and productive lifetime. Fly Me “Joe Roberts”?A “Joe Roberts” “snapped an aerial photo over Hoover Field / Washington Airport, Arlington, VA that appeared in the Airport Directory Company's 1933 Airports Directory.” “The earliest depiction which has been located of Hoover Field was on the 1923 Washington-NY Airway Map” a “former equestrian racetrack was purchased (a very small site for an airport), converted to a sod landing field, and a small terminal.” The field was just across the Potomac from the Capitol. BTW, I always loved the website where this is referenced so took a chance to look there. (The Gallery, D.C., Handsome Rakes, Natl Photo)
Newsstand Noir: 1957
... No Cool Hand Lukes roaming around lopping them off with a pipe cutter though. Body language That looks like the pose taken by my ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 05/21/2015 - 1:26pm -

My brother snapped this 35mm Kodak Tri-X negative as a former high school classmate left (Fled? Took it on the lam?) from this newsstand at 1241 Fourth Street in San Rafael, California. At the time this was one of two newsstands downtown. That was in addition to Montgomery Ward, J.C. Penney, Macy's plus all the other kinds of stores that made San Rafael the major shopping spot for Marin Country - that is, until shopping centers started popping up a few years later. If I didn't know better, I'd think that guy might have been Elvis. View full size. Speaking of parking metersI remember one evening a bunch of us were hanging out at the Foster's Freeze when a car, obviously out of control, jumped the curb and knocked down a parking meter (at the same exact place incidentally that the cop car was de-axled in "American Grafitti"). The car backed up and sped away at which time we dashed for the meter and took it up the hill to disgorge its contents. After an hour of bashing it refused to give up its booty and for all I know the meter is still up on the hill in back of Foster's Freeze. Our adventure didn't make it into the movie. Fourth Street holds many memoriesThe Rafael Theater where some serious necking was done. Next door, the Navy recruiter where I solemnly vowed to protect my country in 1962. J.C. Penney's where I bought most of my clothes. The two auto parts stores across the street from each other where I furnished my 1957 Ford F-100. And not to forget the Friday and Saturday night cruises where the county gathered from Highway 101 to Foster's Freeze and back again countless times. It was a great place to spend my senior year. 2 things you don't see anymoreTypewriters Parking meters White wall tires Barber poles [And then some. -tterrace] Parking metersDon't know about whitewall tires, barber poles or typewriters, let alone Elvis, but downtown San Rafael is still loaded with parking meters. No Cool Hand Lukes roaming around lopping them off with a pipe cutter though. Body languageThat looks like the pose taken by my high school pals when leaving a store that had sold beer to the underaged. You know, hiding it under the coattail as if nobody would notice it or him. Saw it a hundred times, hehe. Elvis confusionI have to agree with your comment about Elvis; at first glance I thought it was him too. I don't doubt it will eventually find its way into the fan circles misconstrued as a long-lost unreleased candid. Cool pic nonetheless. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
Vaudeville News: 1927
... in the know. Is that a fire extinguishing system along the pipe in the top of the picture? Also, the noose in the wire in the back: is ... The fire extinguisher system is an automatic system. The pipe is pressurized with water, and if fire melts a small meltable link in the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/27/2012 - 11:38pm -

Washington, D.C., 1927. "Julia Emerson." Whose business seems to have been show business. Which, as everyone knows, is like no business. View full size. Interesting pictureA few questions for those in the know. Is that a fire extinguishing system along the pipe in the top of the picture? Also, the noose in the wire in the back: is that how they would raise and lower the lamp? How nice it must have beento have had a sink and a paper towel dispenser right in the office room!!! re: Show businessEverything about it is appealing. Fire SystemThe fire extinguisher system is an automatic system. The pipe is pressurized with water, and if fire melts a small meltable link in the spray nozzle, water will come out of the spray nozzle(s). This type of Deluge system is still widely used today. The loop in the lamp cord is used to raise or lower the lamp, depending on the loop size. Clarity from "Jeeper"It's called a sprinkler system and it is definitely not a deluge system. Deluge systems are used in ammunition factories etc. where all the sprinklers go off at once. In houses,stores etc, only one goes off and if that doesn't control the fire, the heat will melt the link in the next sprinkler. Over 90% of fires are controlled by only 1 sprinkler. Read The Vaudeville NewsHere is a link to a pdf of the Saturday, March 26, 1927 Vaudeville News and New York Star that Mrs. Emerson is holding. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo)
Army Elbow: 1942
January 1942. Louisville, Kentucky. "Large pipe elbows for the Army are formed at Tube Turns Inc., by heating lengths of pipe with gas flames and forcing them around a die." 4x5 Kodachrome ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/10/2012 - 7:49pm -

January 1942. Louisville, Kentucky. "Large pipe elbows for the Army are formed at Tube Turns Inc., by heating lengths of pipe with gas flames and forcing them around a die." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. View full size. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Factories, WW2)
Veteran Park: 1900
... Ghost watcher Man on the left, quietly smoking his pipe as the apparition passes by. Syracusan periods It seems that ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 6:31pm -

Syracuse, New York, circa 1900. "Onondaga County Savings Building & Veteran Park." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. ClearlyWhen they don't want you to walk on the grass, they mean it. That might qualify as the world's smallest "park." Now Hanover SquareI never knew this as Veteran Park. I've always known it as Hanover Square, which we always found odd because it's really a triangle. The park is now an abominable '70s brick and concrete plaza with ugly fountain. I'm shocked to learn that there have been absolutely undetectable changes to the Onondaga Savings Bank building on the right -- the nicely rounded portion between the towers was squared off quite expertly, and the entrance moved to the extreme left. The white postal and telegraph building, so grand that I'd always presumed it was once a bank as well, housed the restaurant where we had our pre-wedding dinner in 1983. Ghost watcherMan on the left, quietly smoking his pipe as the apparition passes by. Syracusan periodsIt seems that Syracuse has got a period-loving sign maker. worlds Smallest park...Actually, "Mill Ends Park" in Portland Oregon is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Worlds Smallest park. http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?PropertyID=265&acti... (The Gallery, DPC, Syracuse)
Hotel Escambia: 1910
... the very steep roof to the edge, grab hold of the roof pipe fence and hopefully can carefully walk to the front second floor fire ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 8:11pm -

Pensacola, Florida, circa 1910. "Hotel Escambia." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. They're creepy and they're kooky,mysterious and spooky. Admit it -- you looked at this and the "Addams Family" theme popped into your head. BandedTell us again why we used to see white paint on tree trunks? The Way Down.I've never seen a fire escape quite like this one. Guests on the upper front and right floor can crawl out the dormer windows, down the very steep roof to the edge, grab hold of the roof pipe fence and hopefully can carefully walk to the front second floor fire escape. Apparently there is another escape on the left side of roof as well. Brave souls. We're painting the tree trunks white!It's whitewash, actually, and Googling turns up the info that it was done to minimize "sun-scald." Don't Bug MeAnother reason for white trunks was insect control. Insects that might prove harmful to the tree by entering at the trunk (such as a colony of carpenter ants or termites) would be easily seen by birds and picked off the tree, hopefully before any damage was done. I don't know how effective or even necessary this was, as it is rarely seen today. (The Gallery, DPC, Florida, Pensacola)
The Big Dig: 1910
... the steam was ejected after each piston stroke through the pipe at the top of the rig. Consequently a steady supply of boiler feed water ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 5:57pm -

"Steam shovel removing rock loosened by dynamite, Livingstone Channel, Michigan." Construction of the navigation channel along the Detroit River circa 1910. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. More news herehttps://www.shorpy.com/node/10126 [Also some more old steam shovels here. - Dave] What a shovelI never really thought about it but steam shovels like this one did not have a steam condenser,so the steam was ejected after each piston stroke through the pipe at the top of the rig. Consequently a steady supply of boiler feed water would have been necessary, and if the local water was hard cleaning the boiler tubes must have been a headache. Other than that there is an overhead tram for removing the excavated soil to a distant dump location. Mike Mulligan and Mary AnneA few years later, Popperville would need a new town hall, and the rest is history. Digging with steam?That looks like high pressure steam being released at the end of the boom. But then again, there is a long snaking hose running off to the right of the picture, Maybe they are using high pressure water to loosen rocks? Marion Steam ShovelThe steam shovel appears to be a converted 'railroad-type,' built by the Marion Steam Shovel Co. of Marion, Ohio. (The Gallery, DPC)
D.C. DJ: 1931
... early days of sound pictures. They could also be used to pipe radio into the cinema. - Dave] Victor Home Recording Blank From ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/18/2014 - 10:03am -

Washington, D.C., 1931. "Man with portable radio receiver and phonograph." Who seems to be using the amplifier to play a record into a microphone. Note handy "Radio Spectrum" chart. Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size. Two turntables and a microphone This is an amazing 39 years before Beck was born Heavy, dude, heavy...Those cartridges and headshells look like they weigh at least 16 pounds - hope those records are made of something a little more substantial than acetate... Spectrum chartI would love to get a close look at that spectrum chart. In 1931 40 megahertz ("megacycles" in those days) was about the limit of radio technology. Today I have a spectrum chart on my wall that goes to 150 gigahertz. That's 150,000 megahertz. Electrical TranscriptionActually, what is happening here is the production of an electrical transcription. The disk isn't being played into the microphone--it's going the other direction. The radio broadcast is being recorded onto the disks for playback later or for archival purposes. When I worked in radio in the early eighties, there was still a check box on the daily log to indicate that the audio source was "ET." I suspect things have caught up by now. [The turntable is an RCA Photophone similar to the "Theatre Phonograph" in the illustration below. These were used to play background music during seating and intermission in the early days of sound pictures. They could also be used to pipe radio into the cinema. - Dave] Victor Home Recording BlankFrom the label I can identify the record as a Victor Home Recording blank. The plastic records were pre-grooved, so the recording process was done by embossing, not cutting. It's a little harder to judge, but from the photo it looks like the grooves are already modulated, so we're seeing the record being played back. Surprisingly lightI have a working 1933 RCA Victor combination radio phonograph with a very similar tone arm and thumb screw needle. I don't know if it's made of aluminum or pot metal, but it doesn't weigh nearly as much as it looks as though it would. I wouldn't try it on a 1950s or newer plastic record, but it does well playing both the pre-war shellack and Durium cardboard Hit Of The Week 78s of that era. Federal Radio Commission recorderThis description is from a news photo in 1931: A new type of portable radio recorder has been invented. The apparatus is a portable disc equipment consisting of two motor-driven turntables, a recording amplifier, a nmicrophone, radio receiver and a loudspeaker. Pre-grooved blank disc records are placed upon each of the turntables, and when in operation, with sound being recorded as it emanates from a loudspeaker, the records operate continuously and automatically change from one to the other. This device is expected to help the Federal Radio Commission in settling any problems of programs on the air, having had to use stenographic reports until now. (Technology, The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing)
On Vacation: 1969
... studied classical piano from about age 6, and branched to pipe organ at 12, I play violin and viola also because three weeks into my HS ... 
 
Posted by Mvsman - 09/18/2011 - 10:16pm -

Here we are, my little brother and me, on another family trip. I had my geeky glasses on. I'm sure our parents ordered us to hold hands for the picture. I think we were in Wyoming or Nebraska, summer of 1969, visiting Dad's relatives. My puberty was kicking in and I was sure anxious about starting 9th grade and facing those showers in PE! View full size. Puberty and public showersI joined the band in my Dallas junior high (1968) to avoid public showering. SimilaritiesI had the same kind of glasses and wore the same cutoff shorts! And I can imagine that after my parents forced me to hold hands with me little brudder for a pic, I'd toss him down the steps just to even things up. 60s vs 80sIn my 1981 CA high school band, we changed on the bus (co-ed). Only jocks showered at school. re: On Vacation 1969Boy, tell me about it, Mvsman. I don't know about you, but for me PE turned out to be every bit the living hell I'd been dreading. At least I had some degree of ability with track & field type stuff - hill dweller's legs came in handy for running and jumping - but everything else? Forget it. Me to a football: What am I supposed to do with you? Nice shot - somebody in your family knew what they were doing, making sure there was some fill lighting here. As for the geekiness of your glasses, the young twenty-something gal at the Apple Store where I bought my new computer last week had on a pair much like that. I thought she'd gone back in time and swiped a pair of my father's. I thought this could use some color correction, so here's what I came up with. NebraskaLooks a lot like the Pine Ridge of western Nebraska. My family owns a "ranch" out there (really a hunting cabin). The tree on the upper right appears to be a Ponderosa pine, which grow all over the Pine Ridge. I most likely have a picture of myself at that time, looking just like this. High schoolGreat picture, even though you may have hated holding hands! PE was also horrible here. Not only was I terrible at everything, but the teacher was happy to share with the whole health class how bad I was. This did not accomplish his aim, which I can only assume was to somehow make me do better via shame. Dork matter detectedWe didn't go through Nebraska but I was travelling out west that same summer, in MUCH geekier glasses (pretty much GI BCG-style of the period) and much more gangly. Nobody expected me to hold anyone's hand in pictures though. I made it to puberty before high school but one thing that made running cross country attractive to me (besides being somewhat good at it) was that we got through the showers long before the jocks got there. Musical AbilitiesAlthough I studied classical piano from about age 6, and branched to pipe organ at 12, I play violin and viola also because three weeks into my HS freshman year (I was 13 in 1966) an opening in the school orchestra came up and I was able to substitute that for goddam PE, and the jocks, and ... the SHOWERS!!! No kid ever learned to play a violin so fast. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Kids)
Swim Class: 1905
... it is slightly wider than all the rest. It seems to have a pipe attached to it. It must have been to pipe fresh water, either from a well or more likely a pipe leading from shore ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/05/2014 - 3:06pm -

Florida circa 1905. "Surf bathing at Palm Beach." No ocean was ever a prettier shade of gray. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. A water windmill On a pier. Why? [Generate power for whatever goes on in that building? -tterrace] Help me into the water too, please!Okay, that guy in the front helping his son (daughter?) navigate the waves is a definite hottie in my book (the biceps alone--woweee). Rather tricky to deal with a crush on a man over 130 years old though, so I will just admire how he nicely fills out his bathing suit from a distance -- a very loooong distance. The windmillIf you follow a line down from it you can see that the pylon below it is slightly wider than all the rest. It seems to have a pipe attached to it. It must have been to pipe fresh water, either from a well or more likely a pipe leading from shore to that hut. In any event it is not the sort of windmill one would use for generating electricity. They had been developed in Denmark about 15 years before this but they were MUCH larger. from 1889: (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Florida, Kids, Swimming)
Made in America: 1942
... used to cook food at the tableside and has a vent pipe but I don't believe I have ever seen anything like it. How was it used? ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/03/2017 - 12:11pm -

June 1942. Chicago, Illinois. "Manpower. Americans all. His war job with Pressed Steel Can Car Company gives Michael Kassalo an extra good appetite. Operating a vertical turret lathe in a Midwest tank plant, Michael is one of many hundreds of first- and second-generation Americans whose sole purpose during working hours is to get as many tanks as possible off the lines and ready for shipment to the fighting fronts. Michael's grandparents, with whom he lives, cling to the Slavic language and to many 'Old Country' customs, but Michael and his brothers and sisters are as American as the Smiths and Joneses." Photo by Ann Rosener for the Office of War Information. View full size. Pressed Steel CAR Co.The original photo caption seems to have a typo. It most likely meant to reference the Pressed Steel Car Co., which was a major builder of railway equipment and did indeed convert to the production of tanks and other armored vehicles during the war. They had factories in Illinois as well as Pittsburgh. Tableside ApparatusCan anyone please tell me what the apparatus in the foreground is? It looks like something used to cook food at the tableside and has a vent pipe but I don't believe I have ever seen anything like it. How was it used? Very interesting picture. Michael reaches for ...... a handful of jellyfish? What IS that stuff? [He's reaching into a cellophane bag or wrapper. -tterrace] [For a slice of "California-Style" HoneyWheat Bread. - Dave] Laundry stoveUsed to be common in kitchens: Our family cooked on oneOur family cooked on one of those stoves during the war! My parents rented a house in 1944 in which the owners had removed the modern range. Left was a version of this stove in the kitchen. It doubled as the source of heat for the hot water heater. Having no oven, my grandmother used a stovetop oven (no thermostat of course) to bake rolls, pies and cornbread. All the stovetop cooking was done on that small stove, which was fired by coal. In the summers, our kitchen was one hot place, as the house was in South Alabama and of course there was no air conditioning! (The Gallery, Ann Rosener, Chicago, Kitchens etc., WW2)
Testing the Hoses: 1913
... of a muffler on the end of the exhaust manifold/exhaust pipe. The production of 'buckboard' type fire engines was coming to an end ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 12:01pm -

"Motor Fire Engine." Testing the FDNY hoses somewhere along the waterfront in 1913. View full size | Zoom in. George Grantham Bain Collection. Phineas Jones & CompanyYou can see Phineas Jones & Company they made wheels for carriages Knox Piston PumperThis fire truck is a circa 1913 Knox Pison Pumper. It resembles some Seagrave and Webb models. The vehicle was made in Springfield, Massachusetts. Knox cars were made from 1900 - 1914, and trucks and tractors - were made from 1900 - 1924. Note the lack of a muffler on the end of the exhaust manifold/exhaust pipe. The production of 'buckboard' type fire engines was coming to an end by this time. The license plate looks like it shows 1912 for the year. I. A. F. E.The New York Times of September 4, 1913 describes the scene in the photograph, and part of the article is shown below. The location was Pier 94 at 12th Avenue and 54th Street. The International Association of Fire Engineers was established in 1873, and the organization is now the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Note that there is a discrepancy in the amount pumped during the test (6 million vs 8 million gallons). Originally established in 1855 at Newark, New Jersey, the wheel maker Phineas Jones & Co. was located at 655 W. 55th. In 1915 they opened a Los Angeles branch. The building to the right, with the letter "T" near the top was T. G. Patterson, Inc., which was at 637 W. 55th. They made boxes, molding, and other wood products. These two neighboring companies helped each other advertise. Just out of view, at the top of the Jones building Patterson had a sign on each side, and the chimney of the Patterson building was painted with the word "JONES." Photos of these signs are below. PUMPING CASCADES FOR THE FIRE CHIEFS Motor Apparatuses Draw 6,000,000 Gallons from the Hudson, Demonstrating Efficiency. The world's Fire Chiefs who are here attending the forty-first annual convention and fire exposition of the International Association of Fire Engineers, spent the whole of yesterday making observations at a capacity test of motor fire pumps on the pier at Fifty-fourth Street and North River. To the thousands of residents who went to De Witt Clinton Park, overlooking the pier, the test must have appeared like an attempt to pump the Hudson River dry. For the benefit of the visiting Fire Chiefs, many of whom are accompanied by their Fire Commissioners and Mayors, contemplating the installation of motor fire apparatus, eleven big motor fire engines were drawn up along either side of the wharf, their suction pipes extending down into the river and their hose nozzles pointed out over the dock. The full capacity test was begun at 6 o'clock in the morning. Each engine was required to run at full capacity for six hours at not less than 120 pounds pressure, pumping through three lines of hose, drawn into one nozzle. At the end of the first hour a reading of all the meters showed that a total of nearly 700,000 gallons of water had been pumped up by the eleven motor engines. When the tests were finished nearly 8,000,000 gallons of water had been pumped. Either side of the pier throughout the day presented the appearance of a cataract, and thousands of persons thronged the river front to witness the spectacle. The roar of the racing pumps could be heard several blocks away. At first test readings were taken every minute, and later readings were taken every five minutes. On a large blackboard, extending almost the length of a block in front of the pier, were marked hourly the results. Hundreds of the Fire Chiefs were on hand when the test began. They had score books in which they kept the hourly results. Most of them stayed at the pier until the test was finished, and went away expressing their belief that the efficiency of the motor fire engine had been proved. While the Fire Chiefs were at the tests their wives and daughters were being entertained at luncheon at the Hotel Plaza by the Ladies' Committee, of which Mrs. John Kenlon, wife of Chief Kenlon, is Chairman. After luncheon an address was made by Mrs. Frederick Gooderson, wife of Deputy Chief Gooderson, of Brooklyn. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, G.G. Bain, NYC)
Telluride: 1940
... that might mean putting something... different in your pipe. Phoenix Bean This building looks to me like the current ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/30/2018 - 7:49am -

September 1940. "Dilapidated buildings at Telluride, Colorado." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. This Property is Condemned. Part OneJust needs a leading man in the scene. Replayed everywhere in the USA. It's all in how you say itA certain conductor, as his Rio Grande Southern train approached the town, would go through the coach and announce the next stop as, "To Hell You Ride". Our young damsel in the photo looks like she'd rather be somewhere else. Hope she's in a better place now. 705 is really 205The address sign that looks to me like "705" is probably really "205." As in 205 E. Colorado Avenue. The vacant building with the suspicious young lady sitting in front is now gone, and they seem to have raised the street level, but the shop to the left is still there. In the 2014 Google view it's the "Telluride Music Co." but appears to be a cafe now. You might still be able to get a Big Smile there, but these days that might mean putting something... different in your pipe. Phoenix BeanThis building looks to me like the current Phoenix Bean coffee shop (image below). It was originally a hardware store. [This is the building to the left, with the SHERIDAN BEER sign in the window. - Dave] Google and Bing say "no"I thought it would be interesting to see if these buildings survived the "gentrification" of Telluride after it became a ski resort, however, neither Bing nor Google maps have street view in Telluride. Hard to believe, but true. Except for one small strip of Colorado Avenue (about a block) Google does not show any streetviews for Telluride in my Google in Indiana. Yet I see one below. WTF Google in Indiana? Been to Telluride It's come up in the world. NestsOn the more ornate building there a few nests above the girl. I will guess they are from wasps but the opening looks different than what I usually see. [Those are swallow nests. Made by birds, not bees. - Dave] (The Gallery, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets)
Delta Psi: 1908
... were almost ready to underground in those vitreous clay pipe sections. The catalog page here is from a 1926 Western Electric Supply ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/14/2018 - 7:25pm -

New Haven, Conn., circa 1908. "Delta Psi fraternity house, Yale University." Note the Fire Alarm Telegraph Station at right. 8x10 glass negative. View full size. Single-duct conduitI had a feeling the piled tubes were for underground conduit and suspect that new power wires were about to be strung to provide power to the buildings were almost ready to underground in those vitreous clay pipe sections. The catalog page here is from a 1926 Western Electric Supply Catalog and shows one example that matches the conduit in the Shorpy photograph. F.A.T.S.Fire Alarm Telegraph Station 28. Frat House PranksTo minimize the temptation to trigger a false alarm they made it difficult to open the box. Hopefully those two posted locations are available 24/7 to get the key. Pipes PerhapsWhat are those short tubular objects stacked up along the street in three places? [Portents of an impending water main or sewer line project perhaps? -tterrace] Bit of a remodel, since.The gate is still useful, though. [More than a remodel; the building stood between 1894-1913; the gate was saved and reused. -tterrace] Anti-False Alarm Device?There were at least two patented systems to discourage false alarms via telegraph boxes. The earlier system required the person turning in the alarm to reach up through a hole in the bottom of the box to reach the trigger. When triggered, the box would handcuff you so that you could not run away before the FD arrived. This early system was soon found to discourage people from turning in real alarms. Who would want to be handcuffed to a pole in front of a burning building? The later system dispensed a single, portable handcuff onto the citizen's wrist - s/he could flee danger, but had to report to the F.D. to get the cuff unlocked from his/her wrist. Perhaps some Shorpy Sleuth can research whether either of these concepts was deployed in New Haven. If not, I can't imagine how frustrating it would be to have to hunt down a key while my home burned! A Master BoxI worked on a Gamewell municipal alarm system back in the 1980s. That system is now just history and I am retired and, thankfully, not yet just history. Institutions frequently had boxes inside buildings that controlled a remote but nearby "Master" box, which I am guessing is what we have here. Inside the Master box was a code-wheel, a small wheel with teeth that interrupted a direct current circuit connected to a central alarm office with a pattern corresponding to the Master's number, in this case, 28. The code wheel was turned by a spring-driven mechanism, used because a spring did not need electrical power to run. The mechanism was held in a locked position by a pin. When a user activated a box inside the building, a local direct-current circuit activated a relay inside the Master box that pulled the pin from the locking position, permitting the code-wheel to turn and tap out its number on the central alarm office circuit. The Master typically transmitted its code three times, and then the locking pin was pushed back into the mechanism. When firefighters had finished their job they'd unlock the Master Box and rewind the spring to prepare it for its next use. It's just amazingThe stuff you learn here on Shorpy. (The Gallery, DPC)
Young Pioneers: 1940
... and the girl hoisting herself out of the water on the pipe ladder apparatus, the water leaping to her feet. (And the amount of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2018 - 6:39pm -

May 1940. "Youngsters in the swimming pool at the desert dude ranch at Coolidge, Arizona." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the FSA. View full size. Roof Diving!Not recommended unless you're a daredevil. Boys will be boys!How much ya wanna bet those boys on the roof are gonna jump from there into the pool? Pretty fit groupExcept for the kid on the diving board, not much body fat among this crew. Physical FitnessAmazing how fit and trim looking are the young men in the picture. A matter of perspective.The first thing I wondered when I saw the photo was why they were on the poolhouse roof. Looking closely, it appears they would have to take a running leap and sail over a lot of concrete to make it to the pool. I'm STILL wondering why they were on the poolhouse roof. Stop motionThree beautiful frozen moments of action: the boy at the back of the roof with his foot in the air; the sideways arc off the diving board; and the girl hoisting herself out of the water on the pipe ladder apparatus, the water leaping to her feet. (And the amount of concrete to be covered by a flying leap from the roof? Look at the distance from the base of the pole under the boy at the corner edge. Four feet, tops?) What the heck is he doing?Did anyone else notice the boy directly behind the mid-air diver. It looks like he's getting ready to jump off the back side of the pool house. Another pool? ...A trampoline? [Look for his left foot. He's stepping onto the top section of the roof. - Dave] (The Gallery, Russell Lee, Swimming)
Tales of Tarrytown: 1913
... was the home of F. J. Kaldenberg, the first meerschaum pipe manufacturer in the U. S. He died the year before this photo was taken. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/04/2014 - 11:27pm -

Circa 1913. "Main Street -- Tarrytown, New York." Let's meet on the wicked side of the street. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Trashy photoOne thing that I find especially interesting about these vintage street scenes is how much litter you see on the street. Pretty much every one posted on Shorpy shows lots of garbage scattered around. I dunno, I guess I assumed that people in the olden days were tidier than they really were. None of these buildings exist nowThe part of Tarrytown's Main Street in this photo has been changed extensively. The street at right was Bird Avenue in 1913. The train station was a short distance away on that street. Train tracks were no more than 25 feet behind the photographer. Bird is now called Depot Plaza. The cross street in the center foreground was Orchard Street. It's now River Plaza on the left and Franklin Street on the right. The farthest street on the left is Cottage Place, which is still there. The large house atop the hill on Cottage Place was the home of F. J. Kaldenberg, the first meerschaum pipe manufacturer in the U. S. He died the year before this photo was taken. Tarrytown's business district now begins a couple of blocks beyond Cottage Place. Pepsin Gum ReduxThere's that Pepsin Gum dispenser again, this time nailed to a power pole on the corner. We've seen it before, but I can't recall where! You Scream, I ScreamWe all Scream for Ice Cream. Jacob Fussell is reputed to be the man who opened the first commercial Ice Cream Plant. This was in 1851 at 180 North Exeter Street in Baltimore. The Good Humor Man and Mr Softee showed up much later. Wilbur's Sweet Clover ChocolateA four-column vending machine with pepsin gum in two columns and chocolate in two columns. (The Gallery, DPC, Eateries & Bars, Stores & Markets)
Tin and Bones: 1920
... Muffler Bearing I believe the muffler and header pipe are seen rather than a driveshaft center support bearing as mentioned by ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/13/2015 - 4:18am -

San Francisco, 1920. "Atterbury truck at City Hall." Looking somewhat skeletal if you ask us. 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. Muffler BearingI believe the muffler and header pipe are seen rather than a driveshaft center support bearing as mentioned by Born40YearsTooLate. The muffler is being supported on the street side frame rail by hangers from the two sets of four rivets and therefore hiding most of the forward portion of driveshaft. Atterbury Plant BuffaloHere's a snip from Palmer's Views of Buffalo Past and Present, copyright 1911 Unusual driveThe differential at the rear axle is oriented so that the pinion runs vertically, with another type of gear setup (bevel gears?) transferring the horizontal rotation of the driveshaft to the vertical rotation of the pinion. It's overly complicated, but improves the ground clearance under the driveshaft. They also use a very interesting center support for the driveshaft. This looks like it could be the three-and-a-half-ton model (Model 7D). In 1919 they were priced at $3875 for the standard length chassis, or $3975 for the "long chassis". Atterbury trucks were built in Buffalo, New York. Let Our Experts HelpYour local distributor (from the San Francisco Chronicle February 1, 1920): DifferentialThe gearing in the differential is a worm screw drive. A very compact system for high wheel torque but the downside was the fact that the vehicle didn't 'coast' well and was difficult to move if the engine wasn't running and the back wheels were on the ground. Cab & ChassisIndeed it is 'skeletal'. This is a "Cab & Chassis". They are sold to companies that will add a box, flatbed, tank or whatever to it and then put it on the retail market. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
Local Characters: 1938
... the woman. I failed to find the right "Drysmoke" tobacco pipe stand, the same for the "Sun Glasses" stand with the "hanging" sun ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/27/2017 - 11:43am -

July 1938. "Neighborhood boys. Housing conditions in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. Home of the American Bridge Company." Medium format negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. What is, what wasLooks as though the bakery (at 265) is long gone, but there's now a fish market at 263. As for the faded wall signage on the grocery store, it's been there so long that nobody needs reminding as to the nature of the enterprise. Nice selection of non-edible smalls in the display window under the awning! Where the boys areGood grief. This neighborhood seriously needs some girls. Marketing 101Love the tag line on the Jeri's hair tonic ad... 'There is romance in the hair'! Curious wiresOnly coming out of one window, shortwave radio antenna? Radio antennaTo anwser dat hippie's question- even domestic radios of the 1920s-30s needed external antennas to hear anything beyond a few local stations. I notice many of them in Shorpy photos of that era. As a boy in the 1950s I saw some on older houses before they were removed and replaced with antennas for that new thing called television. R-J: with real Root JuicesSome of the signs around 1938, seen here, seem to have been rather rare. The "Drink Coca-Cola Ice Cold" I could finally find with the more or less "right" bottle, the barber shop signs like this one are also rare. The "Chew Mail Pouch" I only found with the addition of "Tobacco", without that you were also recommended to smoke. I was happy to find the Coca-Cola thermometer, as well as the Royal Crown billboard. The Jerris ad I found is from the fifties, when the man found himself more closely attracted to the woman. I failed to find the right "Drysmoke" tobacco pipe stand, the same for the "Sun Glasses" stand with the "hanging" sun glasses. (The Gallery, Ambridge, Arthur Rothstein, Kids, Stores & Markets)
Work, Read, Wash: 1943
... illegal now, as it can siphon the trap dry. The vent pipe connection must be only a foot or so below the sink, with the "J Trap" in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2016 - 8:13pm -

March 1943. Barstow, California. "Railroad worker in the washroom of the reading room in the Santa Fe yard." Medium-format negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Santa Fe Depot and Reading RoomOh, the Santa Fe reading room. not the Reading Railroad reading room. The Santa Fe Reading Rooms were hotelish facilities for engineers and employees on break between runs. The Waynoka, Oklahoma, Depot and Reading Room: https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/aviation/sfe.htm SpittoonThese had to be high on my list of disgusting things seen in my childhood. Never envied the people who had to clean them or around them. WaynokaI have never been to the Barstow area but I have been to the Waynoka Santa Fe depot. It was several years ago that my sister, a friend, and I , mainly, went to eat at the Harvey House Restaurant there. At the time, I had no idea that Waynoka had played such a role in the history of transportation. The restored depot and the restaurant were very interesting and well worth the trip if you are in the area. As an occasional home plumberI have to admire the sheer, brutal functionality of the plumbing; not only is it designed not to clog, but if it does clog it's designed to be unclogged easily. And you can get at the feed lines and cutoff valves, too. Mystery fixtureCan anyone identify the fluted ceramic column at far right, raised up off the floor? Pedestal sink, drinking fountain? Fluted ColumnI'll say that the fancy tile on the right is the edge of a floor length men's urinary convenience. The concrete step probably holds the shallow basin at its base. That mystery fixtureI encountered a row of these frightening floor length fixtures many years ago in a historic hotel, I believe in Wellsville W.Va, or thereabouts. Not just similar, but apparently identical. Each unit includes 1 column, and there is an extra column tacked on at the free end. There is a separate cap at the top. Our ancestors sure had a taste for the grandiose in bathroom fixtures. As for the sink, this "S Trap" drain configuration far below the sink is generally illegal now, as it can siphon the trap dry. The vent pipe connection must be only a foot or so below the sink, with the "J Trap" in between. We ate a fine lunch in the grand dining room, but did not stay. I looked on Google Earth and didn't find the hotel, may not have survived. At the time, it was in the guidebook of historic hotels, along with such places as the wonderful Lafayette in Marietta OH. I may have pix somewhere, but probably wouldn't want to post them. (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Railroads)
High Water: 1900
... This is called a standpipe. It is basically a large pipe stood on its end. It provides some water storage volume but is mainly used ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 2:12pm -

Circa 1900. "Water tower in Dwight, Illinois." Unusual columnar design with a brick base, topped off by a weather vane and lights -- a sort of smokestack-lighthouse-watertower hybrid. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Pressure would be higherIt would be higher pressure because the pressure depends upon the weight of all the water above the output area. Although the volume of water could be the same as a short fat tank, the depth would be less in a short fat tank, hence a smaller amount of water above the output. A tale of two cylindersI am no expert on water-pressure physics, but it seems like a "tall" column-style tank like this would give more water pressure than a shorter, fatter cylinder of the same volume. Or is that just misleading intuitive thinking? The weight of the water would be the same, after all. [I think your hunch is correct. The weight of the water over the drain (or water pressure, expressed as weight divided by area, for example pounds per square inch) would be greater in a tall, relatively thin (columnar) cylinder. - Dave] Tower for SaleThere's a similar brick water tower (minus the tank) for sale in Raleigh, NC. Built in 1887, it's on the National Register. Yours for a cool $685,000. What is that upside down funnel thingLooks to be hanging from the wires. [It's a carbon-arc lamp. - Dave] Also for those not used to such things, that farm implement at the base of the water tower is a mower. Could be used for hay, or wheat or just grass. Used my grandpa's many a time back in the '60s. Big towerThe Fostoria, Ohio, water plant still has a base, made of stone, but the upper part is gone. It too was similar, but the water was not potable, rather only for fire suppression. Old photos show the tower was taller than the base. StandpipeThis is called a standpipe. It is basically a large pipe stood on its end. It provides some water storage volume but is mainly used to increase the pressure in the water system without having to constantly run a pump. (The Gallery, DPC)
Chinese Opera House: 1908
... by one that's shorter. Comparing the bottom of that sewer pipe, I'd say the street has gotten thicker. (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, NYC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/19/2012 - 3:15pm -

New York, 1908. "The Chinese Opera House." 5-7 Doyers Street. 8x10 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress. View full size. Gritty TextureFans of gritty texture and realer-than-real detail should immediately go to the large view. Great study. [Also note the two women in the window. - Dave] Chinese Opera HouseThis is 5 Doyers Street between the Bowery and Pell Street, right along the Bloody Angle. Here’s a current view of the site. 5-7 Doyers, the former Opera House, is now CC Fashion. Click to enlarge. [Fascinating. A hundred years later the bottom section of that cast-iron drainpipe is still there. - Dave] Street, meet sidewalkLooks like either the street has grown taller over the years or the sidewalk has been replaced by one that's shorter. Comparing the bottom of that sewer pipe, I'd say the street has gotten thicker. (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, NYC)
The Old Bus: 1937
... prairie winds. And yeah, I'd bet didn't have a stove or a pipe. Thanks for a look at a vehicle I'd never heard of--a horse-drawn ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/31/2013 - 10:33am -

October 1937. "Old school bus. Williams County, North Dakota." Medium-format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. School's WagonNo question about it that this passenger wagon was owned by a school district. But I have to wonder if our concept of a school bus (stops in a string of places and takes groups of waiting children who live too far to walk, to their school) even existed in the horse drawn days. I have seen some pretty quick Amish horse carts trotting down the road (with retired race horses pulling them) in Indiana. But even so, those kids would have to get up pretty early in the morning if this thing went from one rural driveway to another, pulled only by a horse. KudosWonderful photograph! Very ingeniousI wonder if it was painted yellow... Looks like it was converted to a small dwelling of sorts (I doubt that chimney was part of the standard equipment offered in the Studebaker Brothers brochure of the early 1900s). I can see the windows were boarded up, but, with some imagination, you can see the general arrangement it once had: a long horse drawn wagon very similar to the classic Conestogas, but with flat sides and a roof. Probably it had a few seats, and no window glass at all. By the way, that would have been a very good antecedent for the original wood-bodied "station wagons". Ingenious, simple, practical, and an use for a horse drawn carriage I never imagined. Grand old lady of a busIf you look carefully you can see the faded label that clearly says in part __HOOLS. No doubt the county school system. But the windows aren't boarded up at all, looks like. Those boarded sides have hinges at the top, by the roof. The label was painted on those boards, so likely that's how the bus was when it was used. Probably the hinged sides could be propped open in warm weather. It is actually papered over outside with cardboard from boxes (half of the door covered over), probably to keep out the cold prairie winds. And yeah, I'd bet didn't have a stove or a pipe. Thanks for a look at a vehicle I'd never heard of--a horse-drawn schoolbus. Court decisionWell, one thing we know is that the driver didn't get paid when schools were closed by a flu epidemic. (The Gallery, Rural America, Russell Lee)
Diapers Online: 1941
... getting sick from this siding on one's house. Asbestos pipe insulation on the other hand is nasty and a whole other story. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/18/2012 - 2:20pm -

October 1941. "Defense worker's home on Carson Street. Sunset Village, Radford, Virginia. Farm Security Administration project." Where it looks like laundry day. Medium-format nitrate negative by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size. Nature's fabric softenerThat stiff breeze should help soften those diapers, for that little one! Baby good, siding bad.There it is again. The evil asbestos siding. We had it on the house I grew up in in the 50s, along with leaded paint. To add to my peril our old Chevy had no seat belts, and I must have rode my bike hundreds of miles without a helmet. Dangerous times no doubt. Colors tomorrowLooks like the little guy found the mud. Job security for Mom on the laundry front. The Horror, The HorrorLovely white diapers blowing in the sunlit breeze. But as someone who raised their children before the days of disposable diapers, I know that somewhere in that house was...wait for it...a diaper pail and a mother with chapped hands. re: SidingNot a thing wrong with the asbestos laden siding or roof materials of that age. As long as you do not grind/cut into it and create dust particles you're OK. Not one documented case of anyone getting sick from this siding on one's house. Asbestos pipe insulation on the other hand is nasty and a whole other story. Clothespin bags and fresh air smellsYes, the laundry was a laborious, all day job in 1941 but if you are old enough to remember the clean, outdoorsy fragrance of a bed made with air-dried, newly-washed sheets, it made you quickly float off to peaceful slumber without sleeping pills (unless you lived in the dust bowl). (The Gallery, Kids, M.P. Wolcott)
Santa Claus Time: 1921
... Aeolian's success with its Pianola player piano and pipe organs. It is interesting that this shop is selling the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 11:53pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1921. "McHugh & Lawson window." This holiday season, the high-tech must-haves are "talking machines" and player pianos. Nestled on snow of cotton batting, a display of phonograph records and player-piano rolls. "Santa Claus Time" is, the placard says, "A Descriptive Word Roll of Christmas for Young and Old." National Photo Co. Collection glass negative. View full size. Aeolian Model HThe phonograph in the window display is an Aeolian Vocalion Model H, which sold for $150 at the time. Aeolian was a piano manufacturer that entered the phonograph market in 1915 upon the expiration of the Victor Talking Machine patents. The Aeolian-Vocalion phonograph (don't call it a Victrola, or the trademark police will be after you) was well made and had interesting features including a cable-operated remote control for the volume, but the brand never became very popular. This was a little surprising considering Aeolian's success with its Pianola player piano and pipe organs. It is interesting that this shop is selling the Aeolian-Vocalion phonograph and Vocalion records (in the snow drift), but does not appear to sell Aeolian pianos according to the sign on the window. The card partially visible to the left of the phonograph appears to be describing the latest "Edison Records", so the shop dealt in the products from many manufacturers. Crank 'er up!My brother bought one of those Victrolas for $10 in 1968 and sold it for $100 in 1978. It came with a full rack of records, including "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers," "Roamin' in the Gloaming" and several from a vocalist whose name I misheard as "Al McGluck". I could never figure out why his voice was so high. Truth in AdvertisingThe sign says QRS player rolls are better. I have about sixty or so of them - many from around this time and some newer - but the QRS rolls still play like a charm. Vocalion 78sI've got several dozen of those 20s era Vocalion 78s in my collection, including the original version of "Man of Constant Sorrow" by Emry Arthur. They've all held up quite well over the years and sound incredible considering they're almost 100 years old now. (The Gallery, Christmas, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
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