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Selznick Pictures: 1920
January 1920. Washington, D.C. "Selznick front, Thirteenth Street N.W." National Photo ... her shopping there many times while I was growing up near DC. I'd have to wait around endlessly while she tried on dresses, but at least ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 11:59pm -

January 1920. Washington, D.C. "Selznick front, Thirteenth Street N.W." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Hepner's Hair EmporiumWilliam Hepner: "the acknowledged leader in the Art of Hair Dressing in America." The Washington salons of Hepner's Hair Emporium opened Jan 9, 1911. An image of the original New York establishment of William Hepner's hair and skin salon was previously seen in this 1912 Shorpy Photo. Advertisement, Washington Post, Nov 5, 1913 New York       Washington       Atlantic City Special Display of the Latest Coiffeur Effects by William Hepner We are now showing in our windows a special display of the very latest coiffeurs, by William Hepner, the acknowledged leader in the Art of Hair Dressing in America. Every woman in Washington who keeps abreast of Fashion should see these new coiffeurs. Highest Quality Hair Goods All our hair goods are made from the finest quality of human hair, personally selected. Our experts make up the most attractive pieces, under the most sanitary conditions. Our great stock makes it possible for us to exactly match any shade of hair. We Offer Ideal Service in Scalp Treatment, Shampooing, Hair Dressing, Massage and Manicuring Here in our luxurious parlor, daft and cheerful workers, trained in our New York establishment, are ready to serve you. Special service in your own home when desired. Toupees made to order and fitted by experts. Hepner's Hair Emporium 525 13th St. 2 Doors Below F Select Pictures CorpSelect Pictures Corporation was not a happy place. It was created after future Paramount boss Adolph Zukor quietly bought half of Lewis Selznick's silent film company. Zukor apparently insisted on the title change, because he didn't want Selznick's name included. Zukor, however, cared more about his other film companies than for any Selznick, and in the production glut of 1923 let Select Pictures and Selznick go bankrupt. But Lewis's two college-age sons (Myron and David O.) learned. David of course would become a mogul to rival Zukor, while Myron, as talent agent, would avenge Zukor's treatment of their father. If you could run the interior shots of this business in the LOC's archive, it might be possible to tell if one of the workers was an 18-year-old David O. [I doubt any actual Selznicks worked here. - Dave] Who you gonna call?There seems to be a trans-dimensional portal forming around those two centre buildings. Tragedy awaitsThe actress Olive Thomas was soon to marry Mary Pickfords brother; and while on a trip to Paris with him died under mysterious circumstances. He was implicated in her death for a short time, but the truth of what happened has never been fully explained. Julius Garfinkle and Co. (Washingson~Paris)The company was established in 1905 and, by the 1930s, was the most fashionable ladies' store in Washington. The store was still in existence in the 1970s. They were located on the SE corner of F and 13th NW Streets. Quite a few dresses and accessories with the store label show up on EBay. Garfinkle's demiseI've always thought that the reason the store eventually went under is to be explained in an incident from my childhood. Once -- I must have been 2 or 3 -- my mother took me with her when she went shopping there. One of the salesladies commented on what a handsome grandson she had. My mother never set foot in the place again. Julius GarfinckelThe most interesting thing to me in this picture is the spelling of "Julius Garfinkle." At some time during his life, the great Washington retailer changed the spelling of his name from Garfinkle to Garfinckel. The store was always known as Garfinckel's during my lifetime. The flagship downtown store moved from 13th and F to the northwest corner of 14th and F in 1929. The building now houses offices and street-level retail. I give up.At first, I merely thought it was something wrong with the film. Then, I looked at the picture full size and realized that they were on display in not just one, but both of Garfinkle windows. They look like a bunch of haunted handkerchiefs that have come to life, and are saying "Boo" to all passing pedestrians. [Mold on the emulsion is responsible for the clothing display's alarming appearance. - Dave] Daft WorkersIn the Hepner's ad below it states "Here in our luxurious parlor, daft and cheerful workers" -- I believe the word should have been deft, not daft. Can you imagine a customer requesting one of Hepner's most daft workers to work on her hair? Garfinkle'sMy mother worked at Garfinkle's in the 1930s, and I remember her shopping there many times while I was growing up near DC. I'd have to wait around endlessly while she tried on dresses, but at least we ate lunch at the Hot Shoppe on 14th St, and went to the matinee at the Capitol or the Trans-Lux. Select PicturesThis was, according to news items in the old Washington Star, a booking and exhibitor relations office for the various movie theaters in the mid-Atlantic region. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Movies, Natl Photo)
Whitened Washington: 1918
Washington, D.C., circa 1918. "Pennsylvania Avenue with snow." Everyone grab a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2012 - 5:30pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1918. "Pennsylvania Avenue with snow." Everyone grab a shovel and start digging! Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size. Deeper Than That TodayGood choice of photos for today, but that's nothing compared with what we are having today. Even the above ground sections of Metro rail shut down this afternoon because the snow was above the third rail. The trolleys in the photo were powered from a "plow" that contacted a hot rail in a slot under the street between the rails. They had problems in snow and ice, too. Heck, that's nothinYou shoulda been here for the blizzard of '09! (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Streetcars)
Let George Do It: 1942
... Hawaii. He continued as a cartographer with the Corps in Washington, D.C., from 1945 to 1979, when he retired. He moved from ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/28/2023 - 2:48pm -

September 1942. Fort Belvoir, Virginia. "Army Sgt. George Camplair on kitchen police duty." Last seen here, 10 years ago. Photo by Jack Delano, Office of War Information. View full size. Door Color ConventionsWould they have painted the area around the handle which also extends to the trim for avoiding dirty handprints, or is there another reason for doing that? Low light contrast for the 0300 KP arrivals, maybe? For crying out loudA sergeant peeling onions? Must have been as rare then as it has been during my time in another army. Well, at least now I know what "kitchen police duty" means. The Life of GeorgeFrom www.findagrave.com https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/71018696/george-hans-camplair George Hans Camplair BIRTH 27 Jun 1919 Berlin, Germany DEATH 2 Dec 1999 (aged 80) McMinnville, Yamhill County, Oregon, USA News-Register, McMinnville, Oregon, December 4, 1999 A memorial service for George Hans Camplair of McMinnville will be held at 11 a.m. Monday in Trinity Lutheran Church, McMinnville. Mr. Camplair died Dec. 2, 1999, in Willamette Valley Medical Center, McMinnville. He was 80. He was born June 27, 1919, in Berlin, Germany. He and Mary Jane McNutt were married in 1946. He worked with the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II in Africa and Hawaii. He continued as a cartographer with the Corps in Washington, D.C., from 1945 to 1979, when he retired. He moved from Virginia to Portland in 1993 and had lived in McMinnville since 1994. Mr. Camplair was named Volunteer of the Year in 1998 by the Oregon Alliance of Senior and Health Services. He had worked as a volunteer for Meals on Wheels, Loaves and Fishes and the McMinnville chapter of Habitat for Humanity. He was a master gardener and worked many hours on landscaping projects as a member of the garden committee at Hillside Manor, McMinnville. He was a hike leader for McMinnville Senior Center. He belonged to Trinity Lutheran Church. Survivors include two sons, Christopher Camplair of Portland and George M. Camplair of Nashville, Tenn.; a daughter, Nancy Phelps of Portland; and eight grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife in 1981; and a brother, Peter Camplair, in 1971. Memorial contributions may be made to Habitat for Humanity, McMinnville Chapter, 342 N.E. Third St., McMinnville, OR 97128. Arrangements are under the direction of Heritage Memorial, Portland. Who wore the apron in this family ?Sgt. Camplair (1919-1999) eventually made it out of the kitchen and got married in 1946: On a side note, it can be pointed out that as the family had actually emigrated from Germany - George was born in Berlin - fate might well have found him in another kitchen, peeling Zwiebeln for the Wehrmacht. SurpriseI do wonder that an NCO gets this kind of KP duty. Are there no privates? Peeling potatoesWhy bother doing it at all? I grew up in a household that peeled potatoes and carrots, but now I peel neither. I just wash them first, then move on to the rest of the prep without peeling. Even for mashed potatoes. There are nutrients and roughage in those skins – why waste time and food removing and tossing them? [Those are onions in the photo! - Dave] More on doorsI suspect Eventerguy is correct; I've seen similar black-painted areas on doors in other military structures, like these doors at Camp Reynolds on Angel Island. Makes me wonder if this was a standard military practice for high-traffic doors, or if each army post came up with the idea on their own. KP duty? I was this many years old when I learned KP duty was "kitchen police" and not "kitchen patrol" duty! Let George do it?Doesn't look like Bob Bailey to me. Probably very few would get that reference. TimelineThanks to Rochester for researching George Camplair's history. It really adds weight to an image to know a little more about the people in it. Interesting he was born in Berlin but was ultimately in the US Army. Not that was necessarily unusual, but worthy to note. Thanks also to Notcom for the 1946 news story on George's wedding to Mary McNutt. Probably the girl shown in the 'Sarge At Large' photo 10/20/23 (1942) (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Kitchens etc., WW2)
Verified Lubrication: 1939
1939. "Service station in Washington, D.C." Continuing today's Essorama. 35mm nitrate negative by David ... his first restaurant, the “Sea Grill”, in downtown Washington, D.C. at 1207 E Street, N.W. in 1922." Molasses in January I ... Heurich bought a great deal of land in Washington, DC and to this day various members of the family hold real estate throughout ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/27/2013 - 6:06pm -

1939. "Service station in Washington, D.C." Continuing today's Essorama. 35mm nitrate negative by David Myers. View full size. Sardine parkingMy assumption is that the customers did not park their own cars (just imagine what that would have been like), but that attendants jockeyed them around in order to cram as many in as possible. They would by management decree therefore be mindful of not dinging adjoining doors. UnexcelledI come for the parking, but I stay for the greasing! Something bigSeems to me most of those cars are jammed in there because something's going on nearby. The two women with the bags to the right of the pump jockies appear to be wrapping up a shopping trip. That 25 cents parking fee is a little over four bucks today. I parked on Wisconsin Avenue in D.C. a few weeks ago and it was a lot more than that! Looks Like a Toy From this AngleLooks like one of those tin lithograph service station toys with a really fabulous collection of toy cars. I want one. Door DingsImagine the door divots those big old swinging slabs of steel could make. My wife complains because I park the ol' Ford at the back of the Piggly Wiggly parking lot to avoid door dings from suburbanites in SUVs. She's in a snit because she has to walk a few extra yards to get her hummus and meatless meatballs or whatever nonsense she's feeding me these days. O'Donnell's Sea GrillFrom their website, "The O’Donnell’s story began over three quarter centuries ago when Tom O’Donnell opened his first restaurant, the “Sea Grill”, in downtown Washington, D.C. at 1207 E Street, N.W. in 1922." Molasses in JanuaryI wonder if those seven oil pump dispensers between the gas pumps are there year-round? I'd hate to be the grease monkey who has to pump four quarts of 90-weight when the temperature dips into the single digits as it can do in D.C.! As the saying goes, Slower 'n molasses in January! The location today and about that beerView Larger Map Also Senate Beer was brewed on land that now is part of the Kennedy Center and includes the Watergate Complex. Yeah that Watergate. Parking 25 centsGetting your car out from the back row -- $10!!! OnceI went to a filling station that didn't verify I was lubed properly -- once. Amazing how new all those cars areThe oldest one I see is the '30-'31 Ford. Rumble seat eraI suspect a few of these cars would have had rumble seats, probably the roadsters and coupes, because that would have been the likely time period. My older cousin had a hot rod about this vintage in which he would often take my sibs and me for a ride and that exterior seat was great fun for youngsters (up and down the very steepest hills of Ct.) although it probably wasn't so safe. Senate Beer & AleSenate was brewed in D.C. since the Civil War by the Christian Heurich Brewing Company. They survived Prohibition, but not their big national competitors like Pabst, Schlitz and Budweiser. They closed their doors in 1956. A rare early Esso signthat neon sign with the older type lettering is a real collectors item today. Verified LubricationYou know a joint is on the up and up if they verify the lubrication. It almost makes me want to go back in time to 1930s D.C. to find out exactly what that means. Verified lubricationis when you pump so much lube into the fitting that the boot ruptures and grease leaks down on the floor. Verified means . . . According to an ad in a 1951 edition of the Biloxi Daily Herald, "Standard VERIFIED Lubrication is a thorough, scientific lubrication procedure that gets the RIGHT amount of the RIGHT lubricant at the RIGHT place." It is "more than a 'grease job.'" Presumably, it also involves somebody verifying something, although you can't see that from the advertising copy. Suicide doors everywhere!It's amazing how many of the cars in this picture have rear-hinged "suicide doors" - not just for the rear doors of four-door sedans, but also the two-door coupe in front of the small hut. Two-door coupeThe two-door coupe in front of the small hut is a 1935 Chevrolet Master Coupe. 1935 was the only year that Chevrolets had rear hinged front doors, and it was only on the Master series. The Standard model had conventional front hinged doors and the styling was almost identical the 1934 models. The Masters had the front grille of the '34s and the body resembled the 1936s. Washington Garage Filling Station Washington Post, September 24, 1933. Washington Garage Firm Acquires Holdings. Washington Garage Parking Service is increasing its downtown parking space in the block bounded by Pennsylvania avenue, Twelfth, Thirteenth, and E streets northwest. It has leased for an indefinite period from C. Heurich, jr., Realty Co., 23,000 square feet of property in the block with frontages of 170 feet on Pennsylvania avenue and about 30 on Twelfth street. … The additional leases, according to company officials, will give it the largest parking lot in the South. They will continue to operate the garage service which caters to downtown hotel business. The company also operates a standard automobile service station at Twelfth and E streets northwest. C. Heurich, jr., Realty Co.That probably explains the Senate Beer billboard. Christian Heurich bought a great deal of land in Washington, DC and to this day various members of the family hold real estate throughout the city. Incidentally, his grandson Gary brought the brand back in the 80's as a microbrew. I still have a 6-pack. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., David Myers, Gas Stations)
Our Man in Washington: 1921
1921. The Edwards boy with Will Hays in Washington. View full size. 5x4 glass negative, National Photo Company Collection. Footwear Spats look cool. Hollywood Hays When this photo was taken, Will Hays was about to take of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 11:42am -

1921. The Edwards boy with Will Hays in Washington. View full size. 5x4 glass negative, National Photo Company Collection. FootwearSpats look cool. Hollywood HaysWhen this photo was taken, Will Hays was about to take office as postmaster general after having helped Warren Harding get elected president. The next year he began working with Hollywood to clean up the immorality in movies. His Hays Code was powerful enough to keep on-screen married couples in separate beds for the next 30 years. Even our movies that are rated "G" today wouldn't have made it past Hays! The CodeHays was appointed head of the Motion Picture Producers and Distrbutors Association in 1922. However he really didn't have a code to enforce at that time, just his pledge to "clean up pictures" and the supposed support of the studios. In truth he wasn't too successful at it. For one thing there was no real provision for enforcement. A formal written code was agreed to by 1930, but again there was no provision for enforcement, and Hays has been described as "fairly mild-mannered and easily persuaded and manipulated," which in a town full of master manipulators is not a good thing. Eventually, under pressure from groups like the Catholic Legion of Decency, an amendment to the Production Code was brought in effective July 1, 1934, requiring every film to have a certificate from the MPDA (later the Motion Picture Association of America) indicating that it met the requirements of the code. The movie codeFilm historians note that "the code" really didn't have much effect until 1934. I wonder what Hays was doing on that job in the 12 years up to then? (The Gallery, D.C., Kids, Movies, Natl Photo, Public Figures)
Welcome to Washington: 1913
... He caught pneumonia during the visit and died. Washington, D.C., ca. 1913. "Hollow Horn Bear." Whose visage graced five-dollar ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/27/2019 - 3:23pm -

        In 1913, the Sioux chief Hollow Horn Bear led a delegation of Indians to the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson. He caught pneumonia during the visit and died. Washington, D.C., ca. 1913. "Hollow Horn Bear." Whose visage graced five-dollar bills and 14-cent postage stamps, and whose companion's figure has been whittled down by Harris & Ewing's retouchers. 8x10 glass negative. View full size. 14-centerScan of the copy in my collection. Scott#565, issued May 1, 1923. Silver CertificateThe 1899 $5 Silver Certificate featured Hunkpapa Chief Running Antelope, who died about 16 years before this photo was taken. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Native Americans, Portraits)
The Fall of Washington: 1935
... "These two 150-foot-tall brick smokestacks on the Mall in Washington, D.C., were considered an eyesore and ordered demolished. The closer ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/09/2014 - 5:17am -

Sept. 17, 1935. "These two 150-foot-tall brick smokestacks on the Mall in Washington, D.C., were considered an eyesore and ordered demolished. The closer stack fell shortly after the far one toppled. They were erected when a central heating plant occupied the site." Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size. Holy smoke!Was there a fire in that far stack when they toppled it? [My guess: dust being forced up the chimney by the force of its collapse? -tterrace] Must have been in a hurryThey didn't even wait for it to stop smoking. Physics in actionNote the crack forming 1/3 way up the falling stack. An interesting fact of physics is that all debris from a non-monolithic falling structure will land within a distance 2/3 of its height. It's probably smokeThey may have used fire to bring them down. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L1WOnR2KBY (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing)
The Upper Hand: 1919
1919. "Ralph E. Madsen, the tall cowboy, shaking hands with Senator Morris Sheppard at Capitol." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Perpendicularity Washington Post, Aug 13, 1919 Texas Gi ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/22/2012 - 9:32pm -

1919. "Ralph E. Madsen, the tall cowboy, shaking hands with Senator Morris Sheppard at Capitol." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Perpendicularity Washington Post, Aug 13, 1919 Texas Giant in Washington R.E. Madsen, 7 feet 7 inches, Counter Attraction to Marines. R.E. Madsen, of Ranger Texas, came to Washington yesterday to see the Marines parade. He tried to join the Leathernecks once and the recruiting officer looked at his 7 feet 7 inches of perpendicularity and said he was too good a target. So he thought he would anyway get first hand information on how ferocious a brigade or two of Marines look, by coming to Washington. In front of the White House a woman fainted during the parade. Madsen picked her up and took her out of the crowd. When she regained consciousness she looked at the tall cowpuncher and fainted again. Madsen is perhaps the tallest man in the world and is still growing. He is only 22 years old and was a cowpuncher in Ranger country. Since the discover of oil there has not been much punching to do, so Madsen decided to come east with his friend, Sam Houston, of Amarillo, Texas, and see the sights. Bygone ComicsThis photo made me think of an oldtime (and possibly politically incorrect) comic of my youth titled "Mutt and Jeff," about two close friends, one of whom was exceedingly tall and the other exceedingly small and their zany antics. And then came to mind the nursery rhyme about "Fat and Skinny" who had a race, all around my pillow case, Fat fell down and broke his face and Skinny won the race." Harmless nonsense in the old days, forbidden and offensive today? Quite the short lifeRalph Madsen, born in Norfolk, Nebraska, died in 1948 at the young age of 51. He was billed in circus side shows as the world's tallest man and had a couple of nicknames: Sky High Madsen and High Bill Madsen. No bigger than a minuteMorris Sheppard, the senior senator from Texas, was in office from 1913 until his death in 1941. An ardent Prohibitionist, he was one of the authors of the Volstead Act, and remembered for his conviction that "there is as much chance of repealing the eighteenth amendment as there is for a hummingbird to fly to the planet Mars with the Washington Monument tied to its tail." And, Hence,the Texas expression: A long drink of water. Nothing has changed.It appears that even back in 1919 politicians were looking for any opportunity for a photo op. No pony for himHis horse must've been a helluva animal. Farkifiedhttp://www.fark.com/cgi/comments.pl?IDLink=4365981 Tall TexThat should be Ralph MADESEN, aka Texas Madesen, aka Sky High Madesen. Here is a link to his single IMDB credit: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534839/ ["Madsen" seems to be the preferred IMDB spelling. See link below. - Dave] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0535239 (The Gallery, Curiosities, D.C., Farked, Harris + Ewing, Politics)
Dorothy Parker: 1938
August 4, 1938. Washington, D.C. "Miss Dorothy Parker has been selected as Miss Washington and ... Charming photo. Not as nice as... That other Miss Washington, Marjorie Joesting. Not even close. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/27/2012 - 12:23pm -

August 4, 1938. Washington, D.C. "Miss Dorothy Parker has been selected as Miss Washington and will compete for the title of Miss America at the Atlantic City beauty pageant to be held during Labor Day week. 18 Years old, she weighs 112 pounds and is 5 feet, 4 inches in height. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. Albert Parker of Washington." Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size. JiltedThe 1938 Miss America crown went to tap dancer Marilyn Meseke of Marion, Ohio. Love the ShoesYup, she's all decked out to keep her head above water. You got me, Dave!I was expecting the Algonquin and what do we get but yet another lovely girl. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. High HeelsNothing like climbing a ladder while wearing high heels. I'm surprised the lifeguard didn't blow his whistle at her....or something like that! Zoom?Can you zoom on the guys on the high board? They appear VERY INTERESTED. Whew...That is a divine example of feminine pulchritude. SemanticsWith pictures like this, the term 'VIEW FULL SIZE' takes on a new and much more fascinating meaning. Charming photo. Not as nice as...That other Miss Washington, Marjorie Joesting. Not even close. https://www.shorpy.com/node/4282 Fashion notesShe still has the marks on her legs from her knee stockings. It could have been a more professional photo op! A different DotIndeed, I, too was expecting another Dorothy Parker -- "What fresh hell is this?" But this one's definitely a lot easier on the eyes. Miss Columbia Heights Washington Post, Aug 3, 1938 Dorothy Parker Captures City Beauty Crown "Miss Washington of 1938" Wins From Field of 17 Contestants. While the steamship Potomac steamed down the river on a moonlight cruise last night, Dorothy Parker, the former "Miss Columbia Heights," was named Miss Washington 1938 and won her chance to compete in the national beauty contest in Atlantic City. Miss Parker won from a final field of 17 girls selected in preliminary eliminations. She lives at 1228 Shepherd street northwest. Judges of the contest were Lyle O'Rourke, president of the Junior Board of Commerce and drama critics from Washington newspapers. A holiday crowd watched as the girls paraded in bathing suits and then in evening gowns. Others in the contest were Nadine Petrey, Betty Crown, Dale Simmons, Jeanette Tucker, Elizabeth McDonald, Betty Wax, Toni Mann, Betty Jean Smalley, Gere Dell Sale, Louise Emmerich, Beatrice Evert, Sylvia Berger, Dorothy Boston and Tempa Marshall. That Other Dorothy Men often make passes At swimsuited lasses. In Her PrimeThe other Dorothy wasn't bad looking. Plus she was witty, liked a good martini (maybe too much in terms of volume as well as frequency), and wasn't particularly bound by conventional morality. Get around the too much booze part and she'd probably be fun to hang around with. At least the Algonquin Round Table thought so (and they didn't mind the boozing). Flippers 1938 style!Those are not shoes! They are flippers or frog feet 1938 style. Better for walking on the Sea bottom. Really impresses the fish. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Pretty Girls, Swimming)
Washington, D.C.: 1904
Washington, D.C., circa 1904. "North from the Smithsonian Institution." ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 10:46am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1904. "North from the Smithsonian Institution." Landmarks include the Willard Hotel at left and Old Post Office tower. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Baltimore Sun BldgAlso visible, the Baltimore Sun Building (aka The American National Bank) with The Cairo behind that in the distance. Elsewhere on Shorpy, an aerial view of the same area. Then and nowThe striking thing is the gaggle of low-rise buildings where the Federal Triangle and the Smithsonian museums along Constitution Avenue are now. (The Gallery, D.C., DPC)
Washington Hotties: 1926
Washington, D.C., in the summer of 1926. "Hot weather, Rock Creek Park." ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 4:42pm -

Washington, D.C., in the summer of 1926. "Hot weather, Rock Creek Park." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Flash powder...Considering the flash bulb wouldn't be invented for another four years, this photo must have been taken with good ol' fashioned flash powder. In the middle of the woods during a heat wave seems like a great place to be setting off pyrotechnics, no? Flash powder...Or headlights. (The Gallery, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo)
Washington National: 1941
... The right (pilot's perspective) landing gear of this DC-3 rests on a six-foot diameter turntable after being guided to this spot by ... the landing gear supported by the turntable. When a DC-3 was thus parked, it was in the correct position to facilitate various ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/26/2014 - 1:23pm -

Arlington County, Va., circa 1941. "National Airport. Plane in front of passenger terminal and control tower." Photo by Theodor Horydczak. View full size. Eastern Airlines"The Great Silver Fleet" is the motto above the windows. State of the art relicsWhen Washington National Airport (DCA) opened in 1941, it offered state of the art aircraft servicing facilities, designed to reduce ramp congestion and shorten turnaround times. Visible in this photo are service pits built into the ramp apron, in proximity to the aircraft's respective service points. The right (pilot's perspective) landing gear of this DC-3 rests on a six-foot diameter turntable after being guided to this spot by pavement markings and a ground marshaller. This positioning allowed the aircraft to pivot (with the right wheel braked) for a smooth departure towards the taxiway, with minimal stress on the landing gear supported by the turntable. When a DC-3 was thus parked, it was in the correct position to facilitate various servicing requirements (fuel, oil, electrical, cooling air, and communications, which included a pneumatic tube for written messages between crew and operations agents). It was a good idea while it lasted, but the explosive growth of civil aviation in the post-war years, with attendant increase of aircraft types, rendered the system impractical, and in short order most servicing facilities were returned to mobile provision. In areas of the ramp that haven't been completely repaved over the decades, a couple of these abandoned relics are still identifiable by various access doors and turntable plates. Perhaps they were intentionally left in place in keeping with the terminal's status on the National Register of Historic Places. (The Gallery, Aviation, D.C., Theodor Horydczak)
Potomac Park: 1924
Washington, D.C., circa 1924. "Potomac Park Apartments, 21st and C Streets ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 4:14pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1924. "Potomac Park Apartments, 21st and C Streets N.W." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Foggy BottomJudging from topography, I am guessing that this photo was taken from across C Street with 21st the cross street to the right. If so, these buildings where the State Department is now. Today, Potomac Park Apartments are on 21st Street at F, primarily housing for George Washington University students. On the Edge of Washington's PlaygroundsBuilt 1923/1924, these units first served as housing but were quickly cannibalized by the federal government for office space of agencies such as housing and social service departments. Not sure when it was razed. Washington Post, Apr 13, 1924: advertisement Leases Are Now Ready For the Potomac Park Apartments 21st and C Streets on the edge of the playgrounds of Washington a new 8-story building of the most modern type Ready for Occupancy June 1st Very modernThe building on the right seems very modern with the huge skylight in the foyer. I'll bet that felt very light and airy compared to most entryways at the time. I like to picture it filled with plants. InsideI would love to see photos of the insides of these apartments, all rooms. I'm betting they were adorable. A space, a space!Seeing photos of D.C. like this makes me want to jump in my car and go grab a parking space, something virtually impossible to find now. Wonder if we'll ever see anything like this again. F StreetI believe these buildings are still there on F street between 20th and 21st. [As noted in the caption, the buildings are on C Street, at the site currently occupied by the State Department. The Mayfair and Potomac Park apartment buildings (labeled "C" and "D" in the 1939 newspaper photo below) were torn down decades ago after serving as annexes for the Defense Department and Social Security Board. - Dave] View Larger Map (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Parting Glances: 1920
Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "729 12th St., Washington Times." Various shades ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2023 - 3:25pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "729 12th St., Washington Times." Various shades of Twelfth Street. 8x6 inch glass negative, National Photo Company Collection. View full size. Wall BetweenI would hazard a guess that there is a wall between the woman and young boy. If you follow the line between "painted" and "unpainted" you will see that the width between the windows is farther apart. Also the chimney above, and the two stores below suggest some sort of support wall that would have to go all the way up. MessengersBicycles, a motorcycle and a messenger office. Pure chance, or a cunning business plan? Cleveland MotorcycleThat's a production motorcycle from the Cleveland Motorcycle Co. Questions indeedIs that young blurry boy only wearing one roller skate? Is the other young child telling the headless phantom motorcycle rider to shush? Must say I love the "lace" and tassels on the Shade shop. Possible SlumlordAndrew Murray the builder doesn't take very good care of his property. Window on my WorldBuster Brown in the window above the deli seems to be looking at the motorcycle. Wondering if he is related to the woman in the window next to him, or if there is a wall between them and they are in different apartments. So many questions, so little timeAre the shutters seen on some of the buildings actually used? Or are they just decorative as are modern shutters are? Why don't the brick stone buildings have shutters? Is that some sort of prototype motorcycle? Are the people in the windows family members of the proprietors of the businesses below? Is the boy in front of the messenger service an employee? BTW, I just love photos like this; an honest and unfettered look into a past long gone. Ahead of the timesLike the bike propped against the building. Owner has his bars flipped and his seat laid back -- cutting edge! Tri-LevelWhat a mesmerizing photo; one can conjure up at least three scenarios that fit what we see here. The pride of the gentleman inside the Builder's office watching his son leave; the parting of two friends (or lovers); is the rider embarking on a grand adventure; who is the rider, really? The more you look the deeper the stories become. Olde photos are magic. Ghost RiderTenants checking out the ghost on the motorcyle seems to be the most likely scenario. The Phantom PhootSo what's that disembodied upside-down foot above the third floor windows of #731? Taken for a ride in another senseI suspect that the owner of 729 hired the same Washington housepainter that I did. Bicycle BrakesThe bike leaning against the Murray/McGregor office shows no evidence of brakes, coaster or hand. When did bicycles begin to have braking systems (other than putting your feet down)?....some Shorpyite out there knows..... King Cola, the Royal DrinkNot much you can find about this brand, except that it was sued to death by the Coca-Cola Company for its use of the word "cola." How did Pepsi ever survive the same predicament? [The defendant's sin was not the use of the word "cola" but rather its Spencerian-script logo (below), which was a frank imitation of the Coca-Cola trademark. Coca-Cola's legal blitzkrieg also took aim at Koke, Cold-Cola, Koca-Nola and Ko-Kola. - Dave] Dividing lineI love that only half of the building has been freshly painted. The other half - the builder's half does not instill confidence in his work. Looks like the kid on one roller skate leaped from his ghost position to where he is now. Boys and bikesYou can tell by his blurry foot that the driver is kickstarting his bike. This is an activity that always attracts kids. There's something irresistible about the roar of the engine. The little boy standing behind the bike is thinking, "Someday I'm gonna get me one of those..." I've seen this happen a million times. My Side versus Your SideIt is pretty clear that the owners of 729 and 731 have a different philosophy of exterior maintenance. What a geometrically precise paint line between them. One SkateI bet the other roller skate is on the ghost of a kid spinning just on front of the steps. The rider is a blur because he's trying to kick start the bike. Upstairs grumpy, and the two men are much more interested in the photographer. These are really neat old photos, I'm glad I found the web site. Honesty of Purpose Washington Post, April 8, 1911. Special Notices Announcement. The family of the late John McGregor, builder, of 729 Twelfth street northwest, desire to inform the public that the business will be carried on by his successor, Mr. Andrew Murray, who has been with Mr. McGregor for the past thirteen years. They trust that the same patronage extended to the late Mr. McGregror will continue to be shown to Mr. Murray. In reference to the above, I hope, by strict attention to business and the same honesty of purpose that characterized Mr. McGregror's work, to merit the confidence and patronage of his friends and the public generally. Respectfully, Andrew Murray, 729 Twelfth street northwest. Shannon & LuchsHoly cow! The Shannon & Luchs For Sale sign on 731 caught my eye. They were the dominant real estate company in Fairfax County, Virginia, when I was growing up there in the 1980s and '90s. I still remember their radio jingle: "It takes more than luck / it takes Shannon & Luchs." I had no idea they had this long a history. They seem to have been acquired by Polinger in 1993, but I know they were still going by the S&L name at least until the late '90s. Cleveland motorcycleThe motorcycle in the photo is a Cleveland A2, which was manufactured by the Cleveland Motorcycle Manufacturing Company, located in the Ohio city of the same name between 1915 and 1925. The A2 was powered by a 220cc two-stroke engine mounted transversely in the frame, with a worm drive to power the countershaft sprocket for final chain drive. The shaft exited the two-speed gearbox and extended past the rear downtube to drive the the magneto, hung just forward of the rear wheel. In 1920 the A2 grew larger, adding footboards, incorporated fuel/oil tank and wider fenders. The weight increased in 1921 with a larger fuel/oil tank and seat and a battery. To offset the additional weight, engine capacity was increased to 270cc. In 1923 a sportier model was offered - the Model E, which featured a battery and electric lights. Although the Cleveland looked flimsy compared to the big V-twins offered by other US manufacturers, their light weight (68 kg) and moderate power (3.5 bhp and 30 mph top speed) combined for easy riding. The main market of the A2 were students, women and businesses who employed couriers and light delivery riders. The low price ($150) was cheaper than comparative bikes offered by other manufacturers. The A2 was replaced in 1925 by the 350cc Model F. (The Gallery, Bicycles, D.C., Motorcycles, Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Auto-Railer: 1935
... the Evans Products Co. of Detroit for the purchase of the Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis Railway, which was recently sold at ... Paris, Illinois, and later was transferred to Washington, DC. It always sounded like a good idea to me. It was equipped with both railway ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/28/2014 - 7:29am -

        ANNAPOLIS, Md., June 26, 1935 (AP) -- Negotiations have been started by the Evans Products Co. of Detroit for the purchase of the Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis Railway, which was recently sold at auction here. The company manufactures buses and trucks that operate either on rails or on the highway, and it is understood the concern plans to operate 100 passenger and freight units between Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis. ... The "auto railer" consists of front and rear steel pilot railroad wheels attached to a conventional type of bus or truck. The pilot wheels are raised for operation over highways but can be let down when the vehicle reaches the tracks. The vehicle runs on its own tires over the rails with the pilot wheels guiding it along the track. 1935. Washington, D.C., or vicinity. "Streamline Bus and Car, Evans Motor." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Are any extant?If so, what a novel and attractive project for a guest house/lake/mountain house conversion. Let me beYou can stand there all day and have your picture taken, for all I care, but this headlight is really something interesting. SafetyPresumably you can retract the wheels and drive off the tracks when a real train comes along too. Washington and Old DominionThe Washington and Old Dominion obtained one of the Evan units from the defunct Arlington and Fairfax and converted it to a maintenance vehicle. Kickin' the TiresSir, I advise you NOT to kick THAT tire. Evans Auto-railer in actionI recalled seeing an old clip of this machine in action, and here it is. I believe that the scenes were taken along the Grand Trunk Western Jackson Subdivision which ran from Pontiac to Jackson, MI. The branch was abandoned in 1975. 1935 fashionBroad lapels, rolled up trousers, hats and no belly fat! [Those are real cuffs. -tterrace] Not a Bump in a CarloadFairmont Railway Motors (now Harsco Rail) is often given credit for coming up with the road-rail technology that created "hi-railers" (they spell it "HY-RAIL") in the 1940s, but the various versions of the Evans product had already been in production for years. The car-like one below was known as the M2. Their largest Auto-Railer (below) was only one of over a dozen diverse products they made for the war effort during WWII. Modern TravelerEveryone has done such a good job on the history of auto-railer that I am left to guess at the signage behind the gentlemen. TRIAL “Modern Traveler” ROAD RAIL COACH BODY? Love the Art Deco font. [SUPERIOR "Modern Traveler." Also: CHEVROLET CHASSIS, TIMKEN AXLES / GOODRICH & UNITED STATES TIRES. The "Modern Traveler" was a streamlined bus body made by Superior Motor Coach Co. of Lima, Ohio. - Dave] C-Span connectionEvans Products was founded by John Steptoe Evans, whose grandson John D. Evans was a co-founder of C-Span. Evans Products started out building wood products; first, a wooden block that allowed easy loading of autos on railcars, then cedar separators for the plates in a car battery. John S. Evans set a record in 1928 by flying around the world in 28 days. Gramps' good jobI knew my grandfather worked for a company called Evans so I emailed my dad this link. here was his reply: "Yes, this is the same Evans Products. More than that, your grandpa spent a couple of his years at that time driving one of these for the Company when we lived in Detroit. He would be gone for weeks at a time. First, he worked in a small city, Paris, Illinois, and later was transferred to Washington, DC. It always sounded like a good idea to me. It was equipped with both railway wheels and rubber tires, with a mechanism to lower the rubber tires or raise the railway wheels, so they could use the seldom-used rail lines like street-car tracks. Of course the rail lines fought them and tried to scare the public about potential collisions. In the end, the politicians voted against it ... but your grandpa was part of it." Alas, he's not in the photo, but what a pleasure to see a glimpse of his world. Thanks, Shorpy! Gramps' JobThat Washington, D.C. job may have been on the Arlington & Fairfax trolley line, which replaced its electric cars with Evans Autorailers. I think they wanted to drive them across the Potomic River without using the D.C. streetcar tracks. One of those later wound up on the Chicago, South Shore & South Bend RR in 1955, with a platform on the roof for working on the overhead wires in East Chicago, Ind. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Railroads)
Smokeboat: 1918
September 1918. "Norfolk & Washington Steamboat Co. fire at Washington docks." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. You all have it wrong It's supposed to look like that. It's the Smoking Lounge. LITERAL ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/14/2011 - 3:37pm -

September 1918. "Norfolk & Washington Steamboat Co. fire at Washington docks." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. You all have it wrongIt's supposed to look like that. It's the Smoking Lounge. LITERALLY. A little dustingA bit of sweeping and it will look as good as new. BedframesJudging by the number of bedframes, this ship must have offered overnight accommodations - rather than just simple ferry service across the Chesapeake Bay. Since ships are usually near a ready supply of water, a sprinkler system would have been worthwhile. ButtsWas this a case of smoking in bed? Bad luckThis was the N&W steamboat NEWPORT NEWS, built in 1895. "Burned at Washington September [2,] 1918. Rebuilt at Baltimore and renamed Norfolk & Washington Steamboat Co. 'Midland' on November 11, 1919". Steamboat MIDLAND. "Rebuilt from old Norfolk & Washington Steamboat Company 'Newport News' in 1919 after burning of September 1918. Burned and lost at Washington in March 1924". [Google Books: Richard E. Prince, Seaboard Air Line Railway. Steam boats, locomotives, and history.] Mysterious Steamer Blaze Washington Post, Sep 3, 1918. Dock and Steamer Blaze Mysterious Officials of Norfolk & Washington Co. Puzzled by Fire. Officials of the Norfolk and Washington Steamboat Company are endeavoring to ascertain the origin of the mysterious fire which early yesterday badly damaged the steamer Newport News and destroyed the company's general offices, warehouse and dock and which for a time threatened the entire water front. "All we know about the fire is that it started in the linen room of the offices, and resulted in the loss of about $125,000," said William H. Callahan, traffic manager of the company, last night. "We consider it mysterious," he said, "because the fire originated in a part of the office where it could least be expected. The Newport News is our emergency ship, and is only used when either the Southland or Northland is out of commission. It could have been possible for some one to have intentionally set the office on fire, but I doubt if that was the case. The Newport News had been docked for some time, and there practically was no freight no board. The vital parts of the vessel are intact, and just as soon as we can secure the necessary labor, reconstruction work will begin. There will be no interruption of the passenger business." The fire was discovered by C.O. Abbott, night watchman, and clerk of the company. He said he was sitting in his office about 3:30 o'clock, when he smelled smoke, and walking to the back part of the building, discovered the flames pouring out of the linen room. He immediately turned in an alarm, but before the engines arrived, the whole building and the Newport News were on fire. A general alarm was sounded, and the firemen had great difficulty in extinguishing the blaze. Among the destroyed and damaged freight on the dock were several chasses, two automobiles, two airplane engines, bed springs and mattresses, thousands of bottles of soft drinks, 100 sacks of peanuts, fourteen barrels of tar, two marine engines and several tanks of carbonated water. All records of the company were locked in metal cases and were saved. Fifty barrels of oil, 75 barrels of tar and other government stores on the dock, awaiting shipment to the naval operating base at Hampton Roads, Va., were not damaged. The company's loss is entirely covered by insurance. The American Marine Engineer, September, 1918. Atlantic Coast Notes The work of raising and restoring the steamer Newport News, of the Norfolk and Washington Steamboat Company, which burned at her dock in Washington a short time ago, has been undertaken by the Merrit and Chapman Wrecking Company. It is stated that the hull and machinery are practically undamaged, but the entire super structure will have to be rebuilt. The steamer had been used as a reserve boat, and therefore, the loss to the traveling public is not great. InflationNow let me get this straight: the damage to the ship we see in the photo, plus that described in the contemporary article in the office building, warehouse, and dock, including customer cargoes awaiting shipment, is all going to be set right by only $125,000? Is there any way I can get some of those 1918 dollars? Sigh. No, I guess not. I'm SorryI’m afraid that this may void your warranty. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, D.C., Natl Photo)
Weller's Pharmacy: 1915
Washington, D.C., circa 1915. "Weller's drug store, Eighth & I streets ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 1:13pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1915. "Weller's drug store, Eighth & I streets S.E." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Hmmmm chocolate!I love the Lowney's chocolate display advert in the back. It reminds me about 30 years ago of the Lowneys factory that was about half a mile from my house. They made the "Oh Henry" candybar and when the wind blew just right the air smelled of peanuts. Are those postcards to the right of the Lowney's display? It's a Wonderful StoreThe only things missing are a distracted Mr. Gower (behind the counter), Violet Bick (at the candy counter), young George Bailey helping out, and the future Mrs. Bailey ordering a chocolate sundae with no coconut. Label LustThe drugstore photos are among my favorites. They show what everyday life was like through the products people were using. That makes this photo one of the best and one of the most frustrating. There is so much just out of sight. I could spend a day in this store just reading labels. And thanks, Dave, for the sponge closeup. My point exactly. Two convenient locationsEventually Frank Weller had two pharmacies, at 755 Eighth Street SE and 3534 M Street NW. Click to embiggen. The folding seatsI would offer a suggestion that these unique seats, considering their height and location, may have been part of an actual fountain alluded to below in the comments, especially if one imagines that when the seats were originally installed there was no glass cabinetry on the underlying countertops. Rather, this may have been a true counter for enjoying the assorted delights one would find in a drugstore of the time. Without the glass display cases and the built up corner edging, these seats would have been at a more convenient height for patrons indulging in chocolate sundaes, egg creams and banana splits. This is one of those Shorpy photos when one wishes for turbo zoom feature on one's mouse. So much detail just beyond visual reach. Mystery MerchandiseCan anyone identify the things for sale in the curved glass case above the spittoon? The carved display cases are a thing of beauty. [Sponges. "Best bath, sponge bath." - Dave] 4:05 PM, I need a Carbello.I think if one was to ask me to describe what a classic drug store looked like, I wouldn't imagine being far off from this image. The tin ceilings, elaborate casework, patterned tile floor, paper-wrapped goods behind glass cases, it's all here. Of course, I probably wouldn't have imagined an ornate spittoon. [That's an apothecary jar. The spittoon is on the floor in the corner. And it's 12:54. - Dave] 12:54? Am I not clearly seeing minute hand on the 5, hour hand on the 4? [You are not. - Dave] FlooredAll quite beautiful, except for the dizzying floor. Any product put in such display cases instantly looks better. Washington EliteSomething tells me this is where the rich and fabulous Washington Elite shopped for their sundries, notions, lotions and potions. It is kind of near K Street. OutstandingMagnificent casework and displays! I can't guess what they would cost to replace in today's market, but it would really be a pretty penny! I love the folding stools for clients along the left side. All the detailsLove the retractable stools on the left. Very clever! Your Parents' Drug StoreWhat a great contrast to drug stores of today. Sometimes its hard to tell if you're in a drug store or a convienience store. Seems our town has a Walgreen's or CVS on every major block, not to mention the pharmacies in Wal-Mart, K-Mart and all the grocery stores. Waterman PensAh yes, Waterman's Fountain Pens, the fountain pen of my youth! Once, in Delaware in 1951, mine managed to spit out a blob of Schaeffer's Skrip blue-black ink onto the sports jacket cuff of Boston Braves' Manager Billy Southworth while he was signing my autograph book. That was sweet revenge for me, those Braves having beaten my Brooklyn Dodgers to the National League pennant in a tight race back in 1948. What goes around, comes around. The dirty look Billy gave me was priceless. Frank P. WellerThe 1900 and 1910 census records show Frank P. Weller and family living above his store at 753 8th st S.E. In the 1920s Weller teamed with druggist Thomas A. Moskey and the business began to be advertised as "Weller & Moskey Pharmacy." F.P. Weller is buried several blocks east of his pharmacy at the Congressional Cemetery (link to PDF of Congressional Cemetery record). I don't know what kind of store $350 could have built in 1890. The Capitol Hill Restoration Society database of building permits lists an August 31, 1892 permit for a $16,000 brick dwelling at 753 8th st SE. Washington Post, Sep 3, 1890 Building Permits The following building permits were issued yesterday: F.P. Weller, one brick store, at No. 753 Eighth street southeast, to cost $350. Washington Post, Mar 28, 1933 Franklin P. Weller Services Are Today Retired Pharmacist, Native of Maryland, Was Once in U.S. Navy Funeral services for Franklin Pierce Weller, pioneer Washington druggist, who died Sunday night at the residence of his daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. R.W. Hynson, 3435 Thirty-fourth place, will be held today at 2:30 p.m. at the Hynson home. Interment will be in the Congressional Cemetery. ... Mr. Weller, 78, was born in Thurmont, Frederick County, Md., December 21, 1854, of Revolutionary ancestry. He came to Washington 70 years ago. During the early eighties he served as a pharmacist in the United States Navy on board the U.S.S. Galena. Upon his retirement from the Navy he engaged in private practice and opened a drug store in Washington at Eighth and I streets southeast which has been a landmark for a generation. he retired from business last October. He served in the hospital corps of the District National Guard for 27 years. He was a member of the Metropolitan Presbyterian Church, of the De Molay Commandery, Knights Templar, and St. John's Lodge, F.A.A.M. ... 755 Eighth Street SEIf this is the right corner, the building is still in fairly authentic condition: View Larger Map And if this is the same building, it is also where 200 WWI veterans stayed during the Bonus March in 1932. Gas lamps, no electricityEdison didn't get his hands in this store's cash till yet! Look at the details in the ceiling lamp in front. No electrical anything in this store. The Great Time DebateI have to say that it looks like 4:05 to me. With the inset small face showing seconds, the only hands on the main face should be the minute and hour, and the hand pointing at the digit one seems clearly longer than the one pointing at the four. [As we can see below, this is an approximately 60-second time exposure taken from 12:53 to 12:54. - Dave] Thanks Dave, I can see it in your detailed image, couldn't see it in my blowup from the on line image. Granddad's PharmacyWhere's the soda fountain? My granddad had a pharmacy like this from about 1914 to 1964. He worked there another 6 years or so after he sold it. It was located on the square of Piggott, Arkansas and it was the most popular place right after school let out each day. The soda fountain was the main draw for the kids. The display cabinets in this potograph look more ornate than the ones at my granddad's store. The clock does say 4:05 and those items in the curved case might be bath sponges of some kind. I also noticed a clock through the far left window of the pharmacy area. What happens at Weller's, stays at Weller'sAn amazing place. I'm sure I see the words "Sub Rosa" on a box in the central case, behind the jar that looks like a giant Faberge egg, indicating secrecy to "all ye who look in here"? Folding stools on the display case/counter at the left. Did ladies get cosmetic makeovers there? Did people wait for their prescriptions on a fold-out stool? And is that a rotary greeting card holder in the center right rear? Precursor of Hallmark? Postcards to the right? Those cases are more ornate than any drugstore I've ever even seen photos of. A place where money is no object, and the things in the center case are secret!? And I'll bet someone MIGHT have spit secretly in that Faberge egg jar. Apothecary globesSome examples from the Drugstore Museum and the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy. CountersThe "carved" sections look more like painted cast iron or plaster, not wood. Woodcarvings and moreThe woodcarvings are a delight, I wouldn't have imagined such beauty into a store. Those days the things were thought to last and therefore they wanted good stuff I guess. Make such a thing today would require a little fortune. And I'm not sure if you can easily find the skilled woodcarvers to do it properly. Amd the stained glass on the door! I may have four of those stoolsThis is exciting! I have four similarly spring-loaded stools, which were described to me as being trolley seats at the time I purchased them. The era of the casting looks about right. (The wooden seats on mine appear to have been replaced.) Anyone got a guess, or (gasp) knowledge? Are these something like jump seats for a trolley, or more likely to be for sitting at the counter having a soda? Even if I learn nothing else, I've now got an image that confirms how/where to install these things! re: I may have four of those stoolsHere are the patents for Linda's folding stools. They are a little different than the ones in the photo, which have a single, s-curved support pedestal and what looks like a different spring-loaded locking mechanism. Yours are described in the patent specifications as being "particularly designed for use in connection with store counters", not trolley cars. http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=_uE_AAAAEBAJ&dq=644,789 http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=gZpFAAAAEBAJ&dq=596,931 (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Union Station: 1908
Washington, D.C., circa 1908-1910. "Switch yards, Union Station." 8x10 inch dry ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 4:05pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1908-1910. "Switch yards, Union Station." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Not Much Has ChangedWith the exception of the steam locomotives and the Pullman coaches the photo looks like it could be taken any decade within the past one-hundred years. A wondrous journeyI just wanted to express my thanks for having experienced your wonderful website. I have been looking at the photographs, almost on a daily basis, for several weeks now. I am on page 634 and feel sad that my journey is about to end ... except for the new daily entries. I love photography and to able to learn about the photographer, the setting and people in them, and so much more, has been a life-changing experience. Thanks you so much for enriching my life with these marvelous photos. [You have 287 more pages to go, if you haven't checked out the 1,000 or so user-submitted photos. - Dave] Washington Terminal Co.Union Station, which opened in 1907, was owned and operated by the Washington Terminal Co., a joint venture of the Baltimore & Ohio and the Pennsylvania railroads. My grandfather, a stonemason, came to Washington in the early part of the last century to work on the station and for the next 30 years worked for Washington Terminal in its Maintenance of Way department. Hide and SeekThat's the statue on the very top of the Capitol dome appearing to sit on top of the curved roof of the Station. It's actually about a quarter of a mile behind it. Shoving to a jointThe little teapot switch engine (second engine from the left) looks like it is gently rolling to a coupling joint adding a baggage car and a coach (dining car with side door?) to a passenger consist. The fireman ("tallow pot") is leaning out of the window to pass signals to the hoghead from the man (men) riding point. They are working on that side because of the curve in the track. I think they are adding cars rather than taking them away because there is minimum smoke issuing from the switcher. What a pleasure it is to see old railroad photos like this on Shorpy. Many thanks for all the work you do to bring them to us. Red LightTough place to get into. I don't see one semaphore that's not in the stop position. Train Now LeavingTrain now leaving on Track 5 for Anaheim, Azusa and CUC ... amonga!! It's so clean and pristineIt's so clean and pristine that I thought it was another shot of Swartzell's model railroad. One thing has definitely changedThat is the squeakiest clean ballast I have ever seen. Hundreds of locomotives and trainmen were waiting for the chance to drop grease, cinders, coal, spikes, tie plates, and whatever else would drip or come loose. Clean sceneIs this not the tidiest industrial area ever? And that switcher with the ladderback tender is a modeler's dream. In scaleBest model train layout ever! The CameraAny idea what kind of camera/equip. was this picture taken with? it seems so remarkably clear! [Standard 8x10 view camera. - Dave] Split couplersIf you will look closely, you will see that most, if not all, of the locomotives have a slot in the coupler knuckle. This allowed the use of link and pin coupling so either the locos are quite old or else they have to handle some older equipment still equipped with link and pin. I would have thought that most every loco and car would have had patent Janney automatic couplers at this late date. The exception to this would be industrial or lumber company equipment where the combination couplers were common. (The Gallery, D.C., DPC, Railroads)
Adult Swim: 1942
... angles; collars loosened, etc) of clerks assigned to DC area offices. If they had been recent trainees, one would hope that the spit ... now the U.S. Park Police Central Substation. July in DC July in the District of Columbia can be blisteringly hot. It can easily ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/21/2013 - 6:02pm -

July 1942. "Sunbathers on the grass next to the municipal swimming pool on Sunday." The pasty white underbelly of wartime Washington. Medium format negative by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size. Men's swimwearThrough the mid-1930s, tank tops seemed to be standard swimwear for me. By the early 1940s, nearly everyone wore trunks. Am I correct in thinking that the change happened very quickly? What caused the change in fashion? Pasty WhiteIn the 1960s I had the honour to serve in the US Navy at a sub base in Holy Loch, Scotland. After having been there for 18 months, my ship the USS Simon Lake was relieved by another, the USS Canopus. I transferred to the Canopus for another tour. Some of my new shipmates asked me how come I was sooo white. I pointed out that there was little sunshine in Scotland, and shortly they would be just as pasty, too. Long story short, a nice tan was not a very important thing in 1942, unless you were Cary Grant. More Men's Swimwear10 and 15 years later, in the mid 1950s, when I was old enough to remember swimming pools, these lads, grown up and now fathers, were still wearing those Superman trunks. We kids, however, were stuck with little children's boxers. Those were Philadelphia and South Jersey memories. A New York City friend says that up there, male swimmers went directly from old fashioned suits to boxers. An urban legend is that a wartime shortage of cloth brought the end of coverup suits and also the arrival of bikinis. Casual, almost indifferentWhat strikes me about this photo is the casual atmosphere of the scene. One might not realize a war was underway - the previous month, the US Navy had fought the critical battle of Midway. The soldiers depicted in this photo have the casual, even sloppy appearance (headgear at improper angles; collars loosened, etc) of clerks assigned to DC area offices. If they had been recent trainees, one would hope that the spit and polish regime was still present. Photo might be captioned: "At ease on the homefront". I'm Not a Big FanI'm just a little one with an oscillating gear drive, silhouetted inside the little window of the frame shack. Pool Pass?Are the GIs just taking an opportunity to wander by the pool, sightseeing, or has the USO or other agency arranged for pool passes? If anyone knows which way the entrance is from this shot, maybe it would help figure that out. Since it's early in the war, the U-boats are working right off the coast and probably more than one GI is thinking, "Hmmm, maybe I ought to work on my backstroke?" These guys knew they most likely weren't flying anywhere to fight, unless it was in a warplane going overseas, too. The pasty white underbelly of wartime WashingtonImagine where all those guys in Army uniforms were eventually to go. They look so young. But then I was 18 years + 3 months when my turn came. LeanWe were certainly a trimmer nation. Men's SwimwearSewickley, I made the same comment several weeks ago when there were swim pictures from 1939 and then right after the war. In the pre-war pictures all the men had swimsuits with tops and after only bottoms. I guessed that perhaps it was because GI's bathed in just their shorts and when they came back it just carried over. However it appears the change was even quicker (as you commented) as this picture in 1942 shows only one male with a swim top. I am like you curious as to what caused the change. Perhaps we have someone from the fashion industry that could answer this question. [Googling {men's swimwear history} gets you off to a good start. - tterrace] Pasty White IndeedAnd the brothers and sisters would be swimming ... where, exactly? Not to be more than usually preachy, but this shot is a pretty good indication that such places in our nation's capital were still segregated back then (like military units, housing areas, and almost every other public facility). It is fitting for Americans of all races to remember that the good old days were replete with bad features and that, as a people, we have indeed come a long way since then. Back of the subBuilding in the background is now the U.S. Park Police Central Substation. July in DCJuly in the District of Columbia can be blisteringly hot. It can easily reach 100 degrees that time of year. I'm amazed that the guys in uniform don't look a lot sloppier. SW DCIf you look a little to the right of the lamppost you will see the USDA building, which runs along C Street SW from 12th to 14th Streets. The pool must have been near where 12th Street merges into Maine Avenue. The lanes of I-395 run through the location today. SwimmingI think this is the building. There is a pool here too. LocationEast Potomac Pool on Hain's Point is probably where photo was taken. Same location as ball game with UFO in background, boy and girl with bikes lying on grass and two girl swimmers. East Potomac ParkYes, thank you, you're right. My range estimate was way off. It's across the channel in East Potomac Park. The pool may have been a WPA project. People could swim in the Tidal Basin until the late 1920s. Top of Washington MonumentThe top of the Washington Monument can be seen in the background. Here's a 1934 photo of the top: (The Gallery, D.C., Marjory Collins, Swimming)
In Washington DC: 1931
I don't know who took this photo on a street in Washington, D.C in the spring of 1931, but the smiling six-year-old on the ... 
 
Posted by aenthal - 08/16/2013 - 7:09pm -

I don't know who took this photo on a street in Washington, D.C in the spring of 1931, but the smiling six-year-old on the right is my father. The depression hit his family hard, with neither of his parents having much of an education to equip them for finding well-paying work. Partially out of financial necessity and partially because it would be a fun thing to do, my father Howie and his sister Elsie (center), the two youngest children in the family, were sent to spend some time with Uncle Gus Karless, who lived in Washington. Gus had been a veteran of World War One and had been a mustard gas survivor during it. His war injuries disabled him for regular physical work, so he received a government pension, which meant he had an income, to buy food and necessities, despite the depression. The other two people are my father's Aunt Frances and (kneeling) Herbert Einhorn, a cousin of my father's. My father recalls this visit as a very happy time, and from this picture, it looks like it was indeed a happy time for all of them. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Vacation Wagon: 1964
... living in Detroit, started taking trips to Cheney, Washington, to visit my WW2 buddy. All on old state highways, no air ... the longest trip we took in it was from Kansas City to Washington, DC and back. Wagons We had a 1956 Ford wagon, then '61 Mercury wagon, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/31/2022 - 1:09am -

        Our annual salute to the start of vacation road-trip season, first posted here 15 years ago. Everyone buckled in? Let's go! "Great Falls, Montana. Return after 3 weeks Vacation. June 27, 1964." This Kodachrome of a 1960 Chevrolet Parkwood station wagon is from a box of slides found on eBay. View full size. family trips in those carsI also spent some hot days in a car like that on the way to the grandparents. My mother flattened the second seat, put a mattress on the floor and loaded three of us and the stuff in on top of it, us and the stuff equally loose and not tied down. We whined and fought and slept our way to Cape Cod from southern NJ. My father always "had to work" (they were her parents), so she did the drive alone, I think maybe 12 or 16 hours? Seemed like forever. NostalgicThese people still had a bright future ahead of them, full of great hopes for the days to come. They hadn't gone to the Moon yet, and to them, by 2007 we'd have personal helicopters and robots would run everything. The possibility of the President being indicted for a crime was unthinkable. My job as a web designer hadn't even been invented yet. The lawn looks like it's literally astroturf. Were the colors really like that, or is it an effect of the kodachrome? Holy cow! We had a 59 chevyHoly cow! We had a 59 chevy stationwagon back in the day. Does this bring back memories. We would drive to Florida from Virginia a two day trip usually in the heat of the summer to visit grandparents. Five children two parents no ac. Damn! [This is a 1960 Chevrolet. - Dave] DeflectorsDoes anybody know/remember what the deflectors left and right of the rear window were for? These may have been an aftermarket item. It is amazing how well the colors in this slide are preserved after almost 50 years. It looks like Kodachrome all right, including the telltale blue cast in the shadows The Astroturf look......to my eye, seems to come from the little flowers (or toadstools?) that are in the lawn. At the smaller image size, they look like specular reflections, making it seem like the grass is shiny. [The white flowers are clover. - Dave] 1964As I remember it, this was less than a year after the assassination of JFK, there were race riots in the south and we (I was 14) were all starting to question attitudes towards women, blacks, hispanics, homosexuals and the culture we had grown up with. One of the more minor cultural things was the importance of your front lawn. 50 years?I was born in 1964, and trust me, it hasn't been 50 years since then, yet.... ;) Re:DeflectorsThe deflectors on either side of the rear window were intended to blow air across the rear window to prevent snow from accumulating. A similar deflector is often fitted along the roof on station wagons from the 60s on. I think they were usually a factory or dealer option in later years, but I really don't know specifically about this model or when they might have first been used. OK, 40 years.Sorry, I was too vexed on the year of manufacture of the car. I remember that someone in our street had the sedan version of this Chevy. Like any 8 year old, I was fascinated by the winged tail and the panorama windshield. You didn't see many of these in Europe around 1960; everbody, including my father, was driving Volkswagen Beetles. (He later had a new Ford Mustang 1964 1/2 , with a 289 ci V8 and a four speed box, rally pack and (optional) front discs, which I found very impressive at the time. A real gas guzzler by European standards. Family TrucksterThis is probably what Clark Griswold's dad took the family on vacation in. It's a 1960 Chevy, and I'm guessing it's a Kingswood model. The Brookwood was the more stripped down model and I think the "full dresser" was called a Nomad. This one isn't completely chromed-out and it has the small, dog-dish hubcaps so I'm thinking it's the middle of the line model. I think the rear air deflectors also helped keep exhaust gas from entering the rear passenger compartment when the vehicle was moving with the tailgate window was lowered. Though it doesn't look like there's room for anybody in the third row of seats for this trip. With the window up they also helped keep the rear glass clear of snow and dust. These are Parents of the Year......in my book. Can you imagine going across country now without all of the luxuries and Wendy's and portable DVD players and Nintendo and cell phones and credit cards? These parents did it all the HARD way...and I'll bet they made a lot of memories that summer! My jaw droppedOnce again the red stationwagon family blows me away. The color composition here is perfect. Chevy ParkwoodThis is a 1960 Chevrolet Parkwood. Parkwoods and Kingswoods both use Bel Air trim (mid-level). The Kingswood, a nine-passenger wagon, has the third-row rear-facing seat, and two steps on the rear bumper (one on each end just outside of where the tailgate would come down). Less obvious is that all Kingswoods have power tailgate windows, an option on the other Chevrolet wagons. I still drive a '59 ChevyI recommend owning one. In 2000 We took the ultimate road trip with mine from near the Canadian border in Washington State through the desert to Las Vegas and back up through California and Oregon. There really is nothing like seeing the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet. Cruising the Strip in Vegas was a blast. We might as well have been driving a space ship with the reactions we got. Sadly, these Chevrolets were mostly scrapped and very few survive. 60 ChevySadly, the third row seat had not been invented as of yet and the deflectors were used to deflect air into the rear of the stationwagon at slower speeds. I may not be an expert but I'm old enough to have ridden and slept in the back section of a folded down stationwagon. We didn't know about SUV's yet. Chevy WagonChevy's Parkwood and Kingswood wagons could both be had with a third-row seat. And back then, for the record - wagons WERE the "SUVs" of the day! [According to the 1960 Chevrolet sales brochure, only the Kingswood was available with third-row seating. The International Travelall and Chevy Suburban Carryall were two of the SUVs of the day. - Dave] The luggage rackis something you don't see anymore. It hung on the wall of the garage when not in use. Once my dad, who was in a big hurry, didn't secure the tarp on top properly... We played car games, like Alphabet, Road Bingo, and License Plates, read books, colored,sang songs and squabbled. You took your chances with local restaurants. We hadn't got used to entertainment on demand, so we didn't miss it. And to Dave Faris: It's the film. I once assured my daughter that colors when I was a kid were the same as today. "The Fifties," she said, in her narrator's voice, "were an oddly-hued decade." Slide ConversionHow does one convert slides to digital photos? Any website links or advice? [You'd use a film scanner. I used a Nikon 4000 ED for this one. - Dave] Family TrucksterWe had a green Ford station wagon, not nearly as nice as this, and with our family of six, it was a masochistic experience to take family vacations. Every summer we said that's it, we will never do this again, until the following summer when we did it again. The best part was arriving home again, but I will say that NOT having DVD's and high tech electronic gadgets forced the kids to look out the window and they gained incredible geographic knowledge from seeing the U.S. I could truthfully call these annual trips "purgatory on wheels." Road TripMost all of my long-distance car trips were connected with moving as my father was in the USAF. In August 1954, after being in the UK 2½ years, we got in our in our '53 Chevy coupe and went from New York City to the SF Bay Area, mostly along US 40. Entertainment consisted of looking at the scenery and checking off the towns on the free roadmaps that the service stations provided in each state. Iy being the pre-Interstate era, one did go thru many towns back then! (Excepting on the PA Turnpike) Burma-Shave signs relieved the boredom in the rural areas. We had a car radio (AM only, of course), but for some reason I can only recall it being used while crossing the salt flats west of Salt Lake City. Westward HoIn 1951 our family, my wife, son and daughter, living in Detroit, started taking trips to Cheney, Washington, to visit my WW2 buddy. All on old state highways, no air conditioner, 4½ hours to get through Chicago and the kids loved it. Took these trips out west to the 1970s. We still go west to see my buddy and my daughter in Seattle and we enjoy crossing Nebraska on old U.S. 30. It is a treat to be off of I-80. Nostalgia Ain't What it Used to BeDon't look at this picture and pine for the old days. Change the car to a green Olds Vista Cruiser and that's us in 1969. Back then, dads bought a new station wagon to kick off the summer vacation. Dads don't buy an SUV today for that reason. Without repeating some of the horrors already mentioned below, there was the additional joy of Mom sending back a Coca Cola bottle for one of her sons to use in lieu of a loo. If the girls had to go, we had to pull over. Not so with the boys. Watching mom backhand-fling a Coke bottle out her window, filled with fluid far different that what was originally intended, and seeing it bounce and spill along the shoulder as we whizzed along at 75 mph (pun intended), that's about the fondest vacation memory at least from the car perspective. Today with the daughter hooked up to a video iPod and the sons enjoying their PSP, it's a pleasure to drive for distances. Back then, we didn't play License Plates. We played Punch Buggy and Slug Bug, etc. Fistfight games. Let's go!I loved car trips, and I never had DVD players and Nintendo. I watched the scenery and kept a travel diary. those were some of the greatest times of my life. Road TrripWe had to make do with pillows & blankets. A mattress would have made it actually comfortable. I don't know if Dad didn't have the imagination for that, or just not the money. I suspect the latter. We'd sing sometimes. It was 12 hours from north Georgia near the North Carolina line to south Georgia, near the Florida line, where my grandmother lived. I see the moon; the moon sees me. The moon sees the one that I want to see ... Thanks for the memoriesMy folks had the four-door sedan version of this car, in sky blue & white. My mom used to have a station wagon, don't remember what kind, but it was memorable for its pushbutton transmission on the dash instead of a gearshift! However my favorite "finned" car was our family's Buick Invicta. Now that was a car! Third Row SeatsFords had third-row seats in 1955. I'm pretty sure Chevy had them by 1958 at least. Chevy didn't offer woodgrain sides until '65. Sunday ridesWe had that same car, only in light blue. No seat belts or infant seats for us! We'd put my baby sister in one of those deathtrap baby seats that hooked over the front seat and off we went! What a picture!This picture takes me back almost 40 years to the road trips our family did during summer holidays when I was a little boy. It feels like I myself am stretching my legs after coming home. The colours, the moment -- one of my favorite pictures in Shorpy. My Favorite Car was a 1960 Chevrolet Impala 2-dr hardtop. Bluish gray with white segment on the side, red and white interior. The first car my wife and I bought. Paid $1750 for it used in 1962. We made some wonderful trips in that car. Re: Family TrucksterJust saw this item on TV yesterday about a real family named Griswold that had their station wagon modded to look like the Family Truckster from National Lampoon's Vacation movie for their trip to Disney World. http://tinyurl.com/plo5kub See the USA in Your ChevroletFor our family, it was a 1962 Buick Invicta wagon. Huge car designed for doing massive mileage on the interstates and that's what we did -- six or seven hundred miles a day from Indiana to the Rockies for our annual vacation. Procedure for Accessing the Cargo AreaWe had one of these when I was a kid as well. Ours was a silver gray color. See the chrome disk on the trunk door? Upon arriving at destination, here's what you had to do: 1) Put trunk key in center slot (separate keys for ignition and trunk back then) 2) Open flap (as seen in photo) 3) Rotate flap several times till rear window is fully down 4) Reach in and grab handle to drop tailgate Simple, huh? Looking at old red carsmakes my elbows hurt! Seemed like some of those old single stage paints, reds in particular, had to be waxed every two weeks to keep them looking decent. The widespread adoption of clearcoat finishes in the late 80's to mid 90's freed modern kids from the dreaded frequent waxing chore, thereby giving them the leisure time to start the video gaming revolution... As Long AsThis isn't really the "End of the Road"! That's a scary title for all the Shorpy Faithful. 3 Adults + 7 Children =1000 mile round trip to see grandma. We kids didn't mind a bit. Seat belts?I don't think you heard "Everybody all buckled up?" all that much in '64. I'm not sure of the exact dates, but if you had seatbelts back then, you bought them at a discount store or an auto parts store like Western Auto or J. C. Whitney, and they were lap belts only. Three point seat belts didn't come along for several more years, if I recall correctly, and it wasn't until the government mandated new cars with ignition interlocks in the 1970's that "real men" started to actually use them. Back then, we used to spend our vacations camping, so the car was packed to the gills, including the center of the back seat. My sister and I each got little cubbyholes next to the doors, with just room enough to sit for the trip to northern Wisconsin. My dad drove a two tone green '55 Oldsmobile Delta 88. I saw a picture of that car a few months ago, and as soon as I did, I started remembering a surprising amount of detail about the car's details. It was handed down to me when I went off to college in '64. Seat beltsbobdog19006 is correct in that seat belts were not standard equipment in 1960. However, they had been available as a dealer-installed option since the 50s. By 1966, they were standard in all Chevys, and by 1968, they were federally mandated. I spent many a happy hour on family roadtrips in our '68 Ford wagon, nestled in the narrow gap between the second row and the rear-facing third-row seat, no seat belt, of course. Neither did my siblings in the third row. Service StickersI remember those stickers that service stations or car dealers put on the inside edge of the driver's door when you got your car serviced. This Chevrolet has two. Our road trip rigWe had a '76 Chevy Beauville van, a ho-hum light brown rather than red, which made up for the lack of chrome spears with its cavernous interior: two bucket seats in front for Mom and Dad, two bench seats, and a homemade plywood bed. Strangely, all that space wasn't enough to prevent sibling quarrels. The best story of this van was the return trip of its maiden voyage, when my uncle, who owned a small niche-market manufacturing firm, talked my dad into towing a piece of equipment from South Texas to a parking lot near Chicago, where we would deliver it to his customer from Wisconsin. We quickly got used to being asked at every single hotel, gas station, and rest stop, exactly what was the three-wheeled contraption with the hydraulically-actuated vertical roller-chain conveyor with teeth. The looks on everyone's faces when my dad told them it was a grave-digging machine: Priceless! Curtains?Every August for years we travelled from Birmingham to Cincinnati for a week of visiting my parents' relatives. Before our last such trip in '69, we went through a black-and-white '57 Plymouth Savoy, a metallic-beige '63 Ford Country Sedan wagon (the one without wood on the sides) and a '67 Olds VistaCruiser. I'd love to have that VistaCruiser back today. Ours was burgundy red and my dad put red stripe Tiger Paw tires on it. Imagine a 442 station wagon. As for Shorpy's '60 Chevy wagon, I only just noticed the homemade or aftermarket side curtains, with vertical stripes of brown, gold and red to compliment the bright red car. Thanks, Dave, for showing us this photo again... and including all the original comments, too. Great to relive all the great summer vacation stories with everyone! Re: deflectorsIn the days before the rear window wiper on a station wagon, some folks put these on and the deflected air current would help to clean off that window to a degree. Not having either, within a mile that rear hatch would be almost impossible to see through. Been there, done that and got the tee-shirt. This does bring back memoriesWe had a similar station wagon, but it was salmon (or was it mauve, or ecru?) colored with a white top (I think). It had a 460 a/c (four windows down while traveling sixty miles per hour, some times 560 with the rear tailgate window down). I remember taking a trip from Mississippi to Six Flags over Texas on U.S. Highway 82 (two lane most of the way) in Summer, 1964. The back seats were folded down, and the four of us kids had pillows, blankets, books, and board games to pass the time. It was replaced soon after with a 1965 Ford Country Squire Wagon with a/c, and fake wood paneling on the side. Instead of a rear facing bench seat, it had two small seats on either side that faced each each other. Memories of summer tripsWe also lived in Montana back then, and our family truckster in the 1960s was a 1963 Rambler Classic station wagon. (Yes, I suffered greatly for it among my friends.) That's what I learned to drive, and we ranged all over the western US and Canada in it. Before that, however, we traveled in a 1949 Studebaker Land Cruiser 4-door sedan, which my dad (both inventive and frugal) had outfitted with a set of three back seats that, when covered with the mattress from our roll-away bed, filled the back seat and trunk area with a very passable sleeping unit. That's where I spent most of my time on our travels. At other times, I would climb over the front seatback into the front bench seat between my parents. That's where I was on August 5, 1962, when we were preparing to leave Crescent City, CA, and heard on the radio that Marilyn Monroe had died. Deflector's actual purposeWas to break the "vacuum" the "wall" that was the rear of that wagon created which would suck exhaust into the car if that rear window was open even a little bit. The fresh air, the snowless/cleaner rear window were merely bonuses... Buckle up?A 1960 Chevy wagon probably didn't have seat belts unless the owner installed them. The kids in the back were pretty much free range as long as they didn't make too much noise. Lots of people piled the stuff on the roof and put a mattress in the back for the kids. It was a great way to go and most of us survived. [Seat belts were optional on all 1960 Chevrolets. - Dave] Car playgroundMy folks had a Ford wagon of that era. No seatbelts. Folks put a mattress in the back. Became our playground on long trips. We had no desire to "sit" in a seat. Miss station wagonsI miss station wagons. I prefer them to the SUVs that replaced them. I also miss the bold bright colors that cars use to come in. No SquattingLooking at all the stuff already loaded, I'm surprised the back of this wagon isn't dragging on the ground. In fact it's sitting pretty level. I wonder if dad had overload springs installed? We've had one built for you.To BillyB: Station wagon suspensions were designed with the idea that they would have to haul some combination of eight people and their luggage, so they did OK when loaded down. They *were* softer than contemporary pickup trucks, so the back end of the station wagon wouldn't bounce all over if there were only one or two people in it. Especially at the time of this photo, gas was 25 cents a gallon and would be that price forever, so the factory didn't mind spending a little extra weight on a beefier suspension. Also, most of the really heavy luggage went on the roof rack, which was fairly close to being in the middle of the wheelbase. The back-back, behind the rear seat, tended to contain lighter things, like blankets, pillows, the picnic basket, and - as the trip progressed - bags of souvenirs. If Dad wanted to use the inside rear-view mirror, you couldn't stack stuff much higher than the seats, anyway. Source: I rode in the back of a '79 Oldsmobile wagon every summer from '79 to '87. I think the longest trip we took in it was from Kansas City to Washington, DC and back. WagonsWe had a 1956 Ford wagon, then '61 Mercury wagon, finally a (I think) 1964 Ford wagon. I remember one year with the Mercury, my mom ran low on gas. We were up in the mountains in a resort town. To get to the gas station, she had to reverse up hills, turn around for the downhills, turn around again for going up the next hill. What a ride. Another time, 1965, we were in a typhoon in the current wagon. There were eleven of us in it. Another wild ride driving on a road along the bay. Waves washing over us, my mom hugging the middle of the road (there was an island we could not get across). Wagons were great. The 283 V-8with its 170 gross horsepower is not going to have much highway passing reserve with all that weight. Cross-flags over the V on the tailgate would have indicated one of several 348's which would have given more than enough reserve. That car is 58 years old but properly equipped could have kept pace with most cars on the road today in equal comfort. A 58 year old car in 1960 by comparison was barely even recognizable as such it was so rudimentary by comparison to the 1960 version in its looks and capabilities. The same comparisons held true in all other realms of life comparing 1960 to 1902--homes, conveniences, dress, you name it. Virtually any of those later areas are not that significantly different from their 1960 versions. Those deflectors... were supposed to keep dust off the back window Nikon CoolscanI am having a problem with mine. Can you recommend a place that can repair them. [There aren't any. Try buying them used on eBay. - Dave] 283 V8Although I agree that a 348 engine would have been a better choice for this station wagon. The 170hp 283 was the base V8 engine with just a single two barrel carburetor. The next option up was also a 283 but with a four barrel which the above wagon may have had, which would have given it a little more passing power. Koolscan softwareDave. What software program do you use with your 4000? As it seems the program that came with it is only works for Microsoft VISTA. [I use the NikonScan software that came with the scanner, on a Windows 10 workstation. To install the software on a modern operating system, you have to disable Driver Signature Enforcement. And it's Coolscan, with a C. - Dave] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Kodachromes 1, Travel & Vacation)
Washington's Tomb: 1902
Fairfax County, Virginia, 1902. "Mount Vernon -- Washington's tomb." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Worth a Visit But if you have time for only one of the Founding Fathers' homes, I rec ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/29/2019 - 1:04pm -

Fairfax County, Virginia, 1902. "Mount Vernon -- Washington's tomb." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Worth a VisitBut if you have time for only one of the Founding Fathers' homes, I recommend Jefferson's Monticello, both for the building itself and for the excellent tour guides. Visited Many TimesI came here St. Patrick’s Day with the Friendly Sons of St Patrick’s. Well worth the visit. It hasn’t changed in the last 80 years that I know. (The Gallery, D.C., DPC)
Auto Parking 25¢: 1923
April 26, 1923. Washington, D.C. "Automobiles at ballpark, opening game, Nationals-Athletics." ... which was the name of the American League franchise in DC in 1923. There was no NL team, so "Nationals" makes no sense. The team that ... became the Minnesota Twins went to the World Series for DC in 1924 (won) and 1925 (lost). They moved to Minnesota in 1960 and were ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/01/2012 - 8:31pm -

April 26, 1923. Washington, D.C. "Automobiles at ballpark, opening game, Nationals-Athletics." National Photo glass negative. View full size. They all look differentI don't see any two cars here that look the same. Just the rear window shapes are a hundred times more diverse than what I see in a modern parking lot. Home Opener for WashingtonThe sign looks temporary. I wonder if they raised the parking price for the home opener. I would have. Harding was throwing out the first pitch. Looks like the guy in the white shirt is raking it in. Hand crankingThe Buick owner in the first row plate #23867 evidently is an optimist as he's covered the crank hole with the license plate. Compare plate 107 on an identical car in Row 2. N.1115On the Baxter McKinney building, is N.1115 a phone number? [On the sign at the bottom: PHONE N.1115 - Dave] Help! I've parked and I can't get out!Guess there was no leaving at the seventh inning stretch for some folks. Is this my car?I wonder how many people left the game and had trouble finding their car because they all looked the same. Classy ChassisI'd choose the one that's in the furthest row, 6th from the right. The one with 5 glass rear-windows. Nationals? Really?I'm sure this should have read "Senators," which was the name of the American League franchise in DC in 1923. There was no NL team, so "Nationals" makes no sense. The team that eventually became the Minnesota Twins went to the World Series for DC in 1924 (won) and 1925 (lost). They moved to Minnesota in 1960 and were replaced by another team that eventually became the Texas Rangers. [The team was called The Nationals. Below: Headline showing the results of this game in 1923, and one from the 1924 World Series. - Dave] A little speculationMy hunch is that the Baxter McKinney building is the "existing garage" at 2035 Georgia Avenue that later received a building permit for an addition (under a different owner name) (Washington Post, 9/9/1928). Also that the large building on the horizon to the right is the Cairo Hotel, for many years the only high-rise private building in Washington. The Washington Post for 12/25/1917 also records the sale of a property at 1927-1931 9th Street NW (about two blocks from the Georgia Avenue location) to Baxter McKinney. LocationDoes anyone know of the old location of the ball field in DC? [American League Park, later called Griffith Stadium, on Georgia Avenue at Fifth Street NW. - Dave] I'd take the phaeton3rd row this side of the fence, 1st car along the left side of the driveway. It's a little lower-slung and really snazzy-looking. Anyone know what the Sporty Convertible is at the right end of row two. Not bad...The average yearly wage in 1923 was $1236.00 a year....that is approx $23.76 a week...he has 75 cars visible on the lot (and probably a few more out of frame), so has made $18.75 for the day. Wonder how busy he is during the week? Make sure you have your AAA card handyLots of AAA medallions on the radiators of several cars. I would have gotten lost in the parking lot just checking out all of the makes and models. Additional InfoFrom this link you can see the full stadium view, including the specific parking location in the upper right corner. Also not to belabor the point, but the baseball team was locally known as the Nationals or "Nats", but officially known as the Senators. Using the link above you can see a few players from the 1923 team including Walter Johnson and Tom Zachary. Donnie Bush ("Bushmen") was the manager of the team for that year. Great stuff! Funny how one picture leads to a journey for more information on it. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Sports)
Washington Whizzers: 1941
May 1941. Washington, D.C. "Rent a bicycle -- Sunday recreation at the Tidal Basin." ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/23/2017 - 3:59pm -

May 1941. Washington, D.C. "Rent a bicycle -- Sunday recreation at the Tidal Basin." Medium format negative by Martha McMillan Roberts. View full size. ViveLa France bikes on the left, 1940-ish vintage. (The Gallery, Bicycles, D.C., Martha Roberts)
Washington: 1943
December 1943. Visitors at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. View full size. 3x3 safety negative by Esther Bubley for the Office of War Information. The Twilight Zone This picture totally reminded me of "The Twilight Zone." The episod ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 11:00am -

December 1943. Visitors at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. View full size. 3x3 safety negative by Esther Bubley for the Office of War Information. The Twilight ZoneThis picture totally reminded me of "The Twilight Zone." The episode with the man that loves to read, and there was some attack, which he was the only survivor of. He discovers all the library books scattered everywhere, and he loves it because now he has the time to read, and all these wonderful books. But then, his glasses break on steps that look like these. I thought it was horrible. (The Gallery, D.C., Esther Bubley)
Washington Wishbone: 1917
Washington, D.C., circa 1917. "Street scene, New York Avenue & H Street ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/15/2017 - 10:07am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1917. "Street scene, New York Avenue & H Street N.W., from Masonic Temple. New York Avenue Presbyterian Church with Woodward Building behind, and Southern and Real Estate Trust buildings." 8x10 inch glass negative, National Photo Company Collection. View full size. Don't Be BashfulJust behind the Southern Building at right center is the Shoreham Hotel. The National Garage at far left was, in an earlier incarnation, the slightly cheesy Halls of the Ancients. By 1923, it had morphed again into the Auto Mart, as seen in a reverse-angle photo taken from the Real Estate Trust Building. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Hello In There: 1920
Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Merchants Bank, G Street N.W." What looks at ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 7:39pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Merchants Bank, G Street N.W." What looks at first like a fairly desolate street scene turns out to have a number of players. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Philatelic scrutinyThe posture of the customer (he's wearing a hat, so I'm presuming) in Harry B. Mason's window leads me to believe he's scrutinizing a stamp album rather than an insurance policy. Then again, perhaps he just spotted the fine print. Cleveland in WashingtonCleveland motorbike with an old-school kickstand. Awesome! American Multi-what?From http://thegreatgeekmanual.com/blog/this-day-in-geek-history-december-12 - referencing December 12, 1903: "The American Multigraph Sales Company of Cleveland, Ohio begins manufacturing the Multigraph duplicating machine, the first commercially successful device to simplify the printing process. It was patented on March 10, 1903 by inventor, Harry C. Gammeter, a typewriter salesman. Consisting of a metal drum with vertical channels running across it, it allows laymen to arrange moveable type with a retaining foot into the channels to roll out professionally lettered solicitation letters." Horsepower BlanketsTwo more to add to the assortment of engine-warmers seen here on Shorpy. American Multigraph Sales CompanyI couldn't figure out what a multigraph was, so I looked it up: From http://stampedout.net/information-022-am_his.html "1902 - American Multigraph Sales Co. introduces Gammeter Multigraphs. These were used to mass produce form letters." Strange at bestOkay, I see the three legged ghost in front of the milliner and the secretary on the second floor. But what really catches my eye are a few other things. Like the coffin lining drapes in the bank windows -- sort of a portent of the future? And the extremely narrow front tire on the truck for rent. Last but not least, the window dresser of the tailor was ahead of their time. In the twenties things seemed so ornate compared to the stark plainness of today but this one was "dead" on. I've seen photos labeled "creepy" here before, but this one gets my vote. The Merchants Bank Washington Post, Apr 23, 1918 Bank to Purchase 5-Story Building The Merchants Bank, it is understood, has virtually closed a deal for the purchase of the five-story building at 1413 G street, immediately adjoining the building at 1415 G street, which it recently acquired and which it was planned to remodel to meet the needs of a banking house. President P.A. Drury, it is reported, on good authority, has decided to locate his bank in the building at 1413 instead of 1415 as originally planned, and will remodel this building instead. The bank will retain possession of both buildings, and will lease the first floor of 1415 for stores, which will open on the arcade which passes between the two properties. The rooms of the upper stories of the two buildings already are connected. The bank will use as much of the upper stories as may be required to meet its needs, and will lease the rest as offices. Name That CarOK guys, the first car on our left is definitely a Ford Model T (probably a '17 or '18 touring), the truck is also a T (or a TT?), but what is the middle one? I always find it fascinating to see what these cars really looked like in real time instead of restored cars or survivors. The Middle Car is...It seems to be a 1919 Dodge. "1919 DODGE: From 1916 to 1923, Dodge was built on a 114-inch wheelbase. Until 1919, little change in appearance took place. In March of that year, a four­door enclosed sedan was introduced into the Dodge line. " Thanks to : http://www.allpar.com/cars/dodge/dodge-cars.html Mystery CarIt's a Dodge -- circa 1919 or 1920. That's the standard, albeit skinny, width for the front tires on the 'T Truck at right. The back axle of the truck seems to be a replacement -- solid rubber tires, different suspension, etc. Something SocietyCan anyone determine what the writing on the third-floor window of the building on the left reads? It looks like: Instructive Visitin***** Society. [INSTRUCTIVE VISITING NURSE SOCIETY. - Dave] Multigraph had a long historyThe American Multigraph Company was eventually folded into the Addressograph company, which also provided equipment for mass-addressing of envelopes, brochures, etc. The company was long known as Addressograph-Multigraph (AM), and also as Addressograph-Multilith. They bought the Varityper composing device and existed until the advent of desktop publishing as one of the premier manufacturers of typesetting equipment, AM Varityper. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Turkeys to Washington: 1929
November 26, 1929. "Thanksgiving turkeys for the President." Two feathered and one automotive. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size. In Defense of Vikings The Viking was no turkey, though it ended up having a very short ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/27/2014 - 11:10am -

November 26, 1929. "Thanksgiving turkeys for the President." Two feathered and one automotive. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size. In Defense of VikingsThe Viking was no turkey, though it ended up having a very short automotive life (thanks to a little economic problem in October 1929). It was made by General Motors as a more upscale companion car in the Oldsmobile line and introduced for the 1929 model year. It even had some mechanical innovation to its engine. Unfortunately, introducing a luxury car line in 1929 was really, really bad timing. GM continued making the Viking in 1930, but all new car sales were dismal that year. Though there is such a thing as a 1931 Viking, the 1931 model is said to be the leftover parts from the 1930 cars that were never made, because they didn't sell. The marque was discontinued in 1931. The Hoovers' real turkeys of late 1929President Herbert Hoover's turkey that year came from the "Lake Shore Manor" farm of Mrs. August Neubauer on Lost Lake near Gilbert, Minnesota. The First Lady's turkey came from the farm of Walter Bernsten near Duluth. The Arrowhead Association's original plan was to fly in a single flightless bird for the president (with C.R. "Dusty" Rhodes as the pilot). However, after a second bird was added, the resulting shortage of "crate space" in the plane (and fear that cold temps in the air would endanger their lives) transformed the expedition into a road trip. Their escorts were Roy D. Drake, West Duluth automobile dealer, and Hiram P. McBride, correspondent of the Duluth Herald. New 90 degree Viking EightSaturday Evening Post ad for the Viking. Click to enlarge. The Viking Next DoorIn 1956 when I was in middle school, a retired neighbor couple had a Viking automobile that was still in great condition. Nearer My POTUS to TheeBehind these estimable fellows is the State, War, and Navy Building (known today as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building), so they are quite near their ultimate destination, the White House. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Thanksgiving)
Woman's Bureau: 1922
November 1922. Washington, D.C. "Woman's Bureau, Metropolitan Police Dep't. Telephone calls ... to different rooms by pushing doorbell buttons. The DC police must have used this one as an intercom of some kind. Washington ... Cell, Phone If this is typical of an office in the DC Police Department, I'd hate to see what the cells in the DC Jail looked ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 11:17pm -

November 1922. Washington, D.C. "Woman's Bureau, Metropolitan Police Dep't. Telephone calls bring prompt attention." National Photo Co. View full size. Cold OfficeI just noticed that she is on the exterior side of that double hung window. That really makes this office uninviting! Behind BarCan't decide if that bar is to keep her in or others out. In either case, it appears one would have to crawl under it. At least she has the keys. Hey! Fish!If this was NY's 12th Precinct, I would expect Wojo and Fish were out on a call. Obviously they modeled the set of "Barney Miller" on this. ErgonomicsThat particular arrangement is my personal idea of hell. So spatious and invitingNo expense was spared to accommodate the WB. [It was an extra-spatial kind of spatiousness. - Dave] Nothin' like a hairnetTo take away any semblance of sex appeal. Call indicator boxI have an oak call box in my kitchen the same as the one to the right of the light fixture; it was once used to summon the servants to different rooms by pushing doorbell buttons. The DC police must have used this one as an intercom of some kind. Washington "And Nearby Places"What a quaint expression, that! Not a negative commentDingy, and a lot of it doesn't seem the fault of an old negative. Cell, PhoneIf this is typical of an office in the DC Police Department, I'd hate to see what the cells in the DC Jail looked like. One Ringy Dingy, Two Ringy DingyIs this the party to whom I am speaking? 911 What's your emergency?We'll have a car out there sometime this week. Hello CentralGive me Dr. Jazz. Ruth Buzzi the elderly Lily Tomlin?The large purse is absent! Giant fingerprint faux finishMaybe Martha Stewart will have a special on how to achieve that in your own police station. Also, funny how this photo makes even the pencil sharpener look old-fashioned, even though hand-cranked ones are still fairly common. Everything within easy reach... except the pencil sharpener! That chair will swivel so she can easily use the books on the other table, and the typewriter is well out of the way of the writing surfaces. I've worked in worse. Security Fire AlarmI love the little iron hammer on the short chain. Break the glass to get to the fire alarm button. If a prankster sounds the alarm, just follow the blood trail. If the fire is real, well, decisions, decisions. Nearby PlacesGreetings from Bethesda, Maryland, one of those "nearby places." Which unfortunately can now take an hour or more to drive to during rush hour from downtown D.C. Guess it's not as nearby as it used to be! The dark side of the BureauMs. Mina Van Winkle, director of the D.C. Police Women's Bureau, provided this explanation to an audience in Boston in 1920: The Bureau was organized to enforce "the District's war-time legislation," but "proved so valuable as an emergency measure that it has been made permanent." In 1928 Ms. Van Winkle told a reporter that "Washington is the mecca for all psychopathic women of the nation." The feature story explained that one of the Bureau's functions was protecting lawmakers "from psychopathic women who flock to the city while Congress is in session with wild and utterly unfounded tales of wrongs done them by prominent men. ... Due to the vigilance of the policewomen, the government officials and other well-known Washingtonians accused of serious misdemeanors often do not even know they have been involved," because the Bureau's policewomen intercept such women, sending some to "some insane asylum" and others home to their husbands, fathers, or brothers. Depressing dimensionsWhen your office is taller than it is wide, that's not good. Fish on bun, Jello and milkShe must not have been paid much. From the looks of that sassy hairnet, she had to moonlight as a cafeteria lady. What, no spittoon?Not fair. Immaculate PerceptionOf course, this young lady's hairnet was quite common in those days. The cleansers and hair treatments of the day were unsophisticated, which made hairstyling a challenge. Mass production made the fine mesh solution to runaway or frizzy hair available to all women, at a cost most could afford. The hairnets were sold at accessory stores in individual boxes and put out on display, along with the fine gloves and stockings. A great many women, from Bonnie Parker to Eleanor Roosevelt, wore hairnets when they were considered a neat, clean, and feminine beauty product. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, The Office)
The Banquet: 1920
Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Civitan Club." Caught in the middle of the soup ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2012 - 10:15pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Civitan Club." Caught in the middle of the soup course. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Carrot soup?So few of these gents are bespectacled that I am wondering if the carrot soup truly aids the eyesight. I can't imagine a group of this style today with such a minimum of visual aids. ClassyThe two guys up front wearing spats. So formalThe spats are spiffy! Back SeatThe two guys without black or white tie seem to be relegated to a separate side table. I guess they just didn't know how to dress for the occasion. !!!Ring Ring!!!Wonder if the phone jangled during the proceedings? It wouldn't go to voicemail, that's for sure. DifficultI can't find anyone in the picture that seems pleased to be there. But I do like the design of those chairs. Duck!Reminds me of the Louisville Slugger scene from one of the mafia movies. I believe it was 'Capone' or the like. CaponesqueI love a man in spats! And at the kiddies' tableMaybe they were banished there for showing up out of tux. After all, there ARE two empties inside the horseshoe next to the head table. Presumably those two no-shows were powerful enough to warrant choice seating and our two lads were not. At least they weren't told, "No soup for you." So which is it?Is this a white-tie affair or black-tie? Apparently the invitations weren't specific and assumptions were made. Thank goodness the gents in front remembered their spats. And what's up with the two guys off to side? They look quite a bit younger and they are not in Evening Dress - maybe that is the Civitan Children's table. Farewell dinnerThe massive floral arrangement at the back of the room would have me peering over my soup plate wondering if a casket was hidden in there. Civitan Club Luncheon Minutes Washington Post, Feb 24, 1922 The Civitan club held its weekly luncheon at the City club yesterday. E. Barrett Prettyman won the attendance prize. Ernest Greenwood announced that a hat will be given the member who produces the best slogan for the club. Robert Armstrong, president of the National Press club, was speaker. Washington Post, Mar 10, 1922 Better and cheaper automobiles and clothes are now on the market, Chester Warrington, automobile dealer and H.S. Omohundro, tailor, yesterday told the Civitan club at its weekly luncheon at the City club. Three-minute talks by members featured the meeting. I.L. Goldheim, haberdasher, said that once again men are getting quality clothes. Ira La Motte, manager of the Shubert-Belasco theater, told the club that Washington was the only bright spot in a disastrous season for theaters throughout the country. Oliver Hoyem, connected with the publicity department of the American Federation of Labor, and Dr. Grant S. Barnhart, physician, also spoke. Washington Post, Mar 13, 1922 The Civitan club is strongly opposed to the recent action of the board of education authorizing the use of branch libraries in the public schools by white and colored children indiscriminately, President Rudolph Jose announced yesterday. Resolutions adopted by the board of directors of the club describe the action of the school board as "vicious" and detrimental to the interests of both white and colored. Washington Post, May 19, 1922 Work has been started on the new additions to the Civitan camp, it was announced yesterday at the weekly luncheon of the Civitans at the City club. It will be decided during the present week the exact time that the camp will open to receive poor children of Washington. Dr. S.M. Johnson delivered a short talk on the necessity of completing the Lee highway, citing the great help and money the road would bring to business men of this city. Washington Post, Sep 8, 1922 Future plans for the "Ladies' night" entertainment, on October 12, were discussed at the luncheon of the Civitan Club in the City Club yesterday, Charles Crane is chairman of the committee on arrangements. It was decided to visit the Baltimore Civitan Club on September 22, at which time a special golf match between the local club and Baltimore will be held. Chester Warrington is captain of the Washington club team. A report of the camp, which closed last Saturday, was read and approved. Rudolph Jose presided. The club will meet Thursday night in the City Club, instead of in the middle of the day. Washington Post, Oct 27, 1922 Stricter observance of the regulation regarding the signals to be made by motorists at the street intersections was urged by C.J. James at the luncheon of the Civitan club yesterday at the City club. Mr. James asserted that many drivers merely drop their arms on the outside of the car, no matter what they intend to do. This sort of signal, he said, means nothing, emphasizing definite signals required by law should be used. C.H. Warrington declared that pedestrians should be regulated as well as motorists. He declared also that the proposed reduction of the automobile speed limit to twelve miles an hour would cause great congestion in the business district. Washington Post, Dec 26 1922 The Civitan club will hold a luncheon meeting at 12:30 today at the Lafayette. The ShiningWhere are Lloyd and the caretaker? Japanese LanternWhat are those suspended boxes? Civitan ClubsMy father, Fred T. Massie, was very active in the Civitan Club of Dallas. They were a civic group, which meant they did things for the good of the city. Such as provide for orphans to go to camp. They met once a month at the Adolphus Hotel. Most of the powerful men in Dallas were members of "The Civitan." It was a way to give back to Dallas. My mother, Mary Massie, was involved in "The Ladies of Civitan." I remember going to the Christmas meeting with her. We had lunch and then put Christmas stockings together for needy children. I don't know where this picture was taken, but there were Civitan Clubs in cities all over the nation. [As noted in the very first word of the caption, this was taken in Washington. - Dave] Young clubAccording to Wikipedia, Civitan was organized by a group of men in Birmingham, Alabama in 1917. These men broke off from a local Rotary club, because of differences they had with the direction they perceived it was going. Civitan is very active today and still headquartered in Birmingham. FormalwearIt's amazing how little the style of tuxedos has changed in the past 90 years. Oh, sorry, wrong banquetIt was too late for apologies. Machine Gun McGurk and his Thompson had spoken. Japanese lanternsThey are light fixtures -- thin brass or some other gold-coloured metal frames with lacquered paper or parchment fillers and painted designs. Black tie vs. White tieWhat this picture shows is the gradual replacement of traditional white tie formal dress by black tie. At this point in history, the invitation would probably have simple said formal, or, I suspect, it would not have made the designation at all. The attendees at a function like this would have automatically known what to wear. Events like this would have seen a mix of white tie, with a sprinkling of black tie. The tuxedo, as we know it, was first worn around 1890, as a more casual form of formal dress for men (I know, an oxymoron.) At this time the dinner jacket would be worn with a black waistcoat. Later on the cummerbund became more popular. A few more interesting details here: there is one man with a white tie and a black vest. This would have been much more common in the late 19th century, but was definitely passe, but not proscribed, by 1920. The variety of collars and ties among the black tie wearers is also interesting. With white tie you only wear a stand up collar and white bow tie. The black dinner jacket (aka tuxedo) admits a greater range of acceptable collars and ties. Two gents in the front have interesting lay down collars with some sort of criss cross tie that doesn't look like a standard bow tie. And of course everyone knows that an outfit like this is NEVER worn before 6. Before 6 (really up until 4) a gentleman would wear a cutaway coat (tailcoat with tails that curve away in front, as opposed to the sharp right angle of the white tie tailcoat), with striped trousers, a gray vest and a cravat. BTW, I DON'T think those are spats. I think those shoes have patent leather on the lower part and calfskin on the upper part. But I'm not sure. True spats would show a strap under the sole of the shoe. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing)
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