Framed or unframed, desk size to sofa size, printed by us in Arizona and Alabama since 2007. Explore now.
Shorpy is funded by you. Patreon contributors get an ad-free experience.
Learn more.
April 1940. "Dubuque, Iowa." Grit and gum in the Key City. 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
This could be the opening shot for the credits in a Robert Mitchum or Robert Ryan or Mickey Spillane thriller. It captures that grittiness and mystery very well. Who could be sitting in that car?
The composition, subjec -- I wonder if the photographer was influenced by the painter Edward Hopper.
Can anyone tell us what the purpose of the framework attached to the shed is? There are at least two wires running to the top of the framework, but no power lines or telephone lines appear to connect to it.
I'm impressed (or depressed?) by the amount of garbage all over the place. If there's one thing the USA has gotten better at, it is keeping the garbage off the streets and sidewalks. I've been elsewhere, and I think the USA has come a long way since this photo.
What an excellent subject for a railroad diorama.
Don't think that a lot of people living in this neighborhood could buy a new Ford, landlord?
A Wabash boxcar in the back yard!
I knew there was a reason I live in the suburbs.
On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5