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March 24, 1948. "L Motors, business at 175th Street and Broadway, New York City. General view. Morris Lapidus, client." Need a new car? Go straight to L. Large-format acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.
R&S Strauss Discount Auto: http://bit.ly/Xq1ssy
What's a "Plymouth".
What's a two-phase traffic light.
Statements of yesteryore, not questions. Ahhh. Sigh.
The streetcar tracks shown on Broadway were no longer in use at the time of the photo, the streetcar lines having been discontinued about nine months earlier. It would be tempting to say that the expansion of private auto ownership as exemplified by the cars in the window was the reason for the abolition of the streetcars, which would be true in most parts of the country, but in New York the switch to buses was the main reason.
That photo reminds me very much of the Edward Hopper painting.
The 175th St & Broadway neighborhood is the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. At he time this picture was taken it was was a multi ethnic enclave. Heavily Jewish, with a high proportion of German refugees that arrived both before and after WW2. Some of the more well known people that grew up there were former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the stage and film Producer/Director Mike Nichols and "The Fonz", Actor/Director Henry Winkler.
Regarding the inquiry by "The Inventor" about the object in the driver's seat, I think it is probably a prop to inspire spectators to imagine themselves in the car. The convertible in the far right window appears to be full of passengers and/or dogs (but I know for sure they are not giant hamsters).
Could that car in the showroom window possibly be on a turntable? And what's that leaning out of the driver's window? A kid? A mannequin?
Via Google Streetview: http://goo.gl/maps/UhLBC
Not much to look at nowadays. This is progress?
[Edited to add: Sorry, I thought I uploaded this pic with my post:]
I could have taken this. It's beautiful.
Very well known for his hotel designs (most famously, the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach) where he tried to transform the guest experience into an extravaganza. He wanted people to always remember their visit and did all he could to make it visually memorable. This car dealership is flamboyant to the nth degree. Beautiful.
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