Managed to pick up a couple more crowns during the interval.

Can anyone explain the (apparent) traffic signal next to the cop? Or is it a coin-operated telescope for brave and voyeuristic pedestrians?

Ah, photo from my childhood. The Buckley Bridge, today known as I-84.

After this photo the photographer seems to have pivoted left from due east to roughly north to take tomorrow's photo, "Rolling Stock: 1941", of the Railway Express terminal of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad. Or the reverse pivot.

De Pasquale's bakery is still in business today; it was bought in the 70s by a more recent Italian immigrant and is today known as Mozzicato De Pasquale Bakery.

As a 61-year-old, I grew up with automatic transmission, but I’ve evolved into a driver who owns a car with a stick. Greater control, better gas economy: two of the many reasons. I drove a car with automatic transmission on the weekend, and it freaked me out how the car moves forward on its own when you take your foot off the brake. It wanted to drive itself!

Just normal people on a normal day driving to normal places in their normal lives. I wish I could visit this moment and find out where they were all going. I would bet it was fabulously boring.

Dave, do yo have a book with these in? By the way, one of the first TV shows that my wife and I watched together.

The DePasquale Bros. van looks suspicious and might be carrying more than bread!

Imagine: all those vehicles with only one possibly equipped with an automatic transmission (the '40 Olds, center oncoming, about five cars back) and another with a semi-automatic (the '41 Dodge behind the box truck). How ever did all those drivers manage?

Curb lane behind the pickup is a '41 Ford convertible - maybe red. Inner lane just ahead of that Ford is a '39 Ford panel truck just behind a '39 Ford Woody (technically a 'station wagon".

I'll take the woody, thank you!

In this image one can see there are no overhead trolley wires for the streetcar tracks. A little searching on the internet indicates the streetcar system in Hartford had lost money for years and in December 1940 the City Council empowered the mayor to execute agreements to convert the remaining streetcar lines to motorbus operation. The last car ran on July 28, 1941, when the last four lines were converted. One can see dark horizontal stripes on some of the lamp poles where support brackets were undoubtedly once were installed. Within a year rationing of fuel and tires would take effect.