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1905. "Pioneer Press building, St. Paul, Minnesota." Ghost pedestrians galore! 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size.
There's a ghost paper boy at the corner holding up his wares. It looks like he's holding a bundle of papers under his arm as well.
Yes, it's still there, still looking good. But now dwarfed by surrounding buildings.
The ghost pedestrians are interesting; but so are the mortal ones. Here are my scenarios (influenced by sheltering-at-home boredom):
The two men outside the Western Union office -- sleeve protectors establish one as a Western Union employee. He's come outside to show the other man something. Has he taken a bribe to reveal someone else's message?
The couple standing outside the NY Central Lines office -- is there an elopement in the works? Will they go through with it?
Next door to NY Central is a Postal Telegraph office, once competition to Western Union. But in 1945 they merged, and the merged entity became increasingly not used.
The current location of Pioneer Press is a couple of blocks away. However, this old brownstone structure still exists and houses a bunch of offices, shops, a boutique and the Minnesota Museum of American Art.
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