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December 1940. "Secondhand plumbing store, Brockton, Mass." 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size. As of 2007, Saba Mechanical Plumbing & Heating is still in business in Brockton, at an address on Linus Avenue.
Smart advertising for the 40's.
I left that original comment, but I would not be surprised if this building is still standing. Most of downtown Brockton still has all the old buildings. I am going back there in a few weeks and will try and track it down. I will let you know if I find it, and take pictures for you.
I'm the author of the 'Definitely Not Gone' comment. A friend tells me that I might be wrong about that -- it might not be (oddly enough) the same house.
So when I get a chance to take a photo, I'll pass it along, right or wrong. But maybe I shouldn't have been so certain in the first place.
Can an url for for a current photo be posted here?
A photo will be taken, and I'll send it along when I have it.
Amazing! If you could send a photo or GPS coordinates that would be super. I was looking for it on Google Earth but in the wrong place! BIG THANKS.
Ah!
This house is (a) not in Brockton, and (b) not gone!
It's in Somerville, MA (or maybe on the edge of Somerville and Cambridge). It's on the bus route that I used to take from work to home. It's *still* got all the radiators and junk sitting outside of it, 60+ years later -- that's how I recognized it.
Even in 1940 people couldn't figure out the difference between You're and Your.
If this is the same company that is still in business, they have definitely moved locations. This building is too old to be on Linus Street, which is in a "newer" section of Brockton. This photograph must have been taken downtown.
[You are correct, the satellite photos of the current address show a newish house. Even back in 1940 this one was getting nibbled at by the road, and had lost the upstairs porch roof. My guess is it is long gone. — Dave]
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