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Out for a drive: 1915
This is my Grandfather behind the wheel of a car, probably in or near Coraopolis Pennsylvania, 1915. The woman behind him holding the baby is my grandmother. The baby she is ... 
 
Posted by Ekta-Ken - 01/15/2012 - 3:29pm -

This is my Grandfather behind the wheel of a car, probably in or near Coraopolis Pennsylvania, 1915. The woman behind him holding the baby is my grandmother. The baby she is holding is my Aunt Ange, who just passed away this week at age 96. I wanted to share this to honor her life. My grandparents were Italian immigrants, and this is from a set of glassplate negatives that were found in my grandfather's attic after he moved to a nursing home around 1980. Does anybody know what kind of car this is? View full size. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Grandpa's First Car: c. 1915
... the Highland Park Model T plant from 1910 to 1919. About 1915 they bought their first car, of course a Model T. My grandmother wrote on the back of the photo, "What ... 
 
Posted by OldDetroit - 03/22/2011 - 7:36am -

My grandfather worked at the Highland Park Model T plant from 1910 to 1919. About 1915 they bought their first car, of course a Model T. My grandmother wrote on the back of the photo, "What a TRILL!" When they moved back to Pennsylvania in 1919 grandma drove a T (not sure if it was the same one or not) to deliver baked goods, helping out with the family income. Photo taken in the Highland Park area. View full size. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Advance Bottling Works: 1915
... Drinks, 311-313 Warner Avenue, Peoria, Illinois, circa 1915. From Peoria City and County, Illinois: A Record of Settlement, ... engaged in driving a team and later became a street car conductor. He turned from this to enter the ice business and subsequently ... 
 
Posted by Christoph Traugott - 09/30/2017 - 11:17am -

Advance Bottling Works, ABC brand Ginger Ale, Lemon, Strawberry, Grape and other fruit-flavored Soft Drinks, 311-313 Warner Avenue, Peoria, Illinois, circa 1915. From Peoria City and County, Illinois: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Volume 2, by James Montgomery Rice, 1912: "William Dorey is at the head of one of the well known productive industries of Peoria — The Advance Bottling Works, manufacturers and bottlers of soft drinks. His life record had its beginning on the 17th of October, 1871, Peoria being his native city. He was left an orphan by the death of his parents when only six months old and was adopted by a family that reared him. His youthful days were passed in this city and he attended the public schools, thus acquiring his education. He afterward engaged in driving a team and later became a street car conductor. He turned from this to enter the ice business and subsequently he engaged in dealing in coal. His next venture was in the feed business and at one time he dealt in gasoline and oil but sold out in that line to engage in the liquor trade, in which he continued in Peoria for six years, then in the manufacture and bottling of soft drinks at No. 313 Warner Avenue." (Permission granted and courtesy of Peoria Historical Society Collections) View full size. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Groundhog Day: 1917
... contest. Here's a start: You're telling me this car costs 35,000 dollars and it doesn't have airbags? Do You Ever Have ... of the intersection here .- Dave] 1913 Haynes, or 1915? Well first of all the car is a Haynes. In 1913 Haynes has gas ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/06/2014 - 8:45am -

"District of Columbia. Traffic Stop and Go signs." Here we are again at 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, still waiting for the umbrella to change. After seven days (or is it 91 years) in this intersection, will these dapper gents in their snazzy Haynes roadster ever make it across? Tune in again tomorrow. And maybe the day after that. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Keep it under 25 next time, ChiefOfficer Stalin seems to be giving them a stern message, but the passenger is smiling so it must not be that bad. Is that a cop on another platform on the other side of the intersection? This Could Be Very FunnyDave, it's time for a new caption contest. Here's a start: You're telling me this car costs 35,000 dollars and it doesn't have airbags? Do You Ever Have Déjà Vu?"I don't know, but I could ask the kitchen." If Bill Murray drove a 1913 Haynes Roadster around, then it would *really* be my all-time favorite movie. Fashionable UniformThat cop is wearing knickers! I guess the Uniform Evaluation Board rejected this novel idea. As Barney Fife often said, "You have to nip it, nip it in the bud." Avoiding a Ticket"Honestly, ossifer, I ain't been drinkin' a drop. Lemme buy some ducats to the Boliceman's Pall!" SlideI can't imagine these cars in winter with those bald front tires. Given the sheer amount of photos this cannot be that busy of an intersection. Can you imagine this happening today? [The front wheels don't have brakes, so it might not have made much difference. Those are two different kinds of tire front and back. Another view of the intersection here.- Dave] 1913 Haynes, or 1915?Well first of all the car is a Haynes. In 1913 Haynes has gas headlamps and an earlier body style. I think this is a 1915 model. It appears that the car is virtually new by the lack of dirt and the excellent paint finish. [The ad below, from the Feb. 16, 1913, New York Times, advertises the Haynes as having "two large electric headlights." Click to enlarge. This is the 1913 Haynes Model 24 four-door touring car. - Dave] Stop signsRotating stop signs were in use in US cities in the 1910s. I wonder if for a time these were more common in some places than the simple stationary sign we all know and love today? Postcard view, officer working a rotating stop sign at the corner of Canal Street and Royal Street, New Orleans. Note beer advertisement confirming pre-Prohibition date. Old rotating stop sign brought out for filming of period scene in movie. Infrogmation of New Orleans (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Harris + Ewing)
Woodward Avenue: 1917
... in the winter of 1916 and released in June 1917. Is the 1915 date on the photo in error? [Do we know what "circa" means? - Dave] ... My grandmother (who lived in Detroit) said that the only car she ever drove was an Edison Electric. She was afraid of driving a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 9:50pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1917. "Looking up Woodward Avenue." Dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. "Mellow as Moonlight"If I was a drinkin' man, I would be sippin' some a that Cascade whiskey. Motor city, for sure!Not one single horse in view. Temporal AcheMan, this is one of those Shorpy photos that really make me wish I had a time machine. Not much leftAbout the only thing still remaining is the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, and even it has been moved about 300 feet from where it stood for 130 years. An amazing photo. Casting against TypeI see the film "Somewhere in Georgia" is playing, where Ty Cobb stars surprisingly as a small-town Georgia baseball player who signs with the Detroit Tigers. Health InsuranceAlmost 100 years later, the country is in a major pique over health Insurance and the Detroit Creamery had the answer all along. This maybe the best urban photograph yet, it certainly is the busiest. Notice the #2 streetcar?It's got one of those fancy-schmancy 'people scoopers' on it, like this: https://www.shorpy.com/node/4468 HodgepodgeOne of the best urban pictures yet! Too much to take in at one sitting; The Opera House, that wonderful memorial, the traffic, those streetcars. I wonder what the tent was for in front of that fountain, just across from the Opera House. FascinatingThere's so much to look at in this photo. I especially enjoy seeing people going about their daily lives, not posing for a camera. The movie theater sign says "All Next Week, Somewhere in Georgia". According to IMDB.com "Somewhere in Georgia", starring Ty Cobb, was filmed in the winter of 1916 and released in June 1917. Is the 1915 date on the photo in error? [Do we know what "circa" means? - Dave] An Edison ElectricI notice that the Edison Electric is being driven by a woman. My grandmother (who lived in Detroit) said that the only car she ever drove was an Edison Electric. She was afraid of driving a gasoline-powered car. [Women liked electrics because there were no gears to shift, and no clutch -- shifting and clutching on cars of that era required quite a bit of muscle. - Dave] Cloudy crystal ballCover story in Time Magazine, October 5, 2009: "The Tragedy of Detroit: How a great city fell, and it it can rise again." Speaking of moonlightFarewell, good moonlight towers. Twenty years gone by the time of this photo. Is it a coincidence that Shorpy has hit upon another star of the silent screen? The theater beneath the Blackstone Cigar sign (far right)features Gladys Brockwell, who, like Kay Laurell (1890-1927), died in her thirties. Horrific 1929 car crash in California. Merrill FountainThe Merrill Fountain in front of the Opera House still exists, too. Granted, it was moved about seven miles up the road to Palmer Park. Before it was called Wootwart (Woodward)The definition of the "good old days" ... Traffic LightsGreat image. Did traffic lights look different then, or did they not have them in Detroit? [In 1917, traffic signals came on two legs. - Dave] Re: An Edison ElectricLooks more like a Detroit Electric car than the very rare Edison. The main reason the ladies like the electric car was no crank starting. Charles Kettering changed that a few years later with the electric starter motor if IC engines. Notice the complete absenceof horse poop. And horses. Stop sign doesn't apply...Surprised to see that pedestrains do not follow traffic signs as they crossed the streets. It seems that those signs were for trolleys and cars only. It anwered my question why my g-g-great uncle got killed by a trolley. ProsperityWow! You can almost hear the hustle and bustle of prosperity in this amazing photograph -- the essence of early 20th century proud American urbanity. Go to Google Earth or some other mapping web site and visit the corner of Woodward and Fort today -- a dreary, faceless, lifeless desert of glassy highrises without a pedestrian in sight. HeartbreakingWhen I go through Detroit now it is a vast third world, broken down, trashed city, with gangs and thugs peering from behind collapsed buildings. How in the name of all that is worthy could this magnificent American city come to what it is today? Almost makes me want to watch Glenn Beck. Oh what a feelingI had to smirk a bit when I opened of the intersection on Google streets and the first thing I saw was a shiny Toyota. FABULOUSThis image is go busy and wonderful. There is so much to notice. I wonder what the conversations were and so much more. There is a tent in the middle of the square to the left of the statue. Why? What is the statue of? All in WhiteI love the woman all in white crossing the street with her plaid skirted friend (near the front of the photo, just before the frontmost car). She looks so different than everyone else. I bet the two women just walking into the frame below them are talking about her. She's showing ankle AND calf! I'm sure she'll be a flapper in a few years! The girl in whiteI think that the girl in white is in fact a girl - probably a young teen accompanying her mother (the lady in the plaid skirt). Therefore she would be perfectly well dressed for her age. However that also means that she would be in the right demographic to become a flapper once the twenties (which would coincide with her twenties) rolled around. Great picture - Lord I could look at it for hours! That banner over the street"ENLIST NOW! YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU" And to your left...Seems even Detroit had its requisite "Seeing..." touring bus company. I count three "charabancs" in this photo, one across the street from Bond's with "WELLS" emblazoned on the back, and two in the centre-left crammed with mostly female tourists. Wonder what they were off to see next? I'm loving the little insignificant human moments the photographer caught and immortalized: the man at the lower left trying to make something out on a bulletin board; the hefty many putting his arm around his companion's waist next to the memorial; three ladies converging outside the theater. Fantastic. The building on the far leftis the 1896 Majestic Building, designed by the famous Chicago architect Daniel Burnham. Among other things, Burnham also designed the Flatiron Building in NYC, and oversaw the construction of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The Majestic was Detroit's tallest building until 1909, when the Ford Building (also a Burnham creation) was completed. The Ford still stands today, as well as Burnham's other Detroit creations, the David Whitney Building and the Dime Building. Sadly the Majestic was torn down in 1962 to make way for the exponentially less-interesting 1001 Woodward Building. “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die, but long after we are gone be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistence. Remember that our sons and our grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty.” -Daniel H. Burnham Sight Seeing in Detroit ca. 1917The Dietsche Sight Seeing Company was one of several companies that offered tours of Detroit back in this time period. Below is a photo of their advertisement offering their services to local companies who might want to entertain their out-of-town customers with a "Sight Seeing Trip around the city, Belle Isle, or Water Works Park." Given the description of the street banner, this photo was probably taken sometime around June 5, 1917, which was the date on which all men between the ages of 21 and 31 were required to register for the draft. Soldiers and Sailors MonumentStill nearby, but not as nicely maintained. Very Nicely MaintainedThe Soldiers & Sailors monument is actually very well maintained. Notice how it's not all blackened with soot as in the old photo. When you view it up close you can also see where some very nice restoration has recently been done. Not everything in Detroit is a rotting hulk. Still busyNot like this, but the ice skating rink at Campus Martius is already set up and would be approximately directly in front of the Detroit Opera House. Downtown Detroit is not the home of thugs or crime at all, really, but is sadly quiet when the businesses are closed. Many of the buildings are still here, and magnificent. Come visit before they tear them all down. I'll be ordering a large print of this image! Thank you Shorpy. Re. "Mellow as Moonlight"I saw this photo a few days ago, and, like GeezerNYC, I was quite struck by the Cascade Whiskey billboard. Now, I know that Geo. Dickel is still in business, and I was familiar with Dickel's Tennessee Sipppin' Whiskey and Old No. 8, but I had never heard of Cascade. It must have gone the way of the buggy whip and Lydia Pinkham, I thought. But then today I stopped at the liquor store after work to pick up a bottle of wine, and GUESS WHAT THEY HAD?!?! shhhh...too loud. So, then and I bought some. And do you guys know what? It's pretty goood. I';m drikning it right now. And I just wanna True story I swear. Hey! do you know what? I bought some oft hat Cacsade whiskey? Or is it whishky? Aanyway, I just wanna You know what/ You guys are greatf. I just wanna Hudson's Grows, and...Hudson's grew with Detroit, and perhaps inevitably, declined with Detroit. Cascade HollowThe current Cascade Hollow Whiskey was created to deal with a shortage of the Dickel No. 8 and then just hung around. They didn't have enough whiskey of a certain age so they made a new brand and put their younger stuff in it so that the quality of the No. 8 wouldn't suffer. The Cascade Hollow has been discontinued, but it's still on the shelves in many places. The name Cascade was replaced by the Dickel name after Prohibition and a number. In order of price (& quality) the current Dickel offerings are: (Cascade Hollow) Dickel No. 8 Dickel No. 12 Dickel Barrel Select (which is one of the best whiskeys I've ever had. And I've had a lot.) Anyway, Dickel is currently owned by the evil international spirits conglomorate Diageo, which also owns Guinness, Hennessey, Smirnoff, Johnny Walker, Tanqueray, Bushmills, Cpt. Morgan, Jose Cuervo, Crown Royal and many many more. I can't relate to this picture at allThere is no one in this picture that looks like me or anyone else in my family and for that matter most of my friends...maybe that's how most of the people making comments about it want Detroit to look like. Movie ID helpIn the background, there appears to be a movie showing called "The Spoilers", but Wikipedia says it came out in 1914, not 1917. Just below that it looks like "Barrymore (?) as Georgia" and to the left of that is "Ty". Anyone have some ideas as to which movies are being advertised? [The movie is "Somewhere in Georgia," with Ty Cobb, released in 1917. - Dave] Re: Re: An Edison ElectricMy great-great-grandfather Frank Montgomery Foster was selling Kissel Kars in Detroit. In 1913, he also had "one of the Detroit's finest garages at the corner of Gratiot Avenue and Grand Boulevard." It looks like the two cars in the bottom left of the photo (with the barrel fronts) may be Kissels, but I don't know enough about autos of the era to ID them. KernsMy co-worker's last name is Kerns. I showed him this picture one day and eventually forwarded it to him. He then forwarded picture to his family and learned that his mother Americanized their Polish name around 1917 after seeing that building "Kern's Children's Clothes." One of the best!The photo is insanely busy and the comments led me on a couple scavenger hunts online. Introduced to Gladys Brockwell, Daniel Burnham, Cascade, Dietsche company, etc. A very entertaining hour and a half on this one pic! Of course, being from Detroit makes it that much more interesting. Also, Heartbreaking, Detroit is a pheonix. You watch what she can do! The people have so much spirit. We love our city like a member of our family. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)
Turnpike Trucker: 1942
... want to brave the acres of small print: you can't ticket a car.) My own experience paying a toll on the 'pike wasn't so ... a 15 mph speed limit on the Ridge Route beginning in 1915. In that case, it wasn't simply a revenue collection scheme. The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/07/2023 - 4:05pm -

July 1942. "Pennsylvania Turnpike. Trucker paying toll." Acetate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Office of War Information. View full size. And here's your ticketI can't find a 1970s or 1980s news story to support what I remember (or think I remember). There was an experimental time when you were given a timed receipt upon entering the Pennsylvania Turnpike. When you exited and handed the toll booth operator your receipt, they would let you know the amount of your toll and, if you had been speeding, the amount of your speeding ticket. It was simple math -- if it took you X-time to get from A to B, you either didn't deserve a speeding ticket, or you did. There was considerable public outrage, and, to this day, I don't know of any toll road that issues speeding tickets based on this legitimate math calculation. The Big "F"Before today's tissue paper trailers took over -- aluminum skins and fiberglass roofs -- Fruehauf trailers ruled the road. In the sixties, my short haul trucker neighbor occasionally brought the 18-wheeler home for lunch -- quite a sight on our little street -- and the Fruehauf name was burned into my brain. I believe Mr. Fruehauf called his inventions "semi-trailers" when introduced. Well EquippedThe Inter-State Common Motor Carrier system had a virtual monopoly on trucking at the time. The size of the company is evident in this well-equipped 1940/41 Semi tractor with a fine hand painted company livery, a Proctor-Keefe sleeper cab, enough air horns to wake the dead, a spotlight, and Guide Direct turn signal lights mounted on the fenders. These turn signal lights had an amber arrow that lighted up when on. Urban legend of a rural roadApparently Doug wasn't the only one to fall for this story. (For those who don't want to brave the acres of small print: you can't ticket a car.) My own experience paying a toll on the 'pike wasn't so costly, but didn't entirely lack drama: a Bay Area boy, I was no stranger to the toll concept; still, I found myself thoroughly flummoxed when confronted with a sign "Exact change only" Did I have enough ? What would happen if I didn't ?? (an auto-centric version of M.T.A. flashed thru my head) Luckily, after what seemed like hours retrieving odd coins from my person and trying to pitch them into the collecting scoop, I found out I did. Only later did I realize I had entered one of the automated lanes...manned booths were available for those who didn't want to risk the answer ending up "no". Non-stopThe Pennsylvania Turnpike toll booths are still there, but instead of a toll-taker there's a sign directing you to KEEP MOVING. If you don't have an E-ZPass, your license plate is snapped, and some weeks later you get a toll bill in the mail. Speed governorIf this driver exceeds the federally-mandated Victory Speed Limit of 35 mph, all those little flags will fall off in the wind. As to the ticket system, California used it to enforce a 15 mph speed limit on the Ridge Route beginning in 1915. In that case, it wasn't simply a revenue collection scheme. The combination of steep grades, hairpin turns, and mechanical brakes caused a persistently high death toll. Skip to 11:50 in this video to see what the original road was like. The older concrete pavement zigzags back and forth across the later asphalt which was laid down in the mid 1920s as a stopgap, until the road was bypassed in 1933 by the more modern US 99, which today is largely overlaid by I-5. Backing the trailerTook some skill using those small rearview mirrors . As the saying goes ...Old truckers never die. They just get a new Peterbilt. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Cars, Trucks, Buses)
Ghost Ship: 1916
... of illnesses, the battered vessel sought refuge in April 1915 at Newport News, where its sailors were interned for over a year. After ... not a complete production reconversion as in WWII. Many car companies, for example, did reduce their output and produce trucks and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/22/2012 - 7:09pm -

September 1916. "Kron Prinz Wilhelm, German ship, interned in U.S. in tow." The former passenger liner, pressed into service as a commerce raider by the Imperial German Navy at the start of World War I, being towed from the Norfolk yards to Philadelphia. During its eight months on the high seas -- after leaving New York Harbor with 2,000 tons of coal -- the converted 15,000-ton cruiser sank more than a dozen Allied ships and took hundreds of prisoners. Running low on supplies, its crew and prisoners beset by a variety of illnesses, the battered vessel sought refuge in April 1915 at Newport News, where its sailors were interned for over a year. After the United States entered the war, the ship was seized by the government, rechristened the USS Von Steuben and converted into a troop carrier. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Wilhelm's GunsIt would be interesting to know what kind of armament this ship carried as a "raider." It certainly looks innocent enough from this view. What a great story this would make for a period-piece motion picture! [Exactly what I was thinking. The Wilhelm led quite a dramatic life. The ship seems to have been lightly armed. Wikipedia says two 88mm guns, one machine gun and two 120 mm guns. And of course a lot of small arms. Attacking mostly unarmed and much slower merchant ships, it didn't need much in the way of guns. It was basically a modern-day pirate ship that sailed around under the British flag. It would hail an Allied ship, steam alongside and then raise the German flag instead of the skull and crossbones, send a boarding party, take prisoners, scuttle the enemy ship and be on its way. - Dave] SailsVery interesting. Even though it is obviously a coal powered ship it has masts and rigging indicating that it could also be sailed under wind power. [That "rigging" might be antennas for the ship's wireless. Experts? - Dave] Rusty!Wow, what a rustbucket. The MastsI believe the masts and rigging are cranes used to lift cargo out of the ship's holds. No SailsNo sails on that ship. The rigging lines visible in the photo are heavy stays to support the masts for the lookout (crow's nest), for cargo handling when a boom is slung, and for the ship's wireless. The antennas would run fore/aft between the masts, but they were much thinner wires and don't show in the photo. The Q-ShipSpot on... Like you said, a Raider (or Q-ship on our side) depended on spoofing by fooling the warships and preying on the unarmed (or lightly armed) merchants and so did not need heavy arms. Some cut away portions of the gunwale and covered with painted canvas (or other material) sections that could drop away to expose the guns. I met an old man that was a victim of some German raider during WWII off the west coast of Africa. He was on a sailing merchant ship when they were captured, put adrift on a lifeboat, and witnessed the scuttling of their ship. They were a week at sea before landing at some fishing village in Africa and made their way back to a port and in time back to the USA where he continued in the merchant marine through the remainder of the war. Wait a minute: Timeline?So the picture is from Sept 1916, and the ship is (still?) completely messed up. In April 1915 the battered ship had sought refuge; sailors interned for over year; and then sent home sometime in 1916? (US enters the war in April 1917.) Is one of these dates incorrect? [The dates are all correct. After the United States entered the war, the sailors (who, after their ship was sent to Philadelphia, remained at Norfolk in a "German village" they constructed that became a popular tourist attraction) became prisoners of war and were sent to POW camps in Georgia. - Dave] Wartime shortagesI've read in many accounts that things became quite hard in the States when they finally entered the Great War, and that there were many shortages in raw materials and goods and services due to the conversion to a wartime economy. But interestingly enough, even though there was a very important use of American infrastructure to turn out war materiel, there was not a complete production reconversion as in WWII. Many car companies, for example, did reduce their output and produce trucks and ambulances for the armed forces, but they nevertheless were still able to produce (and sell) cars to the civilians. This photo is very interesting, because it shows the importance of these huge and heavy pieces of manufactured equipment in the war effort of any economy. Ships were still the main way to carry large amounts of supplies and soldiers across the Atlantic, and yet they were of strategic importance to any country involved in the war effort. Being a pirate ship under an enemy flag, and considering the cost and time it would take to build an equivalent ship in war conditions, it is evident why the government commissioned this ship to serve under the U.S. flag. I just can't help wondering; of course I know the States had an active shipbuilding industry back then, but, did they build special-purpose ships during the first World War, like they did with the famous Liberty Ship of the 1940's? Where, how, how many ships they built? And what happened to the many converted steamboats that were used for transporting troops during the war? Were they returned to their owners? Did any of them resume civilian passenger service after the war? Like is always the case with Shorpy, a very interesting and educational photo, worth a lot of research. Thanks for sharing! Armed Merchant CruisersKronprinz Wilhelm, like most fast passenger liners including British ships like the Lusitania, were designed (in their blueprints) to serve as armed merchant cruisers in the event of war. For example Lusitania had gun mounts on her port and starboard sides, although guns were never mounted. This was all part of a scheme in which the various governments could subsidize the construction of civilian liners with funds from their navies on the grounds that they could be used as warships. Their speed made them faster than just about anything else on the seas, but that speed meant burning a lot of coal, which was a problem for a country like Germany that couldn't send out regular supplies to its raiders. They also couldn't stand up to even an obsolete warship, as the Kronprinz Wilhelm's sister ship Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse found out when she went up against the aged HMS Highflyer. Later, more successful German raiders tended to be slower more nondescript merchant ships like Wolf II which sank 35 merchant ships and 2 warships in a 451 day cruise, or the sailing ship Seeadler, which sank 15 ships in a 225 day cruise. Additionally,..Halfway up the mast there's a crow's nest, which would have dated from the ship's use as a liner. Viewers of "Titanic" will remember the scene just prior to the collision with the two sailors in the same post. A WarshipI believe that Kronprinz Wilhelm's decrepit state is due to the fact that she was considered a warship, and under international law she couldn't be repaired or even maintained once she was interned. On the other hand, ships like the Imperator, which weren't converted to warships could be maintained by their crews, and could even sail back to Germany. The big problem for them was the blockade - at both ends of the trip. The Royal Navy and the dominion navies (the Royal Canadian and Royal Australian Navies) maintained a blockade of American ports. Their ships would lurk just outside the territorial limit waiting for German ships to try to make a run for it and then seize them. HMCS Niobe operated off New York until 1915 when she was declared "worn out" and HMCS Rainbow operated off Seattle. She even managed to capture a pair of German schooners that tried to escape that port. [The ship could have been fixed up before heading out to sea, but the captain chose to stay put. Below: New York Times. - Dave] World War I Emergency ShipbuildingThe answer to Miguel Chavez's question is yes (I'm tempted to write of course). There was a program to produce -- I'm not sure we can say mass produce in that period -- relatively simply designed cargo ships called Hog Islanders at a shipyard at that location (I think it might have been near Philadelphia). Also there was a crash program to produce concrete ships (they would be called ferrocement ships today), becasue steel was in such short supply. Rather surprisingly, they looked just like contemporary steel cargo ships. Also, shipyards in Maine swung into high gear to produce large numbers of wooden, mostly sail-powered schooners, although I don't think there was any Government program behind this, just private industry sensing a chance for a profit. The last of the concrete ships is partly visible above the water off Cape May Point, New Jersey, to this day. I believe these programs were almost complete failures. The innovative new designs, while they were economical of materials and labor to produce, didn't start hitting the water in numbers until the war was practically over. In addition, many of them had mechanical or reliability problems and were not successful in a functional sense, either. The Hog Islanders were the most effective at carrying cargo and many of them remained commercially viable until 1929, when the bottom fell out of the shipping market. A few of the Maine sailing ships remained viable till World War II. Possibly Mr. Kaiser and his associates studied this period's failures and that's how the Liberty ships were so successful. Passenger ships of that era.Those wires are cables for supporting the masts. In regards to captured German cruise ships, there were quite a few that had serious electrical problems. In some cases wiring inside the walls would short and cause fires inside the walls themselves. A few ships burned completely. The Kron Prinz Wilhelm from what I read was used by the US Navy until 1923 and scrapped. A shame. Ships of this era are works of art. Hard-used Navy shipsThe USS Santa Olivia was a civilian cargo ship taken over by the Navy as a troop ship. My grandmother's uncle was an officer on her. Below: the ship on completion in July 1918 and then probably in May 1919, when she looks like a rust bucket. I think they just ran the ships back and forth across the Atlantic constantly with no time to paint them. Coming to AmericaThis is the ship my great great grandfather came to America on! High-Difference CamouflageSome great photos of dazzle-painted ships here and here. Early camouflageI don't think that early camo schemes like dazzle were intended to deceive the viewer in the sense of not seeing the target but to confuse the outline to make identification more difficult. If a ship could be identified (or at least its class) then the apparent size of the image could make the range estimation much more accurate if looking though a periscope, and the size of the bow wave could improve the speed estimate, raising the probability of a hit. I have seen pictures of ships painted with a false bow wave so that its speed would be overestimated, resulting in a torpedo miss instead of a hit. Anything that reduced the probability of a hit was helpful. DazzlingI have no doubt that Dazzle Camouflage is (or rather was) effective in the days when visual sighting rather than radar or sonar was the principal means of identifying a target. The thing is though that for a modern viewer it is difficult to imagine how it could be. We see the images in monochrome and usually under ideal conditions - the ship is in port or stationary. But of course the paint jobs weren't all - or even usually - black and white and the ships that the U-Boat skippers saw were moving through seas at various states and weather conditions. I guess what I'm saying is that when we see black & white photos of ships in Dazzle Camouflage we aren't even getting part of the true effect. Dazzle CamouflageIf you've ever used a typical manual-focus 35mm camera, you might be able to picture one of the intended effects of "dazzle": making it hard to line up the linear elements in the split image of a rangefinder. Optical rangefinders, using two widely spaced lenses, were the principal method used in warships of this era to determine the distance between them and the target. In principle, you could see a dazzle-painted target plainly but still have difficulty hitting it with guns or torpedoes. Painting ShipLooking over the images on Shorpy's there aren't many times when I wish that a black & white photo were in colour, but some of these ship pictures are among them. The photos of the Santa Olivia are a huge contrast, but would she have looked as much like a rust bucket in the second photo in colour than she does in black & white. The paint work on the dazzle camouflage patterns in the first picture are so sharp and clear that you'd wonder that it deceived anyone. How much of the appearance of the "rust bucket" version of the ship is dirt and grime and rust, and how much is a more effective effort to deceive? I think Kronprinz Wilhelm was a rust bucket, almost certainly after almost a year of internment following her time as a raider. The Baron came to America - Twice.The ship's namesake is Baron (Crown Prince) Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. It's interesting to note the Germans used his title and first name(s) while the US used his title and last name. He was a Prussian trained command officer who met Benjamin Franklin in Paris just as the War for Independence was breaking out in America and volunteered to come to America to help the effort - he was looking for work to help alleviate his personal debt and had heard Benjamin Franklin was going to be in Paris and travelled to meet him. He was endorsed by the French government just as France was forming their alliance with the Americans. He volunteered at first to come (later he was paid) and assist the American war effort and was immediately dispatched to join the American forces. He arrived in the US shortly before the American government was being driven out of the capital in Philadelphia by the British and was present during the exodus. He met up with Continental Army General George Washington at Valley Forge during that cold winter and began his efforts at organizing and training the Army. It's from him that the US developed its concepts of military structure and training programs still in practice today, including command structure, elementary concepts of boot camp and right down to the "in your face" training methods of Drill Sergeants still in use today. He was one of the three Commanders in charge of one of the Divisions when General Cornwallis was trapped and forced to surrender at Yorktown, VA - effectively ending the War for Independence. Incredible photo! Named after the eldest son of Kaiser WilhelmKronprinz means Crown Prince, or heir to the throne. The German term usually translated as "Baron" is "Freiherr" and is the lowest title of German nobility. This ship would have certainly been named after the Crown Prince of Germany, Wilhelm, the eldest son of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Know as "Little Willie" by the allies, he served during WWI as commander of the German 5th Army until the battle of Verdun, and then in command of an Army Group until the end of the war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm,_German_Crown_Prince (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Harris + Ewing, WWI)
Mysterious Tunnel: 1924
... are mounted in a style that started in the summer of 1915. Mr. Dyar Explains Washington Post, Sep 27, 1924 ... collect flashlights, old ones are especially cool) The Car The car is indeed a Ford. It has obviously been disassembled, and the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/08/2021 - 12:49pm -

September 26, 1924. Washington, D.C. "Mysterious tunnel." A strong Hardy Boys vibe here. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. UPDATE: While initial speculation (bootlegging, espionage) was soon dispelled by an eccentric insect expert's explanation that he had dug the passages "for exercise," historical evidence suggests that this was a tunnel of love. Or at the very least, bigamy. Old BasementIt's probably an old basement from a burnt building. Burnt building debris falls into the basement and leaves voids to be discovered later. [A plausible theory, but incorrect. - Dave] That's probablyjust an forgotten old septic tank. [What it is is what the caption says. - Dave] It's da cops, boys!The men in suits look like they may be detectives. Am I even warm? RemainsNext to the laundry, the bones of a Model T. The interesting case of Allen v. AllenIt seems that tunnel building wasn't the only hobby of Dr. Dyar. According to the interesting case of Allen v. Allen, 193 Pacific Reporter 539, Dr. Dyar was also a practicing bigamist. He apparently married his second wife using the name of Wilfred Allen. His second family seemed to have lived nearby his first in Washington, DC. The question is was he digging his tunnels to connect the homes of his two families? (The reporter who broke the first story of Dr. Dyar being the source of the tunnels also found a second set of tunnels at his house on B Street.) At some point, his first wife had had enough and wanted out. This would seem to have left wide open his relationship with his second wife except that they had concocted a fictional husband who they now needed to remove from the scene. So, they loaded the kids up in a ship and went west for a quickie divorce in Reno. Unfortunately for the Allens/Dyars the judge in Reno didn't buy their story. Not sure how it all sorted itself out in the end, but I do know that the good doctor suddenly died five years after the story of his tunnels made the local papers. DetourThe alleyway has been blocked with a board nailed to the trees; the lantern (red, maybe) will serve as a warning at night. Also note the camera tripod. Two guesses.Underground railroad, or, secret distillery. RumrunnersMight this have had something to do with Prohibition? The man standing over the hole is holding a broken bottle neck, and some of the participants are grinning like they've figured it out. In recent years out here in San Diego, the DEA and INS have found several "mysterious tunnels" running under the international boundary between Tijuana and San Diego. Somehow those tunnel discoveries never seem to inspire the kind of jollity seen here. Make a sharp leftAre you sure that rabbit said this was the way to Albuquerque? Calling Dan BrownA mysterious tunnel discovered in our nation's capital! Those pesky Freemasons are at it again. "Upon closer inspection ...""This is clearly a mystery tunnel," said D.C. Police Inspector Sherman T. Ransom, second from right in photo. AlsoA strong hat vibe. If you dig a hole that's deep enoughEveryone will want to jump in. -- Firesign Theatre What's so funny?Could the man bent over the hole be holding the key? Who wants to crawl in the dirt?Hey, I know! Let's get the the skinny kid with the newsie cap and light colored jacket! It'll be a hoot! Call for Elliott NessThe twenties, an alley, a tunnel. I suspect something to do with the Volstead Act. Spider HoleIt's where Saddam Hussein's great grandfather hid out. It's the heat!Prohibition was in full swing at this point. The official looking men, the camera tripod, a broken bottle in the hand of the bull leaning over the hole. The happy expression on the face of the young man coming out of the hole. Perhaps a distillery raid? Very suspiciousIt looks like the piece of sheet metal was used to hide the mysterious tunnel. Prohibition?Caould it be a cellar to hide illegal liquor? Looks like the fellow leaning down towards the hole is holding part of a broken bottle out towards the fellow coming up from the hle. Escape Route?Given that 1924 is during Prohibition, I'd bet it was an escape tunnel from a basement "speakeasy" in one of the background buildings. Root cellar!Someone's smugglin' turnips! Well dressed gopherEvery kid should wear a light colored jacket and cap when going into a hole in the ground. I'm wondering what the man is handing the boy. It almost looks like money? Illicit booze pipelineIf it's connected to the garage in the background, I would guess it's an escape route from a speakeasy. Before Groundhog DayBack in the day if Jimmy came out of his underground lair and saw his shadow, it meant 6 more weeks of winter. ClewsThe man bending over the hole looks to be holding a broken bottle. Could this perhaps have something to do with prohibition? Maybe it was an escape tunnel from a speakeasy? The Underground exposedSo much for the Trilateral Commission's secret tunnel to sneak up on the Masons and take over their plan for world domination. ProhibitionCould the mysterious tunnel have anything to do with bootlegging? My Guess Is:Considering the year of the photo. That what they have found is either the location of a still or some bootlegger's stashing place. Rabbit HoleAlice's favorite tea parties take place here. Scram It's the G-men!Must be an escape tunnel from a speakeasy. Where's Geraldo when you need him?The fellow with the pocket watch and no jacket doesn't look like he is having a good time. Perhaps, since this is the height of prohibition, that is because these hardy boys have found where he stores the hooch. German Spies!Washington got its first inkling of this subterranean network when a truck sank a wheel into one of the tunnels in an alleyway behind the Pelham Courts apartments on P Street, making the hole shown in our photo. Initial speculation centered on German spies and rum-runners. The truth turned out to be more prosaic, yet still bizarre. They were the work of a millionaire Smithsonian entomologist named Harrison Dyar, who said he had dug them between 1908 and 1916 "for the exercise," although he clearly seemed to have a fixation on underground passages. After his newspaper interview in 1924 (below), he was found to have dug another network of tunnels around his current home on B Street (Independence Avenue). He died in 1929, though parts of his underground labyrinth were still being stumbled upon (and into) as late as 1958. Inside the tunnelClick to enlarge. Could that bea broken bottle the one guy is holding in his hand? Hard to tell, but this being 1924, it's a good chance that the tunnel has something to do with Prohibition. Ask Al Capone. Or, maybe, Geraldo Rivera. Harrison Gray Dyar, Jr.Could this be one of Dr. Dyar's creations? I GuessThis is some sort of forgotten security/escape tunnel leading from a government building, probably dating to the time of the Civil War. Beyond RepairThe remains of the auto in the upper right have me wondering what model year it is. Must have been one of the first Model T's from '08. AmazingInteresting hobby. Some people collect stamps; some build model aeroplanes. He wanted something different. That's a swell pictureBut I can't see Stan or Ollie. T timeThe Model T has a brass-era radiator piled on the frame that was last used in 1916. The headlight are mounted in a style that started in the summer of 1915. Mr. Dyar Explains Washington Post, Sep 27, 1924 Mr. Dyar at first was reluctant to discuss his strange handiwork which, when uncovered, created such a mystery that theories that the tunnels had been used as a meeting place for German spies in war days were given as much attention as the police theory that they were the rendezvous of bootleggers. It had been suggested even that they labyrinth was the workshop of a gang of counterfeiters. "No." chuckled Mr. Dyar. "The theories are all wrong. You have solved the mystery all right. I dug the tunnels. I did it for exercise. My son, Otis Dyar, who is now a man and married out in California, was a little boy when I began to dig. He used to play in the tunnels. "In fact," he continued, "other boys played in the tunnels and while they didn't annoy me they became a nuisance to some of the neighbors. Complaints were made and I recall on one occasion Detective O'Brien investigated. "Another time, I recall, a policeman came snooping around to look into the tunnels. I played a little joke on him. I put a clock back in the tunnel and when the policeman heard it ticking he must have thought it a time clock on an infernal machine or a smuggler's den or something." Contractors and engineers who have viewed that part of the labyrinth which has been opened declare the bricklaying and construction of the passages generally the work of an expert artisan. "I'm not a bricklayer," Mr. Dyar said with a laugh. "My business is with mosquitoes, moths and butterflies. I just laid the bricks on evenly; that's all." … Mr. Dyar said he knew nothing of the German newspapers which were found in the tunnel and which gave rise to the rumor that perhaps German spies had occupied the underground place. He pointed out that they were dated in 1917, two years after he had moved from the Twenty-first street house. aka Wilfred AllenBut wait - there's more. In 1906 (one year after he started tunneling for exercise), Dyar secretly married Wellesca Pollack using the alias Wilfred Allen while remaining married to his first wife, Zella Peabody. The two of them had three sons, and he deeded $100,000 in property to her. Unfortunately for him, he had another hobby - writing and publishing autobiographical short stories about a character named Mr. French. In one such story, Mr. French deeded a substantial amount of property to "Flossie," until Mrs. French discovered it. That story was used against him in two highly-publicized divorce suits, Dyar's Reno suit to divorce Zella (which failed on jurisdictional grounds), and Zella's California suit to divorce Dyer (which apparently succeeded). Then, as Harrison Dyar, he legally married Wellesca, and adopted their three sons. [Wow. Amazing. - Dave] Electric torchI'd like to have that flashlight he's holding. (I collect flashlights, old ones are especially cool) The CarThe car is indeed a Ford. It has obviously been disassembled, and the fuel tank is out of place, and the steering column is lying much lower than it would be in use. It has a brass radiator so is pre 1917, but has electric headlights so is post 1914, so is only about ten years old at the time of the photograph. One of the mudguards (fenders) is at the base of the tree hiding the feet of the smiling man in the greatcoat. Joel and Ethan - are you watching?If this isn't a perfect vehicle for the Coen Brothers, I don't know what is. (The Gallery, Bizarre, Curiosities, D.C., Natl Photo)
Mr. Magazine: 1908
... ones-- there's no date here, I think this was done about 1915, 1916 or 1917.the last copy I was able to track down at auction, sold for ... ever clear this up for her. -- James Thurber ("The Car We Had to Push") No Business Like It Publications suspended under ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 3:46pm -

1908. "Smallest news & post card stand in New Orleans, 103 Royal Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Next doorI see cabbages, bananas, oranges, apples, peaches, walnuts, and ... waffles? Re: BlueBookAnother bid for one of each! From Antiques Roadshow archive: APPRAISER: "This is one of the later ones-- there's no date here, I think this was done about 1915, 1916 or 1917.the last copy I was able to track down at auction, sold for more than $2,000, some years ago. GUEST: Wow. APPRAISER: My guess on this is it's worth somewhere between $3,500 and $4,500. GUEST: My goodness. APPRAISER: Not bad for something you picked from the garbage, right? Magazines and NewspapersI'll say what we're all probably thinking: I'll take one of everything on your stand, sir. Hey, there's a magazine for everybody. The Information HighwayBefore the internet was invented. Sagebrush Philosopher"Sagebrush Philosophy" was published by the Wyoming writer Bill Barlow: Shortly after locating at Douglas he began the publication of a little monthly magazine called Sagebrush Philosophy, which soon had a circulation that extended to all parts of the Union. His writings scintillated with wit, philosophy and optimism, and his vocabulary was both extensive and unique. Sagebrush Philosophy was built up on his personality and when his death occurred on October 9, 1910, it was realized that no one could continue the publication of the magazine, so its last number was issued in November following his death. The JewelThis photo has a great example of an Etched - Glue Chipped Glass doorway on the right. I would lay money down and say that the gilded wood letters (on the upper left & above clerk) are most likely manufactured by the Spanjer Bros. This photo would look great in color with all those magazine covers too. Dietz Sign Co.Saw that at the top of the picture. Googled it. Got as far as this page. Dietz Lantern Company. Read through it, you'll see mentions of places and things seen on Shorpy. I will start a-looking. The Big QuestionHow did he get IN there? ThurberesqueShe came naturally by her confused and groundless fears, for her own mother lived the latter years of her life in the horrible suspicion that electricity was dripping invisibly all over the house. It leaked, she contended, out of empty sockets if the wall switch had been left on. She would go around screwing in bulbs, and if they lighted up she would hastily and fearfully turn off the wall switch and go back to her Pearson's or Everybody's, happy in the satisfaction that she had stopped not only a costly but a dangerous leakage. Nothing could ever clear this up for her. -- James Thurber ("The Car We Had to Push") No Business Like ItPublications suspended under the ledge, below the proprietor, are The Dramatic Mirror, Billboard, Variety and Show World. Someone once said that everybody's second business was show business. Looking at these magazines for sale in 1908 New Orleans sort of reinforces that theory. Gimme the lot!I'd buy the whole lot. Can you imagine what all those are worth today? It looks like this may have been a cafe entrance once. June 1908The Saturday Evening Post in the lower right corner was dated 13 June 1908. I did a quick search online and voila, now I have that warm, fuzzy feeling one can get from a successful treasure hunt. Thank you, Shorpy, for the thrill of the hunt. My Order"Hey buddy, I'll take a bunch of bananas, two pineapples, some mixed nuts, five melons and a dozen postcards. By the way, do you have July's edition of The Railroad Man's Magazine?" Ex-PresidentGrover Cleveland--definitely him--has been out of office for nearly ten years. Why is he gracing the cover of the Chicago Tribune? [His uncanny impersonation of William Howard Taft. - Dave] Naughty BitsInteresting to note that on the bottom row is the notorious "Blue Book," the guide to houses of ill repute in Storyville, the area of New Orleans where prostitution was legal until WWI. Just CuriousHow did they close up shop for the night? It looks like this is right on the sidewalk. I can see that some of the display looks like it might swing into the opening where the proprietor is standing but it still looks like there's a lot of effort to open and close for the day. Tag SuggestionCould you also tag this and future images like it with "Postcards"? Images like this that depict the retailing of postcards are incredibly rare and of great importance to we deltiologists. Thank you. Taft of Ohio, Not ClevelandThe Chicago Tribune cover is graced by the future president, William Howard Taft. He was the Republican candidate in 1908. [I think you're right. At first I thought it was Cleveland, who had died on June 24, but this does look more like Taft. Especially the ear. - Dave] Oh yes, we have bananas!Didn't say they were fresh, just said we had them. For everybody, indeedCowboy Bill is surely referring to this. 1908.It took me a while, but here is the evidence. First, "The Railroad Man's Magazine" on the bottom cannot be from 1906, because it wasn't published until October of that year. I then found the cover for Collier's Magazine from June of 1908. Finally, there is an advertisement on the bottom left for the 1908 World Almanac! [I misread the date on the cover of the 10 Cent Story Book last night when I posted this, thinking the 8 was a 6. Thanks to all who set me straight! - Dave] Hardly Naughty The Blue Book Magazine displayed on the bottom row is not the notorious Blue Book guide to "sporting houses." It's a copy of a legit magazine that was published until 1975 featuring fiction by writers like Agatha Christie, Booth Tarkington, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. [This particular magazine, Stageland Blue Book, was a theatrical publication. - Dave] Re: Naughty BitsThe Blue Book would not have been sold openly at a newsstand. It was also very plain in appearance. Sugared SnacksThe stacked, flat items in the case on the far left could be beignets, the Official State Doughnut of Louisana, but more likely are New Orleans-style Pralines. Clean 'em outAccording to my rough count, there are about 100 different postcards on display. Figuring 10 of each at 15 cents per dozen, one could have the entire stock for just over $12. Great magazines, buttucked in among the postcards is a very interesting, small publication: Sagebrush Philosophy. It wasn't the magazine for everybody, but that's what made it so special. MoneyTime travel to this place in order to buy these itmes would be very interesting, just don't forget to first get into your family's coin collection and grab some Barber dimes and quarters, Liberty nickels, and Indian Head pennies. You show this guy dead president coins and bills and he'll have you hauled away by the police. Another ClueChecked one more thing on why that is probably Taft on the Chicago Tribune cover. The Republican convention that nominated him was held in Chicago from June 16 to June 19, 1908 which would coincide with the time frame here. It is interesting, however, that Grover Cleveland died June 24, 1908. Please note that the Tribune was a very Republican leaning newspaper in those days, so it's more likely they would feature the new Republican nominee that the recently departed former Democratic president. Dangerous leakagesWe can laugh at it now, of course, bit it was common during the early years of electricity for people to believe that electrical sockets "leaked electricity" if they didn't have something plugged or screwed in. Many families have stories of people insisting on removing the plugs or bulbs and putting in stoppers at night. People even complained of smelling the electrical "vapours" coming from the sockets. Closing up shopRegarding how they closed up shop at night. The middle section above the hatch flips down. The two shutters on either side close inwards. The magazines below are simply unclipped and taken indoors. Sidewalk CafeLOVE the tile sidewalk sign for the Jewel Cafe. It's the same type that some streets still have that say Rue Royale or Rue Bourbon. Very cool. Then and NowThis photo is featured in the 1996 book "New Orleans - Then and Now." In 1996, there's also a newsstand, just to the right of this one. In addition, I found a vintage postcard (postmarked June 1908) that shows this same newsstand. So it's a postcard of a postcard stand. (I know there's a name for things like this, but my coffee hasn't kicked in yet.) Speaking of post cards within postcardsWonder if any of the pictures featured on those postcards ever appeared on Shorpy? Now there's a heck of a scavenger hunt for you. Politically Incorrect Period HumorLook inside the kiosk to the left of the proprietor and you'll notice section of postcards devoted to those comical darkies and their antics. Very popular at the time, and very collectible now despite (or perhaps because of?) the transgressive stigma of racism. Now I understandI always wondered why they called it the Kelley Blue Book. Now I get it. It lets you know how the car dealer is going to #@$% you on the value of your car. Learn something every day on Shorpy. Cornucopia--The younger man on the right has the look of one not to be trifled with; --The cafe doors are almost identical to the doors on the front of Antoine's Restaurant; --I wonder who the ball player is on the front page of the Sporting News. Walter Johnson? Ty Cobb? Honus Wagner? --Among the many old framed articles and pictures on the walls of the main dining room at Antoine's there is a lengthy one about W.H. Taft and his eating exploits at the restaurant during a trip to New Orleans. Marvelling at his stature as a "trencherman," the writer tells that Taft had a great love of boiled shrimp but didn't like to have to peel them. Taft claimed there was no serving of boiled shrimp so large he couldn't finish it. In an attempt to test this claim, Jules Alciatore (the proprietor at the time) had 50 pounds of shrimp delivered the morning before Taft was to dine there. They boiled them and he and his staff peeled them all, yielding a seving bowl with 7 1/2 lbs. of shrimp meat. According to the article, Taft finished them all but was so surfeited that he could barely speak afterwards! --The items in the case look too big, flat, and uniform to be either beignets or pralines, but I'm not sure what else they would have been. They certainly do look like waffles, which would have kept all day in the case I suppose. About that ArgosyIt's the July 1908 edition. What fun hunting this stuff up! Cover BoyWhile the individual covers of Sporting News are not readily available, issues of Sporting Life can be easily found. The photo shows the June 13, 1908 issue of Sporting Life with Edward Siever of the Detroit Tigers on the cover. Five days after this was published Siever played his last major league baseball game although he played another two years in the minors. Less than a year earlier he had been in the 1907 World Series. A copy of the front of this issue of Sporting Life, along with the caption that goes with Siever's photo, is shown below. Note that most sources state he was born in Kansas in 1875 (not Illinois in 1878). He died in 1920 while coming home from his job as an inspector for the City of Detroit. "EDWARD SIEVER. Pitcher of the Detroit American League Club. Edward Siever, the noted south-paw pitcher for the Detroit American Club, was born April 2, 1878, at Lewistown, Ill. Siever was originally a locomotive fireman of the Grand Trunk. He made his professional debut with the London Club, of the Canadian League, in 1899, which, largely owing to Siever's fine pitching, won the championship. He was sold to the Detroit Club the following year, and sported the Tigers' stripes continually until the Fall of 1903, when he was transferred to the St. Louis Club. After a season with the Browns he was transferred for 1905 to the Minneapolis Club, with which he did such fine work that St. Louis re-drafted him for 1906. During that season he was sold to the Detroit Club for which he has played since. In the 1907 season he very materially helped Hughey Jennings' Tigers to bring to Detroit a championship pennant for the first time in twenty years." Jewel CafeThe Jewel Cafe, at 131 Royal Street, was listed in the program for the 5th Annual Sugar Bowl Classic in January of 1929 as a sponsor:         Jewel Cafe ... 131 Royal Street; Oysters 45 cents per half dozen; First time in the history of New Orleans, Oysters a la Rockefeller are prepared before your eyes. This deep mystery of the culinary arts is now almost within the price range of raw oysters. Louisiana's choicest cultivated oysters, served in all styles at our counters and tables; open all night. (The Gallery, DPC, New Orleans, Stores & Markets)
American Girl: 1922
... hit as a Ziegfeld Girl in the "Follies" shows of 1914 and 1915. Then hits pay dirt -- marrying uber-rich movie producer Winfield Sheehan ... to get ahead by way of the casting couch. Is in a serious car accident in 1919, running off the road at 1:30 a.m. and takes a pretty hard ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/04/2012 - 4:56pm -

Washington, D.C. "Kay Laurell, 1922." The star of stage and screen, Kay (reclining) was "an American girl who leaped from stenographer to Queen of Bohemia in a night ... she appears in magazine illustrations, and in the new salon pictures -- also on butchers' calendars, soap ads, and so on." Five years after this photo was taken, Kay was dead of pneumonia at age 37. View full size. In the same boatThey're all beautiful -- back in a time where it was healthy for women to "have a little meat on their bones" (I just think they're healthy looking!) I love the girl who's playing the oar as a guitar -- something I'd do. Beauts in a boatIs the class clown on the end playing air ukulele? I can only imagine the comments this is going to generate from the male demographic. Yes, the swimsuits are unflattering. And yes, the real knockout is the one sitting behind the Queen of Bohemia. Proud to call any of 'em "grandma"They are all so lovely and charming and all the age of my father's mother. Sorry about the pneumonia, hope the rest had happy and fulfilling lives. Love the kooky hat, pinned-up suit, and the smoldering look of the second from left. Great picture. Farrrrr leftShe is the cutest loveliest thing ever seen on Shorpy yet. To each his own, but --The girl in the boat with the "Queen of Bohemia" is by far the hottest. Wowza! As a ManI appreciate the low standard established for us. It doesn't take much effort to rise above such a low bar. Wet and WoollyThey're all adorable, and I'm surprised how sexy those wool swimsuits look. To my surprise, I'm especially captivated by the buxom cutie standing up beside the boat with her hair covered. She looks like she gets all the BS about the queen of Bohemia and is fonder of the water than any of this nonsense. Most appealing though is the dark haired girl with bangs sitting in the boat. Her face is calm and she seems really for real. Great photo. Playing at the Belasco Washington Post, Jul 6, 1922 Coming to the Theaters Belasco The Belasco Players, augmented by such notables as Kay Laurell, the famous Follies beauty, and Eleanor Griffith, late of "The Last Waltz," will next week present the Avery Hopwood comedy of turkish bath locale, "Ladies' Night," beginning Sunday evening. Water HazardI can hear their mothers saying, "Don't go out in those skimpy suits, you'll catch your death of pneumonia!" Carole HanelGirl second from right was Carole Hanel, a redhead. Knew her granddaughter. She's playingoar guitar Va va voomA boat full of women in bathing suits. What could be better? Kay in a NutshellTypical show-biz tragedy. Small town girl from Erie, Pennsylvania goes to New York to make it big. While working as a secretary, is discovered in 1914, and became a big hit as a Ziegfeld Girl in the "Follies" shows of 1914 and 1915. Then hits pay dirt -- marrying uber-rich movie producer Winfield Sheehan in 1916. Hits the zenith of her career in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1918, where a very intentional costume malfunction (as the partially exposed French Liberte in a patriotic wartime extravaganza) makes her an international sensation. Heads out west to Hollywood to make movies, like everyone else in the silent era. Gains a reputation of a hard worker, and tries to make the tough transition from chorus girl to "real" actress. Then it all goes south. Gets divorced from big studio sugar daddy in late 1918 or 1919. Unlike most other former chorus girls, she is unwilling to get ahead by way of the casting couch. Is in a serious car accident in 1919, running off the road at 1:30 a.m. and takes a pretty hard banging around, requiring stitches and hospitalization. Makes only one other movie after that, in 1921. Returns to New York to find stage work. A cast player in one play in 1923 that runs a respectable five months, and then one poor effort in 1925 that flops and closes overnight. Feeling washed up in both theater and film, she retires to London, where she dies of pneumonia in 1927. I hope she didn't own a dachshund. On the LeftCan those be shadows on her legs? Looks like socks with cuffs, or stockings, and then from beneath her suit legs to her knees? The world's weirdest sun burn? Or what? [Those are girdle marks. Just like your ankles might look after taking off tight socks. - Dave] Before the days of antibioticsHer story reminds us of the many greats in history who had everything but with one cold, TB or pandemic illness were struck down. Today her pneumonia would be easily treated with a shot of antibiotics and some bed rest. In some ways even the poorest of us has the ability to live longer because of cures offered by modern medicine. mehI love how any photo with women in it gets subjected to choosing which of them is the hottest. I'm sure the the same thing happens with all of the photos of men. Yep. [Stick around. - Dave] As a womanI still say the swimsuits are ugly. Now that no one else has asked, I simply must know what the strange round protuberance is near the nether regions of the second lady from the viewer's left. Anyone? A place to put a cork to help her stay afloat? Available drugsThis young woman's death is almost familiar to me. My grandmother died of pneumonia in the early 1930's, within three days of the onset of illness. My mother always noted, when speaking of her mother's death, that the best drug they had to fight the pneumonia then was quinine. The sulfa drugs didn't become available until the late 1930s. By the way, I disagree about the cause of the marks on the one girl's legs. I suspect that the rings were left by stockings rolled over an elastic garter. You Gotta Be Kidding MeWhat happened to slim and trim? Goose lard and whiskey A few years after Kaye Laurel died of pneumonia, my grandfather contracted double pneumonia. The doctors basically threw up their hands and said there was nothing more they could do. Well, his mother, one of the most bull-headed people who ever lived, showed up at the hospital with a jar of goose lard and a bottle of whiskey. Several times a day, she would go and rub lard on Grandpa's chest and give him a shot of whiskey. This was in about 1932. Grandpa was with us until 1992. Grandpa said it was divine intervention that saved his life. My great grandmother said it was the goose lard and whiskey. Maybe it was some of both! Cause of her deathWikipedia states she died in childbirth, which was initially reported as pneumonia since the child was out of wedlock. Wonderful descriptions of her Ziegfield tableaux in that link as well. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, D.C., Natl Photo, Sports)
State Street: 1910
... of Holabird & Roche (1894). It was demolished in 1915 and replaced by the present structure to make it uniform with the ... and Decker company or his girlfriend's Grinnell Electric Car Company. (The Gallery, Chicago, DPC, Stores & Markets, Streetcars) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/31/2023 - 12:59pm -

Chicago circa 1910. "State Street north from Madison." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. 3/7thsof the "Seven Sisters" of Chicago Retailing - Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. - Mandel Bros - Boston Store fronted on this, The World's Busiest Corner (The Fair, Rothshild's, and Sigel-Cooper lie behind, while Marshall Field lies a block ahead) Today, while it isn't quite so quiet that "you can a hear a pin drop", the only place you can buy those pins is at Target. SurvivorsIf a building in this photo was going to survive, I'm grateful it was the Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. building, designed by Louis Sullivan, regrettably partially obscured by a transit bus in Street View. [Also the Boston Co. department store building on the left, which looks remarkably contemporary despite being completed in 1905. After various additions, today known as the State Madison Building or 1 North Dearborn. - Dave] Survivors on Three Out of Four CornersActually the buildings shown here on three of the four corners of State and Madison Streets have survived, for the most part. At the far right, the old Carson Pirie Scott Store (originally built for Schlesinger and Mayer, designed by Louis Sullivan and built 1899-1904) still stands on the southeast corner. Today it is called the Sullivan Center and it houses a Target. At the far left, on the southwest corner, is the Chicago Savings Bank Building (now known as the Chicago Building), designed by Holabird & Roche and built 1904-1905. Today it belongs to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which uses it as a dormitory called Jones Hall. The building with signs for the Boston Store, on the northwest corner, has a more complicated history. The building shown here (with four bays on State Street) is the Champlain Building of Holabird & Roche (1894). It was demolished in 1915 and replaced by the present structure to make it uniform with the adjoining buildings built for the Boston Store in 1905. On the northeast corner is the former Mandel Brothers Department Store, shown here in a building built in 1875 which will soon be demolished, according to the sign hanging off the building. The present Mandel Brothers building (also designed by Holabird & Roche) opened in 1912. Since State and Madison is the dead center of the Chicago street numbering system, all these buildings bear addresses of either No. 1 or No. 2 on State or Madison Streets. Although the buildings have happily survived, the retail giants of State Street have all gone. First Day on the JobNote on lower right the confident looking young man in an ill fitting suit is heading to his opening day as an assistant to an assistant bookkeeper while dreaming how long it's going to take him to become Chairman of the Board. In between thoughts of the Board he ponders investing in his brother-in-law's new Black and Decker company or his girlfriend's Grinnell Electric Car Company. (The Gallery, Chicago, DPC, Stores & Markets, Streetcars)
King of the Road: 1920
... at actually having to drive that thing home. Some Car! Wow! Eddie must have had some dough. That was the 1920 version of a ... participated in dirt track racing at Benning. His car in 1915 was listed as a Warren. In 1918 he was the director of events for the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 10:24pm -

Washington, D.C., banker and bon vivant Eddie Voigt in a pimped-out Abbott-Detroit roadster circa 1920. View full size. Thanks to PER for unearthing the story of his rise and fall. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. Acetylene Headlamps?Looks like acetylene headlamps and that old coach lamp up top. And watch out for that muffler as you're getting in and out. That's not a leer.....Poor Eddie, as would any man of that era, is merely putting on his best stage smile to hide his terror at actually having to drive that thing home. Some Car!Wow! Eddie must have had some dough. That was the 1920 version of a hot rod sports car. New FavoriteJust when I think Shorpy can't get any better, it gets twice as good. Incredible shot that has all the architecture and automotive art that I come here for, and in spades. What a great photo! Thank you so much! Amazing!Proof that people love mainly what they know....while everyone is gushing on about commonplace Mustangs in the next post, no one has yet commented on this amazing vehicle. Look at the thing. It's incredible. Obviously meant for high speed, this car, I'm sure, weighs as much as a locomotive. It's almost as big as one (But with a lot less seating) and probably costs as much. The amount of metal in this machine probably threw off the compasses in ships in the Potomac. And piloting it was probably not for the faint of heart either. The brakes, if they were typical of the times, would have been negligible. I'm betting that making all that mass change direction was like steering an aircraft carrier. And safety devices? They were for sissies only! Look - no retraints, no protection and...best of all...the guy's seatback is the gas tank! Ah...men were men back then. PerspectiveThe thing that grabbed me is the combination of a wide-angle, semi-fisheye perspective of the vehicle in the foreground with perfectly straight lines and parallel uprights of the buildings in the back. Eddie And His CruiserYep, Eddie was a manly man, alright! Look at his leering expression! Yikes. I guess if you are going to have the hottest (only?) car in town it might as well be actually hot! Someone should hunt him down in the census, and see if he survived his volatile machine. Yes, people do love what they know. But the Mustangs didn't get me too much. We still have a couple on every street in my town to this day, although most are not convertibles. But the Lark was awesome. Kathleen A Retrofit Here...a retrofit there, and this cream puff could have looked exactly like Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang! Crank ItI've never had the pleasure, but guys my grandpa's age tell me you needed the right technique, if the engine fired at the wrong time the crank could come around and break your wrist if you were holding it wrong. King dies a pauperThis is Edward Voigt Jr. during his finer days. He lived a high life but died lonely and poor. This story is one of the saddest I have researched for Shorpy. -PER The Washington Post, Apr 17, 1959 Former Well-to-Do District Banker is Buried by Welfare Department. Edward Voigt Jr., 75, once a bank president who had a swimming pool in his basement, was buried by the Welfare Department yesterday after his death in a one-room apartment among the relics of his past. Voigt had lived alone at 1117 Vermont ave. nw. for four years. One day last month, he died alone in the kitchen. His body had rested there until April 6, when the caretaker, Joseph Meade, called police. The police found a neat apartment furnished with old and faded tapestries. They saw pictures of handsome women and a large Wyoming ave. house identified as costing $50,000 with a swimming pool in the basement. They saw a liveried chauffeur beside a limousine with a woman and two small girls on the porch. Welfare records showed that Voigt had been divorced in Las Vegas in 1928 by his wife who had borne him two daughters. The record also shows that Voigt had since lived with his late mother on Massachusetts ave. and later in a small apartment on that street. But when he moved to his last home he closed the door on his past, instructing Meade not to let anyone know he lived there. Meade recalls that a well-dressed woman once came to see him but he turned her away. Meade says that Voigt never wore any clothes while in the apartment, but he always dressed up whenever he went out - once or twice a week for groceries or a stroll. Old business associates remember Voigt as being a dapper dresser during his days as president of the old American Commercial and Savings Bank at 7th and sts. nw. The bank failed in 1924 when it was taken over by the present Security Bank. Voigt's father, Edward Sr., sold jewelry and religious articles in a shop at 7th st. between G and H sts. The younger Voigt was a partner in this business for about 30 years. A lifelong resident of Washington, Voigt was buried at a cost of $200 to the taxpayers. He now rests along side his mother and father in Prospect Hill Cemetery. A few other factoids gleaned from the pages of the Post. He participated in dirt track racing at Benning. His car in 1915 was listed as a Warren. In 1918 he was the director of events for the Labor Day racing at Benning track. He joined the District Automobile Club in 1915. Was involved in an automobile accident with Representative John Langley of Kentucky in 1921. Declared Bankruptcy in 1928 with debts exceeding $47,000. The Washington Post, Jul 4, 1915 The Washington Post, Sep 5, 1915 The Washington Post, Sep 1, 1918 The Washington Post, Oct 14, 1921 The Washington Post, Aug 26, 1928 Front-end Harpoon?Alas poor Eddie, sic transit gloria. Eddie's fate aside, what is that thing on the roadster's right front spring hanger? It's too small to be a gladiatorial tire piercer (and the tires probably were solid?) or cattle skewer, and bumpers and suchlike clearly were for sissies anyway. It's got a cord or cable, so is it part of the electrical system, some lethal device involving a magneto? An alligator clip from hell? Great image, and thanks for not retouching the shots very much, if at all. [It's the crank for starting the engine. And these photos as you see them all owe a lot to Photoshop. - Dave] Hundred-Dollar FuneralIt's as if he were the inspiration behind the old Porter Wagoner song "Hundred Dollar Funeral": With one nickel in his pocket and a pack of cigarettes There were no tears of sorrow no tears of regrets In a plain wooden casket the county laid him away Just a hundred dollar funeral with no loved ones to pray There must be a mother who loves him somewhere Perhaps she had gone home and was waiting up there Where there`s no disappointments around God`s great throne No hundred dollar funerals unloved and unknown No pretty marble headstone not one friend came He was lowered by four strangers that didn`t know his name A loser on this earth a death so many must pay Just a hundred dollar funeral with no loved ones to pray. Engine CrankThe crank end is inserted into a crank holder, probably canvas or leather, attached to the leaf spring. Keeps the crank from rattling around or falling out. Hand CrankThe crank holder kept the crank from swinging back and forth as you drove about. On Ford Model T's it was buckled to the stand for the headlights. I guess the spring hanger was a better choice on this custom rig. This car did not have an electric starter. It was a strongarm starter. Electric starter were not common for another ten years. So you would bend down engage hand crank and give it a spin. If is was a cold day or the fuel mixture was set wrong you would get tired before it started. So I guess head back in the house for a cup of joe and when your arm was rested head back out and start cranking. Abbott-Detroit racecarThe photo is of an Abbott-Detroit car of 1911, it looks like and probably is one of the four ex Vanderbilt Cup and American Grand Prize cars that were given to their drivers after the races and then sold on and used subsequently at speed events. The radiators were streamlined after being sold and wheel discs covered the wooden wheels. The photo is about 1913. I have a car exactly like this and race it at speed events today, I was radar checked at 87mph at the Nurburgring, marvellous photos please keep them coming. A Warren rather than an Abbott and almost certainly the race car campaigned by Irving Barber and modified for him by Carter Bros. Washington Motor Car Co. Carter Bros built it's successor the "Eye See Bee" to Barber's distinctive design around 1914. The design appearance is remarkably similar to that of the famous DC area Kline-Kar racers "Jimmy" and "Jimmy Jr." Barber often raced his 1911/12 Warren with. This picture appears to be the Warren in this guise sans fenders, headlamps and muffler in a starting lineup (5th from left) at Benning 1915... http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/npco/item/npc2008008361/ Irving Barber in his Warren Laurel Md 29-30 June 1912... http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/npcc/27800/27852v.jpg 'Eye See Bee' Benning 1915, Barber sold this car to William Weightman in 1916 and acquired the 1914 Indy 8th finisher 'Beaver Bullet' http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/npco/item/npc2008008366/ Jimmy and Jimmy Jr Laurel Md 29-30 June 1912... http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/npco/item/npc2008008302/ Jimmy Jr Laurel Md 29-30 June 1912 (Bob Burman, Cutting #15)... http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/npco/item/npc2008008306/ (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Easton: 1935
... horizon belong to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, built in 1915. Easton’s Catholic churches served different ethnic enclaves: St. ... some blankets for a person to lie on? The front of the car appears slightly elevated, but the rear tires are not blocked. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/23/2023 - 11:32am -

November 1935. "View of Easton, Pennsylvania, Lehigh River and Canal." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size. Only one thing.I only know one thing about Easton, Pennsylvania. It was and is the home of "The Easton Assassin," the great Larry Holmes, one of the greatest heavyweight boxing champs of all time. He held the title for around 7 years and took on all comers. Even fought Mike Tyson when he admittedly couldn't beat him. Unfortunately, he also fought a greatly diminished Muhammed Ali, who came back for the money, and he beat Ali so bad even Holmes didn't want the fight to continue. After retiring, Holmes returned to Easton and opened businesses that employed hundreds of people from the area. Maybe he's not "the greatest," but a great son of Easton. Difficult divine survivalThe distinctive domed towers on the horizon belong to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, built in 1915. Easton’s Catholic churches served different ethnic enclaves: St. Joseph’s was German. The church had a difficult future ahead: in 2008 it merged with two other parishes to become Our Lady of Mercy. After 2013, only occasional services were held in the aged building, with what was announced as its final Mass in May 2016. However, in 2018 it reopened as Divine Mercy Healing Center, run by the Vincentian Congregation of the Eastern Rite Catholic Church. It looks good today. Is that a person under there?Or just some blankets for a person to lie on? The front of the car appears slightly elevated, but the rear tires are not blocked. The backgroundlooks like it could be a matte painting. What a stunning photograph!! All of itA classic Shorpy photo with just about all the requisite elements: a steam engine, a jalopy, simple down-to-earth housing, a church, hills, canal and river, laundry on the line (blurred in motion), and a comment that links the small, obscure place to someone famous (Larry Holmes). "Chief of the Sixes"Was Oakland's official motto when it began producing the first Pontiac Six in 1926. Sales took off so quickly that a new factory with 35 acres of floor space was erected exclusively for the Pontiac Division of Oakland Motor Car Co. This markedly aged specimen is a Five Passenger Landau Sedan (minus its left landau iron). An automobile wheel and perhaps other car parts are lying in front of it. Bridging the gapIn addition to Larry Holmes, Easton is known as the home of Crayola crayons. They continue to manufacture them just north of town, and receive large railroad tank cars of the necessary wax on a weekly basis. Visible in the center is part of the Easton suspension bridge, which when constructed in 1886 was the highest footbridge in the US. It was dropped in 1951. https://www.bridgemeister.com/pic.php?pid=1431 What is this?It looks like it's the town gallows but I doubt (and hope!) it's not ... [It looks more decorative than punitive. - Dave] It's a truckThe wheel in front of the Oakland is still attached to a C cab truck of some sort. Horse ghost?Any idea what is the blurry image to the right of the telephone pole? I'm guessing a horse in motion? [People walking. - Dave] (The Gallery, Railroads, Walker Evans)
Eureka Vacuum: 1912
... know what the heck that round tank on the rear of the car at center right is? Has me puzzled. [Something steamy, perhaps. ... Majestic Theatre The Majestic Theatre opened in April 1915 per its website, so I wonder it that dates this post to 1915. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/04/2021 - 3:43pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1912. "Woodward Avenue." A shopper's paradise. Meet you in an hour at Cinnabon. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. View from Grand Circus ParkDetroit renumbered all of their street addresses in 1920. Therefore, the old 260 address on the left indicates that this photo was actually taken from Grand Circus Park where Park Ave. (foreground) intersects with Woodward. View Larger Map View Larger Map I am disappointed!!Just when I was in the mood for some Chop Suey and not a place in sight. Player Pianos, Fifth FloorHope they had a good elevator! Woodward buildings still standI think the current street view above is a little off. I think this picture was taken from a spot just south of Grand Circus park between where the Whitney Building and Broderick Tower are now. Most of the buildings on the right including Grinnell Brothers still stand. Also the block of buildings on the left south of the Pontchartrain Hotel are still standing. Re What were they thinking?"When this is 'View full size' we're all be dead." PianosI counted 6 piano stores not 3. Grinnell BrothersGrinnell Brothers (sign on right side of street) was a Detroit area institution all the way into the 1980's, when the entire chain went out of business. They had stores in every area mall and not only sold pianos, but other musical instruments, lessons, records, sheet music, pianos rolls, everything to do with music. Wonderful stores, they just couldn't keep up with the times. What were they thinking?I love pictures like this! This is a frozen second in the lives of all these people. Where were they all going? What were they thinking about? Who was worried, or excited, and about what? Who had just gotten good news, or bad news? Who was going to work, or to do something fun? Who was pregnant, or had new a child, or grandchild? I also wonder what was playing at the theater. I assume it was live theater, primarily, although there were quite a few short films, and the production of feature-length films was only a few years away. If I had my choiceI have to agree with user "tterrace", I'd much rather walk down the 1910 version of Woodward than today's, oh if just for a day. What sights to behold. What happenedGrowing up in Detroit and remembering my mother taking me downtown on the streetcar and shopping at Hudsons, Kerns, and Crowleys and then for being a good kid she took me across the street to Kresge's downstairs and bought me a waffle sandwich which I will never forget. I often hear the phrase "you can't go back" but I miss and loved the way the city was. Mouse Furs, yuck!Oh wait, it's Mau's Furs. Never mind. What Could It Be?I wonder what the three objects are on the street to the left and in front of the second streetcar. No one is near them. [Newspaper bundles, thrown off the streetcar for pickup by Woodward Avenue newsies, would be my guess. - Dave] Prettier?I won't get in to the prettier/not prettier debate, but based on Anon. Tipster's Google Street View links, the adjectives that occur to me are more along the lines of : 1910: alive, vibrant, visually diverse, inviting; 2011: sterile, lifeless, visually monotonous, inhospitable. Hats anyone?As far as I can tell, with the exception of one small boy, everyone is wearing a hat. Ah, those were the days. Lots of piano storesI counted three different piano shops on this block, Bush & Lane, Manufacturer's and Melville Clark. Was this a sort of "piano district" at the time, or were pianos just ubiquitous enough in parlours of the day that several dealers on a single block was nothing unusual? [Player pianos were, I think, something like the plasma TVs of their day. - Dave] "Spirit of Detroit"The buildings at the left have been replaced by the statue "Spirit of Detroit" and Coleman Young Municipal Center. There's an automatic "people mover" tram running almost directly above where the camera was. This part of Detroit is quite a bit prettier now than it was a century ago. View Larger Map View Larger Map Urgent need to tinkleIs there anyplace on this street that sells pianos?? Of course it's DetroitMore cars here than any other 1910 picture we have seen. One thing, I think I'm pretty knowledgeable about antique cars, but does anyone know what the heck that round tank on the rear of the car at center right is? Has me puzzled. [Something steamy, perhaps. Condenser? Reservoir? - Dave] Are You Properly Attired? The boy about to board the trolley seems to be, although the ring around his shoulders could also be a part of whatever he's dragging behind him. A lamp maybe? Hard to tell - I run out of pixels before I can enlarge/enhance it enough. Still, it looks like a bicycle tire to me. Perhaps other Shorpists will have better data. Bush & Lane Piano Co.on the left had their main manufacturing facility in Holland, MI. They went out of business in 1930, victims of the Depression as were many other piano manufacturers. Right RulesLooks like all the cars of the time were right hand drive. Anyone know when we decided to change? [Gradually. - Dave] Majestic TheatreThe Majestic Theatre opened in April 1915 per its website, so I wonder it that dates this post to 1915. [Detroit had several Majestic Theatres over the years. The Majestic in this photo opened in 1908 at 231 Woodward. - Dave] Piano StoresOK, I count at least six piano stores! And at least three fur stores. More piano storesI'm counting possibly seven piano stores--Bush and Lane Pianos, Manufacturers Piano Co, Cable Piano Co, Tarrand Pianos, Grinnel Bros Pianos, Melville Clark Pianos, and another just to the upper right of the Grinnel Sign. I'm surprised that there isn't a Wurlitzer sign somewhere in this. I'm also seeing a Victor Records. Pianos were all the rage for years--before everyone had radios and tv. People learned to play for entertainment for themselves and others. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Stores & Markets, Streetcars)
Aunt Mary's Car: 1920
... of Merced Falls, Calif. My mother's older sister and her car. Maybe someone here can identify it. From original 116 negative. View ... recommendation. Respectfully submitted, Hap Tucker 1915 Model T Ford touring cut off and made into a pickup truck. Sumter SC. ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 06/24/2009 - 5:12pm -

c.1920, in the vicinity of Merced Falls, Calif. My mother's older sister and her car. Maybe someone here can identify it. From original 116 negative. View full size. Model T Runabout Mary's CarThe rear license plate seems to say 1928 or 1929---what do others think? ["20." - Dave] Aunt Mary and Her CarThanks for the auto ID, Anonymous Tipster. As for the date, I'm afraid that Mary died in 1922, of tuberculosis, two weeks shy of her 29th birthday. Clothes Make The LadySo Aunt Mary was only 26 years old when this picture was taken? Those clothes make her look at least 50. Mary's back storyThank you, Aunt Mary's niece, for more about her and her family, poor things. You are right about TB. It was a terrifying disease with an unpredictable but often fatal course. Even worse, there was considerable stigma associated with having it. When my mother-in-law was a child in the 1920s, her father spent several months in a TB sanatorium (he survived, lived a long life and died of something else). She said the children were forbidden to ever speak of it to anyone, for if it was generally known he would lose his job and friends would be reluctant to be with them. She was still uncomfortable talking about it in the 1980s. Something About MaryShe was a very pretty woman nevertheless. About Aunt MaryIf this was taken in 1920, Aunt Mary was pregnant with her first child, who was born in October of 1920. What is surprising is that she had her photo taken while pregnant, something most women of that era were too embarrassed to do. (Even in the 1940s our mother was quite chagrined to find out someone took a snapshot of her while she was expecting.) Aunt Mary's story has an even sadder ending. During her second pregnancy, her tuberculosis, which had been in remission, flared up again, and she died two weeks after the birth of the baby. The baby, being exposed to TB at birth, died of fulminant tuberculosis at age 6 weeks. Mary left a husband and a 2-year-old. Mary was born in June, married in June, and died in June. This was the tragedy of our Mother's family. We have forgotten today the toll that TB took on people's lives in the early to mid 1900s. Until medication for treatment was developed in the 1940s-50s, TB was one of the top ten killers. -- Aunt Mary's Niece, who never knew her Aunt Mary's Clothes"Those clothes" were simply the style of Aunt Mary's era. Yes, today those styles are old-fashioned and pretty silly looking. Just like the clothes we wear today will look old-fashioned and silly looking in 2096 (yes, 2096!). Girls born in 1892 wore those kind of clothes in 1920. Actually, if you take a closer look at Mary, she's pretty easy on the eyes. Some 21st century treatment on her wardrobe, makeup and hair and I'll bet she'd turn a few heads. TB's Heavy TollMy paternal grandmother contracted TB during my grandfather's courtship of her (started with a cold she got while sitting on the ground watching Granddad play baseball), and died when Dad was 5 (1930). Dad, born with TB, was cured of it at Johns Hopkins during his first 5 years, but still worries about a recurrence to this day- and he's 83 now. My regret, of course, is that I never got to know my grandmother. Indeed, even my father's memory of her is very sketchy. Mary's Model TThe car seems to be a ca. 1917-1919 non-starter car. There is an accessory "keyed" ingition switch on the coilbox on the firewall. I put "keyed" in quotes because the stock Ford switch had a key, but they were all the same! I see an electric taillight, which may have been added on. One popular package on 1919 and later cars that had starter motors and generators included demountable rim wheels and an electric taillight. Those cars had no kerosene side lamps. We can't tell if this car has them because of Mary's position. This car does not have demountable rim wheels. The toolbox on the running board is an accessory item. It looks like something on the end of the tail pipe, too. Maybe a warning whistle. It also looks like there is an accessory dashboard, and auxiliary outside brakes on the rear drums. The outside brakes and keyed ignition tell me Mary was a cautious woman. 1917 Model T RoadsterI think the car was a 1917 model year produced around March–April 1917. See the rationale at the Model T Ford Club of America Forum. Others may see additional items that will alter that recommendation. Respectfully submitted, Hap Tucker 1915 Model T Ford touring cut off and made into a pickup truck. Sumter SC. Merced FallsMerced Falls, 30 miles east of Merced and just a couple of miles south of Snelling, was quite a place in those days. Mostly gold dredging in the Merced River. Not a lot left today. There was a cement factory there also. It was in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range. There are still a lot of "potholes" filled with water when the dredge would move on to create another hole. The last time I was there (40 years ago) there was still an old dredge in one of the potholes. Great fishing and frogging. Re Merced FallsMerced Falls was at that time a company lumber town. Aunt Mary was a bookkeeper for the Yosemite Sugar Pine Lumber Company. See her photo with co-workers in "Times of Flu." Aunt Mary and the other unmarried lady employees lived in the Company Hotel. There was housing for families and barracks for the single men. There was a mess hall, pool hall, and a baseball field. The Lumber company was noted for its Incline Railway system which brought the logs down from the mountains above. The track was 8000 feet long and 3100 feet in height. It started at an elevation of 5000 feet and ended at 1900 ft el. More technical info for train trekkies can be found here. Aunt Mary married the company town butcher, a young man from a butchering family in England. Later they moved to a house in nearby Snelling. Aunt Mary had moved to Merced Falls from (foggy) San Francisco to live in a drier climate near the mountains, which was thought to be beneficial for tuberculosis. Which it was for a while. The area today is a county park, the town partly drowned under the waters of Lake McClure, formed by the Merced Falls Diversion Dam. SnellingMy family has been going to Henderson Park for 50 years especially at Easter. My uncle Alvin and Grace Halstead have lived near Merced Falls for almost 30 years. Many great memories of the time spent there. Tom Mitchell Killer TBI read with interest the comments on Aunt Mary's pictures and her tuberculosis. Those who wrote that it was a killer are indeed right. My great-grandmother, two great aunts, and one of their sons all died of it within a short time. My grandmother had it when she was pregnant with my mother. She was told that that the baby would either be dead in six months or always immune. Since Mom died at age 72, I guess it was the latter. Her first cousin Edna also had TB and was ill for several years. The picture is of my grandmother and grandfather in the 1930s. While my grandmother survived TB, she died of a brain aneurysm before I was born. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, tterrapix)
Board Track: 1925
... slow on the uptake. Notice the Parking Lot? Every car in the lot is black. Finding your car after the race must have been hell! ... was built overlooking San Francisco to coincide with the 1915 Pan Pacific International Exposition (World's Fair), where the 1915 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/04/2012 - 4:56pm -

July 11, 1925. "Auto races at Laurel, Maryland." The 1⅛-mile wooden oval at Laurel Speedway. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size. Sibling rivalryLooks like both Ralph and John DePalma were racing that day. Black BoxesFor a good while I kept wondering what were those neatly arranged squares in the outfield. I guess I'm slow on the uptake. Notice the Parking Lot?Every car in the lot is black. Finding your car after the race must have been hell! And sitting in the stands squinting into the glare from all those skimmers...... A Sea of Menall looking toward the track, and one lone woman with a parasol looking toward the camera. Interesting composition. Sharing a memory...There was a graphic design studio I worked in for a time and it (rather oddly) had a race car set in the middle of the office of the same type in the photos. I recall one office party where I (accompanied by my beer) finally worked up the gumption to climb into it. I remember sitting there, hands on the wheel, and just letting my mind wander back to a scene similar to the one in this photo. The car was much larger then I would have imagined. Amazing Uniformity of HatsWhat's with all the straw hats? It must have been the style in 1925 ... but still, did 98% of the men of the time wear the same kind of hat? It's really kind of freaky. [Check out this photo. - Dave] Hat DayMust have been Hat Day at the track. You know, they give away free hats. Also, the banking in turn 4 is not supported by dirt. It is actually up on supports , which you don't see anymore. To what degree?That has to be the most steeply-banked track I've ever seen! The corners appear to be way steeper than Daytona or Talladega. I wonder just what the degree of banking actually was. [48 degrees. - Dave] HiddenAnd not a Marx Brother in sight? Not even a Harp! Sea of HatsSkimmers or boaters were the hat of choice, much like ballcaps today. You can still get one, I love mine. Newspaper BrimsPlenty of folks have extended the coverage of their hats with sheets of newspaper. That's a lotta woodThe idea of a wooden racetrack for cars is incredible! It takes a hefty underlying support structure to keep the surface boards in place. Even with that the pounding of the racecars would loosen the nails and the resulting clickity-clack sound would have been very loud. I remember that effect from some wooden bridges we used to have around here. Unless all the wood was treated with creosote, the usual preservative back then, the whole track might rot away in a few years. Wonder how many years the track did last? Why wood?Why was it made of wood? [It was a relatively cheap way to build a banked racecourse. Board tracks were quite popular in the early part of the century. - Dave] Deadly SplintersBoard tracks were used for motorcycle racing at the time as well and taking a spill on the lumber was a nasty experience. LostHave you seen my dad? He was wearing a white shirt and a straw hat. Quite a lineupRalph was the only DePalma racing that day. The partially-obscured "DeP___a" was a misspelling of Pete DePaolo's name. Pete was Ralph's nephew, the winner of the 1925 Indy 500, and also the winner of this race. A list of the results can be found here. Interesting to see so many jackets on a day marked by "extreme heat." Board track racer Jim DavisA few years back I had the pleasure of meeting long retired board track racer Jim Davis, who raced motorcycles for the Indian Company beginning in 1916. He told stories of running over 100 mph on the boards and having splinters thrown up by other bikes with such force that they would pierce the protective leather gear. At the end of one race as he slowed to a stop he discovered he couldn't remove his foot from the peg of his bike and found that a large splinter had pierced the leather of his boot and wedged itself between parts of the bike. Fortunately it somehow missed his foot. It was all insanely dangerous but when you were 17 years old and could make $25 a week plus expenses and prize money, why not? Mr. Davis was a very polite man, friendly, and could tell racing stories 75 years after they happened like they happened last week. Finish LineThe results linked to in an earlier comment are interesting. All cars save one were a Duesie or a Miller and the average speed for the 250 miles was around 124 mph. Very impressive considering the venue! I wonder if it was AAA sanctioned. A board track legendNeedless to say, the elaborate framework of a board track allowed ample opportunity for boys to climb around under the track. A legend goes that during a race at Beverly Hills, a driver came into the pits pale and shaking. When asked what's wrong, he said "There has been a crash and I saw the guy's head bouncing down the track!" He was told there had been no crash. What he saw were local urchins getting the best view of a race imaginable; through holes in the boards. They would duck down as the cars passed and then pop back up as they cleared. Then and NowHere is the track today, overgrown but still recognizable: View Larger Map Woodpeckers not allowedThe official name of this track is The Baltimore-Washington Speedway and all races ran there were AAA sanctioned. It had 48 degree banked corners and was built by Jack Prince. However it was very short loved in that it was operational between the June 1925 and the September 1926. The first board track was built at the Los Angeles Coliseum Motordrome in 1910. The design was based on the velodromes still used for bicycle racing. Regarding the dress code of the day, considering that these were the days when men wore not only hats, but suits and ties to the movies, to ballgames, horse races and in this case, to auto races, it was expected to be a very hot day at the event thus the white dress code and straw hats. As a racer, the topic of board tracks has been one of my studies for several years all of which had some amazing historical value. That said, in my opinion, the board track in San Francisco was the most beautiful of all with a significant amount of historical value. It was built overlooking San Francisco to coincide with the 1915 Pan Pacific International Exposition (World's Fair), where the 1915 Vanderbilt Cup race was run. I have some beautiful photos of them and the cars. CamerasMakes you wonder what ever happened to the pictures they are taking down in the race lane, and if, some time in the future, Dave will find and post them. [A clever ploy. More here and here. - Dave] Google Maps imageI am fascinated by the Google Maps image posted below. I'd love to get into that property just to look around and walk the old layout and stand where such an amazing track was. Sadly, I'm in Arizona so it's not likely to happen. Hats and Plank roadsI can also attest to the terrific comfort of a straw boater. I got an antique boater recently (ca 1930s) and it's amazing how shady cool and comfortable they are. And yes, just about every man in America wore one. May 15 was the traditional "Straw Hat Day," when straws were "officially" sanctioned to be worn. Regarding the wooden track, this was also the era of plank roads. In an era when wood was tremendously abundant, miles and miles of highways were paved with wood. Even in Brooklyn, Coney Island Avenue was originally called Coney Island Plank Road. Laurel board trackWhen I was a kid, we used to ride our bikes in the woods there. Unfortunately, the current image above does't show any remains at all of the old track. 4 or 5 years ago they cleared the land. Now its just a grass field. About 10 years ago, when we found the track, we thought it was a road. We road our bikes on it and and discovered it was huge oval. Since the track was all sand, we thought it was once part of the horse track. Since the horse track is across the street(brock bridge rd), it only made sense to us. Wish it was still there since I now know what it is. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Natl Photo, Sports)
Duquesne Incline: 1900
... Estimated damage, $500. Coal Age, Vol 7., 1915 The steamers "Thomas Dodsworth" and "F. M. Wallace," of the ... [Maybe you're thinking of "funicular." - Dave] Car safety Were these cars pretty safe as far as reliable brakes and/or ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/02/2012 - 4:15pm -

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, circa 1900-1910. "Duquesne Incline Railway." Mount Washington and the Ohio River feature in this view, which includes the Point Bridge, a paint and varnish factory, a riverboat and the Graham Nut Company. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. View of downtown from the Duquesne InclineTaken just a week and a half ago. After posting the photo on my facebook page a friend referenced this post by Dave. Shorpy is one of my favorite sites!! InterestingI'm wondering what is the white material that was used for sheathing the upper floor of that industrial building on the left. Looks like fabric. Not there anymoreis the Lawrence paint building. It had stood abandoned for many years and was finally torn down 2 or 3 years ago. Also not there any more are the barren hillsides lining the shores of Pittsburgh's three rivers. I believe this is a direct result of the closure of all but a few steel mills and the pollution abatement efforts for those that remain. Hoppin' TomThe Tom Dodsworth was a 182', 500 ton steamer built in Pittsburgh in 1871. She was called the "Hoppin' Tom" after setting a record time for the round trip between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. On Dec 2 1900 she was involved in a collision with the steamer "Volunteer" near Swan Creek, Ohio resulting in the the sinking of 22 coal barges. Perhaps the photo was taken during repairs after the wreck. Dismantled circa 1924, her boilers were repurposed to construct road culverts in Pleasant County, W.Va. Reports of the Department of Commerce and Labor, 1909 March 24 (1907).—Steamer Tom Dodsworth, while ascending the Ohio River near Moundsville, W. Va., with an empty tow of coal boats and barges, broke her port wrist in crank, after cylinder head, bent piston rod close to piston head, and threw pitman crosshead and piston overboard. No other damage done, and no one hurt. Estimated damage, $500. Coal Age, Vol 7., 1915 The steamers "Thomas Dodsworth" and "F. M. Wallace," of the Monongahela River Consolidated Coal & Coke Co. cleared for Louisville Feb. 27 with tows of coal totaling about 1,200,000 bushels, also two freight barges each carrying 1400 tons of manufactured iron and steel. IronsidesI'm pretty sure that the white top floor is sheathed in sheet metal. Gone Green I'm amazed at the desert like conditions on the hillside. Maybe clear cutting to make it easier for development? Isn't this also referred to as a vernacular railway? Or is that part of someone's vernacular? [Maybe you're thinking of "funicular." - Dave] Car safetyWere these cars pretty safe as far as reliable brakes and/or safety brakes? Was there ever a incident of them failing, to anyone's knowledge? Lost opportunity I lived in Pittsburgh for nearly two years, and never made time to go up one of the inclines. And I was as close as that bridge. On weekends I'd unwind by driving around the city in my Civic, crossing back and forth on the bridges and checking out the odd little neighborhoods. Really cool picture, Kilroy. I'm pretty sure that those buildings up top weren't there in 1997. Especially that modern one at top right. I bet the great big empty expanses that lined the south shore of the Monongahela have been built up since then. Up the creek... without a paddlewheel. Maybe removed to replace the paddles. The antlers on the pilot house indicate that the Tom Dodsworth won a steamboat race. This is an Ohio River sternwheel tow boat, small towing knees can be seen on the bow. Probably used in the coal industry. Improvement!This is one of the few scenic photos on Shorpy where the view has markedly improved since it was taken. In fact, Pittsburgh is a much more beautiful city now, too. A lot of this is still thereIncluding the incline itself, and Lawrence paint & varnish. In fact I remember the lettering was readable the last time I paid any attention to it. The odd-shaped building (a grain elevator, maybe for the brewery?) is gone, but I think the Nuts building is still there, too. Of course this is one of the two inclines preserved in Pittsburgh, and it's a great trip. SafetyI don't know about incidents at the Pittsburgh inclines, but there were a few accidents on the ones in Cincinnati. Since the two cars counterbalanced each other, if the cables snapped then both cars would fall to the bottom. That happened on the Main Street Incline in Cincinnati, when one car reached the top the cable pulled out of the front of the car and it plummeted to the bottom, killing many patrons. Since the other car was already at the bottom it was mostly unscathed. That said, extra cables and other safety measure were installed, and they tended to operate very safely and quietly overall. The 19 inclinesHere are the locations of the 19 inclines of Pittsburgh. Click on them to see they names. Zoom to see the exact location of their tracks. Lawrence Paint BuildingThat beautiful building isn't there any longer? What a shame. Seems like it would be prime loft space nowadays with such a picturesque view. My first (and only) visit to the downtown area was in '95 and we took the incline. I was very impressed with all of Pittsburgh. +111Below is the same view from July of 2011. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Factories, Pittsburgh, Railroads)
Toy Story: 1923
... real doll, as it were. Another ratty tree, but a great toy car. Fascinating The kids look real and alive, and awash in toys, but ... wife Addie. The room in the photo matches the Nov. 14, 1915 Washington Post description of a fourth-floor ballroom, which it said had ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 6:20pm -

December 26, 1923. Washington, D.C. "Madame Prochnik, Christmas." Gretchen Prochnik, wife of the Austrian charge d'affaires, and children. View full size. Worlds apartSuch fortunate little children. They're just worlds away from our memorable Shorpy, aren't they? I bet that room is very colourful and the tree is beautiful! Are the arms movable?Madame Prochnik looks like a real doll, as it were. Another ratty tree, but a great toy car. FascinatingThe kids look real and alive, and awash in toys, but Madame Prochnik looks like a figure from a wax museum. This is a fascinating photograph. What is that behind her? Looks like a small stage, although the roll-down curtain appears to be unfortunately water-stained. I love the stenciled nymphs near the top of the wall, and the fact they are repeated on the curtain bottoms. Ms. P was big on nymphs, evidently. And, we have seen a number of real Christmas trees in recent Shorpy photos. Today's cultivated, pruned, fertilized, and pesticided "real" trees are just too phony perfect. Looks like a good Christmas, if only Gretchen would lighten up. Plug-insHow are these youngsters possibly going to keep themselves occupied and happy for very long? Not one of their toys plugs into the wall or runs on a battery! Such deprivation our forebears endured! (By the way, what on earth is that backdrop behind the tree? It looked at first to be a stage and a proscenium arch, but it appears on closer inspection to be only two-dimensional.) Love this RoomI love this tree. I like the style of long limbs with a lot of space in between with garland strung across. If I had a tree it would look like this. I also love the stencils on the wall that are also on the curtains.. What a fantastic room! Hair-don'tI guess it was fashionable in 1923 to bunch your hair up into a wad and balance it on your forehead. (See also: Is Your Child Healthy?) TOOOOOOTShouldn't Captain von Trapp be blowing his whistle??? A little child shall lead themAh, the lead tinsel has arrived! Yay! We were only allowed to hang -- never sling -- the tinsel one strand at a time. The best part, then, was taking down the tree and getting to wad up the tinsel into great, heavy balls of lead (slung at fellow siblings). I find it unfortunate that Madame Prochnik's tunic is so very unflattering. It just hangs on her. But that was the style at the moment. I'd choose the sailor suit over that frock any day. Expensive toysI'd like to see that toy car on Antiques Roadshow to see what its worth today. And tinsel. Nobody really does tinsel anymore. I guess its too much work and you would find it in the house months later. But our Christmas trees always looked super loaded with tinsel when I was a young boy. My Favorite ThingsThey look like the von Trapp family, pre-Maria. The oldest girl (seated)is thinking: "Look at all the loot they got, and all I got was this dumb book! Yes she has the mannequin pose down very wellLittle boy looks like he'd much rather be playing with his new drum or toy car than posing with sister and her tea set! What's behind the curtain?Is that a small stage behind the curtain? It's interesting to see what the upper-class were buying their children at that time. I like that metal toy car, too. I bet they were sorry about that drum after a couple of weeks, though. A small fortune...is represented by the collectables in this image! Dad must have been in the Austrian Navy to outfit the kids with those neat uniforms. Twins in the middle, I presume from the haircuts. The children have their own theater built in to the room's wall as well. Cool! Mom? She looks a bit peeved at something that can only be guessed. Any idea who the photographer was? Pro, or Daddy? Mannequin stareMom is thinking about the next performance her little girls will have on that stage behind her. If she knew then...One wonders where those adorable children were, 20 years hence. Deb in the makingThe table manners that Madame Prochnik was teaching the youngest pair (two-year old Patricia and Edgar Jr., seated at the table) would ultimately help Patricia become Washington's top debutante of the 1939-40 season, and the subject of a major profile in Life Magazine (http://books.google.com/books?id=50EEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source...). The mother of jazz vocalist Stephanie Nakasian, Patricia passed away in 1996. SilhouettesThe silhouette-embellished curtains cleverly match the wall decorations, but they're ugly as sin. They look like bath towels with a silly little valance between them. Antiques RoadshowA toy car exactly like the large one in this photo was on Antiques Roadshow once. I don't recall what the auction estimate was, but I think it was in the 2 to 3 thousand range. I do remember that the steering wheel moves the tires and the doors open and close. The woman - a younger woman and not the original owner - said when she was a kid she would sit on it and ride it down the sidewalk. The thing is heavy and built to last. I bet the Jungle Adventure Petting Zoo would sell for a pretty penny today if you could find a complete set. MissingThis is all well and good but where is Krampus? Unexpected designNice sans serif typeface on the blocks. Many ThanksI'm very grateful to Shorpy commenter jsmakbkr for the link to Life Magazine. What you delivered was a treasure trove of 1939 ads that I found much more interesting than the Prochniks. Coincidence?The accordion-like musical instrument in the foreground is very similar or identical to the one held by Margaret, the little girl in another photo (Deck the Halls: 1920.) The little girl on the left is holding a Patsy doll: I know it well, having named my Boston terrier after the googly eyed, square-faced little dear. The Brown MansionAccording to two New York Tribune articles, the Prochnik family lived in the Embassy, which in after 1922 was at 1851 Wyoming Avenue, just around the corner from Columbia Road. The fortress-like Promenade apartment building now occupies the area. It was described the previous decade as the Brown Mansion, when it was the home of President Wilson's Secretary of the Navy (Josephus Daniels) and his wife Addie. The room in the photo matches the Nov. 14, 1915 Washington Post description of a fourth-floor ballroom, which it said had been "converted some time ago into a theater suitable for amateur theatricals." Although it changed hands in 1915 for $35,000, an display ad in the Post during the first week of the Harding Administration offered it for $15,000 in cash. Before Austria could acquire it, Prochnik needed to sell off the former Austro-Hungarian embassy and divide the proceeds between Hungary and Austria. Madame Prochnik's and her OrnamentsAs I recall, several months ago we saw another picture of Madame Prochnik and her ornaments: https://www.shorpy.com/node/6406 To me, both she and her children look quite different in the two photos. Me and My DrumMy uncle gave me a drum for Christmas when I was about this boy's age. My parents never forgave him. More Prochnik, PleaseSee Mrs. Prochnik in her glory: https://www.shorpy.com/node/6410 (The Gallery, Christmas, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo)
Icecapade: 1921
January 1921. Washington, D.C. "Penrose car, accident." Beside Senator Boies Penrose's car, casualties here include a ... kind Senator Penrose has encountered within two years. In 1915, while motoring from Pittsburgh headed for Washington, his car caught fire ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/11/2020 - 11:00am -

January 1921. Washington, D.C. "Penrose car, accident." Beside Senator Boies Penrose's car, casualties here include a mailbox, emergency call box and a lamppost. The tree survives with a dented trunk. View full size. Sharp rideI used to work in automotive and the last company that I worked for, before heading into my new field, was in automotive glass. Check out the windshield on this car. It was plate glass; no safety glass but just plain old window glass. Can you imagine what would happen to your face if you went through such an accident? Even in this photo, it looks as though the front glass just broke up on impact. Still very dangerous. Man --They sure don't make trees like they used to. Time to upgrade.If Senator Penrose insists on driving on the sidewalk, maybe he should look at the FWD from an earlier photo. Fatal crash?I noticed that this crash was not listed on his Wikipedia entry, so I added it and cited this photo as a reference. I also noticed that he died in 1921. If this photo is circa 1920, perhaps this crash was fatal. [This crash had nothing to do with his death, which came from pneumonia after a year or so of declining health. - Dave] It's a wonderful lifeGeorge Bailey, you been drinking? Got Mail?That has to be the biggest mailbox in town. He must have been admiring it when he crashed into it Early ExcuseI understand the USPS is still using this crash as an excuse for undelivered mail. OuchYou can see, quite clearly, that car windshields did not have safety glass in those days. Was it the Senator's head that broke the windshield? Accident ProneCan't find any info on this specific crash but Penrose had a history of automotive mishaps. Washington Post, Aug 22, 1917 Penrose in Peril When Auto Blazes Senator and Friends Leap from Car to Escape Death. Senator Boies Penrose returned to Washington from Philadelphia yesterday after a perilous experience near Baltimore, when the senator and two friends were compelled to leap from a blazing automobile. The car is believed to have taken fire from a lighted cigar which had been tossed from a passing car and which lodged in the top, which was down. IN an instant the car was ablaze in the rear and directly over the gasoline tank. The senator and his friends escaped injury owing to prompt action by the chauffeur, who brought into play and extinguisher and put out the blaze. The body of the car was badly scorched and the top entirely destroyed. This is he second experience of this kind Senator Penrose has encountered within two years. In 1915, while motoring from Pittsburgh headed for Washington, his car caught fire near Greensburg, Pa. and became a total wreck, the senator and his party having a narrow escape from the flames. A feature of the campaign of 1914 in Pennsylvania, when Senator Penrose was a candidate for reelection to the Senate, was his large red touring car, which became well known throughout the state, as it took him into nearly every country. The senator is considered the most enthusiastic motorist in the Senate. In the last three years he has crossed Pennsylvania along the Lincoln highway and other routes from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and return more than 100 times. WikipediaPenrose's Wikipedia page has already been updated to add a link to this picture and note the possibility that the crash may have been related to his death the following year. [The senator's death came from pneumonia after years of declining health. - Dave] Text messagingIs it possible the Senator was text messaging with the window open that caused him to have the accident and while awaiting EMS caught pneumonia ? Winton SixAccording to the following delightful story in Boies Penrose, Symbol of an Era, by Robert Douglas Bowden (1937), Penrose's auto was a Winton Six painted "screaming red." The senator's driver was one Walter Mancer. Colorize this Winton Six, please!Shorpyite stanton_square's post, with the embedded book preview on the life of Boies Penrose, details on page 209 that the color of Mr. Penrose's touring car was "screaming red" with a bright red leather upholstery. Could someone please colorize this photo to show the bent automobile in all its red glory, and post it to Shorpy for all to see. When I zoomed-in to the radiator emblem on the wrecked auto, it does seem to be a Winton Six medallion. Attached below is a photo of a Winton Six radiator emblem that I found on the internet. Multiple dangersIt's not just the lack of seat belts and the non-safety glass (though those alone were good enough to kill). The steering column in those days was essentially a harpoon, and any head-on collision was likely to spear the driver. Red WreckA red Winton Six for Fellow Oakie. Re: Sharp RideIn 1923 when my mother was 3, she was in a car accident in the D.C. area that put her through the windshield. The left side of her face was cut from temple to lip. It must have been pretty bad because she said the hospital doctors weren't going to do any repairs. However one doctor took on the task and saved her life. This photo has answered questions I have had for so long. Quote"I believe in the division of labor. You send us to Congress; we pass laws under which you make money...and out of your profits, you further contribute to our campaign funds to send us back again to pass more laws to enable you to make more money." -- Senator Boies Penrose (R-Pa.), 1896, citing the relationship between his politics and big business. An honest politician! Not Necessarily RedThe circa 1920 Winton shown in the photograph is not necessarily painted red. Page 209 of Bowden's book is mentioning events from 1913 or 1914. The car Senator Penrose purchased back then was red. This car, built around 1920, is not the same one as described in the book. Both cars are Winton Sixes. Senator:"Ugh, thanks God I am not some James Dean." (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Duluth Incline Railway: 1905
... Dave. Would there happen to be any side shots of the car? Too much to hope for, I suppose. [Fraid not. - Dave] Update ... and 1911. More here. Grandma's House! From 1915 to 1960 the white house to the right belonged to my grandmother Clara ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/03/2018 - 2:20pm -

Circa 1905. "Minnesota Point from Incline Railway, Duluth." Our third look this week at the Zenith City. Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size. Gravity: Duluth's frienemyBeautiful photo and great choice, Dave. Would there happen to be any side shots of the car? Too much to hope for, I suppose. [Fraid not. - Dave] UpdateWe need an update of these wonderful pictures to see how things have changed. Does the Incline Railway still exist? If not, when did it stop operations. Great shot. Is Detroit Publishing Co. still around or have they been absorbed by someone else? DuluthLike many good movies these pictures sent me googling to learn what I could about this place.. Duluth I had never heard of.. more millionaires per capita than any other city in the world. Largest Finnish population outside of Finland.. a port larger than New York.. the place has quite a history. Like so many American cities it has suffered a precipitous decline due to the decline of our manufacturing base, suburbanization, etc. Nowhere but ShorpyOnce again, Shorpy makes me gasp. Nowhere else would I see such a spectacularly unexpected viewpoint from such an out-of-the-way time and place. The full view has something dreamlike in its details: the figures on the bridge near the railway car, the angles and brilliant white of the house on the right, the rough slabs of rock and the conic rooftop beyond them, the blurred buildings and shipping in the distance... I am almost lost for words (but not quite, as you see). You look familiar.Two people wearing hats peering over the top of the funicular. On the right between the poles. Same as the Radio School building. Something fishy here. Superior Street to Skyline DriveA Duluth Public Library page has two photos and some commentary. It dates the railway from 1891 to 1939. The "Incline" ran uphill from Superior Street at 7th Avenue W. to Skyline Drive. Two sets of tracks were elevated on concrete footings. The cars were pulled by a steam engine at the top. Hi Def imageThanks to the HiDef image - What I thought was birds on a pile of wood in front of the house at the right side of the Railway turned out to be a man either holding a long stick or resting his hand on a rail while a woman and child are exploring the slope near the rocks. The two persons between the crooked poles just about to walk under the railway now, because of the hats, look like ladies on thier way to ride to rail instead of a couple of men out for a stroll. Thank you for the pictures and the opportunity for us to get acquainted with our history and heritage. Duluth SkyrideThere are some other photos that show two cars, and trolley wire over both tracks, and very narrow stations between the tracks. Click to enlarge. so apparently the incline's operation changed over time. Possibly this was before or after the big 1901 fire that destroyed the summit pavilion and sent the flaming car flying down the incline. Another photo from the Duluth Transit site, showing trolley wire on both tracks: The old postcard posted recently shows the single-car operation, with the station platforms bridging the counterbalance car track. One wonders why the trolley wire, since the cable was apparently driven by the head house. In some photos, the poles are down. I suspect the trolley wire just ran the car lighting. The right side of the tracksCan't help but note that the dwellings on the right seem in a tad bit better condition than those on the left. The house in the right foreground, in particular, seems to have a fresh coat of paint and seems to be in much better repair than its counterpart immediately across the tracks. Could also be because it's newer construction, though. Also take note of the utility poles. This was before the advent of the chainsaw, when trees were felled by sturdy men with axes. The poles all sport the telltale wedge-shaped tips made by the blade of an axe. I love this site! Superior ViewWhat I like so much about this picture is the sense of distance. The Incline Railway sets the tone, of course, with its straight lines heading away down the hill. The foreground, with the geometrical black and white shadowing, and the car with the figures, are in clear focus. Look down the line to the docks in the middle distance and you can see the distance haze, with the muted greys. Further off, past the spit of land, the far shore is barely visible at all. Wonderful. CounterbalanceA funicular usually has two passenger cars, cabled together - one goes up when the other goes down. This one just has a dummy car on the left, low enough to fit under the pedestrian bridges. Double the wait times, half the capacity. Detroit PublishingThe company went into receivership around the late 1920s and never recovered. An excellent history of the company can be found here. FunicularsPittsburgh has two funicular railways that are in operation and heavily used. The other well-known funicular is Angel's Flight in downtown Los Angeles, which has been out of service for several years but may reopen at some point. Look What I SawRegarding the comment on the utility poles not having flatly sawn ends (as if by a chainsaw): human-powered saws have existed for hundreds of years. These particular poles were shaped with pointed ends (probably by an ax) so that they would shed snow and rain and therefore not deteriorate as quickly. [There were of course also the circular and band saws found in sawmills powered by water, steam or electricity. - Dave] Side View hereSide view of the incline car from AmityCreek.com Lone sailorIn the midst of all this, see the lone sailboat out in the harbour? If he only knew he'd been caught on camera and seen by us. 7th Avenue West InclineAfter the 1901 powerhouse fire and resulting crash, the incline railway was rebuilt with only one car between 1902 and 1911. More here. Grandma's House!From 1915 to 1960 the white house to the right belonged to my grandmother Clara Oleson Landstrom Magnuson. She was from Sweden and had three boys who all grew up in Duluth. The house is still there, but in horrible shape. My houseThe white house was my home from 1961 to 1972. My 5 children were born there and went to Emerson school; now it's apartments. We were married at St. Peter's church, now closed. Do not live in Duluth anymore but still make a trip up there to visit family. (The Gallery, DPC, Duluth, Railroads)
Seeing New York: 1904
... From 1903 to 1905 they also built a 3-seat electric car called the VE Electric. Almost all of their vehicles were single motor ... built from mid-1906 on were known as GV Electrics. By 1915 there were some 2,000 GV Electrics in New York City alone, representing ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 9:51pm -

Circa 1904. "Seeing New York." Electric omnibuses at the Flatiron Building. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. In living colorColorized version of a very overloaded one used by the Fifth Avenue Coach Company: PricelessThis is one of my favorite Shorpy pics ever. The expressions on all the faces speak volumes. Great. I believe it's called a charabancThere's a picture of another electric charabanc at https://www.shorpy.com/node/7251 . The name is a good description: charabanc = char-à-banc = bench carriage. According to Wikipedia, mostly used for sightseeing and daytrips, safety record not great. How very usefulA Telephone Connection is mentioned on the omnibuses - but not the number. OMGWhat about the ghost lady in the back? The choice of the futureIt was a time when there was not yet a clear choice on which energy would propel the cars and trucks. You had electric engines, gasoline engines and even steam engines in almost equal numbers on the streets. Hard work.It must have been a real handful to navigate that beast through the streets of Manhattan. TouristsI can't get over how well dressed this visiting group is. If you wander over to Times Square, or even the Flatiron these days you see a lot of people in shorts and T-shirts, many overweight and continuously munching. The more formally dressed 1904 crowd may have been a bit much, but somewhere in between there is an answer. The Case of the Toppled TouristsWow, no sidewalls, safety belts or anything. I don't imagine those bus boats were in service for very long. Electric?From what's visible of the undercarriage, it looks like these are driven by electric motors. [Hmmm. Maybe that's why they are described in the caption as "electric omnibuses"! - Dave] Guess I really ought ro read 'em once in a while, eh? A warning for the ladiesDon't visit the Heel Building! QuackThese sightseeing contraptions are as ugly and ungainly as the "duck" amphibious sightseeing vehicles which are seen in many cities, these days. Ottawa has a number of these monstrosities blocking traffic during tourist season. Nothing beats making tourists stick out like sore thumbs. Fred MacMurray You can't hide behind that mustache. Smart to have your hat attached by that wind trolley too. People were just so civilized back then. Being clean and proper was the order of the day. Lady in Row 5 seems to be making sure her companion is up to snuff. OK, so I want to know:Who killed the electric omnibus? Tourist DestinationAt what point did NYC become a tourist destination, where people come just to see the city itself, as these people are doing? I guess that sort of thing doesn't just happen at a "point in time," but gradually. Timely questionsI surmise that the doors on the sides of the cars open up to allow for artfully placed hidden steps for boarding? How else would a lady's delicate and well turned heel ascend and descend the bus? How far could an electric omnibus go before needing a recharge? Duck ToursThese remind me of the Duck Tour vehicles in Boston and other cities. Refurbished WWII amphibious vehicles. It's also neat to see the guy in the last row with his hat clip attached so he won't lose it in the wind. Vehicle Equipment CompanyThese “Automobile buses” were made by the Vehicle Equipment Company of Long Island City, New York. Their literature called them “A combination of the commercial and pleasure types.” The Vehicle Equipment Company was started in Brooklyn in 1901 by Robert Lloyd and Lucius T. Gibbs. By 1903 they had relocated to Long Island City. Up until mid-1906 they built a large number of commercial electric vehicles. From 1903 to 1905 they also built a 3-seat electric car called the VE Electric. Almost all of their vehicles were single motor shaft-drive. The company went into receivership in 1906, and the General Vehicle Company (owned by the General Electric Company) purchased the factory and reorganized to build both gasoline and electric vehicles, as well as replacement parts. Vehicles built from mid-1906 on were known as GV Electrics. By 1915 there were some 2,000 GV Electrics in New York City alone, representing more than 25% of all trucks of all types working daily in the city. The style of “Automobile bus” seen above was also very popular in Washington D.C. and other cities as well. General Vehicle Company ceased production around 1917. AdvertisementFrom the Daily News Tribune of June 26, 1904. This ad occurs only in June and July issues. Most likely, they did't work so long. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC)
The Wolverine: 1922
... Firecracker" Fanne Fox, who later jumped from his car into the Tidal Basin and sank Mill's career. Gorgeous photograph! ... a comedian who began receiving favorable reviews around 1915, and appeared in a few silent films as early as 1910 (his last film credit ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/18/2012 - 5:52pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1922. "Leader Theater, front." Sidney Lust's movie house on Ninth Street N.W. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size. Into the MixWow. Interesting mix of dancehall cafe, Greek restaurant, vaudeville/burlesque house and cinema. Even in black-and-white, certainly more colorful than the mall multiplex. Breathtaking ArchitecturePlease tell me this magnificent building is still standing. Built in 1910, it could be . . .please! The gigantic statuary flanking the marquee---dwarfed by the HUGE roofline finial statues---is simply stunning. All the buildings along this block have unique architecture with intricate detail. Was this an "entertainment block"? I see a cafe/dance hall, burlesque house, the Leader theater, and a Greek restaurant. I wager to say even the "Washington Shoe Shine and Hat Cleaning Parlor" was probably an entertaining place to visit! The Tarzan die cut advertising tucked around the marquee would be worth a small fortune on today's antique market! The Port ArthurStarting from the left... Washington Post, Oct 20, 1914 Fight in Chinese Cafe Three Men Arrested Following Row in Port Arthur Restaurant The moving-picture district on Ninth, between E and F streets northwest, was thrown into a state of excitement last night just as the shows were discharging their crowds by a fight in the Port Arthur Chinese restaurant, in which three young men are alleged to have attempted to smash everything in the shape of furnishings and the head of every Chinese employee in the place. The trouble attracted a crowd that blockaded the street from curb to curb. Cries and curses and the breaking of glass and tableware added to the situation. Policeman Miller alone grappled with the fighters and emerged from the place brining three of the principles with him. They were taken to the first precinct. Morris Sing, proprieteor of the restaurant, told the police that the party came into his place and ordered food. Then for some reason unknown one of the men picked up the dishes, smashed them, and then started a general assault principally against the Chinese employes of the place. Several of the Chinese waiters were injured, but refused hospital treatment. A one-sex audienceAll boys, I notice. Apparently girls stayed home on Saturday afternoons. All in knickers, scratchy woolen stockings and high leather shoes. And every single one of them wearing a cap except the half-dozen or so who are holding them in their hands. Helen Gibson in "The Wolverine." Not much information, I'm afraid. Elmo Lincoln in "The Adventures of Tarzan." (Lots.) The WolverineI had no idea Hugh Jackman was so old! "The Wolverine"Plot Synopsis by Hans J. Wollstein Based on a novel by the prolific B.M. Bower (pseudonym for novelist Bertha "Muzzy" Sinclair), The Wolverine starred former serial queen and stunt-woman Helen Gibson as a rancher who stands up for an employee (Jack Connolly) unjustly accused of cattle rustling. Ward Warren (Connolly) had come West after serving a prison sentence for a crime he didn't commit. History repeats itself for Ward when a couple of bandits he had chased off the land, accuses him of being a rustler himself. The former common-law wife of Hoot Gibson, Gibson (née Rose Wenger) had gained stardom replacing Helen Holmes in the long-running The Hazards of Helen. By no means a traditional screen beauty -- but spirited -- Gibson's starring career was brief, and she returned to stunt-doubling in talkies. http://www.allmovie.com/work/wolverine-117381 Around the World in a BlockThe architectural walking tour here is pretty wild. There's the Belle Epoque excesses of the Gayety and Leader theaters, crowned by their zinc copies of sculptures from the Petit Palais at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. Then there's the Gothic church facade of the Port Arthur Restaurant. And then there's the Acropolis (Greek) restaurant housed behind a Chinese balcony, left over from the Port Arthur's old location on the other side of the Gayety (the stairwell entrance to the "gothic" Port Arthur at 515-17 has a matching Chinese carved wood awning). But just when I was getting an urge for some nice spanakopita, I noticed that the Acropolis seems to have been replaced by the all-American Rowland's Buffet. Cable cars?Is that a cable slot between the streetcar tracks? [It's access to the underground electrical supply that powered Washington's streetcars. - Dave] "Fastest Northwestern Picture Ever Screened"What the heck does that mean? ["The Wolverine" was a train. Which is shown in the sign. - Dave] Coming AttractionView Larger Map The location today. The J. Edgar Hoover Building is right behind you. The GayetyThis is right around the corner from the original 9:30 Club. I remember parking across the street from the Gayety in the early 80's. Creepy place, they showed "adult" movies. Lots of drug addicts and perverts. Wilbur Mills and the GayetyThe Gayety lasted into the 1970s. That's where House Ways and Means Chairman Wilbur Mills first met "Argentine Firecracker" Fanne Fox, who later jumped from his car into the Tidal Basin and sank Mill's career. Gorgeous photograph!And also a revelation for me. Was The Port Arthur a Chinese food chain? There was also one by that name in downtown Providence. I don't know when it opened there, but I do know that it lasted well into the 1940's and was - according to my Dad - the hottest place to go to on a Saturday night in the late 30's and early 40's. Drinking, dancing to a band and exotic, for its time, Chinese food. My Aunt Mary and another female relative sang there, as well. What an eye-opener! And what a thrill this photo is to drink in! I'd throw down my nickel to see that movie in a second - if only for the pleasure of getting to see what the inside of the theater looked like! This is one of the very best postings this year. [Below: The Port Arthur Chinese restaurant in New York. Click to enlarge. - Dave] Helen GibsonThat picture is awesome. Thanks for sharing it. I have been researching Helen Gibson for many years and have many of her personal ephemera pieces. Including her copy of the Wolverine lobby card with the image enlarged as a poster on the left of the entrance. Thanks for your site, I always see something exciting. Newsboy MatineeGiven all the young boys and the fact that that whatever is going on here it merited a photograph, I am guessing this is another gathering of newsboys for a Saturday matinee. Shorpy viewers have previously seen a similar event in this 1925 photo of the Leader Theater. Alas, no sign of Bo-Bo, "the monkey with the human brain," in the photo. Washington Post, Feb 12, 1922 Carriers' Theater Party Many Post newsboys yesterday had the time of their lives at the showings of the latest installment of the Adventures of Tarzan at Sidney B. Lust's Leader and Truxton theaters as the guests of Mr. Lust and the circulation department of the Post. The boys found the day an even greater event than they had expected, for in the morning at their homes, each had received letters from W.C. Shelton, circulation manager of The Post, thanking them for their efforts delivering The Post on time during the storm and enclosing $1 as a bonus. Mr. Lust, who was host to a number of the carriers yesterday, will entertain as many more today, for tickets good for either day were sent out. As a special inducement to efficient service, the boys who rank among the best carriers in the city will receive free movie tickets for the next 15 weeks. The boys had been particularly interested in the Tarzan film, which features Elmo Lincoln. Bo-Bo, the monkey with the human brain, was on hand to meet the boys when they reached the Theater, and on leaving every boy was given a bag of peanuts. Bo-Bo plays an important part in the Tarzan serial, and his antics created much amusement. Elmo!Where else but in America could a guy named Elmo with a 52-inch chest become a movie star? In addition to his rightful claim to fame as the first film Tarzan (in 1918), Elmo Lincoln was also in the silent classics "Birth of a Nation," "Intolerance" and "That Fatal Glass of Beer." He came back in the late 1930s in bit roles in talkies, including "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." "The Adventures of Tarzan" was Lincoln's third and final foray in the role of the vine-swinger, which was probably just as well, as he was afraid of heights. Released as a 15-part serial, it was one of the smash hits of the year, taking in more than Valentino's "The Sheik." Sugar Plums at the GayetyWhen this photo was taken, burlesque had not yet begun its long slide from musical comedies and revues into adults-only sleaze. The Washington Gayety was one in a large chain of theaters, with shows rotating among them on a circuit, as in vaudeville. Gayety shows featured such stars as Al Jolson, Fanny Brice, Sophie Tucker and Will Rogers. Harry Coleman, starring in the Washington Gayety's "Sugar Plums," was a comedian who began receiving favorable reviews around 1915, and appeared in a few silent films as early as 1910 (his last film credit is as a bit player in the dance hall scenes in Chaplin's "The Gold Rush"). On Nov. 8, 1918, the Toronto World ran a notice for the Toronto Gayety's new show "The Roseland Girls," beginning with this lead: "The Roseland Girls" is a show that may always be relied upon to furnish the sort of entertainment that the patrons of the Gayety Theatre will like and will be enjoyed by all classes of theatregoers. The company is headed by Harry Coleman, Bert Lahr, Kitty Mitchell" [and others]. Absolutely wonderful. What a civilization we once had! The adult on the far right appears to be halting traffic with his blurry arms so as to give the photog a clear view of the newsboys. Elmo of the ApesElmo Lincoln was in the first Tarzan feature, "Tarzan of the Apes," which was filmed in Morgan City, La. (I suppose if you took the Southern Pacific east out of LA that would be the first quasi-jungle swamp you would come to.) Morgan City is a real pit, an oilfield blue collar town with not much going for it. In 1986 I was staying overnight there and read in some chamber of commerce brochure an invitation to come back in 1988, for the 70th anniversary of the release of the film and Morgan City's Tarzan fest. Two years later the Wall St. Journal had an article in its humorous-story corner about how in the midst of all the planning the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate prevented Morgan City from going forward with the festival. The poor town was stuck with all of the preliminary costs of their big event in the city's history. What a shame. Good thing there was a captionI couldn't see the name of the theatre anywhere on it. I suppose it could be covered by a banner for the movie. You'd never see a business today allowing its identity to be obscured. Elmo Is My HomeboyElmo Lincoln is the only movie star from my hometown of Rochester, Indiana! That's all I've got to say. Some 4-digit population towns can't claim ANY movie stars. What is next door?Does anyone read Greek? I wonder what the upstairs of the building on the theater's left houses? [The name is there in both Greek and English: Acropolis Cafe. - Dave] Dressed to the NinesI can't imagine a group of that many boys wearing ties to a movie today. (The Gallery, D.C., Movies, Natl Photo)
Bustling Baltimore: 1917
... The Studebaker/Garford shop was known as Zell Motor Car Company; my grandmother's brother-in-law was a highly regarded mechanic ... specify and insist. The National Builder, 1915. Morgan Sash & Door Company Department A-22, Chicago ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/20/2012 - 7:18pm -

Baltimore, Maryland, circa 1917. "Union Station showing Charles Street and Jones Falls." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Kind to pedestriansLove that railroad viaduct. What Is Their Purpose?Toward the right side of the photo there are some rectangular blocks on top of a building behind the Union Station building. Two of them are up against the windows in a sort of wavy manner. They look sort of like warped mini-roofs. What is their purpose and why are they wavy and slanted as opposed to flat like the other ones? [Wavy things: roofs over stairways. Flat things: skylights. - Dave] Flour, Yeast, Studebakers and CokeWhat else can you possibly want? Don't forget the ice!Sign behind and to the left of Union Station. It's Penn Station nowand still in full daily use, including as a main stop on the Amtrak high-speed Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston. Still vibrant on the eve of WWIBaltimore was my childhood home. This view, dated 1917, shows a Baltimore that was still a vibrant city. Note the tenement homes, in good shape, interspersed with a variety of industry and transportation. Home to the country's first railroad, Baltimore was the second largest port on the East Coast. The streets are clean and there are landscaped areas to be enjoyed by the residents -- a bit of elbow room to make life bearable. Thirteen years earlier, downtown Balto had suffered a major fire. The Baltimore of today is but a shadow of its former self, having suffered substantial economic and social decay. This photo evokes a sad nostalgia of a bygone era. Bawlmer -- where do I start?You'll need the hi-def version to follow me here. The freight yard across the top of the photo is the Northern Central Railway, and since 1912, the Pennsylvania RR Bolton Freight Station. My great grandfather was likely working there this day, as he would until Bolton Street was closed. Just off photo to the distant left is B&O's Mount Royal Station, the tracks of which are below grade behind the PRR yard. The Studebaker/Garford shop was known as Zell Motor Car Company; my grandmother's brother-in-law was a highly regarded mechanic there for many years. The prominent arch-windowed building behind it on Charles Street is now part of University of Baltimore, where I attended classes for a time. The beautiful massive stone structure in the distance with two stacks was a water pumping station, removed for I-83 construction in the 1960s. Directly in front of that building is North Avenue "NA" Tower; it's dark because it is painted in B&O's red color. NA Tower protected the crossing between the two track line seen crossing Jones Falls, and the B&O main line, which isn't visible here. Note locomotives on both sides of NA tower. The water course in the middle is Jones Falls (the name being a peculiarity of the region; instead of Creek or Run, sometimes a channel was called a Falls). The most distant bridge is North Avenue Viaduct, built in the 1890s and still in use. Close behind the viaduct is B&O's bridge over the Falls, not visible here. At the right end of the viaduct, above the Morgan Millwork sign, can be seen the B&O mainline to Philadelphia and where I labored four decades. Finally, great big Union Station isn't the only downtown passenger terminal in view. Just left of Morgan Millwork and above the City Ice sign is the peaked roof of the Maryland and Pennsylvania (Ma & Pa) RR's Oak Street Station. Beautiful shot. Thanks, Dave! Slow TrainI commuted from Richmond to Baltimore twice a week during the gas crisis of 1973-74. Taking the train was, at times, a pleasure but it was anything but "high speed." Railway Express & OystersIn the mid '60s I worked for Railway Express and each weekday night we would make a run from our depot on Calvert & Centre to Penn Station. The usual cargo was mainly express packages and barrels of oysters and boxes of soft shelled crabs fresh from Crisfield on the Chesapeake Bay headed to Philadelphia and New York. We would drive down that ramp to train track level and transfer the barrels to those high-wheeled station carts, which were pulled by a small mule (automotive variety). As the train entered the station we would drive alongside as it came to a stop so our carts were lined up with the messenger car. We had ten frantic minutes of rolling the barrels into the car until the train pulled out. Thankfully we never hit a passenger or dropped a barrel onto the tracks. That was always the best part of our night since after that we would take our time getting back to the depot so we got there just about time to punch out and head down Calvert Street to Susie's for an after work beer. So if sometime you stopped in an Oyster Bar in Philly or New York and had either some soft shell crabs or oysters and remarked about the freshness of the same it might have been me who got them there for you. Another InspirationI wish I was a kid again. What a grand sight this would be in H.O. Scale! Morgan Millwork Co.Morgan Millwork Co. was the eastern warehouse and showroom for the Morgan Sash & Door Company. Architectural Record, 1910. Correct Craftsmen Style Morgan Doors are noted for correctness and originality of design and finish. Their construction is guaranteed to be absolutely faultless. Morgan Doors add wonderfully to the permanent value, comfort, beauty and satisfaction of the house. Morgan Doors are light, remarkably strong, and built of several layers of wood with grain running in opposite directions. Shrinking, warping or swelling is impossible. Veneered in all varieties of hard wood — Birch, plain or quarter-sawed red or white Oak, brown Ash, Mahogany, etc. Any style of architecture. Very best for Residences, Apartments, Offices, Bungalows or any building. Each Morgan Door is stamped "Morgan" which guarantees highest quality, style, durability and satisfaction. You can have Morgan Doors if you specify and insist. The National Builder, 1915. Morgan Sash & Door Company Department A-22, Chicago Factory: Morgan Co., Oshkosh, Wis. Eastern Warehouse and Display, Morgan Millwork Co., Baltimore. Displays: 6 East 19th St., New York; 309 Palmer Bldg., Detroit; Building Exhibit, Insurance Exchange, Chicago. Looks like the early 1920’sby the look of some of the cars Corpus Christi Church and MICAThe tall pointy steeple in the upper left corner is Corpus Christi Church, and the white building to its left is the Maryland Institute College of Art where I went to college. (The Gallery, Baltimore, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Railroads)
Washington Flour: 1926
... horses in his Loudoun County farm. The two joined in 1915 to take over the old Arlington Mill, built in 1847, according to a stone ... In order to keep the grain from leaking out of the the car during it's long transit from the wheat belt to the flour mill, the boxcars ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 5:31pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1926. "Wilkins-Rogers Milling Co., exterior, 3261 Water Street." The Washington Flour mill on K Street, formerly Water Street, in Georgetown. The Washington Flour brand had a retail presence at least into the late 1960s. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. The buildingsIt's so great that the two buildings in the picture have survived, and it seems with very few exterior changes. As you travel in the Google videos it's plain to see the brick work and architecture is basically the same as when the picture was taken. I love those Google shots. [Actually both buildings are only about three-quarters their original size; their river-facing sides were lopped off by the Whitehurst Freeway. They started out rectangular but ended up as trapezoids. - Dave] View Larger Map Wilkins-RogersI'm not sure when W-R stopped milling in D.C., but the company still has mills in Ellicott City, on a site that has had a mill since the Ellicott brothers went into business there in 1772. The only product that still bears the Washington brand name, though, is its self-rising flour. Washington also makes Indian Head corn meal, which is the best. http://www.wrmills.com/index.html Cadillac PickupSomebody give us the dope on that odd truck in the lower right is it a Caddy or what? [It's a pickup truck that belongs to the Washington Cadillac Co. - Dave] Check out the boxcars...The front two cars are from the Baltimore & Ohio and Pennsylvania railroads. I always went for the RR's in Monopoly, it's fun to see the real deal! Bulb changingDoes anyone else wonder how they changed the bulbs in those sign lamps perched six stories up? In those days bulbs had to be changed often and they didn't have bucket trucks back then. A Georgetown fixture for yearsIf I'm not mistaken, this mill building was a fixture of the Georgetown waterfront area until a few years ago. Our grade school class visited there once. Those sun-drenched bricks and railroad tracks were later shadowed by an elevated expressway, and that blank facade could be seen close to the roadway. The bricks can still be seen peeking out from underneath the asphalt in places. [These buildings still stand next to the Whitehurst Freeway, where the expressway (built in 1949) crosses Potomac Street. They're part of an office complex at 1000 Potomac that sold for $50 million in 2007. - Dave] View Larger Map View Larger Map Objectionable OdorsI seem to recall that in the 70's there was a rendering plant on Water Street that made quite a stink, and that from the freeway, you could see a sign painted on that flour mill that said "The objectionable odors that you may notice in this area do not originate from this plant." A small correctionThe street that runs by the old flour mill and later beneath the Whitehurst freeway is K Street N.W. I used to police this area for some ten years while with the M.P.D.C. 1959-1969. [The street than ran by the flour mill was Water Street, which became K Street after the Georgetown street renaming of 1895. People evidently continued to call that stretch Water Street for years afterward. - Dave] Re: Bulb changingIt seems to me that the only reasonable way is for the reflectors to move to the roof somehow. One can envision the 5 poles on the left being detached at their bases and pulled in while suspended by their guys. The three poles on the right would maybe pivot upwards at their bases, pulled by their guys, to workers on the ledge. Sounds awfully complicated. There must be a more clever way. A Grind in GeorgetownWashington Post, Feb 29, 1940 Lone Flour Plant Grinds on Canal Washington's flour industry is built partly in a modern city's demand for bread, partly in a century and half of tradition. The city's only flour plant is the Wilkins Rogers Milling Co., at Potomac and K streets northwest. It is housed in two buildings, one more than 100 years old with brick walls 2 feet thick, used formerly as cotton plant, ice plant, flour mill, and now office and warehouse. The other is a modern six-story concrete, brick and steel structure, building in 1922 and housing the present mill. The plant is on a hill between the old Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and the Potomac River. The canal, which used to bring loaded grain barges from the upland farms to feed the Georgetown mills, now supplies all the power used in the mill. The last century, Georgetown boasted a dozen mills at one time, eight flour mills and four grist mills. Some of the flour went down the Potomac and away to European markets. Now the grain comes in by truck and railroad to the K street side of the mill. In the American milling industry, the Wilkins Rogers firm counts itself at the "end of the line," since the flour centers have shifted to the Middle West. Operators of the mill are Howard L. Wilkins and Samuel H. Rogers. Without exaggeration they could be cast in the roles of traditional "jolly millers." Or they could be typed as businessmen who picked up a dead business and built it to a $2,000,000 annual volume. Wilkins is 73 and president of the firm. He was born in New Jersey, but grew up on a farm near Mount Vernon. His family farm was near the old Dogue Run Mill, built by George Washington, a coincidence that takes added note because Wilkins helped remodel the mill. He was educated in Washington schools. Rogers, 61-year-old vice president, is the son of a Loudoun County miller, who taught him the flour business. He is the father of four boys, and would like to see at the least the oldest one go into the same business. Outside the mill his main hobby is raising thoroughbred horses in his Loudoun County farm. The two joined in 1915 to take over the old Arlington Mill, built in 1847, according to a stone plaque in the wall of the new mill. It had been closed for three years. Their friends advised them against the venture. They went ahead, caught a slice of war-trade by selling flour to Italy, and later turned the mill over to producing flour for America's World War needs. The old mill and its machinery were destroyed in a fire, July 4, 1922. The modern mill was built at the same site. At first glance the inside of the mill gives the impression that it was never finished. The interior is like a building still under construction, a tangle of girders, of gigantic funnels, pipes running at all angles, with a network of power belts winding endlessly from floor to floor. Later you find that girders, funnels, pipes, belts are all parts of one huge machine, which transforms whole grain to flour, and corn to meal, with never a hand touching it. Corn and wheat are mostly purchased directly from farms within a 75-mile radius. Behind the Grain DoorIn order to keep the grain from leaking out of the the car during it's long transit from the wheat belt to the flour mill, the boxcars in the photo would have their doorway openings fitted with wooden grain doors, effectively sealing the interior of the car. The car's sliding door would cover the grain door. As show on one of the cars, upon arrival at their destination, the upper boards would be removed and depending upon the facility's equipment, the grain would be shoveled out of the car or unloaded with a mechanical conveyor. By the mid-20th century, wooden grain doors were replaced by ones made of thick paper with light wooden frames. Some of these were reinforced with metal banding. Today, all grain product is shipped in covered hopper cars. Grain is loaded from the top and unloaded from the bottom of modern cars. It is interesting to note that the B&O double door car was designed to carry automobiles. Many cars tended to be seasonal in their use and thus tended to have multiple duties - all part of maintaining a steady revenue stream for the railroad who built and operated these cars. Under the FreewayBy the 1960's, this was about as "industrial" as Washington got. Under the Whitehurst Freeway you had Washington Flour, Maloney Concrete and the rendering plant, all adjacent to the Pepco power plant. The DMV also had its impound lot down there on the banks of the then horribly foul-smelling Potomac. On the north side of K Street were a number of clubs, jazz, blues & live performance, including the infamous Bayou. In the '60s and '70s, while preppy Georgetown students and affluent trend-setters populated the clubs and restaurants above M Street (the 3rd Edition, Pall Mall, Charing Cross, etc.), it was a very different scene below M and down under the freeway! By the late '80s it was essentially gone, gentrified away. My GrandfatherMy grandfather Harrison Goolsby was caretaker of Mr. Wilkins's 365-acre farm, Grassy Meade, off Mount Vernon Boulevard in the 1940s. You could also get to it from Fort Hunt Road. I surely wish I could find a picture of the old place. Mr. Wilkins's daughter sold out to the contractor, Gosnell, who developed it into Waynewood Estates. I would appreciate any help on this matter. Everybody's pretty much died after all these years. My mom and dad lived in the lower house. Thanks ever so much, Edgar Note the old wooden boxcarwith the "outside" metal frame. I recall seeing boxcars of this construction well into the 1960s. Pennsy box carThat old box car is known as a X-26 single sheathed car. It was built in March 1925. The last car of that series was retired about 1958. Been around the block a few times. Odor in areaI remember the odor from the area. I was told it was the tannery next door to the mill. Makes sense as a tannery does smell. My best friend's father worked at the mill until his retirement. I, too, remember that sign.Pirateer has it almost exactly right. The sign was set at such a height as to be easily readable -- indeed, impossible to ignore -- from the Whitehurst Freeway. It read: THE OBJECTIONABLE ODORS YOU MAY NOTICE IN THIS AREA DO NOT ORIGINATE IN THIS PLANT I know, because my sister and I used to read it aloud in unison at the top of our lungs whenever we passed by. I'm sure our parents looked forward to those drives. My mom, who is quite an accomplished oil painter, did a rendering (as it were) of the old plant that is at once realistic and beautiful. I'll have to ask if she still has it. Flour PowerThe firm's ads used the phrase "water-ground" to describe its flour. When the original water-powered belt transmission system was replaced with a water-powered electrical generator and motors, permission was granted by authorities (FTC?) to continue using the the phrase. Rendering plant?Does anyone remember the name of the rendering plant that produced the horrible smell? My mother grew up in Georgetown and I remember her mentioning the business by name and telling me that it had been there since the late 19th century. The name sounded German, as I recall. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Railroads)
Capital Awning: 1926
... brightly painted windows and trees. If there's an old car I'd like to see in full color, it would definitely be this one! ... Classified Ad, Washington Post, Jan 13, 1915 Window Shades Our awnings are made to last longer and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/17/2013 - 5:02pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1926. "Capital Awning Company -- Ford Motor Co." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Division of LaborI wonder where the other departments are located, and what they were. Was there an awning department? Seems like there should be. Awning departmentcould probably be found on Shady Lane. My childhood home had a big front porch and my parents bought awnings for all three sides of it. It was great to sit out there during a summer thunderstorm. Wash tubsIt is interesting to see that each of the apartments to the left have their own galvanized wash tubs hanging on the porches. Guess I never thought about where people would have done their laundry in those days! And look at how dressed up the delivery men are! Thanks for all these great images that really give us a real sense of history. Off KilterThe little house on the right appears to have some serious foundation issues, or maybe the builder had one leg shorter than the other. Dig the mural on the truck. And so began the whole '70s van craze. Shady is rightIt looks like they're loading bodies instead of awnings. With a few more under the blankets in the vacant lot. FrugalThe well-dressed gent on the right appears to be the thrifty type judging by the rubbers over his shoes. The practice is not unknown to me. Faux WindowsFunny how the windows painted on the side of the truck are almost the right location and proportion for the front of the building. Nice vanA Flivver with disc wheels is rare enough, but check out the decoration on the sides! Looks like a very colorful jalopy to me, complete with painted trees under the "windows"! Also notice the useless but very decorative bows over the oval windows on the sides and the rear doors, and the way the curved reinforcing members add to the effect of the painted sides; it doesn't take much effort to imagine those are a fence in front of those brightly painted windows and trees. If there's an old car I'd like to see in full color, it would definitely be this one! Colorful flivverI couldn't help making a drawing of that old Model T and give it some color. I liked the results so much I thought I'd share it here. Hope you like it. P.S.: No original photograph was injured in the making of this drawing. Was the driver ...a blind man?? Yuk yuk. Not the cheapestWhile the central office of the Capital Awning Company was at 1503 N. Capitol St., the Window Shade Dept. was located elsewhere. (Buildings of this vintage survive in the 1500 block of N. Capitol street but none match the one shown here.) I love the line, "Our customers talk loudly for us." Classified Ad, Washington Post, Jan 13, 1915 Window Shades Our awnings are made to last longer and guaranteed. Not the cheapest, but the best; a few cents more. Head rods strongly made; fast colors; prompt service; courteous treatment. Order now; no money required until delivery. Our customers talk loudly for us. Capitol Awning Company, 1503 North Capitol st. Phone North 2959. Awnings Complete the Home Just sayin'Are both of the houses really 2 stories? The house on the right (83?) has a ~10' "antenna" on the front left. Any idea its purpose? [The house on the right is farther from the street. - tterrace] This was my grandfather's businessAnd he was also my namesake, having died just one day less than a year before I was born in 1947. At the time this picture was supposedly taken (1926) my father would have been 6 years old. I too go by "Wm. E. Russell," which is seen on the driver's door of the truck/van. My first "real paying" job was working at the Capital Awning Co., for 3 summers, directly out of high school, and while in college. Following my grandfather's death in 1946, my uncle became manager and ran the company while my grandmother was president. My father had little interest in "the family business". Identified as the "Window Shade Department," it's more likely venetian blinds, or possibly shades that the workers are handling. In addition to awnings (residential and commercial) the company also provided massive party tents with flooring and heat (in winter) and did so for Washington's elite, including the Kennedys (JFK) in the backyard of their Georgetown house. Sadly, with the advent of air conditioning and the increasing cost of awnings, the company went out of business in the early-to mid-80s. Prior to the expansive use of air conditioning, all of the grand apartment buildings' windows had awnings. I certainly didn't wear a suit when I worked there. My older sister and I are the only remaining descendants, along with her daughter, my niece. This is the first time I have ever done a Google search on "The Capital Awning Company, Washington, DC," and is how I found this picture. What a delight! Tin Pan AlleyNice to see EvRuss' personal connection posted here, thanks! I have to wonder, based on Hoperu's observation, whether the space between the Awning company building and the residences was called "Tin Pan Alley." (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Vanderbilt Hotel: 1913
... illusion because of the angle of the photo. "The car that has no crank" The car is a 1912 Cadillac, the first to use ... top floors. He is best-known for the circumstances of his 1915 death, however. Traveling first class on the Lusitania when it was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 1:17pm -

New York circa 1913. "Vanderbilt Hotel, Park Avenue at 34th Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Hotel with a pedigreeFrom its 1913 completion until it was converted to apartments in 1965, the Vanderbilt Hotel was one of the city's most fashionable in the early 20th Century. Singer Enrico Caruso lived here in 1920 and 1921, his last U.S. home. To be or not to be a gargoyleThat's handsome chauffeur (I'm making that assumption because of the hat -- maybe it's the owner just kicking back and waiting for someone). On the side of the Vanderbilt building facing us, about 4 windows up, there appear to be three gargoyles missing. Were they not ready to put up yet? Were they stolen? Did the other gargoyles chase them away? Did they abandon their posts? Are they really gargoyles or some other kind of stonework? I can't see them clearly because of the distance. It looks like they are not all the same. One looks like it's a person with some dogs, for instance. More than one looks like it could be a transformer robot. I can see that there is a window-washer about 6 windows up in the middle tier of the building. The plank is either crooked or it's an illusion because of the angle of the photo. "The car that has no crank"The car is a 1912 Cadillac, the first to use Charles Kettering's newly-invented electric starter. I think the first character on the license plate is C, not 6, but it is kind of strange. And the poor chauffeur doesn't even have a book to keep himself occupied while he waits! Vanderbilt StationA few years ago, a restaurant called Vanderbilt Station opened in the the building that housed the hotel. They claimed that when the Vanderbilts lived there they had a private railroad siding beneath the building, where their private Pullman coach, attached to a locomotive, would pick them up and whisk them to all the grand places. It turns out that the story was just another NYC fairy tale. However the restaurant served great prime rib which they sold by the inch. Ugly modernizationThe modernized lower level of the Vanderbuilt is an architectural nightmare. I don't see how a self respecting architect could create such a mess. The sad thing is that the changes neither added utility to the building nor did they improve the aesthetics. It was simply performed for no reasonable purpose. Larry. Moe & CurlyOutside the 7th floor washing the windows. Uptown TrafficNo uptown traffic lane from 33rd street? Wonder when that wall was demolished to make way. Modern betterComparing the 1913 photo to the current Google streetview we can see the exterior has been completely revamped. This is one of the rare occasions when I like the new version better. Ill-fated Alfred Gwynne VanderbiltAlfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, a great-grandson of the Commodore, built this hotel in 1913. One of many permanent residents there, he moved into two top floors. He is best-known for the circumstances of his 1915 death, however. Traveling first class on the Lusitania when it was torpeodoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland, he gave his life vest to save a young mother and child. Vanderbilt was unable to swim, and his body was never recovered. Big Babies of TodayIn 1913 if you were bitten by bedbugs at the Vanderbilt, you'd keep it to yourself. Today, you file a lawsuit and contact a press agent to get the word out. EerinessThe fellow with the "66666" license plate sitting perfectly still while the apparitions around him are in motion is a bit spooky. A Longchamps thereI seem to remember that a large two-level basement restaurant in the Longchamps chain once operated in this hotel. It was an art-deco kind of place. Alas, but Longchamps has gone the way of the Schrafft's, Childs, Chock Full o' Nuts, Horn & Hardart, and Bickford restaurant operations. Still standing proud 97 years on.View Larger Map Satan's conveyanceThe Devil himself is attending a Bilderberg meeting at the hotel. Empire State BastillePardon my unfamiliarity with New York, but what's the fortress-like building at the left edge of the photo? Looks vaguely medieval -- perhaps an armory? Tilt-shiftAll these old photos of buildings shot from the street level reminded me of something I hadn't thought much about since I quit using my Graflex 4x5 and Speed Graphic 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 years ago. It was thought in bad taste to have tall buildings looking like they were "falling over backward" in photographs, so the front board of the bellows holding the lens would be tilted in such a manner as to make the lines of the buildings look straight and give the building a more natural appearance -- albeit they look larger at the top. I haven't seen this discussed before, but the Google Street View that was posted shows the difference, albeit more extreme as it was basically taken with a wide angle lens. re: Tilt-shift The tilt-shift technique has come up occasionally here, as an example in this comment. But your comment has zeroed in on something that's always struck me as odd about such photos, particularly when it's a tall building shot from street level, and now I realize that it is indeed the fact that it tends to make the bulding's vertical proportions gradually elongate with elevation. As an experiment, using the large version of this shot, I measured the vertical dimensions in pixels of the lowest and uppermost sash windows running up the corner of the facing side. You would think that the uppermost one would be smaller, both because it's father away and because of foreshortening, but in fact, they're both almost exactly 50 pixels tall. 34th & ParkCommenter John is correct, the building on the left is indeed the 71st New York State National Guard Armory. It was replaced in 1975 by a high rise office building known as 3 Park Avenue. Its lower floors are occupied by the Norman Thomas High School. Shifty Architectural photography has pretty much always been captured by a large format camera because both the lens plane and the film plane can be shifted, tilted and swung in relation to each other. I have a couple of press cameras like the Graflex Speed Graphic 4x5 that allow you to elevate the lens board to raise the lens relative to the film plane to "look up" while the camera is level or parallel to the ground. This lets you keep the vertical lines of a building from converging, making the vertical lines stay parallel to each other. The tilt of the lens board along the horizontal axis allows you to broaden the depth of field (focus) in relation to things being near at the bottom or top to (reciprocal) things being far at the top or bottom while leaving you free to use a large f-stop to keep things farther away out of focus (like the great portraits we’ve seen on Shorpy). My, we don’t even think of f-stop on digital cameras. When these really tall buildings are photographed, the rise of the lens board can’t "look" high enough, so a full movement view camera must be used because the focal plane (back) of the camera can be tilted horizontally to keep the vertical lines from converging because the camera itself is angled upward like any regular camera that everyone uses to get the same photo like we see in the street view below. Connecticut license plateThis wasn't a vehicle from NYC. The license plate shown is an undated porcelain plate from Connecticut, C6666. The "C" indicated Connecticut. In 1913, these plates had white characters on a blue background. While the driver sleptThe beautiful architecture of the hotel was transformed into one of the ugliest, plain corners of Gotham. I stayed in this hotel.On route from the UK to California my family stayed one night in this grand hotel. It was May 1964 and from memory (I was only 13) we had a rooms on the corner of the nearest block around the 5-6th floor. I remember looking out of a window down at the scene in this photograph. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, NYC)
Ford Motor Company: 1910
... missing Grassy area, no parking lot. And not one car. How can this be? I feel so let down. Albert Kahn's Old Shop ... his Model T assembly plant here in Cincinnati, opened in 1915 and recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/17/2014 - 10:05pm -

Circa 1910. "Ford Motor Co., Detroit, Michigan. Highland Park plant." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Something's missingGrassy area, no parking lot. And not one car.How can this be? I feel so let down. Albert Kahn's Old ShopThis is Albert Kahn's Old Shop of 1908-1909, the first of his many factory designs for Ford. It is perhaps the largest multi-story "daylight" factory ever built, and it employs Kahn's patented technique for reinforced concrete construction (the Kahn System). Kahn developed this system together with his engineer brother Julius; it was first employed in Building No. 10 for the Packard plant in Detroit in 1903. The immensely long Old Shop (800+ feet - we can see only about 1/3 of it here) would soon be joined by Kahn's design for Ford's "New Shop," which was built perpendicular to this building along the street at the right (Manchester Parkway) and is still standing today. Most of the Old Shop was demolished in the 1950s. Thank you, Dave, for this beautiful picture! The Clouded Crystal BallSon, a hundred years from now. Mr. Ford's factory over yonder will be a-making thousands of flying Model A's for your great grandbabies to drive. They'll be going to the old country on weekends the way we go to Saugatuck nowadays. I Can See Clearly NowSo that's what a factory looks like before the windows get dirty, painted over, broken, and boarded up. Wow! Kaaaaaahn!Albert Kahn designed many of Ford's early facilities, not only in Detroit but around the country. There's still one of his Model T assembly plant here in Cincinnati, opened in 1915 and recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places and restored as an office building. The design is quite a bit more sumptuous than the one pictured above, though being only a fraction of the size it was certainly easier to afford more embellishment. I wonder if the Highland Park factory used similarly dark red brick. I've noticed that many of these glass plate negatives dramatically underrepresent the darkness of red brick buildings. View Larger Map No Parking?I suspect that this is the "before" photo. The employees ride to work on the electric trolley car tracks out front. Then they make the automobiles to drive tomorrow, so that they will need a parking lot. One story is that Henry Ford thought that he had to pay his employees enough to buy his cars that he sold at a price low enough that they could afford. Otherwise, his mass production methods would just build up unsold inventory! Properly AttiredMens dress etiquette of the period was that you did not wear just a shirt sleeve in public, unless doing physical labor. Either you were in a jacket, with or without vest, or just a vest. Hats were optional, but the style of the day. Both are properly dressed. Dirt!So unusual to see the great Woodward Avenue as a dirt road! Woodward has the distinction of having the first mile of concrete paved road, completed in 1909 for the princely sum of $13,537, starting 6 blocks north of here at McNichols Road (6 Mile road) and running to 7 Mile Road. Had to have something to drive those new Fords on! Newly built ComplexThe Albert Kahn designed complex at the corner of Woodward and Manchester didn't start pumping out autos until the late summer/early fall of 1910 and it wasn't until 1913 that the automated assembly line shifted into gear. I'd bet that this photo was taken in june/july of 1910. Bonded RailsAt the extreme right side of the photo you can see the cables that provide a good electrical connection between two pieces of rail. The electricity to power a streetcar is typically 600 volts Direct Current, and the positive side is the trolley wire, with power collected through the trolley pole. The negative side is the track, and the power connection is made from the steel wheels to the rail. Where the two pieces of rail are bolted together, it is necessary to use a copper cable to ensure a good negative return to the substation. The last streetcar to run on Woodward Avenue was in April of 1956. The Ford River Rouge plant had thousands arrive and leave by streetcar at shift change - there was a special station with prepaid fares and multiple loading platforms. Here is an interesting fact from "River Rouge: Ford's industrial colossus", by Joseph Cabadas: "Filled with wanderlust, Henry went to Detroit in 1879 at age 16 and briefly worked at the Michigan Car Company, building streetcars." Ford assembly plant in Shadyside, PittsburghFollowing up on Jeffrey Jackucyk's comment, here is a drawing of an apparently Kahn-designed Ford assembly plant and showroom in Shadyside, Pittsburgh. The present-day structure was not in the best state of repair and has been most recently used as a party store selling paper and plastic items for birthday parties etc. The building is now being renovated (hopefully with some level of historical preservation) by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. I didn't know how to embed the Google Maps street view photo as Jeffrey Jackucyk accomplished, but typing in "Baum Blvd. and Morewood, Pittsburgh" in Google Maps will suffice. It is on the SE corner at 5000 Baum. The building was immediately adjacent to a railroad spur in a hollow/valley (~125 feet below the roof). From the rail siding, far below street level, an elevator lifted bins of parts to different floors. On the top floor, workers started by connecting the chassis and wheels. The assembly line then operated by gravity. Workers rolled the chassis down a ramp to the floor below, where other workers installed additional components and built out the car. On each floor, at each stage, workers added parts then rolled the car down another ramp. The finished car ended up in a parking area behind the building, at street level. There was even a well-appointed showroom on the first floor (which became the party store until recently), where customers came to kick the tires and buy the vehicles. My great-great-grandfatherMy great-great-grandfather did carpentry work in the construction of that Highland Park plant. Later, his son, his son, and his son (my dad) all worked for Ford's in various skilled trades. What is extremely cool is that I now live less than a mile from the building that was the Portland, Oregon Ford plant. I knew it was an Albert Kahn design the moment I laid eyes on it. And not one car? Not producing yet.Since this photo is dated 1910 it could be that no cars were in production there yet as that started in 1910. Although difficult to tell for sure it looks like the back end wasn't there. Although many may credit Albert Kahn for the building it was a cooperative effort, Kahn designing the 'shell' that went over the floor layouts directed by Edward Gray (check Wikipedia and other sources). My grandfather worked for him directly from their days together at Riverside Engine Company in Oil City, 1906 to 1909, when Ford hired Gray to be his Chief Engineer and Construction Engineer. Grandpa was his draftsman and stayed with Gray even after his days at Ford (Gray left Ford in 1914 to start his own construction work, developing 'Grayhaven' where Gar Wood eventually built is Detroit River mansion.) Reference, "My Forty Years With Ford" by Charles E. Sorensen, p 125-126 (Available to view on Google Books) Inside the addition c. 1913Maybe the only "family photo" of the interior, which Edward Gray, Ford's chief engineer, designed the inside of. Gray worked with Albert Kahn, doing much of the workflow design as Kahn designed the shell. Gray joined Ford Motor late 1909 and was key part of the design of the Highland Park Model T plant from that point to 1915, when he left Ford Motor. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Detroit Photos, DPC, Factories)
The Damner: 1920
... at Ocean Beach? or a boardwalk? [Yep. Here circa 1915. -tterrace] Dodge year This car predates 1920. Note the headlights are in back of the line of the radiator. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/22/2014 - 7:48pm -

The Bay Area in 1920. "Dodge auto on boardwalk. 'The Damner' on Miller Tires Coast-to-Coast." All we know about what seems to have been a promotional stunt is preserved in this 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. Ohio?Not sure how much help it would be tracking down what the heck is going on here, but that's an Ohio license plate. Ocean BeachI'm going with Ocean Beach. There's surf, so it can't be the bay side. And there's a hint of Marin visible through the fog. New York to FriscoThat's what it says in the rear window. Miller TiresI did a such for Miller Tires and found they were made in Akron, Ohio. They were the second rubber company to get started in Akron, following B. F. Goodrich. J. Pfeiffer, J. Gether & J. Lamparter started a rubber company in 1892 but were broke in a few years. 1898 they had taken on new partners, W. Pfeiffer and Harvey Miler and in 1906 the new company was named Miller Rubber Company. They started making tires several later. Yellowstone "Zoo Windshield"These window stickers were popular National Park souvenirs. Ocean Beach Boardwalk?Was there ever wooden jetty at Ocean Beach? or a boardwalk? [Yep. Here circa 1915. -tterrace] Dodge yearThis car predates 1920. Note the headlights are in back of the line of the radiator. The headlights were moved forward of the radiator line circa 1917. America FirstSomeone out there must know about these. Life Saving PierThis is indeed a view of Ocean Beach, San Francisco. The auto is parked on the rescue boat launching ramp once located at the foot of Fulton Street. The rescue crews of the Golden Gate Park Life Saving Station used it for hauling their horse-drawn boat carts across the dunes. The pier that tterrace referenced is visible at the extreme right of this view. It wasn't a boardwalk, though, but rather a water intake pier for the nearby Lurline Salt Water Pumping Plant that sucked seawater out of the Pacific and pumped it to various saltwater bathing establishments downtown. At far left is the "drill mast" used by the Life Savers from the Golden Gate Station. Literally a mockup of a sailing ship's mast, the crewmen used it as a target when they practiced firing shore-to-ship lifelines. Junior Road TripThis from the Automobile and Sports section of the October 24, 1920 issue of the Los Angeles Times: (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, Swimming)
Bal Masque: 1922
... one of those rallies. She was standing on the hood of a car and her father, wearing one of those scary, idiotic hoods, had his arm ... My mother was born in Independence, Missouri, in 1915. Together with my grandparents she lived there until moving to Los Angeles ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/31/2011 - 4:35pm -

June 28, 1922. Washington, D.C., or vicinity. "Ku Klux Klan meeting." 8x10 inch glass negative, National Photo Company Collection. View full size. Beyond scaryIt's amazing just how much power the KKK had in this country in the '20s. They controlled elections in many areas and kept Catholics from serving in many venues (including the governor's position in my home state). Let's hope their reign of terror is completely finished. Cowards hide your faceThis was not too many years ago. The same mentality still exists. Oh myWhat dangerous fools!!!! Sad that these people still exist today. Low-RentI grew up and have lived in a very rural section of NC all my life. I can remember the subject of the KKK coming up in conversation with my grandparents and great-grandparents. According to them the KKK was always made up of the "low rent" crowd and looked down on. Men in SheetsThe most scary image I can think of for Halloween. Herb, where's the good pillowcase?Grampa, is that you? A sign of ageTo me 1922 seems shockingly recent for as photo like this to have been taken near our nation's capitol, yet to my 14 year old son, it's nearly a century ago. I pray we can change as much in the next 90 years. Not the Klan of TodayIn the 1920's, the Klan was less about racism and more about maintaining the status quo of the day. Which sure, was racist but as others have said we can't look back on photos and judge them with standards of today. What I find interesting though is that this photo is in Washington D.C. In 1922, the KKK held a march down the streets of Washington. They were met not by outrage, but cheered by the citizens and treated like heroes. At the time it was fashionable to be part of the Klan, since they stood for good American values. Meaning God, Country, and Family. (Racism as I said was there, but keep in mind the period.) The culmination of this march was the swearing in of U.S. President Warren G. Harding as a member in the White House. (This is largely disputed, but there is evidence that supports it.) Harding renounced that membership about a year later, after consultation with his advisers. It didn't help that he had passed the anti lynching law, which brought much of the old Klan's activities to light in 1923. However when this picture is taken, it's entirely possible this is the night before the march on Washington, making the photo VERY historic. [Your timeline may be a little confused. The Klan was forced to postpone or abandon various parades in 1922 and 1923 due to community opposition in the Washington suburbs. Its "march on Washington" came in 1925 (and then in 1926), after Warren Harding had died. Serious historians dismiss the "evidence" of Harding's induction (the alleged deathbed reminiscence of a New Jersey Klan leader many years later) as ludicrous; rumors to that effect may have been spread in response to a speech he delivered in 1923 denouncing hate groups, a move that was widely viewed as a rebuke of the KKK. - Dave] Scary!The really "UGLY" side of America. Not that long agoMy family is from Columbia, South Carolina. After my grandfather died in 1953, about six months before I was born, hidden among his personal effects were found his robe and documents indicating that he had at some time been a member. Neither my grandmother nor anyone else in the family had a clue. I can remember seeing newspaper ads announcing meetings well into the 1960s, a few in the 70s. I once read or saw in a documentary that the highest per capita membership was in Indiana. It's almost hard not to laughIf the import of this were not so serious, it would be difficult not to laugh at the image of so many grown men with face-masks apparently in homage and thrall to other grown men in such ridiculous attire. Appalling as were their attitudes and their beliefs, this group, at least, could hardly be accused of being tainted by the presence of the opposite sex. Presumably most women would have considered these menfolks' activities as faintly ludicrous. InitiatesThis has all the look of a fraternity initiation with the pledges assuming various uncomfortable, subservient postures before the older (robed) members. Also, the apparently portable/reuseable burning cross (with guy lines) seems to be an innovation that I've not noticed before in pictures like this. Soft Serve Ice CreamEverything reminds me of food today to the point that I feel like Homer Simpson. I do have to say though that any group that has to wear masks and hoods to hide their true identities have to be feeling profound shame at what their group represents. Since 1922 when this was taken, we have had a Catholic and an African-American president and there may one day be a Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Mormon,or any other faith-based leader of our country that shows most humans MUST be getting smarter, even though lots of old-timers might disagree. This picture says a lot though, in that all the participants would not reveal their faces and they had their meetings under cover of night. SadThis one reminds me of being a little girl, in North Carolina, from 1959-63, when I was 5-8 years old. My dad was stationed at Camp LeJeune and we were living in base housing. On the base, the only segregation was by rank. Off base, it was a different story. There were "whites only" signs, separate restrooms, and footage of KKK rallies on the local news. I saw a little girl about my age, at one of those rallies. She was standing on the hood of a car and her father, wearing one of those scary, idiotic hoods, had his arm around her. I felt very sorry for her. A sign of age. We haven't changed all that much. I passed a group of five Klansmen, dressed in white and red robes (they looked so silly) picketing outside of Mount Dora, Fla., in 2001, right beside a major highway! Just when you think it's safe to go back on the road. Cross BurningsMy mother was born in Independence, Missouri, in 1915. Together with my grandparents she lived there until moving to Los Angeles in 1937. In the 1960s my older brother once idly remarked that it would be "interesting" to attend a cross burning, to which my mom replied "they weren't all that great." Upon further questioning, she reluctantly recalled that such events sadly weren't uncommon in 1920s Missouri, frightening (though memorable) as they were to a small child and certainly beyond that to whomever was being targeted. The soft optionVile as that bunch was, and I don't at all minimize it, it could have been worse. What you're looking at here is the "Second Klan," which was primarily political in its orientation. The guys in front, kneeling and wearing masks, are waiting to be inducted into the Real Organization so that they can wear robes. Nasty to a huge degree, but not a patch on the original KKK, which was organized by die-hard Southerners as what we today would call a "resistance group" along the lines of the IRA or Shining Path. They didn't march in the streets wearing robes, they moved around in the shadows assassinating people and engaging in what can only be called terrorism in general. Imagine if that had taken hold. The original Klan was derailed by its insistence on racial repression, which weakened it enough that the Government was able to infiltrate and eventually suppress it. If they'd stayed with States' Rights and the like, instead of concentrating on "beating up the n--s" (as an ancestor of mine supposedly put it), they might still be around as an organized force not all that different from al Qaeda. It may be difficult to comprehend, but in this case vicious race prejudice was the soft option. ColorizedThat flame is colorized, right? It really stands out because of that. I'm sure there's something clever to be said about colorization and the black and white photograph, but I'll leave you to work out the details. Famous peopleI think I see Hugo Black and Robert Byrd. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo)
Steamboat Annie: 1909
... B. Miller : Built 1904, Jacksonville, Indiana. Burned 1915, Vicksburg. Annie Russell : contemporaneous accounts refer to her ... Both appear to be a long ways from home. The Dairy Land car is most likely from Wisconsin and has been on a mild products run. The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/25/2014 - 11:34am -

The Mississippi River circa 1909. "Vicksburg waterfront." The sternwheelers Annie Russell and Alice B. Miller. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Old Faithful Not just one but two Coca-Cola signs. Coca-Cola and VicksburgThe soft drink was first bottled in Vicksburg by Joseph Biedenharn, who owned a small candy store on Washington Street. He shipped it to the plantations in the Delta. So there has long been a close connection between Coca-Cola and the city. This is why I love Shorpy!These are the pics that keep me coming back day after day. It's like Where's Waldo for history buffs. Beautiful! Coke Bottle HomeThe first bottling of Coca-Cola occurred in Vicksburg, Mississippi, at the Biedenharn Candy Company in 1891. Its proprietor was Joseph A. Biedenharn. The original bottles were Biedenharn bottles, very different from the much later hobble-skirt design that is now so familiar. Not sure if the Vicksburg Bottling Works across from one of the Coca-cola signs was related or not. Um, BaconThat Bing way-back machine tells us that Hammond Packing Co. was indeed founded in a locale that came to be called Hammond, Indiana (how coincidental is that?); the company later established a plant in Omaha. No word on Vicksburg operations, alas. There is also the 1909 Supreme Court case of "Hammond Packing Co. vs. Arkansas," but I lost my way in my reading and understanding of the case after the third mention of a "claim of an irrepealable contract predicated upon a contract which is repealable." The thought of slow, idyllic days of floatin' on the Mississippi brought me back to "Annie" and "Alice," instead. SCANNINGfor a parallel universe-type person--maybe I want to trade places. Hammond PackingHammond Packing was the pioneer in refrigerated meat transport, and Hammond, Indiana, grew up around the company's transshipment facility. The business began operations in Detroit as Hammond, Standish and Co., and after the death of founder George Hammond -- who was my great-great-grandfather -- passed through a number of hands before being absorbed into the Armour interests around the time this photo was taken. Vicksburg was likely to have hosted a regional storage facility for the company. If one could only go back in timeVery poignant picture. Never thought I'd want to teleport myself back to such an industrial locale but the past is the past. You can almost see the breeze whipping over the river in the foreground. A Palace on WaterAlice B. Miller: Built 1904, Jacksonville, Indiana. Burned 1915, Vicksburg. Annie Russell: contemporaneous accounts refer to her as a handsome pleasure boat for the inland yachtsman. Built 1902, Dubuque, Iowa. Owned by Russell E. Gardner. The Carriage Monthly, September, 1904. Russell E. Gardner, president of the Banner Buggy Co., St. Louis, Mo., entertained recently the local carriage men of Cincinnati, Ohio, on his palatial boat, "Annie Russell." The prominent carriage builders of the city were invited to the boat, and were handsomely entertained. A trip was taken to the Queen City beach, where the party enjoyed a dip in the Ohio, and, on their return, a lunch was served. The "Annie Russell" is a palace on water, and is provided with everything that money can purchase. She is equipped with electric lights, bath, toilet rooms, electric fans and lounging rooms. Beautiful ImageThank you so much for displaying this scene. There is so much incredible detail of life back then, just fabulous image. Thank you. Coca-Cola BottlingBiedenharn Candy Company and Vicksburg Bottling Works where not related, although they both used the same blob-top bottle at one time. Washday on the MississipiWonder if they had the same washday -- Monday -- as you read about. Anyways, there's a lot of laundry draped over the upper stern rails of the Alice B. and there's bedding out to air over the doorways of some of the upper cabins. Annie R. is backing to slow and come to the bank of the levee, I think, there's no wake and the smoke is starting forward. Are the folks on the afterdeck the owners, or the captain's family? Also, the horses and wagons that are waiting might have supplies. Annie seems to be a passenger boat, no evidence of a lower cargo area at all, that I can see, and the upper deck, though clear, would have been awfully tough to load. What's inside?I would sure like to see a couple of inside photos and plans of the engine and boiler setup of those sternwheelers. Working WaterfrontsI love historic working waterfront pictures. You can see so many different examples of material culture and commercial-related activities. My favorite in this image is the wooden scow. They were so anonymous but conducted many 19th century activities from bulk cargo transport to ferrying. Clay StreetWe are looking up Clay Street at the First National Bank (now Trustmark Bank) building. Cars from far awayI find the two rail cars of interest. Both appear to be a long ways from home. The Dairy Land car is most likely from Wisconsin and has been on a mild products run. The Erie box is, again, fairly far from home. Neat to see them in this wonderful shot of Vicksburg. Related to Vicksburg PanoramaThis picture is clearly taken at the same time as a well-known panorama of the Vicksburg waterfront in 1910 that is in the National Archives. Was this picture originally a panorama by the same photographer. The shadows have moved between the two pictures and different steamboats have moved to the foreground. If there is another panorama, I would very much like to know about it. I grew up in Vicksburg and am writing a memoir of my father who would have arrive here for visits as a small boy. I would appreciate any help. These photo are true treasures. Thank to Shorpy for posting them. [The c.1910 panorama was taken by the Haines Photo Co. This one, by the Detroit Publishing Co., does not appear to be part of a panorama. To search for Vicksburg photos at the Library of Congress, use the search box at this link. - tterrace] (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Detroit Photos, DPC, Vicksburg)
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