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Christmas at Kresge's: 1947
... money, and you predicted the weather by looking out the window. I love it: Santa's probably a WWII veteran, the snow is cotton wool, ... put together in a hurry. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Christmas) ... 
 
Posted by VictrolaVixen - 11/26/2010 - 10:02pm -

Posing with Santa Claus and reindeer at Kresge's Department Store in Lafayette, Indiana, 1947. View full size. I love it!I think this is one of the better pictures submitted by members. It smacks of when things weren't "slick"—- breakfast was yummy ham and eggs, milk and butter were good for you, kids didn't have sacks of their own money, and you predicted the weather by looking out the window. I love it: Santa's probably a WWII veteran, the snow is cotton wool, the backdrop is tempera on cardboard, and Santa's reindeer is a dead stuffed white-tail. Memories, memories, memories. That hatThat's got to be the dumbest Santa hat I've ever seen. It must have been something homemade someone put together in a hurry. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Christmas)
Filene's Basement: 1963
... down shortly Those three with their backs to the store window are up to no good. The View Today This is the same location ... in West Side Story. He attributes his appearance in White Christmas with Rosemary Clooney in the "You Didn't Do Right By Me" dance number ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/10/2022 - 11:51am -

February 9, 1963. Boston, Massachusetts. "Pedestrians on Washington Street walking by Filene's department store." 35mm acetate negative by Thomas J. O'Halloran for the U.S. News & World Report assignment "Boston Commuter Experiment." View full size. We'd go there!When I was a kid living outside of Baltimore in the early '60s, Kresge's was one of the stores we shopped at. Getting lunch there was always a treat! Filene's as a destination, then and nowI first went down this sidewalk in the late '70s, and it looked pretty much as it does in the photo. (Outdoor February wear in Boston doesn't change too rapidly.) Filene's pioneered off-price retailing, and shouldn't be blamed for all the crummy imitators. But the Boston location closed in 2007 and the chain entered a prolonged demise which may not be over yet. Though there have been no stores for years, a website encourages you to "sign up for emails." The name Filene survives, however, as the performing-arts amphitheater in the Wolf Trap National Park outside Washington, DC. That honors Catherine Filene Shouse, granddaughter of the Filene chain's founder. She donated the property and built the amphitheater twice (it burned in 1982). Loew's flippity flopThe Orpheum entrance has since been moved around to the back side, and the front entrance you see here is now retail. Mounting points for the sign and flagpole can still be seen on the facade. Voyeur's DelightI first visited Boston in 1973. My parents lived in Boston for two years right after World War II, and Mum told me I had to be sure and go and check out Filene's bargain basement. Due to a lack of changing rooms, a woman would take off her dress in the aisle to try on a sale item. Sure enough, I saw a mother order her teenage daughter to take off her dress and see if a sale item would fit. At first the daughter resisted, but finally caved in and continued the tradition in the family. I was in my 30s when I finally figured out that I was conceived in Boston; my parents returned to Toronto where I was born in 1947. Something's going down shortlyThose three with their backs to the store window are up to no good. The View TodayThis is the same location today. The theater is behind the netting, and I think the entrance was moved to the other side of the building. Someone from Boston may know better. There's still a little of the jewelry business left on Washington Street, to the right of the netting. Not much else remains. Normal day at Downtown CrossingHeadquarters for bargains, rich or poor, and everywhere in between, Filene's Basement was frequented by all. If you were a learned shopper you could score bargains unheard of elsewhere. Automatic markdowns brought the price down to next to nothing over 30 days. The Basement and its parent Filene's were part of a group of major retailers and smaller ones too. It was Mecca for shoppers, all within walking distance to each other and with the trains running below the street. All tracks led to Downtown Boston. It's still there but a shadow of its former self. Shocked and Confused... is what I was. At about the time this photo was taken, I was tagging along with my mother on a shopping trip to Filene's Basement. Filene's Basement had no dressing rooms. Women would try on the merchandise right on the salesfloor. My 8-year-old eyes had never seen so many ladies in their bras and girdles. Take your time, honey ...I don't think anything nefarious is afoot with the three characters in front of the window ... with personal experience as a guide, I'd say they're just waiting for their wives to finish shopping in Feline's Basement. Those threeDefinitely agree with PhotoFan about those three on the left. In the crowd of pedestrians coming at us along the sidewalk, you’ll note an older guy giving them the once-over. Those three somehow look more to me like a trio of Brits in a photo from England in the same era. George ChakirisGeorge Chakiris, appearing in the Charlton Heston movie at the Orpheum, won an Oscar in West Side Story. He attributes his appearance in White Christmas with Rosemary Clooney in the "You Didn't Do Right By Me" dance number as the key boost to his career. WOW! DID YOU SEE THAT? The two young men walking into the street carrying the bags are apparently so excited and happy about witnessing the aisle of undressing and redressing that they plan on returning very soon. Best way to get the automatic markdown:If I could step into this photo, I'd probably find my grandmother in the Petites department, looking for bargains. With the Automatic Markdown system, if something had been on the floor for a certain amount of time, it went 25% off. The following week, it was 50% off, then 75% the week after that. If it was still there after the 75% sale, it was donated to charity. I was a college student and managed to get a great looking designer label trench coat at 75% off. Nana would find something she liked, and then take it and hide it on a rack in another department. She'd come back two weeks later and pick it out of its hiding place, and save a bunch of money! (The Gallery, Boston, Cars, Trucks, Buses, News Photo Archive, Stores & Markets)
Lucky Lager: 1957
... 97" met the "Olds 98". Oldsmobile Glass The rear window is still in one piece, reminds me of my friend's 1950s Olds back in the ... was one of my favorites. I'd like it back. Merry Christmas and stay safe. Good golly I love when Shorpy displays a car ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/22/2015 - 11:22pm -

Oakland, 1957. "Accident on tracks." Note the beer can next to the rail, and let's be careful out there. 4x5 acetate negative from the News Archive. View full size. Grain DoorsThose grain doors were heavy. Put in a few in the early sixties. Some of us made a raft out of 2 or 3. Some raft--it went straight to the bottom when launched. Un-Lucky Lager. Out of the pastWhen "Old 97" met the "Olds 98". Oldsmobile GlassThe rear window is still in one piece, reminds me of my friend's 1950s Olds back in the early '70s. The summer temps got hot and the rear glass on his car popped out in one piece and ended up on the trunk. SpinningI used to work bad wrecks such as this one and went to school just to learn how. Of course there are so many variables in only looking at pictures. This wreck looks survivable. And also it appears the driver may have been still accelerating upon impact due to left rear tire being split off rim meaning it was spinning very fast on impact. This could be answered if I knew about the drive train such as, did this car have a "posi-track" rear end. Which would tell us if both tires were spinning or just left. Also, notice frame of car, it does not look bent. Which means car was being pushed very well. Post MortemCar was obviously hit by a train as it crossed the tracks (probably illegally). Notice that the left rear tire as been stripped off the rim. Car was probably pushed 100 feet or more before the train came to a stop. I imagine the beer can was perhaps there before the accident. Oakland automotive mayhemThere's a 1953 Olds 98 that won't show up at the old car shows in the decades ahead. Looks like it could have been hit by a locomotive and pushed down the track a ways. Ended in a TieAll the indications of a grade crossing accident. If that was on the WP tracks there's a good chance my father investigated it, as he did hundreds like it. As he used to say, if you're going to race a train to crossing, make sure the race doesn't end in a tie. Olds 981953 Oldsmobile 98 2 door hardtop. A pretty rare car today. Any new modern car would hold up much better, but I doubt seat belts would help much in this case. Low speedThat looks like damage from a low speed switching collision. The damage is high up on the car so it was likely a railcar being pushed rather than a locomotive that made contact. To answer RevolvermanOldsmobiles in 1953 did not have "posi-trac" differentials--those didn't come until the performance obsessed '60s. This car has the four-speed Dual-Range Hydra-Matic standard on all 98's, unless it happened to be built in August or later when the Hydra-Matics were replaced by Buick's Dynaflow after the Hydra-Matic plant fire. [A synchromesh manual transmission was standard equipment on all 1953 Olds 98 models. Hydra-Matic "Super Drive" was an extra-cost option. Oldsmobile offered limited-slip differentials as an option starting with its 1959 models. - Dave] Colorful canAnd it's collectible! Retired from ServiceWhere's the rail buffs? Isn't anybody going to comment on the cool building in the background; a retired rail car with clerestory roof? The windows make me think mebbe it was a combo passenger/freight? These "buildings" can still be found 100 years after rail service. Fond memoryMy friends and I used to call this brand of beer "Red Cross" beer. Now, it like this (and all) Oldsmobiles has vanished. Dave, the manual tranny was, indeed, offered. But, try to find a car that had one. I used to buy Olds bellhousings, clutch linkage and flywheels for manual transmissions just for resale. Never found that many in all the Hydramatic multitudes. My '50 model was one of my favorites. I'd like it back. Merry Christmas and stay safe. Good gollyI love when Shorpy displays a car wreck photo! The comments are fascinating and provide a great break from work. The comments regarding the Olds 98's drive train gave me a chuckle, reminding me of "My Cousin Vinnie". Big Buicks, toocame with three-on-the-tree as standard until 1971. I guess a few had to be run off the production lines now and then just to keep up the pretence that Dynaflow wasn't standard equipment and was worth paying extra for. Anyway, I well remember seeing a no-frills, stick-shift '59 Le Sabre 2-door sedan (the kind with the huge delta wings) on a used car lot in Pasadena, Calif., in the mid-1960s and thinking at the time that it ought to be saved for a museum of automotive rarities. With a 364-cu. in. V-8 engine and 340 ft. lbs. of torque, it hardly needed much of a transmission anyway. From a standstill, just let the clutch out in any gear it happened to be in; you wouldn't notice a whole lot of difference (unless it was reverse). Re: Colorful CanColorful, but barely drinkable. Seven to ten cents a can by the case, if I remember right. The hangovers were unforgettable. Lucky LagerI remember Lucky Lager; I was in the Air Force ca 1975-79 and was stationed in northern California. I don't recall drinking any Lucky more than once or twice, I remember it as being worse than some of the grocery store brands. As an aside, you haven't lived until you have made cocktails with Albertson's "bourbon". Ah, to be young and stupid. Re: Retired from ServicePossibly an older railway post office? Grain DoorsThose are stacks of grain doors between the switch stand and the boxcar. Before todays ubiquitous covered hoppers, these were nailed across the doorways of boxcars to cover the lower half of the doorway, so that the boxcar could be loaded with bulk grain, hopefully without it filtering out cracks in the seal of the closed door during shipment. Decisions - decisionsI drove a lot of 50's cars as a young man, mostly stick shifts as they were fast and dirt cheap to fix when you blew the transmission. The dilemma that I remember most was wanting my arm around my girl, a Lucky Lager in my hand, a cigarette, a Hurst shifter and the steering wheel (with spinner) ... with only 2 hands !! Ah ... the good old days. Kero Lamp?The lamp on the tall post is a switch lamp that indicates the position of the switch. Probably red and green lenses (but could be blue/amber too). Green meant the switch was open, meaning the train would go straight through the switch. Red meant the switch was closed, meaning the train would turn through the switch. This one looks to still be using a kerosene lamp as opposed to electric bulbs as were used in the '50's and '60's. Switch indicators now are reflective metal and the lamps are collector's items. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, News Photo Archive, Railroads, Signal 30)
Lil Scrappers: 1942
... look, the kids' clothes reminded me of Jean Shepherd's "Christmas Story" with Ralphie and the Red Ryder rifle. Lots of plaid, some ... cap with the turnback crown points on the boy by the window. I remember the smell of wet wool mittens drying on the radiator and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 1:12pm -

November 1942. "Chicago (north), Illinois. Children assembled in Office of Civilian Defense headquarters for a pep talk on the need of bringing in more scrap." Medium-format nitrate negative by Jack Delano. View full size. Scrap depotThe first year of the war I was a Junior Air Raid Warden, and collecting scrap metal and paper was the first order of business. We often found it difficult to have it picked up by the government agency. We were about 15 years old and our leader was a very pretty girl of about 22. Boy we were lucky! We used the store as a clubhouse until a bunch of us joined the Merchant Marine when we turned 16. EntertainedI don't know what the kids in the front row were looking at, but they sure seem to be enjoying it. Babushkas and chin strap hatsAt first look, the kids' clothes reminded me of Jean Shepherd's "Christmas Story" with Ralphie and the Red Ryder rifle. Lots of plaid, some obvious hand-me-downs and a "Jughead" cap with the turnback crown points on the boy by the window. I remember the smell of wet wool mittens drying on the radiator and personally helping the war effort by saving all metal, including tin cans which had to be opened on both ends and flattened out by stomping on them and even saving cooking grease. Children were very anxious to help win victory for America and were enthusiastic participants who took their role seriously. A GREAT picture, thank you. Both kids and adultstook the scrap drives very seriously. I particularly enjoyed the job of stepping on the empty tin cans (after both ends were cut off) to flatten them. Only many years after the war did we learn that the government held mountains of unused and unneeded scrap metal at the very time that they were conducting nonstop drives to collect more! The drives were carried on only to raise and energize home front morale by making people feel that they were contributing to the war effort and that everyone was part of the great enterprise. A Good TurnLooks like the center left boy in plaid and glasses has a Boy Scout neckerchief under his coat. I often sit with a fist on my chin while listening, just like him. This body language gets me accused of disinterest, but actually I'm just concentrating on what is being said. Recycling already startedI like the way the kids in the back are sitting and standing on stacks of bundled newspapers and old tire, presumably already collected as part of their scrap drive. I also for some reason find the For Rent sign in the window of "the Office of Civil Defense headquarters" to be funny. Checking it outI like the kid in the front row who seems to be keeping an eye on the photographer. Woolen Winter No nylon and polyester here! A great-looking bunch of kids. The girl playing with a thread from her coat made me think of George Bailey's Zuzu from "It's A Wonderful Life." Does anyone recognize the Army Lt. General on the back wall? Street view todayThey are inside this building, 4400 block of N Broadway. View Larger Map The fancy building across the street was recently demolished, to be replaced with a Target store. View Larger Map Radiola 18Anyone else notice the RCA Radiola 18 radio on the shelf to the right and some other electronic gadget in the back? Hey, it's November!Turn up the heat for those kids! I sit like that too...DanV, but I do it so my head doesn't bounce off my chest while someone is droning on about something I couldn't care less about. I used to use the two hand technique similar to the boy on his left. Over time I discovered you need that free hand on the chair for when you completely nod off and keel over. The modern school desk with a wraparound top was God's gift to this easily bored student since you could only fall out one side. SwooshlessCan you imagine trying to get kids today to wear those shoes? Homemade MittensSee the boy in the front row? Homemade mittens. Our grandma made us mittens from our uncle's Army blankets. Ah yes, the days when you didn't have to be poor to be practical! ChilvaryI notice that the boys let the girls have all the regular chairs up front. Eisenhower MedalI showed this picture to my dad because it reminded me of one of his several stories of growing up during the war. He still has his Eisenhower Medal received for scrap collected while he was in the Boy Scouts. Scrap?In reading stories of WW2 the only reason that kids and people were told to save and salvage things was because it gave sense to the war. We had all the natural resources to build what we needed. It was basically for home consumption to identify us with England. From what I've read it was a waste of time. Pure propaganda. It cost more to recycle the stuff than to use original such as aluminum. We were up to our eyes in the stuff. (The Gallery, Chicago, Jack Delano, Kids, WW2)
The Nurses: 1910
... I couldn't help but think when I saw the man in the window, "And there's a doctor, waiting for them to come back in and get him ... I later got more of the contemporary editions for Christmas and birthdays! Since I've grown up, married, had children, become a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 11:04am -

Continuing the Shorpy Group Portrait Weekend, we have this circa 1910 Harris & Ewing glass negative titled "Providence Hospital nurses." View full size. Cap habitI showed this to my RN wife who asked me to print this out so she could take it to her hospital here in Japan, she recently has been appointed Director of Nursing and the Hospital's cap policy is under discussion, she thinks this will be a great tool in her efforts to keep the caps simple...Thank you Dave. Everyone has a twinEven though it has been nearly 100 years, I can see people I know in these pictures. The girl on the far left in the front row reminds me of Renee Zellweger. BrrrrrIt's OK to smile ladies. It helps to reassure and calm the restless patients. They do look efficient, though, and very clean. SssssThose hats look like a deflated chef's toque. A checkupAs a modern-day RN aware of the subservient history of the profession, I couldn't help but think when I saw the man in the window, "And there's a doctor, waiting for them to come back in and get him coffee." Glad those days are long gone! (In seriousness, I'd rather think that the man is more of a curious admirer.) I wonder if Providence Hospital allowed their nurses to be married back then? I see no wedding rings. Fallen WomenOh my goodness, how did anyone keep a straight face? Thirteen little souffles in a row. "Wipe that rouge off your face!"This picture makes me want to dig out my old Cherry Ames books and give them another read. Starch!Boggling how much starch they must be using. On some of the girls in the front row, you can see where their aprons aren't resting on the shoulders. They are standing up totally unassisted. C.U. School of NursingThe Providence Hospital School of Nursing was absorbed into the Catholic University of America (in the neighborhood) between 1939 and 1949. It is thus in a direct line with the current Catholic University School of Nursing. They did give up the hat style, unfortunately. Married NursesStudent nurses were not allowed to be married, even in the 1950s, at most nursing schools. The exception were the 5 year University programs, some of which allowed married students. The thought was, that if a married student got pregnant, it would interrupt her studies, and she might not finish the program. The three year hospital nursing schools had a set curriculum, and did not have the flexibility of the University based programs, which ran on a semester system. These are student nurses, witnessed by the striped sleeves. This was perhaps their capping ceremony, or perhaps a graduation photo, as they are all wearing pins. Once they began working as graduate nurses, they would wear all white uniforms. And possibly have a velvet band or an emblem on their caps to designate the school they graduated from. And yes, nursing education has changed greatly. Having graduated from a three year hospital based program in the 1950s I can say that I had excellent hands-on bedside training. But we were also taught to bow and scrape to the doctors. Now there is a more collaborative relationship. It took me a while to start calling the MDs that I worked closely with by their first names. It got easier once I was an older nurse and the MDs were young enough to be my children. An old RN Re: Cap HabitHmmm, I'm thinking that a clever Japanese hospital would have hats that reflect the nurse's mood. They would be relaxed - as these girls are in the picture and then inflate gradually as stress levels elevate. It would make life a lot easier to know which of them to avoid (ie: the ones where the hats don't fit through the doors anymore). In Praise of NursesProvidence Hospital seems to have had an association with Catholic University long before they were eventually absorbed into it. Thus far, I can't find any reporting in the Washington Post of a commencement which matches the number (13) of nurses seen in this photo. Of interest to me, is the fact that men, while not pictured here, were training as nurses at this time. Also, maybe someone can explain the title of "Mgr. Diomede Falconia." While the contemporary interpretation of "Mgr" is "manager," I suspect the Catholic Church of a century ago used this abbreviation for something else. Falconio Praises Nurses Pays Tribute to Profession in Presenting Diplomas at Providence Hospital Nurses as "women who must always be prepared to give in a spirit of charity and kindness" were praised by Mgr. Diomede Falconio, the apostolic delegate, in his address delivered at the commencement exercises of the hospital training school, held on the roof garden of Providence Hospital yesterday. Mgr. Falconio presented eleven girls who were graduated with their diplomas, and then delivered his address, which was a tribute to their profession. The exercises were attended by several hundred persons. Following the invocation by Mgr. Falconio addresses were delivered by the Rev. J.W. Melody, of the Catholic University, and Dr. C.C. Marbury, both of whom spoke on the duties which the "art of nursing the sick" imposes on those who follow it. Washington Post, May 10, 1911 Nurses Receive Diplomas Class of Eleven Complete Prescribed Course at Providence Hospital At the graduation exercises yesterday afternoon at Providence Hospital eight young women and three young men received diplomas as nurses. The exercises were held on the roof garden of the hospital, which was decorated with the class colors and flowers sent by friends of the class. The Rev. William J. Kerby, Ph. D., S.T.D., delivered the opening address. He reminded the graduates that they were emissaries of the hospital, and that they were, in reality, a part of the organic home of the country, and public-spirited servants of the afflicted. Dr. J.F. Mitchel, who delivered the address in the afternoon, referred to the fact that the three greatest developments in surgery since the fifteenth century were anesthetics, listerism, and trained nurses, and that without the latter the first two are inadequate. He ended his remarks by quoting the Oliver Wendell Holmes' poem, "The Morning Visit." J.M. Stoddard spoke on behalf of the hospital board of visitors, and Dr. Marbury presented the members of the class with their diplomas. This is the first class from Providence in which men have received diplomas as graduate nurses. Washington Post, May 15, 1912 "Mgr."Usually "Msgr." -- Monsignor. [The first of 23 comments giving this answer! - Dave] Pince-Nez glassesIn addition to the uniforms, it's interesting to see how eyewear style has evolved. Two of the four ladies are wearing pince-nez style glasses. To me, Pince-Nez always looked like they would very uncomfortable to wear for long periods, especially with the heavy glass lenses back then. This image was taken just after Teddy Roosevelt's administration, and I believe he caused a nationwide resurgence in the popularity of the pince-nez style glasses for a time. Cap and GownI'm shocked that anyone anywhere still allows nurses to wear caps, let alone mandates it. So many studies done about the invisible petri dish of germs that caps become when worn in the clinical setting... I graduated with a BSN in 1994, and even back then the use of caps was so discouraged that students could no longer purchase them through the college as a souvenir. We got to wear one for graduation pictures. And I do mean "one" - the school only had one cap available, and we took turns having our picture taken in it. Is it just my imaginationOr are those ladies corsetted up something fierce? The nice folks at The Bob & Tom Show assure me that "nurses are hot and ready to party", but from this evidence it would appear that was a development that took place considerably after 1910. At any rate, I call first dibs on the beauty in the front, camera left. Re: "Starch!" & "Wipe that rouge off your face!"One of the benefits of attending nursing schools "back in the day" of living in dorms, nurses residences, nurses homes, or whatever you wish to call them, was that your laundry, or at least your uniforms, was taken care of for you by the industrial type laundry that was a part of the hospital where you trained. The advantages were clear, considering the laborious processes involved at the time, for such things as stain removal, washing, draining, rinsing, starching, drying and steam pressing those very VERY stiff bibs, aprons, cuffs, collars and hand pressing the caps as well. Plus the striped dress worn underneath and/or with all those other pieces. The amount of space, the plethora of equipment and laundry supplies - soaps, brushes, starch, etc., - and most of all the TIME required to accomplish such a task weekly, on 5 to 7 pieces of each item and double on the cuffs, made the whole process quite impossible for over a dozen girls to accomplish properly, if at all. In addition, time in classes, time on the wards, and time studying, much less time to eat, sleep, and have some kind of what could be considered a healthy, active social life at the time would render the whole thing ridiculously impossible to even consider! So, the hospital laundry, accustomed as it was to handling such things with the most up-to-date industrial laundry equipment available, was the obvious choice. All that was required of the students was to mark each individual piece of her own uniforms with the standard laundry marking required by that school, in order to ensure it's prompt return once washed and processed. Personal laundry was another issue entirely, and depended completely on the arrangements made by the school, if any, with any local commercial laundries. As for Cherry Ames books, I still have the first four of the series in their original "dark cherry red" first edition bindings, which belonged to my mother. She got them from her parents as gifts, as soon as they were published, during WWII when she was the same age I was then, and her dad was an officer stationed overseas in the army with Patton's staff. She gave them to me to read when I was nine, and stuck home in bed during a nasty endemic of the swine flu as it hit the whole east coast in the middle 60's! I was so, so sick for a while when it first hit me. But not nearly the only one! It was so bad, that doctors were back to making house calls again! And ours came to our house, instead of him filling up his office with contagious patients and not-sick who only needed check ups, especially babies! Anyway, after I could actually sit up and take notice, as they used to call it, I was soon bored to death after working on my class work for a while, or listening to the radio. She knew I had always wanted to be a nurse, so she gave me her books! I adored them, and got caught reading late into the night with my sheet and blankets pulled up over my head, with a small flashlight, so I could read them after my official 9:00pm bedtime! I later got more of the contemporary editions for Christmas and birthdays! Since I've grown up, married, had children, become a Surgical Technologist (suited me perfectly when nursing wasn't quite the "fit" I had been seeking, etc.,) I found that eBay has helped me fill in the gaps where I had not received the right issues to fill out my set when I was much younger. As for the rouge comment, that's one of my very favorite ones in the book, and forever launched the "War with Dr. Wylie!" He's absolutely insistent that her rosy cheeked coloring is the result of the use of "rouge" - blush to us - which is forbidden to student nurses, except for the occasional evening formal occassions, that he's constantly extolling the loud command for her to "Wipe that rouge off your face!" (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Medicine, Portraits)
Christmas Living Room: 1958
The day before Christmas, 1958, and all the presents are wrapped. There is three inches of snow outside the window of our house on Washington Street in Freeport, Illinois. View full size. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Christmas) ... 
 
Posted by burmashave - 12/03/2009 - 2:52pm -

The day before Christmas, 1958, and all the presents are wrapped. There is three inches of snow outside the window of our house on Washington Street in Freeport, Illinois. View full size. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Christmas)
Market Day: 1955
... Mr. Gilardi, the butcher who's billed on the market's window, had a portion of one finger missing from some slicing or chopping ... rather small last time". Illumination Are those Christmas lights strung on the wire over the street? The woman on the sidewalk ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 01/12/2013 - 2:35pm -

Back we go to my home town of Larkspur, California for another view of the Rainbow Market, where my father worked for several years in the mid-1950s. The linked photos and their comments give plenty of background, so here I'll just mention a couple childhood memories this one dredges up (I was 9 at the time my brother took this Anscochrome slide). The hulking 1930s black sedan belonged to my mother's friend Mrs. Skala, who a year later bought a 1956 Plymouth from Hil Probert, whose DeSoto-Plymouth dealership was across the street from our house a couple blocks away. My mother was incensed that Probert allegedly talked the 60ish lady into a model with the push-button automatic transmission. "Imagine the poor woman trying to learn how to use something like that at her age. The idea." Well, that's a paraphrase, but I never did hear if Mrs. Skala had any problems. Mr. Gilardi, the butcher who's billed on the market's window, had a portion of one finger missing from some slicing or chopping mishap, so naturally that's what I always stared at while my mother talked pot roast or ground chuck with him. Or maybe that was Charlie Young, the butcher at Fred Schefer's Food Center next door to the right. We switched our trade to the Food Center after my father left the Epidendios' employ. Final period note: on the telephone pole, a poster for the United Crusade, a charity forerunner of the United Way. That and the March of Dimes were annual Larkspur events I recall, although I was probably more interested in fantasizing about the dimes being potential fodder for my coin collection. View full size. Typewriter Drive....My uncle had a Plymouth of about the same vintage, I don't remember the exact year. The push buttons were arranged in a square pattern vs the linear pattern shown in the attached photo. One day while I was washing it for him I noticed something interesting... The name Plymouth was spelled out on the front edge of the hood with individual letters. Whoever installed the individual letters at the factory must have been slightly dyslexic because it was spelled "Plymouht". I wonder how many of those escaped the quality control department at the factory. Blue hueThat's a 1939-40 or so Dodge and there were five blues offered. One of them, Shocking Blue (a 60s name for a pre-war hue), is very close to this one. Tipping the scaleWhat a great pleasure to have the background information of a photo. Many thanks to tterrace for sharing his memories. I can hear Mrs. Skala saying "Mr. Gilardi, one of those beef tips was rather small last time". IlluminationAre those Christmas lights strung on the wire over the street? The woman on the sidewalk doesn't look as if she's dressed for December weather, even in a not-very-cold place like Larkspur. [The colored lights were lit up in the summer for Larkspur's Rose Bowl dances, which since 1913 had been run annually by the Volunteer Fire Department at an outdoor pavilion in a redwood grove a couple blocks away. Proceeds funded the fire department, which was fully owned and operated by the volunteers until 1956, when they turned it, and the fire house, over to the city. The lights were also lit up when the Christmas street decorations were put up. -tterrace] Black & BlueUnless the Anscochrome film changed colors after all these years, that black sedan sure looks blue to me. [In my memory the car was always black, but it could really have been a very dark blue or else this is some artifact of Anscochrome color rendition or aging. - tterrace] Chilly MagnoliaHere's a contemporary view of the same stretch of Magnolia Avenue and the former Rainbow Market in Larkspur. Don't let the neon sign fool you; the market left long ago and the interior has been converted to an art gallery. As a preservationist I'm dismayed by the removal of the original cornices and bay windows visible in the 1950s photo. There were lots of misguided attempts to 'modernize' aging Victorian and Edwardian buildings around that time, and Larkspur obviously wasn't spared. [Those bland stucco facades date to the unfortunate reconstruction done after a 1959 fire heavily damaged the upper floors of those buildings. -tterrace] Memories It is always good to see a posting by tterrace! Larkspur LightsThe strings of colored lights were there year-round. They were lit on weekends when dances were held at the Rose Bowl, a large outdoor dance pavilion in a redwood grove two blocks from downtown. Operated to fund the Larkspur Volunteer Fire Department, the dances were the town's main claim to fame, featuring name bands and attracting crowds from all over the San Francisco Bay area. The lights also formed part of the Christmas decorations here along Magnolia Ave., the town's main street. This photo was taken in either spring or early summer. The blanidfication of the facades dates to a 1959 fire that nearly destroyed the upper floors of the three buildings. I also enjoy tterrace's pictures.Now how about some more of the sister-in-law? Pushbutton transmissionsI learned to drive on a 1956 Plymouth with pushbutton transmission, and on my first solo trip, one of the buttons fell in when I went to put it in Drive. I eventually got it out, and hope Mrs. Skala didn't have the same problem. Black and BlueGiven the reflection on the window above that 1930's car appears blue, and the shadow of the utility pole is too, and we know shadows are not aqua-blue, I agree that the photographic process is creating a black and blue shift. [The shadow on the road is the color of the asphalt with x amount of light hitting it. Areas of total shadow (under the car, for example) are black. - Dave] Re: Black and BlueJust to throw in my two cents worth, note that the California plate (yellow on black in those days) has a distinctly black background, while the trunk lid around it is dark blue in the same light. ChangesIt looks like they took the top part of the old "Rainbow Market" sign, and glued the "Liquors" part of the liquor market sign to make one combined sign. Push Button ProblemMrs. Skala, 60ish, may have had some problems with that newfangled push button shifter. I sure did when I was 16. My after school job was delivering dry cleaning for Mr. Kravitz and I drove his '63 Plymouth with those buttons. Being a teenager I was, of course, FAST about everything! So fast that every once in awhile I'd hit the wrong button. Sure enough one day I jumped back in the car and hit REVERSE instead of DRIVE and lurched back into some poor schlub's parked Ford; I had to pay for a crunched taillight. The Ford may have had some damage, too, but I didn't hang around long enough to survey it. Pushbutton transmissionShe had to go from the three-on-the-tree manual to a pushbutton automatic. My Dad had a '64 Dodge 880 with one. Now people who buy a Ram pickup now have to learn how to drive with a transmission that shifts by turning a knob. My best friend's parents They had a grey, black, and pinkish 1956 Dodge (I think) with a push button transmission. I thought it was fascinating and just SO cool! Our 1956 Chevy had a boring automatic shift one. More PushbuttonsWhile poking around in a junk yard back in the '60's I came across the remains of a car with the pushbutton transmission partly pulled out of the dash. What looked elegant and simple on the surface was actually a confusing mass of levers, springs and cables. A forerunner of Windows. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
Trouble and Typing Group: 1924
... how to show some respect with three-piece suits, and come Christmas party time, Mister Cool, they'll be the fellows getting the extra ... Is there a way to view all three* in the same browser window? * 1) Full size image * 2) Caption * 3) Comments I'm glad ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/17/2014 - 11:44pm -

November 24, 1924. "Bonus Bureau -- Personnel Records Division." Workers in an intriguingly named section of the government department responsible for keeping track of World War I veterans so they could get their "bonus money," a benefit they were supposed to redeem no earlier than 1945; their demands for early compensation led to the Bonus Army protests of 1932. View full size. Looking DownAhh Now days when I see my employees looking down like that I know they're either texting or surfing the web on their smart phones, neither acceptable. Sometimes technology is a curse. "Trouble and Typing"?So do you mosey back there to the sign if you have trouble typing, are in trouble or are just curious how the two fit together? (which I most definitely am!) I see no coffee cups, one eye shade, and one big shotYeah, you there in front with the biggest desk, your front row closest to the bathroom spot, your designer eyewear and your "Look at me, no jacket, nyah nyah nah nyah nyah" attitude. Well, let me tell you, buddy, Bonus Bureau ladies prefer gentlemen who know how to show some respect with three-piece suits, and come Christmas party time, Mister Cool, they'll be the fellows getting the extra holiday punch. What a "joy" to work there......N O T !Can you imagine the NOISE? Before they were famousSecond row, third from the left. If I'm not mistaken, this is Miss Agnes Gooch, before she took the job doing dictation for "Auntie" Mame Dennis. OuchJust looking at this makes the joints in my fingers and wrists hurt! Men More Important?Wow! The Men have larger desks than the women. Did they make more money as well? [Several women also have the larger desks. - tterrace] True, tterrace! They also gave the dark skin guy a small desk. Looks like Navy MainThis photo for some reason looks to me like it was shot in the old Navy main building on the west end of the mall in DC. I don't know exactly why, but I was in there when I was much younger and it looked immediately familiar. If you're looking for TroubleYou've found it. Trouble and Typing?Ok so I see the typers, which one is trouble? CLICK THE ZOOM BUTTON IN THE COMMENTS BOX Then what? Clicking the button brings up the full size image with the caption but NOT THE COMMENTS! Is there a way to view all three* in the same browser window? * 1) Full size image * 2) Caption * 3) Comments I'm glad tabs work for tterrace but not everyone uses tabs. [The Zoom button is specific to each comment. After zooming, clicking on the full-size image takes you back to the comment you started from. - tterrace] [There's never going to be a way to see all three at the same time in the same window unless your screen is the size of a bedsheet. You have to either do a lot of scrolling or a little clicking. You can now get from the big picture to the comments much faster than before, with just one click, and no scrolling. Click the Zoom button in the Comments box, look at the big photo, then click on the big photo to get back to the comments. Is this turning into one of those "Seinfeld" episodes where Jerry goes to visit his parents? - Dave] No comments in full size viewI sure liked it better when the large view had the comments too. When I read someone's comment on a detail I missed I used to be able to scroll up to the full-size view and see it; now I have to reload the full-size view, check it out, then go back to comments. I'm working on a routine now that opens two tabs, one full-size and one with comments. I guess I'll get the hang of it. [I personally find it's much easier switching between tabs than having to scroll off the full-size image and then down the comments column as before. With tabs, you always get back to where you left off last without having to scroll all over the place again. Tabs rule. - tterrace] [CLICK THE ZOOM BUTTON IN THE COMMENTS BOX. - Dave] (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, The Office)
Night View: 1932
... Avenue (with the elevated train tracks) and Broadway. Christmas Jewel Box One of the most beautiful sights I can remember was ... in the downtown area. My opinion: The lowly double-hung window influenced the very shape of some mighty fine architecture. Put a few ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/04/2013 - 10:33am -

New York circa 1932. "Night view, Manhattan." Photo by Berenice Abbott (1898- 1991). Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Collection. View full size. Digital Empirethanks google What wonderful pictureBernice Abbott took this picture from atop the newly built Empire State Building looking toward the northwest. The two streets are Sixth Avenue (with the elevated train tracks) and Broadway. Christmas Jewel BoxOne of the most beautiful sights I can remember was flying into New York City shortly before Christmas on an extremely clear, cold, dark night some years ago. Preparing for landing we flew low over the city as spread out below us was a seemingly endless carpet of brilliantly colored rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds and gold that was reminiscent of a pirate's treasure chest or an imaginary kaleidoscope out of a fantasy, twinkling, enchanting and alluring. If this photo of the city lights was in jewel-tone colors, you would get an idea of just how inviting and unforgettable it looked. The Naked CityTen thousand stories down there folks, each amenable to exposition and solution in one hour, less commercial breaks. Old Metropolitan Opera HouseJust beyond the distinctive tower of the Lefcourt Normandie Building (right of center and toward the top of the photo) is the gabled stage area of the old Metropolitan Opera House. The auditorium fronted at 1411 Broadway, but extended through the block to 7th Avenue. The old Met opened in 1883, but was gutted by fire in 1892. Rebuilt to match the original, it served until 1966 when the Metropolitan Opera was relocated to Lincoln Center. The building was demolished in 1967. The Sixth Avenue ElAt the time of this photo the Sixth Avenue El was already under a metaphorical death sentence. The IND subway under Sixth was either in the last phases of planning or the early stages of actual construction, and everyone understood that the El would be demolished once the subway was ready. That happened near the end of the 1930's. Demolition of the Sixth Avenue El was not a tragedy like that of its counterpart on Third Avenue a decade and a half later. There was, obvious, a subway replacement on Sixth, while the Second Avenue subway that was meant to replace the Third Avenue El resembles the offspring of a mythological creature and a sick joke. Sixth Avenue also was a much busier thoroughfare than Third and therefore a less appropriate location for having elevated trains clattering overhead. A persistent urban legend holds that scrap steel from the Sixth Avenue El was sold to Japanese dealers in 1939 and 1940 and used to build weapons that within a few years would be used against American troops. Given that scrap steel is a more or less fungible commodity there's no way of proving or disproving this rumor. WistfulThat city's largely gone, unfortunately; especially in the downtown area. My opinion: The lowly double-hung window influenced the very shape of some mighty fine architecture. Put a few buildings like that together et, voilà. Compare this scene with the landscape of monoliths a similar vantage point would likely reveal today. I won't even mention the elevated train--whoops, I did. Suddenly I long for the aroma of cigar smoke and leaded gas. (NYC)
Faulkner Inc.: 1920
... me these three jaspers don't get real crazy at the annual Christmas bash. And the gals over at Accounting? Don't even ask! Wall ... door, this is at least on the second floor, and the if the window or french door opens onto a balcony or fire escape, I see no railing. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/17/2014 - 11:31pm -

Washington, D.C., 1920. "Faulkner Inc. -- office interior." And a well-equipped office it is. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Summertime bluesAugust in D.C., no air conditioning, ties, and starched collars. My idea of the inner circle of hell. At least they got to roll up their shirtsleeves. It's For You Mr FaulknerPlease pick up the extension phone. Casual Friday?Where are their suit coats? Shocking. And rolled up sleeves? Can't wait for other Shorpy comments to explain that device on the central desk. Phone on pantograph!Mighty masculine place. Even the calendar shows a male model. I have never seen a stick telephone on a pantograph extension arm before. Interesting! Now I'll probably see many more, so it must have just been invented. Ergonomic It's NotI would hate to have to sit in one of those wooden chairs all day long. A partner desk with someone across from me is definitely not on my list. Curious ContraptionThe odd looking device on the desk is either a scale model of the 20th Century Limited or a Protectograph Check Writer. Desk holes: early Schellenberg design? Walter Schellenberg was a very senior SS officer doing international spy work for the Nazis. He was infamous for his "office fortress" desk, which had two automatic guns built into it that could be fired by the touch of a button The extension arm forThe extension arm for desk-set telephones had been around for at least 20 years and they are quite often for sale on EBay. It was ubiquitous from 1905-1925 when the last incarnation was extension with a small square table for the newer Kellogg Grabaphone and Western Electric model 102 integrated handset and later telephones into the 1940's. Here is a short discussion: http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=5053.0 That Devil-May-Care VibeYou can't tell me these three jaspers don't get real crazy at the annual Christmas bash. And the gals over at Accounting? Don't even ask! Wall calendarCool calendar on the wall. You have three consecutive months visible at all times, and you tear all three off on the first of the month. Clever. All that old fashioned office stuff, desks, stamps, heavy glass containers for whatever, they're all such neat artifacts. Think how many millions of the grand old oak desks got tossed into the dump when the steel ones came along. Balcony, or long drop?Judging from the building next door, this is at least on the second floor, and the if the window or french door opens onto a balcony or fire escape, I see no railing. Better hold that Christmas party downstairs. You got me...The boss guy looks like he took a bullet or something. Anyone have a better idea? Stick telephone on a pantograph extension You have seen one luojudson. It fugured in a Three Stooges short where the boys ended up dangling from one out of the window of an upper floor office. Just the facts, ma'amHoused in the Munsey Building at 1329 E Street, N.W., on publishers' row, Faulkner Inc. published The Faulkner Reference Library ("Standardized statistics of the United States"), and the Space Buyers Reference Library ("Pages of dependable facts condensed into periods"). The latter received at least one rave review, by 1920s standards. 16 AAAsDapper Dan at the desk has got the longest, narrowest and highest arched feet I've ever seen. They must have been custom-made by elves. The shoes, not the feet. Who's the boss?The guys with all the authority were the ones who possessed the rubber stamps. One used to know one had "arrived" when he was in control of the rubber stamps. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, The Office)
Clothesline Canyon: 1900
... This reminds me so much of the set of "Rear Window." Without the laundry, of course. Really cool photo. [Indeed. In ... service or servant. We may roll our eyes at the old Christmas displays promoting a washing machine as the perfect gift for the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 6:59pm -

"New York tenement yard c. 1900-10." A washday wonderland in this uncropped version of yesterday's post. Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size. Spidermen?I'd like to see that guys that crawled up the poles to hang the lines - now THAT'S talent! ClotheslinesI haven't seen clothes hanging on a clothesline in years. Even here in Florida with plenty of sunshine people use electric dryers. Hitch's inspiration?This reminds me so much of the set of "Rear Window." Without the laundry, of course. Really cool photo. [Indeed. In fact I think I see Thelma Ritter ironing. - Dave] Disgracing the familyIn the small town where I was raised, washday was Monday and you can be sure that everybody definitely DID look at everybody else's laundry when it was hung out on the line. My mother really worked hard to get the whitest whites and the brightest brights and some residents would actually criticize the ladies who hung out "tattletale gray" whites and dull colors. If a new red dress was accidentally washed with whites, of course all the whites turned pink. And blue denim work clothes ran into and ruined other colors. Stains that were not scrubbed out meant the homemaker did not take the time to clean them properly. As long as my mom lived, she preferred clotheslines, never owned a dryer, and even on frigid winter days, her gnarled, knotty hands still hung clothes on the line and often brought them inside frozen solid so they would stand up by themselves. I won't mention any names (Mrs. Landowsky) regarding who was considered slovenly because her laundry was always stained and grayish. Of course nobody took into consideration that she had seven kids and probably could not afford bleach. Talk about "airing your dirty laundry in public," it was once a fact of life. And I still get nostalgic over clothespin bags, which were my only toys when I visited my grandmother. Soap operasIn the 1930s and 40s daytime radio was soap operas. If you listen to those programs today you will hear commercials touting the benefits of each and every brand of soap. White, white, white was the goal, and disgrace to any poor housewife who had gray laundry on washday. Airing the family's clean laundryI grew up hanging clothes out on the line on washing day--though our clothesline was in a backyard and could only be viewed by a limited number of neighbors. We had a set order to our loads--we always did the towels and linens first so that when they were hanging on the line they blocked the sight of the second load--underwear. This order is so ingrained in me that I still do my laundry towels and sheets first, then underwear, then the rest of the clothes--even though I haven't had a clothesline in years. Drying with fresh air and sunshine!I live across town from Google headquarters in what is as high-tech an area as you can find, but I still prefer to hang the clothes on a line. I have a half-century old metal folding unit which has begun to sag a bit, although it rarely is folded up or moved. For those who don't know, it's like an X stuck perpendicular to the top of its support pole when erected, with straight bars on two opposite sides (attached to the X ends) and the lines running between those bars. Anyone know if these are still being made? Fire escapesReminds me of hot summer afternoons at my grandparents house, sitting on the fire escape with my legs dangling through the bars, hoping for a cool breeze. ClotheslinesTo the person looking for a news clothesline: Google rotary clothesline or Hill's Hoist. I grew up with a rotary and prefer the T-bar type myself -- drying is more even. Coping with laundry must've been difficult then for women who worked outside the home and couldn't afford a laundry service or servant. We may roll our eyes at the old Christmas displays promoting a washing machine as the perfect gift for the "little woman" but I bet women who grew up doing laundry by hand would have been thrilled to receive one. All That Underwear...Nothing found that looks like Victoria's Secret! A traditionI lived in a house without a dryer for 14 years. I loved hanging the clothes on the line, except of course during the winter. It always made me feel like I was carrying on a tradition. My mother, grandmother and great-grandmother did likewise. CastleCan anyone identify the castle-like building in the distance in the middle of photo near the two smokestacks? (The Gallery, DPC, NYC)
Kay Jewelers: 1919
... World War I is over, there is snow on the ground and a Christmas tree in each window, igniting a festive and holiday spirit among the bling and sparkle. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 5:53pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1919. "Kay Jewelry Co., 407 Seventh Street N.W." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Re: Off and OnI used to live in an apartment above an old storefront that had an ancient rotary switch in the same relative location, one day in conversation with the landlord I asked him what it was for. The switch was wired to the overhead lights in the display windows. Back in the old days a "merchant policeman," what we'd call a security guard, would turn the lights off during his late-evening rounds. Horrible Slogan?I wonder if this is the same "Kay Jewelers" that uses that horrible slogan "Every kiss begins with Kay..." That little jingle is the worst. If I had to buy jewelery every time I wanted a kiss or gave a kiss than I am both dating the wrong girl and going broke! [I think it's a rather clever slogan. "Kiss" begins with K. Get it? - Dave] Every kiss begins with KayIs this the forerunner of the retail giant that we know today? The 900 store Kay Jewelers, according to the company's website, was founded in 1916 in Pennsylvania. Was this part of its expansion or just another K? Awesome PhotoSymmetry, nighttime exposure. Great photograph. These old pros certainly knew what they were doing. O Kay?The fact that you can recite it tells me that this "slogan" is working quite nicely! Makes me want torun around photographing old stores at night! Very Romantic inspirationready to become a story. World War I is over, there is snow on the ground and a Christmas tree in each window, igniting a festive and holiday spirit among the bling and sparkle. Perhaps it is a minute to closing time on Christmas Eve. Use your imagination and create a tale. Shorpy writers have great literary ability as seen in former wonderful inspirational photos. I love this picture. Kay Jewelry OpensIt would appear that this was indeed an early branch of today's jingle spouting Kay Jewelers. Also note the aptly named store manager. Washington Post, Nov 21, 1919 Kay Jewelry Store to Open Premises at 407 Seventh Street Are Remodeled for New Business The Kay Jewelry store, 407 Seventh street northwest, of of a chain of 26 stores operating in as many big cities, has remodeled the premises formerly occupied by the Columbia Shoe Company, and will open Monday, November 24, with a complete line of fine diamonds, watches and jewelry. M.S. Goldnamer, secretary and treasurer, who will manage the Washington store, was for many years the manager of the National Furniture Company and late sales manager of the Hub Furniture Company. Off and OnNote the pushbutton switchplates next to the door. What an odd location for such a thing. Remodeled for new businessRemodeled is an understatement, though. This would be the same building shown here about a year earlier, when it was for rent. I wonder if the painless dentist was still upstairs. (The Gallery, Christmas, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Children's Room: 1941
... clothing I miss from that era was the great stuff from Christmas 1951: Hopalong Cassidy shirt, pants, boots, scarf and belt with ... 1941? I see both boys sitting with their backs to the window are wearing them. I thought 1941 was late for knickers. When did they go ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 1:13pm -

February 1, 1941. "Brooklyn Public Library, Prospect Park Plaza. Children's Room, from balcony." 5x7 safety negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. Shhhhhhhhhhh.....(thank you) Brooklyn Born and RaisedMy mother, Dorothy Kaiser, was a Brooklyn girl, born in 1926. She would have been 14 when this picture was taken and these kids would have been her contemporaries. What a wonderful glimpse into her childhood world. Thank you. RIP, Mom 1941I was born in 1941, so the serene Brooklyn Library scene is very familiar to one who started school in the late 1940s in New Jersey. There was something comforting about the spic and span nature of our schools then. And, it wasn't our fault that we were overdressed by today's scanty standards. Mom made us wear them! The only clothing I miss from that era was the great stuff from Christmas 1951: Hopalong Cassidy shirt, pants, boots, scarf and belt with silver buckle--with a silver six-shooter cap pistol for after school fun! Those were the days! The card catalog!Did you catch a glimpse of the long-forgotten card catalog, way over on the right? I actually have one in the back of my truck right now, purchased this weekend at a Texas antique store and waiting for some handsome hunk to come along and help me move it into my own middle school library ... where the kids will have *no idea* what we're wrestling BACK into a library! Anne! Is that you?The girl in the hat looks like Anne of Green Gables. Everyone here is so well dressed. Quiet PleaseI used to hate the way some libraries strictly imposed absolute silence but maybe it's gone too far the other way. The children's section at my local library now has a play area, where kids run around, squabble over toys, and build towers of hard plastic stuff which crash to the floor when they knock them down. Maybe it's good to have quiet places in your life, as well as other places where you can run around and yell and do silly stuff to let off steam. I can't believeHow open everything is! I work in our local library and our children's room is waaaay overdue for a remodel and is very crowded. We have many more books than this, but this scene is utterly charming! Don't want to break the magic spell, but...looks posed to me. [You are a master of the obvious. - Dave] Boys Wearing Knickers in 1941?I see both boys sitting with their backs to the window are wearing them. I thought 1941 was late for knickers. When did they go completely out of style? [August 12, 1943. - Dave] So peaceful!Kids sitting down and quietly reading in a library - I had forgotten what that looks like. AwesomeI can remember being in this room in late 50's as an early elementary school kid. It was an awe inspiring place. Wonder what it's like now. My dad owned a drug store two blocks away on Eastern Parkway. 50 years laterI've sat and read books in that room 50 years after this photo was taken. It's a beautiful thing. Those BlindsThe window blinds at the left look odd: is that a relection or some sort of optical trick? Was the photo shot through a glass lightly? [It is a (probably inadvertent) double exposure. - Dave] re: Those BlindsMy first thought was that the phantom image of the blinds was a reflection, as if this were taken through a glassed-in balcony or divider. There seems to be one in the distance at the right. (The Gallery, Education, Schools, Gottscho-Schleisner, Kids, NYC)
Birdman of Washington: 1915
... sticking up behind the roof. Xmas 1915 I love the Christmas greenery. (The notice by the window is promoting a Charity Ball for Monday, January 3, 1916.) When I was a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/27/2012 - 11:52am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1915. "P.K. Chaconas Co. Market." Pictured: Proprietor George Chaconas, whose grocery ("fancy fruits and vegetables") was at 924 Louisiana Avenue N.W. Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size. Genuinely PleasantHow rare it is to see a sincere and guileless smile on a person's face. Such direct and genuous happiness is impossible to fake. This is a kind and happy man. Oldest Greek MarketWashington Post Jul 2, 1922 P.K. Chaconas & Co., Inc. The oldest established Greek-American firm in the Capital and probably the most prominent and successful one is the P.K. Chaconas & Company (Inc.), at Ninth and Louisiana avenue northwest. Its officers, P.K. Chaconas, president; P.C. Nicolopoulos, vice president; Chas. Chaconas, secretary and treasurer. E.G. Nicolopoulos and P.G. Xedes, founded the business seventeen years ago, dealing in fruits, vegetables and groceries. As the commission district grew, so did the company. Their slogan reads: "Honesty in all business dealings," and it is safe to say that is quite correct. The charter member of the firm, P.K. Chaconas, first started the business at 1440 P street northwest, near Riggs market, more than a quarter of a century back. The latter is accredited for having originated in Washington the store on wheels, more familiarly known as the huckster wagon. The aforementioned members of Chaconas & Company are active in all Greek-American affairs in business and society. Additional Notes: Moved to pictured location ("Pickford's Old Stand") circa November 1906. The location of Louisiana Ave has changed over time such that Ninth and Louisiana do not intersect on the contemporary map of Washington D.C. The location of this photo would be in what is now eastern edge of Federal Triangle - just west of the current National Archives building. Top portion of Washington Monument visible in backgroud. The Washington Post refers to "huckster wagons" as early as 1878 Earliest mention of 'Chaconas' in Washington Post archives is Aug 14, 1894: George Chaconas was fined (along with a dozen other Greeks and Italians) for lingering too long and obstructing the street with a vending push cart. This block of Louisiana Avenue is just west of Center Market and seems to have accommodated an overflow of merchants and wholesalers. 1909 map from Baist's Estate Atlas His wife, and fluffy bunnies, tooIs that his wife we see in the left-hand side of the frame? Also note the fresh rabbits, atop the open crates. PrideI see a man who is so very proud of what he has built up (I would bet from nothing) since he, or maybe his parents came to the United States. The Land of Opportunity. Yech.One would think he would stop smiling long enough to sweep that filthy sidewalk he is selling food on !! The Source of GreatnessI fully concur with Lincoln's remarks and would like to take it a step further. Small businesses (like this one) were/are the foundation for a community's and a country's greatness. His genuine happiness was surely the result of more than commercial success. We can learn a great deal by understanding the personal stories of such gentlemen and ladies. Local LandmarksNote the Washington Monument sticking up behind the roof. Xmas 1915I love the Christmas greenery. (The notice by the window is promoting a Charity Ball for Monday, January 3, 1916.) When I was a small child in the mid-1950's, my grandma used to go to a butcher where you could pick out your live chicken and they would kill, clean and dress it for you. This brings back memories. He does look like a happy man, as does she. What made America great!This is a beautiful picture of a man truly proud of what he does and where he does it. Trusting soulTwo cash registers, no waiting! I bet they wouldn't last two minutes out in the open street today. Haconas?The banner at the top center, under the overhang: we can see a partial K and a period, followed by HACONAS & CO. Where's the C? [The left section overlaps the right. - Dave] Central MarketIs this essentially part of the old Central Market? Deja viewIsn't this the same butcher shop that was proudly displaying a row of greasy old possums a couple of weeks ago? [That was in New York. This is Washington. - Dave] My great grandfatherThis is a photo of my great grandfather in front of the business that he built up from nothing. Although our times did not cross, I grew up with the family stories, seeing this picture is like getting a piece of my history. Where did you find this and do you have any others? [This photo is part of the Harris & Ewing collection of glass negatives at the Library of Congress. There's a photo of a Chaconas delivery truck here. - Dave] (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Stores & Markets)
Mauch Chunk: 1940
... when the photo in question shows a solitary figure in a window or at a table. Hopper lovers know that it's all about the light. ... wonderful little town to visit during the summer or around Christmas. All you sports fans need to ensure you visit Jim Thorpe's grave ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/21/2013 - 9:58am -

August 1940. "Street scene in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania." Paging Edward Hopper. Medium-format negative by Jack Delano. View full size. Found it!It looks very similar today, outside 31 Broadway, in the town of Jim Thorpe, PA, which is what Mauch Chunk changed their name to, in the mid-1950s. View Larger Map Now named Jim Thorpe After "The Worlds Greatest Athlete." Really great looking1939 (I think) Packard parked diagonally there, 2nd from the bottom. Sign HereHow come Coca-Cola didn't outbid Breyer's Ice Cream for the Drug Store hanging sign? Nothing against Jim Thorpe......but Mauch Chunk is an awesome name. I would have loved to put that down as my home address on all the paperwork I have filled out over the years. Accurate Hopper ReferenceCongratulations on your Edward Hopper reference in the caption. A number of Shorpy commenters have invoked Hopper when the photo in question shows a solitary figure in a window or at a table. Hopper lovers know that it's all about the light. Now if someone would tell us just how to pronounce Mauch Chunk. [Most sources say something along the lines of "mawk chunk." -tterrace] Name Change AsideThe olde name makes me want a candy bar for some reason. RagtopI'm digging the 2nd car from the bottom In the mountainsJim Thorpe was a town dependent on (anthracite) coal and the railroad. Like other towns in Pennsylvania, it went through a period of decline when those two industries took a nose dive. Since then it's dusted itself off and is today a charming and friendly little town to visit. By the way my family pronounced it "munk chunk" although people in parts of Pennsylvania have some peculiar language variations. Great photo by the way. During its coal dust and sooty past the street could've been as gray as seen in the photograph! HandprintThe jail in town is the home of the handprint that can't be removed. When some of the Molly Maguires, Irish miners, were hanged there in 1877 one of the condemned placed his handprint on the wall and stated that as proof of his innocence it could never be removed. It's still there today after many paint coverings of the area. Maw ChunkMy, Jim Thorpe looks so clean, prosperous...productive. These days it's one of those "quaint" tourist towns--mountain bikers doing the Lehigh River gorge in the summer and skiers doing the local trails in the winter. For those who actually live there, life is pretty depressing in Carbon County. I live about thirty miles away in Nazareth. We pronounce Jim Thorpe's former name as "Maw Chunk". Second only to Niagara FallsFrom the local history website: "During its golden era in the late 1800s the town was known as the wealthiest town - per capita - in America. The industry of tourism grew in importance alongside coal and railroads, and Mauch Chunk boasted seven grand hotels to handle all the visitors. Mauch Chunk became a tourist destination second only to Niagara Falls." It's a wonderful little town to visit during the summer or around Christmas. All you sports fans need to ensure you visit Jim Thorpe's grave site on Hwy. 903. Why did they want to visit here?I can understand why people go to Niagara Falls as tourists, but what was the visitors' attraction to Mauch Chunk in the past? I don't understand the reason for seven grand hotels, since I don't see falls or rivers or lakes or breath-taking mountains nearby. relatives from here My maternal grandmother and her family lived in Tamaqua, near Jim Thorpe. Her brothers and father were all coal miners for generations. I still have family in the area. F.O.E.Fraternal Order of Eagles? (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Jack Delano, Stores & Markets)
Living Room Quiet Time: 1976
... carving a roast. The reason this is a quiet time (around Christmas, as you can see from the decorations here and there) is that I'm not ... is not around to ask. So thank you for this wonderful window into a Day in the Life of your father, and the very interesting human ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 09/13/2011 - 10:01pm -

Usually when my father and Kitty were in the same room she'd be on his lap. Or actually, on a newspaper on his lap while he read another section, forming a kind of cat sandwich. "You're full of hair," he'd tell her after she jumped up on him. Here he's reading the Marin County Independent-Journal bearing a headline about President-elect Jimmy Carter. At this point, you may be wondering if he was ever seen without a newspaper in his hands. Well, at other times, he'd have garden tools: trimming, pruning, cultivating, raking, watering. Or a steering wheel. Occasionally he'd be seen carving a roast. The reason this is a quiet time (around Christmas, as you can see from the decorations here and there) is that I'm not blasting my stereo, thus banishing him to the kitchen. I'd bought a Sony Trinitron to keep him and my mother company there at such times. That's my record collection on the rack behind him, and one of my Infinity Monitors is just visible peeking over the chair in the corner. My Kodachrome, lit by bounce flash. View full size. Colors of our livesWe had the identical chair in avocado green crushed velvet. I keep looking at the walls for the obligatory sofa sized picture of the Spanish Galleon. Through the Looking GlassOk--Now I am completely convinced, You & I lived the same lives in a set of parallel universes ! To see that orange chair and all the room accessories I know that you followed me around as a spectral ghost. I can hear Bach harpsichord concerti and smell my mom's Southern style banana pudding and just outside is a three inch snowfall in preppy coastal Connecticut. Creepy....almost. Charlotte USA (now) Home Sweet HomeI want your dad's leather club chair. My parents still have one. Cats added a lot to our lives too. Proprietary QuestionWas anyone but your Dad allowed to sit in his very cool armchair? The footstool, in all its worn leather glory, is beautiful as well. Dropping byI'm starting to feel as comfortable in your house as if I were your neighbor. Thanks for inviting us in, tterrace. Mew and MeAnd I had a cat who was a twin for Kitty. Wherever we went, she'd be right there looking at us like we were the most fascinating thing on earth. Paintings, chairs and other digressions@jmarkow1: We didn't have a Spanish galleon painting on the wall, just some roses, which you can see here. An oil by some minor California artist from the early 1900s. I forget the name; maybe my sister will chime in. In the dining room we also had a watercolor of roses (arranged in one of those green-glazed ceramic ginger pots) by another artist. @GeezerNYC: The chair was definitely Father's domain, though not by any explicit fiat; it just seemed meet, proper and just. If anyone was sitting in it when he came into the room, we'd just automatically start to move out; often, though, he'd just tell us to stay put and then plopped down somewhere else. The chair dates from around 1954; I still remember the trip my mother and I, age 8 or 9, took on the Greyhound bus to San Francisco to buy it at some big downtown store. I think I also got some neat toy, but what I most remember was her getting an odd-looking quarter in change, the Standing Liberty design minted 1916-1930. I was so transfixed by this out of the ordinary thing that it started me off on a long pursuit of coin collecting. I feel at homeEvery time I see a picture of your home, mother and or father, I feel like I have been there a while, my shoes are off, a cool drink in my hand, my eyelids are getting heavy listening to the classical music coming out of your Infinity Monitors, which I guess are just like mine, best speakers I ever had, surprise, I still have them, 30 plus years old and you can still crank them! Genetically Linked? tterrace's Kitty and our present day pussycat Diablo look nothing much alike, except they both have the same striped tail. Maybe they've a little common DNA. What a great shot!This photo tells so much. It brings some warm thoughts about my dad and how he loved to read the newspapers. It was the only time he could relax, having six sons. Human ElementMost photo descriptions are outsider observations, as they need to be since the photographer is not around to ask. So thank you for this wonderful window into a Day in the Life of your father, and the very interesting human interest photo. And that chair pattern had to be common, for I've seen it (the fabric seat of course in other colors like gold or green, but always a solid) in people's homes in NW Indiana, too. BTW, your parents had good taste: that room could've been 1966 or 1986 as much as 1976 from the decor. Weather ManWhat a great picture. I'd like to hazard a guess here: that the three identical shiny objects hanging vertically next to the front door are a home weather station. A barometer, a thermometer, and a hygrometer? I say this because my dad had something very similar hanging next to the master bedroom door in our house! Dads love weather stations. I've always had half a mind to buy one myself. Common ChildhoodWe also had the same chair in green - sort of an avocado - in my parents' bedroom. As in comments in the past, I think many of us Boomer had common objects in our living rooms. The ashtray with the birds beaks, the clay ashtray in yellow or green or red with blobs of other colors. The lamp that was also a table. The carved faux African masks or elephants or gazelles. Now we go on eBay and browse our youth as it passes on to another generation that's never seen a black and white TV or an issue of Look in the mailbox. Beautiful compositionTTerrace, you should be congratulated on this shot - great use of color and depth of field. And count me among those who have a twin of Kitty! Ooooh that chairMy parents had that orange chair, only in green velvet. Their cats enjoyed it too. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cats, tterrapix)
Listening Post: 1942
... Pull Tahoemike, I was fascinated with looking out the window too! The Christmas wreaths we had for those windows were no bigger around than one of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/16/2013 - 11:43am -

Rochester, New York. "Mr. Babcock tuning in for war news." Howard B. in the latest installment of the Babcock saga; the photos, with a publication date of March 1943, seem to be from September 1942 if the newspaper is indeed new. Photo by Ralph Amdursky for the Office of War Information. View full size. Furniture placementDoesn't he know that having the chair so close to the radio will damage his ears? How I RememberI remember how fascinated I was by those little string covered pulls on the blinds when I was a small kid. I think I pulled a few off in my day. Does anyone know what they are called? They are way too fancy NOT to have a name. The man's socks and shoes are over the top! He would have been considered quite stylish at the time. [Those are windowshade pulls. - Dave] Those shoes!They're either very ugly, or very stylish. But they're definitely very something. There's a two-out-of-three chance that Mr. Babcock was committing a white-after-Labor Day faux pas. He'd be okay if the date is Sunday, September 6, but not if it's the 13th or the 20th. The date cannot be Sunday, September 27 as that was the last day of the regular baseball season when the Cardinals won the NL title by defeating the Cubs, and the newspaper refers to the Cards and the Dodgers as being even. Western AutoTruetone was the store brand of Western Auto stores. The radios they sold were not actually made by Western Auto, rather they were made for them by other radio manufacturers--usually ones with names lesser known than Truetone, such as Belmont or Wells Gardner. This man bought his enormous radio just in time: it is a 1942 model, the D1144, and wouldn't have been available for long after civilian radio production ceased for the duration of WW2. As usual, the devil reposes in the detailsNow, the first nit one might pick is that the Democrat & Chronicle was the morning Gannett paper, and the Times-Union the afternoon, and it looks to be late afternoon when the photo was taken, but the paper indicates that it is Sunday, so the T-U would not have been published that day. Evidently, the possible staleness of the news is what prompts Mr. Babcock to seek out H.V. Kaltenborn or Gabriel Heater via the ether. I cannot make out the date, but as it's September, we may have Mr. Babcock on a "white after Labor Day" offense with respect to those snazzy shoes. September 13I can't make out the date, but the headline about the Cardinals and Dodgers being tied in the standings means this must have been Sunday, September 13. The Cardinals and Dodgers finished a two-game series on Saturday and were tied for first in the National League for the only time that season (the Cardinals went on to win the National League and the 1942 World Series). The Saturday game featured 6 future Hall of Famers (Enos Slaughter, Stan Musial, Billy Herman, Joe Medwick, Pee Wee Reese, and Arky Vaughan). It was a critical turning point because up until that series the Dodgers had led the National League since the first week of the season. Assuming this was taken that Sunday, the Dodgers would have likely just finished getting swept in a double header against the Reds, capping a five-game losing streak (significant since they finished the season 2.0 games behind the Cardinals). Cool shoes!Literally speaking. They must have been very comfortable on hot days with all those holes in the uppers. I think they were house shoes because people didn't get rid of their street shoes and wear out their expensive socks around the house. Dress socks like those are still around the same price as a dinner out. Shade PullTahoemike, I was fascinated with looking out the window too! The Christmas wreaths we had for those windows were no bigger around than one of today's dinner plates. The chair! The blind pulls!We had a chair exactly like that when I was young! And I haven't seen pulls like those in ages! Ah! The Doily Headrest!My mom put those on every chair and sofa in the house. I remember asking her once what purpose they served. "To protect the furniture from oily hair", she replied. "But we shower ever every day", I replied. "No matter", she replied (somewhat indignantly) - and that was THE END of that conversation. [Your mom was right. That's why that "doily" is actually called an antimacassar. -tterrace] Upsidedown umbrellasTwo on top of the radio. What did they hold? Flowers? Toothpicks? Cigarettes? There's always eBay...for old-fashioned shade pulls. Timely stockingsI think those arrows on his socks are called clocks. They were very popular on women's stockings in the 20's and earlier. [And men's, too. -tterrace] Why the CardinalsThe reason the D&C is featuring the St. Louis Cardinals is they were the parent club of the local minor league (AAA) team the Rochester Red Wings. Today the Red Wings are affiliated with the Minnesota Twins and the D&C is still being published (although it's a ghost of its former self). Re: Timely StockingsAre those stockings also known as "spats"? [No; spats fit over the shoe. -tterrace] Comfortable homefrontPlush setting belies the fact there is a war. I wonder if electrical power was rationed? [The furnishings here are typical for a middle-class family home of the time. Wartime restrictions on certain commodities did not extend to confiscation of people's existing possessions. Electricity as such was not rationed, though conservation was encouraged to help conserve electrical-generating materials such as oil and coal. -tterrace] (The Gallery, Ralph Amdursky, Rochester, WW2)
There Was a Crooked House: 1962
... is why no member of your family is looking out a window in an effort to answer, "What is that boy doing out there?" [They ... roll film. Also is the Kodak Brownie Starmite I got for Christmas 1961 that could at last let me shoot 2x2 color slides, but not time ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 07/11/2019 - 1:26pm -

Shorpy being the Historic American Photo Archive, and me being American and at this point in my life historic, I present from my archive a nighttime photo experiment I performed in winter 1962 while a teenage camera geek. This is how I made this time-exposure of our Larkspur, California house: I turned on all the lights in the front-facing rooms, also those on the porches and front walk, and added one more (my desk lamp) below the front porch. I set up the camera (an old c. 1920 folding job) in the cactus garden, opened the shutter, ran down to the bottom of that stairway and wrote out my name with a little flashlight, then ran back up and closed the shutter. Voilà! I used that old camera, a Kodak Folding Autographic Brownie 2A, because it was the only one around the house then that could take time exposures. No tripod receptacle, so I had to balance it on something or other. (I know it's winter because of the burlap sacks covering the lantana for frost protection. Oh, and before you ask, no, we're not related to the Addams family.) Scanned from the original "116" 2½ x 4¼ negative, slightly cropped at top. View full size. The eyes have it.I think you have unknowingly presented us with an optical illusion. The glassed in porch, at first glance, appears to project from the front of the house, yet there appears to be an archway into the front room of the house. Upon closer inspection, it's obvious that the archway is actually the entrance from outside to the porch and not into an interior room. BrowniesOne of the best pics I ever took was as a pre-teen with a Brownie. Don't know the model, just that it was a Brownie. My brother was on a swing. He is stop motion, everything else blurry. I ever find a print, might post it (if he agrees). And by the way, you might not be related to the Addamses, but the picture says otherwise! Good picture. Nifty Shot and Nifty CameraWe ought to have a grouping of treasured old cameras that our spouses would love to see us toss! Here's an old favorite of mine that is now a paperweight in my office: A Minolta 110-cartridge zoomer that we used to call a "Big Mac" camera. Wish I had thought of it when naming my kids"Rau" is a very interesting name. Tim Burton-esqueI love the crookedness which, due to the ghostly lighting and the pipe-like thing sticking up (sorry; don't know what it actually is), resembles the tilted cityscapes in Burton films. The long flight of steps (I count nineteen) is charming, as is the shadow produced by the latticework. Fascinating shot. [Pipe-like thing is the tall flue atop our fireplace chimney. - tterrace] Other ArtistI believe MC Escher would like this photo. Your nameis Rau? Cool shot. What does the house look like now? [Current owners had it looking like this in 2015. -tterrace] CoolYour story makes this a very cool picture. Just Another Wednesday Night?I like how you positioned your desk lamp to throw a silhouette of the latticework onto your house. What I don't understand is why no member of your family is looking out a window in an effort to answer, "What is that boy doing out there?" [They stopped asking that question long before this. -tterrace] Brownies and ButchersA wonderful photo! The twilight in black and white is both mysterious and innocent at the same time. Your mention of 116 size film makes my shutter button finger tingle. I've got a small collection of antique cameras that are fascinating to use, the varying sizes of extinct film being just one of the challenges. They like to go out for walks. Last week I shot my first roll of film in my 1913 "Butcher's Watch Pocket Carbine." It was designed to take 117 size film, but I sanded down the end flanges of a 120 spool -- very carefully -- until it fit. No digital image can satisfy like a roll of 12 perfect images emerging from the fixer. Vintage camera rallyI'll go with Jim Page's idea with this shot that includes the Kodak Folding Autographic Brownie 2A I used to take the time exposure of our house. This also dates from 1962, and I took it with yet another folding Kodak of similar vintage we had around, but whose identity I've forgotten; it took 120 roll film. Also is the Kodak Brownie Starmite I got for Christmas 1961 that could at last let me shoot 2x2 color slides, but not time exposures. Slide projector was my brother's from about 1955 and also two of his Kodak slide boxes. Old Camera I Loved and LostTterrace, did your brother's projector take slides in those horrible aluminum mounts that I DIDN'T hate to see the last of? I love your mirrored shot!!! I feel as though I can dive into a pool of memories. If Tom Wolfe was still around, he could probably describe this '50s Anscoflex II best. Maybe a "Loewy styled 620 format top viewer olive green not really TTL baby" or something like that. Mine, NOS in the box with the matching goodies, disappeared in a yard sale my wife snuck in when I was out of town. AAAGGGHHH. [The projector must have taken those metal/glass slide mounts, because that's what my brother used for the roll of Ektachrome he developed in the kitchen sink in 1955. I finally extracted them for scanning a few years back. -tterrace] Was your house built by Robert Heinlein?As I scanned the comments, I had a browser window open to... "'—And He Built a Crooked House—'" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first published in Astounding Science Fiction in February 1941. Link https://archive.org/stream/Astounding_v26n06_1941-02_dtsg0318-LennyS#pag... Miraculous PhotosIt looks like Veronica Leucen's miraculous Bayside photos, where stuff like "Jacinte 1972" appeared in the night sky in cursive script. That was supernatural in origin. The Polaroid corporation attested that there was no known explanation for it. New camera smellAn aspect of the olden days I always recall with fondness is how the gear smelled when you opened the packaging. Camera gear and binoculars had a distinct odor that zips me back to those times whenever I get a whiff of it. The other distinct smell of those days, of course, was from that fake/reprint Confederate money printed on crinkly yellow paper. That money was sold at Stuckey's and other tourist attractions and if I saw it, I'd buy it. Love itA great pic and a great story. Thanks for sharing it. NameIt’s Paul, isn’t it? Not Rau. [Shhhh! -tterrace] (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
You Better Watch Out: 1941
A Christmas window display in 1941 or 1942, photographer unknown. 35mm Kodachrome ... [Amazing. I've always been partial to the old-style Christmas decorations myself. Vintage Christmas cards too. eBay is a great ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 9:43pm -

A Christmas window display in 1941 or 1942, photographer unknown. 35mm Kodachrome transparency, Farm Security Administration. View full size. Doubl-glo iciclesThose Doubl-Glo Icicles cost 38 bucks a box nowadays! [Amazing. I've always been partial to the old-style Christmas decorations myself. Vintage Christmas cards too. eBay is a great help. - Dave] Good Old Lead PoisoningI remember the "icicles" back then being made of lead or something, unlike the wimpy mylar of today. If you put too many on a weak branch, it might break. When we took the tree down on New Year's Day, they'd be stuck in the carpet. My brothers and I used to race to collect the strands. We'd squeeze them into a tight, and surprisingly heavy lead ball, which we would then toss at each other while my dad yelled at us to stop. Ah, the memories... IciclesI think they were thin strips of tin, or possibly aluminium, both of which can be a nice shiny white, whereas lead is pretty dull and gray. I remember them, too. Red RyderI think he might be wondering where his Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time is. Great photo, brings back many memories! PriciclesBack in the late 1950's in the Germantown area of Philadelphia there was a price war on icicles just before Christmas. The two businesses involved were Comer Paper (6241 Germantown Ave) and Doc's drugstore half a block south. Doc's is long gone but Comer is still in business. I think they usually had a price war on icicles (which I believe was motivated by just wanting to have a little fun) but sometime around 1959 they got carried away. Doc's advertised icicles at 15 cents. Comers countered with 12 cents, Doc's dropped to 9 cents, etc. over 2 or 3 days. Final prices were in the 1 cent range. Re: LeadLead can be pretty shiny too, and I also remember balling up those icicles and firing them at my siblings. Tin or aluminum ain't that heavy or soft. (The Gallery, Christmas, Kids, Stores & Markets)
Moses and Sons: 1923
... I noticed. I believe there was a similar round swiveling window in the attic of the Griswald home in Christmas Vacation. Just a fact taking up space in my brain. Also notice ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 4:28pm -

Washington, D.C., 1923. "W.B. Moses & Sons, F and 11th Sts." Note the unusual circular windows at the top of the building. National Photo Co. View full size. Harrington HotelWashington's oldest continuously operating hotel. 436 11th Street N.W. (corner of 11th & E) Opening day: March 1, 1914 http://www.hotel-harrington.com/index.htm Drivers, Take Your MarksLooks like an old gran prix style race start. Those round windows were the first things I noticed. I believe there was a similar round swiveling window in the attic of the Griswald home in Christmas Vacation. Just a fact taking up space in my brain. Also notice that long straight-up fire escape. Seems like the stairs type would be safer in a panic situation. There are also flag holders outside many of the windows. "Fire Escapes"Those are probably for getting into the building, not out. The ladders are fire-control access to the various floors. There are standpipes on either side with a connection point at each floor and two supply connections at the bottom. AwningsWho did you have to be to get awnings on your windows? [A shady character? - Dave] Top heavyThose trucks look so top heavy. I bet a lot of them ended up on their sides during this era. W.B. Moses & Sons Washington Post, Jan 4, 1914 W.B. Moses & Sons The History of a Great Washington Business Establishment Although Washington makes no boasts of surpassing the great commercial centers, it should be a matter of no little satisfaction and pride to Washingtonians to know that here in the Capital is located the largest exclusively retail furniture, carpet, and drapery house in America - the widely known establishment of W.B. Moses & Sons. During the civil war, over fifty years ago, Mr. W.B. Moses, who had for a number of years been engaged in the furniture business in Philadelphia, came to Washington upon the dissolution of the partnership in which he was interested in the Quaker City, and rented a small store on D street, between Sixth and Seventh streets. He had received, as his share of the stock upon dissolution of the Philadelphia firm, about three carloads of furniture, and with this he opened business here. He met with such demand for goods that most of the stock was sold on the pavement before he had time to move it into the store room. Within a few months he rented the three upper floors of the building at No. 508 Seventh street, and, several months later, he rented the large building at the corner of Seventh and D streets, which he occupied in addition to the other establishment. Meeting with continued success, and his business constantly increasing in great strides, in 1869 he secured the old hotel at the corner of Seventh street and Market space (on the site of the present Saks building) know as the "Avenue House." Here Mr. Moses executed a business innovation which attracted attention over the United States. He fitted up the parlors, libraries, dining rooms, and bed rooms completely, decorating and furnishing them in every detail and particular, and in many different colors and combination of colors, in order that almost any one's taste could be satisfied. As a result of this venture, it was no unusual occasion when a patron would say, "Duplicate this apartment" or "that apartment" - meaning the furnishing of an entire house like the sample shown. His business continued to improve until, in 1884, he purchased the property at the corner of F and Eleventh streets, and began the construction of the present building, now occupied by W.B. Moses & Sons. This building was started in June, and was open for business in the following October. The architect was Mr. A.B. Mullett, who designed the State, War and Navy building, and Mr. John Howlett was the builder. They built well, and it was said they completed the building in less time than any building of like size had been constructed up to that time. Mr. Moses conceived the practical idea of going two stories underground; and as this was a radical departure for Washington, the citizens, when the observed the great excavation being made, predicted bankruptcy and complete failure for the enterprise, particularly as there was no business to speak of in that day on F street. W.B. Moses & Sons were the pioneers. Shortly after, through the efforts of Mr. Moses, Woodward & Lothrop removed from Pennsylvania avenue to the present location at the corner of Eleventh and F streets, and property on this short business street has been greatly in demand. In 1884, $2.50 per square foot was the prevailing price; a short time ago a lot 30 by 75 feet, near the Moses building, could not be bought at $90 per square foot. The original Moses building was seven stories high, with two stories underground making nine stories, and covered a space 50x100 feet. In 1887 an additional piece of property on F street, size 25x100, was secured, and built up seven stories to match the main building. Still another addition was put up on the Eleventh street side 50x100, in 1889, matching the original building. Again and 1898, still another building was put up on the Eleventh street side, 45 feet front; this addition was built up ten stories, and is absolutely fireproof. This later addition to the Moses establishment was designed to accommodate the shops and manufacturing departments of the store. The present establishment of W.B. Moses & Sons is one of the handsomest and most complete stores of its kind in the United States, and the largest house devoted to the sale of retail furniture, carpets and draperies. In their factory, which is by far the largest in Washington, there is employed a great force of artisans and skilled workers, cabinet makers, upholsterers, &c. The firm furnishes estimates on furnishings, draperies and decoration, and where desired decorative effects in the color will be designed for the approval of patrons. This branch of the work is in charge of a skilled artist. One of the store events looked forward to by many thousands of Washington families is the "Annual January Sale," an occasion when prices are quoted which are a genuine surprise, and are away below the real values of the merchandise. This sale is scheduled to begin tomorrow, Monday, January 5th, full details of which will be found in today's papers - Advt. FurnitureI actually just inherited a piece of furniture with a label on the back saying W.B. Moses and Sons Washington D.C. Causing me to google the name. I am trying to find out approximately how old the piece is. Any Ideas when this store closed its doors? Moses ClosesW.B. Moses & Son closed up in 1935. Press accounts in May 1935 indicate the store is still open. However, on September 29, 1935, an article in the Washington Post reports the former site of W.B. Moses & Son at Eleventh and F has been leased as office space. A few ads in early 1936 announce the auction of oriental rugs: "Balance of the former stock of W.B. Moses & Son" Moses MaterialI have found a beautiful piece of cloth in my aunt's belongings, with a store tag pinned to the cloth -- "W.B. Moses & Sons, Washington D.C." It is the most exquisite, and very dense piece of red velvet, with a price tag of seventy-five cents. I believe the cloth belonged to her mother who took this cloth to China and back to the U.S. somewhere around 1920. I can’t imagine the price it would bring today. It would have been nicer that it was a piece of furniture but I am happy to have the cloth. The store must have been grand. +77Below is the view of 11th Street looking south from F Street taken in April of 2010. The Hotel Harrington can still be seen in the distance on the corner of E Street. "Ask The Man Who Owns One" (or Two)The two trucks on the far right are Packards. The truck with license plate "36 205" is a circa 1913 model and the truck with license plate "36 204" is a circa 1911 model. The primary identifying feature is the radiator grille which is a widened version of what was used on Packard passenger cars starting in 1905. Packard trucks were made from 1905 - 1923. In 1912 a Packard truck carrying 3 tons was driven from New York to San Francisco in 46 days (July 8th to August 24th). Many of Packard's large automobile chassis were also used for commercial purposes such as hearses and ambulances. These commercial auto chassis were available well into the 1950s. Packard's automobiles were made from 1899 - 1958. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Living Room-O-Rama: 1963
... Mother) "tilt-top table" at the left indicate it's around Christmas. Finally, in the rack at right, a Sunset, "The Magazine of Western ... imagining this room wrong. I somehow thought that large window with the crisscrossed curtains was to the right of the fireplace as we ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 01/26/2013 - 7:49pm -

On the left: Father's chair; on the right: Mother's chair; not shown: Father and Mother. Why they're not there is unknown; possibly I chased them out to take this panorama, which film grain fans may detect consists of two 35mm Tri-X negatives. Otherwise, Father would be reading the papers, Mother doing a crossword and both, perhaps, watching the TV, which was all the way across the room behind me. Up the stairs to the left is my room, and I'm otherwise evidence in a younger version in the photo on the desk. Elsewhere are displayed other family members, including my brother, sister, maternal grandmother, youngest nephew and aunt-by-marriage. Notable book collections: Heritage Press editions of Dickens, Twain and Carroll on the left, a c.1915 set of the Books of Knowledge on the right. Also, various beloved gimcracks and tchotchkes. Items on the erroneously-dubbed (by Mother) "tilt-top table" at the left indicate it's around Christmas. Finally, in the rack at right, a Sunset, "The Magazine of Western Living," which, of course, is the kind we were doing at the time. View full size. Pride of placePlease, tterrace (or sister), let us all know what is that object smack in the middle of the mantel insert, between the two flower urns: Blessed Virgin Mary? Krishna? Something from Disneyland? [The first. It was always there, up until the day my mother moved out in 1988. - tterrace] I am moving inWhat a wonderfully warm and comfy place to be. Such wonderful family memories for you!! Thanks for another good pic. Makes me homesick for my childhood days! Place HoldersI appreciate the basket of pine cones. A nice touch until wood burning season arrives. Living RoomThanks for posting your living room of memories, always glad to view your postings. Antithesis of Edith and ArchieComfy chairs? Check. Good lighting for reading? Check. Gimcracks and tchotchkes, but not an over-abundance? Check. Can I go back in time and move in? Howdy Dooit?!?!Wonderful capture of a good room. Where are the negs joined? Is it slightly to the right of the Virgin on the mantle? I can't see a join. Since you used Tri-X, was this taken on a tripod with no flash? Did you ever use that Ilford monochromatic C-41 film? I used it a lot toward the end of my photo-taking-for-a-buck days. Not only did it have an interesting graininess and a super-wide ASA range, but I could drop it off at a one-hour film lab if I wasn't near my own lab for processing. Nice job.Perfectly joined photo; I couldn't detect a seam anywhere! I recall when Tri-X film came out - you could take black-and-white photos inside without a flash. Somewhere, I've got two rolls of candid shots I took inside the J. L. Hudson store in Detroit one Christmas. Contrast was a little lacking, but the views of customers, kids, salespeople, snapped unawares, were priceless. Panorama detailsThe illumination is natural room light, no flash. The join I left to Photoshop's Photomerge function; the seam itself is irregular, in the area to the left of the fireplace niche. I then manually adjusted the verticals into line. Slanted shelves?I'm curious about the slanted bookshelves to the right of the fireplace -- is that an artifact of the panorama blending? It's curious how the middle two shelves are more slanted than the top and bottom ones. (We once lived in an ancient cottage in Mill Valley that actually did slope nearly that much. You got the distinct feeling of walking uphill when heading from the back porch to the front door, and round objects like eggs and oranges would roll off the kitchen counter.) [Though some optical distortion remains uncorrected, our house was not without a number of geometrical anomalies. - tterrace] Where's Kitty?Was she still living when the photo was taken? And where did Mom go in 1988? And who has the BVM? [Kitty didn't join us until 1968. After selling the Larkspur house, Mother moved to a condo in neighboring Corte Madera. Not sure what happened to the figurine. [Breaking news: As of last year, 2018, I now have the BVM figurine, courtesy of my sister, who had it all along.] - tterrace] Panorama 1.0I just located the original snapshot-sized prints I taped together back then. Obviously, the technology has progressed. Where are the curtains?tterrace, I have enjoyed looking at all your family photos over the years, but now I can see I've been imagining this room wrong. I somehow thought that large window with the crisscrossed curtains was to the right of the fireplace as we face it. Now I see there is a door there instead, a bit oddly placed, now that I think about it. Is the big window opposite the fireplace, or further down the wall? My curious mind needs to know! [The big window is behind me. - tterrace] (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
City Hall: 1903
... size of a child. Logo? The mullions in that round window certainly must be intended to represent a globe and with the olive ... hardware store, Osgood's, gave out bricks from it for Christmas presents to it's its customers. (The Gallery, DPC, Small ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/10/2022 - 2:30pm -

1903. "City Hall -- Nashua, New Hampshire." Where municipal eagles perch. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Page right out of historyThank you Shorpy, et al. I lived in the North End for a decade or so around the turn of this last century. Would go for runs through Greeley Park and distinctly remember the plaque on a good size boulder informing me of the original name of "Nashville, NH". I never got the chance to look up the "why?". Denverlev - thank you for the quick synopsis. Our house was built in 1890 and still had beautiful woodwork everywhere, all original hardware on all the doors, and counterweights in all the windows. We miss it so! The building that divided the town in two.The residents of then Nashua Village disagreed over the planned location of this building (built in 1842). It caused a split between the residents to the north and those to the south of the Nashua River. The North, whose lawyer was future President Franklin Pierce, lost to the South and broke off from Nashua, splitting the town in half, creating the town of Nashville on the north side of the river. The two towns reunited in 1853 when Nashua was incorporated as a city. This City Hall was torn down in 1940 and was replaced with a new building on the other side of Main Street. The eagle and cupola were restored and used on the new City Hall built a few blocks south of the old City Hall and is still there today. Eagle took flight in 1940The Eagle flew down the street when they built the new City Hall in 1940. Junior partnerIn 1939, Nashua replaced this city hall with the new one below. The eagle on top of the tower and the bell (front, right) are from the old city hall. The windowsTwo things: 1.You gotta love the intricate workmanship that went into the round leaded glass oculus at the cornice. (Probably ended up in a landfill sadly) 2.The sash weights for those giant size hung windows must be the size of a child. Logo?The mullions in that round window certainly must be intended to represent a globe and with the olive branches (though upside down) it anticipates the U.N. logo by many years. [Strictly speaking, that's an emblem, not a logo. - Dave] Construction InstructionCity planner: "Okay, on either side of the front steps I want a wheelchair ramp installed." Contractor: "Got it; front steps." A brick in your stocking.When this building was torn down in 1940, a local hardware store, Osgood's, gave out bricks from it for Christmas presents to it's its customers. (The Gallery, DPC, Small Towns)
Multipurpose Room: 1940
... Those are some serious roof-to-ground icicles outside her window. Churchkey! I wonder how many millennials and later have any ... like this was when I visited relatives in Quebec one Christmas. No thanks; it's the sunny South for me. Icicles on the eaves ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/21/2019 - 7:32pm -

March 1940. "New England housewife fixing supper on a winter night. Woodstock, Vermont." Photo by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Lady of the ringsHer Chain Mail Scrubber (hanging at the top of the sink) is still available to scrub your cast iron pans. Pipe FittingsI have never seen the type of pipe coupler fitting used here. It has a bend in it to allow for another pipe to pass under it. IciclesConsidering the size of those icicles, one must conclude that every single calorie of heat generated in this house passes right out the roof! "Resistance" is futile ... Thrifty HousewifeHow she is fixing supper with just that one potato, I know not. Hopefully, it does not involve a mix of Lux Flakes and Old Dutch. Despite the vintage caption, it appears that the tired looking lady is cleaning the dishes and wiping the counters, probably after dinner. IciclesThose are some serious roof-to-ground icicles outside her window. Churchkey!I wonder how many millennials and later have any idea what rubber sealing rings are used for and, for that matter, what a churchkey is. Under the rings is a claw-shaped can opener — I doubt most people today know how to use one, unless they used a P38 with their military rations. I even see a light socket to outlet adapter, and remember my grandmother using one from the hanging braided light cord in the kitchen to plug in her newfangled electric iron! No groundOn that light fixture. Thus, it's possible for the pull chain to be at line voltage, which could happen if a loose strand of wire contacted the metal shell of the lamp socket, for example. The string attached to the pull chain is a (poor) attempt to avoid an accident - the string (when dry) doesn't conduct, so you could turn the light on and off without risk of shock. Nowadays we have GFI protection for circuits within reach of water. Missing the forest for the iciclesDouble windows with newspaper still stuck into the gap between upper and lower sashes to insulate from drafts. And the huge icicles draping down outside the window no doubt due to the lack of insulation above the very warm kitchen resulting in melting roof snow refreezing as the water dripped down the edge of the roof. Watch OutFor those icicles, they can kill you. I remember icicles like this on our old house in Boston in the 1960's. With new building and re-roofing techniques that properly keep most of the heat out of the attic spaces, and ventilating in the attic, I don't see much like these anymore. Whoa, NellyWhen icicles as big around as your arm have formed a curtain outside your window, and you can't stuff enough newspaper into the cracks, it's time to consider moving to a more moderate clime. The last time I saw something like this was when I visited relatives in Quebec one Christmas. No thanks; it's the sunny South for me. Icicles on the eavesWhen heat was cheap and attic insulation was unheard of. Re: consider movingEver since I insulated my Quebec attic I don’t have icicles like that anymore (although my hot-roof neighbors do!), but I still have to caulk my 120-year-old windows with weather-stripping to keep out the chilly drafts in wintertime. Would I ever “consider moving to a more moderate clime”? And forgo the bracing cold, the abundant snow, the brilliant blue skies, the northern winds? Never! Oh Those IciclesIf a boy isn't careful they could shoot his eye off. IceI notice a familiar piece of kitchen equipment right by the saucepan hanging over the sink: an ice pick! Obviously, this house has an icebox. I recall one could buy a 25- or 50-pound block. A card was left in a window where the iceman could see it from his horse drawn cart. One side of the card had a large 25 with a large 50 on the other side which indicated how much ice the household required. It all hinged on how much room there was still remaining in the ice storage compartment atop the icebox after the old ice had melted down. The water from the melting ice was collected in a metal pan placed under the icebox. Invariably, the person charged with dumping that pan would forget to do so until the pan was running over onto the kitchen floor. These blasted collection pans were usually too shallow. When brimming over, it would be virtually impossible to get it to the kitchen sink to dump it without a massive spill. I can recall my mother screaming at me for allowing it to get to this point. (The Gallery, Kitchens etc., M.P. Wolcott)
Velocipedes R Us: 1940
December 1940. "Window display for Christmas sale. Providence, Rhode Island." "Billy" now just ... . The building is long gone. (The Gallery, Bicycles, Christmas, Jack Delano, Providence, Stores & Markets) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 3:49pm -

December 1940. "Window display for Christmas sale. Providence, Rhode Island." "Billy" now just 89 cents! 35mm nitrate negative by Jack Delano. View full size. Grumpy GrandpaThe gent on the far end of the window shoppers. Maybe he thinks the prices are too steep. Or maybe he recalls how he got along with just a barrell hoop and a stick. Red ScooterI had a red scooter just like the ones in the window. Black rubber handles. Even had the bell! Fire engineI want the fire engine. I could also be talked into the red scooter!! I Thought so!So that beat up, bent, rusty scooter I got to play with as a kid was all shiny and did have a bell once upon a time. Being the last kid in the family is a bummer. It even had hand grips. No Scooter for meWe couldn't afford a scooter, so we did the next best thing - took a 2x4 - nailed two halves of a shoe skate to the bottom - attached a wooden produce box to the front and voila, a scooter, if you were really handy you put two empty tunafish cans on the front of the produce box to serve as headlights. Two By For Me TooHey Fun2BeMe, I had the 2 by 4 and old shoe skate scooter, it was great fun till the pavement wore down those metal wheels. I want to know what that Volkswagen Van-looking thing is below the fire engine. Is it a bicycle fairing of some sort? Notice the semi-subliminal sales technique of using the word "Buy" twice, one just above the other, on the window sign and the monkey's price tag. I remember shops like this back in the fifties, they always had the good stuff. LocatedThis was the Rhode Island Bicycle Company (R.I. Bicycle Co.) store located at 57 Washington Street in Providence. It was run by Nathaniel C. Cohen into the 1930s, but his name stops showing up in the city directories in the early 1930s. I didn't find the name of the next owner. The front of the store, as well as the bicycle with the wind deflector/fairing attached can be seen here. The building is long gone. (The Gallery, Bicycles, Christmas, Jack Delano, Providence, Stores & Markets)
Nu-Blue Xmas: 1940
December 1940. "Christmas trees for sale at a gas station. Woonsocket, Rhode Island." Medium ... at any rate of flow and all temperatures Inside the window of the gas pump there is a view glass that shows the fuel being ... SAVE! Let Us Winterize Your Car NOW! (The Gallery, Christmas, Gas Stations, Jack Delano) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/25/2018 - 11:51am -

December 1940. "Christmas trees for sale at a gas station. Woonsocket, Rhode Island." Medium format negative by Jack Delano. View full size. "Up on the Roof"Someone's up there doing last minute repairs before winter arrives! 14.1¢ a gallon!Well, I guess they have to charge those exorbitant prices just to cover the cost of Mickey's endorsement. Way Ahead of Their TimeDid a little quick research and apparently Sunoco had a deal in the early 1940s to use Disney characters such as Mickey and Donald in its advertising. When tenths matteredThe gas price illustrates a time when tenths of cents mattered. Not so any longer. That's one thing from olden times I wouldn't mind seeing gone. Accurate at any rate of flow and all temperatures Inside the window of the gas pump there is a view glass that shows the fuel being dispensed. Some of the pumps had a multi-petal 'vane' that rotated as the fuel flowed. It was there to reassure people that only liquid was being pumped, and they were getting what they paid for. I don't know much beyond being a pump jockey back in the 1960s (Sunoco with the new "190" -- lower octane than regular at a lower price), at which time the pumps were so equipped. I didn't do windshields unless the purchase was $2 or more, about 6 gallons. Adjusted for Inflation14 cents per gallon computes to $2.53 today. They were paying essentially the same for gas as we do today. [Although the gas tax in the photo is a steep 50 percent. - Dave] Math is wrong9.6 + 4.1 = 13.7 not 14.1. Where did the extra 4 tenths of a cent come from. [You're adding wrong. 4½ = 4.5, not 4.1 - Dave] I'm so used to prices in tenths that I didn't notice. Of course, today all gas prices end in .9 . Top Tier?As an automobile mechanic (I dislike technician), I have corrected many driveability issues by cleaning dirty fuel injectors. The injectors are like miniature valves that spray in a conical pattern into the intake manifold or combustion chamber. Inferior fuel causes these deposits, and greatly affects how the engine performs. The fuel must spray in a conical pattern for optimum atomization. Fuel droplets don't burn as fast, causing a loss of power and economy. Sunoco was able to introduce premium fuel without lead, a common additive to reduce cylinder pre ignition/knocking/pinging. Its Blue Fuel (I found no reference to Nu Blue) was dyed so motorists could see the color in the globe over the pump, which differentiated it from other fuels. The globe on this pump is not transparent so it would be difficult to notice the slight bluish tint. [These "globes" light up at night. There's never any fuel in them. - Dave] Your choiceWhich is worse, rolling off the roof or stepping through the second floor door? Dear SantaI'd like all the signs, the gas pumps and one of those fresh cut trees for you to put it all under. p.s. Give the man on the roof one of your nice fancy ladders. The gas pump sightglassRe: FixIt's comment: Dave is right about the globe atop the pump, which was just a light-up advertisement. The color-tinted gasoline could be viewed in the sightglass, which was located on the face of the pump just above the price meter. I remember a few older pumps still had these when I started driving in the 1970s, but they seemed to disappear soon after. There was usually a little vane in the glass which spun when the gas flowed. Cool! TiresI believe this is the Woonsocket General Tire Company, incorporated in 1932 at 247 South Main Street. It was run by William F. Garrahan from 1932 to 1943. Prior to working here Garrahan had been a tool maker and the vice-president and manager of the local Studebaker dealer known as Kilcline & Normandin. In about 1944 he opened up Garrahan's Tire Service at 18 Blackstone Street, where he also sold gasoline. He continued operating this business until 1953. This location is still a tire dealer. The Woonsocket General Tire Company appears to have closed sometime between 1945 and 1949. Garrahan also opened a real estate and insurance business circa 1951, and served as a tax assessor for the city for many years. He died in 1960. Play safe & SAVE!Let Us Winterize Your Car NOW! (The Gallery, Christmas, Gas Stations, Jack Delano)
Spencer Daily Reporter: 1936
... Iowa, in 1936, would be flying up to hang or remove those Christmas lights on the newspaper building. Spencer Update Those ... is fairly close to what is seen here. The basement window wells I remember from my childhood are gone but I intend to put them ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/31/2009 - 6:33pm -

December 1936. "Street scene. Spencer, Iowa." 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Clark KentBefore he moved to Metropolis, this could have been the type of hometown newspaper where Clark Kent would have served. It's too bad he had to move on to bigger and better things at the Daily Planet. For one thing, the locals would know Superman was Clark. He couldn't fool them by wearing eyeglasses that had no glass in them. Of course, about all the heroics he could muster in Spencer, Iowa, in 1936, would be flying up to hang or remove those Christmas lights on the newspaper building. Spencer UpdateThose buildings are still there. This was when Grand Avenue was still Main Street, before the enlargement of the Hotel Tangney, which would be off to the right across Sixth Street in a few years. Those houses were moved or sold for lumber. The F.W. Knight building on the left got bought Jim Schooley, who is restoring it. The Reporter building still has a print shop in it, but they put a nasty false front on it, with the old windows underneath. The barber shop in the basement has some evidence of a few bath cubbies in the back, where people could get a hot bath after their shearing! Spencer Daily ReporterThe newspaper is still printed and seems to be flourishing. http://spencerdailyreporter.com/ Wonderful PhotoA wonderful photo. The photos of large city places and people are great, but I especially enjoy photos of smaller cities and their everyday life. This must be close to Christmas as the lights are strung. One thing that first caught my eye, was the sign for "Community Rest Rooms." Wonder if they offered anything more than the basic facilities? Community Rest RoomI've seen lots of cool old signs on Shorpy, but this one is going to be hard to beat. Community SpiritI'm impressed by the Community Rest Room, since there is such a great need for these things in NYC. Did many farm communities offer this amenity at the time? Set the wayback machine!This is one of those amazing, unposed images that make me want to step right into the photo. I want to know where the ladies are going, and what they're discussing. Is the elderly man a Civil War vet? What's the guy with the car doing? What's happening in those houses along the side street at that moment in time? Heading for the Chatterbox CafeThe gentleman on the left? Surely a Norwegian bachelor farmer heading for the Chatterbox Cafe for some pie and coffee. A furry taleI just finished reading the delightful biography of Dewey, Spencer's library cat! http://spencerlibrary.com/deweybio.htm How nice to have a glimpse of what Spencer looks like, there is an interesting story behind its "Prairie Deco" buildings. I'm not dead yet!I am now sitting inside the F.W. Knight building, on the left in this photo. I work often at restoring this old property to what it once was. The exterior is fairly close to what is seen here. The basement window wells I remember from my childhood are gone but I intend to put them back. A caretaker's tunnel out the back is still there, where one could sneak out to the old house behind for a quick hand of poker and a belt or two. Many interesting things are popping up as old residents come in to retell the history of this fine old building. The community restroom still exists as it once did, the shower is new, the toilet is original. More later. J.D. Schooley (The Gallery, Russell Lee, Small Towns)
What to Get the Boy: 1922
... circa 1922. "Sport Mart, 1303 F Street N.W." A holiday window display last seen here , seven years ago. 8x10 inch glass negative. ... NW The 1922 building is only half of todays. The window pattern across the 13th Street front (single- double - double - double - ... selling Kodaks. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Christmas, D.C., Stores & Markets) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/06/2015 - 12:43am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1922. "Sport Mart, 1303 F Street N.W." A holiday window display last seen here, seven years ago. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. Center Door TLove that center door Model T. This shot really gives some perspective to the difference between the T and more upmarket models. Nice ID job DBerry53, only one I got was the T! Grounded FlyerThe unidentified car third from left may be a Dixie Flyer. AT&T Long Lines, Washington #1AT&T Long Lines, Washington #1 Maybe AT&T Long Lines, Washington #1/2 is more accurate. Looking North, over the top of Leggit Drug are the top two floors, penthouse and flag pole of AT&T Long Lines, Washington #1, also known as C & P Telephone's "Downtown Toll" office ("Downtown" is behind it at 722 12th Street NW) Today it is WASHDCDT. 735 13th Street NW The 1922 building is only half of todays. The window pattern across the 13th Street front (single- double - double - double - single) is the right half of todays. In the 1970s the third floor Telegraph Department and the Fourth Floor Toll Frame (still had capped gas lines (to heat soldering irons, long since electric) within it. Both were very busy places in 1975 as when this picture was taken.. What is that car just right of center?The one on the left appears to be a 1923 Cadillac Series 63 Coupe, behind it a Model T with an interesting blanket over the hood, and the one on the right is a Packard, but what is that car between the Model T and the Packard? 1921 Dixie Flyer LineupGood call, Peter Digby! Okay, I'll biteWhat's a Grafonola? [A talking machine made by the Columbia Phonograph Co. -tterrace] Great photoSo rich in interesting details. GraphophoneThe attached Grafonola print ad from the early 20th Century also mentions something called a Graphophone. That device created in Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratories in the 1880s was music player that could play both 78RPM records and the earlier Thomas Edison's wax cylinders. Sort of like the VHS/DVD players that will soon be antiques as well. [A Grafonola had an internal folded horn; a Graphophone had an external horn. -tterrace] Old to NewHere is a look at the Google Maps link to the same location today. https://goo.gl/maps/sEyfsUiuJ622 Homer BuildingThat's the Homer Building at far right, on 13th Street NW. Interesting building at far left, presumably 1307 F Street. Aside from the out-of-business Grafonola store on the ground floor, the building bears the name -- just below the second floor, of "Prince, Fotographer" - from what I can figure a photographer named Prince who tried to be unique in spelling his profession. Maybe he also ran the Quality Shop selling Kodaks. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Christmas, D.C., Stores & Markets)
Sox Symbol: 1924
... of the Elite Laundry, 5616 Connecticut Ave. N.W., circa Christmas 1924. View full size. National Photo Company glass negative. ... no extra security equipment (bars or gates, burglar alarm window tape,if it was available then). The newer photo shows the window, at the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/04/2012 - 12:02pm -

"Palace Laundry." Miss Spahr of the Elite Laundry, 5616 Connecticut Ave. N.W., circa Christmas 1924. View full size. National Photo Company glass negative. DatedYou know, I still use a date stamp like the one on the desk. I'm sure it's about the same age too. The company/building has been around since 1901. It was only a couple years ago that I finally disconnected an old phone from the 30's too. Speaking of "Dated"Sounds like you still work there at the Palace Laundry. Perhaps our lovely Miss Spahr is likewise still employed. The winds of change have not blown through that establishment. Perhaps while you are using your ancient date stamp you can also pick up that newfangled telephone you just installed and call up Miss Spahr for some courting and sparking. It seems quite likely she will be glad if you do. I Must ConfessThis looks more like a church vestibule than a laundry, are those confessionals on either side at the back? [Yes. For used by patrons whose reputations have been stained. - Dave] Orderly livesLooking at this photo makes me think how orderly life seemed to be in bygone times. I wonder if it really was? Re: Orderly livesMrs Grundy was a powerful force in the land, it was very important to appear tidy, clean, and godly, plenty of stories survive to testify that under the surface people were pretty much just like us... SecurityInterestingly enough, the first Shorpy photo of the Elite shop shows the interior lit up very brightly. The street and the 2 neighboring businesses (Ballards and the cigar store), are also brightly lit. The street itself appears deserted. Were they open for business at the time the picture was taken? Were they fully lit to accommodate the photographer? Or were the lights left on as a security measure? The front of the laundry appears to have no extra security equipment (bars or gates, burglar alarm window tape,if it was available then). The newer photo shows the window, at the top in the rear of the store, has bars running vertically, obviously to protect the place from burglars. I guess they could be hold-up victims through the front door and looted via the back window. [These are two different laundries in the photos. Note the addresses. - Dave] Dated . . . stampsAs someone who works in the identification and marking industry I can safely say the ink stamps of yesteryear are still available today. The technological revolution has yet to find a way to improve upon stamps in the way it has other daily use items. I could probably replace the bands, number years and day/dates, on that stamp and keep it going for the next hundred or so years. It is interesting that the basic design of some things cannot be improved upon. PayphoneI guess it was a coin operated phone to discourage Miss Spahr from making personal calls. Miss SpahrI work at down the street from that address. Makes ya think. Bring Me a ShrubberyMany things change, but others endure. For example, my laundry today MUST have a hedge above the interior doors. That one is not negotiable. Pressed while you waitIt is likely that one of the doors leads to a changing room so customers could have suits pressed while they waited, a service still offered at some cleaning establishments. In the days when people often owned only one suit, many washed their own suit and had it professionally pressed once a week or so, self-pressing the pants under the mattress the rest of the week. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
National Benefit Life: 1921
... handles. The steel letter file in the alcove by the window is something I've not seen in years. I'd bet today's eclectic decorators ... about the general look of that office. Did they throw a Christmas party? Do we have a picture? The Flooring Genuine parkay or ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/08/2016 - 12:58am -

Washington, D.C, circa 1921. "National Benefit Life Insurance, interior." Described in contemporary accounts as the nation's largest "colored insurance company." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative, retouched to obscure whatever is on the wall behind that lamp in the corner. View full size. Tonal rangeAn excellent example of photographic craftsmanship both by the photographer and by Shorpy. Holding detail in the white blouse in the foreground and the dark tones at rear is evidence of superior skills. A decade to liveNational Benefit was a bit over twenty years old when this photo was taken, but it died in 1931, overextended and plagued with scandal. With two locations to serve youAccording to the old city directory, they had two offices, one at 609 F Street NW, the other (listed as the "Ordinary Department") was at 1209 U Street NW. Given the light fixtures and the fretwork visible in the back, this looks like a townhouse that gave way to commercial use. See if you can findThe turtle tchotchke. Combination Gas + Electric ChandelierThere's a lot of rich period details in this picture which contrast with a modern office scene. For example, some of the desks do not have a telephone. The chandelier is a combination gas plus electric fixture. These were popular in the earliest days of electrification, when the electric supply was less reliable than the gas supply. By the 1920's these must have been seen as "dated" If you look at the bottom of the "arms" that support the gas lamps, you can see key-like gas valve handles. The steel letter file in the alcove by the window is something I've not seen in years. I'd bet today's eclectic decorators would find that interesting. Note also the predominance of rubber stamps! The woman in the right foreground needs a bigger wastebasket. [That's not wastebasket overflow, but papers clipped to a holder mounted on the right side the leg well, similar to the one on the left. -tterrace] turtleIt's on the corner of the blotter in front of the Navy-clad young lady. Right next to the steak knife/letter opener. Desk dictionaryFront and center there's a dictionary. It wasn't that long ago that every office had one, we couldn't go online to look up words. Cramped officesWOW! I have seen some cramped offices in my life but this is ridiculous. I can imagine the kayos as these people crawled over their desks to their seats. Bathroom breaks must have been a real joy. Is the lady in the hat (sitting in the back) making a claim? This is the Claims Office according to the signage on the door. ["Kayos" as in knockouts? That paints an interesting picture. Or maybe "kayos" as in chaos. - Dave] Spell checker isn't fool proof is it? Something familiar about the general look of that office. Did they throw a Christmas party? Do we have a picture? The FlooringGenuine parkay or some sort of asbestos? If it's parkay it seems awfully fancy for an office environment. As kirksjunque said,it could have been a converted residence. [Unfortunately, margarine-based flooring material proved to be too slippery and quickly disappeared from the market. -tterrace] Lost my head and used the brand name spelling instead of the traditional.www.parkayfloors.com. Mea culpa. Sleeves?The woman on the far right in back has what look like rubber or vinyl 'sleeves' on her forearms. They look to be held in place by rubber bands. She's the only one with these accessories. Any ideas what these are for? Cuff protectors?Looks to me like some home made cuff protectors to keep her white sailor-blouse white. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, The Office)
Snow Job: 1923
... temperature in December and January is 65. It was 72 on Christmas Day this year as the snowbirds trudged to the pools in their brightly ... yet they have taken the time to put screening over the window in a permanent way. Could DC have had a "broken window" problem in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 11:58pm -

February 2, 1923. "District of Columbia, City Refuse Division." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Perambulatory Office Washington Post, Feb 1, 1923 Perambulating Offices To Sign Snow Cleaners Hacker Prepares to Meet Jack Frost More Than Half Way and Keep Traffic Open. Morris Hacker has nothing against Jack Frost personally, but just the same he has determined that Jack's pranks shall not interfere with the life of Washington. Mr. Hacker is in charge of the city refuse department, and the next time Jack gets busy sprinkling snow Mr. Hacker is prepared to get busy shoveling it away. Distributed throughout the city at prominent street intersections Mr. Hacker will have small houses on wheels bearing the sign, "If it snows apply here for a job." Whenever Jack Frost intimates that snow is in the offing Mr. Hacker will send out the wheeled offices, in each of which will be a representative to sign up laborers to clear the streets of snow so traffic will not be interrupted. There was an intimation yesterday that snow was due for the District and the wheeled offices made there first appearance. One was stationed at Fourteenth street and Pennsylvania avenue in front of the District building. Whether it was because of the preparations made to frustrate the "conspiracy" Jack Frost failed to shake from his cloak the threatened snow yesterday. Shovel ready snow jobsI'd like to see how many takers there would be for this job today. Elimination by Snow PlowsI wonder if the little cabins were sold by the city to individual hunters or if they were auctioned to the highest bidding city. Maybe a town in Minnesota bought all of them for their ice fishing tourists. Snow JobHey look, they had "Shovel ready" projects back then too. An unnecessary employment officeif you reside here in Phoenix, Arizona where our average daytime temperature in December and January is 65. It was 72 on Christmas Day this year as the snowbirds trudged to the pools in their brightly colored outfits. Growing up in Ohio and living in Kansas City for 20 years, I can appreciate the lifestyle of Arizona. I no longer am "dreaming of a white Christmas." So That's It!No wonder we can't get our civil servants to work; they were hired by the REFUSE Department! Chicken WireThe roof of this structure looks very rudimentary, yet they have taken the time to put screening over the window in a permanent way. Could DC have had a "broken window" problem in 1923? (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo)
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