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After Every Meal: 1928
... but also of the Sanitary Grocery. 8x10 acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. I walk past this house almost every ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/28/2018 - 5:59am -

Fredericksburg, Virginia, circa 1928. "John Paul Jones House, Main Street." Home not only of the Revolutionary War naval commander but also of the Sanitary Grocery. 8x10 acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. I walk past this house almost every weekI live in Fredericksburg, this is a well known landmark. But it actually belonged to J.P. Jones' brother. J.P. would visit his brother and stay there from time to time. It’s a bit more plain looking today, but still there. A survivor These short naps are greatfor both old men and barefooted babies. One wonders what the rest of the story is that would have created this scene. Chases Dirt And a place to lay your head.Hitchin' his wagon to the post. Looks like a long haul home with Mom. [That's a scale. -tterrace] Good eye tterrace. On closer examination it is a scale. Still a good place to rest your head. [There was one on my grandpa's ranch when I was a wee ’un. I'd watch my father weighing me on it and I couldn't figure out how it worked except by magic. -tterrace] The P K stands for Philip Knight Wrigley, I had to find out. Historic Highs and LowsThe historic plaque remains, but has been lowered from its lofty height, to a level readable by mere mortals. I wonder what the plaque says. Thar's Gold In Them Thar SignsThomas Cusack (October 5, 1858 in Kilrush, County Clare, Ireland – November 19, 1926 in Oak Park, Illinois) was a pioneer and entrepreneur in the outdoor advertising industry and a politician, serving as a Democratic U.S. Representative from Illinois' 4th District from 1899 to 1901. Cusack emigrated with his family from Ireland to New York City in 1861 when he was a young boy. Shortly after the move, his parents died, leaving him and his younger brother orphaned. Cusack was raised by relatives in Chicago, where he received his education and learned how to paint, a skill that ultimately made him a very wealthy man. At the age of 17, Cusack established his own sign painting business, the Thomas Cusack Company, in Chicago, Illinois, making him one of the pioneers in the field of outdoor advertising. The business soon grew to be very profitable, leasing over 100,000 billboards and advertising spaces and turning Cusack into a prosperous and influential Chicagoan. More Bio More Billboards (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston, Stores & Markets)
Cottage Chic: 1936
... in granite countertops, it makes up for in cozy. Photo by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Dorothy? I can see the Wicked ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/29/2013 - 11:59pm -

Circa 1936. "Georgetown. Georgetown County, South Carolina. Small houses, Series 2, Mansfield's Quarters." What this place lacks in granite countertops, it makes up for in cozy. Photo by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Dorothy?I can see the Wicked Witch's feet sticking out from under the house. The furnishingsI've got to get to the time machine, so I can go back and buy those rockers, and the porch swing. And the chains and the hooks, too. Renov? Rehab? Teardown?I am guessing that the kitchen and baths are a total gut. And do they even make screen doors any more? Ground coverI can’t quite tell what I’m looking at when I try to figure out what is growing in the “lawn” zone of the property as well as in the strip between the road and sidewalk. There are trees and the odd bush or shrub here and there, but as for the general ground cover, are we looking at brown or green? Re open windows and billowing curtains on second floor: adds spooky to cozy. Someone caresLooks like the porch steps are relatively new. The porch railings look to have been removed, so maybe they're next on the 1000+ page punch list. Re: Ground coverI believe it's plain old dirt. I grew up in South Carolina and none of the old houses I lived in had grass lawns. The soil was too sandy to support grass. Yard theoryI'm in North Carolina, but I've been told by a centenarian or two around here that in their day, a well-kept front yard in town was swept bare of loose dirt, rocks, and weeds, leaving just "clean dirt." That would be sprinkled with water to keep the dust down and prevent it from floating in through the open windows. My guess based on location is that we are looking at a clean dirt front yard here. An older woman told me once that having grass in your yard pretty much invited the bugs, snakes, and mice right in the front door. The dirt yard makes sense based on the climate and openness of Southern houses. Granite countertops are SO last yearI'm sure they have Silestone quartz or hammered copper. Screen doorsYes, Solo, they still make plain (and fancy) wooden screen doors. I just bought one for my house the other day at Home Depot and they have the same basic thing at Lowe's. Not expensive at all. I intend to paint it glossy black, hang it and have a "low tech" coil spring for the closer just like the one at grandma's house back in the 50's. Can't wait to hear it slam - a noise from the past to wake the dead and to remember them. Georgetown NativeI was born in Georgetown, SC in the mid 1950's. The homes even up until the mid 60's where my grandparents lived had brushed dirt yards. It was really quite common. The picture above may very well be quarters located on the Mansfield Plantation. It is located just north of Georgetown on the south side of the Black River. It is one of many of the rice plantations that line the inter-coastal waterway and rivers in the area. It is now a Bed and Breakfast. I believe they even have a web site with quite a few photos of the grounds. If you zoom in on the Black River using Google Earth you can still see the rice beds and flood ditches for the fields. My grandfather used to take me coon hunting in those fields during the late evenings. He'd let the hounds tree them and use his double barrel to bring them home. I vividly remember him skinning and tanning the hides and selling them for $5 each. My grandmother would cook no more then 2 raccoons a year. It was quite a chore as I recall. Lots of RotIf you look at the siding and the soffits there is a lot of rot in that house and the shingles have seen better days as well. Definitely from the poorer side of town. Mansfield PlantationHere's a short video speaking to the vision of the present owners who operate Mansfield Plantation. It is quite touching and worth the time to watch. The dreams of a man whose ancestors owned the plantation unites with the dreams of a man whose family's ancestors were once slaves on the plantation. Sparse on detailsI don't think I've ever seen a house of this style with absolutely NO mouldings whatsoever. From a distance, it looks like it does, but up close, you see that everything was built from square stock. I've often seen pared-down versions, but even these tend to have at least a "fake" crown made with just slanted boards. The house looks pretty early, too. I'd say late 1700s, early 1800s. The overall nearly symmetrical layout, 6 over 6 windows, and gable returns, have a Georgian influence, while the robust porch columns seem to be a "poor man's" attempt to capture a bit of the Greek Revival look that was quite popular at that time. Even though it's apparent that the house was built on a budget, it still manages to look quite nice, though it had seen better days before 1936. No grass, please!I have a friend in SC who manages to maintain some sort of scraggly, coarse grass on his plot of sandy soil. It is too harsh to walk barefoot on, but you do not want to do that because the little bit of grass he has just gives the nasty fire ants a place to hide their evil colonies! (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston)
Henley House: 1930
... Anne County, Virginia." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Going..Going..GONE? Since this ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/11/2016 - 10:30pm -

Circa 1930. "Henley House, ca. 1728, Princess Anne County, Virginia." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Going..Going..GONE?Since this photo and blurb highlighting past owners (most NOT named Henley) features prominently in the book Lost Virginia Beach, it may be somewhat safe to assume the structure seen here is now gone with the wind. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston)
Old Smyrna: 1936
... New Smyrna. Mission Atocuimi de Jororo." Photo by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Old Sugar Mill Ruins It seems ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/21/2012 - 9:44am -

Volusia County, Florida, circa 1936. "Ruins of monastery, New Smyrna. Mission Atocuimi de Jororo." Photo by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Old Sugar Mill RuinsIt seems that the identification of these ruins with a spanish mission is disputed. The site was certainly home to a sugar mill burned down in 1835 during the Seminole War. Historical ErrorAt least the ruins are on Old Mission Road, but they're from an 1830s sugar mill built by the English during their time running Florida. Oops, another historical error. I should say it was built by Americans during the Territorial days. Your choiceYou can either walk under the arch or just go around via the left side, take your pick. Historical FictionThe myth of a romantic Olde Spanish outpost was still strong when these ruins were photographed, but the historical reality was much different and not so charming. The stone ruins are all that is left of a 19th Century slave-labor sugar plantation, built about 1832 by two New Yorkers and burned in a Seminole uprising three years later. The completely fictional Spanish mission legend was apparently first concocted in the 1890s by the property's owner, who hoped to snare a few more tourist dollars than a burned 60-year-old sugar mill could attract. A detailed account is at www.go386.com/go/2008/10/sugar-mill-ruins.html The LoopJust to the north of this site, is a historic drive referred to as "The Loop" (http://www.ormondscenicloopandtrail.com/). It too has a sugar mill remains. If you are down here, be sure to drive it. This is what Old Florida looked like. It consists of part of the Old Dixie Highway and winds through two state parks. Besides the plantation there is a 400 year old live oak tree. You will drive on a two lane highway covered by live oak and Spanish moss. Probably the best tourist attraction no body has ever heard of in Central Florida. Ruined ruinsModern trappings of the tourist trade have certainly ruined the charm presented in the original photo. Dreams of European ruinsThat's what I was thinking about, looking at this picture. During the three glorious years we spent in Germany, I spent hours looking at ruins and imagining what had happened there. I was going to comment on how I wished we had some old ruins like this old "mission" here in Utah. Then, I read the comments, and the article from the link provided by Will C. Now, I have visions of human beings being forced to do backbreaking work and treated like animals, while a couple of fat cats sat back and stole their earnings. I hope the Seminoles liberated the slaves and offered them a chance to build a life for themselves. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston, Florida)
Fairfield: 1938
... name: Charles C. Pinckney." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. She'll Still There! The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/07/2012 - 11:14am -

1938. "Fairfield (Lynch House). McClellansville vicinity, Charleston County, South Carolina. Structure dates to 1730. Built by the Lynch family. Acquired by Jacob Motte in 1758, and enlarged by him. Related name: Charles C. Pinckney." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. She'll Still There!The house is not only still standing, but still lived in by the Thomas Pinckney family for over 200 years now! McClellanvilleI'm thinking the spelling is actually without the 's'. This town was actually ground zero for Hurricane Hugo in 1989, just a few miles up the coast from Charleston, SC. You wouldn't know it today, but the place was absolutely devastated, and hit by more than a 20 foot storm surge. Still, many of the original homes line the main street today and its fishing village roots are still alive and well. Nice bay windowsThose bay windows really accent the house. It's a pity someone chose to remove them later on. Houses Grow by Fits and SpurtsOr they did back then. Those bay windows are the real deal, not just cantelevered oriels but extending to the foundation and serving the raised basement as well, but I doubt they were original to the house, and might even be subsequent to the Motte expansion. The one-story bay now topped with a railing is likely another later addition, perhaps by Motte, and of interest to the antiquarian as well. It's often a vexing problem for owners of historic properties: "How far back do we go in our restoration?" In that more than a few stately homes began life as a one-room cabin with a lean-to, the answer is often, "Not all that far." By the way, I like what they're done with the portico. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston)
House of Morgan: 1935
... house. Alternate title: Baxter House." 8x10 negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston, Carnegie Survey of the Architecture of the South. View ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/09/2017 - 11:10pm -

1935. "Morgan House, South Mills vicinity, Pasquotank County, North Carolina. A Regency house. Alternate title: Baxter House." 8x10 negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston, Carnegie Survey of the Architecture of the South. View full size. Still surrounded by farmlandNext door to my grandparents' house. Current address is 1590 Northside Road, mailing address Elizabeth City NC 27109. The last time I saw it, the owners had an antique store and had restored the house. Still had chickens in the back and goats too. No Street View available. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston)
Filigree: 1937
... Palace, last seen here . 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Stripped down archicture If you ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 4:36pm -

New Orleans, 1937. "Le Pretre Mansion, 716 Dauphine Street, built 1835-6. Joseph Saba house." Another look at the so-called Sultan's Palace, last seen here. 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Stripped down archictureIf you take off the wrought iron latticework, you would have a very plain looking building. No detailing around any of the windows, no cornicework. It would pass as some other warehouse down by the river. The owners must have blown the project budget on all the iron scrollwork. Harem ScaremThe original source of the bizarre ghost stories and "legends" attached to the Le Pretre Mansion appears to be a nutty little book written in 1922 for the tourist trade by Helen Pitkin Schertz, "Legends of Louisiana," published by the New Orleans Journal. A photo of the mansion in this book is captioned "The House of Tragic Mystery," accompanying Schertz's story "The Brother of the Sultan." Although the house was built and added to by two owners in the 1830s, Schertz dated her almost unreadable story to 1792. Unreadble? You decide. Here's an excerpt from a typical paragraph: Thus it came about that in the grandiose mansion where Christian piety was domiciled, whence conventional young women issued for daily Mass at the Cathedral three squares away in direct view, little shrines were removed and benitiers that had purified thoughts for holy themes. A steamboat bore the always expectant, always happy sons and daughters to the plantation with their horde of slaves, the most zealous care of the daughters being the preservation from sunburn of their creamy skins. What had been the horror—or, perhaps, the interest,—of these convent-bred damsels to learn that into their chaste quarters, converted into a haremlik, were borne palpitating bundles, which, unrolled, revealed lovely, veiled children younger than themselves: Nefysseh of Alexandria ; Mihrima of Stamboul; Sitta of Aboukir; Djumeila of the Nile and, fairest among them, Butheita the daughter of the Bedouins, raped from the desert for a Caliph's beguilement. Still there, etc.Covered in the previous post (scroll down to the comments). I ain't afraid of no ghostThe gents on the banquette don't seem to mind if the house is haunted. They look very relaxed. Restrained ArchitectureWithout the cast iron, the house would appear as it was built - a subdued but grand chunk of Greek Revival. Notice that the stucco has been scored to resemble ashlar blocks. The cast iron was added later... probably in the 1850's when New Orleans was obsessed with the trend. The entablature is missing above the capitals along the length of the ground-level ironwork, and appears to be still missing today. Yes and N.O.Still looking great for a 174-year-old structure. Man, I love New Orleans. For all of its warts, the city draws me back, time and time again. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston, New Orleans)
Open Floorplan: 1938
... The rear of the mansion. 8x10 inch safety negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Sic Gloria Mundi Decay caught ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 4:05pm -

1938. Iberville Parish, Louisiana. "Belle Grove." The rear of the mansion. 8x10 inch safety negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Sic Gloria MundiDecay caught mid-stride. This photo was taken about 10 [actually more like 20] years after Belle Grove had been abandoned. About ten years down the road [14 years -- 1952], what was left of the carcass caught fire and was leveled. The house was built in three wings. The man is standing in the central hall of the main wing, the front door can be seen in yesterday's photo. The door to his left and gallery of windows are the remains of the dining room. The fallen catwalk was originally a balcony facing the sugar fields that made up the plantation. No doubt this is where the owners took guests to show off their property, real and "personal". The wing to the right held the kitchen and domestic slaves' quarters, while the arches below gave access to the carriage houses, jail, and storage. There is no basement: the house is yards from the Mississippi River and the water table is too high. The third wing had collapsed some years earlier and was positioned in the foreground. Had it survived, the man would be at the foot of a vast, circular staircase to his right. The treads are gone, but diagonal bands of plaster can still be seen. The wing also held guest rooms and the library. The bricks have long disappeared to scavengers. Contrary to rumor, there was no ballroom in the attic. It's just a confabulation that borrows on the grandeur of the Knickerbocker Hotel. The mansion went through many hands in its last years, each new owner vowing to restore it. I suspect the house could not be saved. It's well photographed, and even the first generation of post-abandonment pictures show cracks in walls that are well out of plumb: the muddy land just slipped out from under the foundations and the rest was inevitable. Belle GroveThanks for the new visits to our site! Jason http://bellegrove.net So quickly to ruinHow odd that such a magnificent structure didn't even last 100 years. There are stone and brick buildings all over the world that are hundreds, even thousands, of years old and in better shape than this. I'd complain to the general contractor for sure, I think he cheaped it out with the masonry subs. How beautiful it must have been!I grew up in a wonderful antebellum home (c. 1840) in Mississippi. It certainly didn't have 75 rooms (about one-third that). The large windows were to allow cooling breezes to come in off the river, as the heat could be unbearable. The high ceilings help to concentrate the hot air near the top, and the house was elevated off the bottomland to help shield the residents from the "unhealthy vapors." Thankfully, we had the luxury of window air conditioners! My old home was sold years ago, but it has been kept in fine repair and dazzles on Pilgrimage tours today. (I sure with I had that house today!) So sad Belle Grove died a tragic death. Kind of makes you wonder what went on there. Belle Grove's DemiseAlthough vandals and scavengers did their destructive worst to Belle Grove, it is generally believed that her demise came about due to her roof. Over the years after her abandonment, her roof was not maintained, which allowed rainwater to seep into her attic. The water continued downward, dissolving plaster and rotting wood. As vandals broke windows and smashed doors and shutters, more rainwater entered. Had the roof been maintained, and the windows and doors boarded up, less destruction would have occurred. At that point, Belle Grove's new owners could have put their full attention toward shoring up the foundation, which - through fraught with problems - could have been fixed. I can fix this.All I need is duct tape, super glue, a multi tool, and two weeks, tops! Not the builder's faultI read a little last night about Belle Glade Grove, and the damage seen here was mostly caused by scavengers looting for woodwork, fittings, used bricks, etc. They brought down that wall, and the weather finished the damage. The building was left vacant for years. DeteriorationLouisiana is a harsh environment - the constant humidity isn't just present in the warm seasons, but also during the winter. Hard freezes followed by quick thaws and long scorching summers wear out even the strongest structures quickly. Building foundations also tend to shift and buckle, since there's not much - if any - bedrock under the southern half of the state. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston)
Evergreen: 1938
... Canal Bank Liquidators." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Old bones That indoor plumbing ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 11:06am -

St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, 1938. "Evergreen -- Wallace vicinity. Structure dates from 1835. Abandoned. Canal Bank Liquidators." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Old bonesThat indoor plumbing setup is so cool! Would love to explore the old bones of this structure. Weather vane?Check out the glass globe up on the roof weathervane. Surely someone on Shorpy must be able to explain its function. [That's a lightning rod. The glass balls were purely decorative, though it was once thought they served the purpose of indicating a lightning strike by shattering.] It didn't stay abandonedThe shot above is the back of the plantation house on Highway LA-18 in Edgard, near Wallace. The restored plantation is open for tours Monday through Saturday. It consists of 29 antebellum buildings, including 22 slave quarters, plus 8 other buildings. Below are current pics of the remodeled back (roof work in progress) and front of the main house. Rainwater collectingWhat a great example of rainwater catchment. This is becoming more popular today as a way to water plants and gardens. Collect water from a building gutter system for use later. Back when this was thought up it was more likely used for indoor water access, of course. Thanks to Larc for noting that this place still exists. I'll add it to my list of places to see in LA. Kind of high on this houseThe widow's walk on the rooftop most likely is high enough to see the canal that runs through that part of the state, but I'm supposing it was more architectural form than function. But maybe it was useful for the lady of the house to see how near her sternwheeler or barge captain-husband was for docking, so she'd know when to draw some water from the cistern to heat for cooking dinner. Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas with the serious boats would be too far away, I think. Yellow feveroriginated in water storage containers in New Orleans and elsewhere, if they were above ground. They were outlawed, eventually, in cities, to reduce and then prevent fever outbreaks and discourage aquaphilic nuisance insects generally. If stagnant rainwater-gravity-tower systems are coming back, well, perhaps mosquito-vectored diseases will become more common, just as bedbug infestations are spreading due to the DDT ban. This beautiful building was preserved, thankfully, sans the water tower! Lop off a bit here, add a bit thereThe rainwater storage containers are gone, but the in-ground cisterns are still clearly visible. I wonder if they've been sealed and repurposed as planters or something. Looking at the other LOC photos from this set, it appears that the renovations were extensive, and more an expression of someone's architectural vision than an accurate historical restoration (i.e. the new house, while beautiful, barely resembles the old house - at least on the outside). [Some of the latter-day additions (the bay, for instance) were subtracted. So I suspect the house's current footprint more closely resembles the original than its 1930s incarnation. On the other hand, the sleeping porches at the rear have been enclosed. - Dave] - You may be right. For more on the history of Evergreen, see this history (PDF) from the National Register of Historic Places, and this history (TIFF) from 1993 (Click here for the rest of the architectural drawings from 1993). Seems the house was built circa 1790 (looking much like this neighboring house), extensively remodeled in the 1830s, then remodeled again in the years leading up to its abandonment in the 1920s. While the current configuration might more closely resemble the 1830s version, no one knows for sure, as the only documentation of the building from that era is the building contract. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston)
Folks' Old Home: 1936
... oldest house in county." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. "too proud to whitewash" ? ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2013 - 1:21pm -

1936. "Col. Alfred Cooper homestead. Aventon vicinity, Nash County, North Carolina. Structure dates to 1760; reputed oldest house in county." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. "too proud to whitewash" ?Was whitewash so considered a poor man's choice? My Dad's home in Owensboro, KY - not all that far away, and now a historical landmark - used it extensively in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The whitewash was a byproduct of the (acetylene) lighting gas generator. The concept was "use everything but the squeal"! DaveB Tall chimneyThat fireplace might produce a very hot and roaring fire in the cold weather with the top of the chimney that high above the roof line. Those were the daysWhen youngsters listened to family conversations. It was an important link because the younger generation would recollect how family had solved a similar problem that reoccurred for them years later. Sadly, Personal electronics are now putting a crimp in that flow and continuance of family information. Stack ShapeGood observation, jimmylee42. The shape of the stack indicates a second, smaller fireplace in the bedroom area above the large 1st floor fireplace-the big one probably in the kitchen. Too poor to paint, too proud to whitewashThe old adage applies here, as with many Shorpy images of vintage southern dwellings. Unprotected siding and trim wouldn't last nearly as long Up North. Makes it easy to find the studs, though... Summer evenings on the front porchMy aged mind is still crowded with odd details in the lives of people who had been dead for years before I was born because of hearing such front-porch conversations during visits to relatives down on the farm. In a way that genealogical charts cannot, the knowledge that a blue racer frightened Great Grand Aunt Nora as she was hanging out the wash and she dropped the good linen sheets into the mud in her panic to get away, resulting in a switching from her mother for her carelessness, still brings days I never knew vividly to life. Cypress woodI'm not sure about North Carolina, but in rural Georgia the 19th century houses my family lived in were made of cypress wood, and left unpainted. The wood is water and rot-resistant, and weathered to a silvery color that was much admired. FireplacesMacKenzie, you are correct about the second-floor fireplace, which would have been a bedroom. However, the first-floor fireplace would have been in the hall, or the more public room of this house (possibly of a hall-parlor plan). The kitchen for an 18th-century structure as "grand" as this would have been in a separate building. Kitchens weren't typically brought into the main house until the mid-19th century or later, when typical NC/VA farmhouses were extended with rear "ell"s. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston)
Cat House: 1935
... Virginia. Structure dates to 1790." 8x10 negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Traces of Elegance Though it's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/05/2014 - 11:01pm -

Circa 1935. "Reuben Lovett house, Princess Anne County, Virginia. Structure dates to 1790." 8x10 negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Traces of EleganceThough it's lost its portico and tablature, this house still reflects its original upscale aspirations: three (or probably four) chimneys, a relative wealth of windows, etc. Clearly still inhabited, or else that is the most patient cat in the Old Dominion. [Two cats, actually. - Dave] One interesting detail is the pair of brackets awaiting reinstallation of the window box. Another, more troubling to the rehabilitator, is the obvious knob-and-post wiring job. Kiddie CarWhat is this? It looks like a toy car of some sort, it has a license plate and the stylized logo seems vaguely familiar. I grew up near this place. (Kempsville)But if it's the building I think it is, it was torn down in 1977 or 1978 to make a strip mall shopping center (Providence Square, at the corner of Kempsville and Providence Roads, directly across from its twin, Fairfield Shopping Center). I remember the house having just an incredibly beautiful, large oak tree in the front yard, and the most beautiful staircase structures I had ever seen when they tore the front of the building off (three days to take it down; they went slow). If you check Google Maps, it has the entrance to the shopping center listed as Profair Way; the house was facing Providence Road and Profair Way was basically where the original drive to the house was, with the house just slightly south of the P but before the center itself. This picture would have been taken slightly north of due east, which the shadows agree with if this was an morning in the early winter time frame. Providence Road would be off to the right from the picture, and Kempsville Road (modern Kempsville Road, at least) would be behind the photographer. If it's the same building (and I lived in the area as it was built up to become a pretty dense suburbia), it had obviously been repaired and lived in until about a decade earlier or even the early 1970s, but it had fallen into disrepair again by it's destruction. I've often thought about how old that building looked, and how old it must have been when they tore it down. The entire area, of course, is now part of the City of Virginia Beach (all of Princess Anne County became part of Virginia Beach back in the early 1960s), but this is the Kempsville area of the city. I'm so sorry, Dave, that I can't report it as having been on Pleasure House Road; that's on the opposite side of Virginia Beach. Kiddie carYes! I noticed that too. Mack truck. Think it's a pedal car? I grew up with "cars" however my little brother had a fire truck in the early '70s. That's an early Mack Truck logoKiddie Division. A Bulldog, to be preciseAn earlier post of mine was too obscure to make the cut, but that pedal car was modeled after the Mack AC introduced in 1916. The Mack AP, produced between 1926 and 1938, was similar—but larger. The 1915 AC prototype is seen below. Steelcraft made various pedal car versions of the Mack AC, including this one, which closely matches the one in the yard: (The Gallery, Cats, F.B. Johnston)
Gentlemen Callers: 1928
... 8x10 acetate negative by the architectural historian Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Below Grade "Was there some ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/22/2016 - 3:19pm -

Fredericksburg, Va., circa 1928. "Cabin on Barton Street." 8x10 acetate negative by the architectural historian Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Below Grade"Was there some utilitarian purpose for having this house's ground floor below grade?" That is almost certainly a result of municipal progress, not the original plan. Note the sidewalk, looking clean and uncracked...that is new, and its level in turn was probably dictated by regrading and maybe paving of the street. The cabin folk dug three neat little cuts into the new level of their world so they could open their doors. This probably also gave termites a new axis of attack on the cabin. Just listed!Historic triplex with tenants in place, in child-friendly neighborhood close to shops and restaurants. Has city water, electricity, 2 f.p., screens (some), siding (some). Permits in place to convert to parking lot or erect luxury condos if desired. Three doors, one mailbox, one electrical service, and one tapDo you suppose that the outdoor water tap is the only water service to this home ? How many families live here? The single mailbox and single electrical service imply that it is only one family, but the three doors are a puzzle. There are many interesting details here: * The one side window with a shutter. Is this some sort of "pass-through' ? For what purpose ? * The center section has clapboards of many widths. The two lean-to wings have clapboards all of a single width. * Building seems generally "saggy" in more than one axis. * The Knob-and-tube electrical service has only two wires. I've seen only three houses wired like that in my whole life, two of which had only a thirty ampere Edison- base fuse as their "Main" fuse ! Rustic with Modern ElectricityThe way there are three "front doors" and what are probably three chimneys, suggests this may be three sharecropper (or other arrangement) apartments. But it has all the modern conveniences from running water in the side yard to the knob and tube electricity (that is plainly visible on the front of the house). What I am having trouble understanding is, if it is only one residence, why does it seem to have a door to the outside for every room? And if it is three separate homes, what did the center dweller have to do to rate the second story abode? I am also puzzled at the shutter placement. The side yard windows have functional shutters, the foreground one propped up with a stick. The two sets of other shutters are also probably also functional. But what happened to the shutters for the other three windows, or at least other center section window? Radio too.Just above the third child's head, looks like a radio antenna wire going out the window, up, then toward the top of the roof. You can see the porcelain stand-off insulators. At first I thought the wire was a crease in the photo. So closeThis is only about a mile from my home. Sadly, I'm pretty sure its long gone. Reuse, reduce, recycleI'm pretty sure that the center section was the original house; see the roofline in the middle section. That's why it's the only one with fancy shutters (this type of shutter - with operable louvers -- is technically a "blind" and incidentally, I have paid a small fortune to have appropriate ones with hardware and a tilt bar built for my house, oh how I wish people would just let the beautiful originals be). Perhaps the shutter on the right fell into disrepair; it does look like there would have been one there. In the south, blinds were used to keep the sun out during the daytime and had operable louvers to let in breezes. It appears that the two wings were added later. The shutter on the left side, the siding, and the door lead me to believe that that was an outbuilding that was incorporated into the house. Since the house is in Virginia, it may have been a separate kitchen house, given the chimney, as was common in some areas of the South (though someone with more knowledge of Virginia architecture would know better than I). It was very common to repurpose outbuildings into wings of houses. There are many classic examples of this in New England where a convenient way to expand the house was to build over to a nearby barn: https://www.vrbo.com/209826 Below groundWas there some utilitarian purpose for having this house's ground floor below grade? Looks FamiliarOur house had exactly that electrical arrangement when we moved in in 2002. It's an 1890 miner's shotgun, originally company-provided. Perhaps this supports the idea that the home above is basically employee housing for sharecroppers. Yes, we renovated and added on a little. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston, Kids)
Wright House: 1936
... and charm are inversely proportional. 8x10 negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Jones-Wright House This may be ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/19/2014 - 12:29pm -

It's cozy and it's creaky, The roof's a little leaky. So shabby and so chic we Flipped it for one point three. 1936. "Peggy Wright House, Louisburg vicinity, Franklin County, North Carolina. Structure dates to 1796." A house whose paint and charm are inversely proportional. 8x10 negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Jones-Wright HouseThis may be the Historical Site National Register application for that property, very interesting! Link to the pdf: http://www.hpo.ncdcr.gov/nr/FK0286.pdf Picture of the house from the pdf: Looks pretty good to meHaving lived in a 130 year old house for 11 years, I have to say that, aside from the lack of paint, this place looks pretty well kept up. It needs tuckpointing of the foundation stone, but other than that it looks tight and well-maintained. Old houses are deceptive - they may look fine, but be rotting underneath the paint. Or, like this one in 1936, they may look miserable but really be quite sturdy. You can see the intact ends of the ceiling beams (my tradesman called them "rooster-tails") and they don't even look weathered. Apparently in some old houses they have rotted so far back in under the roof that it would be impossible to affix fascia or gutters to them. Loved reading the NRHP description of this house. My old house was on the Register, too, but had nowhere near such an interesting history. History in this areaI live about 10 miles south of this home and there is a much history from both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars in this area. The area is quite rural and deceptively quiet until you begin to dig into the history books and look around a little bit. For instance, Annie Carter Lee, daughter of Robert E Lee, died at age 25 from Typhoid fever in this area. She was interned here until recently, when her descendents requested that she be reunited with her family at Lee Chapel in Lexington Va in 1994. Her parents had sent her to Warrenton, NC after the family home Arlington, was occupied by Union forces. Her grave marker and memorial placed there in 1866 by a Confederate veteran is still in place. In 1870, just prior to his death, Robert E Lee and his wife visited their beloved daughter's grave for the only time. The details are quite interesting and given here. This is just one of many local historical threads of national significance about the locality. Completely Restored!This blog gives an up-to-date status of the restored house and includes two recent views. It sits on a large piece of land amid forest and fields. Re: Ceiling beamsAbout those - aren't they both massive and very closely spaced, compared to modern construction? (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston)
Over a Barrel: 1928
... Factory, 307-13 Sophia Street." 8x10 acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Lost in Time in Fredericksburg ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/15/2016 - 8:58pm -

Fredericksburg, Va., circa 1928. "Warehouse, Hoop-Pole Factory, 307-13 Sophia Street." 8x10 acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Lost in Time in FredericksburgJust spent several hours in the Shorpy Vortex, where curiosity can kill the good part of a day. Wondering what this ramshackle scene looks like today (narrow grassy field leading to the Rappahannock River), I had Google "drive" me right next door to 401-403 Sophia Street and an 1843 white antebellum duplex. This home was just yards from the boys and their barrel. But Street View hasn't been upgraded since divided local furor led to, and also didn't prevent, the demolition of the building in 2015. The structure was the last one standing in a noted Civil War photo. Spokeo revealed the home's most recent resident's name which led to a new search - and a 1998 "Free Lance-Star" newspaper article about that resident's ongoing battle with human filth and sex acts just a few feet away. He described the spot as the "only nasty area on the whole river". Right next to that article was a heartbreaking local story about wife v. family's (probably famed) legal travails over removing the feeding tube of an injured TV news anchor. I totally got caught up in taking that fork in history's road. This entire journey had nothing to do with the boys and their barrel, but everything to do with the wonders of Shorpy and where pondering over a simple picture can lead. Hoop polesAccording to the dictionary, a hoop pole is: a straight slender length of green sapling wood usually of hickory or white oak that was formerly used as stock for barrel hoop. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston, Factories, Kids)
A Little Cottage: 1938
... Mary Parish, Louisiana. Related name: Mrs. Streva." Photo: Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Alternate spellings This surname ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/17/2017 - 12:13pm -

1938. "Thebideau (Thibodaux?) cabin, Franklin vic., St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. Related name: Mrs. Streva." Photo: Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Alternate spellingsThis surname could also be spelt Thibedeaux or in several other ways. The first "e" is sometimes rendered as an "i," "a," or "o." As an amateur genealogist, I am often confounded by such alternate spellings, which reflect variations in dialect across Medieval and Renaissance France as well as later modifications made in the New World. Interesting DesignThat porch seems to double as an open-air hallway, giving access to all the rooms. Was that a standard design in those parts, back in the day? Thibodeauis the usual spelling here in Nova Scotia, from whence the Acadians were expelled by the British in 1755. Many ended up in Louisiana. From our National Post newspaper telling about a Thibodeau reunion here in 2013: "Don Thibodeaux, a former accountant from Baton Rouge, La., (Cajuns — Acadians who migrated to Louisiana after the deportation — add an “x” to the surname), traced his line to a spot near Moncton, N.B., only to discover it’s now a bowling alley parking lot." Note that after much wandering, many Acadians were allowed to return to Nova Scotia by the British, who gave some of them land 100 miles away from the fertile valley they had lived before the deportation. My sister-in-law hails from Clare. There is a lively tourism between Cajun country and the Maritime provinces of Canada due to a shared past. Plein Air!Porlock, yup: that is a typical Deep South feature of southern homes built way back BAC (before a/c), to allow fuller ventilation of the rooms. Also typical was a FULL hallway right through the house (a dogtrot), as shown in the below floor plan. The below plan also has the more typical southern arrangement of chimneys on the outer walls, so that the heat from them radiates or escapes out of the house, while the Shorpy example has the chimney in the center. In the north typically, the chimney would either be in the center, or it would cover an entire end wall. In both cases, the chimney would be waaay more massive than structurally necessary to retain heat. The fire would be kept going all winter if possible, with bricks radiating heat all night as the fire died down to embers, to be rejuvenated ASAP in the morning. ThibodeauxOne of the greatest Cajun names ever [of course, I'm a little biased]. I'm a descendant of Pierre Thibodeaux, first settler of that name in Louisiana in the late 1750s. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston)
Mansfield Quarters: 1936
... Quarters, Georgetown." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. The Poverty of the South I was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/08/2013 - 5:00pm -

1936. "Georgetown County, South Carolina. Mansfield Quarters, Georgetown." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. The Poverty of the SouthI was born in Georgetown, SC in the mid 50's. I've mentioned earlier that these homes might be located at the Mansfield Plantation, but the sidewalks and water faucets make me think otherwise. Looks to be more within the city limits. I think many people do not understand the true face poverty. I saw many homes just like these that were being occupied into the late 1960's. The yards were daily swept clean of all grass with a broom made from local bushes, the dirt packed down tightly. No grass was considered a well kept yard. My mother was born in 1935 and she did not see running water until the early 50's. Wood stoves were still in use for cooking and heating. She gave me a quick rundown of the weekly routine. Below are a few of the highlights that I recall offhand. Baths in tubs or showers were nonexistent... you used a wash bowl and a wash cloth to wash, rinse with a damp cloth and dry the area, then move to the next section of your body until you finished head to toe. If you were out of the city limits, you'd have a hand pumped well on the back porch and a bucket... no running water. Mondays were laundry day... an all day chore, consisting of 3 large wash tubs, one of which was cast iron with a fire under it. Clothes went from the soapy boiling water to the other two wash tubs for scrubbing on a wash board and rinse, and a 4th wash tub with starch if required. Tuesdays were ironing day... All the clothes washed the previous day, as well as the pillow cases and sheets were ironed. The iron was heated on the wood burning kitchen stove. Another all day chore. Wednesday was clean the outhouse day. Broom was used to clear out all spiders and webs, and bleach was used to clean the stool and seat. This job was relegated to my mother. Thursdays were clean the hardwood floors day. No mops... bucket with wash rags on hands and knees. Food was prepared on Saturdays for Sunday, as Sundays were reserved for Church (morning and night services) and some much needed down time in between and afterwards. During all this time food was prepared on the cast iron wood stove, Food stored in an icebox (that drained through a hole in the floor). Garden and chickens had to be tended to, and there was usually one hog in the pen. Living was a full-time job... not much time for leisure. It was a very hard life... and those buildings show it. I've long since left the area, but when I return to visit I remember many of the hardships my family endured. I didn't see the wash days or the cast iron stoves, but the outhouses, wood chopping piles, and wood burning stoves in each room were still common. So was the dirt yards, gardens, chickens, and hogs, and a hunting dog or two. The difference between Georgetown, SC and Miami, FL (where I spent much of my childhood) in the early 60's was like moving through a time machine back and forth 30 years into the future. The included picture shows the reality of life in Georgetown in the mid to late 1950's. The young girl is a near relative of my age. We take so much convenience for granted... I've got questionsDid they rent these out? Were they for migrant or seasonal workers? Or were they for sale at the time, when apparently no funds were available for any kind of paint? The chicken wire newly added around the foundation hints at finally controlling critters. Plus the thin sidewalk seems new, too. Looks like lots of work spiffing up a very drab residence of sorts. The Swimming PoolIs it heart shaped? Crisp new concrete sidewalksIt's only 1936, and they're already going all Colonial Williamsburg on us. Boo Radley's HouseI dare you to knock on the door. Slave QuartersAt Mansfield Plantation. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston)
Moldy Manse: 1937
... so-called Sultan's Palace. 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Not so much moldy as battered ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/07/2013 - 2:24pm -

New Orleans, 1937. "Le Pretre Mansion, 716 Dauphine Street, built 1835-6. Joseph Saba house." Our third look at the so-called Sultan's Palace. 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Not so much moldy as batteredThis Old House has it listed as a murder house; although the whole sultan's murder (+ all of his entourage) may be apocryphal. And it still looks pretty much the same: This is exactly the placeI pictured in my head that Ignatius J. Reilly's mama had her automobile accident. Origin of the LegendThe Gardette-LaPretre house, aka the "House of the Turk" and the "Sultan's Palace." The legend of the massacre, much beloved of New Orleans ghost tour guides is, of course, bogus. The legend, initially published in the 1840's, probably predates the 1836 construction of the still extant house shown in this lovely 1930's photograph. The first mention of the story that I'm aware of is in Charles Gayarre's History of Louisiana, published in 1846 in French. This is only 10 years after construction of the present building, and Gayarre claims that he first heard the story around 1820 from an eighty-year old gentleman who heard the story from his own father. In Gayarre's tale, the incident took place in 1727 over a hundred years before construction of the Gardette-LaPretre house, and before any of the present buildings in the French Quarter were built. At that time, most of the city residences were crude wood-framed cottages, of which none remain. Referred to by the author as a legend, his story is actually relatively simple and plausible. A member of the Ottoman sultan's family, possibly a brother, escaped disfavor by fleeing to Paris, and was, for diplomatic reasons, exiled by the French to the then very remote and undeveloped colony of Louisiana, being kept under house arrest at a small cottage at the corner of Orleans and Dauphine. Then, after a dark and stormy night, the cottage was found empty with a newly dug grave in the garden along with an engraved marble plaque: "The justice of heaven is satisfied, and the date-tree shall grow on the traitor's tomb. The sublime Emperor of the faithful, the supporter of the faith, the omnipotent master and Sultan of the world, has redeemed his vow. God is great, and Mohammed is his prophet. Allah!" There is mention of a Turkish vessel seen in Barataria Bay and a troop of murderers lurking through the storm. Shortly afterwards an unusual date palm sprouted from the grave. Apparently fratricide was at one time part of the normal means of succession of the Ottoman empire, and at the time of the supposed events, rival family members were often put under house arrest in the palace harem. Perhaps the crisis associated with the 1730 Janissary revolt. Succession of a new Sultan could have caused an important Ottoman to flee Istanbul. In any case, the story seems to have centered on explaining a well-known, curious old palm tree that was present on the site at the time of Gayarre's writing. The more lurid tales of a bloody massacre told today seem based on a work of fiction by Helen Pitkin Schertz, "The Brother of the Sultan," in Legends of Louisiana (1922). The curious date palm has it's own romantic legend, but that's another photograph. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston, New Orleans)
The Cocktail Hour: 1900
... so hauntingly beautiful that it could have been done by Frances Benjamin Johnston (had she been around doing that sort of thing then). ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/08/2014 - 12:05pm -

Walkerville, Ontario, circa 1900. "Avenue of rack warehouses, Hiram Walker & Sons." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Phew!I used to work directly across the Detroit River from the Hiram Walker facility, which had a beautiful "Canadian Club" sign in 40' high script letters atop the grain silos. When they were brewing and the wind was right, you'd swear they were burning flophouse mattresses - phew, what a smell! Whiskey WarehousesThis in an excellent photography, and a great historical document rolled into one. Canadian Club is the preferred whiskey in Canada, that is for sure. JohnstonesqueThis image is so hauntingly beautiful that it could have been done by Frances Benjamin Johnston (had she been around doing that sort of thing then). Perverse IncentiveMy God! Many a young person must have been scared straight into a life of crime by the sight of that workplace. Calling the Pipefitters' UnionD'yer think you could run that elevated whisky main down to my neighborhood? Paging Fritz LangGreat location for "Metropolis." 1984 or EraserheadThis photo reminds me of the bleakness and isolation from those two movies. I sends a chill down my spine. Very creepy. Why is there so much alcohol?An infectious disease begins when a microbe enters the body of the victim. The microbe multiplies by growing inside the body. From the microbe’s perspective, the ideal situation is where there are lots of microbes living in the body but the victim is not killed. It seems like the microbe has some kind of evil intention and is determined to destroy the life of the victim, but in reality the microbe has no thoughts or intentions at all. Alcohol is not a microbe; it is a small molecule. The disease of alcoholism begins when alcohol enters the body of the victim. The alcohol sets up a craving in the body of the victim. Because of this craving the victim drinks more alcohol. The amount of alcohol persists and increases in the body of the victim, not because alcohol grows and multiplies within the body, but because the craving for alcohol causes changes in the behavior of the victim. [I'll bet you're a riot at cocktail parties. - Dave] (The Gallery, DPC, Walkerville)
Duplex Fixer-Upper: 1905
... size. DPC & FBJ This looks so much like a Frances Benjamin Johnston photograph. Dave Ramsey would be so proud. Just five ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 7:14pm -

Jacksonville, Florida (vicinity), circa 1905. The unfortunate title for this one in the Detroit Publishing catalog: "A Darky Homestead." Note the birdhouse on the dormer. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. DPC & FBJThis looks so much like a Frances Benjamin Johnston photograph. Dave Ramsey would be so proud.Just five more payments and she's ours! A watercolorist's dreamEspecially the wooden fence with 1,754 different size boards. Well, that is a bit unusualParking the bird house up on the roof made sense to someone, I guess. Dormer odditiesThe middle dormer appears to be a door- not a window. I would not advise using it though. And whats with the tiny-house on top of the right dormer?? For birds? Bet there's a lot of weird stuff inside too. Real EstateIn Australian Real Estate language, this would be billed as a "Renovators Delight." Recount!Ice gang: > Especially the wooden fence with 1,754 different size boards. I count 1,755. (The Gallery, DPC, Jacksonville)
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