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Three Brooklyn Bridges: 1908
Feb. 22, 1908. "Three New York-Brooklyn bridges from Brooklyn." An amazingly detailed panorama of New York recorded by George ... of the original 8x10 inch glass negative. From the left: Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge (under construction) and Williamsburg Bridge. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/19/2012 - 3:42pm -

Feb. 22, 1908. "Three New York-Brooklyn bridges from Brooklyn." An amazingly detailed panorama of New York recorded by George Grantham Bain. Our 3100 pixel wide version (view full size), detailed as it is, is less than a quarter the size of the hi-res scan of the original 8x10 inch glass negative. From the left: Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge (under construction) and Williamsburg Bridge.
Two BucksIf you look under the Brooklyn Bridge on the left hand side of the picture, there's a sign on the pier that says "2.00 to Boston". It would be interesting to know what that would cost nowadays. And I agree with Mr. Mel - a great picture!
[In full, the sign says "Neptune Line via Fall River $2.00 to Boston." - Dave]
Like 3DThe clarity and depth of this picture is exceptional, especially the tall apartment houses like the one above the Shorpy watermark, and the shorter one to right of it, in the front. We've all seen some great photos here, but this is one of the best. I'm still trying to take it all in.
Columbia HeightsThe pillared porch (lower left of both photos) is about 148 Columbia Heights. Which seems to be one of the few areas in the picture not cleared out for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
View Larger Map
Not much traffic...Must have been a winter day. Note the snow along the roads. A fascinating image to study for little details like that.
[Another subtle clue to winterness is the first word of the photo caption. - Dave]
Going UpTall structure going up on the horizon. I wonder if that's the Metropolitan Life Tower. Tallest building in the world from its completion in 1909 until 1913. It's in about the right spot but may be too wide. Just a guess.
Still StandingI love Google map embeds. 
The building with the prominent quoins in the foreground is still standing at the corner of Clark and Willow. It looks like it retains the original fire escape and railing. They ought to get a copy of this photo for their lobby! 
Amazingly enoughThe whole block of houses still seems to be intact.
A Queens Bridge Too!Way in the background, above the  gas tanks in  Manhattan, is the Queensboro Bridge under construction.
SuperbMy gast is absolutely flabbered.  Such detail; so well done.  
Denny Gill
Chugiak, Alaska
Where are the people?Where are all the people?
Looking back on old NY pics, the streets always seem to be filled with people (traffic, cart vendors etc.)
It is February and it looks like daylight so I imagine that this pic would not have been taken that early in the day so where have all the people gone.
[They're probably indoors, seeing as how it's Saturday and freezing outside. I see two horses and a man and a woman. - Dave]
Minor Footnote in HistoryThe Robert Gair Company Factory in the distance is where corrugated cardboard boxes were invented by mistake.
Another ClueJudging from the flags, smoke/steam, and drying clothes on the lines (frozen undies, hooray!) it sure seems like the wind is blowing hard.  Too unpleasant to go outside if you don't have to, but you have to do your laundry when you have a chance!
Brooklyn BridgesAmazing photo... One of my favourites on here...
Brooklyn lifeThe picture makes we wish I could just zoom in and see what life is like at that point in time in all those windows. A time machine would be nice.
ModernThe Robert Gair Company building looks surprisingly modern, like something I'd imagine people might've built in the 1950-60s.
Beautiful pictureI bought this picture from your gallery to give to a friend who lives in Brooklyn, and when it came in, I was amazed at the clarity. She absolutely fell in love  with it. Thank you for making her happy.
Robert Gair He was one of the first to build with concrete. It resulted in a building that didn't shake from his machinery making boxes and bags.
Wow!Talk about a time machine! Why would they take a picture like this? I would think that it would be rather brutal to lug all that equipment onto a roof somewhere in winter and have to wait for the exposure. Some dedication!
I'm glad George made the effort.
[Exposure time for an 8x10 plate outdoors in 1908 would not have been very long. A few seconds at the most. - Dave]
Glass negativesThese old photos from glass negatives look better than the old photos that are from film. Also better than any digital camera today. I know those cameras were cumbersome but the results look better to me.
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, G.G. Bain, NYC)

Brooklyn Public: 1941
January 13, 1941. "Brooklyn Public Library (Ingersoll Memorial), Prospect Park Plaza, New York." ... View full size. The Library at Brooklyn I actually like the architecture. Reminds me of ancient Egypt, in ... that it looks like long after all the other buildings in Brooklyn crumble, this one would still be standing, giving testimony to all the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 1:59pm -

January 13, 1941. "Brooklyn Public Library (Ingersoll Memorial), Prospect Park Plaza, New York." Acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.
The Library at BrooklynI actually like the architecture. Reminds me of ancient Egypt, in the sense that it looks like long after all the other buildings in Brooklyn crumble, this one would still be standing, giving testimony to all the knowledge of mankind.
Prewar, there was an idealism of the inherent belief in the good of mankind, so in the attempt to lift us from the Depression, we as a country built all these great libraries, schools, public works of all kinds trying to bring everyone up. And after the war, there was this fatalist realization that this wouldn't ever be possible, so why bother.  It's fundamentally and economically not worth the effort, as there will never be any grand success to this ideal.
This building reminds me of that prewar idealism -- clean, sterile lines, like the architect was dreaming of 23rd century America and wanted this building to be there still, stoic to the whims of the ages, an edifice to higher education sitting like an ancient hall.
Then and nowView Larger Map
I am confused...Is that a monument to Stalin, or Ayn Rand? Looks the same, either way.
Aha!A closeup of the inscription from the Brooklyn Public Library's website.

"Noble things that tower above the tide"In addition to the splendid gilded figural reliefs by Carl Paul Jennewein and Thomas Hudson Jones, the library's entrance façade and doorways are ornamented with numerous inspirational inscriptions written by Roscoe Conklin Ensign Brown (1867-1946), who served on the Library Board from 1908. He was the Board President who oversaw the design and completion of the building, and was clearly very good at crafting a lofty phrase.
Yuckto this and the interior shot below. Late 30s - early 40s IMO = the beginning of truly hideous architecture. I'm sure I'm in the minority here but dang, to me that thing is fugly.
More than just books.A building this beautiful makes me want to go in and explore.
Looks like an Egyptian funerary temple.Or something by Albert Speer.
Nice neighborhoodThe area around the library went downhill for a long time after this picture was taken.  But the last 20 years has seen a tremendous resurgence.  Every Saturday morning in the summer months there is a large farmers market that is full of life.  Both Park Slope, and now Prospect Heights have evolved into some of America's most beautiful and livable neighborhoods.  And when you see it up close, the architecture of this building is not as brutal as it may seem in pictures.  Come to Brooklyn and see!
Architectural illiterates! This is a remarkable building which elevated its users into a higher plane. It meant something to go into that space (as I did when researching high school projects in the 1960s.) It was the flagship for a superb borough-wide system of excellent libraries and had the distinction of being both beautiful and user friendly. I can only surmise that those who are totally unused to a high level of design in their daily existence would be overwhelmed by its magnificence. It is "only" a library after all, but such a presence.
Outside GOOD, Inside BADAs a nearby resident and archi-nerd, I couldn't help but think, "I doubt most of these people have actually used this building." Because the glowing reviews would pretty much stop there. Yeah, the exterior is beautiful in an eccentric "destined to be a landmark" kinda way, but the inside is pure misery. There is zero natural flow between the departments, the main lobby is ostentatiously grandiose while serving no real purpose, the kids section is so far removed from the others (with no place to sit and rest), the rest of the building is a rabbit's warren of hidden rooms and long corridors... the list goes on and on. Yes: til the break of dawn. 
Reminds me a lot of the NYC Guggenheim. Visually wonderful, and an absolute nightmare to use. 
The FlagshipThe Ingersoll main branch is the flagship of the great Brooklyn Public Library System.  Many of the smaller neighborhood branches were built through the generosity of Andrew Carnegie, whose largess in this regard resulted in over 2500 architecturally significant libraries being built in the US, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.  Almost 60 years after I first set foot in my local library in Brooklyn, I can still remember the smell of the books on the shelves, the wrought iron staircase that takes one to the balcony and its treasures, and the beautifully tiled fireplace in the central reading room. When I first set foot in the Ingersoll, I was even more proud to be a Brooklynite.  
Brooklyn's giftAs a child, I was thrilled to enter the Grand Army Plaza library. My 8th grade English teacher, Rose Silver, made us memorize the inscription by Roscoe Conklin Brown, President of the BPL System. I have  forgotten neither the library nor my magnificent teacher to this very day. 
When I began driving in the late 1960s, I would often travel "in" from Queens to bask in the splendor of this library, Brooklyn's gift to the civilized world. I am still awed by the monumental architecture of this place, and no, it is nothing like Albert Speer's creations for the Third Reich.
I left NYC in 1978. When my wife and I returned on vacations to "the city" during the 1980s with our children, we made it a point to have them take a stroll through the Ingersoll Building at Grand Army Plaza. Even the graffiti that besmirched the facade in those days could not diminish the grandeur of this soaring and stately symbol; it represented all that was good and noble within the Western World, forged, as it was, in a dark time of the Great Depression -- a precipice on which civilization itself tottered, in grave peril of being cast asunder by the 20th Century's version of the barbarian horde during the Second World War.
It would not be hyperbole to say that this building and its contents indeed represent the greatness of American genius, culture, and values.
As an aside, but of no less importance, let me address proposed library budget cuts. How sad -- for the children who need this resource to climb out of slums and ignorance; and for the adults who need this resource to continue to grow and never stagnate throughout their lives. Cutting the budget is nothing less than a sanctioned book-burning.
Remember well the words of Heinrich Heine: "Dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man auch am Ende Menschen" -- Where they burn books, at the end they also burn people.
Best times of my lifeGrowing up in Brooklyn in the '50s and '60s was an incredible experience. The Grand Army Plaza library was a wonderful part of that. I vividly remember the project I did for my wonderful eighth grade English teacher, Mr. Rood, at Mark Twain JHS in Coney Island -- "The Gladiatorial Contests of Ancient Rome."
Every Saturday, for a year, my mother would pack a lunch for me (to be eaten in nearby Prospect Park only!), and my parents would drop me off at this wonderful library. The staff there was incredibly kind in helping me find obscure journals, books and art. They even helped me write proper citations and footnotes for each article and publication. Of course, the most fun was using the "new" copying machines, with those awful white on black, nearly impossible to read copies.
For many years, I enjoyed just walking up and down the aisles looking at their great collection of books. I recently moved to Oklahoma City and truly miss everything about this fabulous library!
(The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, NYC)

Smoking Concerts: 1906
1906. "Post Office and Eagle Building. Brooklyn, N.Y." At the Alcazar Theatre: "smoking concerts." Detroit Publishing ... I assume this photo shows Montague Street in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Heights Railroad operated cable cars on Montague Street from the Wall ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:31pm -

1906. "Post Office and Eagle Building. Brooklyn, N.Y." At the Alcazar Theatre: "smoking concerts." Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size.
Please clear this upI admit to not knowing much about photography but please explain why the moving people aren't blurred in this extremely clear early photo.
[With a fast emulsion and short exposure time, you won't see blurring. This isn't an "early" photo. Photography had been around for well over 60 years in 1906. - Dave]
Pre-automobile NYTime after time it never seizes to amaze me how pre-automobile and pre-skyscraper NY was actually an overseas London! The streets, the buildings, the bowler hats - it seems as if America hadn't been born yet back then.
Smoking ConcertsThe exact opposite of what we're doing today. I guess they were saying that during theses concerts you could smoke and not that the music was so hot, it  smoked.
[The smoking concert, a holdover from Victorian England, was traditionally a stag affair. - Dave]
Cable CarPeople often see the slot between the tracks in Manhattan photos and assume they are looking at cable car tracks, while it is actually a conduit electrification.  I assume this photo shows Montague Street in Brooklyn.  The Brooklyn Heights Railroad operated cable cars on Montague Street from the Wall Street Ferry to the Borough Hall area (http://www.cable-car-guy.com/html/ccnynj.html#bhrr) from 1891 until 1909.  
Regards,
Joe Thompson
[Or would this be Washington Street. The Eagle's address was 207 Washington at Johnson. And if the streetcar was a cable car, what's the overhead trolley wire for? - Dave]
Brooklyn EagleDave would it be possible to get a nice close up of the eagle statue over the "Brooklyn Eagle" door?

ConfusedI see rails on the street, plz excuse my lack of knowledge, but r those for trains??
[They're for streetcars. - Dave]
StreetcarsIs this an example of a cable car track, conduit electrification or - as I suspect - two side by side sets of tracks; in other words  northbound and southbound lines. If you look at the overhead at the "Theatre Stop" sign you'll see two wires running down the street. I would suspect that what we're seeing as a groove is a way to keep the space for the flanges of the wheels uniform to avoid derailments. If I can judge gauge by the wheels of the wagons the spacing would seem to be right.
Oh, and by the way, is that  a streetcar (with its pole up) heading toward us, just above the horse and wagon on the right side of the street?

Are they still there?Is the post office building or the Brooklyn Eagle building still standing? If not, what's replaced? Has anyone any images which show it?
[See above. - Dave]
WagonIs that a Police wagon down the street?
[That's a delivery wagon. - Dave]

GorgeousNo questions, not much of a comment, other than to say thanks for a gorgeous photograph!
Little TrampsWOW!!  A city full of Charlie Chaplins.
Sharp peopleAlong with faster film emulsion, another reason that walking people in the photo are in relatively sharp focus is that they are far enough from the lens to make the distance they travel across the negative during the exposure, which I would guess to be around 1/10th of a second, to be very short.
I am guessing too that the domed tower in the far background is Brooklyn Borough Hall, which is, thank goodness, still in place.
Brooklyn Post OfficeThe Post Office building is still there.
[What's the address? - Dave]
271 Cadman PlaceIt looks as if an addition was put on at some point, where the Alcazar is.  The address is 271 Cadman Place East # 1, Brooklyn, NY.  If you go to Street View, at the SW corner of the building you can see the tower.  The street that is in the foreground is closed off now.
View Larger Map
Brooklyn Eagle and Post OfficeThe Brooklyn Eagle building is still standing, and is now residential.

The Post Office underwent renovations a couple of years back and now houses the P.O., as well as other government offices. Click the pictures for more info.

Eagle WarehouseThe Eagle Warehouse (on Old Fulton Street, very near the East River) is quite lovely, but is an entirely different building about 1/4 mi west.
Brooklyn TheatreNear the site of the Alcazar had been the Brooklyn Theatre,  at the southeast corner of Washington and Johnson.  It burned on Dec. 5, 1876, with a loss of nearly 300 lives.
+98This photograph below is a scan from a slide (clearly I need lessons on scanning slides from tterrace) that was taken in November of 2004 looking south on Camden Plaza East from Tillary Street.  At the time of the 1904 photograph, this would be looking south on what was then Washington Street with the Eagle Building on the southeast corner of Washington and Johnson Streets.  That corner and the area beyond to the former Brooklyn City Hall (which can be seen in both views) is now occupied by Columbus Park.  The area on the right of the 1904 photograph is now occupied by the Korean War Veterans Plaza.  As noted previously, the area occupied by buildings on the right in the 1904 view is now occupied by an addition to the post office.
LocationIt was Alcazar for just two years.
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/7747
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Streetcars)

Brooklyn Bridge: 1903
New York circa 1903. "East River and Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan." Among the many signs competing for our ... starboard ! Looking to the right of the bridge,on the Brooklyn side,you'll see a ferryboat at a really bad angle! She's tilting hard ... hard to port with lots of propwash behind it heading for Brooklyn, just south of the bridge?!? Looks like it's trying hard to bank to ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 2:56pm -

New York circa 1903. "East River and Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan." Among the many signs competing for our attention are billboards for "Crani-Tonic Hair Food" and Moxie. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
Carter's Liver PillsCarter's Liver Pills may not have had the exposure that Chas H Fletcher's had on these billboards but they gave them a run for the money. Those early 1900 nostrums lasted into the post WW2 Era and even after that. The public finally caught on and I don't believe they're easily found anymore. However the pharmaceutical ads of today are blasting the same cure-all messages but they cost a lot more money.
Lots of LaxativeCharles H. Fletcher certainly made his presence known in this vicinity. According to Wikipedia, he was a very successful laxative maker.  Did Manhattan need it very badly?
Ferry BoatsWonderful collection of vessels on this very busy waterway. In contrast, an almost leisurely pace on the bridge. 
Top o'the World?This view looks like it was taken from the top of the New York World Building on Park Row, which was seen earlier on Shorpy. Although the advertised height of the World Building (349 feet) was somewhat exaggerated, the top was still pretty high up! 
Hard to starboard !Looking to the right of the bridge,on the Brooklyn side,you'll see a ferryboat at a really bad angle! She's tilting hard to port while making a starboard turn, churning up the water real bad. Almost looks like she's trying to avoid the dock.
Land Ho!What an amzaing picture. Could study it for days and not get bored. From Uneeda Biscuit, to Carter's Small Pill - Small Dose - Small Price Pills; to the two railcar ferries, to the WHOA! WAIT A MINUTE! What's up with the ferry listing hard to port with lots of propwash behind it heading for Brooklyn, just south of the bridge?!? Looks like it's trying hard to bank to port with props in reverse to avoid slamming the pier (but looks like it's too late to miss it!). Maybe the captain had to go too fast to make it across the busy water traffic and didn't have enough room to slow down. But if the captain hadn't sped up, there'd have been a collision. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. The captain probably needed one of the many advertised tonics after that ferry landing!
What a country!The year this was taken was during the huge migration from Europe which lasted several decades.  Just imagine the amazement of those often poverty-stricken, downtrodden, oppressed people arriving at Ellis Island with everything they owned on their backs and being brought to the city in which they must now make a new life and seeing, for the first time in their lives, this magnificent panorama of mind-boggling industrial activity, ships from around the world, sky scrapers everywhere, phenomenal bridges and modes of transportation, bustling well-dressed, smiling healthy people, ads everywhere for appetizing, abundant food and other worldly pleasures, religious steeples and domes, the smells of ocean and fumes and foods all mingled together and offering  an endless buffet of opportunity and freedom.  I find this beautiful picture breathtaking.
Thank you Shorpy from a descendant of the huddled masses.
For those of you good at spotting details:Did anyone notice any "Fletchers Castoria" ads?
Mixed trafficIt must be the rush hour.  Look how close the electric elevated train from Brooklyn with the trolley poles is to the cable Bridge Only train in front of it.  The white disk on the front of the cable train tells which cable, set of interlaced rails, and station platform it is using.  The elevated train uses its trolley poles when it runs on the ground beyond the end of the El structure in the outer reaches of Brooklyn.
I want more Chas. H. Fletcher ads!Wonderfully detailed photo. I could study it for hours.
Ah, memoriesWow, think there are enough ads for Fletcher's Castoria?
I remember that gawdawful stuff from my childhood. Whenever we'd visit my grandmother she'd slip us a dose in some chocolate milk. Apparently daily BMs were high on her list.
HyphenatedDon't forget the billboard for Pe-Ru-Na!
One more thingAnd at least eight signs for Fletcher's Castoria!
Steeplechase Park Bargain10 cents for five hours! Heck, I'd give $100 for five hours to be able to travel back to 1903 to experience Tilyou's Steeplechase Park. From the old photos and video clips of it I have seen, it was a happening place. Even today with all our technology, I'd bet folks would still have a wonderful time!
Decisions, decisionsWith this dime burning a hole in my pocket I could either buy two Cremo cigars or spend five hours at Steeplechase Park.
My BridgeWhat a wonderful picture of my bridge that I just bought last week from a nice man who told me that I could buy the Brooklyn Bridge for a few hundred dollars. Looking at this picture I believe it was a good investment.
Running the gauntlet on the Brooklyn BridgeHaving a close eye on the rails for the El, interesting that they are running a gauntlet track on both sides across the bridge...no switch points, just a frog.  Under a closer look, it looks like there is a cable between the rails for a...cable car?  Seen just past where the switch points would be if it was a normal switch. 
BTW, first post here at Shorpy!   Love the site!! 
Chas. H. FletcherI believe I count at least 21 Chas. H. Fletcher signs.  Some are a bit obscured, but the text is quite distinctive so I believe I have it correct.  If I ever get catapulted back in time, I am opening a sign company!  Must have been a lucrative business.
Fletcher's CastoriaI found 20 signs in this photo and there might be more!
World SeriesNow that it is World Series time, in the middle of it actually; can anyone from New York confirm that it's called the World Series because the New York World newspaper promoted the first of these events, and the Series name has no international implications?
[That notion is debunked here. - Dave]
Fletcher AdsI found 20 of these ads.  There might be more!
22 Fletcher Signs !!One wonders what his advertising budget was - apparently unlimited - Personally, I feel this was overkill and would be annoying enough to cause me to choose the other brand - I easily counted 22 if his signs, including 5 on the Brooklyn side of the river. 
Scuffy the TugboatThis fantastical scene reminds me of the old Golden Books story of Scuffy the Tugboat, when the two children were peering over the bridge on the harbour, watching Scuffy, as he found himself in a bewildering maze of giant ships all around him.
What's with the ferry steamer in the upper right side of the photo?  
His paddles look "full-ahead," while the vessel is listing hard aport and about to ram the wharf?  Uh-oh!
Great photo; begging to be colorized by some Shorpy artista.
Blowin' in the WindThere are almost as many rooftop clotheslines loaded with laundry as there are Fletcher's Castoria signs. It is interesting to note that even though the Brooklyn Bridge had been open for twenty years, the ferries were still running and would continue to do so until 1924.
Hang On!Lots o' signs, yes, but my attention was drawn to that hard heeling-to-port ferry approaching the pier on the opposite shore (right in the photo).  Was somebody showing off for the citizenry, or were they perhaps initially headed into the wrong berthing space?
[Probably not. - Dave]
TrafficCan you imagine the insanity on the river? There's even a ship hitting a bulkhead while turning into its dock. Lucky for them the wind was in their favor. (I now see Denny covered this the first comment. D'oh.) And Castor Oil had a predecessor? I never knew. 
Why pilots are regular officersInteresting factoid about castor oil: WW1 airplane engines were lubricated with it and sprayed a steady stream of the stuff back into the pilot's face, with predictable consequences.
More RecentlyI was told that this Fletcher's Castoria  sign at Henry & Market Streets, on NYC's Lower East Side, was around until about 2003. There are probably others that are still visible.
Cable Power on the Brooklyn BridgeThe original Brooklyn Rapid Transit line that ran over the Brooklyn Bridge to the Park Row terminal was indeed a cable-powered line. The line was eventually electrified. Rapid transit service over the Brooklyn Bridge ended permanently in 1944 when the NYC Board of Transportation decided to terminate Brooklyn elevated train service at Jay Street/Bridge Street station. Trolleys then were briefly used on the Bridge tracks. The huge Sands Street and Park Row terminals were later torn down and the Bridge itself was rebuilt in 1952 and converted solely to automobile use. Today, there are three lanes in each direction on the Bridge for cars. The innermost lanes are the rights of way for the rapid transit/trolley lines.
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC, Streetcars)

Brooklyn Bridge: 1904
Circa 1904. "Manhattan, East River and Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn." Another grayscale view of an evergreen subject. 8x10 glass negative. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 10:20pm -

Circa 1904. "Manhattan, East River and Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn." Another grayscale view of an evergreen subject. 8x10 glass negative. View full size.
Harold Lloyd filmed here in 1927Harold Lloyd filmed scenes from his final silent feature Speedy (released in 1928) racing north up Everit Street, pictured here, crossing Old Fulton Street which runs from left to right.  At the time elevated tracks ran above Old Fulton Street.  Lloyd filmed one stunt here with two cameras filming from opposing points of view, and inserted the shots into the movie at different times - thus creating two stunts for the price of one.
This pdf from my Silent Locations blog takes you to an annotated written tour showing you where Lloyd filmed in Brooklyn, including the setting shown here.  My book Silent Visions shows where Lloyd filmed all over New York and Coney Island.
http://silentlocations.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/lloyd-brooklyn-speedy...
Brooklyn bridgeconfirmed by the photo, has three different curvatures to  the road deck, I imagine there is a proper engineering term to describe it. And those two trees growing in Brooklyn.
Harold Lloyd filmed here in 1927This view looks up Everit Street to where it meets Old Fulton Street.  Elevated trolley tracks ran from left to right along Old Fulton.  Harold Lloyd filmed here in 1927 for his final silent feature comedy Speedy.  During the movie Harold races a horse-drawn trolley north up Everit, crossing Old Fulton.  The elevated tracks visible during the shot block the Brooklyn Bridge from view.  
This photo shows (i) a detailed view of Everit at Fulton (oval), looking north, where Lloyd filmed, (ii) a corresponding movie frame from Speedy looking north up Everit at Old Fulton, and (iii) a modern view of the spot.
You can access a photo annotated tour of where Lloyd filmed scenes for Speedy in Brooklyn on my Silent Locations blog, at this URL, and in my book Silent Traces.
http://silentlocations.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/harold-lloyd-brooklyn-sp...
Fulton Ferry TerminalIf you run your eye down the leg of the right-hand, Eastern leg, you can see the distinctive gingerbread terminal of the Fulton Ferry on Brooklyn's Old Fulton Street. It was built long before the bridge, in 1865 when the Civil War ended, and burned down 20 years after this photograph was taken.  
What's the story, Jerry?Note the large gathering of people under the Brooklyn Tower, and mid-span on bridge.  Also, there seems to be a trolley stationed every couple of hundred feet along the Brooklyn bound roadway, perfectly spaced. What do you suppose was happening? 
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)

Brooklyn Murder Trial
... with his clients, two boys accused of murder in a 1930's Brooklyn courtroom. Both boys were found not guilty. Proper Attire One ... men and women. That's Criminal Court in Brooklyn It used to be called the Central Court Building. I'm a criminal ... 
 
Posted by ltitus - 04/26/2007 - 2:56pm -

My great grandfather Leo Healy (sitting second from left with hands on table) with his clients, two boys accused of murder in a 1930's Brooklyn courtroom.  Both boys were found not guilty.
Proper AttireOne of the defining characteristics of old photographs, at least those before the 1970s, is how adult and mature everyone always looks. Even whom we would refer to as "young people."
You just didn't have grown men sitting around in public places in shorts, tee shirts with advertising on them, and baseball caps back then.  No one would take you at all seriously if you dressed like that; and you'd more than likely be considered a bum, a menial worker or a nut.
Of course, in today's courtrooms people make the effort to dress as well, but until the 1970s, ALL adults, if they wanted to be taken seriously, made the effort to dress like grown and responsible men and women.  
That's Criminal Court in BrooklynIt used to be called the Central Court Building.  I'm a criminal defense lawyer, and am in that building almost daily.  The courtrooms look exactly the same.
I wonder which courtroom it is.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)

Forest Brook: 1956
... Island then. Ike was president and the world 'champeen' Brooklyn Dodgers would win another pennant only to lose once more to the Yanks. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/14/2013 - 7:14am -

November 8, 1956. "Forest Brook Elementary School, Hauppauge, Long Island. Classroom and teacher." For those of a certain demographic, this may strike a chord. Large-format negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.
We never did that.I grew up in the suburbs around Akron, Ohio, and we never had a bomb drill or duck-and-cover drill ever. All of my peers that grew up in other places had those drills, which has led me to a couple of possible theories. One, that we had some sort of pacifists in our local administration that refused to take part in the Cold War(unlikely). Or two, that we were so close to potential industrial targets that there was simply no point in hoping for survival... Better to go out in the first flash.
[Never had them in my grade school years 1952-1960 in Larkspur, California, either, nor was I aware at the time that they were going on anywhere. -tterrace] 
Lighting fixturesWe had very similar fixtures in my Elementary School about ten years after this, ours had a large bulb with the bottom painted silver sticking through the center though. 
They were probably ancient even in 1966.
X marks the spotI'm not sure if it looked that way in 1956, but Forest Brook today has a strange shape, what you might get if Picasso or Dali had been asked to draw the letter X.  
Hauppague today is a densely populated community, home to most of Suffolk County's government (though Riverhead is the actual county seat) and a huge industrial park, but back in 1956 it was on the frontier of suburbanization.  I wouldn't be surprised if some of the students in this picture were the children of farmers.
You will not leave this  house dressed like thatIt would be three years before I entered first grade about 20 miles west of Hauppauge. The New York City Board of Education had a much less relaxed dress code. Boys from first grade on had to wear ties. Jeans and sneakers were not permitted. On school assembly day everyone was required to wear a white shirt or blouse and the boys had to wear  red ties. Of course by the time we were graduating from high school there were still strict dress standards, but they only applied to the teachers.
Smelementary SchoolThose wooden desks were washed and cleaned before classes three months ago, and the floors are waxed weekly.
All the girls are in skirts or dresses, and the boys are well groomed and always polite. After all, no one wants to get called down to the school office! 
Plus, there's a great lineup of cars out the window, in case a little daydreaming is in order, but only for a few seconds at a time. By the way, you can smell today's newfangled hot lunch almost ready to serve, down the hall.
Let there be photonsMy elementary school (Horace Mann in Burbank, Calif.) had the same light fixtures, although we had four to a room. Each contained one ≈500 watt bulb; the bottom of the bulb was obscured by a silver coating. When a bulb was nearing the end of its service life, it would usually emit a high-pitched squeal. The teacher would then cycle the light switch off and on several times, killing the bulb and throttling the distracting squeal.
Reading MaterialMost of the children have notebooks, many children seem to have the Spell and Write workbook, and the young man in the lower left (just behind the girl in the foreground) has the Air Raid Instruction booklet on his desk.
My First Year of School1956 was my first year of school in Houston. Would have loved to have been able to wear blue jeans and shirt tails out but HISD rules at the time (and almost all the way through my HS years) said no blue jeans, no t-shirts, no shirt tails out for boys and skirts/dresses only for girls.
Hard to believe especially since the schools weren't air conditioned in HISD except for offices and a few other classrooms (science for one)until after I graduated in 1968.
No duck and cover drills for us until the Cuban missile crisis when we were told Houston would be a first strike target due the refineries throughout the Houston area. We had an air raid siren right next to the window in my 5th grade class that went off each Friday at noon. I also thought to myself that if the Russians were smart they would attack at noon on Friday!
Star pupils or problem children?Teacher has all that space in front of the classroom for her desk but it's right up close to those pupils at the far end of the classroom. Even with the photographer present, the kids appear to be gazing out the window. Maybe she needed to be that close to keep their attention for any length of time. I wonder if modern medicine is overused in favor of such simple solutions.
Maybe I'll send the first grade picture (1960) from my Catholic school in New Jersey. It's a bright, clean classroom like the one shown here but it's packed tight with baby boomers, all in navy blue and white uniforms, with Sister in her black and white habit up front.
1956 RebelAlright, who's the non-conformist on staff who just had to park facing the wrong way?
Sturdy Desks and the "Good Old Days"Those sturdy desks are perfect for the inevitable "Flash Drills" of the era, in which the principal would come into the room unannounced and write "FLASH" on the blackboard, causing all of us students to "duck and cover" to avoid instant nuclear incineration. I'm not sure how much good it would have done in a real attack, but it was the only tool in the drawer.
Also, I'm surprised the windows don't have the standard heavy blackout curtains, which were handy not only for viewing nmovies but to keep enemy bombers from spotting stray lights at night. 
And a decade laterI started public school a decade later, in a building constructed in 1961. And it was exactly like this, light fixtures, desks, and all. Most of the teachers were young then (and exactly one man, who I got in fifth grade) but I started out with Mrs. Lord, the white-haired wife of the principal, who could have stepped out of any 1910 school administrator picture with naught more than a change of collar. However in my day the fellow with the open shirt front there would have been made to neaten himself up.
Beautiful Schools but the Russians are coming!I began my second semester of kindergarden in January of 1953 in newly built grade school on the west side of Detroit.  We immediately began having fire and air raid drills. For air raids we descended into the basement of the school which was actually the main tunnel of the air circulation system. Some times when we went down the stairs during a drill, the big fan would still be rotating after being shut down.  We had to sit along the walls and cover our heads. To condition us further the lights would be turned off for a short period of time. I switched to a newly built parochial grade school for the fourth grade on. No basement, so we sat in the main hallway between the class rooms and covered our heads. Both schools had class rooms identical to Forest Brook. To add to the tension, the nearby Rouge Park had a Nike missile battery. The missiles were normally hidden behind a high earth berm, but they were visible when frequently pointed skyward for testing. The AM radio frequencies of 640 and 1240 were permanently etched into our memory.     
DrillsI'm exactly the right age for these memories, but except for a few very early instances that were termed "air raid," all our drills were of the fire kind. No duck, no cover - and this just north of San Francisco, with its own battery of Nike missiles by the Golden Gate - in plain view if you took a spin along the Marin Headlands. We all just marched outside. The only time we had to put our practice to use was for a 1957 earthquake centered just south of SF but sharp enough in Larkspur to get us squealing in our fifth grade classroom before the alarm sounded and we made our orderly exit.
"Silver Tooth"I was in the ninth grade in fall of 56. All of the new schools I attended in the late 40's and 50's had those windows and the 9 inch floor tiles. I believe the teacher's desk was in that position only for this pic. One memory came to me in a flash when I saw the tiles. In the 4th grade on the last day of school as I was swinging between desks I did a face plant on the green floor tiles. The impact broke off two of my front teeth below the nerves and the family dentist fixed them with silver caps that stayed that way until I turned 21. 
Blue Jeans?I was in 5th grade at the time, in a far western suburb of Chicago. What I remember was the enormous spending on shiny new schools back then. My mom was a teacher, back when teaching was a respected profession, teachers were proud of what they did for a living and grateful for the $6,000 a year they were paid.
That and the rule against blue jeans. Strictly verboten in my school system. They looked "hoo-dy", pronounced with "hoo" as the first syllable, and were a a well known precursor for the dreaded juvenile delinquency during adolescence and a life of crime and depravity later on. Without that rule, thank goodness and a vigilant school board, I probably would have a criminal record by now.
Good Ol' '56I was in third grade in Hempstead, Long Island then. Ike was president and the world 'champeen' Brooklyn Dodgers would win another pennant only to lose once more to the Yanks. Anybody who wore dungarees (as jeans were called then) in my school district would have been sent home to change to proper attire and an open shirt would catch you a stiff reprimand. Nobody knew what a school bus was and schools were not in the restaurant business for anybody. There was a lot to like about those days. 
Fond MemoriesI was in 1st grade at that time and our classroom in suburban Chicago looked very much like this one.  Someone mentioned getting called down to the office.  There was nothing worse than hearing your name on the PA system to report to the principal.  Every kid in school knew you were probably in deep doo doo.  As for the non-conformist staff member who backed into his spot, these types have always been around and still are today.  They'd rather waste extra time and endure the hassle of backing into a parking spot just so they can pull out with ease at the end of the day.  Never understood that logic.   
The Joys of childhoodI would have been 9 years old when this photo was taken. I was attending "Summer Avenue School" at that time. It was an old three story brick building. We had the kind of desks that bolted to the floor so they couldn't be moved even if you wanted to do so. The seat was actually part of the desk behind you and folded up automatically when you stood up. The top of the desk was hinged at the front so that you could lift it up and put you books and such inside. Oh Yes, they had the obligatory inkwell hole in them as well, but never any ink.
Summer Avenue School still stands but is now known as Roberto Clemente Elementary School. 
The desksStarting I guess in the late 40s that blonde style of wood came very much into vogue for furniture.  Notice, they're the first generation of school desk withOUT a hole for an inkwell.  We had ball point pens by then, no more dipping a nub into india ink.  And no more opportunities for dunking the pigtail of the little girl in front of you into the ink!
The furthest cornersAh, those desks.  In the later grades of elementary school we ate our lunches in the classroom, and the kid in front of me used to stuff the parts of his lunch he didn’t want into the deepest recesses, behind books and other trash.  It got very ripe, and one day the teacher followed her nose to Robert G.’s desk and made him excavate the smelly mess.  I will leave the rest to everyone’s imaginations.
4th grade for meDecatur Street elementary.  I think the building was probably built at the turn of the last century.  And probably the teachers. We had the well worn student desks that you find in the antique shops now for a pretty penny.  The one with the ink well and indentation for a pencil with the seat back and foldup seat on the front of your desk.  We had 12' ceilings, oiled wood floors that the janitor put sawdust down on daily to use his pushbroom on, kept the dust down.
Old School, New SchoolI started the first grade in 1954 in rural Kansas. We were in a building that had been built in 1911 and only housed six grades. The 7th and 8th grades were in the high school. The bathrooms, the lunchroom, and the art room were all in the basement, and we had music in a one-teacher school building that had been moved into town and put behind the school. The 1911 building was probably a horrible firetrap, although there was a metal fire escape on the back from the second floor down. The district built a new school in 1956, and we moved in in February 1957, when I was in the third grade. It looked much like the one in the photo, except that we had metal desks. No dress code--nearly all the boys wore jeans. That 1956 building is still in use, along with the 1923 high school. Of ocurse, they house far fewer kids than they did then.
Several years laterI was attending a Catholic school in a much older building further west on Long Island -- still vividly remember our "duck & cover" drills as I was the smart-alack who asked how a wooden desk would keep us from burning to a cinder.
As for the cafeteria, no hot lunch then; if you forgot your brown bag (no lunch money; you were not permitted to leave the premises) you might have been lucky enough to be escorted across the street to the convent for a PB&J sandwich.
The uniforms were ghastly -- white shirt, dark maroon tie with the school shield on it, and dark grey slacks with black piping down the outside seam. Girls wore a white blouse with a snap tie, grey plaid skirt (that was always rolled up at the waist after leaving the house, and a matching bolero. Once out of sixth grade boys wore a blue plaid tie & girls could wear a -- *gasp* -- blouse of color.
Reminds me of another picture here of young girls wearing skirts in the dead of winter; evil little Catholic boys that we were, we'd spend the lunch hour in the schoolyard assaulting the bare-legged victims by snapping rubber-bands on their frozen legs.
Not non-conformism. Safety!I've worked at a school for years and even though I'm not much of a rebel, I've always backed into the parking space. The logic is simple: you have to back up when you arrive or when you leave, and it's safer to back *in* to a space when there are few or no children around (an hour or two before school starts) than to back *out* of a space when children are running all around at the end of the school day (of course, one should triple-check either time). I often back into shopping center parking spaces using the same reasoning: if there's no one around when I arrive, it's safer to back up then than later when there might be a lot of people about. I knew a man many years ago who fatally backed over his 4-year-old daughter in their driveway and that tragedy changed my thinking on this permanently.
Reminds me of...Sutton Elementary School, southwest Houston, 1971 to 1973. The building was built in the late 50s and had those same big windows, but by that time we had the one piece metal desks with the big opening beneath for your books.
Few years laterI was in the first grade in a Catholic school in NYC. We had fire drills but no under the desk kiss your butt goodbye stuff. Nuns ruled the roost in those days. Midget Gestapo agents all in black with a yardstick bigger than them which was used to get you back in line if you misbehaved. I remember the first day of 2nd grade while us kids were waiting for school to open and my mom approached me to wipe my nose and the nun smacked her hand saying "he belongs to us now!" Ah memories...
Patty Duke, Ben Gazzara, Gene Hackman were some of the actors who lived in the area, Kips Bay, and might have even attended my school at one time.
"Snaggletooth"I can sympathize with jimmylee42. I broke a front tooth in much the same way at my school in the fourth grade. It was the winter of '63-'64.
When the weather was exceptionally cold, they would open the gym for the early kids to come inside before classes started. Although the details are vague now, someone said I was tripped by a bully while I was running around. In a family of four siblings my folks couldn't afford to get my missing tooth capped for years. So one of my nicknames throughout grade school was "Snaggletooth"... not one of my fonder memories. I finally got a white tooth cap just before I started senior high after we moved to Florida.
I wonder how my Alabama classmates would remember me now?
Yes, the Memories!I would have been right in this age range, near as I can tell from looking at the kids. That would have made it my first year out of parochial school, escaped from 4th grade under the rule(r)Sister Rita Jean, she who was Evil Incarnate.
Best memory was teacher telling me, "David! Stop moving your desk around. It makes me think we're having an earthqu... Everyone - outside!!"
DaveB
WonderfulGrade school in Alexandria, Louisiana.  Very familiar classrooms, with the good Nun up front to keep [or try to keep] us on the right path. 
Bayou View SchoolThis reminds me of Mrs Powell's 2nd grade class at Bayou View School in Gulfport, Ms, c.1955.
Fast ForwardTwenty years later I attended a school built in the early 1940s.  This reminds me of those old classrooms in some respects with the desks all lined up in rows, large windows and undoubtedly a large slate chalkboard just out of view.  I notice that the teacher's chair is a sturdy wooden straight back chair - no comfortable office chairs here!  Also, only a two drawer filing cabinet?  I don't think I've ever seen one that small in a classroom.  I teach school now and while this brings back memories (even the light fixtures), it's amazingly different today.  
Green ThumbThe teacher has quite a spartan setup, but I love the line of flowers along the windowsill! What a lovely touch that would be in a classroom.
This was a fun photo and I enjoyed the comments. My parents were born in 1954 and I really like seeing and reading about what that might have been like.
I grew up in that town!I didn't go to this school, but grew up in Smithtown--where this school actually was; not Hauppauge. I was in elementary from 1990-1995, when times were much different. As a teacher I love seeing how it was then.
Love this photo but makes me sadIf I could push a button and go back in time and be someone someplace in the past, I'd be on my way to being one of the kids in that classroom. This is public school education when it was about education.
(The Gallery, Education, Schools, Gottscho-Schleisner, Kids)

Brooklyn Pin Boys: 1910
... boys working in Subway Bowling Alleys, 65 South Street, Brooklyn, N.Y., every night. Three smaller boys were kept out of the photo by ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 6:37pm -

April 1910. "1 a.m. Pin boys working in Subway Bowling Alleys, 65 South Street, Brooklyn, N.Y., every night. Three smaller boys were kept out of the photo by Boss." View full size. Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
notice the gas lightsnotice the gas lights
Slave DriverNot only did he hide all the nine year old kids when he saw the photographer, but I'll bet he also made sure his whip wasn't visible either.
muralI like the hint of the sailing mural on the back wall.Touch of class.
Bogotá 2006Reminds me of a bowling hall I visited in downtown Bogotá last year - pin boys and a musty basement smell
my dad was a pin boy. :]my dad was a pin boy. :]
Is that.......the dude from "Deadwood"?
The boss looks like......Al Swearengen from Deadwood
Pin Boy (Retired)I'm 78 now. I used to be a pin boy, part time nights in Hartford, Ct. from 1944 to 1947. The pay was much better than working on the tobacco farms after school.
man that job must haveman that job must have sucked did anyone ever throw the ball b4 u were done setting them??
Patrons intentionally bowling before pins were set.It happened routinely, especially later at night when the patrons were inebriated.  However, you could usually expect a better tip from the drunk bowlers, especially if you would  "help them along" by discreetly knocking over a few extra pins.  We would occasionally taunt them and quickly jump over the safety wall as the ball was approaching.
One of only a handful remaining, there is still a public manual alley in Shohola, PA at Rohman's Hotel, It is cheap (1$ per frame) if you set your own pins or bring you own pin boy, (or girl).
http://www.riverreporter.com/issues/05-07-14/LR-wanda.html
73,
Tom
Good ole daysI worked lanes like these in the basement of a school attached to our church in Illinois.  First time I ever saw a cork ball.  And yes, they have thrown the ball down the lane before you had all pins set up, you just had to be quick enough to jump out of the way.
Then & NowPeople think they have it ruff now. Nice photo.
Got paid a nickel a line.I was a pinboy at age 12 in New Jersey in the fifties.  Eight alleys no air conditioning, no breaks, no dental plan.  But with tips you made a couple of bucks a night. Enough for a movie, comic books, a coke, and a pack of smokes. Today most folks have to work 8 hours to get all that stuff.
My First JobMy first job was as a pinboy at our local country club in New Jersey. Seven cents a game plus tips. I lasted about 4 hours.
ChicagoStill have pinboys in Chicago at Southports Lanes on the northside.
Former Pin BoyMy husband was a pin boy in 1953 at the Yonkers Jewish Center. He said your picture is exactly the way it was.
(The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine, NYC, Sports)

Brooklyn Bridge: 1905
New York circa 1905. "Brooklyn Bridge over East River." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit ... I love to visit New York, and every time I do, I go to Brooklyn and I walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan. I am always amazed at t his amazing structure ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 2:53pm -

New York circa 1905. "Brooklyn Bridge over East River." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Chester W, ChapinThis steamer was named for Chester W. Chapin (December 16, 1798 – June 10, 1883), U.S. Representative from Massachusetts (March 4, 1875-March 3, 1877). The ship was of the twin-screw type, 312 feet in length, 64 feet wide, with a tonnage of 1,882. It was built by the Maryland Steel Company of Sparrow's Point, Maryland, for the New Haven Steamboat Company in 1899.
NoticeThe piles of ballast stones near the bottom of the photo, as well as the railcar float to the left of Pier 20.
Nice Looking BridgeIs it for sale?
Wow. I can almost smell it, man. Nice job once again. 
Fab Photo!What a great photo!  I love to visit New York, and every time I do, I go to Brooklyn and I walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan.  I am always amazed at t his amazing structure and this is a wonderful photo!
Roll Out The Barrell(s)Nice photo. The "Chester W. Chapin" looks like a nice craft to take a ride up L. I. Sound on. It's rare to see a staved barrell these days. There sure are a lot piled up there on the dock.
[Evidently they were full of L's. - Dave]
Style!What a beautiful, elegant looking boat!
Boat RideIt looks like it could be a very pleasant boat ride up the Sound to New Haven or Bridgeport. 
New?What an immaculate-looking ship is the "Chester W. Chapin!" Quick, let's invent the term "shipshape."
Uh-OhThe Chester W. Chapin was a passenger and freight steamer that ran aground up in Providence in 1901.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9403E2D61330E132A25756C0A... 
High tideThere appears to be a high water mark on the sides of this building.
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)

A Dickey Christmas: 1923
... here. Dickey-ish tree This is Christmas in Brooklyn circa 1954, a few years after I came along. Left to right are my Dad ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/20/2023 - 3:34pm -

One Hundred Years of Yuletude: "Dickey Christmas tree, 1923." The family of Washington, D.C.,  lawyer Raymond Dickey, whose off-kilter portraits (and non-triangular trees) are a beloved yuletide tradition here at Shorpy. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.
Times and tastes changeAt first glance, it made me think of a huge spider web.  Strangely, most of the ornaments don't look much different from what we might have on our trees today.  I notice the lack of lights, though.
It's in the details...I find in very interesting that people who live in older homes today panic about even the smallest scratch in their hardwood floors when its very obvious that this middle-class Washington family clearly had no such worry.
Also, is anyone able to identify the toy train track in the background? It looks like wind-up track, perhaps O-scale?
ExpressionsEvery member of this family wears the exact same expression.  From my own middle class perspective it seems to be a pleasant tolerance of all things beneath them . . . which are many and include the photographer and all of us some 85 years later.
HaggardThe mother looks so different from the previous photo. Poor gal.
So much to take in.When viewed full size, there was just so much to take in...the crazy tree, the intricate sleeves on Sister's dress, the odd pose of poor Mother--practically stuck into the boughs (not to mention her too-tight shoes!), a hint of model railroad track, the wallpaper & border--just SO much!
But the number one thing I could not stop thinking...why are everyone's eyes so sad? Don't they know it's Christmas? (Maybe this the custom of the day, to look somber in a holiday photo? Whatever the reason, their melancholy expressions are in contrast to the joyful occasion.)  
Jingle BellsPoor Mom. It sure looks like the photog positioned her just a little too up close and snuggly with that tree. Her expression does not reflect a comfort zone with it. More like fending it off.
TracksJust noticed what appears to be a model train track on the floor to the right. Wonder if a wee little Christmas choo-choo was part of the decorations, or a gift done opened and set up. Remember a very simple Lionel train set my brother and I got for one Christmas. No idea where it ended up.
OrnamentsMy family owns ornaments exactly identical to about a third of the ones on the tree. My mother always said they were old, but I didn't think they could be that old!
Hmm...Has anyone noticed that the middle child (oldest son) is not the same kid in both pictures? Rather odd, I thought.
[The oldest boy is standing on the right in this photo. Still confused? - Dave]

The DickeysThe fellow with his arm around the young woman is obviously her husband.. Note wedding ring. Also she appears to be with child.
[Nope. He's her brother. - Dave]
1915, 1923If nothing else it shows those two boys are definitely brothers. The younger boy in 1923 looks just like his brother did in 1915!
That Tree!Why do I feel like I'm looking at the same one in all these pictures? 
ETA: I wrote this comment in 2014 and it's still true in 2021.
It's a Well Known FactSmiles were not invented until 1933. 
Charlie Browncarries on the Dickey Christmas tree tradition today.
Christmas traditionsHaving been born a Chanukah person, but linked to a Christmas person, I have celebrated Christmas for two thirds of my 60 years.  My wife's family is Central European, so they gather for the main event on Christmas Eve.  Over the years, their trees have run the gamut from huge misshapen Dickey trees to scraggly Charlie Brown Ion Dept. trees to the current style of "perfect" suburban mall-lot trees.  My idea of a gentle Christmas is good company and family, a glass of eggnog and rum, fading afternoon light, with Bing Crosby or Burl Ives playing softly in the background.  I wish the very best of the holiday season to my fellow Shorpsters, with special thanks to Dave and tterrace for creating and maintaining this marvellous photographic treasure house and community.
WallpaperDon't think I've ever seen a wallpapered ceiling before.
Christmas just isn't Christmas......without once again witnessing Rose Dickey's slow descent into madness.
Merry Christmas ???I don’t see much merriment here. This conclusion is encouraged by the “noir” lighting for the photography. Sad, very sad. 
It's complicatedI am struck -- make that dumbstruck -- once again by Mrs. Dickey's "hairstyle", by the size, shape, and ornamentation of that tree, and by the sleeves on that velvet dress. You can't make this stuff up, folks. Merry Christmas anyway. And if you'll forgive me the segue from Dickey to Dickens ... God bless us every one.
Alice Smiles!So I went back and looked at all the Dickey Christmas photos on Shorpy, and was reminded of grown-up Alice's job as publisher of Seventeen Magazine.  A quick Google search produced this:
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1953-press-photo-alice-thompson-3...
Nice to see a smile after all those gloomy Christmas photos.
Names and AgesJust to put some names and ages to our annual Dickey Christmas family, they are:
Raymond B Dickey, 45
Rose M Dickey, 43
Granville E Dickey, 20
Alice E Dickey, 17
John M Dickey, 11
Raymond R Dickey, 5
The ages may or may not be precisely exact, but accurate within a few months.
DO NOT MOVE !DO NOT SMILE !
RE: TracksI'm a Lionel collector, and can say that those tracks are for a non-electric train set, probably wind-up.
It's All In the Composition   As a semi professional (meaning I've sold a handful) photographer,
who doesn't always get it right himself, I must say this is just about the
the most poorly composed family portrait I've ever seen ... and I love it!
   I do have some concern for Mrs. Dickey as well, but I'm 98 years too late.
Pursed lipshide many secrets: https://www.newspapers.com/image/79911246/
(And for those w/o access: it's the 19Mar13 front page coverage of the escapades of the eldest son [then ten year old] Granville, who had run away from home...to another state !)
The old girlThe old girl kinda reminds me of Grandmama of the Addams Family. 
Maybe --it'll be different next year.
Better than BeautyWe have noted that daughter Alice Dickey (later Alice Thompson, then Alice Beaton) became a power in the women's magazine world, as editor of Glamour and of Seventeen.
She also co-authored 'Better than Beauty: A Guide to Charm', which was reprinted as recently as 2007 and is available as an ebook today. Did Alice's conception of charm derive from her family?
The flip side of a Dickey ChristmasThirty years after this Dickey family Christmas photo was taken, my mother's family celebrated Christmas in New Mexico, where she was from, and her family still ranches.  I wouldn't be born for another two years.  Still, this photograph is a sweet reminder of the Christmas chaos of my childhood.  If only the Dickey children had been given a chance at it.
Redecorating!I just went through all of the pictures (Yuletide Tradition) and it looks as though the Dickeys redecorated with new wallpaper every 2 - 3 years. This confirms why house renovators often find layers upon layers of wallpaper!
My WishAs always, my hope is that every Shorpy-ite has a merrier Christmas than the Dickeys. Thanks to all who contribute to the community here. 
Dickey-ish treeThis is Christmas in Brooklyn circa 1954, a few years after I came along. Left to right are my Dad in his chunkier days, my Uncle Gerard (currently a spry and gregarious 97 years young), and my Grandfather Manuel. I don't have any specific memories of the Christmas trees my grandparents put up but from the few pics I've come across it appears they, like the Dickeys, favored the 'wide as it is tall' variety.
OuchPoor Mrs. Dickey has some swelling in her right foot/leg ... as evidenced by the flesh pushing doughily through the cutouts at the top of her shoes, which appear a tad bit too small to begin with. And then there's the fact that she had to hold that branch down with two fingers lest it thwack her in the face.
The Meaning of ChristmasSigh.. I love Christmas time.. when Shorpyites from all walks of life put aside their differences and unite to ...
critique the Dickeys.  LOL.
I myself relish hunting for clues to their social/economic means. On one hand you have the annual very very large Christmas bush which seems very lavishly decorated. Rose and Alice's dresses look like they might be silk and velvet. 
But previously, Shorpyite "Doug Floor Plan" revealed that the Dickeys took 4 boarders into their 5 bedroom home around this time (1920).  This would seem an economic drop from 8 years previous ( 1915 ) when there were 4 of them living in a 4 bedroom house with 2 servants.  
Maybe that would account for Rose's "slow descent into madness"??
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Shorpy! 
(The Gallery, Christmas, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo, The Dickeys)

Girls High School: 1911
... "Girls' High School, Nostrand Avenue and Macon Street, Brooklyn." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Nostrand Macon Brooklyn Worth putting into google maps, because you’ll see the girls high ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/06/2019 - 4:12pm -

New York circa 1911. "Girls' High School, Nostrand Avenue and Macon Street, Brooklyn." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Nostrand Macon BrooklynWorth putting into google maps, because you’ll see the girls high school is still there, plus the sliver of the building on the left, and we find a new / old building slapped onto the right flank of the high school, which is now the Brooklyn Adult Learning Center.
Now the Brooklyn Adult Learning Centerhttps://www.superpages.com/gallery/2062034528
(The Gallery, DPC, Education, Schools, NYC)

Brooklyn Bound: 1910
... 1910. "East River bridges from the Singer Tower" -- the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg spans. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit ... "Great deal" “I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn I’ll sell cheap." I Wish This View Were Farther Uptown For ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/05/2023 - 10:42am -

New York circa 1910. "East River bridges from the Singer Tower" -- the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg spans. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Early America was on the moveI am surprised at the high amount of sophisticated building construction for 1910 -- and so soon after the financial panic of 1907. The "never say die" and "get it done" attitude of our country was extraordinary.
["Early America" was about 250 years before this photo was taken! - Dave]
  "Great deal"  “I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn I’ll sell cheap."
I Wish This View Were Farther UptownFor years I've been hoping to find a view from circa 1910 of east Harlem, specifically of Union Settlement. Alas, this photograph is too far downtown to show that area.
Union Settlement basically took up the block defined by 104th and 105th Streets, and 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue. My great-grandfather Gaylord White was the head of this ongoing community center from 1901 to 1923. 
I've found the NYC tax photos of the building from the 1940s, but no images have cropped up from earlier. If Shorpy or Shorpy's followers ever track down Union Settlement images, I would be forever grateful!
Best,
Jeremy Butler
Prison Ship Martyrs' MonumentJust southeast of the Brooklyn Bridge is the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Fort Greene Park.  The monument was dedicated on November 14, 1908, so was brand new when this photo was taken.  The monument commemorates the 11,500 American soldiers who died in captivity aboard 16 British prison ships during the American Revolution.

My, how you've grownHere is a Google Earth view of roughly the same area today.  I spotted one surviving building, at 84 William Street.  It's to the right in the 1910 photograph and behind the skyscraper with the red dot in the attached photograph. Street View below:

Hey, I can seethe farm where my house will be in 20 years.
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)

Our Lady of Lourdes: 1914
... Hospital facility on 46th Street and Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. It's now called Lutheran Medical Center. - Dave] Lutheran ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/13/2022 - 12:33pm -

        A newly restored version of a Shorpy favorite that has collected three pages of comments since it was first posted in 2007 --
The caption for this one just says "Post Office." Thanks to our commenters we now know that the building with the statue is the Our Lady of Lourdes School at 468 W. 143rd Street in New York circa 1914. 8x10 glass negative, Bain News Service. View full size | The school in 2007.
Post office?Looks like a Catholic school, actually. This is just a wild-a**ed guess, but St. Jean Baptiste on East 75th? This would coincide with the warehouse cart on the left (sort of).
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic SchoolThis is Our Lady of Lourdes School in New York City on 143rd Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Convent Avenue.  The school was built in 1913 in Washington Heights, an exclusively white, upper middle-class neighborhood.  It was built and equipped at a total cost of one hundred and forty thousand dollars.  
Besides classrooms for five hundred pupils, the building contained an auditorium with a stage lavishly equipped for theatrical productions, a gymnasium, a roof-top playground, an assembly room for parish organizations, rooms for classes in cooking and sewing, and offices for the school officials.
The associated church (Our Lady of Lourdes) is located directly behind the school on the next block, 142nd Street.
Yes...Which is the Post Office?  The large building in the center must be a Catholic School, what with a saint on the roof and all.
As for the location, I have no clue.  
Post OfficeWhich building is the Post Office?
post officeBuilding with street level entrance and flags would be my likely guess.
Today...Google Street View. It's always interesting to see NYC in the early years, and how it's changed.
Our Lady of LourdesI attended this school for eight years in the 1950s. The lower grades entered by one door and the higher grades used the other. City College frat houses faced the school. Recess was on the street out front. We didn't have any cooking or sewing classes, no classrooms equipped for that. There wasn't any  gym. We weren't allowed to go up on the roof and there wasn't an assembly room. We did have a annual spring play using the stage and we had a Christmas concert. There was a way into the church from the back of the school. The nuns that taught there were called Society of the Holy Child. Father Kline was one of the priests and Mother Mary Edward taught there. A good school, good memories.
Johnny PumpThat fire hydrant probably was installed in the late 1880s. Was born and bred in NYC and traversed all five boroughs  many many times, but NEVER laid eyes on a johnny pump like that. Every boy who ever grew up in "The City" is instinctively  drawn to hop over as many hydrants as possible. However that one is a KILLER.  
Our Lady of LourdesI attended OLL from 1933 to 1941. The lower grades kindergarten to fourth were taught by the Ursuline Order of Sisters. The upper grades fifth to eighth were taught by the Sisters of the Holy Child. The school was funded and guided by the priests of the adjoining OLL Church.
We were there to learn,to pray: no play, no library, no lunch room, no outside activities. It was not an easy life for children of poor families during this Great Depression Era. I often cried and asked God to help me through the day, the year. I know I received a very good education but not a happy one. There were nuns I would have died for, however there were many that should not have been allowed to teach children.
The Church and school were founded by Monsignor Thomas McMann. There is  a bust of the good priest near the entrance to the upper church.
In the 1930s we were allowed on the roof for various activities.
The term  "very stern " comes to mind.
The statue is Our Lady of Lourdes, similar to the statue in the grotto in the lower church on 142nd Street. It was removed a few years ago as it decayed and was ready to fall off the roof.
Convent AvenueThis photo faces east, and the townhouses in the background are along the east side of Convent Avenue. All of them still stand, most are in superb condition. This is the finest real estate in Harlem; a house across the street sold for $3.89 million about 18 months ago. Here is a listing for a house a few doors down from the ones seen here: http://tinyurl.com/2396kb
Note the terraces on two of the buildings -- those are stunning and almost never seen in New York.
Does anyone remember anDoes anyone remember an Irish nun by the name of Sister Gerard?  She was one of the Ursula ? nuns at the Our Lady of Lourdes in Manhatten.  She emigrated about 1910, so am not sure anyone would remember her...
Is there a cemetery associated with Our Lady of Lourdes?
Upper and Lower ChurchCan you tell me if the Upper and Grotto Church still exists and do they have mass on Saturdays and Sundays?  I lived 2 streets away a long time ago and would like to see the old neighborshood.  I have never forgotten the Grotto.  It's so unique.  Would like to share it with my spouse.
Or maybe I can speak with someone in the convent.  Are the nuns still there?
Thank you.
Diana Gosciniak
Our Lady of LourdesI also went there in the 1950's. The nuns were very dedicated to teaching. Our religion was the major reason they and all of us were there. The grotto was under the main stairs and confession was held downstairs at 4 pm on Saturday. The children's Mass was at 9 am on Sunday, a High Mass in Latin. The doors of the main church came from old St. Patrick's downtown in Little Italy.
The sisters made sure that the majority of 8th grade students got into Catholic high school. A lot of the girls went to Cathedral H.S. and the boys went to Cardinal Hayes.
The church was around the corner with a connection to the back of the school. The convent was right next door to the church and the rectory was across the street.
Once in a while we were invited to go to the convent on a Saturday to see the nuns. The neighborhood was pretty good, all kind of stores that tolerated all of us kids.
It was nice going there for eight years. Fond memories.
O.L.L. Upper and lower churchYes, the upper church is still active with most Masses in Spanish. The lower church {the Grotto) is not used.  However the statue of the Blessed Mother is still on view. The sisters left about 10 years ago. I visited the school and was told the Church no longer had any say in its operation. When did you attend? I was there from 1933 to 1940.
J Woods
Theatrical productions?Oh, how I wish I had your recall. However, I did attend O.L.L. from 1933 through 1940. Yes, the stage was used - but with limited equipment. I never saw or played on a rooftop playground. There was no gymnasium. The seats in the auditorium were moved to the side for military drilling by boys from grades 5 to 8 once a week. The girls exercised in a nearby room. The children in the lower grades had no physical training. I don't remember an assembly room for any parish organizations. Family members were not encouraged to come to the school except on Graduation Day or if the student had a serious problem that required a meeting with the principal and/or a parish priest. I must say we all received a very good education and were farther ahead in our studies than the Public School  kids.
Yours truly and in friendship,
Jackie Woods
OLL NeighborhoodI lived on Amsterdam Ave for 16 years. Where did you live? When did you attend OLL School? The few friends I had from the old days have passed on. I answered your other message; The Nuns left about 15 years ago. You need to have someone open the lower church to visit there. The Blessed Mother's Statue is still located in the Grotto but masses are no longer read there.
Regards and in friendship.
Jackie Woods
Our Lady of Lourdes, 2008I had a chance to stop by West 143rd street and take a snapshot today. The cornerstone is dated 1912. As you can see, every building shown in the "1914" photograph is extant and all are in excellent condition. There is even a fire hydrant in the same location as the fire hydrant shown in the photo. As for changes — there are trees on the block now, and the cornice has been removed from Our Lady of Lourdes, as has the statue of the saint. And, of course, as with all modern photos taken in New York, it is full of automobiles.

(Click to enlarge)
The reddish sign on the left side of the street, behind the motorcycle, identifies this block as part of the Hamilton Heights Historical District (Hamilton Grange is only a few blocks away). Today was garbage day, so a distracting pile of trash sits in the foreground, sorry about that.
Our Lady of LourdesCentral Harlem, did you attend Our Lady of Lourdes? If so what years?
Thanks for the picture
Jackie Woods
Our Lady of LourdesI attended an Episcopalian school. I contributed that photo because of my joy in Harlem history, not any tie to this school in particular.
Last weekend, I found a photograph of this block dating to 1908! All the buildings looked the same except for OLL, which was then an empty lot. Perhaps Team Shorpy can enlighten me -- would it be compliant with copyright law for me to scan and post it?
[Is there a copyright notice on it? If it was copyrighted before 1923, the copyright has expired. - Dave]
Our Lady of LourdesThank you for your latest information, Central Harlem. Where was your school located? Did you live nearby? I'm 80 years old going on 81 and all I have are my memories (mostly fond). And my memory is outstanding. I was hoping to hear from anyone who attended OLL with me.
By the way, the folks on Amsterdam Avenue always envied the folks on Convent Avenue, always a beautiful clean street. (Today we would say "upscale.") Three of my children were born in The Lutheran Hospital of Manhattan on 144th off Convent. I had moved to upper Washington Heights by then but my doctor was still working out of there.
Thank you and in friendship,
Jackie Woods
Our Lady of Lourdes, 1909I had a chance to scan the old photo I found of this block. It dates to 1909, not 1908 as I had first said. Every building seen in this photo remains, though some of the lots on the right-hand side of 143rd street were empty in 1909, including the lot that would house Our Lady of Lourdes three years later.

Anticipating the interest of Shorpy's crew of automotive experts, I provide a closeup of that car on Amsterdam Avenue, below.

Also, a note to Jackie Woods: we're of different generations. It is good to exchange notes here, but I'm sure we've never met.
Our Lady of Lourdes SchoolWhat wonderful memories of days past. I attended OLL from 1943 and graduated in 1951. One of five brothers to do so.  You may have known my older brothers, Larry, Dick or Bill.  We lived in that apartment building at the end of the street on the OLL side. That was the location of Alexander Hamilton's house, Hamilton Grange.  When it was built, it forced the move to its present location behind the church. It will be moved again to the SE corner of Convent and 141st Street.  You also mentioned Lutheran Hospital. It wasn't so great for our family.  My brother Dick was taken there after being hit by a car. While recovering, he contracted rheumatic fever in the hospital and later died at New York Hospital. We also lived at 310 Convent Avenue because my mother's family, the Healys, lived on 141st Street. If you have any other questions, ask away. I'm still in contact with several classmates and between us, we should be able to answer.
"Thanks for the Memories"
Bob Phillips 
OLL graduatesHi, Yes, I do remember a Phillips family. The boys or boy were in a higher grade with one of my brothers. As you can see, I had already left OLL when you started there. I am pleased you have good memories of your early years. Unfortunately, mine are mixed. An incident: a bunch of us, about 12 years old at the time, were fooling around and one of the boys fell out of a tree and broke his arm. We carried him to Lutheran Hospital They wouldn't let us in the front door. Told us to take him to Knickerbocker Hospital near 131st Street, and so we did. Today, I ask why no first aid was administered or an ambulance called. However, I have nothing but good words about the hospital in later years. I was sorry to hear about brother RIP
Regards and in friendship,
Jackie Woods
PS My oldest sister, Ellen, class of 1936 Won scholorship to Holy Child Academy
My older brother William (Billy), Class of 1937, won a scholarship to Regis High.
MemoriesI graduated from OLL in 1973 and it is so wonderful to see a website with the School and the information that it offers.  I too wondered about the Masses in the lower church.  The grotto was always so beautiful and special. I have lived in Florida since 1986 and hope to make a trip to NYC just to visit the old school.  Thanks again for bringing a smile to my face today. God bless.
OLL MemoriesHi. I attended OLL from grades K to 5. I have the most beautiful memories of my childhood there. I loved the nuns. I can't believe how time has gone so fast. If anyone remembers me or remembers Sister Mary Owen or Ms. Valentine or the gym instructor George Izquierdo. I am talking about late 1960's, early 70's. Please contact me. Are the sisters still there? I went to visit Sister Mary Owen a couple of years ago. She wasn't wearing her habit any more. Those were good old days. I was so mischievous, always getting into trouble. Oh my God. I had the best early education there, never will I forget. I love history and I love these pictures that were posted up above, everything looks the same. Thanks! My family still lives up in Washington Heights.
Our Lady of Lourdes School and ChurchAnd a HI to you,
The good sisters left about ten years ago.
You can reach the school online, it has a Web site.
The school is no longer under the supervision of the Church.
If you look over the rest of this page you will see that I have answered a number of postings that may be of interest to you.
"Memories are made of this."
In friendship,
Jackie Woods
OLL AlumniHello OLL'ers
Head over to the OLL website www.ourladyoflourdesschool.net
There's an alumni page where you can send your information and be put on the mailing list.  
OLLCould not connect with your e-mail: kbarkley@ourladyoflourdesschool.net
Would you please check it.
When did you attend OLL?
I gave my information previously on bottom of page.
Look forward to hearing from you.
In friendship,
Jackie woods
To Jackie WoodsI knew Dennis before the war, and graduated OLL in 1937. My sister Marie graduated in 1936 and received a scholarship to Holy Name. Finding your web site after all these years is a small miracle. I'm sorry to say Marie, such a special person, passed away in 1977. Andrew, a 1943 or 44 graduate, died in 2000. I did not marry till 1985, had a daughter in 86. My wife Alice and I celebrated our daughter Colleen's wedding Nov. 24, 2007. I hope this proves I was not as bad as the sisters believed. They wanted so to see me go that they created the first coed class and skipped me from 6th to 8th grade. Yes we marched on the roof, auditorium, basement and in far away competition. I believe we had a West Point officer, but not certain. I just hope that life was as rewarding to all OLL graduates as I. God bless.
John Orlando
Wideawake80@verizon.net
OLL, late 1950s and early 60sDon't know how I found this website, but so glad that I did. I graduated OLL in June 1961. The nuns are my most vivid memories of the school. The spring and Christmas plays that were held each year. Recess outside during lunchtime. Walking to school each day and spending the few pennies we had to buy candy at the store on Amsterdam Avenue, and the bicycle store there where we rented bikes on Saturday afternoons. Going to confession every Saturday down in the grotto. Checking the Legion of Decency list for movie listings. Learning to sing the Mass in Latin for every Sunday High Mass and, most important, the foundation the nuns gave us for our religion that is still strong to this day. A few years ago, we drove from Jersey up to the old place and convent still looked pretty good. Can someone please explain about not being under the archdiocese any longer. Thanks again.
Lutheran HospitalI found this link when looking for the Lutheran Hospital. Very interesting information.
I am researching my family history and found out this hospital is where my great grandfather passed away. Thinking that there may be additional information on the records,  I searched for the hospital but have not been able to find any recent reference to it. Has the Hospital been closed?  Can anybody give me some background information?  I will certainly appreciate it,
Anne
[You might try the Archives search box on the New York Times Web site. Lutheran Hospital of Manhattan, at 343 Convent Avenue, merged with Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Hospital in 1956 to form Our Saviour's Lutheran Hospital at the Norwegian Hospital facility on 46th Street and Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. It's now called Lutheran Medical Center. - Dave]
Lutheran HospitalHello Anne,
Yes, I know Lutheran Hospital. My three oldest boys were born there: 1951: 1952: 1954. My brother-in-law's father died there c. 1937. When I last passed by the neighborhood, three years ago, I saw that the hospital had been converted to an assisted living facility.
The neighborhood is looking great - real upscale. The brownstones that one could buy in the 1930s for a song are now selling for well over a million dollars. In the 1930s they were empty, thanks to the banks that foreclosed during the Depression. As kids we ran through them and at one time had a clubhouse inside one.
In friendship,
Jackie Woods
Lutheran HospitalThanks you both, Dave and Jackie, for your responses.
I will follow the advice and hope to be able to pass soon by the neighborhood.
Anne
OLL MemoriesHi Henry,
I too remember Sister Mary Owen, my brother David Mora had her and she was really strict.  We keep in touch with George Izquierdo and he is doing great.  Sister Rosemarie passed away.  I try to stay in touch with O.L.L.  It was really a happy time in my childhood and the happy memories will always be a part of my life.
Maxine Mora
Lutheran Hospital of ManhattanLooking for pictures of the Hospital.  I was born in 1940 in the facility and would like to see what it looked like in that era--anyone have a picture?
Dad Was an AlumnusHello Jackie,
I am curious to see if you know my father, Frank Corrigan, who was born in 1926, which would make him 82 this August. I think he was in the Class of 1941.
I am also curious to see if you have any contact or info on Alfred Pereira or his sister Clara Pereira Mercado. Any help would be appreciated.
Stephen Corrigan
Please email me when you get a chance, stephenjcorrigan@aol.com.
Frank CorriganYes, I knew Frank Corrigan, Class of 1940, not 1941, he was closer to my brother Dennis than me, I was a year younger. Didn't Frank have a  younger very pretty sister? I last saw Frank c. 1968 in the upper Washington Heights area where many of the families from OLL had moved to from the 140th streets.
I knew Pancho Pereira (the name Alfred does not ring a bell) and Clara, his younger sister. His little brother  JoJo was killed in Korea. Pancho had a birthmark: strands of very white hair in the front of his head of very black hair. They were wonderful good people.
Pancho was good friends with Jackie Koster, whose sister Barbara married Burl Ives in Hollywood and lived happily everafter.
In friendship,
Ed and Jackie Woods
eandjwoods50@yahoo.com
Vacant Houses in Hamilton HeightsI thought we were the only ones that got into those empty houses. Afternoons we'd go in through a back window to study and do our homework. We didn't break anything, and at our age we always wondered why the houses were vacant. The Depression angle we didn't figure out until later. Tom Calumet and Frank Howe went with me. I understand Frank has died and Tom Calumet left NYC around 1945 to go out west with his parents.
I graduated from OLL in 1941, and now live in Hopkins, MN
OLL MemoriesI graduated in 1960.  There were about 10 of us cousins who graduated between 1955 and 1960.  I remember Father Cline, Fr. Malloy, Monsignor Hart, Mother Bonaventure, Mother Dominica and others. Does anyone remember the day the frat boys across the street pushed the dummy out the window during our recess? I can almost taste the corn muffins and egg creams at the soda fountain around the corner on Amsterdam Avenue while "Barbara Ann" played on the jukebox. 
OLL PhotoI have a great a picture of my Confirmation Day. I'm in full OLL uniform dated c. May 1935. How can I send it to the OLL  Shorpy site?
Yours truly,
Ed Woods
[Click the links under "Become a member, contribute photos." - Dave]
Frat boys 0, Mother Mary Edward 10I sure do remember that day. Mother Mary Edward
marched over and blasted them. Also the candy store around the corner used to sell two-cent pumpkin seeds out of a little red box.
Does anyone remember the rumor going around that the
Grotto Chapel was haunted? I remember walking home with "Little Star" playing on the transistor radio.
The OLL GrottoI remember serving at what was called the Workmen's Mass in the Grotto in the 1930s - 6 o'clock in the morning! I know the Grotto is not used any more (I visited there in December 2007). As to the candy store on the corner of 143rd and Amsterdam, it was a very busy place: candy, pen nibs (no fountain pens), book covers etc. One day the owner came to school and told Sister Casmere, the principal, that we were disorderly and she must tell the students to behave when shopping in his store. Her solution was to tell the entire student body that they were not allowed to shop there. In a day or so, the man was back begging forgiveness and asked to plaese allow the children to return to his store. The kids were his main business.
HelloHi Maxine
How are you? Thank you for responding to me. It was very nice to hear from you. Sorry to hear about Sister Rosemary, but I don't remember her was she the pricipal of the school. I do remember Mr. Izquierdo he was the gym instructor with another man don't recall his name I believe he became principal of the school later on. Oh! now I remember his name was Mr. White I believe. God trying to recall, it is getting a little difficult now a days but I like it. It brings me back in time. How time have changed it was so innocent back than not like now. Looking back in time, makes me feel like I grew up to fast. How is Mr. Izquierdo doing? How can I contact him? Please let me know. My e-mail address is Je_Ocejo@yahoo.com. I remember he got married back than to a girl name Rocio, I don't know if they are still together but that lady was my father's friend daughter. Who else do you remember. Please get back to me with pictures. I have pictures too. Let me know how can I e-mail them to you. Would you believe that we are talking about almost atleast 35 years ago but I don't forget. God Bless you. Henry
OLLBob,
Any recollections of my father, Frank  Corrigan, Class of 1940? Maybe not yourself but some of your older brothers.
Steve Corrigan
More OLL MemoriesI graduated in 1937 and was probably a fellow graduate of a brother. I had skipped 7th grade and so did not get to know classmates well. It is possible that the Waters family lived across the alley on the second floor of the building on 142nd Street. We lived on the top floor of the next building on Hamilton Place. In the same building lived Buddy Sweeney and Sal Guizzardi, also a tall blond kid who graduated with me. I believe your mother and my mom,  Agnes Orlando, were friends. I believe your mother visited mine in 1952-3 in our new home in Bergenfield, N.J. I remember a sister who must have graduated with me or my sister Marie Orlando in 1936. My brother Andrew graduated 1947. My mother, brother and sister have passed away. I remember Poncho, the Kosta family, the Madigans, Woodses, Rendeans, Glyforces, McCarvils, Walshes, Philipses, Flynns, Duggans, Hooks, Rodriquezes, Craigs, Hugheses, Conways etc. I am sure we had many things in common being OLL graduates at a very special interval of time. I wish you well in your very beautiful state which I have passed through on three occasions. Best wishes and fond memories.
John and Alice Orlando
OLLLot older than you. Attended OLL from late 1930s to early 40s. Baptized, first Holy Communion and Confirmation (Cardinal Spellman). Lived at 145 and the Drive. Remember principal when I was there, Mother Mary Margaret. First grade teacher was Mother Mary Andrews. Remember playing on roof and being shocked by Mother Mary Andrews jumping rope.  Believe there was a Father Dolan around that that time. Only went to through the 3rd grade there and then moved to 75th St and the Blessed Sacrament -- a whole different world, and not as kind or caring.
Memories of OldHi Henry. You may not remember me but I also taught gym with George and sometimes Ms. Ortiz. George is with the Department of Education on the East Side. I work for the Bloomberg Administration. Sister Mary Owen has moved to Rye and of course all the nuns are now gone. I left in 1996 but I still miss all of the good times shared during my years there.
Memories Are GoodHello, You taught me gym and we also had alot of good times with the High School Club on Friday nights. I have most painful memories of O.L.L the day Msgr. Cahill passed away. I never knew how much a heart could have so much pain and yet go on.  My dad died on 4-29-96, Max Mora and I felt the same pain all over again. Do you know where Mother John Fisher has gone ... her name had changed to Sister Maryanne.  I would love to hear from you.
Maxine Mora
Hi HenryMy email address is mmorafredericks@aol.com. I have yours and I am so happy to be in contact with you I graduated in 1973. I went to Cathedral High School.  Later moved to Florida.  My brothers and sisters are still in NY and I miss so much of it.  I look forward to catching up with you.  I will write soon.  God Bless.
Maxine
Fellow ClassmateHi Tony,
It has been more than 48 years since I last saw you - at our graduation from OLL in 1960.  Let me know what you have been up to in the past half century.  My e-mail address is kmckenna@clarku.edu.
Kevin
LTNSMr. White! Not sure if you still come to this site, but on the off chance that you still visit i thought i would write. It's been so long since I've seen or heard from you, not since "Len Fong" closed. For all others that may still come by this site, I graduated in 1983 (possibly 82). Would love to hear from a blast from the past. Please email me at kellyw88@gmail.com
John McKennaHi Kevin,
Any chance you are related to the McKenna family? John McKenna, Class of 1941
Your name sure rings a bell, however there must be 20 years difference between us.
Have a healthy and happy 2009
In friendship,
Ed Woods
John McKennaHi Ed,
I'm afraid that I'm not related to John McKenna.  My brothers, Donald and Desmond, graduated from Our Lady of Lourdes in the fifties.  I wasn't aware of another McKenna family in the parish when I was at OLL.
Happy and healthy 2009 to you as well, Ed.
Cheers,
Kevin
McKenna FamilyThe John McKenna family I knew lived on the northeast corner of Hamilton Place and 141st street. I had other friends and schoolmates in that building. Thinking back, you probably had to be an Irish Catholic to live there. Whatever, I think you had to be an Irish Catholic to attend OLL. I never knew any others at that time, the 1930s. Most fathers worked for the subway and trolley systems or at the milk delivery companies along 125th Street near the river.
Those were the days, my friend. Innocence prevailed!
In friendship,
Ed and Jackie Woods
The Mc KennasJim McKenna and his younger brother Tommy lived in that house above Grizzardi's grocery. Tom hung around with Marty the Hanger Phipher and the Warriors. Billy Vahey and his brother Eddie who retired as a Lieutenant in the NYPD lived there also. Their mother was still there in the early 80s.
You probably knew the Schadack family, who I believe owned Schrafft's or Donald York. I think the building was 644 West 145 St. It was the first apartment house in the city to have a self-service elevator.
When we lived there the neighborhood was known as Washington Heights. For some reason it's now referred to as Hamilton Heights. A couple of great web sites -- Forgotten NY and Bridge and Tunnel Club. You can spend hours & hours on Rockaway Beach alone. Lots of good memories!
How about the movie theaters -- the Delmar, the RKO Hamilton, the Dorset, the Loews Rio, the Loews 175 (now the Rev. Ikes Church) and all the theaters along 180th Street?
Hamilton HeightsNorm,
Many thanks for your fine memories of our old neighborhood but there are a few minor corrections I have to make.  The first is the name Shadack family.  I believe the correct spelling is Shattuck and his address was 676 Riverside Drive on the corner of 145th Street.  We lived there and my brother Bill was classmates with Gene Shattuck.  No relation to the Schrafft's empire. 
Secondly, Hamilton Heights was always known as such.  Outsiders didn't know where that was so we usually said Washington Heights for simplicity.  Washington Heights doesn't really start until 157th Street and is separated from Hamilton Heights by the Audubon plot.
The Old NeighborhoodAlex Hamilton lived nearby. There was a very pleasant young man (OLL Class of 1941) named Eugene Shattuck who lived near 145th Street and Riverside Drive. His father was a professor at Manhattan College and his family owned the Schrafft's Restaurants.
I fondly recall Eugene having the wonderful hourglass-shaped bottles of hard Schrafft's candy brought to school and distributing one bottle to each of his classmates at Christmas time.
Needless to say, the poor Amsterdam Avenue kids were in awe of one who could afford to do such a good deed. You mention the Warriors, I knew the (Gang) but not any of the names mentioned here on Shorpy.
In friendship,
Ed and Jackie Woods
P.S. My in-laws the Boyd family lived at 676 Riverside Drive. Les Sr. had a  radio repair shop on 145th and Broadway.
676 Riverside DriveI lived at 676 as well.  The family's name was Shattuck. In my day, many, many years ago, the elevator had an operator. A sweet man in full uniform.  There was a doorman as well. Saw the building years later and was appalled at the change. Then went up to OLL and hardly recognized it.  It was the best school I ever went to. Thank you for reminding me of the fun. And yes, of the education I got there. By the way, 676 on the Drive was called the Deerfield.
OLL StudentsI am researching my family history and I came upon this great site.  In 1930 my grandparents Michael and Marie Murphy were living at 1744 Amsterdam Avenue and later in the 1930s at 115 Hamilton Place. All of the Murphy children attended Our Lady of Lourdes School. They were:
Maurice (born 1916)
Rita (born 1917/  my Mother)
John (born 1918)
Theresa (born 1920)
Vincent (born 1922)
Veronica (born 1925)
My mom had such fond memories of her time spent there.
Rita Harmon Bianchetto
Hi Neighbor!!Hi Rita,
I'm a former resident of 676 Riverside.  My family lived there from 1940 to 1960 in apartment 4A.  Bobby Foy lived next door to us.  I think you may have left just after we arrived since I remember the elevator operator.  The change to automatic was somtime during or just after WWII.
I remember they put up this 10 foot wall with a door to limit access to the building.  Fat lot of good that did us as my mother was robbed in broad daylight in the service chamber of our apartment in 1960.  That's when my Dad had us pack up and leave for a secure location in the Bronx.
Anyway, the apartment was great.  We had a balcony looking over 145th Street and the river.  My brothers were Larry Jr., Bill and Nick.  Bill was a good friend to Gene Shattuck and went to Xavier with him.  Nick and I also went there.  Larry had a scholarship to All Hallows.
Judy, can you tell me your last name and if you knew me.
Hope to hear from you.
Bob Phillips  at   bobbyphilly@msn.com 
Your DadSorry Steve, I graduated in 1947 and my three brothers have died.  But the name Corrigan does ring a bell.  Probably from my brother Larry who knew just about everyone in OLL.
Sorry I couldn't help out but it was great hearing from you.
Bob Phillips
Andrew.Yes, I remember your brother Andrew.  We were in the same class and we used to kid him about his name - Andrew Orlando and how tall he was.  What's he doing these days?
Bob Phillips
Those were the days, my friendsHello Rita,
I remember the name Murphy but not the faces. We lived a block south of you at 1704 Amsterdam. My sister Ellen, Class of  1936, and brother Bill, Class of 1937, would have known your family.
We had many friends  on Hamilton Place, the Koster family for one: Anita, Class of 1936, her younger sister Barbara married Burl Ives, and her other sister Mary Lou married Eddie Byrne (1710 Amsterdam). Ed's sister married Chump Greeny -- killed at Anzio Beach. He must have lived near your family.
My brother in law Les Boyd lived in the Deerfield and had an electric appliance store on the corner of 145th and B'way and a sporting goods store on the next block next to the Chinese restaurant.
In friendship,
Ed and Jackie Woods
Hello RitaHello Rita,
I attended St. Catherine's Academy on 151st between B'way and Amsterdam (It cost my dear old dad $10 a month for what was considered a private school.) I graduated in 1943 in a class of only four girls. I then went to  the Sacred Heart of Mary Academy in Inwood (I had to climb the long steps up from B'way every day for four years -- Class of 1947.
Most of my relatives went to OLL as did my husband of 59 years, Ed Woods. We are still alive, kicking and fighting and making up every day.
In my Class of 1943, one of the girls was Ann Murphy -- any relation? Also a Virginia O'Malley and my best friend, June McAvoy, who keeps in touch with me. June's grandfather was Judge McAvoy, who had died by that time.
I loved when my folks took me to McGuire's Bar and Restaurant on B'way and 155th. Oh that Roast Lamb (Irish style) on a Sunday or a holiday. The girls used to go to Nuestra Senora de Esperanza (Our Lady of Hope) next to the museum complex. We were told not to go there for confession, but the Spanish priests were limited in English.
Thinking back we had but little to confess at that time.
Eddie and I had an apartment on 150th near the Drive for a few years until 1956, then it was off to Long Island to raise our six children.
In friendship and love hearing from you,
Ed and Jackie Woods
The MurphysHi Ed and Jackie,
Thanks so very much for your reply.  I wish my mom was still with us but she died in 1998, the last of the Murphy kids.
My grandfather Mike Murphy worked for the Post Office (a mail carrier working out of the General P.O. at 33rd and 8th).  My grandmother Marie Murphy died in 1939 while living at Hamilton Place. Uncle Maurice went to Regis H.S. for several years before leaving to attend All Hallows; John and Vincent then attended All Hallows; my mom, Rita, attended Cathedral; Veronica, I believe, attended St. Vincent, and Theresa died at age 25 in 1944 (not sure of her high school). Mom worked at Woolworth's on 145th Street and Broadway, and after high school at New York Telephone, retiring about 1980. She got married in 1943 and moved to 152nd Street, and we attended St. Catherine of Genoa on W. 153rd.  I graduated in 1958. So I know the neighborhood.
Peace, Rita
Hi Ed and JackieSo Jackie you are a St. Kate's gal like me! My tuition was a dollar a month, so your education was really a private school. You have listed the Academy at 151st Street but I think that it was on 152nd between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. I took my high school entrance exam at SHM so I am sort of familiar with the school -- fireworks were going off during our exam. The end result was I did fine and attended Blessed Sacrament on West 70th, Class of 1962.
I last saw the "girls" at a reunion in 2002. My Spanish teacher just celebrated her 70th anniversary as a nun with the Sisters of Charity.
I am not familiar with any of the girls names that you mentioned,including Ann Murphy. I do know McQuire's, where I had my first Shirley Temple, Mass at Our Lady of Esperanza, Trinity Cemetery & loved visiting the museums.
Do either of you recall Eugenio Pacelli, before he became Pope Pius XII visiting at OLL ?
Please tell me about your days on 150th Street near the Drive since I may have been the little skinny blond kid you both passed on the street.
Peace,
Rita in Northern New Jersy
West 150th NYCHello Rita,
Yes, we lived at 615 W. 150th from 1950 to 1956. Four of my children were born there (three at Lutheran Hospital and one at Jewish Memorial). We had many friends from school and the neighborhood living nearby.
However, by 1956 it was time to move on; many changes in the neighborhood. One of my nearby friends was Juanita Poitier; Sidney was just getting started with his acting career. A real nice couple.
Was Father Tracy (Pastor) still there when you attended school? How about Father Brady? He was always telling stories during Mass about his sea time with the Navy. Eddie remembers going to the Woolworths lunch counter (145th and B'way) in the early 1940s just to have an excuse to talk with the girls. He knew many of them from school and the neighborhood.
In friendship,
Jackie
West 152ndHi Jackie and Ed,
I lived at 620 West 152nd Street, just a stone's throw from you folks. My sister was born at Jewish Memorial Hospital in March 1952 -- Dr. Sandler from Broadway 150/151st St. delivered.  Those were the days of Dave's deli on the corner of 151st & Broadway famous for pastrami on rye and a cold beer for the dads, Rafferty's Bar and Grill on the other side of B'way, Harry's or Pierre's homemade candy and ice cream parlor, Cora's beauty salon where my Nana would get a cold wave and blue tint. And not to be forgotten, Snow & Youman's drug store on B'Way and 151st. I recall the name Fr. Brady but it was Pastor Kane and Fr. Tracy (and his Irish Setter, Rusty) that I recall. I just sent a photo of Fr. Tracy to my classmates.
Rita
Japanese BazaarWho remembers the Japanese-American bazaar in the brownstones across from the OLL lower grades school during the war? They had the blue star & the gold star pennants hanging in the windows. They also had a store on Amsterdam Avenue near 144th Street and when they sold coffee the lines would go all around the block.
How about the punchball games out side the school, or stoop ball? Anyone remember playing basketball and using the bottom rung on the fire escape ladder as a basket? The nearest basketball court was at 148th Street by the river. If you wanted to "take out" a ball from the park, you would leave a shirt as a deposit. I remember shoveling snow off the court in order to play.
Unfortunately those days were the last time the country was almost 100% together. Twenty years from now, these will be the "good old days."
Your brother AndrewI palled around with Andy & another kid named Eddie McGlynn. As a matter of fact I have a picture of Andy, Buddy Ayres & me at Rye Beach. Buddy went to Bishop Dubois with us. He was from Vinegar Hill. You didn't mention the Wittlingers. They lived on the first floor in your building. Brendan lives in Virginia. I'm still in touch with him, Matty Waters and Les Scantleberry. Pancho Pereria made a career of the Navy. He died several years ago. JoeJoe, one of my closest friends, was killed in Korea.
Dave's DeliI haven't had a good hot corned beef sandwich since I last had  one at Dave's. His son Milton was running the store in the 1950s after Dave retired to Florida. Dave's used to have a window in the summer that sold potato knishes (5 cents, with mustard) and of course kosher hot dogs.
I heard a Clement Moore fan club still meets every Christmas Eve next to Trinity Church Cemetery and recites "The Night Before Christmas."
I was born in 1928 at 853 Riverside Drive. When 90 Riverside was built in 1941 and blocked the view of the Hudson, we moved there.
Warm regards,
Jackie and Ed
The old neighborhoodThe Wittlingers (the twins were the same age as my two younger brothers, also twins), Matty Waters, Les Scantleberry, JoJo: All those names I remember, especially Pancho and his family. For the life of me, I cannot understand why your name doesn't ring a bell. You mentioned the Warriors. Did you know Tommy or Willie Taylor, the Conroys, Drago, Jackie Hughes, etc. What years did you attend OLL?
I looked up some old friends on the Internet over the past few years -- said hello and then goodbye when their families called to give me the news: Vinny McCarville, Bruce Boyd, Phil Marshall, Eddie O'Brien -- all gone to their maker. They were spread out all over the country. It was satisfying, however, just to say hello. I met Vinny in New Orleans and we had a beer for the first time in many years. We had gone to sea together during WWII and had a lot of memories.
You must forgive my spelling etc. My eyesight is on its way out (along with everything else). I will be 82 in a few months but active and still traveling. I have been to six of the seven continents and my wish is to have breakfast at the South Pole.
In friendship,
Ed and Jackie Woods
ToppersWas Dave's on B'Way near 140th Street? I sold the Sunday News there for 25 cents during the news strike. It was normally a nickel. We had to go down to the News Building to buy them. Overhead!
Who remembers the Sugar Bowl on the corner of 143rd and Broadway? A great hangout for different age groups. How about Toppers Ice Cream parlor on B'Way between 139 & 140th?
In the 1940s and early '50s you could go to the Audubon Theater at 168th and B'Way on Sunday for 77 Cents and see three features, 23 cartoons, newsreels and an eight-act stage show with such luminaries as Billy Halop of the Dead End Kids or Lash LaRue or Ferdinand the Bull. Top shelf. They must get at lest a buck fifty for admission today!
Tea and Nut StoreHi Norm,
My mom (Rita Murphy) mentioned there was an Asian family owned Tea and Nut shop in OLL Parish when she was a child (born 1917).  She said her brothers, Maurice and John Murphy, would sometimes play with the owners' son. I am wondering if this could be the same shop.
Rita
ToppersDave's was on the southwest corner of Broadway and 151st Street, a short trip from my home on 152nd near Riverside Drive. I do recall the Sugar Bowl and maybe was in it once or twice but never hung out there. Topper's is a name I never heard before, as far as ice cream parlors go. Thanks so much for mentioning the name and location. Perhaps before my time (1945 baby) or too far from my home. Many people have mentioned the Audubon Theater to me (165-166th Street) but I have no memory of it at all.  I do recall the San Juan Theater that took over the space of the old Audubon.
I love hearing about Mom's (Rita Murphy's) old neighborhood.
Thanks for sharing.
Rita
Your Name?No, Dave's Deli was on 151st and Broadway. Yes, Toppers & the Sugar Bowl were popular hangouts, however the Piedmont, the Staghorn and the Chesterfield were more popular later on. I have pictures of the great snowfall of December 27, 1947 taken in front of the above mentioned restaurants with a bunch of the guys posing in the cold. 
The Audubon Theater became better known when Malcom X was murdered in its ballroom. I saw Milton Berle there in the early 1940s. Actually, the Bluebird and the Washington were also popular as they only cost 10 cents (no heat or air conditioning). Memories, memories, dreams of long ago.
Ed and Jackie Woods
The OLL ChoirI sang in the OLL choir for about 5 or 6 years and hated it.T he only advantage was that we skipped the last class for practice. The downside was that after attending 9 o'clock Mass we had to sing at the 11 o'clock High Mass, which interfered with our Sunday football game. I played with the Junior Cadets. We had a very good team coached by Joe Romo, who went on to be the trainer for the Oakland A's for many years. I saw him at Yankee Stadium whenever the team played the Yankees at home. Joe died several years ago.
Mr. Skyler, the choirmaster, wore a wig that could easily be mistaken for road kill. I used to wonder if he was committing a sin by wearing something on his head in church. After all it was no different then wearing a hat during Mass.
Mrs. Daly was a very lovely lady who played the organ and gave piano lessons. She lived down the street from us on 142nd between Broadway and Hamilton Place and had something like 10 kids. My sister Maureen was friends with Theresa and Billie. John was I believe the youngest son. Maureen graduated from Notre Dame de Lourdes on Convent Avenue.
My sister Frances was close friends with Helen and Rita Nerney, who lived across the street. Fran died in 2002.
ToppersI lived at 635 Riverside Drive. I  recall Toppers being near the corner of 141st, next to a Jewish deli. In the summer my dad took my brother Tom and me for ice cream there every evening. Happy memories!
Bishop DuboisI graduated 1953 from Bishop Dubois. I believe your brother Ernie was in my class at OLL. I hope he is doing well. Give him my regards.
Bill Healy
Names from the Old NeighborhoodBrendan & Bernie turned 76 on February 2. Don't ask how I remember things like this. I forgot what I had for breakfast this morning. I'll be 76 August 11, weather permitting.
Everyone seems to forget Pinky (Michael) Pereria. You are closer to my late brother Jim's age. Jim hung out with Jimmy and John Bartlett, Donald LaGuardia, Tommy & Willie Taylor (born on the same day a year apart -- Irish twins). Again I don't know why I remember these things.
Eddie O'Brien used to go by the name Drawde Neirbo, his name spelled backwards. He was a close friend of Big Jack Hughes. I recall a group of you guys joining the Merchant Marine during the war. The Dragos lived on 141st Street between Hamilton Place and Amsterdam Avenue. The youngest (Joseph?) was in my class.
A couple of years ago I went down to the old neighborhood with my sons. Surprisingly, it looks great. Lots of renovations going on.
My beautiful wife June is a BIC (Bronx Irish Catholic) from the South Bronx. It's not as great a neighborhood as it used to be, but lots of great people came out of there. I took her away from there, married her 50 plus years ago and got her a decent dental plan and raised five kids in New Jersey.
I graduated in 1948. It should have been 1947 but Mother Mary Inez red-shirted me in the 6th grade.
Will stay in touch.
Norm Brown
Norm Brown??Norm, I graduated in 1947 from OLL. I knew a kid (Norman Brown) who lived on 141st between Hamilton and Broadway. I think he had a younger brother. He went to OLL with me, but he did not graduate from OLL. Eddie McGlynn was in my class, and the Wittlingers. I lived at 510 W 140th. Are you that Norman?
Bill H.
The Summer of '66Hi Jackie and Ed,
I never had one of Dave or Milton's corned beef sandwiches but I can say that the pastrami on rye was a thing that dreams are made of. I recall the knishes out the window in the summer and the hot dogs. Thanks so much for taking me back in time. Milton would take the pastrami out of that silver steamer box sharpening his knife, and the rest was heaven on rye. Milton was still behind the counter in the summer of 1966 but after that I can't say. 
I am sure that "The Night Before Christmas" is still recited next to Clement Moore's grave, in Trinity Cemetery.  In my day the Girl Scout Troop that met at the Church of the Intercession would participate in the recitation of the Moore piece.
I know that 853 Riverside Drive is on the Upper Drive, since I sat on "The Wall" on summer evenings as a teenager.  You said you moved in 1941 to 90 RSD -- did you mean 90 or 890?  I am not familiar with the numbering of the "lower" drive where the red house sits (so it was called).
I am off in search of a good sandwich.
Peace,
Rita
Stagershorn  & ChesterfieldMalcom X was shot in the Audubon Ballroom at the back of the theater, which later became the Teatro San Juan. I saw Abbott and Costello there en Espanol. At 7 years old I was run over by a truck at 142 Street and Broadway, right outside the Staghorn, I managed to live!
I would hang from the window outside the Chesterfield, watching football games on TV with Bobby Heller and Herby Gil and Buddy McCarthy.
That was a hell of a snowstorm in '47. Remember digging tunnels through the snowbanks? You forgot to mention Larry's, just next to the Sugar Bowl. I would watch "Victory at Sea" there.
A couple of years ago I took a walk through the OLL neighborhood and realized that when you are a kid everything you see is at eye level and taken for granted, but as you look up and around from a mature aspect it becomes a whole different world. It is really a beautiful area.
90 Riverside Drive WestHi Rita. I'm positive 853 was on the Lower Drive. When the new building went up next to it around 1941, the address was 90 Riverside Drive West. However, it caused so much confusion with 90 Riverside Drive (downtown) that the address was changed to 159-32 Riverside. The plot originally hosted a small golf course.
I also went to the Church of the Intercession with the Girl Scouts. Small world. And the wall -- on a hot summer night, standing room only.
Jackie
West 140th NYCThe kids I hung around with were in the OLL classes of 1940 and 1941. I had a weekend job in 1941 with Ike's Bike Rental on 141st. He needed someone to identify the kids who rented there (bikes rented for 20 cents an hour -- and that's the truth). We started a Junior Air Raid Wardens group and had a store next to Ike's. Collected paper etc, for the war effort.
And you are correct, within three years, when we turned 16, McCarvill, O'Brien, Drago and I joined the merchant marine.
Did you know the Kieley family -- lived at 1628 Amsterdam before moving to the lower Bronx: Pauline, Rita, Josephine, Peggy and the two boys Nicky and Jimmy. I loved going to their upstairs apartment for tea, especially when Mrs Kiely made Irish Soda Bread. My wife (then girlfriend) Jackie sponsored Jim Kieley when he became a citizen around 1948. He was from County Waterford, the same as her family. We celebrated our 59th anniversary last week.
Regards,
Eddie Woods
My Brother JimYou probably knew my brother Jim Brown. He too was born in 1928. He died three years ago today. He graduated from Cardinal Hayes, spent a couple of years in the Army and graduated from Fordham University. Jim lived in Wycoff, N.J. He was very successful in business.
Amsterdam AvenueThe Denning family (10 kids) lived on Amsterdam Avenue between 141st and 142nd. Hughie had polio and wrote away to FDR for an autograph during the war. As it turned out he was the last person to get one. He was in an iron lung at the time. It was a big deal. Lots of press. One of the boys, Peter Schaefer Denning, was born on the back of a beer truck on the way to the hospital. Hence the name.
The Connolly brothers, Eamon and Timmy, lived in the same building. Everyone in the family had red hair. Not unlike Bobby Foy's family. If I recall properly, the father looked like Arthur Godfrey, his mom like Lucille Ball, Bobby like Red Skelton, and they had a red cat plus an Irish setter.
It took a lot of guts for a group of 16-year-old kids to join the merchant marine. A belated thanks for your service.
My wife makes great Irish soda bread. Is there any other kind? You can give ten women the same ingredients for soda bread and you'll get ten different tasting breads. All great! Especially with a cup of Lynches Irish tea. The season is almost upon us once again.
The only Kiely (different spelling) I knew was my NYPD partner Timmy, who was from the South Bronx, Hunts Point. Tim grew up with Colin Powell. Having worked in the South Bronx for 25 years and marrying June Margaret O'Brien, one of six girls from there, I pretty much connect with the people of SOBRO, as the area is now known. Sooner or later everything gets yuppified.
How about this web site? Something else!
Take care,
Norm
Mea CulpaHi Jackie,
Of course you know 853 RSD is on the Lower Drive but Google Maps does not.  "Looks like 800 Block of Upper Drive is even numbers and 800 Block on Lower Drive is odd numbers."  I did not locate 159-32 but I did find a 159-34 and 159-00, seems to be the last structure (red brick) on the Lower Drive area that we are speaking of, now a co-op but the year of construction is not listed.
I have very fond memories of the folks I spent time with on "our" wall.  
Peace,
Rita
Yes, it's Kiely I was in error. For whatever resaon, The Dublin House on 79th off the NE corner of Broadway became a meeting place for many of the kids from the OLL area up until the early 1970s: Eamon Connolly,  Tommy Taylor etc. I worked with Tom for a short time before be went on the force and then as a T Man. I have not heard from him  in too many years. One of great fellows from the old neighborhood. 
In friendship,
Ed Woods
My e-mail: eandjwoods50@Yahoo.com
P.S. The Kiely family moved to Crimmons Ave in the Bronx
 West 159th Street NYCDear Rita,
I do enjoy rehashing the old neighborhood and the wonderful memories we can recall. Yes, it is the last buillding on the street and I lived there until 1950, when I married Ed. My uncle George lived there until c. 1981 in a rent controlled apartment, and yes, it did become a co-op.
When first opened, the building had four entrances. Later, in the 1980s, it was down to one main entrance on the via-dock for safety reasons. I loved our apartment there, which had a beautiful view of the Hudson and the George Washington Bridge.
My friend June, nee McAvoy, lived at 3750 B'way. We were together in school for 12 years at St. Catherine's and Sacred Heart. June lives in Maryland.
By the way,  my e-mail is eandjwoods50@yahoo.com
Jackie Woods
The Red HouseDear Jackie & Ed,
How lucky you were to have lived in the Red House, especially with the views of the bridge and the river. Growing up I never knew anyone who lived there, so never saw the interior, I'm sure it was lovely. I heard that David Dinkins lived there at some point before he became mayor. Many of my classmates lived in 790 Riverside Drive and I was always so impressed that their apartments had two doors. Our apartment was on the fourth floor of a walkup and across the street from a garage. Funny how I was not really impressed by a doorman but by the two doors.
I seem to remember a gas station near your friend June's  house...other side of Broadway from the museum, now college. One of my St. Catherine's classmates, last I heard, he was teaching at the college.
Was Rexall Drug on the corner of 157th, with the newsstand outside the door, when you lived in the Red House? In my home we seemed to have all of the city newspapers -- morning, afternoon and evening, some selling for 4 cents. To this day I read two papers every day and still long to go out Saturday night to pick up the Sunday paper.
Thanks for the email.
Peace,
Rita
Class of 1959I attended O.L.L. from 5th to 8th grade. My 5th grade teacher was Mother Mary Edward, what a wonderful woman, 6th was Mother Mary St. Hugh, 7th Mother Mary Edward and 8th Mother Mary Bernadette.  Graduated in 1959. Classes were mxed -- black, white and Latino. Memories are mostly good ones -- Father Kline, Father Malloy, Father Hart. The religious experience most memorable, especially during Lent, novenas on Wednesday afternoon and Stations on Friday after school.
Liggets / RexallHello Rita,
I loved the lunch/soda  counter at Liggetts/Rexalls. for whatever reason, my family used the pharmacy across the street, on the east side of B'way, to have prescriptions filled.
The family that owned and operated the newsstand helped us lease our first apartment at 600 W. 157th. Apartments were in short supply in 1950. We lived in the unit formerly rented by the Singer Midgets next to Peaches Browning of Daddy Browning fame. Of course they were long gone when we lived there. My father was very active in the Tioga Democratic Club with the Simonetti family. 
Do you remember Warner's Cafeteria between 157 & 158th? We visited St. Catherine's Church Christmas week 2007 with our niece who wanted to see where she was baptized in 1953. She is on Mayor Bloomberg's staff.
Warm regards,
Jackie Woods
eandjwoods50@yahoo.com
Oh, as the poet said, "To return to yesteryear and our salad days." 
My brother ErnieBilly, Ernie and I went to Bishop Dubois. Ernie for two years and I for three. We both were bounced in 1951 and transferred to Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J. We went there on a Schrafft's scholarship. Our mom waited on tables at Schrafft's in order to send us there. In those days it was pretty much a blue collar school. It wasn't that far removed from being a reform school. VERY STRICT. Today it's much more hoity toity. I'm still in close touch with my old classmates, most of whom have been successful in life.
Ernie was a great basketball player, the first to score over 50 points in a game in Bergen County (three times), breaking Sherman White's record. White was an All American but messed up his career in the 1950-51 college season. Ernie went to Fordham on an athletic scholarship.
Ernie died in 2002. He was a very special guy, extremely generous and giving. We miss him a lot. He lived a couple of blocks away from me as did most of my siblings. Sad to say, the circle grows smaller.
1959 OLL gradsAre you out there, does any one remember or know of any of the following graduates of O.L.L. -- Starr Martin, Carol Long or her sisters, Carlotta and Tony, Josephine Velez, Melvina (Kinky) Boyd, Chicky Aponte. I went of to Cathedral and the others to various Catholic high schools and lost touch. After finding this site, many memories have come back. Would like to know how old friends are doing. 
600 W. 157thHi Jackie,
You lived around the corner from the post office. I remember going there once to get a money order and losing Mom's gray umbrella. Your building was by the Grinnell, where a friend's father was the superintendent during the 60s.
Liggett/Rexall -- we went to Snow & Youman's for drugs but to Rexall for film, flashbulbs and of course the soda fountain. The last time I was there was April 1965, just before my son was born. I do not recall a Warner's Cafeteria but do remember the famous, and oh so good, Imperial Deli, Lambos Flower Shop, Commander Bar & Grill, Full Moon & McGuire's.
I visited St. Catherine's about 1994 and it was like being in a time warp, except for the piano near the altar. The church was just as I remembered when I got married in 1964, only smaller. The school is now public. I am in touch with some of my friends from the Class of 1958. It was nice that your niece was able to visit the church where she was baptized.
I never heard of the Tioga Democratic Club or the Simonetti family (the only Simonettis I know are the family whose niece and son are engaged).
Jackie, was the pharmacy on the east side of B'way United or perhaps that was a sign for United Cigar?
So nice this walk down memory lane.
Best to your Eddie.
Peace,
Rita
Memories: dreams of long agoHi Rita,
My close friend June's, nee McAvoy, family lived in the Grinnell for many years. Her grandfather was Judge McAvoy. Eddie claims to have an exceptionally good memory but he says he needs to yield to you. You do have a most wonderful recall. However, he is more familiar with the OLL school and church neighborhood.
My brother-in-law (much older than Eddie and me) was in the vending machine business: Ace Distributing -- jukeboxes, cigarette machines etc. Eddie worked for him for  a few years when we first married and the company had locations in almost every store in the neighborhood (including the Commander). That is a dead business today. How about Pigeon Park? You couldn't sit there.
Warm regards, Jackie Woods
GrinnellHi Jackie,
Do you recall a Doctor James Farley living in the Grinnell?  Doctor Farley must have taken care of half of Washington Heights over a period of many years (had an office on 178 St. between Broadway and Ft. Washington Ave.).
Ah, Pigeon Park...I remember it well and always tried to circumvent it!
All the best.
Rita
I remember it wellHi Rita,
Our family physician was Dr. VanWorth, as an adult I visited Dr. Liebling, who had an office c. 156th. He later moved down to 72nd Street. A wonderful caring man (who made house calls). My son Ed Jr. was 58 years old this week, I have a picture of him when he was 1 sitting  on a pony taken on the corner of 155th and B'way. John Orlando's brother married a St Catherine's girl. I don't know her age.
Ain't we got fun?
Jackie Woods
Current resident of the neighborhood (Grinnell)I'd like to invite you to visit www.audubonparkny.com, which is a virtual walking tour of the neighorhood you're discussing.  You can "take the walking tour" online or go to the Sitemap/ Index of Images to read about specific buildings and see pictures from many eras.
I'm happy to post any pictures (and credit the owners) of the neighborhood that you'd like to share - focusing on the Audubon Park area (155th to 158th, Broadway to the river).
www.audubonparkny.com
Walking TourThanks so very much for posting the site for the Audubon Park area...I had a delightful walking tour.
Down Memory Lane at OLLWhat happened, did we all run out of memories?
Who remembers the stickball field comprised of Hamilton Place from 140 to 141st Street. A ball hit over the small roof on 141st was a double and over the roof at 95 Hamilton Place was a homer. After the war the street was so crowded with cars that the games were moved to Convent Avenue in front of CCNY. There was some heavy money bet on these games.
Walking TourThanks, Rita, I'm glad you enjoyed the walk!  Please come back and visit the site again.  I post a Newsletter on the homepage (www.AudubonParkNY.com ) each month highlighting new pages, information, and research, as well as updates on the Historic District project.
Matthew
The Prairie StateDoes anyone have memories of the Prairie State? It was a WWI battleship moored in the Hudson River at about 135 Street and I believe used for Naval Reserve training. As kids we snuck on board and played basketball on it. The deck (court) had a bow on it which is partially responsible for the replacement parts in my ankle today.
How about the "Dust Bowl" at 148 Street next to the river where we played football and baseball? Today it's state of the art, at least compared to what we played on. Now there is grass on the field. Progress!
Under the Via DockFar from being a battleship, the Prairie State (also called the Illinois) was an old transport. However, as youngsters we would have been impressed by its size.
Pancho and another neighborhood boy whose name I can't recall trained there before being sent to England as frogmen in preparation for the D-Day landing. It was decided that those boys with big chests (big lungs) could do the job best. I can recall Pancho telling me after the war that he had only a few days of Boot Camp.
Sports -- we used the oval near City College. Stick ball -- 144th between Amsterdam and B'way. A ball hit to any roof was an out, never a homer. Spaldines was Spaldings were costly in the 1930s. One had to learn to hit as far up the street as possible, over the sewers. That is why  the good hitters (one strike only) were called three-sewer hitters.
The Prairie State was docked under the Via Dock c. 130th St. Like you, we visited it often. Nearby were the meatpacking/butcher plants. During the 1930s there were two "Hoovervilles" (hobo camps) under the dock. The overhead gave the men some some protection from the elements. I had an uncle who took me fishing off the piers. I felt sorry for the "lost souls." Then one day they were all gone. Hosed away! I used to wonder where  they went.
In friendship
Ed Woods
eandjwoods50@yahoo.com
PanchoAs you recall, Pancho was short, about 5'8" and maybe 200 lbs. and a very good athlete -- basketball, baseball and could hold his own on a basketball court. I remember speaking to him about the UDT (Underwater Demolition Teams,the precursor to the Navy Seals) and asking him if they were relegated to swimming all the time. He told me they spent most of the time running, running, running to build endurance.
As I remember, the Oval was near Convent Avenue. We never used the term two sewers in stickball. That was a Bronx expression. We bought our pink "Spaldeens" at Rutenbergs candy store on Amsterdam Avenue between 140 and 141 Streets for a nickel. He also sold kids twofers, two for a penny loosies, and Bugle Tobacco so you could roll your own or purchase a corncob pipe to puff away. Loosies were two cigarettes for a penny. I understand due to the cost of smokes they are doing that again.
We played "swift pitching" in the park at Hamilton Place between 140 and 141 streets. It was comprised of drawing a box (a strike zone) on the  the handball court wall and throwing balls and strikes as hard as you could. I'm a little younger then you but I remember the Swift Meat Plant down by the river and the time John Garfield filmed a scene from a movie, Force of Evil, running down the steps  toward the river. Somehow he ended up at the red lighthouse under the GW Bridge and discovered his brother's body, played by Thomas Gomez, in the river.  As kids during the war we would fish and crag off the docks  right near the old Two Six Precinct. I'll never forget the time my younger brother came home with a catfish and an eel and damn near burned the house down trying to cook them.
Boy, life was a lot simpler then. Even with a world war raging.
Amsterdam AveRutenbergs, address 1628 Amsterdam, I lived in the upstairs bldg for five years. The Rutenbergs lived in an apt in the back of their store. Tommy Smith worked their paper route for many years. Tommy lived in 1626 next to McCarvill. The Conroys (Johnny the Bull) lived in 1630. Eddie O'Brien lived in 1634 over the Rothschild Deli where we could buy Old Dutch beer for 14 cents  a quart plus a 5 cent deposit. "It's for my father." The playground around the corner was busy at night after it closed  for the day.
My recall of  loosies is six for five cents in a small paper bag with six wooden matches. 
You refer to the station house as the "Two Six Precinct."
Something tells me you were "on the job." A good family friend, Frank Lynch, became the Captain at 152nd and Amsterdam (The Three Two)?
Your e-mail?
In friendship,
Ed Woods
Three Oh PrecinctYes I worked in the South Bronx for 25 years which included 10 years at the Yankee Stadium,ten of the best years of my life. A ring side seat at the world. We played many games there-- Shae, West Point, etc. -- and traveled to Venezuela with the New York Press team. I worked out with players on the DL. Thurman Munson was a good friend as was Catfish Hunter. Lou Pinella and Graig Nettles. 
We guarded Pope Paul and Pope John Paul II. John Paul II gave off an aura that was indescribable. I was very close to him on three occasions and he made you weak in the knees and start to shake. Believe me it wasn't his celebrity status. Some of the people I knew were Cary Grant who used to look for me when he came to many games. Someday I'll tell you how he saved my marriage. A funny story! Jimmy Cagney came to a few games. Boy was that sad to see Rocky Sullivan, every Irish American kid's hero, all crippled up with arthritis.
I finished up in the Bronx Detective Task Force and never looked back. It was a great career if you rolled with the punches.
The six for five must have been filter tips.I forgot about the wooden matches. Do you remember the Hooten Bars they sold? One by two inch chocolate candy stuck on wax paper. Nobody seems to remember them. Rutenberg had the greatest malteds. They kept the milk frozen. God! Were they good!
The Three Oh Precinct was at 152 Street & Amsterdam Avenue across from St. Catherines Grammar School where I went to kindergarten for a day. Later it became Bishop Dubois H.S., which I attended for three years before getting bounced along with my younger brother.
There was a kid by the name of Neally Riorden who may have lived in your building and a kid by the name of Brian Neeson Hannon who died around 1945. I remember going to his wake on Vinegar Hill. Next we should take a trip down Vinegar Hill.
My e mail is fuzz408@optonline.net
God bless & HAPPY EASTER
Rutenberg'sRutenberg's had the greatest milkshakes mainly because they kept the milk semi frozen. They also had Hooten bars, sheets of one by two inch chocolate that sold for a penny each. I've never met anyone from a different neighborhood who heard of them.
Yes, I was on the job for 25 years in the South Bronx. Check your personal e mail. The Three Oh was at 152 Street and Amsterdam Avenue. It's now a landmark. The new precinct is on 151st Street of Amsterdam.
How about Wings Cigarettes with the photos of WW II planes? 
The Shamrock Bar was on the corner of 140th Street and Amsterdam. On weekends guys would pick up containers of beer and carry them over to Convent Avenue for refreshments during the stickball games.
Take care,
Norm
PanchoLooking for any info on Pancho Periera. He is my godfather and was best friends with my dad, Frank Corrigan. 
OLLumnaI went graduated from OLL in 1950. I came across this great site and I am wondering if anyone graduated the same year. I have been trying to get in contact with my fellow classmates and this looked like a great opportunity!
The Old ShamrockI visted the 140th Street area a few years ago and took a few pictures. The Shamrock is gone with the wind -- history.
I showed a picture of the building (1626 Amsterdam) to Vinnie McCarvill, who had lived there, when I met him for  a beer in New Orleans a few years ago, and he almost wept. Some great memories of our Salad Days came to mind. 
"Oh the nights at the playground on Hamilton Place." It's the place  where we came of age.
In friendship,
Eddie and Jackie
ParishesOne thing folks from New Orleans and New York City have in common is that you identified your neighborhood by the parish in which you lived.
Agnes GerrityMy mother, Agnes Gerrity, born 1916, and her brothers Thomas and Richard (born c. 1914 and 1920) attended Our Lady of Lourdes until high school. All three have passed away but I'd love to hear if anyone happens to remember them.  Like your mother, my mom loved that school and spoke of it often. 
Anne Collins
OLL Confirmation Day 1935I thought  former students would enjoy seeing the uniform we wore in Our Lady of Lourdes School Primary Dept (1st to 4th Grade) during the 1930s.

KnickersIt was humiliating having to wear knickers. Remember pulling them down to your ankles and thinking "maybe people will think they are pegged pants"? Boy did we ever fool the public! And how about the high starched collars -- I don't think they could have even gotten Freddie Barthomew to wear them. Didn't we replace them with waterboarding?
However Ed, they look great on you. Do you still wear them?
Old OLL picsDoes any one have some old OLL class photos or just some neighborhood pictures to post here in the comments? I'm sure a lot of Shorpy addicts would appreciate them.
OLLi go to school at lourdes now im in the 8th grade and i think its really cool to see people talk about the memories they had about my school before i was even born and i would love to see some kind of picture of the inside of the school like a class picture so i can see what it used to look like
[Just wait'll you get to Capitalization and Punctuation. - Dave]
Class of 1964I too went to OLL from '57-'64. My parents and I moved to 3495 Broadway at 143rd St. in 1956. I started in the 4th grade with Mother Mary William. The school in those days was no longer a military academy. We wore navy blue uniforms, white shirts and the school tie and the girls wore navy blue jumpers with a white blouse and blue tie. It was very interesting reading about all the students who came before me and where they lived. I always was so curious to find out how this old neighborhood looked like years before we moved in. As you all know, the area changed at some point racially, although when I was at OLL the school was still predominantly white with a handful of Black children. I will always have wonderful memories of my time at OLL. My parents moved out of the area in 1969 and I since been back once to recapture some old memories of my childhood.
NostalgiaThe picture that follows is the 1937 graduation class with the girls omitted. Monsignor McMahon built church and school(1901-1913); after 15 years as Curator at St Patrick's Cathedral, constructed 7 years earlier. See church of Our Lady of Lourdes for construction details. At the time of graduation, Fr's Mahoney, Dillon and Brennan resided across from the Church. The Poor Clares home was to right of the church, and secondary had Society of the Holy Name Jesus sisters. School and Church gave us faith and hope and discipline. Our world was the depression years followed by the wars. Our class of 1937 was just in time. The handsome lad below the sergeant stripes is the brother of contributor Ed Woods.Ed,and brothers Bill and Dennis served with distinction. Andy Saraga bottom right was a highly decorated Marines  The others served as well. I hope Our Lady of Lourdes provides the inspiration our families sought for us. 
Nostalgia 1937The 1937 graduation photo is great. It's with both sadness and pride to think that most of these wonderful kids would be defending our country in a very short time in different uniforms.Believe it or not this military training was useful. How about more pictures like this and some candid neighborhood shots.
OLL in the NYThttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/nyregion/16priest.htm
So interesting: A more recent residentJust want to say that I've read every entry on this post. It is so interesting to read the memories shared by those that lived way before you in the same neighborhood. My mother and I live on 135th Street near Riverside between 66th and 77th, then moved to 138th between Hamilton and Amsterdam. I went to PS 161 and graduated from CCNY. I also have fond memories of my childhood. I used to play basketball in an after school center at Our Lady of Lourdes as a young kid, visited the area a couple of years ago and brought back great pics.
Cheers to all
Mauricio
The Grinnell: Celebrating Its Centennial Those of you who remember The Grinnell (800 Riverside Drive) may be interested to know that the residents have just begun celebrating the building's centennial.  We're having a year of events,so this is a great year to visit!  
Check the website: http://www.thegrinnellat100.com/ for photos, historical news articles, and residents' memories (and contribute your own).
Click the calendar tab for a listing of the events between now and July 2011.
Matthew
Why Grinnel!The hundredth anniversary of a building? Forgotten is the fact that it's also the anniversary of the site building, and all the memories fast fading. I think Ed Woods of all the graduates, always hit the mark. Several others struggled to add something. If someone remembers the names of the sisters and preferably anecdotes please don't deny this information from this site. I personally remember sister Rose from 4th grade 1934. I believe Mother Michael provided my brother Andy's Confirmation name. Others with better memories speak up. Also it wasn't only our generation that owes  recognition for all given freely. 
Christmas at Our Lady of LourdesAt Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, the statues in the creche would be replaced by live students. The scene would be repeated the following day at the 9 o'clock Children's Mass and the 11 o'clock High Mass.
A live baby would be borrowed to lie in the manger. The girl who posed as the Blessed Mother and the boy who posed as Joseph were the envy of the entire student body.
"Oh to return to yesteryear."
Happy New YearThank you SHORPY for bringing back to us so many wonderful memories. It has been said pictures are worth a thousand words. Shorpy's pictures, however, are worth so much more -- just can't put a number on them. Thank you and a Happy New Year to the Shorpy Staff.
Ed and Jackie Woods
[And thank you, Ed and Jackie, for inspiring the hundreds of interesting comments in this thread. - Dave]
The OLL neighborhoodIt's nice reading and re-reading your stories about OLL, Hamiliton Place,and seeing the names listed.
Many years ago, in my past, I visited the old neighborhood only to find it somewhat depressing, old and in poor shape. One time in particular I had parked my new "rental car" near West 144th street, and was showing my young children some of the places I lived on Amsterdam Ave, Hamilton Place ( 95 and 115 buildings) when two older African Americans came up to us, and said you'd be better not park here." It wasn't said as a threat, but more it's unsafe here, now that the area has changed. I had told them that I used to live here many years ago.
I am glad to hear from Norm, that the area has rebounded, and in looking at the prices of the real estate I wish we had stayed here.
Keep up the good work.
Matt Waters mattminn@aol.com
Hi Anon Tipster 1959.  I used to date Carlotta Long & visited her lovely home many times.  147 off Convent as I recall. I often wonder in my old age (69) whatever happened to her & how her life turned out. I did graduate from Dubois in 1960, so I'm very familiar w/the sights & places referenced here. So glad I found this site. 
Tis That Time of YearThank you SHORPY for another year of nostalgic pictures and comments. Brought to us in Black and White and Living Color.
Such fond memories of long ago, especially the itchy bathing suits. In the 1920s and up to the early 1940s, when on or near the beach and boardwalk, boys had to wear the coarse wooolen suits with the tops on at all times.
Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New York to Dave and staff.
Ed and Jackie Woods
Our Yearly PlaysI graduated in 1960 after 8 memorable years. I remember our yearly plays in the auditorium and all the hard work and practice we put into it. Father Hart was our pastor and I remember our farewell speech to him. My best friend was Lydia Marin and I remember Maria Santory, Joyce Brown, Maria Matos, Alma Mora, Maureen Quirk.  If any of you from this class are around, give a shout.
Jackie Erick
Class of 1964Class of 1964 where are you guys? Write something here you remember. Do you remember me?
OLL Class of 1957Here's the names of the boys' teachers from 1949 to 1957. I think I have then all correct.
Grade 1, 1949-1950:	Mother Mary Theodosia
Grade 2, 1950-1951:	Sister Mary Macrina
Grade 3, 1951-1952:	Mother Mary Eulalia
Grade 4, 1952-1953:	Mother Mary Declan
Grade 5, 1953-1954:	Mother Mary Edwards
Grade 6, 1954-1955:	Mother Maria Del Amor
Grade 7, 1955-1956:	Mother Mary Euphrates
Grade 8, 1956-1957:	Mother Mary Rosario
Eighteen nuns lived in the convent adjacent to the church on 142nd Street: eight boys' teachers, eight girls' teachers, the school principal, known as the Reverend Mother, and the housekeeper.
Six priests and the pastor lived in the rectory on the south side of 142nd Street.
OLL was also known as Old Ladies' Laundry.
I've written down the names of almost all the boys who, at one point or another, were part of the class of 1957. Only 27 graduated in 1957. Many were expelled in 1956 as part of a crackdown on gang membership. Mother Mary Rosario was brought in to preside over a difficult situation, but after the expulsions her job turned out to be not that complicated.
I'll post the list of names another time.
Our Lady of Lourdes Alumni ReunionHello out there.
I am a current parent at Our Lady of Lourdes.  As we enter a new decade, OLL would would like to start planning a few reunions.  I am looking for some potential organizers to help us reach out and plan events in the new year.  Please reach out if you are interested in planning or connect dots.
There are many new happenings at the school.  We will be launching a new website by the end of the month with an alumni portion.  
Thank you!
Vanessa
vdecarbo@ollnyc.org
Class of 1971Hi! I graduated in 1971 and our teacher was Sister Patricia. I remember Marlene Taylor, Karen, Miriam, Dina, Elsie, Maria and Robin, Carla, Margaret and Giselle. Our class was an all girl class. I also remember Sister Rebecca, Sister Theresa, Sister Rosemarie (our history teacher). I continued to Cathedral High School but I miss all my dear classmates. Is there anyone out there who enters this site? My email is n.krelios@yahoo.com  I would love to hear from someone. Marlene Taylor became a doctor (wonderful!!!).
Shorpy Hall of FameIf there were a Shorpy Hall of Fame, this photo would definitely have to be in the inaugural class.  I've enjoyed going through the many comments for this photo going back to 2007 even though I have absolutely no connection to the school other than being Catholic.  What is equally as awesome is that a look at the location today via Google Maps indicates that, other than a few trees, fire hydrants, automobiles and removal of the statue, everything is basically the same today. 
Double DutchKllroy is correct about not much having changed, but it looks like even the foreground fire hydrant is in the same place (but a newer model).
It looks like the circa 1914 photographer was set-up on the northeast corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 143rd Street. The Google Maps photo was taken travelling northbound on Amsterdam Avenue. So basically both photos are shot from almost the same location; it is interesting how the vintage image makes 143rd Street appear much shorter than in the Google image. I guess it's the result of different formats and lenses.
By the way, the buildings at the far end of the T-intersection, on Convent Avenue (mostly blocked by the trees in the Google image), reflect NYC's Dutch heritage [ETA:] as does "Amsterdam" Avenue.

(The Gallery, Education, Schools, G.G. Bain, Kids, NYC)

Chelsea Piers: 1912
... relocated to New Jersey, with some in Staten Island and Brooklyn Working hard They're working up a sweat in the upper floor ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/15/2024 - 3:02pm -

New York, 1912. "New Chelsea Piers on the Hudson." Feast your eyes on this veritable visual smorgasbord. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Gloriously Good! Cork TippedProbably my favorite things to look for in these pictures are the advertising signs. I never smoked or even saw a Nebo cigarette, but now I'd like to just because of that sign. One of the things I miss the most from my childhood and early adulthood is the wide variety of tobacco advertising and many of these old signs are getting to be valuable to collectors. Imagine the price of a big Nebo sign if you could even find one!
White Star LinesWhere the Titanic was headed when it had an unexpected detour.
The Carpathia would tie up there and discharge the survivors.
Here's your Hopkins Manufacturing Building....View Larger Map
Play ball! (or anything else)With commercial* and passenger shipping long gone, several of the piers have now been repurposed into a huge, multi-sport athletic facility. Their nautical past hasn't completely vanished, however, as they contain docking facilities for several party/dinner-cruise ships and a marina. Prior to the athletic facility's opening about 15 years ago the piers had been decrepit for many years.  
The streetcar yard in the lower right is most likely that of the 23rd Street Crosstown Line, which ran along the street of that name from river to river.  It was among the last of Manhattan's streetcar lines to be "bustituted" in the mid-1930's.  Today the athletic facility is a fairly long walk from the nearest subway station, that of the C and E trains at 23rd Street and Eighth Avenue, but that certainly hasn't hurt its popularity.
* = shipping certainly hasn't disappeared from New York Harbor, it's just that with the advent of container shipping most activity has relocated to New Jersey, with some in Staten Island and Brooklyn
Working hardThey're working up a sweat in the upper floor offices of the Steel Construction building!
Funnels and mastsThe sight of all those funnels and masts poking up from the successive piers is a visual tease of the very best kind.
Not the Night before ChristmasLease.
The Cross & Brown Company has leased
for the Clement Moore estate the plot 100 X 95 feet
at 548 to 554 West Twenty-second
street for a term of years at an aggregate
rent of $250,000. The property will be improved
with a four story and basement
fireproof building, to be occupied by the
Hopkins Manufacturing Company of Hanover.
Pa., as a carriage factory. James
N Wells's Sons were associated as brokers
In the transaction.'
NY Sun - Oct 15 1911
Would you stay at the TERMINAL Hotel?  Does anyone ever check out?
Somewhere out thereA traction modeler is dreaming of the layout he'll base on this photo as soon as his Significant Other agrees to give up the spare room.
Strictly Limited EngagementA swift plummet down the Google hole reveals that "A Scrape o' the Pen" was a Scottish comedy that ran for just under three months at Weber's Music Hall.  The names of the actors in the cast read like pitch-perfect parodies of themselves, perhaps from a unmade Coen Brothers period film.  I note only the delightful Fawcett Lomax, who sailed back without delay after the show closed to Liverpool, aboard the Lusitania, in December, 1912.
Drafting - the old way!My eyes, too, were drawn to the top floor of the steel construction building. The white shirts and ties, and the tell-tale bend of the torso, makes me believe that this is the drafting room. No CAD terminals, just wonderful old T-squares, triangles, and compasses. Those were the days!
Not just a flash in the pan"A Scrape O' The Pen" apparently entertained a worldwide audience over several years. Here's a 1915 review from a  run in Adelaide, Australia:
A Scrape o' the Pen.
In the olden days in Scotland no funeral was complete without its professional mourner, and in Mr. Graham Moffat's Scottish comedy, "A Scrape o' the Pen," which opens at the Theatre Royal on Saturday, Mr. David Urquhart, who delighted theatregoers here as Weelum in "Bunty Pulls the Strings" will humorously depict Peter Dalkeith, a paid mourner, which profession he has adopted, owing to his being jilted by the girl of his choice. This, and such old-time customs as Hogmanay, first footing, &c, have provided Mr. Moffat with excellent material for his new comedy. The story of the play is concerned with the romantic marriage of a young boy and girl according to Scottish law, the young fellow leaving for Africa immediately after signing the papers, and the subsequent adventures of the wife he leaves behind. Mr. and Mrs. Moffat are appearing in the original parts of Mattha and Leezie Inglis, and will have the support of a newly-augmented company of Scottish players.
Pier 62On the west side of Manhattan piers are numbered by this method: the cross street plus 40. Thus, Pier 62 (the number above the "American Line" pier) is located on 22nd Street. Therefore Peter's estimation that the streetcar yard is on 23rd Street appears to be correct.
Interestingly, this photo captures a streetcar about to enter or exit the yard. If there is a clock in view, a date in 1912 for the photo, a streetcar schedule and some streetcar records still around, we might know which streetcar, which direction it was heading and who was driving it. Might even find the fare collection records and know how many people rode that run that day. Ahhh, history's mysteries.
Quaker StateAttached is an advertisement, perhaps another Billboard, flacking Old Quaker Rye Whiskey. Looks like 3 Clubmen welcoming their Bootlegger, possibly Benjamin Franklin. Quakers are allowed to imbibe but not at the Meeting House.
Can anyone tell meThe purpose of the frameworks that extend above the edges of the pier roofs? My guess is that they re to prevent the rigging of masted ships from tearing into the roofs themselves - anyone have a better guess?
Highly sought afterbut rarely found; honesty in a rye whiskey.
Chelsea PiersThe steel frameworks on the roofs held the tracks for the rigid or roll-up heavy pier side doors during vessel unloading.
One of the few...trucks in this picture: just above the Old Quaker whiskey sign.
Broadway JonesThe great George M. Cohan wrote the script, composed the score, directed, and starred in "Broadway Jones," a comedy about a boy who inherits a chewing gum factory, saves the company, and wins the heart of the girl.  His father, Jere, and his mother, Nellie, costarred.  
I can tell youThe girderwork at the edges of the finger piers can also be used in conjunction with ships' tackle to extend the reach for loading and unloading cargo.
Henry B. Harris of Titanic fame presents  -  "The Talker"Interesting that a partially hidden billboard for the 1912 play "The Talker" produced by Henry B Harris would be so close the the White Star Line pier. Harris being a celebrity who lost his life on board the Titanic in April of 1912.
Two largest shipsThe twin funneled liner at Pier 60 appears to be the White Star Liner RMS Oceanic (1899) and, further away at Pier 56 is the RMS Campania (1893).
And on our leftin the distance is 463 West Street home of Bell Labs, where many devices we take for granted were invented.  And in the distance to the right, over in Hoboken one can see the North German Lloyd piers, and to their right the Holland America pier which appeared earlier in Shorpy.
Mercantile Marine Co.Interesting story about the company that owned all of the ship lines at these piers here.
The Nebo ManYears before the Marlboro man rode the range there was Nebo man looking so cool with color coordinated tie and hat plus I'm sure he lit that match with the tip of his thumb's fingernail.

Dog ParkIs that where the dog park is now? In the bottom right hand corner, where all the train/trolley cars are parked? 
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC, Streetcars)

Brooklyn Terminal: 1903
New York circa 1903. "Brooklyn Terminal at Brooklyn Bridge." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing ... Xed Out Eagle warehouse is the last man standing on the Brooklyn side. Most of the surrounding area area fell victim to the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/18/2012 - 3:32pm -

New York circa 1903. "Brooklyn Terminal at Brooklyn Bridge." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
NYC Done RightThanks for the latest series of NYC photos, Dave.  I particularly enjoyed them because they were all shot within walking distance of my apartment.   Happy New Year to all you Shorpsters, and thanks again to Dave and staff for another year of glimpses into the past.
59 Cures GripSo I had to check.  "Grip" was another name for influenza.  Tucker's 59 cough drops must have been quite powerful.
[Most commonly spelled "grippe." - Dave]
No excuses!If your place of work was on the other side of the bridge.  This bridge had the levels, the lanes, the tracks to accommodate trains, streetcars, pedestrians, autos, and carriages. Your tax dollars really at work.
Capturing the Nity-GrittyI love this shot because rather than the majestic views of  this wonderful bridge that we have all seen and enjoyed, this photograph shows so clearly what the bridge does.
MedsI love these views, and could not help but note the "Carter's Little Liver Pills" signs. As I recall, they were quite successful with that until the Feds got into the act, and they became "Carter's Little Pills" instead.
Career ladderI imagine the following week there was a job opening for a sign painter.
Xed OutEagle warehouse is the last man standing on the Brooklyn side. Most of the surrounding area area fell victim to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
Shades of the 1960sIt looks like the Marlboro Man got his start on the Quaker Oats sign!
CremoI've always wondered why that particular company came up with the name "Cremo" as a brand name for its nickel cigars. Seems like a name like that would be more suited for use as a hair tonic or as a milk product of some sort.
In the distanceIs that the Woolworth Building being erected across the river?
CityscapeThis pic screams urbanization to me.  The structures, the steel, the concrete, the trolleys, the clouds of smoke.  The people are dwarfed by it all.
Summer SteamNotice that almost every building across the river has a plume of steam rising from the top.  Then notice that the pedestrians on the bridge are all wearing clothing for temperate weather (no overcoats).  It's interesting to think of the great metropolis running on steam power.  The little factory on the right that is obviously steam powered -- but all the "new" skyscrapers have live steam running through them.    
Picture commentsJeffPicks, How are you getting such a good closeup of the sign painter.  When I try to zoom in it just pixelates like crazy, even after choosing "View Full Size."
[I made the closeup from the full-resolution tiff, which is much bigger than the "View full size" image. - Dave]
Beds 15¢I don't know Brooklyn streets well, but I've read plenty of old Brooklyn crime history. The roominghouse sign just below the track, PROSPECT HOUSE, caught my attention. Would the street below the sign boards be Prospect Place?  Which was the location of the 1927 double murder carried by papers from coast to coast. Shorpy provides handy street maps for some D.C. photos, but not for the recent New York images, which are so rich in detail.
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC, Railroads)

Brooklyn Wading Pool: 1942
... pool at a play center at the Red Hook housing development, Brooklyn, New York. The charge to use the pool is nine cents for children, 25 ... elevator. if someone knows some old people who lived in Brooklyn in the 1930s, please send e-mail me! Kvarog@hotmail.com This ... 
 
Posted by Ken - 09/08/2011 - 6:48pm -

Children play in a wading pool at a play center at the Red Hook housing development, Brooklyn, New York. The charge to use the pool is nine cents for children, 25 cents for adults. Photograpy by Arthur Rothstein, June, 1942. View full size.
Wonder what it looks like today...Instead of water, that pool is likely filled today with empty crack vials and shell casings.
Actually...I assume this pool was in Red Hook Park, but It's not there at all now.
I ride my bicycle through this area all the time and haven't lost a tire to empty crack vials or shell casings.
Or maybeit has to do with that the original poster believed it to now be a high crime high drug use area.(shakes head as well)
It looks like trees and some kind of play areaA satellite view of the area shows some dark square areas surrounded by trees, possibly basketball courts? The apartment blocks are still there, southwest of the park but still on the same block.
I suppose the "crack vials and shell casings" comment has to do with the fact that the neighbourhood, which was once white, is now mainly black. (shakes head)
better satellite viewCharlene, the satellite view you used is off by a few blocks.  The pool is still there but a few blocks east.  
the mixed blessing of public housing projectsIn 1942, when this picture was taken, we as a society, still thought that we could solve poverty by creating consolidated housing projects like the one shown.  At their best, resources like this pool were available to kids who might otherwise be swimming in the polluted waters of New York Harbor.  But sadly, in the 65 years since, we have discovered that this sort of project actually tends to foster more crime, and can create more abject forms of poverty than the tenaments they replaced.  Hence an earlier poster's "crack vials and shell casings", which doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the color of the people living there.  I think Red Hook is pretty racially mixed right now.
PoolI was born in Red Hook in 1944 and lived there for several years.  My aunt lived until sometime in the 70s or 80s.  I recognize the look of the building in the background, but neither I nor my older brother remember the wading pool.  What street was it on?  We lived on Henry Street.  We also remember a regular pool very close (I think on it was on Lorraine Street).  There was also a park with a pool with sprinklers.
Anyone remember the Clinton Movie theatre?
Go Ahead...Shake your heads all you want, and keep telling yourselves that the inner city of today is a wonderful place to be.  Should you actually drive through it--as I do daily in places like Trenton, Jersey City, Newark, and Paterson NJ--you might think differently, should you choose to take your blinkers off, that is.  The locals, I'm sure, would love to make your acquaintance.
Possibly dumb questionFor those of us who've not lived in an area where such things are common---what exactly is the difference between a  tenement and a housing project, and is a tenement just the same as a cheap, seedy apartment?  Why should one be more prone to foster crime than another?
Red Hook TodayThe wading pool is gone.  There is no mention of it in the NYC Parks Department web site.  The Red Hook swimming pool is still a going concern.  It is not filled with broken glass, litter, crack vials, or shell casings.  Lost World, I don't know where you're from, but I can tell you that Red Hook today bears almost no resemblance to the red Hook of 20, or even 10 years ago.  The projects are still there, and yes, they still suck.  The rest of the neighborhood is fast becoming quite the desirable residential neighborhood.  
Red Hook PoolCan't help you with any information about the wading pool.  The Red Hook Swimming Pool is still going and is on Lorraine Street.
Filled with waterThe Red Hook pool that is under discussion here (not the wading pool shown above) today is not filled with some of the things that were asserted below. Rather, it is filled with water. Clean water. And people. A diverse group of families, to be specific.
Say What?Apparently no one has been to Red Hook lately, which boasts both an Ikea and the upscale Fairway Market. Inner city neighborhoods in New York City have become gentrified, you'd have less trouble buying an excellent key lime pie in Red Hook then getting either crack or ammunition.
Wading poolThat wading pool was in the park on Clinton Street across from the much larger Red Hook Pool. When I lived there as a young boy in the 80's it was still there minus the water. I used to ride my bike in that space. It's now filled in and part of quickly disappearing history of Red Hook.
Hooverville in Red HookWe are two norwegian authors writing a book about the big Hooverville in Columbia Street, in the area where the park is, beside the big grain elevator. if someone knows some old people who lived in Brooklyn in the 1930s, please send e-mail me! Kvarog@hotmail.com
This Wadding Pool LocationIt is no longer a wadding pool. It was filled in then made into a track. You can see it right across the street from the Red Hook Pool today. I have lived in THE HOOK for 37 years and i remember playing in it and remember it used to be open in the late 70's early 80's.
[Red Hook Pool -- full of wadder, I'll bet. - Dave]
Clinton Street movie theaterI was born in 1943 and lived in the Red Hook housing projects until 1954 when we escaped to suburbia.  I have wonderfully fond memories of those days at the pools, at the stadium, at the docks and definitely at the Clinton Street movie theater.  I went to P.S. 30.
The Clinton Theater played two features, five cartoons and a serial (Flash Gordon, Tim Tyler's Luck) each Saturday from 11 to about 4.
I learned to ride a bike at Coffey Park, was mugged there, skated and went to see the Yo-yo man each summer when a new yo-yo was introduced.
I'm writing a YA book detailing the life and times of three young boys who live in the housing project during the time of my youth (about 1953).  Hope to finish it this winter and publish it as a Kindle book.
It's still there.....I'm sure the wading pool was there because of the picture. Just as well as the movie theatre.
However, it looks like it is the home to a reconstructed track and 4 new basketball courts for all the ball players and future Carmelo Anthony's of RED HOOK. It's also the home to the classic ball games that many come to from all around to watch. It also has a nice sized playground for the children that caters to the ever growing diversified population of people making new memories. Crack doesn't even exist in RED HOOK anymore. If it does you do not see it. I know I don't.
And RED HOOK POOL... it's still there!  If RED HOOK is such a bad place to live in and it is so full of drugs and corruption and all the negativity that people are quick to judge and whom obviously doesn't have a clue because they are not from there, then why the sudden urge to move in? 
(Arthur Rothstein, Kids, NYC)

Christmas on the Brooklyn: 1900
Circa 1900. "U.S.S. Brooklyn wardroom pantry." Note the holiday decorations. The cruiser Brooklyn , commissioned in 1896, was a flagship in the Spanish-American War. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/11/2008 - 6:38pm -

Circa 1900. "U.S.S. Brooklyn wardroom pantry." Note the holiday decorations. The cruiser Brooklyn, commissioned in 1896, was a flagship in the Spanish-American War. Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size.
Changing of the Mess GuardAt this time, most "mess boys" were Negro, as seen here. However, after the Philippines were "pacified" in the early 1900s, Filipinos began enlisting in the U.S. Navy, and, to this day, are the only non-Americans allowed to do so and keep their native citizenship. It became traditional for Filipinos to be cooks and mess attendants on U.S. Navy ships. The ship's chief buyer of fresh food is referred to as the "Jack O'The Dust" (an old British term for keeper of the flour) and many of them are Filipino. 
LibationsThe other big difference between the old US Navy and the modern Navy can be seen beside the mess attendant's elbow - the champagne bottle. In one of the most incredible bits of wrong-headed thinking ever, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels (with the aid of his Assistant Secretary Franklin Roosevelt) propagated General Order 99 which said, "The use or introduction for drinking purposes of alcoholic liquors on board any naval vessel, or within any navy yard or station, is strictly prohibited, and commanding officers will be held directly responsible for the enforcement of this order." Despite the repeal of prohibition as national policy (which ended under Franklin Roosevelt), and despite the fact that most navies of the world - including most notably the Royal Navy and the dominion navies that it spawned such as the Royal Canadian Navy - allow the sale and drinking of alcohol aboard ship (in moderation) this policy is still in place. The gentleman leaning on that cupboard could hold any job in the navy today, including admiral (or even Commander In Chief) but he can't get a legal drink on a ship.
Sir WinstonIt brings to mind Churchill's alleged comment. "The only traditions of the Royal Navy are rum, sodomy and the lash."
Just curious...What Christmas decorations???

Hot Buttered RumRegarding drinking on board, I was in the old Royal Canadian Navy, and I'll never forget one cold day while we were docked alongside a US Navy ship in Korea. While we were being piped on deck for our daily dose of hot buttered rum, we heard the PA system next door announcing Cokes and Hershey bars for their sailors. As I recall they were quite envious that we were being given rum and we all had a good laugh about it, while shouting complimentary remarks back and forth.
Foreign Nationals in US Navyand, to this day, are the only non-Americans allowed to do so and keep their native citizenship.
Foreign nationals from many different have been able to join the Navy and keep their home country citizenship for a long time (at least the entire 15 years I've been in).  One of the very first people I met when checking in the to the PSD down in Yorktown, VA was from Chile.  They are however restricted to what rates they can hold and billets they can fill because they generally cannot get a security clearance (and they are precluded from becoming officers unless and until they are US citizens)
What Filipinos had for a while was a unique program for fast-tracking U.S. citizenship, which I believe was a legacy of the post ww2 independence compact (and I also believe this went away in the eighties).  There are some programs now, and proposals to expand them, to fast-track citizenship for foreign nationals from any country that have enlisted in the military (in all branches).
Booze and TaxesI served with several Filipinos on board the USS Constellation and The USS Forrestal -- used to really tick me off that they received their full pay with no tax deductions. Regarding the alcohol on board American Navy ships, we were given a ration (2 beers) while at sea for being deployed between ports for over 1 month.
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC)

Brooklyn Public Library: 1941
February 4, 1941. "Foyer, Brooklyn Public Library (Ingersoll Memorial), Prospect Park Plaza." Acetate ... stacks, searching for my grandfather's April 1903 Brooklyn Daily Eagle obit. Since that time, the Library has digitized every ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 10:09pm -

February 4, 1941. "Foyer, Brooklyn Public Library (Ingersoll Memorial), Prospect Park Plaza." Acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.
KafkaesqueMy first thought was this must be in Eastern Europe -- big empty halls to make you feel so small. 
What a place!I was about to say something about how nice the place looked when it wasn't crowded with metal detectors and security gates and lines everywhere.  
These days it's full of kids running around and people having loud conversations in about 50 different languages, and those are great things to have in a library too.
In the StacksBack in 1965 I spent several days going through that foyer to the newspaper stacks, searching for my grandfather's April 1903 Brooklyn Daily Eagle obit. Since that time, the Library has digitized every copy of the Eaglefrom 1851 through 1902. Someday maybe they'll have enough funding to complete this enormous job.
Re: What a PlaceI used to go there from the time I was old enough to go to the library by myself, up through college.  So, I remember its heyday as does Zach.  It's sad to hear that it has deteriorated.  You can thank the decline in civility to the influx of the mongrels.
["Decline in civility"? You should know. - Dave]
A Grand LibraryLots of fond memories of BPL's main branch, and can still remember kids break dancing in front as they waited for it to open.  You can't say that about every library!
Makes me wishI had a time machine
Lonely big spacesI wonder if some guy named Eddie Hopper is loitering around the corner.
Public spacesTell you so much, intended and unintended, about the values of the culture. Today, buildings like this are pretty much limited to financial and corporate institutions--and sports venues.
Dial M for MesmerizedThis gorgeous photo is very intriguing. It looks like a still from an Alfred Hitchcock movie. I wish I were clever enough to come up with a dark and suspenseful plot surrounding the two men who are talking and the lone man on the right who is merely pretending to be interested in that wall display.
I guess I'll just enjoy looking at this picture, one of my favorites on Shorpy so far.
The LibraryMy goodness -- what a beautiful building. All those sweeping columns and recessed lights. To a kid who loved to read, it must have been like going to a cathedral. I hope it's still gorgeous like that even now.
Crown HeightsI grew up in Crown Heights and often went here as a young kid. I remember being awe-inspired and intimidated by the library. As someone else mentioned, it was as if walking into a monumental cathedral to a kid in second grade. Not even on a human scale.
Well PreservedI live three blocks from this library and am glad to report that it has not deteriorated.  The entrance has recently been redone and the inside (except for the changes noted above) looks pretty good to me.
This is a wonderful building and it greatly contributes to Grand Army Plaza on which it occupies a prominent corner. It looks pretty much the same now as it did then.
Not just a lookerA gorgeous architectural photo. But today, as Zack wrote, it's overrun with people.
I think the builders would be happy with that result.
When I wait in line at my beautiful local library I always feel lucky that my neighbors appreciate the space and appreciate books.
Ministry of InformationSam Lowry: I've been told to report to Mr. Warren.
Porter: Thirtieth floor, sir. You're expected.
Sam Lowry: Um... don't you want to search me?
Porter: No sir.
Sam Lowry: Do you want to see my ID?
Porter: No need, sir.
Sam Lowry: But I could be anybody.
Porter: No you couldn't sir. This is Information Retrieval.
Although, the porter in the movie at least had a impressive desk and a real chair instead of a bar stool. 
Foyer à FarkFarked again!
(The Gallery, Farked, Gottscho-Schleisner, NYC)

Brooklyn Bridge: 1909
"Brooklyn Bridge and East River. April 1909." At left, the Manhattan Bridge under construction in this view looking east into Brooklyn with Manhattan Terminal at lower left. 8x10 glass negative, George ... rooftop billboards corresponds to the sight lines from the Brooklyn Bridge approaches. More nastiness Piper Heidsieck Chewing ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/19/2012 - 4:40pm -

"Brooklyn Bridge and East River. April 1909." At left, the Manhattan Bridge under construction in this view looking east into Brooklyn with Manhattan Terminal at lower left. 8x10 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.
CircusRingling Brothers, but no Barnum or Bailey!
BillboardsI think that it is interesting that the placement of the rooftop billboards corresponds to the sight lines from the Brooklyn Bridge approaches.
More nastinessPiper Heidsieck Chewing Tobacco. 
Probably not authorized (to say the least) by the French champagne house of the same name.
[Actually it was. This was an American Tobacco Company brand flavored with Piper Heidsieck champagne. - Dave]
Fletcher's CastoriaHow many signs for that nasty stuff can you see in this picture? 
I count......at least five.
Wonder how the "Hides and Skins" company would fare these days?
Out Damn Spot!And just above the Piper Heidsieck Chewing Tobacco sign is one for the Careful Carpet Cleaning Co. The proper placement of advertising is a science.
I love it.The story of how the Brooklyn Bridge was built is fascinating. 
Straight out of "The Music Man"!Why it's the Uneeda biscuit made the trouble, Uneeda
Uneeda, put the crackers in a package, in a
package, the Uneeda biscuit in an airtight
sanitary package, made the cracker barrel
obsolete, obsolete Obsolete! Obsolete!
Fletcher's Castoria ...You see only 5?I count 10.  There are quite a few partially obscured by buildings, but if you look for the white, scripted "Fletcher's" text, you can find them.
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, G.G. Bain, NYC)

Bustling Brooklyn: 1910
New York circa 1910. "Brooklyn. Washington Street from Fulton with Beecher statue." Now Cadman Plaza. ... Below is the same perspective (from the steps of the Brooklyn City/Borough Hall) from November of 2004. A sliver of the Post Office tower in the 1906 view can be seen behind the Brooklyn Eagle Building tower. (Please excuse the dark foreground - long, hard ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/09/2012 - 2:34pm -

New York circa 1910. "Brooklyn. Washington Street from Fulton with Beecher statue." Now Cadman Plaza. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size.
Don't let go of that rope!I wonder what this fellow could be hauling up? Is he standing on the load or is this only one visible end of a window washing scaffold? Is that his white bucket on the window sill just above and to the left? Oops! Look out below!
Always something interesting to see in views like these!
Thanks Shorpy...
Inch by inchOn the full size pic the window washer seems to be pulling himself up past the third floor using some kind of pulley system. On the same bank building located left of center I see a person or a gargoyle blocking a letter of the bank sign at the 7th floor level.
+96Below is the same perspective (from the steps of the Brooklyn City/Borough Hall) from November of 2004.  A sliver of the Post Office tower in the 1906 view can be seen behind the Brooklyn Eagle Building tower.  (Please excuse the dark foreground - long, hard shadows are sometimes unavoidable in later months of the year.)
The Reverend Henry Ward BeecherCalled a hen a most elegant creature;
The hen, pleased with that,
Laid an egg in his hat;
And thus did the hen reward Beecher.
 - Oliver Wendell Holmes
Almost afraid to askBut here goes... What is (or was) a Gentlemen's Oyster Parlor?
[Look closer and you'll see that the Dennett's sign reads  "Ladies and Gentlemens." - tterrace]
Beecher datesStatues are different from tombstones I guess as far as the years carved in granite. Left to right, right to left.
[?? Born 1813, died 1887. - tterrace]
Boro Hall?So this shot is from the front steps of Boro Hall, looking toward Manhattan??? I never would have guessed. It's changed a WHOLE lot.  Is that statue of Beecher now in the garden of the Plymouth Church in Brooklyn Heights?
Beecher StatueThe statue of Beecher shown is still located not far from this shot in what is now called Columbus Park, in a straight line from Brooklyn's Borough Hall.  There is another Beecher statue in the garden of Plymouth Church.
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)

Kanatenah Flats: 1910
... to 1994 Oops. More here. A Slice of Brooklyn in Leatherstocking Country 30 years ago, I lived around the corner ... and this part of Genesee Street always felt more like Brooklyn. (The Gallery, DPC, Utica) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 1:39pm -

Utica, New York, circa 1910. "Kanatenah Apartments, Upper Genesee Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
1502 Genesee StreetThe property had a history of fires, the first being in March of 1931.  As the previous post shows, the final blow was the fire of 1994.
Fast-Forward to 1994Oops. More here.
A Slice of Brooklyn in Leatherstocking Country30 years ago, I lived around the corner from this complex, on Noyes ("No / Yes") Street.  There was a larger and similar complex right across the street and this part of Genesee Street always felt more like Brooklyn.
(The Gallery, DPC, Utica)

Brooklyn Aquarium Outing: 1938
My mom and her sister on an outing to the Brooklyn Aquarium. They lived in Brooklyn Heights and my grandfather would take them on outings on Sundays. Here ... 
 
Posted by pattiayan - 09/04/2011 - 1:06pm -

My mom and her sister on an outing to the Brooklyn Aquarium.  They lived in Brooklyn Heights and my grandfather would take them on outings on Sundays. Here they are pictured with two boys from the neighborhood. The boy who is saluting...His mom used to watch my mother and aunt while my grandmother worked. View full size.
Aye aye sir....But ....the New York Aquarium to my knowledge moved to Brooklyn from Battery Park  located in Manhattan in , 1957.  That probably explains the taller than typical Brooklyn buildings that would be found in 1938.  Brooklyn Heights is just a hop skip and a jump across the East River to Battery Park.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)

New York City: 1901
... a supplement behind it, and a forest of masts over by the Brooklyn Bridge. Brooklyn Bridge 1901 The thing that strikes me is that the Brooklyn Bridge ... 
 
Posted by Ken - 09/08/2011 - 10:04pm -

New York City as seen from the Statue of Liberty circa 1901. Cyanotype by the Detroit Photographic Co. View full size.
SailWhat's interesting in this picture when you view it full size is just how many sailing vessels there still seem to be at this date. The a fairly nice three masted schooner with white hull near the middle of the photo, a steam powered vessel with sails as a supplement behind it, and a forest of masts over by the Brooklyn Bridge.
Brooklyn Bridge 1901The thing that strikes me is that the Brooklyn Bridge dominates the landscape, not just in width but in height and massiveness. You get the feeling that the bridge is as wide as Manhattan itself. (I know that at this narrow point, it actually comes pretty close...) It seems like the most substantial thing in the city. That's not the impression you get any more now that the overall skyline is so dense and high reaching. In more recent photos (distant pans like this, at least...) the bridges are dwarfed by the skyline and almost easy to overlook as a detail at all.
Bridge under constructionLinked from kottke.org. The exchange there indicates that the bridge under construction to the right, behind the Brooklyn Bridge, is Williamsburg Bridge.
These old photographs contain so much information, don't they? Resolutions on old large-format photographs being what they are...
New York City in 1901I love such sights.
And Today?Oh, please, may we have a picture from the same vantage point as it looks today?
Not exact, but you get the idea...
+108In August 2009 I took a photo for comparison from the same perspective, in the statue's pedestal. It was a hazy day.  I've tried to clear the image up a bit through Photoshop.
New York in those days !This is a great feeling for a New Yorker at least. We are enjoying the solitude and tranquility of the great metropolis!
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, NYC)

Brooklyn Bridge: 1900
New York circa 1900. "Brooklyn Bridge, East River." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:36pm -

New York circa 1900. "Brooklyn Bridge, East River." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Age of Steam and HorsesEach time a see a circa 1900 urban scene on Shorpy, I ponder how technology was so slow in developing the automobile in comparison to the other machines and structures in existence at the time.  I am alway struck by the incongruity of large urban buildings surrounded by horse drawn wagons.  This picture really drives the point home.  Let us not forget that the unseen traffic crossing this magnificent bridge at its opening was mostly horse-drawn or pedestrian.  The big boats in the water were steam powered.  The age of the ubiquitous gasoline engine was yet to come.
Best deal I ever made!Only paid $500, and I've got the title to prove it.
Re: Best deal I ever made!Cool, I'll give you a call once my Nigerian money comes through.
Public and Private TransitThe development of the "ubiquitous gasoline engine", and the parallel development of petroleum, was the key required to unlock the door to personal vehicles. We could have conceivably gone with electric propulsion, but electricity didn't become widespread until the late 1800's and it was generally in an inconvenient form for recharging slow, heavy, and quick-to-run-down battery powered cars. The light, speedy, indefatigable, and ultimately cheap gas motor won the day. Throughout the 19th century, occasional experimenters demonstrated steam-powered carriages or "road locomotives" but the skills and attention required to manage a steam engine were unrealistic for a solo driver, and the roads were dreadful due to travel being diverted to railroads. Large bridges were built to carry railroads, street car lines, and a smattering of foot and horse traffic.
[Steam-powered automobiles (Dobie, Stanley etc.) attained a certain measure of popularity. In the final years of the 19th century, the Stanley brothers' steam-powered vehicle was America's top-selling motor car. The company they founded lasted a quarter of a century. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)

Secretary of War: 1897
January 1897. "U.S.S. Brooklyn , First Sergeant, Marine Corps." Our second look at this battleship's ... was one shaped-up, no nonsense, tough First Shirt. Brooklyn 1897 The city and year caught my eye since they are the birth place ... year of my maternal grandmother, so I had a look at the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (14 pages, 3 cents) on a random day (Saturday, January 16) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/09/2014 - 12:49pm -

January 1897. "U.S.S. Brooklyn, First Sergeant, Marine Corps." Our second look at this battleship's typewriters. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size.
Right, Mr MelMy son, who was active US Army '88-'91, looked at this photo and said "That's one squared-away dude!"
It's hand-lettering, not typeOh, it's from that era, all right. Much of the flamboyant lettering seen on printed pieces from the turn of the (last) century was done by hand instead of being set in type. The cap A's, L's, and Y's show this, because they aren't identical. 
Odd typefaceThe typeface on the top of the calendar looks like it came from another era !  It looks most out of place.
Semper FiThe shine on his footgear tells us that this was one shaped-up, no nonsense, tough First Shirt.
Brooklyn 1897The city and year caught my eye since they are the birth place and year of my maternal grandmother, so I had a look at the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (14 pages, 3 cents) on a random day (Saturday, January 16) and found on the front page the story of Charles Rothschild, age 30, father of four, who "had become involved in business troubles and suffered from depression," and committed suicide by "throwing himself from the eighth floor of the Cable building at Broadway and Houston street, New York, through the airshaft, to the basement." His wife had followed him from Brooklyn into Manhattan since she wanted to show him a letter that had arrived offering him "an opportunity of employment."  She was "on the fourth floor of the building at the time and saw her husband's body shoot downward through the shaft, and, recognizing the upturned face of her husband, became so wildly hysterical that she had to be removed to the New York hospital in an ambulance."
His name is John J ManningThe only man listed with that rank aboard the Brooklyn in January of 1897 according to the Marine Corp muster rolls.
Unfortunately its a stupidly common name, and I couldn't find any more information other than his progression in rank from private in 1890 up to 1899 when he apparently moved on in life to other things, as he vanished from the muster rolls at that point.
TumblehomeThis is a good example of the tumblehome that was in style for naval vessels in the late 1800s.  The hull was widest at the waterline, and tapered in dramatically to the upper deck. The idea was to reduce topside weight. 
Here is a shot of this ship, the armored cruiser USS Brooklyn CA-3 or ACR-3. The extreme curvature of the side indicates that the 1st Sgt's office was on the upper deck amidships, near the large midships turret sponson. The ship was only 2 years old at the time, suggesting that the lumpy hull and bulkhead texture is not due to many layers of paint, but to asbestos fireproofing.
Happy Birthday US Marine Corps!What a coincidence that you posted this just in time for the 239th birthday of the Marine Corps, which was born at Tun Tavern on 10 NOV 1775. 158 years later, it also became the birth date of my father, who would serve 35 years on active duty as a US Marine. Dad had no idea that they shared a birthday until he graduated from boot camp, on his 17th birthday, and they were each given a carton of cigarettes as a birthday present. 
Textured coatingWhy the heavy textured coating over beams, walls, bulkheads...etc?
What would they add to the paint?
NCO chevron FAQsSince 1820 USMC uniform regulations stated chevrons "shall be worn on the uniform coat, above the elbow, points up, of yellow silk lace, one-half inch wide." As for the army's 1820 regulations, chevrons were to point down, until that changed to pointing up in 1903. 
The first sergeant's typewriteris a Smith Premier No. 1. This model was introduced in 1889 and sold through the 1890s. It had separate keys for caps and lower case. 
He looks young to be a first sergeant.Guess promotion policies were different in the Old Corps.
Squared AwaySquared away? Looking closely at the left boot the toe appears to be scuffed.  The right boot lace is hanging out instead of being tucked away, and it is not laced all the way up to the top.  His iron should be stowed away not placed under the desk along with whatever is behind the iron.  There's a towel out in the left hand corner of the photo, and a brush stored on top of the desk.  His keys are stored in the lock.  Is he sitting on a folded blanket or coat?  He fails even a routine cursory inspection.
Modern tumblehomeTumblehome is being used again on the Zumwalt class of destroyers. Spiraling costs trimmed the number ordered from 32 to 3. The lead ship, the USS Zumwalt is scheduled to be commissioned in 2015.
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, The Office)

Brooklyn, NY: 1942
... "stoop". Their father was a machinist who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. View full size. Flatbush The house in the ... in 1942 and he and his two siblings (sisters) lived in Brooklyn with their parents. He father was also a machinist at the Brooklyn ... 
 
Posted by Bobby Shafto - 10/25/2013 - 8:29pm -

My father, in uniform, with his two brothers in late 1942. Their mother is sitting behind them on the "stoop". Their father was a machinist who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. View full size.
FlatbushThe house in the picture is [was?] at 198 E. 31 St.  between Nostrand and Flatbush Ave's.
Re: FlatbushIt is [not was] still there.
View Larger Map
So close......to my family as well. My father was in the service in 1942 and he and his two siblings (sisters) lived in Brooklyn with their parents. He father was also a machinist at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and him mother had the exact same 'look' as your grandmother. Small world.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)

Brooklyn Bridge: 1910
The Brooklyn Bridge circa 1910. View full size. Detroit Publishing Co. I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 7:14pm -

The Brooklyn Bridge circa 1910. View full size. Detroit Publishing Co.
I love itWhat a great photo! All those lines...
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)

Miami, Florida: 1908
... was a grocer in Miami around that time. Wild Guess Brooklyn, New York Identity Washington Avenue, Titusville Florida. ... store. (76) Survey says I believe this is Brooklyn, NY. I took the easy way out and just searched for 1200 Avenue O from ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/14/2014 - 12:58pm -

Circa 1908. Who would care to hazard a guess as to the location of this bustling metropolis? Extra points for Street View. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
UPDATE: The guesses as to the location of "Anytown, USA" (this post's original title) were, quite literally, all over the map -- from Deadwood to Buffalo to Whitehouse, Ohio. Many incorrect guesses for Titusville, Florida. The correct answer, and original caption: "12th Street, looking east, Miami, Florida." 
Cigars, anyone?It looks like the main street of Ybor City near Tampa, Florida.
[Close, but no cigar. - Dave]
Titusville, FloridaMain Street
Titusville FloridaTitusville was the home of E.L. Brady Groceries!
GuessingI'm guessing it is Titusville.
Miami, 1200It would appear the MacArthur highway removed this locale:
View Larger Map
Location is.Titusville Florida
Titusville, FLTitusville. FL?  A grocer with the same name had a building there:

I have to admit I'm not too confident; the bank building looks wrong.
Florida?Google search suggests that this may be early Miami, with E.L. Brady Groceries on right, and Frank T. Budge Hardware on the left.
Miami, FLI believe this is Miami, Florida, corner of 12th Street (now Flagler Street) and Avenue D (now Miami Avenue).
View Larger Map
I know, I know!It's the home of the Ace Novelty Company in Walla, Walla, Washington. What do I win?
Miami Map 1919This map shows Avenue D (now Miami Avenue) and 12th Street to be somewhere under the pilings for MacArthur Freeway. Too bad about the grand old house on the left a few blocks up. That shoulda been a keeper.
E.L. Brady's grocery storetells me this is Titusville, Florida. 
Miami, FloridaThis is 12th Street, looking east, Miami, Florida.
Miami?A guy named E.L. Brady was a grocer in Miami around that time.
Wild GuessBrooklyn, New York
IdentityWashington Avenue, Titusville Florida.
Possible answerI cheated and Googled "E.L. Brady" grocery store" and got Titusville, FL. Did I win?
MiamiSome research indicates Flagler Street and Miami Avenue , although street view is hard to recognize.
MiamiAvenue D (now Miami Ave.) and 12th Street, Miami, Fl.  It looks like it's beneath the MacAurther Causeway now.
Titusville FLA.Main Street?
Is it KC?It could be my eyes playing tricks, but I think I see a reference to Kansas City in the banner stretched across the street. 
I'm guessingTitusville, Florida?
Taking a guessI think the location is somewhere in Titusville, Florida.
Titusville, Florida?Okay, here's my detective work.  I Googled C.W. Schmid's Restaurant to no avail, but then I saw the E. L. Brady and Co. Groceries sign and tried that.  It took me to this site, which mentions a store by the same name in Titusville.  Am I right?
Brady Grocery, Titusville, Florida407 S. Washington Avenue, Titusville, Florida
"Titusville's first grocery store, L.A. Brady Grocery Store, was built in 1880. This and other buildings immediately south were occupied by Jackson Garage, Coca Cola, Bryan-Conway Realtors, Grower's Supply and Sears. The building was renovated and reopened in 1988 as the Granada Building, housing several government agencies and businesses including Gulf Atlantic Title, Cathedral Holdings and Loys Ward Surveying and Engineering."
I had not a clueBut I thought maybe somewhere up north because of the awnings, which I thought might protect from the harsh winter snow. Duh! I could not have been more wrong. Turns out they were protection from the hot sun of Florida! Having lived there for a tortuous 6 months, I should have known better.
I'm guessingTitusville,FL.
Jacksonville, Florida.It has to be Jax. There's crap in the street and it looks like a slum. Nothing has changed.
My guess is MiamiSearching for E.L. Brady's lead me to this conclusion based on this page, and this quote:
On March 3, Flagler dispatched John Sewell and twelve of his best black workers from Palm Beach to Miami to begin work on the townsite. They began by grading the site of Flagler’s hotel. (72) By late March the railroad extension had reached a point just below Arch Creek near today’s Northeast 135th Street. (73) Increasing numbers of people were coming to Miami. In order to provide them with a place to stay, Harrington and Tyler leased the Miami Hotel from Julia Tuttle — even before it had a roof over it. Located on today’s South Miami Avenue near the river, the hotel contained a dining room on the first floor and rooms on the second which only could be reached by ladder, since a staircase had not been completed. (74) A former steamboat, the Rockledge, was converted into a floating hotel by E. E. Vail, towed to Miami and docked at the foot of Avenue D (today’s Miami Avenue). (75)
Several new businesses had just opened or were about to open as March drew to a close. These included Frank Budge’s hardware store, Frank Duren’s meat market and green grocery, E.L. Brady’s grocery store, and the Lummus Brothers’ general store; additionally, a drug store, candy shop and pool room looked out over Avenue D. The lumber to build the Bank of Bay Biscayne building was being hauled to its lot next to the Brady grocery store. (76)
Survey saysI believe this is Brooklyn, NY. I took the easy way out and just searched for 1200 Avenue O from the side of the grocers wagon
Joe from LI, NY
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Miami?A Google search for
"e l brady" grocer 1200 ave d
turned up this link. On page 69 of which is mentioned a small grocery in Miami, run by an E.L. Brady.
A guessIs it Titusville Florida?
It's downtown MiamiThe Historical Museum of Southern Florida puts E.L. Brady Grocers, 1200 Avenue D, in Miami at that point.  Avenue D is now South Miami Avenue.  I'm not familiar with the area to know if the street numbering was retained.
Schmids Furniture, Whitehouse, OhioWhitehouse, Ohio? There is a reference to a "Schmids Funiture" still there in 1937 when this was written.
An updated guessIs it Miami, Florida?
MaybeTitusville, Florida?
TitusvilleStill working on the street view.
Miami, Florida?Miami, FL, 12th Street.  
Anytown USA = Whitehouse OHIf you google "Schmid's Furniture" and have google uncorrect it, there's a PDF link to a report on Early Whitehouse History.  In there is a reference to Schmid's Furniture on Toledo Ave (which looks very different today in Street View)
Some leadsA search for E.L. Brady's grocery brought up a couple things. This page mentions the cart part of the business, which would place this in Titusville, Florida, to the East of Orlando.
This link contains a picture of an historical marker in Titusville, which mentions that the building where Brady's grocery would have been housed in 1908 still stands, and is to the right of the sign.  I'm pretty sure I've located the sign in street view here:
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The gardening has changed from the pictures, but the background matches up perfectly.  The only step from here would be to go a few ticks over on street view and turn around, but this is where I stopped.  Either I have the wrong spot or the view has changed considerably.
Found it?I found reference to E.L. Brady's grocery store which leads me to believe this is Titusville, Florida.
The building was home to E.L. Brady's grocery store. He first established his business in LaGrange, but moved to Titusville in 1886, occupying a wooden building at Main Street. The 1895 fire destroyed his store and many wood structures in the commercial district. Brady rebuilt his grocery in this building
Is this it?Not much left from 1908.
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No DoubtThat's downtown Anytown.  (Read the heading.)
Titusville?Looks like E.L. Brady's Grocery store was located in Titusville, FL. That could be the site of this shot, perhaps...
Fort Pierce / St. Lucie, FLMan, is this a depressing indicator of change.
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ETA: Darn, not correct!
Miami, Fl ?http://www.hmsf.org/collections-south-florida-birth-city.htm
On March 3, Flagler dispatched John Sewell and twelve of his best black workers from Palm Beach to Miami to begin work on the townsite. They began by grading the site of Flagler’s hotel. (72) By late March the railroad extension had reached a point just below Arch Creek near today’s Northeast 135th Street. (73) Increasing numbers of people were coming to Miami. In order to provide them with a place to stay, Harrington and Tyler leased the Miami Hotel from Julia Tuttle — even before it had a roof over it. Located on today’s South Miami Avenue near the river, the hotel contained a dining room on the first floor and rooms on the second which only could be reached by ladder, since a staircase had not been completed. (74) A former steamboat, the Rockledge, was converted into a floating hotel by E. E. Vail, towed to Miami and docked at the foot of Avenue D (today’s Miami Avenue). (75)
Several new businesses had just opened or were about to open as March drew to a close. These included Frank Budge’s hardware store, Frank Duren’s meat market and green grocery, E. L. Brady’s grocery store, and the Lummus Brothers’ general store; additionally, a drug store, candy shop and pool room looked out over Avenue D. The lumber to build the Bank of Bay Biscayne building was being hauled to its lot next to the Brady grocery store. (76)
Anytown, USA is Titusville, FloridaAnytown, USA is Titusville, Florida
"E.L. Brady and Brother Grocery Store, a well established business located on Washington Ave. in downtown Titusville, put into use a delivery wagon in order to provide better customer service."
Judging by the number of wiresI would say:  NYC.
Miami, Florida ...perhaps the corner of D (now Miami) and 12th Avenues?
After Titusville, FLAfter Titusville FL Mr. E.L. Brady, Grocer, moved to Miami and opened up his grocery store on Avenue D. Not sure what that is called now though.
Titusville Fla. Probably S. Washington St.
That  was funThat  was fun.
I was one of the Titusville people.  Got it wrong.  Oh well.
How about doing something like this once a week?
Not a palm tree in sightThe grocer E.L. Brady originated in Lagrange, Florida and relocated to Titusville, Florida in 1886.  He would eventually became the first grocer in Miami, Florida at Ave. D and 12th Street.  Today, this intersection would be Flagler Street and Miami Avenue.  An interesting 1901 photo of the mustachioed Mr. Brady can be seen here.
A guessBuffalo, NY.
Found a reference to a wedding in the NY Times where Mr. and Mrs. E.L. Brady from Buffalo attended.
Brooklyn?Probably wrong, but I'll hazard a guess at Brooklyn; 1200 Avenue D is near the intersection of Flatbush, which would make that little side street on the left E. 23rd St.
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Is it Louisville?I think this may be Avenue D in Louisville, KY.
Miamihad an Avenue D in 1908 and a grocer called E.L. Brady.
Welcome to MiamiLooks like it's somewhere on what is now South Miami Avenue - possibly where the Route 970 overpass is now located?
FoundView Larger Map
Stop 17 on the historical walking tour.
Historical marker north of the building.
Hazarding  a GuessI'm going to guess we're looking at Old Miam, South Miami Avei?
Just a GuessTitusville or Miami, FL.
Titusville, FLJust a guess.
Titusville, FLI think I see an atlas rocket taking off from the cape in the background.
Florida townI believe this is Titusville Florida.
LocationThis was taken in Miami, Florida at the corner of what is now Flagler Street and Miami Avenue. Everything in the original photo is gone, even the street names! Flagler and Miami used to be 12th Street and Avenue D, respectively.
Titusville, FloridaHome of E.L. Brady, Grocer.
Doesn't Look Like Florida to MeMy guess is Titusville FL, because that is the only place I can find a E L Brady that is a Grocer on the 1900 and 1910 census. Am I correct? 
Miami, FloridaThat's my guess.
Deadwood, SD?Shot in the dark guess.  Just seems very western.
Gag!  I was wrong, wrong, wrong.  Embarrassing since I was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, and my grandparents + my mother moved to South Florida in 1917.
Miami, FL?Possibly Miami, as per an obituary for E.L. Brady (pulled from the "E.L. Brady and Co" store on the right, beyond the real estate agent).
That would make this shot somewhere in the vicinity of Flagler and Miami Avenue.
Miami FloridaAvenue D and 12th Street.  Now Flagler Street and Miami Avenue.  See if I can get a Street View.
Definitely MiamiFrom "Early Miami Through the Eyes of Youth" by William M. Straight, M.D., p.69:
"How did you get your dairy products and your groceries? Well, there were two grocery stores, little things. I think the first one was operated by a Mr. Brady, E. L. Brady, who moved here from Titusville."
On Page 63, there's mention that Avenue D is now Miami Avenue. 1200 Miami Avenue:
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MiamiE. L. Brady opened one of the first grocery stores in Miami, Florida.  In 1908, the Bank of Bay Biscayne was located next door.  I think this is the intersection of Miami Avenue and Flagler Street.
Let's see nowThere's a tag that says "Florida," but there's also a tag that says "Detroit."
Follow upFollow up to my earlier comment about E.L. Brady; according to the same obituary, E.L. Brady was an earlier settler of Titusville, FL, and started a grocery there, too.
So this could be Titusville, FL.
E. L. Brady Co. GrocersAt the corner of Avenue D and 12th Street in Miami:

Titusville, FLLooks like it's in Titusville, FL, though I'm having trouble pinning down the exact location for a Google Street View.
Halcyon HometownFinally, a shot of MY hometown, Miami!
When Miami scrapped its old street naming system in 1921, they threw out the house numbers along with the street names for the present day quadrant system. 
The shot was taken on today's Flagler Street (formerly 12th Street) looking east at Miami Avenue (formerly Avenue D). The lions on the left guarded the Bank of Bay Biscayne, which stood on the northwest corner of Miami Avenue and West Flagler Street. The Halcyon Hotel, with its distinctive turrets, stood at East Flagler and 2nd Avenue (formerly 12th Street and Avenue B). It can be seen down the street on the left side.
It'd be great to see some more Old Miami shots! Thanks, Shorpy!
Let me guessI'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that this city is in Florida?
I'm thinkingTitusville, FL
Thank you, Mr. Brady the grocerIt's Miami.
HOW COULD YOU TELL????I enlarged the photo, combed all the print details, how can you possibly recognize it a hundred years later????!!
(Thanks for the fun though.)
Bay Biscayne BankAccording to the Sanford Fire Map of 1899, the Bay Biscayne Bank was around the corner on D Avenue, on the NE side of the intersection, up the block on D Avenue slightly. Of course, it may have moved across the street to the NW corner by 1909. In the 1909 edition of Florida East Coast Homeseeker, it ran an ad noting it had moved to new digs in the Fort Dallas Bank Building; the one with the columns on the immediate left, and just west of the bank building,  would have been the Biscayne Hotel in 1899. The weather bureau opened a station in the Bank of Bay Biscayne Building at that same location in 1911, so by then the building seems to have dropped the Fort Dallas appellation. The picture of the bank building provided by the NOAA website must be looking NW at it catercorner across the intersection.
(The Gallery, DPC, Florida, Miami)

3 a.m. Sunday: 1908
... "3 a.m. Sunday, February 23, 1908. Newsboys selling on Brooklyn Bridge. Harry Ahrenpreiss, 30 Willet St. Said was 13 years old. Abe ... to get across the bridge if you didn't buy a paper. Brooklyn Bridge Newsies That kid at front left looks like 12 going on 37. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/19/2019 - 9:09am -

"3 a.m. Sunday, February 23, 1908. Newsboys selling on Brooklyn Bridge. Harry Ahrenpreiss, 30 Willet St. Said was 13 years old. Abe Gramus, 37 Division St. Witness Fred McMurray." View full size. Photo & caption: Lewis Wickes Hine.
GreatThis is a great picture in general.  And what makes it in particular is the contrast between the reality of the boys with the invented image on the newspaper
for safe passageIt looks like it might have been hard to get across the bridge if you didn't buy a paper.
Brooklyn Bridge NewsiesThat kid at front left looks like 12 going on 37. You wouldn't want to meet this gang in a dark alley.
37 Division Street is now the Chinatown Day Care.
Harry AhrenpreissAlthough the young man in this picture is identified as Harry Ahrenpreiss he is most likely Harry Ehrenpreis.  Harry appears in the 1900 census living at 375 Norfolk St in Manhattan.  This is in the same neighborhood as Willett St.  Both are at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge.  His father is Sam Ehrenpreis a peddler.  He is listed as being six years of age with an older sister and brother and a younger sister.  I don't believe this family appears in later censuses. Ahrenpreiss is a name not found anywhere in the census.  The only reference in Google is to this photograph.
New BedfordWould be nice to see some old photos of New Bedford and surrounding towns like Dartmouth and Fairhaven.
Photo LocationThe title for this photo, "3 a.m. Sunday, Brooklyn: 1908," is not entirely correct (it's actually Manhattan not Brooklyn), and the caption "Newsboys selling on Brooklyn Bridge" is not accurate either, since it's on the street Park Row, not on the bridge. The actual location is in front of Herring's Restaurant located at 83 Park Row, Manhattan, about 1/2 block north of the bridge.
[The caption is saying the boys do their selling on the Brooklyn Bridge, not that the photo was taken there. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine, NYC)

Brooklyn Shoe Factory: c. 1920
This picture was taken in an unidentified Brooklyn, N.Y., shoe factory around 1920. Pictured on the far left side is Anna Maggi of Brooklyn. View full size. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery) ... 
 
Posted by weegee - 09/10/2010 - 7:18am -

This picture was taken in an unidentified Brooklyn, N.Y., shoe factory around 1920. Pictured on the far left side is Anna Maggi of Brooklyn. View full size.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
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