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Sixth Avenues Busy Corner: 1906
... Wigs, glorious wigs... From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 22, 1875 Wowsa!! So much to look at. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 8:24pm -

New York circa 1906. "14th Street Store." Several subplots here, involving roofs, windows and hair. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Eye SpyI think those two lasses in the window have spotted the camera. MonumentalLove the building with the sign on the side. It's hard to make a skinny, monumental building. It doesn't look like it's over about 30 feet wide. Window Cleaner's ChoiceYears ago I lived on the eighth floor of a an apartment building in Manhattan that was built around the time this photo was taken. The windows were equipped with iron rings for fastening a window washer's safety belt, similar to rig this gent is using. When I asked why he balanced himself on the ledge of the window instead of using the safety belt he had with him, he replied that he would rather trust his sense of balance than the 90 year old rings. After a closer inspection of the rings, I had to agree with him. Widow, er, Window WasherMan, it would kill me to have been that poor window washer. At least he probably talked to the girls on his way up! Human Hair Goods?Eww. No thanks. Building maintenanceNowadays the only place you see regularly-scheduled painting of structural gingerbread is at Disneyland. Don't recall ever seeing a Human Hair Goods store on Main Street, though. An E-ticket attraction that never was. TodayThe "Busy Corner" building is still around today, as are some others including the very skinny one (no longer with a human hair dealer, alas). The El is long gone, however. How marvelous!The entire building is still there, although now it is an Urban Outfitter. The 4-story building getting its gingerbread painted is also still on the street. The elevated streetcar, though, is gone, replaced by the IND, which opened the underground station at 6th Ave and 14th St in 1940. When you look at the store selling "Human Hair Goods," just imagine it as the place where Delia sold her hair in O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi." It was written in the same year, 1906, and just a few blocks uptown, at Pete's Tavern, at 129th E 18th St. Great photo of one of the world's great cities, at a time when it was becoming an indelible part of the American imagination. The Corner todayThe West side of the facade is missing two entries (the big arches on the right of the photo), but everything else about the building looks pretty much the same. View Larger Map Human HairThree of my granddaughters have donated about a foot of their hair to an organization that supplies hair to make wigs for child cancer victims. I guess O. Henry's Delia has nothing on them. Sharp ShotFull of interesting detail as it is, this photo is also noteworthy, to me at least, because of how beautifully sharp it is in a technical sense. You can look at almost any part of it and see amazing details. Some window washers still use that rigI worked at a place two years ago that had those hookups outside each window, and sure enough a fellow came by once a year to climb out and use them. He smelled of alcohol, and I hardly blame him! Macy's was thereThe skinny building was also once Macy's, though I don't know if it was before or after this photo. The tracery of the Macy's name can still be seen under the paint over the front door. The building is now owned by the New School University. The large building on the corner is a high-end condo building now. Henry Siegel's FateI believe the structure in the foreground with its gingerbread being painted is actually the elevated station. The station building on the other side of the tracks matches it. All of the Henry Siegel's 14th St. Store buildings are still there, although the shorter middle building has had an apartment structure built on top of it. The corner building is now filled with (what else?) luxury condos. Alas, the story of the 14th St. store itself did not end well for Henry Siegel. It lasted only a decade, and ended with Siegel going to jail. He would end up living in a boarding house in Hackensack. More of the story can be found in this 1999 NY Times article. The sliver buildingat 56 west 14th street was vacated by Macy's when they moved uptown to 34th street in 1902. With a good eye one can see the Macy's star logo on the facade still today. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/30/realestate/streetscapes-readers-questi... Wigs, glorious wigs...From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 22, 1875 Wowsa!!So much to look at. What a great picture - this is one I could keep coming back to and still see something new. Thanks, Shorpy. Human hair? Good store!The human hair store doesn't bother me a bit. Hair was commonly used in beautifully woven and braided jewelry in the 19th century. (I've tried to copy the technique with my own hair - it's difficult!) Women also bought human hairpieces and extensions, much as they do today. I'm adding this photo to my Shorpy all-time favorites. So much to see! Can't decideWhat intrigues me more. Is it the skinny building with all the ornate work, or the sign "Dry and Fancy Goods"? Piggy Bank from the 14th Street StoreI am soooo enjoy this site. Back in the 1970s as a teenager, I inherited a small "piggy bank" with a serial number, 55738, on it. It is a heavy metal woodgrain lockbox four inches wide with a carry handle on it. No key. Printed with copper-like inlay: "The 14th Street Store 6th Ave's Busy Corner, New York, Henry Siegel, Pres." I would love to know who used it, what they were saving money for, and the value of the box today. I am now in my fifties and still proudly display my antique box. [This would have been used in the store by cashiers or clerks. - Dave] The Bank BoxSo I just wanted to comment on the little bank picture that was posted. The box was a giveaway that the store had. Bank in those days a lot of department stores also contained banks. That box was a giveaway for children when their parents would open accounts. I did a bunch of research on the one I have just like it! [The box below is not a "giveaway." - Dave] We have a 14th Corner Store Bank Box too! My husband was given one of these bank boxes to him by his Grandmother and now the bank is being passed down to our 10 yr old son. I would love to pass on the history of this box to him as well. What an interesting box. The box displays serial number 92743, and looks a little different than the one pictured below. It does not have any engraving on the top other than that of the serial number. Looks like the one below has some words engraved on the top where my serial number is located. Does anyone know anything more about these boxes? Macy's Sign When I walked by 59 West 14th on Wednesday scaffolding was up. Looking at the building yesterday the tracery of "Macy's" has been painted over. Macy's mysteryBut what in the world is this guy up to? Tying his shoe? Scraping something off his shoe? Taking a shortcut off the El platform? (Thanks to Cosmopolite for bringing this brilliant, busy photo back to our attention.) (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Stores & Markets)
On the Mend: 1900
New York circa 1900. "Group of patients, Brooklyn Navy Yard hospital." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit ... craving for Crackerjack. Spooked I was in the Brooklyn Navy Yard about 10 years ago as a software rep servicing a client. The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 11:13am -

New York circa 1900. "Group of patients, Brooklyn Navy Yard hospital." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The Dry LookNot any greased-up or plastered down hair in this group. The hair styles look very close to what most men are wearing today. New York ObserverFellow in white at the top of the stairs. Represented vesselsSo far I've been able to make out the U.S.S. Newport, the New Orleans (front row seated rt. of center), and the Yankee (second row far right) and what I think is the Cincinnati (back row center). Front row seated third from left and second row fourth from right are sailors on which ships? [U.S.S. Vesuvius. - Dave] The Newport was a gunboat, the New Orleans was a cruiser, the Yankee was an auxiliary cruiser. 50 years before my time butThe blue uniforms are about the same with piping and 13 button pants. Several are probably boatswain mates because of their pipe lanyards. One may be a marine and another an officer. The guy in blue on the right gets the respect of everybody. And a couple may have have been in the Civil War. YensI suddenly have an overwhelming craving for Crackerjack. SpookedI was in the Brooklyn Navy Yard about 10 years ago as a software rep servicing a client. The place was a vast ghost town of many different and unusual decaying buildings, and apparently a haven for crime. They wouldn't let me walk around alone and I had to check my car from the window every hour or so. Some of the remaining buildings that were in passable shape were being used for small businesses. If the walls could talk that place would still have my ear. Looks like a ventriloquiston the right side of the photo! House DetectiveDarkman lurking under stairwell. Comic ReliefCheck out the ventriloquist act on the right. See also: Sick Bay 1900We saw at least a couple of these guys here. In particular, you can't miss the guy with the bandage around his head. 13 Button TrousersLooks like these guys were no more fastidious about doing up all the buttons than I was when I used to wear them. The ships USS New Orleans and USS Newport were involved in the recent conflict with Spain. Big Bluejacket on the rightThere was a guy on my ship who looked a lot like him. We called him the Abominable Seaman. Pasted In?It looks like the face of the young man in the white jacket, center second row, has been physically pasted in, note the distinct ring around the head. [That's a bandage. Next question! - Dave] Uniform VariationThe wide variety of uniforms and uniform items is notable. The three stripes at the end of the sleeve denote seaman first class, two denote second class. The shoulder watch mark on the seated SN - fifth from left in whites - reveals that he is assigned to the port watch. Those lanyards may be knife lanyards. Early versions of the dixie cup cover sometimes lacked sufficient stitching to stay in place - hence the floppy appearance. Cuff PipingThree rows of piping was standardized on the blue collar in 1876.. Cuff piping was used to identify rank until 1947. Three rows identified Petty Officers, along with their "Crow" Guy far rightis sitting on the next guy's knee! It's a real wonderHow they kept those flatboard hats on their heads! Checkout the guy in the center, that a real "old salt." Where is swee'pea?I yam what I yam, and that's all I yam. The HulkThe fellow standing on the far right looks like someone no one would want to mess with. Represented VesselsU.S.S. Vesuvius was a dynamite cruiser, a not very successful experiment. (The Gallery, DPC, Medicine, NYC)
Shipshape: 1897
March 16, 1897. "U.S.S. Brooklyn , office of executive officer." Note the ancient typewriter. 8x10 ... porthole cover in his head! Who Is the Yeoman? USS Brooklyn participated in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba in July 1898 in which ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/07/2014 - 12:41pm -

March 16, 1897. "U.S.S. Brooklyn, office of executive officer." Note the ancient typewriter. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Photographic Co. View full size. Looks like the same typewriterBar–Lock 4 from the Columbia Typewriter Co. of New York. More here. Paint?Anyone know why the highly textured paint? Asbestos!In reply to Person From Porlock, I would surmise that the pebbled coating has been applied primarily as a fireproofing material in addition to lesser benefits including insulation and sound deadening. The wonderful properties of asbestos were well known during the industrial age and it was used with careless abandon. Of course the idea wasn't to prevent the steel or iron from catching fire but to slow down the effects of the heat that would buckle and collapse the metal structure. I'd like to see how they got that roll-top desk into those cramped quarters. I have been in a few WWII era ships and there sure wasn't much wiggle room in the companionways and ladders! FaceguardInteresting faceguard on the typewriter. Was that in case the keys flew off and headed for you? [The semicircular "face guard" part of a typewriter is called the segment; its job is to hold the type bars. The machine in our photo is a Bar-Lock front-strike model, which was an improvement on understrike typewriters. In a modern typewriter, the segment and type bars are rotated 90 degrees so you can see what you're doing. - Dave] HEADS UP!I wouldn't want to be in there underway or especially in battle. My battle station was as photographer glued to the side of the Captain, documenting whatever happened. I had the misfortune of being in the Wardroom during a firing exercise. The ship I was on (USS Fulton AS-11) was doing a firing exercise with the 5"/30 guns. When the first round was fired, anything not bolted down went flying through the air! All paneling flew off the walls. Books and paper were flying like birds. Under heavy seas, if it can't be fastened down, it needs to be put low or away. Notice the porthole cover above the porthole, although resting in place, it is not secured. If that office is near any operating guns, it will be flying off the bulkhead and be a deadly projectile. That Yeoman would have quite a mess and possibly a be wearing a porthole cover in his head! Who Is the Yeoman?USS Brooklyn participated in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba in July 1898 in which her only casualty was a chief yeoman named George Henry Ellis. As this photograph was taken the year before and the yeoman shown was a first class at that time it is possible he received a promotion to chief before the battle in which he was killed. His death received national attention and a destroyer was named for him in 1918. I found a close-up of Chief Ellis just before he was killed in battle. Because one photo is profile and one is full face I can't be absolutely sure but think, from the shape of his nose, that this link identifies him and he is the yeoman featured in the above photograph. http://books.google.com/books?id=k0LES50GnMwC&pg=PA98&dq=%22yeoman+ellis... E-6Our gallant young sailor looks like a Petty Officer 1st (PO1) which corresponds to the rank of Staff Sergeant in the Army and Marines all E-6s. Probably not Ellislandtuna - If Wikipedia is to be believed, we wasn't serving at the time of this photo - he was honorably discharged in October 1896, and didn't re-enlist again until May of 1897, two months after this photo was taken. That said, there's a strong chance that this could be the guy Ellis replaced, which possibly could be used to track down and ID who it is. Batten the HatchesFrom what I have read, it was SOP during battle stations to button up the portholes with these removable covers, and severe penalties were meted out for non-compliance. They were a known weakness, but a necessity in the days before air conditioning. Also, all the cabinetry, including the roll-top cover, are equipped with locks. And it appears that heavy typewriter is bolted down. So I don't think any loose projectiles would be left in place with the exception of those pesky chairs! Two things that seem wrongA yeoman was a left arm rating, not right arm. And it looks as if he has a lanyard around his neck and the only thing it should be connected to would be a bosn pipe,and because he is not in the deck division would not be eligible to use it. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, The Office)
Sky Riders: 1905
... at the Smith & Ninth station on the F & G lines in Brooklyn, which is 80+ feet above street level. Fantana (NOT the soft drink ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 7:36pm -

New York circa 1905. "The elevated." I think the most interesting thing here is the wonderful signage. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Why so highThe Elevated had to be so high because it was crossing the Manhattan Valley without descending into it. The Broadway Subway crosses this same valley on a high arch bridge at 125th Street. The 110th Street station, shown in some of the linked photos, has its own elevator house on the north side of the street. A film clip in the Library of Congress movie collection "Life of a City" has a slightly older view of this curve with steam trains before electrification and the construction of the 110th Street station. Possibly the BronxI am going to take a wild guess here but it looks like the old Third Avenue elevated in the Bronx. Also notice the elegance of the latticework steel including the star on the crossties. As others have noted it is the old Ninth Ave. El I stand corrected. Ridin' HighThose signs are cool, but that track is easily 6 stories up, I wonder why it had to get to that height along this stretch. That could translate to an easy 75 to 80 feet UP. No wonder King Kong was able to wreak havoc as he did. Ouch!That buzzsaw device on the shoe billboard looks just right for the depicted shoe. Dead Man's CurveThis was the famous "S" curve on the Sixth/Ninth Ave El at Cathedral Parkway and, because I can't tell if the photo has been reversed, it appears to be where the line curved to go up 8th Ave at the NW corner of CP. The billboards throw me off since I can't imagine why they would have been placed facing CP in front of the buildings at ground level. [If the photo was reversed, the writing on the signs would be backward. - Dave] Seen here before from a different angle?The same place, or a similar one, was seen in this 1905 photo. Keeping in shapeFolks in the DC area are well aware of Metro's constant battle to maintain its escalators ('escalator' being an ancient word meaning "mechanical staircase not meant to be left out in the rain"). Folks riding this train had an el of a climb. Truth In Advertising"Bordens Malted Milk Has No Equal" Or any other artificial sweetener. Ninth Avenue LThis looks like the famous S-curve of the Ninth Avenue L at 110th Street and Eighth Avenue in upper Manhattan, with a bit of Central Park in the foreground. This portion of the line was opened by the Manhattan Railway in 1891, leased to the Interborough Rapid Transit Co. (IRT) in 1903 (for 999 years!), and closed to service when the city bought all the privately owned NYC subway and elevated lines in 1940. Another view of the curve was published by Shorpy here: https://www.shorpy.com/node/8002 . Ya big apeIsn't that King Kong reaching for the elevated train from behind the building? What a great scene that was, and plenty scary for the times (1933). No doubt it gave elevated passengers pause before boarding for a while, like taking showers after seeing Psycho. I hope someone can identify the brand advertisement on the right edge. Tenth Anniversary for something starting with at T. Any train photos are great - thanks for posting Dave. 8th Avenue and 110th StreetPreviously seen here on Shorpy. Looks like the Borden's Malted Milk galwears American Lady Corsets. A titivating milkmaid!No lack of Malted Milk there. ["Titivating"! - Dave] Dave, don't know if you're flagging the usage or the word. It's a verb used as an adjective, with -ing making it a present participle. The word means smarten, spruce, in the sense of making better, enhancing. I deliberately did not use titillate. It's a close call, maybe a stretch, you may be right, but I'll stick with titivate. Kind regards. ["Titivating"! - Dave] Highest Point ever on New York L'sAs noted in several comments above, it is indeed the "S" curve on the 9th Ave el at 110th Street & 8th Avenue, viewed looking roughly northwest from inside Central Park. The location was notable as the highest point anywhere on the New York els, being approximately 110 feet above street level. The 9th Ave line was closed and razed in 1940, having been replaced by the far superior 8th Avenue subway. Today the highest point on the NYC Transit system is at the Smith & Ninth station on the F & G lines in Brooklyn, which is 80+ feet above street level. Fantana (NOT the soft drink quartet)Fantana (with Douglas Fairbanks) opened at the Shubert's Lyric Theater in January 1905. AdsJefferson De Angelis performed in "Fantana" from Jan 14, 1905 - Sep 30, 1905. Several of the billboards are advertising events in May, including two on May 8. Interesting how closely the picture can be dated. I wonder how often the billboards were changed back then. I bet pretty often, as that was a major form of advertising then. ZAM I AMI think the sign near the top-right is an ad for the painters on the scaffold. It looks like an initial letter, followed by the word ZAM, and then the word PAINTER on the 2nd line. I think he is painting the inside of the window sills with a dark color. Notice how dark the inside of all the window sills to his left appear. Possibly he is just finishing up the sill in front of him. Notice all the sills directly below him are still a lighter color. The sign could be stuck to that window, but it might also be attached to his scaffold. [The sign reads "E. ZAM PAINTER and DECORATOR." Something something. - Dave] Thanks for the blow-up, Dave. I just noticed there is a 2nd painter standing to the left of the sitting painter. He looks to be wearing overalls and his right hand is raised to the glass, probably with paintbrush in hand! Can't be!You sure that's New York? Where's the graffiti on the trains? Obscured from viewI believe the billboards act as a fence hiding a vacant lot or construction site. It was a common practice at the time. Regal, the shoe that proves --What, exactly? Belmont Park AdIf this is indeed 1905, there is an ad on a fence for the inaugral Belmont Park race meet at Elmont, Long Island. Morningside, not Central Park?Are we sure this is Central Park? That stairway looks very similar to this one in nearby Morningside Park. It is Central ParkAnd I think I found the stairs here. This photo is looking out on to what is now Frederick Douglass Circle. I think it's gotta be Central ParkBecause the apartment buildings seen here match those in this view looking north on Eighth Avenue -- they are at the NW and NE corners of 8th Avenue and 111th Street. In addition, the stairway that John Craft showed us in the corner of Morningside Park hugs the line of the street (Morningside Avenue) very closely, while the stairway in this picture descends into the park at a 45-degree angle. Has this stairway been removed and replaced by a roadway? 8th and 110th close but not quite MorningsideThe Morningside stairs may look similiar but the Central Park stairs look exact (allowing for 107 years of change). (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)
Awning Chasm: 1906
... I remember running from one awning to the next during a Brooklyn downpour, you got wet but it was still fun. RH White & Co. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 10:30pm -

Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1906. "Washington Street." Or, "The Dentist Steps Out." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Eccentric perchPutting aside his "stepping out" behavior, the dentist looks like he belongs at Puritan Dental Co. Bargains!I spotted Filene's in the photo and I know where I'm headed next. To the basement! Can you imagine the bargains awaiting for you there in 1905? Why are the streets so crowded at the moment? Filene's must be having a fire sale! Not so painless dentistIf he takes that first step. Too Late!If I miss the streetcar, how long do I have to wait for the next one? Pleased to seethat Dave hasn't lost his touch for clever captions. Has to be at least 1909I spy Filene's off in the middle distance: http://www.filenesbasement.com/our_story.php [You're confusing Filene's with Filene's Basement. Filene's got its start in 1881. - Dave] Ah, that I am! Thanks! Quite a PairI love the two derby wearing fellows standing at the curb, at the bottom (right of center) of the photo: the tightly wrapped one and the wide open one. I try not to impute too much personality or inner life to the folks frozen in Shorpy pictures, but I hope these two were best buddies. Ornate facades and elaborate cornicesThese building look like they were designed to last a thousand years. An automobile?I have never seen a 1906 pic with an automobile. Is this a misprint? [You're right. Must be from 1907. - Dave] Why?I've always wondered why Washington Street is so narrow. Obviously it has been a major urban street for a long time. I suppose the answer has something to do with a colonial cow path. The Sounds of SummerI can only imagine what this scene sounded like. Vintage VantageWhere would this have been taken from? It seems to be at the third story level. Was there a bridge? or is there a cross street that the photographer would have been on the far side of? Funny until someone gets hurtA door opening to a 15-foot vertical drop is a really bad idea, especially when you have patients loopy on laughing gas. Has anyone else noticedthe number of credit clothing stores that have shown up recently. In practically every vintage picture, there seem to be two constants: the ubiquitious cigar seller and the credit clothier. AmazingIt's truly a blessing we can enjoy this beautiful picture today, more than 100 years later TodayOpera House (B.F. Keith's) on the left. View Larger Map Opera HouseCould that be the Boston Opera House on the left? It was originally called the B.F. Keith Theatre, and the sign on the street looks like it might read "Keith's". B.F. Meant Big FunThe rather ornate white building just this side of O'Callahan's is B.F. Keith's New Theatre at 547 Washington Street -- a huge venue for vaudeville in its day. Thomas Edison demonstrated his new Vitascope projector there on May 18, 1896, the first projection of a movie anywhere in Boston. At its peak, Benjamin Franklin Keith's organization controlled well over a hundred theaters east of the Mississippi, many of them named after him. http://www.archive.org/details/bfkeithsnewtheat00bost Cars in 1906Dr Horatio Green of Vermont, the first person to drive across the country, completed his epic journey in 1903. Cars, at least among the wealthy and tech inclined, were a common sight in 1906. There were a few car makers in Massachusetts as early as the 1890s. Summer timeThe era of awnings refused to go down without a fight, even after AC became common, The awning was a cheap way of cooling and a venue for advertising that wasn't taxed like a sign. I remember running from one awning to the next during a Brooklyn downpour, you got wet but it was still fun. RH White & Co.The building on the right, just past the dentist's office and with the striped awning, is RH White & Company, a popular department store of the time. You can just barely read the name on the building. (The Gallery, Boston, DPC, Streetcars)
Roebling Bridge: 1941
... build an even longer suspension connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cincinnati Photos) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/04/2022 - 2:41pm -

Spring 1941. "View under Roebling Suspension Bridge of Cincinnati from Kentucky side of the Ohio River. Waterfront showing numerous business houses: Colter Grocers, Cincinnati Grain & Hay, King Bag, Queen City Rag & Paper and others." 4x5 inch acetate negative. View full size. Lucky findSomeone posted a photo on Google Maps from almost the same angle. The king and queen are gone. The only thing that appears to still be there is the building with the dunce hat roof on the left. Colourized (by machine)Here's a take on what the original might have looked like in colour, as interpreted by your friendly neighbourhood AI at palette.fm. The AI can get colour details wrong but this result worked out pretty well. [The u in colour and neighbourhood are there on purpose. I'm Canadian.] First DraftCompleted in 1867, Roebling's bridge in Cincinnati was the longest suspension bridge in the world at 1,057 feet. Later that year, he was selected to build an even longer suspension connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cincinnati Photos)
The Dairy Case: 1943
... 60's. We started at 2 AM and drove from Queens, NY, to Brooklyn, ( oddly enough, where I was born ), To load cases of milk, OJ, cream, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 10:53am -

December 1943. Lynn Massman, a Washington D.C. Navy wife and mother, does her marketing. View full size. Medium-format safety negative by Esther Bubley. Milk CartonsI didn't know milk was available in cartons in 1943. But I like those "hourglass" bottles with the bulbous cream trap on top. Is that chocolate milk on the top shelf? Saddle shoesI wish more women wore saddle shoes today. Saddle shoes? Please.Saddle shoes? Please. Back then shopping carts were small. Nowadays you could live in one. The textbook definitionof an "awkward pose" CartonsYes, it looks like homogenized milk was available in paper cartons then, if my magnifying glass is helping me correctly. What's wrong with Saddle Shoes?Nothing wrong with saddle shoes? She looks quite young. The milk on the left is crying out to be personified, with a body, a head and a "hat" already there! Milk cartonsCartons for milk were first used around 1905-10 but didn't become common until the 1930's. The sprout didn't come into use until the 1950's. Note that there is not a sprout on the carton she is holding. Milk CartonsCardboard milk cartons were available as early as 1940. The Ex-Cell-O Corp. of Detroit, Michigan was one of the pioneers in this industry, having designed the Pure-Pak carton and the machinery to make and fill the cartons. Because of its ease of use, the Pure-Pak package design became the dominant milk carton design in the USA by the late 1950s and is still used today. Here is a description of their exhibit at the 69th Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association that was held in Detroit, Mich. from October 6 through 11, 1940: EX-CELL-O CORPORATION DETROIT, MICH. No. 43 The Ex-Cello-O Corporation's Pure-Pak exhibit will include a display of finished Pure-Pak singleservice containers for milk and other dairy products, in quart, pint, and half-pint sizes; a display of the flat, printed cartons from which these containers are formed by Pure-Pak equipment (as well as filled and sealed), and the board from which converting plants manufacture these blanks. There will also be descriptive literature covering the entire Pure-Pak process and the Pure-Pak machines. [source, pg. 33] The lady in the photo is not holding a Pure-Pak carton, which is instantly recognizable due to its tent-shaped top with the fold-out spout. BTW, I think the awkwardness of her pose is attributable to the fact that she is holding the door to the refrigerated case open with her left hand. Mike_G More Milk Cartons!Ex-Cell-O's tent-top Pure-Pak carton came out in the late 1940s, with a tab opening on the side (top illustration below). The "new" Pure-Pak with the familiar folding spout (bottom illustration) was introduced in 1954. CartThat style grocery cart is making a comeback. The supermarket where I shop now sports very similar ones. DenmarkThis could be a picture from Denmark in the early sixties. Amazing. Good Design?The carton with the pour tab on the side (top photo) must have been a disaster. How could you pour without milk dribbling down the outside afterwards? and how to reseal it after use? The tent top with the pour spout is a brilliant idea! It's still much in use. I assume this is the same Ex-Cell-O Corp that makes kitchen sponges. Square milk cartonsThe answer to the first question was, very carefully. I messed one up, big time, when I was about 3-4 years old, and was banished from milk carton opening until the Pure-Pak gable top became mainstream in the late 50s. It was difficult to tear the small tab without wrecking it. I seem to remember one edge was secured to the carton by a small staple. To replace, you simply pushed the now-distorted corner back into the hole, and hoped for the best. With small children in the house, a quart size carton like that wouldn't last more than a couple days anyway, so there were few catastrophic spills. Milk BottlesThe hourglass shaped bottles allegedly were able to separate cream from the milk in the high butterfat days, with the theory of cream rising to the top and floating on the surface of the milk. We never had one in our house, but a rural friend of many years, said his mother would open the jug immediately after home delivery, and pour the cream into a smaller container. Not known what happened after the initial skimming. Guess it depends on how creamy your milk was! [It's plain old gravity that makes the cream float to the top -- the heavier milk sinks to the bottom. These were called cream top bottles. - Dave] CreamI have my mother's recipes, and many of them as late as the 1950's call for "top milk" or the cream that had risen to the top. I think it was equivalent to today's light cream or maybe half and half, does anyone know? The kinds of human milknessLook at the hinges on those coolers! I can recall their distinctive sound as they were closed. I never liked "open" dairy cases -- too often they let milk spoil in the heat of the summer. Though plastic milk jugs have become fairly standard, some local small local dairies are going back to glass. I always felt milk from a well chilled glass bottle was the most refreshing. I do understand that bottles were problematical due to their reuse and the possible attendant health risks. My mother would never put out an empty milk bottle for the milkman that wasn't pristine. When she saw a scuzzy bottle someone had put out, she would cringe in disgust. She would buy only unhomogenized milk. She usually poured off the cream at the top. It was a treat when she didn't, and mixed it in with the rest of the milk. We also had a product called "table cream" that had lower butterfat content than whipping cream, but higher than the "Half & Half" available now. It does not seem to exist any longer. When I was a kid their were a whole bunch of independent dairies to choose from. Finally, dairy-produced eggnog just isn't the same anymore. But maybe that's just as well, if you get my drift! The milkmanWe had milk delivered to the door up until the mid-1970s. For years, we would get two large glass 3 quart jugs delivered just about daily. I can recall taking the cream off the top of the homogenized milk. In our cold Canadian winters, the milk would often freeze in a relatively short time and push the little cardboard tops up. Some mornings, you would find a small tower of frozen milk protruding from the bottle. I remember one summer my brother grabbing up the two milk bottles by the plastic handles and running through the front door into the alcove where the bottles flew together and smashed... Six quarts of milk flooded the floor and went through the floorboards. You cannot imagine the smell of that milk even after Mom swilled the floor down with water and vinegar! The dairy also delivered cheese, butter, and orange juice - including a product called "Beep", sort of an orange breakfast drink favoured by us kids. Beep is still around and is mostly flavouring and sugar, of course which is probably why we loved it. Years later, while working in the Canadian Museum of Science and Technology, I spent a couple of weeks cataloguing and then cleaning a huge crate of horse traces and equipment covered in mold and mildew from the Clark Dairy, the same dairy that had once delivered the milk I drank as a teen. The egg man still arrived at the door with a horse and cart up until the mid 1960s. Sadly, that lovely man was killed in the late 1960s when a car hit his truck (he had retired the horses, by then) as he was pulling out of his farm early one morning to do his regular deliveries. What was old is new againWe have milk and eggs delivered once a week. I love the convenience and my kids like to tell everyone online that they have milk delivered to our house. Sometimes people (especially kids their age) don't believe them. Shopping cartI have a shopping cart like that. Mine has no identifying marks. I have spent hours googling with no success. Can anyone help me learn the manufacturer, Please? [Click cart for ginormous enlargement. Candidate for a frame-off restoration if I ever saw one. - Dave] Add to cartThis shopping cart is smaller than the first one I posted and folds easily. Again I can find no marks to identify the manufacturer and would like to hear from anyone who can supply information. Mooooor milk I was an assistant to a milkman in the late 60's. We started at 2 AM and drove from Queens, NY, to Brooklyn, ( oddly enough, where I was born ), To load cases of milk, OJ, cream, chocolate, skim and all the other levels of cream. We carried well over 200 cases, 12 bottles to the case, and shoveled two foot of chipped ice onto the load. The ice couldn't abolish the stench of years of rancid milk, but you got used to it. The best part of the run was about 6 AM, when we would stop on Tulip ave. to swap with the Entemans bakery guy, two quarts of milk for a cheese danish. My boss, Charlie Bravata, was an old school Italian, who loved a good deal. First shopping cartsThe photos uploaded 03/01/2011 at 5:59pm are definitely of the first commercially-manufactured shopping carts, made by the Folding Carrier Co. You can find a lot more information online about Sylvan Goldman and his invention of the shopping cart in Oklahoma City. I'm trying to find photos of the first prototypes (made out of a folding chair), and more information on any wooden carts or metal folding designs slightly different than the ones in these photos. I don't have any more info on the cart pictured in the photo uploaded 01/01/2011 at 3:41pm. (The Gallery, Esther Bubley, Massman, Stores & Markets, WW2)
The Arcade: 1901
... 319. Fascinating history, built by Roebling Bros. (Brooklyn Bridge). The Old Arcade represents everything that is American ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/03/2017 - 9:18am -

Circa 1901. "The Arcade, Cleveland." Coming soon: Cinnabon and Sunglass Hut. 8x10 dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Still BeautifulThe Arcade is still open for business in downtown Cleveland and is still just as beautiful as ever. Near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Space and Science Center. Man I miss Cleveland!! Ahhh! That Edison windowI just love it! I saw many pics of gramophones and the like but never such detailed and natural everyday windows like this one. Thanks! Ravel in Montreal Beautiful spaceThe designers of the Mall of America should have looked at this photo. This Mall Is EPIC!One of my hobbies is viewing websites of the malls and dead malls here in the USA and abroad. I came upon this picture and was positively struck by how beautiful and ornate this mall was, and frankly had no idea that such spaces existed that far back in time. It really reminds me of some of the more ornate malls I've seen photographs of that are in Canada and in Europe. Who knew back then that malls would take such a tacky and lowbrow turn as many of them have today. This photo is truly indicative of a time when people had some decorum; the ornamentation and details of a mall such as the one you feature here demonstrate an era where people actually gave a damn about presentation and creating a space that elevates, rather than demeans, humanity. Truly a special and unexpected find for me here today! [Strictly speaking, it wasn't really a "mall." It was a retail arcade. - Dave] Something missingOh yeah. The mall rats. Dr. I. Yankem Ah yes! A stop by the "Painless Dentist" to end your day shopping at the Mall. Come on get fluffyI spy a few ghosts I think, including one in a smart straw boater. Beautiful lamps, I love the alternating clear and colored bulbs! And the store on the right, offering "COME IN - Have your (what?) made FLUFFY"? [Have your HAT made fluffy! - Dave] Edison InexhaustibleSmart or shrewd was it to stack both the phonograph and below floor a music as well as phonograph storefronts; they both could "try" to out crank and outplay each other in a subdued and fully retrained late-Victorian challenge of musical Kings. At least they could prop their respective front doors open! The $30 Edison on the wall would be equivalent to $680 today. Save up for that! The more things change ...This is one of my favorite places in all of Cleveland. Tenants have come and gone, and the Cleveland Press is now defunct, but aside from the lamps and the items inside the stores the Arcade looks the same today as it did over a century ago. That even includes hand-lettering on the windows. Now in living colorThe Arcade is celebrating its 120th birthday this coming May. It was built in 1890 for well under $1 million, and renovated in 2001 for $60 million. The lower two levels house shops and restaurants; the Hyatt Regency occupies the upper three. A very unique place to stay, within walking distance of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Great Lakes Science Center, and the Browns and Indians stadiums. http://theclevelandarcade.com/content/history SouthdaleI always find it comical when I see claims that the Southdale mall near Minneapolis (circa 1960's) was the first enclosed shopping mall. [A mall (Southdale) and an arcade (Cleveland) are two very different things. - Dave] ArcadianI remember this gorgeous spot when growing up in Cleveland. I'm so very happy it still exists. The Emporium of Gold.Careful examination of the windows will yield one glorious two-toned, split-blended shaded, embossed centered, gold-leaf sign after another (after another), each rendered in reverse directly upon the glass: the expert accomplishments of trained journeyman signpainters, in the halcyon days before the advent of the computer, and the end of beautiful window signage. There exist today not one in a hundred display windows worthy of even a first glance, thanks to the digital degradation of the lettering craft. But once, artistic signs provided a delightful and inviting entree to the goods shown within -- in a more refined and genteel culture. Apple Store on the left corner!On the upper left corner, I see the Apple Store! They sell Macintoshes, Granny Smiths, Pippins, and even the small Fujis! When I think of Home, THIS is where my mind goes!I grew up in this building from 1971 to 1997 when they gave us the boot to make it a hotel. We were in room 310, then 319. Fascinating history, built by Roebling Bros. (Brooklyn Bridge). The Old Arcade represents everything that is American and good. Beauty, functionaity, community, longevity, class! Jay Rosen - Rosen & Company My favorite placeI used to work at The Old Arcade. I was responsible for the decorations of the atrium for the 100 year celebration in 1989. I absolutely love this building and its history. I visit it weekly as I still work in the downtown area. Of course it is not the same, but it brings back wonderful memories. +115Below is the same view from July of 2016. (The Gallery, Cleveland, DPC, Stores & Markets)
Manhattan: 1908
New York circa 1908. "Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, ... other bridges and taller buildings of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. This photo shows the magnificence of the bridge when it was young. ... And in the center, the crowning glory of the photo, is the Brooklyn Bridge! I am awed. Thank you so much for uploading this image! A ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/18/2012 - 3:35pm -

New York circa 1908. "Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Signs of the TimesI spotted a couple of ubiquitous ads on the buildings. The first, to the right of the Bridge Tower appears to be above the "Moens (?) Old Metal" sign, is the partial signature of Charles H. Fletcher, the seller of Fletcher's Castoria, a digestive cure-all. His autograph was on countless walls throughout the city. The other appears to be to the right of the Fletcher's and just above the Roadbed, visible through the suspension cables is a "Postum" sign. Postum was a coffee substitute, a mix that was hot water soluble and caffeine free. It was first sold in 1895 and discontinued in 2007. The drink was named for its manufacturer C.W. Post. The company, Post Foods, was at the end, a division of Kraft Food. The Long Island University Nassau County Campus, C.W. Post College, is named in his honor, after his daughter, Marjorie Merriweather Post, who was also Mrs.E.F. Hutton, donated her palatial estate to them. Scott's EmulsionAs soon as I laid eyes on that photo, I spotted that huge ad for "Scott's Emulsion" on the building in the center. I was sure I had seen that ad before ... But where ? And then it clicked. I live in Belgium, and my grandparents live in a small town south of Brussels, where an old chemist shop still has its front wall covered with old ads painted on tiles. And one of them is that very same ad for the Scott's Emulsion. The chemist shop recently had their front wall classified as historic monument. MajesticRoebling's masterpiece may today be eclipsed by the many other bridges and taller buildings of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. This photo shows the magnificence of the bridge when it was young. Utter BeautyHas anyone seen such a beautiful shot? The detail, it's magnificent! I am speechless. And in the center, the crowning glory of the photo, is the Brooklyn Bridge! I am awed. Thank you so much for uploading this image! A land of opportunityWhat you might call a city bustling. I particularly love the detail of the canopies at the foot of the bridge pillar. NorskAwesome photo! The freighter in the center of the photo appears to be flying the Norwegian flag. With the "H" on the funnel, it should be possible to at least identify the name of the shipping line, and then possibly the individual ship. Interesting!That's fascinating about the painting matching 'Scott's Emulsion'. Those were the days, back when artists were employed to paint things by hand. I notice nowadays they're using giant inkjet printers to print billboards on plastic. I doubt if those will ever pass the test of time though. Two NorwegiansActually, there are two Norwegians in the picture. Both the boat and the man carrying the huge fish is from the Land of Ice and Snow. In the city of Bergen in Norway, there was this man who earned his pay delivering fish in that fashion, carrying them over his shoulders. He inspired an artist to paint the fish man as we all now him. These things means a lot to us Norwegians, you see. Clear acrossWhat always strikes me in old views like this is how easy it used to be to see all the way across Manhattan and the Hudson to the hills of New Jersey. From the same spot today, those hills are just a rumor. The effect is even more pronounced in similar views of far uptown, which remained almost completely unbuilt until well into the age of photography. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)
Crossings: 1908
New York circa 1908. "Brooklyn Bridge." It seems like only 38,000 yesterdays. 8x10 inch glass ... that all visitors to New York take a stroll over the Brooklyn Bridge. It's a classic. John Roebling tried out some of his ideas for the Brooklyn Bridge on a smaller bridge he had been commissioned to build in Waco ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 7:15pm -

New York circa 1908. "Brooklyn Bridge." It seems like only 38,000 yesterdays. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The Bridge is for sale, by the wayI'll make you a real good deal. Nothing has changed but the clothingI would suggest that all visitors to New York take a stroll over the Brooklyn Bridge. It's a classic. John Roebling tried out some of his ideas for the Brooklyn Bridge on a smaller bridge he had been commissioned to build in Waco Texas. I've been there, and it does look something like an adobe copy of the Brooklyn Bridge. That beautiful bridgeI have lived in New York for many years, and have crossed the bridge many times. But I still look at it with awe and wonder and delight every time I see it. It's just a beautiful work of art. And I've walked across it a few times, too (a highly recommended activity). The last two times I walked across the bridge were 9/11 and that last big New York blackout. 1907/08Both Singer and City Investing Buildings are still under construction. So the year is more like 1907 or 1908. [Excellent observation. - Dave] SerenityTo enjoy a scene like this nowadays, one would have to walk the bridge at 5 a.m. Ah, the days before angry hipsters on their bikes with whistles blowing at tourists trying to enjoy the skyline. Free bridge!Taking the subway to Brooklyn and walking back to Manhattan is one of my favorite free tourist excursions in NYC. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)
King Bag, Queen Rag: 1941
... Finally came the most celebrated bridge ever built, the Brooklyn Bridge over New York's East River. Roebling deserves credit for the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/03/2022 - 4:34pm -

Spring 1941. "View under Roebling Suspension Bridge of Cincinnati from Kentucky side of the Ohio River. Waterfront showing numerous business houses: King Bag Company, Queen City Rag & Paper Company and others." 4x5 inch acetate negative for the FSA. View full size. Gee?? No: G&EThat would be the Cincinnati Gas and Electric building, on the left (view cut off by the bridge). It's still around. The building to the right, the Cincinnati and Suburban Bell Telphone Building, isn't (replaced by a formidable mass named Atrium Two). If fate could only save one of these, I think it made the right choice. Roebling before and afterIt is impossible to overestimate the importance of John A. Roebling in the history of American bridge building and civil engineering. Suspension bridges were his specialty. Before the Cincinnati project, he completed the first railway suspension bridge (1855), across the Niagara River just below the Falls. Soon after, he built Pittsburgh's Sixth Street Bridge (1859). The Cincinnati bridge that now bears his name took eleven years to complete (1867) due to work stopping during the Civil War. Finally came the most celebrated bridge ever built, the Brooklyn Bridge over New York's East River. Roebling deserves credit for the design, though he died (of tetanus caused by an accident at the site) six months before construction began. His son, Washington Roebling (who had worked on the Cincinnati bridge), finished the project. More green, less gritHere is the view today. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cincinnati Photos)
No. 2: 1909
February 12, 1909. "James Crowley, 2nd in Brooklyn Marathon." View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham ... 11 minutes and 25 seconds. [There was more than one Brooklyn Marathon. The winner of this race (the Brooklyn-Seagate Marathon) was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/19/2012 - 3:30pm -

February 12, 1909. "James Crowley, 2nd in Brooklyn Marathon." View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress. A Horseman too?Is this the same James Crowley who was one of the infamous Notre Dame Four Horsemen? Just think...How he might have finished if he'd worn shoes. Vertigo.I don't know if it's the lines of the boards on the floor or the ones on the wall at the back or maybe the leaning some men are doing, but this picture makes me a little queasy. (Good thing those two smart mustaches in the crowd snapped me right out of it!) [As we can tell from the windows along the top, the image is tilted a bit. Here it is untilted. - Dave] James CrowleyThe Four Horsemen played for Notre Dame from 1922 through 1924. James Crowley was born in 1902. If this is the same person, he was very mature for his age. The WinnerIn case anybody cares, the runner who came in first according to the NY Times Archives, was one Edwin H White. He ran under the auspices of the Holy Cross Lyceum. The distance covered was 26 miles,385 yards and his time was 3 hrs, 11 minutes and 25 seconds. [There was more than one Brooklyn Marathon. The winner of this race (the Brooklyn-Seagate Marathon) was James Clarke. - Dave] Marathon ManRunningPast.com features a cigarette card of the gent along with his likeness. James Crowley (USA) - Crowley deserves the title, "King of Marathoners" according to the back of the card. James found his greatest success in 5 mile races. Of course back then they referred to almost any long distance race as a marathon run. He finished 4th in the 1909 Boston Marathon. Runner's buildJames Crowley was built like a boxer. Most long-distance runners today are much skinnier. In current times coaches tend to push athletes toward the sports which fit their physiques. (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, NYC, Sports)
The Nippers of November: 1920
... of the Graham Talking Machine Co. at 75 Graham Avenue in Brooklyn. Among the titles you could take for a spin: "Ever of Thee I'm Fondly ... 75 Graham Avenue sits in the Bushwick district of Brooklyn. Until about World War II it was a respectable if not necessarily ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2013 - 6:05pm -

New York, 1920. "Graham shop." Store window display of the Graham Talking Machine Co. at 75 Graham Avenue in Brooklyn. Among the titles you could take for a spin: "Ever of Thee I'm Fondly Dreaming," "Drowsy Baby" and "My Little Bimbo Down on the Bamboo Isle." Who'll be the first brave soul to attempt a Nipper count? 5x7 glass negative, Bain News Service. View full size. Nipper CountDoggone it! I count 33! Here stands the victor!Before that battle between VHS and Betamax, there was the battle between the disc and the cylinder. By 1929 the cylinder was discontinued and the disc won! My Little Bimbo... Down on the Bamboo Isle Thanx for sharing that OldNavyDave!That was really great! One of the most interesting "comments" posted lately! Nipper is all that's leftNipper still exists as a corporate logo, but the Graham Talking Machine Company has long vanished. The building's gone too, replaced around 1930 by a three-story building consisting of a couple apartments over a store (Bobby Sportswear). New York has tens of thousands of such buildings, known locally as "taxpayers," a term rarely heard elsewhere. 75 Graham Avenue sits in the Bushwick district of Brooklyn. Until about World War II it was a respectable if not necessarily affluent neighborhood, known for its large German- and Italian-American population. Urban decay set in after the war, and the commercial areas were devastated by rioting and looting following a blackout in 1977. Yet all was not lost. Starting around ten years ago, just as things looked hopeless, hipsters and other trendy types priced out of nearby Williamsburg took the L subway line a few stop further east and began settling in Bushwick. While the neighborhood still has a very long way to go, things are looking better for the first time in decades. Gothic Cabinet VictrolaI'm guessing that if William Randolph Hearst needed a stylistically appropriate talking machine for his San Simeon ranch in central California, that would be the model of choice. Pavek Museum of BroadcastingThat large Victrola in the window reminded me of the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting, St. Louis Park, Minnesota. They have a large acoustic record player in their lobby - said to be a relic from a dance hall. It was remarkably loud and had MUCH better low frequency response than one expects from non-electronic record players. How much is that dog in the windowSeeing a lot of bad copies of the nipper dog I've always tought that these copies were made this decade. Seeing the nippers in this shop it's very clear that they made even bad copies of the dog in those days. Music stores are dispappering in a very quick tempo overhere in our country (The Netherlands) due to the digital solutions and illegal downloads of music. It's a great picture which gives a good impression of how we could listen to music in those days NippersI make it at Twenty nine, including probable blurs(they moved?)and not including 1 possible reflection. Marketing 101Modern marketers would do well to study the depth of the marketing support provided by Victor -- branding, branding, branding! Clever stand-up displays show that Graham is selling phonograph records, not terriers (in case that wasn't clear); a wide range of artists and styles is featured. And how hard is it to sell small products in a giant store display window? Library of Congress "National Jukebox"The Library of Congress National Jukebox streams (free of charge) more than 10,000 78rpm disc sides issued by the Victor Talking Machine Company between 1900 and 1925. http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/ For example, there's a faster, instrumental version of "My Little Bimbo..." at: http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/7133 There's a display card to the right...of the doorway advertising the song "Ever of Thee I'm Fondly Dreaming" performed by Sophie Braslau. Braslau was a prominent contralto of the day, the daughter of Ukranian-born anarchist parents living in NYC. She died young of cancer, at age 43. You can in fact hear a recording of her singing this song on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZAg3t5s-5w I count34 Selling The SizzleThe Zenith Radio & TV Company was the leader in window trimming and store displays. Twice a year they sent Decorators into the store to do interior displays at no cost to the dealer. They would have loved to do our windows as well, but we could not limit ourselves to one brand. My Company, Sound City, would hire those same window trimmers to do our storefront show windows four times a year. With the immense amount of pedestrian traffic on West 45th Street those windows were our best salesmen. Nipper CensusI see 29. I'm very curious about the interior of this shop, which appears to be decorated as a little town of its own? Thank you, Mr. DC, for the LOC link. Amazed I have been missing out on this! Nifty Photoshop Work!Fascinated by the contents of this shop window, I found the LOC version, hoping to glean more detail. In the original photograph, the window is overexposed to the point of being almost completely white. Hats off to you for your super-proficient restoration job! I have a life-size Nipper!My dad came across it years and years ago- he brought it home because it reminded him of his old dog Tina. Since then I've taken Nipper to camp, to college halfway across the country... he's seen a good deal of the country through my efforts. :) (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, Music, NYC, Stores & Markets)
Toledo Panorama: 1909
... Even More Charles Fletcher signs, just like in the Brooklyn Bridge picture of a few days ago. The guy was everywhere. Holy ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/28/2012 - 4:46pm -

Circa 1909. "Toledo, Ohio, waterfront on Maumee River." Humongous 40,000-pixel-wide panorama made from five 8x10 glass negatives, downsized here to a still-hefty 11,000 pixels. Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Even MoreCharles Fletcher signs, just like in the Brooklyn Bridge picture of a few days ago. The guy was everywhere. Holy Toledo!Another Fletcher's Castoria sign!! Great picture! Road NamesT&OC was the Toledo & Ohio Central, a railroad originating in the West Virginia coal fields that ran northwest from Charleston up to Columbus and thence to Toledo. At this time it was still independent, but was later absorbed into the New York Central system. Hocking Valley collected coal on network of feeder lines in southeast Ohio, assembled the cars at a main yard in Columbus and ran them up their main to Toledo. C&O absorbed the HV in 1925, a strategic move that gave the C&O an outlet in the lucrative lakes coal trade. Kanawha & Michigan was a short line in West Virginia. WOW Factor = 10.Now THAT'S a Picture. Worth every minute (hour?) it took to do the merge. Peter Piper Picked a Passel of PixelsMy mouse is tired after studying this pic. I will come back to this one and find some more stuff to look up. Already found that there is still a Hocking Valley Railway. Located in Southeast Ohio, it is a scenic railway offering rides on restored cars. New York Central territoryLooking at the coal cars in the foreground, Toledo & Ohio Central, Zanesville & Western and Kanawha & Michigan eventually became part of NYC System. Hocking Valley Ry. became part of Chesapeake & Ohio. In the tall structure in front left, a K&M car is about to be turned over to empty its contents. The middle foreground finds an immaculate T&OC switch engine with no lack of work, going about its duties. PaintAccording to Google Maps, the Acme Quality Paint Store no longer exists at 420 Summit Street. Where should I buy my paint? Holmes Snowflake LaundryIn the distance, behind the Jefferson Hotel and in the upper center area of the photo, we can see the Holmes Snowflake Laundry building. See below for a different view. The Holmes Snowflake Building was the first Toledo location for the Champion Spark Plug Company, attracted to the city by the Willys Overland Company. Willys agreed to buy spark plugs from Robert and Frank Stranahan, if they would relocate their company to Toledo (ca. 1910). Louisa May Alcott'sLyttle Weeman Saddlery & Hardware. Jay C. MorseThought I had seen this ship before. Sure enough, one of the plates from this set is here. [That's a different plate. -Dave] At least the smokestack is still thereSeveral weeks ago we had lunch at a restaurant along the river with the same great view of the river. This view fills in the details that I imagined. AdsI wonder if the early marketing folks at Coca-Cola were influenced by Fletcher's Castoria ads. The logos are similar in style and the signs are everywhere. [I think Spencerian script was generally in vogue. - Dave] About that Hand SapolioI see by my desktop copy of "Once Famous Brands Now Forgotten" (I made that up) Hand Sapolio was the Ivory of its day, possibly the most famous soap there was around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In fact, I just checked in Volumes 27 and 28 of Nursing World for 1901, and found on page 391: “Hand Sapolio equals a mild Turkish bath in many of its advantages. It demands no extreme or heat or cold, but removes all scurf (sic), casts off the constantly dying outer skin, and gives the inner skin…..” Well, you get the idea. Here's a typical ad: Two-Masted TubsThose are interesting vessels on the river's far side, just left of panorama center. They look like they must have engines on board; I wonder if they ever got under sail using those masts, or were they formerly sailing barges that got converted? (Panoramas, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Railroads, Toledo)
Dream Sequence: 1906
New York circa 1906. "Williamsburg Bridge Plaza, Brooklyn." Shades of Magritte or de Chirico. Detroit Publishing Company glass ... 1901. Beyond those smokestacks in the background was the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The domed structure is the Williamsburg Savings Bank. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 7:19pm -

New York circa 1906. "Williamsburg Bridge Plaza, Brooklyn." Shades of Magritte or de Chirico. Detroit Publishing Company glass negative. View full size. FantasticI can see in this picture the building I used to live in in around 1991. I also lived at the entrance to the other side of the Williamsburg Bridge in Manhattan. This area, besides the trolleys being gone and now being clogged with automobiles, has not changed much in the sense there has been little new construction and many of the buildings are intact, albeit in disrepair. There are so many ghost signs in present day Williamsburg and I see they had them back in 1901. Beyond those smokestacks in the background was the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The domed structure is the Williamsburg Savings Bank. Beautiful, thanks Shorpy. I drivepast here every day going to work. Thanks for posting Dave. Here is a postcard image shortly after the el was connected to the bridge. Ceci n'est pas une streetcarGreat picture. Looks like it was taken from the southeast corner of Havemeyer and South Fifth Street, maybe from a rooftop. That spectacular domed building just behind the Turkish bath is still standing (seems to be a bank now). On your markI'm wondering how all these good people know where to stand to catch a certain street car. Shades of DaliA few melting clocks scattered about, and the image would be complete. WaitingWhen I was growing up my mom would see me just standing around and she would ask "What are you doing...waiting for a streetcar?" Now I have a visual of what she was saying. B 46 and B 44 LinesFrom 1980 to 1990 I worked for the New York Transit Authority as a bus operator. I had on several occasions had to work the Nostrand and Utica Avenue lines, these lines terminated at "Bridge Plaza." Late night Bridge Plaza looked like this minus the overhead contact wire. One detail of trolley operation of noteIn the center right of the photo there is a man apparently getting ready to throw a switch in the street trackage. Notice the rod sticking up out of the pavement in front of his little shelter. This function would later be automated with electric switch motors controlled by the streetcar motorman. Speaking of Belgian surrealistsInstead of René Magritte, I'd rather say Paul Delvaux. He was the one obsessed with railways and streetcars in his paintings. Still ThereThe domed building in the distance is now an HSBC bank. The large building on the far left adjacent to the El still is there too. In fact, most of the buildings depicted along Broadway (as in Brooklyn) on the left side are still there. One thing I find amazing is that these buildings look old and rundown in 1906. When did they ever look new? Full-size LayoutIt's really an early prototype of the Monopoly board game. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads, Streetcars)
Ocey Snead: 1907
... bones in the furnace at a building where Ocey lived -- a Brooklyn tenement dubbed "house of mystery" and "baby farm" by the neighbors.) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/30/2019 - 9:47am -

"Mrs. Ocey Snead, in bed, baby in arms," December 1907 or January 1908. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size. Ocey, who was found dead in an East Orange, New Jersey, bathtub in November 1909, drugged and emaciated, was at the center of scandalous murder case involving her mentally unbalanced mother and a spinster aunt who starved herself to death while awaiting trial. Along with a third sister they were thought to have conspired to drug and starve Ocey to collect $32,000 in insurance money. Ocey had two children, one of whom died in infancy. (Coverage in the New York Times noted the discovery of small bones in the furnace at a building where Ocey lived -- a Brooklyn tenement dubbed "house of mystery" and "baby farm" by the neighbors.) One part of the mystery is how two photographs of Ocey, very much alive, ended up in Bain News Service collection of glass negatives at the Library of Congress. (The other photo is dated 12-21-07). Are they are family photos obtained in the course of covering the trial of the sisters? Or is there some reason GGB would have photographed Ocey well before she died? (Cue organ music.) OceyOcey's husband was her first cousin, Fletcher Snead, the son of Mrs. Mary Snead, who was both her aunt and mother-in-law. The existence of these photos is indeed puzzling. Could it be that Mrs. Snead and her sisters hired a photographer in order to send photos of Ocey and the new baby to Fletcher, then living in Canada? Fletcher insisted his mother and her sisters loved Ocey, but their behavior indicated just the opposite. More details of this strange case can be found here: http://www.njhm.com/eastorange1.htm OceyVery interesting story. Very strange family. Beautiful girl ... just look at that hair! OceyHaving read the New York Times articles as well as the East Orange link, I still don't understand why her photo would have been taken by a news service two years prior to her death! Does anyone have any ideas? This story, and the story of the "Black Sisters" (any photos of them??) are ripe for further investigations. [Just because the photo is in the Bain archive doesn't mean the news service took the picture; it could be a family photo. - Dave] Ocey, RIPAs noted above, you can follow the entire story in news articles at the New York Times archive. I just discovered that amazing site. This is really a very interesting story, too bad for Ocey though. I grew up in Bricktown, New Jersey, so this little story really hits home for me. Thank you. That pictureCan anyone identify the photo/print on the wall behind her? For some reason my wife and I are heartached over this story and photos. It would make a good movie from the perspective that her family was indeed evil. Was her long hair an indication of her long isolation? The "Black Sisters" also are a legend in VirginiaI grew up in Christiansburg, where the "Black Sisters" are said to haunt the middle school. There were mysterious deaths when they ran a woman's college there at the turn of the century. There were always strange occurences at the school. I have seen Virginia Wardlaw's tombstone. Broken in half and lying on the ground, it's inscribed SHE IS NOT DEAD. That always gave me chills. It is local tradition to visit the grave on Halloween. Ocey's hairThe length of her hair is actually pretty typical for the times, and has nothing to do with how long her family had been keeping her close. Just think about the classic Gibson Girl upsweep for a moment; it takes a lot of hair to create the styles that were in vogue even after famed ballroom dancer Irene Castle started a trend by bobbing her hair short. Since the length and thickness of a woman's hair was directly linked to perception of her beauty (and was about the only vanity that women were allowed to indulge), most women wore their hair as long as they could grow it. Hair that couldn't be coaxed past one's waist -- or worse, thin hair -- meant resorting to 'rats' and other padding devices to add volume. There was a booming cosmetic trade in thickening solutions and hair growth tonics; many manufacturers sponsored contests for "longest hair" (and often used the photos in their ads). Women would also keep a "hair receiver" on the vanity, and yes, it's exactly what it sounds like -- when you cleaned out your brush or comb, you put the hair in the receiver so that you could later make false curls, the aforementioned rats, falls, braids, or other things to supplement your 'do. Remember also that jewelry either incorporating or made from a person's hair was exchanged as a personal memento; mourning jewelry of the period often features a lock from the deceased. Ocey's hair looks to be about knee-length, and quite thick; in other words, a bit longer than average, but hardly extraordinary. Famous beauties of the time had hair that was calf-length, or even longer; some were photographed with their hair loose and dragging the floor behind them. The photos here were probably taken before her mother began really starving her, as that would have caused a great deal of thinning. It says something about how the standards have changed, as my hair is considered quite long, but it's only hip-length. And I'd love for mine to still be as thick as the unfortunate Ocey's, but a bad perm when I was 11 (not my idea, I might add) changed that for good. Remembering OceyI first read about Ocey in our local library, in 1976, Pittsfield, Mass. The book was called "The Bathtub Murder." All during the reading all I smelled was blood. She has never really left my mind, though I couldn't remember her name. Finally did search for her on Google, something like "bathtub murder NYC 1910" to hopefully find her and sure enough, there were sites devoted to her. I reread the book. I cannot state loud enough that she needs to be remembered, memorialized, and so I tell her story to all who would listen, as well as sending out links to her story. Yes, a movie in black and white, with actress who looked like her would be excellent, as long as it doesn't go the way of all fact-based movies, and hire actors who cannot fully express the times, the life, and the horror of her tragedy. (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, Portraits)
The Lonely City: 1940
... Battery Park and the East River, the other end emerging Brooklyn. Submitted for your approval Dave's title made me ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/26/2022 - 12:00pm -

September 7, 1940. New York. "Greenwich Street Study (plot plan). Looking south along west side of Greenwich Street toward Battery over elevated structure (demolished Fall)." 5x7 inch acetate negative by Stanley P. Mixon for the Historic American Buildings Survey. View full size. Four-playManhattan was bisected --quadrasected? quintisected? -- by a quartet of elevated lines that originated at South Ferry (house) and ran north; the lines were consolidated in the downtown area (Second and Third Avenues on the east, Sixth and Ninth Aves -- shown here -- on the west). As indicated, most of the system was dismantled on the eve of WWII, the scrap metal being shipped to ... Japan! But the Third Avenue El survived until 1955, and the Bronx portion two decades beyond that. Most of the larger buildings here still survive, as does New York Bay (though the water has been changed a number of times since this picture). Still thereThis building is still there but after several modifications. Two Elevated Train Lines for the Price of OneThe four tracks in the foreground belong to the Ninth Avenue El, which opened its first stretch in 1868; eventually it extended all the way to 155th Street in northern Manhattan, adjacent to the Polo Grounds. The two tracks in the background, which curve to the left and then come to abrupt halt, mark the already demolished junction with the Sixth Avenue El, first opened in 1878 and extending to a terminal at 58th Street, just one block south of Central Park. The Sixth Avenue tracks were demolished after the end of train service in 1938; the Ninth Avenue tracks we see here were torn down in 1940, not long after this photograph was taken. Both lines originally continued south (towards the top of the photo) to their southern terminus at South Ferry. It still has a lonely feelBased on maxvar confirming the building on the right, here is the Street View today. I'm thinking the building on the left in 1940 is the building on the left below, with the tall arch. On the right is the Manhattan end of the Hugh L. Carey tunnel, an almost two-mile tunnel under Battery Park and the East River, the other end emerging Brooklyn. Submitted for your approvalDave's title made me think of Edward Hopper. So, I went looking for closer up examples of what I think was Hopper's kind of work. Attachment 1 Attachment 2 Attachment 3 (The Gallery, HABS, NYC, Railroads)
South Street Seaport: 1901
New York circa 1901. "South Street and Brooklyn Bridge." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing ... firing at the umpire's signal. Halfway there The Brooklyn tower of the Williamsburg bridge is visible behind the Brooklyn bridge. The Williamsburg is still two years away from opening at this ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/20/2012 - 7:18pm -

New York circa 1901. "South Street and Brooklyn Bridge." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. No Trucks and a lot of SailThis is a wonderful view. I didn't realize trucks, motorized wagons really, weren't invented until 1896-Just five years before this picture was taken. No cars, cargo ships with sails and a few with steam and sail. Quite a look back. We've come a long way. How times have changedAmazing, the South Street Seaport actually *was* a seaport back then, not a tourist trap filled with schlock stores and crappy restaurants. RIP CambuskennethThe New York Times: July 1, 1915 The Norwegian ship Cambuskenneth which sailed from Portland, Ore. on Feb. 9 for Liverpool or Manchester was sunk today by gunfire of the German submarine U-39. The Cambuskenneth was twenty miles south of Galley Head on the Cork coast when the submarine signaled her to halt. It was ascertained that there were eight Germans among the ship's crew and these had the novel experience of being rowed to the submarine and later disappearing under the sea with her while their mates (thirteen in all) were left floating in the ship's boats. The latter were landed at Galley Head this morning. Sailing vessel Cambuskennethat center right was built in Port Glasgow, Scotland, in 1893. The 1,924-ton vessel was sailing under Norwegian registry and carrying a cargo of wheat when was was stopped by u-boat U39 (the Walter Forstmann) on June 29, 1915. All hands were allowed to leave the Cambuskenneth unharmed before the Forstmann sank her with gunfire about 26 miles SSW of Galley Head, Ireland. Sail gives waySail just hanging on as steam takes over. Wonderful photo, thanks Shorpy, but also a little sad. Steamship AntiliaSteamship Antilia: launched 1893 at Grangemouth, Scotland. Renamed Malaita in 1905. Scuttled in Bass Strait, Australia, 1927. Marine Engineer and Naval Architect, Feb 1, 1893. Launches — Scotch. Antilia. — On January 21st the Grangemouth Dockyard Co. launched a steel screw steamer to the order of the Nassau Steamship Co., designed to carry fruit and goods between the West Indies and New York. Dimensions, 200 ft. by 30 ft. by 14⋅9 ft. moulded to main deck. She will be fitted up with all the latest improvements, including steam windlass, steam steering gear, &c. The vessel will be fitted with triple-expansion engines by Messrs. Hutson & Son, of Kelvinhaugh Engine Works, Glasgow, designed for a speed of ten knots loaded. The vessel has been constructed under the superintendence of Mr. John M'Keddie, consulting engineer, Edinburgh. As the vessel left the ways she was named the Antilia by Miss M'Keddie, daughter of the superintending engineer. Munson Steamship Line previously seen on Shorpy at their Mobile, Alabama pier: On the Waterfront: 1905. Munson Steamship LineOriginally founded in 1899 to operate cargo service to Cuba and later to Mexico and other gulf ports. First passenger ship was purchased in 1915. The last ship was sold in 1938 and the company went bankrupt. Founded in New York in 1899 to operate a cargo service to Havana and later extended to Mexico and Gulf ports. In 1915 a passenger ship was purchased for the trade to Cuba and after World War I the company commenced passenger and cargo services between New York and the east coast of South America using mainly ex-German ships which had been interned in US ports. The company suffered severely during the depression and many of it's ships were scrapped or laid up. The last ship was sold in 1938 and the company went bankrupt. The remaining passenger ships were taken over by the US Maritime Commission and laid up. Routes: New York to Bahia to Rio de Janeiro to Santos to Montevideo to Buenos Aires New York to Nassau to Miami to Havana New York to Bermuda Miami to Nassau New Orleans to Havana New York to Antilla The way war is supposed to be fought"All hands were allowed to leave the Cambuskenneth unharmed before the Forstmann sank her with gunfire about 26 miles SSW of Galley Head, Ireland." Ahh, when wars were fought civilly. The blue team will please line up on the right side of the field and the red team will take the left. Begin firing at the umpire's signal. Halfway thereThe Brooklyn tower of the Williamsburg bridge is visible behind the Brooklyn bridge. The Williamsburg is still two years away from opening at this point. Can someone explain the sail masts?The commercial steamship steam boat debuted in 1907 1807. How on earth are there still sailing ships in the harbor nearly a century after that? Were mechanically driven ships still been so expensive that sometimes made financial sense, not only to travel at, what?, one fourth the average speed but also to employ all the hands needed to sail a ship? Or am I looking at mechanically driven ships that have masts merely to get extra speed when the wind is right? I can't tell if the smokestacks and the masts belong to the same vessels or different ones. Sail hung on for many more yearsUp to WWII, steel windjammers were more effective, faster and cheaper to operate than steamships on long blue-water runs, like trade between Europe and South America, Asia and Australia. Coal was expensive and hard to get in the remoter parts of the world. The great steel sailers were reliable and could be operated with fewer than 30 men. They were quite plentiful until the war changed everything by boosting the development of propulsion technology and the building of large numbers of powered vessels. Some operated into the 1950s. Fleeting humanitarianismThe rather gentlemanly process of allowing the crew to leave didn't last long after the introduction of Q-ships - armed ships masquerading as merchantmen until the U-boat surfaced to sink the ship with gunfire - more economical than torpedoes. The first successful Q-ship attack on a U-boat came just 6 days before the Cambuskenneth was sunk. Not long thereafter U-boats began more often to stay submerged and attack from stealth with little or no warning, as they did with the Lusitania. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)
Futuramic: 1950
... New York. "Crystal Motors, business at 5901 Bay Parkway, Brooklyn. Exterior II." On display: the "Futuramic" 1950 Oldsmobile. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/28/2013 - 3:03pm -

February 15, 1950. New York. "Crystal Motors, business at 5901 Bay Parkway, Brooklyn. Exterior II." On display: the "Futuramic" 1950 Oldsmobile. Large-format acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. I want..I would definitely take a few of those cool looking chairs, very artsy indeed. Re: Futuramic, indeedNot really. Between the very good Hydramatic automatic transmission and the first modern OHV V8 engine, Oldsmobiles of that time were pretty much the wave of, if not the future, then at least the next twenty years. They were pigs to drive, of course, but then American cars were pigs to drive for the next twenty or thirty years. When did downtown auto showrooms disappear, anyway? I remember them from the '50s - they were the rule rather than the exception, at least in the Northeast - but at some point everything moved to suburban lots and I missed the moment. Futuramic OldsesThe division's "Futuramic" body arrived for the 1948 model year, marking the debut of GM's redesigned postwar cars. Of Cadillac proportions for the first couple of years, by the early 1950s they'd had 5 inches lopped off their frames. The design with its integrated front fenders, full wheel openings and jet-tube headlights was progressive for the time, avoiding the dead-end vogue for bathtub-style bodies that afflicted a lot of late-40s cars. Dealer Showrooms!PersonFromPorlock, do you remember when Ford introduced the brand-new 1964-1/2 Mustang? Our dealer in Houma, Louisiana, had kraft paper covering all their windows so folks couldn't get a peek at this amazing new car until the designated day of introduction. I remember passing by the Ford dealer in our school bus and thinking that day would never arrive. RecommendedDon't forget to make an appointment for the 1,000 mile check up. Bring a list of the defects and problems with the car with you and we'll try to get it back to you in a few days. Odds are they won't fix them all on the first visit. Mid Century Futuramic The architecture is mid century futuramic. The vehicle is mid century. I had a 1957 Super 88 in high school in 1972. I loved that Rocket 500 power in a street boat. GM taught me about planned obsolescence from that car. Futuramic, indeedThe building, maybe, but not those dumpy crates. Olds buyers would have to wait until 1954 before they lost that look. Rite Aid PharmacyAccording to Google Street View, a Rite Aid Pharmacy now occupies the site. RadiosThe AM radios in 50s cars worked great, a lost sound. Recent road test, plus period filmMore on the 1950 Olds 88, from Motor Trend. Plus, some Futuramic period film on the 1948 Olds models as produced by the Jam Handy Organization. Mal, love your Hudson! If I remember correctlyThe Hudson 6 cylinder with dual H-Power still licked them at Daytona. [At the first NASCAR outing in Daytona Beach in 1949, the new Rocket Engine Oldsmobile ruled, taking the top four spots. - Dave] That's what I get for listening to a Hudson owner! Now that's a showroomLove, love the slanted windows of the showroom; so very up to date in 1950. I also remember car dealers in the Middle of downtown Minneapolis; I think some were still there in the 60s. I love the big "pig cars". I would trade in my Corolla for one any time!! To quote the Blues Brothers"The new Oldsmobiles are in early this year!" Not Until 1951It was 1951, the year of my Hudson Hornet shown here, when Hudson put Oldsmobile in its place. With the advent of the Hudson Hornet in 1951, Hudson became the NASCAR champion, a position they held through 1954. Hudson's big 308 cubic inch flathead six with dual carbs (Twin-H Power) when combined Hudson's vastly superior handling did the trick. Oldsmobile 98I learned to drive in a 1952 Oldsmobile 98 4-door sedan. It was a beautiful dark green monster purchased new by my parents in Dallas, Texas. The vehicle persevered until 1966 when it was sold to a young tow truck operator, for a pittance, after the fuel pump failed. Dad would say"Why pay for a Cadillac when you can get the same features on an Olds a year earlier?" My understanding was that tilted windows were placed that way to avoid the reflections of headlights. Sit!Please, sit down and admire our cars. Loewy RidersThe showroom itself appears to have been inspired-if not actually designed-by Raymond Loewy. In addition to creating the look of the postwar Studebakers, Loewy designed storefronts, filling stations, furniture, locomotives, etc. Never mind the OldsmobilesThis is a beautiful example of tricky exposure - getting the lit interior of the showroom, the neon sign, and the exterior at what looks like dusk to all be in balance. It reminds me of the photography of Julius Shulman. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Gottscho-Schleisner, NYC)
Bonbon Noir: 1949
... 28, 1949. "Barton's, business at 790 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. Exterior." 4x5 inch acetate negative by ... 200 million "Millennial/Gen-Z/Gen-X milieu of Brooklyn today" You do realize that those generations include everyone born ... maybe that refers to the so-called "hipster" population of Brooklyn? Besides "hipster" not really being a thing now for many years, it ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/27/2021 - 12:04pm -

April 28, 1949. "Barton's, business at 790 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. Exterior." 4x5 inch acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. 200 million"Millennial/Gen-Z/Gen-X milieu of Brooklyn today" You do realize that those generations include everyone born in the fifty year span between 1965 and 2015ish, right? That's over 200 million people in the US, or nearly two-thirds of the country's population. Or maybe that refers to the so-called "hipster" population of Brooklyn? Besides "hipster" not really being a thing now for many years, it only ever applied to two or three small neighborhoods of a borough with more than 2.5 million residents. Light and darkAs brightly lit and glassy and vibrant as Barton's appears, there's the place next door with the blinds drawn, though it does proclaim a public telephone. Just one (long) sniffI'd love to stick my head into that window display and simply inhale. Barton's bonbonniere's subliminal message: Need a gift for May 8th? We have enough for EVERY MOM in the five boroughs. Would fit in todayThis business would feel right at home in the Millennial/Gen-Z/Gen-X milieu of Brooklyn today. No bodiesIn all the Gottscho pictures of commercial enterprises, he appears to follow one of the strict rules of architectural photography: no cluttering up the shot with humans. God forbid anyone should link these environments directly with the people who’d use them. Maybe the bodies would serve as distractions. In any event, whether Gottscho shoots stores from the outside like this or interiors of department stores, it always seems to be nighttime. The presence of people is naturally assumed but never shown. I don’t find it creepy, but maybe just a little bit clinical. Design disconnectI feel like there's a huge aesthetic gulf between whoever designed the neon sign and whoever designed the window display. C'est si BonbonI can not imagine a store that only sells bonbons. Authentic RetroI do not have a sweet tooth, so my appreciation of this scene is strictly visual. The door/entrance, neon on stainless facade, reverse channel letters with exposed neon is just beautiful. Designers today are attempting to simulate this very classic look. But what really caught my eye are the small showcards at the bottom of the interior window display placed among the candy. In large cities, small signs such as these were often the mainstay for sign shops. If you were fast and had good layout ability, you could make a living at these. The larger paper sign above was no doubt a promotional poster from some manufacturer. I would like to see this in color to just see the neon color. (The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, NYC, Stores & Markets)
Steam Under the Bridge: 1906
... designed by John Roebling, better known for building the Brooklyn Bridge. The Singing Bridge The Roebling Bridge is known ... the stone arches. These are features of his more famous Brooklyn Bridge. And yes, the Brooklyn Bridge would sing too when it had a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/11/2019 - 7:30pm -

Cincinnati, Ohio, circa 1906. The sidewheeler Cincinnati passing under the Roebling Suspension Bridge. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. City of CincinnatiThe 300-foot packet steamer City of Cincinnati was built by Howard's Shipyard & Dock Co., Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1898. She plied the waters for 20 years before being crushed by ice at the Cincinnati docks. She is passing under the still existent 1866 bridge designed by John Roebling, better known for building the Brooklyn Bridge. The Singing BridgeThe Roebling Bridge is known today to Cincinnatians as "The Singing Bridge." In a development that could not have been anticipated by Roebling, when they added a grated roadway and opened the bridge to automobiles, they found that driving a car across at 30-40 miles per hour sets up sympathetic vibrations that can be heard as a kind of low, melodious hum, as though you were dragging a bow across an enormous violin. When I need to cross over into Newport or Covington, I make a point to take the Roebling. It's not only a beautiful bridge to see, it's also a beautiful bridge to hear. Roebling's SignatureThis bridge has the Roebling signature all over it. Note the diagonal cables and the design of the stone arches. These are features of his more famous Brooklyn Bridge. And yes, the Brooklyn Bridge would sing too when it had a steel grate auto roadway. The grate has been paved over with macadam, making it a much easier and safer, albeit less melodious, drive. Cincinnati GalleryIt's nowhere near up to Shorpy quality, but for what it's worth, the Cincinnati/Hamilton County Public Library has a nice gallery of images of the Cincinnati, including interiors and POV shots, on their wiki here. Louisville & Cincinnati Packet Co.Howard's posting of pictures at the Cincinnati/Hamilton County Public Library links to a page about the steel hulled Cincinnati built in 1924. The library does have a page devoted to the older wooden-hull City of Cincinnati including some additional photos of her loss to ice in 1918. My favorite is a photo of City of Cincinnati passing under the Roebling bridge during high water: note the boiler stacks folded down in order to clear the bridge. I'm not sure if this photo shows the opposite bank of the river or if significant waterfront development has occurred. More photos and a history of the Louisville & Cincannti Packet Co. can be found at Cincinnati Views. Driving over the RoeblingFor those interested, I have a couple movies of driving over the Roebling today on my Web site, Cincinnati Roads. Here's one of them, going from KY to OH - it includes audio! Covington, KentuckyThe camera is looking south toward Covington; the Champion Ice House was still standing in the mid-1980s. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cincinnati Photos, DPC)
Island Queen: 1907
... and builder, is the same man who started building the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC. His son, Washington Roebling, finished it after John ... Bridge How cool, it really is a smaller twin of the Brooklyn Bridge. Wow, I lived and grew up Wow, I lived and grew up just ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2012 - 2:39pm -

The Coney Island Co. side-wheeler Island Queen passing beneath the Roebling Suspension Bridge on the Ohio River between Covington, Kentucky, and Cincinnati in 1907. View full size. Detroit Publishing Co. If this bridge looks familiarit's because John Roebling, its designer and builder, is the same man who started building the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC. His son, Washington Roebling, finished it after John died. Roebling BridgeHow cool, it really is a smaller twin of the Brooklyn Bridge. Wow, I lived and grew upWow, I lived and grew up just a couple miles from where that picture was taken. Have stood on that exact spot even I think. Very cool, and amazing that the bridge is still going strong. You can't tell from the photo, but the road 'surface' is actually steel grates (like vents in the sidewalk for subways). The wheels of the cars going over them make a noise that has led to the Roebling sometimes being called the 'Singing Bridge'. Two bridgesConstruction on the Roebling bridge was actually begun before work on the Brooklyn bridge. however, due to worries of Confederate advances into the industrial heart of Ohio, work was halted, and the Brooklyn bridge was completed first, making it the world's first completed suspension bridge. +101Below is the same view from August of 2008 looking north across the Ohio River toward Cincinnati from Covington, Kentucky. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cincinnati Photos, DPC)
Spar Deck Swabbies: 1898
... 1898. "League Island Navy Yard, Philadelphia. U.S.S. Brooklyn spar deck." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. ... very tall funnels natural draft required. It seems likely Brooklyn was using wind to help her boilers get more air. More air, faster ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/01/2014 - 10:46am -

Circa 1898. "League Island Navy Yard, Philadelphia. U.S.S. Brooklyn spar deck." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The large intake tubesLandlubber here so might be a dumb query. What are those huge tubes used for on these old ships? I assume air intake for down below? [Yes. Ventilator ports. - Dave] What are those "pads" called?Very interesting comment from Capn_Jack, thanks! I also noted four (4ea) boat support pads mounted above the spars with turnbuckles for adjustability. I wonder if they have a name. Vampire ShipThe Photographer caught Nosferatu coming up the stairs. Devil's in the detailsLots of neat details in this one. The intake ventilators TonyB asked about,-- usually these big ones are for the boiler room combustion supply as well as to cool the stokers as they fed coal into the furnaces -- are adjustable. There is a drive pinion shaft running up each one with a ring of gear teeth around the exterior (see the one top center). This would allow the crew to trim the ventilators to the wind direction so they could scoop as much air as possible. On some ships in this period boilers worked by natural draft -- the ventilators were not being helped by mechanical fans -- and this arrangement was much more common on cruisers that could handle the very tall funnels natural draft required. It seems likely Brooklyn was using wind to help her boilers get more air. More air, faster combustion, more power. The second detail is the spars resting on the beams overhead. These spars might have been for the ship's boats. In this period, ships' boats were often sail and/or oar powered, with one or two steam launches. Cruisers had a large complement of boats since they often did service in remote areas. The "string of beads" thing at the end of a spar is a parrel -- a feature from the age of sail that slid (rolled on the beads actually) up and down on a mast to allow a gaff or yard to be hoisted smoothly. The shape of the jaws suggests a gaff, and the size of the wire loop suggests it's for one of the boats rather than for the ship itself. Intake tubesWe still have them on some older ships; they're called scoops. At one point you could find them on cabin portholes too, which could be adjusted to redirect air into your living space, primitive "A/C" for the mariner! (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Philadelphia)
The Rifleman: 1960
... He was also a major-league baseball player (with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs) and an NBA player (with the Boston Celtics). ... there at the time. He played only one game for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949, but in 1951 tallied 66 games for the Chicago Cubs ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/08/2014 - 6:40pm -

"Merry Christmas from the family." Actor Chuck Connors, his wife Betty and their sons Jeffrey, Steven, Michael and Kevin circa 1960 at their home in Los Angeles. 4x5 inch Ektachrome transparency. View full size. Most likelythis was their last happy Christmas together, as the couple were to divorce in 1961. Where I got my nameWhen my brother was little, he loved watching The Rifleman and the actor Johnny Crawford who played Chuck Connors' son Mark McCain. So when I came along and after much persistence from my brother to name me Mark, my parents agreed and so it was! One Might SayThis was the high-water mark of Chuck Connors' career. The kidsOf the four, only Steven & Michael are left. Kevin passed in 2005 and Jeff in 2014. The RiflemanI haven't seen that show for very many years, but I remember well the opening sequence (which I just watched again on YouTube) where Chuck Connors fires off a number of shots in quick succession, then spins the rifle around and gives you a serious don't-mess-with-me look. Took me right back to being a little kid. On PaperIf you didn't have a television, you could spend 15 cents for the comic book version. Triple threatChuck Connors was no mere "actor." He was also a major-league baseball player (with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs) and an NBA player (with the Boston Celtics). I'm pretty sure I owned a "Rifleman" rifle when I was a lad. re: On PaperWhy is "The Rifleman" in quotes? Interesting. [Because it's the title of a TV show. -tterrace] Chuck's shoes areWeejun zephyrs made by G.H. Bass http://www.theweejun.com/vintage-bass-weejuns-tie-shoes/ The rifleYes, I became the proud recipient of one on one Christmas morning. Sadly, the metal loop was rather brittle and mine broke before very long (OK, I dropped it on the concrete walk and it broke), rendering it somewhat difficult to emulate the famous opening scene from TV. I still managed to burn through the rolls of caps with it as fast as I could save up to buy them. And not only that . . .Mr. Connors played Superman in an episode of the original TV series, though in an unusual and amusing way! Dubious HonorHe also was the first basketball player ever to shatter a glass backboard when he took a two-handed shot in a pregame warmup in Boston Arena when playing one of his 53 games for the Celtics in 1946—their first year—where he averaged 4.5 points and shot 25.2 percent from the field. A worker had not installed a piece of protective rubber between the rim and the backboard. At 6-foot-6½ inches, Connors was the center, having played that position at Seton Hall. This particular game was against the Chicago Stags (1946-1950), and it was delayed an hour while a truck was sent to pick up another glass backboard from Boston Garden, interrupting Gene Autry's rodeo which was appearing there at the time. He played only one game for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949, but in 1951 tallied 66 games for the Chicago Cubs where he hit .238. After that show business called. His first credit was as a police captain in the 1952 production of "Pat and Mike," although his first role actually pre-dated his sports career when he appeared uncredited as a soldier in a meal line in the 1942 movie "Wake Island." The First American Show...That I watched in the UK. My parents had just purchased our first TV that was "the new Larger Screen". I remember that opening sequence and got chills when Chuck looked at the camera. It was almost as if he was staring straight at me. Oooooo! Chuck Connors"Branded" was one of my favorite shows with Chuck. (Kodachromes, Christmas, Kids, Movies, TV)
Gotham Underground: 1904
... station to change directions. When downtown 6's stop at Brooklyn Bridge station, the last/first stop on the line, the conductors ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:36pm -

New York circa 1904. "City Hall subway station." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. 104 years laterThe New York Transit Museum periodically conducts tours of the City Hall station, which hasn't been used for passenger service since 1945, but still survives at the end of the 6 line. Here's a photo from the tour conducted in 2008: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcgaw/2211045640/ City Hall IRTThis stop was last used in 1945. A history of it here. There were plans to reopen it as a museum but so far they have not materialized. Below, the abandoned station as it looks now. Click for more info. Seeing the stationIt's not that hard to see the station without waiting for a Transit Museum tour. Trains on the 6 line use the loop through City Hall station to change directions. When downtown 6's stop at Brooklyn Bridge station, the last/first stop on the line, the conductors announce "last stop" but generally don't check to see if anyone's still onboard. If you ride in the last couple of cars you usually won't be bothered and can ride through the loop and see the station. I did this several years ago and quite frankly was underwhelmed with City Hall station. Wow!Anonymous, I have a new desktop picture! Remarkably BeautifulThe station is just remarkably beautiful. The amount of artisanal inspiration, design and impeccable craftsmanship is extraordinary. It looks like a turn-of-the century University Library. I'd like to live in it! "The Darkness"Jackie Estacado, protagonist of the video game "The Darkness" (a demon-possessed mafia hitman, I kid you not), has a major shootout in this tunnel. Very cool, but not as cool as the real thing. Underground EconomyOh, that color picture is gorgeous. If they can't come up with the scratch for a museum, they could lease spots for upscale kiosks. Two good reasons for closing the stationConventional rail car axles have no differential gearing to accommodate the longer distance the wheels on the outside of a curve have to travel compared to the shorter distance on the inside of the curve. Consequently travel on any curve involves a deal of skidding and steel-on-steel screeching. With brakes applied as the train came to a stop in the enclosed station, the effect must have made quite an impression. There would have been wider gaps for passengers to mind as they crossed from the curved platform onto the floor of a straight car. This is only my speculation on a couple of considerations that may have led the IRT to close the station. Their reasons may have differed altogether. It is a beautiful daylight station. City Hall Before the Start of ServiceI think the top photo was taken in early 1904, before the IRT line went into service, which occurred on October 27, 1904. The exquisite tilework for the station had been completed but the electric light fixtures had not yet been installed (although the wiring was in), the third power rail had not been installed yet and there was obviously more cosmetic work to be done, as suggested by the ladder and other work materials on the platform. The bottom photo is a beautiful shot. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)
Dreamland: 1905
... illuminated the sky and sent fire companies from all over Brooklyn rushing to Coney Island. Dreamland Park was ablaze." One wonders ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 2:55pm -

Coney Island, New York, circa 1905. "Dreamland Ballroom." The home of light music. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Beautiful place.It's hard to imagine a place so bright and cheery in 1905. To the people at the time this must have seemed like a Wonderland. We have become pretty immune to simple pleasures like this, it takes a Las Vegas sized Light Show to impress anyone today. Six years before its up in flamesThis wonderfully eerie photo was taken about six years before the catastrophic Dreamland fire: "On May 27, 1911, a huge fire illuminated the sky and sent fire companies from all over Brooklyn rushing to Coney Island. Dreamland Park was ablaze." One wonders where the dancers are; the floor's pretty worn. Great shell for the bandBet they played all the newest songs of the day. Hot hits such as "In My Merry Oldsmobile," "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" and "Wait 'till the Sun Shines, Nellie." One stout ghostly gentThere are figures visible around the periphery of the dance floor and one stout ghostly gent there on the left, who moved a bit during the long exposure. I think that the dancers are there, but they are moving so much that we can't see them. [If there were people moving around the dance floor, I think we'd see them, however blurrily. - Dave] A job for lifekeeping all those light bulbs in working order! I'm guessing the fire wasElectrical? Easy BakeI bet it felt like an oven under the 10,000 light bulbs. And man, I wonder how the electric bill looked like, even for 1905. Meet Me Tonight In DreamlandI wonder if that song referred to this particularly wonderful dance hall or just to dreaming in general. Since there are many people in this photo, seated in the outlying areas seemingly waiting for some event to begin, perhaps this was taken just prior to a dance contest or maybe a marathon "dance till you drop" endurance test. Like many other pictures on Shorpy, this brings to mind the hauntingly beautiful empty ballroom in the movie "The Shining." [This is 1905, so I don't know about "dance till you drop." Maybe "waltz till you wither." - Dave] Now listen Carl,the burned out bulb is aisle five, row nine and it's the fourth from the end. The largest ballroom in the United StatesThe Coney Island season opened every year in mid-May, with plenty of advance publicity about new attractions. Dreamland and its ballroom were built on a beachfront site previously cleared by another disastrous fire. Below is an excerpt from a New York Times feature, "A New Coney Island Rises from the Ashes of the Old," dated May 8, 1904. A week later, 250,000 people came to see all the new attractions. Dreamland FireThe ballroom was part of the larger Dreamland amusement park. Just before the park opened for the season in 1911 work was being done to repair the roof on the "Hell's Gate" ride. At least part of the work was being done at night. At about 1:30 a.m. the light bulbs illuminating the work area began exploding, probably due to an electrical malfunction. In the dark after the lights went out a worker kicked over a bucket of hot tar which started the fire. The flame spread swiftly because the park was essentially built of lath covered with a mixture of hemp fiber and plaster of Paris. [One view of the aftermath is here. - Dave] Empty ShellThe band appears to have taken a break. Where's the DJ? Gorgeously Illuminated The Real New York, 1904. The rival paradise, Dreamland, is said to have cost over $3,000,000. It has taken over the old Iron Pier and built above it the largest ballroom ever made, 20,000 square feet; beneath is the restaurant and a promenade, and beneath all the cool rush of the surf. The company runs four large steamers, as well as Santos-Dumont's Airship No. 9. Light, Vol. 4, 1904. The Ballroom, as here pictured, is the most gorgeously illuminated interior not only to be found at Coney Island, but there is none such interior lighting effect even at the World's Fair. This ballroom is one of the sights of New York at night, and is a study from the standpoint of the lighting engineer. Electrical Age, Vol. 37, 1906. "Dreamland," Coney Island, has perhaps the best lighted ballroom in the world. ExtinguishedI count six burned out lights. Anyone else see some I missed ?? Dual purpose room?I keep looking at this picture and think that it might have served as a roller rink and or a dance hall. The floor being worn so much at the corners or "turns" has me wondering. That's a good surpriseI don't expect to see many photos of Dreamland, considering its short life. And that ballroom invites me to dance. Live orchestra, free champagne, some beluga -- I'd really like to be there right now. Thanks for this nice surprise, and waiting for more Dreamland. (The Gallery, Coney Island, DPC)
Breaker Boys: 1900
... worked in the mines from age 10 to 20 and then moved to Brooklyn and became a police officer, lived to be 97. Of course not all miners ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 7:20pm -

Kingston, Pennsylvania, circa 1900. "Breaker boys, Woodward coal mines." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Childhood's EndWhat a cold-eyed trio. The work seems to have stunted their childhood. Young Punksthey look like they could put in an equal amount of effort of work both at and away from the job. EyelinerAdam Lambert must have got the idea from these guys. An early startDo we even create children that would be capable of doing this kind of work now? 18,000 more brothersWere doing this work in Pennsylvania alone in 1900. These pics of "breaker boys" always get to me, especially learning on Shorpy more of what their life and work was like. Waxing NostalgicWhen folks carry on about "the good old days", I doubt they are pining for this. How long did these young fellows last I wonder? In the breakerThe breaker boys' job was to separate rocks and other debris from coal by hand. Although breaker boys were primarily children, men who could no longer work in the mines because of age, disease, or accident were also sometimes employed in the breakers. The use of breaker boys began in the mid-1860s. Although public disapproval of the employment of children as breaker boys existed by the mid-1880s, the practice did not end until the 1920s. 78 and 97My grandfather and my uncle worked in the Pennsy coalmines around Bradenville and Loyalhanna. Granddad lived to be 78, had both legs broken in mining accidents, had heart and respiratory trouble (spitting black) and a hunched back from bending over for decades to fit into the 4-foot-tall tunnels. He was still mobile and had very strong upper body up to the end. My uncle, who worked in the mines from age 10 to 20 and then moved to Brooklyn and became a police officer, lived to be 97. Of course not all miners were as lucky, accidents of all kinds are always possible. Could have have been my grandfatherHe was 9 when he started working in the central PA coal mines. The schoolmaster apparently didn't like him and he made it Joseph's job to fetch the classroom water from the icy creek every day. Joe had enough one day, pitched the bucket into the stream and walked home. His father gave him two choices -- go back to that school or go to work. He chose work. I cannot imagine any child working in the dark, dangerous conditions, but they did. My father said his dad carried a nasty purple scar on the bridge of his nose when he opened a mine door as a small boy and a mule used for pulling coal loads kicked him in the face, nearly killing him. Lollipop GuildThe "other" one, from Bizarro World. Wow!And my brother and I though we had it so bad in the 1950s delivering daily newspapers in Southern California. We wanted a television set so my single-parent working mother said we could get a paper route and EARN our 21 inch black & white Zenith table model with rabbit ears, to watch our 3 San Diego channels. (The Gallery, DPC, Kids, Mining)
Here Come the Girls: 1953
... of the modern sofa bed. Held Over As a young Brooklyn boy in 1953 I remember this version of Times Square well. At the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/13/2014 - 2:41pm -

Dec. 29, 1953. "New York City views. Times Square at night." Let's meet at the Brass Rail. 4x5 acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. Give my regards to BroadwayTo be more specific, it's Father Duffy Square, the north triangle of Times Square. Now home to TKTS and a statue of George M Cohan. Mr. PeanutI don't spy the person so costumed who used to stroll around in front of the Planter's store, but below the Pepsi sign is Castro Convertibles' neon. That firm had become a public nuisance by the early '60s, their radio jingle ("Who was the first to conquer space?") being a tune that, once stuck in the mind, abides until senescence. I still sing it in the shower every now and again. This view, which predates both Times Square's descent into Sodom and its more recent Disneyfication, shows a place of honest, if slightly tawdry, popular entertainment. A steak, a couple of shots of Four Roses, a movie and vaudeville's last gasp at the Palace, and then, if all goes well, a $4 room at the Taft. Here comes the bus.I have such a warm feeling when I see that GM bus. That was the bus in Springfield, MA that picked up the high school kids. In the winter, it was so nice to see it coming down the street. The StarsBob Hope, Tony Martin, Arlene Dahl and Rosemary Clooney. And I didn't even have to Google it. Old coots rule. +56Below is the same view from May of 2009. Poor Mr. Peanut One of my first memories is of some college boys grabbing a person wearing a metal Mr. Peanut costume who was in front of a store and rolling him down the sidewalk to the bottom of the hill. The poor Mr. Peanut slowly got to his feet after this experience and was staggering around so much that the college boys ran down the hill to keep him from stepping into traffic. This was about 1955, I guess, and the Mr. Peanut person was lucky that Tallahassee didn't have very high hills. Times Square memoriesI spent some time here in the mid-'60s while in the military. Made a few trips to the Brass Rail and saw Gene Krupa playing drums in a little bar on Times Square (must have been toward the end of his career). It had not been too long since the Cuban Missile Crisis and as a kid from the sticks, after seeing the Castro Convertible sign, wondered why Fidel was allowed to sell cars in NYC. Ralph KramdenSeated behind the wheel of the "Old Look" General Motors bus. Castro ConvertibleWho was the first to conquer space? It’s incontrovertible, The the first to conquer living space Is the Castro Convertible! Who conquers space with fine design? Who saves you money all the time? Who’s tops in the convertible line? Castro Convertible! I could climb into this picture, so well do I remember the remnants of this from the late sixties before it sank into decrepitude. There is something innocent yet tawdry about this photo. No business like show businessIt was a bit of a surprise at first to see the vaudeville pitch on the Palace marquee. My thought was that vaudeville had gone the way of the dinosaur long before the sophisticated early/mid fifties. Then I remembered that several hit television shows from that period were nothing more than warmed over vaudeville, so there must have still been a market for it. Texaco Star Theater with Milton Berle, The Jimmy Durante Show, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show and Your Show of Shows all come to mind. Note the sign under the Marquee: "Only Stage and Screen Show on Broadway." No. 8 bus, 7th Avenue LineThrough the windshield, look closely -- it's Ralph Kramden. How I First Saw ItWhen I was nine, my grandmother married a retired NYC cop. His last job before retiring was escorting Manhattan merchants to the bank with their daily receipts. It seemed like everyone on the island knew and loved him. Their wedding reception was at Mamma Leone's, we met the man himself at Dempsey's, had comps at Radio City Music Hall. The Brass Rail was just one place where I heard a variation of "Put your wallet away, Mac. Your money's no good here." 2761Is that Ralph Kramden behind the wheel of Gotham Bus Company coach 2761? The ConvertiblesUnlike today, the only foreign (and that's a stretch) neon sign that I can spot is the Canadian Club behemoth that brags about it being imported. Castro Convertibles were not automobiles but sofa beds. Early TV commercials shows a child, a young girl, pulling the bed out of the couch. She was Mr Castro's 6 year old Daughter, Bernadette, later the Parks Commissioner of New York State. Bernard Castro, her father, was credited as being the inventor of the modern sofa bed. Held OverAs a young Brooklyn boy in 1953 I remember this version of Times Square well. At the Embassy I wouldn't know a thing about the sensational "Virgins of Bali," but "Indo-China Aflame" caught my eye, as it was still burning when I got there 15 years later as a young Marine when the place was known as Vietnam. HoneymoonersI'm absolutely sure that's Ralph Kramden driving the bus. This picture is worth1000 pages, not 1000 words. Looking at what is here and going on in this one you could write a novel and never leave the block. Amazing. 4x5 cameras rule! GMTATo all those who shared my Ralph Kramden observation: All Great Minds Think Alike! Virgins of BaliVirgins of Bali is a 1932 documentary directed and filmed by Colorado native Deane H. Dickason. The only reason an old social anthropology movie was being screened in 1953 Times Square was because the two main characters, the "firmly and harmoniously developed" sisters Grio and Tagel, appear in unabashed comfort while being filmed in their traditional topless Balinese dress. A few links: Virgins of Bali page at the American Film Institute. First 7 minutes of the film at YouTube. Indelible memoriesI believe the last part of the human brain to die is where ever jingles are stored. It's been 45 years since I lived near NYC but I could still sing the jingles for Castro Convertibles, Palisades Amusement Park, Man-o-Manischewitz kosher wine, and "It pays to save at the Bowery...". Regarding the photo, classic GM coach! The Public Service ran about a million of them in north Jersey, each with a miniature cash register type machine that spit out a small fare receipt. StatuesIn the 1954 photo, the statue of Father Francis Duffy of the "Fighting 69th" is seen in front of the Pepsi Cola sign (partly obscured by the traffic light in the foreground). Father Duffy was so highly thought of by both the soldiers of his regiment those higher in the chain of command that his divisional commander, Douglas MacArthur, once recommended him for the post of regimental commander. The Duffy statue was erected in 1937, five years after the priest's death. In 1957 a second statue was erected in the square, forward of the Duffy statue. This is the statue of George M. Cohan which is the only statue visible in the 2009 photo. Vaudeville And The MoviesWhile I never caught the show at the RKO Palace I did catch shows in my hometown of Baltimore at the Hippodrome up until about 1950 or so. One of the first shows I remember seeing was Glenn Miller's Band under the direction of Tex Beneke plus the Count Basie and Duke Ellington bands. Mom was a fan of big bands as I am still to this day. For some reason I also remember the comedian Herb Shiner and the silly Harmonicats. Once I even got on stage when a rolling skate act ask for volunteers from the audience and I and three other kids became part of the act for about 5 minutes. All the above were fine but for a youngster of the 40's the all time favorites I saw were Abbott & Costello and on another day The Three Stooges. 'Twas a fine time to be eight years old. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Gottscho-Schleisner, Movies, NYC)
Skeeter's Branch: 1910
... looked just like these boys, was born in 1907, placed in a Brooklyn orphanage at age 2, adopted at 9 by a coal miner and his wife, had a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/18/2011 - 10:46am -

St. Louis, Missouri. "11 a.m. Monday May 9, 1910. Newsies at Skeeter's Branch, Jefferson near Franklin. They were all smoking." Our third visit with this memorable group. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Dickens anyone?They look like a bunch of young pickpockets from a Charles Dickens novel. But OllieLooks like a young Stan Laurel on the right. Can anyone read the headline? ResemblancesActually, the guy on the right is a dead ringer for Joseph Gordon-Levitt. And the Bearded guy in the paper looks like George V, who came to the British throne that year. Gotta be GeorgeEdward VII died three days earlier, so I imagine George V would be front-page news on the 9th. Just be calmBet the kid on the far right was sent to buy a paper from these thugs; and not sure he will make it home. [The guy on the right is probably Skeeter. "Branches" were paper drops. - Dave] That's itThat's it. I'm canceling my son's paper route. What does sign mean?I see the sign sticking out from the storefront says "St. Louis Times - Just White, and Read" What does that mean, that it's not yellow journalism? [The sign says "St. Louis Times tells the truth: Not yellow, just white and read." Something like the old riddle "what's black and white, and read all over." So yes, it means it's not yellow journalism. - Dave] Well behaved schoolchildrenThe children sitting in St. Louis classrooms were all well behaved because those that weren't, well, they were out smoking and selling papers. Every one of them looks to be 12 going on 50. I wonder, if this photo was published in the St. Louis Post Dispatch today, would anybody recognize a relative? The Fagan of Skeeters Branch...I'm with Lord-Velveeta--Dickensian, indeed! My very first thought was, "Oh, that must be their version of Fagan over there on the right!" A little older, a little aloof, a LOT more wicked...and standing just far enough away to claim he wasn't involved in any of the other boys' mischief. [He would seem to be the Skeeter of Skeeter's Branch. - Dave] That's not Fagin...It's the Artful Codger. SmokingBack in 1956, when I was about the same age as these guys, I took up smoking, along with some friends. Not very long after that I was smoking three packs a day. In 2003 I quit cold turkey -- not at all easy. I wonder how many of the kids in this picture were hooked for decades or never did quit. Successful newsieIn the foreword to his account of WWII experiences, James M. Gavin wrote: "I had just passed my tenth birthday when the United States entered World War I. I was living in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, where I sold morning and evening newspapers. My favorite corner was at Third and Oak Streets, which was the Main intersection of our small town." (On to Berlin) This newsie, who may have looked just like these boys, was born in 1907, placed in a Brooklyn orphanage at age 2, adopted at 9 by a coal miner and his wife, had a hard childhood, and left home at 17 to join the army where he applied himself and graduated from West Point. He became the wartime Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division, retired as a lieutenant general, and became Ambassador to France, plus a career in business. Skeeter's BranchThis is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. Earlier this year, I got the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to publish this photo and an article about my project. I got a call from a man who claims he was distantly related to several of the boys, who were brothers. He gave me their names and even sent me a photo of one of the boys when he was 19 years old. He looked just like him. The man said he knew very little other information, but he gave me the name and phone number of that boy's granddaughter. I called her, and she said that she didn't think the boys were related to her, and she didn't want to talk about it. I am convinced that the man was correct, and that the granddaughter just didn't want the publicity. Too bad. You're RightWhen I did my route in Rotterdam, hell, I smoked like a oceanliner!!! Skeeter's BranchThis is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. The second boy from the left was Raymond Klose. His niece identified him. See my story about him at: http://morningsonmaplestreet.com/2015/01/01/raymond-klose/ (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine, St. Louis)
Manhattan Panorama: 1906
... of the present day South Street Seaport just south of the Brooklyn Bridge. The area's changed a bit in the last 100+ years. Shot ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/20/2012 - 7:19pm -

New York circa 1906. "Manhattan skyline and East River." Panorama of two 8x10 inch glass negatives. Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Shot TowerI want to point out one small feature of this amazing view. At the extreme right hand edge of the photograph is the Tatham Brothers Shot Tower, designed by the cast iron pioneer James Bogardus and built in 1856 in the rear yard at 82 Beekman Street. It looks like an obelisk with windows. This 217-foot tall tower is sometimes considered a forerunner of the skeleton frame skyscraper, as it had structural iron members holding up brick infill panels. Margot and Carol Gayle (Cast Iron Architecture in America: The Significance of James Bogardus, 1998) state that it was demolished in 1907; that, combined with the total absence of the ever-popular Singer Tower of 1906-1908, may be a clue toward the actual date of this breathtaking panorama. Where to start?This picture is so full of waterfront activity that it's almost impossible to take it all in. Coastal steamers, ferries, tugs and barges, ocean-going steamships (one in need of some re-ballasting to return to an even keel), what looks like a fishing harbor and right in the middle a gaff-rigged sloop. I think I'll spend some time just staring at this photo. Man the pumps!The two-masted steamer in the left portion of the frame is definitely listing to port. NYNH&HRRNew York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad I assume? Any more partners and they'll need a longer boat. WaterfrontFrom Sail to Steam and everything in-between. Thanks for this most amazing panorama. South Street SeaportBased on the address of the Shot Tower it seems that the majority of this picture covers the area of the present day South Street Seaport just south of the Brooklyn Bridge. The area's changed a bit in the last 100+ years. Shot tower -- another viewCoincidentally, I just posted an article about the Tatham Brothers structure a couple of weeks ago. The article, and a couple of additional images, can be accessed here: http://dreamersrise.blogspot.com/2011/12/lost-tower.html In the Rotograph postcard view that I included, which is probably almost exactly contemporary with the Detroit Publishing photograph, the tower can be seen in the far right. Although the tower was torn down in 1907, another adjacent Tatham Brothers structure remained on the same block for several decades until it too was demolished. Bogardus may have been the architect for that lower building as well. Abendroth BrothersThere is a building in this picture, on the right side, with a large sign on it, that advertises Abendroth Brothers. They were manufacturers of stoves and iron pipes. They were in business from 1840-1920. The Manhattan address was 109-111 Beekman St. Their foundry was in Port Chester, NY. The attachment is a partial segment of a printer's file copy of a stock certificate. Why are there flagpoles on so many buildings?Any particular reason? Peck Slip?Can anyone ID the location of Peck Slip in this photo? The block fronting on South Street was, and still is, a wide plaza. Wilse RE: Why are there flagpoles on so many buildings?Because without them, the flags would just lay flat on the rooftops of course! Peck SlipWilso127, it appears that Beekman Street is the last street clearly visible on the right. Peck Slip would be the next street, just out of sight to the right of Beekman Street. Peck Slip now runs only from South Street up to Pearl Street, only two or three blocks long. TAN: Abendroth Brothers LocomotiveThe Abendroth Foundry locomotive, mentioned in the description of the Abendroth Brothers' stock certificate, later named "Amy", was running at the Shore Line Trolley Museum in Branford, Conn., until the recent Hurricane Irene. It is being dried out. (Panoramas, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC, Railroads)
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