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Smoke on the Water: 1905
... Publishing glass negative. View full size. Cattle cars Looks like the Detroit was carrying a load of livestock cars. I wonder it they were full or empty. Looking at car #3818 I would say ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/02/2012 - 7:42pm -

The Detroit River circa 1905. "Transfer steamer Detroit." Yet another view of this workhorse of the waterways. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Cattle cars Looks like the Detroit was carrying a load of livestock cars. I wonder it they were full or empty. Looking at car #3818 I would say empty. Did these Transfer steamers carry passengers as well as rail cars? Could they have imagined?In just 106 years, huge container ships with thousands of stacked semi-trailers full of novelty items from China (fake vomit, whoopee cushions and ersatz dog doo included) would be zipping across the ocean at unforeseen speeds to deliver their treasures to unemployed Americans. No, I can't figure it out either. GaspCough! Cough! Ain't commerce wonderful? Not called a steamer for nothingThough "smoker" might be more appropriate in this case. The AdageA picture is worth a thousand words. This is the best description I've ever seen for the nautical term "Captain's Bridge." Variety of patented stock carsIf you look closely you can see there are several different kinds/designs of stock cars. A lot of these were patented and owned/operated by companies such as Canda and Mather. The right front car is a Mather patent car from the Mather Stock Car Company. The next two cars are a different Mather patent. The ones on the far left with the little box on top of the roof might be a Canda patent. The various mechanisms (the roof box on the left cars, the rods you can see on the cars in the middle) are used to load feed (hay, etc). Often stock cars had a lot of staining along the floors from the 'bovine residue' and the lime used to clean same. These cars look new/very well maintained. They also all have air brakes and grabirons/ladders mandated by the Safety Appliances Act, which were mandatory the following year. The "L.L.S.T.Co" car has an unusual truck design, which I don't recognize. John White's book "American Railroad Freight Car" has a great discussion on stock cars and the various patented designs from this period. Passenger carsYou can just see the clerestory roofs of passenger cars on the far track. These cars could be regular coaches or accommodation for drovers riding with the livestock train. They could also be express or mail cars. PassengersThere are three likely passenger cars on the center track, as can be seen by the clerestory roofs. If there were people on board the smell of livestock on either side must have been pungent. Passenger carsIf you look in the back; there are the clerestory windows of several passenger cars. I believe that these are probably Michigan Central cars. Passenger CarsTrains with many stock cars included some accommodation for the workers who fed and watered the animals when needed. Although three passenger cars seems like a lot, there could easily have been many more stock cars so perhaps that's why there were three cars. Revisionist historyTaking a closer look, only the nearest car with a clerestory roof seems large enough to be a passenger car for these times. It may well be a baggage/mail storage car instead. The other two similar cars appear to be quite a bit shorter and therefore are more likely to be mail storage or postal/mail storage cars. The window configuration would tell us what these cars were, so I walked around my monitor to look at the other side of the ship but all I could see was "Made in Korea." Smoke on the Waters, 1905This ship was still running well into the 1980s and perhaps beyond. My son Eric and I rode the engine room in 1971. A fascinating voyage. Two large single cylinder engines drove the props. If they stopped at the end of a stroke, the engineer had a steel pry pole to push them off Top Dead Center. This ship and it's running mate the Lansdowne, were the two oldest ships on the lakes, thanks to their Iron Hulls. The Lansdowne was a paddle wheeler & was the winter boat. built in 1885, with engines salvaged from a wooden car Ferry built in 1875. When one wheel shaft broke about 1972, the local crew sent an indignant letter to the CNR Pointe St Charles Shops saying there was something wrong with a piece of machinery that only lasted 97 years. The Lansdowne became a posh restaurant for several years tied up beside Cobo Hall in Detroit, but went bankrupt. The last I heard The Detroit was still carrying freight cars as a barge. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Railroads)
Hudson Motor Cars: 1911
Washington, D.C., circa 1911. "Hudson cars, H.B. Leary agency, 1317½ 14th Street N.W." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Keep the Cars Coming! I love the pictures of the cars! Where else can we see such detail of these cars "in period"? Enough! ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 10:39pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1911. "Hudson cars, H.B. Leary agency, 1317½ 14th Street N.W." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Keep the Cars Coming!I love the pictures of the cars! Where else can we see such detail of these cars "in period"? Enough!How many more pictures of DC car dealerships are we going to have to suffer through? Squeeze me.I bet kids found those horns irresistible as they walked by parked cars. Great Scott!I looked and looked, and then my wife noticed: These are all right hand drive cars! Why??? 99 years and still on the roadHere's a 1911 Hudson, snapped at a car show in Concord, North Carolina, April 10th, 2010. Its body style (touring car) is like the one visible in the storefront window. This was only the third year for Hudson production. No Hupmobiles?Five spiffy Hudson models in a row and not one Hupmobile! I owned a Hudson myself for over 40 years. They were good cars (obviously). Great historical car photographI love these vintage car photos. They are as much about our history as the architecture behind them. This photo just got copied into the Hudson folder in my digital car collection. memo to 8:28Hey Anon at 8:28 - some of LOVE pictures of old cars. If you're "suffering" - GO SOMEWHERE ELSE !!!!!! What's wrong with cars?What's wrong with pictures of cars? Besides, they're neighborhood pictures. At least around here, we no longer have laundries on the scale of the Star Laundry next door. Quaker Oats isn't a surprise, but some of the store-side ads are. Some products are a lot older than you think. Please keep to the LeftThere was no requirement for left-hand steering in those days-- but Henry Ford switched from right to left in October 1908 as his Model S gave way to the Model T, and he wound up with enough sales volume to influence the trend. By about 1914, most or all the US cars had settled on left-hand drive. [In 1914, many if not most American cars used right-hand drive. Even in the early 1920s some manufacturers were still using RHD. - Dave] Seriously?These dealership photos are beautiful. Americana at its finest. Keep 'em comin'. Anyone know where Star Laundry might be?I see eight signs in this picture. Wow. Star LaundryThe Star Laundry building is still there, relatively uncannibalized, at least above the first floor level. At street level, it is now the La Villa Restaurant, a take-out fajitas and taco joint. The buildings on either side, including the Hudson dealership, have been "updated" beyond recognition. No way to tell if the buildings behind the faux siding are even the same as what was there in 1911. The Star building is holding up well though. View Larger Map My HeritageAs the scion of two generations of hand laundrymen, I understand the importance of "We mend your linen." If the customer didn't know his sheets were torn, the storekeeper took the heat. Sometimes they would be beyond repair and were returned unlaundered. As for "Regular Pkgs 10¢" -- my grandfather opened his laundry on Market Street, on the Lower East Side, in 1910. Unfortunately, he died in 1935, so I'll probably never know if he ever got as much as a dime for a bundle of wet wash. In any case, notwithstanding the disapproval of Automobile Dealership Americana, this is one great photo. Left and RightEarly cars had right-hand steering because the brake lever (which was hand-operated), gearshift and horn were on the outside of the car. Since most drivers were right-handed, they had to sit on the right to reach them. Car displayWhat I find so interesting about most of these car photos is that the cars are displayed on the street. The businesses were storefronts rather than stand-alone car lots. I suspect this is the case since cars were rare and most probably had to be special ordered. I wonder when the stand-alone lots became the standard mode of car sales. Bring on the Detroit DealershipsI can't wait until you feature MORE early car dealerships. Bring 'em on! 8:28: What a Party PooperI love the old auto dealership photos. Why should 8:28 complain? There are also old buildings in the photo. I propose that a right-hand drive auto be driven over the foot of 8:28 until a more reasonable attitude is evinced. More HeritageMy dad was an automobile dealer all his life. I practically grew up in showrooms and used-car lots in the 1950s and 1960s. I love these shots, keep 'em coming! Times have changedThat Hudson dealership is now a gay bathhouse. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Harris + Ewing)
Lots of Pulp: 1890s
... can't look stylish working in a paper mill? Furniture cars Both this and the recent Buffalo picture show rail cars dedicated to furniture transport. As far as I know those types of cars ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/26/2012 - 4:56pm -

Appleton, Wisconsin, circa 1890s. "Girls of the paper mills." Evidently taking a water break. Detroit Publishing Company glass negative. View full size. Ruffles and FlourishesIt takes a spirited woman to add a five-layer ruffled collar to a utilitarian calico shirtwaist. Who says you can't look stylish working in a paper mill? Furniture carsBoth this and the recent Buffalo picture show rail cars dedicated to furniture transport. As far as I know those types of cars haven't existed in decades. Nice looking girlsThey really don't look like the type to be working hard in a paper mill. Furniture carsFurniture cars were substantially larger (40 or even 50 feet long) because furniture was a relatively light load. The average car of the 1890s was 34 feet long and held maybe 30 tons. Putting a full load of grain, for instance, into a furniture car would badly overload it, but a 50-foot car of furniture was unlikely to tax the weight limit for the wood frame. As boxcars got stronger, the need to have specialty cars for larger but lighter loads decreased. But what you do see, incidentally, is the growth of automobile boxcars, which are marked by extra large or double doors. Note also the F&PM car on the right does not have an airbrake hose. Furniture CarsMy grandfather, who was an engineer born into a family of railroaders, once explained to me that "Furniture Cars" existed to ensure consumer goods weren't damaged upon arrival, as in those days anything could be hauled in a boxcar, from raw cow hides to coal to the occasional load of livestock. I know I wouldn't want a couch that was shipped to me in a boxcar that recently held coal! If you look closely....you can see Brett Favre in the open boxcar, probably hiding from training camp. What are you going to believe?Despite the calm and easygoing faces these two lasses are exhibiting, it's hard to not to notice how ruffled they are. Comfortable in the real worldI've been wondering why the "factory girls" were usually prettier than the aristocratic women. This picture may give an answer: the "factory girls" were comfortable and confident about reality. Even though the photo is clearly posed, you can tell the girl on the left knows how to use a pump and isn't afraid to get wet; the girl on the right knows that the train won't be moving soon, and isn't afraid to let ordinary dirt touch her dress. Memory FailingI could have sworn that "Girls of the Paper Mills" was a Playboy photo feature in the early 1970's. Ladylike? Yes, butboth of them have hands that could crack walnuts. F.&P.M.The F&PM was the Flint & Pere Marquette, later just Pere Marquette. The car has a newfangled knuckle coupler, labelled "MCB" for Master Car Builder's Association. However there doesn't seem to be an air brake hose. Also notice the poling pockets on the end beam -- metal circles. A wooden pole could be placed from these to similar pockets on a locomotive on a parallel track, enabling the locomotive to push the car. This was a dangerous practice for the crewmen, who had to hold the pole in place. In those days though, railroad workers were considered more or less disposable. The circled "H" indicates that this is the handbrake end of the car, I think. Come on.....This is really a recent photo taken with girls wearing period clothes. What a great photo, and excellent quality. Like stepping into a time machine. Yet I doubt anything in this photo exists today, except maybe the rail line. One of them doesn't seem to be working too hard at all. No brakesOr I should say no air brakes on that F&PM (Flint & Pere Marquette) boxcar, as evidenced by the lack of an air hose next to the coupler. The F&PM operated a Lake Michigan carferry service from Ludington to Manitowoc just down the line from Appleton. It was later simply called the Pere Marquette, and in 1947 was merged into the Chesapeake & Ohio, which is now part of CSX. FancyCompared to the dress of folks we have seen in previous working environments, these two ladies look like they are preparing to attend a fancy ball. And look at those delicious Midwestern complexions. Mary & MarthaHow can I get the e-mail address of the cutie on the right? I Guess......I'm the only one who thinks that's an odd place for a well & pump. My German WifeThe girl on the right looks spooky similar to my German wife. With the photo being taken in Wisconsin in the 1890s; I suspect we might be looking at German immigrant girls. (The Gallery, DPC, Factories, Railroads)
Crippled Children's Auto Outing: 1908
... owned this building in NYC. Crazy looking ladies in cars All of that is true but how nice these people were, taking these kids ... provide some more 'crazy photos' ! crazy looking cars... please observe the roads. abosolutely a paradise for joy riders. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 11:54am -

"Auto Rides for Crippled Children," New York. May 25, 1908. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size | Zoom in. Is That?Is that someone in the window on the left of the stoop where the women are standing? Notice the 2 fingers on the window sill and the face peering through the curtains. Very creepy! Above The First Doorway......on the left I see what appears to be the name "Blackburn" which is my last name. Now it's going to drive me nuts trying to figure out if some relative of mine had once owned this building in NYC. Crazy looking ladies in carsAll of that is true but how nice these people were, taking these kids out maybe to the circus, beach or somewhere. You don't often see pictures of the upper class doing something nice. But they are pretty crazy looking. Crippled children'sIt is an amazing experience to watch this rare photo. Please provide some more 'crazy photos' ! crazy looking cars... please observe the roads. abosolutely a paradise for joy riders. But unfortunately now we have excellent cars. But where are the- car friendly roads ! White MasksWhy do the women have the white masks on? to keep the sun off? I've never seen any other pictures from this time having such masks. Re: White MasksThat's netting to keep the dust out of their eyes. Part of any fashionable lady's motoring ensemble back then. Because bugs in your teeth......is not only UNfashionable, it's downright disgusting. Thank goodness for enclosed passenger cabins and convertible windshields. :-) All of the cars seem to beAll of the cars seem to be the same make and model and they all have their steering wheels on the left side. Not sure when the left side became the standard in the states. [Steering wheels on these cars are on the right. - Dave] Thomas FlyerThese cars bear a strong resemblance to a Thomas Flyer of the period. For many years, "quality" cars always had their steering wheels on the right-hand side, regardless of whether the country they were built in drove on the left or the right. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, G.G. Bain, Kids, NYC)
Easter Sunday, 1936
... by Theodor Jung for the Resettlement Administration. Cars Can anyone perhaps identify the cars? The cars (subject to correction) Right to left: Ford V8, Chrysler, Lincoln ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/09/2007 - 11:10pm -

April 12, 1936. Newsboys in Jackson, Ohio. View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Theodor Jung for the Resettlement Administration. CarsCan anyone perhaps identify the cars? The cars (subject to correction)Right to left: Ford V8, Chrysler, Lincoln CarsLeft to right: 1934 Oldsmobile, 1934 Chevrolet, 1932 Ford. News in HandLooks like The Columbus Dispatch to me. UnravelingLook at the condition of the sweater on the boy on the left. In my old neighborhood, we had kids coming to school in much worse clothing. The LineupChrisB got the vehicle identification right. The cars with the "Congress" bumper sign is a 1934 Oldsmobile Sedan. Although a 1936 Lincoln has a similar grill it also has 18 horizontal chrome pieces not seen here and does not have the same hood louvers. To the right is a 1934 Chevrolet Master Series 2-Passenger Coupe - also known as a Business Coupe which cost $560 new and of which 53,018 were produced. The 10 millionth Chevy was produced on November 13, 1934, but it was a 1935 model. Note the similarities between the Oldsmobile and Chevrolet as they were both produced by General Motors (GM). Olds had the three horizontal hood louvers in 1933 and two horizontal hood louvers in 1934. Chevy's had nearly the same designs, with slightly different placement, but in 1934 - 1936. Amazingly, the Cadillac V-16, also a GM product, also used this design from 1933 - 1935. Chrysler was in the middle of Airflow production and both Chrysler's and Desoto's look vastly different during this time. Dodge used four horizonal louvers in their 1934 1/2 models, but again the grill is different. Continuing to the right is a 1932 Ford which looks like a 5-Window Coupe. This was the first year for the Ford V-8 engine which was initially produced on March 9, 1932. This Ford looks like it has some type of accessory horn attached to the headlight tie bar. In the background is a Desoto and Plymouth Dealer. Farther back is an out of focus sign for 1935 or 1936 Dodge Trucks as well as signs for Dodge and Plymouth cars. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Kids, Theodor Jung)
Lukens Lake: 1956
... a couple of '50/51 Fords, a Buick and a Pontiac) The Cars Good job everyone. From left to right are: 1950 Ford, 1950 Buick ... 1955 Chevrolet wagon, with different taillights). The cars I'm pretty sure that the first Ford is a '49. We had one when I was a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2012 - 7:59pm -

"Bath house at Lukens Lake near Peru, Indiana. July 1956." 35mm Kodachrome transparency. View full size. I'll Take a Shot At IDL to R: 49/50 Ford; 49/50-51 Buick, 49/50 Ford, don't know, a Muntz Jet maybe?, Pontiac Wagon, early 50s (used Chevy tail lights with chrome insert) Car IDThe fourth car from the left seems to be a Kaiser or a Henry J, probably the latter which was also sold by Sears--think they called it the Allstate. The one on the right looks like a '56 Chevy wagon. A near-forgotten model from American automobile history.The car with fuel stain by the gas cap (next to the Pontiac) is '51 (or so) Kaiser-Frazier Henry J. You can almost make out the script above the license plate. 49 FordThe car I learned to drive on was my dad's old blue 49 Ford with a column shift 3 speed. The body was absolutely cherry. My dad sold it for 50 bucks decades ago. Car IDI see a Henry J! (and a couple of '50/51 Fords, a Buick and a Pontiac) The CarsGood job everyone. From left to right are: 1950 Ford, 1950 Buick Roadmaster, 1951 Ford, Kaiser-Frazer "Henry J" (1951 model, most of which had no trunk lids), 1955 or 1956 Pontiac wagon (which both used the same rear fenders as the 1955 Chevrolet wagon, with different taillights). The carsI'm pretty sure that the first Ford is a '49. We had one when I was a kid, and the trunk lock mechanism piece above the license plate was straight and did not turn down at each end like the one in the picture. The '50 Fords had the "turned down" piece. The carsEditing my own reply. I meant to say the first Ford is a 1950 model since it has the turned-down trunk lock piece above the license plate. [You are correct. Thanks for the info. Now, who can tell if the station wagon is a 1955 or 56 Pontiac? The red-and-white color scheme is shown in the 1956 sales brochure. - Dave] Car conditionLook how quickly these autos lost their finish, all except the Pontiac wagon look much too rough for their six or seven years of use. Pontiac WagonI vote for the Pontiac being a '55. I've got a print of my twin brother and I up on top of the family's '55 Pontiac wagon washing it (we were 8 years old, and not heavy enough to dent '50's sheet metal). What I can see of the back end in the photo, the taillights, rear trunk hinges, and bumper look identical. The photo though is mostly a side view so not all details are available. Our car had a two tone dark green, light green paint job. Andrew Russell San Diego '51 Henry JThe Henry J is a '51. In 1952 the taillights went on to the fins. [The other way you can tell it's a '51 is that there's no trunk lid. - Dave] re 1955Here is a web adress,http://www.cars-on-line.com/stationwagon.html. You will see A 1955 pontiac chieftain wagon for sale. They have A pic of the rear and it looks the same as this one. [The 1956 wagon would look the same in back. - Dave] 1955 GMThe Pontiac is a 1955, GM used the same basic design on Pontiacs and Chevys. [Or it could be a '56. - Dave] Re: 1955 GMIt could also be a 1956 Pontiac. The wagon rear ends were the same for 1955 and 1956. Peru, IndianaBirthplace of one of the greatest songwriters who ever lived: Cole Porter! Henry JSears Roebuck also sold the Henry J and called it the Allstate. The retail price was $999. Kaiser-Frazer was an attempt at creating another brand in the automobile business after WWII, when cars were scarce. The biggest dealer was in California, a franchise owned by the promoter Earl "Madman" Muntz. His radio jingle was "The Kaiser-Frazer, yours at once, today at Madman Muntz." After Kaiser-Frazer sank, Muntz just reached up on his shelf for his next idea. It was a low-price line of TVs, under $100, hawked on radio stations across the country. You called and got a visit from a salesman who carried the step-up model into your house and began his sales pitch. At his peak Muntz may have been the largest seller of TVs in the country. PontiacThe Pontiac is a 1955. The 1956s had the name in script rather than in block letters. We had a 1956 sedan. My great-aunt had a Henry J just like this one, except that it was an ugly dark brown. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Kodachromes 1, Travel & Vacation)
Beached: 1937
... partly due to the limits of steelmaking at the time, cars did not have metal roof panels. Instead, the major portion of the roof was ... Car Circa 1925 Nash . (The Gallery, Agriculture, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Fires, Floods etc., Russell Lee) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/06/2025 - 4:41pm -

February 1937. "Posey County, Indiana. Havoc wrought on farmland, highways, roads, farm buildings, equipment, homes by 1937 flood. Automobile after the flood on Mackey Ferry Road near Mount Vernon." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Where's Nitti?He's in the car. The tires still look pretty good.In 1943 or so, they'll be digging the old Nash out, just to salvage those tires. 1935 — GM Introduces the Turret TopThe auto industry took a big step forward in 1935 when General Motors and Fisher Body introduced the one-piece steel roof panel. Well into the 1930s, American car bodies featured a strange anachronism that dated back to the horse-and-buggy era. Partly due to tradition, partly due to the limits of steelmaking at the time, cars did not have metal roof panels. Instead, the major portion of the roof was filled with a piece known as a top insert, a rickety assembly of hardwood, wire mesh, fabric, seals, and paint that leaked, squeaked, was time-consuming to manufacture, and added little to the structural integrity of the body shell. As car bodies became more sleek and modern every year, the old wood-and-fabric top insert was a curious throwback. The opportunity for change arrived in 1932, when Inland Steel of East Chicago, Indiana, installed its first 76-inch wide rolling mill. Finally, sheet metal was available in sufficient width and quantity to produce roof stampings in one piece. But first the entire body industry would require readjustment, too: larger, more powerful stamping presses, bigger trucks and railcars to handle the materials. For the 1935 model year, General Motors and its Fisher Body division were able to offer the innovation on Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Chevrolet Master models. Aggressively marketed as the Turret Top, GM’s all-steel roof was quieter, tighter, far stronger — and ultimately, faster and cheaper to make than the old wood-composite construction. Naturally, the rest of the automakers followed along as soon as they could. https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/1935-gm-introduces-the-all-steel-top... The CarCirca 1925 Nash. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Fires, Floods etc., Russell Lee)
Cotton Carnival: 1940
... wow. Wish Memphis were still like this. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, M.P. Wolcott, Memphis, Streetcars) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/02/2025 - 12:38pm -

May 1940. Memphis, Tennessee. "Main Street at night during Cotton Carnival." Acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Charity, Community, Commerce and CelebrationToday it's Carnival Memphis. "Cotton" was dropped in 1987 because "our economy has become more diversified. We accomplish our mission through the four C's: Charity, Community, Commerce and Celebration." "The Cotton Kingdom" was the slogan used by the antebellum South to justify slavery and secession. In 1895, John Philip Sousa wrote his "King Cotton" march, which intentionally or not contributed to "Lost Cause" sentimentalization of the Old South. It is still played. "C"-BrysAs my pun suggests, breeze was how (the first word of) the Bry-Block Mercantile Co was pronounced. It was one of Memphis' three main department stores, and its presence here tells us this picture is looking South ... in every sense! Now with treesAs close as I can figure, Marion Post Wolcott took this nighttime photo from the red brick building in the foreground. While it's still there, at the northwest corner of Union Avenue and Main Street, most of the rest of the buildings in the foreground are gone. The site of Bry's is mostly a parking garage now. The smaller buildings across the street are different. The Rhodes Jennings Furniture store and tall building next to it are now the building with the flat white roof. It's not until the Hotel Chisca at Main Street and Linden Avenue (upper-right corner) that I can identify a building still standing. I suspect Main Street today never sees the bustling nightlife it did in 1940, even for carnival. DavidCrook, thanks for your correction and additional information. I don't mind being wrong, but does it have to be my first post of 2025? Dave, do I get a mulligan? POVDoug Floor Plan, your estimate of the location of the photographer is off by a few blocks. You place her in the Three Sisters building at Union and Main. This photo was most likely shot from the roof of the old Claridge Hotel at the corner of Adams and Main--about six blocks north. Bry's was replaced by the "new" Lowenstein's (another department store) and an apartment tower at 99 North Main in the mid-1960s. The Claridge Hotel, now a condominium, is next door. Interestingly, Rhodes-Jennings furniture moved into the vacant old Lowenstein's building at Monroe and Main. The building with the white features and the elaborate entry next door to Rhodes-Jennings is the Court Square Center apartments and offices -- originally known as the Columbian Mutual Tower and, later, Lincoln-American Life. The trees just beyond are in Court Square. Finally, while this photo may have been taken during Cotton Carnival, this is just regular traffic--no parade--on Main Street, bumper-to-bumper traffic going south, lighter traffic going north. Zoom in, and you can see the empty bleachers for parade watchers in Court Square. Here's a view from the top of the Claridge via Google Earth. Site "C"-ingBry's was on Main at Jefferson; it was purchased by competitor Lowenstein's in the mid 50's, who subsequently closed, and finally demolished it. The angle of the shot suggests in was taken from the nearby Hotel Claridge, extant but now condo-ized (I also suspect that to take the pic, Ms. Wolcott leaned out a window farther than management would have liked.) If Bry's related to Lowenstein's future, Rhodes-Jennings was tied to its past: the building had been the former's former home. It, too, survives as a residential property: Court Square. Preservation in Memphis seems rather good; the theme of this post notwithstanding, I'd give it a B+. Old MemphisWow. Just wow. Wish Memphis were still like this. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, M.P. Wolcott, Memphis, Streetcars)
Automotive Amarillo: 1943
... with the Episcopalians. -A/O The long line of cars All those cars are probably waiting to get their tires fixed or reinforced. By 1943 tires ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/21/2024 - 11:33am -

March 1943. "Amarillo, Texas. View over the city." The Firestone Tires garage on Tyler Street at 10th Avenue. Acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Still there -- but not a garage any moreNow The Firestone Amarillo apartments. Now that's a service station!Awesome Firestone place in the foreground. First PresbyterianThe large Gothic Revival church behind the Firestone garage is the First (formerly Central) Presbyterian Church on Harrison Street. Construction began in 1927 after moving several moves over the previous three decades. The current building has been in continuous use since. Originally it was affiliated with the Cumberland Presbyterians but in the 1980s joined the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA), the largest denomination. PECUSA has a reputation for being rather progressive in its approach to faith and doctrine, but First Presbyterian identifies as a "confessional" church, which is typically code for being more conservative. In 2013 the church affiliated with ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians. This denomination appears to be fairly moderate in its theology, a bit to the right of PECUSA but not as conservative as the PCA. They have a well known pipe organ and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. [Huh? PECUSA is an Episcopal denomination. - Dave] Oops typo in the latter acronym. It should be PCUSA which is short for Presbyterian Church USA. Though interestingly, they are in full communion with the Episcopalians. -A/O The long line of carsAll those cars are probably waiting to get their tires fixed or reinforced. By 1943 tires were getting scarce due to rubber rationing. People brought in old tires to see if they could get some more mileage out of them. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Gas Stations, Jack Delano)
The Christmas Tree: 1950
... ago, thanks for sharing! (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Christmas, Don Cox, Kids) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/16/2024 - 4:19pm -

"Sierras, 1950, Nevada." The Christmas Tree Lodge on the Mount Rose Highway south of Reno is the backdrop for this latest Kodachrome of Don Cox's 1939 Mercury. The restaurant, which touted its "mahogany-broiled steaks and chops," is no more, replaced by the Tannenbaum Event Center. Now, who's gonna squeegee that tyke off the bumper? View full size. SkeechingMy nephews and their cousins did that around here in Northwest Indiana. I don't know if the word is the "official" name for it, but that's what they called it in these parts. The plaid-jacket era for boysI'm reminded of that scene in "The Bishop's Wife" in which Cary Grant as the angel conjures up attendance at the boys' choir practice and every one of them is wearing a plaid jacket similar to the one the kid is wearing in this photo. I was born in 1947 and had one, too, but it was my older cousin's hand-me-down. Paul Simon got it right"Mama don't take my Kodachrome away." Don Cox took some supernaturally beautiful pictures in the winter Sierras. Egad!Looks like some kind of surplus window size experiment. SnowmobilityI had a hat like the young man is wearing. We used to grab hold of bumpers like that and get pulled up and down street on our sleds during winter. Great fun. That Hat When I was five years old I had one just like it. This photo was taken in our back yard in Riverside (now Windsor) Ontario in 1952. We are bundled up like the kids in "A Christmas Story." A Christmas StoryTHOSE are the icicles that have been known to kill people. Now The Tannenbaumhttp://www.ccgtcc-ccn.com/Christmas%20Tree.pdf Let there be LOTS of lightAbsolutely beautiful Kodachrome. What has always impressed me about snow photography - the immense amount of reflected light equals tiny aperture (and/or fast shutter) equals huge depth of field and razor sharp focus. This photo epitomizes all that was good about Kodachrome combined with photography in the snow. I recognized ...As soon as I saw this image, without reading the comment, I knew what and where this was. I had lived at Lake Tahoe for 20+ years and drove the Mount Rose Highway plenty of times in winter and summer. Even though this was posted years ago, thanks for sharing! (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Christmas, Don Cox, Kids)
Hiding the Lockheed Plant: Cars
... bigger full-size scans, especially the ones with nearby cars. By the way, the "Before being hidden" links in the individual photo ... 
 
Posted by CHB8 - 05/04/2009 - 9:44pm -

An after photo of Lockheed during WWII (unbelievable 1940s pictures). This is pretty neat special effects during the 1940's. I have never seen these pictures or knew that we had gone this far to protect ourselves. During World War II the Army Corps of Engineers needed to hide the Lockheed Burbank Aircraft Plant to protect it from Japanese air attack. They covered it with camouflage netting to make it look like a rural subdivision from the air. Before being hidden beneath tarp Hidden from above Parking lot hidden from below Hidden LockheedThese are fascinating, thanks. I, for one, would like to see bigger full-size scans, especially the ones with nearby cars. By the way, the "Before being hidden" links in the individual photo captions are bad, although you can access it from the Member Gallery thumbnails. [I fixed them. I think. Please check your links when posting! - Dave] A side benefitA nice side benefit is that your car wouldn't be in the sun, so it wouldn't be too hot when you were ready to go home. Casting a wide netMy Granddad worked at Douglas during WW2 and reminisced about these measures. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Tower B: 1943
... 224 miles of trackage and a capacity of more than 20,000 cars. The 'Hump' was decommissioned in 2019. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 2:00pm -

May 1943. Melrose Park, Ill. Chicago & North Western towerman R.W. Mayberry of Elmhurst at the Proviso Yard. He operates a set of retarders and switches at the hump. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. Cleanest hands in the railyardLove that sweater/jacket! Proviso YardThe Proviso Freight Yard, located 12 miles (19 km) west of the city centre in suburban Cook County, was constructed between 1926 and 1929 and had 224 miles of trackage and a capacity of more than 20,000 cars. The 'Hump' was decommissioned in 2019. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Turkey Run: 1929
... in all of 1929 and barely 2,800 in 1930. A few hundred cars were sold in 1931, assembled mainly from leftover 1930 parts. (The ... 
 
Posted by Ken - 09/08/2011 - 9:05pm -

A thanksgiving turkey is delivered to Washington, D.C., for President Herbert Hoover on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 1929. From the National Photo Company collection. View full size. Tombut was he pardoned??? Turkey Pardoning Folklore and HistoryAccording to Snopes, the first turkey to actually receive a Presidential pardon was in 1989, by George H. W. Bush: http://www.snopes.com/holidays/thanksgiving/pardon.asp Out of the wayThose Minnesota turkeys sure had to go far out of their way get to an Iowan! 1929 Viking Oldsmobile's "companion make," the upscale Viking, was introduced in 1929. Available as a convertible coupe, four-door sedan, and close-coupled four door brougham, all on a 125 inch wheelbase. Each could be had in Standard or DeLuxe, or top-line Special trim. The Viking was the only GM companion car that was more expensive than its "senior" marque, in this case Oldsmobile. Oldsmobile had hoped to manufacture 5,000 Vikings per month, but only around 4,000 Vikings were produced in all of 1929 and barely 2,800 in 1930. A few hundred cars were sold in 1931, assembled mainly from leftover 1930 parts. (The Gallery, Agriculture, D.C., Natl Photo, Thanksgiving)
Omaha Stakes: 1938
... negative. November 1938. Omaha, Nebraska. "Cars parked diagonally along a row of parking meters." Photo by John Vachon for ... All the same? Look closely, the first seven cars are all different, two doors, four doors, at least two different coupes. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/15/2017 - 11:06am -

        We've updated this post from 2008, originally illustrated with a low-res catalog print, with this high-resolution scan made from the original negative. November 1938. Omaha, Nebraska. "Cars parked diagonally along a row of parking meters." Photo by John Vachon for the FSA. View full size. All the same?Look closely, the first seven cars are all different, two doors, four doors, at least two different coupes. Look at some of the color pictures from this time frame you will see many different colors also. [I think the point is that the first three or four cars are remarkably similar in appearance, superficially at least. They seem to be the same make. No doubt the car experts out there can ID them. - Dave] ArrowsThe parking lines becoming arrows on the sidewalk pointing to which car goes with which meter ... great! CarsI think this is the first picture of this type that I've seen from the 30s where all of the cars look very late model. It isn't just the cars in front, the ones in the background are new looking as well, no model A's, or T's. I'm not a car expert, but I think you get what I mean. The closest three carsAre all 1936 Fords. The leaping greyhound hood ornament on the first car was a popular accessory of the era. The fourth car down appears to be a 1937 Packard. Beyond that it gets difficult to tell. The coupe with the sidemounted spare (the fifth car down) might be a Buick. Japanese Flag?Fifth parking meter down has a short flagpole beside it which appears to be flying a Japanese flag. Japanese FlagSeems to me the flag is not flying next to the parking meter but on a car parked behind the meter. Maybe there is some kind of meeting going on, judging from all the late model, official-looking, cars parked in a row. That in fact may have been the real subject of this photo. [The "real subject" is "cars parked diagonally." - Dave] POVA similar picture today would show a mass of silvery/light gold colored 4 door econoboxes. Fifty years from now a viewer would be hard pressed to discern one from another. Carbon CopiesSo everyone had the exact same car back then? ColorYou can get a car in any color you want, as long as it's black. Hood OrnamentThe leaping greyhound was also the hood ornament that represented Lincoln automobiles. Now, a Lincoln is part of the Ford Motor Company, but a Lincoln is not a Ford and vice versa. "Japanese" FlagThat's no Japanese flag -- it's a flag indicating a bus route. They still have the same design in Omaha today except they are metal now. There are ones with blue dots and green dots as well. Corner of 16th and DodgeThe location of the Woolworth's is now the spot where the First National Bank Tower stands and the Metropolitan Drug Store is its parking garage. The only building on that corner still standing would be the one from where the picture is taken. Movie on the marqueePretty sure the movie playing in the theater in the background is THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER, starring Bob Burns and Fay Bainter (names on middle row)! The 5th car down is indeed a BuickIt's a 1938 Club Coupe. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, John Vachon, Omaha)
Vacation Wagon: 1964
... on eBay. View full size. family trips in those cars I also spent some hot days in a car like that on the way to the ... to drop tailgate Simple, huh? Looking at old red cars makes my elbows hurt! Seemed like some of those old single stage ... correctly, and it wasn't until the government mandated new cars with ignition interlocks in the 1970's that "real men" started to actually ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/31/2022 - 1:09am -

        Our annual salute to the start of vacation road-trip season, first posted here 15 years ago. Everyone buckled in? Let's go! "Great Falls, Montana. Return after 3 weeks Vacation. June 27, 1964." This Kodachrome of a 1960 Chevrolet Parkwood station wagon is from a box of slides found on eBay. View full size. family trips in those carsI also spent some hot days in a car like that on the way to the grandparents. My mother flattened the second seat, put a mattress on the floor and loaded three of us and the stuff in on top of it, us and the stuff equally loose and not tied down. We whined and fought and slept our way to Cape Cod from southern NJ. My father always "had to work" (they were her parents), so she did the drive alone, I think maybe 12 or 16 hours? Seemed like forever. NostalgicThese people still had a bright future ahead of them, full of great hopes for the days to come. They hadn't gone to the Moon yet, and to them, by 2007 we'd have personal helicopters and robots would run everything. The possibility of the President being indicted for a crime was unthinkable. My job as a web designer hadn't even been invented yet. The lawn looks like it's literally astroturf. Were the colors really like that, or is it an effect of the kodachrome? Holy cow! We had a 59 chevyHoly cow! We had a 59 chevy stationwagon back in the day. Does this bring back memories. We would drive to Florida from Virginia a two day trip usually in the heat of the summer to visit grandparents. Five children two parents no ac. Damn! [This is a 1960 Chevrolet. - Dave] DeflectorsDoes anybody know/remember what the deflectors left and right of the rear window were for? These may have been an aftermarket item. It is amazing how well the colors in this slide are preserved after almost 50 years. It looks like Kodachrome all right, including the telltale blue cast in the shadows The Astroturf look......to my eye, seems to come from the little flowers (or toadstools?) that are in the lawn. At the smaller image size, they look like specular reflections, making it seem like the grass is shiny. [The white flowers are clover. - Dave] 1964As I remember it, this was less than a year after the assassination of JFK, there were race riots in the south and we (I was 14) were all starting to question attitudes towards women, blacks, hispanics, homosexuals and the culture we had grown up with. One of the more minor cultural things was the importance of your front lawn. 50 years?I was born in 1964, and trust me, it hasn't been 50 years since then, yet.... ;) Re:DeflectorsThe deflectors on either side of the rear window were intended to blow air across the rear window to prevent snow from accumulating. A similar deflector is often fitted along the roof on station wagons from the 60s on. I think they were usually a factory or dealer option in later years, but I really don't know specifically about this model or when they might have first been used. OK, 40 years.Sorry, I was too vexed on the year of manufacture of the car. I remember that someone in our street had the sedan version of this Chevy. Like any 8 year old, I was fascinated by the winged tail and the panorama windshield. You didn't see many of these in Europe around 1960; everbody, including my father, was driving Volkswagen Beetles. (He later had a new Ford Mustang 1964 1/2 , with a 289 ci V8 and a four speed box, rally pack and (optional) front discs, which I found very impressive at the time. A real gas guzzler by European standards. Family TrucksterThis is probably what Clark Griswold's dad took the family on vacation in. It's a 1960 Chevy, and I'm guessing it's a Kingswood model. The Brookwood was the more stripped down model and I think the "full dresser" was called a Nomad. This one isn't completely chromed-out and it has the small, dog-dish hubcaps so I'm thinking it's the middle of the line model. I think the rear air deflectors also helped keep exhaust gas from entering the rear passenger compartment when the vehicle was moving with the tailgate window was lowered. Though it doesn't look like there's room for anybody in the third row of seats for this trip. With the window up they also helped keep the rear glass clear of snow and dust. These are Parents of the Year......in my book. Can you imagine going across country now without all of the luxuries and Wendy's and portable DVD players and Nintendo and cell phones and credit cards? These parents did it all the HARD way...and I'll bet they made a lot of memories that summer! My jaw droppedOnce again the red stationwagon family blows me away. The color composition here is perfect. Chevy ParkwoodThis is a 1960 Chevrolet Parkwood. Parkwoods and Kingswoods both use Bel Air trim (mid-level). The Kingswood, a nine-passenger wagon, has the third-row rear-facing seat, and two steps on the rear bumper (one on each end just outside of where the tailgate would come down). Less obvious is that all Kingswoods have power tailgate windows, an option on the other Chevrolet wagons. I still drive a '59 ChevyI recommend owning one. In 2000 We took the ultimate road trip with mine from near the Canadian border in Washington State through the desert to Las Vegas and back up through California and Oregon. There really is nothing like seeing the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet. Cruising the Strip in Vegas was a blast. We might as well have been driving a space ship with the reactions we got. Sadly, these Chevrolets were mostly scrapped and very few survive. 60 ChevySadly, the third row seat had not been invented as of yet and the deflectors were used to deflect air into the rear of the stationwagon at slower speeds. I may not be an expert but I'm old enough to have ridden and slept in the back section of a folded down stationwagon. We didn't know about SUV's yet. Chevy WagonChevy's Parkwood and Kingswood wagons could both be had with a third-row seat. And back then, for the record - wagons WERE the "SUVs" of the day! [According to the 1960 Chevrolet sales brochure, only the Kingswood was available with third-row seating. The International Travelall and Chevy Suburban Carryall were two of the SUVs of the day. - Dave] The luggage rackis something you don't see anymore. It hung on the wall of the garage when not in use. Once my dad, who was in a big hurry, didn't secure the tarp on top properly... We played car games, like Alphabet, Road Bingo, and License Plates, read books, colored,sang songs and squabbled. You took your chances with local restaurants. We hadn't got used to entertainment on demand, so we didn't miss it. And to Dave Faris: It's the film. I once assured my daughter that colors when I was a kid were the same as today. "The Fifties," she said, in her narrator's voice, "were an oddly-hued decade." Slide ConversionHow does one convert slides to digital photos? Any website links or advice? [You'd use a film scanner. I used a Nikon 4000 ED for this one. - Dave] Family TrucksterWe had a green Ford station wagon, not nearly as nice as this, and with our family of six, it was a masochistic experience to take family vacations. Every summer we said that's it, we will never do this again, until the following summer when we did it again. The best part was arriving home again, but I will say that NOT having DVD's and high tech electronic gadgets forced the kids to look out the window and they gained incredible geographic knowledge from seeing the U.S. I could truthfully call these annual trips "purgatory on wheels." Road TripMost all of my long-distance car trips were connected with moving as my father was in the USAF. In August 1954, after being in the UK 2½ years, we got in our in our '53 Chevy coupe and went from New York City to the SF Bay Area, mostly along US 40. Entertainment consisted of looking at the scenery and checking off the towns on the free roadmaps that the service stations provided in each state. Iy being the pre-Interstate era, one did go thru many towns back then! (Excepting on the PA Turnpike) Burma-Shave signs relieved the boredom in the rural areas. We had a car radio (AM only, of course), but for some reason I can only recall it being used while crossing the salt flats west of Salt Lake City. Westward HoIn 1951 our family, my wife, son and daughter, living in Detroit, started taking trips to Cheney, Washington, to visit my WW2 buddy. All on old state highways, no air conditioner, 4½ hours to get through Chicago and the kids loved it. Took these trips out west to the 1970s. We still go west to see my buddy and my daughter in Seattle and we enjoy crossing Nebraska on old U.S. 30. It is a treat to be off of I-80. Nostalgia Ain't What it Used to BeDon't look at this picture and pine for the old days. Change the car to a green Olds Vista Cruiser and that's us in 1969. Back then, dads bought a new station wagon to kick off the summer vacation. Dads don't buy an SUV today for that reason. Without repeating some of the horrors already mentioned below, there was the additional joy of Mom sending back a Coca Cola bottle for one of her sons to use in lieu of a loo. If the girls had to go, we had to pull over. Not so with the boys. Watching mom backhand-fling a Coke bottle out her window, filled with fluid far different that what was originally intended, and seeing it bounce and spill along the shoulder as we whizzed along at 75 mph (pun intended), that's about the fondest vacation memory at least from the car perspective. Today with the daughter hooked up to a video iPod and the sons enjoying their PSP, it's a pleasure to drive for distances. Back then, we didn't play License Plates. We played Punch Buggy and Slug Bug, etc. Fistfight games. Let's go!I loved car trips, and I never had DVD players and Nintendo. I watched the scenery and kept a travel diary. those were some of the greatest times of my life. Road TrripWe had to make do with pillows & blankets. A mattress would have made it actually comfortable. I don't know if Dad didn't have the imagination for that, or just not the money. I suspect the latter. We'd sing sometimes. It was 12 hours from north Georgia near the North Carolina line to south Georgia, near the Florida line, where my grandmother lived. I see the moon; the moon sees me. The moon sees the one that I want to see ... Thanks for the memoriesMy folks had the four-door sedan version of this car, in sky blue & white. My mom used to have a station wagon, don't remember what kind, but it was memorable for its pushbutton transmission on the dash instead of a gearshift! However my favorite "finned" car was our family's Buick Invicta. Now that was a car! Third Row SeatsFords had third-row seats in 1955. I'm pretty sure Chevy had them by 1958 at least. Chevy didn't offer woodgrain sides until '65. Sunday ridesWe had that same car, only in light blue. No seat belts or infant seats for us! We'd put my baby sister in one of those deathtrap baby seats that hooked over the front seat and off we went! What a picture!This picture takes me back almost 40 years to the road trips our family did during summer holidays when I was a little boy. It feels like I myself am stretching my legs after coming home. The colours, the moment -- one of my favorite pictures in Shorpy. My Favorite Car was a 1960 Chevrolet Impala 2-dr hardtop. Bluish gray with white segment on the side, red and white interior. The first car my wife and I bought. Paid $1750 for it used in 1962. We made some wonderful trips in that car. Re: Family TrucksterJust saw this item on TV yesterday about a real family named Griswold that had their station wagon modded to look like the Family Truckster from National Lampoon's Vacation movie for their trip to Disney World. http://tinyurl.com/plo5kub See the USA in Your ChevroletFor our family, it was a 1962 Buick Invicta wagon. Huge car designed for doing massive mileage on the interstates and that's what we did -- six or seven hundred miles a day from Indiana to the Rockies for our annual vacation. Procedure for Accessing the Cargo AreaWe had one of these when I was a kid as well. Ours was a silver gray color. See the chrome disk on the trunk door? Upon arriving at destination, here's what you had to do: 1) Put trunk key in center slot (separate keys for ignition and trunk back then) 2) Open flap (as seen in photo) 3) Rotate flap several times till rear window is fully down 4) Reach in and grab handle to drop tailgate Simple, huh? Looking at old red carsmakes my elbows hurt! Seemed like some of those old single stage paints, reds in particular, had to be waxed every two weeks to keep them looking decent. The widespread adoption of clearcoat finishes in the late 80's to mid 90's freed modern kids from the dreaded frequent waxing chore, thereby giving them the leisure time to start the video gaming revolution... As Long AsThis isn't really the "End of the Road"! That's a scary title for all the Shorpy Faithful. 3 Adults + 7 Children =1000 mile round trip to see grandma. We kids didn't mind a bit. Seat belts?I don't think you heard "Everybody all buckled up?" all that much in '64. I'm not sure of the exact dates, but if you had seatbelts back then, you bought them at a discount store or an auto parts store like Western Auto or J. C. Whitney, and they were lap belts only. Three point seat belts didn't come along for several more years, if I recall correctly, and it wasn't until the government mandated new cars with ignition interlocks in the 1970's that "real men" started to actually use them. Back then, we used to spend our vacations camping, so the car was packed to the gills, including the center of the back seat. My sister and I each got little cubbyholes next to the doors, with just room enough to sit for the trip to northern Wisconsin. My dad drove a two tone green '55 Oldsmobile Delta 88. I saw a picture of that car a few months ago, and as soon as I did, I started remembering a surprising amount of detail about the car's details. It was handed down to me when I went off to college in '64. Seat beltsbobdog19006 is correct in that seat belts were not standard equipment in 1960. However, they had been available as a dealer-installed option since the 50s. By 1966, they were standard in all Chevys, and by 1968, they were federally mandated. I spent many a happy hour on family roadtrips in our '68 Ford wagon, nestled in the narrow gap between the second row and the rear-facing third-row seat, no seat belt, of course. Neither did my siblings in the third row. Service StickersI remember those stickers that service stations or car dealers put on the inside edge of the driver's door when you got your car serviced. This Chevrolet has two. Our road trip rigWe had a '76 Chevy Beauville van, a ho-hum light brown rather than red, which made up for the lack of chrome spears with its cavernous interior: two bucket seats in front for Mom and Dad, two bench seats, and a homemade plywood bed. Strangely, all that space wasn't enough to prevent sibling quarrels. The best story of this van was the return trip of its maiden voyage, when my uncle, who owned a small niche-market manufacturing firm, talked my dad into towing a piece of equipment from South Texas to a parking lot near Chicago, where we would deliver it to his customer from Wisconsin. We quickly got used to being asked at every single hotel, gas station, and rest stop, exactly what was the three-wheeled contraption with the hydraulically-actuated vertical roller-chain conveyor with teeth. The looks on everyone's faces when my dad told them it was a grave-digging machine: Priceless! Curtains?Every August for years we travelled from Birmingham to Cincinnati for a week of visiting my parents' relatives. Before our last such trip in '69, we went through a black-and-white '57 Plymouth Savoy, a metallic-beige '63 Ford Country Sedan wagon (the one without wood on the sides) and a '67 Olds VistaCruiser. I'd love to have that VistaCruiser back today. Ours was burgundy red and my dad put red stripe Tiger Paw tires on it. Imagine a 442 station wagon. As for Shorpy's '60 Chevy wagon, I only just noticed the homemade or aftermarket side curtains, with vertical stripes of brown, gold and red to compliment the bright red car. Thanks, Dave, for showing us this photo again... and including all the original comments, too. Great to relive all the great summer vacation stories with everyone! Re: deflectorsIn the days before the rear window wiper on a station wagon, some folks put these on and the deflected air current would help to clean off that window to a degree. Not having either, within a mile that rear hatch would be almost impossible to see through. Been there, done that and got the tee-shirt. This does bring back memoriesWe had a similar station wagon, but it was salmon (or was it mauve, or ecru?) colored with a white top (I think). It had a 460 a/c (four windows down while traveling sixty miles per hour, some times 560 with the rear tailgate window down). I remember taking a trip from Mississippi to Six Flags over Texas on U.S. Highway 82 (two lane most of the way) in Summer, 1964. The back seats were folded down, and the four of us kids had pillows, blankets, books, and board games to pass the time. It was replaced soon after with a 1965 Ford Country Squire Wagon with a/c, and fake wood paneling on the side. Instead of a rear facing bench seat, it had two small seats on either side that faced each each other. Memories of summer tripsWe also lived in Montana back then, and our family truckster in the 1960s was a 1963 Rambler Classic station wagon. (Yes, I suffered greatly for it among my friends.) That's what I learned to drive, and we ranged all over the western US and Canada in it. Before that, however, we traveled in a 1949 Studebaker Land Cruiser 4-door sedan, which my dad (both inventive and frugal) had outfitted with a set of three back seats that, when covered with the mattress from our roll-away bed, filled the back seat and trunk area with a very passable sleeping unit. That's where I spent most of my time on our travels. At other times, I would climb over the front seatback into the front bench seat between my parents. That's where I was on August 5, 1962, when we were preparing to leave Crescent City, CA, and heard on the radio that Marilyn Monroe had died. Deflector's actual purposeWas to break the "vacuum" the "wall" that was the rear of that wagon created which would suck exhaust into the car if that rear window was open even a little bit. The fresh air, the snowless/cleaner rear window were merely bonuses... Buckle up?A 1960 Chevy wagon probably didn't have seat belts unless the owner installed them. The kids in the back were pretty much free range as long as they didn't make too much noise. Lots of people piled the stuff on the roof and put a mattress in the back for the kids. It was a great way to go and most of us survived. [Seat belts were optional on all 1960 Chevrolets. - Dave] Car playgroundMy folks had a Ford wagon of that era. No seatbelts. Folks put a mattress in the back. Became our playground on long trips. We had no desire to "sit" in a seat. Miss station wagonsI miss station wagons. I prefer them to the SUVs that replaced them. I also miss the bold bright colors that cars use to come in. No SquattingLooking at all the stuff already loaded, I'm surprised the back of this wagon isn't dragging on the ground. In fact it's sitting pretty level. I wonder if dad had overload springs installed? We've had one built for you.To BillyB: Station wagon suspensions were designed with the idea that they would have to haul some combination of eight people and their luggage, so they did OK when loaded down. They *were* softer than contemporary pickup trucks, so the back end of the station wagon wouldn't bounce all over if there were only one or two people in it. Especially at the time of this photo, gas was 25 cents a gallon and would be that price forever, so the factory didn't mind spending a little extra weight on a beefier suspension. Also, most of the really heavy luggage went on the roof rack, which was fairly close to being in the middle of the wheelbase. The back-back, behind the rear seat, tended to contain lighter things, like blankets, pillows, the picnic basket, and - as the trip progressed - bags of souvenirs. If Dad wanted to use the inside rear-view mirror, you couldn't stack stuff much higher than the seats, anyway. Source: I rode in the back of a '79 Oldsmobile wagon every summer from '79 to '87. I think the longest trip we took in it was from Kansas City to Washington, DC and back. WagonsWe had a 1956 Ford wagon, then '61 Mercury wagon, finally a (I think) 1964 Ford wagon. I remember one year with the Mercury, my mom ran low on gas. We were up in the mountains in a resort town. To get to the gas station, she had to reverse up hills, turn around for the downhills, turn around again for going up the next hill. What a ride. Another time, 1965, we were in a typhoon in the current wagon. There were eleven of us in it. Another wild ride driving on a road along the bay. Waves washing over us, my mom hugging the middle of the road (there was an island we could not get across). Wagons were great. The 283 V-8with its 170 gross horsepower is not going to have much highway passing reserve with all that weight. Cross-flags over the V on the tailgate would have indicated one of several 348's which would have given more than enough reserve. That car is 58 years old but properly equipped could have kept pace with most cars on the road today in equal comfort. A 58 year old car in 1960 by comparison was barely even recognizable as such it was so rudimentary by comparison to the 1960 version in its looks and capabilities. The same comparisons held true in all other realms of life comparing 1960 to 1902--homes, conveniences, dress, you name it. Virtually any of those later areas are not that significantly different from their 1960 versions. Those deflectors... were supposed to keep dust off the back window Nikon CoolscanI am having a problem with mine. Can you recommend a place that can repair them. [There aren't any. Try buying them used on eBay. - Dave] 283 V8Although I agree that a 348 engine would have been a better choice for this station wagon. The 170hp 283 was the base V8 engine with just a single two barrel carburetor. The next option up was also a 283 but with a four barrel which the above wagon may have had, which would have given it a little more passing power. Koolscan softwareDave. What software program do you use with your 4000? As it seems the program that came with it is only works for Microsoft VISTA. [I use the NikonScan software that came with the scanner, on a Windows 10 workstation. To install the software on a modern operating system, you have to disable Driver Signature Enforcement. And it's Coolscan, with a C. - Dave] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Kodachromes 1, Travel & Vacation)
A Greater Gardner: 1921
... by the Gardner Motor Company. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/01/2018 - 12:34am -

        The "New and Greater Gardner" numbered, among its 30 Quality Features for 1922, "curled hair filled cushions, aluminum moulding on body, windshield wiper, Willard threaded rubber battery, door-opening curtains, and clear-vision top covered with Chase Dreadnaught double-texture material." San Francisco circa 1921. "Gardner car at Spreckels Mansion." 5x7 glass negative by the Bay Area automotive impresario Christopher Helin. View full size. AlcatrazYou can see Alcatraz Island and Prison in the left background. Threaded BatteriesApparently, lead acid batteries in that day used wood as separators between the lead plates and Willard improved on that by using 'threaded rubber' separators. Great vehicleI enjoy seeing all the vehicles manufactured by the Gardner Motor Company. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
Stardust Memories: 1964
... helping my dad and learning the business. Vintage cars Oh my... just look at that parking lot of vintage cars. What I wouldn't give to have those in my garage. The cars of my youth ... 
 
Posted by rsyung - 06/26/2015 - 10:17pm -

Taken by my dad in Las Vegas, June 1964. 35mm Kodachrome. View full size. ESQUIVEL!My all-time favorite space-age bachelor pad music hero is on the bill and that almost made me giddy. Fords and Chevys and Caddys, Oh My What a great illustration of good old American iron. We started the family garage business in 1962 and I probably worked on most of those as a teenager helping my dad and learning the business. Vintage carsOh my... just look at that parking lot of vintage cars. What I wouldn't give to have those in my garage. The cars of my youthWe will not see their like again. Trending nowSpike in google searches for the De Castro Sisters and Esquivel! Mixed memories of old ironIn the desert, these beauties wouldn't rust out in 5 years or so like they did here in the Midwest. But these are most likely out of towners for the most part. I lovingly, painstakingly patched and filled the rust on my secondhand '62 Bel Air, gave it SS trim, dual exhausts and '67 Chevy bucket seats and console, then smashed its primer-coated hulk in a car wreck in 1970. Gone at age 59This dazzling casino was built in 1958 at the pinnacle of space age enthusiasm when Sputnik (1957) was newly launched and all the world was reaching for the stars. The decor and architecture proclaimed everyone's fascination with outer space and inter-planetary exploration and when all lit up at night, this moving, twinkling light display was hypnotic. It was one of the many casinos frequented by Sinatra's rat pack and was used to film the Robert DeNiro movie "Casino". Not only were the cars, decorative signage and motifs unique to that era but people really did feel optimistic and hopeful, looking forward to a great and prosperous future. Alas, by 2007 it was being demolished as obsolete, dated and shabby. To me it represented the best of times but for people of other ages, it may mean something different. I'm pretty sure that the phenomena of "happening only once in a lifetime", like many things in life, makes those memories special to hold on to. This picture was taken when the casino was just 6 yrs. old. Not just American IronA lowly, lovely, pastel blue VW bug lurks in this photo. Betcha!I'd wager that my aunt and uncle are inside there somewhere. They drove a Caddy and gambling in Vegas was their favorite pastime. They both were in the CIA so I can only guess where they got their gambling money! LOL De Castro Sisters got their big breakAs a hobby, I sell vinyl records at local record shows. An older customer came up to me once looking for the song "Teach Me Tonight" (1954) a big hit by the De Castro Sisters that he had been looking for for years. But he only wanted it on a 78rpm record version. Just so happened I had brought a separate box of 78's that had a copy of the record in it. He was ecstatic and bought it right away, thanking me profusely. I saw him later in the show, asked him how he was doing and he told me that he had taken the record out to his car, placed it on his front seat to drive out to lunch, opened the car door, got in, forgot the record was there and sat on it - broken into a hundred pieces. I sympathized with him and told him he'd find another copy in 20-30 years. Funny thing is......compared to today's gargantuan hotel/casinos, this looks like a fancy strip mall. Googie!The Stardust appears to be from the commercial architectural school of design known as "Googie", which originated in 1950s Southern California with the styling of coffee shops and fast food outlets. It was all about The Space Age. For someone born in 1950, the car lot is a feast for the eyes. My favorite is the 1961/1962 cream Continental hardtop, a design that is still fresh today - look at the current Roller. The Rambler and the FalconThe owners of the "economical" cars in the parking lot could be at The Stardust for the 99 cent buffet....yum. Station wagonsI always wondered what happen to station wagons. My family had several during the '50s & '60s. They seem like a useful design- better than SUVs that seem to have replace them. The Vanishing WagonIn the days before federal fuel mileage standards, almost every car model had a wagon in the lineup, from the VW Squareback to the Buick Roadmaster. Because those mileage limits applied to cars but not to trucks, manufacturers determined that they could best get their fleet averages under the limit by discontinuing wagons and building more trucks and SUV's for people who want to carry more than what a sedan's trunk will hold. This is called the "law of unintended consequences" and it trumps every law on the books, every time it's tested. [It was the minivan, not the SUV, that did in the station wagon. - Dave] Got here in a C-47As a USAF ROTC cadet at the University of Arizona, along with a bunch of other boys, I was dumped here at the Stardust for an afternoon by the base bus from Nellis AFB (we had flown up from Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, in a veteran C-47 as part of a practical exercise). That was in early 1963, a little more than a year before this picture was taken. Although I was only 18, being in a brand-new, well fitting Class A blue uniform must have made me look grown up. At any rate, no one kicked me out of the casino and I made $12 in silver dollars at the slots. At the time, back in Tucson, I had a ’62 Chevy Impala 2-door hardtop SS 409, 380 hp (one 4-bbl carb), 4-speed, not unlike at least one of the cars in the photo. Coincidence?We just returned from Las Vegas today. It was 113F in the shade. This is old Las Vegas, quite different from the Las Vegas of today but one thing in common - a lot of high hopes and broken dreams. I found a few clips of Esquivel, and Delworthio is right. They sound like something Major Don West of Lost in Space would listen to in his pad. Got here in a C-47As a USAF ROTC cadet at the University of Arizona, along with a bunch of other boys, I was dumped here at the Stardust for an afternoon by the base bus from Nellis AFB (we had flown up from Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, in a veteran C-47 as part of a practical exercise). That was in early 1963, a little more than a year before this picture was taken. Although I was only 18, being in a brand-new, well fitting Class A blue uniform must have made me look grown up. At any rate, no one kicked me out of the casino and I made $12 in silver dollars at the slots. At the time, back in Tucson, I had a ’62 Chevy Impala 2-door hardtop SS 409, 380 hp (one 4-bbl carb), 4-speed, not unlike at least one of the cars in the photo. Pick of the crop . . .If I could pick one of the cars in this remarkable photo to have, it would be the 1961 gold-and-white T-Bird. That red two-door Chevy is also a beauty. Dream CarsI would take the 59 Chevy, hands down. Nice1959 Pontiac convertible hiding behind the '61 Falcon wagon to the right of the snap. Where is it now? You'se read my mind!All the classic car comments were right out of my head! Today, this parking lot would be worth a cool couple million! HoneymoonMy wife and I honeymooned at the Riviera, across the street from the Stardust, in October of 1959. When I took my new bride to the Lido de Paris she was blown away by the nudity. Almost too much for the small country farm Texas girl. Could not understand how the girls could keep the strategically-placed flowers in place. I suggested glue. The old Rivera is gone, so is the old Startdust and most of the culture that made Las Vegas of the 1950s. We lived in Las Vegas from June 2000 through August 2005 and things were a lot different. My car at that time was a 1958 Chrysler Newport 4-door hard top painted in three colors with fins so high I occasionally though some was on my bumper. The marqueeStardust photos are usually easy to date because the year was on the marquee most of the time through the 50s-70s. Not so in '64, so it's nice to see an accurate date with the photo. They still make wagonsThe wagon lives on in the car catalog under its new name: the crossover. "Station wagon" is a dated term that conjures images of, well, you know what a station wagon looks like. "Crossover" is hip and new, even though its literally the same thing as a station wagon, but styled to look like its SUV big brother. Mercury Colony Park wagonThe standout in this shot is the light blue Mercury late fifties Colony Park four-door hardtop wagon. The style was derived from a 1956 Ford show car that foresaw high-speed turnpike cruising in comfort on the new Eisenhower Interstate Highways which, by the way, were the most successful government stimulus program in history. And since the government, meaning American citizens, financed and built it, there have been no, zero, tolls on the interstates since they were built. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Santa's Helpers: 1943
... are looking. (The Gallery, Albuquerque, Bicycles, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Jack Delano, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/05/2024 - 4:39pm -

March 1943. "Santa Fe Railroad activities across New Mexico. Men coming out of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad shops in Albuquerque at the end of the day's shift." Acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Who's on Second?Or really more like what's on Second (@ Pacific) ? And the answer is (the) Wheels Museum Which, as we can see, doesn't look a whole lot different from it did four score years ago ... though I suspect it seldom is as busy. 1100 2nd Street SWThe building at right has the number 1100 attached to its iron railing. I believe this is same building, now the Wheels Museum, in street view below. At left, the building and overhead rail also match. If you do a 360, you'll see this is not a congested area. Still, bicycle riders are instructed to dismount their bikes here ... something the two gentlemen in 1943 did not have to do. A little quieter these daysLook hard enough, and you can still see the Santa Fe sign's ghost on the building. Why 'Santa's Helpers'?Usually I can find the reference to the titles of the photos. In this case, I give up. Why 'Santa's Helpers'? Presumably, they're making real trains, not toy trains, and there's not a sled or sleigh in sight. Oh, geez, it's a pun, isn't it?Got it now: "Santa (Fe)'s Helpers" Very punny. A proliferation ... ... of plaid flannel zip-up jackets. Santa probably brought them. Santa probably wears them, when no one but Mrs. Claus and the helpers are looking. (The Gallery, Albuquerque, Bicycles, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Lititz: 1942
... level, indicating a railroad track inside. Railroad hopper cars would be pushed up a ramp (not visible) and unloaded by opening the doors on the bottom of the cars. The coal would fall into bins underneath, to be loaded into wagons or ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/03/2024 - 8:56pm -

November 1942. Lititz, Pennsylvania. "Tracks of the Lancaster-Reading Railroad. Two trains come through every day. In the distance is the local chocolate factory." Acetate negative by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size. The location todayI enjoy trying to find the location of the posted photos. It looks like today there are no thru trains and only one track. Not the marrying kindI looked up Shorpy's Lititz posts and confirmed Lititz was also the home of the Lititz Springs Pretzel Company, owned by Lewis C. Haines. I wonder if the idea of joining forces with Wilbur to make chocolate covered pretzels ever came up? It would have been a natural marriage, to me. What is that?Long shed elevated a full story. What was it used for??? I Miss The SmellLititz is my Dad's hometown, and we visited his parents there Sunday afternoons about 50 years ago. The factory in the distance is the Wilbur Suchard factory, becoming Wilbur Chocolate in 1958. For a number of decades, most of the town had the aroma of roasting cocoa beans, gone now, and sadly missed by many. As Irving2Smokes suspected, no more trains run through town, the old right of way now a Rail To Trail from Lititz to nearby Ephrata. 2nd story storyIt's a coal trestle, with room for coal trucks to drive underneath to be filled. TrestleThat's a coal trestle for unloading railcars. When coal was the primary heating fuel, they were found in rail-served cities and towns. Here the stone walls and piers have survived in the new building. No kisses in LititzThe chocolate factory must be Wilbur Chocolate, maker of Wilbur Buds, a predecessor of that other chocolate maker's Kisses. Wilbur produced candy at the factory until 2016, when owner Cargill shuttered it. The building is now a mixed use development with hotel, condos, and shops. Wilbur has another, more modern factory producing bulk chocolate in Lititz. The Long Shed ...is, I think, a coal unloading track. There is a bumping post visible on the upper level, indicating a railroad track inside. Railroad hopper cars would be pushed up a ramp (not visible) and unloaded by opening the doors on the bottom of the cars. The coal would fall into bins underneath, to be loaded into wagons or trucks for delivery to homes and businesses. The shed is long to accommodate lots of coal, in different sizes for different uses. Edit: Correcting what I said above, the ramp is just visible between the road crossing and the shed. ShedshrinkflationAlas, the "long shed elevated a full story", inquired about by louJudson, is no longer elevated, as evidenced by the photo posted by Irving2Smokes. An illustration of shedshrinkflation. Edited to Add: GoogleMaps aerial photo, centered on the shed. The street view of Irving2Smokes photo looks west from N. Cedar St, between Front St and North Ln. Coal and Gravel DeliveryI grew up in Lititz and remember this building, but I don’t remember it being used by the railroad. It is gone now, and I don’t know when it was torn down, but after I left home for the navy in 1976. It was used to push hopper cars up a steep slope of track into the building and the car’s contents were dumped below, where it was transferred to trucks for delivery. The lower area was divided into areas for different products. It was used for coal and maybe crushed stone, gravel, and sand. My dad said when he was a boy, he used to watch the cars being pushed by the steam engine making several runs at it starting next to or beyond the chocolate factory, across the street and up the sloping track until it finally made it, the drive wheels slipping and sparking, and being a noisy operation. [Photo in Irving's comment below shows the bottom half of the building survives. - Dave] (The Gallery, Factories, Marjory Collins, Railroads, Small Towns)
Dare Ya: 1940
... size. South Wind South Wind made gas heaters for cars. The company was ultimately purchased by Stewart-Warner. They were still ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/21/2019 - 12:34pm -

November 1940. "Pierre, South Dakota." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. South WindSouth Wind made gas heaters for cars. The company was ultimately purchased by Stewart-Warner. They were still making them into the '60s as an option for Volkswagens, whose air cooled engines notoriously produced very little heat on their own. Vintage heathttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN2NBJmcS8o You bet I will Dave!I'll have that window opened and be right down to ya in no time! Happy Winter Solstice to you all, Wormy Huh?How about a hint for the caption please? (We’re not all as astute as you). Not Going to do IT!A good dare, but doomed. There are two pitches on the stairway roof, and you'd be in for a nasty landing. Challenge accepted!Well, not now, but 50+ years ago I would've slid ..................... ! Eleanah, This Means Wah Ahem. Having a Southwind gasoline heater in my staunch, American-engineered 1930 Buick roadster, I can attest that -- in spite of ka1axy's libelous insinuations -- the unit does NOT drip gasoline. It does not subject occupants to the required raucous whine of a revved-up air-cooled engine in order to provide adequate heat. It heats quickly and quietly. And, at 80 years of age, it is far less obsolescent (variations thereof still on the market for heavy equipment applications) than was any feature of the VW Beetle before the car's design even left the drawing board. German engineering indeed: the fine school of thought that gave us rear engines! I'll see your dare ...... and raise you one. Not only will I slide down the roof, but I'll do it in the barrel I hauled up from under the stairs! Re: nasty landingRusslet is spot-on with noting the effect of sliding down a two-pitched slope. I well recall my son sliding down a brass handrail in 30 Rock, which was all fine and dandy till the slope turned into a horizontal section, resulting in a very abrupt and rude halt. The Pinto of Car HeatersWhat mountainrev means by South Wind “gas” heaters he means gasoline powered. A tube was connected from the heater to the car’s fuel line. Raw gasoline came inside the car, via the tube, into the heater and you lit it up much as a camp stove. One came on a 1934 Packard I bought and not accepting the dare it was the very first thing I took off the car before I drove it. Double Dog Dare?Not for all the turkey in the world. No-no-no no.Protruding roof nails under the snow! Oooooh, the pain ... Volkswagen heatersI can't let mountainrev's slur against German engineering stand! My first car was a 1959 Beetle, and the heat worked wonderfully. There were only two issues with it: First, the air was heated in a "heat exchanger", a box which contained the exhaust manifold. Should a leak develop, you'd be breathing exhaust gases, which is not a Good Thing. Second, you controlled the heat by twisting a knob, which pulled on a cable, which moved an arm connected to the heat exchanger. A door opened or closed, regulating the amount of air coming through. At least, that was the way it worked until the arm froze up, since it was located right behind the rear wheels, and salt water in New England usually got to them pretty quickly. So the joke among VW owners was "is your heat on or off?" because you'd loosen up the arm and set it at the beginning of the winter, then again at the end. Still, I'd take that over something that dripped gasoline! Know how I knew this was the capital of the state?Gilligan's Island. The Professor said it. I think it was the episode about the supposed poison mushrooms. Just don't ask me what I had for supper 3 days ago. Auto Electric RepairingWe repair not only heaters but also batteries! 1940's smokin' graffitiI wonder what was added to the model smoking tobacco sign (and why) Just down the street from the Dome barLooks like the building is gone now. Seems to have been around 120 W Dakota Ave. (The Gallery, John Vachon, Small Towns)
Santa Cruise: 1984
... than cruising, nevertheless this compendium of classic cars, this Valhalla of vintage vehicles, this body of beachside barouches is ... Volvo P1800 in the center of the picture. James Bondy Cars Roger Moore, before his Bond roles, drove a white P1800 in the TV ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 09/10/2017 - 11:53am -

OK, they're parked rather than cruising, nevertheless this compendium of classic cars, this Valhalla of vintage vehicles, this body of beachside barouches is ripe for perusing in the super-duper-size scan of this 35mm Kodacolor 100 negative I shot in Santa Cruz, California. I was there visiting my brother, at the time an English teacher at Santa Cruz High. Camera: Konica Autoreflex T, 57mm f1.4 Hexanon lens. Last year I had it refurbished and used it for the first time in over 30 years. Every so often I'll shoot a roll of color negative film just for fun. View full size. The '80s can keep the K-CarI'll take the '71 or '72 gold Grand Prix on the right in the center row. Must not be restrictions on truck parking, or the driver of the Mack Superliner ignored them and took a stroll on the beach. Silver bulletI would take either of those classic VW vans. But can someone tell me what make is that James Bondy car beside the red VW beetle? [Scroll down! - Dave] DibsOn that lovely silver Volvo P1800 in the center of the picture. James Bondy CarsRoger Moore, before his Bond roles, drove a white P1800 in the TV series, 'The Saint'. Nice cars, getting more valuable as time has gone by. Nothing to add, except ...Great shot! Thanks for sharing, tterrace! Some Interesting CarsSome unusual and interesting cars in that pic: Coming at us around the curve on the left is a mid-70's AMC Concord; 4th car from left facing the beach is yellow and black Jeep Cherokee Chief(probably a '78 based on badge behind side window); in the middle row is the aforementioned Volvo P1800; just to the right of the Volvo a Pontiac Firebird with T top; and probably the most unusual one there is the Renault R15/17 behind the guy with the boogie board on the right! I see two of my family's carsIn the row closest to the beach, between the Camaro and the Karmann Ghia, I think I see a Honda Accord. I'm not 100% on that, but the bronze color was unique. My dad's was a '79, same color, and was the car I learned to drive in, on a deserted dirt road in the Mojave Desert, when I was 13. Near the far right end of the middle row, next to the S-10 pickup with the camper shell, is a Dodge Colt, visually identical to my first car, also a '79. Nobody would call it a great car, but I had my fun with it. I suppose I will eventually get used to looking at a photo full of "vintage" cars, in which none of them are before my time. WishesWish I was there then! Wish I could see a NOW pic of this same spot, SIGH! Oh, almost forgot to say Thank You tterrace & dave! (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
Munich c. 1952
... the street (Kaufingerstraße) is a pedestrian area: no cars, no streetcars. A subway is running beneath. Neuhauser Strasse in ... 
 
Posted by JeffK - 12/19/2024 - 8:23pm -

I don't know the location. Perhaps Shorpy readers can pinpoint it. My dad was in the US Army, stationed in Germany in the early 1950s. He bought a great Agfa Karat 35mm camera and left me some beautiful slides. View full size. This is the Karlstor (Carl's gate) from the insideThis is the Karlstor (Carl's gate) seen from the inside. Nowadays the street (Kaufingerstraße) is a pedestrian area: no cars, no streetcars. A subway is running beneath. Neuhauser Strasse in MunichThis is a view of Neuhauser Strasse in Munich. The structure on the right just beyond the scaffolding is called the Bürgersaalkirche. Thanks!Thank you for the location! Kaufingerstraße in 2009Here is a photo of Karlstor (Carl's gate) on Kaufingerstraße from when I was there in 2009. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
District National: 1931
... the Exchange District here in Winnipeg, albeit with older cars parked in front. Lovely Terra Cotta Washington Post, Dec ... getting a shave with a straight razor! (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Harris + Ewing) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/09/2024 - 2:12pm -

Washington, D.C., 1931. "District National Bank, G Street N.W." This one has a kind of Bonnie and Clyde vibe, don't you think? Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Excuse me?Yours is a pathetic lament, and utterly untrue. We can do whatever they did 80 years ago. The problem is that you can't afford it. No longer will we work for slave wages simply to beautify the world of the philistines. That's called Progress. Barber polesJust to make the place look attractive? Or did they serve a purpose? Did they spin? Were they electrically powered? For some reason they fascinate me. [Yes, they would spin and light up from the inside. Red, white and blue stripes. They are the traditional symbol or ornament for barbershops in America. - Dave] The Perfect SetupAnyone want to lease that store next to the bank, and drill our way into the vault? Larry? Moe? Curly? Quiet dayI expect to see tumbleweeds rolling across! Bricks & MortarIt is interesting how banks depend so much on their building facade to instill a sense of security in their customers. Even today massive structures, columns, and heavy masonry all exist to "sell" the bank's security to the general public even though the organization may be extremely overleveraged and tottering on the brink of failure. Height mattersIt is said that one can tell what a society most values by observing what are the tallest buildings in said society. In America it used to be churches until the 20th century, and then it was business. WinnipeggyIt actually reminds me a bit of one of the buildings in the Exchange District here in Winnipeg, albeit with older cars parked in front. Lovely Terra Cotta Washington Post, Dec 19, 1909 BANK SELECTS PLANS District National's New Home to Be Handsome Edifice To Build at 1406 G Street. The building committee of the District National Bank has selected the plans of Milburn, Heister & Co. for their new banking building, to be erected at 1406 G street northwest, from those of eight competing architects, all of this city. The building will be 38 feet 5 inches wide by 75 feet deep. The elevation will be made of stone, steel and brick with terracotta ornamentations. It will not only be ornamental, but massive in construction, both as a bank and office building. The first story, to to the sills of the second-story windows, will be stone construction. The balance of the front will be light brick, with stone and terracotta trimmings. The entire structure will be as near fireproof as modern architecture can provide with steel, stone, brick and concrete. The entrance to the bank, as well as to the building, will be an imposing but short corridor in the center of the building. On the right will be an exposed stairway of marble and bronze, and to the left, two electric elevators leading to the seven office floors above. The entire first floor of the building will be set apart for the bank. The public lobby of the financial institution will be 18 feet wide and about 40 feet deep. One side will be taken up by cages, to be occupied by the tellers, &c. On the opposite side, the cashier, assistant cashier and vice president will have exposed sections, separated from the public lobby only by by bronze railings and grill work of bronze about 3 feet hight. This is a new feature for Washington banks, although adopted in some Eastern cities, the object being to give these officials a greater opportunity to meet the public with less formality. ... Still there?What a lovely building. Surely it's still there. Nice little car across the street, too. We'll never see the likes of craftsmanship like this again. The talent and artistry that it takes to build something like this has been dead for years. It couldn't be done at any cost.What a beautiful monument to the builder's art. Life without the visual noiseSo stark, so clean: nary an advertisement in sight. RetailingInteresting, that the store to left of the bank is vacant. Whatever was there before couldn't make it even with with a high traffic draw like a bank next to it. However, to the right of the bank, the barber probably did ok. MatineeIt's funny to see the stately grandeur of the building combined with the broadway-esque lighted sign sticking out of the front. Joe from LI, NY No Longer ThereDistrict National Bank failed in 1933 during the Depression, eventually merged with a group of other banks and was renamed Hamilton National Bank. This building at 1406 G Street NW was torn down and is now a office complex called Metropolitan Square. RKO Keith's Far right of the picture is the back (stage door?) of B.F.Keith's Theatre, later RKO Keith's, a major Washington vaudeville house. The rear corner of Keith's that we see is now gone but the western half of the north facade was saved. I walked down this block every afternoon for several years on the way to catch my bus home in 15th Street but do not remember anything except Keith's. The neighborhood was on hard times then in the mid 70s. Gus Buchholz's Occidental Hotel offered tickets to Keith's for vaudeville. Bonnie and ClydeThis top-heavy edifice looks ready to be "knocked over"! Happy April Fools! More on Barber PolesBarber poles go back a loooong way, 13th century or so. This from www.barberpole.com: The modern barber pole originated in the days when bloodletting was one of the principal duties of the barber. The two spiral ribbons painted around the pole represent the two long bandages, one twisted around the arm before bleeding, and the other used to bind is afterward. Originally, when not in use, the pole with a bandage wound around it, so that both might be together when needed, was hung at the door as a sign. But later, for convenience, instead of hanging out the original pole, another one was painted in imitation of it and given a permanent place on the outside of the shop. This was the beginning of the modern barber pole. Wiki says the pole was supported in a brass bowl, representing the bowls that leeches were kept in at the barber's shop and that the pole was what the "customers" gripped to facilitate the flow of blood. Nobody seems to know where the blue stripe came from, probably a patriotic twist, as it were. The practice of surgery arose from barbering. I was wondering..I was wondering what those poles were with the colored bars in front of the building to the right. I've seen them in old movies before. [Those are barbershop poles. - Dave] Showing the colorsWe always thought the barber pole was blue for veins, red for blood, and white for bandages. It was scary to think about that while getting a shave with a straight razor! (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Harris + Ewing)
College of Cars
... are rolled down while the owners are away for the day? Cars & Trucks The pickup next to the Corvette looks like a K series ... I also never knew that Korea had that many American cars back then. But this is definitely Korea - those rolling brownish-green ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 06/24/2009 - 4:53pm -

Back in October 1956, my brother shot this Ektachrome slide to show the construction of the new Engineering Building at Cal Poly, and a student parking lot just happened to be in the foreground. Today it looks like a vintage car rally. For extra points: spot the Corvette. View full size. Spotted the CorvetteIn the second row visible between the yellow pickup truck and black two door coupe. Which Way Is It Going?Found it! Do I get an extra point for finding the Studebaker? (There's a light grey coupe above which is possibly another Stude.) Steve Miller Someplace near the crossroads of America WindowsNotice how many of the driver's door windows are rolled down while the owners are away for the day? Cars & TrucksThe pickup next to the Corvette looks like a K series International. The Stude is '48 or '49, the grey coupe above it looks Chrysler-ish to me, but there is a '42 or '46 Studebaker Champion across the road and there is a white sedan parked on the far side of the construction that might well be a '56. There's a sweet little Nash in the bottom left corner, you had to watch out for those you know! Santa MariaI was fifth grader living in Santa Maria in 1956 (about 30 so miles south of SLO). The Vette looks so out of place in that assortment of vehicles. Had to be a prof's car, or a rich kid. Anyway, what really stood out for me was how many car windows are rolled down, and obviously unlocked. Bet you don't see that much these days in the Cal-Poly lots. What a wonderful era to be a kid. Safe, good economy, room to roam. Also, there seems to be a tree growing out that huge dirt pile beyond the construction. Either that pile had been there way too long, or they just kind of piled up the dirt around it. I'm in construction, and odd stuff like that just jumps out at me. Just joking. Spot the...Looks like I should have made it "Spot the Kaiser" instead. Can you find a very nice yellow 54 Chevy Coupe?Hint - on the right side of the parking lot parallel parked. ID this one...Can anyone ID the red car with the black soft top a few rows above the yellow pickup? Two BuicksI also see at least two Buicks. What's the model that's sixth from the left in the line of vehicles in which we're looking directly at their back bumpers? It has a vague boat-tail effect and a split rear window. Surely not a Tucker? Another Stude? [1947ish Studebaker. - Dave] Choppers!I also never knew that Korea had that many American cars back then. But this is definitely Korea - those rolling brownish-green hills, the cloudless blue sky. Please keep in mind everything that I know about Korea I learned from watching M*A*S*H. M*A*S*HMash was filmed in southern California not Korea. Read the caption. [On the Totally Not Getting It scale of 1 to 10, you get an eleven! - Dave] 1984 Borgward Isabella1984 Borgward Isabella - Cal Poly had already invented a time machine [Last year for the Isabella was 1962. Have a nice trip! - Dave] Air QualityOf as much interest as the cars, to me, is the clarity of the air. That's how it used to be. Kaiser spottingFirst find the Corvette to the right of the yellow pickup; next to that is an old (hah!) blue two-door coupe; right above that is the distinctive roofline and window configuration of a dark green post-1950 Kaiser. I saw the purple car, too. That's a color you really didn't see factory-supplied those days, so it's got to be on someone's customized job. Spot The Kaiser?Great photo! I just love to see this kind of picture, and always look for my '55 Olds, or my old '51 Kaiser Dragon. Is there really a Kaiser in this photo? I couldn't spot it! I did find a very purple car that I wish I could see more of! It is above the far Buick, in the outbuilding area. There is a dark red car there with its trunk open, too. It would be fun to see inside. Wish that dark panel truck was mine! Fabulous photo, with so many of the cars I still admire, all in one place and taken for granted! Kathleen Other car-spottingYeah, the Corvette is interesting. Had to be a Rich Kid. Equally interesting is the brand-new '56 Chevy (white, in the back near the center). Somebody had connections! KaiserGood job, Tterrace! I wouldn't ever have caught that Kaiser, even with the same basic model sitting in my driveway for a decade or so! You are right, it's the windows that prove you right. And I will take this moment to mention that although I have been addicted to this site for a couple years now, it was your photos that really made me feel personal emotions, since we are from the same era. It is just great to see all the stuff from my childhood so well. Keep jumping the shark! P.S. I bet that purple car was someone's beloved hotrod! Holy Frank Burns!I also noticed the BG hills look exactly as I remember from nearly every M*A*S*H episode. The cars in the lot are making me salivate; I was born 20 years too late (1964). (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, tterrapix)
End of the Rainbow: Cars!
... San Luis Obispo, seems to end on a row of classic 50s cars. The two-tone '53 Olds is nice, but I wish it wasn't obscuring the ... later and still no available parking on campus! Big Cars on Campus Not everyone on campus had the latest cars. There's a '48 ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 06/24/2009 - 5:10pm -

1955. A rainbow over the campus of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, seems to end on a row of classic 50s cars. The two-tone '53 Olds is nice, but I wish it wasn't obscuring the red-roofed Merc behind it. Shot by my brother, then a freshman there, on 35mm Kodachrome. View full size. 1953 OldsThat is an example of the legendary Rocket 88! The Fifties in a single picI didn't live out the Fifties, but from what I've seen and read through the years, few pictures epitomize that era for me such as this one. It goes so hand in hand with the feelings of a bright future and overall optimism promised by the Atomic Age (Cold War notwithstanding) as well as with the idealism and memories of a seemingly less complex time we tend to associate the era with nowadays. (The film Pleasantville comes to mind). The More Things ChangeNearly 55 years later and still no available parking on campus! Big Cars on CampusNot everyone on campus had the latest cars. There's a '48 Plymouth and a '49 Ford at the left, and across the street must be Dad's "old" 1949 Buick. RainbowOn the rainbow one can see a thin additional strip of UV wavelength light turned visible by the film. The Old DaysMy personal theory on why everything seemed so simple in the 'old' days is that many times the old days were merely days of our youth. And what is simpler than waking up, going to school, going home, and doing it again. Of course, with a smattering of highlights and lowlights interspersed with the mundane routines of childhood. I lived in Santa Maria in 1956-57, about 30 miles south of SLO. And I remember those days fondly. Fifth and sixth grade. Purple People Eater on the radio, huge tailfins on cars, sand dunes at Pismo Beach, sandlot baseball, and roaming the dry riverbed and cliffs which were on the way to SLO. And coincidentally the next town north from Santa Maria was Nipomo, where we just saw the Depression era photo of the mom nursing her baby. ColorsIn today's world of highly sanitized digital photography a picture like this is enjoyable to look at. The saturated colors and tones are lovely. Thanks for putting this up. Definitely need to find some Kodachrome for my Yashica Electra Rangefinder (circa 1966) and put the DSLR away for a while. MercuryHard to tell if the Mercury is a '52 or '53. A 1953 Merc was my first car, bought used in 1958 for $500 when I was in high school. You could hear the "glasspacks" a half mile away. These days, you can't tell one car brand from another, far less the year. Wallpaper This photo is so beautiful I use it as my computer background. The colors are amazing. Image Drag & DropHey, tterrace- I'm fooling around, and having a lot of fun, with http://images.google.com/ and just dragged & dropped your photo above into the search box. It came up with this delightful site http://shoeboxford.wordpress.com/page/6/ --- While I'm commenting, I've recently watched Pal Joey and Flower Drum Song. Great views of San Francisco of course, but what really caught my eye were the cars--'50s vintage, fresh and new, and I recognized every one of them, the cars of my adolescence. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, tterrapix)
Caboose Pinups: 1943
... Railroad Engineer's Special Magnet (used for connecting cars when coupling fails) is what looks like a smoker's tool, with tobacco ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/23/2024 - 7:36pm -

March 1943. "Santa Fe Railroad conductor's work table in the caboose enroute to Gallup, New Mexico." Acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Incident ReportNote on caboose wall: "Broken knuckle on 'A' end of ...?... caused by moving train before brakes had fully released on rear portion of train." Or something like that. Sounds to me like a good reason to relax with a bowl of Velvet pipe tobacco. Point of viewI'm don't think that's the right angle for a caboose pinup. Mystery objects and knuckle knowledgeI've been in railroad cabooses since the late 1950's and am mystified by some of the objects mounted on the left side of the wall. What do you do with what looks like drilled steel strapping? Is that the world's smallest coat hook? Is that a pillow sitting on top of the calendar? [It's a pincushion. With pins. - Dave] When being promoted to locomotive engineer and then a railroad accident inspector, I was told that coupler knuckles were impervious to damage unless there was a flaw in the casting. But if you pulled out the entire coupler (drawbar) from the underframe by rough handling, it was all on you. Eagle EyesThe Timekeeper’s collection of clippings ensured that he didn’t need to be standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, for fine sights to see. Something I've never seen beforeAnd I like it alot. A calendar that comes with a bagel attached. Pretty cool idea back then. I Spy ...Just slightly above and to the left of the Railroad Engineer's Special Magnet (used for connecting cars when coupling fails) is what looks like a smoker's tool, with tobacco tamper and see-gar clipper. But what do I know. Snapshot in TimeWhen we closed our plant after 58 years of operation, I shot 10,000+ photos over 18 months to record its history. Every break room and control room had a bulletin board or whiteboard containing info like this Shorpy photo -- important phone numbers, numbers for pizza, information useful for the workers. These images are a snapshot in time. Below: December 18, 2014, at Sabic Innovative Plastics in Washington, West Virginia. Velvet pencil leadsThe brand on the window sill is Venus Velvet. I was so convinced the object to the left is a pipe, that I searched the internet for Velvet tobacco products for a while before I chanced upon the pencil leads. [It is indeed a pipe. - Dave] In tin with the pencil leads"[It is indeed a pipe. - Dave]" Rene Magritte might have disagreed with you! Eraser?Looks like a pencil eraser on a wall hook below the calendar. (Dave, great job identifying the pincushion!) Propelling PencilsWhile there is a classic wall mounted wood pencil sharpener, there is evidence with the Velvet Pencil Leads that propelling (AKA mechanical, telescoping) pencils are in use. Here are some historic examples. A Happy Thanksgiving to our American neighbours - Canadians celebrated on the 14th of October. (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Pretty Girls, Railroads)
Good and Bad: 1941
... see these guys are upfront with potential customers. Cars and Stripes Well, surely the bad salesman is the one clearly guilty of ... time, I pledged to be quicker to pounce. While the cars may be good and bad. At one time, the sugar wash moonshine was best in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/24/2020 - 3:25pm -

March 1941. "Bedford, Virginia." Would you buy a used DeSoto from these men? Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Lost traditionIt's been years since a used car dealer was that honest. Which is which?I think the BAD user car salesman is the guy on the left. Looks like funMaybe I wouldn't buy a car, but I'd definitely have beer with them. Or two. But guess who would pay! A town that sacrificed greatly in WWII.Bedford was a town of about 6,000 residents in 1944. On June 6, D-Day, the invasion of France at Normandy, 20 young soldiers from Bedford were killed on the beaches. This was one of the highest loss rates of any town in America during the war. Three more soldiers from Bedford were killed before WWII ended. Today Bedford is the home of the National D-Day Memorial. Honesty is the best policyGlad to see these guys are upfront with potential customers. Cars and StripesWell, surely the bad salesman is the one clearly guilty of the criminal act of wearing a striped tie with a striped suit. Incidentally, it's worth wondering whether there was an available salesman who was GOOD enough to unload that ugly-duckling Airflow lurking in the garage. Truth in Advertising1941 Style! The guy in the long coat is undoubtedly carrying a tommy gun under that coat and his partner next time surely has a snub nose .38 in a should holster under that suit coat. Good Versus BadWho makes the call? Looks like the boys are ready to flip on it. The Good, the Bad and the Not so BadSometime around 1970 or so, there was a used car dealer in Houston styled Mediocre Motors, the signage rendered in a most appealing font. It was my intent to pay them a visit at some point, as my motor vehicle at the time could only aspire to mediocrity. Alas, they slipped away Bobby McGee-like and I was left with that wistful longing for "what might have been". Next time, I pledged to be quicker to pounce. While the cars may be good and bad. At one time, the sugar wash moonshine was best in county. In the market?Never buy a used car from a rakish hat. Bad used carsSometimes, bad is good. My first car was a 20 year old VW Beetle, rusty, bad engine, worse brakes. I spent way too much money and time working on that thing, but it taught me two things: I learned a lot about how a car is put together and how the various systems work, and I learned how to deal with a "less than perfect" car when my brake job failed (emergency brake and downshifting saved me then, as it did forty years later in a friend's car). I later sold it for what I'd originally paid for it. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw it two years later, apparently none the worse for the wear, parked at my state college. Our slogan"Oh. Guess you got a bad one." (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, John Vachon, Small Towns)
PCC Trolley: 1943
... accelerate and brake and keep up with traffic. The cars received wide acceptance and were designed so the carbody would be ... by license) overseas and, in Chicago, parts of some PCC cars were reused in the manufacturing of El cars. Compared to today's practice, where individual transit agencies purchase ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/22/2024 - 11:55pm -

April 1943. "Baltimore, Maryland. Repairing the motor of a PCC (Presidents' Conference Committee) trolley -- the most recent streetcar model, designed in 1936 by a group of manufacturers and transit companies in an effort to standardize, simplify, and bring down the price; at the damage shop, maintenance terminal of the Baltimore Transit Company." Acetate negative by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size. UndercarriageI never saw the inner workings of a streetcar before! I'd love to know more about how they worked. Mack Trackless Trolley On the far left there is an electric trolley bus, number 2011. This is a 1938 Mack and is likely in the same shop for electrical work. There is a website with more photos of Baltimore's trolley buses and PCC streetcars. When the trolleybus system closed in 1959, some of the vehicles were sold to Calgary, Alberta and Bogota, Colombia. The streetcar system soldiered on until November 1963. Anatomy classCaution should be exercised and warning placed as: "Some may find this image disturbing" [??? - Dave] Philly still uses themThe PCCs are still in use in Philadelphia, and they were recently renovated (Septa PCC III). A Valiant EffortThe Streetcar President's Conference Commission recognized their rail members were being increasingly challenged by automobiles and commissioned a study of the best available designs. The many novel features of the PCC car included: Hypoid Drive Gears -- as used by automobiles. These are far quieter than the standard spur gears common in streetcars. You can see the gearcase on the axle closest to the camera to the right of center with its traction motor to the rear being touched by the man in the center. The traction motor for that axle is located to the left of the gearcase in the foreground. Not seen in this image are the resilient wheels that included a rubber center to cut noise and vibration, a sophisticated control system, coupled with magnetic track brakes that allowed the car to smoothly accelerate and brake and keep up with traffic. The cars received wide acceptance and were designed so the carbody would be adjusted (longer / shorter, wider / narrower, single or double-ended) to accommodate the needs of different operations. Some were sold (or built by license) overseas and, in Chicago, parts of some PCC cars were reused in the manufacturing of El cars. Compared to today's practice, where individual transit agencies purchase specific custom designs, the PCC seemed to have made a lot of sense. For those interested in these issues, I recommend the book "PCC: The Car That Fought Back." A quick search from the internet shows them selling from the mid $20's and up. (The Gallery, Baltimore, Marjory Collins, Streetcars, WW2)
Baltimore Jam: 1943
... the first shift leave the Bethlehem Fairfield shipyards in cars and trolleys on the road to Baltimore." Photo by Marjory Collins for the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/16/2024 - 8:44pm -

April 1943. "Baltimore, Maryland. Transportation for war-swollen population. Traffic jam as workers of the first shift leave the Bethlehem Fairfield shipyards in cars and trolleys on the road to Baltimore." Photo by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size. Liberty Ships, Maryland Rye and Pleasant OdorsThat shipyard had a lot to do with victory in WWII since between 1941 and 1945, the Fairfield yard built a total of 384 Liberty ships, more than any other shipyard in the nation. On the other hand some of those signs had to do with my early life in Baltimore. Pepsi was my family's choice of colas while I held out for RC Cola. According to my mother, a shot of Maryland Rye, maybe even the Sherbrook pictured here, was given to each member of her family on Saturday night during the Spanish Flu epidemic by Grandfather Streb, and maybe because of it all survived. If anyone had a fever they got at least two shots and were sent to bed and covered with enough blankets to make them sweat. In the morning they were weak but flu free. There was an Esskay plant on Belair Road (pronounced Blaroad) within walking distance of my home on Elmora and we always could smell the hams baking. Some days Arrow Beer about four blocks away would roast hops and we would get another pleasant odor day. On another odor note there was a time when McCormick had a plant in the inner harbor and that threw out fantastic various cinnamon flavored odors all the time. Ah, Balmer, I remember your good smells to this day. Hey do you smell some Old Bay goin' on steamers? Just to the right of the Esso sign is the Matheson Building in the distance. Two eras of Esso brandingThe Esso service station is interesting. The signage on the canopy reflects the then-current Esso branding/typography adopted in 1934, while the big pole sign still has the original logo from the 1920s, presumably when the station was built. Maybe the owner wasn't in a hurry to go to the expense of replacing it. Gasoline PricesMicrosoft Copilot tells me that inflation would increase the 20 cent gallon of wartime 1943 (note the sign by the gas station) to about $3.65 today. Copilot also tells me that today's average price of unleaded regular gasoline in the USA is around $3.10 per gallon. Coming from all overA major source of the congestion Collins photographed were thousands of wood-frame barracks, housing projects, and brick row houses built to house workers in war industry, including 27,000 at the Fairfield Shipyard. This revolutionized communities throughout the city and exacerbated segregation. The boom would subside quickly. As a war-emergency project, Fairfield Yards was closed in 1945 after only four years, with the facilities converted to scrapping operations and cleaning of storage tanks. Baltimore's population, which increased 10% in the 1940s, began a decline which continues today. Driving into this particular area today, you will find residents of the luxury high-rise Ritz Carlton and Harborview condominium communities. The Harborview parking garage, a converted dry dock, is almost the only vestige of the WWII operation. Billboards and GasolineIt appears there was no shortage of billboards during the war years and that 1943 Esso gas at 19.4 (if that is the gas price) would be, according to an inflation calculator, would be almost $32/gallon today. [Check your math. - Dave] oops. Gasoline is gettingcheaper. I just now checked Gas Buddy, and there are at least 10 locations in my area that are selling regular for LESS than $2.25 right now. Those gas tanks... are indeed at Spring Garden. If you click on Marjory Collins' name above the photo and scroll down to Second Shift: 1943 from a decade ago, you'll see another shot probably on the same day; I made extensive comments then that I won't repeat here. That Esso station is long gone. I started to work down here in 1970; the Esso site was a vacant lot even then. Hold My GasWould those gasometers (center frame, in the distance) be the still-standing ones at the BGE Spring Gardens plant? Edits: Thanks Olde Buck. Angus J: Funny story about the motorcycle cop kicking the traffic signal box. Reminds me of old tube TV adjustments. I'd say the cop in this Shorpy image is also a motorcycle cop: Sam Browne belt, knee-high leather riding boots, and baggy riding breeches (with vertical stripe slightly visible). The left arm patch is probably a motorcycle/highway patrol patch; too bad it's too small to see clearly. Also too bad his motorcycle isn't in the image! Traffic Signal KeyOn the left side of the photo there is a policeman standing at a traffic signal control box. He has a key inserted in the front panel that likely allows him to control the traffic signals to help prevent gridlock. Vancouver, B.C., had old relay signal boxes like this until 1984 when they were converted to digital signalling. I once saw a motorcycle cop ride up to an older non-working traffic signal, kick the box with his boot and everything started functioning again. Possible Location?There's what appears to be a large pipe on the small bridge just left of the Esso station that looks very similar to this one on Google Maps. Hanover Street & Chesapeake AvenueErikDavid found it for sure, well done sir! I found an aerial from 1957 and you can see the gas station still there, by the early '60s it was gone. (The Gallery, Baltimore, Gas Stations, Marjory Collins, Streetcars, WW2)
Terminal Trolleys: 1943
... refurbishment and a new lease on life. Patching up old cars was a better alternative to building new ones with a war on. That new ... for taxpayer-supported MTA, though today's light rail cars are maintained elsewhere; this is buses only. BTW, directly above the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/15/2024 - 12:52pm -

April 1943. Baltimore, Maryland. "Transportation for war-swollen population. The yard of Washington Terminal, maintenance plant of the Baltimore Transit Co. From left to right: old trolley made into a smoker for employees; a work car; and an old horse car. Baltimore Trust building on the horizon." Photo by Marjory Collins, Office of War Information. View full size. Horse Car SurvivesCar 129 has an interesting history and is part of the collection of the Baltimore Streetcar Museum. Baltimore's streetcars ran on the unusual track gauge of 5 feet 4½ inches. When non-smoking laws came into effect in Vancouver, B.C., an old bus was set aside for smokers at the transit system garage. Second (or third) WindMore than a few old streetcars in the bone yard and waiting to be scrapped, were pulled out to the shops for a quick refurbishment and a new lease on life. Patching up old cars was a better alternative to building new ones with a war on. That new looking car to the right, No. 129, is actually the oldest car in the yard. Built as a horsecar, 129 is thought to have made the last service of a horse car in Baltimore in 1898. The car was fitted with rubber tires for publicity work in the 1930s. The car is preserved today in the collection of the Baltimore Streetcar Museum; pictures are on their website. Originally built by United Railways and designed by noted architect E. Francis Baldwin, the long shop buildings still function today for taxpayer-supported MTA, though today's light rail cars are maintained elsewhere; this is buses only. BTW, directly above the horsecar 129 is the top of the Matheson Building, the tallest building in Baltimore's skyline for many years. BROMO-SELTZERJust to the left of the pole between cars 3739 and 129 is Baltimore's famous Bromo-Seltzer tower, also shown here: https://www.shorpy.com/node/27405, but by this time the 20-ton Bromo bottle on the top of the tower had been removed. The large white circle part way down the tower is a large clock face. There were clocks on all four sides of the tower with the letters B R O M O S E L T Z E R substituted for the hour numbers on the clocks' faces. BROMO-SELTZERJust to the left of the pole between cars 3739 and 129 is Baltimore's famous Bromo-Seltzer tower, also shown here: https://www.shorpy.com/node/27405, but by this time the 20-ton Bromo bottle on the top of the tower had been removed. The large white circle part way down the tower is a large clock face. There were clocks on all four sides of the tower with the letters B R O M O S E L T Z E R substituted for the hour numbers on the clock faces. (The Gallery, Baltimore, Marjory Collins, Streetcars, WW2)
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