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Portland, Maine: 1904
... up the mornings leaves and horse puckey. And the trolley cars filled with well dressed folks, all shaded by the mantle of those damn ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 12:37pm -

Portland, Maine, circa 1904. "Congress Square." 8x10 inch glass transparency (something of a novelty for this collection), Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Flatiron WannabeI see they added one story to the skinny building since 1904. Getting AheadQuite a diverse lot of men's hats. Great PhotoTransparency? I had no idea there was such. It seems to have some speed to to too. I will have to check into this! Thanks much. [To to too? A transparency is just a copy of the original glass plate negative. Both of which are transparent. When you copy a negative you get a positive, which can then be projected as a lantern slide.- Dave] Gotcha! Thanks much. +104Below is the same view (looking north on Congress Street from High Street) taken in October of 2008. Office SuppliesNow we know where the first Staples stores was, before Mr. Staples bought out his two partners. Precious ScenariosProbably a Saturday, maybe a Sunday.The two young ladies crossing the street while horse and carriage wait between the church and the pharmacy in the "skinny building". The two young girls sitting on the curb sharing secrets while their older sister or Mom stands waiting for who knows what. The elderly gent sweeping up the mornings leaves and horse puckey. And the trolley cars filled with well dressed folks, all shaded by the mantle of those damn telephone/telegraph/electrical wires, which is about all I can see when I look out of most of windows of my apartment. As a retired photographer, I have grown to despise the early use of poles that are now too expensive to relocate to underground. Grumble. (The Gallery, DPC, Streetcars)
Sarasota Cyclists: 1941
... Oldsmobile Eight. - Dave] (The Gallery, Bicycles, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Florida, M.P. Wolcott) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/19/2019 - 6:56pm -

January 1941. "The cycle club of a Sarasota, Fla., trailer park." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Pontiac?That's my best guess, but I hope someone with more expertise will identify the nifty car pulling the trailer. [1938 Oldsmobile Eight. - Dave] (The Gallery, Bicycles, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Florida, M.P. Wolcott)
Check Coolant: 1939
... -- that the change was permanent. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, On the Road, Russell Lee) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/22/2018 - 1:23pm -

July 1939. "En route to California. Pouring water into radiator of migrants' car in the streets of Muskogee, Oklahoma, where the Elmer Thomas family has stopped to say goodbye to their friends in that town." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The Rest of the Story50 Years Later, Family Writes Epilogue To 'The Grapes Of Wrath' Moving Out of TownIn the summer of 1963, just before my seventh birthday, we had fallen on hard times and had to move away from the town where I was born. I remember being all excited about the move. About two days after we moved into our next home, I told my parents that I was done and ready to go back to the old house. Somehow, I didn't get that this wasn't just a vacation -- that the change was permanent. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, On the Road, Russell Lee)
The Buick Building: 1921
... (Washington Post, April 18, 1920) (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Factories, Natl Photo) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/05/2020 - 2:18pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1921. "Buick Building, Fourteenth and L Sts. N.W." 8x6 inch glass negative, National Photo Company Collection. View full size. New Buick Plant Here         Factory branch, Buick Motor Company's new assembling plant and office building, will be erected on site of the Unitarian Church property at Fourteenth and L streets northwest. The property has been leased by the company for ten years at a total rental of over $300,000. (Washington Post, April 18, 1920) (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Factories, Natl Photo)
Uncle Paul: 1957
... a stab at it, though. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Tonypix) ... 
 
Posted by Tony W. - 09/19/2011 - 2:10pm -

Here's my great uncle Paul at my great grandparents house in East LA. The photo was taken in May, 1957. Unfortunately I didn't have the negative and had to scan the badly faded Kodacolor print which I cleaned up a bit in Photoshop. View full size. That's what I call a HudsonWow, what a beautiful Hudson! I'm not up on all the various Hudson flavors, but I'll take a wild guess and say it's a 1953 Hornet Club Coupe. Thanks for posting this! Unfortunately this was right smack dab in the middle of the period when Kodacolor prints, instead of fading fairly evenly to yellow as they had previously, just totally lost some colors altogether, and there's no way to get them back. Even with correction they look something like old two-color Technicolor, or colorized black-and-white. I took a stab at it, though. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Tonypix)
Arkansas Travelers: 1920
... logo in the window above the car. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/03/2015 - 10:36am -

San Francisco circa 1920. Three gents in a dusty touring car with Arkansas and Colorado tags (and Yellowstone National Park windshield pass) are the stars of this 5x7 glass negative with the caption "Studebaker. Chester N. Weaver Co., S.E. corner Van Ness & California. Remodeled and occupied by Crocker-Citizens' Bank in 1967." Photo by Christopher Helin. View full size. Glass sidewalksWe saw a big one here on Shorpy recently. Glass sidewalksDon't see much of those glass dot sidewalks any more. As I recall, they were designed to deliver daylight to the basement below. Arkansas & Colorado tagsAs a keen observer, Dave notices every detail. As a foreigner, I was not aware that a license plate could also be called a tag, but O.K. now I know. Finding examples of circa 1920 license plates was not that easy, but I finally found a site worldlicenseplates, which provides images of (nearly) all years and all countries. There I found that in Colorado only the years 1913 thru 1918 (**Correction** and 1920!) had the letters "COLO" vertically on the left side (Arkansas had these plates until 1923), so the photograph should be dated in those years. Unfortunately I could not find an example of the Yellowstone National Park windshield pass. Studebaker, Tags, & the Day-Elder DealerBased on the Studebaker and the tags on it, the photo can be conclusively identified as being taken in 1920. The Studebaker shown is a 1920-21 Big Six which is easily identifiable by the height of the hood, the number of louvers on the hood, and the windshield with the small lights at the lower corners. The wind wings at the side of the windshield are an accessory. As mentioned by 'Alex' below, the vertical "COLO" on the license plate identifies Colorado as the state issued, but this feature was also used in 1920 for the front license plate. This was the first year that Colorado issued a front license plate. What is shown in the photo, however, is not the accidental placement of the front tag on the back. The number '0' next to 'COLO' indicates this is a "Guest" license plate that was issued to people traveling through Colorado. Full reciprocity between all 48 states did not exist at this time, so some states required you to obtain an additional license plate. The embossed format on the Guest plate shown only matches 1920. The 1921 Colorado Guest tag was not embossed, and later year Guest plates are also of a different style. The size and coloring of the Arkansas tag also points towards the same year, therefore I have to conclude the photo is from 1920. A photo of a 1920 Colorado Guest license plate is below. The Chester N. Weaver Co., a Studebaker and Day-Elder distributor, can be seen here on Shorpy. Note the worm drive depiction in the Day-Elder logo in the window above the car. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
With Both Barrels: 1937
... like something salvaged from an old car. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Cats, Dogs, Rural America, Russell Lee) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/23/2018 - 1:30pm -

September 1937. "Herman Gerling, farmer. Barrels on truck are for hauling spring water. Near Wheelock, North Dakota." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Disgruntled petsBoth of Mr. Gerling's pets seem somewhat grumpy today. The dog seems jealous of the cat perhaps and the cat looks to have done a complete clawing of Herman's hand as well as perhaps shredding the driver's seat. Can't we all just get along? The water wagonMy dad told me about my west Texas great-grandfather, who owned two wagons. One was a general-purpose wagon, used the way one now uses a pickup truck. The other was a dedicated water wagon. It had more than two barrels. Once a week, he'd hitch up the team and drive to the stock tank. He had a pier that reached out to the middle of the tank, so he could draw water with the least amount of mud and cow feces. He would carry it, one bucket at a time, and dump it into the barrels in the wagon. Once back at the house, he'd unhitch the team, and the wagon would stay put for the rest of the week. My grandmother told me an abbreviated version of the same story, before she descended into dementia. She mentioned knowing, later in life, that the water was likely unsanitary, but, "The cows drank it." She said they also had barrels to catch rainwater running off the roof, but you couldn't depend on that. Model T Fords didn't figure into either version of the story. But my grandmother, who was born in 1911, did tell me she learned to drive in a Model T. In any case, this is a TT, the truck with a longer wheelbase. And that's a Montgomery Ward "hot shot" 6-volt battery, which according to lore, was used on the Model T when the bearings wore to the point where the magneto would no longer reliably supply the ignition. And I've found another Shorpy cat-dude. A truck named Ingenuity.I wonder what kind of body this truck had on it originally? It must not have been suitable for farm work whatever it was. Each time I look at this picture I see something else creatively engineered. From the wood firewall, the removable windshield for more comfortable summer driving, the battery box made of wood with the battery cable drooping over the side and next to it a wooden tool box. Looking at the left rear tire there must not be much oil left in the axle. The bodyThat TT truck may have never had a body. The basic body-less truck was available from Ford and you could build whatever you wanted. The seat looks like something salvaged from an old car. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Cats, Dogs, Rural America, Russell Lee)
Federal Clothing: 1925
... grown on the negative. -tterrace] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Stores & Markets) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/16/2014 - 11:22am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1925. "Federal Clothing Store, 621 Seventh Street N.W." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. What's the white stuff?On the car wheels, sidewalk, and up the outside of the building. [Mold that's grown on the negative. -tterrace] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Stores & Markets)
Two Dourpower: 1919
... see behind the hood of the car. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/11/2015 - 11:44am -

San Francisco circa 1919. "Mitchell touring car at Golden Gate Park." Latest entry in the Shorpy Cavalcade of Cantankerous Conveyances. View full size. Cops. Undercover. Not Golden Gate ParkIf you look at the background you can see this photo was taken on a hilltop overlooking the city. There is no place inside Golden Gate Park that would actually fit that, at least not with open greenspace like that. Also the low wall dividing the sidewalk from the grass is not to be found in golden gate park either. Which means one of the hilltop parks in SF. To be exact this photo was taken at the western side of Lafayette Park, the corner of Laguna St and Clay St. You can see the cement wall is still there as is the squat fat corner post you can just see behind the hood of the car. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
Dearborn Street: 1907
... think the vehicle is a Holsman High-Wheeler. High wheeler cars were really made as rural vehicles, able to cope with high centers and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/08/2015 - 12:00pm -

1907. "Dearborn Street, Chicago." With the base of the massive Great Northern Hotel at right. 8x10 inch glass negative by Hans Behm. View full size. Architectural giants in extreme foreshorteningOn the left-hand (west) side of Dearborn Street we can see (from left to right) slivers of the Monadnock Block (Burnham & Root, 1889-1891), the Federal Building (Henry Ives Cobb, 1905, now demolished), and the Marquette Building (Holabird & Roche, 1893-1895). The buildings shown here on the east side of Dearborn are all long gone. Far SlotThe cable car slot in the far track that goes around the Loop hasn't been used since 1906. High WheelerI think the vehicle is a Holsman High-Wheeler. High wheeler cars were really made as rural vehicles, able to cope with high centers and ridiculous amounts of mud; the one in the picture, though, looks to have never been on the wrong end of a cow. Looking northThis is looking north from Adams and Dearborn. I work around here - previous comments are accurate - the buildings on the east side of this photo are long gone. Monadnock is thankfully still here, and the Marquette, while a neat building, isn't as cool as the Monadnock (in my opinion). +100Below is the same view from April of 2007. Paddy wagon?Could that be the tail end of a paddy wagon sticking out from the side street by the Federal Building? [I think those are the last two letters of U.S. MAIL. similar to the sign on this wagon. -tterrace] Great Northern HotelHere's a Shorpy photo taken four stories further up and ten years further back. Thanks...to Bruce Lancaster for identifying the vehicle: my wife and I couldn't figure out what we were looking at. Although my wife did insist it was a car of some sort. (The Gallery, Chicago, DPC, Stores & Markets, Streetcars)
An old Pontiac?
... Chevy: Yes, that's definitely what it is. (ShorpyBlog, Cars, Trucks, Buses) ... 
 
Posted by mhallack - 04/27/2009 - 6:36pm -

Well, that is what I guess it is, but I'm likely wrong. Can anyone here in Shorpyland help? View full size. I think it's a '37 ChevyBased on perusing online images. I can confirm that.Based on having built the AMT model kit of a '37 Chevy: Yes, that's definitely what it is. (ShorpyBlog, Cars, Trucks, Buses)
The Bucking Buick IV
... looking north? Anyone else think so? (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, G.G. Bain, NYC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 11:52am -

Roy Repp circa 1915 in his bucking Buick. View full size. G.G. Bain Collection. LocationIs that on Lafayette Street, looking north? Anyone else think so? (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, G.G. Bain, NYC)
Thoroughly Modern: 1919
... [ Too late! -tterrace] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/20/2017 - 7:02am -

San Francisco circa 1919. "Velie Six touring car at Phelan mansion, Washington Street." Latest entry in the Shorpy Baedeker of Brobdingnagian Barouches. 5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. Killer B'sIn addition to being the pun master, our host is no slouch when it comes to alliteration. I came, I saw, I consulted Google three times. If I had a time machine... I'd go back ca. 1918 and invent windshield wipers. [Too late! -tterrace] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
Good for Life: 1942
... were the optimal times for the beverage. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Relocation Camps, Russell Lee) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/23/2016 - 1:21pm -

July 1942. "Nyssa, Oregon. Farm Security Administration mobile camp. Soda pop is delivered at the camp for Japanese-Americans." Medium format nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Summer jobMy summer job for four years in high school and college was working in the local Coca-Cola bottling plant, loading and unloading trucks like this one. There were no high-loaders or lifts, it was all done manually. To load a row of cases in the top rows, you had to climb up the side of the truck and push with your foot, since the row was too heavy to push by hand (at least for me). To unload empty cases, you could usually push the row by hand, but you still had to climb the side of the truck to grab them, depending on the height of the truck and how tall you were. Then, after unloading, all the empty cases had to be sorted by hand: all the Coke bottles in separate cases, all the Pepsi bottles in others, etc. Sometimes you'd find "strange" things in a returned empty bottle, e.g., a dead mouse or a cigar. One of the job's benefits was free Coke, all you wanted, and you soon learned that not all Coke tasted the same. The best was "post mix", the syrup used in fountains, where the syrup and carbonated water were mixed on the spot. Next best was "pre mix", where the syrup and water were pre-mixed in large metal cans, for businesses, county fairs, etc. The last was regular bottled Coke. This of course was in the days when Coke contained cane sugar, not high-fructose corn sugar. I thought I had the best summer job in town. My First Impression"How come you're not in the service, mister?" [Answered here. -tterrace] Glass bottles = best tasteThe oldsters among us will know that those old time glass bottles, despite their inconvenience, gave one the best burst of flavor one could receive from a bottle of soda without the metallic tones of aluminum or the chemical betrayal of plastic. I fondly recall that at large summertime picnics usually put on by community groups, religious and ethnic clubs when I was a child, we always looked forward to the individual glass bottles of frigidly cold, fruity, delightful flavors and colors seen in those huge galvanized tubs containing vast amounts of crushed ice and nestled within that ice, like jewels, were tantalizing glass bottles of vivid lime green, bright orange, red cherry, purple grape, root beer and other tempting choices to enjoy with one's hot dog or burger. Since my siblings and I were always expected to share a single quart bottle when we were at home, at these special affairs we would each get our very own and would often drink ourselves silly. There really is something sensory and unique about a crystal clear, frigid, refreshing flavor from a glass bottled beverage on an oppressively hot, sweaty summer afternoon. Just another memory from the "long-ago" that will never come again. Soda pop is deliveredThen empties are picked up and loaded. Before there was a dosage recommendationIn later years, Dr Pepper eliminated the 'period', and the tag line became 10 - 2 - 4. Those were the optimal times for the beverage. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Relocation Camps, Russell Lee)
Be It Ever So Humble: 1938
... shack, or series of shacks, mounted on railroad flat cars, to provide accomodations for the workers in the camps. The shacks would ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/09/2012 - 12:24pm -

November 1938. "Shack of day laborer who works in sugarcane fields near New Iberia. He comes from a parish in northern Louisiana." 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Insensitive commentA set-up for a Laurel & Hardy gag if I ever saw one. Flanged wheelsare under the hut. Fascinating. Kids' dreamWhen I was 10 years old, this would have been just the kind of clubhouse / tree house that my friends and I would have loved to have built from scrap lumber, if only our parents would have let us construct it in the back yard. Jug Band MusicSeeing the washboard in this picture makes me wonder if there isn't a guitar just inside the door ready for an impromptu tune. [More likely some dirty laundry.] On the fenceThe laundry's dryin' on the fence, Dave. [Comment Czar - not Dave, btw - acknowledges your observation, but speculates our fellow may have separated out his whites and still needs to do his union suit.] Early WinnebagoPrototype motor home? About those flanged wheelsI was recently reading an article on the sawmill towns of western Louisiana. A large part of the article was devoted to the types of company housing used in the towns. One type of housing used in the temporary logging camps [called "front camps"] was a simple shack, or series of shacks, mounted on railroad flat cars, to provide accomodations for the workers in the camps. The shacks would simply be wheeled into place on the company rail line and then withdrawn to the next location once all the timber had been cut out. Looks like this might have been one of those "mobile homes" left over from the sawmill days, since by 1938 most of the western Louisiana timber lands were a wasteland of cut-over stumps. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Russell Lee)
Grandpa's New Tractor: 1936
... her age, born in 1934. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses) ... 
 
Posted by Cynnerth - 09/18/2011 - 10:01pm -

My grandpa bought this Hart Parr 18-27 tractor from the Oliver Corporation in 1936. He also became an Oliver dealer at that time. This photo was taken at the factory as he was picking it up. The man leaning against the truck is "Shockey" Mishler. My grandpa was a member of the Old Order River Brethren, also known as Yorkers. View full size. Shockey MishlerShockey was married to Nellie, who ran a cafe in Minburn, Iowa. According to the 1930 census, they had 7 kids. I know they had more because my mom remembers Bob, who was her age, born in 1934. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses)
Ghost Crossing: 1919
... look a whole lot different. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/16/2016 - 3:20pm -

Washington, D.C., 1919. "The Brighton, 2123 California Street." Come play with us! 8x10 inch glass negative, National Photo Company. View full size. The lawn is now a parking lotBut at least it's still standing and doesn't look a whole lot different. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo)
Dressed to the Sixes: 1927
... would almost be a shame to hit anything. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/19/2017 - 4:08pm -

San Francisco, 1927. "Hudson Super Six sedan at the DeYoung Museum." Latest addition to the Shorpy Aviary of Automotive Albatrosses. View full size. Nice accessory!With a front bumper that attractive, it would almost be a shame to hit anything. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
Shuck Buddies: 1940
... View full size. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Cars, Trucks, Buses, M.P. Wolcott, Rural America) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/24/2019 - 3:21pm -

October 1940. "Resting after dinner following a corn shucking on Hooper Farm in Corbett Ridge section. Caswell County, North Carolina." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Cars, Trucks, Buses, M.P. Wolcott, Rural America)
Washington Wishbone: 1917
... from the Real Estate Trust Building. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/15/2017 - 10:07am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1917. "Street scene, New York Avenue & H Street N.W., from Masonic Temple. New York Avenue Presbyterian Church with Woodward Building behind, and Southern and Real Estate Trust buildings." 8x10 inch glass negative, National Photo Company Collection. View full size. Don't Be BashfulJust behind the Southern Building at right center is the Shoreham Hotel. The National Garage at far left was, in an earlier incarnation, the slightly cheesy Halls of the Ancients. By 1923, it had morphed again into the Auto Mart, as seen in a reverse-angle photo taken from the Real Estate Trust Building. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Recon Escort: 1960
... greatly respected by the cadets. I liked him, too. (Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Kids) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/08/2013 - 11:09pm -

August 4, 1960. "Family and mourners at the Arlington National Cemetery burial of Willard G. Palm, RB-47 reconnaissance airplane pilot shot down by the Russians." Photo by John T. Bledsoe, U.S. News & World Report. View full size. Maj. PalmComing from a military family, myself, this one really caught my eye. I'm not finding a lot about Maj. Palm, other than about the incident which took his life. He was a WWII veteran, and that his home of record was Oak Ridge, Tennessee. TRHalfhill, thanks for sharing your experience with Col. Olmstead! I'm glad to hear that he not only survived, but stayed in and finished his career. This is an example of how tense things were during the Cold War. The Soviet pilot who shot the plane down admitted that it was over international air space at the time, but that he thought they intended to continue into Soviet air space. Another tragic aspect of the event was that two of the crew members remain MIA. Sad As It IsThe Russians had every right to do so. I mean: what would we do with a Russian "spy plane" in our airspace? [The plane was not in Soviet airspace. - Dave] Freeman B. OlmsteadWhen I was in college, I became acquainted with one of the survivors of that doomed RB-47 flight: Col. Freeman B. Olmstead. In the 1970s, he led the Air Force ROTC program at Kent State University in Ohio. I was a cub reporter at the student newspaper and was assigned to cover ROTC. Col. Olmstead was quite friendly and we had several interesting conversations in his office at Rockwell Hall. He didn't mention the RB-47 incident or his months as a prisoner of the Russians until one of the ROTC cadets tipped me off about it. Then Col. Olmstead told me the story and I wrote it up for the newspaper. He was greatly respected by the cadets. I liked him, too. (Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Kids)
Death Won Here: 1940
... didn't start erecting them until 1979. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Russell Lee) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/15/2018 - 11:09am -

July 1940. "Marker of accident on the highway in Bernalillo County, New Mexico." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Powerful statementWe sometimes see memorials placed roadside by mourners, but no "official" markers such as this. Quite a campaign they must have had to promote motor safety. The vehicle here is a 1930-31 Ford. And it had a rumble seat, shown by the step plate on the fender. X marks the spotAt least a couple of states still do this today. The Florida Department of Transportation has an official program to place a memorial marker at the site of a fatality on a state highway - a round white sign. When you're driving by, you can only read the "Drive Safely" wording, but if you're on foot, you can see that it also has the name of the person who died. Sometimes people will put flowers or other things at the base of the sign. I first saw those signs when visiting in 2008, and the program is still available today. The South Dakota state police have had a similar program since 1979, with a somewhat similar "X" to the one seen here. In the early 1980s, I remember hearing my grandparents talk about the roadside "shrines" that family and friends would put up in northern Mexico and southern Texas. I don't remember seeing anything like that in Missouri at the time, but by the late 1990s, I started seeing them in Missouri. South Dakota Has Similar SignsBut they didn't start erecting them until 1979. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Russell Lee)
Skeet's Cafe: 1942
... Red light In the days before radios in police cars or officers on patrol carrying radios some police headquarters would turn ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/06/2013 - 11:55am -

August 1942. "Dillon, Montana. Street corner. Dillon is the trading center for a prosperous cattle and sheep country." The cafe seen earlier here. Medium-format nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Same motorcycle in both pics?I see that there is a motorcycle parked in almost the same spot in both pics. I wonder if the owner worked in the building, or just ate lunch there a lot. [The two photos were taken the same day a relatively short time apart from one another. Lee had one camera loaded with black-and-white 120 roll film and another large-format camera capable of taking Kodachrome sheet film. - tterrace] Street view?I was curious to see if I could find this building on Google Street View, but... [See the link to the other photo in the caption; the comments to it include a Google street view. - tterrace] Check out them dungarees! Late '30s Harley-Davidson VLThe bike is likely a Harley VL, and it looks to be a later model (1935 or 1936) from the shape of the sheet metal. What is it?What is the extra red light fixture on the same pole as the corner street lamp for? Red light In the days before radios in police cars or officers on patrol carrying radios some police headquarters would turn on a light on the street and the officer would either contact or report to headquarters. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Motorcycles, Russell Lee)
Gal on a Cad: 1956
... look into everyday life in the past. (Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, tterrapix) ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 06/24/2009 - 5:12pm -

June 1956. My brother plants his girlfriend on a convenient Cadillac (her father's, I think), doesn't focus, and shoots this Kodachrome. These Days.......with a digital camera, he'd have noticed the lack of focus and deleted the picture. Then, unfortunately, we'd never be able to see it years later. Even with its flaws, it is a fun look into everyday life in the past. (Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, tterrapix)
Snellenburg's: 1912
... Lozier Motor Co. was located in Detroit and built luxury cars starting in 1900 and ending in 1915, when the company went bankrupt. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/09/2018 - 2:59pm -

1912. "City Hall and Market Street west from 11th, Philadelphia." With a variety of interesting signage, including an electric baseball scoreboard at Snellenburg's department store. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. Reading TerminalIt must have been a Sunday or a holiday, because I cannot imagine that the street in front of Reading Terminal, with its huge consumer food market, could possibly be that deserted on a business day. Spinner's Silk ShopSounds like a place I'd love to waste an afternoon in! Looks like a LozierThat car looks like a ca. 1911 Lozier. Pictured below is a 1911 Model 51. The Lozier Motor Co. was located in Detroit and built luxury cars starting in 1900 and ending in 1915, when the company went bankrupt. +101Below is the same view from October of 2013. All goneThe bottom 2 stories of the Snellenburgs department store, as shown in the 2013 photo, have just been completely removed, leaving a large hole in the ground. Snellenburg'sInterestingly enough that grotesque looking building in the 2013 photo IS Snellenburg's. They demolished the upper floors and covered the rest in a modern facade. Earlier this year it was finally torn down for good, but some of the original facade was exposed during demolition. You can see some photos I took of it here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rgb/sets/72157648680746443 Hall of FameThe 1912 NL Phillies had a losing 73-79 season finishing in 5th place, 30 1/2 behind the New York Giants, they had that year's SO leader and future HoF'er Grover Cleveland Alexander- in his 2nd season- on their roster. Meanwhile in the AL the Athletics had a 90-62 record finishing 3rd 15 games behind World Series winners the Red Sox. On their roster they had future HoF'ers pitcher Chief Bender and infielders Eddie Collins and Frank 'Home Run' Baker. (The Gallery, DPC, Philadelphia, Stores & Markets, Streetcars)
To Grandmother's House We Go
... Administration. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Cars, Trucks, Buses, On the Road) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/26/2007 - 1:57pm -

February 1940. A wintry scene near Chillicothe, Ohio. View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Cars, Trucks, Buses, On the Road)
Traffic Lighthouse: 1922
... Ave is a pedestrian road now :) (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Harris + Ewing) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/26/2014 - 10:09am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1922. "NO CAPTION (Street near White House)." Another of the Harris & Ewing "traffic" photos, this one showing what looks like a wayward gas pump. 5x7 inch glass negative. View full size. No wayThat thing wouldn't last 2 days with today's traffic. Yes wayActually it would, considering East Executive Ave is a pedestrian road now :) (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Harris + Ewing)
Gas Backward: 1940
... of Double Cola. It’s a swell drink! (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Horses, M.P. Wolcott) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/16/2019 - 3:20pm -

September 1940. "Mountaineers trying to pull school superintendent's car out of the creek with a mule. South Fork of the Kentucky River. Breathitt County." Medium format negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. A Double for Your TroubleThe least they could do is give him a bottle of Double Cola. It’s a swell drink! (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Horses, M.P. Wolcott)
Growth Spurt: 1912
... of photo just made a shove move on the four blurry box cars. The loco and 2 attached cars are only slightly fuzzy, indicating they had just about come to a stop ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/29/2017 - 7:16am -

Along the Monongahela circa 1912. "A group of skyscrapers, Pittsburgh." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. "River Combine" "River Coal"Pacific No. 2 was a steam powered stern wheel towboat of 570 gross and 416 net tons, with a length of 176 feet, a breadth of 32 feet, a depth/draft of 5 feet and a crew of 35. Owned by the Pacific Coal and Towboat Company, Captains Joe and Ab Gould and later Captain W. J. Wood, Pacific No. 2 was built in Pittsburgh in 1893 using the steam engines from the former steam towboat Lioness No. 2 which was built in 1869. Pacific No. 2 continued towing until retired about 1913 and was dismantled two years later at Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. The hull was converted into a barge and in 1920 was used by Follansbee Bros. to haul cement. In 1899, responding to economic conditions, disruptions in the coal industry, and the frequent loss of towboats and barges (often by collision with bridge piers) the Monongahela River Consolidated Coal and Coke Company was formed, absorbing the assets of most of the independent towboat companies. The amalgamated companies initialed their towboats and barges with the letters “RC” for “River Combine” or “River Coal.” The Pacific No. 2, prior to the “RC” logo: Very different skyline, but --That's the Smithfield Street Bridge on the right. Some of the buildings below Wood Street (first street to the left of Smithfield) remain today. Wabash BridgeOn the left is the Wabash Railroad Bridge that served the small station visible across the river. Trains reached this location through a tunnel under Mt. Washington (where, undoubtedly the photographer was standing when the photograph was taken). The tunnel is now used for vehicular traffic. It may not come as a shock to Shorpy visitors that the train station burned in 1946. The bridge was removed in 1948; in the modern view supplied by Kozel you can see one of the the still-standing ghostly piers of the bridge. Collier Nr 4Any idea what the Collier Nr 4, left side of photo, might be? It looks a lot like a coal mine headstock, but the location sort of precludes that it is a mine shaft (but anything is possible)! Perhaps a barge loader/unloader? Thanks! (In afterthought, I realized that a mine would be a COLLIERY, a barge or ship a COLLIER). Collier is a CollierCollier Nr4 probably is a collier, a boat for handling coal, in this particular case, vertically. We've seen on this site photos of New York Harbor with floating grain elevators, for handling smaller particles. Shove Me TimbersLooks like the locomotive lower left edge of photo just made a shove move on the four blurry box cars. The loco and 2 attached cars are only slightly fuzzy, indicating they had just about come to a stop when the shutter opened, while the four box cars picked up speed from the shove as the shutter remained open. Looks like one of the crew was on the ground directing the move (visible near the door of the white box car where the train was uncoupled for the shove move). (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Pittsburgh, Railroads)
Aerial Washington: 1911
... there's something I had never really thought of: street cars for freight; a forerunner of today's semi-rigs I suppose. There's one ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/09/2014 - 1:24pm -

Circa 1911. "Washington from Washington Monument." Points of interest in this first installment of a six-segment panoramic view include B Street (today's Constitution Avenue), running diagonally from the Potomac Electric powerhouse at lower left; Louisiana Avenue, branching off in the general direction of Union Station at upper right; the Old Post Office and its clock tower at left-center across Pennsylvania Avenue from the Raleigh Hotel under construction; the Agriculture Department greenhouses in the foreground with a corner of the Smithsonian "National Museum" at far right, just below Center Market; Liberty Market at upper left, below what looks to be a vast tent encampment; and, at right-upper-center, the Pension Office north of Judiciary Square and the District Court House. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. "Tents"All those tents are actually slate turret roofs on top of rowhouses. Very typically, a pyramid shaped slate turret would top off the projecting bay of a DC rowhouse. All four sides would have been slated. Slate, because of its mineral content (lots of mica) can be very reflective at certain angles, hence the white appearance. [Conical was also popular. - Dave] SurprisingSurprising lack of motorized vehicles for ca. 1911. [Here are seven. - Dave] Cargo TramNow there's something I had never really thought of: street cars for freight; a forerunner of today's semi-rigs I suppose. There's one being loaded/unloaded in front of the lumber yard. First of six?Great! Bring them on! Kann's Busy Corneraka Kann's Department Store. A good history of the life and death of the buildings can be found here. [More here. - Dave] +86Below is the same view taken in December of 1997. (Please excuse my still-limited scanning talents - this was before I switched to digital.) DC in 1911What a great photo. More of these buildings than one would think are still there. The "District Court House" south (right) of the great Pension Building on Judiciary Square is the original DC City hall, started in 1820. After a several-years-long redo, it now houses in grand style the DC Court of Appeals (the state supreme court for the District.) Peeking around the office building to the left of the City Hall on 5th Street NW is the then-new US Court of Appeals building, which housed what is now the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit until 1952, when it moved to the new federal courthouse on Constitution Avenue (now the Prettyman Courthouse.) The old US Court of Appeals building now houses the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, on which I am privileged to sit. It is an exquisite little building, quite well-preserved, with many of its original furnishings. Ford's TheaterI had a thought that Ford's Theater was off in this general direction, so I took a look. Not being all that familiar with D.C. I'm wondering if that is the peak of the theater with porthole just above the scaffolding atop the hotel under construction. (The Gallery, D.C., DPC, Railroads, Stores & Markets, Streetcars)
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