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Office Cubicle: 1911
... be clad in only glass curtain walls. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Cleveland, DPC, Railroads, Streetcars) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/13/2023 - 2:36pm -

Cleveland, Ohio, circa 1911. "Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Bldg., St. Clair Avenue and Ontario Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
The whole building?B of LE Building ... does that mean the brotherhood used the whole building?
[They owned the whole building. - Dave]
Full frontalSo we get the glamour shot of what we only had a tantalizing glimpse of a half-year ago. Still around, and still durned impressive ... or incredibly monotonous, depending on your preferences.
[Er, no. That "tantalizing glimpse" was of a different building. - Dave]
We can take comfort in being wrong together: you're pointing to the building across the street - which wasn't built until a decade after this picture,  and I was mistaken that this is extant ... sadly
StaredownIs that a Studebaker electric facing off with that horse?
No Safety BarriersThe unfinished streetcar tracks catch my eye and how it is not surrounded by any sort of safety barriers - another reminder of how it was a different time back then.  Also, wonder what the BoLE Auditorium looked like.  Probably not as ornate as what would be created in another 10-15 years.
Safety lastA torn up street and no barricades or traffic cones. Must have been before personal injury lawsuits were invented. 
At home in ChicagoThis style is from the Chicago School of architecture, which emphasizes the building's structural grid, uses relatively little ornamentation, and has large plate-glass window areas.  I think it's a good look, especially considering that buildings would eventually be clad in only glass curtain walls.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Cleveland, DPC, Railroads, Streetcars)

Kids, Pontiacs, Kodachrome: 1953
... romance in the color names. How times do change! Cars were Cars and Kids were Kids. Can you even sit on a front car fender these days? ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 06/24/2015 - 3:10pm -

My best friend and his sister with a 1953 Pontiac on a late afternoon in front of their home in Larkspur, California. Since their own family car was the 1941 Pontiac in the background, I'm assuming this shot was taken by the owner of the new one. The dealer, Bianco, was a long-time car dealership in Marin County up through the 2000s. At the time David and I were in the first grade together at Larkspur-Corte Madera School, just three blocks away. Earlier this year you saw us both at his sixth birthday party in this photo. He's no longer with us, but his sister has loaned me her family photos to peruse and has given me permission to post this scan I made of this particularly Kodachromalicious slide. View full size.
Faulty equipmentLooks like the (then) mandatory "curb feelers" must have been broken that day! 
[Narrow streets; that was the standard way to park in that neighborhood. -tterrace]
Real ColorsThe rich-looking color on that '53 was called "Stardust Blue."  In those days, auto buyers had not only their choice of an array of vibrant colors (instead of the limited, ubiquitous, and ho-hum metallics we're stuck with today), but there was also a little romance in the color names.  How times do change!
Cars were Cars and Kids were Kids.Can you even sit on a front car fender these days? Chrome and colors and all the room one could desire in an automobile. There's nothing like these old cars and never will be, great picture thanks for sharing.
RIP DavidSorry you had to leave so soon. Good shot, Tterrace, nice you have it. 
We showed up for the new car shot, too. Dad would show it around saying "new car and the kids, growing like weeds". As my aunt grew in age and size she would pose movie star-type glamour sitting on the fender. Today's vehicles are too flimsy to sit even a small dog without worry of a dent. I haven't seen curb feelers since the 50s when city neighborhood streets were too small to park, and others to drive simultaneously. To this day if I hit the curb I remember dad admonishing me "you're going to have to clean those whitewalls!!" , which I haven't had in decades. 
PontiacsMy family had a 1952 2-door straight 8 sedan.  It wasn't nearly as neat a color as this '53, being kind of a pea soup green.  Until I was about 9, my parents always bought 2-door cars, the assumption being that the kids in the back seat would not fall out in an accident.  I notice that the little girl's shoes have been removed to protect the new car finish.
American PrideWhat a great picture!! The spanking new Pontiac, resplendent in its elegant blue gray and deep, shiny, hexavalent chrome plating. Its 12-year-old big brother was a loved and pampered possession, as well, looking as new as the '53. I like to think that at least one of them survived.
Laurel GreenAs I recall the 1953 Pontiac Catalina two-door hardtop (my first car) was only available in various combinations of that horrible "Laurel Green" and "Milano Ivory".  
Narrow Streets IndeedThis photo reminds me, fondly, of my senior year at San Rafael High School.  I had a friend who lived "up the hill" from the Corte Madera School and several of us used that then undeveloped area as our favorite area for watching the Marin County Submarine Races.  To say the streets were narrow does not adequately describe them and I often wonder how we managed to climb and descend those cow paths without toppling over the edge.  
Mine was a '55In 1963, as soon as I turned 18 (earliest driving age in NYC at the time), I bought my uncle's 1955 Pontiac sedan.  Big old 4-door, two-tone blue if my memory serves.  Automatic transmission, but no power steering or power brakes.  Car lasted about a year.
My Dad's was a '54 (I think)And I suspect it started out the same Stardust Blue as the one in tterrace's slide, but years of southern sun had bleached it. The other car under the carport was--I believe--a '59 Olds.
In this slide, my dad, who was a commercial pilot, had his flight bag sitting on the fender with, as always, a thermos of coffee. Taken in Houma, Louisiana.
My dad loved that old car.
I'll bet that new car got a lot of attention from neighborsIn the olden times, when a neighbor got a new car, it would attract considerable attention. I recall our neighbor in Walnut, California bought a 1965 Pontiac GTO. I think it was yellow. We kids ooohed and awed, and the other Dads muttered approving comments. I got to sit in it!
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)

Superstack: 1942
... systems. Electric trains using overhead wires hauled ore cars between Butte and the Anaconda smelter from 1916 until the 1960s. This ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/28/2023 - 3:09pm -

September 1942. Deer Lodge County, Montana. "Anaconda Smelter of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. The smokestack is the largest in the world: 585 feet in height with a diameter at base of seventy-five feet and at top of sixty feet. Flue gases are discharged at the rate of three to four million cubic feet per minute. The arsenic plant and flue gas cleaning apparatus are seen at the base of the stack." Photo by Russell Lee, Office of War Information. View full size.
AnacondaTimely posting for me, because I’m currently reading a book titled Anaconda about the whole copper mining business there. Found it in my parents’ house while cleaning it out. My uncle lived there, and we visited the Butte Hole once. I still have some hunks of copper ore and cast copper from then.
Third Rail PowerBeside a number of the approach tracks to the smelter you can see covered third rails for electric power, similar to many subway systems. Electric trains using overhead wires hauled ore cars between Butte and the Anaconda smelter from 1916 until the 1960s. This photo from the Montana State Library shows the third rail locomotives used only at the smelter.
Re: AnacondaOne must be careful when spelling and pronouncing "Butte Hole."
Great-Granddad smelt that smelterHe worked there for a while and also used to own a "meat market" in the city. I used to tell people he owned a disco (you had to be there).
The stack stands aloneThe smelter and train tracks and hustle and bustle are gone. The impressive smokestack is left as a reference point. 
The world's tallest freestanding masonry structure.From this angle, it's not hard to believe. 
Mind your step.

Michigan Avenue: 1962
... I was 20 years old in 1962. I love the 1957 to 1962 cars. From left to right, 1959 Ford, looks like a 1956 Plymouth grille behind ... I agree with you on that. It wasn't until recently that cars went through another design revolution. The minivans in the '90s and early ... 
 
Posted by shawnv - 12/04/2008 - 12:05pm -

Chicago, Illinois, circa 1962. At 10:27 a.m. Looking north along Michigan Avenue at Adams Street, with the Chicago Art Institute on the right. View full size.
What they didn't knowJust think of all the things these drivers and pedestrians didn't know...
 They didn't know there was going to be a band called the Beatles which would have such an impact on the culture
 They didn't know that Vietnam would dominate the news and effect huge cultural change
 They didn't know Kennedy would be killed within a year or so...
 They didn't know that in 7 years the impossible would come true, men on the moon
 They didn't know we'd become so dependent on some weird electronic device called a home computer
 They hadn't heard of or seen: Doctor Zhivago (1965); Dr. Strangelove (1964); The Graduate (1967); A Hard Day's Night (1964); Mary Poppins (1964) etc etc etc
 They never saw a roofed sports stadium (Astrodome 1965)

I love to ponder these things and try and get into the head of people in old photos... What are they thinking? What's important to them this day while they are turning left? Do they have a doctor's appointment? A first date? Cheers!
Wow.A pink Edsel in turn lane. Wish I had one today.
[Not quite. That's a Mercury. - Dave]
Car SpotterPart of me wishes I was 20 years old in 1962.  I love the 1957 to 1962 cars. From left to right, 1959 Ford, looks like a 1956 Plymouth grille behind it, the photographer is following a 1957 Olds, and yes that is a pink 1957 Mercury. In front of that looks like a Checker Cab.  Next to the Mercury is a 1962 Oldsmobile, and behind it is a 1955 Chevrolet.  Behind the 55 Chevy is a 1960 Chevrolet.
The PrudentialWas the tallest building in Chicago at that time I believe. Also, my dad works there.  Good view of Grant Park!
They also didn't know...... that the little black kid with the white mother would one day be President. 
Michigan and Adams 2008Seems to be a new high-rise next to the Art Institute.
View Larger Map
Car StylingIf this picture were taken today, one wouldn't see much difference in car details.  Most vehicles for the past 10 years have looked about the same. But in this picture, such amazing variety in just a seven-year span of models!  Somehow, uniformity makes our society poorer.
So much has changed...... But one thing hasn't - THE TRAFFIC!
Chicago ..."My Kind of Town," so sayeth the chairman of the board.
MusicThis photo is best viewed while listening to The Thrashmens classic "Surfin' Bird"
Eerie how that happened to be playing here precisely when I saw this photo.
Changed?Honestly, this intersection really hasn't changed much.  I recognized it right away.  Go a few blocks in either direction, and there will be plenty of new stuff, but not at this intersection.
On a weekend with a car show, you could probably take nearly the same picture.
Car Styling I agree with you on that. It wasn't until recently that cars went through another design revolution. The minivans in the '90s and early '00s. At least now there are some differences between them. They all had the same shape and looked exactly the same from a distance back then. Same thing with mid-sized sedans. It was only in the last year or two that the cars gained some new distinguishing styles. Nothing beats the old cars though. 
Palmolive Building mastThe tall silver mast on the Palmolive Building was the WGN-TV antenna back in those days. I believe it's used by an FM station now. 
PrudentialThat's the Prudential Building with the mast. The Palmolive (a.k.a. Playboy) building is farther north and not visible in this photo.
That one modern buildingI walk by that spot all the time. The modern Prudential building dominating the photo was the first big Chicago skyscraper after a 20-year Depression/WWII hiatus.
Compare to all the buildings lining Michigan Ave which date from the 1910s and 1920s. Most are still there.
CarsAs for me and my family we would rather be in one these old big safe cars than the Tinkertoy cars of today.
[I'd rather be surrounded by six airbags and two crumple zones. The death rate per passenger-mile circa 1960 was pretty horrific. Those big old cars (and their passengers) did not do especially well in collisions. Roofs in the era of the wraparound windshield did a poor job of supporting the weight of the car in a rollover. - Dave]
No squabbleI was half as tall as my sister so the hump was my pillow.   I loved to hear the rush and rumble of the road through the floor and, if my dad stopped too fast, I couldn't roll off.
ExactlyFeel the same way AJ, I can spend hours watching and analyzing every bit of these photos. Wish I had a time machine.
Old CarsThose old heavy cars used to have a lot of decapitations. The hood was solid and heavy and in a collision would release from the hinges and go back through the passenger compartment and slice off heads. As Dave stated, today's cars have crumple zones so the hood now just crumples up on impact... Much safer.
[Cars now are generally heavier than their counterparts 50 years ago, or at least denser. A 1959 Ford and 2009 Honda Accord both tip the scales at around 3,500 pounds. My Japanese car weighs a little over 4,100 pounds. - Dave]
Backseat SquabblersThe first car I remember was the family's green and white 1959 Ford Galaxie. My sisters and I used to fight over who got to sleep in the back window ledge on the way home when we would visit relatives in South Dakota. Winner got the package-shelf perch, second place got the back seat, loser ended up on the floor on hump. Actually we traded off, but the window shelf was prized. Riding like that with a Dad that smoked, it's a wonder we survived! Yikes.
1961It could have been taken in 1961, since the center green car is sporting a 1961 Michigan tag, which is the 59 yellow on green with a silver 1961 metal tab. Illinois had white on red plates in 1961, white on orange in 1962 - colors too similar to identify in the photo. Could also have been early 1962, but I think we’d notice both orange and red IL plates. As a kid in Chicago, I loved to see new plates appear each winter.
Route 66The white sign on the lamppost (in front of the lion) marks the beginning of Route 66.
Clues from the U.S. FlagWe featured this picture as our quiz #188 photo for the week of 14 Dec 2008.  We essentially asked readers to identify the location and to tell us how they recognized it.  See
www.forensicgenealogy.info/contest_188_results.html
We received many responses - one from regular reader Mike Dalton was worth writing to Shorpy about.  Mike dated the picture to after July 4, 1960 based on the admission of Hawaii and Alaska to the Union in 1959.  As Mike wrote:
Timeline referencing 50 star American flag in photo: 
Alaska entered Union on January 3, 1959 - rank 49th state; 
Hawai'i entered Union on August 21, 1959 - rank 50th state.
President Dwight David Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10834 on August 21,1959, regarding design and implementation of 50 star American Flag. 
50 star American Flag raised officially for the first time at Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore, Maryland on July 4, 1960.
Since the flag on the front of the Art Institute of Chicago has 50 stars on it, the photo had to have been taken after July 4, 1960.
=====================================
[The earliest this could be is late 1961 -- that's a 1962 Oldsmobile under the Prudential tower. - Dave]
I am amazedDave.  Your knowledge amazes me.  Not many folks can identify a 1962 Olds.
Ferris BuellerIf you ever saw Ferris Bueller's Day Off, you could see this is the Art museum from that movie.  It shows the lions at the beginning of the museum montage played to the instrumental version of "Please Please Please Let Me get what I Want" by Dream Academy.  Great movie.
Some things never changeThe spectacular "Lions of Michigan Avenue" in front of the Art Institute, placed there in 1894, are considered the best work of artist Edward Kemeys. They're not identical; the lion on the north pedestal is "on the prowl" while the one on the south pedestal is "in an attitude of defiance." I have pictures of my family in front of the south lion when our children were small. We used to eat at Bennigan's (no longer there) directly across the street, gazing (if we were lucky enough to get a window table) out at the Art Institute and the southern end of the Magnificent Mile. I took a picture looking west down Adams Street towards the Sears Tower (it has another name now but I never use it) from this very spot in late September of 2019. Then there's that lovely peek of the Wrigley Building glowing in the distance to the north -- Michigan Avenue at Wacker Drive, where the Chicago River flows beneath the DuSable Bridge.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses)

Bar Car: 1955
... the rear with the good stuff! Booze, cigars, cigarettes, cars (and maybe some guns). What can possibly go wrong? Booze in the Trunk ... no party like a Lloyd's Neck party Guns, cars, and alcohol. What could go wrong? The License Plate In those days, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/14/2023 - 3:46pm -

September 1955. Lloyd's Neck, Long Island, New York. "Arden field trials for spaniels." 35mm Kodachrome by Toni Frissell for the Sports Illustrated assignment "Sporting Look: Field Trip at Marshall Field's Long Island Estate near Cold Spring Harbor." View full size.
Action, pleaseThis could easily be a still from a forgotten comedy with Doris Day and Rock Hudson. In one second, Rock and his friend, played by Tony Randall, will enter the frame and a wacky situation will develop quickly.
Non-Bar CarLeading the way is a green and white 1954 Buick.
Car bottleMy dad always kept a car bottle in the trunk, and I now do, as well.  But neither of us had a setup like this!
MoviesMovie I think of re this scene is "Man's Favorite Sport" with Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss.  
Bar CarA 1955 DeSoto is bringing up the rear with the good stuff! Booze, cigars, cigarettes, cars (and maybe some guns). What can possibly go wrong?
Booze in the TrunkMy uncle had a little liquor suitcase like that, about half that size.  When I would travel with his family, he wold pull it out in the hotel room and make himself a martini or two (or three).   It had all the ingredients and a shaker too. His brother, my father, didn't drink, probably because of his older brother's booze fueled escapades when they were younger. 
What can go wrong with an Old Fashioned?Just press the button marked B for Booze.
Park HereSix years later this Marshall Field estate became a New York State Park. It is called Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve.
https://parks.ny.gov/parks/23/details.aspx
Ain't no party like a Lloyd's Neck partyGuns, cars, and alcohol. What could go wrong?
The License PlateIn those days, New York State would issue new license plates, with new numbers, to each vehicle every two years.  The color scheme would be reversed, so one year you'd have orange ("gold") plates with black numbers, which would be replaced by black plates with orange numbers.  It was a real pain having to change those plates and send the old ones in (the screws tended to rust badly), so by the mid-'60s the state began issuing stickers, and you would put them on the old rear plate.  You weren't supposed to turn in your plates until they became unreadable.
Now part of Caumsett state parkI grew up less than 5 miles from here. The Marshall Field estate house is now part of Caumsett State Park. It's a nice place for a walk. 
CaumsettOne of the largest (1700+ acres) of the Gilded Age Long Island estates, Caumsett (as the Marshall Field estate was known) is now a state park occupying a third of Lloyd Neck:
https://parks.ny.gov/parks/23/details.aspx
Top of the Line DeSotoThe bar-car is a 1955 DeSoto Fireflite. 
The Fireflite was introduced in 1955 to be the premium DeSoto model. The model was built until 1960 when the DeSoto brand was discontinued by Chrysler Corporation. 
[We actually can't be sure what model this is. The script next to the taillight says "PowerFlite," the name of DeSoto's automatic transmission. - Dave]
SI in the 1950s - Documenting a different worldSports Illustrated used to cover hunting and card playing (a lot). Watching others play sports was a much smaller part of life back in the day, it would seem. 
It's Field Trials for spanielsFor all you people saying firearms and guns what can go wrong. It's just  field trials on pointing out ring neck pheasants for hunting dogs. There are NO firearms involved at this event.
[Um, no. Field trials involve shooting and retrieving.  - Dave]
I beg to differ Dave …No firearms no hunting license visible. Any responsible hunter does NOT mix alcohol and ammunition.
[Can you not read? Can you not see the photos accompanying the article about this event? Hello?? - Dave]
What could go wrong?Guns, alcohol, cars (and tobacco, besides)- what could go wrong? Fortunately, this was Long Island, not Harlan County, Kentucky. 
Shooting involvedThe dogs were retrieving birds shot down to order.  I did enjoy reading this for the colorfulness of the language and for the emphasis on testing the dog:  “The dog stopped instantly, dropping to his haunches, and sat marking the game bird’s flight, every muscle aquiver with intense eagerness.  ‘Ride it out,’ signaled the judge, and the gunner held his fire in recognition of the request for a ‘long fall.’  At the crack of the gun, the pen-raised bird crumpled and slanted down into the high cover which bordered the woods, foretelling the difficult retrieving task for which the judge had hoped.”
Black and White Scotch whisky Makes sense to drink that for people who like dogs.
My mistake.Read? Yes. The article? No ... I based my postings on the bar car picture and missed the 'read article here' Begging for a thousand pardons Dave. 
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Dogs, Toni Frissell)

KNX Radio in 1967
... the Rodeo"-era Byrds, I want to be in the front row. Cars seen The car in front appears to be a 1967 Pontiac Bonneville, There ... tower) are extant in Google street as of August 2012. Cars seen Part 2 With all due respect to poikaa, that gold Pontiac is a 1966 ... 
 
Posted by brianvnt90 - 08/17/2012 - 8:13pm -

Advertisement in Southern CA in 1967. View full size.
Missed the real landmarkForget KNX.  That's Pandora's Box below the sign.  Infamous hippie hangout where I saw the Byrds.
Add Pandora's Box to my itineraryThis just might be the "newest" place I plan to visit with my time machine.  Tlachiquero, save me a seat on the night the Byrds are playing.  If it's "Sweetheart of the Rodeo"-era Byrds, I want to be in the front row.
Cars seen  The car in front appears to be a 1967 Pontiac Bonneville, There is a 1965 Mustang, a Buick LeSabre (1966), a Ford Econoline (1965) ans way in front of the van is a Pontiac Catalina of 1961 vintage! 
The REAL Landmark - Schwab's PharmacyThis is looking East on Sunset Blvd, at Crescent Heights Blvd.
Pandora's Box was razed to 'improve' the intersection, after much civil unrest. Schwab's (behind the palm) is long gone. The Standard gas station, and the building behind it (with the short tower) are extant in Google street as of August 2012.
Cars seen Part 2With all due respect to poikaa, that gold Pontiac is a 1966 Grand Prix (unique tail light set up), while the Buick is a 1965 LeSabre (I owned a two door). I don't have a wide range of expertise, but I am quite certain about these two cars. Good call on the rest of the vehicles.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)

Adrianne: 1939
... and good grooming just aren't enough. Women are not cars or buildings so whether or not it's a compliment or a catcall, the ... this insight: Women are not buildings. Women are not cars*. And a bonus, corollary insight: Cars are not buildings. - Dave] ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/25/2009 - 2:49am -

"Miss Adrianne Henderson, 1939." Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size.
Gilding the lily -- notSometimes nice threads and good grooming just aren't enough. 
Women are not cars or buildingsso whether or not it's a compliment or a catcall, the commentary is more antiquated than the images!
[To reiterate this insight: Women are not buildings. Women are not cars*. And a bonus, corollary insight: Cars are not buildings. - Dave]
-------------------------------------------------
*Unless your son is Jerry Van Dyke.
Nice NecklaceClearly not known for her beauty.  Perhaps a trip to Scotland for a makeover is in order.
SequinsDo they still make dresses with sequins?
I recall in the 1950's that sequins adorned fancy dresses, hats, and purses.
What can you say..She was an attractive lady who I'm sure became a wonderful wife and mother who was (maybe is) much loved by her family. Portrait pics are hard to comment on.
Mea CulpaI am the AT who suggested this lady might benefit from going to Scotland for a makeover.  At about her age I was also plain but not by the standards of the time so I am the last one who should be making remarks like that.  Guess we all have gotten used to seeing only the most beautiful, most famous, most interesting or whatever on our screens.  I was out of line and I promise not to do it again.  Well, at least not any time soon. 
I'll add my voteI actually think Miss Adrianne looks quite cheeky. She's got a bit of a mischievous look about her.
No subjectShe seems a sensible young woman, devoid of much personality.
A sign of the times.Miss Henderson looks to me to have been a very pleasant looking young lady with a bright future in front of her.
I don't understand the "beauty/grooming" comments below but they seem out of place.  And, I'd think by now we'd have all learned to enjoy Susan Boyle's voice (check out her version of "Cry Me a River" on YouTube) and not worry about her eyebrows and whether they were plucked or not.
I Love You, AdrianneNevermind the catty comments from folks who lack the stones to put their names on their opinions, Adrianne. I find you charmingly attractive. Spare me from the collagen-injected nip-tuck plasticized and silicone-padded freaks that pass for beauties these days.
And even if she were...."She really isn't unattractive."
And even if she were, by whoever and whenever's standards, there's still no need to be nasty. 
I adore Shorpy, and I'm here nearly every day, but the comments about women here are about as consistently unpleasant as you are likely to find on any respectable mainstream website. 
Evidently the mods don't have a problem with it, and it's their show and thus their call. I often just don't look at the comments on pics featuring women -- among other considerations, I can pretty much predict everything the nasty folks are going to say at this point. And there is so much else here to enjoy.
[We make subjective judgments regarding appearance all the time -- about cars, people, buildings. Some people are judged to be beautiful, others less so. It's a part of life. I'd say there are probably more compliments than catcalls when it comes to the ladies on Shorpy. But it's those negative judgments that do tend to get people worked up. - Dave]
Different pixelsInteresting that at home she looks pretty but at work with a different set of pixels on the monitor, she has a longer and less attractive face.
The majority of women are not beauty queensI think this woman represents the average woman, meaning that most women are not astoundingly beautiful (by whatever standards you use to measure that). I am amazed that people think they can judge her character merely by looking at a single snapshot. She probably felt very attractive in that portrait, which is what matters. Feeling attractive is more important than actually being attractive. She looks very confident with herself, and she should be. Just having someone take a picture of you can be a compliment.
What if this woman were around today; how do you think she would feel if she were to read some of the comments on here? 
I think some people on this site are using "big words" to make themselves look intelligent, but they're just coming off as snooty. The arrogance of leaving nasty comments about this young woman is telling of the character of some visitors to this site. 
Catcalls from the AudienceI'm always startled by the mercilessness shown many of the women in these photos, young or old, especially if their makeup or costumes don't match current notions of beauty. This is a studio portrait of a relaxed, confident and reasonably pretty young woman wearing the mainstream hair and makeup choices of the late 1930s. In a very pleasant way, she knows she looks good, and that's attractive in any year. But even if she had been a Vogue cover model of 1939, the fashion police around here would be ready to bang the big gong and hoot her off the stage for her comical frumpishness.
Beauty is Skin DeepAnd who can judge her?
She might have been a great wife, mother and friend.
She might have been a bitter old cat lady.
You just never know. I do know that we almost share a first name and that I wore a sequined dress to my junior prom (1995). Also that she would look like a whole new woman with a better suited hairstyle.
Yankee SisterHmmm.  I never knew Yogi Berra had a twin.
Anonymous TipsterMy, this place gets catty doesn't it? I'm sure Miss Henderson turned more than a few heads in admiration. She looks to have a good shape, unlike the many anorexics or porkers out there today. 
No Need to be NastyShe really isn't unattractive.
OpinionationThere are two things I really like about Shorpy. One is the photos. The other is these really great dustups. In fact, I don't know which I like best. And yes, Adrianne may have been one of the most intelligent, kind and spiritually evolved females to ever walk the planet, but aside from being dead, she is just plain well, plain. 
Sequins...Doug - they sure do make dresses with sequins, still.  I've owned several beautiful ones in my time and I still see them. 
Well, yes...Indeed, Dave, but there is a difference between "This person is not attractive in my eyes" and "She is a pig/dog/cow/horse/man in drag." And the tone of the negative comments about women on this site is far, far more often the latter. 
These are not opinions, they are conclusions, as though the notion of "Beauty" were all wrapped up, now and forevermore, in a single narrow little box (perhaps labeled "Cameron Diaz.") 
The failure of imagination is -- almost -- as irritating as the presumption that the first obligation of a female, in any context whatever, is to look pretty. Sure, it's "part of life," but so are lots of other things, and one need not be pleased with every one of them, or even find them all acceptable as they stand.
(I obviously don't expect this one to appear on the site, since, as I already said, it's your show, and I don't mean to annoy others with my particular hobby horse. Just the thoughts of someone who is otherwise a great Shorpy fan.)
Mirror imageI have a much younger friend, and former classmate in grad school, who is the absolute mirror image of Miss Henderson.  It was kind of a shock when I first saw this photo.
If you straighten and lengthen Miss Henderson's hair, well, she has a beautiful and impossibly smart counterpart (Jessica) who is living well and happily in 2009.
Dynamite Glass NecklaceVintage glass necklace is hand-strung and a wonderful floral design that goes all the way around. Most likely Czech and about $45 in antique shops.
Re: Well, yesI'd say Dave struck a nerve or two. With the usual perversely entertaining results -- it's kind of like driving by a five-car pileup.
I think Adrianne is pretty, if a little cockeyed. Those incisors need caps. And now I'm going to ... duck!
An experimentI would like to take a modern day beauty, dress in her in the same vintage clothes as this photo, apply the same amount of makeup, or lack thereof, and use the same photography.
I have a feeling this would level the playing field out somewhat, and the results would be surprising.
PersonallyI think she's pretty.  The losers who are calling her ugly attend Star Trek conventions and the only women they talk to are their mothers.
What became of this lady?Normally, someone comes out with a city, date of death. I hope she had a great life!
[She'd be around 90 now. You out there, Adrienne? - Dave]
But there never seem to be women...of Color; I've seen 'shanty town' photos; and the only others i've been able to find i've had to click and click and hunt and hunt...So many black people lived a very luxurious lifestyle; with money, cars, clothes, jewels; but they are never depicted here.  Many of my friends and colleagues have said the same thing to me about this site--that it is prejudiced.  Just a comment  that i know will go unprinted as well as unaddressed and unanswered.  Signed: A woman of color.
[The archives of the Library of Congress, which is where most of our pictures come from, do not contain very many photos of black people living a "luxurious lifestyle" with "money, cars, clothes, jewels." People who think there are not many people of color on Shorpy perhaps have not clicked around that much. Some examples below. - Dave]
Big Joe Turner
The Office
Mailometer
Law and Order
American Beauty
Southside Easter
Easter Sunday
Army Mechanic
Cincinnati Kid
Shulman's Market
The Avenger
Henry Johnson
Won't Hurt a Bit
Band of Brothers
Me: 1957
Army of the James
Harlem Newsboy
Dutch Gap
Washington Pork
John Henry
Big Sale
New York

And many, many more.
Images of Color at the LOCThere were many persons and families of color who lived refined and "luxurious" lifestyles, as many historical photos attest. But those photos are not necessarily available from the Library of Congress online photo archive, and I'd guess that more than 90 percent of the photos on Shorpy come from the LOC collection. Out of curiosity, I just ran an image search on the LOC site using the keyword Harlem. Given the Harlem Renaissance of the teens through the 1930s, I thought that this might yield a quick proportional indication of how many historical images of prosperous persons of color might be available. The search yielded 329 image hits (including folders of news photos from such sources as Look Magazine). I looked at all 329 image links, and no more  than five images could be described as illustrating the lifestyle you're searching for. Moreover, none of those few images were available in larger digitized formats, only as small thumbnails. As a member of a minority group who is not a person of color, I readily agree that such images often seem unnaturally difficult to find, but I would suggest with all respect that Shorpy is not the purveyor of prejudice here, but at most a mirror to a more general issue of online representation of minority images in academic archives all over the United States.
Another angleAfter considering this portrait for a couple days, I'd like to suggest two factors that detract from Miss Henderson's appearance. Someone's already mentioned the first -- the middle part in her hair doesn't suit her face. The second is something the photographer might be blamed for. In turning her head so far to the right, it appears that her neck is very thick. Try holding your thumb over the left side of her neck (your left, gentle viewer). See if that doesn't make a difference in your reaction to her visage!
A tilt of the headwas required to mask a lazy left eye.
Adrianne / AdrienneI think I found her, spelled Adrienne on the records I saw. According to the Social Security Death Index she was born December 28, 1918, and died February 18, 1998. Her husband Torrey Johnson's obituary says that they married in Hyattsville, Maryland, in 1940 and had five children.
More on AdrienneAh, the classic western story: city girl visits her aunt and falls in love with a cowpoke.  The 1936 obit of Adrienne's grandfather, Edgar B. Henderson, lists "Ruth Spear, of Kirby Mont." as a daughter.  Adrienne is the only grandchild mentioned.  Adrienne's uncle, Earl Y. Henderson, served as secretary to the Senate Indian Affairs committee and secretary of the Board of Indian Commissioners, so perhaps that is where the connection with the Mountain West started.  Ruth Henderson married Willis B. Spear of Sheridan Wyo. in February 1914.
Hat-tip to the Anonymous Tipster for discovering the correct spelling of Miss Henderson's name.



Washington Post, Jun 26, 1932 

Chevy Chase Enlivened by Small Parties

Miss Adrienne Henderson, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Robert E. Henderson, has gone to Kirby, Mont., where she is visiting Mrs. W.B. Steer [Spear].  She will be away all summer.


Washington Post, July 14, 1940 


Miss Hunter to Return to Capital after Attending Kappa Convention

...
Following the convention Miss Hunter and Miss Shelton spent several days with Mr. and Mrs. Torrey Johnson on their ranch in Montana.  Mrs. Johnson was formerly Miss Adrienne Henderson, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Robert E. Henderson, of Chevy Chase.


35 comments!So here I am cruising through the photos I haven't seen in a week, when I see that this simple portrait has drawn 35 comments.  I knew, or course, that the comments would include a number of opinions on an alleged AKC background, some counter opinions and one "I'll take these real girls over silicone enhanced hussies of today."  Round it out with data on her subsequent life found by our researchers and you have it.  Didn't foresee the sidebars into people of color but I guess I need to assume with 35 comments there will be some branch discussion.
I loved it all and enjoy these critiques on feminine beauty.  The shallowness of us judging the dead based upon a fleeting youthful appearance makes it all the more fun.
For the record I think she is normal looking and doesn't really merit opinions one way or the other.  
My sister's dress!I found three sequined dresses in our attic when I was 10 and my two cousins and I took turns destroying each one by playing in them almost every day one summer. I'm sure the dresses were from the late 50s or early 60s. They were all strapless and we could put them on and turn completely around without the dress moving. As for the woman in the picture, I like natural and I think this woman looks very pretty. 
Adrienne M. Henderson JohnsonMy Beautiful Mother.  1939 Graduate in History/English at the University of Maryland.  I'm the fourth child of five.
She and my father were ranchers and very successful. Both very active in community affairs.  They truly were soul mates for 58 years!  Torrey was fourth generation of the very Famous Spear Brothers Cattle ranch, a portion of which still operates as the Spear O Ranch Company. Spears arrived at "New Chicago" south of present day Drummond, Montana circa 1871-1873...moved to present day Big Horn , Wyoming in 1883..........cattle company grew to 60,000 head, running from Big Horn,Wyoming to the Yellowstone River on the North and East to Broudus, Montana.
Mother and Dad met at the Spear O, Married in 1940 and the rest is history.
May GOD bless them, they were great parents!
Phillip B. Johnson
Thanks for the storyThanks for sharing, Phillip. I keep hoping that one of these old photos will still be alive and able to respond personally to us.  But a message from a relative who knew is very good.
(The Gallery, Harris + Ewing, Portraits)

Suburban Cowboy: 1963
... South Gate, California, in a neighborhood full of classic cars, it seems. My nephew Jimmy in a 2¼-inch square Kodacolor negative. View ... back memories. Thanks. South Gate Streetview The cars were better-looking in 1963. Particularly the Buick next door. ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 03/03/2023 - 12:57am -

I just started scanning my sister's photos of her kids from the 1960s. Here's why she was smart to have saved the negatives. Back in 1963, they lived in South Gate, California, in a neighborhood full of classic cars, it seems. My nephew Jimmy in a 2¼-inch square Kodacolor negative. View full size.
The clouded crystal ballJimmy (now James) tells me that three years later and a block away from this idyllic scene, there were the Watts riots.
Color SaturationI can't help but wonder if most of us who grew up in the middle-class or upper-middle class white America of the 60's and 70's see our childhood memories in lavish Kodacolor.
When I was this boy's age, there were the Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy assassinations, coming almost one right after the other. I knew that the grown-ups were very worried, but I wasn't sure just why. Later, I figured out that the only thing that Westchester had in common with Watts was that both names begin with a W.
The innocence of childhood is fleeting, indeed.
She squealed with delightwhen she saw this photo! Where to begin? The lights integrated with the porch railing are fascinating. Like the house itself, they have a very 1930s art deco flavor.
Little Red WagonAlmost everyone can remember having one when they were a kid. I bet this photo makes us all just a little nostalgic.
Thank you for sharing all of these great photos with us, tterrace!
Blue skiesI see why now people continue to believe in "the good old days." The color saturation, blue skies, happy, smiling kid -- looks like nothing would ever go wrong in this place, doesn't it?
Old RedThat Radio Flyer sure brings back memories. Thanks.
South Gate StreetviewThe cars were better-looking in 1963. Particularly the Buick next door.
View Larger Map
Street View! Street View!Can you give an address so we can see how the neighborhood has fared?
Ouch!!The beautiful '56 Ford at the left has been tagged but you can see that it did naught but bend the bumper!  It didn't disturb the paint!  The good old days indeed! Today, that'd be a $3000 repair!
Great PictureLove that "Jimmy" has been written on the back of the Radio Flyer!
South Gate!I grew up in the neighboring city of Downey and I would LOVE to see more pics of the South Gate area if you would be so kind as to post them! THANKS!
Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick?There's another classic Buick in this shot, the white one in the distance, straddling the sidewalk. There's not enough detail for me to tell, but it appears to be a '55 or '56 Roadmaster.
I'm sure that if anyone (visiting from the future) had told the owners of these Buicks that GM would be a tottering financial wreck in 2009, they'd never have believed it. 
Sign of the times...Any idea what the sign posted on your sis's house says?
Just so IdealI have to agree with the comments made under the heading Colour Saturation.  I recently have been looking at photos of me and my family in our house as I was growing up and you know I don't remember that the carpet was threadbare -- yet it was.  I don't remember that we had a broken down car in our backyard -- yet we did.  I don't remember that our lounge suite was old and we needed a new one -- but we did.  All I remember is that it was a safe, happy and fun place to grow up in and I had a great time. So yeah I think we all of us remember the good and not so much the bad, and isnt that the way it should be.
The high, fine, sky of awhile agoIt doesn't happen as much as it seemed to 40 years ago when I was a kid, but every now and then, usually on a quiet Sunday morning or a Tuesday off from work, the sky will have that same tall, bright, look; gently spotted with clouds and a blue turning from light to dark off into space and there will be a slightly warm breeze and everything will seem clean and new and full of possibility. And you can take a deep breath and smell the trees and maybe some creosote from a power pole, and it's 1967 again.
A lovely day in this beautywood Love those Mr. Roger's blue tennis shoes. You could buy them at any Alpha Beta grocery store for $1.98. I grew up in a similar Southern California community around the same era. The loppy sidewalks remind me of the joyous hours I spent on roller skates with a skate key on a string around my neck. Were those times so much better or is it that we were just innocent kids? 
I had a car that was built there!I used to have a '68 Pontiac Bonneville that was built at the South Gate GM plant.  It was a great car, very well screwed together.
Kodacolor wonderlandDon't you wish you could reprogram your brain to "see" full-time in Kodacolor? The world would be such a cheery place!
Was the big warehouse in the current Street View next door in 1963? It seems so out of place.
Martini LaneIt's Mad Men!
Odd porch lightsThose garden lights were very common in our nearby suburb. They were mostly used along driveways, paths, or planters. This is a most unusual installation. And they are still there. I might give this place a drive-by at lunchtime.
American IronI really enjoy the look of these old cars - especially the 1959 Pontiac ahead of the Ford. It's probably a Catalina. Many of these cars had a space age theme to their design.
By the hour?It's worse than a warehouse next door. It's a skeezy motel. And it looks like it's been there since the '60s.
2819 Willow PlaceIt looks like the place might be for rent, $895 a month.
ColorI think two things contribute to the burst of color. One is that color film is much richer than the digital stuff we have now. And, secondly, the cars WERE much more colorful then than the drab vehicles we see now. Unfortunately, I think some of the color has gone from our lives in many ways since then.
P.S. - From the glimpse of the back wheel well in the car in the distance, I can't help but wonder if it might not be an Olds instead.
Beautiful streetMy children lived this kind of life on a street like this in the early 1950s in Detroit as hard as that is to believe.
You want sunshine-- on a cloudy day?  Some readers spoke about the past as always being bright and sunny like this picture.  During a bout of temporary insanity  many moons ago, I took leave of my senses and purchased yellow-lens prescription glasses.  It did make every day sunny and the world brightened when you put them on. Or you can look just look through a colored cellophane candy wrapper and get the same effect.  Just trying to be helpful.
South Gate street view 1961Here's 2819 Willow Place, along with the ugly building next door, a couple years earlier. Jimmy playing with a neighbor's puppy, and a selection of early-50s cars. Yes, those are different lamps on the railings.
The Salmon DeSotoI know what you mean about auto paint being brighter back then. My guess is that paint trends were still built more around primary colors than the more subtle and "nuanced" tints and shades of today. I remember there was a year or two that featured flamingo pink, black, and white as a trio. Knocked your eyes for a loop. Especially on the big fin cars. Dad was looking at one, but ended up going with the pale blue. Too much pink for a man from the Ozarks, I guess, looking back on it.
How did Jimmy turn outWhat is he, about 48 years old today?
Had I only known..Geez.. had I known I was a branding opportunity, I'd have taken advantage of it a long time ago. I don't think I've been that cool since that day -- red wagon, cowboy, riding a possible Radio Flyer tricycle as well (I'm sure someone will sort out the logo, maybe it was Royce Union). Funny thing about that pic. Those years I only have memories of things in black and white. Maybe I only remember those years from pictures which were mostly black and white, I guess. Obviously there was color. My memories of color start about 1967, yet every television event memory I have was black and white until about 1970. Apparently we got a color TV then? 
So what the hell happened to Jimmy? Well, without getting too personal and please forgive the third person narrative, here ya go. After leaving Los Angeles in 1971, the family moved to Marin County. Jimmy decided he was going to be a rock and roll star and started a metal rock band in the early 80's. The day Nirvana hit the charts, he knew that the music he was good at was no longer popular, so he joined a Southern rock tribute act and toured the Bay Area for 10 years. He then decided to get back to the original reason why he started playing music in the first place, for fun, and only plays local gigs, usually benefits. During this time he also got married and had two children.
He is now a media personality in Wine Country and owns his own web consulting firm. He also writes for several Wine country publications and does "flavorful" wine industry videos. If you're ever in Sonoma Valley, you may even run into him. Though he goes by James now.
A note from Jimmy's MomThis part of South Gate was a blue collar area, consisting of single family homes, and "court" apartments. The lots there were fairly deep, and so people would put in two rows of four apartments, usually single story, with the garage or carport at the rear with the laundry room and clotheslines. The "court" was the central walkway between the two buildings where the entrances were, except for the front apartments. Just behind Willow Place was Firestone Boulevard, a heavy industrial area at the time. The big Firestone plant was there, and other manufacturing plants. Often in the evening, strange smells would fill the air. This era was also what I call "between the smogs." They had banned outdoor burning of leaves and trash in the Los Angeles Basin in the late 1950s, and the air was fairly clear most of the time. But with increased population, and the increase of jet travel, the smog was back by 1964. The only real clear air days were when the Santa Ana winds blew. The ugly building next door contained a restaurant as I remember, in its one-story days. It may have also been a small motel.
We moved to our first home in Diamond Bar, in the eastern part of the L.A. basin, in 1963. The red wagon makes an appearance there with Jimmy pulling his little sister in Little Red Wagons elsewhere on Shorpy.
The South Gate apartment was the inspiration for the Salmon Kitchen, also seen elsewhere on Shorpy. Our landlady developed a blend of paint that she used on all her kitchens. As I remember, it was part peach, part mushroom and some kind of off white. She said it didn't yellow, and when the tenant moved out there wouldn't be any shadows on the walls from where the clock or the calendar had hung. So she would not have to repaint every time, just have the walls washed. Our dad and mom liked this idea, and so was born the salmon kitchen in Larkspur.
Jimmy's Mom
Just fabulous!Saw this link from Instapundit.  What a fabulous photo!  I love the comments, too, and the Google maps link.
InstacowboyForty-six years later, Jimmy's 15 minutes of fame in the blogosphere have arrived. Now the top link on Instapundit.

9I was 9 years old in another part of California, but I had that tricycle and a similar little red wagon. My parents had a Ford Crown Victoria, my father worked, my mother stayed at home to raise me and the world I grew up in was truly both wonderful and wondrous. Even with the duck-and-cover exercises in school.
LampsI believe the lamps were replaced during the time we were there.. Look at those in the background then look at the pic above. I dare say they're different.
Status symbolsFor the younger Shorpyites that might not remember the 1960s, most working or middle class families had only one car (if they had one at all). It was a point of pride to park your car either directly in front of your house or prominently displayed in the driveway. The more obvious the better; bright colors helped even more. Take that, you Joneses!
Also, you scored big status points with of those gangly omnidirectional TV antennas on your roof as seen in the background. Indoor "rabbit ear" antennas just had no class.
Nirvana vs. Marshall TuckerJust my opinion, Real Jimmy, but at least you were paying tribute to music that deserved it.  I really hope there won't be any grunge tribute bands in the future.
Status SymbolsWe started with one car in 1960 but had to have another since we both worked.  Then, we had a teenager and, then, another.  Soooo -- 4 cars.  Walk?  Bicycle?  Ha!  Not in California.  Now, it is a nationwide problem.  Thanks for reminding me. 
Cool Hat, KidLove the photo.  I had a had just like that as a kid and think I have photo somewhere of me wearing it while sitting on a pony at a neighborhood birthday party.
Takes me back...I think THIS is the turning point.  This photo captures the apex of our society.  I see the dreams of so many families right here.  A house of your own.  A clean street. Meticulously maintained homes.  The kids free to play in the neighborhood. A perfect blue sky.
This photo makes me cry.
Grew up nearbyI grew up in the SF Valley in the same era, that photo takes me back. I also watch the TV series "Mad Men" and the cars, furniture, fashion etc. are all things I remember. The easy days of riding your bike up and down the neighborhood with your friends, not a care in the world. Sigh.
Pure EvilNo helmet, knee pads or elbow pads denote a neglectful lack of regard for poor Jimmy by his mother.  That hat no doubt contains lead-based pigments; clear evidence of child abuse.  
And what's this??  A toy GUN???  That poor child's evil, troglodyte mother should be thrown in jail for creating another gun-crazed criminal!!!!elevnty1!!
(/nanny-state nutjob)
Great pic.  It reminds me of my own childhood, before childhood was destroyed by the culture of fear we have today.
Dang, That Could Have Been ME!Boy, does that look familiar. My grandparents had a house in South Gate, at Tweedy Boulevard and San Luis Street. I was even born about the same time. And I had my trusty steed "Tricycle" and my Mattel Fanner 50!
The Melting PotOh yes, I remember the days when all the kids in the suburbs had Anglo names like Will, Paul, and Rosemary. Today we have a much more diverse society.
Suburban namesNo, they had names like Jimmy, Mary and Davy.
Their Mom
Some things aren't so differentMy childhood was like this in northern Illinois. However, there are still some pockets of America like this. In my subdivision outside of Denver, small children play up and down the street just like Jimmy. 
If you look around, you can provide a life like this for your children
Same hereMy mother and I watch Mad Men and love it. But she'll always point things out while we're watching and say "My parents had those! And those, and those!!!" "I remember using that!" Apparently they get everything "down to the t" when it comes to the setting. 
Re Pure Evil by Random Numbers Random Numbers said:  Great pic. It reminds me of my own childhood, before childhood was destroyed by the culture of fear we have today.
The irony I see in Random Numbers' remarks is that this kind of negativity sounds just as whiny as today’s “nanny state," and serves the unintentional purpose of proving that life--or at least People--haven't changed much at all since the 1960's--when grumpy old people even then lamented how much better (more real, more sincere, etc.) things were when THEY were children.
Anyway, I trust that Random Numbers and his like-minded baby boomer peers are “keeping it real” by not giving in to today’s "culture of fear" paranoia and availing themselves of the myriad medical advancements and pharmaceuticals that have increased well-being and longevity by decades as compared to those fun and free “good old days” when people routinely died in their 60s!  (--Wouldn’t want to be a hypocrite.)
p.s. tterrace your photos are WONDERFUL!
Cowboy Jimmy   Honest to Abe, this is one of my favorite pictures of yours!
South Gate memoriesMy folks had a house on Kauffman Avenue until 1968, when they bought their house in Downey. It was very close to the old South Gate water tower, near South Gate park. I'm sure you remember the area. I only have vague memories, as I was just a toddler when we lived there. I should see if I can find some of the photos my folks took during the time they lived on Kauffman. I'm sure they look very much like these!
"Just a snapshot "As beautiful as any William Eggleston photo I've ever seen, and I consider him a genius in the world of photography.  This is just utterly enchanting -- I can't take my eyes off it. (Same is true for the photo you posted a while back of the young man in a sea of blacklight posters.) This is just the best website ever! 
South Gate kidI grew up in South Gate in the 70's and 80's. This picture looks very much like my grandparents street. They moved to South Gate after WWII ended and lived and worked there for the rest of their lives. It was a wonderful & diverse city at that time. I was wondering what street this picture was on. 
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Kids, tterrapix)

Mineral Electric: 1942
... smelter, Anaconda Copper Mining Company. Individual ore cars are pushed to the ore dump by an electric locomotive." Acetate negative by ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/30/2023 - 2:18pm -

September 1942. Deer Lodge County, Montana. "Anaconda smelter, Anaconda Copper Mining Company. Individual ore cars are pushed to the ore dump by an electric locomotive." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size.
(The Gallery, Mining, Railroads, Russell Lee)

Old Ferry Lane: 1910
... Naval Shipyard and averages two trains, of just a few cars each, per year. Rumor has it that they carry radioactive waste from ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/21/2023 - 4:51pm -

Circa 1910. "Old Ferry Lane -- Kittery Point, Maine." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Kittery in railroad loreRailroad fans know of Kittery because it is home to the least active rail line in the country. The line goes to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and averages two trains, of just a few cars each, per year. Rumor has it that they carry radioactive waste from submarines to disposal sites in Idaho, but the Navy won't say.
A Nice WalkFound the spot the photo was taken!  Looks like the house is still there as of 2017.
Just love this old photo, makes me want to walk down that dirt road on a nice summer day with my dog.

Kittery Shipyard rail moveThey did a move to the yard back in September.  Here is a video from a rail move last year:

There's a signpost up aheadWe see the small sign, Old Ferry Lane, at right.  But, past the branches, there is another sign for those headed in this direction.  It's a much longer sign.  I wonder what it says?
["I'M ACTUALLY A FENCE"? - Dave]

This could be the house.
The trail of evidence suggests ...This view seems to be close to the spot in the original image.
The stone wall in the original has been lowered and smoothed over in the current view. But the mall cape in the distance has the same dormers looking out over the roofline, and the outcrop of stones along the edge of the driveway today is also present in the original image.
Sure does seem like the spot. I've commented earlier that "things don't change much in New England." Even more of a truism in coastal Maine.

Bicycle tracks?It looks like there are more bike tire tracks on that road than anything else. 
[Um, those are wagon tracks. - Dave]
The Box on the Pole:What is the box used for?  Just local messages to people in the neighborhood?
Box on the pole:Judging by the porcelain knob and electrical wires running to the box, my guess is there's a switch in the box to turn on a light at the top of the pole.
That box is wiredIn addition to being padlocked, the box on the pole has two wire connected to it. One passing around a ceramic insulator and then goes up the pole passing yet another insulator. Another goes straight down to the ground from the bottom of the box. I'd guess this means it's its power and the box may be a junction box or fuse box.
Re: Box on poleThat appears to be a single wire telephone. The wire coming down the pole goes into the phone while the wire at the bottom completes the circuit using earth return. OK for short hauls but the noise level increases rapidly with distance. Probably a dedicated service customer protected with padlock.
The WallInstead of the stone wall having been shortened, I'd think the more likely scenario is that the level of the road has been graded and raised, obscuring the lower portion of that cement capped stone wall. Great photos.
(The Gallery, DPC, Landscapes)

Lands End: 1925
... scanned by Shorpy. View full size. More Extinct Cars Please The range of extinct auto brands is remarkable. Please continue ... a couple of weeks ago. Echoing "More Extinct Cars" Plea While you're at it, please give us some Moon autos ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/03/2014 - 1:05pm -

1925. "Overland at Lands End and Lincoln Park golf course." Latest entry in the Shorpy Showcase of Extinct Automobiles. 6½x8½ glass negative from the Wyland Stanley collection of San Francisciana, scanned by Shorpy. View full size.
More Extinct Cars PleaseThe range of extinct auto brands is remarkable. Please continue to showcase these vehicular dinosaurs. Do you have a photo of a Michigan?
[Rest assured that there are more (many more!) of these in the pipeline. As for a Michigan, we'll see what we can do. - Dave]
Back seat driverYou just played golf last weekend; let's get going......
Left arm straight...Head down, knees slightly bent. Bring club head straight back and...
**AHOOOOOGAA**
&%$#*@ !!
Extinct Too Late (Driver not the Car)Adolf was lucky to fulfill a condition of his parole by securing a job as a driving instructor, but still he yearned to be among the real artists back home.  
A Complex Genealogy (Somewhat Simplified)Overland + Willys = Willys-Overland --> Willys.
Kaiser-Frazer --> Kaiser.
Kaiser + Willys = Kaiser-Willys.
Nash + Hudson = American Motors (AMC).
AMC acquires Jeep upon demise of Kaiser-Willys.
Chrysler acquires AMC, murders same, becomes step-parent of Jeep.
Mercedes-Benz + Chrysler = Daimler-Chrysler, which, after divorce, dallies with some holding company, then "merges" with Fiat.
So, your Viper may contain a screw or washer originally designed for the Overland pictured!
A memorable phraseMy father often repeated the story of Norwegian/American neighbors of his youth in Northeast Minneapolis, who were proud owners of an Overland. What my father repeated was their frequent boast, "Ve can't dress up on Sundays, but ve can drive Overlands, though." I heard this from my father almost every Sunday as our family, all dressed up, went out the door on our way to church.
The "Overland" smoke stack was still standing in Toledo, Ohio when I drove through there a couple of weeks ago. 
Echoing "More Extinct Cars" PleaWhile you're at it, please give us some Moon autos manufactured in St. Louis.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, San Francisco, W. Stanley)

Smells Fishy: 1958
... photo for lovers of classic vehicles. Nice mix of cars I like the ford in the middle part of the photo. I see (I think) a ... Can anyone tell me about the others? Re: Nice mix of cars On the right center one of my favorite cars is a Fairlane 500. Pretty ... 
 
Posted by Jim Page - 09/14/2012 - 9:07pm -

If anyone wants to know what the weirdest, most pungent smell in the world is, my vote goes for a menhaden fish-processing plant, more commonly called a “pogie plant.” This one was on Highway 87 between Port Arthur and Sabine Pass, Texas, and owned by a friend of my dad’s, John Quinn.
My dad’s car is the 1952 DeSoto Custom Club coupé which looks black in this photo, but was actually a very dark green. He loved that car and so did I. I’m guessing that bright-red object is either a gas pump or– and this is entirely possible– Dr Who is visiting Sabine Pass, Texas, for some reason.
My dad was fascinated by menhaden fish; he’d spot huge schools of them in the Gulf of Mexico from his plane, radio the fishing boats as to the location, and they’d pay him a percentage of the catch’s proceeds. That was called “fish spotting” and some pilots made a lot of money doing that!
A Texas marine biologist’s report from 1960 that I found on the web claimed that this plant, and one other in Texas, processed 60 MILLION pounds of menhaden in 1959. Holy mackerel, that’s a lot of fish!!!
Photo from 1958 (I think!). View full size.
Interesting  A good picture with a lot of details.  I would guess the red object is a fuel pump because it looks like a pipe near it coming from an underground storage tank.  I wonder why the pump and pipe isn't protected from traffic though.  The truck in the foreground is pretty beat up and labeled #5 so I assume the fish plant had a fleet of trucks.  A great photo for lovers of classic vehicles.
Nice mix of carsI like the ford in the middle part of the photo. I see (I think) a couple of Oldsmobiles and a Ford pickup.  Can anyone tell me about the others?
Re: Nice mix of carsOn the right center one of my favorite cars is a Fairlane 500. Pretty sure it is a 1957 model. Also see a 56 Pontiac which looks purple to me just to the left of the red pump.
Nice parking lotIn the foreground we have a circa '55 Ford pickup with its working clothes on, behind it is a '57 Ford Fairlane, nosed up to the gas pump is a '56 Mercury, across the alley from that is a '56 Pontiac, next to the Poncho is a brand-new Ford pickup with a plywood box built over the bed, and the gray and white sedan on its bumper is a '50 Ford. For the final four we have, right to left, a '51 Chevy, a '51 Desoto, a '55-up GMC pickup, and a circa '47 Desoto with badly sunbaked paint.
How did I do?
Working_Fool's Auto ReviewHey!
You did far better than I could. From some other old slides I had made into digital files, I had identified that DeSoto of my dad's as a 1952, but you are more likely to be correct than I am. It was a great car, and dad later had a white '58 Firestorm (I believe that was the model) DeSoto that was my favorite. I'm on the left in the attached photo from 1962.
CorrelateIt would interesting to correlate the number of comments a picture generates with the number of cars/pretty girls in that picture. 
DeSotosWere my dad's favorite.  The late 50s models were: Firedome, Fireflite, Adventurer, and shorter-wheelbase Firesweep.  He moved on to Chryslers when DeSoto ended its run in 1961.
Must be the salt airIt just struck me how rusty and beat-up looking some of these vehicles are, considering the year is c.1958.  The Ford F-100 is only a couple of years old, but it looks like it's at least 20 (even if it didn't have that dented fender)!  Does the Gulf climate really age vehicles that fast?
re:Working_Fool's Auto ReviewGood job.  Couple of minor corrections/clarifications:  The c.'55 Ford pickup is a '56, and the '50 Ford sedan is actually a '51.
I clearly remember the 1957 Ford FairlaneI nearly fell out of the passenger door and right on to Main Street Barstow (a.k.a. Route 66) in one when I was five! 
Mom took a hard left, the door flew open and I hung on to Grandma for dear life, Grandma hung onto Mom and Mom hung on to the Steering wheel!
The second time I almost got killed in that car was when a rear tire blew out on Highway 18, we spun around two or three times without hitting anything but I think we all needed a change of undergarments. 
I can't recall how many times it left us stranded with a dead battery, I was only four or five during the time we had that death trap.
Sure like to have another one today though.
Question For ptcruiserThanks for your comment! DeSotos and Pontiacs were my dad's favorites, and he was a commercial pilot; it seemed a lot of his pilot friends also favored those two brands.
Can you tell what exact model the white one is in the second photo I posted? I can't remember and don't know the brand enough to distinguish the models. I seem to remember it was Fire-something or other. I really loved that car. It had a push-button automatic transmission and was super fast.
Thanks!
--Jim
@Jim PageI was unable to zoom on your picture, and my laptop resolution is not the best.  You can see the model name in back-slanted script on the tailfin.  With the help of a magnifying glass I think I can just make out the letter "p" at the end, so I'm guessing it's the low-priced Firesweep series.  It was built on the shorter wheelbase of the Dodge Royale, as true DeSotos were very long cars.  Hard to determine with the telephone pole breaking up the continuity, but this appears to be shorter.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)

Hopkins Titanafram: 1926
... Titanafram had already sunk. (Technology, The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/10/2023 - 3:49pm -

"Washington, D.C., Industrial Exposition 1926. Hopkins Titanafram." Here's a fascinating glimpse back to a time when  titanaframs were the size of sombreros. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
You Always Get your Way at Ourisman Chevrolet!Ourisman Chevy in the background is still going strong in the DC area:
http://www.ourismanchevrolet.com 
The Power of ShorpyAfter Googling what the heck a titanafram is, the results page had Shorpy links at the top. I am impressed.
Home DefenseI am curious what the large caliber barrel on our left is. Is it housewares, per the posters behind it- "The only machine that removes"?  I can't make out the pennant's message.
Furniture topsI find it interesting that there was enough of a demand for glass funriture tops to allow a business to specialize in them (see display on the right side of the photo).
[Glass tops were widely used in both retailing (on counters) and offices (desks). - Dave]
TitanaframSo, if I read the patent correctly, the Titanafram is a speaker cone, or diaphragm. Therefore (he said, sucking all the whimsy from the post) only the cone at the center of the display is the actual Titanafram, not the decorative frame or the embossed panel. So it's probably closer in size to a yarmulke. Apparently the significant features of the Titanafram that distinguish it from other speaker cones is the stiffness of the material used (wood!) and the graduated thickness from center to edge. I think it's fair to conclude that it was not a particularly successful design, since last I checked, most speaker cones are still made of treated paper.
[The Hopkins patents were important contributions to loudspeaker design, and eventually licensed to RCA. This was an actual working wired loudspeaker in the photo. They were hanging all over the exhibit hall. Click below to enlarge. - Dave]

Hear It Now
Home DefenseIt looks more like a piece of firefighting equipment either for a mobile truck mount or perhaps on a marine fire tugboat. The posters look like they refer to another exhibitor's booth.
Bang.The two barrels noted at the left side of the photo are a small caliber naval gun and a rangefinder.
Two eyecups in the center of the rangefinder are pointing down at the ground.
The naval gun?  Maybe a pedestal mounted, breech loaded 1, 2 or 3 pounder?  See the shoulder yoke?  The gun is something that might have been obsolete by 1926.  Certainly obsolete by WW2.  It looks like something that would have been state of the art at the turn of the century but I don't know enough about this stuff to ID it any better.
Makes you wonder what they were keeping under the tarps on the tables.  Ammunition?  They could have done some serious damage to the "glass table tops" display.
Fascinating!What a startling contrast to the titanaframs of today.
"Improved," my footWhy, the titanaframs back in my great-great-great-grandpappy's day were nonagonal! And you had to crank 'em by hand! Then they had to go and newfangle 'em up. Any titanafram made after Aught-Eight is a shamafram if'n you ask me.
Guess I was wrong...I thought that by 1926 the Titanafram had already sunk.
(Technology, The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)

Fast Company: 1917
... what these guys would think if they knew how much faster cars and bikes of today would be. Mind boggling I would bet. Speed then and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/09/2023 - 3:53pm -

Washington, D.C., 1917. "Auto and motorcycle races at Benning track." 5x7 inch glass negative, National Photo Company Collection. View full size.
Need for SpeedI wonder what these guys would think if they knew how much faster cars and bikes of today would be. Mind boggling I would bet.
Speed then and nowI wonder how a modern racer would experience a, say 70 mph, speed on a 1917 machine and track. Worse than today's 140 mph? Oh, and wearing the same outfit as the racer pictured above, no Nomex/Kevlar in those days.
The two menwho are the center of attention in this photo -- to me, they look like brothers.  If so, it wouldn't be the last racing family.
Before the banAt the time, auto racing contests were governed by the American Automobile Association. In November 1917, the AAA's contest board announced it would stop sanctioning auto racing events for the duration of the war. It was justified the halt based on the government's need for skilled mechanics and drivers because of the war. It expressed hope that, without the "temptation" of auto racing, up to 1,200 skilled mechanics and drivers would become available for war work. President Wilson applauded the ban, explaining that auto racing was too destructive of materials and gasoline as well. 
(The Gallery, D.C., Motorcycles, Natl Photo, Sports)

Sea Crest Motors: 1977
... to gaze up to at night; I don't think he sold many cars though. View full size. Big Indian One of the early roadside ... dealer did the same. Two nice looking "personal luxury cars" there though. Heavy VictrolaJazz : For comparison, a milspec ... 
 
Posted by rizzman1953 - 05/20/2012 - 7:00pm -

Fall 1977. Sea Crest Motors was a Cadillac-Pontiac-Mazda dealership on Route 1A in Lynn, Massachusetts. The Indian could be a reference to Pontiac, the Native American chief and namesake for the car company. Very impressive to gaze up to at night; I don't think he sold many cars though.  View full size.
Big IndianOne of the early roadside advertising attractions(or distractions?) Read more; http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/30707
Where's the Chief?This place is still there, and was called Sea Crest until fairly recently. It's now called "Pride" but still sells Lincolns, etc. as well as Kias and Hyundais. No sign of the Chief, though...
Good Old DaysWhen the Cadillac dealer put a late model Lincoln on his used car lot and the Lincoln dealer did the same.
Two nice looking "personal luxury cars" there though.
HeavyVictrolaJazz : For comparison, a milspec Humvee starts at 5,200 lbs!
Those things were led sleds for sure.
AvoirdupoisThe Eldorado - 4,955 lbs!
The Continental - 4,652 lbs.!
11 MPG Highway / 7 MPG City
We've come a long way, baby!
That Indian was also a GiantThe mold for the large Indian was used for many customers, and sometimes painted as a Caucasian Giant, if that would better fit the name of the purchaser's business.
TargetA Pontiac dealership here in San Antonio had one of those perched up very high.  It became a common target for archers with it rarely not having a few arrows in the chest.
Cars at NightI can recall shopping at that dealership, but why I have no idea. Living on the South Shore of Boston it would not have been convenient or smart to buy there. I do love photos of shiny new cars in the dark!  Great photo Rizzman!
Glorious Excess!The car directly under the indian is a 1978 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz.  The Biarritz was the top trim level, and is distinguished from the 'ordinary' Eldorado by the addition of chrome trim from the sides of the hood to the kick-up of the rear fender, as well as the 'coach' lights on the side of the C pillar, padded leather-grained vinyl roof, pillow-topped leather seats, and available gold plating on all emblems and crests.  I have one, and believe me, it is the world's gaudiest, least useful car - the interior is small, and the trunk won't even hold two suitcases.  Pure American in-your-face ersatz luxury, the sort of thing that put the American Auto industry on the ropes.
Cadillac vs. LincolnNice display at this dealership. This is the used car (pre-owned in today's jargon) area as evidenced by the late model cars sitting around (I noticed a nice looking '74 or '75 Firebird in the background). I like how the dealer positioned the Eldorado next to the Lincoln Mark V. Those were some great years for cars (outside of the smogged down engines).
Loungin' in the LincolnOh this pic of the Lincoln brings back memories. I had this exact used car in 1979. I LOVED that car. Ultimate smooth ride, luxurious interior, big, fast engine. Sure it was a gas guzzler, but for a 20 yr. old girl, I was the envy of all my friends, LOL! It was like driving a sofa!
The Indians Are Coming!There are several statues of Indians in Maine, where I live.  Probably the most famous one is known as the FBI, which is visible from I-295 in Freeport.  Although the exact wording of the acronym FBI is the subject of much question and dispute, for purposes of keeping the text clean we'll call it the "Freeport" Big Indian.  The locals have several more "colorful metaphors", as Mr. Spock would call them.  There's an interesting web page that describes many of the statues located around the country.  Check it out at http://www.agilitynut.com/giants/indians.html
Another oneThere's one just like this big fiberglass Indian at a car lot on the southside of Parkersburg, WV. It's been moved at least a couple of times since the 1960's, but he's always been at a car lot.
American ironI spy at least three Firebirds in the background; one is a 74 or so Esprit or maybe Trans Am, also the back tail of what is probably a four door 75 or 76 Grand Am (yes they used the name back then as well) as well as the smattering of Cadillacs. The Biarritz Eldorado is beautiful; I've only seen them as beaters, being a bit younger. There is also a station wagon on the sales floor, it's the debut of the new smaller midsized G-body for 1978 e.g. Cutlass, Monte Carlo, here in Pontiac Le Mans Safari trim. Cool pic. I love to see a dealership pic that's of a different era then those usually posted here. Of course I love the old ones as well.
Cars of Eddie CoyleBuilding still stands on the Lynnway, selling furniture now. Mom grew up in Hyde Park and taught me never to go to "Lynn Lynn city of sin, you never come out the way you came in"
Land YachtsMy uncle had a Caddy like that, except it was a rag top in triple-white! As a kid I just did not grasp the concept of "It's too hot to put the top down today!" As a "grown-up" I still don't buy that one. Oh, and I'm pretty sure that's a Mark IV (1972-76) as the Mark V (1977-79) had a slimmer, less bulbous roof. I wouldn't mind having a nice example of either one! Our '69 Lincoln Continental four-door featured a custom license tag that read "MYOT." Always got a grin at traffic lights!
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)

The Automobilist: 1910
... as their own. It is estimated that only a few hundred cars were made during their seven years in production and only two cars appear to survive. The cars shown below are from the January 1, 1909 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2023 - 3:03pm -

Detroit circa 1910. "Automobile on town street." More specifically, Jefferson Avenue at East Grand Boulevard. The building at right is Moesta's Tavern at 1407 Jefferson (also seen here). 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Ellie IncognitoI think this is Elinor Blevins in disguise.  How many paople would own a pair of gloves like that?
Eat my dust...I've got a horseless carriage and you guys DON'T!
A pair of gloves like that?Put me down as one owner; got them about 35 years ago, kept the leather (hand) part nearly soaked in mink oil. The long fur sleeves are wonderful, used them today with the temps in the teens. Snowmobile used to call them "snot-wipers," the furry part being perfectly located for that work.
WindowsWhat are the words in the window of the building to the far right?
[Too blurry to tell. - Dave]
WHAT is the world coming to?Danged hot-rodders! 
Seriously, can anyone make out the model of the car?
This looks to have been in an upper-class neighborhood.  Look at the size of the houses and how clean everything was. Also, no packs of "feral children" are running wild in the streets!
Moesta's Store?The illegible shopfront sign got me curious, so I rummaged around in the LOC's Detroit Publishing Co. images that included automobiles. There are two more views of this street scene in the collection, taken at slightly different times, but each with a passing car. The LOC cataloger devised the titles from scrutiny of the original 5x7 glass negatives, listing one as "Street with automobile and Moesta's store," (LC-D418-31165) and the other as "Street with Moesta's store and Fuller Savings Bank" (LC-D418-31166). I'm not sure that the reading of "Store" is quite right, since the S-word looks longer than that in the image posted here, but the "Moesta" seems correct. There don't seem to be any other online references to these businesses, but a Moesta family genealogy page (a German surname later anglicized to Mesta) suggests Pittsburgh, PA as a possible locale for the period of the photo.
Wealth creationThe home on the left is a great house. Even when wages were only a dollar a day, there have been people that could do things that would make them rich. I think that is wonderful.
You big dummy...The driver of that car sure looks a lot like Fred G. Sanford to me...the G is for gasoline.
Early BuickMy guess on the make of automobile is A Buick Model 10 (produced from 1908 - 1911).  This appears to be a runabout version without the back seat.  Very sporty, no matter what.
DetroitJefferson Avenue and East Grand Boulevard. Shown below circa 1936. 
Pungs-Finch?The auto looks like it might be a 1906 - 1908 Pungs-Finch (P-F) car made in Detroit, Michigan from 1904 - 1910.  What first led me to this conclusion was the script lettering on the radiator -  which although blurred seems to be two words.  The script is certainly is not the word "Buick," but there are many similarities between the two marques.
Other identifying features in common with a P-F are the radiator shape and single strap running across the hood; tie bar below the front chassis; front axle almost directly below the radiator; rounded cowl shape and lights only on the cowl as seen in all early P-F advertising; fender line; tank or muffler below the left side chassis; and the curved body line from the top of the cowl to the front of the seat.
I am not 100% sure it is a P-F because I have not found any other photos with this exact script on the radiator or the horizontal lines running across the radiator.  Everything else seems to match perfectly.
The Pungs-Fitch was made by a father and his son-in-law (W.A. Pungs and E.B. Finch).  Pungs supplied the money and Finch supplied the engineering ability.  They bought out the Sintz Gas Engine Company and claimed Sintz' history as their own.  It is estimated that only a few hundred cars were made during their seven years in production and only two cars appear to survive.
The cars shown below are from the January 1, 1909 Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal.  The fenders have been modernized, but otherwise looks nearly identical to the earlier models.  Note that the Runabout and Touring Models used different hoods.
Moesta's Saloon in DetroitI found the following information online, but there was no date attached to the newspaper article nor the newspaper name.
"Detroit's most famous east side saloon, on Jefferson avenue at East Grand Boulevard since 1875, is being torn down.  Formerly the headquarters of Detroit River yachtsmen, it was operated by Henry Moesta until prohibition drove him from business.  His father, Henry Moesta the first, founded the tavern."  Henry (the first) ran the business for about 17 years, and Henry (the second) continued on for another 23 years - roughly 1879 - 1919.
"I would have grown rich, like so many others," said Henry Moesta the second.  "I preferred to obey the law like my father before me and keep always the memory of the honest place he constructed."
"The Moesta place was taken over by Harry Gordon when prohibition arrived."
"Henry Moesta's brother, Charles was also a famous tavern-keeper until prohibition arrived, when he too abandoned the business." 
The story also states, "Now they are tearing the tavern down to make way for a bridge boulevard and the marine atmosphere that attached the vicinity of Jefferson avenue and East Grand Boulevard with the fresh flavor of the inland seas will never be the same again."
The street address was 1407 Jefferson Avenue which was directly across the street from the Detroit River.  In the Detroit phone directory the business was described as a "Restaurant and Cafe, Imported and Domestic Wines, Liquors, and Cigars."
The photos below show the sign in front of Moesta's Saloon and a photo of part of the newspaper article showing Henry Moesta (the second) and his brother Charles Moesta along with two views of the business.
Note: This main portion of the article was very out of focus and I tried to copy everything correctly, but some words may not be correct in my quotes because reading portions of the text was so difficult.
Amazingly, there is actually a photo of the inside of the Moesta Saloon here.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Detroit Photos, DPC)

Semmes Motor Co.: 1927
... trucks, Semmes Motor Co." Headquarters for Good Used Cars. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size. Love the car and garage pictures Your pictures of vintage cars are excellent. MORE please. Not tired of DC, Thank you very much ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 8:26pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1927. "Cross trucks, Semmes Motor Co." Headquarters for Good Used Cars. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.
Love the car and garage picturesYour pictures of vintage cars are excellent.
MORE please.
Not tired of DC, Thank you very muchNot the least tired of the DC photos.  Basically, I'm enjoying all the photos that you're willing to take the time to clean up and share with us.  
George J. Cross, jr.

Washington Post, Oct 8, 1929 


Cross Funeral Today

Funeral services for George J. Cross, jr., 39 years old, proprietor of a plumbing business at 636 Pennsylvania avenue southeast, and president of the Southeast Business Men's Association, who died Sunday at the residence of his parents, 152 Thirteenth street southeast, will be held at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning in St. Peter's Catholic Church. Burial will be in the Cedar Hill Cemetery.
Mr. Cross came to Washington from Morrisville, N.Y., and received his education at the public schools in this city.  He established a plumbing business on Eleventh street southeast fourteen years ago, and later moved to the Pennsylvania avenue address.  He was a member of the Board of Trade.  He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Lillian Cross; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. G. Jefferson Cross and a sister, Mrs. Ada J. Veeland.

Rolling paint  job"We Paint While You Ride"
I'd like to see that.
Auto DealersHaven't we seen enough of DC auto dealers?  For that matter, the site is too DC heavy.
Larger than lifeWell, almost--there's a 10-foot high blowup of this photo, colorized, in the lobby of a bank at the corner of 15th St & P NW. I wondered if it would show up on Shorpy as it was so clearly a National Photo Company picture. Blows up just great--try that with your digital camera.
Not enough photos... of flugelhorn shops in Minnesota... I think there must be a conspiracy afoot.
DC Auto Pix --Keep 'em comin'.
More Power!With Lightning Motor Fuel you'll get more power!  I daresay that the combination of lightning and motor fuel WOULD give you more power ... briefly.  
Not tired of auto dealers eitherTo me, the pleasure of Shorpy comes from the period and not necessarily the place. There is something to be enjoyed from each picture, and something to learn as well. Keep up the good work and ignore the knockers.  
Not tired eitherOne of the sources of these photos is a collection from a DC based news photo service so there is necessarily going to be a lot of photos taken in DC.  I am not tired of them either and am also grateful for all the photos that get posted here.
Union GarageAnother view of the Union Building, which was on G Street:
https://www.shorpy.com/node/5330

Cross truck apparatusAnyone know what the hoop-like device on the driver's side of the truck is?
[Spare tire holder. - Dave]
I love carsand I love DC.  Keep 'em coming Dave!
Enjoyour unheated customer waiting lounge (on right) where you apparently will be forced to sit on pipes.
Love Dealership PhotosI too enjoy the auto dealership photos.  Please keep them coming.  They are such a reflection of the period.
Really!Some jerk has the nuts to complain about the pictures on Shorpy being too DC and automobile oriented?  Get a life or invent your own site.  I visit Shorpy every day and am never disappointed. 
Car DealersPhotos of the nascent automobile "Garages" or dealerships are as much a part of Americana as is the spinning wheel.
One small request?I love how we can see how Washington has changed over the years, so I don't think this site is too D.C. heavy. It is so intresting, I think anyway, to see how Americas love of the automobile grew and changed with the times, so I really have no great complaint with that. However..., could we maybe, kinda, once in a while, see more Train pictures? We railfans would love that!
["Once in a while"?? Mayhaps time for an eye exam. - Dave]
Keep the Cars Coming!I too love the car and truck pics!
Yes Dave, I think the hoops on the side are for mounting the demountable rim and spare tire.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)

Great-Grandpa was a PA coal miner
... then moved to Detroit, where he worked for Packard Motor Cars. My mother has this photo too. Louis passed away in 1994 at the age of ... 
 
Posted by gmr2048 - 02/01/2008 - 1:18pm -

Miners from near Hazleton, PA. Exact year unknown (probably early 1900s). My great-grandfather is the bottom-left miner. View full size.
Great photo! Where isGreat photo! Where is Hazleton?? My Gr. Granpa and Granpa were from "Six Mile Run". Also miners. don't think they are in your photo, but really looked. Gayle
[The caption says Hazleton is in Pennsylvania (as opposed to Hazelton, in West Virginia). Google Maps shows it near Scranton. - Dave]
PA CoalminersMy great-grandfather (a Lithuanian immigrant) was also a coal miner in the Hazleton area right around dthis same time frame.  I'd love to know more about the people in the picture, or at least your great-grandfather.
PA CoalminersI just happened to stumble onto this site and boy, the memories are flooding!  My grandfather and greatgrandfather were both minors from Hazleton.  Both are long gone but I still travel from Connecticut to Hazleton on a regular basis to visit family there.  We have 5 generations going there.
PA CoalminersI too had a grandfather and greatgrandfather from Hazleton who were coalminers.  They came from Czechoslovakia around 1910.  I still make trips from CT to PA to visit family there.
PA Coal MinersMy grandfather came from Poland and also worked in the mines in Hazleton, PA.  I seem to remember the family saying it was the highest point in Pennsylvania.  I had relatives who lived both in Freeland and Highland not far from Hazleton. - Chris
PA coal minersHazleton, PA is in the "hard coal" or anthracite region of PA mining country. I grew up in Windber, in southwestern PA, in the "soft coal", or bituminous region. My uncle worked in the mine. I remember the "strike breakers" going to work, and more than that, I remember the BIG men with BIG guns who prevented anyone from interfering. I was about 5 or 6 yrs old. I still have a dear friend who lives there. (We are octogenarians). Has anyone else noticed the 3 or 4 very young men, boys really, in the picture?
My great grandfathers tooMy great-grandfathers both worked as coal miners in northeast PA, not sure if it was Hazleton or another town though. One was from Poland and the other was from Romania.
Pa. CoalminersMy great grandfather. grandfather, and great uncles were all coalminers in western Pa. One great uncle was killed in a cave in in 1927. Back then mining was done with picks and shovels and work was sporadic at best.
Mines in BelgiumI had too a grandfather and others in my great grandfamily who were miners here in  Frameries - Borinage - Belgium.
Some of them and many other coworkers and friends died in the many coal mines installed in Borinage in the 19th and half part of the 20th century.
They worked hard and live wasn't very pleasant everyday.
A link to the last mine in Borinage closed in 1961, now a museum.
http://www.pass.be/index.jsp
Other links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frameries
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borinage
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borinage
http://www.google.be/search?hl=fr&q=borinage+mines&btnG=Rechercher&meta=
PA CoalminersMy grandfather and great grandfather were coal miners in NE Pa (Plymouth, near Wilkes-Barre, which is of course near Hazleton).  They were of Irish descent, and lived very hard lives.  My great-grandfather lived in a home owned by the coal company, as did most of his time, and died in a mine collapse in 1895.  His son lived into his late forties, and succumbed to 'black lung'.  Fortunately, the family line continued and are all living much healthier and longer lives, some of them still in the NE Pa region.
coal dust in our veinsAlthough no one in my family was a miner, I am from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvcania and grew up with the consciousness of coal.  I recall vivdly being a very small girl in the early 50s and hearing every morning on the radio the announcements of which mines wouild be working, and which, idle.  Presumably, if the mine didn't work, you didn't get paid.  Mining was the only economy of the area, and when the mines finally closed, the Wyoming Valley -- probably never ever a real boomtown, certainly never for the miners--sank into depression from which it has never recovered.
Our house was heated with coal; the truck would come periodically and empty its load into the chute.  I would take the dark, hard crystals that had spilled in the driveway and try to draw on the sidewalk with them.  As the 60s and 70s wore on, obituaries in the paper were filled with notices of old, and not so old, men who had succombed to anthracosis--black lung--the miner's scourge.  
The men in the mines were taken ruthless adventage of by mine owners, who exploited them and offered them shacks to live in which, even into the 60s, had no indoor plumbing. I would like to recognize all of the souls who worked so hard for so little, many of whom met their deaths deep underground.  Benetah those smudged faces were proud and hardy men.
Plymouth PA CoalminersMy Mother was born and raised in Plymouth, moving away in 1936-37. Her Father, and other relatives were miners. I'd like to hear from others with similiar backgrounds from the area. I still drive thru Plymouth a couple times a year.        bb1300@aol.com
coal miner's granddaughterGreetings from another NE PA native.  My great-grandfather, great-uncles and grandfather all worked in the coal mines of northern Schuylkill County.  Other relatives worked in the factories, foundries and mills in the area.  This part of the country was also the birthplace of the American labor movement and I am proud to say I'm a union member.
Does Anyone Have?My mother told me that we had an ancestor who was killed at one of the Southwestern PA coal mines in the early 20th century.   Where might I find a list of those who lost their lives in the PA coal mines long ago?  Please contact me at pje6431@hotmail.com.  Thanks.
PA CoalminersMy step-grandfather was also a miner in Western PA in the period 1910-1920??  I don't know if it was Hazelton.  His name was Dominick Demark or Demarco.   He and my grandmother and my father came from Canada, but my father and grandmother were originally from Chaleroi, Belgium.    
Hazleton, PA CoalminersMy great-grandfather and great-uncle worked as coal miners in Hazleton, PA.  Both were born in Kohanovce, Slovakia.  Great-grandfather, George Remeta, immigrated around 1892.  How would I find which mine he might have worked in?  I keep thinking I might be looking at a picture of him and never know it!  Also, does anyone know if payroll records or employee records exist?
Mine near HazeltonThe Eckley Mining Village is located near Hazelton and Freeland PA.  It is an interesting village and informative as well.  Some of the homes are still lived in but when the occupants die the homes belong to the village.  Well worth a visit.  There are some names available and the museum and churches are very good.
Dot
Great-grandpa was a PA coal minerGreat photo...my grandfather was too a Lithuanian immigrant and worked in the mines in Scranton Pa. I cherish the stories my mom told me of her father during that time.  I once took a tour of the Lackawanna Mines..it was an experience I will never forget. My hats off to our forefathers!
grandpa worked in the mines.My grandfather worked in the mines in the Hazleton area also, he kept journals, the year 1946 he speaks about working in tunnel 26 and such....hard life.
HazletonHazleton is in east central PA, near Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, Wilkes Barre and Scranton.  Upstate, as my grandparents called it.  They were from Welsh coal miner stock and were born near/in Hazleton.  These are hard, anthracite coal mines that had been worked heavily since the first railroads went through in the 1840s.
mining accidentMy great grandfather was killed in a mining accident at Highland #2 colliery in Luzerne Co. PA on 2/13/1888.  Would anyone know how I could get a newspaper article/obit/any info available on this accident????
Anthracite mining recordsI don't think they are available online, but the Pennsylvania Archives has microfilm of old PA mine accident records  http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/Coal%20Resources.htm
I'm pretty sure the coal region county historical society libraries have them too.
Re: Mining accidentTry newspaperarchive.com. What was your great-grandfather's name?
anthracite mining recordsFound some online.  They even have 1888. Try here:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~paluzern/mines.htm
Throop Coal Mine Disaster of 1911I see you are from Scranton. I am from Pittston. I put together a booklet on the Throop (Pancoast) mine disaster. I included a few Scranton Mine accidents. If interested the booklet sells for $12. I will pay postage.
Jim Bussacco
1124 Main St.
Pittston Pa   email bing1124.1@netzero.com
Anthracite coal miningI always like logging onto your site. My father and three brothers were coal miners in the Pittston region. I worked as an outside laborer in the tipple of a mine. In 1943, I left the mine to go into the US Navy. When I returned after the war. I worked in strippings.
Pittston was the greatest town in anthracite mining and had plenty of accidents. The last being the Knox mine disaster in 1959. I wrote a book about coal mining in Pittston, including most of the major disasters. I also have a great collection of coal mine pictures, including the Knox Mine Disaster.
I hope more people with coal mine connections log in your site,
Thank you
Jim Bussacco   bing1124.1@netzero.com
PrepselsLooking for info on Prepsels, late 1800s early 1900's. My grandfather Raymond Prepsel (spelled Prepsal on some papers) came from Austria/Hungary to work the mines in the Hazelton area. On his certificate of competency issued by the Miners' Examining Board of the Fifth District of Luz. Co., Pa. dated July 16, 1898, his name is spelled Bribsel. He resided in Deringer in Luzerine [Luzerne?] County. My great-grandfather Paul was also living in the area and in Lost Creek, Pennsylvania. I'm doing my family tree and hope someone who reads this can help me. I only know that Elizabeth Prepsel (Raymond's sister ) married a Leo Witkowski and lived in Lost Creek. I'll keep checking back on this site.
This is the names of the people who signed his competency certificate are Anthony Reilly, Isaac Williams and William Dinko.
My Great Grandfather is in the photo too!John Yuhasz, the tall gent in the back row, fifth from the right (including the boy) is my great grandfather. He migrated from Hungary to work in the mines.  He built a home on Goodman Street in Throop by the ball field just before he was killed in the accident.   His wife never remarried, but his son, my grandfather Louis, worked in the mines until he was in his early 30's, then moved to Detroit, where he worked for Packard Motor Cars.  My mother has this photo too. Louis passed away in 1994 at the age of 87, but he still had his carbide lamp.
My Great-Grandfather was a Coal Miner too!He lived near the Hazleton area and actually died in a mine collapse in 1928.  I have tried to find records of this mine explosion, but all I can find is a list of mine explosions, and there was one where 10 men died in Parsons, Pa. There was no article attached. I'm thinking that might have been the one where he died.  According to family stories, he died during a rescue attempt. Anyway, on the upper right hand corner of this picture is a young man standing in the background who has a strong resemblance to some of the pictures I have of my Great-Grandfather.  I would love to be able to find out if that was him.
Looking for CoalAnyone know where I can order/buy a sample of anthracite?
Mine AccidentGo to www.nytimes.com, and do an archive search for the 1851 to 1980 archives. Put WILKES BARRE MINE in the search box, and confine your search to May 25, 1928 to May 31, 1928. You will come up with three articles about the Parsons mine disaster. However, you will only be able to see the headlines. If you can find a public or college library that has ProQuest, which gives you free online access to the NY Times, you can read and print these articles. Good luck! Joe Manning, Lewis Hine Project.
Johnny DeVeraMy dear father passed away one week ago. he and my mother are both from Pittston. PA.  while going through his things, we came upon a story about a coal miner who never wanted his 11 year old son to follow in his footsteps, but rather wanted him to find a new life.  Unfortunately, as the story goes, he found a new life, only to return to the old and meet  his death.  it is a two page story. beautifully written.  my grandfather was a great writer.  the story has no author.  we are trying to locate the author.  could be my father too. we wonder if this is a true story, regarding the outlaw, Johnny DeVera, the son of a coal miner in PA
Hazleton, PennsylvaniaHazleton is near where the Luzerne, Carbon, and Schuylkill County lines meet. It is about 28 miles South or Southeast of Wilkes-Barre.
PA Lithuanian Coal MinersMy grandfather was a Lithuanian miner sometime before 1960.  He lived in Pittston.  I'd like to find out more about the Lithuanian miners and their families.
Pancoast mine disasterMy grandfather (Joseph Urbanowich) and perhaps his father worked the Pancoast mine .. I was wondering if your information includes the names of the 72 people who perished in the disaster. My grandfather was only 12 at the time, and I cannot find any information about his father. My grandfather was Lithuanian, lived on Bellman Street in Throop (Dickson City) in 1917 .. and then a couple of other places in Dickson City. I vaguely remember him saying something about being born around Wyoming Pa as well .. In any case, I'm interested in your booklet .. do you take paypal ??
Belgian minersDoes anyone have information on Max Romaine or Alex Small from Primrose Pa.?  Alex was my grandfather and Max my great uncle. We are trying to build a family tree and don't have much information on the Romaine part of the family. I know for sure Alex worked in the mine for 50 years and helped get benefits for black lung.  I believe Max was also a miner.
Throop PAI was just reading your reply regarding your greatgrandfather being in the photo.  i was born and raised in Throop and both of my grandfathers worked at the pancoast mine and also my wifes grandfather.  Do you have any other names of people in the photo?  I hae a lot of info regading Throop and can be contacted at sandsroad1@hotmail.com.  thanks
Anthracite coalYou're asking about a chunk of anthracite coal. I can sell you a 5 or 6 pound piece for $5 plus postage. I live in Pittston.
Jim Bussacco
bing1124.1@netzero.com
River ferries & PA coal minesMy grandfather ran a river ferry at Frank, Pennsylvania, also called Scott Haven (name of the post office). The name of the coal mine was different and I have forgotten what it is. I would like to know if anyone knows where this place is today.  I have pictures of the ferry and the school.  Granddad moved the family in about 1920 to Crooksville, Ohio to a dairy farm.  The mine either closed or was a strike and he had a family to keep.  Any help is appreciated.
Judy
Langsford PAI am also interested in confirming a Lithuanian miner of No. 9 mine in Langsford, PA.  Any help would be appreciated.  Michael Lucas or Lukas or Lukasewicz.  Thanks!
Lance Lucas
Amherst, MA
Scott HavenScott Haven is on the Youghigheny River south of McKeesport.Coal mines in this area were Shaner,Guffy and Banning.Many other small independent mines.There is not much left in Scott Haven now.I'm not sure there is even a post office left.
Knox mine disasterMy grandfather was the last one pulled out. Next Jan 22 is there any talk of a get together? 
Hazleton MinesMy great grandparents Stephen and Mary Dusick came to this country in 1888 from Spisska Nova Ves in Slovakia. They knew the place as Iglo Spisska Austria. They had a one year old son also named Stephen. My great grandfather and my grandfather worked in the mines. On the 1900 census I learned that my father, a 13 year old boy, was working as a slate picker.
Perhaps George Remeta or his children knew my family. :)My grandfathers 1917 draft registration gives the name of the mine but I find it hard to read. Looks like Pzeda Bros. & Co Lattisonee Mines PA. I know I'm not close but maybe someone will recognize a few letters.
correction: Lattimer Mines is place where my grandfather workedAfter doing more research I now know the place was Lattimer Mines but I still cannot read _____ Bros. & Co ____
Lattimer Mines and Mine RecordsPardee Brothers and Co.  Ario (Ariovistus) Pardee was patriach of one of the three prominent families (Markle and Coxe Families are the others)who first developed the mines in the Hazleton Area also known as The Eastern Middle Anthracite Field.  Pardee operated the Lattimer Mines where my great grandfather worked and where my grandmother was born.  
For those looking for mining records, look for the Annual Report of the Inspector of Mines.  These reports cover PA's anthracite and bituminous mining districts from 1870 to present.  The reports from 1870 to 1920 or so are particularly detailed.  If you had an ancestor who was killed or injured in an accident, his name, age, and a description of the incident will be included.  You can find some years for some districts online at rootsweb.  Otherwise if you know the area where they worked, the local library may have copies.  If not the State Library and PA Geologic Survey Library in Harrisburg have the complete set.  
Lansford PAIt's Lansford, not Langsford. The No. 9 mine is now a tourist attraction. It also has a museum which has lots of history and photos.
WOW!Wow! I haven't been back to Shorpy for a while now, and it's cool to see that this photo has sparked such a discussion!
I'll take a look at my original scan when I get home tonight and see if there is any other info on the back of the image. I scanned both front and back. (The original photois in the possession of my Uncle). As I remember it, tho, the only person identified is my great-great grandfather. I'll post back if I find anything else interesting.
Your grandfather John YuhaszDo you know the names of the other miners in the photo?  I'm still looking for information on my great grandfather, George Remetta and his son, also George, who were coal miners in Hazleton or Freeland during that time.  Also, what was the name of the mine?
Stephen and Mary DusickIf you could let us know the exact name of the mine it would help! Not sure if my great grandfather, George Remetta, knew your relatives.  If there were Slovak Lutherans, there is a great chance they knew each other.  My great grandparents attended Sts. Peter and Paul Slovak Lutheran church in Freeland.  Church records are available through LDS Family centers and are complete although they are written in Slovak!  Let me know...I'll be checking back with this site from time to time!
Deb Remetta
DusickThe 1900 census just says that my great grandfather worked in a local mine. Doesn't help. They were Roman Catholic as far as I know. My grandfather's 1917 draft registration form gives more clues. He worked in the Lattimer mines and lived on 992 Peace Street Hazleton.
When my great grandfather was 60 in the 1920 census he said he worked with a timber gang. Does anyone know what that was? My grandfather worked as a slate picker when he was 13. Those poor young boys. 
John McGarveyMy grandfather died in a cave-in in 1887, before my father was born in late November 1887. Name John McGarvey. wmcgarvey@tampabay.rr.com
Great-GranddadMy  great-grandfather John Davies was a coal miner from Milnesville. I believe he's in this photo, bottom right hand corner, second from the right. He came to the U.S. from Wales between 1880 & 1895.
Hello from WindberHello from Windber, Pa.  I am writing stories at the present for our new quarterly historical newsletter for the Windber Area Musuem, it is being mailed out to museum members as a thank you for their support, membership is only $5 per yr, if interested in receiving it.  Your story of remembering the guns, etc. is one of the few I have heard from someone who actually still remembers that period of time in Windber's coal strikes., etc.  If you have any photos, or a story of interest, small or big, memories, etc. that I could put in our newsletter I would be happy to receive it.  Also if you happen to have served in the military service we are planning to honor the men and woman from this area by having their photos and service records displayed during the month of July in the museum. thank you for your interest in our endeavor.  Patricia M. Shaffer,  dstubbles5@aol.com
No. 9 MineMike Lukas was my grandfather from Lansford, Pa., and worked in the No. 9 mine until it closed in 1972.
- Mike Futchko
badkarmahunter@yahoo.com
No 6 mine LansfordI am looking for any info on # 6 mine in Lansford.  My grandfather was a miner there and suffered a massive stroke in the mine. PLEASE if you have any info or pictures of this mine, PLEASE contact me papasgirl@verizon.net. Thank you very much.
Lithuanian Miner George NeceskasMy grandfather George Neceskas was a miner in Scranton PA at the Marvin Mine. (His Army discharge papers list his name as George Netetsky).  Some of his relatives still live in Scranton, although I am not personally acquainted with any of them.  None of us ever went down in the mines after he did. He had 4 children.  3 of those 4 had a total of 6 children (including my brother and I) and those 6 children had a total of 8 children. 2 of those 8 children have 2 children each.  None of those 4 bear his last name anymore, although there are still some Neceskases living in New England now. Only his children spoke Lithuanian.  None of his other descendants were taught the language.
Pa. MinersHi! My family (from Plymouth) were all coal miners. They were McCues, Burnses and Keefes, from Carver Street and Vine Street and Shawnee Avenue. My Uncle Fritz (Francis Keefe) was blown up in a mining accident in the 1950's, and nearly killed, but left with a green freckled face on the left side.
   The early relatives were Hugh McCue and Peter Burns from Ireland. County Cork and County Downs. Do you know anything of that? My mother's father, Patrick McCue, born in the 1870's, worked as a breaker boy starting when he was 9. He was orphaned that year.
Please respond to Turkeyfether@aol.com
Thanks, Kathy  
My great great grandfather My great great grandfather worked in the PA coal mines.   He died in 1906 in Scranton when he failed to heed his helper's warnings to not go back and relight the fuse.  He was 46. I have his obituary and death certificate. He suffered a crushed hand, fractured skull and a fractured radius and died from shock. There were reports that his eyeball fell out but I'm not sure. His wife had a ride to the hospital but did not have a ride back so she had to walk 15 miles back home to tell my great grandfather and his siblings that their dad had died. So, my great grandfather and his younger brother started working in the mines when they were 11 and 10, respectively.  He was born in Switzerland and only spoke German at home. He's buried in Forest Home Cemetery in Taylor.  I think my great grandfather started working Pyne Breaker in Taylor and my aunts at the Economy Silk mill in Taylor. 
Coal miners in the 1920 CensusI'm researching family in VA and WV.  I found in a 1920 census in column 13 (normally for year of immigration) the letters BWF and sometimes MH and these men were coal miners.  Can anyone tell me what the initials stand for?  I'm aware of the UMWA, a union.  Could they be the initials of the company name of the mine?  Also the birth state has USW above the state name.  Am I on the right track?  Thanks for any help.
Carol    Caf1b2h@cox.net 
[Googling those initials gives this answer: The census abbreviation BwF means boy living with father; MH means a miner is the head of the household. - Dave]
Two Lithuanian GGF's were Coal MinersOne was naturalized in 1892.   He lived in Scranton, Nanticoke or Sheatown at various times.  
I suspect he was brought over as "Contract Labor".   That was the story from Grandfather, supposedly it was a German firm.   Anyone know the names of the companies that did this sort of thing, in those days?
Does anyone understand what the immigration process was at that time?  I'm trying to work backwards from the Naturalization to establish the year he came over.
His last name was Lastauskas (which morphed into Lastowski).
Underwood CollieryI am looking for pictures, information, families that have relatives that lived in Underwood Village near Scranton that are interested in sharing photos, etc. My grandfather was a mine superintendent there until they tore the village down. Thanks.
[How are people supposed to get in touch with you? - Dave]
Underwood Connection?I recently found a photo of breaker boys on a site called "100 Photographs that Changed the World" by LIFE. My grandfather and G. Grandfather worked in the mines in PA and W.V. The 4th boy from the left, in the front row I believe is my grandfather. If you took my nephew, put him in those clothes, and smeared coal dust on his face, you would not be able to tell them apart. Even the way he stands to the look on his face (we call that the Underwood scowl, my dad had it, my son has it, and my granddaughter has it.
In researching the picture, it was breaker boys from South Pittson, PA. If any one has any information on Clyde or Fred Underwood, I would be excited to hear from you at: kenginlaz@comcast.net.
Thanks!
Mining disaster 1911I live in the uk and have two family members with a date of death/ burial 13/5/1911. Can you tell me where I could find a list of miners killed in Throop disaster in 1911. My email is caroleh1@hotmail.com
Mining disaster infoI would recommend contacting the following for starters:
http://www.pioneertunnel.com/home.shtml
After that, try the Pennsylvania Archives at:
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=2887&&leve...
One other area is the Luzerne County website.
http://www.luzernecounty.org/living/history_of_luzerne_county
These people are an excellent resource at the Osterhout Library:
http://www.osterhout.lib.pa.us/
Last but not least.  Go here first:
http://www.luzernecounty.com/links2.htm
I do not think you will be too successful in your quest. I hope I have been somewhat helpful to you and not  caused too much confusion.
Good luck.
Williams Coal MinerMy great-grandfather and great-uncle both died in a coal mining explosion near Scranton.  I am not sure where though. My dad says it was before he was born, prior to 1928. He thinks it was in Taylor, PA. Anyone have any info on Williams? rcanfield4@yahoo.com
Davis miners of Schuylkill Co. PAMy David ancestors were all coal miners from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in the late 1800s and early 1900s. John Davis, my great-great-great grandfather, came from Wales as a small child. He married Ann Hanna and died in 1902. One of their sons, David David Davis [??] (my great-great grandfather), and Charles Garfield Davis (great grandfather) were miners. I don't know if at any point they spelled or changed their name from Davies to Davis. But there were so many Davis and Davies miners during that time. This was such a huge family with so many children from each generation and I know there were other John Davis'/Davies in the family. Do you have any further info about the family I could research and maybe help? Please email me, froggy3538@msn.com
Lithuanians in the PA minesMy great grandfather and great-grandmother worked in the Scranton mines during the early 1990s [1890s? - Dave]. My grandmother was born in Scranton in 1915.I am interested in finding more info especially documentation of their existence. Their names were August and Anna Palukis. Have you found any similar info?
My email address in barthra@utrc.utc.com
Thanks
Bob Barth from CT.
Taylor Borough Mine Disaster 1907I now have more information regarding when and where my Great GF and Great Uncle were killed.  It was the Holden Mine in Taylor Borough, PA.  Any information would be great!
rcanfield4@yahoo.com
dot2lee@yahoo.com
Hazelton MinesMy mother's father, Conrad Sandrock, worked the mines around Hazelton most of his life. They lived in a small town just out side of Hazelton called Hollywood. There were strip mines across the road when I was young (1950s and '60s). I always love looking at the pictures on this site and wondering if my grandfather worked with any of these men. I know I have never worked a day in my life that would compare to one day in these mines. I take my hat off to all the men who fed their families do this kind of work. Would love to see the average kid nowadays try that.
G-Grandfather Lithuanian coal miner in Hazleton.Apparently my Lithuanian G-Grandfather was a coal miner in Hazleton, PA around 1900-1915. Haven't been able to find out much more information than that. Anyone know where I can find census records, by chance?
Information pleaseMy great-grandfather immigrated from Hungary to work the coal mines at Derringer and Tomhicken circa 1887. I welcome any information you may have about how they were recruited, how they were transported from the port of entry to Tomhicken.
The Pennsylvania Historical society record of Lucerne County said miners paid for a plot of land to bury their loved ones. My great-grandparents lost three of their children and I would like to locate where they are buried.  Also I am interested in knowing if their deaths were recorded by the State of Pennsylvania or some other agency (Town, County) that existed at the time.
Finally, I want to know of any stories that were written about the life that they and their families endured during this time.
Please contact me at mtkotsay@gmail.com
Thank you very much.
[Your great-grandparents -- what were their names? - Dave]
Taylor, PA, Coal Miner RelativesMy mother's family is from Taylor where her father, George Zigmont was a coal miner. They lived in a neighborhood called "The Patch." The houses were built on top of the mineshafts while they were digging the coal out underneath. Years later the abandoned shafts started caving in and the houses became unstable.  The entire community was condemned and the homeowners forced to move.  
My grandfather, his daughter, my great-aunt (who owned Rudy's Bar at the top of 4th Street) and her daughter were among those who had to give up their homes and got virtually nothing for their property or houses. I believe this was in the 1960s or possibly early '70s. 
George's father, Anthony Zigmont, immigrated from Austria/Poland in 1893 and settled in Taylor.  How did these immigrants wind up in Taylor from Ellis Island?  Did someone direct them there?  Did they already have relatives in the area?  Was there a group who immigrated from the motherland and settled together in Taylor? If so, does anyone know where in Austria/Poland they came from?
Slovakia, miners fromOne looks like my grandfather. Second row down on left in white shirt and tie.  Mikula is last name.  He came to PA mines after death of his father in mine accident. Also Mikula. GF left mines to work in auto plant in Detroit.
Greenwood Colliery & drifts behind Birney Plaza, Pa.Information received.
Immigrant coal minersMy grandfather immigrated from Slovakia and worked the coal mines in Coaldale, Pennsylvania. Does anyone know what year this might have been?
My great-grandfatherMy great-grandfather was also a coal miner for Moffat Mines. His place of employment was near Taylor in Lackawanna County. I recently retraced his steps and wrote about it here. What a challenging life they led.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Mining)

Superior Avenue: 1900
... Company. View full size. Cleveland Cable Cars In 1890 cable cars replaced horse drawn streetcars on Superior Avenue and Payne Avenue. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/07/2023 - 11:27am -

Cleveland circa 1900. "Superior Avenue at City Square." At right, the brand-new Williamson Building. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size.
Cleveland Cable CarsIn 1890 cable cars replaced horse drawn streetcars on Superior Avenue and Payne Avenue. Electric streetcars started to run on Superior in 1900, and on Payne in 1901. This 1900 view shows the transition period with a new electric streetcar and a cable car train (dummy and trailer). While San Francisco is the last cable car operation, both the Tacoma and Seattle cable systems lasted until 1938 and 1940.

BOOM!BOOM! is not a Cleveland stripperwell maybe there is one, but that's not the point (ahem) here

And in the interest of completeness (we don't often get a chance to present a cradle-to-grave portrait for a building)

She got a face lift at 24I couldn't find anything substantial about the Williamson Building when it was newly constructed in 1900. But there was an interesting article in the August 4, 1924, edition of Buildings and Building Management magazine about renovations made to keep it competitive with newer, first-class buildings wanting the same tenants.  The article includes the unexpected career path of building manager, John Maier and his description of the challenges he navigated (it includes a curse word!).
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6
But it wasn't enough in the long run.  Notcom's photo of the implosion is from 1982.  Today, that spot is occupied by the 200 Public Square building.

Don't Fence Me InWhat are the fenced-off little portions of lawn on the right-hand of the photo? 
[It's to keep people from walking on the grass. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Cleveland, DPC, Streetcars)

Lincoln: 1942
... lady, the streets are deserted! It's interesting that the cars are all shades of blue, black, white or gray, which isn't all that much different from what the color of cars have been for the last twenty years as well. I miss the way they looked in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/17/2011 - 9:44am -

Lincoln, Nebraska. 1942. View full size. 35mm Kodachrome transparency by John Vachon. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information.
Turn aroundThis shot makes you wonder what the girl looked like
Where Did Everybody Go?Except for the one young lady, the streets are deserted! It's interesting that the cars are all shades of blue, black, white or gray, which isn't all that much different from what the color of cars have been for the last twenty years as well. I miss the way they looked in the early 70s, which was the only era in which autos came in all sorts of loud primary and secondary colors.
Lincoln  : 1942The streets are lonely ; but the number of cars are no way,  less !  Are they Austin cars ? (Austin of England) Or might be Morris.
[These are all American cars. - Dave]
Re: VehiclesI think the second car from the right is a 1940 Chevrolet, not 1941.
More than the girlYou can see 2 guys to the right of the girl, toward the 1st corner a guy with a blue shirt and hat is walking toward the parked cars, if you go to the right of him another guy looking down with a brown hat. Also at the next intersection it looks like a group of people are getting ready to cross the street
VehiclesIt appears to me to be, from the left, a light-colored '41 Ford, then '41 Chrysler, '41 Chevrolet, '38 Buick, '41 Chevrolet, '39 Ford.
For Idleracer, yo're right; cars have become more bland. The high spot was the mid '50s, when they even had tri-tone. (I had a '55 Roadmaster with orange-red top, light gray midsection and orange-red under the sweepspear . . )
VehiclesI think you're right, Dave. The photo was dark enough I didn't notice the separate parking lights, and did not recall the chrome stripe atop the headlight housing on my late uncle's '40 model . . .
View is 13th South of N St. looking NorthI'll have to send you a picture of this scene today...probably one of the few places in Downtown Lincoln that look exactly the same.  I couldn't figure out the location of the other picture posted of Lincoln..I think all the buildings in it have been razed.
Cars are from all overThe first plate in the front is a beautiful 42 Kansas Sunflower plate from Brown County.  The next behind is from Lincoln, Nebraska.  I can only see a corner of the next one, but it looks like Hastings, Nebraska (14).  The next plate up the street is Sedgwick County, Kansas.  The last car up the street looks surprisingly like a 41 California plate, but I can't make it out well enough.  
Considering an A ration in 1942 was 3 gallons a week, they must have saved up their gas to all get into Lincoln?
[There was no rationing yet in the Midwest. (Which why none of the cars have ration stickers on the windshields.) On May 15, 1942, gasoline rationing began in 17 Eastern states. The allotment was three gallons a week. It wasn't until December 2, 1942, that gasoline rationing was required in all states. - Dave]
Gas RationingThanks. I'd forgotten that rationing didn't cover the non-Eastern states until almost 1943.
My granedfather didn't have an A ration.  He had a nearly unlimited ration.  He was a vital war worker, working in the Southern Illinois oil fields.  And a horse ate his soybean 1943 license plate.  He backed the car up to the fence by the horse field and the horse ambled over and took a big bite out of it.  He had to get a replacement.
ChryslerThat's a '42 Chrysler. The '41 had a taller grille.
+68As noted previously, this is 13th Street looking north from N Street.  The girl and flags are gone and the curbs have been modified, but otherwise, the scene is virtually the same.  I've attached a shot of the same perspective taken on March 22, 2010.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, John Vachon, Patriotic)

Florence: 1942
... that impression? (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Small Towns) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/01/2023 - 8:54pm -

June 1942. "Florence, Alabama (Tennessee Valley Authority).  Saturday afternoon." Acetate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the U.S. Foreign Information Service. View full size.
Now they stripe like all the restWe are looking at the NW corner of W Mobile and N Court Streets.  The Majestic Theater, at 202 N Court, is gone and the windows and door on the ground floor of the First National Bank have been bricked up.  Also, the city of Florence no longer designates its parallel parking spaces with a stripe that has a bulb at one end (like a thermometer) and runs up onto the sidewalk.
Yes, KathyRo, another photograph of this intersection was posted in March 2008.

Bank jobComparing the Google street view from June this year (top) to the one from May 2019 shows that the past is being uncovered.
Deja Vu?I feel like we've seen this corner before?
Anyone else under that impression? 
(The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Small Towns)

Jam-Parked: 1941
... restricted to the sheet metal. [Several of these cars have curved backlights. - Dave] It is It is in color, isn't it? Well Positioned All these wonderful cars aside, thanks for slipping the Shorpy badge into the empty parking slot. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/05/2019 - 1:17pm -

July 1941. "Parking lot, Chicago." This would look nice in color. 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
The Big SplitNot a curved piece of glass in the bunch, nor a single one-piece windshield.  A transition point. All windshields are split, two angled pieces of flat laminated glass.  Sexy curves still restricted to the sheet metal.
[Several of these cars have curved backlights. - Dave]
It isIt is in color, isn't it?
Well PositionedAll these wonderful cars aside, thanks for slipping the Shorpy badge into the empty parking slot.  Well done. Vachon really like these high angle shots.  It would be interesting to see these gems in colour and to see how many can be identified.  
CuriousNot a SUV in the bunch!
Waste Not Want NotWithout a doubt this parking lot is operated by attendants whose job it is to utilize every square inch of available real estate.
Challenge for Car SpottersThis would be an interesting challenge for car spotters. I cannot get as many as I should, '48 Ford Tudor next to a '40 Mercury coupe at the top right for starters. I think that pair of two-toned cars to their left are both '40 Buicks. Also a nice late '40s Pontiac Sedanet (today we would call it a fastback) on the left.
Also interesting, any grouping of 30 cars of this era today would include a preponderance of convertibles, not a soft top in the bunch here!
[This photo was made in 1941, so we don't see late-'40s anything. - Dave]
Hello.Excuse me, that's my '41 Olds on be bottom left. Can you let me out please? I have to go now.
People love the carsAnd all I can do is panic at the thought of being in the middle of the parking lot trying to get out.  If you guessed that I am claustrophobic, you would win the prize.  After I could breathe again (slight exaggeration) I had fun looking at the cars.  Good photo, Dave!!
They're all late-modelI don't see anything older than 1939 here. Must be the parking lot of the rich. 
Running Board AdvantageWhile visualizing the process of extracting these cars at quitting time, it occurred to me that external running boards had an advantage in that the doors are setback into the body. If modern cars were parked this closely, cheek to jowl, their doors couldn't be opened.
Just couldn't resist!Here I go....
Starting from upper left,
1941 Chevy
Middle left
1940 Chevy,1939 Chevy, 1941 Pontiac Streamliner, 1940 Chevy, 1941 Olds,1941 Chevy, 1941 Dodge
Lower left,
Appears to be 1940 Olds, 1941 Olds, 1940 Buick, 1941 Plymouth, 1940 Dodge, 1940 Hudson, 1940 Buick, 1940 Chevy,1940 Buick
Next row,
1941 Pontiac Metropolitan (Beautiful), 1940 Olds, 1939 Studebaker, 1940 Chevy, 1941 Chevy Fleetline, 1941 Buick, 1940 Buick, 1940 Mercury, 1941 Ford
Next row,
1940 Dodge, 1940 Chevy, 1941 Pontiac, 1941 Plymouth, 1940 Pontiac, 1940 Chevy, 1940 Hudson    
Wish I knew why these cars were parked the way they were, but oh well.
Would welcome any corrections or comments.
Current value of any one of these cars in their condition as shown, $20,000 to $50,000 from low end models to high end models.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chicago, John Vachon)

A Lot of Cars: 1950s
... in approximately 1950. I am hoping that someone who knows cars can come up a more precise date for the picture by noting the date of ... wagons in the last row on the right. Lots of early '50s cars. There's a 76 station (O'Neill Bros.), and a Chevy dealer. I think it ... 
 
Posted by motobean - 01/15/2014 - 3:57pm -

This photo is from my father's trip to Northern California in approximately 1950.  I am hoping that someone who knows cars can come up a more precise date for the picture by noting the date of manufacture of the newest car shown here.  I am almost sure that this parking lot was in downtown Sacramento, but it could have been in San Francisco. View full size.
A good year.After "scanning" this scene, I would guess late '54 or early '55. I see a '55 Buick at the service station and a lot of '53 and '54 models. Wasn't it just great when you could spot the make and model of a car from this distance? Whoops, I'm showing my age.
Odd LotSo if you choose a row that's full, you have to leave the lot, drive around the block and try a different row?
Possibly 1955Possibly 1955, based on a couple of light blue Ford station wagons in the last row on the right.  Lots of early '50s cars.  There's a 76 station (O'Neill Bros.), and a Chevy dealer.  I think it won't be long before this picture shows up on the Hemmings Daily blog.
http://blog.hemmings.com/
Frisco or SactoI'm going with Sacramento; streets lined with tall trees are more like the state capital.
Yellow Cadillac convertibleIn the leftmost row, a 1954 I believe.
Note: No Beetles The absence of VW Beetles in a California parking lot suggests 1955/6 at the latest. I bought a 1954 in 1957 and they were all over the place by then.
13th & LThe O'Neil Bros. service station was at 13th and L streets in Sacramento. Also I see a green 1955 Ford.
Another vote for 1955There is a coral-over white 1955 Pontiac in the third row from the left, under what looks to be a guard shack on top of a pole!
[Yes, although I believe that's Corsair Tan over Mist White. -tterrace]
"The coldest winter I ever spent"was not in a city with palm trees.
[Well, even though Mark Twain never said “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco," here's a photo I took last winter in San Francisco. -tterrace]
I stand (actually sit) corrected.
Sacramento historyThe site of that pretty Spanish-style 1930s gas station is now the boxy, 1970s-era Community Center Theater.  It's nice-looking inside, although the acoustics are bad.  I love old photos of my town.  Got any more, motobean?
Capitol ChevroletCapitol Chevrolet was at K and 13th.

As mentioned earlier, the address of the O'Neil Bros. Auto Supply and Super Service Station was on L at 13th.  Built in 1921, it was the first of at least six O'Neil Bros. stations. 

'55 Buick?Parked just to the right of O'Ne(il?) Bros. service station at top center.   Tough to tell if it's a '55 or a '56.  
Sacramento The large light-colored building in the left background, Capitol Chevrolet, can be seen in the companion photo posted by motobean a page or so prior to this.  In that picture, "Checkmate: 1950" the Capitol Chevrolet building can be seen in the extreme right background.  A comparison may assist motobean in pinpointing where his father took the earlier photo in Capitol Park, just out of view to the right of the above photo.
License PlatesWide black license plates with yellow (or gold, as some say) characters indicate 1955 or earlier.  In 1956 CA went to the narrower six-character plates in yellow (gold) with black characters.    
One Way StreetsAlso, Sacramento went to one way streets downtown sometime around 1950 and you can see that L is one way in this photo.  The Community Center Theater occupies the gas station site today and the Chevrolet dealership gave way to the new convention center complex.
Edit:  L looks one way here but then the parked cars on the far/south side seem to be facing east.  Maybe L wasn't one way yet.  
My mom and dad were married in Sacramento in 1955 while attending the University of Nevada Reno and dad drove a 1952 MG TD.  They came down to Sac, where mom's parents lived, a couple times a month on Highway 40 in the MG and said that at times that trip could be pretty treacherous.  Dad graduated and worked for the Sacramento Union newspaper in the late '50s, lived on Watt Ave out near McClellan AFB, then the family moved to the bay area when he was hired by the Oakland Tribune in 1960.        
Just peek inside. Corvette!Dad bought our brand new Chevy Bel Aire four door in March of 1955 in that building. V8 with a Power Pack, 182 horsepower! PowerGlide too. Traded in a 1953 Dodge station wagon. 
When we first saw our new one, we walked inside past those two side doors and they had a Corvette parked inside between the big doors. Instant love for a 14 year old. I remember the salesman told my dad, "Capt., we can hardly get rid of them" as I stood there and drooled.
Thank you for the photo and allowing to post my memory. I will always remember that new car inside that first big door on the left. We were stationed at Mather Air Force Base and lived at 7216 Eagle in Fair Oaks, a suburb of Sacramento. House is still there but I bet they sold the Vette.... I agree, early 1955.
The dead giveaway to 1955 The blue '55 Olds sedan in the top of the photo accompanying Dave's "13th & L" comment. I don't see anything newer.
[That could also be a 1954 Oldsmobile, so it's the Ford that's definitive. - Dave]
Dave, I don't see the '55 ford...I think I DO see a couple of pale blue '55 Dodge sedans (kinda like this one) in your blowup with the blue Olds at the top... 
Parking Lot ID'dI grew up in Sacramento in this period. Having worked for Weinstock's department store (fresh out of high school in 1973) I can attest this is the Weinstock's patron parking lot directly across from the store on 12th Street. That same lot was one of my work assignments as a gate-keeper/payment-taker for a full year.  
That's L Street at far right and Capitol Park further in, behind the long row of palms.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)

Moesta's Tavern: 1910
... many) I've noticed is that even back 100 years, the "hot cars" were more likely than not, driven by older men who had the means to ... ever charging stations for Baker and Detroit Electric cars. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Detroit Photos, DPC, Eateries & ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2023 - 3:05pm -

Detroit circa 1910. "Automobile on Jefferson Avenue at East Grand Boulevard." Backdropped by Moesta's Tavern, the city's "most famous east side saloon." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Car IDPackard Model 30
Now they race to beat the lightToday the intersection of East Jefferson Avenue and East Grand Boulevard is unrecognizable compared to the 1910 photo.  But this once beautiful French Norman/Queen Anne house on E Grand in this photograph is the same house as in street view, below.  To the right is the intersection where Moesta's Tavern once resided, now the site of a Tim Hortons drive thru; or a Starbucks if you pull into the parking lot.

Victimized by Advertising The tavern survived Prohibition but not Mad Men.  
Per the Detroit Free Press of May 25, 1936, demolition of the Old Moesta Tavern was about to begin.  The plan was to erect an advertising sign on the site, which was and is on the corner of the entry to Belle Isle. 
The building had earlier been physically moved back so it wouldn’t be in the middle of Jefferson Blvd when it was widened.  
After the demolition, the business was to reopen in an existing building behind the new sign.  Our longtime family business sat about a block away (and has been a grassy field since the ‘70’s).
The Freep bemoaned the pending loss of the bar in the legacy building.  It was originally built and used by by Strohs Brewery and was installed in the tavern about 1889.  Wonder what happened to it.  Today it would be transplanted to a cherished new location.
For years, places like Senate Resale/Detroit Antique Mall would recycle the endless stream of elaborate Detroit Detritus, intricate building material mined from locals demolishing what was left behind from decades of an incredible building and business boom that wasn’t sustained.
Aye carumbaI used to make prank calls there all the time.
Those upstairs porchesMy grandmother in Detroit had a big double brick house with the upstairs porch. I loved their great view and giant elm trees lining the street.  
Earlier PackardThe car looks like an earlier Packard Model L from about 1904, perhaps with non factory fenders with a step in between. The Packard 30 wasn't introduced until 1907.
Car and DriverI've been a Shorpy aficionado for years now... and one thing (among many) I've noticed is that even back 100 years, the "hot cars" were more likely than not, driven by older men who had the means to afford the toys, and who were looking to a machine to give them one last "giddy-up". Nowadays, I see the older men in my town taking their mid-engine Corvettes or their 911s out for a leisurely spin through the center of town. The equation between age, earning power, and automotive consumption has not changed in over 100 years.
Same Dude - Same Day?Could this image have been taken on the same day as this image? https://www.shorpy.com/node/11496?size=_original#caption
Driver has the same bowler hat and same black velvet collar on his jacket.  Location is within a half-mile -- one image is on Belle Isle and the other is on Jefferson Avenue and East Grand Blvd. entrance road to Belle Isle.
The car appears to be the same.  Back in 2011 I thought the car was a Packard Model 24 or "S" from 1906 somewhat based on the circa year of 2008.  Now as I compare the two images the car is still a Packard but maybe a Runabout Model 30 or Model 18 from either 1907 to 1909.
Finally, in Doug Floor Plan's image of the French Norman/Queen Anne home there is a building two doors down (to the south) with a curved archway.  That building at 112 East Grand Blvd was one of Detroit's first ever charging stations for Baker and Detroit Electric cars.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Detroit Photos, DPC, Eateries & Bars)

Rockford: 1914
... "7th Floor ... Take Elevator" Look Out For The Cars Although it was a message once seen at rail crossings, it might also be ... I've long surmised that the warning sign "Look out for the cars" originated on interurban lines, but I've seen so much photographic ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2020 - 8:59am -

1914. "Street railway scene. Business district of Rockford, Illinois." View full size.
Good Advice"7th Floor ...  Take Elevator"
Look Out For The CarsAlthough it was a message once seen at rail crossings, it might also be a fitting title for this photo.  
I've long surmised that the warning sign "Look out for the cars" originated on interurban lines, but I've seen so much photographic evidence of its use at crossings for "heavy" rail that a resolute conclusion eludes me.  However, I have seen a photo of a sign, "Look out for the Engine", which one would not expect to see on an interurban line, so I'll not yet abandon my original theory. 
[In all these instances, "Cars" refers to railcars, trolleycars and streetcars, not automobiles. "Cars Stop Here," seen along streetcar lines, is an especial favorite here on Shorpy. - Dave]
InterurbanRockford had a system of city streetcars, but also ran heavier interurban streetcars to adjacent cities. Car 709 is an interurban; more photos and stories can be found here. The vehicle with the nattily dressed couple on board is an earlier version of the Tesla, a battery powered car. 
Several of my best friendsare familiar with Rockford, Illinois.
Photographer = 50 points!From: Mike Schafer and Brian Landis, Rockford & Interurban Railway, Arcadia Publishing, 2015:
"The view in this photograph looks north on Main Street, two blocks south of State Street, around the time of World War I. Rockford & Interurban car No. 709 travels away from the photographer, who, it is presumed, will get out of the way of the approaching, newfangled automobile."
Okay, don't say cheesePtolema grumbled -- he doesn't have permission to take my photograph! "Run him down!", she ordered Horace.  Horace complied.
Ennenga & WagnerFrom the Rockford Register Star (2008): “Before big stores, there was only one place for wives and mothers seeking to outfit their husbands and sons — Ennenga & Wagner [E & W] Clothing House.”
Compared to the world of 1814Just these two conveyances, the horseless carriage and trolley car, represent an advancement unknown to any other generation in human history.  And I expect its two occupants accepted it as just another ordinary day.
Enjoying the RideI can't tell which, Ma or Pa, is enjoying it more.
Ghost SignIt looks like tall building with the Life Insurance Sign got expanded and a new facade, but you can still barely make out the Life Insurance sign, including the hand by the window:

Slow Down!The start of the 'Back Seat Driver' and the rest is history.
So many of my Favorite Shorpy ThingsHorseless carriages, trolleys, multi-globe streetlights, grumpy old folks, horse manure -- it doesn't get much better than this!
1914 Illinois license plate#32117 visible on the front of the electric car. There are long slits between each digit to allow air flow into the radiator, a feature of Illinois license plates from 1912 thru 1918. Apparently not needed on this particular model! 
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Streetcars)

Streets of Baltimore: 1940
... View full size. For the love of old cars. The immaculate black 1937 Ford Touring Car was a rarity at that time ... same view from July of 2014. (The Gallery, Baltimore, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Jack Delano) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/23/2012 - 6:45pm -

"Row houses, Baltimore, June 1940." Medium format safety negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
For the love of old cars.The immaculate black 1937 Ford Touring Car was a rarity at that time and scarce today - valuable indeed.  The  last car is a similar vintage Chevrolet.  Would someone please identify the car in the middle of the scene.  
ShuttersI don't think I've ever seen shutters on doors before.  You usually see them on the windows of coastal cities for storm protection but unless the doors were primarily glass the shutters would be more ornamental than practical.
AntennasI'm always fascinated to see rooftops without TV antennas but I'm seeing shortwave "longwire" antennas aplenty here. Radio truly was the mode of communication back then.
Work dayIt must be a workday -- no one is stoop-sitting. Baltimore was famous for marble steps on its row houses, but these look like wood.
LocationAnyone know this intersection?
Hear the drums?Gene Krupa!
ShinySo that's what they looked like brand new!
Bazooka Bubble GumI bet those kids are reading the Bazooka Joe comics from the gum they just bought.
Gene Krupa, July 2Wow! There's a band date I would have liked to attend.
Baltimore Row ApartmentsAll those incredibly narrow apartments with the flimsy wood stoops. They can't be much more than 12 or 14 feet wide. Is this an old Baltimore solution for cheap housing, or do some other Eastern cities have these as well? They all look neat and well scrubbed, but my dad would have called them "cribs."
Meeeeeeooooow!You can almost hear that kittycat on the stoop wailing to get back in!
Graham-PaigeThe middle car would appear to be a circa 1934 Graham-Paige, possibly a Blue Streak or Custom Eight. Quite a machine.
Fond memories are mineThese are not apartments! They are individual homes. Many had small back yards on the alley. Some even had garages. Many residents would turn their "stoops" over at night. Virtually every step was painted annually, and was washed every day.
Most of the rowhouses were on "land leases" over the whole city. The ground lease was typically for 100 years. Philadelphia and St. Louis also had many rowhouses. What's the larger structure in the background? That would place this on the money.
I think this is north of the harbor.
Marble stepsIt looks like there are some of the famous marble stairs by the first parked car in the background. I imagine this looks fairly similar to my dad's boyhood home on Kennedy Avenue in Bawlmer -- He'd have been about 4½ when this picture was taken. 
Cross-ventilationThe shutters were on the front door for ventilation. The row houses I knew had solid front doors. The front door was opened; the shutters were closed and latched.
Typically the front door was at the bottom of the steps to the second floor. The windows would be opened at the back of the house on the second floor. Voila; natural ventilation.
Shuttered doorsShutters are common all over the Caribbean and in South Florida, and exist in many places in the south. They were popular in  pre-air conditioning days, so you could get let a breeze in with  the window or door shaded to stop "heat gain" and a wood barrier is slightly more security than a flimsy screen. In a urban setting like this, the bigger appeal may have been privacy, even with the door open.
Yikes,This is funThe tracks were for the #27 Streetcar line. The building in the background was the Carroll Park Shops. This was an absolutely enormous facility that did virtually all of the heavy overhaul and maintenanc for Baltimore's streetcars.
Found this on Wikipedia: The Washington Boulevard streetcar line, which started operating in 1905, was designated No. 27. This was converted to electric trolley buses in 1938.
Ground RentNot called "land lease" but "ground rent."  It made it possible for people with not a lot of money to buy a house without buying the land.  The rent is fixed and rather low.
The system is so old and antiquated and the deeds were so poorly unrecorded that people who bought a rowhouse would sometimes not know they were on ground rent.  Until they didn't pay for X years and had their houses taken away from them!  The Baltimore Sun did a series on this in the last couple of years and laws have been reformed to make this impossible.
Too bad there are no visible house numbers, that would help narrow it down a lot.  You can see it was on a streetcar line.
It appears to be fall or spring, not hot enough for the man in the background to go without a jacket, but the kids are okay without one.
[Another clue is in the caption, where it says "June 1940." - Dave]
So tidyYes, those are actually wooden steps. I think marble would be seen on a slightly higher class house (or later). These look like "alley" houses, the smallest of the rowhouses, usually built for working folks. I just looked through a book at BCPL on Baltimore Alley Houses, and they showed a lot of pictures of houses with shutters on the doors and windows, to actually use in hot weather. Seems like it would be so handy. They do look about 12 feet wide in this picture, which is pretty common. Judging from the Italianate styling, I'd guess late 1800s. They do have rowhouses in other cities. Washington, Philadelphia, and the narrowest ones I've ever seen were in Georgetown (DC).
MemoriesGrowing up in Bal-mer in the 50's and 60's, these places are my memories.  We lived in the burbs although all my family lived in places like these. And yes, even in the burbs we were paying ground rent!  Just a way of life and I've never heard of it anywhere else!
Horton"Horton" (or Morton) would be the company that painted the sign.
HortonDidn't they sometimes used to put street names on corners of buildings back then?  I wonder if Horton is maybe the name of that side street.  Just a thought. 
Hortons Nortons and MortonsI checked them all via local.live and google maps. They're alleys with nothing like this scene.
The street has streetcar tracks, so it's at least a halfway important street. But Baltimore had tons of lines.
The big structure in the background looks like a church nave to me, the front of the church facing the photographer, so that would put the church on a corner.
[This is from a series of photos taken on U.S. Route 1, Baltimore-Washington Boulevard. - Dave]
I think it's a LincolnI think the spiffy droptop on the street is a Lincoln Zephyr, which would've looked a lot like it's poor cousin, the Ford.  The teardrop shaped headlamps are the clue.
[The car is a Ford, not a Lincoln. - Dave]

Found it: Carroll ParkThanks Dave for the clue about US 1.
View Larger Map
This is at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Bayard Street. The opposite side of the street is Carroll Park (which probably explains why the car has such a long shadow).
The big roof in the back ground is not a church like I thought, but an old carbarn for the streetcars. The long monitor roof along the ridge of the carbarn has been removed and the building is now a bus maintenance garage. 
Of course, being Baltimore, the whole row is covered in FormStone or PermaStone, whatever you want to call it. You see one of the sad things about FormStone: all the great wood cornices are chopped off so the FormStone can be installed. 
Charm CityGreat shot--it's June, the two kids are hanging out at the corner store, the cat on the steps, the car--a nice moment in time.
Trackless TrolleysYes, these are in fact trackless trolley wires. You can clearly see where the B.T.C. simply added a negative wire along side the existing positive street car wire. There is a Baltimore trackless trolley sitting inside of the car barn at the Baltimore Street Car Museum. It was built by the old Pullman Standard Car Mfg. Company of Worcester, Mass.
I grew up in BaltimoreIn the 26th Ward, in a rowhouse just like these. I'll never forget Saturday mornings and my mother scrubbing the white marble steps. Although we lived on the southeast side, I passed this intersection daily making deliveries to the old Montgomery Ward building that was the next block down!!
MemoriesI grew up in Baltimore and my grandma lived on East Monument Street and she had marble steps. All the neighbors would wash their marble steps and keep them looking white. And everyone sat outside at night to chat.
Pigtown Historic DistrictThis scene is indeed at Washington Boulevard and Bayard Street, facing south. It is within Pigtown Historic District. The hip-roofed building at the end of the row appears to have been constructed after 1914 and been demolished by 1951. It stood at 1463 Washington Boulevard, and was a filling station by the December 1951 Sanborn map. The 1914 Sanborn shows the lot owned by D.M. Larkin, Contractor. None of the buildings depicted look much like the hip-roofed structure in the photo. The Carroll Park Shops, on the far side of Bush Street from the mystery building, were constructed c. 1899. The United Railway & Electric Company hired B&O architect E. Francis Baldwin to design a single, centralized shop for repairing and rebuilding streetcars. Two huge one-story buildings (each covering an entire block) went up on the southeast side of Washington Boulevard, between Bush and Elk Streets. Each structure is lit by four long roof monitors that run the entire length of the building. Today, these turn-of-the-century facilities still stand as the repair shop for MTA buses. The buildings were never three stories high, however, and couldn't be the structure depicted in the photo.
Of the houses in the photo, they were built in 1888 by Cornelius H. Saffell (or Soffell), and have typical Queen Anne-style decorative brick door hoods; first floor windows have segmentally arched lintels made up of a double row of header bricks, with the upper row alternately projecting to create a decorative effect.  The late Italianate-style cornices have jig-sawn friezes. Saffell was one of many German-born builders to construct buildings in the district. Indeed, many of the residents were German immigrants working in the butchering industry.
+74Below is the same view from July of 2014.
(The Gallery, Baltimore, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Jack Delano)

New Oldses: 1951
... love them. I bet the amount of metal they used to make cars on this assembly line is the equivalent of today's all car makers ... a "bumper shop" back then, where people would take their cars to have the dents pounded out of the bumpers. They still never looked ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 11:36am -

"1951 Oldsmobile final assembly." View full size. Ex General Motors archives.
Foreshadowing?Anybody else notice that the Olds in the foreground has "404" written on its windshield? That's kind of prophetic, since the Olds brand is now "File not found."
LightsThat is a large collection of new fluorescent tubes the workman in the background on the right has to install. I suppose they're cheaper by the acre. 
holy cow!what is that guy doing with the block of wood and a hammer???!!!
Your Father's OldsmobileLook at the second car back in the full-size view. I love how the guy's using a block of wood and a ball-peen hammer to adjust, or "finesse" the fender side molding. The headlight bezels haven't been installed yet either. Probably still have to aim the headlamps before the bezel goes on.
And hey...wait a minute! Where are all the robots? 
ghost?there's a man with hat walked near the cardboard. he look like a ghost :)
Now that's a BUMPER...You couldn't get a dent in one of those!
good old daysThey sure don't make them like they used to.
Drool....I love them.
I betDrool....I love them.
I bet the amount of metal they used to make cars on this assembly line is the equivalent of today's all car makers combined. 
dentable"You couldn't get a dent in one of those!"
Oh, yes you could!  I remember something called a "bumper shop" back then, where people would take their cars to have the dents pounded out of the bumpers.  They still never looked right, though.
Bar Codes??Sheesh.

Notice something else missing?No women.
Photoshopped PictureNot to be a nay sayer but the boxes on the right that appear to be boxes of trim have bar codes on them.
FAKE!
Doubtful it's a fakeI doubt anyone had the inclination to photoshop such a picture and make such a omission as including fluorescent bulb boxes with barcodes. It is entirely possible the boxes have a sort of shipping or coded label on them, it's not so far fetched.
Fake?Why bother faking a picture like this?
No Bar CodesNo, those are not bar codes.  
I'd love one of those carsI'd love one of those cars
OldsmobileMr. Dave, Do you by chance have more of these GM Archives pics? After all, this is porn for vintage car lovers.
[I do have a few more but this is by far the most detailed. - Dave]
Notice how shiny the paint is?The paint is shinier and glossier than what you see on most cars nowadays.  It's GM's "Fire-Leveled" acrylic lacquer. It was oven baked, causing the paint to re-flow.  You can't even use lacquer anymore, because of the volatile solvents in it.
As for all the fluorescent tubes?  They may have been in the middle of a mass re-lamping.  Back in the '70s, an engineer at Vought Aerospace in Grand Prairie, Texas told me that before then (back in the '60s) they hired college students on summer break, who replaced every single fluorescent tube in the plant, whether they were working or not.  That way the tubes were all of uniform brightness and color temperature.
Goodbye to GMIt's really a shame.....Greed had taken This Great Company down.
[It was greed on the part of the unions, and a feckless management's capitulation, that did GM in. - Dave]
They don't build 'em like they used to. My dad had a '52 Olds.  Geez what a tank! As much as I like these old beasts, I for one am sure glad they don't build 'em like they used to.  Modern cars last longer, run better, handle better, and are far safer than anything ever built on a mass scale before.  You think any of these old beasts would run 100,000 miles before even needing a tune-up?  Not a chance.  By 50,000 miles you were looking at a top end overhaul if not a complete engine rebuild.  An accident in one of those things at 30 miles and hour would have left you in pretty rough shape, if not done for.  Today, you'd likely walk away from the same thing.  
SignageThe sign at the top middle in the far back says "Drive cars in low gear at walk speed in this aisle."  The sign that is more in the foreground says something like "Machine Repair Crib"
Bar CodesI think the Bar Code comment may be my all-time favourite. I'm bookmarking this page for future amusement.
Made in AmericaSixty years later, the United States is still the world's number one producer of manufactured goods, if by a lesser margin.
(Pre) re"possession"This looks like the assembly line where Christine was made, or was "born" (or "possessed").
And before anyone jumps on me for this, I know that "Christine" was a 1958 Plymouth Fury.  I'm just saying, if I were working on this assembly line, and the radio turned itself on and started playing George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone," I'd really have to think twice about coming to work the next morning.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Factories)

Sleigh Ride: 1940
... destination. They managed to cram only 3 (possibly 4?) cars on the truck. Is there a 4th car under the last one? Hard to tell. The ... on the side must have been the truck spare. [Four cars. - Dave] Buicks Interesting that these long-ago cars looked quite ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/17/2007 - 1:39am -

February 1940. Automobile transport carrying new Buicks in Chillicothe, Ohio. 35mm nitrate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the FSA. View full size.
Chillicothe BuicksMan, tell that guy to stop by my place and I'll give him 3X the sticker price on any one of those beauties.
[OK. Looks like you have to put the bumpers on yourself. - Dave]
Too exciting.That's my hometown! I love that you have a photo from there; the city is full of history, being it was the 1st capital of Ohio. Please post more Chillicothe photos!
Buick heavenOoooh God, give me one of those Buicks! 
Bumpers?At first, I didn't notice the missing bumpers. Must have left them off save space on the truck. You can see the holes in the front where they'd be installed. Bumpers must have been put on by the dealer at the destination.
They managed to cram only 3 (possibly 4?) cars on the truck. Is there a 4th car under the last one? Hard to tell. The tire mounted on the side must have been the truck spare.
[Four cars. - Dave]
BuicksInteresting that these long-ago cars looked quite elegant when they were new. 
Missing BumpersI'd noticed the same thing and can imagine that the bumpers were prone to pre-delivery damage when being loaded and unloaded from these driveaway haulers. Plus it would be cheaper to have a dealership mechanic bolt them on as opposed to a unionized assembly line worker. But it's surprising to me that the hubcaps are installed making them easy targets for theft.
I remember in the 60s and 70s that nearly any brand of car you saw on a transport truck would never have the hubcaps installed. I say nearly because if you saw a hauler full of new Cadillacs they would invariably have their wheelcovers in place. Cadillac was concerned enough with their image that they were willing to absorb some theft losses. And no doubt they didn't want their cars to be possibly mistaken for a more "ordinary" Oldsmobile or Chrysler, even when being hauled on a trailer or rail car.
[Back in those days bumper guards were a popular dealer-installed accessory. That may have had something to do with it. - Dave]
Honesty?Treefrog,
Maybe the people of 1940 were more honest than those of the 1960s & 1970s and didn't steal hubcaps off new cars, even Buicks. 
How far away from the Buick plant would you say that truck is?
[I think Buicks back then came from Flint, Michigan. - Dave]
TrailerThe two front cars are loaded on the "tractor" portion of the vehicle.  If you look under the second car you can see the tongue of the trailer hauling the rear two cars.
Merry Christmas to all!
BumpersSo, it looks like I'm not the only one who noticed that these Buicks were missing their bumpers.  I'm 61, but I guess that's not old enough to remember a time when cars were not delivered to dealers with the bumpers attached.
Peace,
OldHippieDude
Buick BumpersWhen automobile production was resumed after WWII, there was a series of strikes. The last union to settle was either the bumper manufacturers or the installers. The cars were shipped with 2X4 block of wood on the front and rear of the autos. If you saw a car with these wooden bumpers attached, you knew it was a new one and not some well kept 1941 model.So I guess that sometime after 1936 they were shipping new cars with the bumpers attached. 
Can ItBeautiful cars, but the carrier puzzles me.  How can the tractor and trailer pivot?  Doesn't look like they can.  Or should.
A lot of cars were made inA lot of cars were made in Cleveland, Ohio too, maybe they came from there.
StraddleExactly right, and that's what seems wrong.  Unless that car can bend around corners from the middle, I see problems!
[The solution to this riddle has already been submitted by a loyal reader below - Ken]
BuicksBuicks came from Flint, FJ Boutell hauled them well into the late 20th century.  The trailer pivots beneath the car directly behind the cab.
(The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Cars, Trucks, Buses)

New England Terminal: 1957
... all those solid, chrome-enhanced, built-to-last American cars! Before I got my own car, I also used to ride buses just like this to get ... These words cannot describe it." Rain and Cars What a great photo--it really gives the flavor of a rainy fall New ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/21/2015 - 12:24pm -

"Street scene, Providence, 1957." Featuring the New England Terminal Co. bus station, Chicken Roost restaurant and Journal-Bulletin newspaper building. 35mm negative, photographer unknown. View full size.
Nostalgia attackJust look at all those solid, chrome-enhanced, built-to-last American cars!  Before I got my own car, I also used to ride buses just like this to get to work and back every day.  At the time, I still lived at home in Ct., the second smallest state, and only Rhode Island was smaller, but both states were heavily industrialized and people worked, hurried everywhere and rushed around just like in the biggest cities, with never an idle moment.  I also like the art deco vertical bus station sign on the extreme left of the picture.  I'm guessing it lit up blue at night like ours did.  Wouldn't it be nice to go back there, even for a day?
GoneDepot gone, Chicken Roost gone, but the handsome building behind remains.

What film?The image is sharp all over but very grainy. If that's a full frame and the negative isn't reticulated, I'd guess it was shot with something like Kodak's Royal-X Pan. Do the edge markings identify the film?
Gilbane ConstructionA Providence-based company, still family-owned with headquarters on Jackson Walkway in Providence. They went on to build the Air and Space Museum, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the World War II Memorial, just to name a few. A long way from a street corner in Providence.
Gone (comment)Unfortunately, though, the windows of the handsome building have been replaced. They are not an ideal choice (economical, no doubt) and change the character of the building.
BusesThe buses in the picture are intercity buses: in this case Providence to nearby New Bedford. Meanwhile, the city transit at this time was the fabulously luxurious UTC system, second only to the Registry of Motor Vehicles in its ability to torture and befuddle the good citizens of Rhode Island. A typical UTC bus of the period is shown. As Mark Twain said "Difficult? Troublesome? These words cannot describe it." 
Rain and CarsWhat a great photo--it really gives the flavor of a rainy fall New England day.  Cars from left: 57 Chevrolet (around corner); c. 51 Olds; 51 Ford in front of c. 55 Nash Rambler, itself in front of 57 Chevrolet; buses; 46-48 Ford in front of c. 50 Studebaker; 55 Pontiac parked in front of van; 57 Ford parked behind truck.
[The Rambler is a 1957; the 46-48 Ford is either 1947 or 1949 (typo) 1948; the Studebaker is a 1950. -tterrace]
WEAN and WPJBProvidence City Archives has some things to say about the Providence Journal-Bulletin and WEAN and WPJB- FM:
All of these events and developments, the good and the tragic were covered by the Providence Journal-Bulletin, the city's only daily newspaper of general circulation since the demise of the News-Tribune and its successors in 1937-38. The influence of the Journal and its radio affiliates WEAN and WPJB- FM on Providence thought and opinion is perhaps greater now than at any previous time.


Rain and Cars IIThe older Ford is definitely not a 49, as that was the first year of the postwar restyling.  If you say 47, I won't argue.  Thanks.
[I made a dumb typo, I meant 47-48; you're right, no way a 1949. The difference between '46 and '47-8 is the position of the parking lights. -tterrace]
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Found Photos, Providence)

Early Freddy: 1902
... I'd take one look and say, Nope! (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Kids, Sports) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2023 - 10:30am -

Circa 1902. "Entrance, Sanitarium Park, Alma, Michigan." Baseball boys, a nursemaid, Mr. F. Krueger, an electric (?) runabout! 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Photographic Co. View full size.
Freddy Krueger?!?"Mr. F Krueger"
LOLOLOLOL!!!!

Cut Freddy some slackI've handled a number of those infernal machines in my youth, and I never looked as happy as he does here.
A new paradigm at Sanitarium ParkMr. F. Kreuger is thinking, "What if someone put mower blades under that runabout?
 I could mow this park in no time."
This Reminds MeThis brings to mind a machine along the lines of a comment here by Doug Floor Plan, guessing Mr. Kreuger's thoughts.  How about steam, not electric, for a mower? I present to you the Coldwell Steam Lawn Mower & Roller (with patent dates in 1901 and 1902):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql4a_KZ8n_8
By the way, I still mow with an old reel mower, but no great ideas from me just yet.
Car ID suggestion1902 White Steamer Model B
Nightmare in AlmaMaybe Mr. F. Kreuger is thinking, "What if I put these mower blades on a glove?"
One LookIf I had to mow all that grass with a manual hand mower, I'd take one look and say,
Nope!
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Kids, Sports)
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