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Springfield: 1905
"Main Street, Springfield, Massachusetts, circa 1905." Detroit Publishing Company ... with the clothes of the day. [Women walking down the street covered up with clothes -- the bane of civilization. - Dave] A ... up, similar to what we have in winter here in Mass. Cobblestone Streets The cobblestones which dominate the foreground of this ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 8:23pm -

"Main Street, Springfield, Massachusetts, circa 1905." Detroit Publishing Company 8x10 inch glass negative. Library of Congress. View full size.
DogsThe funny thing is that dog in front of the hot dog cart staring something inside the building.
Gorgeous Young BabesWhenever I look at the women of this era in these old photos, I always have a hard time getting it through my head that some of them are actually gorgeous 20-something babes who would really blow us away if dressed in today's styles, but you would never know it, the way they were always covered up with the clothes of the day.
[Women walking down the street covered up with clothes -- the bane of civilization. - Dave]
A noble spirit embiggens the smallest manStill, it's no Shelbyville!
Hot diggityI see a hot dog cart, but no Chief Wiggum anywhere.
Anyway, I just love these period piece streetviews, there's so much to see.
And the eyes of Dr. T.J.And the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg are watching it all on the right side of the photo.
Great photo.  Seems like a pretty busy place, which gives us many wonderful things to look at.  That roof with the moon on top of it is pretty unique.  Any idea what the building housed?  I see a sign on it that is for a life insurance company, but I'm not sure if that's for the whole building or not.
In the eye of the beholderWhenever I look at the women of our current era in new photos, I always have a hard time getting it through my head that some of them would actually be quite lovely young ladies who would really blow us away if they just excercised a little restraint and exhibited some grace and class.
I don't think the females in "Girls gone Wild - Daytona Beach edition" have any edge on the likes of Evelyn Nesbit, Lily Elsie, or Louise Cromwell.
Beautiful ShotI'm trying to find this location on Google map and it's not easy.   Either this area has been completely demolished or I'm on the wrong Main Street.
As far as gorgeous girls being covered up, similar to what we have in winter here in Mass.
Cobblestone StreetsThe cobblestones which dominate the foreground of this photo remind me of an interesting statistic: in 1908, three years after this photo, in the entire United States there were only 144 miles of paved roads.
Given the tremendous labor necessary to lay the stones (generally granite), and the resulting bumpy ride due to the natural irregularity of the pavers, it's not so hard to understand why there weren't more. 
Tarmac, a turn-of-the-century development, would soon displace the cobblestones and pave both city and countryside.
[Asphalt paving of city streets was well under way by the 1880s. - Dave]

Dr. Grady, SpecialistI wonder what he specialized in? Maybe that's why he gave his advice free; you had to go in and consult with him to find out exactly what part of your body he was going to treat! 
I guess he's a step up from Dr. Nick Riviera, anyway.
Fancy RoofI don't have time to do too much digging, but I see references to a life insurance building on Main St. in Springfield that had a Masonic hall in the upper stories - I wonder if that's what we're seeing here.
PerfectWonderful picture.  Perfect as a movie set.  No construction.  All stores open.  Vibrant scene full of hustle and bustle.  Several generations of technology present.  Nice snapshot in time.
Good old daysAnd I thought some European cities had been badly ravaged over the course of the 20th century.  But look at this in comparison to Google's present day pic of the same corner. It's gone from beautiful to pitiful. At 150.000 inhabitants nowadays at least this corner of Springfield looks like any boring outskirt. At a third that population around 1900 it had a very urban and sophisticated feel to it.
Vive la differenceIt's the architecture that makes this photo absolutely splendid.  Every building is a little different and, to my eye anyway, gorgeous.  Walk down any main street in the U.S. and they're all glass and steel.  Talk about borrrring.
Fuller BlockFrom the 1988 book "Main Street, U.S.A.": The "eccentric, onion-domed" Fuller Block is at the intersection of Bridge Street and Main. Next to it is the Phoenix Block, with the Hotel Worthy (look for the awnings on upper floors) at the far end of the block, at the cross with Worthington.
Women and OystersTwo topics: one, on the debate about women and period clothes, I think the "hourglass" ideal of the late 19th early 20th centuries was very sexy...if you think about it, it was very concerned with accentuating or even exaggerating women's curves; sexy, even if not much skin was showing. Compare above photo to a current view of women in jackets and jeans.
Second, can any culinary historians tell us why oysters were so omnipresent in these days?  I see photos of rough and tumble Western towns with oyster menus prominently shown.  They must have been as popular as fast-food hamburgers are today.
[NYT article on the oyster craze of the 19th century. - Dave]
Picturesque SpringfieldAha!  Found it!  I did a search on "Haynes and Co Clothiers Springfield", attempting to locate the large store at the far left of the photo, and found another photo of the same area with better location information, in this booklet of Springfield photos from 1912:
http://www.archive.org/details/picturesquesprin00grav.
On the top of page 12 (or thereabouts, there aren't page numbers) is a photograph labeled "Busy Main Street, West Side, Looking South from Bridge Street", and the building on the street corner is clearly the one behind the "H. G. Moore, Photographer" sign, recognizable by the distinctive arched windows.  The picture below it on the same page of the booklet, labeled "Hotel Worthy and Busy Main Street looking South on East Side" shows the insurance-company building with the interesting onion-shaped roof decoration, but somewhat in the background.
In Google Street View, you'll find that the insurance company building is still there (minus the fancy roof, and only barely recognizable), but everything else is completely gone; much of it flattened into public squares.
Main and Bridge streets today.The onion dome building is still there, minus the dome.
View Larger Map
Back to the FutureI wonder what kind of TVs they sold at the "Television" store (leftmost store).
[Back when TV was known as "Levison." - Dave]
Native SpringfieldianI was born and raised in Springfield but I haven't been back in over 20 years. I used to spend every weekend wandering downtown and was crazy about all the wonderful old buildings. It was a very vibrant city in the 1960s. But shortly after I left in 1970 they had a major "urban renewal" project that decimated the entire downtown area and turned it into a stark, uninviting desert of ugly slabs. It sure looks grim in the Google Street View, especially compared to the old pictures. 
So what's up with Edward J Murphy?I just realized that almost EVERY single business establishment that states the name of the proprietor does so in the "initial, initial, last name" format:
Dr. J.W. Grady (specialist)
H.G. Moore (photographer)
W.L. Douglas (shoes)
W.S. Clark (clothes)
W.E. Maguire (dentist)
C.W. Atwood (printing)
E.A. Whipple (optometrist)
But Edward J. Murphy gets to use his  whole name. What makes him so special?
Television?Extreme left side, bottom half- is that a sign for a television store? I know it can't be, but wonder what the sign actually said.
[There's no "I" between the "S" and the "O." - Dave]
Amazing photoThe original photo could've been some organic metropolitan city: France, London ... The modern bland look immediately puts it down as (any) Mainstreet USA. Shorpy is quite depressing sometimes.
[France is certainly one of my favorite cities. - Dave]
What a vibrant scene!Lars, I agree.  In fact, this scene reminds me a lot of modern-day Oxford Street in London.
SpringfieldThe contrast between the LIFE on this street and the dreary bleakness of Main Street in Springfield in 2009 is utterly depressing.  The left side of the street in this photo is dominated today by the (old) U.S. Courthouse, a drab, faceless, early 1970's monstrosity that just sucks the energy out of the neighborhood - although "energy" is in very, very short supply these days in Springfield.
Re: Women and OystersBy sheer coincidence, I just recently finished reading Mark Kurlansky's  The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell. "Craze" is not really the correct word to describe the history of oysters in the American diet as it implies that their consumption owed to a "fad" or "fashion."  Rather, oysters were a staple of early 19th century menus merely because they were cheap and plentiful. New York Harbor, the estuary of the Hudson River, was fantastically productive of oysters, once producing close to 50% of the world's harvest. A meal of oysters in New York cost but a few cents - one of the least expensive sources of protein at the time. Pollution doomed the New York oyster beds, transforming what was once a poor man's staple into a rare delicacy. 
Hotel Worthy in the 50sI was born in Springfield & spent my childhood there. The Hotel Worthy has a place in my heart as the site of "The Accordion Mart" run by a family named Kuznierz on the second floor of the old Hotel. Took lessons there for a couple of years, you haven't heard the Din of Hell until you've heard 30 kids playing accordions next to a stairwell in a space paved with marble & ceramic tile all around. Just up off Stearns Square was the Breck Building -- at the age of 11, I dragged my box up Worthington past the Breck to a bus stop, headed up State Street for Pine Point.
Ottoman standardThe Fuller Block has an Ottoman military crescent moon standard at its top. Does anyone know the history of that?
(The Gallery, DPC, Streetcars)

Tradd Street: 1910
Charleston, South Carolina, circa 1910. "Tradd Street -- a bit of Old Charleston." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit ... [I had the pleasure of driving along one of Charleston's cobblestone streets not long ago. Stones the size of small melons. Vvvverrry ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 1:32pm -

Charleston, South Carolina, circa 1910. "Tradd Street -- a bit of Old Charleston." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Baaaad NewsGhost goat!  Walk briskly for your lives!
Oh, the humidity!I can feel the dampness in the air and smell the horse dung on the street!  Do those distinctive hats have a particular name?
Not surprisinglyThe view today is much the same.
View Larger Map
64 TraddThe camera was set up in front of 64 Tradd Street (the single house at L with woman on front step), which is one house east of Meeting Street.  View is to the east, and it looks like most of these houses still exist.  The brick-front single house (2nd on left, 59 Tradd Street) is still the same, though the door leading to the street has been replaced with a window.  On Google Maps street view you can see the newer brick and mortar where that work was done.
Oh, and there are many more Mercedes and BMWs parked on this street today than in 1910.  It's pricey real estate.
+100Below is the same view from June of 2010.
Kudosto the people of Charleston for the remarkable preservation and restoration of this area. Looks so much better than 100 years ago. Most cities would have torn these buildings down years ago. Thanks to timeandagainphoto for the perfect contemporary duplication of this scene.
re: +100Heart-warmingly intact, isn't it? But am I the only one who thinks that weathered and decrepit plank fences like the ones in the original have a certain charm? Glad to see a few weeds sprouting though; one of the things that can bring a sense of realness to the sterility that often accompanies gentrification. Kind of surprising they haven't re-cobbled the street.
[I had the pleasure of driving along one of Charleston's cobblestone streets not long ago. Stones the size of small melons. Vvvverrry bbbbumpy. - Dave]
re: re: +100No, tterrace, you are not alone! Looking at the modern views, I sensed something odd about them and you helped me put my figurative finger right on it: the "new" Tradd Street is far too neat, too clean, dare I say - too sterile! Thank you to all for the then-and-now comparisons.
The Distinctive HatsThey were called "Merry Widows."
PreservationMuch of downtown Charleston, (I live several blocks from this corner,) looks nearly identical to the way it did 100 years ago.  Some streets indeed are lodestone (aka melons) or cobblestone still.     The reason for this is due primarily to the existence of the first board of architectural review in the nation, with the first historic district (1931).  To this day, to change out a shutter or do a thing to the visible part of your house, you need to get city approval.  I still have single paned wavy glass windows with an R-value of a pasta strainer and am not legally allowed to change them. The price of living in the past!!
And to those commenters who miss the decaying grandeur -- just trust me, most of these beautiful houses and all those surrounding them have plenty of rottenness about them. We just cover stuff up better with paint these days.
(The Gallery, Charleston, DPC)

Light Street: 1906
Baltimore, Maryland, circa 1906. "Light Street looking north." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing ... [If you ever had to pilot a horse wagon over brick and cobblestone all day long, you might be able to imagine. - Dave] Which is ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/23/2012 - 6:47pm -

Baltimore, Maryland, circa 1906. "Light Street looking north." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Oh Wise OneDave, please enlighten the poor clueless Shorpsters such as myself.How can I say this any other way but, what is that appendage on that guy's behind?
[Looks like a small pillow or cushion attached to his pants. Or possibly a patch that needs patching. Where's a Pantitorium when you need one? - Dave]
Gone?I'm gonna guess this is near the present day Inner Harbor.  Googling along Light Street, I found many examples of what John Waters once referred to as "the polyester of brick."
Speaking of BaltimoreDo you take requests? I just finished watching the HBO series "The Wire", which was shot on location in many of Baltimore's old, working-class neighborhoods. In the show, there were a lot of great shots of now decaying neighborhoods filled with slightly sagging row houses on streets paved with bricks. I would love to see those neighborhoods in better times. It broke my heart to see such charming neighborhoods in such a state of disrepair.
As for this picture: Spectacular! This must be one of the most condensed and crowded scenes I've seen on Shorpy's.
Holey Pillow-pants, BatmanIf it's a pillow, I can't imagine what use it might have. Unless, perhaps, it's for piles. I would have thought, though, that a less obvious and more expansive cushioning bight have done a better job.
[If you ever had to pilot a horse wagon over brick and cobblestone all day long, you might be able to imagine. - Dave]
Which is why I was wondering why it's so small. You'd think it would need to cover a bit more of his backside. Personally, I'd simply use a cushion.
However, I wonder if he (or more importantly, his wife) knows his posterior has been preserved for posterity....
What an amazing photo!Thank you for answering my first question about the strange pants on the man on the wagon. I have two others:
1.) How old were those rowhouses when these photos were taken?
2.) Why are all those men standing on the curb at the lower left?
[Gravity. - Dave]
Men's WorkThere's not one woman visible in this photo!
Traffic jamWow, this is indeed a spectacular photo!  You post one every couple of weeks, Dave, that could be studied for hours.  It's amazing just how busy things are.  All the little details are incredible -- like the horse that's being fed atop a crate on the lower right.
Keep up the great work!
SpottedThere is one woman, barely visible, under the second arch to the right. You can just see her skirts and apron.
Light and LombardThe building with the white "Hunter" flag (about midway up on the left) is still there (22 Light Street) but not much else. It's the third building on the left in the Street View image.
View Larger Map
Just Amazing!I can't get over the high quality of this shot! So much going on the the picture, too. I almost feel as though I could click a "play" button and watch it come to life.
I believe the location is just below present day Pratt St., on what would be the west side of Light St., where the Verizon Building is today. The pier buildings on the right would occupy the space of McKeldin fountain.
Light Street 1912The rowhouse businesses on the left had been torn down by the time of the 1912 photo below (looking southeast from Light and Pratt Sts. toward Federal Hill Park).
Photo courtesy of Kilduffs.com
(The Gallery, Baltimore, DPC, Horses, Stores & Markets)

Central Square: 1912
... ensemble with the Cambridge City Hall across the street. Formerly Seedy Central Square My first job after college was in ... Boston through Cambridge and beyond to the suburbs. The cobblestone streets are under the modern pavement in some areas that were still ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/08/2023 - 6:39pm -

Cambridge, Massachusetts, circa 1912. "Central Square and Massachusetts Avenue." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Voted least likelyto still be here, by those born with a cynic's soul (or who have since acquired one by being disappointed one too many times by vintage photos), it surprises:


Adding to the simple joy of mere survivalhood, it forms a particularly nice Romanesque ensemble with the Cambridge City Hall across the street.
Formerly Seedy Central SquareMy first job after college was in Central Square, a couple blocks past City Hall (the tower at the center of the photo). Then, in 1980, Central Square was interesting but a bit run-down. On my last visit a couple years ago, I found it gentrified, but lacking its former character. 
The main differenceThe way the women dress now is scandalous!

Sounds like a jingle ..."Have a lunch and a shine!"
Klashman Bros. TailorsI wonder if that’s Mr. Klashman who just finished crossing the street on the left, his right heel in the air.
100 Years Of ConvenienceI've spent much time in and around this corner.  Interesting to see that the Oak Grove Grocery in 1912 sat in the same spot (albeit in a new building) as Store 24 in the 1990s and Convenience Plus in recent years.  At least it's not a bank -- yet.
Seedy encounterCentral Square was the site of my weirdest urban panhandler experience. One summer around 1980, I came out of the Central Square T station and was accosted by a loquacious street denizen. He wanted money, but rather quickly got fixated on my pants, which were corduroy. I wore corduroy year-round, an affectation I did not consider too weird for Massachusetts. The panhandler got so worked up about my fashion inappropriateness that he seemed to forget about money. I thought perhaps he wanted me to give him my pants, but being some distance from Filene's Basement, I didn't think I could get away with it.
NewsiesI think I've seen those kind of caps called "newsboys' caps." They're young guys' caps, so I guess it was natural for kids on the street to adopt them. The two guys talking on the corner look like they're from Central Casting -- 'get me a couple newsies.'
Next to Harvard SquareThat hustle and bustle seen here are still going on today in a vibrant neighborhood and melting pot of culture. The street is Massachusetts Avenue, which stretches from downtown Boston through Cambridge and beyond to the suburbs. The cobblestone streets are under the modern pavement in some areas that were still there many years later. It's a rich and interesting area, full of life.
A Civil War Veteran?I wonder if the bewhiskered elderly gentleman on the corner was heading to Post 30 of the Grand Army of the Republic or to inquire of T.H. Raymond about automobile insurance for his new Oldsmobile Autocrat. Though the horse still dominated in Cambridge this may be the oldest window display for automobile insurance I have seen on Shorpy.
William H. Smart Post 30, Massachusetts Department GAR, was chartered in 1867 and surrendered the charter in 1935. It was named for Private William H. Smart of Company G, 1st Massachusetts Infantry, killed at Blackburn's Ford, Virginia, in 1861.
There is lots of detailed GAR information available on the www.
A trigger shot --So many threads to my life in and around Central Square.
My first job while in school was at a print shop on the bottom floor of 678 Mass Ave. Not sure if this image has that building or a predecessor. The one I'm referring to was built in 1910. It could well be the one we see along the left of the image. Somehow I ended up with an old lawyer's desk from an office in that building. The desk itself is massive -- sits in our basement, and probably got moved into the building when it was newly finished.
Our marriage license sits in the records for the City of Cambridge -- the bell tower in the background. I also had to pay many a parking ticket, some earned by my roommates who'd borrow my car to tool around Boston.
There was nightlife in the 1980s and '90s in the area -- the Middle East just down the street toward MIT, and the Man-Ray / Campus dance club off one of the side streets.
And if you were in college and you needed to get a tux, you took the Red Line to Central Square and walked to Keezer's, a consignment shop with rows of options in all sizes.
This was a delightful morning visit, Shorpy! Thanks so much!
Central Square was NOT seedyIt's an urban center, not unlike neighborhoods in the Upper West or East Side in NYC. It had music, food, culture, and people. Not any different than Harvard Square just up the road.
I suppose if you grow up in leafy quiet suburbia in the middle of nowhere, an urban center can seem dangerous. Suggestion: Get out more.
(The Gallery, DPC, Streetcars)

Old Philly: 1908
... Philadelphia circa 1908. "Delaware Avenue, foot of Market Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View ... me the most about this and many other old photos is the cobblestone streets. There must have been billions of stones. Where were they ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2012 - 10:12am -

Philadelphia circa 1908. "Delaware Avenue, foot of Market Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Employee/management issueMan and horse seem to disagree about something. The horse is probably not happy with his benefits package and 401K.
Aside from the historical interest... this is just a fantastic composition.
Lens Flares!OK - Did these guys pose or was the shutter speed that fast?
Mad HatterI love how this horse has a straw hat on! 
Horse with a hat.I love the Horse with a hat. The guy in the buggy must had loved his horse. It's next to the Bassett Ice Cream wagon. What a priceless photo.
You can lose yourself in this pictureI love these photos, lots to see. An ice cream wagon, a horse wearing a hat. A reluctant horse, borax soap and a huge box of corn flakes. And I'm just getting started.
Paved overAll of this is torn down and paved over today. But you can find some interesting things on the history of the area. Pier 3 Condominiums, for example, has collected a lot of information about the old waterfront.
Among the details is a reference to an elevated railway connecting to the Market Street Subway:
"completed on Delaware Avenue from Arch to South Streets in 1908.  This route was known as the Delaware Avenue El or the Ferry Line, since its stops served the various ferries to New Jersey.  There were two stops, one at Market-Chestnut and one at South Street where the line stub-ended." 
This looks like the "stub end."
Wait!Where's MY hat?
Stones in the RoadWhat intrigues me the most about this and many other old photos is the cobblestone streets. There must have been billions of stones. Where were they produced? How long did it take to pave a given area?
Pain In The AssThat fellow in the foreground seems to be having trouble motivating his mule.
Mad HatterCheck out the horse with a straw hat on the bottom right hand corner. Doesn't look like protective gear but an actual straw hat with ear holes! Too cute.
HorselesslessGee, not a horseless carriage in sight.
FinallyA horse with a hat!  Terrific vignette of a vibrant commercial centre.  So much to see and enjoy.
FrustrationI wouldn't know what would be worse, a stubborn car or a stubborn horse. What a great photo.
How many horses?I lost count at 40!
Breakfast TimeBoy, I feel like some Toasted Corn Flakes.  If only they'd "fall off the back of a truck."
Four-Legged DrivePerhaps the driver at the bottom center is having difficulty shifting his commercial vehicle from the "idle" position. 
Tags
Adams Express
Borax Soap
Clyde Steamship Company
Philadelphia, New York, Paris
The Bassett Ice Cream Co., 504 Market St.
Toasted Corn Flakes

My Great Grandparents' WorldGreat image of the area where my great-grandparents lived and my grandfather was born (Chestnut and 5th in 1905).
Thank you, Dave, for all the wonderful images of Philly.
Tug a little harderLooks like ol' Bessie doesn't want to go!
This is the best!I adore this photo! So much activity here and it is a visual feast. Thank you Dave. More please?
Bassett's Ice CreamStill in business at (and one of the original merchants still in) the Reading Terminal Market.
That Thar horsea pullin' that ice cream wagon is wearing a chapeau
I wonder who wonthe man or the horse at the bootum of the picture. Just above that wagon is a horse with a nice chapeau.
Horses do have hats!Personal pet dress up or some other reason?
Only John WanamkerThe fanciest rig in the scene, drawn by a pair of white horses, is from Wanamaker's department store. No Philadelphian would have expected it to be otherwise.
My grandfather drove deliveries for Lit Brothers, a good department store but a few rungs below Wanamaker's (Strawbridge & Clothier was also below Wanamaker but above Lits*). He bore the mark of a horse kick he sustained on the job for the rest of his life.
*Gimbel's operated a store in Philadelphia but they were from New York, ninety-six rail miles from the center of everything, so they can't be properly placed within this spectrum.
Stone AgeMan, that's a lot of paving stone! All of them laid by hand. What a backbreaking job! I'm guessing they just paved over them, as they did here in NYC. 
Laying Paving StonesI watched a guy laying paving stones by hand outside the main train station in Pisa, Italy in 1987. He would pick up a stone, put it into place, and set it with one hit from a mallet. Although he was laying a curved pattern he could set up about 1 stone every 4 to 5 seconds. It was amazing how fast he could lay them.
A quick count shows there are about 3 x 7 stones in an area about 1 square yard (I counted the stones around the manhole cover which is probably about 36 inches across). The square is about 40 yards wide and say 600 yards long in the picture (I'm lousy at estimating distance, so pick your own numbers). That's 24,000 square yards or about 500,000 paving stones. At 12 stones/minute (my Italian guy) that's 70 man-days (10 hour days) to lay this many stones. So a team of 10 guys could do it in a week, if each had a helper to fetch stones. 
Of course you have to prepare the ground, haul the stones, etc. Still with less than 50 people it wouldn't take more than a summer to do.
That's just a back of an envelope calculation, but it's not hard to see that in a city of this size, the labor to make it happen could easily be hired.
CobblestonesShips from the New World crossed the Atlantic laden with goods for trade. Most ships required ballast when they made the return crossing because they didn't bring equal tonnage back with them. The off-loaded ballast stones became paving stones for Philadelphia's early streets.
Disgruntled equineSaw the hat and wants one.  Not moving till he gets one like his friend has.
Stony BallastI grew up in Philadelphia and lived in the Frankford neighborhood when I went to college. I believe this elevated "stub" became part of the Frankford Elevated which was completed about 1925 and connects to the Market St subway. I rode the El everyday for several years.
The cobbletones are said to have come from Europe as ballast in sailing ships. The primary cargo flow was natural resources from America to Europe and ballast was needed for ship stability on the trip from Europe to America. No idea how they were originally made.
A lot of cobbletone areas remain in Phila, they serve to keep traffic speeds down.
Shadow curveAs has been noted, the El originally terminated at the ferries to Camden, with the elevated track doing a 180 degree turn before going into the subway.  This curve can be seen in shadow at image left.  The track continues behind and left of the camera, terminating at South Street.  This branch stayed in operation into the 1940s.
Men in HatsNot just for horses. All the men are sporting a variety of hats from straw boaters to caps. I like the boater on the man to the right pushing a handcart.  Harry Kyriakodis has a book on the Philadelphia waterfront full of interesting info. My ancestor had a sailmaking loft on Del Ave in the 1890s McGinnis & Fitzgerald.
(The Gallery, DPC, Philadelphia, Railroads, Stores & Markets)

Cotton Club: 1900
... plating that appears as a sidewalk on both sides of the street - providing access to what? Cobblestone streets and trolley tracks. The telephone/power poles with ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 4:39pm -

Circa 1900. "Cotton Exchange, New Orleans." Something of a boll market. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Hard Rock!Those are some serious cobblestones on those streets!
InfrastructureThis photo would seem to illustrate a complex, unstandardized infrastructure at the turn of the last century. Note the different manhole covers, and the lengthy steel plating that appears as a sidewalk on both sides of the street - providing access to what? Cobblestone streets and trolley tracks.
The telephone/power poles with their myriad of lines - that I never see entering any of the buildings. Only one of the poles seems to use footspikes.
Are those trash containers on the sidewalks with the narrow slit openings?
Although there appear to be hitching posts in the picture, where do you water your animal in hot, humid New Orleans?
[At a horse fountain. - Dave]
Groaner"Boll market."
Dave, go to your room.
Top of the rightmost buildingI love the fancy Victorian buildings, but what caught my eye was the framing at the top of the building to the right of the Cotton Exchange.  Do you suppose there's more building to come there, or maybe the top story burnt and wasn't rebuilt (apparently pretty common, based on the history of other buildings I've read.)
[Those cornices were most likely decor (or marquee supports) for one of the "roof garden" restaurants popular at the turn of the century. - Dave]
GaudyThat is the first word that comes to mind when looking at this building. Excessive and overblown are the other two. the ornamentation is WAY out of proportion to the rest of the building. I love it.
Also a great image of the carbon arc light there on the left.
King Cotton in ExileThis was the Cotton Exchange Building constructed in 1871, and replaced in 1920 by the building still here today (although it now houses a hotel).
When they demolished the old building, a few architectural details were salvaged. These Caryatides from the Old Cotton Exchange are on City Park Avenue in Mid-City New Orleans.
Second Empire"The Exchange had its 1871 opening in a series of rented rooms in an existing building at Gravier and Carondelet. Although they moved several times, the Exchange would not leave this intersection until its closing in 1964. After constructing and then outgrowing a small building nearby on Gravier, the Exchange built a palatial Second Empire building in 1883 at the northern corner of Gravier and Carondelet, designed by architect S.S. Labouisse. Noted for its lavish interiors, the building soon became a landmark in New Orleans."
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/New_Orleans_Cotton_Exchange
The Original Hooters?Judging by the statuary, they served hot wings in this Cotton Club.
Extravagant OrnamentThe elaborate decoration on the original Cotton Exchange is a testament to the amount of money being made in the cotton industry.  The building was at the corner of Gravier and Carondelet and was built in 1883.  It was demolished and rebuilt in 1921 in the Renaissance Revival style.  The replacement was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.  
The only building from the photo that still remains is the one at the far right - currently home to Hancock Bank.  It's interesting that the floor above the cornice has since been built out.
Men, men, men.The only women I spot are of the stone variety.
SprainedJust one look at that cobblestone street and I got a broken ankle. Ladies with stilettos keep your distance.
Agriculture, Industry & Peace


Life on the Mississippi, 1883.
Mark Twain. 


Not that there is any 'architecture' in Canal Street: to speak in broad, general terms, there is no architecture in New Orleans, except in the cemeteries. It seems a strange thing to say of a wealthy, farseeing, and energetic city of a quarter of a million inhabitants, but it is true. There is a huge granite U. S. Custom-house — costly enough, genuine enough, but as a decoration it is inferior to a gasometer. It looks like a state prison. But it was built before the war. Architecture in America may be said to have been born since the war. New Orleans, I believe, has had the good luck — and in a sense the bad luck — to have had no great fire in late years. It must be so. If the opposite had been the case, I think one would be able to tell the 'burnt district' by the radical improvement in its architecture over the old forms. One can do this in Boston and Chicago. The 'burnt district' of Boston was commonplace before the fire; but now there is no commercial district in any city in the world that can surpass it — or perhaps even rival it — in beauty, elegance, and tastefulness.

However, New Orleans has begun — just this moment, as one may say. When completed, the new Cotton Exchange will be a stately and beautiful building; massive, substantial, full of architectural graces; no shams or false pretences or uglinesses about it anywhere. To the city, it will be worth many times its cost, for it will breed its species. What has been lacking hitherto, was a model to build toward; something to educate eye and taste; a suggester, so to speak.




The Picayune's Guide to New Orleans, 1903. 


At the corner of Gravier and Carondelet stands the Cotton Exchange, which is a fine specimen of the Renaissance style of architecture, and is considered very beautiful. It is built of cream-colored stone. The cost of erection was $380,000. The Cotton Exchange was organized in 1871, with a membership of 100. It has now almost 500 names on its roll. The Exchange proper occupies a beautiful apartment superbly frescoed with scenes from the history of Louisiana. Futures are sold around the small fountain at one end of the room. The Exchange enforces obedience to its rules for sampling, buying, selling and delivering cotton, and settles all disputes by arbitration. Reports of the receipts of cotton at all ports, exports and imports, meteorological and crop reports, and other indispensable information are daily posted on the blackboards. The upper floors of the building are occupied by business offices. A small gallery, accessible from the stairway or elevator, is open to visitors. A fine view is obtainable from the roof of the building. There is a time-ball on the roof, regulated by telegraphic communication with Washington. It is dropped daily at noon. The Bureau of State Engineers, where the engineering work of the Louisiana Levee system is done, is located in this building.




New Orleans in the Twenties, 1993.
Mary Lou Widmer. 


The Cotton Exchange Building, at the corner of Gravier and Carondelet, built in 1882-83, was ready for the wrecker in 1920. Five statues adorned the building, three on the third floor representing Agriculture, Industry and Peace and two on the ground floor as column supports called caryatids. The statues were moved to City Park in the 1920s for a brief stay. The caryatids now stand in the 100 block of City Park Avenue.


Below: 1919 photo of the Peace statue of the Cotton Exchange building, taken during demolition. Also note the reclining caryatid. [source: Louisiana Digital Library.]
Does it open at 8?The clock appears to say 7:34.  I'm guessing it's morning and the loafers near the door are waiting for the Exchange to open.
Re: Infrastructure>> The telephone/power poles with their myriad of lines - that I never see entering any of the buildings.
How about these? Admittedly scary, though.
"Cotton Exchange""Boll Market" -- that's funny, right there!
Carved or PouredI was wondering if the repetitive ornamental work on these old buildings was made from pouring concrete in a mold or would they have been individually carved from sandstone or some other material?
Cobblestones and steel platesThe large paving blocks were called Russ blocks after the inventor. Most of the city streets were paved this way from the 1850s through the 1880s. They were layed at a 45 degree angle to prevent wagon wheels from eroding the joints and getting stuck. Unfortunately, Russ blocks were a disaster as the joints were spaced farther apart than the size of a horse's hoof. When the blocks weathered the tops became rounded with deep crevices in between (have a look at the well-used paving stones in the old French Market photos to get an idea). When wet, horses often slipped, fell and broke legs. Russ blocks were gradually replaced by the smaller "Belgian" blocks by the 1890s. Neither of these paving types were "cobblestones" which refers to uncut smaller rounded stream cobbles that were used earlier. You can still find old Russ blocks recycled for private walks in the city. Just last year, the last street of exposed Russ blocks (Montegut street riverside of Chartres in the 9th Ward) was unnecessarily ripped up by an apartment developer. They relayed the blocks at 90 degrees with lousy wide joints. Undoubtedly, the 150 year old pavement with morterless hand-fitted seams would have remained serviceable longer than the current, historically inaccurate scheme. There are still some Russ blocks hidden under the modern asphalt. 
As for the iron or steel plates, these were used throughout the business districts to bridge and cover the deep curbside drainage ditches. Interestingly you can see many of these being used to bridge curbside ditches at modern driveways uptown; they still have the names of dowtown streets on them. 
(The Gallery, DPC, New Orleans)

Montreal: 1900
... of scenery. Place Jacques Cartier Amazingly the street has changed very little in 100 years. Many of the buildings are still ... and has a very Old-European feel. Many of the cobblestone roads are now pedestrian streets. The monument is "Nelsons ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 7:56pm -

Quebec circa 1900. "Jacques Cartier Square, Montreal." One of relatively few Canadian scenes in the archive. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size.
Attn: Frederic FalconI'd like to see this one colorized.
Mo' CanadaThanks for posting. We need more Canadian pics on Shorpy! I may have to upload some of my collection to the Member Gallery.
73 Bleury StMy great grandfather Edward Quivron emigrated from Belgium to Montreal late in the 19th century and lived with his wife Antoine and their daughters Madelena and Rosalie (my grandmother) at 73 Bleury St., Montreal according the the April 1901 census. I believe their home may have been near this place.
FINALLY SOME CANADAPlease Dave, post some more Canadian stuff. There are many of us out here looking for a little closer "connection" to our roots.
Merci beaucoup! - and I am not even French Canadian
WOW - Look at it Now!Me again;
Cest magnifique, no?A very nice change of scenery. 
Place Jacques CartierAmazingly the street has changed very little in 100 years.  Many of the buildings are still there. It's now part of "Old Montreal," an area that dates to the days of colonisation and has a very Old-European feel.  Many of the cobblestone roads are now pedestrian streets.  
The monument is "Nelsons Column," in honour of Admiral Horatio Nelson. It was put up in 1808. Tall building on the right is Montreal City Hall, built in 1872. The domed building rear-left is the old Courthouse, built in 1851. It's now part of city hall.
Right behind the camera would be the "Old Port" and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Jacques Cartier Square was the hub of commerce in Montreal and much of Quebec.
Pat (in Montreal).
30 Years Behind The US?Photos on this site that show US big cities from 1900 show trolley tracks, if not autos, but, except for the monument, this shot of Montreal looks like something out of the US High Plains circa 1873. I almost expect to see Wyatt Earp or Marshal Matt Dillon walking down the street.
[You wouldn't have trolleys running through a market. Compare it with the 1908 photo of a Philadelphia market below. Which city looks to be the more "wired"? - Dave]

What a hodgepodgeCarts, horses, merchandise, humanity -- looks like the barricade scene from Les Miserables.
Another great photo featuring old wall signageThe great thing about the Quebecois cities of Montreal and Quebec is how they've so effectively managed to preserve the old neighborhoods along the river. My hometown of Newburgh NY totally removed its old commercial Hudson River waterfront neighborhood as an "urban rnewal" project in the late 1960's and it took them nearly 30 years to replace the ruined landscape with a bland grassy swath and some fancy restaurants. 
Les MisMy first thought upon viewing this photo was that the revolution has started! Man the barricades! 
Six DrapeuxHasn't changed much since 1900.  Montreal today resembles a big French-Canadian theme park.
Mr. Mel...I'd like to see it colorized, too! But to do it right, to color all the tiniest details (such as the tree branches), it would really have to be an even larger photo than it is, ideally twice as big. It would take a long time to do this one. It would definitely be the biggest challenge I've ever encountered. I normally spend anywhere from a half hour to ninety minutes doing a coloring job. I'm sure this would take many sessions over several days. 
Montreal market in colorThose wishing to try their hand at colorizing this image can download the jumbo 5400-pixel full-resolution jpeg here. Crayons not included.
Another Canada FanAnother request for more Canada photos (especially Montreal) please!
Yes please on Canadian contentSo enjoy this site, would love to see some pics of British Columbia in the 1950's or 60's, camping,family life etc. Grew up there and loved it so.
I am living in MontrealOld Montreal is still in need of renovations. Many of the old buildings that are further left of AA Wilson house are not looking fine at all. A shame because they are in direct view of the boats coming from St-Lawrence river. For that matter, Quebec City is incredibly well redone and so CLEAN.
This picture here is on of the most well known of Old Mtl.
109 years laterVisual positioning...

Done!

Montreal 1900 - 2009 
Love this site.I was Google'ing old heritage photos of Montreal, and came upon your picture. I have a very similar photo as yours, but not as clear or sharp. It was taken from the same angle. I am guessing mine was taken around 1900. I corrected the photo somewhat.
Montreal was HQ of the CPRLovely old view of my favourite North American city. The CPR had monumental locomotive repair workshops there in 1900, and also built locos from scratch, thousands of them. Was hauled by a 1912 one out in British Columbia last year.
As for the comment about Montreal being behind the times then, well, it's perhaps worth noting this small excerpt from Wikipedia:
"By 1894, the remaining horsecar lines had all been converted to accommodate the new electrically powered streetcars. The Montreal Street Railway was known as one of the most innovative and progressive in North America. One of its innovations was the introduction of the "Pay As You Enter" (P.A.Y.E.) system of fare collection in 1905."
Everywhere else used conductors to collect fares. The Brits continued until well into the 1980s on those double decker buses!
(The Gallery, DPC, Horses, Stores & Markets)

The Typesetters: 1910
... sound can only be described as a horse hoof hitting a cobblestone. If all of the people in this photo started walking at once, it ... probably sound like a bunch of horses trotting down a city street. I can still hear that sound in my head when I think back to our ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/23/2012 - 11:42am -

Washington circa 1910. "Government Printing Office, typesetting." Enjoy your tour, and please, no floor-spitting. Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size.
I wonderHow many of these tradesmen died from lead poisoning?
[Probably zero. - Dave]
Going green to extremeProviding  one drinking cup for the whole office instead of paper cups.
No Floor SpittingBut the shared cup at the spigot is perfectly hygienic!
Communalism in the workplaceI noticed that lone cup as well. Odd how our attention to hygiene has changed over the years.
Unhygenic or NotThat's a beautiful drinking area!
GPS coordinatesColumn numbers are great for locating a position. In the 1960s I worked at Chrysler Canada, where the assembly plant columns were numbered north to south and lettered east to west, so if you gave a location of 26H it was easy to find. 
Hey Everybody"Get back to work!"
Mercury lampsAlso seen in this view of a GPO workroom. Scroll down to the comments.
Cooper-Hewitt Mercury Lamps!I believe those tubular lamps hanging overhead may be Cooper Hewitt mercury lamps. I have never seen a room full of them before. First use was in the composing room of the NY Post in 1903.  Each tube contained up to about a pound of mercury.  Lead, tin, and antimony used for type.  Nice toxic brew.
Fashion-forwardThe suited man holding the papers appears to be visiting from 1974.
Wrap-Around LightingThe rest of the floor is so well lit with the Cooper-Hewitt lamps that the wrap-around lighting on the columns seem redundant.  Being clustered in groups of three, might those have been some sort of signaling system? I also wonder how noisy the environment was.
Job with a future"Caleb, the way the gummint keeps coming up with more and more forms every day, can you imagine how many of us typesetters there'll be in a hundred years?"
Fairly QuietProbably quiet enough to actually think.  Other than the occasional tinking of little metal hammers, setting quoins, there wasn't much machinery around.  Even the test presses would have been manual.
My uncle worked as a typesetter for 45 years for an envelope manufacturer.  Oh, the nonstories!
Clank clankThe composition room was probably quiet enough but the old cast iron presses are pretty noisy. We have a small Chandler/Price press here in our house and you can hear it throughout when it's running.
MustachioedThis is a great peek back in time - thanks for sharing the photo. And thanks to all of those men for having such great facial hair!
Flatbed letterpressEven for 1910 this was an old-school way to set type, as opposed to rotary presses.
California Job CaseMost of those wooden type trays are of the California Job Case style - distinguishable by the large compartment for lowercase letter "e," the most commonly used piece of type.  Type setting was taught in the Washington public schools well into the 1960s! Printers of this time were a proud lot and considered themselves true artists. My dad started at the GPO during the depression, and operated a Lino-O-Type machine - the electro mechanical equivalent of hand set type. He retired as a proofreader and tended to mark up every book in the house -- couldn't let sloppy work get by! 
How doall those folks fit inside my computer?
From the futureI agree with "fashion-forward" that the man with the suit holding the papers, really looks like he is visiting from the future.  Even the way he is looking over, seems like a person from today.  Hard to pinpoint why.
Are all those marks on the floor from spit?
Communal cup One public drinking cup was standard, even at public drinking fountains, until the flu outbreak of 1918 drastically changed hygiene. 
Clip clop.Years ago, I spent a couple summers at dance school in Eastern Europe where the studio floors were of the exact same construction as those in this photo.  They consisted (approximately) of 3 x 3 x 10 inch blocks of wood, fitted tightly and locked together by tongue & groove.  No glue or nails.  I'm sure that when the floors are first assembled they are quite quiet.  But after years of expansion and contraction (just like in the dance studio) the blocks loosen up so much that every footstep or shuffle sends several of the blocks bouncing and knocking against each other.  The resulting sound can only be described as a horse hoof hitting a cobblestone.  If all of the people in this photo started walking at once, it would probably sound like a bunch of horses trotting down a city street.  I can still hear that sound in my head when I think back to our rehearsals in those studios.
More California Job CaseWe had to memorize the California Job Case in the Reading Public Schools when I was in 9th grade (1979). Print Shop was mandatory for all students. Fascinating photo. 
Why the Visitor From the Future looks differentI was intrigued by why the one man seems to look more modern than the other people in the photo.  Here's what I spotted:  it seems that what sets the old clothes apart are the high, stiff collars, the very narrow ties, and the vests.  Since we see the Visitor from the side, we can't see any of that.  Plus, his hair seems natural, not oily like everyone else, and he's more relaxed; he's leaning back against the counter while almost everyone else is posing very stiffly.
(The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing)

Market Street: 1905
Market Street at Eighth in Philadelphia circa 1905, with the Lit Brothers building at ... clothes and the horses. So much is going on! Market Street, Philadelphia I was stationed in Philadelphia with the Navy, 1957-59. ... the Navy Base into center city. Many streets were still cobblestone at that time. I met my wife there and we will have been married 49 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/26/2012 - 12:31pm -

Market Street at Eighth in Philadelphia circa 1905, with the Lit Brothers building at right. Detroit Publishing Company glass negative. View full size.
Don't Make 'Um Like They Use TaThe architectural variety in this picture is just amazing. This makes my jaw drop much further than any modern skyscraper.
Modern LifePopping out of a subway tunnel and into the hustle and bustle of the big city, anyone would think this is modern times until they saw the clothes and the horses. So much is going on!
Market Street, PhiladelphiaI was stationed in Philadelphia with the Navy, 1957-59.  The trolley cars were still active when I first arrived.  We rode them many times from the Navy Base into center city.  Many streets were still cobblestone at that time. I met my wife there and we will have been married 49 years in a few days.
PhillyphileThanks for the photo.  I work in Philly and have lived here all my life.  I love old pictures of the city.
Philly SubwayWas there really a subway in 1900? Wikipedia seems to say there wasn't one at that time. Is it like one of those London subways, which is really just a tunnel from one side of the street to the other?
Lit BrothersThe Lit Brothers and the Strawbridge & Clothier buildings are both standing but sadly not as department stores. The Strawbridge building is on the other side of 8th street. Both are used as office space.  
BuzzedAbout ten years after that photo was taken, my grandfather and a friend of his who owned a plane flew down Market Street between the buildings. It hadn't been made illegal yet.
Philly UndergroundAccording to:
http://www.urbanrail.net/am/phil/philadelphia.htm
Market-Frankford Line
1907: 69th St- 15th St (all elevated)
1908: 15th St - 2nd St (underground)
1915-1922: 2nd St - Frankford (Bridge-Pratt) (elevated)
1955: 40th St - 15th St rebuilt underground 
Philadelphia SubwayOpened December 1905.

That's where I am right now!As I read this I am currently on the 4th floor of the Lit Brothers Building, which still looks much the same, though due mostly to an extensive restoration about 15 years back. And indeed it is mostly offices with a Ross Dept. Store on the 1st floor. The IRS and Mellon Bank have offices there. Many of those buildings are still there (at least more than I'd have thought) though they've gone through that very unfortunate phenomenon of the 70's and 80's where some nitwit decided to "wrap" the 1st floor (and some 2nd) facade in retail crap decor, which ages horribly and ends up looking crappier than you can imagine. But then you look UP and see all this wonderfully ornate and diverse architecture. Its a bit of a split personality disorder. For instance Thomas Eakins' studios were in this utterly fantastic Second Empire (I think) style corner building. It is so detailed and gorgeous, but some nut job (apparently not stopped by the city or any historic commission) wrapped the bottom in an atrocious Valu-mart, which is in very poor disrepair. But look up and you are like "Holy Crap!" 
Plus it's neat to think that, while highly unlikely, one or two of those busy bustlers were my great grandparents who lived and worked downtown, right during this period. Could be, anyway, right?
Market StreetWow. I lived in Philly for eight years near Market Street, which I walked frequently from Olde City to Broad. The scene looks remarkably similar today. As a previous commenter mentioned, the altered first-floor facades really trashed up the appearance of the architecture, but above those I would say more than a good half of the buildings in the pic still look the same. One of the truly remarkable things about Philly is its architecture. Unfortunately most people forget to look up a little when walking down the street.
Market Street Subway.The Market Street subway was always underground from river to river.  The extension in the 1950s buried the elevated portion from 23rd to 46th streets.  It was never elevated at 15th.
Question about buildings.What is the name of the building in the center, with the clock tower and man on top? Also the building to the left of it that has a pagoda looking top. I have 2 glass negatives of this area with people walking, riding bicycles, horse and buggy, but no vehicles. I don't see the arch in this picture.
[The building with the clock tower is City Hall. - Dave]
(The Gallery, DPC, Philadelphia, Stores & Markets)

Literary Landmark: 1906
... The two things that stand out to me in this shot are the cobblestone, which today are only visible down at the river landing at the ... The Cossitt Today The Cossitt Library is right up the street from where I work. It's true that it was "modernized" into an appliance ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/26/2012 - 12:30pm -

Circa 1906. "Cossitt Library, Memphis." This Romanesque red sandstone structure, at Front and Monroe on the banks of the Mississippi, was Memphis's first public library when it opened in 1893. Detroit Publishing. View full size.
FlyersAny chance of an enlargement of the flyers on the pole?

The Cossitt, R.I.P.http://www.memphislibrary.lib.tn.us/ABOUT/libraries/cossitt.htm
Unfortunately, this beautiful building was razed in the late 50's and replaced with a much less graceful structure.  I've seen this shot of the library before but at a much lower resolution.  Here's an example:  http://z.about.com/d/nashville/1/0/6/9/mem04.jpg
The two things that stand out to me in this shot are the cobblestone, which today are only visible down at the river landing at the bottom of the slope, and the river channel in the background.  The Arkansas bank is now shored up to support the I-40 bridge a mile to the north and the I-55 bridge maybe a mile to the south.  
All in all, a marvelous shot.  Thanks for sharing, I know just who will enjoy this print come Christmas.
High res picsIf you don't mind me asking, how did you go about getting these recent high resolution images? I know the HABS/HAER collection has good hi-res pics and so do the G.G. Bain and National Photo (Washington D.C.) images you typically feature, but I have only seen very low-res images in the Detroit Publishing collection at the LoC website.    
Have they added a high res section for this I didn't know about or do you just have to query them for  high res versions of individual images? Thanks for the info.
[The Reproduction Number series LC-DIG-det has 397 Detroit Publishing images with hi-res tiffs. - Dave]
Worse Than GoneThe Cossitt Library is still in the same place, but it's now an ugly 1960s box. The magnificent Romanesque building was demolished in the interest of whatever people were thinking at the time. It's said in Memphis that the Crossitt Library is now imperiled because the site is valuable for development. Alas, it hardly seems to matter.
CossittWhat a beautiful sight. Was this a Carnegie library? Will someone post a picture of the site today?

Romanesque librariesI lived in Memphis in the 1980s and can testify that much of the charm of the late 1800s has disappeared and replaced by 1960s boxes.
Warner, New Hampshire, has a charming example of a small Romanesque library that has been tastefully and thoughtfully enlarged. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner,_New_Hampshire
http://www.warner.lib.nh.us/
RomanesqueGorgeous.  Reminds me of Stewart Hall at West Virginia University:

The Cossitt TodayThe Cossitt Library is right up the street from where I work. It's true that it was "modernized" into an appliance like structure that looks more like an air conditioner than a public building many years ago. However, part of the original red sandstone structure still exists. It faces the river. The turret (actually almost all of what is visible in this photo) was "replaced" with the new box building and it actually is attached over some of the original building. It's always under the threat of being closed, but has somehow managed to stay open. Seems to be deserving of restoration. We managed to save the Overton Park Shell (now the Levitt Shell) and built a replica of the demolished Stax studios as the Stax museum so it seems to be possible, even though it rarely happens.
A Trip to the LibraryIn the late 1930s we went by public streetcar (later by bus) downtown to this library. We got off at Court Square and walked across the square, passing Woolworth's on Main Street on our way.  When I was a bit older, I was allowed to make this trip alone.  Every Saturday I climbed these steps and entered the cool porch and then what seemed to me a sanctuary of quiet and wonder.  The librarian would sometimes notice what I was returning and recommend a book or an author and I happily browsed the shelves and sat in the reading room which had windows on the river. After I checked out my books -- limited to four, so the selection took a while -- I retraced my steps to Woolworth's where I would stop for a little shopping, real or imagined, and a wonderfully real pineapple ice cream soda. The building seen to the right in the photo is the Post Office.
Oh, if only...we still created public buildings with the same pride and care.  I think I could get my kids to actually want to go to the library if they felt they were heading to a "castle."  I see pics of European castles/buildings which simply make me sigh.  Our "boxes" and public structures leave so much to be desired.  Many people build their own personal castles (mansions) but only they and their neighbors get joy from these.  I want to go to this library and read for hours!
OverdueAn excellent guide to Memphis architecture I have explains that the red sandstone used to build the library began to deteriorate and experts at the time determined that it could not be saved as it was. Most of it was torn down and an International Style structure took its place. Though some of the original red sandstone can be seen in the back (river-facing) side.
ColoringI love to dabble in photoshop and this photo just seemed to cry out for some color.  I have no idea whatsoever if this is even CLOSE to the original color, but it's what I saw in my mind.
I give you the photo because all I wanted to do was colorize it.  I did so and had a lot of fun doing it.  I don't make money off it, I just have fun with it.
Thank you for bringing us so many wonderful memories.
[Ooh. It's beautiful! Click below to enlarge. - Dave]

(The Gallery, DPC, Memphis)

Boston Rooftops: 1906
... eleven decades after it opened on the corner of Brattle Street and Brattle Square around 1819. The photo below, circa 1860, shows it ... of insulated metal pipes coiling for 30 miles under the cobblestone streets". One Other Still Standing The Sears Crescent ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/05/2022 - 12:09pm -

Boston circa 1906. "Quincy House and Faneuil Hall from Barrister's Hall, Boston University." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Where's my shopping cart???Everything you need is there.  Whiskey, rifles and pistols, art supplies, sign makers...you name it, it's there.  And speaking of there, could that 5-masted schooner shown there in the picture just to the right of the tallest flag pole be the "Jane Palmer"?  Hard to say, but it could be
What Could Have BeenSo much of this Boston cityscape was obliterated by urban renewal in the late 1950s and early '60s and replaced with soulless concrete and glass monstrosities. Restoration and repurposing could have made the city far less of an eyesore than this area is today.
Vanished Boston institutionsThe Quincy House lasted eleven decades after it opened on the corner of Brattle Street and Brattle Square around 1819. The photo below, circa 1860, shows it before an 1885 expansion to seven stories and 500 rooms--Boston's largest hotel.
Across the street in the earlier photo is square-towered Brattle Street Church, erected in 1772. As is clear from the Shorpy photo, the hotel outlasted the church, which was demolished when the congregation moved to Back Bay in 1872--then disbanded four years later. The Quincy House closed in 1929.
Even the addresses are gone. Ask for Brattle Street and Brattle Square today, and you'll end up in Cambridge.
Faneuil Hall Marketplace survivesThe building in the 1906 photo with the pitched roof and copula survives.  It appears all else is no more.  City Hall Plaza has replaced most of what is in the foreground.
Click to embiggen.  Faneuil Hall Marketplace is circled in white.
[NOTE: Must be 18 or older to enter the "copula." - Dave]
Dave, I'm too ashamed to admit how many times I Googled "copula" after your comment and got the correct response of cupola without noticing Google corrected my spelling.  Yes, "copula" is something very different.

Cold makes things grow, tooAs in the operations of the Quincy Market Cold Storage and Warehouse Company. Beginning with a warehouse at Commercial and Richmond Streets (situated behind the ball of the Quincy House's flagpole) it expanded up the street to that hulking building near the left of the photo (which ended up looking even more hulking); all linked together by a "maze of insulated metal pipes coiling for 30 miles under the cobblestone streets".
One Other Still StandingThe Sears Crescent Building on the far right still stands, I believe. The building was given that shape to follow Cornhill Street, which no longer exists. 
I'm not old enough to remember when the neighborhood looked like this. However, I am old enough to remember it in the early 1960s, flat and empty. 
Shorpy has visited other nearby sites, like Adams Square (https://www.shorpy.com/node/7919), also obliterated in haste and regretted at leisure.
SurvivorsAs noted below, Faneuil Hall, in the center of the photo, with the low-pitched roof, cupola, and half-moon window in the gable, is still there, as is the central Quincy Market building immediately behind it, with the large. light-colored dome.  Today, Quincy Market is a big food court, filled with tourists, asking for directions to Fenway Park.  (Umm, kind of a long walk from here.)  The long line of buildings to the immediate left of Quincy Market, with the street level awnings, is also still there - part of the Quincy Market commercial development - consisting largely of shops and places to eat and drink.  The stone building immediately behind Quincy Market is long gone, but the long 5-6 story stone building immediately to the left of it is Mercantile Wharf.  The front section of Mercantile Wharf has been lopped off, but the rest of it is still there - commercial space at street level, pricey condos above.  Finally, the building in the extreme lower right corner of the photo, with "Sears Crescent" written in stone on the face, is still there (as is the original stone "Sears Crescent" signage).  But virtually everything to the left of that building is gone, replaced by the barren, windswept desert of City Hall Plaza, and the brutalist concrete architecture of City Hall itself.  They keep trying to liven it up, with only limited, incremental success.
Great picture of a great city.  (Excuse me now while I go get a 10 cent whiskey in that fine establishment across the street from the Sears Crescent.)
(The Gallery, Boston, DPC, Stores & Markets)

The Seelbach: 1907
... The same view in recent times. The end of "4th Street Live" on Muhammad Ali Boulevard. Oh yeah This place is extra ... window on the right. A confusing maze of track and cobblestone! Seelbach Windows Plenty of Keystones but no awnings. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/06/2012 - 1:15am -

Louisville, Kentucky, circa 1907. "Seelbach Hotel." Which might have had a roof garden. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
The same view in recent times.The end of "4th Street Live" on Muhammad Ali Boulevard.
Oh yeahThis place is extra swanky. Still going strong (it's a Hilton now). 
Vintage steamrollerPowered by steam, as well as providing heat to the roller.  I believe they pulled up the cobblestones (maybe working on steam/water/gas lines under the street).  Then they "pound sand" and re-lay the cobblestones (in the cart in front of the steamroller).
[No cobbles under this steamroller -- it's on the asphalt part of the street. - Dave]
That's the great advantage of stone pavers, they can be removed, releveled and replaced to smooth out potholes, etc.  (They've done this on our paver driveway once, and there's a spot that needs some more sand fill.)  Unfortunately, nowadays they pave over these streets, and then the asphalt breaks when the street heaves (from freezing and thawing.)  There are some streets near my mother's house that have not been paved over, but it's too labor-intensive to get some guys to pull up the pavers, roll and pound sand, and then replace them.  
WindowsThe display windows on the two corner buildings are amazingly large for 1907.  Production processes to produce such large single panes were in their infancy and wouldn't be in widespread use until the 1920s.
Roof garden and rathskellerIn addition to a lush vine-covered roof garden, the Seelbach also had a classy Rathskeller in the basement. More postcard views.

That was the way they rolledNow that is an authentic steam-powered steamroller. Also I liked the blurred rush to board the streetcar.
Vintage SeelbachI have childhood memories of this classic old hotel. One of my uncles lived there for many years, and we visited him a number of times. This was a stopping place for presidents, foreign dignitaries, and gangsters in its history.
Somewhere in one of our closets, I have a wooden clothes hanger, engraved with the hotel's name and address.
If power lines cause CancerThen these people would all be dead by now.
There they are againall those guys with bowler hats just hangin' around.
Bring Back HatsSomething was lost when men stopped wearing them.
I'll take a pairJust spent the day with a designer looking for the "perfect" wicker or rattan chair for our production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," and there it is in the window on the right.
A confusing mazeof track and cobblestone!
Seelbach WindowsPlenty of Keystones but no awnings.
High timesStayed at the Seelbach, very nice. Has a nice piano bar and love the old staircases.
Fireproof Hotel

Fireproof Magazine, 1904. 


The Seelbach Fireproof Hotel, Louisville.

The Seelbach, which forms the subject of our frontispiece, is one of the latest additions to the fireproof buildings of Louisville, which are increasing in numbers as their value is beginning to be appreciated in beautiful city the Ohio.
It is 136 feet long on Fourth street and 103 feet on Walnut street, and ten stories high, including the roof garden. The first floor is planned with a lobby in the center of the building approached through two entrances. Between the two entrances is a ladies' reception room. On the Walnut street corner is a large cafe 40x90 feet. On the left of the lobby is a men's cafe 40 feet square, with a bar immediately behind.
There will be 200 bed rooms in the hotel and 112 bath rooms. In general there is a bath room between every two bed rooms, although many of the principal bed rooms have private baths. 
About half of the area of the tenth floor will be used for a roof garden, which is expected to be a very popular resort in the summer. The floor is paved with large red tiles, the top covered with rolling awnings and the parapet wall decorated with growing plants, lines of electric lights, etc. The roof garden will have its own kitchen, where meats can be cooked on a range in view of the patrons. The remainder of the tenth story will be devoted to a large hall in which both the passenger elevators will land, storerooms for the hotel, carpenter shop, work rooms, etc.
In the basement will be located the general toilet room, barber shop and billiard room. Most of the area of the basement will be occupied by the kitchen, in which no expense is spared to make it as complete and finely equipped as any hotel in the country. Beneath the basement is a sub-basement used for storage, fan rooms, etc.
The interior construction of this hotel will be as thoroughly fireproof as the hollow tile system can make it. All the columns and girders are protected. The floor construction adopted is the Johnson long span system, floors being built in straight slabs from girder to girder. Mr. Andrews had originally contemplated using reinforced concrete floors, but when bids were received it was found that the Johnson tile system was less expensive. The same steel construction was used as would have been the case with concrete. All the partitions are also of hollow tile.
All the woodwork throughout the upper floors will be mahogany. The bath rooms are wainscoted in marble with marble floors and solid porcelain bath tubs keyed into the wall.
The exterior of the hotel is designed in the French Renaissance style. The first two stories and the ninth story are of gray stone. The trimmings at the corners and around the windows are also of gray stone. The wall spaces between the third and ninth stories are faced with the Harvard brick, which is a rich-colored, rough-looking brick of a deep red color, laid in wide, deeply sunk white mortar joints.
The associated architects from whose design and under whose direction the building is erected are Frank M. Andrews of Dayton, Ohio and W.J. Dodd of Louisville.  The contractor for the whole is Herman Probst of New York, formerly of Chicago.
(The Gallery, DPC, Louisville, Streetcars)

Thirsty? Just Whistle: 1923
... racket ...as you drive that solid-tired truck down the cobblestone road with all those soda bottles in the back to rattle around. Not ... many years. This photo seems to be looking south across F street just east of 4th. The large tower of the Brewery is visible with the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/02/2017 - 12:43pm -

Washington, D.C., 1923. "Whistle Bottling Works." Yet another outpost in the Whistle beverage empire. View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. Somehow I can envision a musical based on this place. Kind of like "The Pajama Game," but instead of sleepwear, soda pop. And of course whistling.
The secret of Whistle unearthed!With help from inventors.about.com:
In St. Louis in 1919, Charles Grigg invented and marketed his first soft drink, an orange flavored beverage called Whistle.  After a dispute with management he moved on to invent another orange drink, but still couldn't compete well with Orange Crush. He then toyed with lemon-lime flavor and in 1929 formulated "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda." The name was quickly changed to "7-Up."
[Fascinating! Thanks. Some more Whistle tidbits in the comments here. - Dave]
Imagine the racket...as you drive that solid-tired truck down the cobblestone road with all those soda bottles in the back to rattle around. Not good for the carbonation, either. 
Boo.The resident ghosts may be seen in the upper windows of the works...
Vintage SignageI've become accustomed to the periods in vintage signage, but the closed quotation mark after Farber's is puzzling.  And I'm not sure if that's a Star of David after the name or if it is a German logo used by brewing guilds, as a previous commenter to Shorpy indicated. Perhaps Farber also operated a brewery?
The "ghosts" in the upper windows are also a mystery, although the ones on the left side must be a character logo used for the soda, a policeman with--you guessed it--a whistle.
Old Jueneman BreweryFantastic photo!  This is a portion of the old Jueneman Brewery  - a few blocks from where I live.
The Brewery complex took up an entire block in northeast Washington bounded by 4th, 5th, E and F streets. George W. Juenemann started his brewery business in 1858.  After George passed away in 1884, his wife Barbara ran the brewery for a few years before selling to Albert Carry in 1886.  Carry in turn sold the brewery to the Washington Brewery Company in 1890 and started his own brewery in southeast Washington.  The Washington Brewery Company brewed beer until the the Volstead Act was passed in 1917.  In addition to brewing, the complex included a beer garden for many years.  This photo seems to be looking south across F street just east of 4th.
The large tower of the Brewery is visible with the mournful sign "This Property for Sale." In 1925 the brewery complex was completed razed.  In its place was built the Stuart Junior High School, now the Stuart-Hobson Middle School.   Whistle Bottling works relocated to much smaller  facilities  on  North Capitol Street.
Volstead ActThe Volstead Act passed in October 1919 (over Woodrow Wilson's veto).  However, DC went dry in 1917 due to the Sheppard Act, three years before the 19th Amendment went into affect.
http://www.rustycans.com/HISTORY/prohibition.html#top
 4th and F streets N.E.Based on the fact that there are trolley tracks in the foreground, I think this is taken from F Street N.E. facing south. Today, there's a four foot high retaining wall and a playground where those trucks are parked.

Don't think the location is rightEither the date suggested for the building is wrong or the address is off. The peak of the building is marked either 1895 or 895 either of which would mean it couldn't be at the 4th & F NE location. If 1895 is the date of the building then it wouldn't be the building referred mentioned as having been built in 1858.
[The location was 4th Street between E and F, as noted below. The building in the photo was constructed in 1895. The previous comment didn't say it was built in 1858 -- it said 1858 is the year the brewery was established. - Dave]
Whistle Bottle FoundI was putting a new floor in my house and found one of these nifty little bottles under the floor.
Amazing how old it is!
Traffic Motor Trucks"Largest exclusive builders of 4000-lb. capacity trucks in the world."
The four trucks to the right are Traffic Trucks made by the Traffic Motor Truck Corporation of St Louis, MO.  My guess is that these four trucks are circa 1918 - 1921.  The truck on the far left might be an earlier model Traffic Truck.  It appears that that the second and third trucks from the left are slightly older and smaller that the two trucks to the far right.
The sloping hoods with triangular sides as well as a radiator which extends very high above the hood of these vehicles are very distinctive.  The word "Traffic" can also be seen in the center of the top of the radiator.
Prices started at $1,195 in 1918, and rose to $1,395 in 1919, $1,495 in 1920, and $1,595 in 1921 for a 2-ton model.  Starting in 1922 there were also 1 1/2 ton, 3-ton, and 4-ton models.
Traffic specifications for 1919 were: 4-cylinder, valve-in-head, 40-h.p. motor; Covert transmission; Borg & Beck disc clutch; Kingston magneto with Impulse starter; 4-piece cast shell; cellular type radiator; drop forged front axle with roller bearings; Russel rear axle, internal gear, roller bearings; semi-elliptic front and rear springs; 6-inch U-channel frame; Standard Fisk tires; 133-inch wheel-base; 122-inch length of frame behind driver's seat; oil cup lubricating system; chassis painted, striped, and varnished; driver's seat and cushion regular equipment.
The men on the truck on the far right almost seem to be Soldiers, but do not appear to be 100% in uniform.  They are dressed very differently from the other deliverymen.  There are American flags on the truck and a very interesting propeller looking hood ornament attached to the radiator.  Makes me wonder if they delivered to military bases around the D.C. area.
The second truck from the right appears to be carrying wine or champaign bottles just to the left of the driver.  Not likely since prohibition is in effect, but it seems a little odd to see that bottle shape here.
Note the opened windshield on the middle truck.  It looks like it would get in the way of seeing out or smack you in the face if you hit a bump.  Three of the other trucks have similar windshields.
I see only one dock door.  If a truck were to back up to the door it seems that it would stick out into the street.  There is not a lot of distance between the edge of the dock and the first set of trolley tracks.
At first I thought the leaves be trying to hide yet another of those round telephone distribution points, but looking closer it appears to be a set of lights around a smokestack.
Finally, what are the checkerboard-like objects in several places in the trolley tracks?  Are they signaling devices, insulators, or something else?
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)

Betsy Ross House: 1900
... the "free Quaker" meeting house she went to is just up the street. But for people who want the old style vibe, over across Arch ... I was stationed in Philadelphia with the Navy in 1957. The cobblestone streets were just one many new sights and experiences for someone ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 10:21am -

Circa 1900. "Betsy Ross house, Philadelphia. Birthplace of Old Glory." Happy Flag Day from Shorpy! Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size.
Sad and LonelyYou would think a structure that historically significant would have warranted restoring the adjoining structures also,if nothing else to give the little house some historical context. Instead it's just stuck out there all by itself. You could drive by it and never notice it.
Ya gotta love ...the custom harness on the horse.  Very stylish.
This Old HouseThat's a heck of a restoration...though I do sort of prefer the ramshackle, "oh , this just happens to be the Betsy Ross house" vibe of its 1900 state.
Yesterday and todayHaving seen the Betsy Ross house several times since moving to the Philadelphia area, I find this 1900s house doesn't even look remotely familiar. Gotta wonder what it really looked like!
[Not remotely similar? Maybe it's time for another look. - Dave]
View Larger Map

Remotely familiar, but....The door has moved, the coal chute has been painted to stand out, and the roof is now shingled. What's really changed are the surroundings.
Also it now looks like a residential house, where originally it would have had a business on the ground floor and rooms above.
HarnessIndeed that is a very nice set of harness, but the horses must have been a pretty calm pair since there are no "blinders" on the bridle.  All of the draft horses I ever drove had large blinders, but then traffic was a lot busier and noiser in 1945 I suppose.
[Now you can say you know Jack. - Dave]

ChangesWhen can we tar and feather those that changed it ?
In the neighborhoodCarey Bros. coachworks is gone, now the space it occupied is a sort of strange courtyard to the Betsy Ross House.  As a native Philadelphian, I've never been inside the house.  The admission seemed steep, and it always seems a bit of an apocryphal tale that she sewed the first flag or invented the 5 pointed star, though the "free Quaker" meeting house she went to is just up the street. 
But for people who want the old style vibe, over across Arch Street and down on the other side of third street, there's the wonderful old-world Humphrey's Flag shop.  I guess they got started there because it's close to Betsy Ross's house?  In front of their shop and the one one the corner is a wonderful bit of sidewalk paved with purple and green glass lozenges, each around 1½ inches wide.  But careful, they are slippery in the rain!
Hame ChainAt first I thought the word "hame" was a graphic artifact.  Closer inspection indicated otherwise.  Googling hame reveals it to be a harness part -- obviously commonly used at that time. 
Much the sameThis view is much the same as I remember it from when I was stationed in Philadelphia with the Navy in 1957. The cobblestone  streets were just one many new sights and experiences for someone from the Appalachian south. We rode streetcars, subways and elevated trains all over the city.  This was before pizza, hoagies, hot sausage and Philly cheese steak sandwiches came to our part of the world. The cardboard-pizzas and sandwiches of the various chains do not come anywhere near the originals.
Ah, memories.When I was a teenager, I dropped the f-bomb in my father's presence in this house. (I hit my head going down the basement stairs on the tour)
+113Below is the same view from October of 2013.
(The Gallery, DPC, Horses, Patriotic, Philadelphia)

Washington Street Market: 1952
Night view of the Washington Street produce market, New York City, 1952. View full size. Photograph by ... very expensive nightlife-heavy part of town now. But the cobblestone streets are still there. [Interesting. What neighborhood is ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/16/2019 - 5:38pm -

Night view of the Washington Street produce market, New York City, 1952. View full size. Photograph by Walter Albertin for the World Telegram & Sun.
NeighborhoodThis would be down in TriBeCa, not the Meatpacking District as alluded to.  The Washington Market was a huge produce market, as well as the center of the butter & egg trade, for many years, until development displaced it (especially the building of the WTC).
[Thanks for the info. I have a series of Washington Market photos to post this week. - Dave]
The funny part is......this is a very expensive nightlife-heavy part of town now.  But the cobblestone streets are still there.
[Interesting. What neighborhood is it? - Dave]
Park there nowThere is a park there at Chambers and Greenwich called the Washington Market Park.
photosi am looking for some photos of the market..in particular Cuneo bros. if anyone has any information or photos..it would be much appreciated..thank you...Ach
That was a great placeI use to work in the Washington Market after school around 1964. 
This is the Meat Market DistrictWhat was displaced when the World Trade Center was built were wholesale electronic parts dealers.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, NYC, Stores & Markets)

Surf Avenue: 1903
... brew. What a Turning Point Horse poop on the cobblestone road and an incredible tangle of wires overhead. Wires gone ... a 2.5 inch cable sagging on the poles all the way down the street. My new camera wasn't much fun when every shot I could take was marred ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 11:13am -

New York circa 1903. "Surf Avenue, Coney Island." Plus: Delicious Ice Cream and Pop Corn. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
"Real German Beer"?I find it amusing that Piel's sold its product with that slogan back in 1905. By 1965, during the days when Bob and Ray did the "Bert and Harry" cartoon commercials on TV, Piel's had turned itself into a flavorless, highly carbonated product that Bob and Ray couldn't even help to move it to consumers.
On the other hand, Trommer's was always a good and flavorful brew.
What a Turning PointHorse poop on the cobblestone road and an incredible tangle of wires overhead.
Wires goneNYC eventually mandated the burial of most electrical wires in the city, which is why you won't see that same overhead mess in Coney today. 
Speaking of which, does anyone have any idea exactly where this photograph was taken on Surf?  I'm trying to get a handle on the pre-Robert Moses geography of Coney Island.
Loop the LoopThe photo's giveaway is the Loop the Loop on the right, the first roller coaster to have the vertical ellipse on Coney, which was built in 1901. That would put this image at Surf and West 10th Avenue.
West 10th was removed in favor of the rail and condos, and the current occupant on the south side at this site is the famous Cyclone.
What a messHow interesting it would be to view this collection of buildings without that incredible jumble of wires obscuring the scene.  But, even today in towns that have similar poles and power lines people don't seem to notice.  Interesting how we can edit to suit our preferences.  
Look - up in the sky!There are so many electric wires they practically blot out the sun!
Yes, the wiresGotta wonder if anyone ever debated worth of the blight. My own home town has a 2.5 inch cable sagging on the poles all the way down the street. My new camera wasn't much fun when every shot I could take was marred by lines.
(The Gallery, Coney Island, DPC)

The Buggy Company: 1903
... view of that bustling commercial artery known as Gay Street, home to Broyles, McClellan & Lackey, dealers in Seeds, Fertilizers, ... aplenty! Horse Goods That would be the stuff on the cobblestone? Aerial View http://binged.it/uSflYn Clearly the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 6:31pm -

Knoxville, Tennessee, circa 1903. Yet another view of that bustling commercial artery known as Gay Street, home to Broyles, McClellan & Lackey, dealers in Seeds, Fertilizers, Farm Machinery and Buggies, Harness and Horse Goods. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
You'd haftabust moves purtier 'n Fred Astaire to get across the street without brown shoes! 
Plus 108, minus a few buildingsApproximate present-day view of this shot.  The buildings in the foreground are long gone, but several at the far end of the street are still present, in most of their former glory. (Note that the modern buildings look wider;  that's just an artifact of the camera perspective.)

SZ SakallApparently vacationed in Knoxville.
Must be lunchtimebecause there is not a street sweeper in sight, and horse apples aplenty!
Horse GoodsThat would be the stuff on the cobblestone?
Aerial Viewhttp://binged.it/uSflYn
Clearly the Payne and Brisco buildings are gone, however the next one with four sets of three windows still survives. 
The next two are uncertain from. There's a slender building that perhaps has had a new facade and perhaps the next part is just covered up with "New. Urban. Living" covering.
Anyhow, the Bing "Birds Eye" view of many cities provides often provides a super image. Note in the upper-right corner arrows to rotate the view to see an area from the North, South, East and West.
Yep - that's CuddlesTo JohnHoward - I had noticed the S.Z. Sakall look-alike but didn't comment as I didn't think other people would remember him (happy you did).  Strange thing is that the same night I saw the photo on Shorpy, I watched an old Errol Flynn movie "Montana", and there was "Cuddles" playing his usual lovable self.  For anyone not familiar with him, he played Rick's bartender in Casablanca.
+112Below is the same view from July of 2015.
(The Gallery, DPC, Horses, Knoxville, Stores & Markets)

Fine Groceries: 1905
... New York circa 1905. "Exterior of tenement house, E. 40th Street." Our fifth look at this building . 8x10 glass negative, Detroit ... the devil did I leave the Ford? Seasick? That wavy cobblestone street could pass for the ocean on a windy day. Must have been a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/02/2012 - 7:44pm -

New York circa 1905. "Exterior of tenement house, E. 40th Street." Our fifth look at this building. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
ThinkThe young lady look's deep in thought. I wonder what she's thinking about? "Maybe I should have brought my umbrella."
He's in big troubleHe was supposed to pick her up a half hour ago after her shift at the deli but he's down at the pool hall and time just got away from him, you know how it is. She hopes he's not dead so she can kill him herself when he finally pulls up.
Please do not siton the railings or abutment.
Look carefully at the sidewalk and streets.Totally immaculate. In fact, you can eat off of them.
Brick lintelsI have NEVER seen brick lintels arranged in such a decorative fashion before. For such a plain building there's a lot going on in the brickwork. 
Woman by door:"Oh dear! Google Maps seems to have led me astray. I was only look for medium-quality groceries. Whatever shall I do?"
QuandaryNow where the devil did I leave the Ford?
Seasick?That wavy cobblestone street could pass for the ocean on a windy day.  Must have been a very bumpy ride.
Tea TimeI'm surprised no one has made comment of the young lady standing alone on the street.  Just above her though, through a partially openend window, appears to be two or three ladies enjoying high tea or something of the sort.  Looks like one is reaching for a salt or pepper shaker.  Shorpy provides a portal into the past to view moments enjoyed over 100 years ago!  Amazing when one thinks about it.
A Worrisome Thought
I imagine we will never know if our heroine was able to connect with her new beau.
Although she is an attractive young lady so I'm sure things worked out for her and some viewer of Shorpy might be looking at their great grandmother.
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Stores & Markets)

Bridge of Sighs: 1905
... You can see the first layer of asphalt covering the cobblestone on the corner there. Probably many more to follow. Bowler Alley ... too. I guess guys never change. Fat people In this street scene, I can see no morbidly obese people. I don't think I could say ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 10:53am -

New York City circa 1905. "Bridge of Sighs." Named after a similar span in Venice, this covered passage connected the Tombs prison and Manhattan Criminal Courts building. 8x10 dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
Needs PatchingYou can see the first layer of asphalt covering the cobblestone on the corner there. Probably many more to follow.
Bowler AlleyAnd they say blue jeans are the national uniform!
Checkin' out the LadiezzOnly a few women in this picture, and the group on the lower right is drawing some attention.  Note the guy crossing the sidewalk, head snapped to the left. And the fellow leaning on the rail, idly gazing over that way. And the one on the walk parallel to the group may be sneaking a sidelong glance, too.  I guess guys never change.
Fat peopleIn this street scene, I can see no morbidly obese people. I don't think I could say that about the same scene taken today
Thanks for postingI've seen pictures of this before, but never with such a lot of teeming life on the street just beneath. Imagine being taken back and forth between the cells and the courts with all this just below your feet !
No BirdsIt's amazing not seeing pigeon! How things have changed.
J. Mark Gooch
Birmingham, Alabama (Shorpy's Home)
www.markgooch.com
Country CousinIndeed, as a DanV notes, the ladies over on the right are attracting some attention. But what about that poor woman standing in the middle of the road? No one's paying her any mind, yet there she is, transfixed, rooted to the spot, as the coach and horses bear down on her. She's a simple soul, bewildered by the sights and sounds of the big city.  Only one man stands between that woman and a ghastly trampled death, and that's our hero in the foreground, with his back to us. But has he grasped the full urgency of the situation? He needs to move faster. Will he make it in time??
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)

Soda Stop: 1908
Circa 1908. "Seeing Chicago. Auto at Monroe Street near State." Our second glimpse of these Windy City tourists . Photo ... sundaes in here. Bumpy ride Solid rubber tires on cobblestone streets. Hope the old people held their mouths closed , or risk ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/18/2012 - 12:28pm -

Circa 1908. "Seeing Chicago. Auto at Monroe Street near State." Our second glimpse of these Windy City tourists. Photo by Hans Behm. View full size.
Font...Wow, they really went crazy with the drop shadow on the signs above the awning.
Oh wait, that's a real drop shadow and I bet it moves as the day progresses too.
I scream Can just imagine hot sundaes in here.
Bumpy rideSolid rubber tires on cobblestone streets. Hope the old people held their mouths closed , or risk losing their teeth to the rattling.
Rapid Model DThis is a circa 1906-08 Rapid Model D 132, 12-Passenger Car, as made by the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan.  It cost $1,800 and was less luxurious and passenger friendly than their Model D 170, 12 Passenger Pullman, which cost $700 more.
The 132 Car weighed 3,050 pounds and was powered by a 22-24 hp, horizontal two cylinder water-cooled engine mounted in the center of the frame, just under the floor.  It had two speeds forward and one reverse, feeding the power through a jackshaft and Brown - Lipe differential, and on to the double side chain drive.  The solid rubber tires were 32 by 3 inch and the wheels rode on Timkin bearings front and rear.  The wheelbase was 90 inches, and standard equipment included two side lights, a searchlight (the socket for which can be seen at the top of the dash), tail light, horn, and a full set of tools.
Other Model D offerings included 16, 20 and 25-passenger vehicles, as well as delivery vans and one-and-a-half ton trucks.
Started in 1902 by the Grabowsky brothers, the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company was taken over by General Motors a year after the picture above was taken.  They turned Rapid into the GMC Truck division in 1912.
Here's an ad from 1908 for the more expensive Pullman:

1910 Chicago City DirectoryHere are the first two entries under Confectioners in the 1910 Chicago City Directory.
Interesting class contrast.I could not help noticing the well-fed, well dressed boy sitting in the back of the tourist car while behind him is a boy about the same age working as a messenger. It is a reminder of the extreme contrasts of that age.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chicago, DPC)

INSPECTION: 1936
... foreground on the Manhattan side is now known as "70 Pine Street." It is surprisingly little known, considering it's 900 feet high. ... that's going up in this picture came down in 2008. The cobblestone streets survived, but the sidewalks got paved. Neat to see it way ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/13/2016 - 4:06pm -

May 22, 1936. "Warehouse district, Water and Dock Streets, Brooklyn, looking west under Brooklyn Bridge to Lower Manhattan." 8x10 gelatin silver print by Berenice Abbott for the Federal Art Project. View full size.
Thank you, BerniceBernice Abbot took her camera around New York City, stubbornly photographing the marginalized spaces (and occasionally people) that most people ignored. As Craig points out, this area is all spiffy and gentrified now. Thankfully, we have Abbot's record of how this area looked when it was a no-nonsense warehouse area.
Still ThereThe skyscraper in the foreground on the Manhattan side is now known as "70 Pine Street." It is surprisingly little known, considering it's 900 feet high.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/70_Pine_Street
80 years later, it's a different DUMBOI remember this corner from my years wandering around forgotten sections of Brooklyn.  The warehouse on the right is now a 2-story shell used as a performance space (St. Ann's Warehouse), and the building that's going up in this picture came down in 2008.  The cobblestone streets survived, but the sidewalks got paved.  Neat to see it way back when!

(The Gallery, Berenice Abbott, Boats & Bridges, NYC)
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