MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME
Home

Search Shorpy

SEARCH TIP: Click the tags above a photo to find more of same:
Mandatory field.

Search results -- 30 results per page

Revival: 1900
Ocean Grove, New Jersey, circa 1900-1910. "Interior of auditorium." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing ... I've been there. It's magnificent. An interior shot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/humbleland/2570769421/ ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 4:24pm -

Ocean Grove, New Jersey, circa 1900-1910. "Interior of auditorium." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. A Magnificent AuditoriumThe is the wonderful auditorium where I was lucky enough to once see a production of Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance" back in the summer of 1947. The acoustics were amazing. Ocean Grove, just south of Asbury Park on the north Jesrey Shore, along with Ocean City on the south Jesey shore, and Oak Bluffs, on Martha's Vineyard, were popular Methodist summer camp grounds and resorts and probably still are. You could not drive on the streets of Ocean Grove on Sunday. The locals hung chains across the roadways into the community to prevent cars and trucks from disturbing the tranquility. Wooden you know itSo that's what happened to Noah's Ark! And the Spirit movedThey meant business during that turn-of-the-century Holiness revival. And I'll bet deodorant hadn't even been invented. Electrifying SermonWith a stage show and gear like that I'd have to guess it's Billy Sunday. No? Re: Wooden You Know ItThanks for the hearty laugh I got from your comment. Wheres Waldo?Post Rapture? Just imagineThe heat in that place on a July Sunday Say Amen sombodyLooks like a Revival setting up. How many trees did it taketo create a marvel like that? All that wood must have smelled wonderful - until half the occupants lit up their cigars. Maybe smoking wasn't allowed for being sinful, not to mention the tremendous fire hazard. A wonderful space, anyway, complete with full orchestra. Fireproof ConstructionThis place gives new meaning to "Burn in eternal damnation." Beautiful BuildingInteresting building, looks like it's still standing too. View Larger Map Holy cow!An esthetic nightmare! Elmer Gantry Lives!Where are Burt Lancaster and Jean Simmons? Praise the LordFor your viewers who are city slickers and sophisticated lifelong residents of either American coast, they might not realize that these revivals are still going on to this very day in the Southern states of the U.S. on all levels, from the big entertainment shows in huge church auditoriums to the local small scale "tent revivals" which are precisely as described, various sizes of simple tents with assortments of metal or plastic folding chairs or even B.Y.O.C. venues. There are both ordained ministers or simple country preachers and everything from full orchestras to a single rinky-dink used piano. Elmer Gantry comes to mind as individual cardboard fans are distributed by the local funeral homes. Having grown up in Connecticut, I really enjoy my current residence in the south, sometimes I feel like I'm living in a moving picture, but the people have stellar strength of character which I find intriguing. I didn't know what I was missing growing up as a Yankee. Sitting in judgmentI hope the revivalists provided seat cushions. Ouch. Pre-individualismReligion on an industrial scale. Amazing. A lot of woodI was thinking the same thing......a lot of wood was used to build this place. The downside is places like this burned down fairly easily. Not to mention being on the coast, you would assume the wood was more subject to corrosion & rot. FiretrapToday's fire marshal would be horrified with this seating arrangement and building materials. Say What?They must have had some sort of amplification system in use, but I can't imagine what it would be back then. [It was called "oratory." - Dave] High reachI bet all those little light bulbs hanging from the ceiling were pretty lit up but it must have been a job to replace them when they burned out. In the Sweet By and ByThe roof had to rise up off its rafters or beams as the choir, pipe organ, orchestra and congregation raised their voices in the great 19th century hymns! Would loved to have heard them! None of the pathetic little 7-11 songs of today where they sing the same seven words over and over 11 times in monotonous drudgery. Then it was five full verses plus chorus each time! Still standingI live in the area & was visiting Ocean Grove & Asbury Park which is right next to Ocean Grove. Tony Bennett was playing the Great Auditorium, as it is known, & you can actually hear the concert in the next town over! Here is a current photo of the auditorium, not much has changed. Here's some videoFireproofDespite the fire hazard of all that wood and all that hellfire, the 1894 auditorium is indeed still standing, and its surroundings seem unchanged as well: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeruny/4323388065/ I've been there. It's magnificent. An interior shot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/humbleland/2570769421/ The tent houses still stand also: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sloppydawgnj/536085078/ Ocean Grove is well worth visiting--it's almost like a little time capsule. BurnoutAs an Electrician, I would hate to have to be responsible for re-lamping this building back then. Today I would rent a articulated lift to get so high up above the seating, but back then, I imagine the best option might be scaffolding. Unless there was access above the ceiling. Either way it would be tough. The prototypeThe Auditorium at Ocean Grove was patterned after the Amphitheater at Chautauqua Institution. The leaders of Ocean Grove perused the Amp, and designed a building that was a copy to a great degree. The Ocean Grove Auditorium took the outer rows of seats from the Amp and turned them into a balcony. It was completed a year after the Chautauqua structure. Both buildings are still going strong and are terrific venues to enjoy music. They have exquisite acoustics, like being inside a giant cello. https://www.shorpy.com/node/7257 Fond Memories of Graduation Graduation ceremonies from Neptune High School in 1957 were held here. Much better than an outdoor stadium. I wonder how many graduations were held after that. (The Gallery, DPC)
St. Albans: 1941
... under direction of National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of Interior. Bellevue –- ski trails and lodge. Stone from Gays quarry used in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/21/2022 - 5:05pm -

August 1941. "Small-town scenes in Vermont. In the square, facing the main street in Saint Albans." Acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Gone 500 MilesThe car they call the City of St. Albans. Life goes on and you can't go back again.One of the best pictures ever. Four geezers reminiscing of years gone by. I was born in Southwestern Ontario two years later. Now I'm one of them. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)A sign points the way to Chester A. Arthur Camp, where the following took place: Built bath house, retaining wall and trench at St. Albans State Park. Constructed a road and fire tower to the top of Bellevue hill. Camp in St. Albans at “Blue Bonnet Park”, 2 miles from L. Champ. Project work was under direction of National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of Interior. Bellevue –- ski trails and lodge. Stone from Gays quarry used in retaining wall. You can learn more about the CCC here. Has a barber shop been there for 80+ years?Here is the view looking west down Lake Street today. On the right, the buildings beyond the one with the arch in the cornice and The News Boy painted on the side are gone, replaced mostly by a fairly new looking Hampton Inn. On the left, the buildings beyond the one with the Coca-Cola blade sign are gone, replaced mostly by a parking lot and the Franklin County Court building. There isn't much retail on this part of Lake Street today -- certainly no Florsheim Shoes or Winifred's Shop for Children; most likely because there's a Walmart just north of St. Albans. But, if you look just below the aforementioned Coca-Cola sign, you can see a barber pole. On Street View, there is a business with the blue awning in that same location (as close as I can tell). That business is a barber shop. At the end of the day... the two on the right became best friends. DIY 55-gallon gas tank Be not deceivedBeneath this seemingly placid scene lurk ancient rivalries. St. Albans is, in fact, three, three, three towns in one. St. Albans City is surrounded by the town of Saint Albans, which is incorporated separately from the city of St. Albans. Accordingly, the peculiar grouping on the bench hints at the schismatic nature of this outwardly idyllic tableau. If Cerberus were a city, he (it, they) would be St. Albans (or Saint Albans or Saint Albans City).There is a theological element in play (as is all too often the case), concerning the precise doctrinal significance of Saint Albans's martyrdom, circa 209 – 305 AD. Had we but world enough and time (and a good Thesaurus), I would unravel a triplicitous tale of treachery that would make Stephen King, of neighboring Maine, blanch in tremulous terror. Think twice before you rush off to Travel Advisor or booking.com! Different Points of ViewTwo guys reading something, possibly the same newspaper, two guys gazing into the distance reminiscing about the good old days, and one on the right watching people. Great photo! Best I've seen in while. (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Small Towns)
Bike Shop: 1919
December 1919. Washington, D.C. "Haverford Cycle, interior, 10th Street N.W. Agents for Smith Motor Wheel." National Photo glass ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 4:13pm -

December 1919. Washington, D.C. "Haverford Cycle, interior, 10th Street N.W. Agents for Smith Motor Wheel." National Photo glass negative. View full size. Black Beauties Buy a Black Beauty Bicycle and get out in the open air and improve your health. We are manufacturers of this bicycle and can save you the middleman's profit. Retrospective prognosticationSomething tells me they went broke. Ceiling spokesThe bike wheel light fixture -- cute. Bike shop clerks these daysCan you imagine walking into your local bicycle shop today and being greeted by someone dressed in a suit and tie? Three rings in the ear, one nose "device" and spiked hair, yes; watch fob across the vest? Uh, not so much. Thanks for the reminder.I need new brakes. Strictly CashFrom the looks of that jolly crew, paying cash goes without saying ... and quickly. 522 10th StreetInteresting that this is the same address as the Waffle Shop. PromotedGuy on the left is a mechanic recently promoted to salesman. He doesn't know what to do with his hands when they aren't holding a wrench. SidehackAs the owner of a motorcycle equipped with a sidecar, I love seeing this one. I'm not enough of an expert on old motorcycles to identify either one. Maybe someone else can. Holiday shoppingLove the effort they put into their Christmas decorations. re: ApparatusIt's a conveyor up to the cashier. Your money and invoice go up, a receipt and change come down. ApparatusWhat's that rig hanging from the ceiling with the tension rod -- some sort of overhead bike rack? Dunno 'bout you,but I'm highly offended by that girly calendar on the pillar there. So sexist. Probably sent from France or somewhere. Does anyone know where I can get one? Woo-hoo! DourThey all look so happy to be there, eh? The Corbin lock display is charming. Those skinny little chains wouldn't even hold up to my Leatherman pocket cutters! Same as it ever wasWhere is the beer cooler? Clock not workingI think the clock is not working. This was probably a fairly long exposure. That is why the people look so stiff. They are trying to hold still for a long time. In that case the pendulum should be a blur. [Quite the opposite. This is a flash exposure taken in a fraction of a second. - Dave] Old when it was newDo you notice that the interiors of these shops looked old even when they were new? I remember seeing stores like this as late as the early 1970's before malls ate up downtowns. They looked nearly the same as this except that some of the products were changed. You could actually find new "old stock" inventory on shelves from around the time period of this photo, but nobody every thought to save them as antiques. Most of the stuff got the heave-ho. (The Gallery, Bicycles, D.C., Motorcycles, Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
IBM Noir: 1962
... that event, Wired magazine did a wonderful series of interior photos of the Research Center, including a picture of the bust of the ... beach car and no matter how much a vacuumed and swept the interior, I always found more sand the next day. Still, it was a good car that ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/17/2013 - 10:57pm -

Circa 1962. "International Business Machines Corp., Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York, 1956-61. Exterior. Eero Saarinen, architect." Large format negative by Balthazar Korab. View full size. Famous Computers for $100, AlexThis is the home of Watson, the computer system that won Jeopardy against two former champions a couple of years ago. As part of that event, Wired magazine did a wonderful series of interior photos of the Research Center, including a picture of the bust of the original Watson below. Still fabTheSenator grew up near this amazing Saarinen specimen! I loved driving through the wooded IBM campus to see this stark black marvel on the hill, the long low curve of the exterior appeared endless. Still fab today. Corvairs!I had a 1965 Corvair 500, which was the four-door base model. I dearly loved that car, and drove it through high school and into college. It had the automatic-transmission lever on the dash, which I couldn't figure out when my dad presented me with it; he walked out to ask why I wasn't driving my new car, and I hated to admit I couldn't put it in gear! Those Corvairs had a characteristic burned-oil smell that I loved, and having the spare tire in the engine compartment only added to the strangeness. My Corvair's transmission finally gave out, probably from my evil habit of flipping it into reverse when going down the road so it sounded like I was popping a wheelie!!! My high-school friends and I still talk about that wonderful car, and I think they were surefooted, no matter what some folks said about them. AjaxI'll guess that most of those cars belong to the cleaning crew. TR3Interesting to see the Triumph TR3 sitting out front. Definitely stands out against the other American iron in the lot. TriumphThe small sports car in front of the entrance is most probably a Triumph TR3A. If it was very new at the time this picture was taken, it might be a rare TR3B, which had the slightly larger engine and fully synchronised gearbox of the TR4. TR3A's were and are great cars. I should know, because I drove mine to work and back today. Where have I seen this?This is exactly, precisely, 100% similar to all the images on Mad Men on TV every week. Just seeing images from that late 50s - early 60s era instantly recalls it. HintThose canopy supports give a suggestion of his work for TWA. Interesting contrast with the balance of the building. The Waterless Wonder from Willow RunThis is a splendid photograph, for several reasons; the architecture, the mood ... and the cars. I knew that, one day, I would find a Corvair on one of your photographs. Maybe there has been one earlier, but I haven't seen it. This 4-door was likely almost new when the picture was taken. I am restoring a 1965 Corvair Monza 140 HP Convertible. Corvairs are rare as hens teeth here in Britain. I had a number of Corvairs as a kid, many years ago. Over the years, I lost interest in cars in general; but the Corvair always occupied a special place in my memories. When I retired, I thought, "why not"? Given our weather here, I might even get around five days a year when the top can come down. IBM and a Corvair .... I like the association. Among the BehemothsFront and center an early 60's Triumph TR-3 and further to the right a Gen 1 Corvair. You could almost wear one of those TR-3's on each foot. At least 1962, or late 1961The newest car I can identify is a 1962 Chevy Impala, the fourth car from the left. Burning the midnight oilThough it might be late on a dark winter's afternoon, I suspect that this shot was taken after "normal" working hours. Nevertheless, the number of cars in the parking lot (the poor TR-3 looking quite at odds with its Detroit iron fellows) suggests that there's actual work being done inside, at least by those senior enough to rate a prime parking spot. Though far from a start-up by 1962, IBM still had some exciting years of innovation ahead of it. TriumphantLooks like a Triumph TR3A parked near the entrance. Had one of those in high school - could never get the carbs synched right. Still there and hugeLocated at 1101 Kitchawan Road. This overhead shot shows most employees would have parked in the big lot at the rear of the building. View Larger Map Triumphsweren't the greatest because they had electrical systems by Lucas, Prince of Darkness. I guy I knew had a Spitfire that in rain or snow, wouldn't start without a push down the street from my Volkswagen. How a country with a climate like Britain could have given rise to that company is beyond me! Yes, Corvairs!Jim Page commented about his 1965 Corvair handling well, and I'm sure that it did. Starting with 1965 model year, the Corvair had true independent rear suspension. The previous year, Chevrolet had added a camber compensator to the swing axle suspension, but the never recalled the older models for that modification (to the chagrin of Ralph Nader). The IRS models were what all of the early Corvair owners dreamed of. I had a 1962 Corvair Powerglide wagon with the same dashboard gear selector. It was a fun car to drive and handled well for the time (vs. an Impala or a Galaxie), but would "crab" the rear axle when a radical maneuver was attempted. The swing axle would fold under the car, and if you weren't lucky, the whole car would roll over. My wagon had been a beach car and no matter how much a vacuumed and swept the interior, I always found more sand the next day. Still, it was a good car that served me well. The life of an IT personAs a 44 year IT person (it was called Data Processing back then), you can be pretty sure that those cars belong to developers and systems people; either troubleshooting a problem or burning the midnight oil on a software release deadline. BTW, no one has yet mentioned the '61 or '62 Ford Falcon to the very right in the picture. My first car was a '61 with a manual choke, 144 cu in motor, FordoMatic 2-speed transmission, and a tube-based pushbutton radio. It could barely get out of its own way, but I loved it! Corvair IronyCorvair engines are popular as inexpensive and reliable engines in experimental, home-built aircraft. A pilot at my home airport built a Zodiac with a Corvair engine, and it flies like a dream. MGA's and Lucas ElectricsSame problems in wet weather as described by John Braungart in his Triumph. When I first got my 1962 Mark II, I noted there was a crank (yes, a crank in 1962!) mounted on the front wall of the boot (trunk) and I wondered why - but I needed it several times in wet weather. UncladI had a 1970 MG Midget; cloth covered wires! Not a single wire in that poor dear had a modern vinyl coating, so when it was damp, you drove the Volvo. Business casual? Hah!While today most IT companies have no dress codes, other than maybe not allowing employees to be skyclad (I'll wait while you check Urbandictionary.com), back in the day IBM was quite the opposite. Almost all of their professional and managerial level employees were men, and they were required to wear white dress shirts, and only white. No stripes, no blue, no beige, just pure white. I am a veteranof 20 years in the IBM dominated computer industry. I began in '82 as a "burster". I processed the printed output of reports and forms,and ran them through a machine that "decollated" the carbon paper.Thus,there were the required number of copies required by the department management. I also delivered them,by handtruck. Apparently I showed some aptitude,as I was promoted to the operator position on 2nd shift.This entailed answering console commands,mounting tapes,listening to angry users,and placing phone calls home to sleepy programmers who had to come in to fix an "abend",or abnormal ending to one of the programs they were responsible for. The hardware was IBM 370/158,4361,Magnuson,and much more.MVS,JCL,ROSCOE,TSO,you name it.Hundreds of employees used the text based terminals. I ran through various IBM mainframe jobs,winding up from 1997-2002 as system programmer and a support engineer for a prominent software company. By then,the internet was getting more robust,and our PTFs were available online. The old days were driven by manpower as well as automation.The old computer room,raised white floor,cold a/c and the double locked door! [Did IBM not put spaces after commas and periods? - Dave] 62 CorvairDrove one for a while in the early 70s. Sky blue four door automatic hard top, gear shift buttons were on the dash board to the left of the steering wheel. Four of us picked it up and moved it in a parking lot once. Drove her into the ground. On her last day I filled her up with naphtha and burned up the neighborhood streets before putting here out of her misery in the scrap yard. [Sounds like you were driving a Plymouth Valiant or some other Chrysler product. Corvairs never had pushbutton transmissions. The shift lever was to the right of the steering wheel. - Dave] Famous designer and a crank Finnish native Eero Saarinen is really well known here in Finland. Nice to see beatiful examples his work here. BTW, my dad bought new white Lada 1200L in 1986. It also had a crank, which was useful when starter broke and a cool conversation piece. I used to sneak out at age 15-16 at night and take our lada for a ride. Legal age to drive being 18. We Wrecked in TriumphBack in the 1960s when my brother Jerry was home on a weekend leave from the Navy, he managed to wreck his TR-3 in a big way; big damage-wise and big-upsetting-Mom-wise. She had dropped his insurance because he wasn't around. Except for that weekend. He rebuilt it as a race car and we both drove it. With its engine modifications it was quite fast, being clocked at 130 mph at Virginia International Raceway. At the Hershey Hill Climb I went off into the woods with it when the steering failed (probably a casualty of his accident) and I became but a hapless passenger, no longer in control of the car but deeply interested in its journey. Here it is. The small view is my brother's wreck. Love that Lark!If I'm not mistaken the car almost completely silhouetted at far left is a 1959-60 Studebaker Lark. In my hometownThis building is called out in a number of recent magazines and books on the area as one of the top 10 architectural marvels. Here it is today, relatively unchanged: (The Gallery, Balthazar Korab, Cars, Trucks, Buses)
Full House: 1937
... bun. Bow bow bow... Colors I would love to see the interior in color, because looking at the various patterns and textures, you ... 90s we had this sweet trailer with orange and brown interior and big hippy flower drapes, although we brought real food with us, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/12/2011 - 7:20pm -

"Trailer camp, June 4, 1937." More tourists at the Washington, D.C., trailer camp. Photo-op casserole, anyone? Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size. Photo-Op Casserole78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, 1 percent trace elements. Serve at room temperature. Fun in the sunEverybody's getting a nice tan. Bananas and what?What are they eating and drinking....all the vessels and dishes look empty. My wife and I had a little travel trailer in the late '60's when we were first married. It was such a joy to have this little home away from home that was all your own...sleeping on your own sheets and eating your own food just like at home but being anywhere you wanted to be. It was a wonderful time. Great memories...thanks Dave. What are they eating?I see bananas in the middle plate but every one else's plate is empty. Makes you wonder what big brother has on his fork. The other day......I had a cool water sandwich and a sunday-go-to-meetin' bun. Bow bow bow... ColorsI would love to see the interior in color, because looking at the various patterns and textures, you know it was brilliantly bright. It's also interesting that the nautical theme is in the camper -- same idea, I guess, traveling in a small, compact "home away from home" enclosure. It's...invisible casserole! Especially for Shorpy fansFor all of you out there who find the present and past such interesting companions, you have got to check this out: http://woa2.com/a-walk-through-time/ Booth seatingMom should always sit on the outside so she can jump up every few minutes to wait on someone or fetch something. At least that's the way it was in the 50s when I was a boy. I don't think Mom ever ate a meal in peace. ColemanGasoline stove on the left. Still have one but never used it inside. Per the Coleman website, yes they are still made but now they are called "Liquid Fuel" stoves. My family's hippie trailer.My family trailer growing up was this vintage thing, even though it was the the late 80s/early 90s we had this sweet trailer with orange and brown interior and big hippy flower drapes, although we brought real food with us, not imaginary. Children's Tea PartyNotice how healthy and slim they all are. Maybe more of us should have pretend parties like this. Trailer Treat StewReminds me of the one pan supper my mom used to make: Trailer Treat Stew with franks, kidney beans, canned tomatos, canned corn and spices. I think I need to make up a batch! My mother-in-lawate every meal like that, at least when I was there. I don't think the poor woman ever got to finish her meal without interruption. The only way to keep her from popping up to get whatever anybody wanted was to get up and get it yourself without saying anything. She always insisted she *wanted* the slightly burned toast. Whats for supper?"We're having Breeze Pudding , and Air cake for dessert. Take a Banana for later - if you get peckish!" Matching ChinaI find it interesting that this family would have matching china including cups and saucers in a travel trailer. I don't do that much camping but I don't remember seeing anyone using fine china in a trailer. On the few occasions my parents went camping back in the 50s-60s they had a complete Tupperware set. Plates, tumblers, cups, saucers, etc. At least it wouldn't break. With the csserole dish angled away from view perhaps Mom is just getting ready to serve everyone. EnamelwareThat's enamelware, not china. The plates and cups are porcelain-enameled metal. Still sold at camping supply places. Cream of Nothing SoupDid'ja ever eat dinner with a lump in your throat when there had just been a family fight at the table? Looks like the mother and son on the left are both about to burst into tears. But don't worry, they'll all cheer up when we pass out the rotten bananas for dessert. My TakeOlder son refuses to eat air, Dad smacks him, Mom empathizes with son, younger brother watches to see how older brother reacts and Miss Goody-goody sister is triumphant. Family resemblancesThe older son looks just like his father and the daughter looks just like her mother. Can't tell about the little fellow. Everyone is dressed very comfortably and looks tanned and fit! (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Travel & Vacation)
Caumsett Manor: 1933
... Long Island. "Marshall Field estate at Lloyd Neck. Interior view of polo stables." Gottscho-Schleisner photo. View full size. ... (not everything). And that is a marvelous image of the interior of the stable and its marble floor tiles. (The Gallery, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 9:02pm -

October 12, 1933. Huntington, Long Island. "Marshall Field estate at Lloyd Neck. Interior view of polo stables." Gottscho-Schleisner photo. View full size. Like Belle MeadeIf you tour the Belle Meade plantation here in the Nashville area, you can see the carriage house and stables, which look an awful lot like this. We were assured by the tour guide that yes, the stable really was kept this neat, too. A horse has always been a pricey proposition, even if only used as transportation or a work animal, so a wise man of means made sure the animals were taken care of. Sort of like you could park your car outside under a tree where the birds can use it for target practice, or you can park it in a nice heated garage like Jay Leno. Of course, both Caumsett Manor and Belle Meade represent the Jay Leno end of the spectrum. This surely isn't the mental image I conjure when I think of a stable, that's for sure. [This is, as the caption notes, a stable for polo ponies. - Dave] The BestNothing but the best for Marshall Fields' ponies. Steam heat radiator to keep everyone warm and toasty. Astonishing and ... AmazingThe tonal range indeed is amazing. You see detail in the doors and windows behind the horse, in the area on the floor under and in front of the horse and shadow detail in the stall exterior walls to the left. Looks like at least a three stop swing, maybe more. There had to be some forethought in how the negative was processed. All of this while Photoshop was still a several generations into the future and the idea of HDR wasn't even the impossible dream yet. [Photoshop is used to bring out the detail in just about every image you see on this Web site. I used the Shadows & Highlights filter on this one. - Dave] DetailsAnother bonanza of details: that floor, the wonderful stalls, and the circular windows. What real money could buy, when a dollar was a dollar and then some! Old School HDRBoth this photo and the preceding one of 30 Rockefeller Center display an astonishing tonal range. Look at the way the highlights on the floor still show the pattern detail, and the shadow areas by the stalls are still open. I know that in the days of tray development, photographers would pull the negative from the developer and immerse in a tray of plain water for a minute or two before placing it in the stop bath. This would allow the shadow detail to keep developing and increase the effective tonal range of the image. Ansel Adams describes the technique in his book "The Negative" I wonder if this was one of Gottscho's techniques as well. Nice stableEven by today's standards, this is a very nice barn. If the stable hand was dressed in period-neutral clothes and the photo was in color, I would find it difficult to identify the era. Polo BarnExcellent! The polo barns at Caumsett, designed by John Russell Pope, are currently undergoing restoration. They have what I also consider to be the best preserved example of a "farm group," a type of barn complex built on estates in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to house the operations for a gentleman's farm (in most cases, dairy cows were the focus, and Caumsett is no exception). Most of the North Shore Long Island great estates have been carved up or are in private hands -- this one is complete, and for the most part, open to the public. Caumsett is part of the New York State Parks system, and well worth a visit. Groom's Thoughts:"Please don't mess up my floor!" Wow, that is the cleanest stable I have ever seen and I have seen a lot of them. Thought this looked familiarIf you saw the movie "Arthur" in 1981, they filmed a scene or two in these very stables. Interesting to see the same stables so many years before -- beautiful! A very difficult exposure as well.Anyone who has spent time making photographs will also note the difficulty of making this particular print, 65+ years ago. The light comes through the window from behind the pony. Yet the detail and tonality in his muscle and coat is terrific. Maybe could have been held back a tad on the horses back, but direct sunlight is really tough to deal with. No doubt a good deal of dodging and burning were required, along with skill with the light meter. Gottscho was a well established pro by 1933, but still, a great job. [There is no print, hence no dodging or burning. This picture was made by imaging the original negative, which is then electronically inverted to give the positive you see here. I used the Shadows & Highlights filter in Photoshop to adjust the contrast. - Dave] Edit -->> Oops on the print comment. Thanks Dave. BeautifulNo only is the horse gorgeous, look at the beautiful, spotless floor. These are very lucky horses. "Francis"Looks like an opening scene from "Francis the talking Mule"....The guy could even pass for Donald O'Connor. Francis says, "Get your arm out of my snout and hurry up with the oats." It's spotlessNot the kind of condition I would expect to see in a stables. Nice placeHoly crap. That horse lived in classier digs than I do. I wonder if they cleaned the place up for the photo. Awesome!That stable is nicer (and cleaner) than many people's homes. Wonder What Orphan Annie would think about this "stable?" There's not a stick of straw on the floor, the woodwork is beautiful, and there's even a horse-sized door with a screen door! The Golden YearsThe Golden Years (Newsday) Caumsett Marshall Field III's home wasn't just an estate, but a self-contained community. Built by architect John Russell Pope on 2,000 Lloyd Harbor acres -- the largest of the country tracts -- the Chicago-department store heir's 1925 compound included a working dairy farm with a herd of Guernsey cattle, stables, docks, cabanas, power plant and 25 miles of internal roads. The house itself is a Georgian Revival modeled on Belton House, a manor near London. Outside the front door: a garden -- now a state park -- of broad landscapes and intimate spaces designed by the Olmstead Olmsted brothers, whose father created Central Park. "What is amazing about Field's house is that it was built very late in the country house era," says Lawrence, the Stony Brook architect. "Yet even in the Twenties, people still wanted grand houses." Caumsett State ParkThis is in what is now Caumsett State Park, I have chaperoned several of my children's school trips to this wonderful place. Well worth a visit. Polo Barn FacadeHere's an exterior view of the polo barn, flanked by other sections of the immense stables. What Depression?Remember, this was in the midst of the great depression and millions were living under bridges, in boxcars, Hoovervilles, waiting in soup lines and sleeping in doorways. The horses of Marshall Field enjoyed living conditions many humans would have found luxurious at this time. Caumsett State Historic ParkVisit our park online: www.CaumsettFoundation.org Thanks for your interest! Great PictureI really love this picture ... light, mood and composition is perfect! Marshall Field IIINext time you read Parade Magazine (presuming you might), you're holding something he founded: Marshall Field III (1893-1956), who was the grandson of retail magnate Marshall Field, had a rheumatic heart condition, but was so keen to join the army during World War I that, instead of letting the enlistment board physical declare him ineligible for service, was sworn in as a private by a colonel and friend in the 1st Illinois Cavalry. He was discharged a captain in December of 1918. Field founded the Chicago Sun and Parade Magazine in 1941; the Sun merged with the Chicago Daily Times in 1948 to become the Sun-Times. He bought the publishing houses Simon & Schuster and Pocket Books in 1944. Field, who inherited the bulk of his family fortune in 1943, was also a philanthropist, serving as president of the Child Welfare League of America and the New York Philharmonic and as a trustee for the New York Zoological Society and Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Found at historyforsale.com) I suppose I can mention that he was a principal financial supporter of Saul Alinsky. His son, Marshall IV, as a USN officer on the carrier USS Enterprise, was awarded the Silver Star and a Purple Heart from action in the Battle of Santa Cruz. His grandson, Ted Field, is a Hollywood producer (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Amityville Horror, etc.) and was quite active in auto racing for a number of years. Here's MF III. Thanksgiving Dinner 1967I had Thanksgiving dinner in the stable jockey's home to the side of this stable in 1967. A friend of a friend was a state trooper and his job was to patrol the estate. Some 1,600 acres, twenty five miles of paved road, some 25 other brick homes on the estate for gardeners, pastry chef, main chef, chauffeur, etc. At the time there were still about six or seven brand new looking blue 1957 Plymouth Sedans that had been left near a large garage area at the back of one the estate's larger buildings, I forget which one. The indoor tennis courts were still there but the glass ceiling had fallen in, very unsafe. As we approached his home by the stable I thought I saw a number of people standing around, but then I realized that they were statues! All the statues from the estate were placed in the stable for safe keeping! Amazing place, now open to the public (not everything). And that is a marvelous image of the interior of the stable and its marble floor tiles. (The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, Horses)
Fountain of Youth: 1920
... circa 1920. "People's Drug Store, 14th & U Streets, interior." Is flyaway hair holding you back? Keeping you home those ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 6:20pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "People's Drug Store, 14th & U Streets, interior." Is flyaway hair holding you back? Keeping you home those evenings your friends are out having a gay night on the town? Those loose strands may be a symptom of deeper ills -- malnutrition the consequence of egg-based-beverage deficiency, perhaps aggravated by tooth-brushing with an inferior dentifrice. Ladies, am I talking to you? Then come see this man. He is the gatekeeper to hair-nets, toothpaste, Egg Drinks -- and so much more. (Rubber gloves, for one thing, but that's another story.) The day you pick up a Glemby Hair Net -- or two, or hell, why not a dozen -- is the first day of the rest of your life! View full size. Hard Uncomfortable SeatsApparently counter space is at a premium and the stools here were installed to ensure a rapid turnover. Speaking of seats, if a physician ever approached me wearing one of those rubber gloves there would be a fight. Oh boy!I'll have a Cherry Smash! Molecular physicsI was a soda jerk one summer in the '50s. One day the boss handed me a large bag of sugar and pointed to a full bottle of water, and said "Mix it in." I complained that there wasn't enough room for all that sugar. He just smiled and said "Try it." A half-hour later the sugar was all gone, the water level hadn't risen perceptibly, and I had a jug of simple syrup. The drug store was Easterling's in Jacksonville, in case there are any other natives out there. Bob was confident, so very, very confident.Bob knew he looked darn swell, with that tire knotted just right by his mom, and the way his soda jerk jacket fit, and he was confident that, one day, when SHE came through the door, brunette tresses flying and probably a lavender silk scarf or it might be powder blue trailing behind, the scent of her alluring perfume trying to keep up, that she would see him there, and she would stop, suddenly. Yes, she would do that, because it was a very small store and if she did not, she would bump into the counter, maybe trip over one of those stools, and hurt her knee or even a foot. But he was ready for her. He could handle that, for he knew exactly which shelf held the mercurachrome. What is itThe big cylindrical gizmo with a spigot -- coffee machine? Key PersonWho has the job of winding the clock? Glemby Hair NetThe Lorraine Hair Net, manufactured by Glemby and made with real human hair, seems to bear a striking resemblance to a merkin! Mr. Glemby: Rich Man, Poor ManAttached is an article from the January 22, 1932 edition of the NY Daily Star. Evidently there was good money to be made in hair nets. It is somehow oddly ironic that Mr. Glemby's first name was "Harry"! Coffee/tea urnHere's one that looks just like this one. The jerkWhy is he doing nothing when there's all that sugar on the floor? What's the deal.......with the covers (?) on some of the light fixtures ? And wouldn't the fan work better if someone attached some blades to it? Pre Cell PhoneIf I had a nickel, maybe I'd make a call on that phone in the back right corner. As with so many of these photos, I'm crazy for the tin ceiling. Barber shops and drug storesI remember that floor tile pattern in the 50's and 60's still in use even in public bathrooms Those bottles behind the young man might be flavors for the ice cream sodas and sundaes. Does anyone know for sure? Soda Jerks' ExposéLike Bull_Durham below, I was a soda jerk 50 years ago, too. I did my stent at a Jahn's Ice Cream Parlor in Coral Gables, Fl. There's a little secret amongst us jerks that I'll let you in on: there's NO egg in a "Egg Cream Soda". There isn't even any cream; it's just syrup shot with seltzer to make it foam up like meringue. Sorry, not a lot a food value, but a real money maker for Mr. Jahn! Fascinating.Wonder how many of the medicines actually worked, and how many of those that worked can still be found on shelves or in the pharmacy today. Only the finest ingredientsBehind our intrepid counterman are bottles of Clicquot Club, a popular brand of late 19th- and early 20th-century soda. For background, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clicquot_Club_Company What is thatWhat is that gizmo on the right wall? Our soda man has a problem I see may times in shorpy, how to make bushy curly hair look glued down 20's style. Imagine all that hair oil on a hot day. Site of the Start of the 1968 DC riotsFor some reason the Washington D.C. 14th and U addy rang a bell in this old man's head and the ringing proved to be correct ... I am trying to imagine the scene 48ish years later when this store was the starting point of the 1968 DC riots. http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/people-were-out-of-control-... IHAP Speaking of hair netsHere I am in 1974 in the main plant of Hershey with hair-netted Shirley Temple Black who’s learning all about making chocolate from someone who didn’t know much more about it than she did. She had just been named U.S. ambassador to Ghana, a major cocoa bean source. I couldn’t tap dance, either. For high fashion fans, I am sporting a lovely light blue, white-stitched, denim suit with tastefully flared trousers and a dark denim belt. Note how my gorgeous paisley shirt picks up its pattern cues from Mrs. Black’s frock. Or the other way around. The hairnet? Employees and visitors both had to wear them. This was after public tours were ended and only VIPs were allowed (the massive production area was not designed for large numbers of outsiders who affected the factory heat and humidity levels, and there might have been safety concerns). Few people can say, as I can, that I saw the beautiful Dorothy Hamill wearing a Hershey’s hair net. Glemby or not, she still looked darn good. What that isIs the end of the cash register. What we're seeing is the printing mechanism and the paper tape. Egg CreamsAs a resident of Brooklyn and not of the Sixth Borough - South Florida, with all due respect to bryhams...while (s)he is correct about egg creams having neither egg nor cream, it does have milk. Without the milk, it's merely a chocolate soda. And, for it to be a TRUE egg cream, it has to be made with U-Bet chocolate syrup. Stool sampleSame stool bases as Boo Koo burgers down Texas way! https://www.shorpy.com/node/12857 (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Crackerbox: 1940
... de las sombras se aprecia que la luz procede de un punto interior de la habitación. Probablemente de un foco eléctrico o un flash, quizás de magnesio. La luz natural disponible en el interior, seguramente, habría reflejado una imagen más sombría y aún más ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/11/2009 - 11:00pm -

January 1940. "Family living in a 'crackerbox' slum tenement in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania." Medium-format nitrate negative by Jack Delano. View full size. Geeze...I'm now thoroughly depressed. Can we please get back to those nice scantily clad swimsuit models now? Why be depressed?Hey - at least this was the exception, in the US. "By 1965, 38% of houses in Glasgow had no fixed toilet or shower. "By 1985, 5% of households still did not have a bath or shower." - Glasgow People's Palace (museum) TightAnd I thought those camping trailers were small. ReflectionsThe people reflected in the mirror don't seem like they are very close to being down and out, although looks can be deceiving. At least they seem to have retained their dignity. And what the heck is a "crackerbox slum tenement" anyway? I lived not far from Beaver Falls, at the little river town of Beaver on the north bank of the Ohio, back in the summer of 1956. It was one of the nicest little towns I've ever lived in, although you had to go across the Beaver River on the bridge to Rochester to buy a beer or see a movie. Pillow TalkI remember those embroidered pillowcases. I bet Dad usually woke up with the word "Dad" imprinted on his forehead. A poignant pictureDespite the family's desperate situation there are clues of a happy life framed in this shot. They are safe and warm from the snow storm seen through the window. Their child's dolls are nearby. On the dresser is a treasured portrait of a smiling young couple who are obviously in love. Despite the conditions they find themselves, the mirror reveals them smiling as they look over toward their child in the crib. This is a loving family that will survive their circumstances. [Revised clue: The kid's on the bed, not in the crib. - Dave] Door to where?I'm curious about the door behind the bed. It's latched and nailed shut. The BabyI didn't realize that was a baby until I looked at the photo full sized. The guardian angel on the crib made me choke up. The DoorThis might have been a room for rent. Luz artificial.Por la traza de las sombras se aprecia que la luz procede de un punto interior de la habitación. Probablemente de un foco eléctrico o un flash, quizás de magnesio. La luz natural disponible en el interior, seguramente, habría reflejado una imagen más sombría y aún más deprimente. The DresserThe finial over the mirror is missing. I bought a similar dresser at a yard sale years ago. The top part kept falling off. The lamp on the dresserThese people owned a very nice "collectible of the future" -- an early 20th century Heintz Art Metal lamp, made by Otto Heintz of Buffalo, of dark bronze with sterling onlays. These are very sought after by collectors of Craftsman style furnishings, and nowadays usually sell for several hundred dollars, unless some eager beaver has polished the bronze. Below is a similar lamp. Famous BeaveriteJoe Willie Namath was born there in 1943! Jim and Della - revisitedSomething of this photo reminds me of O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi". Here we have Jim and Della, some years later, though bereft of their treasures, still the hopeful parents of innocent babes, and still rich in the love they share for each other... "And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi." Ansel Adams had the Zone System... I'm working on the points system. First I points it here, and then I points it there... Wake up!That is one limp-looking baby. At first I thought it was a big doll. NeighborsThe door likely led to another apartment. A lot of houses were subdivided later into apartments and rather than removing the old doorway, the landlord simply nailed it shut. I used to live in single family home converted into a duplex and a good many once-useful doors to the other half of the house were latched/nailed/boarded shut. My Aching BackYou know that sleeping on that mattress had to be utter torture. Home Sweet HomeHome is where the Heart is. Buckle alignmentIt appears that the man, reflected in the mirror, has his belt buckle aligned on his side rather than in front above the zipper. What gives. [It means he was a former hipster. - Dave] Belt BuckleMy Gramps wore his that way until he died a few years back. My grandmother says it was cool in the 30's. He couldn't let that fad go; maybe he was waiting for it to come back in style. Belt buckle bass playersI am a professional classical musician and have noticed that string bass players shift their belt buckles to the side, in order to avoid scratching the finish on the wood in proximity to their bodies. They may or may not be doing that to be "hip". But it works. MomI guess she's the one taking the shot. I love her little handbag behind the dresser lamp. And the "Dad" pillowcase. Pennies from heavenThis photo is so sweet. I love the little details like the scissors hanging from the dresser, the photo of the happy couple and the purse on the dresser. The detail on the lamp is pretty wonderful too. The baby seems pretty blissful to me. Oh and the "Dad" embroidered on the pillowcase. (The Gallery, Jack Delano)
Girard Trust: 1909
... Rome's). This is but one reason the huge white marble interior is stunning. It's grand to simply sit on one of the many padded chairs ... and construction (massive amounts of limestone), the interior is as impressive as the exterior. At one time, the bank's president ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 10:25pm -

Philadelphia circa 1909. "Girard Trust Company." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Girard todayAt the right left, note that the Robinson Building at S. 15th & Chestnut is also still there. Like the PantheonLike the Pantheon the dome features a large oculus (but glazed, unlike Rome's). This is but one reason the huge white marble interior is stunning. It's grand to simply sit on one of the many padded chairs or benches and simply relax and drink in the voluminous space. Ritz-CarltonThe building is now the lobby/restaurant area of the Philadelphia Ritz-Carlton. It's worth dropping in just to see the lobby or to have a drink in the rotunda. Inspiration?willc: did you mean the Pantheon of Rome rather than the Parthenon of Athens? The Other RightAha! It took me awhile, tterrace, to find the Robinson Building. Only when I realized that it's at the "proper right" of the photo, the dexter hand, not the sinister hand, the Girard Trust Building's right, was I able to place it. Now that I'm back in sync, does anyone know if the inspiration for the Girard Trust Building was the Parthenon, Monticello, or both, or neither? [Yow. Thanks, I've corrected that. - tterrace] The Dome Building Known for many years as One Girard Plaza, or, to those who worked at Girard, simply "The Dome Building" An incredible example of late 19th century architecture and construction (massive amounts of limestone), the interior is as impressive as the exterior. At one time, the bank's president was in the corner of the ground floor at Broad and Chestnut Sts., just to the right of the trolley in the photograph. The Other ParthenonYow. Thanks, marmarinou. Serves me right. I did indeed mean, and am quite certain I typed Pantheon (kinda quite certain anyway), as in the Pantheon of Rome. But, so far as I know, there's no automatic spelling correction feature on Shorpy that I can blame, unlike the Office suite on my PC, which regularly pulls pranks on me like that. Neo-Classical DisasterHow many marble cliffs were sacrificed in the building of this nightmare! Serious PoshitudeI was curious to see the Girard's lobby interior and found these current views in the Ritz Carlton photo gallery. Pretty glorious, but I don't think I'd feel quite up to stopping there unless I was dressed like Hercule Poirot. Faithfully Reproduced The Bankers Magazine, September, 1908. On August 21 the Girard Trust Company of Philadelphia began business in its new building at the northwest corner of Broad and Chestnut streets, a structure acknowledged as a triumph of architectural beauty. The beginning of business in this building—one of the best in the United States devoted exclusively to banking purposes—is strong proof of the progress which has been made by this concern in common with other Philadelphia banking houses during the last decade. The building was modeled after the Pantheon, and the effect of noble and stately lines of the original has been faithfully reproduced in white marble. The idea to use this design came to Effingham B. Morris, the president, while on a visit to Rome. He made a rough draft and this with the necessary changes to meet the requirements of modern business, was developed by Allen Evans, a Philadelphia architect, and Charles E. McKim, of New York. It was first planned to use granite, but the architects urged the selection of marble because of the added beauty. Georgia stone was selected, largely because it is of a hard, non-absorbent nature, and is not quickly discolored by the smoke and' dirt of a city. This marble has been used inside and out, except in parts of the interior, where the effect could be heightened by the use of panels of Pavernazza marble. More than 9000 tons of marble have been used, and this item alone involved an expenditure of more than $500,000. (The Gallery, DPC, Philadelphia, Streetcars)
General Electric: 1949
... has some office space and multiple floors, most of the interior is wide open (excepting the huge machines) with high ceilings and big ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/06/2013 - 7:30am -

August 4, 1949. "General Electric turbine plant, Schenectady, New York." Calling all car-spotters! Large-format negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. Overhead ViewAn aerial movie of the Schenectady GE plant (along with WGY TV's broadcast towers) apparently shot in 1940 can be seen on YouTube. Not sure what the connection between the two was, who shot the movie or why it was made, but it provides a great view of the scale of the facility. In color and without sound. Honey, when are we going to get a new car?Couple of thoughts, Imagine what it was like to come out of work to your old 30's style car that all the paint had faded off, probably leaked oil all over the driveway, then drive home to the nagging wife, what a life! I was 3 at the time of this photo. When I was about 8, My family (3 boys 1 girl) drove from Illinois to Philmont Boy Scout ranch in New Mexico in a Chevy like the 49 in Gazzles comment, I can clearly remember laying on the back window shelf for much of the trip. Who needed seat belts. Didn't the Crosley get about 50 mpg? (Haven't come far have we) What are these?Can anyone tell me what these cute little things are? [The Crosleys mentioned in previous comments. -tterrace] Kaiser-Frazer DealershipMy grand-father, James Page, second from right, with a friend and some kids at his Kaiser-Frazer (with a "Z") dealership in Callahan, Florida in the late 1940s or early 1950s. He also owned the Pure Oil distributorship in Nassau County and was involved to some degree with the Tucker automobiles. I recall my dad telling me all the technical innovations of the Tucker, and I sensed that the enthusiasm some had for the cars lasted a long time! [Your attachment wasn't attached. -tterrace] Parking HabitsIn crowded lots with lots of foot traffic, pulling out is much safer then backing out into the travel lanes. Amazing the number of folks that just 'pop up' after you've made quite sure no one was there. Small wonderThe cars that look like they need wind-up keys are Crosleys. Amazing to see two of them in this parking lot, given how few were manufactured. All-American parking lotWe're still a couple of years away from the engineers buying those weird little foreign jobs to commute with. The shapes of things to comeI find it interesting that the '49 Studebaker, '49 Ford, and '48 or '49 Hudson Commodore are all parked close together in the same row. They really stand out, styling-wise, in comparison. Not-so-big ThreeBesides the two oddball Crosleys already mentioned, there is representation from other non-Big Three companies, including Hudson, Kaiser, and Studebaker. Close to half the cars are pre-war (and many of them are real beaters). With nearly four years of non-production during WWII, plus a booming economy with millions of veterans returning to the workforce, Detroit couldn't build enough cars to keep up with the postwar demand. End of an eraWe're just about at the end of the era of split windshields -- but most of these cars are still using tube radios with vibrators, which were responsible for running down a large number of their 6 volt electrical batteries. Classy looking carParked in the 2nd row from the top and about center the photo looks like a '39 Buick with side mounts, probably a Century. Next to it is a '49 Studebaker Starlight coupe. Something to think aboutAll my life I've wondered why some people always back into a parking space (much more skill needed) so they can get out easily (usually going the wrong way) when it is so much easier to drive in forward and back out when the time comes. Does anyone have an explanation for that human behavior? One year beforeThe unique Tucker '48 was made just one year before this picture was taken, but I don't see any in this lot, perhaps because only 51 of them were ever made. I'm wondering if they are currently all accounted for. Kaiser-FraserWell, I see a 1949 Fraser in the middle. Bet a lot of viewers never heard of the brand. Tried to crop and upload, but the "Upload an image" factor is not working today. [It's "not working" because you're not clicking "attach" after you locate your file. - Dave] Oooops! Player PianoSomewhere in that building, or another nearby, is a young aspiring novelist by the name of Kurt Vonnegut, toiling away at public relations work. Occasionally he ventures over to see the room-sized computer used to calculate optimum turbine blade shapes, which inspire one of his early sci-fi novels. Someday, Billy Pilgrim will be coming unstuck in Ilium, a fictionalized Schenectady. I wonder which car is his? Fourth rowsecond car in from the right has blinds in the rear window, like how cool is that. Car SpottingThere's just too many years, makes and models for me to even try. I did notice a new '49 Chevrolet and one that looks like it was rode hard and put away wet. Special DeluxePretty sure the black car that is two cars to the left of the solid white car on the front row is the 1949 Plymouth Special Deluxe. That was the first family car for us and ours was equipped with rain guards above all four windows. We could run down the highway in the hot summer with windows cracked for more circulation even in a rainstorm. ConnectionI had a relative that worked at this plant for years. This is the first time I have seen a pic of it. Sadly he has passed on a few years ago. But his heirs have done well with their inheritance of his GE stock. Working Man's LotDitto the comment about two Crosleys, very unusual. Very few high buck cars, though I do spot a Lincoln Cosmopolitan and a Packard in the farthest row and a nice Buick convertible in the street at the end of the row. Not many prewar cars though, maybe a third. Looks like most of the folks have stepped up and bought new cars in the last three years. OK, I thought about itand I don't see any cars here that HAD to have backed into their parking spaces. Looks like a whole lot of pullthroughs to me, which is what I do whenever possible, quickest (and possibly safest) way in and out. Tuckers LocatedOTY, Tucker 1 and 13 are in the Swigart Museum in Huntingdon, Pa. It's worth the trip to see them. BTW, Herbie the Love Bug is there also. [And on the West Coast, #37 (or 1037 in the numbering scheme used by Tucker aficionados) can be seen at Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville, California, where I snapped this a couple weeks ago. It's one Coppola used in his 1988 film "Tucker: The Man and His Dream". -tterrace] Underground structure?If you look past the parking lot, but before the large building, you see a grass strip with vents and a skylight. Is this lot on top of a building? If I'm not mistaken, GE's corporate HQ is underground in Fairfield Conn. Does GE have a thing for being underground? I coulda been a contender. I noticed the Venetian Blinds too! And this photo was a good five years before On The Waterfront was released! Steam tunnels Underground steam pipes require continuous access for maintenance. The tunnels have ventilation hatches at varying intervals, some of which resemble little huts, as seen here. You can see the same thing above ground at the Johnson Space Center. I have a friend who used to work in the tunnels there. You can tell we're in the snow beltNot many ragtops. Red-baitingAssuming these are workers' cars, I'm guessing many of the owners were members of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE). The Schenectady local represented about 20,000 GE workers. The same year this photo was taken, the UE withdrew from the CIO as part of the CIO's purge of its left-leaning unions. Senator McCarthy was sent in four years after this photo was taken to "investigate" alleged Communist infiltration of the Schenectady GE facilities. Those two Crosleys must belong to the Soviet saboteurs. About the CrosleyA guy in Sibley, MO has 10 Crosley cars, and 2 Crosley trucks. They got 40 or 50 MPG back when nobody cared about MPG. OTY-At the time Coppola made the Tucker movie, 47 of them were still road worthy. tterrace-Nice shot of the Tucker. I didn't know Coppola still owned one. Back in 1991, I saw an ad in Hemmings Motor News where Coppola had a Tucker listed for sale. His asking price? $350,000. Well, time to stare at this picture some more! This is my favorite vehicleI think this is the ONE bike on the whole lot!! lol Born in SchenectadyMy father worked in Building 37 at GE (Schenectady) from '62 until '66. In August '66, when I was two years old, the family drove across the country in a Ford Taunus to Stanford where my father began grad school. I shared this picture with my father and he replied: "Your mother and I drove past Building 37 on first entering Schenectady in 1962 after my Navy days. I saw this old red brick building and announced that 'I would never work in a place like that.' 4 weeks later, or so, I was hired there. As I recall, my starting salary was $8000 per year." I wonderwho the rebel with the motorcycle was? Also interesting that these parking lots have nary a white line to guide the employees in their parking. I guess GM was full of rebels back in the day. Building 273I used to work at GE Schenectady as an mechanical engineering college co-op in the late 1980s. The building shown here is Building 273 where large steam turbines were (and still are) assembled. The angle of the picture minimizes the building's enormous size, roughly 20 acres! It was incredible being inside it... While the very front has some office space and multiple floors, most of the interior is wide open (excepting the huge machines) with high ceilings and big gantry cranes to move massive turbine components. Construction started in 1947, so must have been pretty new when this photo was taken. If you plug "Schenectady, NY" into Google Earth, you can easily find Building 273, which still stands--look for a big black roof. It's surrounded by a lot of green parklike areas. Those are where (almost) all the other GE buildings used to stand but have been demolished over the past 20 years. I'm guessing Building 273 remains and turbine operations continue there probably because the cost to build a new one somewhere else would be prohibitive. When I worked at GE 25 years ago, it looked just like this--only the cars in the parking lot were newer. In Google Earth today, it looks like they may have reworked the front facade since I was there. AACA MuseumIn Hersey, PA will be doing a Tucker exhibit in August, I believe. There will be three on display along with other related materials. Fascinating car. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Factories, Gottscho-Schleisner)
Schott's Alley: 1941
... a curious "H" shape , designed to maximize use of the interior of the block (these are actually the fronts of the houses we're ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/02/2022 - 1:28pm -

        A scene last glimpsed here, but without the trolley. September 1941. Washington, D.C. "Schoots Court [i.e., Schott's Alley] with Senate Office Building in background. Four very small dark rooms rent for fifteen and eighteen dollars per month with water and privy in yard. It used to rent for six and eight dollars. Frank Coles and his friend are sitting on the bench. He was a cement plasterer but has been on relief during the past year. He has frequent heart attacks and his feet and ankles are all swollen. Doctor advises a chicken and lamb diet, no pork or beef, but he doesn't even have money to buy fuel. He can't get waited on in a clinic or get to one. He waited from before 11 until 4 p.m. but still could not see a doctor. He has been in Washington since 1906." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Do not go gentle into that good nightBetween the two photographs, Frank Coles has barely moved while everyone else has shifted one way or another and the tallest kid in the previous photo has been replaced by the tyke at left. I remember hearing if you have a heart condition and swelling in your feet and ankles, you should not sit for long periods in the position Frank Coles is. But who can resist sitting in the sun with friends and entertaining and being entertained by a group of kids who have endless energy? So Close And Yet So FarThe juxtaposition of a symbol of our nation's wealth and privilege within a few hundred feet of its poorest citizens is striking. I'm not sure I could define what, if anything, has changed in 80 years. The lesser known H streetDespite it's its name, Schott's Alley had a generous 28 foot width, and a curious "H" shape, designed to maximize use of the interior of the block (these are actually the fronts of the houses we're seeing, not the backs) The Elephant in the D.C. RoomI'll say it. After eight years of the Progressive FDR Administration, the simple fact that this level of poverty existed in the shadow of our Capitol and that our elected leaders could and would ignore it speaks volumes as to where their priorities lay. I fully accept that the "Great Depression" was just beginning to wane, finally, thanks to the advent of World War. Considering the IRS was originally established by Congress to collect income tax, specifically in order to fund the District of Columbia, one would assume they would have used it to modernize all of the district not just the elitist areas. Just saying. Schott's firedI came across this series of articles about Schott's Alley: first, second, third, fourth, fifth. The alley was first home to African Americans from DC, gradually became a home to Italian immigrants, then eventually home to African Americans migrating from further South. One of the buildings housed an Americanization school, where immigrants could take English lessons and prepare for naturalization tests. See the final article for fires, murder and an explosion! Not at all surprisingOne commenter expresses surprise that this slum existed in DC despite nearly a decade of progressive government. This seems disingenuous, considering that the picture shows Black Americans in 1941. The Senate that sat in the building behind this slum may have been associated with a progressive administration, but it was only progressive for its time. The alley's residents wouldn't enjoy even nominal equality in employment or housing for another 23 years, and it would be another year beyond that before the federal government vigorously protected their right to vote for any government. Casual racism was rampant, and government programs to help "the poor" routinely excluded anyone who was not white. While another World War was just around the corner, its unifying force upon American society didn't extend to racial or ethnic equality (the US armed forces remained segregated for years after the war ended), and post-war economic boost did not affect Americans of all races equally. [N.B.: That's the Senate Office Building, not the Senate wing of the Capitol. - Dave] (The Gallery, D.C., Kids, M.P. Wolcott, Streetcars)
Union Station: 1943
... and a water vapor mist machine to create "atmosphere" for interior set shots. Goober Pea Sunbeams? I'm a bit puzzled by this ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 10:09pm -

January 1943. The waiting room of Union Station in Chicago. View full size. Medium-format negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. Lovely!Wow! Now *that* is a gorgeous picture! LightPhotography is about light and this photograph proves it. How on earth did Jack Delano get the exposure so right? I don't think professional photographers indulged in bracketing in the 1940s, not with expensive sheet film anyway. A truly great photograph. But then again, Delano is my favorite on these pages. [Jack took dozens of shots in this room. - Dave] The eye would see more"If I was standing in that room would it appear similar to the photo? Or is it being helped along with some clever camera work?" I suppose if you were there the beams would appear not quite so bright and the darks would present more detail since the eye can work over a wider range of illumination than film can. But the effect would be similar. Enough to make the photographer think "hey, that would make a great picture." AmazingHelp me out, I'm not a photographer, but not too slow to comprehend the process. If I was standing in that room would it appear similar to the photo? Or is it being helped along with some clever camera work? ThanksThanks, that was the exact sort of response i was looking for. WowWow!!! Now that's a great picture! Union StationGreat picture. Amazing light... Union StationThe blur of the man's foot suggest a fairly long exposure. not THAT long, though, since no one else is blurred. 1/15? 1/8? This is a situation where you use a whole roll of film and get exactly one "perfect" exposure. I wish I knew the aperture and film speed. [There was no roll here. This is sheet film. - Dave] Are my eyes playing tricks?!I have just found this website, actually I was directed here by one of my U.S. friends. This image has stopped me in my tracks, truly an artistic and wonderful image! Exposure timeI'm no expert so this may be wrong, but I see it this way--- as you lengthen the exposure time, the beams get brighter, and the dark parts become more visible, but the spots of direct sunlight stay the same because they are already fully exposed in a short time, so they can't get any whiter. Union StationI walk through this room every day. I am going to print out this photo on a high resolution color printer and try to figure out where the camera was positioned in the room. The room is oriented north to south, and the entrance in the photo is either the north or south side. The room as been remodeled extensively, but I would think the camera is pointed south, due to the light rays coming in. Since the sun is in the southern sky, you would not expect to see light rays coming in from the north. Given that the photo was taken in January, it should be possible to determine what the light conditions were for the photo. By the way, this room is at the bottom of the stairs made famous in the baby carriage scene from the Kevin Costner / Sean Connery movie "The Untouchables". If my guess about where the camera is set is correct, the stairs are behind the photographer. Union StationSince I posted my original comment, I have spent a few minutes in the main waiting room at different times each afternoon. I haven't seen the rays coming through, but I think the difference between Jan 1943 and Jan 2008 is level of light in the room. In 1943, energy conservation measures were in place, so only a handful of dim electric lights were on. In 1992, Union Station was remodeled, and the massive glass roof of the room was cleaned. I recalled reading at the time that the roof had been covered with paint or tar very early in the Stations history, and that the buildings management didnt realize that the massive vaulted ceiling was actually made of glass. That seems a bit unbelivable to me, and I can't find confirmation of that on the web. Today the room is used extensively for Corporate Events. The benches, which appear to be identical to the ones in the 1943 photo, are moved with forklifts. A large center information kiosk in the middle of the room is hidden under a wood panelled cover. The Wikipedia entry has a nice daylight shot of the room. You can clearly see how bright the room is now. You can also see the benches and the end of the room as shown in the 1943 photo. Magnificent photoIt looks like the photographer used a simple rule regarding black and white film that is still taught today--expose for the shadows. By doing that Mr. Delano captured the details you see: the people and background while the sunbeams blaze through the windows like spotlights. If he had exposed for the highlights, i.e. the windows, there would be no sunbeams, the shadows would likely be dark and this would have been a dull image. Rays of LightWe have forgotten how many people smoked at the time. As a kid in Philly's 30th Street station and later as a young adult in Chicago's Union Station, I have seen these rays at both depots at certain times of day. I've tried to re-create them on my 8x10 view camera at both stations. You can't. No one smokes inside so the air is not to be seen. Atmosphere (Literally)Good point, Large Format. I once worked for a BBC film producer who used a smoke machine and a water vapor mist machine to create "atmosphere" for interior set shots. Goober Pea Sunbeams?I'm a bit puzzled by this photo – wouldn't sunbeams project as straight, parallel lines? These seem to spread, thus the source of light must be very close. [Which might mean they're not sunbeams. - Dave] Re: Sunbeams?I believe this is simply sunlight: the apparent divergence of the rays of light is a common optical phenomenon known as crepuscular rays or "God's Rays." Beautiful...!Reminds me of John Collier's excellent grasp of a Norman-Rockwellish scene in Grand Central Terminal — a photo from 1941 also to be found here at Shorpy. (The Gallery, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads, WW2)
Gas Administered: 1919
... Washington, D.C., circa 1919. "S.B. Johnston, dentist, interior." Have a seat and make yourself comfortable. National Photo Co. glass ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/12/2011 - 7:26pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1919. "S.B. Johnston, dentist, interior." Have a seat and make yourself comfortable. National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size. Nothing Likesterile instruments, and teeth fitted to go. I wonder what the squeeze ball beside the window's function was. Maybe to administer the gas? [That's a splice jacket for the electrical wiring. - Dave] Torture ChamberThat contraption of a seat looks like the chair of proverbial pain. I'd be scared stiff. Modern dentistryWhen I was a boy (I'm 53), our family dentist was getting ready to retire. He had an old foot-operated treadle drill. Since he had arthritis in his knees, he couldn't keep up the speed. Imagine having a tooth drilled where the bit was only spinning 10 rpm. Yow! You'd have to give me gas if I had to have that method used today. Dr. McTeague will see you nowGazing on this cozy scene, the mind fairly reels. Let me count the ways..that this picture gives me the willies. I'm a big baby in a modern dental office. I would be curled up in the fetal position, sobbing on the floor in this one. Long hours!This dentist was open 11½ hours a day! W.C. Fields, where are you? Spit!The basic setup of a dental chair hasn't seem to have changed since then. I'm sure the comfort level of the patient has risen considerably though. Tooth & NailProvides a glimpse into on past incarnation of our neighbor's 1700's house. The town dentist had his shingle outside from around the time of this photo to the late 1950s. Turns out every time he mixed an amalgam filling, he'd flick the mercury behind the radiator -- must have thought it would evaporate. Made quite the interesting discovery when they moved in and remodeled the office! Those aren't exactly veneersBack then "painless" was a big deal. I can see why; it was about all they had going for them. Cosmetic Dentistry was a long way off. You're scaring meI wonder what originally came in the ceramic kegger in the corner. And what goes in there now. And all those instruments sitting out on the counter with (undoubtedly) flies buzzing around just gives me the willies. Filigree and fillingsI love the fancy filigree paint job on the back of the chair. As if that were going to make any difference to someone who had to sit in the thing and suffer. The cuspidor has some fancy touches as well. The smell of clove oilThis is not too different than my first dentist in the early 40's. He was on the second floor up over the cigar store but as soon as you ascended up to his hallway, the powerful whiff of clove oil was overwhelming. Also, notice that the 'spit basin' is etched cut glass, with a matching tumbler, and one of the latest things in plumbing today seems to be glass basins as sinks (everything old is new again). My dentist did have a prominent "sterilizer" labeled as such on his countertop and a huge container of cotton. A "drill and fill" cost $3 per tooth if you did not ask for novocaine and we didn't. He also removed a growth from inside my sister's cheek as a "complimentary service." To quote old George Goble, "You don't hardly get that anymore." Foot long hypodermicThat massive steel hypodermic syringe on the counter must be a foot long......absolutely terrifying. They probably needed to give you that much novocaine to kill the pain caused by the low-speed drills of the time!! I spell my name ...... Tsitned. Oops, wrong thread. A white knuckle rideThe arms of the chair are so incredibly worn. I cringe to think of all the people who gripped those armrests so tightly. My grandmother's uncle was a dentist then. It says something about the quality of dentistry of that period that she (born 1912) had to have all her teeth removed due to gum infection in her mid twenties. She said everyone called him "Doc" and the kids loved him. The dentist??? Liked by kids??? How on earth? My grandmother explained that big procedures, painful ones, he did at the local hospital where the children could be put under and not feel a thing. Look Mom, no cavities!Looks like Billy Bob left his teeth on the counter. Coolest Office The Coolest Dental Office In Washington 1919 Advertisement A Terrifying TableauThe sight of this just scares the hell out of me! When I was young there weren't any Novocaine needles that I knew of. Dr. McKeown just sprayed some stuff on my gums and yanked out my tooth. I think I came right out of the chair with it. Then about a hundred spits later and a ball of ever so dry cotton was placed in the empty socket. Isn't this enough to scare anyone? Mind you, I do remember getting some toy. A plaster of paris Disney figure, or something like that. Orin Scrivello, DDSMy boy, I think someday You'll find a way To make your natural tendencies pay You'll be a dentist You have a talent for causin' things pain Son, be a dentist People will pay you to be inhumane Your temperament's wrong for the priesthood And teaching would suit you still less Son, be a dentist You'll be a success. Where's Dr. Fields?Out on the golf course with Bud Jamison, wreaking havoc. The first dentist I ever went to had been my father's dentist when he was a kid, and I still remember the date on his diploma: 1933(!). However, that Old Doc Yankem gave me a valuable piece of advice: "Always expect the worst, because then you'll be ready for it. But if the best comes instead, it'll seem extra good." Then he went to work with his drill. Once I pulled one of the armrests clean off his chair while he was drilling. No more than 12 years old, and I snapped the thing right off! Modern Dr. JohnsonMy current dentist is also Dr. Johnson, and I have an appointment tomorrow; I've printed this picture to show him. I can't tell you how many million times I'm glad this isn't 1919 and I have to see *that* Dr. Johnson, painless or otherwise! [Our man here is Johnston, not Johnson. - Dave] Kollectible kegThe ceramic kegger in the corner is actually a vintage crock water cooler. They were present in every country school. And obviously used in places like this where you needed to pour a glass of water. I'm thinking the cut glass spit bowl & glass probably replaced it. It's missing the spigot and lid. From an antique point of view, these are very desirable now. $300 to $600 for this one, I'd estimate. Gas AdministeredThanks, Doc Johnston. Your window sign has given me comfort. When gas prices shoot back up, that's how I want my gasoline -- "administered," not pumped. Makes the price seem less gougey, and the experience more regal. Coldest OfficeAt least in the winter time. The steam radiator is totally blocked except for the end. The "spit" bowl and glass filler are very close to what we see today. My dentist, in the '40s, told my folks that he didn't much like working with kids because they didn't stand pain well. Nightmaresare what this picture is made of. I feel sorry for all of us who had to endure the dreaded dentist chair before high powered drills and other painless dentistry that we have today. No wonder every older adult I knew growing up had dentures. It was too dang scary and painful to go to the dentist! This office doesn't look too sanitary either. Makes me weak in the knees!!!I am a Dental Hygienist. Whew..takes my breath away to look at this scene. The instruments on the counter and the ones hanging on hooks on the wall are particularly disturbing. Of course you were more "green" then without the energy expended for autoclaving and the individual packets to sterilize in. Precious memoriesDoc Silverman was a good ole guy. His drill was named "Willie The Tickler" -- need I say more. I would walk to his office after school, climb two flights of stairs, sit in a chair very similar to the one pictured here, and proceed to spend the most agonizing 30 minutes I can remember. After the procedure was over, Doc would give me a candy bar, of giant sucker for being a good patient. Talk about job security. (The Gallery, D.C., Medicine, Natl Photo)
The Perisphere: 1939
... Cutaway Here's a look at the interior. Click to go to a page with more info and a bigger photo. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/16/2022 - 4:15pm -

"Perisphere and ramp at 1939 New York Word's Fair." Corpulent counterpoint to the trimmer Trylon. Uncredited acetate transparency, possibly by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. I bet it included flying carsHere is a little information on what the Trylon and Perisphere consisted of. Inside, visitors traveled on a moving platform while watching a six-minute show focusing on a futuristic, utopian City of Tomorrow. Obviously, in 1939 the show's creators did not anticipate urban flight to the suburbs that actually happened and the adverse ripple effects which left no utopian cities I can think of. I can't figure out what is casting a big, round shadow on the big, round Perisphere. [The tall, straight Trylon. - Dave] Thanks, Dave. I'll confess I'm still trying to visualize how that worked. Not So SmoothCentral pieces of the 1939 New York World's Fair known as the 'Theme Center', the Perisphere and accompanying Giant Trylon Tower were to be covered in smooth concrete, however due to the high cost, gypsum was used instead. Gypsum caused an uneven texture and visible seams on the structures, although that didn't stop them from projecting moving images onto the Perisphere from nearby buildings at night. For the cost of a quarter, which first included a walk through the Giant Trylon Tower, visitors could ride on one of the Perisphere's two rotating balconies, which encircled a miniaturized ideal city of the future called Democracity. Slick recorded narration and glow-in-the-dark lighting completed the effect. Visitors left the Perisphere via a 950-foot curved ramp called the Helicline, the first thirty or so feet of which are pictured above. The Helicline had a mirrored underside, creating the illusion of invisibility from below. At the base of the globe, eight supporting pillars were also hidden by mirrors and fountains which gave the Perisphere an appearance of floating in midair. Both the Perisphere and Trylon Tower were demolished in 1940. The Unisphere, central piece of the 1964 New York World's Fair, was erected on the exact same spot as the Perisphere, and is still standing to this very day. Hmm ...That's no moon. ShadowDoug, I think that big round shadow is nothing more than the dark side of the big round Perisphere. [Incorrect. Below left, the "dark side" and, on the right, the "dark side" overlaid with the shadow of the Trylon. - Dave] The fair in color "Get out of my head!"Am I the only one seeing a giant, screaming face in the cutaway sphere?!? Utopian Promises1939-40 World's Fair Democracity Re-Creation (The New York Pubic Library) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kulk7IPTL10 CutawayHere's a look at the interior. Click to go to a page with more info and a bigger photo. Coarse surfaceI'd only seen distant (and perhaps slightly edited) images of the Perisphere before this and it was an eye-opener. I went looking for the construction details and discovered this: The original plans for the Perisphere called for it to be covered in a smooth and seamless layer of concrete. However, due to the high cost of that material, gypsum was used instead. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts to smooth it out, the gypsum created an uneven texture and had visible seams. Also, surrounding fountains damaged the fragile coating and their arches of water had to be lowered. Legend has itThat the Trylon and Perisphere still exist in Queens! https://untappedcities.com/2020/01/06/a-house-in-queens-has-a-mini-world... Dave deliversAn admirably concise and alliterative caption. (The Gallery, Art & Design, Gottscho-Schleisner, NYC)
Prisoners of War: 1864
... car that is labeled "Hospital Car." I wonder what the interior looked like. Officers and Rations By their uniforms a number of ... sketches and information on the cars, including an interior sketch circa 1864, click here . Relaxed Yeah, I'll ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/05/2008 - 10:08pm -

1864. "Chattanooga, Tenn. Confederate prisoners at railroad depot waiting to be sent north." Wet plate glass negative, photographer unknown. View full size. Slim soldiersI noticed how thin all the soldiers are and also the woman and two children by the group of men on the tracks. I really enjoyed browsing over this picture since it showed so much detail. Train CarCheck out the train car that is labeled "Hospital Car." I wonder what the interior looked like. Officers and RationsBy their uniforms a number of these are officers. Their slimness derives from the poor rations most Confederates had in the last year of the war, so the Union rations must have been a relief. OTOH, they are may be en route to Block Island prison on the Great Lakes, which got miserably cold and dank in the winters. RationsYes, the rations were lacking (I use that loosely) at that time of the War. I seem to recall a Confederate memoir by Sam Watkins recalling that the cavalry was eating the corn out of the feed that they were giving their horses. Nice shot of Lookout Mountain in the background. PrisonersSure they're skinny, so are their guards. But what surprised me is that most of them looked relaxed and kind of happy! And that guy on the right, is he talking on his cellphone (above the tophat guy) (only kidding!) Hospital TrainGiven the large opening in the center and lack of windows, this is a converted boxcar. There were also purpose-built Hospital Cars that more closely resembled passenger coaches. In both cases, they were specially equipped for stretcher cases, however the boxcar's large center door opening would facilitate moving wounded in and out of the car. Period illustrations show a stove for heating, and what appears to be a double boiler for heating water or perhaps cooking at the opposite end of the coaches. As the boxcar shown here has two smokejacks on the roof, it appears it was similarly equipped. For some period artist's sketches and information on the cars, including an interior sketch circa 1864, click here. RelaxedYeah, I'll bet they are relaxed!! After being in battle off and on for a couple of years, they know they will have it better in a Union prison camp than in the Confederate Army. Sure, the prison camps weren't a Hilton Hotel but at least you weren't getting shot at and shelled all the time. Family HistoryOne of my relatives was captured in the fighting around Chattanooga near the end of 1863, probably several weeks before this picture was taken. He ended up at Rock Island, Illinois, from December 1863 to June 1865. The commenter who wrote, "the prison camps weren't a Hilton Hotel but at least you weren't getting shot at," may want to read up on Civil War prison camps. They were pretty horrific on both sides, and at Rock Island specifically, the prisoners had several months during which the guards on the wall made a habit of shooting prisoners at the smallest pretense or, whenever bored, firing off a random shot into the compound. I certainly don't want to get into a discussion of which side's prison camps were "worse," because they were all pretty damn awful. It was bad, bad stuff, and don't think there were many prisoners on either side who would not gladly return to their regiments if they could. All Union soldiersAll these men are Union troops. The overcoats that look gray are light blue. The photo is very remarkable in that it shows many different uniform styles and headgear. (The Gallery, Civil War, Railroads)
The Village: 1905
... Hopefully Shorpy will find an exterior and interior of one of the last great Flemish Revival city halls in the world. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/18/2012 - 3:34pm -

New York City circa 1905. "Jefferson Market Courthouse." Now a library. Looking down West 10th Street at Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Look into Milwaukee City HallThis picture reminded me of Milwaukee City Hall except this building is way too top-heavy. Hopefully Shorpy will find an exterior and interior of one of the last great Flemish Revival city halls in the world. PointyI love these big old buildings that look like castles. The stunningly fine details of these photos takes my breath away. The sign reading keeps me very entertained as well. Basin street viewsWhat in the world is the basin-like feature at the base of the high tower? It looks exactly like a Baptismal font -- but this is a courthouse -- and it's outside, to boot! If it is another one of those zany combo people/horse fountains, the horses would have to step up on the sidewalk to use it. The puddles/stains around the area also are a little disquieting. Tagged!Would that be circa 1905 graffiti on the roof? Pause to refreshOne Moxie ad and none for Coca Cola? Long and Winding HistoryAs you can imagine, Jefferson Market Courthouse saw plenty of drama and high profile cases. Harry K. Thaw and The Triangle Shirtwaist Company were two big names associated with it. Before it was a library, and even before it was a courthouse, it was a market and a fire tower. I'm always amazedto see so many streetcars in these old pictures. Jefferson Market architectureWhat a remarkable building, and remarkable also that it survives intact, including the massive and somewhat top-heavy-appearing tower. Often such things were lopped off, if the building wasn't demolished in toto. I had originally thought this architecture was Romanesque Revival, but further research reveals that it's more like Venetian Gothic. Both styles were very popular in the late Victorian Era, and fell out of favor as the early 20th Century progressed, in fact becoming somewhat emblematic of the whole concept of old-fashioned. Ornate and massive was out and streamlined and airy was in, and lots of people welcomed the idea of these buildings being reduced to rubble. We really miss something by not seeing this one in color, which you can do at its Wikipedia page. My Favorite LibraryWhat a beauty, both inside and out. There is also a large garden with gorgeous roses at the south end of the building. John Sloan In New YorkOne of the best of the Ashcan School--the same building in this John Sloan painting of 1917. Street corner fountainGreat photo. My eye kept wandering back to the street level fountain at the building's corner because it looked vaguely familiar. Then it struck me; there's a very similar fountain at the Sharon Lodge in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, built in 1885. Main difference seems to be in size -- and possibly intent. The GG Park version was designed for people while the basin in the NYC version looks like it's horse-sized. TaggedCan we get an enlargement of the roof of the courthouse? Straight up from the main entrance on the left side of the building, near the bottom of the large roof there appears to be a name, like "N. LANY". Maybe some kid snuck up there, or a worker did it and didn't think anybody would ever notice. Reminds me of a poemby William Henry Davies: What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. I refer to the policeman standing in the middle of junction, arms behind his back like policemen all over the world. Perhaps he is on traffic duty but he doesn't seem to be making much effort. WowI love buildings in this style. Glad to see it lives still and did not meet the same fats as many of its contemporaries.I love the full size too. The details are pretty cool, like the walkway on the rooftop for the billboard hangers to walk on, laundry drying, and the funniest part, the cop in the street giving the guy in the stairway the big staredown! (Gotta admit he does look suspicious.) Yankee Doodle LaundryI don't know what delights me more -- the billboard advertising "Yankee Doodle Comedian" George M. Cohan and his Big Singing-Dancing Company in "Little Johnny Jones," or the clotheslines strung out on the rooftops behind the hoarding. Pastiche and PresentAny structure this non-conformist and excessive will win me over every time. What's not to love about this quirky gift from the past? Part of what makes it so wonderful is that it refuses to be neatly pigeon-holed into any pat architectural classification. While I don't feel a very strong Venetian vibe going on here, the Gothic (and Romanesque) aesthetic is happily blatant. I think that the folks at nyc-architecture.com have nailed it with the label "High Victorian Gothic neo-late romanesque." It's huge!And really impressive. There's a long, spiral staircase leading to the second floor that is completely dizzying. The stained glass windows are beautiful. Trick or TreatI love this building and I paint it all the time. I dressed up as the Library once for Halloween! Cardboard Jefferson MarketI love Halloween. I love the jefferson Market library. The Village Halloween parade goes up 6th Ave RIGHT ALONGSIDE the Jefferson market Library! Great-Great-GrandgrocerI had an ancestor who lived near Patchin Place and ran a grocery in the Village I wonder if that's the one? (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads, Streetcars)
Library Ladies: 1953
... stool to reach the top. Modern Library Wow! The interior looks pretty modern. Sleek This library is so modern it would ... in the mid-'70s, though. Just tried to find any interior photos of it on their current website; no luck. I don't suppose, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/27/2012 - 4:50pm -

May 21, 1953. "New Canaan Public Library. New Canaan, Connecticut."4x5 inch acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. My ancestresses!I once worked in a library with exactly that furniture and exactly that flooring -- it was pretty standard in the fifties. It was replaced by an awful "orangeness" which descended on the library world sometime in the sixties and through the decade of horrors known as the seventies. Things got better in the eighties as there was rebirth in interest in older buildings and styles. The Scandinavian blond furniture was a bit boring, but it was well put together and lasted forever. I'll bet that behind that desk is a pencil with a date stamp attached! What's new is oldMy library looks a lot like this, except it's now 50 years old and needs some fixing, is crowded with extra shelves and tables and well generally needs redoing. PerfectionLove those floors, and the perfectly aligned window blinds, all at the exact same level and tiltedness. Yes, I said tiltedness. Where else would you put an electrical outlet in a wall of shelves? That's the usual place. The janitor could plug the floor polisher in there (although I don't think you'd use one of those on that type of floor). That linoleum patternseemed to be everywhere back then. It was in the schoolrooms, lunchroom, library and in many department stores and public buildings in the 1950s. My house, which was built in 1948, had it in all the rooms. Book JacketsLove the men dressed up for the library. Reminds me of my elderly grandfather in the 1960s who would always wear a coat and tie (in Southern California) just to take a walk. Asbestos Galore!That flooring could very well be Kentile asbestos! Not only did the tiles themselves contain asbestos, but the black sludge that they used to stick them down also contained asbestos. Open space.Some forward thinker was planning for a Starbucks. ClassicClassic modernism uninfected (or uninflected) by Irony. FlooredI don't think the floors are linoleum. The tiles look identical to the asphalt tiles installed in our house in 1946. Durable and perfect for a library though too durable and ugly for a house but that was all they had then right after WWII. Most of ours is now covered up, thank goodness. New topic: Why so much open space? Are they simply preparing for more books? Any library I've been in is filled with shelves so close and so high that one needs to walk sideways and use a step stool to reach the top. Modern LibraryWow! The interior looks pretty modern. SleekThis library is so modern it would almost fit in today. The only thing missing is a computer monitor. Great photo! WindowsMy old library looks a lot like this. The window behind the desk was used by the boss lady to see what was on our computer monitors. I bet their boss is checking out what they are doing too. Interesting placement of electrical outlet on the shelves in the little room to the right. I wonder what they used it for. Brings Back MemoriesThat library looks just like my old high school library and it is very similar to my college library. Both were built in the late 1950's. Did they have a cookie cutter plan for libraries back then? Blond and ScandinavianFunny, most Swedish libraries still look like this. Floor Tiles at SeaSince the floor tiles seem to be of interest, readers might like to know that the same tiles can be found on certain corridors of the U.S.S. Midway, an aircraft carrier launched in 1945 and retired in 1992. Today, she is a floating museum in San Diego, where this picture was taken in 2008. ContentsLibrary, M1A1, MilSpec 6427279A, 1 Each Furniture & Space"The Scandinavian blond furniture was a bit boring, but it was well put together and lasted forever." And it was expensive as the devil! It was still in use when I was working in my college library in the mid-'70s, though. Just tried to find any interior photos of it on their current website; no luck. I don't suppose, though, that any of the card catalogs are still there! I remember, however, what we'd do to the clueless students who came to us with a card they had ripped out of the drawer: They'd get sent to the woman in charge of cataloging. She had, shall we say, a distinct edge to her tongue. As for space, take a look at the Richland County Public Library in Columbia, South Carolina: http://www.myrcpl.com/ There's an unfortunate graphic overlay to the slideshow at the top of the main page, but you may get some sense of the space. There's also a link to their "photo gallery" at the bottom of the page, but it doesn't do much good at showing off most the space. Circulation DeskI work at the Circulation desk in our library. It is NEVER this tidy OR this quiet--we are right next to the children's room. Today, this desk probably has at least two computers on it. You will find computers on the tables as well. I work at a Carnegie library and yes, we have those outlets in the same place! Room to growThis makes me think that the perfect architectural blueprint for a library would be one book per shelf. Knowing that "space for growth" would be tantamount to longevity. Wow, that's my home town.I grew up in New Canaan starting in the 1970s. The library had a fairly large renovation around 1980, and what you see there was changed somewhat. I was very young when the renovation happened, and my memory of the library before that is largely punctuated by pain. I was playing and hurt myself and the librarians gave me cookies to make me feel better. I think the room on the right hand side was where the kids' books were (although probably not when this picture was taken). Work-StudyA great picture that reminds me of my college work-study job as student helper in the Government Documents section of my university library. Which I loved, mostly for the opportunity to browse on quiet afternoons. I had access to the University's archives, the map room, and a circa 1970 DOJ coloring book about LSD. But what I loved doing most is what caught my eye in this photo. Jazzing up the glass case display on a monthly basis. (As much as one can jazz up Gov Docs.) My LibraryI spent many happy hours in this library as a kid growing up, from the late 1950s through the mid-60s. It was a great place and New Canaan was quite a town. I do miss it. UnleadedNow this is a much higher class library than I remember when I was growing up. There are no pencils stuck in the ceiling tile. Library ladiesI know the ladies quite well; one was my mother and the other the head librarian, Dolly Stevens. Growing up in New Canaan in the 1940s and '50s, I spent many hours in the old library, before the renovations shown here were even done. Very nice photograph; in the '50s New Canaan was becoming a center for modern architecture -- the stark, solid design reflects the trend of the new school of designers who made their home in the area. (The Gallery, Education, Schools, Gottscho-Schleisner)
Northward Ho: 1905
... calculated. In 1901 Clifford Sifton, then minister of the Interior, agreed to sponsor a second one "under the auspices of the Canadian ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 2:07pm -

Circa 1905. "Motor car, Canadian Government Colonization Co." I wonder if there was a calliope aboard, or bagpipes. Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Comedy Imitates LifeIn his album "Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, Part 2" the founding fathers invent a new medium called Tele-wagon. It would be pulled around Europe while people extolled the new country's virtues through a small hole cut in the side. I wonder if Mr. Freberg knows how close to reality he came with his seemingly-goofy idea. Early HybridThere's an electric motor on the front axle, and what looks like a big radiator just aft. And a boiler tank in back. How'd this thing work? What propels this - um - contraption?Looking underneath, I wonder if this wasn't some sort of early hybrid... There appears to be an electric drive on the front axel but just behind it there is what appears to be a radiator and at the rear, what appears to be a gas or water tank. And finally those large boxes underneath appear to be battery boxes used in electric trucks of the period. What's your guess - steam/electric? Gas/electric? Interesting.... Fine example of the sign painter's art!And to think that we Canadians sometimes like to make fun of Americans for being "over the top." I guess we're caught this time! An amazing variety of typefaces, though. Oily AcresThe driver appears to be a bit slippery looking. I don't think I'd buy a necktie from that guy let alone travel thousands of miles for free land. John A. would be so proudFrom the federal agency that brought you Miss Canada astride her wheat-swagged bicycle... When it came to platitudinal boosterism, nobody beat the Canadian Government in the early 20th Century. Free land, mild climate, peerless soil, and the promise of happy, rosy-cheeked offspring playing amongst the wheat. Of course they never really told you that the land wasn't really free...there was a $10 service charge when you got to the Dominion Lands Office which some simply didn't have, having spent the last of their money on Canadian Pacific passage. And there was always a chance the surveyors' maps were off and you'd land was mostly under water. And the least said of the weather the better. But still, an admirable (and fantastical) showing from the fair Dominion. Considering the speed at which the Last Best West was settled between 1890 and 1914, it seems to have worked! What the heckare all of those electric bells and whistles for, the ones behind the vehicle operator's head? The signage on this wagon is magnificent. GadzooksMonty Python meets Kids in the Hall, and Charlie Chaplin is driving! Please Tell MeThat this thing survived and is in a museum somewhere. Canada, eh?Our much-advertised self-effacement isn't much in evidence, here. My mother came to Canada based on a lecture extolling the virtues of Canada's wide-open spaces and the ease of British subjects to get work. Ironically, her attempts to get a job as a teacher, here, were initially rebuffed with the terse "We don't hire Scottish people". Turned out it was a receptionist who didn't like Scots. "We don't hire your type..." --- I should have mentioned that efforts at convincing immigrants to settle the west, which also included "free land", often led to clashes in cultures. Those people from Eastern Europe fell afoul of suspicious governments (Federal and Provincial) and their neighbours when they gathered together to farm land communally. The Doukhobors, for instance, arriving in 1899 (7900 people) and 1902 (another 500), were initially permitted to own land individually but farm communally. However, but by 1905, the government of the day disallowed this practice. This and the Doukhobors refusal to swear the Oath of Allegiance, led to the government cancelling their homestead entries. They rejected government interference, which led to radical action by various sects (sometimes by carrying out bombings or nude protest). They were eventually disenfranchised, and their children removed from their care. It wasn't until the 1970s and 1980s that the Doukhobors began to reclaim their culture and, in some cases, their family ties. The Doukhobors immigration was the single largest mass migration in Canadian history. The photo was apparently a gift from the State Historical Society of Colorado to the Detroit Publishing Collection in 1949. There is more information about the Canadian Colonization Company (a privately owned company that bought land and then distributed it for a fee) and other companies like it. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=a1ARTA0... Coming and GoingFunny, my ancestors (part of the Mayflower crowd) settled in Canada as Tories but my grandfather and his 12 siblings immigrated back to the US around 1900 and became US citizens. What goes unsaidOh yes! A land of plenty and prosperity. Then there's the arctic climate six months of the year. Hope you like it uber-cold. Steam Lines?There appear to be steam lines, with sliding joints and valves, going to the wheels. What the heck? Actually, given the boiler and radiator, I really like the idea of a steam calliope. HomesteadersIn 1906 my Gr. Grandfather and family of 11 boys, (two with his second wife)set off with this dream from Minnesota to Saskatchewan. Every son went back to Minnesota to find a wife, and that is how I ended up being Canadian. ElectricDoes that motor drive the wheels? or is it just for the lights? Filling the Promised LandAt this time Canada was enthusiastically promoting immigration. Here's another 1905 promotional wagon, somewhat less hi-tech. Steam, I think.Considering the front "blow down" valve and the pipe leading to the boiler. The "radiator" is the condenser for reusing exhausted steam from the engine to turn it back into water for greatly extended mileage. The electrics are provided by a dynamo which charges batteries for all those lights. Oddly, the head and tail lights appear to by acetylene lamps. And, strangest of all. I think the rear wheels steer the thing. Hey, only on Shorpy, right? Bells whistles etcBehind the driver are two large meters that probably gave the amount of remaining charge in the batteries. A bank of knife switches that operated the numerous light bulbs are in evidence as well as what appears to be a large round rheostat to control voltage. The temperatureWhen our Fellowship sponsored a family of Kosovar refugees during the war in the former Yugoslavia, we were trying to impress upon them that the winters were "very, very cold". After bringing this up a number of times, the father finally said "If the winters were that cold, no one would be living here. Since you're living here, I think we can manage." Manage they did. Although part of the family returned home after the conflict ended, part of the family remained and remained good friends. And it wasn't until we saw photos of Kosovo in winter that it dawned on us that cold winters weren't exactly a surprise to them. That's something we still joke about (amongst other cultural misunderstandings on both our parts). Early day hybridAccording to "The Golden Years of Trucking" published by the Ontario Trucking Association in 1976, this was a gas-electric four-wheel-drive truck built by the Commercial Motor Vehicle Co. of Windsor, Ontario. It had an electric motor on each wheel, was 20 feet long and had an 81-inch track. The four cylinder engine produced 20 HP. The truck was sent to England to visit "every town and village in the country." Because it was so underpowered it never made it out of London. Presumably it was left in England. The sides could be hinged up to expose examples of the wonderful Canadian produce. [Fabulous. One question: When? - Dave] Wondering no moreI always wondered what possessed the various branches of my family to come to Canada. Now I know! Northern LightsI'm hoping the lighted letters on top worked thusly: each letter lights up in turn (C-A-N-A-D-A), and then the entire word flashes several times ("CANADA" "CANADA" "CANADA"!). That would have been all kinds of awesome! The CPR and Western ImmigrationThe Canadian Pacific Railway was instrumental in promoting immigration to Canada and settling the western provinces, in particular. 1905 was a pivotal year because that was the formation of the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Since the CPR had the only available transportation method of getting settlers into these new provinces, and they had a vested interest in encouraging both the agricultural future and the urban future of the west, they made it their business to encourage settlement. Since they also had a vested interest in getting settlers from Europe via their steamship line, they were VERY interested in advertising both the method and the reason for getting to Canada. They advertised in the form of lectures and through films (William Van Horne hired film maker James Freer to film all aspects of Canada (discouraging the use of winter scenes) "James Freer, who began shooting scenes of Manitoba farm life in 1897, and who was being sponsored on tours of Britain by William Van Horne as early as April 1898, was a pioneer in every sense of the word. None of his films appear to have survived, but his promotional literature indicates the eclectic nature of his offerings, part hard sell and part general-interest subjects to attract the audience. Entitled "Ten years in Manitoba -- 25,000 instantaneous photos upon half-a-mile of Edison films," a typical Freer "cinematograph lecture" included Arrival of CPR Express at Winnipeg, Harnessing the Virgin Prairie, Harvesting Scene with Trains Passing and Winnipeg Fire Boys on the Warpath. The first tour was evidently considered both a popular and a commercial success, though its immediate impact on emigration figures cannot be calculated. In 1901 Clifford Sifton, then minister of the Interior, agreed to sponsor a second one "under the auspices of the Canadian Government." This 1902 tour, using the same program of films, was less successful than the first, and neither the CPR nor the federal government was prepared to sponsor a third." http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/publications/archivist-magazine/01500... A joint effort between the CPR and the Canadian government IN THE WESTERN US STATES featured an "exhibition van" "which travelled the highways and country roads, much after the fashion of the van used in England by the railway company. The car was in charge of L.O. Armstrong, an effective speaker who represented the railway. According to the same book, "Building the Canadian West - The Land and Colonization Policies of the Canadian Pacific Railway (cited above), there was a colonization company (Beiseker and Davidson) active in the western US states and eventually brought 23 settlers from Colorado to found the Bassano Colony, in Alberta. This was in 1914. http://books.google.ca/books?id=CxsA_rOLK1UC&lpg=PA113&ots=2geF2e37ks&dq... No description of the van is given. I have contacted the CPR Archives to see if I can find out more. The automated response tells me that I can expect to wait 6-8 weeks for an initial response... Great. Similar to the Homestead ActThe promise on the wagon of 160 free acres reminds me of the promises of the American Homestead Act that promised anyone 160 free acres of land if they stayed on (and improved) the land and stayed for 5 years. In the corner of the prairie where I grew up (NW Iowa) my ancestors and lots of people made it, but lots of people didn't make it in the wilds of South and North Dakota. I can't even imagine how you could make it in a sod hut or tiny cabin even further north in the winters of Western Canada. All of those pioneers were made of sterner stuff! CPR Archives responseI received an email this morning from the CPR Archives... The photo of the motor car is interesting and new to us. The CP exhibit car was a railway car promoting farming in western Canada (see photos NS16354 and NS12974). CP also had a "trailer" which was hauled in Europe (see NS11550 in Paris)." I also came across this, which is unfortunately unaccessible in its entirety without purchasing the book. In my reply to the archivist, I cited the posting earlier by Jimmytruck. Curiouser and curiouser. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Curiosities, DPC)
Waffle Shop: 1950
... image, that provides a forced perspective which makes the interior look immense. I also love the shine on everything. I'm kind of curious what the interior looks like now. Waffle Shop The Washington Post did a story ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/21/2012 - 10:33pm -

The Waffle Shop, 522 10th Street NW, Washington D.C. Circa 1950 photograph by Theodor Horydczak. View full size. The diner still exists but is about to close. This, kids, was the epitome of fast food. (McDonald's? Beh.) i wanna go! mwi wanna go! mw PrintsWill every image shown be available as a print? I'd certainly be interested in this one. [Done! Print link added to caption. - Dave] Wow!As previously stated, (I think I blogged before) I am an elementary school teacher and this site will help put an end to those quizzical looks when I tell about the dark ages with no video games, no computers and no cell phones. 5th grade in California studies US History and the turn of the century is a great time to go back to first. Looks immenseThe ceiling appears to be tilted at an angle. In this image, that provides a forced perspective which makes the interior look immense. I also love the shine on everything. I'm kind of curious what the interior looks like now. Waffle ShopThe Washington Post did a story on the Waffle Shop a few months ago, along with a slide show. Nowadays it has what you might call that lived-in look. The mirror running along the wall makes the place look twice as big. This is fantastic.This is fantastic. Waffle Shop 1950I see the cool "tabletop remote" jukeboxes! Don't see those anymore...or old cash registers either. I want to go there.That's a good looking joint. I want waffles with ice cream NOWBeautiful, efficient and appealing design. A real soda fountain! Tell me again why the present is better than the past, because I've forgotten. Squeaky CleanThis is cleaner than almost any restaurant out there today. I wish there were places like this today, the food would probably be edible too since today mostly what is available is really crappy. Best Breakfast In DCThe Waffle Shop was the best place to have breakfast in DC before it closed. When my wife and I last ate there a few years ago, we sat in the 3rd and 4th seats from the right in the picture. We had an enormous breakfast including steak and eggs, waffles, bacon, juice, etc. which were all great and made better when the check came to a little over $9. Although the place wasn't nearly as clean as it is in the photo, which merely added to its ambiance (my guess is that the dust which began to accumulate as soon as the shutter clicked on this shot was never cleaned until the place closed). I sure do miss that place. Ah MemoriesI remember eating here many times in the 70s when the neighborhood was sort of run down. It was just across the street from Ford's Theater. (The Gallery, D.C., Eateries & Bars, Theodor Horydczak)
Tankar Gas: 1937
... defrosters went on the market that were held on the window interior by suction cups. These had exposed thin wires not unlike today's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/20/2013 - 11:47am -

December 1937. "Gas station in Minneapolis." The Minnesota tropics, where snow dusts the painted palms. Photo by John Vachon. View full size. Love the billboardsI found the billboards very interesting. I grew up 40 miles north of Minneapolis. The Minneapolis Journal or Sunday Journal was published until 1939 when it merged with the Minneapolis Star to become the Minneapolis Star-Journal. Other mergers took place and today it's the Star Tribune. The American Weekly was a Sunday Supplement, published by Hearst, inserted into the Sunday Journal. It was published until 1966. The Russell-Miller Milling Company at this time made Occident Flour and was headquartered in Minneapolis. In the early 1950's it become part of the Peavey Co., which in turn was bought by ConAgra in 1982. Awesome trailerHorace T. Water is correct, this is a 37 Ford (Tudor sedan). I have seen trailers like this, but was under the assumption that they were new "retro" designs, not actual period trailers. I found out that somebody is now making fiberglass reproductions. The Gold Medal SignIt turns out you can see it in Street View, from 3rd Street at Washington: Re Frost shieldsHard to tell from the ad davidk provided (or even if that model is what I'm about to describe), but in the mid-30s rectangular defrosters went on the market that were held on the window interior by suction cups. These had exposed thin wires not unlike today's embedded rear window defosters that were electrified either by the car's system or by 6-volt batteries. The ones in the Ford appear to be smaller than what I'm familiar with. Tag Along1937 Ford with a Mullins Red Cap trailer. Frost shieldsThe application of frost shields used to be mandatory in Winnipeg on the windshield (unless the car had a defroster), rear window and front-row side windows from November 1 through March 31. The ad below from my hometown paper, the Free Press, is from 1952. There is still a company in Manitoba that manufactures them for use in construction vehicles, helicopters and outbuildings. Plus 76?After spending far too much time digging, I can offer what might be (approximately) the present-day view, with about 80-90% confidence: View Larger Map The "Gold Medal Flour" sign that's barely visible on the left of the 1937 photograph is a big clue to the location. It's not visible from the Street View above due to new construction - but if you back out to the 45 degree view and head about two blocks southeast and one block northeast, you'll see it. It's also hard to tell from the sometimes-grainy Street View magnifications, but I'm fairly certain that the most of the brickwork is the same as 1937, although they did brick in the upstairs area. [For the depot shed to be on the left as in the 1937 photo, I think we'd need to be a block or two west of 5th Avenue, around 3rd and Washington. The 1940 map below shows the outline of the gas station office facing 3rd, which was a major thoroughfare crossing the Mississippi. - Dave] [I won't dispute your map, but I have trouble seeing how the Gold Medal Flour sign would be both visible and aligned as it is in the 1937 photo if the camera was that far west. There are also some features of the brickwork, including the distinctive offset about 12 feet up on the left edge, that make me go "hmmm."] [The sign, atop a six-story flour mill, is visible from most of downtown Minneapolis. Also, our photo was taken from the second floor as opposed to Google's ground-level Street View. Plus that building at 5th and Washington doesn't look anything like the one in our view, in addition to being set back much farther from the curb. It's three stories tall as opposed to the two-story building in the 1937 photo. - Dave] [I concede. I found a 1937 aerial photo of the area (see below), and the corner of Third and Washington looks far more likely to be the spot than the corner at Fifth. When I'm looking for a historical spot like this, I try not to make any assumptions - such as "in the past 70+ years, they didn't brick in the open second story" or "they didn't build an addition" or "there was no third story hiding behind the billboards" or "that train depot never extended past Fourth Avenue." Now that I have photographic evidence, I'm fine with admitting I was wrong.] [You can tell there's no third floor just by looking at the photo. The cornice is at the bottom of the billboard. Plus you can see there's nothing behind them through the latticework between them. And in any case they're not tall enough to hide a third floor. - Dave] [I realize I'm now beating a dead horse, but your last comment makes it sound unreasonable to think there's a third floor. What I see through the latticework is a brick wall (red oval). That wall appears to be supported by a substantial concrete column (green oval) - either that, or this is an Escherian building. That leaves about 10-12 feet of space to be a "third floor" (cyan oval). With some added brick and a few layers of paint, there is no reason this edifice could not resemble what's currently at the corner of Fifth and Washington. (Note that I am not arguing that it is that location (I agree it's at Third), I am simply pointing out that it is perfectly reasonable to think that there is - or could be - a third floor here.)] OOOH!Free dishes! Thanks davidkI was just about to ask if anyone knew what that rectangle was on the driver's side window. I think Dave is correct.The Milwaukee Road train shed ends at 5th Avenue South and Washington. Gold Medal Flour is at about 700 West River Parkway. The gas station would have to be at 3rd or maybe 4th Avenue South. This area on either side of Washington Avenue from Hennepin to 11th Avenue was known as the Gateway district. About 40 blocks were cleared for urban renewal in the 50s and 60s. Only in the last 10 years has the sea of parking lots started to fill in. One modern convenienceBased on the bare bulb visible through the dirty window, I'm thinking it's not the Ritz Carlton; but somebody in that building has a mighty fine radio antenna on the roof... a fairly long dipole, likely to receive AM broadcasts. Cut-RateTankar was apparently a low-price chain headquartered in Minneapolis. Some of the stations had old tank cars as part of the architecture. F.A.P. May Be The Key.The street sign on the left may hold a cryptic key to the puzzle. The sign post clearly indicates one roadway, but at the bottom, facing the camera is a small sign with "F.A.P." or Federal Aid Primary. That sign indicates this road was receiving Federal money as a primary route and would have to be a fairly substantial route. F.A.S. signs for Federal Aid Secondary are sometimes also seen on smaller routes or further out on primary routes that receive less Federal maintenance money. I know nothing about this area, but I hope that little sign now gives you the intersection. [The sign is pointing you to it -- F.A.P. 92B is to the right. - Dave] TrainshedWhat may be confusing you is that the Milwaukee Depot Trainshed has been shortened and there are cross streets there now that were not there when the photo was taken at which time it was a active depot. [The cross streets are the same. This is Third Avenue crossing Washington, in a view seen here two years ago. The clock tower still stands. - Dave] Re re Frost shieldsNo electricity involved, Don Struke. The classic frost shield is a rectangle of plastic stuck by adhesive at its perimeter to the auto glass. You put them on the inside of the window, and the vacuum created between the plastic shield and the glass kept the window free from condensation and frost. I’ve heard of a fancier kind made of glass with a rubber gasket, but no one I knew used these. Once when my dad was in the Southern states with his Canadian frost shields on, a gas attendant asked him if it was bullet-proof glass. Re: TrainshedThe trainshed always ended at 5th Avenue, but the yard continued to Chicago Avenue where a large viaduct took the tracks across Washington. If you look at the aerial photo in Splunge's comment, you can see that the shed ends at 5th, but only Portland Avenue crosses the yard. Perhaps a chimney?I thought the "substantial concrete column (green oval)" that Splunge mentioned was a chimney for a heater or fireplace in the gas station's office below. BTW, I don't have any horses to be concerned about, but I do enjoy the friendly banter and explanations offered. Sometimes it's very helpful to see something from another's viewpoint. Thanx to all that have commented! TrailerIsn't anybody going to mention that fantastic, streamlined trailer? Homemade or manufactured and its got to belong to that Mark Trail looking guy puffin' on his pipe. [See the very first comment below. - tterrace] Miller millingI would expect nothing else. Along withthe previous busy comments in the scene, note the worst job of bricklaying behind the palm trees, and the Tax Paid sign, AND Glueks Beer on Tap. 3rd and WashingtonThe train shed is the tip-off. If the Google street view were from second story rather than - uh - street level, you could then see the Gold Medal Sign. BTW, the Gold Medal sign has been moved around a bit since 1937 due to a fire at the "A" Mill and restoration of the Mill Ruins Museum. Tax? Which?I'm still bewildered by the sign "TAX PAID 5 FOR 85" I've arrived at no meaningful interpretation for that. Somebody help me out, please. 3rd and WashingtonThis confirms that it was on 3rd and Washington. No doubt that is the Tankar building in a sea of parked cars. How it survived "urban renewal" and the rest of the buildings didn't is beyond me. TankarLooks like they redid the palm tree mural in the 1940s. The photo below is from the Zalusky Collection. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Gas Stations, John Vachon, Minneapolis-St. Paul)
FSA to NBC: 1942
... things gone? I wonder what the two posters on the interior office wall depict. (Technology, The Gallery, Agriculture, John ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/07/2022 - 4:40pm -

June 1942. Bridgeton, New Jersey. "National Broadcasting Company, making a record for national use, at FSA agricultural camp for workers, many migrants, employed at Seabrook Farms. Man holding paper is a member of the camp's governing council; camp nurse, Miss Mary Alsop, at left." Photo by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Tuck your shirt in, kidI know: you're thinking "It's only an audio, no one can tell" They can tell. FSA under pressureIn June 1942, the Farm Security Administration was in need of positive publicity. American conservatives, who had always regarded agricultural camps like the one pictured as the entering wedge of socialism, argued that the wartime manufacturing boom rendered the FSA obsolete. After Republican gains in the 1942 election, the Roosevelt Administration and Congress significantly reduced the FSA; the famous photographic unit that Collier worked for was transferred into the Office of War Information, then disbanded in 1944. In 1946, what was left of the FSA was transformed into the Farmers Home Administration, with a mission to help secure financing for purchases of farms, particularly by veterans. The FHA, in turn, was greatly expanded as part of Lyndon Johnson's war on poverty, and lasted until 2006, when it was transferred into the Department of Agriculture's USDA Rural Development. Standard coupeA '38 Ford Standard Coupe had a cavernous trunk put to good use here for the recording equipment. DeLuxe would have a tail light on the side in view. Bootleggers loved the giant trunk and the peppy V8 motor. TechCutting a record -- direct to disc. ObscureLook at that wind. A portable PRESTO disc recorderIn the trunk of the car the sound engineer is recording the interview using a Presto disc recorder, in his hand he is holding the microscope (Presto type 125-A) dedicated to check the condition of the cutting needle and to judge the depth and quality of the record groove. The long way thereI'm impressed NBC is making a record in the trunk of a car. Given most records were and are made in sound studios, outside conditions, no doubt, had to be just right. The record in this case is being made maybe 15-feet behind the broadcaster; so why does the microphone cord run off the left side of the photograph? Making a “record”Not in the jukebox sense - they're recording an interview on location for eventual radio broadcast. No tape recorders in the US yet - the Germans had them all. Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?Interesting picture that evokes an optimistic, can-do feeling of team spirit, common goal, mutual respect and racial harmony. Where have those things gone? I wonder what the two posters on the interior office wall depict. (Technology, The Gallery, Agriculture, John Collier)
D.G.S.: 1935
Washington, D.C., circa 1935. "Food supplies, interior of D.G.S. store." One of several District Grocery Stores in the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2011 - 11:28am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1935. "Food supplies, interior of D.G.S. store." One of several District Grocery Stores in the capital; there's a P Street address on the burlap sack. The White Rose brand seems especially well represented on these shelves. 8x10 acetate negative, National Photo Company. View full size. Bug juiceAnybody else have a family history of calling Lea & Perrins "bug juice"? Also, re: sawdust in butcher shops: aid in absorbing fluids you didn't want to think about. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire SauceThat packaging has hardly changed an iota in all these years. Still familiar namesMueller's Aunt Jemima French's Campbell's Domino Kraft Lea & Perrins Wheatena Oxydol Sawdust MemoriesMy father worked in butcher shops when I was young and there was always sawdust on the floor. I guess that made it easier to clean up or something. Junket TabletsMake milk into DAINTY DESSERTS. Resting atop a box of Steero bouillon cubes. How terrific this isto see all of those oldtime products on the grocery shelf! Representative packages or cans of just about all of these items might have been found on my mother's pantry shelves back in 1940. It's especially neat to see that box of Oxydol ("Oxydol's Own Ma Perkins") but where is a box of either Rinso or Super Suds? ("Rinso White, Rinso Bright, Happy Little Washday Song", and "Super Suds, Super Suds, Lots More Suds with Super Suh-uh-uds"). [There is a big box of Chipso here. - Dave] Wire Baskets in this StoreDuring the same decade, in Oklahoma City, an inventor put wheels on some wire baskets and called them shopping carts. Seeman Brothers' Brand Folks in New York and New Jersey will still recognize the White Rose brand. It's the independent label for the Seeman Brothers wholesale grocers, est. 1886. Their website says they still offer 18,000 items in the New York area, dominating the market. It's all based on their unique fermented White Rose Tea. During my childhood in '50s South Florida, displaced New Yorkers flocked to New York style grocers on Miami Beach to get that tea which was as strong as coffee. A detailed history here. Disease and pestilenceLooks like they weren't expecting a visit from the health inspector. White RoseStill around. From their website: Today, White Rose is the largest independent wholesale food distributor in the New York City metropolitan area, which in turn is the largest retail food market in the United States. White Rose Food serves supermarket chains, independent retailers and members of voluntary cooperatives, providing more than 18,000 food and nonfood products to more than 1,800 stores from Maryland to Connecticut. The highest concentration of these customers is in the five boroughs of New York City, Long Island and northern New Jersey. Tea BaggersThe White Rose Food Company is still with us. They're most popular product is White Rose Tea. Based in New Jersey, they claim to be the largest food distributor in the NYC Metro area. The 125 year old company has an interesting story, you can read it on their website, www.whiterose.com/, Hello Jell-OJust noticed Jell-O hiding in there too. Both behind and to the right of the French's Mustard. Our 14th Anniversary Sale!DGS celebrates 14 years at their over 250 stores in the Metropolitan Washington area. Just phone in your order! (Despite the date, I doubt anyone phoned-in a birthday cake order for Der Führer.) More still familiar namesAdd Jell-o to the list One of the original house brandsWhite Rose "house brand" products have been around for more than a century, and the company is still around: http://www.whiterose.com/history.asp Key in the doorI love the fact that the key to the door is tied to the doorknob with a piece of string. Hard to misplace that way. Must have been lost previously so someone "fixed" that. Before there were supermarketsThis photo is representative of one of my favorite subjects: the old-time Ma and Pa stores. In it, you can see the evolution of retailing, product packaging, and brand name history. This reminds me of the corner neighborhood stores in Baltimore. The blocks of rowhouses were frequently punctuated with such corner stores. In my neighborhood, in a two block area, the four corners had a butcher shop, a grocery, a bakery, and a drugstore/soda counter. These existed into the early 1960s. Of course, today's supermarkets are a cleaner, superior shopping experience, but a certain flavor has been lost - can you remember the smell of a real bakery shop? Junket!I haven't thought of Junket in decades. My grandmother made it for my sisters and I all the time when we were below the age of 8, but it came in packets, not tablets. It made something akin to a blancmage, although I don't think you could ever have a Junket win Wimbledon. I believe you can still find it if you're lucky. District Grocery StoresDGS was a buying consortium of small independently owned groceries in the Washington area. They were a bit more expensive than the larger chain stores (A&P, Sanitary - later Safeway, etc). However, you could phone in your grocery order and it would be delivered within a hour or so. More sawdustHere, it might have been used to add flavor and palatability to some grungy looking celery. Re: Sawdust50+ years ago I worked in supermarket meat markets. Sawdust was put on the floor to prevent slipping. It was spread about an inch thick. At the end of the week it was swept up, the floor cleaned as necessary, and new sawdust put down. In general, health regulations today prohibit using sawdust. Celery gone overLooks like the celery has started to rot and the store manager is mad about it! Aunt JemimaWhy would some boxes have Jemima's picture, and not others? Another great mystery. Anyway, this youngster knows what to do with the box. Born in 1927, she has achieved fame and fortune as my Aunt Libby. Taken over-at-the-house-on-the-hill in Hamlin, West Virginia. [The box in your adorable pic is a jumbo size container of pancake flour. The one in our photo holds 24 small boxes, each with Aunt J's picture on it. - Dave] Wire baskets on wheels?Shopping carts? In Oklahoma today they are called buggies. HodgepodgeIt's interesting the mix of products on the shelves; no grouping of veggies in one area and soups in another and sauces in yet another. Were prices for the items placed in those holders along the edge of the shelves? Here's the Junket, but Where's the Beef?Junket was (and still is) a common way to use slightly curdled milk to make custards; and it's also used by cheesemakers. My mother used it whenever the milk was just about to go bad. Growing up in the Great Depression, anything that could be done to salvage food items was considered priceless. As for Steero bouillon cubes (later Herb-Ox?), they were used for flavoring soups and stews whenever actual meat was scarce/unavailable. Also, the broth was considered an early form of "comfort food". During WWII, my father and uncles received jars of Bovril, the U.K. equivalent of Steero in their Red Cross packages. It got traded amongst the men, almost as much as cigarettes and coffee. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Kearney: 1940
... Here is the listing , with eight photographs of the interior. Very nice, especially the updated kitchen, while keeping a lot of ... hands dressed this house. Would love to have seen the interior. De-Ramping In 1940, the sidewalk alongside this house reached ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/14/2022 - 12:39pm -

November 1940. "House in Kearney, Nebraska." A sort of hitching-post graveyard. Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Relative ValueIt's always been interesting to me about the timeline of value for these houses. Nowadays, this house would be seen as a treasure, worthy of being restored as closely as possible to its original state. One wonders if at the time (1940) this was just considered a wheezy or tacky remnant of the not so distant past, a rundown eyesore to be removed or broken up into apartments. 2301 B AvenueThe house still looks very nice, although there was a lot of charm in the porch that's been removed. From the Google Street View, you can see this house recently sold. Here is the listing, with eight photographs of the interior. Very nice, especially the updated kitchen, while keeping a lot of the woodwork stained and not painted, and the stained-glass windows. It's larger than I would have guessed -- 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 3,700 square feet. My observation is that houses of this era became undesirable as many modern conveniences became available. Conveniences such as better and more plentiful indoor plumbing, electric appliances requiring outlets on multiple walls in every room, better heating systems, air conditioning, bigger closets, and much better insulation. This house probably still doesn't have particularly good insulation. Plus, as today, many people simply want something newer and different than what they grew up in. It often takes a while for us to look at something and say, hey, that's worth preserving. It Still Stands!This house still stands on the NW corner of B Avenue and E 23rd Street RenumberedFrom 2312 to 2301. Kearney HouseWhat a number of architectural details on this house! Both pointed and keystone arches, hand-split resawn roof shingles, fish scale wood shingles as part of the siding, both horizontal and vertical wood siding, that beautiful tower reminiscent of a bell tower, that handmade sunburst in the gable, and the overdone supports at the gable ends ... skilled hands dressed this house. Would love to have seen the interior. De-RampingIn 1940, the sidewalk alongside this house reached the street by way of a curb cut at the corner. By 2022, despite vastly greater awareness of infrastructure impeding people with disabilities, the curb had been rebuilt as a solid barrier. Was this unusual, or did the thinking with respect to civic "improvements" evolve widely along these lines? And if so, how come? I've always wonderedHow do the diligent Shorpsters track down these houses? When all we find in the caption is “House in Kearney, Nebraska,” how does smurley come up with the precise location at the NW corner of B Avenue and E 23rd Street? Do these intrepid Shorpy explorers go prowling and up down the streets on streetview until they find their quarry? (Thank you, Chuckster and archfan, for your replies above.) No downspouts?That's an interesting gutter treatment, and I suspect they had no end of water problems. It appears that all rainwater falling onto the visible portion of the front gable was routed to the sloped roof just below the tower then simply pitched over the right side. Ugh! I hope they had a lot of good copper or lead flashing in those valleys behind the tower. The entire house looks like a maintenance nightmare. To DavidKGood question. However, I may perpetuate the enigma in that I simply typed "old house in Kerney NE" and it came up in the images with an address, which I then entered into Google maps. Got 'em now!KimS, if you look at the modern-day photo of the home uploaded by Smurley, downspouts are a proud new feature! House Huntingdavidk: How do you find houses? I don't know how smurley found this house, but here are some things I've used: 1. Pick a small town! 2. Look for the city center and start near there 3. Look for a neighborhood near the city center that has houses from the same era 4. Sometimes you can spot a likely neighborhood from the satellite view - more tree cover often indicates an older neighborhood 5. If you're lucky enough to have a house number, you can google the house number + the city/state, and get a list of addresses with that number in. In this case, searching "2301 kearney, nebraska" gives you 2301 B Ave as the first hit. 6. Finally, if you're stubborn enough and have enough time, you could use street view to search up and down the streets Others may have different techniques, but that's what I've used. Good luck with your hunt! A Porch With a New PurposeThe porch wasn’t removed, it was enclosed. In the GutterSomebody was listening to KimS! Rain water and melting snow now flows into gutters, leaders and downspouts. (As can be seen in Google Street View 2022 image posted by smurley). A more realistic FloorPlan?Realtor.com says 3700 square feet, which I agree is a whole bunch larger than the place looks, but Zillow lists a more plausible 1,340 sq ft. Odd sidewalk placementWhat's striking to me about this part of Kearney (from aerial views) is the unusual amount of space between the curb and the edge of the sidewalk, not just on B Avenue but in many nearby neighborhoods. It's as if the sidewalks were placed much closer to the front of each house. The current "Kearney Plan," the city's comprehensive guide plan, explains it this way: "A typical cross-section includes a 100-foot wide street channel, ten to twelve-foot greenway strips between the curb line and the sidewalk, four-foot sidewalks, and 15 to 25-foot front yard setbacks." Within those "ten to twelve-foot greenway strips" is a lot of space for snowbanks. For more: https://www.cityofkearney.org/DocumentCenter/View/988/2003-Comprehensive... (The Gallery, John Vachon, Small Towns)
East Room: 1920
... completely gutted during the Truman administration and the interior was created anew with a steel frame interior support. The plasterwork in the East Room was not salvageable and it ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/03/2012 - 11:56am -

East Room of the White House circa 1920. View full size. National Photo Co. Dumb questionAre those chandeliers wrapped in cloth to keep dust out? According to the White House web site, this room is traditionally used for dances and parties -- clearly not at the moment this was taken, though. The piano was replaced in 1938, but the benches are still there. Wrap It! Wrap It Good!Where is Christo when you need him? They only got part of the room done. CocoonThis is a great shot... Made me think of the movie Cocoon right away... or the pods from Invasion of the Body Snatchers! Pretty eerie. White House renovationsThe White House was completely gutted during the Truman administration and the interior was created anew with a steel frame interior support. The plasterwork in the East Room was not salvageable and it is different today. I remember reading a chief usher's memoir of working in the White House in the '70s ("Upstairs at the White House"). The reconstruction was triggered when Truman noticed a chandelier swaying as a result of an usher walking in the rooms overhead. Truman had to live at Blair House for a couple of years during the renovation. It really was totally gutted-- there are photos of bulldozers inside the shell of the building. WH makeoverlots of pics of the renovations including a photo of a bulldozer (per tracy) are at this link http://www.trumanlibrary.org/abierowe/whitehse.htm FlyspecksJames Goode's Capital Losses contains an image of the library at the Soldiers' Home with similarly-wrapped chandeliers. According to him, this was done to protect against flyspecks - apparently a problem in pre-AC D.C. White House East Room Note the large 3-part window in the wall on the right (the east wall) of the East Room in the c. 1920 photo. This is actually a doorway to the terrace that forms the roof of the east collonade of the White House. Note how deeply set into the wall this doorway is. Actually, the interior wall of the room is a false wall. Behind it is the original wall of the structure, and in that wall are two windows on either side of the doorway. When one views the external wall from outside, one sees that the windows seem to be whited out. I wonder why the East Room could not be restored to its original design, thereby admitting more daylight into the room. It seems that the two fireplaces that now occupy this wall could be redesigned and placed between the two windows found on either side of the terrace doorway. By the way, a window in the State Dining Room has also been covered by an interior false wall that also covers a portion of the doorway leading to the terrace over the east collonade. Only one window can be seen to the south of this doorway when an exterior view clearly displays two windows. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo)
District Grocery Store: 1935
Washington, D.C., circa 1935. "Interior of D.G.S. store." Home of the 19-cent Super Sale. Our second look ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2011 - 12:03pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1935. "Interior of D.G.S. store." Home of the 19-cent Super Sale. Our second look today at a District Grocery Store. 8x10 inch acetate negative, National Photo Company Collection. View full size. Always Use a Condim(ent)!In both of these D. G. S. Stores [I think they're both the same store. - Dave], I notice there appear to be a disproportionately large number of condiments, i.e. sauces and flavor enhancements compared to the basic necessities in stock. Chutneys, relishes,pickled things,kraut,horseradish, ketchup, mustards, etc. appear in abundance. One wonders if meats and main dishes had to be smothered in strong extras in order to taste better. Both my mom and grandma canned vast quantities of garden relishes every summer, including home made ketchup, chili sauce, green tomato relish, eggplant antipasto and others, although as a kid I refused to sample any of it. Even in old age, I still prefer to taste what I'm eating and not the garnish in which it is drowned. These pictures are making me hungry!With apologies to Seinfeld, these pictures are a delight. Two things I noticed: the apparent absence of the "White Rose" brand of goods in this store, and the lack of refrigeration of the fruits and vegetables. The meat counter shows refrigeration was available. In an earlier photo, I noticed cartons of eggs placed near shelving without cooling - a practice that continues in Europe. Many familiar brands can be seen on the top shelf - Heinz cereal ("Rice Flakes")! I wonder if the "DGS" chain of stores were individually owned and operated - a precursor to the "IGA" chain? Fruit and vegetable marketing Looks like they where spraying them with wax back in the day, just like today, to make them shiner. WheatenaI saw Wheatena on an upper shelf. It was one of my favorite cereals when I was a child. I haven't seen it in stores for two decades. However, it is still obtainable online: http://mybrands.com/Product.aspx?pid=14 (Minimum quantity: 4 Boxes) The UpsideI wonder if the Chipso Suds Company ever sent their reps around to check on product placement. Cooperative GroupPreviously: D.G.S. Celebrates 15th Anniversary. Washington Post, Jan 29, 1936. The District Grocery Store in your community is not just "a grocery store on the corner." It is a member store of an organization of two hundred and sixty similar stores primarily organized for collective purchasing, distributing and advertising of food products. These stores are known as a "cooperative group" and that is exactly how District Grocery Stores function, cooperatively. District Grocery Stores are owned and conducted by experienced men who live in your own community. Their own money is invested in their own stores, and naturally, they, are interested in your welfare as well as that of the entire community. In short, your nearest District Grocery Store, in personnel and in spirit is an integral part of your neighborhood. District Grocery Stores, individually and collectively spend money locally — just as you do — in patronizing Washington industries. The money you spend in District Grocery Stores goes back into the community in the form of salaries, rent, taxes, fuel, local purchases and advertising in local newspapers. District Grocery Stores deserve your patronage because they are part of a Washington institution, operating by Washington men and women who are interested in the the future of Washington. Neighborhood FeelLove it. Reminds me of seeing my grandparents in Pennsylvania in the early '60s, and visiting the same type markets and stores. Having been raised in Alexandria, just across the river, that same feeling has been long gone for some time. A store after my own pocketbookWow! Those great prices! That's the store I wanna shop at!! ;D In all seriousness, my dad told me that at times, more often than not, during the depression my grandfather "didn't have but one dime to rub in his pocket" and he had 9 kids plus him and his wife to feed. I would imagine he would have liked to buy a few things with his dime but even these prices wouldn't have bought him much. He was a farmer so they lived mostly off the land and crops. They were fortunate. Nice vs NastyIs this store the one in the nice neighborhood vs the last picture which reminds me of the older Bohacks that always seemed to be in the turning or already turned bad neighborhoods. [The two photos may show the same store. - Dave] Same Store?Same ceilings. This StoreNot unlike our father's store here: https://www.shorpy.com/node/4096 I always liked to watch the clerk operate that toolto retrieve the stuff high up. You can see it leaning against the shelves. It was a lot faster than getting the stepladder. If he got really good at it, he would just have to tip the box or can, catching it as it fell from the top shelf. Those were the days when you gave your shopping list to the clerk. He or she would "order pick" from your list. I noticed recently that they've changed Aunt Jemima; she's dropped a few. She's looking more like Diana Ross these days. I guess having someone look like she needed Weight Watchers wasn't a good image for their product. This is where the Uneeda biscuits wentOld folks around home used to say that back in the day they could walk into a grocery store with 25 cents and walk out with bread and milk and the newspaper besides - to which my nephew once replied that there were no surveillance cameras back then. A winning recipeThe Campbell's Soup label looks pretty much the same as it did back then. Mmm, mmm (still) good! Oscar vs FelixAt first I thought these were two sides of the same room. But the floors don't match. I can think of no reason why one would put tile over a wood floor in part of a room. Then I wondered if one was a back room, and this was a two room store. That could still be, but why would the proprietor make one neat and tidy for the photographer, and leave the other such a mess? So I am voting for the theory that these are two different stores from the chain, one run by the neatnik, the other not. Neatniks don't clean one area and ignore the rest of a place. They have a compulsion to clean it all up. [The ceiling and light fixtures are the same in both images. The other photo seems to show a back room. - Dave] Faceless WheatiesJust the year before, Wheaties began its still current practice of depicting sports stars on the front of the box, with baseball player Lou Gehrig and aviator Elinor Smith. Yet the boxes in the upper right of the photo are without faces to stare at breakfasters. Still the SameI see many brands and products that are still available today: Bisquick, Rice Krispies, Cream of Wheat and Aunt Jemima, just to name a few. What a great looking store! Can I please take a nickel and go buy some candy, Mom? Hodgepodge III tend to agree that the other picture is a back room of the same store. Thus, one again, my comments were made too quickly on the other photo. Oh well. Still great to see how store design has evolved and to see how many brands have survived these last 86 plus years. Can of CornIn baseball terminology a can of corn is a high, easy-to-catch, fly ball hit to the outfield. The phrase is said to have originated in the nineteenth-century and relates to an old-time grocer’s method of getting canned goods down from a high shelf. Using a stick with a hook on the end, a grocer could tip a can so that it would fall for an easy catch into his apron. One theory for use of corn as the canned good in the phrase is that a can of corn was considered the easiest "catch" as corn was the best selling vegetable in the store and so was heavily stocked on the lowest shelves. "One of the largest"The Post's John Kelly recently provided a short history of DGS, including its dissolution in the early 70s. Location, Location, LocationThe store in the picture was located at 300 Maryland Avenue, NE. It remained open until sometime around 1970. My Grandfather was the proprietor until he sold the business in 1940. I had to match nail marks in the trim with other pictures to confirm the location. According to my father who lived upstairs there until he was 13, many of the stores looked the same. Good afternoon Mrs. Nowakowski. There used to be stores like this and smaller every other block in the 50's and 60's. You only drove or walked to the 'Big' store for fresh meat and fruit, the corner store carried all your other needs, from milk to butter to eggs. We had a Polska, Italian and German store all within six blocks. You could choose from Kielbasa, Braciole or Schnitzel every week. I miss those homemade specials. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Stocking-Stuffer: 1922
... I had a 1973 Olds Cutlass S 2 door. Blue, with white interior. Clean. 350 Rocket. I wish it had a 455....... Olds and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 9:56pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1922. "Oldsmobile sales window." Some of us beyond a certain age might remember the Oldsmobile, or even have driven or owned one. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Magritte's Inspiration?I have always been fascinated by Rene Magritte's Surrealist painting of 1938, "Time Transfixed." I've seen it many times at the Art Institute of Chicago, and I've always wondered where the artist got the idea of making a steam locomotive come puffing out of a fireplace. Now I know the answer! Oil leaksSo this is a brand new car and it has a drip pan underneath it? Olds ForeverI am of that age. My step-father had a '48 when he married my mom and was still driving them until the day he died. Always a plain-jane, no frills model up until he had open heart surgery. His doctor told him it was time he had A/C for his health. The last one he bought was the first he ever owned with any option. I learned to drive on a '56 Rocket 88. He did appreciate that big V8 engine, and so did I! I was sad when they went out of production. Merry Christmas and Best Wishes to everyone at Shorpy. My first carwas an Olds---a 1965 Cutlass. Being young and foolish I didn't realize that maintenance was required. I ran it nearly out of oil, the lifters were making lots of racket. As soon as I gave it it's proper allotment of oil it said "Thank you very much" and we went on our way. Still being foolish, I didn't know to make sure that the antifreeze solution was correct to withstand a Wisconsin winter, and allowed the radiator to freeze nearly solid. Once again, when I put in the proper fluids the car said "Thank you very much" and we went on our merry way. What a great car!! My current car is also an Olds. This time an Alero. Though not as hardy as the Cutlass was, it too, has been great transportation. Not dead yetThis is going to be my favorite surreal window display photo for a long time. My late mother drove a series of Oldsmobile 98s from 1964 until she passed away in 2008. I'm still driving her last car, the 1993 model with a transverse 4.2-litre front end drive, fuel-injected engine that gives me more than 20 mpg in town and 24 mpg on long freeway runs, and it still easily passes the increasingly stringent California smog tests. Its fuel efficiency won't impress many folks these days, but my old Chevy 3/4-ton pickup rarely gave me better than 9 mpg even downhill. I love driving this Olds and can't afford to replace it yet, even though it's getting damned hard to find many parts for it that 1993 Cadillac owners can still take for granted. Dear SantaCould you send one of those down my chimney tonight too? I promise not to have a fire burning in it. If my 12" diameter chimney is too small, just have the reindeer kick on the roof and I'll push the remote button to open the garage door. Santa's Failed Head Lights ExperimentAfter this 1922 failed use of modern head light technology to navigate chimneys, on December 24, 1923 Santa returned to the traditional use of Rudolph, with his nose so bright, to guide his sleigh that night. And the rest went down in history.. Merry Christmas to the Shorpy site. You guys are great! MerryeYes, Lucille is longing for a ride in her Merry Oldsmobile! It's now parked in the back with the Plymouth and the DeSoto and the Edsel and the Mercury. That's a very clever display gimmick. Here's wishing a Merry Oldsmobile to all my fellow Shorpy regulars, and a great New Year with lots of signage, fascinating people of the past, and—as always—a keener sense of history. HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Seasonal OldsmobileThis car must have made one heck of a stocking stuffer. OldsmobubbleMy uncle followed the General Motors path of lifetime GM ownership; starting with Chevy, moving on to Pontiac, then Oldsmobile, then Buick, and finally ending with Cadillac. I think of all those cars, the Oldsmobile Aurora was his favorite, although the Cadillac CTS ranked pretty highly too. It’s difficult to imagine that an automaker such as Oldsmobile, with their 107-year history is gone, but with so much model redundancy I suppose it was inevitable. I want one of those!Now that's what I call a stocking-stuffer! I really like the way they decorated the sales window to look like somebody's living room. And how thoughtful of Santa, to also put a sparkling-clean tray under the car to catch the oil droppings! (I wonder if new cars came with one of those trays as standard equipment back then...) Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to all our fellow Shorpyites! Nah - can't be.Hey, is that a reflection of tterrace in one of the ornaments on the tree? Only kidding naturally. A very Merry Christmas to everyone in the Shorpy "family", and a special thank you to Dave for providing many enjoyable moments spent on his website this year. It was so nice of Santato leave something to catch the oil drips. And I love that lamp. Christmas CreativityThat is some very creative Christmas advertising! Merry Christmas, Shorpy!!!!! Almost had an OldsI was looking to buy my first car in 1994, and I thought about buying a late 1980's burgundy Olds...I ended up going with a 1986 gold-colored Pontiac Sunbird, instead. Tree Topper NeededI see that there is nothing at the top of the tree but if you know of Yosh and Stan Schmenge, you would remember that their custom is to toss a hat onto the top of their tree. As for Oldsmobiles, when my two oldest sons were ages 2 and 3, we moved next door to neighbors who owned a 1966 sleek powder blue, chrome-embellished loaded Toronado and they both admired and desired that car, even up until today, ages 46 and 47. It was a primo dazzler and they were just beginning to notice sharp vehicles and they still talk about it. It was "the car of the year" in 1966 and the word "toronado" had no meaning but it was pretty slick and my Chevy Impala at that time did not impress them. Merry Christmas and gratitude to all the jolly good producers, contributors and commenters of Shorpy, the best ever website. The first post WW2 factory hot rodWas an Oldsmobile Super88. This was a big Olds OH valve v8 in a Chevy sedan with Olds trim. A lot of fun was had in one of these at the early drag strips. 1951 OldsA Rocket 88 as I recall with the OHV V-8 and 4-speed Hydramatic transmission, owned briefly around 1975. Bought from a genuine Little Old Lady who let the transmission seals dry out and the fluid run dry. It would go for a little while on a couple of quarts, but after pumping a few quarts thru, I re-sold the car to someone who could afford to rebuild the transmission. Never did really care for the "frowny face" grille of that period. Early Nascar champ not forgottenFor 40 years I owned and drove a 1951 Hudson Hornet, the car that could blow the doors off of the Oldsmobiles of its era. Oil leaks? Oh yesAs a proud, long-time owner of several old cars manufactured during the 1920s and 1930s, there are indeed good reasons why drip pans were and are used. Come 'n listen to a story ...Trivia: The Beverly Hillbillies' truck was a 1923 Olds flatbed. Getting crowded back thereYes, Lucille is longing for a ride in her Merry Oldsmobile! It's now parked in the back with the Plymouth and the DeSoto and the Edsel and the Mercury. There's also the Pontiac and the Saturn, not to mention that big Hummer. And a Saab just pulled in. Auto mo-bubbling in my merry Oldsmobile.I had a 1973 Olds Cutlass S 2 door. Blue, with white interior. Clean. 350 Rocket. I wish it had a 455....... Olds and youth...In my youth, I owned a 1968 (maroon) Cutlass, a 1970 (gold) Cutlass, and a new 1976 Cutlass S (silver) in succession...all good cars and all had the 350 4 bbl. I have many fond memories of driving them as well as the other activities (wink-wink) they were used for. I still can't believe this hallowed marque is gone. Cutlass was SupremeThe Olds Cutlass Supreme was the best selling car in America in the mid 1970s. Not too long ago, when I was broke and needed a car, a co-worker sold me his '79 Cutlass Supreme for 200 bucks. I spent 10 bucks on an AM/FM radio out of a junked Buick Regal (same car, really), and, aside from tires, a water pump and an ignition module, drove it every day for two years without a problem. My mechanic neighbor waxed rapturous over its bulletproof small block V8, "You can't kill these things!" If it wasn't for the rusty frame, I might've kept it longer, but I was afraid the trunk was going to fall off in traffic. Oldsmobile, like Pontiac and Saturn, was the victim of an evolving American market, one where GM could no longer expect buyers to stay with the General over a lifetime of car ownership. The same could be said for Mercury and Plymouth. Hummer died because it was an insane product and people finally came to their senses. Now This Was An OldsmobileThe first of my three daughters, Robin, at the wheel of my 1963 Olds Starfire. Kodachrome slide from 1964. My last Yank TankMy last American car, and actually the ONLY new car I owned that was truly an American car, was my 1993 Olds Cutlass Cruiser that I ran for 11 years and 271,000+ miles. It drove great in the snow, and was a faithful vehicle until it was just too run down to keep going. I wish this division had been retained by GM, since it had better quality than its other fellow divisions. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Christmas, D.C., Natl Photo)
Rear Windows: 1940
... NY Times article on 67 Greenwich, a survivor from 1810. Interior completely redone, four floors now three floors, but it is finding new ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/27/2022 - 2:13pm -

March 22, 1940. New York. "Rear of #68 and #70 Greenwich Street showing dormers and stable ell back of #73 Washington Street at left. Houses built circa 1825." 5x7 inch acetate negative by Stanley P. Mixon for the Historic American Buildings Survey. View full size. ProblematicBurglar bars and a fire escape. What could possibly go wrong? Rear Window.Hitchcock, of course, made a classic flick of that scene in "Rear Window". Probably one of the greatest films ever made. And Grace Kelly -- sigh. Some fingers holding a scaleThis person -- presumably a surveyor for HABS -- is much braver than I would have been in standing next to these buildings. They're in pretty bad shape. Greenwich Street, of course, would face another falling wall hazard many years later. Fictive and real, far and nearThe courtyard in Hitchcock's 'Rear Window' was entirely a Hollywood set. (They had to dig out the studio floor, so most of it was below ground level.) However, Hitchcock's designers used an actual location as a reference, the back of 125 Christopher Street. (To complicate matters, the film gives a fictitious address, 125 West Ninth Street, which is not completely fictitious because Christopher Street is what Ninth Street is called west of Sixth Avenue.) That is two miles from Moxon's location; both are 1300 miles from the old Paramount lot. Put the photos below into black and white, and though more upscale they don't look that different from Moxon's. The Christopher Street courtyard is still intact. The house across the street survived67 Greenwich Street, across the street from 68 and 70, is still there. I had to get close; if you back up to get a better view, the address disappears. Not a lot of pulleysThose laundry lines must have required a lot of effort just to get them to move. Several of them don't seem to be running on pulleys, like the one across the middle of the fram, attaching as a loop in a rope around the top of the chimney. Another, going up to that top window, seems to loop on a hook. I know that this is a "slum" scene, but even for the middle-class, so much work went into something we pretty much take for granted now: laundering clothes. It's why nearly every person in nearly every old Shorpy photo are wearing soiled, tired, rumpled clothing -- even people of moderate wealth. People looked so different back then, and not just that they were skinny. Their clothes and shoes were not shiny-clean, or fresh and new; their socks were drooping. This, despite the fact that people of the early 20th century generally "dressed-up" in ways that we find astonishing. So when I see crisp costumes in period-piece movies and television, Shorpy has ruined it for me! I can't make the imaginative leap, because I know that people practically lived in their clothes back then. Looks like fire trap rowNineteenth-century buildings such as these often shared a common wall between them. The main downtown business street in my community was lined with buildings similar to these, although not so deteriorated back then. Some were wood-frame, others brick. Typically, the buildings had businesses on the first and sometimes second floor, apartments on floors above. In August, 1899, a fire started in one of the downtown buildings. Within hours, the entire core business area was reduced to smoldering ruins. Common-wall construction facilitated the totality of destruction. Tremendous heat in one building, often on the top or an upper floor, would cause bricks in the common wall to explode, opening the way for fire and smoke to spread into the next building. The brave but overwhelmed firefighters of the time couldn't begin to stop the spread. In the aftermath, the common-wall vulnerability became apparent. City fathers soon passed an ordinance prohibiting that kind of construction, along with other safety requirements. I'm sure New York City officials knew of the common-wall danger long before 1940. I wonder if these ancient buildings and so many like them were grandfathered in as they were or required to install some sort of add-in firewall. Not for longActually kinda startling to believe that such tenements still existed in that part of town as late as 1940. But, only 10 years later this entire 2-block stretch would become the entrance/exit to the Battery Park Tunnel to Brooklyn (and a parking garage). An exceptional resource for exploring NYC during this era: https://1940s.nyc/ In this view of the map the backyards of the two buildings, and the back structure that our man is surveying, can be clearly seen. This photo would have been shot from the back window of 71 Washington St. Visible at top center is the Adams Express Building (1914), and to the right of that, the Continental Bank Building (1932). NY Times on 67 GreenwichLengthy and researched NY Times article on 67 Greenwich, a survivor from 1810. Interior completely redone, four floors now three floors, but it is finding new uses today: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/realestate/streetscapes-dickey-house-... PerspectiveThese buildings as shown are old and dilapidated to the point of scary moviedom. While never to be confused with The Ritz, these were built to solve a housing problem and offered a tremendous step upward for the original residents. That changes over time, of course. (The Gallery, HABS, NYC)
Ghost Coach: 1930
... trucks show that this is a "heavyweight" steel car. The interior appears to have walkover seats so the car doesn't have to be turned. ... going to scrap. The gas light globes are still inside the interior. If it is to be scrapped all the parts to keep for repairing/building ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/22/2012 - 7:02pm -

Washington, D.C., or vicinity circa 1915-1930. One of three H&E glass negatives labeled "Car exterior. Washington & Old Dominion R.R." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. The others are here and here. Mail CarThat was a mail car, usually the first car behind the tender car. All Aboard for Petticoat Junction!But where's the rest of the Hooterville Cannonball? Combination CoachThis old gal carried passengers as well as mail and parcels between cities. One great picture and she was probably on her way to the scrap yard. Good EngineeringThis is obviously an OLD car by 1930, built maybe at the turn of the century, yet look at its excellent construction. 6-wheel bogies with elaborate suspension for a smooth ride, the long chassis still straight as an arrow despite its age, lots of elbow room inside with elegant clerestory windows and lots of ventilators. This was the product of a thriving American transportation industry at the top of its game. Pretty butOld coaches are the same this side of the water; lovely to look at and deadly dangerous if there's a crash. There's breakable, splintering, flammable wood, gas lighting in some cases, paraffin or kerosene in others. In Britain's worst train crash -- at Quintinshill during the first World War -- I believe more died in the fire afterward than in the impact. 4928Perhaps this was a mail car or a car with space for freight, but there is also obvious passenger seating in it as well. And if it typically traveled just behing a tender, why would it have that "porch" on its freight end? Cue the Ghostly OrchestraClang, Clang, Clang went the Scary Trolley! Ding, Ding, Ding went the Bell of Death! Zing, Zing, Zing went my heartstrings as we started for Spookington Dell! And this car isA 1908 PRR roster shows this as a Class OK combine (baggage/coach) built in 1900 and owned by the PB&W (the subsidiary of the Pennsy that owned the tracks on the line from Philly to DC). These cars were rebuilt with full vestibules at some point, because there is a diagram for that configuration; obviously this one escaped. Apparently these cars always had steam heat. There were three different subclasses depending on the size of the baggage compartment; this is the smallest, with the 20-foot compartment. The six-wheel trucks show that this is a "heavyweight" steel car. The interior appears to have walkover seats so the car doesn't have to be turned. Platforms (and later vestibules) were typical on baggage cars to allow train crews to pass through while in motion. The Ghost CarI agree with the first description of this car's origins. The car was still on the PRR roster on 1-1-1914, but was gone by 3-1-1916. The lettering couldn't have lasted 14 years. My guess is the photos were taken shortly after sale to the W&OD. Moreover, the truss rods under the center of the car indicate that this was a fully wooden car both when it was constructed and when these photos were taken. Further ResearchI've come across a classification guide which indicates that class O cars are wooden combines. Class PB steel combines in the same guide are only about 10 feet longer, but weigh 50 percent more (120,000 vs. 80,000 pounds). Checking in Ames's book on the W&OD, I see absolutely no evidence that this car was ever used on that line. Passenger operations were electric, with the exception of several 1878/1887 coaches purchased from the Manhattan Electric Rwy which were considerably older in design than this car. The only combines on the roster were either electrics or doodlebugs. My guess is that this car was just passing through. [I think there was probably another reason for taking these photos. - Dave] PilotThis car seems to have a tube pilot on the far truck, which might indicate it was used behind an interurban or box motor in push/pull service. Thoughts on the Mystery CoachChecking Herb Harwood Jr.'s "Rails to the Blue Ridge: The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, 1847-1968" I find no reference to any ex-Pennsylvania railroad coaches in the company's roster. That being said, I have a couple of ideas. As far as the location of the photograph, the coach appears to be sitting on one leg of a wye, used for turning locomotives or whole trains (given the length of the stub track, just locomotives in this case). According to Hardwood's track map, and assuming this is the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad, that leaves four possible locations for this photograph: Bluemont Junction, Herndon, Leesburg, or Bluemont. Given the topography in the background, and having bicycled the W&OD quite a lot, I would suggest the likely location of this to be Bluemont Junction. I have come up with one possible explanation for why this coach never appeared on the company rosters. It is possible that this coach was purchased by the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad, but never operated over the line, and simply sat disused in its location pictured. The three-axle trucks indicate to me that the coach is possibly quite heavy, perhaps too heavy to operate on the W&OD's light rails. It certainly would not have been the only instance of a railroad purchasing equipment too heavy for its rails. (In my home province of Ontario, one of the two locomotives of the Huntsville and Lake of Bays Railway was found to be too heavy and remained stored during its 11-year career on the railroad). One other possibility that has come to mind is that this is not the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad at all, but rather the Rosslyn Connecting Railroad which branched off the current rail line as it reached the Virginia side of the Potomac, and headed north to Rosslyn. This railroad was a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which would explain the coach. If the photograph was simply labeled (Washington DC area), it is possible that the railroad was misidentified. This, however, is complete conjecture, as I am not even sure whether passenger service was ever operated (or intended to be operated but wasn't) over the Rosslyn Connecting Railroad. [The photos are labeled as indicated in the caption. - Dave] One thing I can say for surethe number designations on the car are most definitely "Pennsy". That font is unmistakable. #4928 Pennsylvania Combination carMy opinions are just that--pity the photographer isn't alive to comment. That said: I disagree with the car going to scrap. The gas light globes are still inside the interior. If it is to be scrapped all the parts to keep for repairing/building other cars would be removed first. In the American Civil War, cars from other railroads were often borrowed to move troops. This inter-rail cooperation worked well-- There are several military grounds near the W&OD RR. Fort Myer, Va. and Camp Auger, near Merrifield, Virginia - off the Dunn Loring RR stop on the W&OD line. Livestock pens were near the one W&OD RR's freight station for the Cavalry horses and or livestock being shipped to and from the more western towns, e.g. Herndon, etc. Military grounds near railroad lines would be Camp A. A.Humphreys aka Fort Belvoir, Virginia; Quantico, Virginia which are off the Alexandria Railyard heading south on the Southern, Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac line. On the Mt. Vernon line, it could have gone by Fort Marcy. It could have easily been sold to Virginia Central Rwy or the Fruit Grower's Express Rwy, for the use of the company's executives or for an occasional run for passengers; e.g. executive use, party, etc. It may be entirely possible that this car never went past the railroad bridge into Virginia. It could have easily been sold to a short line (East Washington, Rwy)and or sitting in the more rural sections of Washington, DC around Ivy City--a connecting yard to Union Station. If memory serves me correctly, Penn RR did invest in the W&OD briefly. This may be of that brief period. A combine, but not for mailThese three pictures show a rail car that once ruled the main line but now has been modified for a lowly afterlife on a forgotten branchline. The car has a 20-foot compartment for freight and express at one end. The pigeonhole box near the roof line being for small packages and company mail moving from station to station. If it were a US Mail compartment, there would have been the mandatory fixtures for bags, pouches, sorting tables and sorting racks - plus there would have been a letter drop slot on the side of the car. The rear section offers walk-over coach seats. We can see this was a mainline car account of the six wheeled trucks, walkway buffers and the three hoses next to the coupler. One hose was for airbrakes, one was a communication line to signal to the engineer by the train crew, and one was for steam heat. The pilot (or cowcatcher to some) on the far end of the car implies some type of push-pull service. If this the W&OD, I believe they had some self-powered "doodlebug" cars and this car could have served as a trailer being pulled along by the power car, until it was time to return and the train was shoved back towards its origin. A procedure quite effective to give the engineer a cramped neck, and the flagman the worry of being on the cutting edge of any grade crossing incident with a car or truck. The flagman usually manned a little peanut whistle powered by the air line that he would signal with as the train approached crossings and stations. The carHere is a link that refers to this car. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Railroads)
The New Frontier: 1960
... minutes for the background, then a flash shot for the interior, the house lights having been replaced with flashbulbs. There's a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/12/2011 - 10:11am -

May 9, 1960. A landmark image in the history of modern architecture: Julius Shulman's nighttime shot of Ann Lightbody and Cynthia Murfee in Case Study House No. 22, the Stahl residence in the Hollywood Hills, overlooking Sunset Boulevard. Architect: Pierre Koenig. The photo, taken with a Swiss-made Sinar 4x5 view camera, is a double exposure: Seven minutes for the background, then a flash shot for the interior, the house lights having been replaced with flashbulbs. There's a fascinating account of the image at Taschen, where you can order a book on the Case Study houses. View full size | L.A. Mag article. Color?I've seen this photo in color, too -- is it possible to post that version as well? Thanks so much for introducing me to the work of Julius Shulman -- I'm really enjoying it! [There is no color version of this photo with the girls. - Dave] Case Study HousesI'd never seen this picture or heard about these houses until you made a reference a day or two ago to the famed picture of this house. I had to Google it, but it's nice to see it here and be able to zoom in on it. What an amazing picture. Thanks for including the info on how he took it--I don't know much about photography, and never would have guessed that's how he achieved the shot. It's pretty amazing it worked on the first try. (At least, no one mentions subsequent tries in the linked article!) I think I was there for this!There, just behind the potted plant and out of camera range in my smoking jacket with my pipe...I wish! I really love the early 60s stuff you have on here so much! Heck, I love it ALL ... keep up the good work, Dave, as it's now official -- I'd never make it through the day without my Shorpy fix! Flash funI love stories like this one. Sometimes all it takes is a photographer looking outside of the usual photo setup to see something new. I've been a commercial photographer for almost 30 years and I've always loved architectural projects (www.morrisonphotographics.com). This house must have been a dream AND a nightmare to shoot. The view really makes it work but lighting through all that glass is a study in madness! One thing we used to LOVE to do was take those big, screw-in flashbulbs that they mentioned in the story and screw them into fixtures of unsuspecting friends. Bear in mind, these bulbs are as big as a 100w bulb and when they go off, it's like a controlled explosion. Childish? Sure. Fun? You bet!! GlassI thought the four by six foot windows in my guest house were big, but these are huge. You just don't see windows that big these days. [Certainly not in my guest house. - Dave] Ahhhh, the viewArchitecturally very simple--almost minimalist because obviously, the view is everything. What a panorama!! LovelyMake me a martini while I put on some Burt Kaempfert. Absolutely I am there. Well in my dreams, anyway. Practical questionHate acknowledge the housekeeper part of me, but how did they ever wash the windows on the outside? No place to put a ladder, and the roof overhang is too wide to come down from above. PrecariousWell it's a stunning house with a spectacular view but I don't think I would feel safe perched on the edge of a cliff in earthquake-prone LA. The DoorsI just love these series of Modern photos you've been hosting. Absolutely brilliant. Those "windows" aren't I don't think. They're huge two panel sliding doors it looks to me. One door is closest to the camera and the other is behind the woman on the chair and it's open. The ground seems to be level with the door right there. Scary, but what a view! It's too bad such a house could never be anywhere where winter reared its ugly head. The design and the construction just couldn't take it. Philip Johnson's Glass Housefor Craig F: There IS such a house in cold-weather CT... Philip Johnson's famous "Glass house"... http://philipjohnsonglasshouse.org/ ... which predates this Koenig house by about 10 years. I don't know how much time he spent in it during the winter but Johnson did live in his glass house for a time. Videos of the Stahl houseThere are several videos of the Stahl house on youtube. (I used Case Study 22 as a search term.) Several of the windows around the pool are indeed sliding doors. There's now a ledge along the overhang portion, so the glass can be washed... but only by someone who is not afraid of heights. I don't know if the ledge was part of the original design. The Taschen article (which I cannot currently access) talks about how parts of the project were unfinished at the time of the photo shoot. Case study: lightingThe major part of the drama of this shot is the impression it gives of the house being suspended considerably out past the edge of a precipice of coronary-inducing height. Other photos from different angles, both then and now, and of course Google and Live Search aerial and bird's-eye views show that this really isn't the case; it's only a rather gentle slope that starts not all that far below the supporting member. Note: this is not a criticism, quite the contrary. ShagvilleOh My Goodness! This house looks like the party pad for Shag and Rian Hughes! It's like seeing their artwork come alive. I will be going to Taschen to learn the history of these Case Study Houses. How wonderful. (Art & Design, Julius Shulman, Los Angeles)
24 and 26: 1917
... the heck this place is? (Bonus points if you can provide interior views.) [It's the "Religious Action Center." Some sort of ... of the car, with the other end of the rope left in the interior of the vehicle after the maneuver. It is possible that the car was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/12/2011 - 12:07pm -

"Auto wreck, Mass. Ave., Washington circa 1917." A comment on our earlier post of this accident correctly pegged the location as Massachusetts Avenue at 21st Street N.W. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Religious Action CenterAlthough the idea of a Baptist night club is pretty delightful, kinda like Amish Karaoke Night, it's not really that kind of "action." The Arthur and Sara Jo Kobacker Building, 2027 Massachusetts Avenue NW at Kivie Kaplan Way, is home to the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, a lobbying organization. Where's the Crowd?I think this is the first accident photo I've seen on Shorpy where there isn't a group of people standing around looking at the wreck or the photographer. Darn it!Dave, you stole what was going to be my comment with the title of the post! Only 26 cars in DC, and two are right here. The real question is what car or other large moving object hit #26, as it appears that #24 is just pulled to the curb parked. Psychic Midget!The kid obviously crushed the vehicle with her telekinetic powers. It's always the midget! 24Seems to have a tiller instead of a steering wheel. AhhhhWith this photo, we now have the complete scenario: A. The vehicle was parked at the curb when it was struck. (Evidence the parking brake is set, photo 1.) B. The rope had secured the vehicle to the lamp post. (DC had a vehicle theft problem since the Jefferson buggy incident of 1803.) C. I am so full of it. WindowsThe most interesting thing about this picture is the exterior Venetian blinds on the corner house. Someone needs to print this pictureAnd deliver it to the owners of the current address. I sure wish someone would hand me a picture of my 1918 house when it was relatively new... JazzDadI'm getting the idea, JazzDad. Ever since I found Shorpy, I've been wanting to post one of those definitive, plonking replies, such as: "That's Luna Park at Coney Island. The big fish sculptures at the base of the tower are the giveaway" or "Has to be a B-17E, look at the dorsal fin and the framed nose transparency" Someone always beats me to it. But thanks to your post, I can see whole new fields of commentary opening up...... Crash Investigationon closer inpection of the photo reveal debris from the wrecked car in the middle of the street. it was probably dragged fron there to the sidewalk. I'm amused by these photos of early century DC auto wrecks. with so few cars on the road, how did they ever find each other, then run into each other? First. . . for the obligatory streetview: View Larger Map What is that building?Someone else beat me to the Street View, but I looked alongside the building, and it is quite long. Was it a dorm, or boardinghouse, or something? I see nowThanks for the enlargement. Danged trifocals! If this were a horror movie, this might be the time someone says: "I wonder who they're trying to keep out?" Then the sidekick would say: "Or keep ... in!" Tin Door?Interesting building in the background. Why do you suppose they blocked off the doorway with sheets of corrugated tin? [Those are boards, and there's still a door. It is unusual. - Dave] It got better with ageFinally, a building that looks better today than it did 90 years ago! If you look at the back of it on Street View, it's got the oddest collection of mismatched windows. I'm with Gus Oltz: would some Washingtonian please tell us what the heck this place is? (Bonus points if you can provide interior views.) [It's the "Religious Action Center." Some sort of Baptist night club, maybe. - Dave] View Larger Map Behind the barsIt appears that there are bricks a few inches behind the bars which doesn't make sense unless it was done for decorative purposes. Perhaps to offset the horse-barn look of the front door. Y'all are right. The house is becoming more interesting than the accident. [I don't think those are bricks. - Dave] Windows TooI too am intrigued at the exterior blinds on the house. I wonder if anybody was ticketed. BarredActually, I thought it interesting to see that "security bars" were necessary at such an early date (building, right). I guess I'm kind of amused at my naivete ~ city life being what it has always been. Skid MarksLooks like the skid marks tell the tale. Accident ReconstructionThanks to the Accident Analysis Center, one of the most important research firms and reconstruction of road accidents in Spain, made an enlightening video that answers the question "What really happened?" http://www.elzo-meridianos.blogspot.com/ [All I can say is, "Wow!" (En Español: ¡Wow!) - Dave] Re: Accident ReconstructionOMG! This raises the caliber of Shorpy comments to an entirely new level. ¡Me encanta! I am still bothered by that rope, however. I think that rope is there because it was used to pull the stricken vehicle out of the intersection. Thus, the photographed resting place of this car shouldn't be assumed to be the direct result of the collision. (Perhaps this is idea is already incorporated in the "Accident Reconstruction." Por desgracia, my Spanish is not good enough to tell. Perhaps we could be blessed with an English version of this video for all us poor (ugly) Americans who only studied foreign languages in junior high school.) Reconstrucción de accidentesFor the benefit of fellow English-speaking visitors, I've made a translation of the texts included in the fantastic accident reconstruction video posted here. Hope this can make the magnificent video easier to understand. -.-.- Found at www.elzo-meridianos.blogspot.com A 100-year-old traffic accident. It’s always amusing to see old pictures. By looking at these 1917 photographs it looks like we haven’t improved at all. An almost daily picture, where we see we have hardly learned anything. On it you can see a wrecked car on the curbside at Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C. It was the longest street in the Capital, formerly known as Millionaire’s Row, now Embassy Row. It’s impressive to see the massive damage, seeing a lonely child watching the wrecked car. You can see the broken wooden spokes of the destroyed wheels. The license numbers of the vehicles involved in the crash are perfectly clear: numbers 26 and 24. Many questions arise when we see these amazing pictures; what actually happened here? What actually happened? Warning The information in the following video DOES NOT correspond to a rigorous case study. We don’t have the necessary and mandatory starting point data for any serious traffic accident investigation (conditions of traffic, measurements, forensic analysis of the vehicles, etc.) The following video only offers an appreciation based on the photographs and developed by sheer fun. Center for the Analysis of Accidents Investigation and Research of Traffic Accidents -.-.- EXHIBITS Exhibit A: Impact point Exhibit B: Skid marks (left wheels) Exhibit C: Skid marks (right wheels, less visible) A priori, the vehicle parked at the curbside with license number 24, does not seem to be involved in the accident. There is no appreciable damage or deformations, not even on the front of the vehicle. There are not spilled liquids under it, nor any apparent evidence that could imply it had any part in the accident. It only has the top pulled to the back without folding; that way it took less time to put it on place in case of rain. Had it been involved in the crash, the front of the car should show appreciable damage, even from the point where this photo was taken. The stick protruding from the left is the steering cane, a forerunner of today’s steering wheels. Possible mechanics of the accident The car on the photograph (represented in red in the reconstruction) could be driving on 21 St due North, with the intention of either continuing on the same direction or turning right on the intersection. Another vehicle (represented on blue) was driving on Massachusetts Avenue, due west. When it reached the intersection, the car of the photo, either due to loss of control or because of a mechanical problem, or because the driver tried to make the turn at an excessive speed, starts to skid to the right. It leaves skid marks in the shape of a fan. The marks made by the left-side wheels are darker than those from the right-side wheels, because the left wheels were exerting more friction. An impact is produced, of the type frontal – lateral, damaging mainly the rear-left section of the car. The rear wheels could break at this moment as a result of the impact, since they were bent on an opposite direction from the movement of the car with which the vehicle crashed. Washington, D.C., 1917. Massachusetts Avenue 21st Street It is unlikely that the position on which the car was photographed was its authentic final position after the accident. Probably it was towed away to the curbside so that it wouldn’t obstruct the traffic on the street. In order to move the car, they could have used the rope that appears to be tied to the rear of the car, with the other end of the rope left in the interior of the vehicle after the maneuver. It is possible that the car was moved to this location in order to allow the leaking fuel to fall to the sewer, in an attempt to prevent possible accidental fires; who knows what policies or procedures followed the towing services back then? Wow!Unbelievably cool reconstruction of the accident! (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo)
« first‹ prev…3 [4]5…next ›last »
Syndicate content  Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.