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Miami, Florida: 1908
... answer, and original caption: "12th Street, looking east, Miami, Florida." Cigars, anyone? It looks like the main street of Ybor ... John Sewell and twelve of his best black workers from Palm Beach to Miami to begin work on the townsite. They began by grading the site of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/14/2014 - 12:58pm -

Circa 1908. Who would care to hazard a guess as to the location of this bustling metropolis? Extra points for Street View. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. UPDATE: The guesses as to the location of "Anytown, USA" (this post's original title) were, quite literally, all over the map -- from Deadwood to Buffalo to Whitehouse, Ohio. Many incorrect guesses for Titusville, Florida. The correct answer, and original caption: "12th Street, looking east, Miami, Florida." Cigars, anyone?It looks like the main street of Ybor City near Tampa, Florida. [Close, but no cigar. - Dave] Titusville, FloridaMain Street Titusville FloridaTitusville was the home of E.L. Brady Groceries! GuessingI'm guessing it is Titusville. Miami, 1200It would appear the MacArthur highway removed this locale: View Larger Map Location is.Titusville Florida Titusville, FLTitusville. FL? A grocer with the same name had a building there: I have to admit I'm not too confident; the bank building looks wrong. Florida?Google search suggests that this may be early Miami, with E.L. Brady Groceries on right, and Frank T. Budge Hardware on the left. Miami, FLI believe this is Miami, Florida, corner of 12th Street (now Flagler Street) and Avenue D (now Miami Avenue). View Larger Map I know, I know!It's the home of the Ace Novelty Company in Walla, Walla, Washington. What do I win? Miami Map 1919This map shows Avenue D (now Miami Avenue) and 12th Street to be somewhere under the pilings for MacArthur Freeway. Too bad about the grand old house on the left a few blocks up. That shoulda been a keeper. E.L. Brady's grocery storetells me this is Titusville, Florida. Miami, FloridaThis is 12th Street, looking east, Miami, Florida. Miami?A guy named E.L. Brady was a grocer in Miami around that time. Wild GuessBrooklyn, New York IdentityWashington Avenue, Titusville Florida. Possible answerI cheated and Googled "E.L. Brady" grocery store" and got Titusville, FL. Did I win? MiamiSome research indicates Flagler Street and Miami Avenue , although street view is hard to recognize. MiamiAvenue D (now Miami Ave.) and 12th Street, Miami, Fl. It looks like it's beneath the MacAurther Causeway now. Titusville FLA.Main Street? Is it KC?It could be my eyes playing tricks, but I think I see a reference to Kansas City in the banner stretched across the street. I'm guessingTitusville, Florida? Taking a guessI think the location is somewhere in Titusville, Florida. Titusville, Florida?Okay, here's my detective work. I Googled C.W. Schmid's Restaurant to no avail, but then I saw the E. L. Brady and Co. Groceries sign and tried that. It took me to this site, which mentions a store by the same name in Titusville. Am I right? Brady Grocery, Titusville, Florida407 S. Washington Avenue, Titusville, Florida "Titusville's first grocery store, L.A. Brady Grocery Store, was built in 1880. This and other buildings immediately south were occupied by Jackson Garage, Coca Cola, Bryan-Conway Realtors, Grower's Supply and Sears. The building was renovated and reopened in 1988 as the Granada Building, housing several government agencies and businesses including Gulf Atlantic Title, Cathedral Holdings and Loys Ward Surveying and Engineering." I had not a clueBut I thought maybe somewhere up north because of the awnings, which I thought might protect from the harsh winter snow. Duh! I could not have been more wrong. Turns out they were protection from the hot sun of Florida! Having lived there for a tortuous 6 months, I should have known better. I'm guessingTitusville,FL. Jacksonville, Florida.It has to be Jax. There's crap in the street and it looks like a slum. Nothing has changed. My guess is MiamiSearching for E.L. Brady's lead me to this conclusion based on this page, and this quote: On March 3, Flagler dispatched John Sewell and twelve of his best black workers from Palm Beach to Miami to begin work on the townsite. They began by grading the site of Flagler’s hotel. (72) By late March the railroad extension had reached a point just below Arch Creek near today’s Northeast 135th Street. (73) Increasing numbers of people were coming to Miami. In order to provide them with a place to stay, Harrington and Tyler leased the Miami Hotel from Julia Tuttle — even before it had a roof over it. Located on today’s South Miami Avenue near the river, the hotel contained a dining room on the first floor and rooms on the second which only could be reached by ladder, since a staircase had not been completed. (74) A former steamboat, the Rockledge, was converted into a floating hotel by E. E. Vail, towed to Miami and docked at the foot of Avenue D (today’s Miami Avenue). (75) Several new businesses had just opened or were about to open as March drew to a close. These included Frank Budge’s hardware store, Frank Duren’s meat market and green grocery, E.L. Brady’s grocery store, and the Lummus Brothers’ general store; additionally, a drug store, candy shop and pool room looked out over Avenue D. The lumber to build the Bank of Bay Biscayne building was being hauled to its lot next to the Brady grocery store. (76) Survey saysI believe this is Brooklyn, NY. I took the easy way out and just searched for 1200 Avenue O from the side of the grocers wagon Joe from LI, NY View Larger Map Miami?A Google search for "e l brady" grocer 1200 ave d turned up this link. On page 69 of which is mentioned a small grocery in Miami, run by an E.L. Brady. A guessIs it Titusville Florida? It's downtown MiamiThe Historical Museum of Southern Florida puts E.L. Brady Grocers, 1200 Avenue D, in Miami at that point. Avenue D is now South Miami Avenue. I'm not familiar with the area to know if the street numbering was retained. Schmids Furniture, Whitehouse, OhioWhitehouse, Ohio? There is a reference to a "Schmids Funiture" still there in 1937 when this was written. An updated guessIs it Miami, Florida? MaybeTitusville, Florida? TitusvilleStill working on the street view. Miami, Florida?Miami, FL, 12th Street. Anytown USA = Whitehouse OHIf you google "Schmid's Furniture" and have google uncorrect it, there's a PDF link to a report on Early Whitehouse History. In there is a reference to Schmid's Furniture on Toledo Ave (which looks very different today in Street View) Some leadsA search for E.L. Brady's grocery brought up a couple things. This page mentions the cart part of the business, which would place this in Titusville, Florida, to the East of Orlando. This link contains a picture of an historical marker in Titusville, which mentions that the building where Brady's grocery would have been housed in 1908 still stands, and is to the right of the sign. I'm pretty sure I've located the sign in street view here: View Larger Map The gardening has changed from the pictures, but the background matches up perfectly. The only step from here would be to go a few ticks over on street view and turn around, but this is where I stopped. Either I have the wrong spot or the view has changed considerably. Found it?I found reference to E.L. Brady's grocery store which leads me to believe this is Titusville, Florida. The building was home to E.L. Brady's grocery store. He first established his business in LaGrange, but moved to Titusville in 1886, occupying a wooden building at Main Street. The 1895 fire destroyed his store and many wood structures in the commercial district. Brady rebuilt his grocery in this building Is this it?Not much left from 1908. View Larger Map No DoubtThat's downtown Anytown. (Read the heading.) Titusville?Looks like E.L. Brady's Grocery store was located in Titusville, FL. That could be the site of this shot, perhaps... Fort Pierce / St. Lucie, FLMan, is this a depressing indicator of change. View Larger Map ETA: Darn, not correct! Miami, Fl ?http://www.hmsf.org/collections-south-florida-birth-city.htm On March 3, Flagler dispatched John Sewell and twelve of his best black workers from Palm Beach to Miami to begin work on the townsite. They began by grading the site of Flagler’s hotel. (72) By late March the railroad extension had reached a point just below Arch Creek near today’s Northeast 135th Street. (73) Increasing numbers of people were coming to Miami. In order to provide them with a place to stay, Harrington and Tyler leased the Miami Hotel from Julia Tuttle — even before it had a roof over it. Located on today’s South Miami Avenue near the river, the hotel contained a dining room on the first floor and rooms on the second which only could be reached by ladder, since a staircase had not been completed. (74) A former steamboat, the Rockledge, was converted into a floating hotel by E. E. Vail, towed to Miami and docked at the foot of Avenue D (today’s Miami Avenue). (75) Several new businesses had just opened or were about to open as March drew to a close. These included Frank Budge’s hardware store, Frank Duren’s meat market and green grocery, E. L. Brady’s grocery store, and the Lummus Brothers’ general store; additionally, a drug store, candy shop and pool room looked out over Avenue D. The lumber to build the Bank of Bay Biscayne building was being hauled to its lot next to the Brady grocery store. (76) Anytown, USA is Titusville, FloridaAnytown, USA is Titusville, Florida "E.L. Brady and Brother Grocery Store, a well established business located on Washington Ave. in downtown Titusville, put into use a delivery wagon in order to provide better customer service." Judging by the number of wiresI would say: NYC. Miami, Florida ...perhaps the corner of D (now Miami) and 12th Avenues? After Titusville, FLAfter Titusville FL Mr. E.L. Brady, Grocer, moved to Miami and opened up his grocery store on Avenue D. Not sure what that is called now though. Titusville Fla. Probably S. Washington St. That was funThat was fun. I was one of the Titusville people. Got it wrong. Oh well. How about doing something like this once a week? Not a palm tree in sightThe grocer E.L. Brady originated in Lagrange, Florida and relocated to Titusville, Florida in 1886. He would eventually became the first grocer in Miami, Florida at Ave. D and 12th Street. Today, this intersection would be Flagler Street and Miami Avenue. An interesting 1901 photo of the mustachioed Mr. Brady can be seen here. A guessBuffalo, NY. Found a reference to a wedding in the NY Times where Mr. and Mrs. E.L. Brady from Buffalo attended. Brooklyn?Probably wrong, but I'll hazard a guess at Brooklyn; 1200 Avenue D is near the intersection of Flatbush, which would make that little side street on the left E. 23rd St. View Larger Map Is it Louisville?I think this may be Avenue D in Louisville, KY. Miamihad an Avenue D in 1908 and a grocer called E.L. Brady. Welcome to MiamiLooks like it's somewhere on what is now South Miami Avenue - possibly where the Route 970 overpass is now located? FoundView Larger Map Stop 17 on the historical walking tour. Historical marker north of the building. Hazarding a GuessI'm going to guess we're looking at Old Miam, South Miami Avei? Just a GuessTitusville or Miami, FL. Titusville, FLJust a guess. Titusville, FLI think I see an atlas rocket taking off from the cape in the background. Florida townI believe this is Titusville Florida. LocationThis was taken in Miami, Florida at the corner of what is now Flagler Street and Miami Avenue. Everything in the original photo is gone, even the street names! Flagler and Miami used to be 12th Street and Avenue D, respectively. Titusville, FloridaHome of E.L. Brady, Grocer. Doesn't Look Like Florida to MeMy guess is Titusville FL, because that is the only place I can find a E L Brady that is a Grocer on the 1900 and 1910 census. Am I correct? Miami, FloridaThat's my guess. Deadwood, SD?Shot in the dark guess. Just seems very western. Gag! I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Embarrassing since I was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, and my grandparents + my mother moved to South Florida in 1917. Miami, FL?Possibly Miami, as per an obituary for E.L. Brady (pulled from the "E.L. Brady and Co" store on the right, beyond the real estate agent). That would make this shot somewhere in the vicinity of Flagler and Miami Avenue. Miami FloridaAvenue D and 12th Street. Now Flagler Street and Miami Avenue. See if I can get a Street View. Definitely MiamiFrom "Early Miami Through the Eyes of Youth" by William M. Straight, M.D., p.69: "How did you get your dairy products and your groceries? Well, there were two grocery stores, little things. I think the first one was operated by a Mr. Brady, E. L. Brady, who moved here from Titusville." On Page 63, there's mention that Avenue D is now Miami Avenue. 1200 Miami Avenue: View Larger Map MiamiE. L. Brady opened one of the first grocery stores in Miami, Florida. In 1908, the Bank of Bay Biscayne was located next door. I think this is the intersection of Miami Avenue and Flagler Street. Let's see nowThere's a tag that says "Florida," but there's also a tag that says "Detroit." Follow upFollow up to my earlier comment about E.L. Brady; according to the same obituary, E.L. Brady was an earlier settler of Titusville, FL, and started a grocery there, too. So this could be Titusville, FL. E. L. Brady Co. GrocersAt the corner of Avenue D and 12th Street in Miami: Titusville, FLLooks like it's in Titusville, FL, though I'm having trouble pinning down the exact location for a Google Street View. Halcyon HometownFinally, a shot of MY hometown, Miami! When Miami scrapped its old street naming system in 1921, they threw out the house numbers along with the street names for the present day quadrant system. The shot was taken on today's Flagler Street (formerly 12th Street) looking east at Miami Avenue (formerly Avenue D). The lions on the left guarded the Bank of Bay Biscayne, which stood on the northwest corner of Miami Avenue and West Flagler Street. The Halcyon Hotel, with its distinctive turrets, stood at East Flagler and 2nd Avenue (formerly 12th Street and Avenue B). It can be seen down the street on the left side. It'd be great to see some more Old Miami shots! Thanks, Shorpy! Let me guessI'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that this city is in Florida? I'm thinkingTitusville, FL Thank you, Mr. Brady the grocerIt's Miami. HOW COULD YOU TELL????I enlarged the photo, combed all the print details, how can you possibly recognize it a hundred years later????!! (Thanks for the fun though.) Bay Biscayne BankAccording to the Sanford Fire Map of 1899, the Bay Biscayne Bank was around the corner on D Avenue, on the NE side of the intersection, up the block on D Avenue slightly. Of course, it may have moved across the street to the NW corner by 1909. In the 1909 edition of Florida East Coast Homeseeker, it ran an ad noting it had moved to new digs in the Fort Dallas Bank Building; the one with the columns on the immediate left, and just west of the bank building, would have been the Biscayne Hotel in 1899. The weather bureau opened a station in the Bank of Bay Biscayne Building at that same location in 1911, so by then the building seems to have dropped the Fort Dallas appellation. The picture of the bank building provided by the NOAA website must be looking NW at it catercorner across the intersection. (The Gallery, DPC, Florida, Miami)
Southern Style: 1944
... Smith, whose name occasionally appeared in the Palm Beach newspaper columns, and who, unsurprisingly, married well. From the Miami Sunday News, November 26, 1950: When Smoking Was Chic I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/20/2023 - 9:45pm -

May 27, 1944. "Collier's, Florida. Woman 2 (Sherley on wall)." 35mm Kodachrome by Toni Frissell for Collier's magazine. View full size. The nails are not chippedbut reflecting the sunlight off the red enamel. My mother, who would have been about the same age as this woman in 1944, also applied her nail polish to keep the lunula of the nail exposed as does "Sherley," something I never understood. I suspect the gal is former debutante Sherley Smith, whose name occasionally appeared in the Palm Beach newspaper columns, and who, unsurprisingly, married well. From the Miami Sunday News, November 26, 1950: When Smoking Was ChicI remember my mother, in the 1940s, as looking just as stylish and sophisticated as the young woman in the photo. Mom smoked Pall Malls, and I remember her desperately trying to kick the tobacco habit years later. She managed to quit eventually, but the damage was already done to her heart and lungs. Given the date, May 1944,with the world in flames, and the U.S. at war, this photograph seems especially frivolous. [If only we had been there to guide them! - Dave] Not addictiveBack in the ‘60s, my mother’s bridge partner was begging for a cigarette while under an oxygen tent in a hospital for a collapsed lung. My wife handled a lot of the litigation for the lawsuits. Terrible way to die, suffocating. Nails, and coffin nailsNicely turned out for Collier's photo shoot, except for the nails. I'm no expert, but the chipped polish seems out of place. And don't call me Sherley. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Florida, Pretty Girls, Toni Frissell)
The Lido Mascot : 1936
This is my Dad, aged 3, on vacation in Rockaway Beach, 1936. It was either my grandmother or grandfather who inscribed the ... the Rockaways. Dad is dressed rather warmly for the Miami climate, which suggests it was indeed wintertime, and perhaps even ... 
 
Posted by hillie_bolliday - 04/18/2023 - 3:16pm -

This is my Dad, aged 3, on vacation in Rockaway Beach, 1936. It was either my grandmother or grandfather who inscribed the popular hit song of 1936, "I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'" on the photo, as well as "The Lido Mascot" - Lido was the name of the family hotel in the Rockaways. Dad is dressed rather warmly for the Miami climate, which suggests it was indeed wintertime, and perhaps even chilly, even for these native New Yorkers. View full size. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Miami Beach Pool: 1942
Miami Beach, Florida, 1942. My mom is the little girl waving at us (or probably at my ... Minicolors are still vibrant. View full size. Miami Minicolor Thanks, Tterrace. -- Infrogmation of New Orleans Kodak ... 
 
Posted by Infrogmation - 09/09/2010 - 7:49am -

Miami Beach, Florida, 1942. My mom is the little girl waving at us (or probably at my grandfather taking the photo). Her mother is standing behind her. The Florida vacation was planned before Pearl Harbor. The family was able to go ahead with it just after. Then came the rationing and the signs reading "Is This Trip Necessary?", and no more pleasure trips for the duration. This is a Kodak Minicolor print. Most of the color photos in our family albums from the 1970s or before are badly faded, but the old Kodak Minicolors are still vibrant. View full size. Miami Minicolor Thanks, Tterrace. -- Infrogmation of New Orleans Kodak MinicolorI had to look up Kodak Minicolor prints and found out that Kodak eventually started calling them Kodachrome prints. There's one of those in our collection from 1955, the year they apparently discontinued the process. It doesn't have the feel of a paper print, but rather a semi-translucent, shiny sheet of plastic. This is a great shot, from a period when most family photo memories are in black and white. You're so lucky to have these. I fiddled some with it: What glamour!I expect to see Esther Williams to come round the corner. The 40s in ColorGreat photo and nice work tterrace for the enhancement. I really crave pictures and footage from the war decade in color. More! (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Miami Monochrome: 1910
Miami, Florida, circa 1910. "Biscayne Bay through the cocoanut trees." 8x10 ... [The island in the distance on the right -- that's Miami Beach or Key Biscayne. A hotel or two there now, I hear. - Dave] ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 6:55pm -

Miami, Florida, circa 1910. "Biscayne Bay through the cocoanut trees." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Inspirational Makes me want to try and find my old ukulele and sing. "We used to gather in the moonlight on old Biscayne Bay." Well, actually it's Honolulu Bay in the song, but this bay will do nicely. The Big WAll I could think of is the palm tree scene from "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World." Behind the big tree on the leftAren't those the Marx Brothers? AhhhhThis looks soooo peaceful. I can almost feel the warm breeze. Where's the hunky pool boy with a Mai Tai for me? DifferencesOther than the boats, is this view that much different than today? [The island in the distance on the right -- that's Miami Beach or Key Biscayne. A hotel or two there now, I hear. - Dave] Let's get our shovels and start diggingI can actually see the Big W! (The Gallery, DPC, Florida, Miami)
Vacation Time: 1969
... reaches of the country (New York City, Washington D.C., Miami). I remember fighting with my brothers over the desirable real estate in ... I was 14 years old that summer of 1969 (living in Cocoa Beach, Florida). I can relate to the yellow socks. I had a few pair of those. ... 
 
Posted by Mvsman - 09/13/2011 - 10:36pm -

Leaving Walnut, CA for Wyoming and Nebraska in July 1969. I'm on the left, trying to look cool, going to start high school in the fall. Yikes, those socks! There's my Dad and Mom, who appeared in earlier pictures. They're showing some age progression. Both are in their early 40s here. My little brother was a surly bundle of anti-joy then, and he whined a lot through the whole trip. We packed up the '64 Chevelle wagon and left for the great unknown. As a surly teen, I read a lot of books along the way and grunted and moaned a lot. During the trip, we heard about the Charles Manson family murders in Los Angeles, and being only 30 or so miles away, I was really scared to come home. It all worked out ... thanks for looking and I look forward to your comments. View full size. Chilling NewsWe too were leaving for our vacation on our way from Diamond Bar (not too far from Walnut) to visit the grandparents in "Idyllic Larkspur" (near San Francisco) when we heard all about the Tate-LaBianca murders on the car radio. It definitely put a damper on the trip for us adults. With the three kids squabbling in the back of our VW van (Mom, she looked at me!), I don't know if they heard any of it or not. Our oldest kid was 9, the middle one 6, and the youngest 4. -- tterrace's sister Vacations in a wagonYou know, vacations just aren't vacations without a station wagon. Sorry, but an SUV just isn't the same thing. Folks across the street have a 1965 Rambler Classic Cross-Country; ours was a 1966. Did you have air-conditioning? Maybe that would have quelled the grumbling and moaning somewhat. I know that we welcomed the A/C in our Rambler after 10 years without it in our '56. But now, decades later, I'll occasionally switch mine off and roll down the windows when cruising along a rural road, and the breeze carrying the aromas of cut hay and other vegetation fills me with a warm, nostalgic glow. A great, era-defining shot, thanks! (Out of respect for your mother, I won't comment on her headgear - although I just did, didn't I?) West of the MidwestWyoming AND Nebraska? You are a lucky, lucky boy. One of our few vacations from our Indiana home was a trip to Iowa but since my dad was on some sort of a deadline* we didn't get to enjoy any of Illinois' diversions that must surely have existed along I-80, or so I dreamed. Departing from Walnut, CA, mvsman must have seen plenty of I-80 as well on his "Asphalt of America" tour. *Who has a deadline on a trip to Iowa? It was only 250 miles! FootwearYour shoes are in style about every 8 years or so. Just keep the shoes and wait for them to come back. Your dad's dark socks (with shorts), on the other hand ... Adler socksI bet they were Adler socks. I graduated from high school the year before and it was all the rage to wear Adler socks in colors that matched your shirt. Black socks with sandalsMy wife thinks I invented that look. I can't wait to show her that it's retro chic. Chevy Bel AirIt's either a 68 or 69, sitting in the other neighbor's garage - complete with trailer-light connector installed in the bumper. [It's a '68. - Dave] Love Your Mom's Hat!I think you looked quite cool for an "almost" high schooler! Your mom's hat is the best! I bet she's pinching your little brother. Or maybe that was just my mom! PurgatoryWe used our '69 Pontiac Catalina station wagon to put the gear in the middle and the whiny kids waaaay back on the rear-facing seat. Man, I loved that car! Meanwhile ...At the beginning of that very same month we were on our way back from Los Angeles in a white 1965 Impala wagon with no AC and a ton of camping equipment both on the roof and in the back. We stayed in Reno on the Fourth, hoping that the drunken manager of the KOA there wouldn't accidentally back over our tent. I was more or less inured to the lack of cool, even back in Maryland, and I think the only time we really noticed it on the trip was when it was over a hundred crossing the Mojave. The Impala was passed on to my great-uncle who drove it until it dropped sometime in the mid-1970s. By 1969 we had left short haircuts behind, which since I had thick glasses meant I looked totally dorky in a completely different way; my father, on the other hand, was well into leaving hair itself behind. I notice you're wearing the de rigueur cutoffs, which is pretty much what we wore when we weren't in jeans. TweaksDitch the socks and you'd fit in perfectly with today's Williamsburg hipsters. You were scared?I was terrified! I was 11 years old at the time of the Manson murders and lived only 20 miles away. In my 11 year old mind, I was convinced the murderers would find their way to my house and they were specifically go after me! Thanks for posting this. This photo captures the "feel" of L.A. suburbia of the era perfectly- just as I remembered it. To the Moon!I started high school in 1969, too. Did your trip start before or after the moon landing? Did your parents make you watch it on TV, even though you wanted to be out with your friends? That was a surly moment for ME for that reason. Don't worry -- the shades and the hair in your eyes make up for the socks. 1969Was not this the year of the PLAID ? Fun vacationNebraska? For a vacation? I drove through that state. Couldn't get out fast enough. I was only 3 in 1969, but lived in nearby Simi Valley, home of Spahn Ranch. What city was this taken?? Oh yeah, love your mom's hat. I have pics somewhere of my mom wearing the same thing. What were people thinking?? We went after the moon landingI actually watched it on my little black and white TV in my room. I was a space geek then (and now). Thanks! That Ramblerbelonged to the superintendent of our school district! He and my dad knew each other causally, to say hi to or wave at as the car went by. I don't recall if we had AC in that car. It had a small engine and was seriously underpowered for hills and mountains. Now, I'll try to did up slides of our earlier trips in my granddad's borrowed 1959 Chevy Nomad wagon! This was truly a luxury barge on wheels. This thing looked like it was 15 feet wide and 25 feet long (to my 8 year old eyes). I had the entire back area to myself and my comic books, as little bro wasn't on the scene yet. The Summer of '69Grew up in La Puente, not far from Walnut. My 1969 was the the summer of "Sugar, Sugar" and Man on the Moon. 41 years ago -- WOW Taz!When I saw your brother, the Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil came to mind! Mom's "Hat"That's no hat, it's a curler-cover. A la Phyllis Diller. A different eraIn '69, my dad was making probably about $18K-$20K a year. My mom stayed home. Yet we took similar vacations, 2-3 weeks at a time. Now, my wife and I work like rented mules and can't afford to go anywhere. When station wagons ruled the roadEach summer, Dad would load up the gear in the suction-cup equipped, stamped steel Western-Auto roof carrier on top of the old '61 Ford Falcon wagon and off we'd go. Looking back, it truly took faith and fortitude to pile a family of five and enough gear to support a safari in that underpowered, unairconditioned two-door wagon and set off fron Louisville to the far reaches of the country (New York City, Washington D.C., Miami). I remember fighting with my brothers over the desirable real estate in the back of the wagon where you could stretch out (no seatbelts) and watch the miles of highway fade into the distance through the tailgate window! Wagon MemoriesOur 1957 Mercury Colony Park station wagon with the Turnpike Cruiser engine had a similarly slanted rear window. On our trip to California later that year, Pop decided to drive on through the final night to miss the desert heat, with us kids sleeping in the back. I discovered I could position myself to see the road ahead as a reflection in the rear window, while simultaneously looking through the glass to watch the clear Western skies for shooting stars. What can beat the cozy feeling of slipping off to sleep while rolling along the open road while Pop faithfully pilots the family bus through the dark? Sixty-NineAh, Summer of '69, my favorite year. Got my driver's license. Got my FCC Third Phone. Started work part time in a REAL radio station. My parents ran their own store so we couldn't take too many trips. I'm jealous of those of you who did. And yes, Nebraska was borrrring to ride across back then, but today it isn't bad -- there are several interesting attractions across the state and a nice Interstate to zip you through! FourteenI was 14 years old that summer of 1969 (living in Cocoa Beach, Florida). I can relate to the yellow socks. I had a few pair of those. The color of the socks were supposed to match the color of the shirt. It looks like those are a freshly cut-off pair of jeans. What's in your father's right shirt pocket? A lens cover, maybe? Who took the photo? I see the car in the garage across the street looks like a '68 Chevy Impala--round taillights. And the Rambler in the next drive looks very nice too. A little peek of the mountain is nice too. I've never been to that area so I have no conception of what it's like there. Great photo, thanks for sharing a piece of your childhood memory. Cartop carrierMan, I want one of those roof carriers. Looks like it holds a lot of stuff. Memories aboundOur vacations were exactly the same (even my dad's socks with sandals). We headed from our Fountain Valley Ca home like thieves in the night. Had to get across the desert before the heat killed the kids. Of course we had an aftermarket AC installed by Sears so the front seat was a chill zone (no kids allowed). Our vacations happened at breakneck speed but we saw everything and always ended our trips with a pass through Vegas for Dad & Grandma. Fun times! "The Box" - Rooftop CarrierOur family trips were always in a station wagon, and always with "the box" on top. Dad built and refined a series of boxes over the years. They were much larger and taller than the one in the picture. All our luggage, supplies etc went in "the box" leaving the wagon for the 6 of us. With the back seat folded down my brother and I could sleep in sleeping bags in the back. In the winter dad put brackets on the box sides and bungee-tied all our skis on. The station wagons themselves were amazing. Dad always bought the biggest engine offered (we needed it), a large v8. The last wagon had dual air conditioners, front and rear. And how about the rear doors on a wagon. The rear door folded down or opened from the side, and the window went up and down. SUVs, get serious, they have very little useful space. No fairI suspect one of the reasons the younger brother is looking so crabby is that he didn't get sunglasses like everybody else. It's no fun to squint all day. Tterrace is completely right, roadtrips just aren't the same without a big ol' station wagon. I loved sitting in the rear-facing seat when I was a kid. And I remember being fascinated by the tailgate that could open two ways: swinging from the left-side hinge or folding down like a pickup truck. Hi Pat QYour recollections are so evocative of those road trips from another time. Life seemed simpler, or is it just filtered through our nostalgia screen? Great Time To Be AliveSure brings back memories!! I started HS in '68. We went on many, many driving vacations to New Mexico, Colorado, OK, MO & many places near the Panhandle of Texas where I grew up!! Road trips now are usually to the coast or TX Hill Country, but still have a magic to them, leaving before the sun's up!! ChevelleLove the car. In high school, a wagon was an embarrassment. Now I wish I had one. VentipanesOur family of six and a dog would pile into our '63 Lincoln and while sitting in the driveway Dad would ask Mom, "Okay, where do you all want to go?" Then we would be off to Nova Scotia or Florida. There was no AC in either the Lincoln or the '63 Impala we had so we would drive the whole way with windows open in the summer heat. If you turned the vent windows all the way open so they were facing into the car they would generate a terrific amount of airflow into the cabin at highway speed. It was quite comfortable actually and 40+ years later I wish cars still had those vent windows. Lunar summerSeveral have mentioned the Apollo 11 landing. I have a similar tale. I was 7, just a little too young to understand the significance of the event. I remember my mother trying to keep me interested as she sat on the edge of her seat watching the coverage. Now I'm glad I remember that night, and get chills watching the video and Walter Cronkite taking off his glasses and saying "Whoo boy!" totally at a loss for words. That was an awesome summer! Oh yeah, we had a station wagon too. '69 Caprice Estate with fake wood paneling! Almost had the wagon...Our family was cursed to miss out on having station wagon vacations - first time in '65, we were supposed to be getting a red '62 Corvair wagon from my uncle who was going into the Air Force but he hit some black ice and rolled it while he was delivering it from back east (he was unhurt). Next in '66 we traded our rusted-out '56 Chevy for a beige '63 Dodge 440 eight-passenger wagon; I was looking forward riding in the third seat on our annual trip from Chicago to Paducah, but a lady in a '62 Continental hit it. We ended up with a maroon '65 Impala hardtop for the next several years' vacations, but at least it had AC! Our imitation wagonWe did not have a wagon so Dad cut a piece of plywood for the back seat of our 57 Mercury that gave us kids a full flat surface in the back seat. Holding it up were two coolers on the floor. On top Dad blew up two air mattresses, then they gave us "kiddy drugs" (gravol). They caught onto that after the first trip in which that back seat became a wrestling arena. Hi BarrydaleSugar Sugar is a favorite of mine to this day. The San Gabriel Valley has changed a lot since those days, eh? And the year beforeAnd the year prior to this photo my family, consisting of myself at 13, my sisters aged 10 and 4 (or 5) loaded up in a 2 door Marquis and headed from Raleigh up through Indiana, SD, WY Oregon down through LA and back east across the desert through AZ, NM, TX and driving one marathon from Texarkana to Anderson SC in one day, during the peace marches throughout the South that summer! I still remember passing the civil rights marchers for mile after mile on the roads through MS, AL and GA. The trip took two months.... and you think YOU heard whining from your brother? Sometimes things don't changeThe socks may be a little bit high, and shorts a bit short, but the way you are dressed is exactly the way many kids at my middle/high school dress now. Especially the ones going into high school, I'm just stunned by how similar you are. I could actually almost confuse you with my younger brother, who is so similar he even has blond hair. Right now I'm planning a road trip in my 1968 Ford Falcon for the spring, its a 4 door sedan and not a wagon. But it is a daily driver kind of car, not a show car, so I drive it in the same way your parents might have driven their car, not to show off, but just to get around. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Kids)
Miami Beach: 1941
March 5, 1941. "Raleigh Hotel. Collins Avenue, Miami Beach. Pool, to ocean from balcony. L. Murray Dixon architect." Rustling those ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/31/2013 - 1:47pm -

March 5, 1941. "Raleigh Hotel. Collins Avenue, Miami Beach. Pool, to ocean from balcony. L. Murray Dixon architect." Rustling those palm fronds, the winds of war. Large-format acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. Only the time line was wrongSolo was right about the ships occasionally being torpedoed off shore -- but only after the war had started. I know: I lived in Fort Lauderdale at the time. Ships heading North would use the Gulf Stream to help them along, so the Krauts knew where they would be. Beaches were patrolled and watch towers were built beachside to track aircraft. Nervous time for all. Still therehttp://www.raleighhotel.com/explore/the_pool/ Looks very much the same, today! From Bing Aerial View: http://binged.it/WDClE7 Ringside Seats for the Slightly SurrealThough the US was still months from having an active role in WWII when this photo was taken, one could have grabbed a parasol-festooned fruity libation of an evening and watched blazing cargo vessels sinking just a few miles off the beach as German U-boats plied their trade against British shipping. Actually Not YetSolo's assertion that the patrons of this hotel could watch blazing cargo vessels from the comfort of the pool before the US entry into the war is wrong. For one thing most of the ships carrying cargo and oil from the Gulf ports were American and would join up with the Anglo-Canadian convoys at Halifax or Sydney. Both Hitler and Admiral Donitz who commanded the U-Boat fleet believed that US intervention in World War I had led to the failure of the German submarine blockade of Britain during World War I. They were anxious to keep from provocative incidents that would bring the US into the war, although with US ships convoying merchant vessels in the North Atlantic sometimes made that difficult. Wide Leg PantsComing of age in the late 90s, there was a ridiculous fad of outlandishly wide-legged jeans, for girls in particular. I didn't realize that the predecessor to that fad could be found with our grandparents (or at least with that woman in the center foreground.) [Very popular at the time. - tterrace] (The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, Miami, Swimming)
Get the Party Started: 1941
... "Guests of Sarasota trailer park picnicking at the beach." Medium format negative by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size. ... couple of days. The car's owner lived on an island in the Miami area and after we gave her a sob story she tipped us $25. I'm ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 9:50pm -

January 1941. Sarasota, Florida. "Guests of Sarasota trailer park picnicking at the beach." Medium format negative by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size. Miserable much?Hey, they're from Ohio, where gloominess is an avocation. I think it's all the snow and other winter weather that does it. Fun in Florida!Because nothing says "Fun in the sun!" like pantyhose, sensible shoes and a black wool coat. I feel relaxed just looking at this photo. BUICK, 1938Hija, de pié; padre, madre y abuela... Todos muy serios. ¿Quién hizo la foto? Cloudy dispositionsWhat funereal looking people, given that they're on a beach! Could they look more miserable? A good time was had by all.This poor guy is on a vacation with three women and nothing he says is going to be correct (if he even gets a word in edgewise). He might as well just shut up and drive. Ain't we got fun? They look like the Carol Burnett crew from "Mama's Family." Seeing RedI shudder to think of the number of traffic lights one would encounter driving from Ohio to Florida before the interstate highway system. These Sensible Shoes Are Made for Stompin'Hupmobile? These ladies drive the Hurtmobile. Party like it's 1949The wife, the mother-in-law, and the twice divorced or spinster sister-in-law. Rock on. Where's a tsunami when you need one?Oh my, this photo is downright sad: Sarasota when it was pure, pristine, undeveloped -- one of the most magnificent beaches in the world, as hinted at by this photo. Yet this bunch of champion curmudgeons is "enjoying" it by driving their car onto it and apparently having a decidedly bad day. Go ahead and make fun of them..These are the people upon whose shoulders we stand. Been ThereWhat a hoot! People dream of fun vacations and picnics by the sea. This is usually what they get. Possible reasons for looking so sad1. About to scatter Aunt Tillie's ashes into the Gulf. 2. Looks to be about 35 degrees there -- that's not sand, it's snow! 3. Women depressed at being rejected for off-camera bikini contest. This is a1938 Buick Straight Eight. A very serious automobile. I never liked the beachAll that sand gets in your sandwiches and between the teeth. You're 60+ years oldYou've probably worked all your life. You drive from Ohio to Florida. You sit outside and have a little meal and look at the sand and the water. You aren't gloomy; you aren't a stick-in-the-mud; you are tired. Mystery SolvedI've often wondered what those running boards were used for. Another American GothicI find this photo particularly soothing. The auto looks polished and the people appear to be all dressed up. I remember my grandmothers' Sunday print dresses and those sensible shoes. We used to call them "nun shoes." And I love their hats, too. Maybe this is their last day in Florida and they're paying one last visit to the shore. They've had lunch and they're in that moment before someone says, "Well, that's it. Let's get everything packed and start back for Ohio." Traffic Light HellAlexander raises an interesting point. While it's true that road travel before the interstate system was much slower, it's also true that it was much more fun and interesting. The interstate system homogenized cuisine and culture; it eradicated local diners and bypassed points of interest and replaced them with national fast-food chains and sheer boredom. In the pre-interstate era, a road trip from Ohio to Florida would have been a trip through dozens of local cultures, small towns, interesting sights, and a lot of darn good food. Now it's just mind-numbing hours of exit numbers, all featuring exactly the same bad choices of things to eat and absolutely nothing to see or do. As much good as the interstate system has done, it has also killed much of small-town America and local flavor and culture. "What's that over there?""Over where?" "Out there, in the water." "Well, why didn't you say in the water to begin with?" "I gestured." "I didn't see it." "I gestured with my eyes." "You can't gesture with your eyes." "You weren't paying attention." "It looks like a sailboat." "How pretty. Like Father's old boat." "Shouldn't we be getting back? I have sand in my shoes." Times changeI'll bet if you asked these folks how they enjoyed their day at the beach they'd say it was terrific. All depends on what you're used to. BTW, pantyhose were not invented for another generation. These ladies had old fashioned stockings held up by garters, that were probably attached to their girdles. The guy probably had old fashioned (pre Spandex) socks, held up by garters, too. Sotto BlottoHow do you know they aren't stinking drunk and just holding still until the photographer is gone to get back to the party? "Quick, Ethel, put on your sober face -- they got the camera out again!" Carey is right.Travel back then was more of an adventure than today. Our first road trip from New Jersey to Florida was in 1955 when I was 7 years old. Route 95 was only finished in sections so most of the way we were turning off and traveling on Route 301 through tobacco fields, cotton fields, stopping at small town diners and roadside attractions. We still talk about what great fun we had and how it was an adventure for all of us. [If by "Route 95" you mean I-95, the Interstate Highway System wasn't even begun until 1956. Perhaps you mean U.S. 1. - Dave] Driving SouthIn February of 1956, I answered a classified ad in the NY Times offering cars to drive to Florida. A friend and myself were given a new Ford convertible and a full tank of gas. All other expenses were on us. We were allowed 3 days to get there. Using routes 1 and A1A, we drove the car there in 28 hours (including being stopped for speeding and waiting for a magistrate to come in and fine us $15) and then had the car for us to use for a couple of days. The car's owner lived on an island in the Miami area and after we gave her a sob story she tipped us $25. I'm nearby when this picture was takenBack in 1941, I was 5 years old and living in Sarasota. The next year, because of the war and transportation was for servicemen mainly, few tourists came to town. My father lost his therapy business downtown and we all moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut, to find work. My life changed forever in 1941, as it did for every American citizen on Dec. 7. Sarasota was a lovely little town back then; now it is beautiful, but without me, I'm sorry to say. Snow BirdsI am from around Sarasota, Florida, and I love that it is January and they seem to be from Ohio. If you were to be in Sarasota in January there would still be a lot of people from Ohio! I also love how they're just relaxing on the beach. It's so interesting to me how the same beach I have played and laid out on my whole life has been "bathed" on for so many years. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Florida, M.P. Wolcott)
American Splendor: 1955
March 30, 1955. "Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach. General view of lobby. Morris Lapidus, architect." Gottscho-Schleisner photo. View full size. The Streets of Miami I'm guessing this is the same place that Allan Sherman mentioned in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/22/2014 - 10:05am -

March 30, 1955. "Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach. General view of lobby. Morris Lapidus, architect." Gottscho-Schleisner photo. View full size. The Streets of MiamiI'm guessing this is the same place that Allan Sherman mentioned in his song "The Streets of Miami". "I'm going to the Fontainebleau / Pardner, it's mod'ner." Opulent ExtravaganzaIf you thinks the lobby was something, take a gander at the building itself. A midcentury postcard is attached. Tres classyAll those Roman statues and busts make me want to drink tea with my pinky sticking straight out. And the title of the architect's autobiography is"Too Much Is Never Enough," by Morris Lapidus (1996). This is a sly reference to the motto attributed to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, "Less is more" (even though he never actually said that, in English or in German). GoalLapidus always tried to make ordinary visitors feel extraordinary. He wanted the guests to feel like a Cary Grant or a Grace Kelly while they were in this hotel. To transport them to someplace 'special' and well removed from their normal lives. Clearly a Staged PhotoNo ashtrays. (Well, maybe one -- see if you can find it). Best of both worldsThis lobby manages to be elegant and sophisticated yet tacky and cheesy. I like it and I don't. (The Gallery, Florida, Gottscho-Schleisner, Miami)
Gold Coast: 1905
Florida circa 1905. "The beach at Palm Beach." Making a cameo appearance here: our old friend Alligator Joe. Detroit ... propping up signs and peddling velocipede-chairs. CSI Miami - 1905 Someone call Horatio Kane - from the looks of the beach ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 3:58pm -

Florida circa 1905. "The beach at Palm Beach." Making a cameo appearance here: our old friend Alligator Joe. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. A light perambulator, of adult sizeHenry James, the great novelist of the American expatriate experience, made a ten-month return visit to the United States in 1904-05 and described his impressions in "The American Scene." In Chapter 14, he describes tourists at Palm Beach traveling "by means of a light perambulator, of 'adult size,' but constructed of wicker-work, and pendent from a bicycle propelled by a robust negro." And where were they going? To visit a citrus grove -- or, as James calls, it, a "jungle." Swimming AttireIs the person to the left of the umbrella actually wearing a tie in the water? I didn't realize Palm Beach was so dressy back when. Finally some African-American faces!They may not have been permitted on the beach, but at least they got to enjoy the sun and breeze while propping up signs and peddling velocipede-chairs. CSI Miami - 1905Someone call Horatio Kane - from the looks of the beach strollers, the remains of a homicide victim have been discovered off the boardwalk behind the wall. It's going to take the whole forensics team and trite dialogue to solve this case. "Expert Life Guards"The bathing hours on this beach are 11 to 1 during which expert Life Guards and Boatmen are provided for the safety of Casino Guests. Please be guided by their advice when entering water. -- Geo E. Andrews Supt Move along, folksThe crowd down by the water's edge is looking at something. The only thing we can see are the two guys in the rowboat and a few guys between them and the beach. Was something dangerous happening? Or does Alligator Joe have a new exhibit in the water? ClothesI don't know why half of them aren't dying of heatstroke. Especially the men in dark three-piece suits and hats. And in that salty and sandy environment... makes me itch just to look at them. [It's winter, or thereabouts. - Dave] But they never get them wet!For all that ocean, and all those bathing suits, somebody should be getting wet, yes? (The Gallery, Bicycles, DPC, Florida)
Live It Up: 1922
... As You Are I Once Was Dancing figures on the beach, As the marks left by their feet, Are all long gone. And rising in ... York Times obituary. A story in a 1930 edition of the Miami News does however reinforce the contention that it was death by ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/25/2012 - 3:07pm -

1922. Washington, D.C. The actress Kay Laurell again, five years before her premature curtain, with friends at the Potomac Tidal Basin. View full size. Give me liberty...or give me....Another Broadway contribution to the war effort was the bust of Miss Kay Laurell. In the Ziegfeld Follies of 1917, a tableau by Ben Ali Hagan had Miss Laurell posed before crossed American and French flags in the fatigue uniform of a French soldier, blouse torn by some previously dispatched vicious German, exposing one reportedly magnificent breast. Word was that the French government ordered 200,000 copies of a photo of Miss Laurell's portrayal to use in an enlistment campaign. There is a suspicion that the word came from Ziegfeld's publicity people however. On Kay"Any woman could get money out of a man. What took real skill was getting the money and evading the sleeping." -- Kay Laurell "She was the most successful practitioner of her trade of her generation in New York. She had all the arts of a first-rate harlot. The skull and crossbones were there on the label for all to see." -- Helen Hayes And the URL is?So where's the shot of the reportedly magnificent breast? The February 1973 Playboy claims to feature Kay, among other Siegfeld [sic] Girls. Oar Guitar GirlKay's friend on the right is the oar guitar girl from the canoe photo. Who was she? Eleanor Griffith?Perhaps the other lass is Eleanor Griffith, Kay's costar in the production of "Ladies Night" then playing at the Belasco. The Library of Congress archives contain one labeled photo of Miss Griffith: I think the smile is very similar. Update: another image of Eleanor, circa 1928: Magnificently Breastless This photo via the New York Public Library seems to be her famous costume from the 1918 Ziegfeld Follies. Some prude appears to have engineered a coverup. However those with a purely historic interest in Ms. Laurell's bosom may see it in several works by painter William Glackens, for whom Laurell repeatedly posed. As You Are I Once WasDancing figures on the beach, As the marks left by their feet, Are all long gone. And rising in far off in the mist, We behold the obelisk. The Cigaretteis nice touch on the beach. My mother died in 1938 of pneumonia before antibiotics at the age of 36. A death like that now would be very unlikely. Not exactly "Les Miz"As the war intensified, posing undressed began to be considered patriotic. If a woman stood naked posed as the Statue of Liberty, she was doing her duty for the American troops. Indeed, a record number of woman volunteered to be "undraped" in the 1917 edition's centerpiece. In the Ziegfeld Follies of 1918, which opened after the United States had joined the war, the curtain opened on a darkened stage to reveal a huge revolving globe with Kay Laurell perched on top, breast exposed. Little French girls in rags, a dying soldier attended by Red Cross volunteers, and a trench over which doughboys charged amid devastating gunfire completed the scene. Gazing down on a Ben Ali Haggin set piece designed to look like the world burning, Laurell was supposed to represent the spirit of France. -- From "Striptease: The Untold History of the Girlie Show" by Rachel Schteir. A Photo Shoot...Is no reason to interrupt one's smoking. The Genuine ArticlesI don't know if they are "magnificent," but like they said on Seinfeld: "they're real, and they're spectacular!" The Ziegfeld TableauThe tableau described by gblawson is fairly standard French imagery; a depiction of Marianne (the symbol of France) fighting and victorious. This version of Marianne is inevitably depicted wearing a Phrygian cap (in Roman times indicating a freed slave) and one breast bared, recalling the goddess Athena. Probably the most famous depiction is Delacroix's 1830 painting "Liberty Leading the People." How it might have looked in colorCouldn't resist. Click to enlarge. Kay LaurellKay Laurell did not die from pneumonia. She died in childbirth. Wikepedia is not correct. She had a son, don't know what happened to him, he was to inherit her estate. Read the newspaper article. re: Kay LaurellIMDB and Wikipedia both claim pneumonia as cause of death since that is what was reported in the New York Times obituary. A story in a 1930 edition of the Miami News does however reinforce the contention that it was death by childbirth. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Swimming)
Ocean Spray: 1964
1964. "Collins Avenue, Miami Beach." With the Ocean Spray Hotel representing the Art Deco old guard and the ... a great job has been done saving the Art Deco heritage of Miami Beach. So many of the "old guard" buildings have been saved and are ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/15/2015 - 12:32pm -

1964. "Collins Avenue, Miami Beach." With the Ocean Spray Hotel representing the Art Deco old guard and the curvy Fontainebleau the new. Medium format slide snatched from the jaws of eBay and scanned by Shorpy. View full size. A Bond moment?Down the street at the Fontainebleau in 1964, wasn't James Bond keeping an eye on Auric Goldfinger and enjoying a romp with Jill Masterson? Although I think I read somewhere that they didn't actually shoot those scenes on location. [Correct. The scenes with the principals were shot on soundstages at Pinewood Studios in England and edited together with footage shot at the hotel. -tterrace] Never mind the buildingsI'm more interested in what happened to the trunk lid on the car parked at the curb. [There's no trunk - it's a 1960 Ford station wagon with the tailgate lowered and the liftgate - the upper part with the window - not raised, but slightly ajar. -tterrace] AAHHH, my neck of the woods.Thankfully, a great job has been done saving the Art Deco heritage of Miami Beach. So many of the "old guard" buildings have been saved and are better than new. Even the lobby furniture in these old beauties is proper period design. This structure and many others by the architect Martin Hampton are on the National Register of Historic Places. This hotel is not in the "hot" South Beach part of town. The Streets of MiamiI've never been to the area (though I did have a change-over at the Miami airport once). Upon seeing this, my first thought was the old Allan Sherman spoof, "Streets of Miami", sung to the tune of "Streets of Laredo"... https://youtu.be/-cjAqvQBotM As I wandered out on the streets of Miami, I said to mine self, 'Dis is some fency town!" I called up mine partner and said "Hello Sammy," Go pack up your satchel and mosey on down. I got me a bunk in the old Roney Plaza, With breakfast and dinner included of course. I caught forty winks on mine private piazza, Then I rented a Pinto from Hertz Rent-a-Horse... You're Right JerryIn February 1956 I went to South Beach (although it wasn't called that then) and stayed at a hotel called the Peter Miller. It may still be there for all I know. As a young 20-something waiting to be drafted, I had a memorable vacation. However, the Fontainebleau could not be seen from there. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Found Photos, Miami)
Old-School Tree: 1962
... of Union Station in Toronto, the time capsule image of the Miami Beach living room from the early '40s (despite the unfortunate "joints" ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 12/07/2018 - 3:52pm -

        Meanwhile, seven years later ...         This Kodachrome, originally posted here in 2011, can be seen in the December 2018 Canadian edition of Reader's Digest, illustrating the story "Andrea's Gift" in a two-page spread starting on Page 96. They spotted it here on Shorpy and I licensed it to them. Old-school and old-old-school decorations on our traditional old-school tree. We always called these Scotch firs, but it looks more like the Noble firs I've seen online. We liked them because they had plenty of open space to let the ornaments show unhindered. The oldest one is the frosted pine cone face toward the bottom; it still has some wax blobs from early 20th Century tree candles on it. The hot-air balloon was always one of my favorites. The blue one at the center top is from our "new" c.1960 set. The plastic church was glitter-enhanced by me personally. A couple years later, all the 1940s-era light strings sacrificed their lives to illuminate my castle diorama in the basement. You can see me reflected in the ornament at lower left, along with the bright spot on the ceiling from the bounce flash I used to light this Kodachrome. View full size. ReflectionsI wonder if we'd see any details of the room in which the tree stood if we look real close at some of the ornaments. WhyWhy are we being treated to 50 year old family snapshots lately? You can certainly put whatever you want on your own website but I have boxes of similar photos in the basement. There's nothing about these that stand out. [New here, aren't you? - Dave] Pretty much as I recallLovely! We had many of the same ornaments, and always had the same kind of Noble fir, which my father called a "Burn Barn Tree," for reasons that became obvious as the tree dried. A few of our old ornaments have survived, but the gas balloon is long gone. Alas. Memories Of Old OrnamentsNice. Thanks tt. Did you have any old strings of lights that were in series circuits, so that all would go out if one bulb failed? You can almost hear Bing in the backgroundReally nice depth of field in this shot. And I always love when the photographer is captured indirectly -- reminds me of the Dutch paintings where the artist would include himself in a mirror behind the subject. This would be a great holiday-themed desktop background! ClassicI have to say that this tree looks very similar to my tree this very year. We still use many of the classic ornaments handed down from our families and lots of handmade decorations produced by our children. Today's glossy designer trees can't hold a candle to a classic, heirloom festooned Christmas tree. Great photo! P.S. I enjoy your family photos a great deal. Keep them coming. No more Christmas trees?It's nice to see a real Christmas tree after looking for them this past few decades and seeing so few. Mostly offered these days are "Christmas bushes" which have been heavily sheared during their life of growing then put into a giant Christmas tree sharpener to make them as uniform as possible. Is a tree that is so dense that you can't see through it what people want today? How do you hang ornaments on the bush? I guess you just push them a little ways into the thick foliage and that will do. Certainly one can't hang tinsel on a Christmas Bush. Thanks for your photo of the kind of tree that I remember and love. Ha!Copernicus, just drift along with us as we enjoy the ride. We'd like to see some of your photos too, really we would. They help us all think back on better times and better days. Asking "Why?"If you have to ask why . . . then you have no appreciation of holiday spirit. It isn't found under the tree, it's in your heart. Look deeply into the gazing ball...you're getting sleepy...The fun part is looking into the reflections. The top-middle blue ball has what looks like someone sitting in a chair on the other side of the room. And is that a giant fireplace on the left side of the ball (also seen in the bottom left blue ball with photographer)? A photo that begs close inspection - thanks for offering it. familiarWe have an ornament identical to that lower left one on our tree. Lovely treeI finally made an account to say; I love the '50 year old family snapshots' as much I as I enjoy the older photos. I like seeing what the world was like not so long ago, and seeing the happy family scenes. My own family did not have such warm and wonderful memories, and I enjoy seeing the scenes from happier families. What a crimeNO bubble lights!!! Beautiful tree! Keep the photos coming, tterrace. Complainers need not visit this site if it offends them. Merry Christmas! Bubble lightsBy this time, all our old-style bubble lights had failed. I loved them, but they were a chancy proposition even when they were (mostly) working. Eventually we got a newer set, but they were about a third the size of the old ones, and just weren't the same at all. To Bull City Boy: early on in my time we still had a string of in-series lights. The only similar thing by the time this shot was taken was the lighted tree base, and each year it was a challenge locating the two or more bulbs that always seemed to have mysteriously failed in storage. In answer to Dutch, the thing that sort of looks like a giant fireplace reflected in the bottom left ball is actually the archway between the living room and dining room. 1950s Bubble LightsIn the early 1950s I became enamored of the Bubble Light display in a local store. After much pestering by me my parents finally got a set. Their use was very short-lived, as when we had to relocate to the UK in early 1952 there was something forbidding the shipment of any fragile glass articles with fluids in them. The store in Soap Lake, WA may have gotten them back to resell to another lucky family. tterrace, THANKS for the memoriesAs much as I like the old photos that show what life was like in my parents' time (born 1897 and 1910), I also like to see the photos from the '40s, through the 80s that I can relate too from my own life. KEEP 'EM COMING tterrace, THANKS for the memories. I am about two years older than you are and I see a lot of similarity in your family photos with my lifetime. Your photos of your mother working in the kitchen bring back a lot of pleasant memories for me. InterestingIt's interesting to me how many different styles of decorating Christmas trees there are, in every era. My family tree in Sacramento in that same year of 1962 consisted of the nightlight-sized bulbs: red, green blue, yellow, and purple. Ornaments were one-color plain, in two sizes: metallic gold, silver, green and red. Some "icicles" draped over the branches but not suffocated like they were a decade earlier. Just like the ones I used to know...Lovely photo. We still use noble fir for all those thinned out reasons. And C-7 lights too! Sadly, they aren't old enough to have cloth covered insulation on the wiring. I am still using the early bubble lightsI wire them in strings of 16 bulbs, instead of the original 8 bulbs. They burn half as bright, but are still more than bright enough, they don't get as hot, and most of them still bubble. I have 160 lights on my 7 1/2 foot artificial tree, and about 93 of them are bubble lights. I've been using these for the past 40 years and have never burned out a light. Every once in a while a socket will fall apart, but I have lots of spare light strings for parts. You can still purchase the bulbs for these lights on eBay, and sometimes you can get replacement plastic parts for them. I rebuilt about 40 lights a few years ago. The fluid in the bubble part is methylene chloride, and is very toxic. Fortunately I have not broken many of them. Thanks for the great pictures. MemoriesThis is one of my favourite seasonal images. I saw it on here when it was originally posted in 2011 and I use it every year as my computer desktop picture. Why I Visit ShorpyToday's three images are a great example of why I keep coming back to this site. The wonderful image of Union Station in Toronto, the time capsule image of the Miami Beach living room from the early '40s (despite the unfortunate "joints" comment), and this wonderful personal image. Born in 1956, a Christmas tree like this reminds me of when Christmas was such a magical time for me as a child. We also had family heirloom ornaments from when my parents got married in the early 1940s, and I remember the annual tradition of tracking down the burned-out bulb in strings of series lights. The one difference I see is that my parents used bright-plated metal reflectors under each bulb for most of their lives. Thank you! Only needs tinsel -- a thing of the pastThis looks just like the tree I set up yesterday. I like tinsel and was shocked to find out that tinsel is a thing of the past. Years ago I loaded up on tinsel (3 for $1 after Christmas) and haven't needed any since. I also reuse tinsel-a habit I picked up from my thrifty Irish Grandmother. Laugh if you want but that learned thriftiness has served me very well financially. Yesterday I went looking for tinsel and was quite surprised that it is really hard to find but find it I did. I have 25 packages coming from a hardware store in Missouri, at a reasonable price. Sellers on Amazon want upwards of $8 a box. That order ought to last me until I die. Merry Christmas all. Colorful lightsI'm wondering how many people still use the larger colored lights seen here as opposed to white miniatures. I grew up with the colored lights, and can't imagine having a tree without them. I am also using the larger lights on my second treeIn addition to the bubble lights on my 7 1/2 foot tree, I have a 6 foot artificial tree using the larger bulbs. Some of the strings are the ones used on my parents' trees when I was a kid. I recently found a stash of brand new "Sugar Plum" bulbs, which are almost 2 inches in diameter and covered in plastic "sugar". They come in various colours and are beautiful. The normal bulbs, especially the blue painted ones, get extremely HOT when run on full voltage. Two weeks ago I installed a light dimmer switch on an extension cord, and now I can regulate the brightness to my liking. My 3 foot tree has LED lights,which use very little power, but they are certainly not as nice as the old style lights of which I have some very fond memories. Merry Christmas to all. Terrific AssortmentI really enjoy the memories triggered by this photo. It reminds me of my dad's Christmas tree, which he still puts up by himself at the tender age of 92! He even has a few ornaments that his mother and father bought for each other for their first Christmas together--in 1923! His tree looks very similar to this one, and he can tell you the story behind each ornament. I love the stories. In fact, I'm pretty sure he has ones much like the ornaments in the upper left and bottom right corners. Thanks for sharing! (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Christmas, tterrapix)
D.G.S.: 1935
... 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 ... 
 
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)
Delicious Tasty Waffles: 1939
... Avenue -- all located far south of their namesakes, in Miami Beach. April 1939. "One of Miami's streets showing varied small shops, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/22/2021 - 12:01am -

        The Times Square Cafeteria, William Penn Hotel and Washington Avenue -- all located far south of their namesakes, in Miami Beach. April 1939. "One of Miami's streets showing varied small shops, signs, and tourist bureaus. Miami Beach, Florida." Acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size. What's in namesPlus the Blackstone Hotel, sharing the name of Chicago's headquarters of the "smoke-filled room". Pretty much unchanged in appearance, the Miami Blackstone is now apartments. My favorite, the Havana Tours/Greyhound Bus sign calls up images of a very wet 90-mile trip. 1D1565 1939 Oldsmobile Series 60 sedan. http://classiccarcatalogue.com/OLDSMOBILE_1939.html The Canadian-manufactured 1939 Pontiac (Series 25) Chieftain was almost identical to the low-price field F39 Sixty Olds, except for the grille and some other exterior trim pieces. I sold mine two years ago. +80Below is the same view from June of 2019. Havana ToursDon't miss that last Greyhound back to Miami. How times changeMy mom, born in the Bronx in 1925, lived in Miami in her late teens and early twenties. This photo is the Miami she remembered when she and my stepdad decided we should move there from Maryland in 1973. Lots of things changed during those 25 years. [1973 is when my parents decided we should *leave* Miami. - Dave] HousedressesThose 1939 ladies with the dog could easily have been my 1960s mother in those comfy cotton dresses; the only difference would be my mom would be in sandals or flip-flops. Same "pocketbooks" and same tightly curled hair. The lack of parking hasn't changed.My father's family came to Miami in 1919, my mom's family in 1940. She told me in the summer time you could shoot a cannon down Lincoln Road sidewalk and not hit anybody. Before air conditioning, South Florida was very seasonal. I see they have 30 minute parking even back then. Not many people know but South Miami Beach was at one time a huge avocado grove. The little canal that connects Indian Creek was dug to transport avocados to boats that could not come to shore because of the shallow water. My dad knew people who hunted rabbits on South Beach. Photos from that eraboth interior and exterior have that special bright glow in them that I am fond of. Piggly WigglyI loved seeing the Piggly Wiggly sign; it brought back pleasant memories of younger days. There were a couple in my college town until as recently as 2009, when all their Texas stores closed due to a franchiser bankruptcy. Despite the funny name, they are also known for being the first self-service grocery store, founded in 1916. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Florida, M.P. Wolcott, Miami, Stores & Markets)
Miami Beach Shopping: 1950s
Here's my Aunt, somewhere in Miami Beach in the 1950s. Is this Lincoln Road? Is the storefront in the background a ... 
 
Posted by hillie_bolliday - 08/25/2017 - 7:29pm -

Here's my Aunt, somewhere in Miami Beach in the 1950s. Is this Lincoln Road? Is the storefront in the background a giveaway? Lakein Jewelry CompanyLakein Jewelry Company was at 1116 Lincoln Road. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Aunt Jeanne Does Miami Beach
Actually, she lived in Miami Beach, happily, with my uncle. Here she is pictured poolside above a Miami hotel, although I'm unsure which one. I believe this photo is from the ... 
 
Posted by hillie_bolliday - 08/25/2017 - 7:30pm -

Actually, she lived in Miami Beach, happily, with my uncle. Here she is pictured poolside above a Miami hotel, although I'm unsure which one. I believe this photo is from the early-mid 1960s. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Saturday Matinee: 1925
... Carrie Concessions Inc. still exists, based in Miami. They specialize in ice cream and frozen treats supplied to concession ... are in dresses, suits, ties, etc. Even at places like the beach, in the earlier part of the 20th century, it was customary to put on ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 5:52pm -

1925. Sidney Lust's Leader Theater at 507 Ninth Street NW in Washington, D.C. Now playing: "The Air Mail," starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and an "Our Gang" short. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size | Even bigger. The Lost ReelsAccording to IMDB, only four of eight reels of "The Air Mail" still exist, at the Library of Congress. And what is "Carrie," some kind of candy bar? CarrieBetty Compson starred in the 1925 romantic silent film "Carrie." Her photo shows her to be rather attractive. Evidently she made the switch to talkies quite easily. Since it was being shown for 'free' it sounds as if it wasn't quite pulling in the crowds. [?? The filmography you linked to shows Betty playing a character named Carrie in the 1928 film "The Barker." I think the earlier commenter was on the right track in speculating that "The new Carrie" might be a candy bar. Or maybe something frozen, since there are little snowcaps on the letters. - Dave] Some things never change...Get a group of kids together for a photograph and you'll always get the few that "ham it up" for the camera! Carrie the Comic Strip?Running a convoluted search on Carrie I did find a 1925 comic strip called "Carrie" by Wood Cowan. The date is right. Perhaps these strips were printed & handed out to the kids or projected on the screen. I've never heard of this being done in movie theatres. This comic strip about a self absorbed flapper has a vaguely salacious edge & doesn't seem quite appropriate for this crowd however. Maybe. http://www.barnaclepress.com/list.php?directory=Carrie Carrie ConcessionsCarrie Concessions Inc. still exists, based in Miami. They specialize in ice cream and frozen treats supplied to concession stands, for example at movie theaters and ballparks. I believe one of the signs in the photo under the Little Rascals signs says "Carrie Ice Cream". [They say "Carrie Free Today." There wouldn't have been any national franchises based in Miami in 1925. - Dave] The other moviesThere are a couple of other films playing at this theater. First off there's "The Thundering Herd" starring Jack Holt, who had made a very successful career out of movie versions of Zane Grey novels. That's at the far left of the photo. On the side of the box office is a small poster for "The Buccaneers" which is a 1924 "Our Gang Comedy" featuring Joe Cobb, Allan "Farina" Hoskins (who was paid $350 a week which was more than any of the other kids in the group) and Ernest "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison (who is generally accepted as being the first Black kids star). Finally there's the serial, "Riders of the Plains" starring Marilyn Mills and Jack Perrin plus, in an apparently minor role, some guy named Boris Karloff. Apparently you got the "Carrie" for seeing the serial (and judging by what I've read about Jack Perrin's movies, it was a necessary bribe). Great facesI love looking at the faces of the kids in the "even larger" view. Where are they now? the younger ones would be about my dad's age, 90-something, and still around. It looks like the free "Carrie" was a ploy to get the kids to watch the first installment of the new serial, get hooked and come back in succeeding weeks to see the new chapters. Also notice that the "Jr." after "Douglas Fairbanks" is in very small type. His father was of course the famous actor of the time, but Jr. was a newcomer. Nice afternoon!How long would you be at the theater for one of the matinées? A short, a serial, a movie, a cartoon... sounds like you'd be out of Mom's way for a couple of hours at least. Double FeatureIn the 1940s & 50s, neighborhood theaters, in NYC, showed double features. They started at around noon, the last show went on about 9pm. A show would consist of a major studio release with the big name stars and a "B" movie. The B movie could be a western, a mystery or a lightweight comedy and more than likely would be in black and white. Add to that, the coming attractions, a newsreel and or a short subject or a cartoon. You had a program that ran about 4 hours. These were not shown as matinees or evening performances, but ran continuously from the theater's opening to closing times. Before TV came into most homes, people went to these shows at least once a week. CarrieI'm almost sure that the promotion here had nothing to do with the Carrie strip, which wouldn't have appealed to a crowd of youngsters. I'm with the frozen confection camp on this one. But you don't know how happy I am when a site I read every day, like Shorpy, links to my site, Barnacle Press! Why so dressed up?I know people used to dress more formally than is now the norm, but this feels unusual to me. Was there any special reason these kids are so dressed up? A modern viewer must miss a lot -- I'm sure some of these suits were more expensive than others, some were new and others would have been obvious hand-me-downs to a contemporary viewer. Some were probably made by hand and others were off the rack. To us, most of them look pretty much the same. Knickers and long pantsYou will notice that the male kids all are wearing knickers. On the right of the photo is a teen who has long pants. I can recall my grandfather (born 1901) talking about his excitement at getting his first pair of long pants some time around 12 or 13. Clearly the fashion was established so that the loose "plus-four" knickers could be adjusted as the kid grew. I am not sure about the more formal dress either, but I would hazard a guess that a trip downtown on a Saturday in Washington would warrant dressing up. Dressing UpI've noticed that people used to dress in a more formal manner when going out and about than they do now. If you look at photos of people at otherwise "casual" events (fairs, picnics, ball games, etc.) from as late as the late 1950's/early 1960's, you'll see the majority are in dresses, suits, ties, etc. Even at places like the beach, in the earlier part of the 20th century, it was customary to put on one's "summer Sunday best" just to take a stroll on the boardwalk. So, between the fact that it's Sunday, and that "nice little boys and girls" didn't go out in public looking like bums in 1925, I think that explains the snappy dress. In particular in this photo, those two boys in the front row at far right make me smile every time I see them. Obviously, the taller one is the class clown type, but the smaller one seems to be a very good sport. I'd be willing to bet that if the taller one didn't get killed in a war, that he went on to college, joined a fraternity, and became a successful local politician. Or a used car salesman. And was quite successful at either one. [Sunday? - Dave] Maybe Sunday?Sorry, I forgot you all can't read my mind. (*grin*) I was guessing that it might be Sunday, because the "Free Carrie" advertisement at far right says "Saturday - Sunday - To-Day." I was thinking that a further explanation for the fancy dress may be that they're all dressed in their Sunday best. I reckon it's a 50/50 chance, anyway. [There's a reason the titles of these posts are what they are. - Dave] Doh!!Yep, I'm an idiot. Dressing UpI'm certainly no history buff, but aside from wanting to look their best, isn't their well-dressed habits due to the fact that clothing was made of mostly natural materials, and not the synthetic stuff that's easy/cheap to produce these days? So clothing might have been more expensive, and seen more as a luxury than we consider it today (unless you're into labels). Not only that, shorts and flip-flops had yet to be invented, I think. Just my 2 cents for this fantastic blog! Carry's Carrie The Washington Post, May 14, 1925 Coming Attractions at Local Theaters The Leader Theater Saturday and Sunday will be special days at the Leader theater. The feature will be "The Air Mail," with Warner Baxter, Mary Brian, Douglas Fairbanks, jr. and Billie Dove. Added attractions are the latest "Our Gang" comedy, "The Buccaneers," and starting the brand-new serial in fifteen chapters, "Riders of the Plains." Through the courtesy of the Carry Ice Cream Company, each child will be given a free novelty ice cream, something new ... get yours. Its weird (and a bit exciting in that geeky way) how multiple Shorpy photos are getting cross-connected. May 14, 1925 was a Thursday so that suggests this photo was taken May 16, 1925. Given the plethora of "Carrie" signs with snow-capped lettering, the free ice cream treat was evidently called a Carrie. Indeed, the following week, Carry Ice Cream Company took out a full page ad in the Washington Post to introduce their new product and didn't hold back on its merits: Newest addition to Washington brings joy, pleasure, happiness, delights -- satisfies thirst, defeats the heat, tickles the taste, is easy to carry -- and costs only 5 cents Carrie is something like an all-day sucker -- only different! It might last as long -- but, in taste there's no resemblance. It's orange ice -- frozen on a stick! For quenching thirst it "takes the cake." For making the hottest day seem like a vacation with the Eskimos, it has no equal. The Air MailHere's a photo from my collection of THE AIR MAIL with Mary Brian and Warner Baxter. http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com/airmail.htm (The Gallery, D.C., Kids, Movies, Natl Photo)
The Fontainebleau: 1955
March 30, 1955. "Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach. General view. Morris Lapidus, architect." Photo by Gottscho-Schleisner. ... was broadcast live. [Gleason's show was taped at the Miami Beach Auditorium, not the Fontainebleau. -tterrace] 1954 and two ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/26/2013 - 2:46pm -

March 30, 1955. "Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach. General view. Morris Lapidus, architect." Photo by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. Their clienteleThe two Cadillacs has to say something about them. This is what it looks like these days.View Larger Map GoldfingerThat's the hotel James Bond used the telescope to see Auric Goldfinger's cards from Goldfinger's penthouse suite, and where the woman covered in gold died. Also where Jerry Lewis' movie "The Bellboy" was filmed and where the Jackie Gleason variety show (with the June Taylor Dancers) was broadcast live. [Gleason's show was taped at the Miami Beach Auditorium, not the Fontainebleau. -tterrace] 1954 and two '53sThe middle one I believe is a convertible. True architecture!What could be more cool and appropriate for Miami Beach than a building that looks a lot like a backyard air conditioner evaporator! They could have built next door one that looks like an ice cream cone... ANGdoes anyone know what that means on the end of those logs on the beach? What is it?It's interesting to see the very first stage of construction on the site of the Fontainebleau, but you didn't identify the large building in the background. Firestone EstateThe Fontainebleau was built on the Firestone Estate, Harbel Villa, on Millionaire's Row. It was named for Harvey Firestone (think tires) & wife Idabelle. Architect Lapidus designed the curved hotel around the mansion, which was later torn down. [The hotel was most certainly not designed "around the mansion," which was razed in January 1954, before construction on the Fontainebleau began. - Dave] edit: My bad for trying to retell the story from memory. No doubt the plan never included the mansion, but, as a kid, I distinctly remember seeing the hotel being built around it, as seen in this photo from Miami Archives: http://miamiarchives.blogspot.com/2012/07/from-millionaires-row-to-hotel... Harvey Firestone spent his winters on the estate from 1924 until his death there in 1938. During that time, Firestone, who never lost his common man senses, went to "work" almost every day to the large Firestone Tire Store at Flagler Street and 12th Avenue in Miami where he sold tires to awestruck motorists. Can Someone Explain This To MeI am just an amature amateur photographer, but I have been waiting for someone else to pose this question, or make this comment. So, here goes. why did the professional leave all of that foreground trash in this great photo, and not crop it out? Thanks. [Because he knew that it would be cropped out when printed, either photographically or in printed materials, such as in a brochure, portfolio, etc. Even without the trash, that large empty area would not have been included. Keeping it off the negative would have required moving closer, cutting into either the building or the breathing room around it. -tterrace] Flying WoodHas anyone taken lumber inventory at the Palm Beach Air National Guard lately? Re: Can Someone Explain This To MeThank goodness for all of the extra area in these photographs. Some of the best discussions on Shorpy have come from spotting something in the fore/background. Eden Roc lawyers paying a visitMaybe that explains the Caddies. Fontainbleu won a landmark judicial decision in the 50s allowing it to block the neighboring hotel's sunlight. (The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, Miami)
Southern Comforts: 1939
April 1939. "Miami Beach, Florida. Home in a wealthy residential section." Medium format acetate ... (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Florida, M.P. Wolcott, Miami) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/28/2021 - 3:06pm -

April 1939. "Miami Beach, Florida. Home in a wealthy residential section." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. I assumethat the owner of such a nice home was not the chauffeur, but the "chauffee". Garage-Door MysteryIn my experience, garage doors are usually left open or closed. So, why would these doors be left half-open? [Ventilation and/or saggy springs. - Dave] Doesn't look so small todayBut the car is huge! 4737 North Bay RoadWe’re still on the same street as yesterday with the Villa Carlesia at 5030. They’ve tamed the vegetation and replaced the casement windows and closed the garage doors, but it’s still there. Weighing in at over 2 tons ... at nearly 18 feet in length. Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you . . . the 1938 Buick Roadmaster Sedan! [You're getting warm. But this car is bigger than that. Class? - Dave] Ringing inIt looks like a 1938 Packard Twelve. If so, it was rare - there were fewer than 600 made that year. [Not a Packard. - Dave] Hey, Teacher!The numbers you're looking for on that Buick Roadmaster limo (evidenced by the division window and apparently black dash) are 219.5" (about 18.29 feet) length and 4568 pounds curb weight. Base price (not including fender-mounted spare tires and covers) was $4653 at a time when a new Ford sedan could be had for about $700. NOW can I use the restroom? [Sit down. Not a Buick Roadmaster, which was 213 inches long. - Dave] Wild Guess38 Cadillac Series 65. [Not a Cadillac. - Dave] Limited Edition1938 Buick Limited Series 90. [Correct! - Dave] 1938 Buick Limited LimousineOne of only 674 Series 90 Limited Limousines built in 1938. Taillights, rear bumper, rear wing-windows, headlights and front markers help identify it. Buick, not PackardIt's definitely a 1938 Buick Limited limousine or 7 passenger tourer. Note the headlight and parking light. Definitely a GM productThe wheel covers put it in the Buick family. My guess is a 1938 Buick Century. The fender mounted spares always give it a richer look. I will leave it up to others as to whether or not it's a limo. [The photo shows a retractable division glass partway up between the front and back seats, which tells us that's it's either the eight-passenger Model 90-L Limited Series 90 Limousine or the six-passenger Model 81-F Roadmaster Series 80 Formal Sedan. The squared-off windows and back-seat vent wing identify it as the longer Series 90 Limited. - Dave] Limited1938 Buick Series 90 Limited. Produced between 1936 and 1942. 141 hp straight 8. Illinois license platesBlack Buick limo, Illinois (Chicago) plates.... probably someone you didn't want to mess with. Garage SizeI wonder if that garage is deep enough to allow the Buick to go in far enough for the garage door to close. As kid I lived in a 1941 vintage house and a previous owner had moved the back wall to increase the depth of the garage. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Florida, M.P. Wolcott, Miami)
Goodyear Blimp: 1938
... View full size. Inflation In the mid-1960s, in Miami, Goodyear blimp flights were $5. I don't know which blimp was stationed ... was near the Washington-Hoover Airport and the Arlington Beach Amusement Park According to "Answer Man" at the Washington Post, in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2012 - 12:08pm -

April 13, 1938. Washington, D.C. "Goodyear blimp Enterprise at Washington Air Post." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. InflationIn the mid-1960s, in Miami, Goodyear blimp flights were $5. I don't know which blimp was stationed there part of the year. I never took that flight, to my now deep regret; flights for the general public have ceased, I understand. Follow the BlimpI took a road trip from the east coast to Chicago a few years ago, and stopped in Akron for a night. Tthe next morning as I got on the turnpike the Goodyear blimp appeared overhead and followed overhead for at least an hour. I suspect they were navigating by following the highway. I miss hearing the GoodyearI miss hearing the Goodyear blimp. I say "hearing" because as a kid in Southern California, I would hear its unmistakable low drone and would run outside to see it passing over the neighborhood. Trans AtlanticHave any of these types ever crossed the Atlantic? You Sayin' I'm Fat?I resemble that remark! Air TrekGoodyear's Enterprise was named after the winning yacht of the 1930 America's Cup. Seeing this picture makes me wonder if this blimp may have been young Roddenberry's inspiration. She was enlisted in the US Navy as Training Airship L-5 during World War 2 from 1941 to 1945. Boldly going where no one has gone before!The very first aircraft owned by the United States also bore this title. It was a hot air balloon used during the Civil War. Go for a Ride!The dirigible hangar was near the Washington-Hoover Airport and the Arlington Beach Amusement Park According to "Answer Man" at the Washington Post, in 1932, you could go up in the Goodyear blimp for $2.50. Gene RoddenberryRoddenberry was influenced by a lot of WWII things. The Enterprise was named for the aircraft carrier, and James T. Kirk was the general commanding the Ordnance Department early in the war. There are others. Summer 1954I remember playing in my front yard during summer vacation and hearing something I didn't recognize. I ran into the back yard and saw the Goodyear, not the one pictured, fly past the back of the house. It was sufficiently exciting to be the topic of conversation for the next few days, and there was even a picture of it docked at the local airport the next day. Exciting times for a Carolina kid in the early '50s Navy Blimps in the 40'sEvery summer we would go to Falmouth Mass to the beach. The Navy blimps would pass overhead out to sea. Once one went so low the landing ropes dragged across the beach. I never realized they were on patrol looking for U-boats off the coast of Massachusetts. I assumed they were training and actually they were armed and did fight U-boats off our shores. Look, up in the sky, it's a bird, no, a blimpA Goodyear blimp still resides in Southern California and can be seen most days when one is driving on the 405 freeway through the city of Carson. You can also often see it over large events such as football games where a helicopter used for photography, would disturb the spectators, but a blimp used for aerial shots makes everybody smile down below. Hearing a blimpI don't remember seeing blimps in Florida in the late 40s but forty years later I recognised the sound and went outside to see a blimp passing overhead. A Ride in the GoodyearI was lucky enough to get a ride in the then-current Goodyear Blimp in about 1969, thanks to my father's position at nearby El Toro Marine Base, which was near the Lighter Than Air facility in Tustin, which had giant hangars that allowed Goodyear to do certain maintenance. In return they provided a day of rides for military families. This blimp has since been replaced with a newer version, but our blimp's control wheels and cables were charmingly exposed to the attentive eye inside the little cabin which was clearly designed for lightness rather than jetliner strength, and seated about 12. After achieving a satisfactory weight balance, the pilot revved the motors, the blimp moved majestically ahead, and about 50 feet later he cranked the elevator wheel, the nose came up, and we ascended as if climbing a staircase. Not scary, due to the gentle response, but unexpectedly graceful, like the dancing hippos in Fantasia. We cruised the coast for about an hour at a nice viewing height. The sound of a blimp in flight...That low drone sound of an approaching blimp's engines STILL makes me run outside to have a look. I even have a memory (or imagine that I have such a memory) of standing on Bush Avenue in Newburgh NY as a 4 or 5 year old kid and seeing a huge dirigible flying doen over the Hudson toward NY City. I went up in herMy mother's school chum took my two older brothers and me for a ride in this blimp in 1938 (might have been 1939) from the old Wash airport. We circled the city for about a half hour. The windows were open. I sat in the middle seat in the back row. It went up at about 45 degrees and on returning it nosed down at about the same angle. Ground crew caught the ropes and pulled it down to a level attitude on the ground. What a thrill it was for a 7-year-old. Navy BlimpsEnterprise, along with Goodyear's other private blimps was transferred to the Navy at the beginning of the war. The became the basis for the L-Class training type. Apparently they weren't armed and had too short an endurance for long patrols. They had a crew of two in military service. The most common of the naval blimps was the K-Class which had an endurance of just over 38 hours aloft and carried four depth charges and a .50 caliber machine gun as well as various detection equipment and a crew of 10. 134 were built, and the last K-ship (K-43) left service in March 1959. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Zeppelins & Blimps)
To Boiling Spring: 1902
... many people went in the summer. As someone who was born in Miami and grew up in Florida, I can assure you that it's not "hot and humid ... Even when photographed in the woods, on a train, at the beach, etc., these ladies all looked immaculate. Testimony (I guess) to lots ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 8:27pm -

Florida circa 1902. "Silver Springs on the Oklawaha." Don't forget your flotation bonnets! Photo by William Henry Jackson, Detroit Publishing. View full size. I'm Wide AwakeAnd I agree with Slump; this picture has a curious dream-like perspective to it. It's as if the figure in the background is the actual subject of the shot and the ladies in the boat just happened to be there. He seems to be posing for the picture too as if he knew he was the focal point. It looks like a still from a movie.If that movie was made by David Lynch. This gives me an ideaFor a comic strip set in a funny-named swamp with animals getting into hilarious situations, topical satire, and flat bottom boats bearing different names. Looking for the yearling...One of those ladies might be Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, searching out her muse. Movie?My take on it is David Wark Griffth filming Lilian Gish in her prime. Hatted and coiffedWell, at least the hats don't look silly. You could hide cannonballs under those things. That guy on the roof of the boatIs looking really hard for a glimpse of wrist! That man in the backThat character in the background sitting on the canopy (?) of that boat (??) looks like he might have jumped straight out of a Toonerville Trolley cartoon. Flotation DevicesLooks like the lady on the left has more than just her bonnet to keep her afloat unless that's just the wind. I'm off to bedAnd this photo has the makings of a very odd nightmare. 100 Years LaterNow there's your nightmare. Where's the sweat?Something always puzzles me about these things. Florida is so hot and humid almost year round yet in the old photos people are always dressed so hot.. I break out in a sweat just looking at this one ... did they not perspire? [Florida was a winter resort -- not many people went in the summer. As someone who was born in Miami and grew up in Florida, I can assure you that it's not "hot and humid almost year round." - Dave] HeadgearI love those ancestral sun bonnets that add to the peaceful look of the women in this picture. The only place we get to see one today, is occasionally, on a baby in a pram. We have met the enemy and he flings poo. The comment by "Walt Kelly" isn't too far from the truth, with a cast of characters suitable for lampooning. Substitute 'flat' for 'glass' bottom boat (where it was invented), consider that Tarzan made an appearance, and how the story goes that a scenic boat promoter in the 30's let monkeys loose on an island not knowing they could swim, leading to roving bands of them along the river to this day. Boiling hotWhat always strikes me about pictures of this era is how white the whites are. These bonnets practically glow! Even when photographed in the woods, on a train, at the beach, etc., these ladies all looked immaculate. Testimony (I guess) to lots of boiling water and scrubbing. I can't make it from my house to my car in white pants without having to turn around and change. Yipes. Fish CampThis is great! With better-maintained boat houses, a big wide dock with picnic tables and-of course-modern fashions, this could easily be any of the present-day "rustic" fish camps up and down the St. Johns River and lots of other places in Florida. All you need to fill the shot are some egrets and herons and a manatee floating by. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Florida, W.H. Jackson)
Noel, Iola: 1944
... the Florida Hurricane of 1926. At that time she lived in a Miami Beach cottage, the wife of Gerald Swinnerton, whom she divorced in April, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/23/2020 - 9:15am -

On this Christmas Eve eve, we travel back 76 years for a visit with the First Lady of Shorpy, Iola Swinnerton. Some two decades after her bathing-pageant days, she is still radiating beauty and cheer. Scroll down to the comments for more of Iola's life story. View full size. "STONE WOMAN" ENJOYS CHRISTMAS PREPAREDNESS         CHICAGO (Dec. 23, 1944) -- Mrs. Iola Swinnerton Warren, who suffered the illness known as myositis ossificans after inoculation for typhoid following a Florida hurricane, watches her husband Theron V. Warren and little nephew Herbert Taylor trim Christmas tree. (Acme Newspictures photo.) Licensed to Marry.From the Washington Post of August 4, 1918: "Gerald Swinnerton, 31, of Williamston, Michigan, and Iola Taylor, 18, of Rockford, Illinois." Iola in 1947Here is part of article from the Waterloo Sunday Courier (Waterloo, Iowa) of March 9, 1947. The Warrens adopted Herbert Taylor (Iola's nephew). Herbert was 13 in 1947. Forever YoungIt would seem, from an earlier comment, that she was born in 1902, so she would have been 19 or 20 in those earlier photos from 1921 and 1922, and 42 here. She has lovely, youthful skin and a radiant smile. [If she was 18 when married in 1918, she'd have been born in 1899 or 1900. - Dave] Not just Christmas celebrationsThis is also the occasion of their second wedding anniversary - I found the announcement from the Suburbanite Economist (Chicago) of December 23, 1942. It sounds like she had a terrible time with this illness -- it started in 1926 and she spent nine years in the hospital! I'm glad she seems to have found happiness with Theron. Based on what I read about myositis ossificans, it seems unlikely that this is what she had. It is normally caused by an injury to a muscle, and from what I can tell, stays within that muscle -- it doesn't spread to other areas of the body. It's probably more likely that she had heterotopic ossification, possibly caused by central nervous system injury or an underlying genetic disorder. *Cringe*I am sure that Herbie really enjoyed being characterized in the newspaper as her "little" nephew. Hope his friends didn't see the story! [He looks like Larry Mondello. - Dave] Carpentry and TweedNotice the nicely done rest for her feet that does not appear to be part of the original wheelchair--not the easiest thing to put together if you're doing it with nails instead of wood screws, which may be the case here. Also, I love the nephew's tweed slacks--sadly, winter weight slacks seem to be a thing of the past, even up north here in Minnesota. They're keeping him so warm, he doesn't need to keep his shirt tucked in. The story that keeps on givingAnother amazing feature of this website. Over the course of eleven and a half years (dating back to April of 2007) we are treated to a series of photos of Iola Swinnerton from a very specific two-year period (1921-1922) in a very specific context (bathing suit beauty contest). No sense of limitation or lack of variety, and every new photo was a delight. Flash forward suddenly 22 years to 1944 and to a whole new context. We find Iola in a wheelchair with a strange and rare disease, and yet she is happy, recently married to a benevolent-looking church organist, and she and her husband have adopted her nephew. The husband "wasn’t discouraged because the pretty invalid was confined to a wheelchair," and she is able to report that her "condition has steadily improved" since they got married. The crowning glory of her positivity: "My dreams during so many years in hospitals have come true." (She writes songs which are published!) "I only hope someone else can take hope from my happiness." This is one of the most truly marvelous stories I've ever come across. Stiff Man’s SyndromeIola may have had what is now called Stiff Person’s Syndrome. It was first diagnosed in 1956. A friend had it. IolatryHere's a few more details regarding Iola. The New York Times, while reporting her wedding, stated that she was earning her living as a seamstress. The paper also said, "She was stricken by the baffling disease after the Florida Hurricane of 1926. At that time she lived in a Miami Beach cottage, the wife of Gerald Swinnerton, whom she divorced in April, charging desertion." In the 1940 U.S. Census Gerald Swinnerton is claiming to have been widowed. He was a camera designer and repairman, as well as a World War I veteran, and he was also known as George Simons. He died in 1961. Regarding her wedding, the Chicago Tribune of December 24, 1942 published the following story. "Smiling from her wheelchair, in a moire taffeta wedding dress and a shoulder length tulle veil, Iona Swinnerton, 40 years old, was married last night to Theron Victor Warren, 42, a shipyard worker and organist in the Wentworth Baptist church. The bride is suffering from a rare disease characterized by hardening of the muscles. "About 100 relatives and friends were present as the Rev. Eugene H. Daniels read the marriage ceremony. L. Duke Taylor, 1918 Cleveland avenue, her brother, gave the bride away. Donald McGowan, 1954 Henderson street, was the best man. "Miss Swinnerton, who lives at 4044 Wentworth avenue, has been suffering from the malady since 1926. She teaches a Bible class at the church, and met Warren while attending the services there." An article in the Cedar Rapids Gazette in December 1945 indicated that she had spent six years at the Cook County Hospital for treatment of her condition. She was refinishing furniture and canning fruit in addition to writing songs. "Theron proposed not very long after I cooked him a duck dinner," she confided. In 1949 Iola won fourth place in a nationwide Army songwriting contest, which earned her a $50 savings bond. The title of the tune was "Three Cheers For the Army." She died five years later, in 1954. Her obituary from the Chicago Tribune is below. "Iola N. Warren, 2642 Barry avenue, June 13, 1954, beloved wife of Theron V. Warren, dear sister of Louis Duke Taylor, dear aunt to Herbert Taylor. At chapel, 316 W. 63d street, at Harvard avenue, where services will be held Thursday, June 17, at 1 p.m. Cremation Oak Woods." Theron Warren died on May 3, 1976. The image below is from the January 4, 1937 issue of the Wilson (N.C.) Daily Times. FOPI presume Iola had fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. Story of Two FamiliesLuckily, I accepted an invitation to the Swinnertons' Christmas party before the invitation to the Dickeys' Christmas party arrived. Three cheers for King CottonThe pants of the kid look as if they are scratchy. Ask me how I know. It’s a small worldI’ve been a long-time Shorpy lurker, and have many of the wonderful images saved as desktop wallpaper. I had to comment on this picture - the Eugene H. Daniels mentioned as the officiant in the newspaper article was my great-grandfather! By the time I knew him, he was just “Grandpa Dan”; it’s neat to be able to read about Iola and Theron some 78 years later. Merry Christmas to all! (The Gallery, Chicago, Christmas, Iola S., Kids, News Photo Archive)
And Away We Go: 1952
... Elementary could talk of little else! --Jim Miami Beach Auditoriun Growing up in Miami Beach, in the mid to late sixties, my ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/06/2013 - 9:14pm -

New York. August 1952. "Jackie Gleason rehearsing television show. Includes Gleason in steam cabinet." From negatives by various staff photographers used in the Look magazine articles "TV's Big Boy," "Mr. Saturday Night" and "The Jackie Gleason Story: Fat, Sad and Funny." View full size. Re: Break A LegTTERRACE: I recall vividly the episode where Pinky Lee had his heart attack. He was being physically bounced up and down by Mr. Bluster and suddenly went limp and yelled: Wait A Minute! or something like that. The show went to the familiar screen pattern, and did not come back on that day. SAD! [I, too, believed the heart attack story at the time. Much later I learned that Lee's collapse was due to an extremely severe sinus infection. But it was final nail in the coffin for the ex-burlesque comic's career as a kid show host; his antics had long been under fire from parents for being hyper-active, violent and at times risqué. -tterrace] Don't steam me Norton!It's hard to believe people used to use steam cabinets in the 1950s to lose weight. All the really did was become dehydrated. Love the photo by the way, Jackie Gleason was a true talent. Ticket window conversationsMy mother was the cashier at a New Jersey movie theatre back when your ticket bought both a movie and a stage show. Early in Jackie Gleason's career he travelled with some kind of entertainment group, I assume comedy, and they often sent him to a nearby White Castle (or White Tower) for hamburgers and coffee (basically an ill treated errand boy). Between shows he stood at my mother's window and they passed the time talking. She never revealed what was said. She felt that he was a nice guy and she thought of him as a poor soul (personified as one of his later TV characters). In any case, he had the last laugh going on to fame and fortune, while the other troupe members likely faded from memory. Claustrophobia!Every time I see a picture of someone in one of those steam cabinets, I'm sure that, if I were to be put in one of those, I'd immediately get an uncontrollable nose itch! Red-faced in black & whiteWas he wearing makeup? Otherwise it's difficult to imagine how he managed to live another 32 years. Break a legA regular part of our Saturday night TV viewing, when we'd settle down in front of our 21" Motorola (in my case, sprawling on the floor) for 2-1/2 hours of sketch comedy and variety: first Jackie Gleason at 8, then switch to NBC at 9 for Sid Caesar and company in Your Show of Shows. Down on the floor I'd be rolling. One day in 1954 I witnessed one of those mishaps of the golden age of live TV (although here on the West Coast we were watching 3-hour-delayed kinescope recordings): Gleason slipped doing some slapstick and broke his leg. It was just the kind of thing to enflame the ghoulish imagination of an 8-year-old boy. A year later I was pouting after having missed Pinky Lee's medical breakdown on his kids' show. Gleason's face is made up here, to sell the gag of him having gotten as red as a steamed lobster. Live TV!When I was a kid, living in Port Arthur, Texas, the local kid's show was Cowboy John; the host was also the evening new's weatherman. One day a fellow brought on a big python. Cowboy John was obviously nervous, and asked the handler, "Do these snakes bite?" The handler said, "No; they constrict their prey." No sooner had the handler said that than the python struck Cowboy John on his hand, and the show went to a "Please Stand By" screen and then a series of cartoons and Three Stooges shorts; no more Cowboy John that show. On the evening news that night, the anchors were teasing poor Cowboy John, who had a big bandage on his hand. The next day, the kids at Tyrrell Elementary could talk of little else! --Jim Miami Beach AuditoriunGrowing up in Miami Beach, in the mid to late sixties, my friends and I would sneak in to the Auditorium and play around the stage where the Jackie Gleason Show was taped. There were times that the stage was set up with props such as a bowling alley. It's a wonder we never got caught. Great memories of a simpler time gone by. (The Gallery, LOOK, TV)
Spring Break: 1905
Miami circa 1905. "On the shore of Biscayne Bay, Florida." 8x10 inch dry plate ... Key This would be Dinner Key in the historic section of Miami known as Cocoanut Grove (later spelled "Coconut"). Other than a small beach downtown, Dinner Key was the only sandy beach along the bay front and a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 12:56pm -

Miami circa 1905. "On the shore of Biscayne Bay, Florida." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The Shadow Knows!Exposed! You can hide behind the camera but you can't hide behind your own shadow. Man with a view camera taking a picture of a man with a view camera taking a picture. Interesting. Very busy photo!Lots going on here! There's a Photographer taking a picture, a couple bent over looking at something and it appears those kids in the foreground sent their Chauffeur out to build them a sand castle. Dinner KeyThis would be Dinner Key in the historic section of Miami known as Cocoanut Grove (later spelled "Coconut"). Other than a small beach downtown, Dinner Key was the only sandy beach along the bay front and a popular picnic spot, hence the name. The natural stone escarpment is the tail end of the Silver Bluff. In the distance, from the left are Miami Beach (then called Ocean Beach) and the islands of Virginia Key and Key Biscayne. In later years, this area was filled in and became a seaplane base and home of Pan American Airways. The old PAA Terminal is today's Miami City Hall. Rock fans will remember Dinner Key as the location of an infamous 1969 Doors concert which led to the arrest of Jim Morrison. IntegratedI always like seeing that in some areas, some venues, blacks and whites could sit in equal, unseparate enjoyment. PainterLooking out at those sailboats Winslow Homer would feel like painting. Where's the sun?Why isn't everybody's shadow falling in the same direction? [Because the sun is directly behind the camera, the effect heightened by the relatively wide-angle lens, as shown in the example below from this page. - tterrace] Sand peopleIt appears as they two people have either been buried in sand or someone made sand people. Also, if this really is Dinner Key, these folks are very close to the set of the USA Network show Burn Notice, in the old Coconut Grove Convention Center. It is also on the far left of the Pan Am seaplane photo in the comments. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Florida, Miami, Swimming)
Sun and Fun: 1923
Miami circa 1923. "Mrs. F.H. Lockwood and Miss Joy Welford of Asheville, Mrs. ... probably never dreamed that in just 88 short years, the beach attire would change from this ensemble of caps, shoes, stockings, shorts ... is more, in my opinion. (The Gallery, Dogs, Florida, Miami, Natl Photo) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 8:35pm -

Miami circa 1923. "Mrs. F.H. Lockwood and Miss Joy Welford of Asheville, Mrs. G.M. Blaker." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. If they only knewThese girls probably never dreamed that in just 88 short years, the beach attire would change from this ensemble of caps, shoes, stockings, shorts and a dress to the briefest of coverings equal to two bandages and a Post-it Note. "Joy" does not look very joyfulBut she should be happy that at least she isn't wearing those black tights and shoes her friends have on at the beach. I am not a fan of the oh so skimpy bathing suits gals wear today but I would REALLY not want to wear what these gals had to put on either, although I could get fond of a such a cute little dog and a parasol sporting what looks like Micky Mouse ears. NiceThe girl in the center of this pic is quite attractive. Yet it's so odd to realize "she's dead by now" when looking at it. No beads? Must have just arrived. Little dogis a Boston terrier, one of the most popular breeds in America at the time. However, it was called a Boston Bulldog then! Bare feet in the sandI think Joy looks quite comfortable, with her bare feet and legs. Those bathing suits didn't bind anywhere, but still covered enough to be comfortable, even if you were over 120 pounds. My grandmother turned 15 that summer. I wonder if she had a bathing suit similar to these? I bow down toWhoever invented Spandex. PrudismYou have to realize that women's dress had changed radically in a very short time when this photo was taken. The gal in the middle has bare shoulders, and bare legs, and very casual, loose hair. This relaxed display of skin would have been scandalous just a few years earlier. It's as great a change as going from 1923 to string bikinis today. But for Europeans public nudity at the beaches and even parks is commonplace, including entire families of three generations. So, we are still rather prudish compared to them. I quite like it.I think there's too much flesh on display lately, and I'm a card-carrying hedonistic liberal. Less is more, in my opinion. (The Gallery, Dogs, Florida, Miami, Natl Photo)
Lake Worth: 1908
Palm Beach, Florida, circa 1908. "Along the shore of Lake Worth." 8x10 inch dry ... the length of the coast of Florida from Jacksonville to Miami. Seems like each segment of the Intercoastal has been given a ... down near Cape Canaveral; and eventually Biscayne Bay in Miami. One assume the picture was taken on the grounds of the massive hotel ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 3:38pm -

Palm Beach, Florida, circa 1908. "Along the shore of Lake Worth." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Whew!Having lived in Florida for a spell, I just can't imagine HOW they dealt with the heat having only fans and no A/C. Yet somehow they survived! [Palm Beach, and Florida in general, was a winter resort. People didn't visit when it was hot. - Dave] I realize that, I was speaking of life in Florida in general, year-round. It can get to 90 in January :) ContrastsA straight shoreline and crooked trees. Geography Palm Beach is a barrier island off the mainland from West Palm Beach. The body of water which separates West Palm Beach and Palm Beach is called Lake Worth; but it is really just part of the Intercoastal Waterway that runs down the length of the coast of Florida from Jacksonville to Miami. Seems like each segment of the Intercoastal has been given a different name as it runs through different parts of the coast. For example: it's the Halifax River in Daytona Beach; Indian River down near Cape Canaveral; and eventually Biscayne Bay in Miami. One assume the picture was taken on the grounds of the massive hotel in the background, but it's really hard to say which part of Lake Worth is pictured. [You are no doubt thinking of the Intracoastal, not "Intercoastal," Waterway. - Dave] Well, if you Google it, you find that both spelling are used to describe this passageway. I've always heard it called "Intercosstal." [Google indeed reveals plenty of misspelled words. The waterway in question is the Intracoastal -- meaning along a single coast. Intercoastal would mean connecting two coasts. I was born in Miami and grew up in Florida, and so was well acquainted with the Intracoastal. - Dave] Adult Perambulators Farm Journal, November 1905. No horses are allowed in Palm Beach, — only a lone mule pulling a light summer car along the famous palmetto avenue, from Jake to ocean, … The only other land conveyances are single and double bicycle chairs propelled by liveried colored men at a cost of $1 per hour. These can be seen going in every direction on the paved walks, the jungle trails, and over the long bridge across Lake Worth to West Palm Beach. The American Scene, 1907, by Henry James. It is by means of a light perambulator, of "adult size," but constructed of wicker-work, and pendent from a bicycle propelled by a robust negro, that the jungle is thus visited; the bicycle follows the serpentine track, the secluded ranch is swiftly reached, the peaceful retirement of the cultivators multitudinously admired, the perambulator promptly re-entered, the darky restored to the saddle and his charge again to the hotel. Waterway NamesThe reason for different names along the Intracoastal Waterway is that the different names were usually there first. The Waterway is a route - like a US Highway route on land, which might run over many roads with different names, but always the same route number. Many parts of the Waterway were originally separate bodies of water that have been linked by man-made canals and channels. On a different note - why are the trees on the left side of the photo so twisted and the ones on the right side comparatively straighter? "Intercosstal"As in "between the ribs"? Landscape architectI think Dr. Seuss must have been in charge of tending the trees on the left side of the walk. Favorite Bike TrailWhen I lived in WPB I used to ride on the Lake Trail regularly. This is a section of the South Trail with the Flagler mansion in the background. Palm Beach Lake TrailThe Palm Beach Lake Trail has changed very little in the past 100 years. At the time of the photo the building in the background was the Henry Morrison Flagler home. Today it is the Flagler Museum. The Lake Trail runs some 6 miles almost to the Palm Beach Inlet and is only for pedestrians and bicycles. (The Gallery, Bicycles, DPC, Florida)
Villa Carlesia: 1939
... "Part of Florida home in wealthy residential section. Miami Beach, Florida." Acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/27/2021 - 9:31am -

April 1939. "Part of Florida home in wealthy residential section. Miami Beach, Florida." Acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Could be yours for $27MLooks pretty impressive from this listing: https://www.redfin.com/FL/Miami-Beach/5030-N-Bay-Rd-33140/home/42775864 Not bad at all5030 North Bay Road. Some changes, but appears all intact (plus incredible tree growth). Product PlacementThe entrance loggia served as backdrop for this photo in the 1960 Imperial sales brochure. Only 80 miles from Belle Glade... in the unlikely event that the owner of Villa Carlesia wanted to drop by. Mirrored lionsWho knew that lions could be either right or left handed? Beyond the paleI take note from which side of the gate the photographer is taking her picture. Bohn to RickyThe manse was only two years old when Wolcott took this photo. Architects Carlos Schoeppl and George Maguelo built it for Detroit-based Charles Bohn and his family, who made their fortune on bronze, brass, and futuristic dreamworks that are the subject of several beautiful but quite affordable prints. It was later owned by the Wolfson family, whose members owned the Wometco movie theater chain, built the Seaquarium, founded the Wolfsonian Museum, and produced a mayor of Miami Beach (Mitchell Wolfson Sr.). Less than two years after Enrique "Ricky" Martin's record-shattering crossover hit album and singles, he picked up this home for $6.4 million, held it for four years, sold it for $10.6 million and then moved a few doors up the street, to 5130 N. Bay Road. For more, see https://miami.curbed.com/2015/3/4/9984682/ricky-martin-mitchell-wolfson-... (The Gallery, Florida, M.P. Wolcott, Miami)
The Chalfonte: 1913
... of days ago, I saw several topless women sunbathing on Miami Beach. Topless women is a common sight on the beach there. I am curious what ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 12:54pm -

Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1913. "Chalfonte Hotel." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Duntley PneumaticThere are the ubiquitous Salt Water Taffy, and the familiar Welch's Grape Juice, but I had to look up the Duntley Pneumatic Cleaner. This thing makes the old Kirby Classic we had look like a featherweight! Today's beachwearA couple of days ago, I saw several topless women sunbathing on Miami Beach. Topless women is a common sight on the beach there. I am curious what the people in this 1913 beach scene would think about what I saw on Miami Beach and I did not give it a second thought. Pregnant woman at the beach.There appears to be a young woman "in a family way" standing at the edge of the surf with her hands behind her back. I do not recall seeing another expecting mother in a beach crowd from Shorpy's turn of the century archives. [That's a man, and probably not preggers. - Dave] Corsets optionalAll over the world "clothing optional" beaches are gaining in popularity and people are willing to put it all out there in little or nothing. I marvel at the huge quantity of clothing most of these people wore to the beach including hats, coats, jackets, umbrellas, boots, belts, corsets, etc. and here we are one hundred years later wondering "what were they thinking?" If they could come back and judge us in speedos and thongs, what do you think they would say? Must be a disposable.I've lived near the Atlantic my whole life and I'm not sure I've ever seen anybody canoeing it. Corsets, etc.If they could come back and judge us in speedos and thongs, what do you think they would say? I suspect they would envy us our lack of scratchy and heavy bathing wear, as well appreciate the invention of sunblock, flip flops and beach towels. ChalfonteHuh -- my family is from Chalfont, Pennsylvania. I had a friend years ago who said it sounded like one of those diseases people don't catch anymore. Pre-CoppertoneThe clothing in these old beach pics reminds us that a deep tan was not always cool. At the turn of the century only common laborers had a tan, and true ladies and gentlemen avoided said tan at all cost. Of course I'm not telling you Shorpters anything you don't already know. That's why you're Shorpsters. Aunt KateMy great-aunt Kate Devon worked at the Chalfonte in the very early 1900s as a maid. Later as a manager of the linen closet operation. She also did calligraphy for fancy weddings and dinners that were held there. She apparently made good wages or otherwise got tips or other favors, as she vacationed in Florida during the winter. WaxworksMy mom took my sisters and myself to the Chalfonte in August 1971. It was still very elegant but one got the sense that time had already passed the place by. My strongest memory is one of the old matrons that spent her summer at the Chalfonte expressing her displeasure that my mom was taking us kids out to the amusements after 8 pm! (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming)
A Place in the Sun: 1940
... "Stephen A. Lynch Jr. residence, No. 3 Sunset Island, Miami Beach, Florida. Living room, general view. William Pahlmann, decorator; Robert ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/07/2018 - 6:53pm -

January 21, 1940. "Stephen A. Lynch Jr. residence, No. 3 Sunset Island, Miami Beach, Florida. Living room, general view. William Pahlmann, decorator; Robert Law Weed, architect." Gottscho-Schleisner photo. View full size. Spotlessly cleanI'm guessing Mr. Lynch doesn't have a dog. Or a cat. Or kids. Or friends. Wow, nothing to warm you up here.Having spent my formative years in the 1950s, I recognize some of the sparse and weird design influences going on here, but, it's still very strange by today's norms. Glad we moved on from this strangely spartan and cold design model. Five AshtraysAnd some joints ready to go. Gotta love Miami. Mid-century modern??That looks astonishingly like 1950s/1960s mid-century modern furniture. I've never seen such futuristic design in a photo as early as 1940. Mr. Lynch was definitely ahead of his time. [The credit belongs to Mr. Pahlmann, avatar of mid-century design. -Dave] S.A. LynchThe Sunset Islands are man made islands in Biscayne Bay created by Mr. Lynch. The area is home to the rich and maybe famous. Mr. Lynch was the son of a Civil War veteran. He made his money in the early days of the film industry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Andrew_Lynch. YuckToo sterile looking for me. Let's live in it for a little. I don't know much about artbut Mr. Lynch's collection looks like it was assembled in a hurry from the local thrift store. Still, tastes change. Eighty years from now, what will folks think of the homes of 2018? Uninviting stillAs a young fellow in the late forties and early fifties, I can say these sorts of rooms were found fairly often- and were never comfortable to be in. I can't imagine this would have been any different even earlier. Glad it's over, like the others have said. FlooredMy eye was immediately drawn to the floor tiles. I can well imagine this same shot taken forty years later with the edges all dried and curled. [Those are ceramic tiles. - Dave] Cold!Cozier than a doctor's waiting room, but not by much. Well it's not onStar Island, but I guess it will just have to do. Clapper beta?It would be great if the hands on the table on the right clapped to turn on the lamp. Still searching for itBased on visits to other rooms just like this, I bet there's a crystal bowl containing 10 year old hard candies. 50 Shades of GrayscaleYes, the room is a cold space —- in black and white. But the deep tone of the walls suggests a vibrant color that most certainly would have warmed the mood. Looming PresenceWhat is that item in the extreme left foreground that looks like the underside of a trampoline or of an industrial-strength cot? UPDATE: Ah, it's a screen. I found this image on EBay. ColorsI would hope those walls are a deep rose color and the drapes a dusty rose, but if I remember the decade correctly, they are more likely to be a deep green with chartreuse drape. (The Gallery, Florida, Gottscho-Schleisner)
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