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Young Salt: 1943
... is actually manufactured by the the Gray Telephone Pay Station Company although they were sold through Western Electric as well as ... in New York - right across the street from (then and now) Penn Station and (now) Madison Square Garden. See ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/04/2014 - 11:04am -

January 1943. "New York. Sixteen-year-old boy who is in the naval reserve on Mulberry Street." Along with a trove of telephone graffiti that looks as old as he is. Photo by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size.
WOrth 2-8354This telephone number on the sailor's pay telephone is an example of when exchange names were in their heyday in New York City. I always enjoy Shorpy photos when the 'phone numbers include a combination of letters and numbers. As I grew up our numbers included WHitehall, AMherst and CAstle. I still use CAstle to this day. Some U.S. cities, notably Seattle and Philadelphia, continued the use of office names well into the 1970s. You could always tell a person's neighbourhood by the exchange name. Here is a full list of New York City exchange names. Note also the cost is five minutes for a nickel. 
Limits of memoryI've read that the reason for those alphanumeric codes, such as WOrth 2-9970, is that Bell System engineers did not believe people could easily memorize a seven-digit number. Their research indicated that five digits was the limit, so they created mnemonics such as this to fill in the rest and allow the required quantity of exchange subscribers, while enabling memorization of a few numbers.
It's well-known that Bell employed the most brilliant engineers, and in hindsight, the irony is that they were both wrong and right. Most people nowadays can't memorize a seven-digit phone number, because we don't need to. The computers in our pockets, which we refer to somewhat quaintly as phones, do it for us. But those of us who grew up before cell phones learned to do it, from necessity.
In 1989-1990, I worked for a rental car company, moving surplus cars to locations where they were needed. At the destination, I had to write the car's seven-digit inventory number on a ticket. It would be most efficient to write it while walking to the office, instead of while standing over the windshield, but I found I couldn't memorize the number in its given nn-nnn-nn format. But if I mentally converted it to nnn-nnnn (just like a phone number) I had no problem memorizing seven digits for a minute or two.
Fifty Shades of GrayThe pay phone is actually manufactured by the the Gray Telephone Pay Station Company although they were sold through Western Electric as well as other distributors.
Still there?I don't know how old this list is, but this number was still a payphone at some point, probably at the Post Office at 8th Avenue and 31st Street in New York - right across the street from (then and now) Penn Station and (now) Madison Square Garden.  See http://www.payphone-project.com/numbers/usa/NY/NEW_YORK/212-962-8354.htm... .  Looking at a higher-level page at Payphone Project, the upper reaches of 962, from about line 8000 on up, were populated with a plurality of pay phones.
Per the BLS inflation calculator, that nickel from 1943 would be worth about 67 cents in 2013, or about 13.4 cents a minute.  That's pretty high for a modern postpaid (contract) cell phone, but not that far off from what some prepaid cell phones cost.  But you would have to supply your own wall to write on.
Stock exchangePerhaps this is just an unusually old payphone, but it's interesting that in 1943 there are still instructions on how to dial the central office/exchange name (here, WOrth) directly instead of relaying that information orally to an operator.
Get Your Own!You too can own an old style Western Electric pay phone like our young sailor friend is using (sans dust and spider webs).  Current bidding on Ebay stands at $1,136.  
(Technology, The Gallery, Marjory Collins, NYC, WW2)

The Little Church: 1901
... This was my favorite block to go down as I walked from Penn Station to my office at B'way and 26th between 1990 and 2001. It was (and still ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/18/2017 - 1:46pm -

New York circa 1901. "The Little Church Around the Corner (Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, East 29th Street)." This Neo-Gothic confection, whipped up in 1849 and frosted with various architectural embellishments over the next 60 years, still stands as a sort of English country garden urban oasis. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size.
Shockingly, a well preserved area
MemoriesThis was my favorite block to go down as I walked from Penn Station to my office at B'way and 26th between 1990 and 2001. It was (and still is) a little slice of peace in the middle of chaos. How it supposedly got its nickname.   
Deja vuHave I been here before? No, but the familiar feeling was its similarity to the church and yard in the film Going My Way. I remembered Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald as priests, trying to help inhabitants of a poverty stricken city with no money of their own. Enjoyable movie with Bing's vocals and top character actors if you get a chance to see it. 
Was once a minor tourtist attractionThe church was well known in the 1940s and 1950s for hosting weddings of movie stars and stage actors.  The church was welcoming to such people when other Episcopalian churches in the area were not, as mentioned in the first comment and also here:  https://louisebrookssociety.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-actors-church-littl...
There is a black and white "come visit NYC" promotional video on Youtube, where the family sits in the backyard and plans their trip with a travel agent:  dad wants to see Wall Street, mom wants to go shopping, junior wants to see the Yankees, and sister wants to visit this church.  There's a brief clip of some then-famous person's wedding party leaving the church, and some exposition of why everyone knows about the place.  I think that sister hopes to get married there some day, too.  
But I can't find a link to the video.  Oh well.
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC)

The Pentagon: 1940s
... and stopped at designated points (like platforms under Penn Station) each bus platform had a stairway that ran up to a shopping concourse ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/17/2014 - 8:43am -

1940s. "Arlington County, Virginia. War Department. Pentagon, aerial view." Safety negative by Theodor Horydczak. View full size.
Car IDsNow here's a real challenge for the Shorpy panel of experts.
Cross-hairsOn a visit to the Pentagon in the early 70s my host took me out to the park-like area in the center during a break. We walked over to the center and he said, "You know, right now scores of nuclear tipped ICBMs are targeted right on us!" Sobering.
Dad's OfficeMy Father worked in the Pentagon during my High School years.. 
The above picture is facing South West..  
Memories.. 
Upper right corner of our picture is Fort Myer, South Post..  Long since demolished and converted to part of Arlington Cemetery.. Tire tracks on the lawn are near the spot that the airliner was driven into the Pentagon on 9-11-2001.. The grassy area to the left of the tire tracks is where the 9-11 memorial is now.. Between the tire tracks and Ft Myer is a pedestrian tunnel being constructed.. The tunnel is also long gone.. There was a large utility access door in the entry way to the tunnel, a sign reading "Danger Keep Out" was on the door..  someone had writen in white clothing marker under it "King Kong Lives Here"..  
Bottom Left corner..  note two 180deg curved roadways that run under the building, they exit in the upper left.  also note commuter buses parked along one of the roadways..  Prior to 9-11-2001, City buses ran under the Pentagon and stopped at designated points (like platforms under Penn Station) each bus platform had a stairway that ran up to a shopping concourse on the level above. A taxi stand was also under the concourse.. I am told that the concourse is still there but access is not open to the general public. 
In the mid sixties, before the internet.. there was a huge "for sale bulletin board" on the concourse,, Teenage boys would rude the bus to the Pentagon to inspect the care ads.. looking for a deal, someone transferred on short notice..  Bought two $25.00 cars off of the board..
Pre-LevitationNeat to see what the building looked like before it was levitated by the Yippies.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Theodor Horydczak)

23rd Street Piers: 1910
... however, the Pennsylvania RR had a tunnel into NYC and Penn Station, but I think I remember reading that the Erie and Lackawanna Railroads ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/01/2019 - 11:07am -

Circa 1910. "Twenty-Third Street piers, North River, New York, N.Y." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Tank wagonI'm sure some Shorpyite out there will know: What's that liquid being discharged from that wagon on the left?
[Dihydrogen monoxide. - Dave]
Oceans of it ...To AD:
She is indeed the Oceanic.
To Dave:
That insidious poison Dihydrogen Monoxide is everywhere! I think Monsanto plays a role. They spray it on the streets. They spray it on plants. Why, it's even here in the drink at my elbow!
Nasty stuff.
The End of the LineI believe this was in use by the railroads before they had tunnels into Manhattan. I think the end of the line was in New Jersey and they brought everybody over to New York on ferry boats. By this time, however, the Pennsylvania RR had a tunnel into NYC and Penn Station, but I think I remember reading that the Erie and Lackawanna Railroads used the ferry from NJ to NYC for a number of years after this.
A White Star LinerThe liner whose funnels and aft masts are barely visible belongs to the White Star Line (the company flag being clearly visible). I am going to make an educated guess that the ship is the SS/RMS Oceanic of 1899. My rationale is there were a limited number of WS ships that sailed to and from New York which was regarded as the most glamorous port on this side of the Atlantic. In 1910 there were five ships assigned the Liverpool/Southampton to New York route. Those were the Oceanic (a one off ship design that had no sisters) and the so called Big Four consisting of the Celtic, Cedric, Baltic and Adriatic. All five were two stackers. But after looking at photos of the ships (Wikipedia is awesome) I believe that the mast closest to the aft most of the smoke funnels is too far forward to be one of the Big Four. That leaves the Oceanic. I tried to match the masts in the photo here with ones from photos of the Oceanic and they are close though not a perfect match. But the difference is so slight it could be attributable to the angle of the photo or simply ordinary maintenance on the masts. 
Input from other Shorpy regulars is welcome.
(Add -- The White Star flag was so far down it appeared to me as though it was at half mast. On reflection, I believe that is likely the case. King Edward VII died in May of 1910 and in those days formal mourning was observed for a full year.)
[You're grasping at straws here. This photo could have been taken in any number of years. Neighboring DPC images are from 1908 and 1911. - Dave]
Sorry. I was going by the 1910 in the caption. But if the date could run as far back as 1908, and I am unable to see anything in the image that would narrow the date range, then yeah, it's not possible to be sure what was going on there. 
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC, Railroads)

Poughkeepsie Panorama: 1908
... and with freight trains prohibited from going through Penn Station, the Hudson River is a huge barrier to freight traffic. Except for a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/21/2013 - 11:12am -

The Hudson River circa 1908. "Steamer landings, Poughkeepsie, New York." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
The Boys in the BoatI just finished "The Boys In The Boat" by Daniel James Brown, the story of the 1936 Olympic eight-man rowing U.S. entry from the University of Washington. Was surprised to learn what a huge spectator sport rowing was in the early '30s. And each year the college national championships for varsity, JV, and freshman team took place on the Hudson in Poughkeepsie, where up to 50,000-100,000 people often would gather for the event. Excellent book, by the way.
Brinckerhoff Ferry The ferryboat was for a time a historic exhibit at Mystic Seaport.  Sadly, it was scrapped.  Here is a postcard view. 
The trains have vanishedThe rail bridge in the background, built in the late 1880's, saw its last train almost 40 years ago.  It once provided a direct and heavily traveled freight route to the Cedar Hill yards in New Haven.  Freights also could access the New York Central's Putnam line, which provided the only high-and-wide clearances to New York City.
Starting in the 1950's, economic changes, the development of the Interstate Highway system, and the woes of the region's freight railroads led to a steady decline in the bridge's freight traffic (passenger service had ended decades earlier).  A fire heavily damaged the bridge in 1974, and its then-owner Conrail shut it down rather than making repairs.
After many years of abandonment, a nonprofit group took ownership of the bridge and restored it as a pedestrian walkway/linear park.  It opened for that purpose in October 2009 and is now a popular tourist attraction. The trains, alas, are likely gone forever.
With the Poughkeepsie Bridge having seen its last freight, and with freight trains prohibited from going through Penn Station, the Hudson River is a huge barrier to freight traffic.  Except for a small amount served by carfloat barges in New York Harbor, almost all rail freight heading east of the Hudson River has to use the bridge at Selkirk, which is just south of Albany and nearly 150 miles upstream from the river's mouth.  
As it looks NowThe Poughkeepsie Waterfront.
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC)

Pennsy Parthenon: 1909
Manhattan circa 1909. "New Pennsylvania Station, New York, N.Y." The Beaux-Arts behemoth whose demolition in 1963 lit a ... This is now the site of Madison Square Garden and the Penn Hotel. [Over a thousand feet tall? I definitely did not know that. - ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/31/2017 - 4:54pm -

Manhattan circa 1909. "New Pennsylvania Station, New York, N.Y." The Beaux-Arts behemoth whose demolition in 1963 lit a fire under the nation's armchair architects. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative. View full size.
Hold your HorsesWhile I was working in the Hotel Pennsylvania (where that hole is in the foreground) a few years ago, I realized that the bulk of the construction material for the Station, and the hotel, were brought there by horse and wagon.
Now look at the size of the building materials.
Did you know?That it took about nine years to build the station. It was completed about a year after this picture was taken. The building itself covers about 8 acres and is about 1150 ft. tall. When the station was demolished in 1963, only the above ground portion was torn down. The train tracks and lower platforms still exist. This is now the site of Madison Square Garden and the Penn Hotel.
[Over a thousand feet tall? I definitely did not know that. - Dave]
The size of itThe size and scale of the building becomes really apparent when compared to the men working on the roof.
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)

Mod Cafe: 1943
Sept. 3, 1943. "U.S.O. canteen, Penn Station, Harrisburg, Pa. Serving bar." Our second look at this proto-Googie ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/09/2014 - 12:01pm -

Sept. 3, 1943. "U.S.O. canteen, Penn Station, Harrisburg, Pa. Serving bar." Our second look at this proto-Googie extravaganza, brought to you by Travelers Aid and the Pennsylvania Railroad. Gottscho-Schleisner photo. View full size.
Clever, those psychologist-architectsGI enters USO Lounge, intent on drunken mayhem, but is so befuddled by the interior design that he decides that maybe he's had enough and repairs to the waiting room to read "Grit" until his train departs.
Free for all?Servicemen/women?  I always thought the USO was free to all those in the service during the war; but I see a cash register here.  So, no freebees? 
How avant-garde Amazing, I would have dated this at least 1950 or later.  I had no idea these modern interior designs would have actually been used in 1943.
(The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Gottscho-Schleisner, Railroads, WW2)

Park Avenue: 1913
... architecture firm of McKim, Meade and White (of New York's Penn Station fame). The tower in the distance is Metropolitan Life tower, now a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/15/2016 - 6:34pm -

New York circa 1913. "Park Avenue and Vanderbilt Hotel, south from 36th Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
So DifferentWow Google Street View paints a completely different picture. I guess none of those buildings survived? 
Actually several still existI live just a few blocks from this scene. Several of the buildings in this photo do indeed still exist.  Starting from the left, the building with the two-story "porch" is extant - I believe it was designed by the famous architecture firm of McKim, Meade and White (of New York's Penn Station fame).  The tower in the distance is Metropolitan Life tower, now a hotel.  And the large rectangular apartment building in the middle is still standing and sheltering well-to-do New Yorkers as it has done for over 100 years.
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC)
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