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I Remember Mama: 1914
... about 6 years old here. But there's her mama and it is San Francisco, anyway. The only people in this photo I do remember besides her ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 05/07/2016 - 12:48pm -

Well, not like this because she's only about 6 years old here. But there's her mama and it is San Francisco, anyway. The only people in this photo I do remember besides her are her twin brother (my Uncle Albert) and her older brother (my Uncle Frank). I never met her older sister (my Aunt Mary) or her mother and father. Missing from the group is her oldest brother, Uncle Jack, away at college. My grandfather, a carpenter, may have built this house; we do know that he rebuilt the family home that was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire. This is a scan I made from the original 5x7 inch glass plate negative. View full size. The kindest faceYour grandfather had one of the kindest faces I've ever seen and I love everything about this picture, the furnishings, the clothing, the decor and the genuine look of contentment and peace on each of the family members. tterrace, you are lucky to have this photo and you've done a great job restoring it. Thank you for sharing. CherishBrilliant tterence! Your family would be proud of you sharing this. A photo like this reminds us to cherish our own family as time doesn't stand still. "Posing" some questoinstterrace you have done an amazing job. Thanks for sharing this family photo, and wouldn't we all love to have a rare image like this of our ancestors. I've never had the opportunity to work with a glass plate and I am curious. Did your scanner have a light in the lid or how did you handle that? Do you think putting the photo in some kind of light box and taking a photo with an SLR would produce the same quality? Since your photo is so beautiful, I am thinking that scanning brings the best result. [Yes, a scanner gives best results. Mine illuminates from the lid, through film or large-format negatives. My model is discontinued, but is similar to the current one Dave uses to scan glass plates. -tterrace] Beautiful Photo!tterrace, your grandfather's eyes show great wisdom and satisfaction. Wonderful slice of life. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
A Day at the Races: 1958
San Mateo, California, in 1958. My cousins Gary and Dan standing on the left. ... of this era with a Giants cap as they had just arrived in San Francisco that year. BONUS: vintage background cars. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Truck5man - 10/21/2011 - 5:02pm -

San Mateo, California, in 1958. My cousins Gary and Dan standing on the left. My brother doing 110 in his head, and my sister apparently realizing she could have had a V8. Uncle Walt appears to be preoccupied by the little blonde and Aunt Rita has a thermos of Starbucks. Strike that. "Chock Full 'O Nuts." My uncle loved anything with an engine that flew, floated or had four wheels. My brother can be seen in all photos of this era with a Giants cap as they had just arrived in San Francisco that year. BONUS: vintage background cars. View full size. ShadowsDoes this look familiar? Likes & DislikesHere we have a Coca-Cola sign again, that's good. My NY Giants in California, that's bad. Envious. This photo is so cool. I was about six years old then. I remember when a group of midget racers came through where we lived, and set up an impromptu track. How I envied those young kids with those bright shiny race cars. It looked like so much fun, and wondered why my dad couldn't get me one. I finally lived the dream about 35 years later when I got into kart racing. Not anywhere as sexy as these old cars, as those bodies are classics of the era. Thanks for the photo, and let me know if there are any more. Mom to the rescueI just love your mom making sure you all had refreshments with a lit cigarette dangling from her hand! BodiesThese are the coolest go-karts I have ever seen. How come our modern day go-karts don't look this cool? Even the electric and gas kart racing carts at indoor tracks look plain compared to these. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses)
Lost Dog: 1939
... responsible for the derailment & wreck of the "City of San Francisco" train. Reward Poster My father, then a Western Pacific ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/04/2013 - 8:08pm -

October 1939. "On U.S. 99 as it continues through Oregon. Lane County, Williamette Valley." Back in the day, this doggy sandwich stand was quite fetching. Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Eclectic ArchitectureA lost part of Americana. Strange and wonderful roadside diners and shops designed to lure the wayward tourist into pausing in their travels. This place obviously went to the dogs; wonder what happened to it. Probably turned into pup tents. Reward??I wonder what that $5,000 Reward posting beneath the dog's head was all about. That was an incredible amount of money in those days. Reward PosterThis looks like the Southern Pacific reward poster issued to try to find the people responsible for the derailment & wreck of the "City of San Francisco" train. Reward PosterMy father, then a Western Pacific Special Agent in Elko, was part of the investigation. The case was never solved. http://www.outbacknevada.us/hickson/CitySF.html WaymarkedThe location was Cottage Grove, Oregon. The local library has a file on the stand stating that it was built in 1930, and it also had the following information. "It weighs approximately two ton and rests on a 6 foot by 13 foot platform. It is 11 feet high and the body of the dog is 18 feet long. It is designed to be equipped with electric refrigeration and electric stove". "George Ballew had charge of the construction work, it was wired by the Nelson Electric Shop, was Painted by Ren Sanford and has been photographed by the Shields studio". The former site is waymarked here. The history is also documented on this website with even a photo of the stand being transported on the back of a truck. (The Gallery, Dogs, Dorothea Lange, Eateries & Bars)
Pilot Project: 1938
... resources in New York are being taxed. Money lies idle in San Francisco. An adjustment is made—by air. A Government official is in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/15/2013 - 11:14pm -

May 16, 1938. "National Airmail Week essay winners at Washington Airport." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. WonderWhere the 'Airmail Week' winners are being airmailed to. An interesting assortment of folks; how many might be about to take their first airplane ride, if that be the prize involved. hold on to your hats!These essays are going to blow you away. The plane that changed the world These wonderful birds have been in the air in one form or another for almost 80 years. An excellent history of the plane (Donald Douglas himself considered it the best on the subject), “The Plane that Changed the World: A Biography of the DC3,” (Douglas Ingells, 1966) is available online, and should be a must read for anyone with the slightest interest in aviation history. These planes just keep flying and flying with no end in sight. Most likely many Shorpy readers are unfamiliar with airmail service of days gone by. Most mail moved by train or truck then, but for a premium (six cents as opposed to three) a letter could be sent by air. Tail NC16094I googled the tail number and found out that the DC3 was sold by Eastern to Pan Am in 1939. In 1941 the government grabbed it and sent it to the UK. The Dakota (Brit for DC3) was sent to the North African campaign. I found that Corgi prduced a model of this DC3 and there were several offered in action. There were also three rather low rez pictures of it in war trim. It as well as both Eastern and Pan Am are no more. My First FlightMy first commercial flight was on a Frontier Airlines DC3 from Lincoln, NE to Kansas City, in about 1960. Before takeoff, the stewerdess handed out sticks of Doublemint to chew because the planes were not pressurized. I sat behind the emergency exit door and there was a slight breeze coming through it during trip. The plane flew low enough that you could see farmers out working in their fields. We had to spend about an hour on the ground in St. Joseph Missouri during a scheduled stop because it was discovered that one of the fuel caps was missing and it took them a while to round up another one. I remember more details about that short flight than the many I have taken since. Wings Over AmericaPictured are the state winners of the national essay constest. This photo at the LOC shows Postmaster Burke awarding the prizes to the top three national winners. A technical comparison of the photos (I looked at the shoes) suggests that Perry Morrison is second from the left (he has the swagger of a winner) while Ellen Peak is on the right-hand arm of the pilot. I can't find Homer Still, jr. Washington Post, April 21, 1938. Essay Contest Will Mark Air Mail Birthday Washington Public, Private School Pupils to Seek 1,500-Mile trip. Vincent Burke, District postmaster, yesterday announced plans for an essay contest for students in public and private high school of Washington in connection with the twentieth anniversary of the Government air mail service, to be celebrated from May 15 to 21. Burke said the essays would treat the subject “Wings Over America,” including the purposes of air transportation and its effects on modern communication. Similar contests are being conducted in each State. Winners of the State contests will receive an air trip to Washington to take part in the Airmail Week celebration, while the winning Washington student will be given a 1,500-mile round trip to whatever point he wishes. The runner-up in the District will be given a plane ride to Norfolk, Va., and back. The national winner will be given a trip and five-day stop-over to Hollywood, Calif., or Miami Fla. … Washington Post, May 16, 1938. … Perry Morrison, Arcadia (Calif.) High School student, last night was awarded a trip to Miami as winner of the National Air Mail Week essay contest at a dinner held at the Mayflower Hotel. Runners-up were Ellen Peak, of Manhattan, Kans., who received a bronze and silver trophy, and Homer Still, jr., of Jacksonville, Fla., who was presented with a silver plaque. … DC-3!My dad loved DC-3s, and in the late '60s finally found a C-47 cargo variant, which he loved. He flew it out of the Naples and Ft. Myers airports. He raved about it being perhaps the best airplane ever built, and I asked him what made it so special. He started a long explanation about wing loading and other technical stuff, and then stopped and said, "Sometimes an airplane just looks so right that you know it's right, and the DC-3 is one of those. It's just perfectly proportioned." Maybe that's part of their appeal. I used to see the Naples Airlines/Provincetown-Boston's DC-3 at the Naples airport in the winters and it was a beauty! The Winning EssayI tracked down Perry Morrison's winning essay, published in the May 16, 1938 issue of the Lodi News-Sentinel. Their are a few metadata discrepancies with the previously posted Washington Post article: the correct theme of the competition was “Wings Across America&#8221, not “Wings Over America&#8221 and the California paper reports Perry's high school as Monrovia, not Arcadia. I enjoyed reading Perry's essay for the combination of astonishment and thrill in the new age of air commerce and communication. Wings Across America by Perry Morrison A nation is no stronger than the ties which bind it together, Air transportation and communication constitute such a tie—an agent in binding our country into one unit. Moreover, it helps to maintain within that unit a social, cultural and economic as well as political democracy. For instance: The Federal Reserve Bank's resources in New York are being taxed. Money lies idle in San Francisco. An adjustment is made—by air. A Government official is in Chicago. Urgent matters of state call him to Washington. He is there in less than twenty-four hours—by air. Serum from Boston is needed for an epidemic in Florida. It gets there in a few hours and saves many lives—by air. Junior cuts his first tooth. Full particulars are sent—by air. Even such trivial matters as information bout Junior's tooth help to bind us together as a nation. Wings Across America help to keep us united yet democratic; efficient yet free—an ideal much of the world has given up. Wings Across America also makes for more gracious living for the individual. One has breakfast in Los Angeles; dinner in New York. A letter mailed on one coast is delivered on the other in an astonishingly short time. Loved ones or business connections, days away by land, become a matter of hours by air. Scenic wonders take an even greater glory when viewed from above. Speed and dispatch undreamed of a few years ago are now at every man's disposal for the purchase of an air mail stamp. To what end? Unity for the nation; more abundant life for the individual. (The Gallery, Aviation, D.C., Harris + Ewing)
Brunch with Cesar: 1956
My mother, grandmother and Cesar Romero; San Francisco, CA 1956. I'm assuming this was taken during brunch based on the ... 
 
Posted by four12 - 01/11/2013 - 8:55pm -

My mother, grandmother and Cesar Romero; San Francisco, CA 1956. I'm assuming this was taken during brunch based on the mode of dress, table setting and menu offerings. My grandmother was active in the arts and social circles of San Francisco during this time; I wish I had more of her photos available, I'm sure there were some great photo ops. View full size. Great photo of regular people!What a wonderful memory. It must have been such fun to live in the Bay Area in the 50's. (I was born in Berkeley in '61) Three lookersI've always thought that Cesar Romero was exceptionally good looking, and your mom and grandmother were both beautiful! (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Now Highering: 1912
... railway Many people will know of the cable cars of San Francisco, this picture shows a similar system in New York. The Broadway cable ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/16/2019 - 8:44pm -

New York circa 1912. "Broadway, looking north from Cortlandt Street and Maiden Lane." Our second look in recent weeks at the Woolworth Building in the final stages of construction. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative. View full size. Mourning jewelry window signAs anyone who every watched "Antiques Roadshow" or has done any research into old jewelry knows, it used to be a common practice to mourn one's dear departed with "remembrance" jewelry to keep in mind the loved ones who are no longer with us. Some people were in mourning for years and others, like Queen Victoria, mourned her late husband Albert for the remainder of her long life. Lots of this jewelry has black stones or black metal and some of it even incorporated locks of hair of the deceased. Some of it was exquisite and very expensive and is in museums it is so valuable, and some not so much. I had never seen it advertised in other Shorpy pictures though, so this is a first for me. "The Tubes"Pole sign, "Hudson Tunnels" - The Hudson and Manhattan Railway Tunnels - Known locally as "The Tubes"; service began between Lower Manhattan and Jersey City, July 19, 1909. Known today as the PATH System by the younger folk, but still the Tubes to me. What, pray tell... is that statute on top of one of the buildings. [Appropriately enough, it's atop the Walkover Building. -tterrace] Cable railwayMany people will know of the cable cars of San Francisco, this picture shows a similar system in New York. The Broadway cable railway opened in 1893 and ran Battery Place from Whitehall Street to Broadway - Broadway to Seventh Avenue - Seventh Avenue to 59th Street. The motive power was provided by a continuous steel cable running in a slot under the street between the rails. The central powerhouse was at Houston and Broadway. [Those slots are for access to underground electrical conduits. The last of Manhattan's cable-powered lines had been converted to electricity by 1901. -tterrace] street lightWhat is the smaller light (?) just behind the street light across Maiden Lane? Conduit CleaningThe rectangular panels located between the streetcars' running rails and the centered slot rails were to allow access to the electrical conduit whenever necessary to clear the conduits accumulation of the abundant brown debris seen on the surface of the street. PurportedlyWoolworth could see the completed building from his summer home, Winfield Hall, in Glen Cove on the North Shore of Long Island. Just for comparison, The Woolworth Building started construction in 1910, and Winfield Hall was rebuilt (after a rather suspect fire) in 1916; the skyscraper cost an estimated $13.5M to build, while the rebuilt Winfield Hall racked up an impressive price-tag in excess of $11M -- including a $2M marble staircase. Fire Alarm Box LightIn response to the post by Jmarksr: The smaller light beyond the streetlight marks the location of a Fire Alarm Box. This lamp will have a red glass shade. At night, one could immediately locate the nearest fire alarm box by looking for a red lamp. In my youth, the globes in some towns & cities were red, and in others the globes were orange. I don't know why. (Some towns also had green lamps on police call boxes.) The early fire alarm boxes were "Telegraph" boxes which used an ultra-reliable spring-wound clockwork mechanism to tap out the code of the fire box on a dedicated telegraph line to the Fire Dept., where it was recorded as punch marks on a moving paper tape. (Later, some cities converted to an actual telephone system.) The telegraph system was powered from lead-acid batteries at the Fire Dept. It would function even during a power failure, as the batteries could support the system for many days. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Streetcars)
Every Dog Has His Doubts: 1940
... carved in white aspen bark can still be found on the San Francisco peaks. My son and I spent many weekends hiking that country and we ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/27/2019 - 1:26pm -

March 1940. "Basque sheepherder camped on the range. Dangberg Ranch, Douglas County, Nevada." Photo by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. A tidy campsiteBut, then, he probably spends months there. A lonely life, being an open range shepherd, but one the Basques seem to have embraced wholeheartedly. I'll bet that pup gets spoken to a lot. Minder of Hooved LocustsThe history of sheep herding is colorful, but livestock destroyed the alpine meadows and forests in the high Sierras. One of the major reasons that John Muir formed the Sierra Club in 1892 was to seek protection from sheep and cattle grazing. Even today, 100 years after most grazing stopped in the high Sierras, the alpine meadows that I have visited have large areas of barren, eroded mineral soil and little grass. It's hard to imagine that they were once grassy meadows. From https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/life/muir_biography.aspx Through a series of articles appearing in Century magazine, Muir drew attention to the devastation of mountain meadows and forests by sheep and cattle. With the help of Century's associate editor, Robert Underwood Johnson, Muir worked to remedy this destruction. In 1890, due in large part to the efforts of Muir and Johnson, an act of Congress created Yosemite National Park. Muir was also personally involved in the creation of Sequoia, Mount Rainier, Petrified Forest and Grand Canyon national parks. Muir deservedly is often called the "Father of Our National Park System ". All dogs go to Heaven And people only if their dogs vouch for them at the gate. Head to the Hollywood hillsIf a casting director or movie producer had also been camping in the same area this very handsome sheepherder may have ended up with many fans to herd instead of sheep. Stink Eye!Never gets old! Especially from this man's best friend Thoughts of a Basque dog“On the whole, I’d rather be in Bilbao!" Watch out!Unlike his master, the dog is keeping a wary eye on the photographer. Side-EyeCanine thought-bubble: "If the human eats one more can of beans, I'm sleeping outside tonight." Basque shepherds also summered in the mountain meadows north of Flagstaff, AZ, and their graffiti carved in white aspen bark can still be found on the San Francisco peaks. My son and I spent many weekends hiking that country and we would often find what we called "cowboy camps" -- most likely Basque shepherd camps like this one. Among the fire rings and middens we found countless tin cans. The majority were indistinguishable, their labels having been burned or rotted off, but we could easily identify Prince Albert tobacco tins, condensed milk cans, sardine tins, medicine and spice jars or bottles, and occasional pot lids, lantern parts, and utensils. We enjoyed reconstructing their daily lives and habits from our forensic kitchen diggings. In Flagstaff, my home for 20+ years, we knew several descendants of Basque herders. Most lived in the little neighborhood just south of the Santa Fe railroad tracks. To this day, the ruins of a Basque handball court stands behind the Tourist Home Hotel -- formerly a rooming house catering to Basques. The mountain west is a richer place for their lives and work. Fascinating people. The University of Nevada-Reno curates the history of these immigrant people at https://basquebooks.blogs.unr.edu/category/basques-in-arizona/ (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Camping, Dogs, Frontier Life)
Thirst Trap: 1940
... of the same spot is owned by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco: Artist: Millard Donald Everingham Date: 1941 Medium: ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2018 - 8:18pm -

June 1940. "Cafe and bar in Mogollon, New Mexico." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Square Fronts- Mogollon, New MexicoThis watercolor of the same spot is owned by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco: Artist: Millard Donald Everingham Date: 1941 Medium: Watercolor Dimensions: 29.2 x 38 cm (sheet) Formerly considered a deposit of the Federal Art Project/ Works Progress Administration, probably part of an exhibition in the early 1940's. Looking for shadeBypass the benches, Hondo, and hunker down on your haunches. New Mexico in the '40s is mighty thirsty work. Rowdy crowd of messy peopleFunnily enough, here in the Spanish mainland, "mogollón" can mean something like a mess or a rowdy crowd, or even better, a rowdy crowd of messy people. Looks like a fun place to be. MogollonMogollon, once a crowded city, now a Ghost Town in Southwestern New Mexico. But long before that it was a rich archaeological culture of Native American peoples. The name Mogollon however, comes from the Mogollon Mountains, which were named after Don Juan Ignacio Flores Mogollón, Spanish Governor of New Spain (including what is now New Mexico) from 1712 to 1715. The area originally settled by the Mogollon culture was eventually filled by the unrelated Apache people, who moved in from the north. No Blatz? Improvise.Blatz is nearly forgotten today but in the mid-20th century it was a mainstream brand. Their jingle: "I'm from Milwaukee, and I ought to know! It's Draft Brewed Blatz beer, wherever you go. Smoother, fresher, less filling, that's clear. Blatz is Milwaukee's finest beer!" Immortalized via Al Pacino's line in Scent of a Woman, used as the title of this post. Blatz strikes me as a great name for a beer. Essentially a ghost town nowIt's interesting to see Mogollon (pronounced "muggy own") with so much activity and open businesses. I took a Scout troop through here a couple of years ago for a hike through the Gila National Wilderness. Gorgeous scenery and views, but certainly remote. "SAFETY FIRST"Perhaps inside the joint, but only after navigating the less than safe path to the entrance. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Russell Lee, Small Towns)
Bethlehem-Fairfield: 1943
... his sea duty tour in the Armed Guard he was assigned to San Francisco as an Assistant Port Director. One of his jobs was to inspect and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/19/2013 - 11:24am -

May 1943. "Bethlehem-Fairfield shipyards, Baltimore. 'Liberty ship' cargo transports." Photo by Arthur Siegel, Office of War Information. View full size. A Sleeping Dragon WakesAs Admiral Yamamoto, who had studied at Harvard and spent many years in the US, put it after Pearl Harbor, "We have awakened a sleeping dragon." This one shipyard at its peak in late 1943, employed 46,700 workers, including 6,000 African-Americans, who worked around the clock. From the yard's opening in 1941 until its last ship, the Atlantic City Victory, slid down its ways in October 1945, the yard delivered more vessels than any other American shipyard, and even managed to establish a world shipbuilding record. Baltimore workers had built 5,187,600 tons of shipping. They had constructed during the duration of the war, 384 Liberty ships, 94 Victories and 30 LSTs. Impressive American mightAny Nazi or Japanese leaders seeing this image of U.S. strength on the job should have shuddered, knowing what American man-power and woman-power could produce at a place such as this. The average Liberty ship could be built in 42 days, but the record was less than five days. They were correctly called "ugly ducklings" and sometimes were places of danger, but Liberty ships literally carried the freight between fighting arenas and were a prime reason we won World War II. Doing the jobI'm afraid we may have now forgotten what photos like this show: how an amazingly complex activity can be planned, organized, carried out, and managed entirely by human beings without computers or computer networks. It was done using paper, pencils, wallboards, typewriters, carbon paper, telephones, radios, regular mail, and teletype machines. Many of the people involved likely did not have a high school education; few had a college degree. They did it with about 20% of the population, those in prime working age and in the best health, gone into the military. And they pretty much did not see it as extraordinary -- though it most, most certainly was. Shipbuilding Assembly Line Baltimore Sun, September 21, 1945. Bethlehem-Fairfield's Great Building Record The Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, whose war work was brought to a close on Wednesday when four Victory ships slid down the ways, has the distinction of having built more ships during the emergency building program than any other shipyard in the world. That ought to correct any possible impression made by the ballyhoo over the shipyards on the West Coast that they and they alone did the job. Bethlehem-Fairfield has won half a dozen pennants, including the Gold Wreath Pennant, highest award of the United States Maritime Commission. And, in addition to the distinction mentioned above, there were other impressive reasons why those awards were merited. Bethlehem-Fairfield started virtually from scratch. There were only four ways on the site when the program began. In short order they were increased to sixteen. Bethlehem-Fairfield converted shipbuilding into an assembly-line process. No sooner was a ship launched than workman stepped forward to lay the keel for another. Building time for Liberty ship was cut from 150 days to nineteen. Bethlehem-Fairfield in its four busy years built and launched a total of 508 ships, of which 384 were Libertys, 94 Victories and 30 landing craft. It delivered 100 Libertys in the time allotted for 50. The 508 ships totaled 5,187,800 tons, or ten per cent of the deadweight tonnage of the American merchant marine built in the emergency period. At its peak Bethlehem-Fairfield employed 46,700 persons, so that the industrial community was a city in itself. How well it built is proved by the fact that not one of its ships ever broke in half when it went to sea, a circumstance not unknown to ships from some other yards. Kaiser Yards in Richmond, CAWhen my father finished his sea duty tour in the Armed Guard he was assigned to San Francisco as an Assistant Port Director. One of his jobs was to inspect and sign for ships built by Kaiser in Richmond California on the Sacramento River. He said that Kaiser produced and he signed for 5 Liberty ships and 2 tankers per week in that one shipyard. (The Gallery, Arthur Siegel, Baltimore, Boats & Bridges, WW2)
Vivian Slippers: 1957
... Exactly! Circa 1965, five of us tried to park a VW Bug in San Francisco's North Beach theater district one night. We found a space with less ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/12/2017 - 9:08am -

Wellington, New Zealand, circa 1957. "Bond Street, formerly known as Old Customhouse Street, photographed between 1956 and 1961 by Gordon Burt. Shows a narrow city lane." National Library of New Zealand. View full size. Those were the daysWhen people knew how to parallel park! Minor MemoriesI instantly recognized the car as a Morris Minor from my youth in Britain contemporaneous with this picture, since a couple of families on my block had them. Morris had a New Zealand manufacturing plant, so it probably wasn't imported. I had one of those!Car is a Morris 'Minor' MM. Mine was a 1952 version with a near useless 918cc side-valve engine that couldn't pull the skin off a weak rice pudding. Family ConnectionI believe Vivian's brother was the great golfer Fred (Fuzzy) Slippers. I could be wrong. Re: Parallel ParkingExactly! Circa 1965, five of us tried to park a VW Bug in San Francisco's North Beach theater district one night. We found a space with less than 2 feet of clearance, so we got out, carried the Bug in, and went on our way. Wow, Changed HeapsTotally unrecognisable. The only building in this photo still standing is the one in the distance with the cupola, the Dominion Building in Mercer St. All these others in Bond street were demolished in 1958 to make way for - you guessed it - a parking building! Sad really, they also demolished Wellington's oldest surviving business premises from 1841, just out of view behind the building on the left in this photo. 42-273And the motorcycle looks like a Velocette LE. (Bicycles, Cars, Trucks, Buses, New Zealand)
REO Mountaineer: 1906
June 1906. "REO Mountaineer, New York to San Francisco and back." Percy Megargel and David Fassett on 162nd Street in the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/04/2014 - 9:06pm -

June 1906. "REO Mountaineer, New York to San Francisco and back." Percy Megargel and David Fassett on 162nd Street in the Bronx at the end of their 10-month, 11,000-mile trip in a 16-horsepower REO (Ransom E. Olds) touring car. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Interestingly...Wilford Brimley (left) and Rudyard Kipling (right) were both there. Armed and dangerousI wonder if the rifle was optional equipment. Remember HoratioAlthough he only made a one way trip, he did it 3 years earlier in a 20 HP Winton. A great story and an even better Ken Burns documentary. And it all started with a 50 dollar bet. REO Not-so SpeedwagonMy great-grandfather had a small bus operation serving Edinburgh, Peebles & Dumfries. They had several REO buses in the early days but later replaced these with better-lasting products from Thornycroft, Albion and the like. Story was REO = Ruins Every Operator! Underpowerd WonderWow. I often feel my Honda CRV is woefully underpowered at 185HP. Am amazed that, at 16HP, the REO could even pull itself over the Rockies, much less with passengers and accompanying stuff. CCCCI want my rugs done by "Careful Carpet Cleaning Co." (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, NYC)
Gladys Wagner: 1920s
... of her during the 1920s when she danced professionally in San Francisco. View full size. Stories I hope your mother lived a long, ... 
 
Posted by chiliangel - 01/09/2012 - 1:47pm -

My mother Gladys Wagner posing for one of many publicity pictures taken of her during the 1920s when she danced professionally in San Francisco. View full size. StoriesI hope your mother lived a long, full life and was able to share some wonderful stories with you. I'm sure she had plenty to tell; in my opinion she was born at the perfect time, and in San Francisco for much of it I gather. Can't get any better than that! (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Bus Baggage: 1943
... vu... Recently, flying home non-stop from Boston to San Francisco... It felt exactly like we remember being treated as a Bus ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/17/2014 - 3:06pm -

September 1943. "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Bringing baggage from a bus." Photo by Esther Bubley for the Office of War Information. View full size. Not in ColumbusThe bus may be Columbus bound but that big hotel in the background is the old Fort Pitt Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. [Thankyou! - Dave] It's very film noirish...in a dark, sort of gloomy way. A bus station in a dark, gritty downtown terminal. You can almost smell it. Fort Hayes HotelLooking at the sign on the building behind, that may be the Fort Hayes Hotel which is long gone. Deja vu...Recently, flying home non-stop from Boston to San Francisco... It felt exactly like we remember being treated as a Bus Passenger in the 1960's! Ah, Esther!She's always great. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Esther Bubley, Pittsburgh)
Neoclassical Gas: 1919
San Francisco, 1919. "Hudson Biddle & Smart touring limousine at Palace of Fine ... International Exposition of 1915. Beloved by San Franciscans, it was the only structure retained afterward. The building ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/09/2017 - 12:14pm -

San Francisco, 1919. "Hudson Biddle & Smart touring limousine at Palace of Fine Arts." Home, Fido! 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. Not exactlyThe 1960s reconstruction of the Palace is MOSTLY an exact replica of the 1915 version. The wall of the Palace itself facing the colonnade was originally fully decorated with freestanding and engaged columns identical to those of the colonnade, and the central doors facing the entrance to the rotunda were elaborately framed. This wall was rebuilt smooth, dull and blank (presumably to reduce costs) and its bareness is now screened by trees; the central doors now have minimal moldings framing them. The original concept as executed made the crescent walk behind the colonnade a much richer, more enclosing, visual experience than it is today. A bit of the pergola which crowned the original wall is visible in this photo. Theft insurance.Love the chain and padlock on the spare tire. During the big warThe lad on the right has a navy pea coat with chief petty officer rating. Some kids even had a full uniform to wear. Last war that happened. [He must be standing behind the car. -tterrace] ReduxThat's the original Palace of Fine Arts Rotunda, built of wood and "staff" (a mixture of plaster and straw) for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915. Beloved by San Franciscans, it was the only structure retained afterward. The building deteriorated so badly over the next 50 years that it had to be demolished in the fall of 1964. An exact replica was built in its place from permanent materials and was completed two years later. Early SUVwith integral roof rails and requisite pooch. FashionistaShe can also be seen here. Hudson Sold ValueWhen this car was new autos often had mechanical troubles that made them difficult to drive. Hudson was a medium priced car that was both powerful & reliable for its time. The Super Sixes as shown in this picture were the first production car to feature a counterbalanced crankshaft allowing higher engine speeds, more power & longer life than was typical at the time. Another feature was a cork clutch which ran in oil that was smooth, long lasting and did not slip. Other types of clutches often jerked, burnt out or slipped. Every Hudson except the first & last years of production was equipped with a cork clutch. With these mechanical advantages and a moderate price, Hudson sold a lot of Super Sixes and some were fitted with elite bodies such as those by Biddle & Smart. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, Dogs)
Family Excursion 1919
... Falls, California, on an excursion from their home in San Francisco. Their family car is a 1914 Hudson 6-54. Standing on the running ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 12/04/2010 - 5:05pm -

Members of my mother's family in Merced Falls, California, on an excursion from their home in San Francisco. Their family car is a 1914 Hudson 6-54. Standing on the running board, my mother and her twin brother Albert, with her older brother Francis and mother Marie standing at the right. Her father John is in the car, barely visible behind the windshield; oldest brother Jack drove, but isn't in this shot. Anna, a family friend, is seated on the running board. They're visiting my mother's older sister Mary, who had recently wed and moved to Merced Falls. View full size. Family archives date this trip in the summer of 1919, although there's a 1920 license plate; I'm not sure how they were issued back then. Some of these folks are also seen in a 1916 family portrait. Scanned from original 2-1/2 X 4-1/4 116 roll film negative. Great photos!The two photos are amazing. Wonder when the age of "portrait" photography died. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, tterrapix)
Planespotting: 1942
... on Mt. Tamalpias that covered (with many blind spots) the San Francisco Bay Area. Our call sign was "Sliphorn." Those were the days of the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/19/2014 - 7:27pm -

        Flying saucer at 9 o'clock! July 1942. "Training high school boys to identify planes. There's no question about these young people's ability to recognize airplanes by their silhouettes. They're learning this and other essential facts of aviation at Weequahic High School, Newark, New Jersey, in a course designed to teach students the fundamentals of flying." Office of War Information photo. View full size. Volunteer Plane SpottersIn the early 1950s my mother was a volunteer plane spotter in suburban Syracuse, NY. I was less than 10 years old, but as I recall she spent one afternoon a week in a spotting tower somewhere in the area. Seems funny now, but it was taken seriously at the start of the cold war. Ooooh! Pick me!It's a B17! That kidOne of them has to be Jimmy Olsen. Ground Observer CorpsSome measures taken in response to perceived danger are more oriented toward improving morale and creating the impression that "something is being done" than they are intended to procure any substantive effect. Thus, this Boy Scout and a pair of Bausch and Lombs spent more than one chilly weekend shift on a rooftop in downtown Rochester, NY, scanning the skies for any impending aerial onslaught by the forces of Godless Communism. If, in fact, I had actually spotted a formation of Soviet bombers, correctly identified same, and managed to make it down several flights of stairs to a phone before being vaporized, it is highly doubtful it would have made any difference in the outcome. But, like the air passengers who eschewed carrying nail clippers post-9/11, I and my fellows were "making a difference." Fortunately, the completion of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line of radar installations in Northern Canada intervened to save an entire generation from having permanently dislocated necks, a deliverance for which those responsible for administering Medicare are probably grateful. 15 years later the skill became obsolete I've just been reading a thriller set in the UK, one of the central components of which was a Royal Observation Corps bunker. The ROC started as a volunteer plane spotter service, but but by the mid 50s the speed of planes, combined with the threat from nuclear missiles meant that they had lost their raison d'etre, so they moved underground and became nuclear attack monitors instead. And in FloridaThey built a series of plane spotting towers up and down the coast. Story goes that the US would capture a Nazi plane and fly it Dayton OH via N.Africa, Brazil, and ultimately up the Florida coast -- which would set off all kinds of panic in he towers. Last I checked, one of the towers still existed as a historical site in the Cape Canaveral area. Don't shoot !it's one of ours. Radar TellAs a 14 year old Sea Scout I did weekly tours (Sunday morning) at the Ground Observer Corps Filter Center in Oakland, California. The Filter Center maintained tracks on table maps that were directly derived from UK practice. My job was to call confirmed tracks into the installation call sign "Sunbonnet" which was the one radar on Mt. Tamalpias that covered (with many blind spots) the San Francisco Bay Area. Our call sign was "Sliphorn." Those were the days of the Air Defense Identification Zones, where incoming pilots were given a sealed envelope with a pattern they were to fly in order to be recognized. Every once in a while an airliner ("one multi high") would get it wrong and we'd see the interceptors ("few single jet low") go out of Hamilton AFB after them. We would also occasionally track squadrons of B36s headed out over the Pacific. Every six months or so we'd get a morale tour of Hamilton and they'd scramble a jet for our entertainment. Heady and scary stuff for a young kid. Eight years later I sweated out the Cuban Missile Crisis on a SAC base. At my fortieth birthday party someone asked me how it felt to be forty and I said "amazed." (The Gallery, Aviation, Education, Schools, WW2)
Hot Rod Lincoln: 1924
... What?! A vintage car pic that wasn’t taken in San Francisco?? Didn't think they existed. Stickered From the look of all ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/14/2017 - 4:41pm -

Washington, D.C., 1924. "Lincoln roadster at Ford Motor Building, Pennsylvania Avenue." 8x10 glass negative, National Photo Company. View full size. What?!A vintage car pic that wasn’t taken in San Francisco?? Didn't think they existed. StickeredFrom the look of all those badges, "I Get Around" would be appropriate, too. 1920s PhotographyA photo taken on a bright summer day, and the fellow walking up the street is still blurry. Would love to know the camera setting on this excellent photo. A Canuck?I note a maple leaf on the back glass, and a plate that shows COL., for British Columbia maybe? He would be a long way from home. [That's "Dist. Col.," as seen here. -tterrace] Blame CanadaThe Canadian government purchased this site and surrounding lots in 1979, demolishing the Ford Building that same year. It's now the site of Canada's chancery building. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Elko Depot: 1940
... On the pole next to the station: Milepost 556 from San Francisco. Think the roof sign says 1 mile to the airport west of town. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/20/2018 - 11:01am -

March 1940. "Railroad station. Elko, Nevada." Medium format negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. AirplanesThe markings on the roof point to the airport (lefthand circle and line). Unpaved airstrips can be pretty difficult to spot. Railroad & station goneBut the Nevada Bank Building remains. The Commercial Hotel is now the Commercial Casino. "An Outpost of Hell, or Texas"In a railroad history book, possibly a work of Lucius Beebe, I read that an early rail traveler described Elko as "An outpost of Hell, or Texas." I'm sure that Elko did not really deserve that, nor did Texas. It had something to do with a non-air-conditioned train making a lengthy stop to change cars under the Nevada sun. There's no breeze coming in through the windows when the cars are stationary! Then again, if it was indeed a Lucius Beebe book, well, let's just say it was said of him that he never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Southern PacificOn the pole next to the station: Milepost 556 from San Francisco. Think the roof sign says 1 mile to the airport west of town. Childhood MemoriesIf you followed those train tracks to the right for a mile or so, you'd be able to look over our back fence. When the big 2-8-8-2s came by the whole house would shake. My father made a set of steps so I could look over the fence at the trains. I remember the hot dogs at the cafe at the Commercial Hotel, split, fried, and served on a hamburger bun. The drug store whose sign is partially obscured had a penny slot machine just inside the door, more fascinating for a little kid than any video game. Other than that my main memories of Elko are of dust, heat, freezing cold in winter, and drunks passed out on the sidewalk. And the smell of the stockyards. Passing throughAt one point, in the early 1950s, my Uncle Dick was a radio DJ in Elko. One of a number of unusual jobs he had trying to put his life back together after the war. He was a good guy. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Railroads, Small Towns)
Steamboat Gothic: 1938
1938. " 'San Francisco,' Reserve vicinity, St. John Parish, Louisiana. Steamboat Gothic ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/31/2016 - 8:08pm -

1938. " 'San Francisco,' Reserve vicinity, St. John Parish, Louisiana. Steamboat Gothic circa 1850." 8x10 negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. She still shinesBeautiful old house. Good to see the place is now in much better shape. Most descriptive"Steamboat Gothic" sums it up precisely, do we assume those tanks on each side contain water? Everything looks worse...Having visited this plantation last summer, I feel this is one of the few instances where black and white doesn't do fair justice as the colors on this house are astounding. Unfortunately, the estate is now surrounded on three sides by a refinery Cistern for your water pleaseThe round structures are cisterns which collected rain water for domestic use. Look at the right cistern and you can see the 'downspout' from the roof gutters running into the cistern. Assume at the time the pic was taken there was a pump system that provide water to the house. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston)
Belles of the Ball: 1906
... 1906, at Astor House in New York -- the same day as the San Francisco earthquake. - Dave] Stella! I wonder if they're relying on ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 11:41pm -

New York, 1906. "The Gerson sisters in costume for the Crinoline Ball." Our second from this series of photographs by Gertrude Käsebier. View full size. Not teenagersI usually associate events like a "Crinoline Ball" with coming-out parties or other festivities for young girls. This image shows, though, that the Gerson sisters were women -- maybe in their 30s? in 1906. Their arms look young, but this view shows their faces better than the earlier posting, and they aren't 16 year-olds, especially the one in the back. So, does anyone know what the Crinoline Ball was and who went? [Virginia Gerson was 40 and her sister Minerva (Minnie) was about 50 when this picture was taken. The Crinoline Ball, a costume party, was held the evening of April 18, 1906, at Astor House in New York -- the same day as the San Francisco earthquake. - Dave] Stella!I wonder if they're relying on the kindness of strangers, at this point. (The Gallery, Gertrude Kasebier, Portraits)
Virginia City With Cars: 1965
... The Charlatans This was the same summer when San Francisco cult band The Charlatans had a residency at the Red Dog Saloon in ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 09/18/2018 - 10:54pm -

I thought about titling this "A Study in Kodachrome Blue and Red" but didn't. I took it on a trip to the historic Nevada silver mining town in August 1965. The building now houses the Comstock Fire Museum, and the steeples are St. Paul's Episcopal and St. Mary in the Mountains. I was going to identify the cars by make and year, but why should I spoil all the fun? View full size. What about the fifth car?No one has identified the car on the right, the one behind the Mercury. Comstock Firemen's Museum, to-day! Oh, you *could* haveIdentifying all the cars yourself might have actually forced us to talk about some other subject ... such as the firehouse's architectural features. (Davis Italianate Revival commercial, brick, mid-period) Crunch TimeI wonder what the driver of the 1955 Mercury ran into that caved in the fender but spared the trim? Someone else can identify the Pontiac, the Falcon and the Chrysler. OK I'll bitePontiac is 1962, Chrysler 1965, Falcon year not discernible. Looks like building once had four symmetrical windows then they converted two into a door. My first visit here was todayWhen I realized I live about four hours away from Virginia City, and inspired by the vintage photos you've posted, I struck out today for my first time visit. I just returned from my road trip, and was pleasantly surprised to see your photo of what I'd been viewing in person only a few hours before. The CharlatansThis was the same summer when San Francisco cult band The Charlatans had a residency at the Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, and inaugurated psychedelic rock according to one widely held point of view. Sadly no footage or even photos appear to survive, but even the poster for the gigs is so famous that there is an eight-minute YouTube video devoted to it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS2gm0dIhq4 (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
Ensconced: 1925
... her mother was the official sponsor at the launching in San Francisco of the Clemson-class destroyer USS Selfridge, named for Mrs. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/29/2012 - 2:09pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1925. "Miss Katherine Kellond." A sofa-size portrait. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. The Haves and Have-NotsLest we believe that everyone lived such a gracious and elegant lifestyle in 1925, let us remember that this was apparently an upper crust young lady. My own mom was 15 at that time, daughter of a Pa. coal-miner, who had to leave home at 13 to work full time as a kitchen helper and waitress in her uncle's "free lunch" and beer bar in Brooklyn to help support her younger siblings and send them most of her pay every week. When she passed away in 1996, we found she had still kept in her closet her two vintage waitresses uniforms and the very first new coat she ever bought with her own earnings. Somebody at the Goodwill Thrift Store may have them now not knowing they represented her memories of the 1920's as she lived them. Army DebutanteSome rummaging around online suggests that this is Miss Katherine Henley Kellond, born in 1905, the second of five children (four girls and one boy) born to Lt. Col. Frederick George Kellond (b. 1878), an officer of the US Army General Staff, and Katherine Henley Selfridge (b. 1884). In 1919, her mother was the official sponsor at the launching in San Francisco of the Clemson-class destroyer USS Selfridge, named for Mrs. Kellond's grandfather, Rear Admiral Thomas O. Selfridge (1804-1902). Mrs. Kellond's father, Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr. (1836-1924) was also a Rear Admiral. Miss Kellond is also listed in the scant genealogical records I found as the mother of two daughters with the surname Taylor. Perhaps another Shorpyite with better access to the Washington newspaper archives will be able to zero in on Miss Kellond and the event for which she modeled this ball gown. Great-Aunt Katharine KellondThe young lady in the photograph is Katharine Kellond, my grandmother's oldest sibling/sister. Given the year the photo was taken, I presume this would have been her coming-out gown portrait. She was a few years older than my grandmother, making the year the appropriate date for her debutante ball. My great-grandparents were stationed in the DC area during this time before being stationed in the Panama Canal Zone. My grandmother, Harriet Kellond (Richards) was the second daughter, and was married in the Panama on Jan 1st, 1930. The two younger sisters are Jane and Ruthie and they were quite a bit younger in age. The only son, Thomas, died as a small boy from meningitis. My great-grandmother, Katharine Selfridge Kellond, was the sister of Lt. Thomas Selfridge, who was the first person to die in a working airplane. This occured at Fort Myer when the Wright brothers brought their invention to show off to the Army in hopes of selling them. Uncle Thom was a young officer and was selected to go up with one of the Wright brothers. The plane crashed, breaking Tom's neck and, I believe, the Wright brother's arm. There is film of the crash that you can see at the Air and Space Museum. I would have to confirm with my mother any further details regarding Aunt Katharine's marriages and children. I do know you have her name spelled correctly as it is also my name. Love the picture. Thanks, Katharine Kellon Roth (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Portraits)
Herman Miller: 1958
... Alexander and Susan Girard at the Herman Miller show in San Francisco. View larger. 35mm Kodachrome transparency, Charles & Ray ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/17/2019 - 9:15pm -

1958. Alexander and Susan Girard at the Herman Miller show in San Francisco. View larger. 35mm Kodachrome transparency, Charles & Ray Eames collection. Braniff AirlinesThis picture brings back memories of Braniff International Airlines. During the 1960's Alexander Girard was hired to design the new color schemes of one of the best airlines ever to fly the skies. The colors and patterns in the picture are similar to what he would use in designing everything from uniforms, terminal interiors, aircraft interiors and exteriors. This brings back a lot of good memories. Miller TimeI own a Herman Miller chair and I love it. Glad to see him on film. (Kodachromes, Art & Design, Charles & Ray Eames)
Ghost Concourse: 1910
... similar in a panoramic photo on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Instead of a long exposure, I did multiple exposures at several ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2014 - 11:42am -

Circa 1910. "Train concourse, Union Station, Washington, D.C." Time exposure capturing hundreds of ephemeral footfalls. 8x10 glass negative. View full size. GhostsI did something similar in a panoramic photo on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Instead of a long exposure, I did multiple exposures at several angles, then stacked them in Photoshop, and used the statistics function to remove the differences (all the cars and pedestrians), and then stitched the panorama. Have a look below, though the 490 px width limits the photo's impact. [Try this: Upload a larger second photo, uncheck "list" for both pictures, and use html to make the 490px photo enlarge. - Dave] Be very, very still...I guess we can surmise that the man in the distance remained motionless for the entire exposure. How could he avoid checking his iPhone for such a long time? Arc lamps?Those lights look like arc lamps. Are they? I've never seen arc lamps used indoors before. How were they serviced? Was there a way to lower them like outdoor arcs? And what about the fumes? One of My Favorites This is a great photo. One of my all time favorites on Shorpy. I have it in my bookmarks to eventually order a print. Sunlight through the skylights!It's too bad they had to block those skylights when they restored the building in the 80s. It's lovely to see how it was intended to look in the day, with the light pouring through. (The Gallery, D.C., DPC, Railroads, Travel & Vacation)
Scout Kar: 1918
... path. The inhabitants of the Pacific Coast from Seattle to San Diego swear they are "seeing things." A sheriff who has a record for ... "camouflage" in its charge. A committee of three prominent San Francisco artists will paint this car with color patches, which suggests ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/11/2014 - 7:38pm -

        America's first camouflaged automobile has been let loose, and is now on the war path. The inhabitants of the Pacific Coast from Seattle to San Diego swear they are "seeing things." A sheriff who has a record for pinching speeders is out after the camoufleurs who committed "camouflage" to prove that America's automobiles are as chameleon-like while on the war path as those in Europe. -- Oakland Tribune, Oct. 28, 1917         W.L. Hughson, of KisselKar fame upon the Pacific Coast, has donated the famous Kissel military scout car, recently used to blaze the "three nation run," to the government department having the new operations of "camouflage" in its charge. A committee of three prominent San Francisco artists will paint this car with color patches, which suggests nothing except the surrounding earth, trees, grain fields, sky, etc., making an exact fac-simile of the cars now being used by the allies along the various war fronts -- Motor West, Oct. 15, 1917 "Kissel Military Highway Scout Kar." From somewhere in the woodsy Pacific Northwest comes the "Scout Kar" last seen here, with 1918 Washington State dealer plates. 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. What car?All I see is a bunch of Trees. October 28, 1917Slow news day in Oakland. Word of the day:Camoufleurs. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin)
Slush Bus: 1942
... and here is a photo shows one that is preserved by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) in operating condition. Palm Sunday ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/17/2019 - 5:53pm -

March 1942. Washington, D.C. "Bus going through the snow near Connecticut Avenue and Chevy Chase Circle." No one ever moved to Washington for the weather! Photo by John Ferrell for the Office of War Information. View full size. Bus TurnaroundThis pic was probably at the bus turn-around on the west side of Conn Ave just south of the Circle. DC buses couldn't continue into Maryland. The Maryland buses were allowed to enter the DC to use the turn-around ... but not farther. The restriction on "transborder" service ended some time after WW2. Sweet Nepenthe!With more than ten years' residence in the greater DC area, I am bound to say that despite the occurrence of heavy weather at least once most winters, the civil authorities usually react as if the blizzard in question were the first since Pangaea broke up, and any motorists with experience of driving in slippery weather have that knowledge wiped from their minds. LetterboxedThis bus is identifiable by the very short windshield, which must have had lots of blind spots. Not to mention the minuscule driver's outside rear view mirror. It appears to be a late 1930s White, and here is a photo shows one that is preserved by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) in operating condition. Palm Sunday BlizzardThis photo likely was taken during the Palm Sunday Blizzard that hit Baltimore and Washington on March 29-30, 1942. Twenty-two inches of snow fell in Baltimore and about a foot fell in Washington. The Infamous Palm Sunday BlizzardI grew up in Baltimore in the 40's and every time there was a storm over three inches in depth the "Old Folks" would go into detail about that Palm Sunday Blizzard. My mother (b. 1904) who lived into the 1980's was still talking about that storm in her 80's. Her eyes would glaze over whenever a big snow storm hit and out would come, "This is bad but on Palm Sunday in '42 we really had a bad storm." (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., John Ferrell)
Cape May: 1913
... largest collection of such homes in the nation after San Francisco. In 1976, the entire city of Cape May was officially designated a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 10:17pm -

Cape May, New Jersey, circa 1913. "Life saving station at Cape May Point." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Mamma and The CaptainWhere are the Katzenjammer Kids? Swept away by the seaThat location is now in the ocean--there's been some terrible erosion at Cape May Point over the last century. What goes aroundAfter saving your life in the surf, I imagine the lifeguards here would bring you inside, dry you off and get you a nice cup of tea. In addition, the house itself would fit well into any new urbanist neighborhood of the 21st century. A distinguished historyCape May began hosting vacationers from Philadelphia in the mid 1700s and is recognized by the United States government as the country's oldest seaside resort. It became increasingly popular in the 18th century and was considered one of the finest resorts in America by the 19th century. Cape May is noted for its large number of well-maintained Victorian houses — the second largest collection of such homes in the nation after San Francisco. In 1976, the entire city of Cape May was officially designated a National Historic Landmark (Cape May Historic District). It is the only city in the United States wholly designated as such. That designation is intended to ensure the architectural preservation of these buildings. (The Gallery, DPC)
Towers of the East: 1940
... Golden Gate International Exposition, Treasure Island, San Francisco, 1940. The Temple Compound and Towers of the East, designed by ... 
 
Posted by returntoBuddha - 05/04/2015 - 7:17pm -

Golden Gate International Exposition, Treasure Island, San Francisco, 1940. The Temple Compound and Towers of the East, designed by William G. Merchant. Between the Towers were two gold bas-reliefs, "Dance of Life" and "Path of Dark­ness." From a box of Kodachrome slides found at a flea market. View full size. Everything's Coming Up RosesBilly Rose's Aquacade was a major attraction at the 1939 NY World's Fair. The outdoor amphitheater had 11,000 seats. Appearing there was the swimmer Eleanor Holm, a star of the 1936 Olympics who he later married after he divorced, a then superstar, Fanny Brice. Other swimmers were Johnny Weissmuller, Buster Crabbe and Esther Williams. Rose was also a movie and stage producer, a lyricist, a night club operator (Times Square's "The Diamond Horseshoe") and a speed typewriting contest winner. The World's Fair closed in 1940 but the Aquacade continued through 1955. Dance of Life / Path of DarknessThe titles of the bas-reliefs got my attention, so I looked them up: What AUnique chapeau our determined young lady is wearing. Vestibular HatIndeed: wearing your heart on your sleeve is one thing, but wearing your inner ear on your head is quite another. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Boy Scout and Grandfather
... Charley's family lived in the South-of-Market area of San Francisco, but after getting chased out by the Great Earthquake and Fire, moved ... 
 
Posted by bowdidge - 06/28/2009 - 8:19am -

Photo of my great-great-grandfather, Charles Cunningham, and great uncle. (I think it's Charley Cunningham, though no one remembered to note names on the old photos.) My guess is that this dates from the teens and was taken somewhere in Northern California. I'll guess that Charley is a Boy Scout, but I'll bet someone else can identify the uniform better. Charley's family lived in the South-of-Market area of San Francisco, but after getting chased out by the Great Earthquake and Fire, moved up to Vallejo to live with the grandparents until the city rebuilt. They ended up in the Mission and finally Castro District of San Francisco back when those neighborhoods were solidly Irish. Charles emigrated from Ireland in the 1860's, so he must have shook his head at how different life was for his grandchildren in the modern United States. Everyone looks upstanding and proper here, but I've got another photo of Charles and his wife laughing as they try not to fall out of a hammock. Even Victorian-era grandparents laughed and acted silly. View full size. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Canal Street: 1907
... see in these two photos which tracks were the busiest. San Francisco's Market Street had four streetcar tracks, and was known colloquially ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/15/2020 - 10:50am -

New Orleans circa 1907. "Canal Street." Center stage: A Streetcar Named Prytania. Composite image made from two 8x10 inch glass negatives. View full size. Expensive healthcareIt is probably no coincidence that a Loan Office is in the same building as the National Dental Parlors. Tooth-hurty1907 dentistry on an industrial scale ... now there's an appealing idea! "Those are screams of joy, kids -- no worries!" My mother recalls her 1930s visits to a dentist named Dr. Carpenter. Guess what sort of tools he used? Details about the photoOf the five tracks in this view, only the two outer tracks were dual gauge. Actually, you can see it, just vaguely. It's the right-hand rail that was dual, and it looks like the railhead is wider. That's the effect of the double right-hand railheads next to each other (with just wheel flange clearance between them). We can date the photo to no later than 1904. In that year, by Louisiana law, all vestibules had to be enclosed. I suspect it dates from 1900-1904. [It was taken the same day as this view, whose negative is marked with a copyright date of 1907. - Dave] The car with the Prytania clerestory sign was presumably assigned usually to that route, but is not at that moment on that route. A Prytania car would not be on that track. Note the Special sign hanging from the dash. I believe the car is on some kind of special assignment, perhaps a charter. A Streetcar Named PrytaniaAs cool a photo as I've seen in a long time. Thank you, Dave Drip - Drip - DripEarly streetcars and interurbans did not have sealed wheel and axle bearings. The result was that lubricating oil leaked out onto the pavement. You can readily see in these two photos which tracks were the busiest. San Francisco's Market Street had four streetcar tracks, and was known colloquially as "The Roar of the Four". (The Gallery, DPC, New Orleans, Streetcars)
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