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- Paige-Turner: 1927
- San Francisco circa 1927. "Paige Landau Coupe at Lafayette Park." Latest contestant ...
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... Posted by Dave - 08/23/2021 - 10:53am -
![San Francisco circa 1927. "Paige Landau Coupe at Lafayette Park." Latest contestant in the Shorpy Pageant of Automotive Obscurities. 5x7 glass negative by Chris Helin. View full size.
Elegant carVery elegant lady, perfectly dressed for the part.
The early days of ghost riding.When it was done with style and verve.
The folks who drove them are gone tooI enjoy your fun and usually alliterative intros of bygone auto makes and got to thinking of how much I prefer them to the recent dozen years or so of front ends of expensive cars looking like Massive Mack Machines or Bloated, Bulging Beatles. Would that I could afford a 1932 Packard 2 seater sporty 12 cylinder with maybe a rumble seat thrown in - Could this have anything to do with my being born that year , I wonder - - - ?
Stuck on StockingsThe elegantly dressed woman appears to be wearing nylon stockings. Weren't nylon stockings invented years later?
[Before nylon there was silk. -tterrace]
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-1071.thumbnail.jpg "Paige-Turner: 1927")
- Win: 1896
- ... TRAGIC END
Ball Player, 28, Takes Own Life in San Francisco.
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 13 -- Winnie ... Posted by Dave - 02/20/2017 - 8:58pm -
![Circa 1896. "Mercer, Washington baseball." George Barclay "Win" Mercer (1874-1903). Glass negative from the C.M. Bell portrait studio. View full size.
MERCER'S TRAGIC END
Ball Player, 28, Takes Own Life in San Francisco.
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 13 -- Winnie D. Mercer, a pitcher for the American baseball team, registered at the Occidental Hotel last evening and was found asphyxiated in his room to-day. Mercer was registered under the name of George Murray and gave his residence as Philadelphia. The watchman of the hotel in making his rounds detected the odor of gas coming from Mercer's room, and, failing to receive a response to his knocking, broke down the door. Clad in his night clothes and lying in the bed with his coat and vest covering his head, Mercer was found. From the gas jet in the center of the room was suspended a rubber tube, and the end of this Mercer had placed in his mouth, after turning the gas full on.
Mercer's identity was established by papers found among his effects, one of which read: "Tell Mr. Van Horn, of the Langham Hotel, that Winnie Mercer has taken his life." He also left letters, one to his mother and another to a young lady of East Liverpool, Ohio, expressing regret over his deed and bidding them fond farewells. He left a statement of his financial accounts addressed to Tip O'Neill, and advised his friends to avoid games of chance and women.
-- Washington Post, January 14, 1903.
Alternative FactAn odd mistake for the WaPo to have made here, especially for one as well known at the time as Win Mercer was. It should have read "former" pitcher with the Washington Americans, as many called them--because in fact he had been gone from there more than a year, playing for the Detroit Tigers in 1902 and expected to serve as their player-manager in "03. After his sudden demise, Ed Barrow was hired and later saw great fame as Yankees exec in the Ruth/Gehrig era.
[The newspaper article is correct. At the time of his death, Win played for the American League. - Dave]
Cigarettes, whiskey and wild women... threw him a curve he couldn't hit.
Positions: Pitcher, Third Baseman and Outfielder
Bats: Left • Throws: Right
5-9, 154lb (175cm, 69kg)
Born: June 20, 1874 in Chester, WV USA
Died: January 12, 1903 (Aged 28-206d) in San Francisco, CA
Debut: April 21, 1894 (Age 19-305d, 1,762nd in MLB history)
He played 9 years with a record of 132W-164L with an ERA of 3.98 and a BA .285 and OPS .689
In 1901 at the age of 27 he made $3,600.00 which is $105,282.66 in today's dollars. That would be a bargain for a three position player today since the average MLB salary is over $4 million and players still get $100 a day in meal money.
Teams
Washington NL 1894-1899
New York Giants 1900
Washington AL 1901
Detroit Tigers 1902
Career Stats Baseball Reference
Expanded Bio from Society for American Baseball ResearchIt throws a little more light on his sad ending.
(The Gallery, Bell Studio, D.C., Handsome Rakes, Sports)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-07121a.thumbnail.jpg "Win: 1896")
- Apocalypse Then: 1906
- "Earthquake panorama." San Francisco after the devastating earthquake and fire of April 18, 1906. ... negative originally from the Wyland Stanley collection of San Francisciana, purchased and scanned by Shorpy. View full size.
When ... Posted by Dave - 09/24/2014 - 11:22am -
!["Earthquake panorama." San Francisco after the devastating earthquake and fire of April 18, 1906. Landmarks include the domed, burned-out shell of the Call newspaper tower at left, and City Hall at right. Still standing and open for business: Cold Day Lunch and Oyster House, along with "New Franks" and "Original Coppa." 8.5 x 6.5 inch glass negative originally from the Wyland Stanley collection of San Francisciana, purchased and scanned by Shorpy. View full size.
When was this photo taken?Is there an exact date on the photo? It appears that some buildings damaged beyond repair have been demolished, a lot of the rubble has been hauled away, and some rebuilding has begun.
[There is no date. - Dave]
That's Pine Street in the foregroundThe 3 sturdy buildings at center are gone now, but were in the 400 block of Pine. The alley running beside Café Confidence is now called Belden Place. Right of that is Kearney Street. The 5-story building on Kearney is still standing.
Today, Look for the CisternsIf you drive down the wider streets of San Francisco today, you'll occasionally come across a circle of red bricks spanning the street, with a manhole cover in the middle labelled "Cistern SFFD." This is part of the auxiliary water system installed after the Great Fire. My father, who had contacts in the City government, told me they were marked that way so SF Fire Department could locate them in a rubble-strewn street and dynamite the top to get access if necessary.
Construction standardsI note that, among the devastation, the skyscrapers under construction (those with cranes on top) seem to have done pretty well. As this site notes, "the handful of reinforced concrete structures and steel framed buildings had done the best, surviving [the earthquake] with relatively little structural damage."
Stairway to nowhereLooks like that delivery boy is having a problem at the Café Confidence!
(The Gallery, Fires, Floods etc., San Francisco, W. Stanley)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-GN-1906-SF-earthquake-wyland-2.thumbnail.jpg "Apocalypse Then: 1906")
- Goodyear Girls: 1932
- "Goodyear Girls bathing beauties in San Francisco -- September 14, 1932." Spreading the gospel of Proper Inflation. ...
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Pretty Girls, San Francisco) ... Posted by Dave - 01/28/2015 - 4:29pm -
- Sixteen Sweethearts: 1932
- San Francisco, 1932. "Essex Super Six at El Capitan Theatre, in the Mission." Now ...
(The Gallery, San Francisco, W. Stanley) ... Posted by Dave - 01/09/2016 - 4:37pm -
- King at the Temple: 1920
- San Francisco's Golden Gate Park circa 1920. "King Model H 'Foursome' touring car ... in the photo was the result of the seismic unpleasantness San Francisco had recently endured.
Still looking good
The old ... Posted by Dave - 11/11/2019 - 8:14pm -
- Canned Heat: 1935
- August 9, 1935. San Francisco. "GMC truck -- Associated Oil fuel tanker." Short but sweet. 8x10 ... line in college.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, San Francisco) ... Posted by Dave - 12/21/2014 - 1:28pm -
- Board Track: 1925
- ... value. That said, in my opinion, the board track in San Francisco was the most beautiful of all with a significant amount of historical ... Posted by Dave - 09/04/2012 - 4:56pm -
![July 11, 1925. "Auto races at Laurel, Maryland." The 1⅛-mile wooden oval at Laurel Speedway. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.
Sibling rivalryLooks like both Ralph and John DePalma were racing that day.
Black BoxesFor a good while I kept wondering what were those neatly arranged squares in the outfield. I guess I'm slow on the uptake.
Notice the Parking Lot?Every car in the lot is black. Finding your car after the race must have been hell!
And sitting in the stands squinting into the glare from all those skimmers......
A Sea of Menall looking toward the track, and one lone woman with a parasol looking toward the camera. Interesting composition.
Sharing a memory...There was a graphic design studio I worked in for a time and it (rather oddly) had a race car set in the middle of the office of the same type in the photos. I recall one office party where I (accompanied by my beer) finally worked up the gumption to climb into it. I remember sitting there, hands on the wheel, and just letting my mind wander back to a scene similar to the one in this photo.
The car was much larger then I would have imagined.
Amazing Uniformity of HatsWhat's with all the straw hats? It must have been the style in 1925 ... but still, did 98% of the men of the time wear the same kind of hat? It's really kind of freaky.
[Check out this photo. - Dave]
Hat DayMust have been Hat Day at the track. You know, they give away free hats. Also, the banking in turn 4 is not supported by dirt. It is actually up on supports , which you don't see anymore.
To what degree?That has to be the most steeply-banked track I've ever seen! The corners appear to be way steeper than Daytona or Talladega. I wonder just what the degree of banking actually was.
[48 degrees. - Dave]
HiddenAnd not a Marx Brother in sight? Not even a Harp!
Sea of HatsSkimmers or boaters were the hat of choice, much like ballcaps today. You can still get one, I love mine.
Newspaper BrimsPlenty of folks have extended the coverage of their hats with sheets of newspaper.
That's a lotta woodThe idea of a wooden racetrack for cars is incredible! It takes a hefty underlying support structure to keep the surface boards in place. Even with that the pounding of the racecars would loosen the nails and the resulting clickity-clack sound would have been very loud. I remember that effect from some wooden bridges we used to have around here. Unless all the wood was treated with creosote, the usual preservative back then, the whole track might rot away in a few years. Wonder how many years the track did last?
Why wood?Why was it made of wood?
[It was a relatively cheap way to build a banked racecourse. Board tracks were quite popular in the early part of the century. - Dave]
Deadly SplintersBoard tracks were used for motorcycle racing at the time as well and taking a spill on the lumber was a nasty experience.
LostHave you seen my dad? He was wearing a white shirt and a straw hat.
Quite a lineupRalph was the only DePalma racing that day. The partially-obscured "DeP___a" was a misspelling of Pete DePaolo's name. Pete was Ralph's nephew, the winner of the 1925 Indy 500, and also the winner of this race.
A list of the results can be found here. Interesting to see so many jackets on a day marked by "extreme heat."
Board track racer Jim DavisA few years back I had the pleasure of meeting long retired board track racer Jim Davis, who raced motorcycles for the Indian Company beginning in 1916. He told stories of running over 100 mph on the boards and having splinters thrown up by other bikes with such force that they would pierce the protective leather gear. At the end of one race as he slowed to a stop he discovered he couldn't remove his foot from the peg of his bike and found that a large splinter had pierced the leather of his boot and wedged itself between parts of the bike. Fortunately it somehow missed his foot. It was all insanely dangerous but when you were 17 years old and could make $25 a week plus expenses and prize money, why not?
Mr. Davis was a very polite man, friendly, and could tell racing stories 75 years after they happened like they happened last week.
Finish LineThe results linked to in an earlier comment are interesting. All cars save one were a Duesie or a Miller and the average speed for the 250 miles was around 124 mph. Very impressive considering the venue! I wonder if it was AAA sanctioned.
A board track legendNeedless to say, the elaborate framework of a board track allowed ample opportunity for boys to climb around under the track. A legend goes that during a race at Beverly Hills, a driver came into the pits pale and shaking. When asked what's wrong, he said "There has been a crash and I saw the guy's head bouncing down the track!"
He was told there had been no crash. What he saw were local urchins getting the best view of a race imaginable; through holes in the boards. They would duck down as the cars passed and then pop back up as they cleared.
Then and NowHere is the track today, overgrown but still recognizable:
View Larger Map
Woodpeckers not allowedThe official name of this track is The Baltimore-Washington Speedway and all races ran there were AAA sanctioned. It had 48 degree banked corners and was built by Jack Prince. However it was very short loved in that it was operational between the June 1925 and the September 1926. The first board track was built at the Los Angeles Coliseum Motordrome in 1910. The design was based on the velodromes still used for bicycle racing.
Regarding the dress code of the day, considering that these were the days when men wore not only hats, but suits and ties to the movies, to ballgames, horse races and in this case, to auto races, it was expected to be a very hot day at the event thus the white dress code and straw hats.
As a racer, the topic of board tracks has been one of my studies for several years all of which had some amazing historical value. That said, in my opinion, the board track in San Francisco was the most beautiful of all with a significant amount of historical value. It was built overlooking San Francisco to coincide with the 1915 Pan Pacific International Exposition (World's Fair), where the 1915 Vanderbilt Cup race was run. I have some beautiful photos of them and the cars.
CamerasMakes you wonder what ever happened to the pictures they are taking down in the race lane, and if, some time in the future, Dave will find and post them.
[A clever ploy. More here and here. - Dave]
Google Maps imageI am fascinated by the Google Maps image posted below. I'd love to get into that property just to look around and walk the old layout and stand where such an amazing track was. Sadly, I'm in Arizona so it's not likely to happen.
Hats and Plank roadsI can also attest to the terrific comfort of a straw boater. I got an antique boater recently (ca 1930s) and it's amazing how shady cool and comfortable they are. And yes, just about every man in America wore one. May 15 was the traditional "Straw Hat Day," when straws were "officially" sanctioned to be worn.
Regarding the wooden track, this was also the era of plank roads. In an era when wood was tremendously abundant, miles and miles of highways were paved with wood. Even in Brooklyn, Coney Island Avenue was originally called Coney Island Plank Road.
Laurel board trackWhen I was a kid, we used to ride our bikes in the woods there. Unfortunately, the current image above does't show any remains at all of the old track. 4 or 5 years ago they cleared the land. Now its just a grass field. About 10 years ago, when we found the track, we thought it was a road. We road our bikes on it and and discovered it was huge oval. Since the track was all sand, we thought it was once part of the horse track. Since the horse track is across the street(brock bridge rd), it only made sense to us. Wish it was still there since I now know what it is.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Natl Photo, Sports)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/27449u.thumbnail.jpg "Board Track: 1925")
- When the Grocery Looked Like That: 1947
- My father in his San Francisco store, the De Luxe Groceteria, not exactly the proud, ... Posted by tterrace - 01/09/2015 - 1:16pm -
![My father in his San Francisco store, the De Luxe Groceteria, not exactly the proud, optimistic-looking fellow thirteen years before. The neighborhood was going to the dogs, charge customers were running up three-figure balances and paying a couple bucks on account when the mood struck them, plus riding the bus back home across the bridge every night with a briefcase stuffed with quarts of milk was probably getting old. Three years later, he had the place sold and was continuing in the grocery business in a lower-stress capacity, one that had a pension to boot. View full size.
Groceteria artifactUnfortunately, we don't have any of the cool product signage, but here's a page from my father's account pad, showing the kind of balances some of his customers ran up. Too bad he didn't put the real date in, but I suspect this is from the 1940s despite the old "193_" pad.
The well done run dryHas tterrace finally run out? He posted this pic two years ago.
Way to goGotta tell ya tterrace, your father knew how to display his wares. In both pictures he shows how beautifully he laid out his merchandise.
Any new baseball cardsToday, Mr. Terrace? No, well I guess I'll have a candy bar with that cold pop then.
Fresh Frozen Fryers??They can be fresh. They can be frozen. They cannot be both. Just sayin'.
Reissue"Digitally remastered from archival materials, with new commentary track."
On my shopping listNow I know where I may find some Shinola White shoe polish, Nucoa oleomargarine, and Nuchief fruit all in one quick and convenient stop.
None of my beeswax BUTdid your father ever get robbed at gunpoint by a thug or have any other "close calls" with bad guys? I currently live in middle America where I always thought people were safer but it seems like convenience store clerks and those who manage small grocery stores get robbed more than taxi drivers and pizza delivery people and often are shot and killed for a paltry sum of cash. To be alone managing a small store these days seems like an invitation for trouble. It probably was not considered a high risk job in 1944.
ConfusedStill trying to figure the layout from the earlier picture in relation to this one. Where are the columns from the first photo? Are those the same windows?
The state of the neighborhoodFrom the earlier posting of this picture I learned that your father's grocery store, in a neighborhood that went "to the dogs" back around the end of WWII, was just a block away from where I used to live at Valencia & 14th Street.
Back when I lived there in the late '80s and early '90s the area was still a little dodgy. But you could see the gentrification coming then, and from the evidence of Google Streetview it seems to have arrived with a vengeance. Your father's old store is now surrounded by new apartment buildings with huge windows. I sure couldn't afford to live around there anymore.
The ceilingThe ceiling seems to be flaking, leaking or otherwise displaying signs of damp issues.
Hint HuntCould Hint Hunt be a punch card game? Some kind of lottery?
Dad's almost-groceryThere was a similar store in my neighborhood in the '50s and '60s. They carried a lot of credit as well, all registered by hand in those little account books. They hung on for years despite a modern supermarket being open since 1958, less than a mile away.
I think the owners tried to sell the store more than once. My old man considered buying the place but could not deal with staircases in the building due to a war injury.
They finally unloaded the place in the mid-'60s. The new owners (with no prior experience) were out of the grocery business after about four years. They tried selling blue jeans for awhile, but they didn't last long doing that, either.
Lights and columns and windows, oh my!Hi! I'm new here... only been lurking the last month or so. I like the contrasts provided by a "before and after" with a ten-year gap. But like someone else noted, the columns look different (they're gone in the later shot). So do the lights (two rows of lights earlier, one row of lights later). And the windows (they switch walls). Many other differences between the shots showing progress (?) and change in the ensuing ten years. The neighborhood outside may have been "going to the dogs" but building maintenance must have become a challenge, too. There are big patches in the ceiling of the later shot. Leaky roof or pipes in the ceiling? Condensation from air conditioning ducts? There's a ceiling vent that's not in the earlier shot. And who could have known back in the day that arch-rival brands Butternut and Wonder Bread would end up stablemates in the same company? http://www.hostessbrands.com/ also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Bakeries
Very cool! Thanks for sharing. I've been turned on by so many new (well, old) things by tracing the Library on Congress sources for some of your shots. Thanks again!
Love all of your picsI have enjoyed all of your pictures. Keep them coming please. I was born in 1967. Love all of your photos.
AlterationsThe answer is that the landlord decided to remodel the building, making more room for the middle business in the building, a bar. The new wall is where the columns were. The side windows were closed over, and the ones in back were boarded up, because there had been break-ins, and petty cash was taken. And the back wall to the storeroom was opened at the top, so you can see the two small windows that had wire mesh over them on the back wall. Father was angry at the landlord, because he had less room for his wares, and the rent was the same.
During the war a large housing project was built in the neighborhood which was for workers in the war construction industry. Business was still good while the war was going on, but later when the ship yards and other industries were shutting down, and letting off workers, people had less money and took advantage of the credit that he let them have. And then used what cash they had to buy their groceries at the new supermarkets that were coming into the neighborhoods.
Milk wasn't the only thing he brought home in his leather valise after work. It had a cloth bag with the contents of the cash register. Thank heaven he was never mugged.
As far as robberies, I remember our father talking about the time a "young punk" came in pretending to represent the "Black Hand" and trying to get protection money from him. He said he grabbed the thug by the throat and told him if he ever came back he would get the **** beat out of him. He never did.
Quiz Show"Hint Hunt" was a radio game show sponsored by Armour Star Meat Packing. Not sure when it started, but it was canceled in 1949.
Excellent pictureMany of our grocers shops still look like this in England (except for the leaking ceiling!)
The Layout ExplainedHere's my thoughts on the layout changes from the 1934 picture to the 1944 picture:
A new wall was built where the row of columns once stood. In the 1944 picture, you can see the outline of the old counter on the floor in the middle front. You can also verify that this was the right edge of the counter because the row of lights in the earlier picture ran along that right edge. This looks like it's about the same distance from the wall as the original counter was from the row of columns.
Using that as a location marker, I would say the two windows in the earlier picture are covered up by the Butter Nut poster and the poster behind it (looks like a wine ad?). I think the wall from the 1934 picture was knocked down, thus making visible the windows in the back of the 1944 picture as well as the ceiling vents. If you follow the floor of the later picture, you can see a slight change in texture that lines up with the wine poster on the right wall, thus further verifying that this was the placement of the back wall in the 1934 picture.
[See the definitive answer below, under "alterations." - Dave]
A Shorpy educationWow, I learn things on Shorpy I never knew before, even about my own family.
Point-of-SaleGazing at the advertising displays lining the walls (Royal Crown, Butter-Nut), I am seized by ephemera-envy. I don't suppose any of those survived?
Balance dueThat would be something like a $5,000 balance today! And that's only for a single customer. Glad your dad was able to get out of it.
Grandmom's StoreMy grandmother had a neighborhood store. She would let us eat Fudgesicles and drink NuGrape sodas till we were sick.
Grandmom had to deal with shoplifters mostly. One attempted armed robbery. The guy ran away when she began to pray out loud.
Oh the memories!I remember stores like that. I never really liked the goods behind the grocer. :) Now, I'm not THAT old but I grew up in small towns in Kansas that still had stores like this.
I rememberThis looks like the Ed Adkins grocery on Lawrence Ave. in Toledo when I was little. Supermarkets existed then, but were not all that common yet. You told Ed or Larry, his assistant, what you wanted and they went and got it, much like a modern auto parts store today.
[This was a self-service store.]
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Stores & Markets, tterrapix)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/deluxe1944_.thumbnail.jpg "When the Grocery Looked Like That: 1947")
- Fealy's Corner: 1920
- ... source of power.
I was under the impression that San Francisco had the only cable car system in the USA.
[The track is for ... Posted by Dave - 07/22/2012 - 6:48pm -
![Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Fealy's Corner, 11th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue." Dr. Martin Fealy's pharmacy at 1024 Pennsylvania Avenue S.E. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Four People?I see one and I'm wondering just how much time was spent on making the photo. The one person I see is down the trolley track and doesn't seem to be blurred very much, which means that they barely moved. I'm still looking for the others, though.
EmptyToo bad they don't have time and date information written with these. When has a DC street ever been that empty?
[I see four people in this time exposure. One to the left of the mailbox. - Dave]
Butterfield HouseThis corner is now a recently built condo block called Butterfield House, "constructed in the finest architectural tradition." The blog DC Mud has an article and high-res photo from approximately the same angle. And before any preservationists start to moan about the loss of historical buildings for another condo tower, this article notes that prior to the current project, the corner was occupied by a Shell station.
An instructive photo for me, in that I have never realized that the wide medians on Pennsylvania Ave SE are a relic of the streetcar system.
Why were these taken?These real estate photos are wonderful documents, but what was their purpose? Some, like the pictures of the new row houses most likely figured in advertising for the properties. But photos like this, of an obviously established business, are a bit more puzzling. The most puzzling are the auto accident photos, Did the photographer just happen by, and decide it would make an interesting picture? Stringing for a newspaper?Any ideas, anyone?
[The National Photo clients for many of these were real estate developers. Who in this case might have included Dr. Fealy, who in the late teens bought up the block from 1020 to 1024 Pennsylvania. Perhaps he had a hand in putting up the rowhouses behind the pharmacy. It looks like some of them are still standing. - Dave]
Streetcar TrackAnybody know if the groove between the rails was for cable access or was electric current picked up through this groove? Theres no overhead source of power.
I was under the impression that San Francisco had the only cable car system in the USA.
[The track is for electric streetcars, not cable cars (although there was a cable car loop in Georgetown). The electrical power supply here is under the middle groove. - Dave]
Streetcar TracksCable cars (as in San Francisco) are propelled by grabbing onto a cable that moves under the street. What appears to be a third rail is actually a slot through which a grip extends down from the car to grasp the moving cable. In the late 1800's to the early 1900's there were cable car lines in most large cities in addition to San Francisco -- Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas etc. With the advent of the faster electrial streetcars, most were replaced by the 1910's.
Some cities had electric streetcars drawing their power from a similar "third rail" slot in the middle of the track. Washington, D.C., had the most extensive system of this type, seen in the photo here. Subways use a third rail between the tracks to pick up their electrical power.
D.C. Down UnderWashington was one of two cities in the US (the other: New York, specifically Manhattan) to use a conduit system for provision of the necessary 600 volt DC power used to move streetcars. A device called a plow hung from the rear truck of the car, reaching down into the conduit. In the conduit were two conductors, similar to overhead trolley wire in other cities. Devices called shoes contacted the conductors, drawing the requisite current. The last remnants of the conduit system went out of service in January 1962 when the last three Washington streetcar lines were converted to bus operation.
Now, about cable cars: not only San Francisco had them, but so did nearly every other major Northern or Eastern city in the US from about 1882 to 1906 or so, including Washington. (Major exceptions: Boston and Minneapolis.) See "The Cable Car in America" by George W. Hilton.
NeighborsMy great-great grandparents from Ireland lived at 1016 Pennsylvania Avenue SE in 1915 and had a grocery store there (he died at 1016). I would love to see some of the grocery stores the immigrants had in SE and SW Washington during the period of 1890-1915.
(The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets, Streetcars)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/31188u.thumbnail.jpg "Fealy's Corner: 1920")
- Tiburon Tommie's: 1969
- ... the anchor. That's me. Tiburon is a Marin County town on San Francisco Bay, and Tiburon Tommie's was a Chinese restaurant with a decor and ... Posted by tterrace - 06/14/2015 - 4:39pm -
![No, Tommie's not the guy with the anchor up ... well, with the anchor. That's me. Tiburon is a Marin County town on San Francisco Bay, and Tiburon Tommie's was a Chinese restaurant with a decor and cocktail selection that today would be called Tiki. Opened about 1955 by Tommie Cox and former Trader Vic's employee Johnnie Won, it closed around 1997 and today exists only in the warm nostalgic memories of older Marinites. This is the bay side of the building, which itself no longer exists. Existing was something that I didn't know this slide did until a couple days ago, when my friend who took it in 1969 and I were rooting around the spare room of his house and found a bunch of slides he'd forgotten about. This one's a 126 Ektachrome taken with a Kodak Instamatic. I recognized those aluminum sticks in the lower right corner as legs of my tripod, so I must have been taking Super-8 movies that day. View full size.
I just happened to be in Tiburon this morningAnd found your is anchor still there.
All the buildings in the background have indeed had major makeovers since 1969, but the anchor must have been to unwieldy to move. It sits a new base, and is ever-so-slightly turned on its axis, but otherwise it's the same.
Curiously, the telephone pole at left seems to have also survived the decades unscathed.
[Excellent, but the dog... where's the dog? The Tiburon Tommie's building was demolished in 2000, I find. -tterrace]
Arfchival?That Ektachrome has held up well. You must have stored it properly.
[Storage was haphazard, I'm afraid. When found it was covered with dust and musty-smelling. It had also been overexposed originally. What you see here is the result of physical and digital reclamation/restoration. -tterrace]
["Arfchival" would refer to the K9 process, yes? - Dave]
Fashion FadWearing the belt buckle off center must have been some sort of fashion statement at the time ;)
[If so, I was unaware of it. Mere sloppiness or inattention on my part, no doubt. -tterrace]
Least dated image on ShorpyApart from the colour cast of the film, there's nothing I can see in this photo that says that wasn't taken yesterday (change of urban landscape notwithstanding!) Even the colour could be someone using a filter in Instagram!
Airedale!Whose Airedale Terrier was that?!!
Wonderful nostalgiaThis is a wonderful photo; you are so lucky to have discovered it!
In 1969, I had just graduated college across the continent in NY (I'm 67), and dressed very much the same way you are in your photo. Wearing the belt buckle "off center" was very much in vogue here at that time. Two reasons: if you wore your shirt tucked in with the buckle exposed, you ran the risk of scratching someone's car as you leaned over the hood to admire the engine, and if you wore your shirt outside, keeping the buckle to the side made you look just a tad thinner, and you certainly wanted the ladies to think you were slim and trim.
I too have a collection of old slides gathering dust in the attic (including hundreds from the '64-'65 NY World's fair), and you have just inspired me to get up there and find them.
Happy Memories!
Turquoise Tommie's?I remember Tiburon Tommie's well - though only went there once. Today there is no beach there - it is all decks for the various overpriced restaurants. Anyone who hasn't been to Tiburon should be told that San Francisco is the big feature of the view to the right in this photo.
One thing about the color - the turquoise in the building roof trim (also on the street side) was bright and striking - one of the most memorable things about the place - so the faded glory in the image is the poor color retention, at least in the blue range. The reds looks great!
Belt buckle Wearing the belt buckle off-center may or may not have been a fashion trend at the time, but guitar players did it all the time to keep from it scratching the back of the guitar. In most of the 1960's Monkees episodes, Peter Tork wore his off center because he was so proud of the new guitar Gretsch donated for the show for his use and he didn't want to hurt it. source: DVD commentaries.
Same year I moved to TiburonThanks for posting this one, tterrace. June 1969 (exactly 46 years ago) was when my family moved us from the foggy climate of Daly City to sun-swept Tiburon. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
I was 18 that year and spent a lot of time on Main Street, including a few underage evenings in Tiburon Tommie's. More importantly, I also got a part time job working for Tom Nell Photography, located about five doors down Main Street from Tommie's. Tom was my entree to studio portraiture, artificial light photography, and lots of darkroom time.
I partly grew up in BelvedereI graduated from high school in 1996, that tiki restaurant was never open that I can remember, for all the years while I was there. We went to Sam's a lot. I used to walk past it and look though. A friend of the family owned the little shop right across the street next to that Ark Row parking lot entrance.
-tterraceMay I have the "SKIP" key for this clip?
Thank you.
[It's under the mat. -Dave]
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/paul_tiburon_tommies_doug_July1969_adj.thumbnail.jpg "Tiburon Tommie's: 1969")
- The Bright Side: 1918
- San Francisco, 1918. "Sunshine -- Mitchell touring car." Possibly members of the ... is really earning the stars in her crown today. And San Francisco hasn't changed: you can use an overcoat almost any day of the ... Posted by Dave - 07/17/2018 - 9:46am -
![San Francisco, 1918. "Sunshine -- Mitchell touring car." Possibly members of the International Sunshine Society. 5x7 glass negative by Chris Helin. View full size.
Hey LadiesThe breadman on the porch may have something to make you smile.
[The International Sunshine Society was a service organization that, among its other virtuous works, delivered baked goods to shut-ins and invalids during the influenza epidemic of 1918. - Dave]
Precursor to the Red Hat SocietyThe Odd Hat Society.
With apologies to the Seven DwarfsPensive, Huffy, Stormy, Sulky, Dismal, Gloomy, Weepy, and Bitter.
Keeping up with new technologyThose folks look like they just missed out serving in the Civil War. They saw AMAZING inventions.
I'm not seeing the "sunshine"There are a variety of countenances here, including one indicative of a power nap in the back seat, but the only other one who doesn't appear to be hating life is the guy delivering the laundry.
Re: I'm not seeing the "sunshine"OK, I stand corrected -- laundry, bread, whatever. And dang! I had first considered a reply that was uncannily almost identical to Sewickley's except I was gonna say "sleepy" instead of "weepy". Creepy coincidence!
Just yesterday --One of the things that deeply fascinates me when looking at photos like these is the brevity of history.
I'm 56. My grandfather, my mother's father, was born in 1918, the year of the photo. All but the driver had to have been born well before the Civil War. I'm sure a few of their mothers were born during the presidency of George Washington, their grandmothers being born before George III ascended the throne of Great Britain.
I was very close to one of my great-grandmothers, who died at the age of 99 and in very good health in 1997. I've often reflected that the lives of only 20 individuals reaching her age takes us back to the time of Christ.
A nadir in women's fashionIn heavy togs, women of the pre-flapper era resembled nothing so much as stocky shrubs cloaked in burlap to survive Winter's Arctic bluster.
These commentsreally deserve a "like" button for the great chuckles they've given me!
The poor driveris really earning the stars in her crown today. And San Francisco hasn't changed: you can use an overcoat almost any day of the year.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-1340.thumbnail.jpg "The Bright Side: 1918")
- Hotel Tuller: 1980s
- ... when the hippies were grooving to the Summer of Love in San Francisco, Ronald Reagan was governor of California. In 2010, Detroit is ... Posted by Dave - 09/14/2011 - 5:01pm -
![A circa 1980s look at the Tuller Hotel, seen earlier here and here. "Tuller Hotel, 501-521 Park Boulevard. The Tuller Hotel was one of the largest luxury hotels in Detroit in the early twentieth century, with 800 rooms, each with a private bath. It was also the first hotel built in Detroit's Grand Circus Park district. Lew Whiting Tuller (1869-1957), who erected and operated this hotel, was a major builder of hotels and apartment houses in Detroit in the 1900s and 1910s. The three distinct buildings share a common Italian Renaissance styling." Photograph and caption by the Historic American Buildings Survey. View full size.
Mayor Coleman Young EraA more apt description would be that this is the Detroit of the Coleman Young era.
If anyone is interested in seeing the difference between the vacant properties of Detroit against the border of affluent Grosse Pointe, look no further than the satellite photo of Google maps and the Alter Road divider to see an infill landscape (GP) versus plenty of land (Det) where thousands of homes stood less than 20 years ago.
This is the area where Charlton Heston and my father grew up (although neither knew of the other).
You've heard of the Honeymoon SuiteThis must be the Homewrecker Suite.
Afterparty Is this after Charlie Sheen stayed there?
AlmostToo sad for words. I was looking earlier this evening at a series of pictures showing how some of the great buildings in Detroit have fallen into neglect and disarray. A great shame.
Liberalism's Great SocietyLiberalism's Great Society in actual practice, and what they intend to do to our entire country, if we don't stop them.
[This is Reagan-era Detroit, a city whose decline does not have much to do with "liberalism," or politics in general. - Dave]
Downward Spiral Just heard on NPR yesterday how Detroit's population has fallen from a high of 2 million to around 700,000 today. While I knew Detroit was in a bad way I had no idea the depth of its despair. Hard to believe the "Motor City" of my youth in the 50s and 60s has lost its prominence. How quickly it has faded.
I thinkthe Who must have stayed here. And thank you, Dave, for the nippage in the bud of political nonsense. There's already too much snarkery in the world. Shorpy is above all that.
Hold up there, CowboyRadical Liberalism began in the 1960s hippie movement in SanFrancisco while Reagan was still a cowboy riding his pinto across the make believe range. Radical Liberalism's rampant runaway across America is alive and well and great cities in this country are all on the decline because of it. This hotel room is repeated all over America. it's not political, it's a fact.
[Factwise, when the hippies were grooving to the Summer of Love in San Francisco, Ronald Reagan was governor of California. In 2010, Detroit is depopulating as the auto industry there declines. More people would link the export of manufacturing to the free-trade policies of conservative administrations than to any kind of "liberalism." What would really be interesting (or entertaining) would be to lay out the specifics of how "liberalism" is responsible for the condition of this hotel room. As for it being "repeated all over America," the number of ancient abandoned highrise hotels in this country is probably close to zero. - Dave]
I base my comments more on what I see happening in middle america where rampant extremist liberalism deposited its payload, not so much on THIS hotel room in THIS city. Point about Reagan whether he was riding the range or not, is HE had nothing to do with this hotel room. Where do you live? An Ivory Tower, no doubt where you do not have to mingle with the masses. If you are going to let in one political comment then, speaking from a liberal viewpoint, Shorpy will Also cease to exist. [Roll eyes] Interesting comment from the guy making his political statement commending you for not allowing a political statement. [Roll eyes] You run a good site here, but people are hungry in America, keep your nose clean and give us something to enjoy. [nice of you to allow me this conversation--be nice to continue it in person as so much is lost in text]
[Next up on Fox: "Politically Incoherent." - Dave]
Factwise, there have been some good comments, and some who understand the point I was making. You just aren't one of them, Dave. I had thought you to be a smart guy and now I realize you are just a smart-ass guy. I bet you have a small penis, too.
Current Detroit PhotosColor photos of Detroit's sadder side can be seen here:
http://www.marchandmeffre.com/index.html
The Tuller isn't part of the set but others show the loss of what Detroit had been.
Here Comes The Political MessWhy is it some people just have to share their political opinions with you? Please go where they care about your political opinion; you see I could not care less about your political views. Now if you have photos to share you have my attention.
A common cycleMany a respectable hotel has gone through a cycle of decline. This is not a new thing. As fashions move on, the rising cost of redecorating to stay high-end or even respectable, at some point, intersects with falling revenues. Buildings obsolesce, become more costly to maintain, leaving less money for services. Clientele becomes more and more down-market, until the building finally succumbs to decades of neglect. Sometimes, after a decade or so of dereliction, the establishment finds new owners and new capital, and rebounds. The Tuller was not so lucky. As we have seen, some folks are just itching to blame this cycle on '60s liberalism (cue eye-roll), but this cycle played itself out many times before that decade.
PoliticsI think there were some politicians of all types who contributed to the decline of Detroit, most prominently in the mayor's office. That said, Shorpy is a much better place when it is nonpartisan.
Damn Hippies Killed the TullerSorry, I just couldn't help the title. The image came first. The room just creeped me out.
YIKES!Looks like they kept the "DO NOT DISTURB" sign out to long.
I was hereI was one of the architectural team that evaluated the condition of the hotel just before it was demolished, and the seeds of its decline were sown back in the 20's and 30's, and are not the result of liberalism, Reaganomics, or anything more complicated than the poor decisions of the owners. The additions to the hotel, especially the one on Washington Boulevard side, were poorly planned and poorly executed - you had to go outside across a metal fire escape just to get from one side of the hotel to the other! The original hotel could never have been called elegant, and its decor over the years just got worse until a 1950's remodel made it look up to the minute in 1954, but terribly dated by 1960. Every other major hotel in Detroit, the Statler, the Hilton, the Cadillac, the Fort-Shelby, was ruined by 'modernizations' in the 50's, 60's and 70's that replaced or covered the original elegance and classic details in favor of ersatz 'luxury' that faded quickly. The thing that killed them ALL, however, was the opening on the Westin in the Renaissance Center in the early 1970's. How could any old, drafty, non-air conditioned hotel with its rattly elevators, cracked plaster, peeling paint and knocking radiators compete with a 2000 room glass and concrete symbol of the future? Both the Cadillac and the Fort Shelby have been renovated and re-opened, both required complete gutting and both required conversion of half of the building to condos, just to pay the bills. Now these are the hot new properties, and the Westin looks tatty. The Tuller WAS too far gone to save, its fate was sealed in the 1950s.
The '67 riots sealed Detroit's fateIn addition to the usual business cycle of fancy old hotels losing favor to newer "better" hotels, the city of Detroit received a huge black eye 15 to 20 years prior to this photo.
"White flight" was in full swing by the time of the 1967 riot in Detroit. After the riots, the prosperous black population wanted to move out of the city too. The result was the affluent property and business owners moved to the suburbs. Without a reason for wealthy hotel patrons to visit the city why would there be a need for a luxury hotel in the city?
Idiot's delightNobody has pointed out that the Republican party chose to hold its 1980 convention and nominate Ronald Reagan in Detroit. The idea was to showcase the problem city--AND to promise that things would be different. With 30 years' perspective, we can draw conclusions about both of those notions.
The Tiresome Discussion About DetroitWhy must every discussion of my hometown devolve into either tirades about the evils of "liberalism," or none-too-subtle allusions to race (the "Coleman Young wrecked the paradise that was Detroit" angle), or some nasty combination of the two? But oh-so-little consideration seems to be given to the underlying economic structural factors and technological tides that have been much more historically important in making it both the great boom town of the early 20th century and the poster child of urban dissolution in more recent decades.
Jeez o peteI think that the decline of big cities has less to do with the tidal flows of two-party politics, and more to do with the invention that made Detroit what it was, the automobile... and the mass migration of everybody with money out of those cities. Not to mention poor city planning of the 50s-60s that slashed many urban neighborhoods into pieces with freeways. Cities have only begun to recover in the past decade. In any case, I find it difficult to see how hippies are to blame, especially not for our present and future problems considering that generation is nearly in its 70s.
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, HABS)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/339513pu.thumbnail.jpg "Hotel Tuller: 1980s")
- Fully Optioned: 1939
- ... Motors exhibit, Golden Gate International Exposition, San Francisco. Girls on Oldsmobile convertible coupe." A showcase for the latest in ... Posted by Dave - 04/03/2015 - 9:22am -
- Century Road Club: 1913
- ... J. Scherer and Walter Wiley at the start of New York to San Francisco bicycle race." Bain News Service glass negative. View full size. ... Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 3:25pm -
![May 3, 1913. "Fred J. Scherer and Walter Wiley at the start of New York to San Francisco bicycle race." Bain News Service glass negative. View full size.
Fixies?It appears that the bikes they were planning to ride were fixed-gear bikes with no brakes. I shudder to think what these guys went through crossing the Continental Divide.
Odometers?There appear to be little Veeder-Root type counters mounted on the front forks of each bicycle. Or is this some other accessory?
The amazing thing about this image is.Bicycles haven't changed much in all these years.
Those OdometersBetabox, I actually had one of those odometers a couple of bikes ago. There was a little peg that attached to one of the spokes, and it hit a star wheel on the little meter. I still remember the little ping it made every time the peg came around. Worked pretty well, as I recall.
Now I use a $5.00 GPS app on my iPhone that gives me a Google map of my route, speed, distance, altitude, pace, and even calories burned, and it keeps track of every ride I took for over a year. Even lets me listen to iTunes music while I ride. Absolutely amazing for $5.00. We've come a long way, baby.
But still, that little counter gizmo lasted 100 years, and I'll bet it's still being sold. Now that's pretty cool.
Carbide bicycle lanternsThere are a ton of these available at various on-line antique auction sites. The ones shown here resemble the "Old Sol" model by Hawthorne of Bridgeport Connecticut. There are jeweled facets on either side of the lamp that serve as running lights, green on the right and red on the left (with Red Port Wine being the aide-memoire).
Century Road Club AssociationI don't know whether these two made it to Frisco, but their organization was founded in 1898 and is still going strong.
Wool Was the Old Spandex Bicycle enthusiasts, dressing like dorks for nearly 100 years!
Long Ride!I hope you have a photo of them at the finish line!
Very bold.Considering that the first cross country automobile trip, and the hardships they endured, took place in 1907 it was still a bold move, even in 1913, to make the attempt on a bicycle.
Track BikesIn today's terms these are track bikes: fixed gear: NO freewheeling rear gear/hub assembly. Difficult to ride because the only way you can stop is to pedal slower and slower -- bit tough on the down hills in hilly terrain.
Of note: I could find nothing on this "race" via the search engines. Given the nature of the bikes, I doubt they make it very far without major crashes.
In memory of carbide lanternsBack in my pre-teen youth in Altoona, Pa., my Dad and I used to go raccoon hunting, which is done at night with dogs (technical term "coon hounds"). For light we used carbide lanterns that were designed to be mounted on coal miners' helmets, and an Internet search yields many sites explaining how they work.
Hunting was fun and all that, but carbide offered an extra benefit to anyone wanting to blow a can apart (technical term "teen vandals"). We'd drop a handful of carbide in a can that had a metal lid, such as an empty paint can, punch a hole in the lid, introduce saliva to the carbide (technical term "spitting"), wait for calcium hydroxide gas to build up while covering the hole, then touch a match to the hole and BLAMMO.
Coaster brakes?I don't know when the Coaster Brake was invented but I think I see the little brake anchor lever that clamps to the frame on the one bike.
It was never much fun as a kid when that lever came loose and you hit the brakes.
Not FixiesFrom what I can tell, these are single speed bikes with a coaster brake, not a fixed gear. If you look at the left chainstay, it looks as if there is a coaster brake bracket coming from the rear hub. Also the rear hub looks to be rather large which would indicate it housing all the elements of a cb. I could be wrong, kind of hard to be 100% sure from the photo.
Those carbide lampsWhen I was a kid, we had a "carbide cannon" as a toy.
It was a poorly cast piece that looked like a WWI cannon. You put carbide in it, and it had a sparker like an old zippo lighter to ignite the gas.
It was about a 5 on a 10 point fun-o-meter. Fun for about half an hour.
How about those toe clips.If you look closely at the pedals, you will note the toe clips. I did some 100 miles per day bike trips in my salad days and toe clips made it a lot easier by locking your bike shoes to the pedals. It was a relief not to have to concentrate on keeping your shoes centered on the pedals. In addition you could "pull up" on one pedal while "pushing down" on the other.
The carbide bike lamp is a Model S Solar manufactured by the Badger Brass Mfg. Co. of Kenosha, WI. It was patented in the US in 1896. My lamp (see pic) is not as shiny. The water tank and filler hole with vent plug is located in the back. The carbide pellets went in the cup on the bottom. The "key" on the side adjusted the water dripping on the carbide. Water plus carbide generates acetylene gas which burns with a hot white flame. The front of the lamp has a glass cover which swings open to light the acetylene. The flat cap on the light is the "smokestack" for the burnt gas to escape.
The Eternal BicycleToe clips, coaster brakes, drop handlebars, handlebar wrap, panniers (sort of).... You need to change very few things to arrive at a modern bicycle.
"Brought to you by..."... Fisk Tire (if the flag on the boys' bikes was indeed a sponsor). Fisk made bicycle and automobile tires at the time, and their logo was the little yawning boy in pajamas with a bicycle tire slung over his right shoulder.
"Trust the Truss"Based on the badge and the frame design of the bicycle on the left, it's an Iver Johnson Truss-bridge bicycle. Yes, this is the same Iver Johnson that made fire arms. They built this style frame from 1900 to 1939.
The bicycle on the left does, in fact, have a coaster brake. The coaster brake was invented in the late 1890s and were quite common by 1910. The large chrome ball on the handlebars are bicycle bells. Also note the sprocket driven odometers on the front hubs of both bikes.
I have a feeling this event, sponsored by Fisk Tires, was not so much a race as it was a reliability run. What better way to promote your tires. The fact that no information can be found about this event makes me believe it was a failure, and so was not reported.
Vanishing PointOn April 27, 1913 Fred J. Scherer, Walter Wiley, George McAdams, and Ernest Higgins were among more than 300 cyclists who took part in the 16th Annual Spring Century Run from Columbus Circle in Manhattan to Hicksville, Long Island and back. The race, sponsored by the Century Road Club [bicycle] Association, was a warm up for the 48-day Transcontinental Handicap Team Race that was started a week later.
Scherer and Wiley represented the Caribou Club, while McAdams and Higgins rode for the Century Road Club. Scherer and Wiley received a twenty-four hour head start, leaving from City Hall at Broadway & Murray Street on the 3rd of May 3 at 1:00 p.m. They pedaled up Broadway (mostly) accompanied seventy-five other cyclists and autos stuffed with officials who were shouting last minute details and instructions. The autos dropped out at Yonkers, while the other cyclists kept up the escort as far as Tarrytown.
The first night's stop would be in Poughkeepsie, with other overnight stays in Schenectady, Utica, Auburn, Batavia, Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland, Norwalk, and Toledo, Ohio—where they hoped to arrive on the 13th. The itinerary had them arriving in Chicago on the 16th and Omaha on the 22nd. They figured to arrive at their final destination—San Francisco—on June 20, whereupon they would present a message from Mayor Gaynor of New York to Mayor Rolph of San Francisco. They also carried messages from East Coast bicycle organizations to their West Coast counterparts. They estimated making an average of seventy miles a day and took no money, as "all expenses must be met by the sale of post cards and money actually earned in other ways while enroute."
McAdams and Higgins left twenty-four hours later from the same place and followed the same route and timetable, although they bragged that they would overtake Scherer and Wiley in a few days, and reach San Francisco first. There was supposed to be another team from Denver that would be riding a tandem bike, but no one really believed that they would show up. They didn't.
A couple of newspapers in Indiana got the news feed wrong, and printed that Scherer and Wiley were riding motorcycles from New York to San Francisco. One newspaper that apparently got it right was the Chicago Daily News, whose photographer took the picture below (Library of Congress collection):
It seems that the first pair of cyclists made it to Chicago looking none the worse for wear, but the exact date is unknown at this time. The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette noted on May 10 that the cyclists were due through that town on May 18 and 19, and the local cyclists were "preparing to give them a rousing reception."
I don't know if they ever got their rousing reception—at this point I can't find anything about them past Chicago. I'll keep looking, but if someone has any idea whether or not they made it to San Francisco, please share with the rest of us.
Coaster brakes vs. coastingYes, as douglas fir mentioned, the diameter of the rear hub looks quite adequate for containing a coaster brake mechanism. Early fixed gear bikes would have a rear hub with a narrow barrel. But fixed gear bikes were of course the first style of bicycle and during the 1890s they were used for long (even round the world) tours. On leisurely rides and for more gentle descents, early fixed gear bikes were sometimes fitted with foot rests added to the sides of the front fork.
This illustration gives a good idea how these front "pegs" were used; of course, you'd better be familiar with the road if allowing yourself a long coast - since you'd eventually need to regain control of the still rapidly rotating pedals, and pedals with toe clips would likely be out of the question.
Sturmey Archer 3 speedThe bike on the left has a sturmey archer 3 speed rear hub.
(The Gallery, Bicycles, G.G. Bain, NYC)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY_12828u.thumbnail.jpg "Century Road Club: 1913")
- Spirit, Life, Truth, Love: 1919
- San Francisco, 1919. "Mitchell roadster at Christian Science church, Franklin ... not often that you see something *entirely unchanged* in San Francisco, but, well, here you go:
[Well... handrails, ... Posted by Dave - 05/18/2018 - 11:21am -
![San Francisco, 1919. "Mitchell roadster at Christian Science church, Franklin Street." 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size.
Frozen in timeIt's not often that you see something *entirely unchanged* in San Francisco, but, well, here you go:
[Well... handrails, bronze plaque and box, fence. -tterrace]
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-1317.thumbnail.jpg "Spirit, Life, Truth, Love: 1919")
- Mar-Man: 1922
- San Francisco, 1922. "Marmon Roadster." With a few years and at least 3,000 miles ... of Franklin and Geary Streets, just a block away from San Francisco's "Auto Row" along Van Ness Avenue.
Great old building, but ... Posted by Dave - 04/27/2017 - 2:21pm -
- Aunt Mary's Car: 1920
- ... Snelling. Aunt Mary had moved to Merced Falls from (foggy) San Francisco to live in a drier climate near the mountains, which was thought to ... Posted by tterrace - 06/24/2009 - 5:12pm -
![c.1920, in the vicinity of Merced Falls, Calif. My mother's older sister and her car. Maybe someone here can identify it. From original 116 negative. View full size.
Model T Runabout
Mary's CarThe rear license plate seems to say 1928 or 1929---what do others think?
["20." - Dave]
Aunt Mary and Her CarThanks for the auto ID, Anonymous Tipster. As for the date, I'm afraid that Mary died in 1922, of tuberculosis, two weeks shy of her 29th birthday.
Clothes Make The LadySo Aunt Mary was only 26 years old when this picture was taken?
Those clothes make her look at least 50.
Mary's back storyThank you, Aunt Mary's niece, for more about her and her family, poor things. You are right about TB. It was a terrifying disease with an unpredictable but often fatal course. Even worse, there was considerable stigma associated with having it. When my mother-in-law was a child in the 1920s, her father spent several months in a TB sanatorium (he survived, lived a long life and died of something else). She said the children were forbidden to ever speak of it to anyone, for if it was generally known he would lose his job and friends would be reluctant to be with them. She was still uncomfortable talking about it in the 1980s.
Something About MaryShe was a very pretty woman nevertheless.
About Aunt MaryIf this was taken in 1920, Aunt Mary was pregnant with her first child, who was born in October of 1920. What is surprising is that she had her photo taken while pregnant, something most women of that era were too embarrassed to do. (Even in the 1940s our mother was quite chagrined to find out someone took a snapshot of her while she was expecting.)
Aunt Mary's story has an even sadder ending. During her second pregnancy, her tuberculosis, which had been in remission, flared up again, and she died two weeks after the birth of the baby. The baby, being exposed to TB at birth, died of fulminant tuberculosis at age 6 weeks. Mary left a husband and a 2-year-old. Mary was born in June, married in June, and died in June. This was the tragedy of our Mother's family.
We have forgotten today the toll that TB took on people's lives in the early to mid 1900s. Until medication for treatment was developed in the 1940s-50s, TB was one of the top ten killers.
-- Aunt Mary's Niece, who never knew her
Aunt Mary's Clothes"Those clothes" were simply the style of Aunt Mary's era. Yes, today those styles are old-fashioned and pretty silly looking. Just like the clothes we wear today will look old-fashioned and silly looking in 2096 (yes, 2096!). Girls born in 1892 wore those kind of clothes in 1920. Actually, if you take a closer look at Mary, she's pretty easy on the eyes. Some 21st century treatment on her wardrobe, makeup and hair and I'll bet she'd turn a few heads.
TB's Heavy TollMy paternal grandmother contracted TB during my grandfather's courtship of her (started with a cold she got while sitting on the ground watching Granddad play baseball), and died when Dad was 5 (1930). Dad, born with TB, was cured of it at Johns Hopkins during his first 5 years, but still worries about a recurrence to this day- and he's 83 now.
My regret, of course, is that I never got to know my grandmother. Indeed, even my father's memory of her is very sketchy.
Mary's Model TThe car seems to be a ca. 1917-1919 non-starter car. There is an accessory "keyed" ingition switch on the coilbox on the firewall. I put "keyed" in quotes because the stock Ford switch had a key, but they were all the same! I see an electric taillight, which may have been added on. One popular package on 1919 and later cars that had starter motors and generators included demountable rim wheels and an electric taillight. Those cars had no kerosene side lamps. We can't tell if this car has them because of Mary's position. This car does not have demountable rim wheels. The toolbox on the running board is an accessory item. It looks like something on the end of the tail pipe, too. Maybe a warning whistle. It also looks like there is an accessory dashboard, and auxiliary outside brakes on the rear drums. The outside brakes and keyed ignition tell me Mary was a cautious woman.
1917 Model T RoadsterI think the car was a 1917 model year produced around March–April 1917. See the rationale at the Model T Ford Club of America Forum.
Others may see additional items that will alter that recommendation.
Respectfully submitted,
Hap Tucker 1915 Model T Ford touring cut off and made into a pickup truck. Sumter SC.
Merced FallsMerced Falls, 30 miles east of Merced and just a couple of miles south of Snelling, was quite a place in those days. Mostly gold dredging in the Merced River. Not a lot left today. There was a cement factory there also. It was in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range. There are still a lot of "potholes" filled with water when the dredge would move on to create another hole. The last time I was there (40 years ago) there was still an old dredge in one of the potholes. Great fishing and frogging.
Re Merced FallsMerced Falls was at that time a company lumber town. Aunt Mary was a bookkeeper for the Yosemite Sugar Pine Lumber Company. See her photo with co-workers in "Times of Flu." Aunt Mary and the other unmarried lady employees lived in the Company Hotel. There was housing for families and barracks for the single men. There was a mess hall, pool hall, and a baseball field.
The Lumber company was noted for its Incline Railway system which brought the logs down from the mountains above. The track was 8000 feet long and 3100 feet in height. It started at an elevation of 5000 feet and ended at 1900 ft el. More technical info for train trekkies can be found here.
Aunt Mary married the company town butcher, a young man from a butchering family in England. Later they moved to a house in nearby Snelling. Aunt Mary had moved to Merced Falls from (foggy) San Francisco to live in a drier climate near the mountains, which was thought to be beneficial for tuberculosis. Which it was for a while.
The area today is a county park, the town partly drowned under the waters of Lake McClure, formed by the Merced Falls Diversion Dam.
SnellingMy family has been going to Henderson Park for 50 years especially at Easter.
My uncle Alvin and Grace Halstead have lived near Merced Falls for almost 30 years.
Many great memories of the time spent there.
Tom Mitchell
Killer TBI read with interest the comments on Aunt Mary's pictures and her tuberculosis. Those who wrote that it was a killer are indeed right. My great-grandmother, two great aunts, and one of their sons all died of it within a short time. My grandmother had it when she was pregnant with my mother. She was told that that the baby would either be dead in six months or always immune. Since Mom died at age 72, I guess it was the latter. Her first cousin Edna also had TB and was ill for several years.
The picture is of my grandmother and grandfather in the 1930s. While my grandmother survived TB, she died of a brain aneurysm before I was born.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, tterrapix)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/marycar2_1.thumbnail.jpg "Aunt Mary's Car: 1920")
- Pontiac Powwow: 1938
- ... 3, 1938. "Meeting of Pontiac salesmen at Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco." Representing all the many tribes of the great Pontiac Nation. 8x10 ... Posted by Dave - 03/26/2015 - 9:58am -
![October 3, 1938. "Meeting of Pontiac salesmen at Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco." Representing all the many tribes of the great Pontiac Nation. 8x10 acetate negative, originally from the Wyland Stanley collection. View full size.
Yum!Looks like sliced ham, green peas and scalloped potatoes. But where are the drinks?
The center table has the TOP SALESMEN for the year. Their award... they don't have to wear the silly hat!
Double whammySomething tells me in just a few years these headdresses would quickly be stuck into drawers, and not because they are insensitive to Native Americans.
Woman?I am not certain but there appears to be a single woman in the crowd ? Up against the middle of the bandstand - so how did that happen?
[She's one of the band's vocalists, along with the chap next to her. -tterrace]
Looks like room still exists!It appears that the room in which this picture was taken still exists. More info here.
James JoyceSmack in the middle: round spectacles, little moustache, jug ears. I knew he could write literature, but, man, he's also rocking that leather jacket.
Not politically correctToo many chiefs and not enough Indians.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, San Francisco, W. Stanley)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-293-02A.thumbnail.jpg "Pontiac Powwow: 1938")
- Cafe Ginza: 1941
- San Francisco on Dec. 8, 1941. "Japanese restaurant, Monday morning after the ... Uyeyama, a 1934 graduate and clinical faculty member at UC-San Francisco, left the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel in 1947. Census ... Posted by Dave - 12/07/2012 - 3:19pm -
- V Is for Velie: 1916
- San Francisco circa 1916. "Velie Six touring car at Golden Gate Park." Filed under ...
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... Posted by Dave - 03/05/2019 - 12:03pm -
![San Francisco circa 1916. "Velie Six touring car at Golden Gate Park." Filed under "V" in the Shorpy Abecedarium of Antiquated Automobiles. 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size.
VelieThe Velie was made in my hometown of Moline, Illinois, from 1908 to 1928. The car was named for Willard Velie, a grandson of John Deere.
Nothing runs like a DeereWillard Velie was the maternal grandson of John Deere. I wonder if the Velie Six came in green?
More on rear -- less on front.Rear wheels have 12 spokes, front 10 spokes -- interesting. Assume rear of car designed to support more weight despite engine in front.
[The reason is braking force. The front wheels don't have brakes. - Dave]
Abecedarium"Abecedarium." Wow, Dave, you are good!
And converselyAssuming it's a rear wheel drive, the need for stronger wheels to get the buggy moving.
Alpha BettyAbcde (pronounced Ab-si-dee) is a feminine name. Between 1990 and 2014, 328 girls in the U.S. were given the name Abcde.
Making me smartAbecedarium.
I love it when I have to look something up while browsing Shorpy. It's as if Shorpy were a mind-stretching vocabulary primer!
In AdditionVelie Motors also made a heck of a good airplane in the late 1920s, the Velie Monocoupe.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-1375.thumbnail.jpg "V Is for Velie: 1916")
- The Splendid Stutz: 1928
- San Francisco, 1928. "Stutz two-door five-passenger sedan." The "Splendid Stutz" ...
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... Posted by Dave - 03/25/2021 - 12:49pm -
- Bicoastal Buick: 1929
- A 1907 "Coast-to-Coast" Buick on San Francisco's Auto Row at Van Ness Avenue and California Street in 1929, ...
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... Posted by Dave - 10/03/2014 - 12:50pm -
![A 1907 "Coast-to-Coast" Buick on San Francisco's Auto Row at Van Ness Avenue and California Street in 1929, evidently at the end of its jaunt. Of all the marques represented here -- Buick, Graham-Paige, Pontiac and Oakland -- only Buick survives. 5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size.
TimingIt's a good thing they didn't try it the year before.
[In 1928? -tterrace]
No in 1906.
Long tripStarted in 1907, finished in 1929!
Still rolling alongNot part of your list but, there's another brand name here we all still see.
[Michelin! - Dave]
In the Words of the Old JokeIf you don't like the way I drive, keep off of the sidewalk.
22 Then and NowDriving a 22-year-old Brass Era automobile across the continent was a noteworthy feat in 1929. Not sure how much publicity one would get today, driving a 1992 Buick from New York to California.
Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick?The travelers are being greeted outside Howard Buick, with the greeter very likely being owner Charles S. Howard. Howard Buick was well known for promotional stunts like this.
C.S. Howard is probably better known as the owner of the celebrated racehorse Seabiscuit.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-141003-0002.thumbnail.jpg "Bicoastal Buick: 1929")
- Jersey Shore: The Prequel
- ... to a more innocent time. There is a good one on you-tube. San Francisco 1905, Market Street.
Grand films and pictures It was great ... Posted by Dave - 08/03/2010 - 3:12am
- Car Park: 1929
- San Francisco, 1929. "Franklin Brougham at Lafayette Park." Its telltale bollards ...
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... Posted by Dave - 12/10/2016 - 12:02pm -
- There Goes the Neighborhood: 1906
- ... district, corner of Franklin and Sacramento Streets, San Francisco." Aftermath of the April 18, 1906, earthquake and fire. 8x10 inch dry ... Posted by Dave - 05/16/2014 - 11:54am -
!["Edge of burned district, corner of Franklin and Sacramento Streets, San Francisco." Aftermath of the April 18, 1906, earthquake and fire. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Not a total lossAt least The Munsters house was left intact.
How terrifyingHow terrifying to have lived in those houses and wonder if the fire was going to reach you. I wonder if they suffered survivors' guilt afterwards.
Tant pis"At least our view of the Bay is now unobstructed."
Beautiful homesThe fire even reached the telephone pole right in front of the house. Amazing.
[Note roof damage and boarded-up windows. - Dave]
Note: Roof damage and window damage were most likely from the "Earthquake" not the fire.
Interesting ArchitectureOf course those houses did not ultimately withstand the test of time. They wouldn't meet todays building code either. But that's too bad because I find the style to be interesting. Does anyone know what the architectural style was called?
[They're various flavors of Victorians, here roughly Second Empire, Italianate and Queen Anne. Thousands of pre-earthquake Victorians survive, including a number of this size. -tterrace]
One LeftOne street over to the right (Clay St) reveals one home still remaining.
(The Gallery, DPC, Fires, Floods etc., San Francisco)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-4a13258a.thumbnail.jpg "There Goes the Neighborhood: 1906")
- Home, James: 1920
- San Francisco circa 1920. "Studebaker Big Six town car." In what must be one of the ... Most of us probably could not afford most of the homes in San Francisco. The median price for a home there is about $1.6 million and ... Posted by Dave - 10/11/2018 - 6:53pm -
![San Francisco circa 1920. "Studebaker Big Six town car." In what must be one of the city's tonier districts. 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size.
The tonier districtThanks to clever sleuthing, in which I played a small but (ahem) crucial part, we find that this is on the 1700 block of Franklin Street. Both houses are still there.
Today's housing pricesWonder what that same house is worth today, Probably couldn't afford it.
[The answer: $7 million. -Dave]
One block west of Auto RowAll three houses are still there! There are two houses at the left, one behind the back fence. That one is still standing too, but its porch has been enclosed. This same garden was in another photograph by Christopher Helin. This location is one block west of the fancier part of Auto Row, and a block and a half from the southeast corner of Lafayette Square, the park where Helin photographed many cars.
Housing prices.Most of us probably could not afford most of the homes in San Francisco. The median price for a home there is about $1.6 million and expected to rise by 7 percent over the next year. The median income is about $120,000.
Thanks to tterrace for the view of the house. The ladders/stairs on the front of the home are interesting. Are they fire escapes? If so, why the ladder leading to or from the roof? Or does the ladder provide access to the roof for some kind of regular maintenance?
Just roof thingsTo answer Kolo's question, yes, they're fire escapes. Many of these single family homes were subdivided and sub-subdivided as rentals, which required them to come up to (then) fire-codes, and many ugly but utilitarian escape stairs mar the face of the victorians around here.
As to the roof ridge ladders, it looks like there's a flat spot in the roof with some utility "stuff" mounted on it. It could be HVAC, it could be a solar hot water heater, or communications stuff, so it'd be good to have a safe way to access that space. It could also be an additional escape route.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-1354.thumbnail.jpg "Home, James: 1920")
- Welcome, Wagon: 1919
- San Francisco circa 1919. "Bus" is all it says on the sleeve of this 5x7 glass ... Rubber (F.C. Flickinger, manager) next door at 1414.
San Francisco Planning Commission on 1400 Van Ness: "This is a fine ... Posted by Dave - 08/05/2016 - 9:57pm -
![San Francisco circa 1919. "Bus" is all it says on the sleeve of this 5x7 glass negative showing a motor home on an Atterbury truck chassis. In the Firestone display window, it's beginning to look a little like New Year's. View full size.
Mystery hardwareI can usually identify most components of early automobiles, but those vertical cylinders which appear to be attached to the forward end of the front springs have me baffled.
Some sort of primordial air suspension or shock absorber??
Shock absorbers, probably by Gruss, as seen and commented on in this photo. -tterrace]
Cross-CountryAtterbury trucks were made in Buffalo, New York.
Automobile Row againEarle C. Anthony's REO and Dort dealership was at 1400 Van Ness Ave., with Firestone Tire & Rubber (F.C. Flickinger, manager) next door at 1414.
San Francisco Planning Commission on 1400 Van Ness: "This is a fine restrained Classical Revival auto showroom with a rusticated base and Corinthian pilasters. The bay and pilaster width relate to the width of the street, with the Van Ness facade having a larger scale than the Bush facade. Because of the building’s corner location it would be difficult to alter or add to without significantly harming its integrity; therefore the building should remain intact."
The PalaceAlmost certainly, the gentleman standing just to the right of the driver's door is Arthur M. Neal (1869 - 1938) who built this traveling home for himself and his wife Fannie I. Neal (1871 - 1965). Having been the proprietor of the Hotel Arthur (1911-1912) and the Hotel Yale (1913 - 1919) in San Diego, he knew what accommodations were needed when traveling away from home. They nicknamed their vehicle "The Palace." The San Diego commercial automobile body firm of Klersy & Caldwell provided assistance with the build of the motorhome which was painted brown. Based on California vehicle registrations, the Atterbury was used by the New Southern Hotel as a bus prior to the Neal's ownership. It is likely a Model D built circa 1914.
Newspaper articles start appearing with photos of their mobile home in October, 1919, but the couple stated in the Roseburg [Oregon] Review, on October 3rd, that they had been on the road for eight months already. All of the earliest newspaper photos of their caravan do not show the Gruss shock absorbers installed, leading me to wonder if perhaps the Firestone dealer installed the devices for the Neal's. After visiting San Francisco their intent was to head east for a year.
The article below, from the magazine "Sunset," published in June 1920, describes more about their vehicle and the Neal's extended travels. This article is the last published piece I found about their excursion. The pair returned to San Diego later in 1920 or early 1921 where they became the managers of an apartment building at 1313 24th Street until Arthur Neal passed away in 1938. Fannie Neal continued residing there until just after WWII, but, even after leaving this apartment, she remained in San Diego for the rest of her life. She died at the age of 93 in 1965.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-1013.thumbnail.jpg "Welcome, Wagon: 1919")
- The Barley Car: 1923
- San Francisco circa 1923. "Barley Motor Car." The 6-50 touring model of this ... of!
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco) ... Posted by Dave - 09/15/2015 - 6:27pm -
- Happy Campers: 1920
- ... motor home taking on water at the Federal Truck agency in San Francisco. 8x10 inch nitrate negative formerly of the Marilyn Blaisdell and ... Posted by Dave - 08/13/2015 - 9:41am -
![From circa 1920 comes this uncaptioned view of an early motor home taking on water at the Federal Truck agency in San Francisco. 8x10 inch nitrate negative formerly of the Marilyn Blaisdell and Wyland Stanley collections. View full size.
Door placementIf he sits there to drive, the steering wheel must be right in front of him. Does that mean you go around the front of the steering wheel to go out the door?
Rough Rider!I can't imagine riding over 1920s roads with those solid tires. No flats, but the noise from upset silverware would drive one crazy.
Dumping Ground?I had no idea there were motorhomes as long ago as 1920. Seems like inventions in those days spawned applications very fast.
Note the cylindrical tanks ranged along the side below the body -- perhaps potable water, stove fuel, and holding? The louvers in the side and no window in that area suggest that could be the bathroom.
Today's motorhomes usually have the utilities, including the dump valves, on the driver's side. I don't see anything I recognize as that in the photo. And at that time, surely there were few places with dump stations, so I wonder how you got rid of the holding tank contents? Maybe just into a ditch when no one was looking?
[If there are sanitary facilities in this rig, I suspect they are more along the lines of a chamberpot and do not involve tanks or plumbing. - Dave]
Howard StreetThe building is still there at 1350 Howard St. So is the domed building down at Howard and Ninth.
Hit the brakes!Can you imagine driving that behemoth down a hill in San Francisco when it only has drum brakes on the rear and no brakes up front? No thanks!
Awfully dapper gentto be driving that monster. Granted, life was more formal in the early 20th Century, but even then that homburg and four-in-hand might have looked a little out of place at Muir Woods or Yosemite.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, San Francisco, W. Stanley)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-507-01A.thumbnail.jpg "Happy Campers: 1920")
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