THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL PHOTO ARCHIVE • FRAMED PRINTS • STOCK IMAGES

1902. "Fort Monroe, Old Point Comfort, Virginia." Home to the gaudily attired News Depot. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size.

After suffering a bloody shin incident, there was still a smile ready for the camera. My aunt Margaret and father Don were frequent visitors to Avila Beach when growing up in San Luis Obispo, CA. 1933. View full size.

Circa 1917, near Watervliet NY, two of my wife's aunts, (the two little girls on the left) with their mother and other family members, having fun the way they did it back in the day. View full size.

My grandfather on my father's side drove the school bus in Christian County, Missouri for many years. This is him leaning on the hood of his school bus in about 1950.

His route crossed the Riverdale bridge that was built in 1906-1907, and he would sometimes stop to let the kids admire the view of Finley Creek. He would take me fishing below the old powerhouse visible on the left of the photo when I was a child.

The old bridge was replaced several years ago with one that allows two cars to pass at the same time, but has no character. The powerhouse and the old store across the road (not visible behind the bus) have both been fenced off as private property. View full size.

July 1976. We took a trailer trip cross country. Here's my brother-in-law's car going through the same log tunnel. I wonder how many other similar photos exist. View full size.

My mother Judy (on the left) hams it up with her best friend Bobbie at the New York Historical Society in 1951. It was Mom's first job after graduating from college. The picture appears to have been taken professionally, as there are others from the same shoot. Not sure what the intended use was. NYHS literature or newsletter perhaps?

Nathan's Original Famous Frankfurters. Purchased a few originals ten years ago.

My father's family moved from a Kansas farm to Riverside, California in 1936. This picture was taken, probably by my grandfather, Paul, at about that time. I don't know if this picture was before, during, or after the trip. I remember my grandfather, in about 1970, talking about the trip from Kansas. He said that there were some poor people who suffered, but it was not like that for everyone. There was always food for his family, and he worked every day (from 1936 to 1970) except for 3 days. He ran a small dairy farm in the 1950s, and then he was a housepainter until he was about 80. He died in about 1975. I am wondering what kind of car that is.

I found a lot of negatives among my mother's effects and this was among them. Most of the photos seem to be from Tennessee, Georgia or Alabama, but I have no idea about this one. Can anyone help?

I took this scene of Main Street in Johnstown, PA on the afternoon of September 6, 1959. The event was a part of the 1959 annual convention of the National Railway Historical Society that included a tour of the city's remaining five streetcar lines. All were slated for conversion to trolley bus the following June. Main Street at the time appeared to be prosperous, but in the ensuing 60 years, Johnstown has been practically rendered a ghost town, having lost its steel industry and suffered a devastating flood. Car 350 is today preserved at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum at Arden, PA.

A subsequent submission will depict the closing day ceremonies held June 11, 1960.

35mm Kodachrome slide by William D. Volkmer

I submit this photo for the 60th Anniversary of the end of an American institution, the small city streetcar. Shorpy followers will have undoubtedly noticed that a great many of the early 20th Century streetscape photos show the ubiquitous streetcar which in those days was people's primary means of transportation.

The occasion here was the ceremonial last run of streetcars in Johnstown, PA at 5 PM, Saturday afternoon, June 11, 1960. There were streetcars remaining in other large cities such as Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Francisco, but Johnstown was the last of the small city systems to be converted to bus operation.

35 mm Kodachrome slide by William D. Volkmer

The Gem Theater located on North Main Street in downtown Charles City, Iowa, circa 1936. Theater manager Jack Kuech is pictured under the marquis of the 1936 version of Romeo & Juliet being promoted. Popcorn sales look to be a little slow. Acetate negative. View full size.

The Candy Kitchen located on Main Street across from the Hildreth Hotel and Opera House in downtown Charles City, Iowa, circa 1906. Glass negative.

A father and son outside of their rural Charles City, Iowa home, circa 1908. Found in a collection of glass negatives.

My grandmother in 1966 at the sewing machine in her clothing store in McLean, Texas, on Main Street. I'm next to her in the hat, probably asking a million questions, along with my younger sister. Grandmother operated the store for many years and lived in the back in an apartment. McLean back then was on the old Route 66 and prior to my grandfather's death in 1963, they owned and operated the Hindman Hotel there. I used to spend summers in McLean, and looking back, it was like living in Mayberry. View full size.