A not so random collection of observations about things you should care about
16-Year-Old Swimming Champion Esther Williams – 1938 It will not come as a surprise to anyone who has ever seen an Esther Williams film that she was a swimming star before a film star. The caption from our news photo reads: Time Out To Pose Los Angeles, Calif. – Photo shows (left to right) Iris […] The post Classic Hollywood #196 – Future Movie Star Esther Williams appeared first on Stuff Nobody…
Brooklyn Bridge Walkway & Elevated Trains This magic lantern slide view of the Brooklyn Bridge is from around 1890. On the right is a train and on the left we can get a glimpse of the Brooklyn Bridge shuttle station. Trolleys and horse drawn vehicles are on the outer roadways as pedestrians cross the span […] The post Old New York In Photos #198 – Brooklyn Bridge c.1890 appeared first on Stuff…
Gigantic, Never Built Dock Buildings Along The Hudson Originally this illustration appeared in the January 26, 1922 issue of The New York Times Mid-Week Pictorial magazine. We colorized this birdseye view of The Battery showing lower Manhattan crowded with ships and skyscraper buildings. It also shows something that never came to be. On the left […] The post The Unbuilt Lower Manhattan Dock…
The Taxi Cabs Of New York City Of The 1920s & 1930s At the turn-of-the century, New York City had over a million horses serving the public. That situation was greatly affected by the arrival of automobiles. By the 1920s there were few horse drawn carriages still transporting people to their destinations. Along with the […] The post New York City Taxis Of The 1920s & 1930s appeared first on Stuff…
Impressionist & Post Impressionist Paintings By Great Artists Are Auctioned Off In An Incredible Sale – 1922 And You Won’t Believe The Prices Realized The legend is that during his lifetime Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) was able to sell just one painting.Van Gogh sold “The Red Vineyard” in 1890 to Anna Boch for 400 francs. […] The post The 1922 Auction Prices Of Paintings By Van Gogh, Gauguin and…
Metropolitan Life Insurance Building & 23rd Street – 1900 This Detroit Publishing Company photograph is from 1900. We are looking east along 23rd Street. The corner of Madison Avenue and Madison Square Park is visible on the left. The 11-story building completed in 1893 is the home office of The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. To […] The post Old New York In Photos #197 – 23rd Street Before…
Many Colonists Did Not Want To Break With Great Britain “Loyalists” Were Merely On The Losing Side Of History Says John Hyde Preston We all know the saying that history is written by the victors. But, as the United States celebrates America 250 on July 4, we don’t acknowledge an overlooked fact. There were a […] The post 1776 How Many Colonists Were “Patriots” In The Revolution? appeared first on…
A Thank You Letter My Grandfather Received After Serving In The Army Air Corps During World War II When my grandfather was returning from World War II to civilian life in November 1945 he managed to accumulate a bunch of ribbons and medals during his years in the service. He was quick to put the […] The post Thank You For Your Service In World War II appeared first on Stuff Nobody Cares About .
Indoctrinating Young Immigrants To Be Patriotic Independence Day Celebration A Short Article From The New York Evening World July 3, 1893 CHEERED LIKE AMERICANS Independence Day Exercises at the Baron de Hirsch School. Little immigrants Show the Results of Patriotic Training. Four hundred and fifty very bright-looking little boys and girls, children of Russian Hebrew […] The post Turning Immigrant…
Union Square 14th Street & 4th Avenue 1905 We are looking east along 14th Street towards Fourth Avenue. There are al least 50 people in the background, but the sparsity of pedestrians and traffic in this usually very busy area indicates that this was probably taken on a Sunday morning. The seven small buildings between […] The post Old New York In Photos #196 – Union Square East 1905 appeared…