History Adventuring

It's 1920, I'm in Philadelphia, and I'm crossing crossing the street to go look at the Victrolas and Records at 1700 N. Broad Street. A Victrola, by the way, if you haven't heard of one (and where have you been?) is a talking machine. You put something called a record on it, and sound comes out out it. Yes, talking, singing, and all kinds of music. I found this image today on the Duke University site and I immediately felt myself walking into it in my imagination. And there I am, in my flat cap and my white shoes. Luckily, there's a policeman there stopping traffic, and there's another one standing on the corner, keeping an eye on things. He seems pretty stern, maybe the driver took the corner a little too fast, or maybe he's just upset because the steering wheel appears to be on the wrong side. I wonder what kind of car that is? I went on Google Street View to see if any of these old buildings still exist, but it looks like they don't. The fire hydrant ...

It's 1937,  we're in Trenton, New Jersey, and we're going to take the bus to Philadelphia and back. The fare will be one dollar round trip. I found this image on the Duke University site, which has a lot of cool old images, and its exact location puzzled me. Information about the location of the Hotel Stacy Trent was easy to find, but it took a bit of staring at this photo to figure out that we're on Front Street, looking west, towards Willow. And like so many of the photos there on the Duke site, it's rich with detail, and it made me want to walk into it. Come on! Personally, I've never been anywhere near Trenton, but I have ridden buses, and I do like to leave the driving to someone else! There are two reasons for this, I love to sight-see, and I've always owned unreliable cars. In this imaginary adventure I'm leaving the Rolls-K'Nardly in Trenton, because I'm afraid that while it might make it there, it probably wouldn't make it back. I...

It's 1951 and we're about to cross into the city limits of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I've never been to Philly, so if you recognize this location, please let me know. According to the billboard, we're seventeen miles from city hall, which is on Broad and Market Streets. Of course, city limits can change over time, so I really can't tell from a modern map. It looks like they're working on improvements, so we're going to drive slowly. I usually drive slowly, anyway, looking at things! Yes, I'll stay to the right of the median. Hey, look at that billboard over there! I've been thinking about getting a new hat. How about a Stetson? No, not a cowboy hat, a homburg, you know, the kind that the private eyes wear in detective movies. I wonder if I could look like Humphrey Bogart? What do you think? Very funny! You know, this is supposed to be the city of brotherly love, not sarcasm! Thank you for visiting Philadelphia in 1951 with me! Update June 29th: Ac...

I stumbled across this photo on the Duke University site today of some cars driving past a billboard on Queens Boulevard, Long Island in 1920, and figured that it would be fun to dive into it, and do an imaginary history adventure with you. Let's ride! Now calm down there, I'm no expert on Long Island. All that I know is that it's an island, and it's long. I took a look on a Google map to see if I could at least figure out where Queens Boulevard was, and it looks like it's the road to and from Manhattan (which is also an island). I've heard of the borough of Queens because I've watched situation comedies, and all of this is in New York State. There, that's all I know. Let's take a closer look at the cars. I wish that I could identify them for you, but other than knowing that they went "A-Ooogah!" I can't tell you anything. Something interesting that caught my eye is that there's a trolley line there on one side, and that someone app...

It's 1938, we're on the road to Trenton, New Jersey, and I want to stop at the gas station for a rest stop. Yes, I know that we're in a hurry to get to the Hotel Hildebrecht, but I just want to stop and stretch my legs, maybe look around a bit. There it is, you can see it from a distance! Yes, I suppose we can get some gas, but I'm going to use the rest rooms, maybe go over to the restaurant. No, you can't have "one for the road" - you'll be driving us into Trenton! By the way, I found this image on the Duke University site - they scan in old photos of billboards, which I suppose is interesting to study. But for me, I'm mostly interested in these photos of ordinary life in America. This was just an ordinary photo taken for business purposes in 1938, to show that the billboard was there, and was visible, no more, no less. And it looks like this billboard was advertising Trenton's newest hotel and hot spot. Dancing nightly in the famous Surf Club...

It's 1939, we're in Trenton, New Jersey, and I'm hungry. Let's go the College Restaurant, which is on the corner of Warren and Lafayette. This image is from the Duke University site, and I was able to identify the location and date exactly without any help from my usual history adventuring expert (who prefers to remain anonymous) - it's written on the photo!  Platters are 20 cents, and the Pint Package is 15 cents. Let's see, they have also have hamburgers and hot weiners for a nickel. And it looks like there's a 25 cent platter. Maybe that's what I'll get, I'm hungry! Hmmm... steaks, chops, sea foods, sounds good! I see that they have tables for ladies, and that they're open day and night. I wonder if I should try some of that Pensupreme ice cream? Let's get a table by the window so I can watch the cars go by. Wow! Look at them! I just love those split windows! And that one has white wall tires! Hot diggity, that's what I would get i...

It's 1922 and you're running across Market Street at 4th in this imaginary journey to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And before you get worried, relax, you're young, there isn't much traffic, and what traffic there is is moving very slowly by 21st-Century standards. The view is looking west on Market at 4th Street, and as you can see, the photo is marked June 22nd, 1922. I really have no idea why you're running across the street, but looking at your apron, you're probably a vendor, and maybe you brought a carrot over to the horses. Or maybe you just ate at the Market Street Lunch Room. By the way, in case you're wondering where I found this photo, it's at the Duke University site. They scan in photos like this so that people can study historic advertising, like the ads for Coca-Cola and Pillsbury. Advertising is, and always has been big business, and whether the advertising agencies who placed these ads were in Minneapolis, Atlanta, or New York, they would ...

Let's go the Savoy Restaurant in Trenton, New Jersey in 1936. And if you're wondering why I suggested it, it's because it's in an image that I found on the Duke University site. I just get big kick out of looking at these old photos, and with the help of my number one history adventurer (who prefers to remain anonymous), I was able to figure out exactly where this was. Here's the whole image, which is looking west on State Street at Broad. The exact address of where we're going, the Savoy Restaurant, is 43 E. State Street. The date, as you can see, is November 2, 1936. And just in case you're wondering why the photo was taken, it was of the billboards. That's also why the Duke site scanned them, they study historic advertising. But that's not what I'm interested in. Let's look around! Before we go over to the Savoy, I want to look for some cut rate patent medicines. I'm in luck, looks like I can get them right here. Do you smoke? You can ...

It's 1937, and we're on the road to the Hotel President, which is in Manhattan, at 58th and Broadway. I would say "buckle up!" but seat belts haven't been invented yet. So hang on, I'm driving! By the way, before we start this imaginary journey, I would be remiss if I didn't thank the nice people at the Duke University, where I found this photo. They collect and share old photos of advertising, and people study them. And the original photo was taken as proof that the billboard was there, and legible (and not upside-down or anything). But that's not what I'm thinking about right now. I want to history adventure! What a smooth and modern road! I'm not exactly sure where we are, but I think we have a ways to go before we get to Manhattan. There are a lot of tall buildings there, you know! Hang on, I've got to pull over to side of the road, someone wants to pass. Speed demons! The speedometer doesn't work on my old jalopy, but we have to be...