Tag Archives: 1900s

Old New York In Postcards #8 – Dreamland Coney Island Part 2

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Coney Island’s Dreamland Amusement Park 1904-1911 – Part 2

Coney Island Dreamland general view

Coney Island- Dreamland midway on a crowded day

Continuing from part one of our postcard journey through Dreamland Amusement Park at Coney Island, we examine the other features of the park.

Coney Island Dreamland The Ballroom InteriorConey Island Dreamland Bathing Beach

At the turn of the century, dancing was possibly the most popular amusement at Coney Island, even more so than bathing at the beach. The Dreamland ballroom reflected this popularity by being the largest ballroom ever built in the United States. Continue reading →

Old New York In Postcards #7 – Dreamland Coney Island Part 1

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Coney Island’s Dreamland Amusement Park 1904-1911

Coney Island Dreamland at night

Dreamland Map from Jeffrey Stanton's site http://www.westland.net/coneyisland/index.html

Dreamland Map from Jeffrey Stanton’s site
http://www.westland.net/coneyisland/

Dreamland was built on a 15-acre parcel at Surf Avenue and West 8th Street and opened on May 14, 1904. It cost over $3.5 million to build. The park could accommodate over 250,000 people. Ex-State Senator William H. Reynolds was the man behind Dreamland. The original name of the park was to be the Hippodrome, as Reynolds originally wanted chariot races around a lagoon. On the architect’s plans the name was changed to Wonderland, but the name that stuck was Dreamland. With its bright lights and a dizzying array of exhibits and amusements Dreamland was an apropos name.

On the right is a map of how Dreamland was laid out.

Coney Island Dreamland opening ad 1904 05 08 NY Sun

The week before Dreamland opened, this ad in the May 8, 1904 New York Evening Sun heralded the pleasures that awaited visitors.

Coney Island Dreamland Tower Night 2 Coney Island Dreamland Tower Night 1Coney Island Dreamland Tower side view

The defining feature of Dreamland was the White Tower built by architects Kirby, Petit and Green and modeled after the Giralda Tower in Seville. It was 370 feet high and had over 100,000 electric lights. Continue reading →

When The New York City Subway Opened On October 27, 1904

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20 Cool Facts About The New York City Subway When It Was Brand New

"What The Subway Means To New York City" New York Evening World October 27, 1904 (click to enlarge)

“What The Subway Means To New York” New York Evening World October 27, 1904 (click to enlarge)

109 years ago on October 27, 1904, the New York City Subway was opened to an enthusiastic public with great fanfare and accolades.

New Yorker’s were proud of this engineering sensation and its features were highlighted in newspapers and magazines around the world.

On the occasion of the opening, the New York Evening World published a “Subway Souvenir Special” to commemorate the event. With articles describing many aspects of the subway, the special issue compiled a list of 100 facts about the subway. Here are some of the better ones:

1. In 1894 the people of New York voted to create a tunnel for a subway which was to be owned by the city. After six years of preliminary work by the Rapid Transit Commission, bids were accepted to build and operate the subway on November 15, 1899.

2. Only two companies bid for the job. John B. McDonald and the Onderdonk Construction Company. McDonald’s bid was accepted January 15, 1900.

3. McDonald proposed to construct the tunnels for $35 million with an additional $2,750,000 for station sites, terminals and other incidentals.

4. The money for the construction was loaned by the city. It was to be paid back with interest in fifty years.

5. McDonald organized a construction company with August Belmont as its president. Another company within this company, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was organized to operate the subway.

6. The IRT had the privilege of operating the system for 50 years, with an option for a 25 year renewal. When the subway passed into the hands of the people, the equipment was to be purchased by the city at a valuation to be determined by arbitration.

7. McDonald sublet the construction to thirteen sub-contractors. Ground was broken March 25, 1900 in front of City Hall.

8. McDonald pledged to have the subway ready in four and a half years. The actual time spent on construction was only 1275 days.

9. The final amount spent was just $40 million.

Union Square June 8, 1901 Subway Construction

Union Square June 8, 1901 Subway Construction

10. There were 120 lives lost during the construction. Continue reading →

Celebrity Stalkers Aren’t New

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Maude Adams, Biggest Star of The New York Stage Had A Stalker Committed To Bellevue

Maude Adams In Quality Street

Maude Adams In Quality Street

Today the paparazzi are considered the primary stalkers of celebrities and their children. But every now and then we read about the true psychopaths who are scary or downright dangerous to those who are in the limelight (see Rebecca Schaeffer and David Letterman).

What is interesting is that the phenomenon is not new. It was happening over a hundred years ago.

Maude Adams was one of the biggest stars of the legitimate stage in the late 19th and early 20th century. James Barrie the playwright, author and creator of Peter Pan wrote roles specifically for Maude.

For those who have seen the 1980 time travel love story Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, there is little doubt that author Richard Matheson based Seymour’s beautiful Elise McKenna character on Maude Adams.

Morris Gottlieb of East 14th Street had a thing for Maude Adams. Unlike many who just capitulated or ignored their overbearing admirers, she did something about it. Continue reading →

Before They Were Famous…

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The 4 Nightingales – “Big Hit Everywhere”

4 Nightingales

This rare trade card from 1908 – 1909 advertises a vaudeville group known as “The Four Nightingales.” Two of them went on to worldwide fame. Can you guess who they are?

Scroll down for the answer.

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A huge clue is “Minnie Marx Manager”

It is The Marx Brothers. From left to right: Milton “Gummo” Marx, Adolph “Harpo” Marx, Julius “Groucho” Marx and Lou Levy.

Gummo Marx Continue reading →

A Peculiar Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Ad 1907

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Selling Cereal At The Turn Of The Century

Ad Corn Flakes 1907 Burr McIntosh

The company was only one year old in 1907 when this advertisement appeared in print.

This advertisement was supposed to sell you on buying Kellogg’s Toasted Corn Flakes. By just looking at the ad you are probably not quite sure what the image means. Not “boy gets girl,” but “corn gets girl”? Maybe she has a case of lachanophilia?

There is an explanation.

Company founder Will Keith Kellogg (April 7, 1860 – October 6, 1951) made himself, his cereals and the city of Battle Creek, Michigan famous. Kellogg did this by producing a better breakfast product and a lot of advertising.

W.K. Kellogg’s education never went beyond the sixth grade, yet with his strange brother Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (he advocated sexual mutilation and eugenics among other things), they figured out how to make a tasty corn flake. In producing their cereal they used only the corn grit or “the sweet heart of the corn.” Continue reading →

Beauties Of The Past – Annabelle Whitford

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Annabelle Whitford Moore Buchan And The Original “Gibson Girl”

Gibson Girl Annabelle Moore Whitford Buchan Follies 1908

The epitome of feminine beauty at the turn of the century was captured in artist Charles Dana Gibson’s skillful drawings of women, that came to be known as “Gibson Girls.”

Gibson Girl Social Ladder 0040

Annabelle Whitford was 15 years old when she achieved notoriety dancing at the Columbian World Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Annabelle appeared in movies performing her dances under the name Annabelle Moore from 1896 -1902. She went onto a successful stage career hitting the top as a star in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1908 playing one of the “Nell Brinkley Girls.” Brinkley (September 5, 1886 – October 21, 1944) was a female newspaper artist whose creations were very similar to the Gibson Girls. In 1910 Annabelle married Dr. Edward James Buchan and retired from performing.

Gibson Girl Annabelle Moore Whitford Buchan Nell Brinkley Girls Follies 1908

In her obituary in the New York Times it was said Annabelle “was the symbol of beauty in her day. She was billed as ‘the original Gibson Girl’ because of her striking resemblance to the Charles Dana Gibson portrait.” The illustrations below are from Gibson’s 1902 book The Social Ladder.

Gibson Girl Social Ladder 0074 Gibson Girl Social Ladder 0081 Gibson Girl Social Ladder 0012

Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #28 – New York City Early Color Photos

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New York City In Old Color Photographs At The Turn Of The Century

Mulberry Street Detroit Publishing Company

Mulberry Street in color New York City 1900

Life was colorful in turn of the century New York City. But because almost all the photographs we see from that era are in black and white, it is hard to imagine what the city looked like in its full color glory.

The Library of Congress holds the incredible collection of The Detroit Publishing Company who manufactured postcards and chronicled the world with their photographs from 1880-1920.

One of the processes used to achieve color was called the photochrom. Photochrom’s are color photo lithographs created from a black and white photographic negative. Color impressions are achieved through the application of multiple lithograph stones, one per color. In 1897, the Detroit Publishing Company brought the process over from Switzerland where it was first developed.

The images presented here were eventually used for postcards. Here is a look at New York circa 1900 in high resolution color photographs. Click on any image to vastly enlarge.

South Street Brooklyn Bridge 1900 Detroit Publishing

South Street and Brooklyn Bridge 1900

Looking north along South Street with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background. This was still the age when shipping and boats crowded the harbor.

City Hall 1900 Detroit Publishing

City Hall New York City 1900

City Hall looking northwest with a sliver of City Hall Park on the bottom extreme left. Continue reading →

Ty Cobb In Chicago At Southside Park – 1907 And 1908

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The “Georgia Peach” Ty Cobb, Plays In The Windy City

Ty Cobb 1907 Southside Park Chicago Daily News

I wonder if baseball fans recognize greatness early on in a player’s career? Ty Cobb started his major league career with the Detroit Tigers in 1905 and had his first breakout season in 1907 at the age of 20 when he led the American League in hits, stolen bases, RBI’s and a .350 batting average.  The photograph above is from 1907, taken at Southside Park in Chicago, home to the White Sox from 1900-1910. So did the fans in Chicago realize they were watching a player who would electrify baseball for the next twenty years?

One thing you notice by looking at Ty Cobb is that he had a unique batting stance. His legs and feet would many times be planted way ahead of home plate and his hands spread apart on the bat. It enabled him to spray balls all over the field and get to the pitch before it could do what the pitcher wanted it to. He hit .366, the highest career batting average ever by a major leaguer.

Ty Cobb 1908 Southside Park Chicago Daily News

Here Cobb plays against the White Sox in 1908 at Southside Park in front of a packed house.  Once again notice how far ahead Cobb is standing in front of the plate. One criticism of Cobb besides his nasty disposition, was that he didn’t hit a lot of home runs like Babe Ruth. Cobb bristled at that comparison, saying anyone could hit home runs, it took talent to be a spray hitter like he was.

On May 5, 1925 visiting St. Louis against the Browns, Cobb told a reporter in the dugout that “today for the first time my career I’m going to go for home runs.” The comment is apocryphal, but that day Cobb went six for six.  Home runs? He hit three.