Homeless During The Depression
This scene is from 1932 along the waterfront. Our copy of the original news caption from the rear of the photo is incomplete. Continue reading
Old New York In Photos #148 – Homeless Shanties 1932
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Tag Archives: 1930s
Old New York In Photos #144 – Election Night Times Square 1934
Crowds Watching Election Night Results In Times Square 1934
Election Night At Crossroads Of The World
In keeping with the tradition Times Square was jammed until traffic was halted, as crowds watched election returns. Photo shows part of the crowd at Times Square, election night. Photo: Acme 11/6/1934
For entertainment in 1934 you could go to the Loew’s State Theater and see Mae West in Belle of the Nineties.
Or on the night of November 6 you could entertain yourself by standing in the street. Continue reading
Classic Hollywood #137 – Clark Gable & His Father In A Bizarre Court Case
Clark Gable And His Dad At Trial – 1937
Clark Gable and his father April 20, 1937 photo: Los Angeles Daily News
The support of your parents is helpful especially if someone is trying to extort you.
Clark Gable (1901-1960) is seen here talking with his father William Henry Gable (1870-1948) at Federal Court in Los Angeles. Continue reading
Classic Hollywood #136 – Sylvia Sidney 1933
Sylvia Sidney In An Unusual Pose
Caption on rear of photograph: “Sylvia Sidney is appearing in Paramount Pictures.” photo: Paramount Pictures 1933
Sylvia Sidney (1910-1999) was born in the Bronx as Sophia Kosow. Sylvia’s father and mother divorced soon after her birth. Her mother married Sigmund Sidney and he adopted her. By the time she was 15 Sylvia had decided she wanted to be an actor and started taking lessons at Theater Guild’s School For Acting. Appearing on stage in an amateur production a New York Times critic who happened to catch the performance gave her rave reviews. More stage roles lead to Hollywood talent scouts knocking on her door.
By the 1930s Sylvia was starring in major films such as Fury (with Spencer Tracy), Sabotage (directed by Alfred Hitchcock) and Dead End (with Humphrey Bogart). Sylvia married Random House publisher Bennett Cerf in 1935. The marriage lasted less than seven months. In his autobiography, Cerf states Continue reading
Old New York In Postcards #27 – The 10 Tallest Buildings In 1939
Skyscraper Race – The 10 Tallest Buildings In New York City In 1939
When the Park Row Building was completed in 1899, the 31 story office building was the highest in New York and the world at 382 feet. Less than seven years later it was no longer the tallest, with the Singer Building soaring 211 feet higher than the Park Row.
Today the Park Row Building, converted to residences, is not even among the 100 tallest buildings in New York. And the Singer Building was demolished over 55 years ago.
The constant desire by developers to top one another has continued and accelerated in the past dozen years.
The skyline is being overtaken by mostly nondescript glass boxes dwarfing other buildings and eclipsing many of the classic New York skyscrapers.
As of 2022 the ten tallest buildings in New York are:
Rank Name Height Stories Year Completed Address
1 One World Trade Center 1,776 94 2014 285 Fulton Street
2 Central Park Tower 1,550 99 2021 225 West 57th Street
3 111 West 57th Street 1,428 85 2022 111 West 57th Street
4 One Vanderbilt 1,401 73 2020 1 Vanderbilt Avenue
5 432 Park Avenue 1,397 85 2015 432 Park Avenue
6 30 Hudson Yards 1,270 103 2019 500 West 33rd Street
7 Empire State Building 1,250 102 1931 350 Fifth Avenue
8 Bank of America Tower 1,200 55 2009 1101 Sixth Avenue
9 3 World Trade Center 1,079 69 2018 175 Greenwich Street
10 The Brooklyn Tower 1,073 73 2022 9 DeKalb Avenue (Brooklyn)
Recently looking at the 1939 World Almanac there was a list of the tallest buildings in New York.
Here are the top ten from that list-
All heights listed are the Almanac’s figures which may differ from modern estimates.
1. The Empire State Building is located on the site of the original Continue reading
Lefty Grove Takes A Bat To His Glove – 1931 World Series
World Series “Action” – Lefty Grove Breaks In A New Glove
What does a star pitcher do between games of the World Series? If you are 31-game winner Lefty Grove you take time to work on breaking in a new glove.
Breaking In A New Mitt
Robert (Lefty) Grove victor over the St. Louis Cards first battle of the World Series, is seen here in Shibe Park, Philadelphia, October 4th as he breaks in a new glove. Grove will probably be selected to pitch against the Cards in the third game Oct, 5th. photo: Acme 10/4/1931
A new glove didn’t help Grove in game three Continue reading
What Are Baseball Players Celebrating? Certainly Not Winning The World Series.
New York Giants Celebrate Winning The National League Pennant September 30. 1937
Or, How To Put Celebrating In Perspective
The way baseball players celebrate or more accurately carry on when they win a regular ball game makes me scratch me head. It also makes me a little nauseous.
C.J. Abrams gets a Gatorade shower after delivering a tenth inning game winning single over the Atlanta Braves for the last place Washington Nationals. photo: San Diego Union Tribune
On September 28, 2022 the Washington Nationals Continue reading
Classic Hollywood #133 – Louise Henry
Louise Henry MGM Ingenue
After appearing in an uncredited role in the 1934 Laurel and Hardy picture Hollywood Party, Louise Henry was signed by MGM to a long term contract. The Hollywood Reporter described Louise as a “New York society girl.”
Over the next five years Louise made 21 films. Despite her beauty, Continue reading
As Aaron Judge Chases Roger Maris, Jimmie Foxx Once Chased Babe Ruth
In 1932 Jimmie Foxx Was On Pace To Shatter Babe Ruth’s 60 Homer Record
Don’t Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch
If Aaron Judge hits more than 61 home runes in 2022 many will view him as baseball’s legitimate all-time single season home run leader. Officially Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa all shattered Maris’s record. But many observers suspect all three cheated by using performance enhancing drugs. Continue reading
When We Used To Manufacture Things In The United States
U.S. Manufacturing And Industry In Cities In The 1930s
When The U.S.A. Did Not Rely Upon Imports
See What 16 Cities Of The United States Used To Produce
Worker at furniture factory, Arthurdale, West Virginia 1937 photo: Ben Shahn via Library of Congress
As the Covid-19 debacle made clear to Americans we are now dependent upon foreign countries for many of the things necessary to conduct our daily lives.”Supply-chain” issues have been one of the main reasons given to explain the shortages of thousands of products. Continue reading