This is good to hear Random. Too many cities are bulldozing parts of their history just to build the latest condo devlopment, or strip mall project. I look forward to being able to see it all if I ever make it out that way.
I was talking to my wife tonite about pictures just like these. I told her our society is sad now. When you look at pictures like that compare to pictures of today, there is no comparison. People were proud. They would not dream of going out the way we dress now. Truely is a shame, thanks for posting the vintage photos, love em...
Better watch it! OT threads get really scrutinized around here!!!! You must know somebody,LOL.... Love those pic's Ryan! I have some books that were my mom's that have all kinds of pic's of Los Angeles in the 30's,40's,and 50's. Hard to imagine what it was like before all the tall buildings. Right now i'm working on the Amb***ador Hotel,in the Wilshire district. They tore it down and are making it into the Amb***ador High School and Middle School. The Cocoanut Grove will be rebuilt and be used as the Auditorium. All the original tiles,lights,booths and flooring was numbered and is going back in. There's a room that is to be a tribute to Bobby Kennedy.
They did take down certain areas of the lower West side and all of the West Side Elevated H'way, (except for one very small section that turns into an old depot building). Almost all the docks on the West side are long gone, I'd say they where torn out by 1980 or so. The 57th St El is long gone but other Els are still up and running. Some of the old subway cars of the 50s are still in service. The Chrysler Blding, my fav, was just sold to some Middle-Eastern conglomerate. The Flatiron Blding is still there. Mott St is still there but the Italian enclave is only about 5 blocks long and is surround by Chinatown. Where at one time, Chinatown was on the south side of C**** St. And the north side was all Italian, I.E. The Godfather. The old brownstones are worth a bundle today. The lofts of Soho which were factories or leather shops or what have you are now going for upward of a million dollars for a one floor loft. The streets there are still cobblestone. The cobblestone came from ships that used it as ballast when sailing from the old country and was unloaded here and filled with goods sold over in England and Europe. There are literally stories of subway systems dating back to the days of Vanderbilt still in existence under the street of Manhattan. And water viaducts that were built in the 1800s that still carry water. Sorry, got carried away again.
Heroic. That's the style were looking at in those pictures. You can just feel the hope for a brighter future, the optimism of a generation in every one of them. I was born in 1948 and yet I got a taste of it growing up in the 50's. I always kind of feel wierd when I say things about that period in time. For what I saw growing up... things were better. I think the visual optimism made, and keeps, those images great. Here's my favorite.
everytime i see them guys, i just cant rap my mind around it...how in the hell could anyone be kool with that???? crazy!
You know what I think made America so interesting is how independent we WERE! If you look at most shots of America through the 70's you'll notice that we still were different than the rest of the world. There were very few foreign cars being imported and oversaturating our country. I love to see pics of what America was built upon. Unfortunately things have changed dramatically in 30 years. Ryan, I love your thread. Thank you for that. ******Knuckles
One of the most interesting facts of those photos is that most of the people in them were immigrants that worked hard to make their new home the America that they were all so proud to be part of. You can see the pride in the faces of the people, the ethics of hard work and the rewards of a job well done. I only wish we could see more of that today.
fabulous shots...the 30 rockefeller plaza shot in particular as well as the world's fair stuff... thanks for posting them, Ryan.
I'm freaked out just looking at the picture of those guys on the beam. I'm surprised they didn't fall right off, weighed down by the watermelon-sized balls it must take to do that. I heard that a lot of the guys who worked on those early skys****ers were some tribe of American Indian, (or whatever the PC term is today) who didn't have a fear of heights. On the plus side, if you drop your sandwich, you've got way more than 5 seconds to pick it up, since it probably won't hit the ground for a minute and a half.
The Jalopy Journal
