Old US

Everyday joy of the American people in the 1960s…!!!

admin October 11, 2024

30 Awesome Vintage Photos of Sport Stadiums That No Longer Exist in the U.S.

Here’s a collection of old photos from the stadiums that no longer exist. These awesome photos will give you an idea of what going to a game was like 100 years ago.

Huntington Avenue Grounds, Boston (Boston Braves, 1903)

Polo Grounds, Manhattan (New York Giants, 1908)

The owner’s box at the Polo Grounds (note the weeds).

Shibe Park, Philadelphia (Philadelphia A’s, 1913)

Fans watching from the rooftops outside Shibe Park.

The main entrance to Shibe Park.

Original Yankee Stadium, Bronx (New York Yankees, 1923)

Governor Alfred E. Smith (lower right) threw out the first pitch at the first game at original Yankee Stadium

Fans spilling onto the field.

Fans walking to the Polo Grounds.

Giants players walking onto the field at the Polo Grounds.

Photographers take pictures.

The Polo Grounds from the bleachers.

During the 1912 World Series.

The outfield seats.

The Polo Grounds along the Harlem River.

West Side Park, Chicago (Chicago Cubs, 1910)

A huge Chicago Tribune ad in right field in West Side Park.

West Side Park during a Buffalo Bill show.

Madison Square Garden III, Manhattan (boxing, basketball, hockey)

Madison Square Garden II, Manhattan (boxing)

MSG III during a horse show.

MSG III preparing for a circus.

Washington Park, Brooklyn (Brooklyn Tip-Tops, 1915)

Concession stands outside of Ebbets Field in 1920.

Ebbets Field, Brooklyn (Brooklyn Dodgers, 1920)

The crowd right along the outfield.

The bleachers under construction.

The eventual grandstand.

The “Motormat” Was a Drive-In in Los Angeles, Where the Food Tray Was Sent Out on Rails Right to Your Car

Los Angeles’ car culture was in full bloom after the war, and the innovations that came along with an auto-centric lifestyle were also booming. No other region is more associated with drive-thru, drive-in restaurants and drive-in theaters than Southern California. And while the drive-thru restaurant has endured through the decades, the rest feel like novelties at this point. The “Motormat” is no exception.

In 1948, a drive-in located in Los Angeles implemented a unique system using conveyer belts to deliver food. This innovative idea, patented by Kenneth C. Purdy as the Motormat, aimed to eliminate the need for carhops by relying on a conveyor belt system for order taking and food delivery. The Track restaurant in Southern California embraced this technology, with 20 stalls arranged like spokes around the central building.

Instead of carhops, a metal bin on a conveyor belt played the roles of a waiter, busboy, and server. Purdy stated in 1949 that this system saved customers 30 to 50% of the time it would take at a typical drive-in. With the Motormat, there was no waiting for carhops, no need to deal with dusty food, no honking for the check, and no waiting for change.

The process of ordering at this drive-in involved driving up to a window-high bin mounted on rails. Inside the bin, customers would find glasses of water, a menu, a pencil, and a pad. They would fill out their order, push a button, and send the bin back to the kitchen, located at the center of the circular structure. While the food was being prepared, the bin would return with the bill. After the payment was made, the food and change would be sent back down the rails, eliminating the need for tipping a waitress.

Here’s a description of the operation from The American Drive-In, by Michael Karl Witzel:

“Debuted in 1949, a Los Angeles innovation promised total elimination of carhops. At a new drive-in called “The Track,” it attracted customers from as far as Santa Monica with its unique type of service. Like a group of horses at a trough [there’s a gracious image], cars ringed around a central building, forming a circular pattern. Twenty semicircular parking spaces bridged a center kitchen by means of metal tracks. Food and condiments rode the rails within carrying… compartment[s] each powered by a small ½-horsepower motor.

“The mechanical setup was reminiscent of the wackiest Rube Goldberg device. Positioned in a pre-determined [?] parking space, the diner rolled down the car window and was greeted by a stainless-steel bin that could be made flush with the door. Inside the box were plastic cups, a water bottle, menu, order pad, and change tray. It was large, too. Food for six people could be ferried back and forth on the elevated platforms. Patrons would jot down their orders and with the push of a button, the unit scotted a return to the kitchen.

“When the empty bin arrived at the kitchen, an attendant put through the order and added up the bill. As hamburgers and other entrées were prepared, the rail box made its second journey to the automobile to collect the money. By the time it returned to the preparation area, the food was ready to go–loaded into the compartment along with condiments and the customer’s change. According to inventor Kenneth C. Purdy, the spoke-and-wheel-track arrangement sped service 20-25 percent.”

Despite generating initial excitement, The Track restaurant faced challenges in replacing the traditional carhops on skates. Although it served an impressive number of customers, with 3,000 meals sold on its opening day and nearly 40,000 served in the first two weeks, the Motormat concept never truly gained widespread popularity. The Motormat automated drive-in restaurant branched out to three establishments in the L.A area of 1950, all of them had gone by 1952.

28 Amazing Vintage Photographs That Capture Telephone Switchboard Operators at Work From the Past

Following the invention of the telephone in 1876, the first telephones were rented in pairs which were limited to conversation between the parties operating those two instruments. The use of a central exchange was soon found to be even more advantageous than in telegraphy. In January 1878 the Boston Telephone Dispatch company had started hiring boys as telephone operators. Boys had been very successful as telegraphy operators, but their attitude, lack of patience, and behavior was unacceptable for live telephone contact, so the company began hiring women operators instead.

These operators were almost always women until the early 1970s, when men were once again hired. In many cases, customers came to know their operator by name.
As telephone exchanges converted to automatic (dial) service, switchboards continued to serve specialized purposes. Before the advent of direct-dialed long distance calls, a subscriber would need to contact the long-distance operator in order to place a toll call.

Check out these 28 amazing vintage photos below which showing women who worked as telephone switchboard operators from the past.

A typical telephone exchange switchboard, 1943

Army WAC phone operator, ca. 1940s

Bell System telephone operators, 1950

Canadian Women’s Army Corps operating the telephone switchboard at Canadian Military Headquarters, London, 1945

Chesapeake and Potomac telephone operators, Washington D.C, 1919

Early switchboard operator, ca. 1880s

Operator at a switchboard, ca.1900

Southwestern Bell Telephone switchboard operators, ca. 1960s

Switchboard operator, 1948

Switchboard operator, Amsterdam, ca. 1940s

Switchboard operators at the Bell Telephone head office, 1912

Switchboard operators at the sole Milwaukee telephone exchange, 1883

Switchboard operators at the Sydney GPO Switchboard, 1913

Switchboard operators, 1922

Telephone operator, 1898

Telephone operator, 1929

Telephone operator, 1969

Telephone operator, ca. 1900s

Telephone operators in Seattle, Washington, 1952

Telephone operators, ca. 1910s

Telephone operators, ca. 1950s

Telephone switchboard operator on Washington Island, 1915

Telephone switchboard operators in the 1960s

Telephone switchboard operators, ca. 1900s

Telephone twitchboard operators, 1914

The early switchboard operator, ca. 1880s

WAC telephone operators operate the Victory switchboard during the Potsdam Conference in their headquarters in Babelsburg, Germany, 17 July 1945

Women operators in Richmond, Virginia, 1884

28 Found Photos Show What Service Stations of the US Looked Like in the Early 20th Century

These amazing photos were found by Steve Hagy that show what service stations of the US looked like in the 1920s and 1930s.

Jeff’s Texaco, Newburgh, New York Area, August 22, 1924

Western Oil Station at Pentwater, Michigan, 1926

Reeder’s Sinclair, Lake City, Michigan, June 29, 1927

Hazel Filling Station, West Virginia, May 12, 1929

Rest “A” While Camps, Clinton, Maine, August 28, 1929

Super X Gas Station at 910 Broadway, Newark, New Jersey, September 4, 1929

Shady Lawn Cottages – Texaco at Oakland, Iowa, circa late 1920s

Business District with Deep Rock Gasoline, Maple Lake, Minnesota, circa 1930s

Crystal Brook Farm, Derby Line, Vermont, circa 1930s

Gridley’s cabins, restaurant, and gasoline, Otter Lake, NY, circa 1930s

Howard Brothers Store & Socony Gas, Piermont, New Hampshire, June 21, 1930

Log Cabin Inn, Cold Brook, NY, circa 1930s

Tashers Indian Village & Texaco, South Bend, Indiana, circa 1930s

Butler’s Esso, Prescottville, Pennsylvania, June 1, 1933

Esso Station Route 11, Nicholson, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1933

Gochnour’s Lunch Room & Cottage, along old U.S. 220 between Bedford and Claysburg, Osterburg, PA, August 14, 1933

Temple Cabins & Gulf Gasoline, West Wilton, New Hampshire, June 21, 1933

Conoco Stations at Eureka Springs, Arkansas, July 19, 1935

Heinz Grocery Meats, St Petersburg, Florida, February 15, 1935

Lincoln Lodge on U.S. 30, Ligonier, PA, August 5, 1935

Lone Spruce Lodge & Gulf Gasoline, Pittsfield, New Hampshire, August 19, 1935

Silver Spring Tavern at Bartlett, New Hampshire, July 3, 1937

Blue’s Gas Station, along U.S. 201 not far from the Canadian border, Jackman, Maine, February 9, 1938

Dennie’s Corner, Shafer Lake, Indiana, August 2, 1938

Harvey’s Service Station, Route 219 near Oakland, Maryland, July 11, 1938

Hi-Way Texaco Service, Texline, Texas, September 5, 1938

Scenic City Kabin Kamp, Iowa Falls, Iowa, June 3, 1939

Stone Tavern on U.S. 219 near Oakland, Maryland, August 9, 1939

30 Wonderful Kodachrome Slides of American Circus Performers in the 1940s and 1950s

The Braathens, Sverre and Faye, were active and avid circus fans and collectors. Sverre’s passion for circus began in the early 1900s when he was a boy waiting for and later watching the Gollmar Brothers Circus unload, parade, and perform on the Great Plains in the small town of Mayville, North Dakota.

Sverre mixed his love of music with his love for circuses and began collecting circus music material. Through the years, his collection grew to include route books, business materials, periodicals, massive amounts of correspondence between all levels of circus personnel – from band members to performers, riggers to roustabouts. Every season found the Braathens following circuses throughout the upper Midwest and it was while following circuses that his photographic talents emerged.

These images were captured in the saturated colors of Kodachrome slides and date from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. They provide insight to what happens just outside the canvas flaps of the circus tent. Take a look: