Tag Archives: 1955

Duke Ellington and band members playing baseball in front of their segregated motel while touring in Florida, 1955

Posted on by The Old Wolf

Colored

Originally spotted this at /r/historyporn, but the original source is from Shorpy. Some interesting comments from both sites:

Commenter jsmakbkr mentioned, “On the left in the blazer is William “Cat” Anderson, the Ellington band’s trumpet player renowned for being able to hit the high notes.”

Shorpy commenter Evado recognized the church just barely visible in the upper-right of the photo.

redditor 170lbsApe provided a street view of  the lot they were playing on here.

This is an ad for the Astor from the 1956 The Negro Travelers’ Green Book, according to Vonderbees.

Screen_Shot_2014-03-24_at_5.05.51_PM

 

William Lafferty posted: “The hotel’s ad in the 1956 Green Book puts it at “US 1 and US 23 North” in Jacksonville. The street address appears to have been 1111 Cleveland.”

Shorpy user Lady Ashmire had an interesting insight:

I’m now suddenly struck with the thought that many old motel signs I’ve seen that seem to advertise COLOR TV excessively prominently (though no doubt that was a nice amenity when it first appeared) may have been advertising color of a different sort a few years previously and were simply saving money on the cost of sign alterations.

Not sure if this is the case or not – most of these signs seem to be custom-crafted to advertise RCA:

color-tv-louise-morgan

But it’s an interesting thought just the same.

I’ve posted about the phenomenon of segregated facilities several times before. It makes my head throb every time I think about this unhappy period of American history.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Rome: La Vespa

Posted on by The Old Wolf

SHORPY_02794u

 

July 1955. “Rome, Italy. Coverage focuses primarily on people, places and historical monuments.” From photos by Philip Harrington for the Look magazine article “Can Catholics Separate Church and State?”

Found at Shorpy.

Joe Vespa

 

My father on a Vespa in Calabria around 1939. These little scooters were ubiquitous in Italy.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Great Shoals Lighthouse, 1952

Posted on by The Old Wolf

The Great Shoals Lighthouse in Maryland was constructed in 1884 and dismantled in 1966. It was a screw-pile lighthouse, a lighthouse which stands on piles that are screwed into sandy or muddy sea or river bottoms. From the photo, the frame barely looks strong enough to support the weight of the structure let alone the force of wind and water, and yet it endured for over 80 years.

I love the outhouse hanging over the edge, reminiscent of certain medieval castles. Gardy loo!

Found at Frog Blog

The Old Wolf has spoken.

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