People Archives - Page 11 of 13

Hilltop Park, New York (1)

November 25, 2016June 2, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The view outside the main entrance to Hilltop Park, at the corner of Broadway and 165th Street, on April 21, 1911. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Bain Collection.

The same scene in 2014:

The New York Yankees have long called the Bronx their home, but during the first park of their existence they were in the extreme northern part of Manhattan. The team was moved from Baltimore to New York in 1903, and Hilltop Park (officially given the more bland name of American League Park – this was in the days before corporate sponsorship) was hastily built along Broadway, between 165th and 168th Streets, on high ground overlooking the Hudson River. It was not a particularly glamorous park, but neither was the team that played there: in ten seasons, the Highlanders lost 100 games twice. These have been the only two 100-loss seasons in the history of the Yankees franchise. In this particular photo, it shows fans arriving for the home opener against the Washington Senators. New York lost the game 1-0, and went on to have a .500 season, with a 76-76 record. After the 1912 season, the Highlanders moved into Polo Grounds, renting from the Giants until 1923, when Yankee Stadium was completed. Today, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center is located on the site.

Cab Stand, Madison Square Park, New York City

November 3, 2016May 6, 2014 by Derek Strahan

Looking south on Fifth Avenue, with Madison Square Park on the left and waiting cabs on the right, around 1900. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The same scene in 2014:

I was hoping to be able to get some cabs in the present-day photo, but this section of Broadway at Madison Square is closed to vehicular traffic. Still, there are a couple cabs visible in the difference, which contrast with the line of horse-drawn cabs of over a century ago. Otherwise, though, the scene doesn’t seem all that different; Madison Square is still a busy intersection, although internal combustion engines have replaced draft animals, and fashion styles have changed a bit. Some of the buildings are still there, including the red-brick building just beyond the building on the far-right of the 2014 photo, although the Flatiron Building (barely visible, obscured by trees in the 2014 photo) didn’t exist yet, if the 1900 date for the first one is accurate. It doesn’t appear to be visible in the photo, but the trees could hide some of the construction work.

Calvin & Grace Coolidge at home in Northampton

January 27, 2016April 13, 2014 by Derek Strahan

Calvin & Grace Coolidge in March 1929, after returning home from Washington DC. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

The view in 2014:

After serving as president from 1923 to 1929, Calvin Coolidge and his wife Grace returned to their home at 21 Massasoit Street in Northampton Mass. They lived here in the left-hand side of the duplex from 1906 until 1930, and the first photo above shows them after they returned home from Washington DC, following the conclusion of Coolidge’s second term as president. In 1930, they moved into a much larger and more secluded house, The Beeches, located at 16 Hampton Terrace, where Calvin Coolidge died in 1933.

Emerson Wight Playground, Springfield, Mass, June 27, 1916 (2)

January 26, 2016March 23, 2014 by Derek Strahan

Another view of boys playing baseball at Emerson Wight Playground in Springfield, Mass. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, National Child Labor Committee Collection.

The park in 2014:

As was the previous photo, this was taken by Lewis W. Hine during his documentation of child labor conditions for the National Child Labor Relations Committee. Between the two scenes, 98 years apart, remarkably little has changed, down to the houses on Acushnet Avenue in the background, and it is possible that the two large trees near the center of the 2014 photo are also in the 1916 one – there are several saplings along the fence, two of which are in the exact same locations as the present-day trees.

Emerson Wight Playground, Springfield, Mass (1)

January 26, 2016March 23, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The Emerson Wight Playground in Springfield, Mass, June 27, 1916. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, National Child Labor Committee Collection.

The park in 2014:

It’s kind of eerie – in 98 years, almost nothing has changed about this scene. The baseball field is still in the same spot, along with all five of the houses in the distance, and (I believe) even a couple of the trees that are small saplings in front of the fence in the 1916 photo. The only difference is the young boys, who are almost certainly all dead by now. The photo was taken by Lewis W. Hine as part of his documentation for the National Child Labor Relations Committee, and likely many, if not all, of these boys were working full time in a factory or other industry in Springfield.

Dwight Manufacturing Company, Chicopee Mass (6)

January 26, 2016March 16, 2014 by Derek Strahan

Tony Soccha, employee at Dwight Manufacturing Company in Chicopee, Mass, in November 1911. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, National Child Labor Committee Collection.