Men In Hats

September 1, 2016 9:22 AM

Charles W. Cushman's Kodachrome pictures of NYC in the 1940s
posted by The Whelk (29 comments total)

These may not be the most brilliantly composed, but they're great as records. The street potato vendor!
posted by praemunire at 9:28 AM on September 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

I want to go to there.
posted by Going To Maine at 9:35 AM on September 1, 2016 [2 favorites]

What's the deco building in the background of photo #8? Is that one of the Met Life buildings?
posted by 1970s Antihero at 9:44 AM on September 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

If I squint, I can see bits of this New York in my childhood memories of Manhattan from the late 70s and early 80s. Love this, thanks!
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 9:45 AM on September 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

Back then many if not most men wore hats. I had an uncle in Connecticut who owned a store that sold only hats for men..On the entrance to his store, over the door, a sign that read:

WHEN BUYING A HAT, USE YOUR HEAD
posted by Postroad at 10:02 AM on September 1, 2016 [4 favorites]

I believe that's 120 Centre St--the criminal courts--look at this contemporary view from Foley Square.

It's (or it looks) way too short to be one of the Met Life buildings.
posted by praemunire at 10:10 AM on September 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

This is super neat, thank you for sharing it.
posted by Hermione Granger at 10:12 AM on September 1, 2016

Thanks, praemunire!
posted by 1970s Antihero at 10:25 AM on September 1, 2016

Imagine being able to go into a place like 'McSorley's Ale House' these days.
posted by Flashman at 10:54 AM on September 1, 2016 [2 favorites]

Yes,
Imagine
posted by The Whelk at 11:00 AM on September 1, 2016 [3 favorites]

McSorley's Ale House still exists.

(On preview: jinx!)
posted by praemunire at 11:01 AM on September 1, 2016

There goes my jeremiad about how chinos weren't always so baggy and pleated as they are with Kids These Days.
posted by radicalawyer at 11:01 AM on September 1, 2016

That was the New York that my mother and my grandparents knew. They lived in Madison, NJ by that time but my grandfather took the DL&W in every day to work and my mom and her mom and sisters went into the city at least every other weekend. Mom talked about going in with her high-school friends on Saturday mornings to see Frank Sinatra sing at Radio City. Frank would do a set, then they'd show a movie and then he'd come out for another set.
posted by octothorpe at 11:04 AM on September 1, 2016 [2 favorites]

I still have my one precious roll of Kodachrome 25 left sitting in my closet . . .
posted by rossmeissl at 11:42 AM on September 1, 2016

My mother's New York. She told me about Moskowitz & Lupowitz, a famous Roumanian restaurant shown in one of the images. I especially like the shots of people sitting on their stoops, or on chairs in front of their buildings, socializing.
posted by Sassenach at 11:56 AM on September 1, 2016

awesome!
what i love about photos 12, 19 and 20, was that the buildings weren't so tall, yet the streets were so long, so it looked like the road went on forever!

also, this page led me to a story about a NYC bus driver to took a detour to Florida, which in turn led me to seeing a video by the wonderful Faye Emerson.
posted by bitteroldman at 12:02 PM on September 1, 2016

Kodachrome is still for sale on ebay. I'm not sure how good it'll be since it's at least seven years old at this point.
posted by octothorpe at 12:09 PM on September 1, 2016

"My god, it’s full of cars!"
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 12:42 PM on September 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

There is no way to get Kodachrome film color processed any more. The last lab closed in 2010.

(There are still labs that can process it as black and white film, though)
posted by 1970s Antihero at 12:59 PM on September 1, 2016

It was a simpler time.
posted by Splunge at 1:58 PM on September 1, 2016

I love how the last picture shows the guy handing out loans from a hot dog cart doing brisk business.
posted by mattamatic at 2:13 PM on September 1, 2016

1. Yes, chesty_a_arthur, pockets of 1940s New York lived on into the 70s in the lower east side, far east and west 40s, SoHo, Little Italy and Yorkville.
2. Nothing compares to Kodachrome for bringing the past alive.
3. Note to modern photographers: Do a favor for the future and put people in your shots. A building is a building even after 100 years. We want to see the people who lived in the past, and imagine their lives.
posted by Modest House at 3:04 PM on September 1, 2016

put people in your shots.

I try to do that, but all I get are pictures of poorly-dressed people looking at their cell phones.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 4:50 PM on September 1, 2016 [2 favorites]

well, that's what we have now - be truthful to it
posted by pyramid termite at 5:12 PM on September 1, 2016 [2 favorites]

although there is nothing like the shock i got a couple of weeks ago when i was driving down rose street and noticed there were a lot of people in bronson park who were walking around in a strange manner i'd never seen people do in bronson park - then i realized they all had cell phones - then i realized they were all looking for imaginary creatures and weren't really in the park at all, mentally

i'm an old fart, i just don't fucking get it anymore
posted by pyramid termite at 5:17 PM on September 1, 2016

I notice some of the buildings seem to have a lot of soot on them. Was that still the case in the 1970s? Are there still a lot of soot-stained buildings in NYC?
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 5:37 PM on September 1, 2016

Yep, for example, here you can see before and after pictures of the Corbin Building being cleaned and restored.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 6:11 PM on September 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

There are still plenty of buildings covered in soot. From this past May here's a Google Street View of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine wearing a century plus of grime. The ugly new apartment buildings to the left are generating some income for the church, and they have started to clean the building.
posted by plastic_animals at 6:12 PM on September 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

Soot from fuel oil has been a major issue in New York City. They've been in the process of phasing out the worst offenders, but it's been a long process.
posted by Jahaza at 7:00 PM on September 1, 2016 [1 favorite]