Located in the famous Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, Washington Square Park has an interesting history.  It was the site of a Native American village until it was taken by force by the Dutch; they in turn gave the land to freed slaves, earning it the nickname “Land of the blacks.” These former slaves owned the land from 1643-1664.

Fast forward to 1797, when the area - still farmland - was purchased for use as a burial ground.  The cemetery once housed there was closed in 1825, but even today there are 20,000 bodies that call the Square home (creepy!).

Fast forward again, to 1889, and that’s when the arch shown in the slide was constructed to commemorate the centennial of George Washington’s election to the presidency.  The original plaster and wood arch became so popular that a longer-lasting marble one was put in its place in 1892.

You can read more about Washington Square at your local library!  Or you can save yourself the hassle and go to Wikipedia instead.

There’s some businesses I can’t make out, but others are hard to miss.  The ones I can get are:

• Chevrolet (dead center)
• Kinsey Blended Whiskey (under Chevrolet)
• Pepsi-Cola (two below Kinsey)
• Astor Hotel (on the left - it was demolished in 1967)
• Capitol Theatre (bottom left)
• Loew’s State Theatre (right of Chevrolet - the original closed in 1987 and was demolished in 1990)
• Bond (apparel chain, very nice display on the right)

Launched in 1938, the Queen Elizabeth was originally designed for use as a cruise liner but owing to World War II, she was instead fitted as a troop transport.  She avoided destruction at the hands of the Luftwaffe by bypassing Southampton on her maiden voyage and instead sailing directly to New York.

After the war the ship was fitted for her original purpose - a passenger liner.  She served for more than 20 years (along with the Queen Mary, another Cunard White Star liner) as part of a two-ship weekly transatlantic service from Southampton to Cherbourg (France) to New York, until rising fuel and labor costs (not to mention competition from more economical jet liners) made her too expensive to operate.

Cunard retired the Queen Elizabeth in 1968 (the Queen Mary was retired in ‘67), and replaced them both with the smaller and less expensive RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2).  A group of businessmen attempted to convert the ship into a tourist attraction and hotel (as had been successfully done with the Queen Mary), but that failed and she was sold again.  A fire and capsizing in 1972 pretty much sealed the ship’s fate, and she was dismantled for scrap a few years later.

Faithful and long-time readers of this site might remember that the George Washington Bridge was featured in the third part of the New Jersey View-Master series.  It’s worth seeing again for two main reasons.  First, dig those sweet old cars.  *drool*

Second, note the lone deck.  The bridge, which opened in 1931, didn’t get the second deck until 1962.

That’s right boys and girls, our old pal Hopalong Cassidy will show us the way to fiscal solvency! So break open that piggy bank, look under those couch cushions, and rifle through grandma’s purse while she’s busy taking her meds, ’cause we got dimes to collect! But tell us Hoppy, how do we get started with all this savings fun?

Well that’s just too easy! I gotta admit, if I was a kid in the ’50s I probably would’ve been all over this. I mean, if there were a DangerMouse Savings Club I’d probably be retired by now. And hey, for the trouble of putting together $2.00 to join this thing you actually got some pretty swell stuff in return. To wit:

Let’s see - as a proud club member you get a Hopalong Cassidy bank, a badge, an autographed color photo, a PERSONAL letter from Hoppy, a membership certificate (suitable for framing), a membership card, a savings book, and a mail pouch. Neat! Seriously, let’s see those spendthrifts Pokemon or Bratz offer up something of similar value.

And hey, as you climb the ranks of the short and thrifty you are rewarded still more with Honor Badges!

From the lowly station of Tenderfoot, you can achieve the ranks (in order) of Wrangler, Bulldogger, Bronc Buster, Trail Boss, Straw Boss, and the ultimate accolade available for an underage miser - Bar 20 Foreman (Bar 20 being the name of Hopalong’s ranch). I just checked my savings account and I feel confident I’d qualify as an Arrow Magnet or a Bull Chip Shoveler.

So what are you waiting for?! If you think that 401(k) is going to cut it, you’re just plumb stupid. And just in case mom and dad ain’t on board for this hootenanny of savings, Hopalong’s got a few words for them too:

So quit yer woolgathering and start wrangling those dimes! Because I really don’t want to have to talk like this anymore.

I got out of the sports card scene right about the time it became more of a business venture than a hobby. And now thanks to unscrupulous manufacturers, collectors, and dealers the industry exists now as a shadow of its former glory. There are many reasons for this decline, but as I dug through the remnants of my collection the other day the common denominator occurred to me - most of the cards flat out sucked. Lame pictures of below-average pro athletes may have been appealing at one time, but now they’re blog fodder.

While there are hundreds of potential examples of this suckitude I could share with you, I only had the patience to scan a handful:

Exhibit A - Uninspired photography (Fleer, 1984)

On the left we find sub-par pitcher Jerry Augustine, cozying up to a clipboard on the dugout steps. I know he actually pitched in 1983, because the back of the card tells me so. But why bother with a photo of that when a kid can gaze upon the immortal image of him taking notes?!

Next up is journeyman outfielder Jay Johnstone, sporting an ultra-classy and fashionable Budweiser rain hat. While 1983 may not have been a banner year for Jay (.257 average, 6 HR, 22 RBI), is this really the best Fleer could do?

Finally here’s Glenn Hubbard, taking advantage of “Free Reptile Day” at the ballpark. Sure it’s a cute picture, but I have a similar one from my honeymoon, and I wouldn’t dare sell it on a trading card.

Exhibit B - Mining for “prospects” (Pro Set, 1989)

No longer content with waiting for rookies to make it big and reap the benefit of increased card value, Pro Set included a series of “Pro Set Prospect” cards featuring highly touted players who had yet to sniff an NFL down. And for every prospect that actually made it in the NFL, you had a dozen busts like Tony Mandarich (left). This was a jaded and misguided attempt to artificially drive card value up.

The card on the right is presumably a scouting photo of wide receiver Don Beebe, although it looks more like a frame from the Zapruder film. While it sure seemed mysterious, it made for a crappy card.

Exhibit C - Announcer cards (Pro Set, 1989)

I’m sure this seemed like a novel idea during some pitch meeting, but come on now. Imagine tearing open a pack of football cards, hoping for a Joe Montana or Barry Sanders, and getting Bob frigging Costas. And he was one of the bigger names in the set.

Exhibit D - Coach cards (Pro Set, 1989)

Only slightly better (and more relevant) than announcer cards, but not by much.

Exhibit E - PSAs on cards (Pro Set, 1992)

I don’t know of many kids who would willingly pay for lectures, but that’s just what they got with this portion of Pro Set’s 1992 hockey card set. The back of each card came with a quote designed to drive home the theme of that card. On this one Winnipeg Jets goaltender Bob Essensa tells kids, “When things go wrong, you have to pick yourself up and start again.” Thanks Bob, for the moving words. Can I have my money back now?

Exhibit F - Made-up players (Fleer, 1984)

C’mon, if you’re not even going to try to come up with a realistic name, why bother?

On the left is a card showing a member of the Huichol, native to Western Central Mexico (yes I know that a native Mexican has nothing to do with American Thanksgiving). Most curiously about this card is that it speaks of the Huichol as if they were extinct, but according to their Wikipedia article they are very much alive. Now if I had to choose between a Wikipedia article and a 60-year-old gum card for accurate historical information it would be a tossup I grant you, but I’ll have to chalk the gum card gaffe up as a careless error.

On the right is Luqaiot of the Kittitas Tribe, native to what is now Washington state (there’s your Thanksgiving connection, tenuous as it is). Most of what I found on Luqaiot (in my 6 minutes of research) backed up what his card said, so Goudey’s batting .500 so far.

Goudey Gum Company, for those still reading, ceased operations in 1962. Happy Thanksgiving!

All of these images and hundreds more are available as part of the Library of Congress’s “Posters of the WPA” collection. I’ve simply picked what I feel are the best of the lot, and added my usual pithy commentary. As you’ll see, these great images are very much of their time, and most display an Art Deco sensibility that I love (at least that’s what I think the style is).

This promo for adult education classes in Ohio is so delightfully absurd, it’s hard to believe it came from a government program.

For those not familiar with war propaganda of days gone by, this is typical of many images from World War II (and World War I for that matter). In order to convey just how evil the enemy was, racial stereotypes and slurs were often employed. I’m not sure what the implied threat is here, however, as “the Jap” seems to have conquered the relatively unimportant North Pole.

I have no idea if the Sioux City Camera Club’s exhibition was any good, but their poster definitely is great.

Relatively speaking, automobiles were fairly new in the 1930s, but even so I sincerely hope that drivers did not have to be specifically instructed to not kill animals with their cars. Nonetheless, this is a very eye-catching (albeit ominous) poster.

A starker sense of realism is called for when it comes to creating an image to warn against drinking and driving. Or putting whiskey in your gas tank. No, I’m pretty sure this is about drinking and driving. I do dig the vintage gas pump.

I’ve heard them called outhouses, crappers, and dunnys, but I’ve never heard them called “sanitary units.” Nevertheless, my home does feel incomplete without one.

In the dark days before television and video games, children apparently read for pleasure. I know, sick. Still, the minimalist design and nice blue/black/orange color scheme does make the prospect more appealing.

Part of what makes a lot of the imagery of this period so striking is the abundance of clean lines and basic shapes. Looking at this poster I not only feel I should keep my teeth clean, but that it is my duty as a citizen to do so.

Another design element found in images of this time period is the repetition of a single object. But the same clean design applies to this deceptively simple poster. That font is also something I’d love to see more of.

Or he may just be dull after all. On the upside, he is a snappy dresser.

That’s right, kids, our look back at Ye Olde New Jersey is finally at an end! And since one of the main purposes of this little photo essay was to show just how much the state has changed over the last 50 years, perhaps few slides illustrate it like this one - Broad Street in Newark.

The cars (and buses), the people, the buildings - they all seem so different to me. That big red sign on the left? Why that’s none other than F.W. Woolworth, known to you and me as the now-defunct Woolworth’s. Woolworth’s was the first great five-and-dime chain store, and was a precursor to discount stores like Wal-Mart and Target.

Check out the sweet signage on the lower left - who uses eyeglass frames like that to advertise a business anymore? Don’t bother looking it up - no one does. This picture is also notable for what it doesn’t contain - like a multitude of painted traffic lines.

Not long ago, Newark was known as the carjacking capital of the United States (I heard that on TV so it must be true). I doubt such problems existed when this picture was taken. Although I certainly wouldn’t mind getting my hands on one of those sweet rides - through perfectly legal means of course!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane. I scored some sweet slides of New York City from the early ’50s, so I will probably share those at some point (i.e. when I run out of other material).

Asbury Park, NJ was once known as the “Jewel of the Jersey Shore,” but started going seriously downhill around the 1970s. After it had ceased to be a popular tourist destination, it became primarily associated with Bruce Springsteen, who developed a lot of his early following at the famous Stony Pony club. His first album was even called Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (even though he actually grew up in nearby Freehold, NJ).

The second act to come out of Asbury Park was the appropriately named Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. They never achieved the fame and success that Springsteen did but still have a rabid local following. Something tells me it’s got awhile to go before it returns to the faded glory of the above View-Master slide.

Apparently the town has been undergoing some long-needed revitalization during the last few years. I was never much of a Jersey Shore person so I’ll just believe what I read on that account.