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New York, 1949. Another Kodachrome slide of Times Square sent to us by Shorpy member RalphCS, this one taken at the Trans-Lux theater on Broadway. Who's up to see some shorts and then grab a bite at the Automat? View full size.
The gentleman in the double-breasted suit with a pocket hanky, cool hat, and two-tone black and white shoes is the absolute last word in fashion.
The guy on the right, may be a New Yorker but he's clearly sporting the very latest from the Ted Williams fashion collection of Boston.
I was intrigued by the "Tango Palace" sign, did a little searching, and came up with this article from the Village Voice in 1970: https://www.villagevoice.com/2010/11/10/times-square-christmas-eve-1970-...
The guy behind the Studebaker on the right curb is probably wondering "which way is it going"?
Between the Strand and Automat signs there is part of a sign for The Hour of Charm, with Phil Spitalny and His All-Girl Orchestra, featuring Evelyn and Her Magic Violin. A big hit on radio at the time.
I knew I'd seen the name "Trans-Lux" somewhere before. New Yorker cartoon.
I'm not at all suited to big city settings. Not to live, and not even very long to visit. But, the flag above the street makes me feel a little better.
I wonder why it isn't visible in the earlier photo, since they seem to be taken on the same photo shoot. Curious.
[The top of the building with the flag (the New York Times tower at 1 Times Square, best known today as the New Year's "ball drop" building) isn't even in the other photo. - Dave]
Like I said, I'm not at my best in the city. Seems to have upset my perspective. It looked to be to the rear of the marquee in the earlier photo. Thanks, for clearing it up for this westerner.
[It's on the right side of the street in both photos. - Dave]
Those Studebakers like the grey one on the right with those wrap-around windows simply fascinated me as a kid and I couldn't wait to sit in the back seat of one to see how it looked and felt from the inside! We didn't know anyone who had one and it was several years before they started turning up used so I could satisfy my yearnings! They were the first new design following World War II and were well-built, good-running, highly underrated cars.
These photos are wonderful - I like this one because we can see the people more clearly, the women in their summer dresses and the men in their wide-shouldered suits. The color really makes these photos come alive!
PEnnsylvania-6-5000 will still get you to a certain Glenn Miller tune or the Hotel Pennsylvania but PE-6-5300 could once get your name up in lights on Broadway.
Film noir with Ronald Reagan and Viveca Lindfors. I believe we all know who he was. She (1920-1995) was a Swedish actress of stage and screen (more than 100 films) who moved to the US in 1946. She said of her co-star, in People in 1981, "Ronnie was not a big star. He didn’t carry enough weight. To think that the guy became President is really kind of funny."
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