Saturday, November 7, 2026

Waaay Back Machine - City streets 100 years ago


Asheville NC, Spring of 1916


Black Mountain NC, no date


Oops. No date.

The following photo is a bit older than 100 years, showing streets before automotive traffic.


Longacre Square; Broadway and 42nd Street in 1900 - 2.5 million tons of horse manure from all those horses daily, this became Times Square


Streets of Southern California in the 1920s


1926 Miami FL

 Sepia Saturday gives a hint of busy streets. 

(You know I like digging through old photos of mine and the internet, to post on this theme each week. I hope some of those who enjoy sharing the arts and lives of yesteryear will join us!)



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I dwell in Possibility.

EMILY DICKINSON


14 comments:

  1. A wonderful look back in time.

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    1. Life may have been simpler then...and certainly slower to get around places...but it also had a lot more work to just get things done. Think of household chores, getting dressed or bathing (and no deodorants!) or medical care!

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  2. I remember the streetcars in Montreal before they completely converted in the 50s. Toronto has always kept some of their lines. Imagine, electric conveyances!

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    1. Growing up in St. Louis meant taking streetcars to downtown in the 50s. Then I was in New Orleans for a while in the 60s...I think they still have trolleys. Ding ding.

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  3. There used to be a street car in my town that ran from one end to the other. And it was located right at the top of my street! It would have made my life so much more convenient if it had remained. It went by my children's school, it could have taken me uptown to shop, to the other end of town to the grocery and back. My city has spent the last five years digging the street down about eight feet, putting in new water and sewer lines and . . . . permanently removing any trace of the tracks. It makes me very sad.

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    1. Having new water and sewer lines sounds good, though of course a streetcar would have been pretty darn nice too!

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  4. Great choice of busy street pix to share. But my attention was immediately drawn to the picture of the beautiful sunset in Durango on Nov. 4. There's a silhouette of a man's face in the clouds & in fanciful thinking, it could be my husband's, :) He passed away earlier that morning & I'd like to think that was him saying goodbye. He used to hunt elk every year in November on a private ranch several miles northwest of Denver.

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    1. Oh Gail...please copy and save the photo. If you can't do it from the header, I'll post it within the blog and then you can copy it. So sorry to hear your life partner has just passed away. What a precious memory of his hunting in Colorado, and then the clouds with his message to you from Durango! I've always enjoyed your family's photos here on SS, and feel as if now there are many of you missing his presence. May you all find peace as you grieve his loss. I'm off to see if you posted on SS yet this week, but will certainly understand if you are skipping a week or two. Sending much virtual love (in a sepia way of course!)

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    2. I couldn't copy the cloud picture directly from your post, but I took a screen shot of it with my trusty camera & it came out just fine. :) Thanks.

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  5. Baltimore had the old street cars, my grandmother loved riding on them .
    Take care, have a happy weekend.

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  6. Great nostalgic photos. I’d love to know what happened with that car.

    Susan

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  7. Wow, looks like quite busy streets for the 1920s...

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  8. Wonderful vintage photographs to match the busy street ptompt!

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  9. Love looking at those old photos.

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Please let me know what you're thinking. I'm mostly over on the other blog these days...Life in Durango.