The Sound of New York: May 1931

[LizzieMaine]

A few more observations from the 1929 clip...

Directly to the left of the Embassy Newsreel Theatre you'll see the marquee of Keith's Palace, the ultima thule of big time vaudeville, in its waning days as the goal of every hustling hoofer, sister act, and talking comic. At the time this footage was shot, the Palace had just gone from two shows a day to three -- which in the world of vaudeville was a tremendous come-down in prestige. Just three years later, the theatre converted to a movie policy, and vaudeville for all intents and purposes was dead. Perhaps you could sense it was dying when you saw a grimy old milk truck parked in front of the theatre.

Between the theatres showing "Disraeli" and "The Vagabond Lover" you'll catch a glimpse of the stained-glass facade of a Horn & Hardart Automat.

Peek into the windows of the first Nedick's stand that goes by and you'll see a white-garbed counterman leaning against the back wall, with his arms insolently folded. What is it with these shiftless slacker kids today that they don't want to work? If you got time to lean, you got time to clean.

Under the marquee of the Strand, where "Gold Diggers of Broadway" is showing, you'll see a cascade of balloons tied to the framework. The idea was that the color of the balloons would call attention to the brilliant Technicolor hues of the film, but all I can think of is the poor soul who had to get up on a ladder and tie them all in place.

Chin's Restaurant, a couple of doors down from the Criterion Theatre, was part of a small local chain of Chinese eateries. Working there was the fourteen-year-old daughter of the restaurant's founder, a young woman named Grace Lee, who, as Grace Lee Boggs, grew up to become a radical labor/civil rights activist in the 1950s, 60s, and beyond. She died in 2015 at the age of 100, and there's a good chance that of the people in the neighborhood that day that she was the last living soul.

You just can't get away from Nedick's. The service might have been lousy, but the hot dogs must've been really good.

The woman in the light-colored coat rushing into the Metrotone News office at 4:29 will take no crap from anybody.

The guy who jumps up on the running board of the car at 5:26 really wants you to notice him, with his hat at a cocky angle, but he could not have possibly imagined people would be pointing him out of the crowd eighty-nine years later.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Should you find yourself motoring in Seattle and environs, you had better stop for pedestrians, especially where there is no ambiguity as to their right of way -- you know, at crosswalks and intersections. Enforcement is active and a stiff fine is all but certain should a cop witness the transgression. Drivers even stop for pedestrians standing on a sidewalk appearing ready to cross.

Not so in Denver. This past Dec. 21 the dewy-eyed bride and I came upon a scene where an aid unit had arrived mere seconds earlier to render assistance to an unconscious young woman lying on the pavement. We learned later that she succumbed to her injuries, sustained in her being struck by a car.

There's a public awareness campaign here called "Vision Zero," the quite wishful aim of which is to reduce traffic fatalities to zero. The campaign is fine as far as it goes, which, alas, isn't very far at all. What's needed is enforcement -- active, visible, firm enforcement. Almost all traffic fatalities are attributable to at least one party violating at least one part of the traffic code. Some people need a stern reminder of that.

Canal Street in downtown Noo Awlins, where I grew up shopping and library browsing, is one of the widest thoroughfares in America. You've gotta move fast to get across it before the WALK goes to DONT WALK. Thankfully the local gendarmerie don't care about jaywalking as long as you don't upset a tourist.

(Though you are right; if the traffic is heavy enough, or visibility is poor for pedestrian or driver, drivers and pedestrians should be extra careful.)

 

[tonyb]

Canal Street in downtown Noo Awlins, where I grew up shopping and library browsing, is one of the widest thoroughfares in America. You've gotta move fast to get across it before the WALK goes to DONT WALK. Thankfully the local gendarmerie don't care about jaywalking as long as you don't upset a tourist.

(Though you are right; if the traffic is heavy enough, or visibility is poor for pedestrian or driver, drivers and pedestrians should be extra careful.)

I had the car in the tire shop this afternoon and rather than do nothing while waiting I headed across the street to buy a few items at a supermarket.

Found myself yelling "slow down, m@&*etf€#%er" at a couple of drivers who have little regard for pedestrians having the right of way at intersections.

A fellow in his seventh decade shouldn't have to break into a run to avoid being hit by a car while he is legally crossing the street in broad daylight.

 

[scottyrocks]

I don't know.
I was referring to her ability to make an interesting post whether it's a hydrant
or I could have said traffic signal.
That I picked 1937 is probably because
I think she has made reference to that
year but don't quote me, I could be
mistaken and it was 1939 instead.

If anyone would know about that specific item, I would think it would be Lizzie or vitanola.

This is the most common hydrant in New York City:

It's the "O'Brien" model. Manufacture was begun in 1902 by the A.P. Smith Manufacturing Co., located in East Orange, New Jersey.

 

[Edward]

I remember being excited to get my first Yellow cab when I visited NYC in 2004. Astoundingly cheap, as I recall, compared to London (never take any sort of cab here - I prefer the bus). Disappointingly, though, it was a later model than the one Travis Bickle drove. Always wanted to pose for a photo in an M-65 beside one of those!

 

[LizzieMaine]

The classic Checker cab was still being manufactured into the 1980s, under the Model T/VW Beetle ethos of "incremental improvements but no model change," and the Checker company itself was still in business making replacement parts into the 2000s. But the last Checker on the road as a working NYC taxicab was retired in 1999 to much fanfare. The actual last Checker Cab, a 1978 model a bit worse for the wear, was auctioned off by Sotheby's in 2006 for $9400.

 

[Fading Fast]

I remember being excited to get my first Yellow cab when I visited NYC in 2004. Astoundingly cheap, as I recall, compared to London (never take any sort of cab here - I prefer the bus). Disappointingly, though, it was a later model than the one Travis Bickle drove. Always wanted to pose for a photo in an M-65 beside one of those!

Using "Astoundingly cheap," to describe NYC Yellow taxis tells me that London taxis must be unbelievably expensive or you are Bill Gates' brother.

New Yorkers consider Yellow cabs horribly overpriced and I'd argue that Uber proved that out as once some real competition came to the market, the Yellow taxi market got destroy - Yellow cabs lost dramatic market share and the value of a Yellow cab license (known as a medallion) fell by more than 50%.

When I first started working in NYC, there were still enough Checkers left that you didn't have to wait long for one if you wanted it, but by the mid 90s, they were very scarce.

 

[tonyb]

A friend owns a '66 Checker and once had a more recent model (heavier bumpers being the most conspicuous "update" on the newer version).

They aren't such great cars, really. Sheet metal on 'em is particularly rust-prone, even fairly high up on the body. And the novelty of driving those tanks wears off pretty quickly. Their great virtues as taxicabs were their interior and trunk volumes, and the parts interchangeability from model year to model year. I was acquainted with a fleet operator who kept a sea container alongside his shop where he stored Checker doors, hoods, trunks, window glass, etc., as well as drivetrain and suspension and brake parts. That body-on-frame construction, and all those used parts on hand, made Checkers far less likely to be totally scrapped as a consequence of collision damage than most other vehicles used as taxicabs. Million-mile examples weren't unheard of.

 

[scottyrocks]

A friend owns a '66 Checker and once had a more recent model (heavier bumpers being the most conspicuous "update" on the newer version).

They aren't such great cars, really. Sheet metal on 'em is particularly rust-prone, even fairly high up on the body. And the novelty of driving those tanks wears off pretty quickly. Their great virtues as taxicabs was their interior and trunk volumes, and the parts interchangeability from model year to model year. I was acquainted with a fleet operator who kept a sea container alongside his shop where he stored Checker doors, hoods, trunks, window glass, etc., as well as drivetrain and suspension and brake parts. That body-on-frame construction, and all those used parts on hand, made Checkers far less likely to be totally scrapped as a consequence of collision damage than most other vehicles used as taxicabs. Million-mile examples weren't unheard of.

Up until a few years ago, there was a Marathon (Checker non-taxi) a few towns over from me. It was all there and driven, but was a rusty mess.

 

[tonyb]

Up until a few years ago, there was a Marathon (Checker non-taxi) a few towns over from me. It was all there and driven, but was a rusty mess.

In some computer file around here I have some photos of a pair of Checker Aero Buses -- Checker's version of the airline limousine, which was a style of car fairly commonly seen during the late 1950s and '60s, a stretched sedan usually with four doors on each side.

This pair of survivors was left to further deteriorate on a residential property not far from where I was living at the time, in the Seattle area. As often happens with such vehicles left for lengthy periods in shady areas in that typically damp and cool climate, the sheet metal becomes so corroded that you can put a screwdriver through it without much effort. I've seen what had been valuable vehicles (a Porsche 356 comes to mind) reduced to piles of rust even the scrap man was reluctant to take.

 

[Edward]

Using "Astoundingly cheap," to describe NYC Yellow taxis tells me that London taxis must be unbelievably expensive or you are Bill Gates' brother.

Let's put it this way: much after eight pm, if you want to take a black cab for three miles, it'll cost you GBP25.00ish. I once had to take one home from Heathrow airport: cost me GBP100 to get home to inner London. Cabs wed took were a fraction of that at the time in NYC. (Course, at USD1.89, the pound was also not practically worthless, unlike recently).

New Yorkers consider Yellow cabs horribly overpriced and I'd argue that Uber proved that out as once some real competition came to the market, the Yellow taxi market got destroy - Yellow cabs lost dramatic market share and the value of a Yellow cab license (known as a medallion) fell by more than 50%.

UBER have tried the same tactics to destroy the black cab business in London too, though they're in the process of being thrown out of London, hopefully for good. On principle, I'll never use an Uber.

 

[Fading Fast]

...UBER have tried the same tactics to destroy the black cab business in London too, though they're in the process of being thrown out of London, hopefully for good. On principle, I'll never use an Uber.

London and black cabs - only from what I've read - seem to have a historic and storied relation with the drivers being devoted professionals carrying out both a career and tradition.

Yellow cabs in NYC have none of that. The yellow cab situation in NYC is the result of a dirty pact between cab owning companies and mendacious NYC politicians (we protect your monopoly business, you give us campaign contributions) where the victims are the drivers and customers.

Uber in NYC has been, overall, viewed as a hero (or at least the good guy) breaking up a dirty government / business monopoly. Sure, we know Uber is far from a good guy, but they broke up the yellow cab's obnoxious, expensive and anti-customer/driver decades-long lock on the market. That has made New Yorkers overlook a lot with Uber as we can finally get a reasonably priced cab that doesn't smell, isn't driven by an angry Kamikaze and has working air-conditioning and seatbelts.

 

[tonyb]

I'm not one to advocate for wholesale deregulation, seeing how regulation is often the only thing standing between the outright con job and its would-be victims.

But in the case of the Uber/Lyft vs. taxicabs and the regulations that assured the cabs a virtual monopoly, I'm with the upstarts. And this is one of the few areas in which I know quite well of what I speak, having worked for decades in the taxicab and other ground transportation service industries in various capacities, including upper management.

Uber et al are indeed scofflaws, operating in clear violation of taxicab ordinances in many municipalities. But the elected officials and the career regulators are reluctant to enforce because the newcomers are popular with the paying public, and for good reason. A person could call for a cab that may or may not arrive in a reasonable amount of time, and getting a straight answer from the cab company's dispatch operation was a dubious proposition at best. (And that was when they actually answered the phone.)

In Seattle there was a period -- going back nearly 40 years now (time flies) -- of deregulation in the cab industry that was indeed chaotic in many ways, what with some operators charging astronomical prices and some drivers and vehicles in a state to which you wouldn't subject anyone you cared about. But "open entry" got many more cabs on the street, so the consumer actually stood a reasonable chance of getting a ride on Friday afternoon before it became Saturday morning.

When there was a movement to reregulate I was chief spokesperson for the largest cab company in town and the primary voice advocating for regulating rates (a ceiling, with operators free to charge less if they so chose) and the condition of the vehicles and the drivers. Such regulations address the legitimate governmental interest in public safety. But I remained steadfast in my support of open entry, for when the numbers of licenses are restricted a scarcity value is created, which prevents many from entering into the enterprise and inflates prices to the consumer, as amortizing the cost of the "medallion" is figured into the rate structures established by the regulatory agency.

We (and I) lost that battle. The number of medallions was frozen at then-current levels, which of course resulted in the medallions gaining a monetary value, eventually selling for upwards of $200K.

Uber and Lyft came along and now the medallions ain't worth squat. This really sucks for the fellow who operates but one cab for which he paid $200K, and for the people who owned a dozen or more medallions and saw their multimillion-dollar assets go pffft. But for the consumer it is almost all for the better. And for most drivers it's a better deal overall as well.

The smartphone app has made Uber, Lyft and the like much more feasible. It's a vastly superior way of getting the service to the customer than anything that came before it. But smartphone apps could have been adopted by taxicab companies long before they brought themselves up to speed (to the often woeful extent they have gotten in step with the times).

The beauty of the "ride share" services is that supply rises to meet demand, whereas with taxicabs it was often that there were as many cabs on the road at 2 p.m. on a sunny Sunday as there were on a rainy Friday during afternoon rush hour.

In practice, ride share vehicles are generally newer than taxicabs and in better overall condition.

The model isn't perfect, but it's superior to any regulatory scheme I've seen in practice. The elected officials and career regulators with eyes can clearly see this, and are learning how to live with these services rather than attempt to enforce them out of business. My hope is that whatever regulations are devised don't take us back down that limited-entry path.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Here's another complilation of sound-on-film Metrotone/Movietone footage from the fall of 1929.

This time it's a random roaming around various Manhattan neighborhoods. At 7 minutes in, you'll visit Radio Row along Cortlandt Street and see the mess of radio shops with their outdoor loudspeakers blasting out various broadcasts of the day. There's also a clip of a parade honoring the October 4th visit by "Socialist Prime Minister of Great Britain" Ramsay MacDonald, scenes of trolleys and El trains in action, and at the end some aerial views from the top of the under-construction Chrysler building.

 

[LizzieMaine]

More random Movietone footage of New York, this from the first half of 1930:

Trucks, trash blowing in the breeze, hard-faced people going about their business, a politican -- Al Smith to be specific -- doing some gladhanding, a funeral parade, a labor demonstration, and a ballerina inexplicably frisking down the street in full regalia. Not much different from today, really.

The ballerina, for the record, is sixteen year old Mary Rizzo, an unemployed chorus girl, who toe-danced a full mile, dodging traffic, from Columbus Circle to Loew's State, in hopes of drumming up enough publicity to get a job. For her trouble, and her bleeding toes, she got a year's contract doing three shows a day as a solo dancer on the Loews Time, but by the time that contract ran out vaudeville was in an oxygen tent, and Mary disappears back into history having left no further record of what happened when she was a sore-footed eighteen-year-old once again at liberty.

 

[Fading Fast]

⇧ If Mary brought the same grit and verve to the rest of her life that she did huffing it through NYC traffic for a mile, my money says she was successful at something.

 

[2jakes]

1929
Rainy day Broadway.
At one point in the middle of this footage is front shot of what appears to be police motorcycle clearing the way for Movietone camera. My guess this was probably where the sound of the siren was coming from.

 

[MondoFW]

1929
Rainy day Broadway.
At one point in the middle of this footage is front shot of what appears to be police motorcycle clearing the way for Movietone camera. My guess this was probably where the sound of the siren was coming from.

My aunt sent me this footage. It's very fascinating to see candid depictions of urban life from this era. People are moving too damn fast today, I tell ya that. And everyone looks sharp in these films, and many of them are likely just going for grocery runs! This is a fantastic thread.

 

[2jakes]

Ruth, Gehrig, and Joe McCarthy on sound...cool!

Yankee Stadium, April 14, 1931

 

[LizzieMaine]

And now let's look in on Chicago, the Stormy Husky Brawling City of the Big Shoulders, on a Depression day in 1934. WE DEMAND CASH RELIEF!