Guest ga5150 Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 Greetings all! I'm sure you get posts like this often, but it seemed like a great amount of knowledge and resources here. We are trying to nail down years for some photos in our collection at the Mount Airy Historical Society. Some of the photos have automobiles in them and we thought that by knowing the years of those cars, it would help us properly date the pictures. Even if it was a range of dates, it would help. Thank you in advance for any help that can be provided! Rodney Here's what we have: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dobbin Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 First photo: Late teens cars and unpaved city streets, typical of the mid teens to early 1920's Second photo: Same Main Street soon after the end of WWII, Only one post WWII vehicle, but streets are paved. Third photo: Probably during WWII. The 1934 Ford in the picture appears to be an old worn out car and the street is unpaved. Fourth photo: Late 40's or early 50's. Two cars are Post WWII and the rest are Pre War Now we'll hear from the real experts. I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poci1957 Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 I concur with Paul, I would say: 1. Circa 1925 2. Circa 1950 3. Circa1940-42 4. Circa 1950 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Going by signs, gas pumps, power poles/ insulators/transformers, leaves on the trees, weather, curbs with side walks, cars and fashions of the time. June 12th 1923/ Aug 3rd 1946/ Sept 26th 1948/ July 1 1950 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 (edited) I think Paul Dobbin and Poci1957 have given you good advice. Since you are in a relatively salt-free area, cars lasted longer, and we can judge mostly by the year of the newest car in each picture. It could be, though, that the newest car in a picture isn't so new, and that a picture is a few years newer than estimated. The more cars in a picture, the greater the probability for accuracy in the estimate. The 3rd picture, with there being only one car, and that car well worn, leaves room for, I think, the widest range in judgment. It would be really interesting for us if the historical society could post a few pictures of the same streets today, for comparison. Get the same angle, and we'll have a fascinating "then and now!" Edited September 10, 2016 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 2nd photo with the 1946-48 Plymouth on the left has a 1939 Plymouth sedan on the right. Not certain about the coupe down the street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Mellor NJ Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Looks like a 40 Ford wagon in the last pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ga5150 Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 First, thank you so much to all of you for your insight and sharing your knowledge so far. Here are a few answers and comments to points you've brought up: Quote If you have some kind of tax records as to when the businesses closed down, it would be a big help. For instance, the "Carroll Poultry" sign would make an interesting place to start. I'm in the middle of going this route as well. In that particular photo, we know the bank building (directly across from Esso sign) was built in 1915 and is still there today. I've got someone researching when the bowling alley was there, as well as the hatchery/poultry business. Thank you for adding additional pictures to make it easier to visualize. Quote It would be really interesting for us if the historical society could post a few pictures of the same streets today, for comparison. Get the same angle, and we'll have a fascinating "then and now!" Hmm....it's almost like you knew what we're doing! This is the exact reason these photos came out. We're making our yearly calendar and this years theme is Then & Now. I'll post updated current pictures along with the ones above when I get home from softball practice with my daughter. Thank you! Rodney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28 Chrysler Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 In the first photo the car facing the camera could be an early Dodge Brothers, may be 1919, with the high crowned fenders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ga5150 Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Here are some of the Then & Now's as requested: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Bond Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 First pic, from what I can see of the radiator shape, fenders, etc. I believe it may be a teens Maxwell. It's not a large car. I'll be going through Mt Airy soon and It'll be interesting to see if I can recognize those scenes. Wouldn't it be great if the signs and gas pumps were still there! Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ga5150 Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 (edited) Edited September 10, 2016 by ga5150 Changed photo (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Third picture: under the Dodge/Plymouth sign, when did AAA start using the oval with the large center A ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ga5150 Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ga5150 Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ga5150 Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 33 minutes ago, padgett said: Third picture: under the Dodge/Plymouth sign, when did AAA start using the oval with the large center A ? I found a 1930 AAA road service booklet on Ebay and it has the large center A, so it's at least 1930. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarNucopia Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 7 hours ago, ga5150 said: I'm in the middle of going this route as well. In that particular photo, we know the bank building (directly across from Esso sign) was built in 1915 and is still there today. I've got someone researching when the bowling alley was there, as well as the hatchery/poultry business. Thank you for adding additional pictures to make it easier to visualize. I did research similar to what you are doing and found old phone books to be very helpful in connecting a date to a business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 You have the same picture of the same road twice, just taken farther down the road. The rail road sign gives the clue. One picture is one block back, the other looks to be taken at the rail road crossing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 This is a very cool thread, as I go to Mt. Airy periodically. We attend the cruise night at Jimmy Cone and usually go to dinner afterwards in Old Town, shown in the photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ga5150 Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 38 minutes ago, Xander Wildeisen said: You have the same picture of the same road twice, just taken farther down the road. The rail road sign gives the clue. One picture is one block back, the other looks to be taken at the rail road crossing You are correct. I replaced the photo with one that may be a closer angle. The Peoples Lumber building on the left is long gone. The green grassy area on the left is where Peoples Lumber was. Now, there is a tiny grassy lot and a very tiny retail store there (a train store). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ga5150 Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 1 hour ago, Buick64C said: I did research similar to what you are doing and found old phone books to be very helpful in connecting a date to a business. Excellent idea. We have some of those and I should have thought to use them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 2 hours ago, Buick64C said: I did research similar to what you are doing and found old phone books to be very helpful in connecting a date to a business. Also check old city directories, if they were published for Mount Airy. It's great to see that most of the old buildings are still there-- and that some are so well preserved that they appear unchanged. You probably know that some towns have received grants to restore their downtown storefronts to their original historic styles. Those in Penna. that I've seen done are beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30DodgePanel Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 (edited) Also, If you're wanting to go back even further then you may want to check the pre 1900 Baltimore directories because a lot of the old directories had small towns incorporated in these publications. Here's an example that is currently for sale. Notice as you scroll down the second photo on the link below it has a page that reads " Containing parts of Six States, or Twenty-two Cities and Towns IN ONE VOLUME". For around $9 it's a great purchase just to see if it yields any answers that may precede the information you are seeking... Good luck ! http://www.ebay.com/itm/19-old-CITY-DIRECTORY-genealogy-research-BALTIMORE-Maryland-MD-advertisements-/131839804755?hash=item1eb243c553:g:oJMAAOxy~ilSM9X8 Love the old small towns... Will definitely put MT Airy on my list of places to visit some day. Edited September 11, 2016 by 30DodgePanel (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drwatson Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 The ESSO sign photo shows a parked 1934 Ford Sedan looking like it has10+ years on it. I'd say that photo is about 1945 - 1947. If you use a magnifying glass on the actual photo you might see the registration date. Another interesting item in this shot is while pumps and sign are gone in the modern shot, the ESSO sign post is still there, amazing enough considering the number of times its likely been bumped. Thank you for the post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ga5150 Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 On 9/10/2016 at 4:16 PM, ga5150 said: You are correct. I replaced the photo with one that may be a closer angle. The Peoples Lumber building on the left is long gone. The green grassy area on the left is where Peoples Lumber was. Now, there is a tiny grassy lot and a very tiny retail store there (a train store). I don't think it's any help, but Peoples Lumber and Supply was there from 1889-1995. That sort of covers it all and isn't much help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kings32 Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 I Terry when you come through Mt. Airy let me know I live about 10 minutes north . Stop in and take alook I have one of Waynes cars here . Just finished the 1930 Oakland. Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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