Need location of photo circa 1940/41.

[K8096]

I bought this photo at Hershey this year and would like to know the location.  The car, obviously, is a 1941 Cadillac Sixty Special.   

 

The PA inspection sticker on the window is a 1940 sticker.   The 1941 sticker was a completely different design.  There is some ice on the ground, so the photo was most likely taken in the winter of 1940/41, making the car virtually new.   

 

So, who out there can identify the town?    The one store front says "Sam's Variety" and on the far left is a funeral chapel.   The Studebaker in the background also appears to have a state inspection sticker on the windshield too, so let's assume the photo was taken in PA.   Probably at least a medium sized town as there are street car tracks going down the middle of the street.    

 

If anyone can positively identify the exact location I'll buy you lunch at Hershey next year.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 10, 2021 by K8096 (see edit history)

[K8096]

[TerryB]

Can you read the town name on the bus in the background?

[TerryB]

PA used front and rear license plates up to 1942, in 1943 a small year tag was applied to the 1942 plate.  In 1944 to about 1947 only a single rear plate was used.  If it’s 1940-41 in PA there should be front license plates.

[K8096]

That would be too easy.  It's too blurry.   I even tried with a magnifying glass.    

Edited December 10, 2021 by K8096 (see edit history)

[TerryB]

See my new comments on license plates.

[K8096]

11 minutes ago, TerryB said:

PA used front and rear license plates up to 1942, in 1943 a small year tag was applied to the 1942 plate.  In 1944 to about 1947 only a single rear plate was used.  If it’s 1940-41 in PA there should be front license plates.

Interesting.   Well, the car is definitely in PA per the inspection sticker with the Keystone on it.   And it looks close to new, not a few years old.   And it's interesting there is no front license plate bracket on the car if PA had front plates in 1940 & 41 like you say.   The bracket would mount on the bottom center of the front bumper.      

Edited December 10, 2021 by K8096 (see edit history)

[TerryB]

The Studebaker does not have a front license plate either.  

[K8096]

Here's the 1946/47 inspection sticker.  I think it's a better match than the 1940 sticker.   The car looks awfully nice for a 5 year old car, but maybe the old lady only drove it on Sundays and really took care of it.  The whitewall is very clean.   

 

 

 

 

 

[TerryB]

Q:  In what years did Pennsylvania issue plates in pairs? 

A:  Pennsylvania issued plates in matched pairs every year from 1906 to 1942, and also from 1947 to 1951.  The 1942 plates were also used in 1943, by virtue of red metal tabs that were attached to both the front and rear plates.  Except for a few odd classes of plates, Pennsylvania plates have been issued only as singles from 1952 to the present. 
 

That 46-47 inspection sticker looks closer.

[Akstraw]

Looks like a brick street with rails in it, so a town or city that had a trolley?

[TerryB]

The bus or truck with a name on the back would be good clues.  Trolly tracks were common, at least in the bigger towns in PA where I have lived.  Funeral chapel is a bit unusual for the sections of PA I have lived in.

[3macboys]

I dug up this website that seems to have a list of all the Trolley companies from PA but TerryB will likely be able to expand on that.  

 

https://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr886.htm

 

Looking further in the background it appears to have fairly substantial buildings so I would expect it is a town/city with more than a 3 block commercial downtown core if that helps narrow it down.

[TerryB]

Reminds me of a smaller town like Minersville, Lititz, Manheim and the like where population was under 10,000.  The name on the bus, even the number of letters in the name would be a good clue.  The name on the bus seems to fill the signboard. 

[alsancle]

I get no newspaper hits for "Sam's Variety" Store in Penn or any of the surrounding states for 1939-41.  

[K8096]

5 minutes ago, alsancle said:

I get no newspaper hits for "Sam's Variety" Store in Penn or any of the surrounding states for 1939-41.  

 Try 1946/47

[K8096]

The name on the bus is 8 or 9 letters.    

[oldcarfudd]

It's reasonable that the car still looked new in 1946-47.  The prior years were war years.  The typical ration was 3 gallons a week, which wouldn't have taken that big Cadillac very far.  When I was a kid in WWII, a neighbor had a beautiful '38 Packard on blocks in his garage.  His kid and I used to love to play in it.  It didn't come out until the war was over.

[Akstraw]

24 minutes ago, K8096 said:

The name on the bus is 8 or 9 letters.    

Scranton, Hazleton, Freeland, Bethlehem, Allentown, Reading.  I could be convinced it was any of them, and maybe 50 more.  I am looking at the three storefronts, and it appears that they are at an angle to the street, or is that an optical illusion?  If the three storefronts are actually at an angle to the street, and not parallel to it, that would be rather uncommon.

[K8096]

I just looked at the original photo again and yes, the two storefronts in front of the Studebaker with rolled up awnings are at staggered angles.    

[ryan95]

Are the street lights a clue? They look like they might be unique with the conical lenses. It could also just be a common style.

[mike6024]

Charles "Teenie" Harris
Cadillac belonging to Charles "Teenie" Harris parked on Centre Avenue, with McTurner's Funeral Chapel in background, Hill District, ca. 1941-1946

[mike6024]

 

Charles "Teenie" Harris
Charles "Teenie" Harris's 1941 Cadillac Fleetwood parked in front of his studio at 2128 Centre Avenue, Hill District, ca. 1941-1945

 

 

Charles "Teenie" Harris
Wylie Avenue with Crawford Grill No. 1 and Cramptons Drugs on left, Hill District, ca. 1947-1952

Edited December 10, 2021 by mike6024 (see edit history)

[mike6024]

Charles "Teenie" Harris was an American photographer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Harris was known for his photographs of residents and prominent visitors to Pittsburgh, including musicians and baseball players, which often appeared in the Pittsburgh Courier. Wikipedia
Born: July 2, 1908, Pittsburgh, PA
Died: June 12, 1998, Pittsburgh, PA
Spouse(s): Ruth M. Butler (1927–circa 1933) Elsa Lee Elliott (1944–1997)
Parent(s): William Franklin “Monk” Ella Mae “Olga” Taliaferro Harris
Books: Teenie Harris, Photographer: Image, Memory, History

[mike6024]

 

This is the photographer, his Cadillac, and an unidentified woman in front of his studio on Centre Avenue in Pittsburg

 

[mike6024]

Edited December 10, 2021 by mike6024 (see edit history)

[alsancle]

10 hours ago, K8096 said:

 Try 1946/47

 

45-47 gives a single hit in Brooklyn.   232 5th Ave.

[8E45E]

11 hours ago, TerryB said:

The Studebaker does not have a front license plate either.  

Perhaps the photo was taken during the war years when steel allotment was prioritized for the war effort?  Many states only issued one plate, and some states and provinces issued fiberboard plates (Quebec) or a window sticker. (Alberta)

 

Craig

[Delco32V]

2128 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh PA

The whole block is torn down now, save the store opposite Sams at the top of the photo.

Edited December 10, 2021 by Delco32V (see edit history)

[8E45E]

3 hours ago, mike6024 said:

 

This is the photographer, his Cadillac, and an unidentified woman in front of his studio on Centre Avenue in Pittsburg

 

Not one whitewall tire to be seen in the photo!!

 

Craig

[8E45E]

3 hours ago, mike6024 said:

And again, not ONE whitewall tire on those cars on the photos.

 

Craig

[alsancle]

Good job.   Did you do an image search?  I didn't even think of that.

[K8096]

Thank you Mike6024.    How did you figure it out?   

[Guest]

12 hours ago, K8096 said:

That would be too easy.  It's too blurry.   I ever tried with a magnifying glass.    

 No need to use a magnifying glass. just Rt. click, copy it and paste it to Wordpad.

 You then enlarge it 500% by using the slide in the lower rt. corner of the screen.

[TerryB]

That’s really incredible that this photo was from a published photographer.  Great stuff!  

[TerryB]

1 hour ago, 8E45E said:

Perhaps the photo was taken during the war years when steel allotment was prioritized for the war effort?  Many states only issued one plate, and some states and provinces issued fiberboard plates (Quebec) or a window sticker. (Alberta)

 

Craig

PA actually went to single plates for a few years after WW2, then back to two plates for a few years and finally single plates from 1952 to present day.

[TAKerry]

1 hour ago, 8E45E said:

And again, not ONE whitewall tire on those cars on the photos.

 

Craig

There are cars in those pictures?

[mike6024]

here is a good set of his photos. They do not feature cars.

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/pa-heritage/world-through-eyes-charles-teenie-harris.html

 

 

[mike6024]

There are 150 of his pictures at the  Carnegie Museum of Art, his archive, but only about 10 supposedly "feature" cars. Here they are in this link.

 

https://prints.cmoa.org/search/collection/teenie+harris+archive/subject/cars

 

[K8096]

I like this image of his.   Funeral home owned 5 Lincolns.   The '35 sedan in the center could be Harwood's car.