Categories
Uncategorized

Woman, Baby, Dog, 1950s.

Woman, child, and dog resting on a blanket, on a grass lawn. Appears 1950s.

Categories
Uncategorized

NDSU’s Downtown Expansion


I hadn’t realized this when I was going over NDSU’s PML Building expansion: the Y-shaped section of 9th St North directly behind the building will be adsorbed into the NDSU Downtown campus. The wedge of green houses six mailboxes (due to one-ways it allows drivers to drop their mail off out the car window), several trees and a flower garden, and the Statue of Rollo. It appears that Rollo will stay on the grounds, and an accommodation for the mail drop will exist on 3rd Avenue (a one-way going East). I’m pleased with two things: an increase in downtown green area, and a reduction in downtown parking lots. Even when the PML building was completely occupied, the lot was rarely full – remember, the lot across the street to the west also belongs to the PML building as well. If there’s one thing I hate about downtown Fargo, it’s too many parking lots, not enough buildings. I don’t like the loss of a downtown street, though; several other north-south streets have been closed off in the past few years due to building expansion and train safety.

Categories
Uncategorized

Standing In The Field, February 1912.


Click for full image

Two men, one in a buggy, one standing. From a photo postcard, dated 23 February 1912.

Categories
Uncategorized

Prize Composition Studies, 1917.


Student-submitted photos, from The Rotary, February 1917.

Categories
Uncategorized

Rural Civil Defense, 1960.

Bombs have fallen. At least one has struck St Paul-Minneapolis. Another has exploded above the Great Lakes port of Duluth-Superior. Air force [sic] bases at Grand Forks, Rapid City and maybe Minot have been hit. So have other areas…Here, there is nothing to do now but wait. Radioactive fallout, if it isn’t already here, will be filtering down within the next hour or two. Heaviest concentration will be between the next 6 to 12 hours, with no one daring to leave the family fallout shelter. Tomorrow, it may be safe to run to the barn long enough to check on livestock. Not all animals could be gotten under cover, but the producing cows and most valuable breeding stock are inside.

Cold War advice on preparing your farm for the inevitable nuclear war. From a 1960 issue of The Farmer.

Categories
Uncategorized

Small-Town Country Road, 1930s.

Driving through the plains or Minnesota, North Dakota, or South Dakota, many small towns still look like this today: Grain elevator, church, a handful of houses, and then just more open farmland. It’s likely that buildings from the 1930s are still standing, although they’re far more run-down than they looked eighty years ago. This photo was taken sometime in the mid-1930s, location unknown. (click for full image)

Categories
Uncategorized

Apartment building, 1920s.


Click for full image

Car parked in front of a large lodge. Appears 1920s.

Categories
Uncategorized

Changing the Tire, 1940s.


Click for entire image

Changing a tire on a snowy mountain road. Appears 1940s.

Categories
Uncategorized

Children and Playground, 1930s.


Click for entire image

A caretaker or teacher, with children. Appears 1930s, possibly taken in Texas or the south-central region of the U.S. More here.

Categories
Uncategorized

The Mysterious Talking Board Ouija! 1930.


“Many scientists claim that the “Ouija board” answers questions through personal magnetism. Spiritualists claim that invisible spirits guide its movements and an unknown power of superior intelligence rules our future,” claims this 1930 advertisement for the Ouija board. Unsure how to pronounce the pormanteau title? The article alternatively refers to it as the “wee gee” board, preventing any confusion. Simple directions were sent with each board, and it claims Ouija Board parties “are the most popular attractions at many gatherings.” From the Model Publishing Catalog.