City - NY - A rainy day in New York City 1943

by Mike Savad

Title

City - NY - A rainy day in New York City 1943

Artist

Mike Savad

Medium

Photograph - Colorized Photo

Description

Colorized photo from 1943, March
Original title: New York Times on a rainy day
Photographer: John Vachon
Location: 200 W 47th St

Ah New York in the rain, where all the water fills in the potholes and you don't know where they are. As you step into the street, you trip over one, only to be greeted by a curious pigeon. Its gets a bit close to your face, then it flies away, you're thankful it didn't peck your eyes out and your ankle seems OK. Then you realize your wallet is missing.

In the confusion the bird's accomplice took your wallet, the first one was just a distraction. Knowing people trip and fall at this spot, the birds here have quite the racket set up and its very profitable for them.

This location has a lot of history, It's Times Square, while it had only a few signs and very few people. It's probably hard to recognize because its not at all crowded, no one taking selfies with the statues, and there is very little traffic.

This image was shot during wartime, you'll note the taxis have black out headlights. In those days when you heard a plane or saw a boat from the enemy everyone had to do their part and turn out the lights. They took things seriously back then. The lights have a black shield over them, some even had a little hood that went above the light. There was a small slit the let the light out. You couldn't see far with them, but people sort of saw you in the street. Tail lights had the same treatment. Not all cars had these.

You can also see it in the traffic light. If you look carefully you'll see a Plus symbol in the green light, its near the top of the light so it won't light a lot. Green had a plus, red had a dot, and if there was a yellow light it had a V shape. Presumably the movie theaters etc would just shut off their lights.

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November 14th, 2020

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