Anything Goes Saturday - 7th Avenue & 46th Street, New York City 1959

On today's "Anything Goes" saturday, we'll transport ourselves to Times Square in New York City, and back in time to 1959.

I love New York! Even though I'm from Los Angeles, I feel a bit like a "country mouse" when I'm in The Big Apple. If you've never been there, you should go! During a recent trip to the city, I arrived late at night, checked into my hotel, and decided to go for a little walk down 7th Avenue. In the distance, Times Square glittered, lights and billboards moving and flashing colorfully, while the sidewalks still swarmed with people at 1 a.m.

This first photo view shows us the corner of 7th Avenue and West 46th Street; a little slice of a big, busy place. There are ads for Sylvania light bulbs, LIFE magazine, Sports Illustrated, and good old Planters Peanuts. The RKO Palace Theater is showing George Stevens' "The Diary of Anne Frank". If you're not in the mood for a movie, how about "Two For The Seesaw" at the Booth Theater? Henry Fonda and Anne Bancroft were in the original cast (it was made into a movie in 1962). Or go see Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Flower Drum Song" at the St. James Theater (directed by Gene Kelly).


Here's a screen grab from Google Maps' "street view", I tried to match it up as closely as possible. The sign for "Terminator Salvation" dates this to 2009 - a full 50 years after the first picture! You can definitely match up certain features. Notice the statue of George M. Cohan (the "father of American musical comedy"). But where oh where is Mr. Peanut?


Never fear! He moved south one block to the corner of 45th Street.