I always have fun trying to match up a vintage photo with a contemporary view of the same location... let's look at two of those today.
Up in British Columbia (the westernmost of Canada's provinces), you will find the town of Squamish. The name was supposedly chosen by Queen Victoria! It has its origins in the construction of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway in the early 20th century. That mountain in the background is Mount Garibaldi - a "stratovolcano" that is still potentially active. Yikes! Anyway, I love the look of this shot, with the Hotel Squamish and the old cars.
I grabbed this view from Google Maps' "street view", and it looks pretty close to the same spot, though it is hard to be sure. There are several streets that run parallel in a north/south direction - in this case we are looking up toward the end of "3 Avenue".
Salt Lake City, circa July 1959, looking up South State Street (but looking north!) toward the State Capitol. It has a prosperous appearance, retaining a bit of the rugged western flavor (spicy bbq!) from the city's history. Like so many vintage photos, the cars help to make this picture more fun.
A "today" view.... not so fun. In fact this could be any of 100 other cities, if you couldn't see the capitol building at the end of the street. I wonder who had the bright idea to put that decorative arch in a place that impedes the view?
I hope the little town of Squamish isn't in the path of the pyroclastic flow if Mount Garibaldi decides to blow.
ReplyDeleteIn picture 1, I'm thinking we have a light green 1949 Chevrolet, along with a 1949 Ford.
ReplyDeleteAs for picture 3, facing us is a 1953 or '54 Packard, with either a 1955 two-tone Dodge of Plymouth coming up in the #1 lane. Turning right behind the Packard is a 1957 (or '58) Plymouth. To the right of the Packard is a red, 1954 Chevrolet Truck.
And heading away from us is another two-tone, 1954 either a Mercury or Lincoln. And on the far right, appears to be a white, 1951 (or '52) Plymouth.
Peeking out on the far left appears to be a red, 1950-1952 International Harvester truck.
Some swell pictures here, Major.
Hotel Squamish still exists, but in a severely renovated form. The original building as shown in your slide was built in 1910, at 37991 Second Avenue corner of Victoria Street. I'm pretty sure we're at the corner of Second Avenue and Victoria Street looking North East towards Mt Garibaldi (2,678 m), which, incidentally, is considered dormant.
ReplyDeleteI guess when it comes to stratovolcanos, I have trust issues. Sure D-ticket, Mount Garibaldi says it's "dormant", and then one day you decide to hang the laundry outdoors to get that sunny fresh smell into the linen...and instead you get a Pompaii ash bath.
ReplyDeleteClimbing into my 1952 IH truck and heading for cover...
Bill in Denver
TokyoMagic!, I am going to start using "pyroclastic" as an adjective for everything. "This hamburger is PYROCLASTIC!".
ReplyDeleteNanook, I'll have to take your word for it, since I am not a "car guy"! I wish I had the knowledge to ID an old car (don't care about current models).
D-ticket, I saw the newer Hotel Squamish on Google Maps, but it looked so different. Ugly! Good old Wikipedia said that Mt. Garibaldi was "potentially active", but I guess they could say that about any dormant volcano.
Bill, I hope that if I am ever enveloped in ash that I am in a cool pose so that my plaster cast looks good 1000 years from now.
Love the Squamish pic. I can feel and hear the gravel beneath my feet.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE "then and now" picture series! I have no interesting info to contribute but I will say that I approve! Have you seen the Walt Disney "then and now" spot series on imagineeringdisney's blog? Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteVery cool. Shame about photo 3/4. What a lovely little place that was, looks like all apartment buildings now. :(
ReplyDeleteThese shots are PYROCLASTIC!
ReplyDeleteThanks Major. I love the I-H truck. Drove many an I-H tractor in my day.
"Potentially active" could describe me too.
JG
The Salt lake shot is indeed the same street. But the current photo is taken a block further north. The building on the left is still there and houses the local telephone company.
ReplyDeleteAnd the decorative arch was in the older photo...you just can see it. It was the gate to Brigham Young's home. His home is to the left in the newer photo.
ReplyDelete