[GreatNortherner]

Colleagues,

Without many words, but not without mentioning Rick and Gaetan's NYC RDC, which was co-starring in this photo-shooting. :D
Still a lot of work to be done on the route.



















Cheers!
Michael

[rfranzosa]

GreatNortherner, on Feb 11 2009, 12:45 PM, said:

Colleagues,

Without many words, but not without mentioning Rick and Gaetan's NYC RDC, which was co-starring in this photo-shooting. :D
Still a lot of work to be done on the route.

Cheers!
Michael

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:D :D :D B)

[rfranzosa]

CARex, on Feb 11 2009, 09:56 PM, said:

Love those 'Triple Deckah's' Michael... :D
Now if we could just get a 'Citgo Sign' up in Kenmore Square... :D
Nice work.

Later, Bob

Bob,

That vintage? The sign would be "Cities Service". I am scouring the internet to find a decent picture. The sign (installed in 1946) was "Cities Service" green and white, was replaced in 1965 by the current "Citgo" sign when Cities Service changed their name. I remember it well from my first Fenway visit in 1960.

Here's a few photos I did find.

Photo 1 - You can see the bottom of the sign (SERVICE).



Photo 2 - The whole sign, very blurry.



Photo 3 - Cities Service logo.



Photo 4, the back side of Fenway showing the B&A tracks. That BUCK PRINTING CO sign is still there! Way in the background you can see the old SEARS building. My Mom worked there back in the late 1930s.

[philmoberg]

GreatNortherner, on Feb 11 2009, 10:45 AM, said:

...

Still a lot of work to be done on the route.

...

And mighty impressive, as it stands. Looks like I've got some more passenger cars to do :D ... -Phil

BTW: If anybody here is interested in a more detailed history of how the Boston area came to develop in the form that it did by this time, I'd recommend reading Sam Bass Warner's Streetcar Suburbs. This book isn't written from a fan's perspective, but it will give you a far better understanding of how the railroads and streetcars affected development.

(edit: for afterethought)

[rfranzosa]

CARex, on Feb 12 2009, 08:45 AM, said:

OOPS! You�re right Rick.

I had found the same clip and forwarded it on to Michael. Near as I can recall.. the sign was green� wasn�t it?

I had an Advertising class on the top floor (ballpark side) of the Levitt Building, directly beneath the sign.
Where we could just barely see the field. Needless to say� on game days not much class participation occurred.

I remember Dad & I visiting in the 50�s when the Yankees would come to town.
Ted Williams, Jimmy Pearsall, Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle & Yogi just to name a few were on the field� woof!

Have a sparkling week,
Bob

Bob,

Pearsall & Williams? That means you are a 'tad' older than me :D

Thinking back, my first trip to Fenway was with the cub scouts, probably 3rd or 4th grade (61? 62?). I bet a kid 25 cents that the Sox would prevail against the Indians. I lost that quarter, the first of MANY Red Sox disappointments spanning 40+ years until glorious 2004.

My recollection was that the sign was white with green lettering and a green border, but it may have been green when lit up... it WAS a LONG TIME AGO :D

[rfranzosa]

CARex, on Feb 12 2009, 12:58 PM, said:

"...My recollection was that the sign was white with green lettering and a green border, but it may have been green when lit up...
IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO..."

...IN A CITY FAR FAR AWAY.

Que the music!!

Later.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times................................... :D

[Genma Saotome]

philmoberg, on Feb 12 2009, 04:36 AM, said:

BTW: If anybody here is interested in a more detailed history of how the Boston area came to develop in the form that it did by this time, I'd recommend reading Sam Bass Warner's Streetcar Suburbs. This book isn't written from a fan's perspective, but it will give you a far better understanding of how the railroads and streetcars affected development.

I dunno about Boston but I do know that housing and transportation downtown went hand in hand, often the same hands actually. It was pretty common all over for land developers to build the street car system to the land they owned, thereby making it more valuable. In the earliest days it often would start w/ horse cars and penny ante land speculators. With electricity -- and city government quite ready to reduce the output of horses, both iron horse and haired horse would go by the wayside and better capitialized developers would step in. In Chicago, it was the head of the electricity company who pushed both development and transportation. Out here in the bay area it was a Mining magnate that took the plunge. But it always started w/ land + transportation. Of course, the owned land got developed and all that was left then was transportation and in due time that was a pretty crummy business to be in.