Our last ‘Then & Now’ featured a 1930 Harrison photo of N. 4th St. (now Frank E. Rodgers Blvd.) viewed from Harrison Ave. This is the same spot, as pictured in an antique postcard. The card is undated, but it obviously predates the 1930 scene by decades. Our guess is that it’s from the 1890s or early 1900s, which we surmise based on the clothing of the pedestrians, including a woman, just visible at far left, in a ground-sweeping dress and wide-brimmed hat. What we find most intriguing is the emptiness. Where is everyone? There’s just a handful of people and no vehicles at all. Not a wagon, horse-drawn carriage or trolley in sight, although the tracks are evidence that trolleys do travel here. Was Harrison closed that day?
We thought it might be difficult to stand in the street to take the ‘Now’ photo, considering how heavy traffic is these days. But . . . where is everyone?
– Karen Zautyk