Welcome back to Where & When; to make up for my error from Monday, I’m presenting an extra challenge this week. Today’s game is hosted by RIYank who writes:
Let’s change decades for this one.
There are obvious visual clues for the approximate year, and also a kind of conceptual clue.
I don’t think it’s too hard to get the approximate location, but see how precise you can be.
I’ll release a clue later in the day.
Send guesses to:
whereandwhen.riyank@spamgourmet.com
Good luck!
[Photo Credit: Ephemeral New York]
With the vehicles and clothing, looks like 1930s to start. Just can't make out the name of the hotel in the background.
Looks like that hotel is the Dauphin!
It's in my old neighborhood on the upper west side is all I can say at this point. I've seen the view looking downtown plenty of times from the roof of my old building on 73rd street. And yes, that looks like the old Dauphin Hotel but thats been gone since they tore it down building Lincoln Center. Got to be during the late 30's early 40's. Looks like you're looking down Broadway.
So Broadway and 65th?
The interwebs is not being helpful this morning.
Excellent start.
For more precision, think about what the hell those guys are doing.
By the way, Lincoln Center was built in the late fifties. But you knew that, probably.
Could be the roof of the Ansonia, but that's a little far north maybe.... Those cars look like the late 40's to me...
They're obviously constructing a building, putting on an architectural feature that's not a gargoyle, a subset of grotesques which has to be a subset of something.
I think I have it, though I'm probably wrong. Date seems awfully early.
[5] Ah! I know exactly where that is and a general idea when, but being that I'm the host I'm probably not allowed to play. I will send a not e and tell you how I figured it out.
Wow..I have two guesses which building that is, but the dates seem decades off. Hm...
Okay, Chyll Will has submitted an extremely detailed and utterly correct entry. We'll leave the soda pop up for grabs because, you know, Employees of Bronx Banter are not eligible... (But we won't be so strict as to enforce one of the other popular clauses of that disclaimer!)
Another entry I got is exactly right (and very precise) on Where, but missed the 'When' part.
I will say that most of you have misinterpreted what's happening in the foreground.
Dammit, I didn't read the fine print on the spamgourmet email site. I think it will now consume any further emails sent to the listed address.
But this should work:
wherewhen.20.riyank@spamgourmet.com
(note there is no 'and' this time.)
Sorry about that. I have it all figured out now.
I think they're just doing repair, not contstruction. Too much age and clutter on the rooftop. But check out the guy on the rope... I think he's sitting on like a little seat attached to the rope. No Harness. Sheee-it.
Yeah, GreenMan, your email got eaten. Can you send it again?
But the original whereandwhen address should work again now.
The change in eras is definitely visible as the crispness of the old glass plates gives way to the grain of commercial film.
[13] Email has been re-sent. I used both addresses.
Wow, Green Man gets a special prize, for micro-missing. He's just missed the place and time, and he even picked a building in exactly the right style.
I'll be back with the wrap-up at about 6:00 EDT.
Unless it is a bridge, I am almost totally hopeless at the where of these. Still, this has been fascinating and I am eagerly looking forward to the next one!
As to the when, my best guess is sometime 1941-1945, after Pearl Harbor and before WWII ended. There are way too few cars on the street; I am guessing there were restrictions on driving during the war (conserve raw materials and all).
SOLUTION
Ben [6] was the first to think of the Ansonia Hotel (which is on Broadway between 73rd and 74th). Very good! Ben had the wrong decade at first, but eventually (with just a small nudge) he worked out the When, too.
RBJ and possibly some others thought the men were constructing, but it suddenly struck Chyll Will that they are actually removing the cornices for the metal. I admit this was hard to tell, but if it occurred to you, then you might guess (this was the ‘conceptual clue’) that it’s early WWII, and indeed the photo is from 1942.
Chyll Will got the location, too -- from the view of the Dauphin.
Root beer to Ben! And I think Will can treat himself to one, too.
Cream soda for The Green Man, who got really close both in time and space. The Dorilton is also no-holds-barred Beaux Arts, just like the Ansonia (think Grand Central Station).
By the way, the photo credit is Ephemeral New York. My fault; I forgot to send it to Will.
Yeah, I kinda figured it was the Ansonia, but since it had already been guessed I thought why not go for it with the Dorilton.