Streetcar Sunday - York, England

Bootham Bar is the one of the famous gateways through the city walls of York. There has been a gate of one kind or another here since 71 AD when the city was founded by the Romans. At that time, the city was known as Eboracum. When the Angles took over in 451 AD, the city became known as Eoforwic, which has a certain ring to it if you can pronounce it. It didn't become known as York until the 13th century.

York started out with horse-drawn carriages or buses as public transportation (i.e. no rails). They also used steam-powered trams briefly before changing over to electric trams in 1909. If you look closely, you can see that this one has two decks, and the barrier on the top one is quite low. Sit down, gentlemen or you may be knocked off the tram when we pass through one of those gates.

As buses gained in popularity over the next few decades, the decision was made to stop running the trams. The last one ran in 1935.

Here's the back of the card, showing that it was printed by E.T.W. Dennis & Sons.  I don't encounter  their cards very often.

To Amy from Paris

Today is Sepia Saturday, an opportunity for bloggers to share interesting old photos. Sepia Saturday is hosted by Alan Burnett, who also has a lively and entertaining blog entitled  News from Nowhere, and another blog (Fat Dog to the Big Apple) about a virtual walk across the United States with his dog, Amy.

Here is a lovely view of Paris from the turn of the century.

And here's the back of the card, which would appear to be addressed to Alan's dog.

The message reads:

The Little Palace was built for the Paris Exposition and is now a Museum of Modern Art.

Best wishes,

Mrs Hax (?)

Broadway - Portland, Oregon

I'm back in Portland after a trip to Hawaii, hoping that the sunshine I stored up will carry me through the cold, wet winter.

Here's an old view of Broadway in Portland, Oregon and the same view today.  There are no longer streetcars on Broadway, but bike lanes have been added.  The first building on the right is the Benson Hotel, which has changed little over the years. The Liberty Theater, with its Statue of Liberty (on the right, under the American flag) and its Wurlitzer organ is sadly no longer there.

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