48 Amazing Photos That Document Daily Life at Restaurants and Stores of Norfolk, Virginia in 1919

Norfolk  is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Beach.

Norfolk is located at the core of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, named for the large natural harbor of the same name located at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. It is one of nine cities and seven counties that constitute the Hampton Roads metro area, officially known as the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA.

The city is bordered to the west by the Elizabeth River and to the north by the Chesapeake Bay. It also shares land borders with the independent cities of Chesapeake to its south and Virginia Beach to its east. Norfolk is one of the oldest cities in Hampton Roads, and is considered to be the historic, urban, financial, and cultural center of the region.

As the city is bordered by multiple bodies of water, Norfolk has many miles of riverfront and bayfront property, including beaches on the Chesapeake Bay. It is linked to its neighbors by an extensive network of Interstate highways, bridges, tunnels, and three bridge-tunnel complexes, which are the only bridge-tunnels in the United States.

Here below is an amazing photo collection from David E. Johnson that shows what daily life at restaurants and stores of Norfolk looked like in 1919.

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35 Cool Pics Show the Inside of Stores in the Early 20th Century

These amazing photographs from Flickr members that show what the inside of stores looked like over 100 years ago.

A.L. Woodruff and Sons, General Store, Needham, Massachusetts

Bakery in St. Matthews South Carolina

Bike Shop in Rio de Janeiro's Downtown

Children Enjoying White Clover Ice Cream Cones at the Silverton Ice Cream Parlor in Silverton, Oregon

Chinese Store in San Francisco, CA

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20 Cool Snaps That Capture Wanchai Bars in Hong Kong From the 1970s

Wan Chai is a metropolitan area situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area north of Gloucester Road is often referred to as Wan Chai North.

Wan Chai is one of the busiest commercial areas in Hong Kong with offices of many small and medium-sized companies. Wan Chai North features office towers, parks, hotels and an international conference and exhibition centre.

As one of the first areas developed in Hong Kong, the locale is densely populated yet with noticeable residential zones facing urban decay, but it is also famous for its many restaurants, hotels, and bustling bars.

These fascinating color pics from m20wc51 that show what Wanchai bars looked like in the 1970s.

The 'Candlelight' bar was at 42-50 Lockhart Road, circa 1970

The corner of Lockhart Road and Luard, Wanchai, 1970

The corner of Lockhart Road, Wanchai, 1970

The Pussycat was at 34-38 Lockhart Road in Wanchai, 1970

The Old Toby Bar next to the Pussycat Bar was the one favored by Black Sailors and Servicemen, Lockhart Road, Wanchai, circa 1970-71

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Inside American Restaurants in the 1960s Through 45 Cool Pics

What did the inside of American restaurants look like in the 1960s? Just check out these cool pics to see.

Diamond Room Singers, Spring Valley, New York

Fairmont Hotel & Tower, San Francisco, CA

Grossinger's Terrace Room, NY

Hackneys Seafood Restaurant, Atlantic City, NJ

Hilltop House, Omaha, NE

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The Herfy's: Fascinating Photos Documented Everyday Life at a Fast Food Burger Restaurant of Washington in the 1970s

Herfy's was a chain of fast food burger places in the 1960s and early 1970s. Founded in Everett, Washington, Herfy's had locations scattered around the Pacific Northwest. It was just your standard burger joint fare... burgers, cheeseburgers, fries, the inescapable "orange drink".

A fascinating photo collection from Tom Tolar that shows everyday life of Herfy's restaurant in Washington from the 1970s.

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22 Intimate Photographs Capture Celebrities at Clubhouse Max’s Kansas City, the Wildest Bar in 1970s New York

“I met Iggy Pop at Max’s Kansas City in 1970 or 1971,” recalled David Bowie. “Me, Iggy and Lou Reed at one table with absolutely nothing to say to each other, just looking at each other’s eye makeup.”

For a decade Max’s Kansas City ruled New York, becoming the premier spot to eat, drink, dance, party, and frolic. Proprietor Mickey Ruskin opened the nightclub and restaurant in 1965, drawing top talents like Allen Ginsberg. William S. Burroughs, and Robert Rauschenberg. But when Andy Warhol and his entourage started hanging out in the back room, Max’s quickly became the place to be. Soon David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Lou Reed were regulars, along with Warhol’s latest superstars like Candy Darling, Jackie Curtis, and Holly Woodlawn.

In 1970, Croatian émigré, Anton Perich arrived a Max’s, by way of Paris. An activist in the Lettrism group during the 68 Revolution, Perich was an avant-garde filmmaker. He made friends with some busboys on staff, and they said it was the best job in America. In 1972, he joined the staff, which included busboy Carlos Falchi, manager Eric Emerson, and waitress Debbie Harry, whose presence eluded him.

For the next two years, Perich would fill in when someone called out. As he remembers, the best time to work was late at night, when the famous and the infamous alike could come and let down their hair. No one batted an eye when Perich pulled out his camera for a photo. As you can see from the photos here, they were more than happy to oblige – or sometimes, not even aware. He was soon contributing his candid snaps to Interview before going on to launch NIGHT in 1978, his very own publication.

Rockers James Williamson, Iggy Pop, and Lou Reed

Model Donna Jordan and writer Fran Lebowitz

Ramones front man Joey Ramone

Model Bebe Buell (right) and an unidentified woman

Warhol Superstars Eric Emerson and Nico

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The McDonald Brothers in Front of the Not Yet Opened First McDonald's in San Bernardino, CA, November 1948

Innovation has also been one of the differentiating factors that has helped stay ahead of competition. One major example is the McDonalds drive-thru, which was the result of a problem it faced near a military base in Arizona where soldiers in a certain locale weren't permitted to get out of their cars while wearing their fatigues. Thus came about the idea of Drive-thru which was an instant hit across the U.S.

In 1937, Patrick McDonald opened The Airdrome, a food stand. Hamburgers were ten cents. In 1940, his two sons, Maurice and Richard (Mac and Dick), moved the entire building to San Bernardino, California. The restaurant was renamed “McDonald's Bar-B-Q” and served twenty five barbecued items on their menu.

In October 1948, after the McDonald brothers realized that most of their profits came from selling hamburgers, they closed down their drive-in to establish a system with a simple menu of just hamburgers, cheeseburgers, french fries, shakes, soft drinks, and apple pie. The drive-in was eliminated to make a self-serve way of dining. Mac and Dick McDonald set up their kitchen like an assembly line to make sure they were at maximum efficiency. The restaurant's name was again changed, this time to simply “McDonald's,” and reopened on December 12, 1948.

20 Vintage Photographs of Pussycat Theaters in California From Between the 1970s and 1980s

The Pussycat Theaters were a chain of Adult movie theater, operating between the 1960s and the 1980s. Pussycat Theaters had 30 locations in California and were known for their cat-girl logo.

David F. Friedman and Dan Sonney founded Pussycat Theaters. Sonney invented the name, based on Woody Allen film What's New Pussycat. Friedman has also cited the Pink Pussycat burlesque club on Santa Monica Boulevard as having previously established the word "pussycat" in relation to "pink" porn, since the early 1960s. The first Pussycat Theater opened in March 1966 on 444 South Hill Street, Los Angeles. Within two years, there were almost a dozen locations, from San Diego to San Francisco.

In 1968, Vince Miranda bought a 50% share of the company. Miranda was unable to prevent those outside California from using the Pussycat name. Miranda spent $1 million to improve the decor of the theaters. They were known for being cleaner and fancier than other such places. The interiors featured red and gold carpeting, velveteen fixtures, beveled glass, mirror walls, chandeliers, oil paintings, murals, and merchandise bearing the Pussycat logo. Some Pussycat theaters sold popcorn from the box office to pedestrians on the sidewalk, with no obligation to buy a ticket.

Vince Miranda and George Tate (who were lovers) shared ownership of Walnut Properties, the company that owned the Pussycat Theaters. Miranda may have had exclusive California license to show Deep Throat, a hugely lucrative film. His main competitors were the Mitchell brothers.

Residents who lived near the theaters complained to the city governments that children could see the images of women on posters, ads, and cardboard stand-ups. Community members wanted the theaters to close. The citizens groups and government sued Walnut Properties under a variety of laws, including obscenity, public nuisance, rezoning, eminent domain, The Red Light Abatement Act, and the US Supreme Court's "preponderance" redefinition of porn theaters. Walnut Properties was served with over 100 civil lawsuits filed between 1973 and 2005. Between 1977 and 1994, at the Pussycat Theater in Santa Monica, "the Los Angeles Police Department made 2000 arrests for lewd conduct on the premises." In 1981, an ordinance was passed banning adult movie theaters in Santa Monica.[

In 1983, pornographic videotape sales began to compete with adult theaters, reducing theater attendance. At the age of 52, Vince Miranda died of complications related to cancer in 1985. George Tate and his new paramour Jonathan Cota inherited Walnut and the Pussycat Theaters. The IRS imposed a federal tax lien of $6,047,760 on Miranda's estate. The theaters were losing money fast. Many theaters are given to debtors in lieu of money, and/or converted to general admission theaters.

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Institute Of Oral Love, a Classic L.A Landmark in the Mid-1970s

Every major U.S. city has its Santa Monica Boulevard. In Chicago, it is called Wells Street. In Minneapolis, it is Hennepin Avenue. San Francisco has its Broadway, and New York City its Times Square. Santa Monica Boulevard is neither the busiest nor the worst. It is only typical.

As it knifes through Los Angeles' West Hollywood residential district, Santa Monica becomes a garish, grubby, milelong gauntlet of sex-book stalls, theaters and 8-mm. peep shows for voyeurs, and massage parlors and sexual encounter centers for those who want direct action.

In the 1970s, the Institute Of Oral Love was situated on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Spalding Avenue, Los Angeles. The Institute Of Oral Love mainly dispenses talk, and Wild Mary's massage provides local stimulation only if the costumers pays extra.

Though, according to Dangerous Minds, there has been the bizarre suggestion this was a dentist and oral surgeon, as well as the more obvious belief it was “blow job central”, the Oral Institute Of Love was informed by the lovelies over at World of Wonder, not exactly what it seemed, as it mainly “dispensed talk”.

Americans in Paris: Solita Solano and Djuna Barnes in "Café Le Dome", 1925

Solita Solano (1888–1975, an American writer, poet and journalist) and Djuna Barnes (1892–1982, an American writer and artist) in "Café Le Dome" in Paris, 1925. These fascinating photographs were taken by Maurice Branger (1874–1950).

Maurice-Louis Branger was born in Fontainebleau in 1874 and started his career as a photographer in 1895. In 1905 he created his ‘Photopresse’ photo reportage agency at 5 Rue Cambon, a side road adjacent to the central Tuileries Gardens, in Paris.

He was a versatile and almost hyper-active photographer, covering the main events of Paris life, most famously the flood of 1910, but also criminal affairs and trials, cultural and political life and numerous sporting events. He seems to have developed a particular taste for pioneering motor sport events from 1902, and he followed this majestic subject Internationally until 1914.

He earned particular prominence for his work from the battlefields in the First World War, and later returned to covering trials and political life in Paris. Having survived a second World War, he died in 1950, in Mantes la Jolie.

21 Rare Photographs That Show Kodak Window Displays in the Early 20th Century

Almost all Kodak branch stores in the first half of the twentieth century had glass fronted shop displays, and glass covered counters filled with a dazzling array of products. From the early 20th century to the early 1950s, Kodak shop windows displayed a certain uniformity – there was usually a thematic or product focus in the window display. Visitors and locals would come to see the latest attraction and be drawn past Kodak merchandise.

Cameras and film would be mounted on different sized plinths or cushions with a corresponding price ticket. Sometimes the products were arranged in a decorative pattern across the display window floor. Brochures, posters and pamphlets in their dozens were arranged around the products and the overall effect was one of overwhelming mass, and choice of product. This is in stark contrast to contemporary visual merchandising, which tends to be more minimalist and abstract.

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