Then & Now: Hagerstown Public Square
This post is a continuation of a series of “Then & Now” images that will show photographs of buildings, street scenes, and other historical locales from Lewis Reed’s Photo Collection alongside photographs of how they appear today.
Hagerstown Public Square (THEN): Hagerstown Public Square looking north on Potomac Street, circa 1913. D. Ramacciotti’s fruit and candy store dominated the left side of the square. Trolleys roll down the middle of the street and a piano store is on the right. Winding the giant clock in the background (still there today) was done by a line from the tower attached to a horse on the ground that pulled the clock’s weights up through the tower.
Hagerstown Public Square, 1913. Photo by Lewis Reed
Hagerstown Public Square (NOW): Traffic heads south on Potomac Street on the square in downtown Hagerstown 105 years later.
Hagerstown’s Public Square, looking north on Potomac Street, as it is today.
Then & Now: Quebec Bridge (8th Wonder of the World)
The Quebec Bridge (Pont de Québec in French) has been an icon of Canada for more than a century. But did you know that the Quebec Bridge collapsed twice (1907 & 1916) before it was completed, making it the world’s worst bridge construction disaster. Taken approximately 90 years apart, these photos show the Quebec Bridge (8th Wonder of the World) then and now.
Quebec Bridge (THEN): Hailed at the time as the 8th wonder of the world, the Quebec Bridge was the first bridge over the St. Lawrence River in Montreal. Accommodating three highway lanes, one rail line and a pedestrian walkway, it represented a colossal challenge to construct at the time. First conceived in 1887, the bridge collapsed failed twice, at the cost of 88 lives, and took over 30 years to complete. A riveted steel truss structure, the Quebec Bridge is the longest cantilever bridge span in the world. The Quebec Bridge was declared a historic monument in 1987 by the Canadian and American Society of Civil Engineers, and on January 24, 1996, the bridge was declared a National Historic Site of Canada.
Quebec Bridge (8th Wonder of the World). Photo by Lewis Reed, ca. 1930
Quebec Bridge (NOW): The same view almost 90 years later. The bridge remains in use to this day, carrying both road and rail traffic. rails in the middle and roadways on both sides.
Night view of the Quebec Bridge, today. Photo credit: Martin St-Amant – Wikipedia
Source: Wikipedia
Then & Now: Rockville Fair Dirt Track Oval
The black and white photograph of the Rockville Fair auto races below was taken by Lewis Reed in 1923. The photograph was from the first incarnation of the Fair, held by the Montgomery County Agricultural Society (1846-1932) in Rockville and often known simply as the “Rockville Fair.” For this “Then & Now” feature, I have combined Lewis Reed’s original photograph for “then” and matched it with a corresponding contemporary shot for “now” to see how the location has changed throughout almost 95 years.
Rockville Fair Dirt Track Oval (THEN): Like many fairgrounds, the Rockville Fairgrounds included an oval track. Fairground race tracks, typically one-mile or half-mile dirt racing ovals with wide, sweeping curves and grandstands for spectators, were easily adapted for bicycles, harness racing, and the sport of car racing. Harness racing was one of the main attractions, but after the introduction of the automobile in the early 20th century, car races took over. The fairgrounds were just outside Rockville, where Richard Montgomery High School is today.
Crowds at the auto racetrack, Rockville Fair, August 1923. Photo by Lewis Reed
Rockville Fair Dirt Track Oval (NOW): In 1946, after the construction of Richard Montgomery High School, the old oval race track became a football field and stadium.
Richard Montgomery High School football field and stadium today
Then & Now: New Occidental Hotel Washington, DC
In this “Then & Now” feature, I have combined one of Lewis Reed’s original photograph’s for “then” and matched it with a corresponding contemporary shot for “now” to see how the location has changed or remained nearly the same through the years. I started doing this as a research tool, now I mostly do it because of my passion for history and fascination with the subject. In the following photographs, you can see the difference 100 years can make.
New Occidental Hotel (THEN): The New Occidental Hotel was built by Henry Willard (of Willard Hotel fame) in 1906. If any of 2,500 celebrities — including four presidents — forgot who they were, they could stop by the Occidental Restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue and check their picture on the wall. Within a few years the Occidental became known as the place “Where Statesmen Dine”.
After the restaurant closed in 1971, the wall-to-wall collection of paintings and photographs of the famous was auctioned off. The new Occidental Restaurant re-opened at 1475 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, almost on the old site, as part of the Willard Collection of buildings.
Looking from the Treasury Building directly at the United States Capitol, this 1912 photograph taken by Lewis Reed shows the first floor retail shops and the Occidental Hotel, which has an Electric Grill Room, on the left. On the right are office buildings and the Old Post Office. The magnificent Raleigh Hotel held a commanding position on Pennsylvania Avenue across from the Old Post Office Building. The Occidental Hotel was located at 1411 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
Historic street view of Pennsylvania Avenue. Photo by Lewis Reed, 1912
New Occidental Hotel (NOW): Google Street View from approximately the same perspective in 2018.
Screenshot of Google Street View 2018
Then & Now: Lucy the Elephant Atlantic City, New Jersey
This post is a continuation of a series of “Then & Now” images that will show photographs of buildings, street scenes, and other historical locales from Lewis Reed’s Photo Collection alongside photographs of how they appear today.
Lucy the Elephant (THEN): Through the first half of the 20th century, Lucy served as a restaurant, business office, cottage, and tavern (the last closed by Prohibition). The building was depicted on many souvenir postcards, often referred to as “The Elephant Hotel of Atlantic City.” (The actual hotel was in a nearby building, not inside the elephant.)
Lucy the Elephant. Photo by Lewis Reed, 1910.
Lucy the Elephant (NOW): The Elephant Hotel was neglected in more recent years, and eventually fell into a sad state of disrepair. In 1966, “Lucy” was saved from the wrecking ball when she was designated as a National Historic Landmark. On July 20, 1970 Lucy was moved about 100 yards to the west-southwest to a city owned lot and completely refurbished. In October, 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall near Margate. Lucy remained unscathed, although the surge reached the building’s toes and a small booth in the parking lot was blown over. On July 23, 2016, Lucy announced her candidacy for President of the United States at a celebration for her 135th birthday.
Lucy the Elephant, National Historic Landmark, November 20, 2011
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Reed Brothers Dodge History (1915-2012) by Jeanne Gartner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012 
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