The National Science Foundation (NSF) is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Medal of Science with a new online exhibit. In 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation creating the National Medal of Science. President John F. Kennedy awarded the first medal to Theodore von Kármán in 1963. This new exhibit features some of the 476 men and women who have been recognized for “their outstanding contributions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathematical, or engineering sciences,”[1] including our own Dr. Albert Bruce Sabin. Continue reading
Category Archives: Digital Collections
Plotting Coordinates = Adventures in the Subway and Street Improvements Digitization Project
By: Angela Vanderbilt
The proposed subway route crossed through several neighborhoods north and west of downtown Cincinnati, as did the street improvement projects of the 1920s – 1950s. Whether the project involved razing a bridge over the canal to make room for bulldozers or digging trenches to lay new sewer lines before paving streets, the photographers captured these streets and neighborhoods in their images, and noted the location in the majority of photographs.
As mentioned in the blog “A Changing Landscape”, negatives of the subway project have date and location information written along the outer edge. When printed, this information is not visible. But later photographs, and the majority of street improvement photographs, have this information directly within the frame of the image, which was made visible when printed. Generally located in the lower left corner, this information provides the viewer with a quick and easy point of reference. Continue reading
Behind the Lens = Adventures in the Subway and Street Improvements Digitization Project
By: Angela Vanderbilt
As I’ve mentioned in earlier blog postings, the identity of the subway and street improvements photographer – or more likely, photographers, due to the 30-year time span of the collection – was not known at the outset of our digitization project. As more negatives are sent for scanning, we’ve gotten closer to revealing the identity.
Just last week, our scanning service came across a negative with “Photo by L.G. Folger” written at the bottom, below the date and location of the photograph. Very exciting news! This same name has also been found on the back of printed photographs. This is definitely a step in the right direction, considering it was found written directly on a negative as well as on prints! Other prints have a round stamp on the back with the information “W.T. Myers & Co., 238 E. 4th St., Cincinnati, Ohio”.
The Albert B. Sabin Digitization Project: Featured in The Watermark
Albert B. Sabin
The Winter 2013 issue of The Watermark, which is the quarterly publication of the Archivists and Librarians in the History of the Health Sciences (ALHHS), features an article on the Albert B. Sabin digitization project. This article is based on my presentation at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference October 2012 meeting. Continue reading
Horse Power = Adventures in the Subway and Street Improvements Digitization Project
By: Angela Vanderbilt
An interesting element appears now and again in the subway construction scans. Among the engineers, construction crews and machinery are some four-legged workers. Images of horses being utilized in the subway construction effort appear as late as 1926, and images of horse-powered transportation, including buggies and delivery wagons, are seen as late as 1931.
Under Construction = Adventures in the Subway and Street Improvements Digitization Project
By Angela Vanderbilt
When construction of the subway started in January, 1920, three contractors had been selected by the Rapid Transit Commission to complete the work: D.P. Foley General Contractors, Hickey Brothers and Fred R. Jones Company. The construction of the 16-mile subway loop was separated into nine sections, with contractors bidding for work on each section. One section might include construction of tunnels within the old canal bed for underground subway tunnels and stations, while another section might require construction of tunnels through a hillside, above-ground station construction, or grading of terrain for tracks to be laid in the open.
The Albert B. Sabin Digitization Project: Dr. Alan Goffe
British Medical Journal, November 15, 1958
While updating metadata records in the digitized collection, I came across the name “Alan Goffe” several times. I was interested to learn more about this man who frequently communicated with Dr. Sabin. Luckily, I found a book called, Between Two Worlds: The Story of Black British Scientist Alan Goffe. This book was written by Gaia Goffe, cousin of the late scientist, as a high school project. Later, the book was published by Hansib Books.[1] I found this book to be very interesting because it explains the relationship between Drs. Sabin and Goffe, as well as their shared interest in an oral polio vaccine. Continue reading
Surveying Cincinnati = Adventures in the Subway and Street Improvements Digitization Project
By: Angela Vanderbilt
In order for Cincinnati to keep pace with other major cities at the turn of the 20th century, city leaders and citizens recognized that a rapid transit system was necessary for the successful growth and prosperity of Cincinnati. Although several electric street car and interurban railroad lines, as well as horse-drawn streetcars, were utilized for passenger transportation around the city, each line was separately owned and passengers were required to switch from one line to another to reach the downtown business district. A faster, more direct and more efficient means of reaching the downtown was needed.
Safety First? Adventures in the Subway and Street Improvements Digitization Project
By: Angela Vanderbilt
As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, the collection’s photographer (whose identity continues to elude us) did not hesitate to include scenes of everyday life in his images that document the subway and street improvement projects. As he photographed the progress of the construction, which included images of the workers, engineers and commissioners in charge of the projects, he also captured the curiosity of the city surrounding these projects.
Consumerism in 1920s Cincinnati: Adventures in the Subway and Street Improvements Digitization Project
By: Angela Vanderbilt
In addition to the scenes of everyday life that are found in the photographs of Cincinnati’s subway and street improvement projects, our photographer also captured a glimpse at the consumer side of this growing city. Images of billboard advertisements, as well as shots of shops and markets, gas stations and factories are found within the photographs, providing a backdrop to the construction and repair work that were the intended subject matter.
Found among the images of neighborhood drugstores and shops are shots of companies such as Cincinnati’s own The Kroger Company. In the images below, early Kroger storefronts are seen, one located at the corner of Mohawk and Central Parkway, and the other (to the right of Linwood Drug Store) at the corner of Eastern and Linwood Avenues.
