Wow! Look at this:
It’s relatively small and not all that sharp, a picture of a postcard, but I’ve never seen anything quite like it before. It had to have been taken sometime between 1931, when the two wings were added to the field house, and 1938, when this stadium was replaced by what I call the New Old Stadium.
The only other good look at this I’ve ever found was in the scrapbook of Mary Jane Hale Rommel ’37. It’s an aerial taken from the opposite direction and it makes me think the date on the first image is closer to 1931 than 1938 just based on the size of the trees. I’m hoping that someone (hello, Marty Merritt) will be able to identify the cars to help narrow it down a bit.
Also, who remembers the discussions about gas stations in this vicinity? The Gulf station must have been off to the right of the person who took the picture of the intersection.
Bonus: Several more cypresses have been taken down this week, including all the leaners. Against my better judgement I find myself hoping someone will see this as an opportunity.
In this photo, dated “10-20-31,” the Sinclair station does not seem to be present:
https://scholarship.rice.edu/handle/1911/63500
Based on the cars parked on University, my guess it’s game day.
I’m curious what kind of film was used.
This is sunlight, and the men crossing the street are blurry with motion.
What’s the likely ISO?
It might be a bit cloudy, but there are relatively hard shadows
Was it stopped way down to increase the depth of field, and that created the need for a long exposure?
The car in the foreground tells me all I need to know. 1931-33 Auburn 8-98 convertible Phaeton sedan. That is a very expensive and exclusive car. The others are late-20’s and early-30s. Cars changed dramatically in design in 1934-35.
Wow! I am really impressed!
Another vintage photo of the Auburn 8-98 convertible:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/VnwAAOSwIApcUTrY/s-l1600.jpg
Peter Pan pony ride is mentioned in news articles c. 1929; the Sinclair is there to be robbed in 1934.
The address 6500 Main is attributed variously to a Sinclair station, Autry House, and Bill Williams’ Chicken House.
https://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2010/06/at-home-at-bill-williams-chicken-house/
“[T]he Chicken House in the 6500 block of Main opened in 1936…. At one time, Rice University had no eating facilities for students and the Chicken House was something of a student cafeteria…. Eventually, the Main Street site was purchased by Methodist Hospital and closed in 1973.”
Perhaps the Sinclair station and the Chicken House are not at exactly the same address.
They were across the street from each other. This post has a picture of the same intersection in 1959: https://ricehistorycorner.com/2019/06/27/hmrc-thursday-the-whole-southwest-side-of-campus-wide-open-1959/
Also, Rice always had on-campus dining facilities.