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Where was this ?


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Yes!  There is a sign in front of the house to the left.  It appears to have a cross similar to the Red Cross, but it's not a solid cross, on it.  

 

 

Old%20House%20Photo%20yard%20sign_zps3ea

 

I found this online but I haven't found a picture yet.

 

1897, DUBOIS GETS A HOSPITAL

 

Doctor

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There is also this:

 

1900 to 1922

 

"The hospital facilities of DuBois are exceptionally good. The DuBois Hospital has accommodations for 60 patients at on time, and the Maple Avenue Hospital can also accommodate 60 patients. Besides these two institutions there is a state tuberculosis dispensary, and a very efficient branch of the American Red Cross.

 

http://www.duboishistoricalsociety.com/dubois-history-3.html

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Looking closely at the original photo I would agree with previous poster who said it looks like a stream running between the two houses.  It looks to have overflowed at the intersection.  Must have been some of this "partly cloudy" that's been falling the last week or so.   :P

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Thanks for all the ideas everyone ! Not even sure it's in DuBois. Could it be a funeral procession ? The house with the large chimney almost looks like the Hahne Mansion. Was there ever a house where the brewery was ???

Yes, currently owned by Joe & Pat Kirk. Next door to the funeral home.

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I highly suspect that is Liberty Blvd.  And those building are on what is now the Legion and park/ball fields.

 

Also not the roof and "dormers" of the building to the right of the one I pointed out.   Pretty much the same between then and now.

That's a good guess. I've been caught in that same area. The only problem is that those houses in the front sit higher that the one that you have highlighted. That has never been the case with the park/legion area. It's always been a lowland.

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That's a good guess. I've been caught in that same area. The only problem is that those houses in the front sit higher that the one that you have highlighted. That has never been the case with the park/legion area. It's always been a lowland.

 

 

The buildings in the old picture are in a low land area, pretty much the only low land area of DuBois.   Note the bigger hills in the background, which are to the south.

 

Also, it wasn't uncommon for photographers to take pictures from higher positions, which in turn would alter the perspective of elevations.

 

The only place that can be in DuBois is from the YMCA, eastward towards the mall.

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Further evidence, the 1930's aerial picture.   The roof type of the northern most building is the same.

 

The building to the south has some similar features to the original picture, but could have be torn down and a new building in its place by 1930-something.   (wasn't uncommon back then for houses to only as 20, 30, 40 years before being replaced)

Untitled.jpg

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The buildings in the old picture are in a low land area, pretty much the only low land area of DuBois.   Note the bigger hills in the background, which are to the south.

 

Also, it wasn't uncommon for photographers to take pictures from higher positions, which in turn would alter the perspective of elevations.

 

The only place that can be in DuBois is from the YMCA, eastward towards the mall.

I agree. But the problem isn't perspective. If you look at the slope of the land those two house sit on (look particularly at the house on the left from the corner of the porch to the left of the photo), they clearly sit on a higher piece of ground. Without some major excavation, that limits where those two houses could be.

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I agree. But the problem isn't perspective. If you look at the slope of the land those two house sit on (look particularly at the house on the left from the corner of the porch to the left of the photo), they clearly sit on a higher piece of ground. Without some major excavation, that limits where those two houses could be.

 

 

You either build on a knoll or make you're own knoll when you build next to a stream.

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You either build on a knoll or make you're own knoll when you build next to a stream.

True, again. But it would have to be one heck of LARGE knoll. It also doesn't take into consideration that, even though that part of the city might seem like a low area, it's actually on a small ridge. Now look at the positioning of the house you pointed out earlier.

 

house.jpg

 

Those houses don't sit on a ridge.

 

Trust me, I thought I had this nailed too but, that ridge and other items that "should" be there, keep getting in the way.

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But that looks like water (a small stream, possibly flooded because it spills out onto the street and sidewalk) running between the two houses. The driveway that comes around the back of the left house must continue on the other side of the hedge or flower row along there.  

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I suspect the scene isn't in DuBois at all rather, Punxsutawney. The attached snippet of the 1912 Sanborn map shows a couple buildings, the SS Cosmas and Damian school and convent, which seem to be the right shape. I've added a circle to show where I think the photographer stood, and a couple lines to suggest the field of view.

 

The 1906 Sanborn map does not show anything in that part of town, so it's hard to know when the house next to my circle was built. It could be that in, say 1900, the photographer was standing in an open field across the street from the school and convent.  Looking at the church's web site, it appears the school and convent date from the late 19th century, so there would have been quite a few years for someone to have taken the photo in question before nearby houses were built.

 

 

punxsy_cosmos_damian.jpg

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I suspect the scene isn't in DuBois at all rather, Punxsutawney. The attached snippet of the 1912 Sanborn map shows a couple buildings, the SS Cosmas and Damian school and convent, which seem to be the right shape. I've added a circle to show where I think the photographer stood, and a couple lines to suggest the field of view.

 

The 1906 Sanborn map does not show anything in that part of town, so it's hard to know when the house next to my circle was built. It could be that in, say 1900, the photographer was standing in an open field across the street from the school and convent.  Looking at the church's web site, it appears the school and convent date from the late 19th century, so there would have been quite a few years for someone to have taken the photo in question before nearby houses were built.

 

 

The parochial school still stands today from that map, although it has be expanded upon.   The front of it doesn't resemble the brick building in the original picture.  It also has a flat room, unlike the pitched roof of the original picture.

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The existing parochial school apparently dates from 1919. According to the history of SSCD parish, the school was expanded in 1913 and again in 1919. Whether one of those expansions was in fact a replacement is not clear. In any event, what's there now wasn't what was there when women wore floor length dresses and folks drove around in buggies.

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As far as roof lines go, as an example, consider what the downtown Deposit Bank once had as a roof line: hip roof, with dormers and even gargoyles looking out over the street.  Roof was flattened, w/mansards added in 1979 (along with the brick facade).  Maybe someone from the historical society can post a pre-1979 pic?

 

Point is, what was shown on the photo may not be what exists today, if still standing.  Building(s) could have been enlarged, roofline drastically changed, etc.

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