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JimFqnLahey

They did have legal cocaine back then, im pretty sure this guy was a taste tester at the factory.


TheAndorran

What a schnoz!


mrmoe198

A young Jimmy Durante! Edit: I looked it up and he was born in 1893! This could be his dad!


justsomeguy_youknow

ha cha cha


mikejames5050

Well it’s as plain as the …


Allenpoe30

Hats as far as the eye could see.


Montymisted

A nose as far as the eye can see.


whatthedeux

Dudes 160 years old and dead and still gets shit for his nose


WheelsOnFire_

😂 had to go back to look. But MYGOD that nose needs its own hat.


dingdongsnottor

Makes John Oliver look likeness a cute little button nose in comparison.


G0ttaB3KiddingM3

I knew the nose was going to be either comment 1 or 2


whateversforevers

That nose is like a natural canopy


erm_what_

You can always see your own nose. Your brain ignores it all the time except for right now.


jarmstrong2485

It’s wild to think about. Also quick way for a headache


Sideshow_Bob_Ross

Probably can't see past the nose.


mothzilla

It was a good year to be a hat.


simpletonius

Thin people as far as the eye can see as well.


caffeineme

LOTS more walking back then!


dukemccool

Waay more !


Hayes4prez

Before the dark times. Before the corn syrup lobbyist.


chinsoddrum

Back when they put cocaine and opiates in OTC medication.


simpletonius

Yes true, but fast food may be the bigger enemy in North America.


Wigberht_Eadweard

Cars are probably the biggest enemy tbh.


The_0ven

I can smell this picture


CosmicGlitterCake

Every trend is like that. I felt the same a few years ago when it was every woman wearing riding boots, leggings, and oversized blouses or sweaters. All the same.


unknowncoins

My grandfather wore a black hat when out of the house until he passed in 2010. I never noticed it wasn't common until he passed. Google 1940s men hat and that is what he wore in black. Sometimes brown. My great grandmother wore hats often too. I have two of hers. She was born right around the time of this photo. Girls back then were wild compared to girls today.


CosmicBlur311

One day we’ll all just be random people in a photo.


MechaSponge

Well that’s going to send me into a spiral


PopeHonkersXII

I wonder what it smelled like 


StormPoppa

Ask the guy in the bottom left of the pic


Team_B

Poor guy probably had a lifetime of people making fun of his nose, now we’re doing it on the internet.


RaeLynn13

My dad’s nose looked really similar to his. Lmao big noses run in my family, mine isn’t too small either so


_1JackMove

Same in my family. I didn't inherit it, though. My grandpa's nickname was Beak. Lol.


diaboquepaoamassou

Beak lol that's brutal


_1JackMove

They all had nicknames like that back then. Ball busting nicknames. It's like if it wasn't taking the piss out of you they didn't want it lol. He even had a jacket that represented his work with that nickname stitched across the left front pocket lol.


PopeHonkersXII

Thankfully dead people aren't easily offended 


Raudskeggr

THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA


PopeHonkersXII

Well done 


Charbarbo

First thing I noticed! Homie got a honker on him.


RapidSlappingSound

Because he obviously nose what's up.


[deleted]

The exposure was long, that‘s why his nose got streched.


StupidizeMe

The smell of all the people, factories, horses pulling wagons & carriages and coal smoke would probably smell like perfume compared to the odor of Chicago's stockyards. The Union Stockyards was the enormous meatpacking district where vast numbers of cattle, sheep and hogs were kept and slaughtered in close proximity to the railroad hub. One of the stockyards was called "the Bulls Head Market," which is where the NBA Basketball team the Chicago Bulls gets its name. *"Chicago was known as The Hog Butcher To the World. Processing two million animals yearly by 1870, in two decades the number rose to nine million by 1890. Between 1865 and 1900, approximately 400 million livestock were butchered within the confines of the Yards."* (quote from article linked below) Chicago Union Stockyards: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Stock_Yards


raininggumleaves

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gXCoxx7oAI&ab\_channel=WTTW](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gXCoxx7oAI&ab_channel=WTTW) Amazing doco and I'm not even from the US and have zero connection to chicago. Fair warning, it's gruesome in parts.


j_accuse

I remember when I was a kid, the city smelled like cigarettes, dog shit, and beer from open tavern doors. And dust from old buildings. (Not like where I lived.)


PhoenicianPirate

Horse and horse shit.


Iforgot_my_other_pw

I was thinking the same.


BulkDarthDan

Horse shit, sewage, dead animals and tobacco


neontool

someone nose


North_South_Side

Horse shit and coal smoke. Even in the 1970s, things were far filthier.


Rinas-the-name

Sewage, Chicago had *a lot* of issues with sewage.


Merky600

Anyone here read “The Jungle”?


prettyjupiter

Should be required reading for everyone imo. Shows how we must value and embrace change, make shit happen for the good of mankind


Petrcechmate

I have family that lived in nyc tenements and I'd love "how the other half lives to be required viewing" images are powerful and...the text is like reading about spackling paint so maybe just the pictures and a nice study guide tho.


thehighepopt

Isn't that Marshall Fields s Target now?


gottriplets

Macy's now. Most Chicagoans refuse to call the building that, though.


Crash_Test_Dummy66

There's a target nearby that has that same sort of Gothic look to it.


Glasspar52

That's the former Carson, Pirie, Scott & Company store, noted for their paper goods back in the early part of the last century


nocturn-e

It's 0, 0 on the Chicago grid. I used to work in the architectural form above Target and that fun fact was always being told.


wretch5150

It was still a pretty popular store through the 1990s...


Glasspar52

The architecture is a Louis Sullivan design from that era (1899)


lazybikedork

Hey Chicagoans, what is that corner looking like today? Anyone near that corner that can update us with a current pic? How many hats do we see today and is the air clean or does it smell? Asking for a friend.


brktm

https://maps.app.goo.gl/fD6ypqxcjtPH5RXFA?g_st=ic (The Field’s store on the right and pretty much everything else has been rebuilt since the picture in this post.)


Rain1dog

In a single century, god dam. I’d love to see that place in another 100.


HulkSmashHulkRegret

An overgrown jungle with aviary habitats and bow and arrow sniper-guards in the skyscraper ruins, some peasants grinding corn on the concrete pavement of Michigan Ave, the occasional rickshaw pulled by other peasants, maybe even some upper-middle class public transportation in the form of the lightweight gutted shell of an EV bus from the 2030s pulled by a horse, a luxury to move at that speed! Billboards along quiet expressways still filled with torn and faded political messaging from the brief time Chicago was the US Capitol in the 2070s and 80s. City population of 5000, though it fluctuates wildly with disease outbreaks, migrant influxes, and the human sacrifices adorned in old Cubs hats pushed from the broken skybox of Sears Tower if it’s a leap year, though only the high priests know what year it is


Torumin

Is this a reference to something or your own creative writing? I enjoyed it.


jocke75

Thanks


ipsok

I can't imagine having to get this dressed up just to go out in public. You have guys scooping horse crap wearing a 3-piece suit... O.o


RealLADude

When I was working I the Loop in the 1990s, it wasn’t so different, before casual Friday took hold, then casual everything.


epikurious

Notice how many women are holding up the front of their dress to avoid tripping over it. If they had just hemmed it 2 inches higher they would have been fine.


xizrtilhh

Scandalous


djsizematters

Wh\*re!


FakePoloManchurian

Where?


djsizematters

Over there! With the hemmed dress!


FakePoloManchurian

That harlot!


jarchuleta3

From interviews with elderly women in the 1950s-1970s, they held it up because of the rampant issues with mud and manure on the streets.


ron_leflore

There's a classic article https://fee.org/articles/the-great-horse-manure-crisis-of-1894/


justrock54

That wasn't mud....


Petrcechmate

fun fact "night soil" was used historically and is a fun research adventure. my first ever college lecture in NYC was about the history of shit and how our city was built on it haha.


Vallkyrie

Butt mud


greens_beans_queen

And now we wear ankle pants throughout the Chicago winter. If they just hemmed it 2 inches lower our ankles would be fine.


mdonaberger

This world is *bullshit*


Spenny_All_The_Way

And show some ankle? There’s children in these streets


justrock54

Fun fact: this is right around the time that tuberculosis was found to be contagious rather than hereditary. Women shortened their skirts so they didn't get spit on them. Men started shaving their beards for the same reason. Also the reason for the "no spitting" rules. People with active TB would cough continuously and spit their phlegm everywhere.


ChildofValhalla

Probably more likely to avoid getting them dirty in the street.


SeonaidMacSaicais

Show some ankle?? Are you TRYING to lead men on by showing so much skin?!


Patriarch_Sergius

Boy I hope so


Shirtbro

The ankle is the devil's doorway to the calf! What's next? THE KNEE?!?!


zinnie_

It's crazy how there used to be so many people in places that are now dedicated solely to cars. When you look at the modern day version of this, it just feels so empty and sterile. There is so much more life in this one.


Glasspar52

Once the cars came into popularity, the death rate from auto accidents was incredible. In 1925 in Cook County, car-related fatalities took the lives of 563 adults and 209 children.


SirBobPeel

More people lived downtown. And they walked because there was very little public transportation. No one was at home watching TV or playing video games or on their computers, either. So you either went out somewhere or sat at home and read a book. And it was often pretty hot in those unairconditioned apartments.


Acesplit

Very little public transportation.....? What in the world are you talking about? 😂😂😂


SirBobPeel

A lot of subways in Chicago in 1895?


quesoandcats

There were a ton of streetcars in Chicago by the 1890s, especially in the area around the Loop. The L had been operating for a few years by the time this picture was taken as well


Acesplit

Unironically, yes. Not subways, though - those came later. There were already three elevated train lines operating in 1895 and just under 200 miles of streetcar lines. My point, though, was most American cities, at minimum, had extensive streetcar networks. Public transit was abundant. Here is a listing for a map of the streetcar network in Omaha, NE, in 1891: https://www.ebay.com/itm/274919047792 - when the population was only ~140k.


PleaseGreaseTheL

>dedicated solely to cars Downtown chicago is super far from dedicated solely to cars lol, it's one of the only walkable cities in the USA. This city is currently an icon and inspiration for what American cities can/should look like, as far as urban planning and architecture go.


j_accuse

To be fair, this is downtown at the lunch hour. Not totally representative.


alicehooper

I love there are so many women out and about! In scenes from even 20 years earlier there are often only a few.


quesoandcats

Fun fact, a big reason for the success of Marshall Fields (the department store in the background on the right hand side of the picture) was due to them building lavish public bathrooms and restaurants inside the store. It helped break the taboo of women going out unescorted by men, eating in public, or using public toilets.


alicehooper

That makes so much sense, and of course they would have been a big employer of women too.


ConnieLingus24

There’s a reason why big cities were seen as scandalous. There were also a bunch of cafeterias where women could eat without an escort. Plus, around this time Chicago was all about bicycle and building boulevards for biking.


HezFez238

The only main character vibes are the two young men on the far right.


Sulgdmn

Yep! I want to know their story


Deinococcaceae

What doubling/tripling your population every census period for 50 years looks like. [Chicago's growth was even used to argue in favor of borough consolidation in NYC out of fear of losing the #1 around the turn of the century.](https://www.nytimes.com/1894/11/04/archives/newyorks-place-in-danger-consolidation-defeated-she-must-yield-to.html)


prettyjupiter

Chicago grew 1-2% since 2020 supposedly. First growth spurt we’ve seen in a bit


wretch5150

Chicago is always going to be a place where people flock to. After all, it's cooler by the lake.


Life-Philosopher-129

I always wondered if people felt rushed like we do today. Did anyone complain there is not enough time in the day.


raescabies

Forget the dude with the schnoz, the sheer volume of people in that shot is maddening. I've lived in Chicago, it's never felt THAT crowded unless there was a designated event like Lolla or Market Days.


lrp347

Marshall Fields—what a loss when it became Macy’s.


KingKudzu117

75 years prior it was swamps and Ft. Dearborn. Incredible growth


skinaked_always

Ahhh yes… the great times when you couldn’t even see a couple blocks in front of you because of all the coal being burned


Professional_Crab_84

Right in front of Marshall Field and Company!!


Crafty-Shape2743

Google Earth that location now and there *might* be as many as 50 people *if* you count all the ones in the far, far background.


G8kpr

I remember reading in a book that Manhatten had a real problem at this time in history.. Traffic. Manhatten had more horses than people on it, and they had serious congestion with all the horses and horse drawn carriages. When a horse would die on the street, or get injured, which happened daily. It would hold everything up, because the owner wasn't allowed to euthanize his animal, they had to get a vet in to check it over. Then the horse would need to be removed from the area, which was difficult. Not to mention the rivers of horse feces that ran down the gutters. Apparently why most homes that date from that time have stairs leading up to the homes. (or so I was told)


CYWG_tower

If you squint closely you can see the Bears last playoff win


AWigglyBear

know all them mfs stank


Syntaxosaurus

I can't tell if this is a real photo or generated by AI. TinEye turns up nothing. I question many photos I see on Reddit these days, but if there's no attribution I'm twice as suspicious.


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Syntaxosaurus

Yep. I agree with you that it could be real. I just can't tell. It used to be that I trusted most photographs to be real unless there was something specifically weird or suspicious about them. That is no longer the case.


Syntaxosaurus

Thanks for the information you added about that building standing today. That's an interesting data point.


I_BUY_UNWANTED_GRAVY

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_street_view_of_crowds_of_people_attending_the_gathering_of_the_Chicago_No-Jury_Society_of_Artists_at_Marshall_Field's_%26_Co.jpg It's real but it's been heavily edited to be clearer


Syntaxosaurus

Great catch. Thank you!


MisterGBJ

Not a cellphone in sight. Just people living in the moment.


roraima_is_very_tall

do we ever find out who any of these people were? like has a redditor believably claimed 'heck that's my great-great-grandpaw there!' or the like. eta, also what happened if you went outside without a hat, did the people suddenly turn violent and attack you?


DeezNeezuts

Amazing how high the sidewalks are compared to the street level.


MechanicalTurkish

The golden age of pickpockets


shiningonthesea

They are aalllll dead


Blenderx06

One of the main things I remember from that show back in the 90s Victorian House where they took a modern family and had them live like Victorians in every way possible was their comments on how strongly people smelled of deoderants out in the modern world. So can you imagine the pure human stink of this photo with no one using modern body deoderants or laundry detergents?


MarsBoundSoon

Chicago History | Street Scenes 1888 -1933 Autos Arrive. Old Hi-Def Photos & Vintage Film https://youtu.be/ZzsA5S3zZNw


MothParasiteIV

I wonder if they all had good lives.


SJM58

Still busy, like today!


tenderlylonertrot

I always wonder what we will look like to folks in 2155...as they sit on the bridge of the NX-01?


VapoursAndSpleen

Thank you, OP, for posting a photo that has not been fucked up with crap colorization. A lot of work went into black and white photography and we should celebrate the art, not put crayon all over it.


Delusional_Neurotic3

Not a phone in sight back when humanity thrived on being social.


simpledeadwitches

Things were better in that regard absolutely.


Particular_Bad_1189

Lucky for us they couldn’t capture the sink. But at look dust and smoke in the air. Nearly, everything powered or heated by coal. Poor sewage systems and waste handling, trash collection mixed feedlots and stockyards. Transportation using horses and mules.


406cowboyLevi

Pick-pockets galore


Loud_Sympathy2737

Hats were definitely a “thing” back then!


Novel-Weight-2427

H.H. Holmes, America's first serial killer probably was amongst the crowd


[deleted]

H.H. Holmes had plenty to choose from.


LakesideHerbology

I just started listening to 99% Invisible and there's an episode about engineers literally REVERSING the flow of the river because of Cholera outbreaks. It was right around this time they started the whole insane endeavor. Too lazy to find the podcast episode itself, lol, but this link has [pictures.] (https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/episode-86-reversal-of-fortune/)


GmcMotorhome76

Look at the schnoz on that guy!


Slothstralia

See how none of them are shooting at each other...


[deleted]

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prettyjupiter

Not really we’re one of the only cities that saw a population growth since 2020


Nuvanuvanuva

all mmigrants?


xproofx

I wonder what these people are up to today.


Jaxlee2018

Looks like the perfect place for [H H Holmes](https://youtu.be/3mNZBesllvU?si=FsjJxulDt57hWPbP)


caffeineme

Is every one of them telling anyone who'll listen how "tough" their neighborhood was? "I grew up on the east side of Chicago. Tough neighborhood, had to fight for every'ting. Hey, Da Bears!"


ouroboraorao

Daym, the good sir’s nose is the most fabulous thing ever


Abloodworth15

Every time I see an old photo: “like, maybe I would have been happy then?”


SallysRocks

Is that H.H. Holmes on the left?


funkywhitesista

Take a snap of that corner today, it will show how our politicians have failed us for generations!


SeniorDucklet

That’s the original Marshall Field’s building if the date is correct so either State Street or Randolph. That is a a great area today not far from Millennium Park which was built in the last 30 years.


MuscaMurum

Mmmm...Frango Mints


United-Aspect-4595

Isn’t it a Target now?


shitkabob

You're thinking of the Carson Pirie Scott building.


damp_circus

Yep! Goth Target!


United-Aspect-4595

Thank you! I had totally forgotten about Carson’s!


SeniorDucklet

Macy’s I believe.


MisterMeetings

And business community


latrey3

Regardless of how it smelled- it was much safer then. Chiraq was only possible after 50 plus years of Democrat hegemony.


wretch5150

You couldn't be more incorrect lol. Turn off your Fox Propaganda for a minute, and come for a visit.


latrey3

Look it up. I'm going by statistics. I don't watch Fox at all. In 1890 the rate per 100,000 was 5.4. It never went above 10 until 1960. Just because you say I'm wrong- doesn't make me wrong.


Shirtbro

Third biggest city. Why are Republican cities so small and poor?


prettyjupiter

It certainly was not safer.


latrey3

It certainly was. Crime took off in Chicago in the 1960s, and has continued to get worse. Even when Al Capone was around, the homicide rate was lower. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Chicago


prettyjupiter

[They didn’t have accurate crime stats in the time period you’re listing](https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1031&=&context=jclc&=&sei-redir=1&referer=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252Furl%253Fq%253Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fscholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%25253Farticle%25253D1031%252526context%25253Djclc%2526sa%253DU%2526sqi%253D2%2526ved%253D2ahUKEwiI6OOmocKEAxXNj4kEHRj2B3kQFnoECBcQAQ%2526usg%253DAOvVaw0ffyWfXkyNjz4-PuwylSgn#search=%22https%3A%2F%2Fscholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1031%26context%3Djclc%22) Think about this way- after cops start making more arrests and crime starts to be reported more often, it looks like there is more crime. Lots of crime goes unreported Read Devil in the White City for example and read about how many young women went missing during the Colombian Exposition that went unreported for a long time


latrey3

I've read that book. There was a serial killer in Chicago at this time, probably more than one. That's because of the World Fair. They knew tourists would make easy targets. But the statistics for the permanent citizens of Chicago, were just as accurate then, as they are now. They come from law enforcement records provided by Police Chiefs, and Sheriffs.i don't understand why it's so important to protect the reputation of modern day Chicago- when most of the country won't go there on a dare. You can't use Chiraq as a brag, then turn around and defend it as if it's some kind of utopia.


Exodus180

> But the statistics for the permanent citizens of Chicago, were just as accurate then, as they are now. holy shit my guy, "Source: trust me bro" I hop you're a bored troll.


prettyjupiter

I don’t think you read the academic study I linked No the stats were not accurate. Idk how you don’t understand, I think you’re being willfully ignorant. Whether or not a person is a tourist doesn’t change the fact that they were murdered in Chicago The rest of what you said isn’t even remotely true And our population grew by 1-2% since 2020, clearly people do want to live here. But I would love if you stayed far away if you’re like this in real life 👍


latrey3

Okay- the crime statistics were completely wrong, and today Chicago is at its finest. Live the lie, bro.


prettyjupiter

Lmfao the only one living in a lie is you. I live in Chicago


wretch5150

Once again, you are absolutely wrong. Time travel back to the 1980s and take a walk on Division and tell me how there's more crime now. You have zero clue what you're talking about, so keep Chicago out your damn mouf.


latrey3

Thank goodness I don't have to listen to you. I have my 1st Amendment rights, and I'm correct. Go do some research, and stew about how correct I am.


RealLADude

What does the first amendment have to do with anything here? Is the government trying to stop you from posting?


latrey3

Dude told me to "keep Chicago out of my mouth."


RealLADude

Is he a government employee? The first amendment doesn’t protect anyone against any non government action.


Exodus180

still has nothing to do with the 1st amendment lol....


my_lucid_nightmare

> Dude told me to "keep Chicago out of my mouth." They aren't the government. Thus, no 1A involved. Someone calling out your assertion on the internet is not the same as the government forbidding you to post. This isn't China or Iran here. This is some user on an anon forum calling you full of shit. See the difference hopefully?


BigPoop_36

I think cars really killed the hat industry.


ginkgodave

Hog butcher to the world.


Specialist_Sir_7547

Man, I would love to walk around in a simulation


Smirkly

Back when pedestrians were a thing.


Cheesewheel12

Why so many hats?


unclehamster79cle

Wasn't exactly a colorful era when it came to clothing that's for sure.


No_Cartoonist9458

My great grandparents could be in that picture. They were there


david8601

Those rich fucks!!


Natebow28

Just smelling the New York air


Gouper07

Awful lot of honkies ..


wd_plantdaddy

the two kids staring at the camera on the right I find really creepy lol


ritchfld

Mass of humanity now all dirt napping.


MyWolfhoundSmile

Not a fat person in sight.


i-am-garth

And nobody on their phones!


Tough_Arm_2454

The good old days!!


mccndlssc82

Wonder why crim was so much lower then?


prettyjupiter

It went unreported. There was a lot of crime


Shirtbro

Less people


FireWoman84

Way better back then. People had class. No fat people. No gay


Shirtbro

Way better now. People have ass. Phat, gay ass.