Then and Now

A "photo that was taken in the town you currently live in" for the Vintage Photos Theme Park . I purchased this photo a year or two ago at an area antique mall, and it was only when I got it home that I realized that it showed a monument near where I live in Middletown, Pennsylvania . Middletown--named for its location midway along the old road between Lancaster and Carlisle--is situated along the Susquehanna River about 10 miles from Harrisburg, the state capital, and is less than 5 miles from the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station , site of the 1979 nuclear accident . Middletown is also in the midst of a south-central Pennsylvania tourist region that includes destinations like the Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch farmlands in Lancaster County , the Gettysburg Battlefield in Adams County , and the town of Hershey --known for chocolate manufacturing and an amusement park --in Dauphin County , the same county where Middletown is located. Founded in 1755, Middletown is one of the oldest communities in the county, so it's not surprising that this Revolutionary War monument was erected and dedicated in 1931 with six-year-old William Lemon and his three-year-old sister Mary standing by in colonial costumes during the dedication ceremony on October 28. The monument still exists today next to St. Peter's Kierch , an historic Lutheran church dating to 1767. For a recent photo of the monument, mouse over the image above. For additional views of the Revolutionary War monument and St. Peter's Kierch, select the thumbnail images below. The inscription on the monument: "Erected by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Swatara-Pine Ford Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. This tablet is in commemoration of the services of Revolutionary War soldiers buried at Middletown or immediate vicinity. This marker is dedicated in grateful recognition of their patriotism, valor, and fidelity." The rest of the tablet lists the names of 17 commissioned officers, 7 non-commissioned officers, and 134 privates. Typewritten note pasted to the back of the photo: "Picture of marker and children who unveiled the tablet, October 28th, 1931: William Kemp Lemon 3rd, aged 6 years, Mary Katheryn Lemon, aged 3 years. "Children of the American Revolution, descendants of four of the Revolutionary soldiers whose names appear on the tablet: Joseph Flora, Sr., John Bomberger, Capt. Frederick Rathwon, John Blattenberger. "This memorial erected by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Swatara Pine Ford Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution in commemoration of the services of the Revolutionary Soldiers buried in Middletown and vicinity."

For additional views of the Revolutionary War monument and the historic St. Peter's Kierch (St. Peter's Church) that stands next to it, select the thumbnail images below.

For additional views of the Revolutionary War monument and the historic St. Peter's Kierch (St. Peter's Church) that stands next to it, select the thumbnail images below.

Text of the blue and yellow historical marker: "Saint Peter's Kierch. Cornerstone laid July 13, 1767, and dedicated by Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, patriarch of American Lutheranism. Church erected on ground provided by George Fisher, the founder of Middletown, for annual rental of 'one grain of wheat.' Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission." For additional views of St. Peter's Kierch (St. Peter's Church) and the Revolutionary War monument that stands next to it, select the thumbnail images below.

See St. Peter's Kierch on Google Maps for a street view of the church. For additional views of St. Peter's Kierch (St. Peter's Church) and the Revolutionary War monument that stands next to it, select the thumbnail images below.

"Old Lutheran Church and Cemet[e]ry, Middletown, Pa." An old real photo postcard. This church still stands along North Union Street in Middletown today and is known as St. Peter's Kierch or St. Peter's Church. For a similar street view of the church today, see St. Peter's Kierch on Google Maps . For additional views of St. Peter's Kierch and the Revolutionary War monument that stands near it, select the thumbnail images below.

A photo of mail carriers, post offices, mailboxes, etc. for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This is an early twentieth-century real photo postcard showing four men and a boy posing in front of a building. The boy is holding the reins of two horses hitched to a wagon, and a variety of items, including benches, barrels, and tools, are visible on the porch and on the ground in front of the building. After scanning and enlarging the photo, I was able to read the lettering on the window in the middle of the building and discovered that it served as the "Leck Kill Post Office" (see a close-up view of the window ). Leck Kill is a small community located in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, and its Wikipedia entry indicates that the post office there closed in 2004. Amazingly enough, I was able to find a 2009 view of the building on Google Maps (see my composite image of old and new views ). A 2018 online real estate listing provided additional details: "Property at one time was used for the local post office with a store and tavern. Presently used as a home with apartment and still has P.O. space." So it's possible that the post office in the building was still in use as late as 2004.

Two men stand in front of the "Leck Kill Post Office" in Leck Kill, Pennsylvania, as indicated by the lettering in the window. The building also contained a store with some merchandise, such as brooms and a watering can, stored on the porch. For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard and a composite image of old and new views of the post office building.

This is a composite image of old and new views of a building in Leck Kill, Pennsylvania, that served as a post office, store, and tavern. The top view is from an early twentieth-century real photo postcard, and the bottom view is a Google Maps capture from 2009. See the full version of the real photo postcard for more information.

A nineteenth-century advertising card for Spangler & Rich, a store in Marietta , Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Amazingly enough, the building that housed the store is still standing, and its façade hasn't changed dramatically in over 100 years. A laundromat occupies the building today. See a side-by-side comparison of the image on the card and a recent Google Street View (from 2011) of the building . Spangler & Rich No. 64 Market Street, Marietta, Pa., Dealers in Dry Goods, Clothing, Groceries, &c. Fish--Carpets and Floor Oil Clothes. Queensware and Wall Papers--Salt. Express Steam Print, Lancaster, Pa. Crosscup, Phila.

This is a side-by-side comparison of a nineteenth-century advertising card with a Google Street View (from 2011) of the building depicted on the card. It's quite surprising to discover that the façade of the building, which was a store in the late 1800s and today is a laundromat, hasn't changed much in over 100 years. See a second Google Street View from a slightly different angle for a better view of the signs and window on the first floor.

Postcard published by Rudolph Bros., New York City, and postmarked Aug. 26, 1922. According to the Butler Volunteer Fire Department 's Web page, the Bartholdi Hose Company No. 2 was established in Butler, New Jersey, in 1908, and the postcard view of its fire engine and firehouse (above) dates to 1922 or earlier. When I checked Google Maps, I was amazed to find that the Bartholdi Hose Company , as recorded by Google in 2013 (see screen capture below), looks much the same as it did 90 years earlier!

This is a screen capture from Google Maps showing the Bartholdi Hose Company in 2013. For more information, see the postcard view of the Bartholdi Hose Company, Butler, New Jersey, ca. 1920 (below).

An obstructed view for the Incredibly Boring Postcards group . "H-13. View of Underpass and First Methodist Church, Henderson, N.C." A linen postcard postmarked in Henderson, N.C., Jan. 6, 1958. Perhaps the underpass was intended to be the focus of this postcard, but it seems odd how it blocks the view of the church. Check out this recent Google Maps Street View of the same scene: Underpass and Church, Henderson, N.C. . For an unobstructed view of the church, see this image on Panoramio: First United Methodist Church, Henderson, NC .

A taken unawares photo (shots of people who clearly have no idea they're being snapped) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A photo of the W. L. Zimmerman and Sons grocery store in Intercourse , Pennsylvania, shows an Amishman with his horse and buggy (mouse over the image above for an enlargement that makes it easier to see the man in his dark clothes). Since the Amish religion prohibits photography, it's likely that the man in this photo was either unaware that he was being photographed or else he did spot the photographer and turned his back to the camera. As scholar Donald B. Kraybill explained in a Top Ten FAQ about the Amish for the PBS Web site, "Amish churches forbid individuals to pose for face-on photos for two reasons. First, they cite the second of the Bible's Ten Commandments: 'Thou shalt not make… any graven image, or any likeness of any thing….' (Exodous 20:14). Second, in a communal society that values humility, posing for photos is a sign of pride that calls attention to oneself and rubs against Amish beliefs about the importance of deferring and yielding to others." It's ironic, then, that this grocery store appeared in the 1985 film Witness when actor Harrison Ford, who played the part of an undercover detective dressed in Amish garb, made a call from a telephone booth located on the porch of the store. That was a later phone booth, since the booth visible in this photo is the small but elaborate building situated between the buggy and the Gulf gas pumps (it has a "Zimmerman's Store" sign on one side and a very faint "Enterprise Telephone Co." sign painted above its front door). Unfortunately, Zimmerman's grocery store (the sign partially visible beyond the phone booth probably refers to "[Lanco] Service Stores," a local affiliation of independent grocers) went out of business in 2014. The store's role in Witness was described in " Lancaster County Grocery Store Featured in Harrison Ford Movie Closes Its Doors ," an article by Tim Stuhldreher that appeared on LancasterOnline, April 3, 2014. Check out Google's street view of this same scene, which dates to 2011 when the store was still open.

For information about this photo, see An Amishman and His Buggy at Zimmerman's Store, Intercourse, Pa. :

"Friendly Tavern, Route 11-15, north of Harrisburg, Pa." The Friendly Tavern was located in Perry County , Pennsylvania, along a stretch of highway where U.S. Route 11 combines with U.S. Route 15 . The building that housed the taven is now part of an establishment called TJ's (see the Google Maps Street View from 2015).

Snapshot of an oversized covered wagon (or prairie schooner) and concrete oxen located along the Lincoln Highway in Kearney, Nebraska. For more recent images, see the Giant Vehicles page (scroll down to the "Covered Wagon, Kearney, NE" section) on RoadsideArchitecture.com and a Google Maps Street View of the location.