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Birmingham, Alabama, circa 1905. "First National Bank, 20th Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
How effective it was to have your office name on the windows of your office, 5 or 6 stories up in the air. Did folks walking below keep looking up to find you?
How can we have a photo of a tall building without someone clinging to the outside?
Built in 1903 at 205 20th Street North, it's now the Frank Nelson Building. Upper floors still house offices.
As long as it's a worsted and not winter weight, a suit, even three piece, can be surprisingly comfortable until it gets very warm. For 30 degrees, the gentlemen would be wearing overcoats.
I'm personally guessing, moreover, that this is "not summer", as all over the South, men can and do buy linen blazers for June, July, and August. I see the ads every time I visit my dad near Hot Springs in the spring.
I am struck at how the building's owners allowed room tenants to choose their own sun awnings. You don't see much of that today--it's either all or nothing, and due to air conditioning, a lot of people simply use shades inside because they don't have to worry about how warm the sun is anymore.
The heavy clothing people wore in those days. I blame global cooling.
Seriously, can anyone explain?
The clothing.
[Cool temperatures. Wool. No polyesters yet. For starters. -tterrace]
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