Havana Cuba, Street Scene 1920s

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Photo circa 1920s. Street scene, Havana, Cuba.

Availability status:  SOLD            Size:  3 and 1/4 x 4 and 3/8″

The street name is unknown, but this is a wonderful glimpse back in time, circa 1920s Havana. Note the cobblestone street, streetcar, the rear-view of the smaller vehicle of the rubber-tired variety 😉  the beautiful wrought iron railings, the very tall double doors on the corner building on our left, and the people going about their day. Funny that everyone in the photo, except for those appearing in the extreme background, are facing us. Check out the guy partially in our view on the far right. He’s easy to miss!

Spanish-born hat maker, Evaristo Tanda

We’re not seeing Havana city directories for this time-period online at present, though maybe someone will post a comment which will help pinpoint the street, but in any case, the most prominent business sign in the photo shows:   “Evaristo Tanda – Fabricante de Gorras”  translating as “Evaristo Tanda – Manufacturer of Caps.”  Evaristo was born in Spain about 1885. He appears on several ship passenger lists; the 1915 and 1917 record that he was single, occupation Merchant, and reveal that he had cousins, Angel and Francisco Puentes, in Matanzas, Cuba (could be city or province) the city being located on the northern coast of Cuba (about an hour and a half east from Havana, in present-day drive time.)

Below, partial view of the 1915 ship passenger list for S.S. Saratoga, en route from Cuba to New York, showing Evaristo Tanda’s last permanent residence as Havana, and nearest relative, cousin Angel Puentes:

1915-passinger-list-for-evaristo-tanda

An earlier S.S. Morro Castle

The 1917 passenger list for Evaristo Tanda and others, records their arrival from Cuba to New York, on Morro Castle. Research shows this was likely the passenger steamer built October 1900, original owner NY & Cuba Mail, which was scrapped in 1926, definitely not to be confused with the ship whose name became well-known (at least at that time) after the terrible 1934  Morro Castle tragedy, in which that vessel was destroyed by fire under mysterious circumstances which resulted in the loss of 137 members (accounts vary) of passenger and crew.

Below, Evaristo Tanda’s 1917 arrival in New York from Cuba on the earlier steamer Morro Castle:

morro-castle-ship-record-for-evaristo-tanda   

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Above, believed to the ship named on the 1917 record, the 6,004 ton passenger steamer Morro Castle (1900 – 1926) original owner N.Y. & Cuba Mail. (Photo courtesy Library of Congress.)

Below, Evaristo’s arrival in Key West, Florida on steamer Cuba in 1925.

1925-evaristo-tanda-passenger-list

Sources:  Year: 1915; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 2423; Line: 10; Page Number: 109. Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957.

Year: 1917; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 2512; Line: 5; Page Number: 131. Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957.

SS Moro Castle (1930) n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Morro_Castle_(1930). (accessed September 18, 2016).

Cramp Shipbuilding, Philadelphia PA. September 3, 2014, updated. http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/cramp.htm. shipbuildinghistory.com. (accessed September 18, 2016).

S.S. Morro Castle, Cramps Shipyards, Philadelphia. Detroit Publishing Company Photograph Collection. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. (accessed September 18, 2016).

The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Series Title: Alien Passenger List of Vessels Arriving at Key West, Florida; NAI Number: 2790468; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 – 2004; Record Group Number: 85. (Ancestry.com. Florida, Passenger Lists, 1898-1963.)

Just Missed The Rain

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Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked February 3, 1909 from Stockton, California.

Price:  $12.00

I love these type where the sender has written in their own caption, so to speak….And for me, this should be titled,  “Blessed Rain”  since we don’t get enough of it here in California. Reminds me of a bumper sticker on the back of a truck that I see often, when driving to work, which says,  “Pray for rain”  and it tickles me that I think the exact same response every time, that of  “I always do.” 

Anyway, this is a lovely, slightly comical silhouette type postcard postmarked in 1909, but the sender was still thinking 1908…it was February, and he or she was not used to writing the new year yet. It’s wonderful how much is going on in this scene…the couple kissing under the umbrella; the ladies running to the street car which is already full; the people that were prepared and have their umbrellas, and the poor guys who were caught unprepared, getting soaked, one looking a little zombie-ish, and the other one, bent over staring at the pavement. Is he marveling at the amount of water that is pouring off of him, or just thinking,  “Gawd!”  I like to think a combination of both. Not to forget to mention the kissing couple on the streetcar; the guys watching the ladies running, the one has his hand up, either waving or trying to signal to them, “Hey, the car’s full…it’s not going to work.”

The sender wrote:

“2 – 3 – 1908   Your card received. I am bound for Sonora – I’m in Stockton now – address Sonoma Ave – M.H.C.”  and addressed the postcard to:

“Roy J. Andrus – 1608 – 48 Ave – Ocean Beach, S. F.     Sea Shells”

Sea Shells?…Maybe the addressee was supposed to be saving sea shells for M.H.C. or it’s some kind of running joke, or any number of other possibilities. (I don’t see anything coming up regarding a district or neighborhood under this name.) But the address is clearly a San Franciscan one. This exact street number doesn’t show, but it’s residential, near Lawton Street. 48th runs parallel to the Coast and the addressee would have lived just a short walk from the beach. Lucky guy!…And just think, this was just a little less than three years after the Great San Francisco Earthquake, which was April 18, 1906.

After looking at the census records and city directories, it appears most likely that the addressee is John R. Andrus on the 1910 Federal Census. He is divorced, occupation Cutter at a paper box factory, born in California, about 1882, and living with his parents, John and Gertrude Andrus. The address given is 1612 48th Avenue, so 1608 might have been a designation for a separate entrance or the numbering could have changed or even have been incorrectly written by the sender. By 1911 Roy had changed occupations and was working as a manager for the Golden Gate Butter Co., and by 1912 was listed as a Horse Dealer.

Sources:  Year: 1910; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 39, San Francisco, California; Roll: T624_100; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 0241; FHL microfilm: 1374113. (Ancestry.com)

Crocker-Langley San Francisco Directory, 1911, p. 192. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989.

Crocker-Langley San Francisco Directory, 1912, p. 193. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989.