Feb. 14, 1940: Workers at La Guardia Airport fought the elements to hold down a plane as a large storm brought seven inches of snow and winds gusting at 60 miles per hour to New York, hammering the eastern part of the country. Bus services were suspended and a swath of the West Side Highway closed, but the city seemed to prevail in “what appeared to be a winning effort to keep essential services functioning.” Photo: The New York Times
April 5, 1946: This image of the catacombs of the Metropolitan Museum of Art accompanied a letter to the editor published Dec. 7, 1970, that pointed out, citing a fact sheet issued by the museum, that “90 percent of the American paintings and sculptures, 55 percent of the objects assigned to the American wing, 55 percent of the European paintings and 70 percent of Western European art are not on view.” The writer suggests several alternative means to display hidden art. Photo: The New York Times
Aug. 4, 1946: Nearly a year after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, William L. Laurence wrote of the underwater tests at Bikini Atoll for The Times, “One is amazed to find the profound change in the public attitude toward the problem of the atomic bomb.” Because the test did not make a hole at the bottom of the ocean or kill everybody involved, Mr. Laurence’s concern was that the public saw this as “just another weapon.” He called for a reawakening of “consciousness to the fact” that this was the “greatest cataclysmic force ever released on earth. Unless some means are found for its control, it will inevitably lead to the destruction of civilization.” Photo: The New York Times
From a 1947 photo essay that showed various contemporary productions, the chorus of the Rogers and Hammerstein musical “Allegro” in rehearsals. Photo: The New York Times
April 7, 1946: The caption for this unpublished photograph, taken at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, simply, yet aptly, read, “catacombs of art.” Photo: The New York Times
Mar. 29, 1941: A lion roared what our lion lip-readers assured us was disapproval as he paced at rehearsal. Photo: The New York Times
July 8, 1947: “A symbol of Europe’s plight — A Roman black market in shoes,” was the caption. Postwar Europe, though boosted by the Marshall Plan, faced innumerable challenges in 1947. A lengthy piece by Raymond Aron assessed her situation through the prism of the black market: “Black market activities in Rome have become so widespread that they are now know as ‘free markets’. Although shoes are unrationed in Italy, the black market offers a large selection of army surplus and civilian shoes at a much lower price than those found in the stores.”
Photo: The New York Times
Feb. 19, 1941: On the Capitol steps, Senator James M. Mead of New York and Representative J. Parnell Thomas of New Jersey demonstrated “the maneuverability of the Army’s new midget scout cars.” Mr. Thomas told The Associated Press: “My heart was in my mouth.” Photo: The New York Times
Nov. 17, 1945: Celebrating the first birthday of a 15-ton model of the Statue of Liberty in Times Square, which was erected by the War Activities Committee of the film industry to encourage interest in war bonds. The statue was declared a hazard two months later, according to an article in The Times, and scheduled for demolition after engineers found a crack running from the base to the top. Photo: The New York Times
March 1940: Before spring arrived in New York, The Times ran a photo spread of circus performers putting the final polish on their acts in their winter quarters in Sarasota, Fla. Here, the caption said, “an aerial troupe practices in a treetop setting very different from that of Madison Square Garden or the ‘big top.’ ” Photo: The New York Times
