Yep. I’m messing around a bit with the look of this site. Let me know what works, what doesn’t, okay?
Category: Radio Girl
Sounds of New Jersey
Sounds of the Tick Tock Diner, Clifton, New Jersey.
Hey, groovy cats. Thanks to an article in the most amazing of magazines, Mental Floss (I’ve been a subscriber since the second issue!), I have learned that a person named Bernie Wagenblast is recording the unique sounds of the great state of New Jersey, archiving at least one sound from each of the 565 municipalities in the state.
Harvesting cranberries in Woodland Township, New Jersey.
The project is called “New Jersey 565.” Here’s the link to the guy’s Pinterest account. http://www.pinterest.com/brwagenblast/new-jersey-565/ Click on a Pin to go to his site and listen (it’s easier than going directly to his website to find the 565, trust me). This guy is also the voice of the “next train” announcements on the NYC subways.
The Pingpank Barber Shop
The actual Pingpank Barber Shop at 413 Bleeker St. In Manhattan, 1932. Photo by Carl Von Vechten
In Radio Girl, Jack Maloney owns a Bakelite comb stamped with the words “Pingpank Barber Shop.” While Jack and the comb are fictional, the barbershop was genuine. The above photo was taken by renowned photographer (and author) Carl Von Vechten. As part of the Federal Art Project, photographer Berenice Abbott took this photo of the shop’s exterior in 1938.
The Pingpank Barber Shop in 1938, by Berenice Abbott
Read all about it. See more of Berenice Abbott’s photographs of New York in the 1930s.
Carol Brendler Books 