Following the lead of Chris Brimley, author of Rotating Coupler, I’ve decided to periodically post a random photo for inspiration. Don’t except these daily, but I’ll post them whenever I spot a photo I find interesting. This one of Times Square, 1943.
Yes — the billboard is puffing smoke. Boy, I need to replicate that!
Filed under: Prototypes, Reference , 1943, billboard, New York, New York City, NYC, Times Sqaure
Hmm, I don’t think it would be to difficult to reproduce that, the only question I would have is, does the sign puff or does smoke just casually roll out.
I’m glad to see you will be doing photo now, it will be great to see what you have.
The billboard, which stood for 25 years actually puffed out steam. This was not a continuous roll of steam but an actual puffing. You can read more about it here: http://fogonazos.blogspot.com/2007/09/smoke-rings-over-broadway.html
The face on the billboard was changed periodically.
You can also see a video of the billboard in action (from 1964) at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kls7DSyPalg
As a young sailor from Sweden (17) I stod on the other side of the street, spellbound, looking at the smokerings gently drifting down Times Square.This was a hot summerday 1946. So imagine my joy seeing it again after all these years. I wonder what kind of smoke it was and how it all was done. Did Camel rented the apartment behind the billboard and installed a smokemaskine in one of the rooms?
MY memory of the sign is a bit different in that when I was a child my parents took me to New York for New Year’s Eve. We went to the clubs and stood in Times Square. The Camel sign that year had the face of Phil Silvers who was starring as Sgt. Ernie Bilko in the Phil Silvers Show. My Dad ( who had done similar things like Bilko after WWII ) loved watching Bilko and said he knew a lot of sgts like Bilko in his 30 years in the Army.
I was fascinated by the smoke rings which blew out and went a long way over the street. To a 5 year old it was like magic !