Snapshots of the Past

[Inset billboard at corner of Trans-lux Theatre, 58th St., and Madison Ave., New York City] – Antique Print

[Inset billboard at corner of Trans-lux Theatre, 58th St., and Madison Ave., New York City], c1931. — historic photograph
[Inset billboard at corner of Trans-lux Theatre, 58th St., and Madison Ave., New York City], c1931.. Historic photograph from the New York City collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

A window into the past: [Inset billboard at corner of Trans-lux Theatre, 58th St., and Madison Ave., New York City], preserved in this historic photograph. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

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[Inset billboard at corner of Trans-lux Theatre, 58th St., and Madison Ave., New York City]

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The corner of the Trans-Lux theater at 58th Street and Madison Avenue carried an inset billboard, a display set into the building's facade so that passersby could read film notices from the sidewalk. The Trans-Lux Movies Corporation, which took its name from the translucent, illuminated displays it promoted, built its reputation on lighted advertising as much as on the films themselves. Around 1931, when this photograph was made, New York's movie houses were competing hard for street-level attention, and a corner display like this one shows how theaters tried to draw crowds through the sidewalk view.

Created / publishedc1931.
Medium1 photographic print.
GenrePhotographic prints 1930-1940.
NotesJ0 8761 U.S. Copyright Office. Copyright by Trans-Lux Movies Corporation, New York City.
SubjectsMotion picture theaters--New York (State)--New York--1930-1940. Billboards--New York (State)--New York--1930-1940. Motion picture posters--1930-1940.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,163 × 1,536 px · prints to 4 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-169320

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