American Road Trip 1979 on Kodachrome

raid said:
It is as if I arrive to NYC from Baghdad, and then the only show I get a ticket for is "Ali Baba and the forty thives"!
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It's like arriving from Iraq and the only tickets you could get were to see Youssouf Omar. Peter Allen actually was Australian, but instead of representing a long tradition of music like a folk musician, he played on being Australian and a lot of people here found his work cringeworthy.
 
#USA17-15 Rockefeller Center, NYC 25 May 1979
Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th Street and 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Wikipedia

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lynnb said:
That's a beautiful building Raid.
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I recall arranging large gatherings for some high ranking people from the UNESCO and ALECSO. I would reserve a large portion of this historic restaurant. Once there was a table with Japanese men who were drinking some liquids and they were humming allong Youssouf Omar as if they understood what he was singing, but they were just following the sounds and humming along.

This building is called "Khan" in Arabic. Merchants from all over Iraq who came to Baghdad with their merchandise would leave their camels downstairs while there were rooms on the second floor or even higher for the lodging needs.
 
New York City in 1979. The memories these photos bring back. Like reliving a year in my life, so long ago...

Did you make it to the Guggenheim, the MMA and the Metropolitan? Being in NYC without going to at least one of this trio (my preferred one was the MMA) would be, for me, like visiting Rome and avoiding the Vatican.

Avoiding lunch at Four Seasons I can understand, I did the same. But you did jog around Central Park, though. Did you?
 
I lived in Manhattan from 1972-76 and then again from 1981-83. This was a time of great financial struggles for the city government and much of the infrastructure was in poor shape. When you rode in cabs the potholes in the streets would make the big old American sedans slam up and down and shudder, and the soundtrack of riding on subways and the buses always involved much metal to metal noise, including a frenzy of jingling from the fareboxes on the buses when they hit the potholes and the shrieking of the subway cars' running gear on rail curves in the subway tunnels. But...living there was a great adventure if you were in your twenties. I love this photo tour from the period for New York and for all the other places you visited. Thank you!
 
DownUnder said:
New York City in 1979. The memories these photos bring back. Like reliving a year in my life, so long ago...

Did you make it to the Guggenheim, the MMA and the Metropolitan? Being in NYC without going to at least one of this trio (my preferred one was the MMA) would be, for me, like visiting Rome and avoiding the Vatican.

Avoiding lunch at Four Seasons I can understand, I did the same. But you did jog around Central Park, though. Did you?
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Sadly my NYC visit was a story of missed opportunity.. our 2 day stay (3 nights) was already cut short by one day/night when our van was delayed 24hrs for temporary repairs at a rural truck stop in Tennessee. After the van limped into NYC late in the day and we'd unpacked at the Prince George on 27th St, the tour guide/driver asked all the guys if we would help him repair the van at a depot in Staten Island for however long it took, leaving the girls in the hotel. I was amazed at the request, and declined - I hadn't come all this way to work as an unpaid mechanic. Crazy that the tour company seemed to have no mechanic or replacement vehicle. I seem to remember at least 4 of the guys agreed to help, to speed up the repairs.

We expected them to return first thing in the morning, but when it got past 10am with no sign of them and no word I decided to head out on foot by my own. Everyone else at the hotel decided to wait - as it turned out, till late afternoon (with departure from NYC the following morning). So I was by myself in NYC, no street map and no idea of what was worth seeing, where it was or how to get there (1979 was pre-internet). I did quite a bit of walking, but missed all the attractions you mentioned. Would've loved to have seen them. At least I got to a Broadway show even if it was a performer I'd normally not want to see, and a late dinner by myself at Sardi's. The pictures I'm posting give you and idea of where I went.

Next morning it was time to leave - the driver/guide drove across Central Park on one of the traverse roads, no stopping.. and that was it. Talk about disappointment... but the remainder of my tour group saw even less.

Rumbliegeos:
I lived in Manhattan from 1972-76 and then again from 1981-83. This was a time of great financial struggles for the city government and much of the infrastructure was in poor shape. When you rode in cabs the potholes in the streets would make the big old American sedans slam up and down and shudder, and the soundtrack of riding on subways and the buses always involved much metal to metal noise, including a frenzy of jingling from the fareboxes on the buses when they hit the potholes and the shrieking of the subway cars' running gear on rail curves in the subway tunnels. But...living there was a great adventure if you were in your twenties. I love this photo tour from the period for New York and for all the other places you visited. Thank you!
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From my brief time in NYC I would've loved to have lived there, or at least spend a few months. Glad I triggered some good memories!
 
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Wow Lynn, love these photos. My first trip to NYC was a few years after yours and these pics bring back so many fun memories.

Best,
-Tim
 
Great shots Lynn and a really interesting window into the past.

Interesting looking at the NYC photos you can see how few Checker taxis there are compared to other brands used as taxis (would've been a different story 10 years earlier). Checker Motors stopped building taxis in 1982 as it was no longer profitable for them.
 
Vince, a gentleman I met near Silver City, NM in the early '00s told me he collected Checkers, and had 70+ of them, most in running order, so he said. Obviously it takes a great effort to kill a Checker. Unfortunately, I passed on visiting his car site (I hesitate to call it a "graveyard") and so missed what was and may still be a unique sight. I greatly regret it now.

A passing thought. Looking at Lynn's images from 44 years ago, I marvel at how thin everyone was in 1979. Unlike now. In my case a long (and pleasant) lifetime of good Aussie food and excellent wines has had its obvious effect, but I ain't complainin', only sayin'...
 
DownUnder said:
Vince, a gentleman I met near Silver City, NM in the early '00s told me he collected Checkers, and had 70+ of them, most in running order, so he said. Obviously it takes a great effort to kill a Checker. Unfortunately, I passed on visiting his car site (I hesitate to call it a "graveyard") and so missed what was and may still be a unique sight. I greatly regret it now.

A passing thought. Looking at Lynn's images from 44 years ago, I marvel at how thin everyone was in 1979. Unlike now. In my case a long (and pleasant) lifetime of good Aussie food and excellent wines has had its obvious effect, but I ain't complainin', only sayin'...
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I owned a 1980 Checker Marathon (non-taxi) for three years (2012-2015) and while I did mostly enjoy it, I was glad to see it being driven away by its new owner. Kinda like owning a boat!
 
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