Main St., Lacona, N.Y. 30

Main St., Lacona, N.Y. 30

View taken from a railroad crossing on a Main Street in the business district of a small town. The view takes in a line of modest, late 19th century frame and masonry buildings with shopfronts shaded by awnings on a warm summer day. Railroad tracks cross the unpaved street in the immediate foreground, marked by a standard warning sign. A group of men, including a couple of grocers in long aprons, have come out of their stores to pose for the Eastern photographer. Early motorcars are parallel parked along the curbed sidewalks. The image takes in a moment on a typical day in a typical small New York State downtown. Signs advertise L.W. Fuller Groceries, including fruit/tobacco/cigars, Fred I. Guy Groceries, a restaurant, N.W. Wright's, and an Atlantic & Pacific (A&P) food store. At the end of the block is a frame building with a bell tower. A People's Gasoline pump stands on the curb in front of Fuller's. This image is part of a series made by one of the three Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company photographers assigned to New England or upstate New York. The glass plates would be sent back to Belfast, Maine, and processed into postcards at the printing plant on High Street.