Friday, January 16, 2009

Union Square Crowd

This picture was taken in 1914 in Union Square in New York City. Pictured is a crowd listening to an anarchist speaker, Alexander Berkman. I find the hats interesting.

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10 comments:

  1. WOW! I never would have believed that an anarchist would draw such a crowd at that time in history. Of course, it is NYC, even then there was a market for every product.

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  2. I wonder what that big pile of rubble in the background is. Perhaps a building that was demolished? Interesting photo.

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  3. NYTimes Jul. 12, 1914. "
    5,000 AT MEMORIAL TO ANARCHIST DEAD; Union Square Crowd Hears Praise of Three "Reds" Whom Bomb Killed. 800 POLICE TO KEEP ORDER Berkman Is Wary of Them, but Others Advocate Dynamite to Offset "Oppression." "

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  4. Those hats were called "Skimmers."

    They were originally used for boating in the summer and are still used in politcal events.

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  5. Did everyone have hats like that, or just the anarchists?

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  7. Somehow, a pile of rubble is an appropriate backdrop for an Anarchist speaker on several levels.

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  8. Re: "Dynamite to Offset 'Oppression.' "

    Yeah… that should work. Terrorism is always a fitting response.

    hmm…

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  9. Great photo! Wouldn't you be embarrassed to wear the same hat as everyone in town? I see one guy in a fedora (it's still white) and he looks as if he's leaving. Maybe it was a dress code thing.

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