Question: What a great picture! It turned up while pictures from the Christopher collection were being scanned (there are about 300 that have not been scanned yet). It was in the envelope marked “Firemen” and on the back was “1902.” Where was it taken? What else can you find out? It really doesn’t take too long to come up with more information if you make a stop at the library. Let’s see if there are any good detectives out there.
Last week’s answer: When Jonas Baldwin and the other early settlers lived here, the area we now call the Four Corners was swampy. Over the years the roads have been made of planks, bricks and finally the roads we have today.
Traffic increased with population and the designation of three major state highways, routes 48, 370 and 31, going through town. Some means of traffic control became necessary.
Take a look at the photos accompanying this answer. Note the devices that have been used: the upper left photo shows a post in the middle of the intersection — look closely — it’s just in front of the first automobile; the photo in the upper right shows a policeman standing on a platform with a stop and go signal; on the lower left is a tripod with a light on it and in 1953 the police were given permission from the state to stand on the southeast corner by the building and control the light with a pushbutton; the lower right is more like we have today.
In 1931 the first large bank of lights was installed due to the demise of the trolley service and the introduction of the Syracuse and Oswego Motor Line — the buses couldn’t navigate around the controls to make the turn from Oswego Street (south) to East Genesee Street. That solved the immediate issue but it has been a problem for years. The erection of the Route 690 bridge has helped some but the long-talked-about bypass near Anheuser Busch between Route 31 and the south side of the river has never been completed.
Some things never change!
Contact Editor Sarah Hall at [email protected] or leave a message at 434-8889 ext. 310 with your guess by 5 p.m. Friday (please leave the information in the message; we are not generally able to return calls regarding History Mystery responses). If you are the first person to correctly identify an element in the photo, your name and guess will appear in next week’s Messenger, along with another History Mystery feature. History Mystery is a joint project of the Museum at the Shacksboro Schoolhouse and the Baldwinsville Public Library.
