Then. Danforth just east of Main looking east. UTer ValsHere sent me this vintage picture. I'm guessing it's from around 1968. The two-tone paint Volkswagen bus just peeking out between the two streetcars is pretty cool.  Someday I'd like a ride in one. When I was younger I wanted one of the campers. If time and means permits, some day I'd like to get a small recreational vehicle for a cross-country road trip. I don't believe the gas mileage is that great even for the smallest ones. Perhaps I'll just wait.

Now. September 2011. I do believe that the row of 1970s stores stands where the tree and old house stood in the Then photo.

And just for interest, I took the Now picture with a lens of about 1970 vintage, so you are viewing an image of the present through a piece of optical glass about 40 years old.  It's pretty sharp, isn't it? A picture of the lens mounted on my camera below. The entry level Nikon digital DSLR bodies (models D40/D40X/D60/D3000/D3100) will mount F-type lenses going back to the 1960s. You have to snap off several pictures all the time adjusting the shutter speed until you get a picture that isn't too dark/underexposed or too white/overexposed. Secondly, you have to turn the focus ring (the "scalloped" ring on the front of the lens) until the scene is in focus. Finally, you have to choose an aperture by rotating that ring numbered 2 to 16  — a smaller aperture (as an example: "8") to get everything in focus (i.e., landscape or street scene pictures) or a larger aperture (as an example: "2") to isolate a subject (i.e., a person's face in a portrait).

It sounds like a lot of work but I'm sure its easier than online PC gaming.  :)  This lens cost me only $50 and is all metal and glass, no electronics or chips inside.