Need help determining year photo was taken

NormB

I'm trying to figure out what year this photo was taken. The cars in the parking lot might help. If anyone knows the year of the newest car it would be helpful. I want to know if the photo was taken before or after September 1944. Are any of the cars in the picture newer than 1944?

The photo is attached. I didn't know how to have the photo show up in this post.


Thanks.

unkel

Hi NormB and welcome to boards.ie

NormB wrote: »

I didn't know how to have the photo show up in this post.

Like this:



Where exactly was the photo taken? It might help answering your question. And of course you have us all intrigued now. What's the story behind your question?

carchaeologist

Hard to make out what the cars are,but it looks like it was taken in the 40s alright,is it in america?Looks like it is.

NormB

Thanks for the prompt replies. In looking for help I googled classic cars and found the link to this web site. I didn't realize until after I posted that the site is from Ireland.

Anyway, the photo is of Hazards Beach in Newport Rhode Island, USA. The photo is of the beach before it was destroyed by a hurricane. The beach was destroyed twice, once by the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944, then again by huricane Carol in 1954. The beach was rebuilt in 1955 and still stands today. I'm putting a history of the beach together for the members. We came across the photo that I posted. I am trying to determine whether the photo is of the beach before Sept 1944 or after it was rebuilt in 1945. I thought that car enthusiasts might be able to tell the year of some of the cars. If there is any car in the lot 1945 or later we will know that the photo is after the 1944 hurricane.

Also, how did you get the photo to display in the post?

Thanks

unkel

NormB wrote: »

Also, how did you get the photo to display in the post?

You did most of the hard work yourself. By attaching the photo to your post, you gave it a unique url. All I had to do is copy the address of the unique url (rightclick on it and go to properties or something like that) to my post, highlight it and click on the postcard button you see in the icon bar when you are posting.

NormB

Thanks for the posting help. Now if someone can figure out what year the cars are I'll be good to go.

Any suggestions on other forums that might be able to answer my question?

PaulK_CCI

Hi NormB.
The cars are most definitely all pre-war and early forties, but it;s very difficult to determine if some are 44 or 45 models, because the cars would have looked almost identical: during wartime Car manufacturers had to start churning out planes and tanks, and no new models were developped.

When the war was over, Car manufacturers basically picked up the pieces and instead of planes and tanks, they basically went back to making their 42-43 models. It's only around the late forties 48/49 that totally new and distuinguisable models started to appear.

From what I can see, the picture is most definitely taken around the mid forties, but I can't tell by looking at the cars from this distance, wether they are 45 or 44 model years...

Good luck with the search

NormB

Paul, thanks for the info. I thought that the photo was taken in 1945 or later but can't confirm. Your suggestion on the model years right after the war makes sense. It's going to be difficult to figure out for sure.

B11gt00e

Hello NormB.
Your photo has been more challenging then a super fiendish sunday sudoku!

Not basing my estimate on the make of car in the picture, but instead on the number of cars. There's quite a lot of cars parked there - I count about 46 being visible or semi visible behind the buildings.

if you consider this extract from the History of the Automobile

World War II saw a large increase in mass transit because employment was high and automobiles were scarce. The rapid growth of car owners after World War II, particularly in the United States and Western Europe demonstrated the population's favor towards automobiles. During the war, automobile motors, fuel, and tires were in short supply. There was an unsatisfied demand when the war ended and plenty of production capacity as factories turned off the war machine. Many people had saved money because there was little to buy, beyond necessities, in the war years. Workers relied heavily on mass transportation during the war and longed for the freedom and flexibility of the automobile.

... Basing my inference on this information and the visible activity on the beach, i.e., the number of people and parasols set out, it would appear that there is quite a large number of cars there for the amount of people, thus would make me assume that this picture is a post war picture, as they abviously have fuel, time, cars and an attitude towards a good time (which would have been prevalent in the population having lived under the spectre of war for the previous years.) that would bring quite a few people to the beach in their newly acquired cars to have fun.


For the record. My assumptions can easily be made redundant if:

1. Many more peole are unseen in the wooden chalet structures thus lowering the ratio of cars to people.

2. It's 1945, but pre August 1945, thus the war is not yet over in the Pacific.

3. The picture only shows a small section of the beach which the carpark facilitates, thus again altering the ratio of people to cars.

4. If that really annoying ginger guy from CSI something or other could get his hands on this photo!

carchaeologist

Seeing as there was the Hurricane in 1944,and there was also a war on,maybe the re-building would have taken awhile,so if that pic was taken after the hurricane it could be a 1946 or later pic?Pity we cant see the licence plates..lol!

3nero

hhmmmm..
a lot of the cars look to have white plates
so going by the pic above of the plates they could be regestered after the war (black plates for the blackouts)

NormB

We are going to frame our photo and hang it in the beach hall along with other photos of the beach. Everyone on this board has made good suggestions. Before I posted the photo I felt that it was taken after August 1944. The assumptions that were posted make me feel even more confident of that. I really appreciate all of your help.

carchaeologist

Glad we could help NormB.If you have any photos of old american cars feel free to post them here.