Hot Town

Heat Wave

1. From New York City in 1944.

{August 1944: Columbus Circle during heat wave. Large Coca Cola sign and thermometer registering 100 degrees on top of building next to the Mayflower Hotel, New York. Photo by Marie Hansen for Life Magazine; source: Life archive}

2. New York's tenements in 1900.

{Summer 1900: Mulberry St. in New York; Free ice by Byron (Detroit Publishing Co.); source: Library of Congress}

Detail views of this image:









3. 1870s-'90s: Prints and drawings of residents of the New York tenements in the heat of summer from illustrated weeklies and other sources.

{August 12, 1882: New York City - The recent "heated term" and its effect upon the population of the tenement districts A night scene on the East Side / / from sketch by a staff artist. Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper, Aug. 12, 1882, p. 393. Source: Library of Congress}

{August 1, 1885: The roof was a place to escape the heat of the summer night — "On The Roof of A Tenement House"; Harper's Weekly; source: Maggie Land Blanck's web page called New York City, Tenement Life}

{1899: Illustration from the book, The New Metropolis; source: Maggie Land Blanck's web page called New York City, Tenement Life}

{1878: Among the Tenement Houses During the Heated Term - Just Before Daybreak; Harpers Weekly; New York Public Library ID 809927; source: Maggie Land Blanck's web page called New York City, Tenement Life}

4. Summer sports: Robert Capa took this shot during the Tour de France in 1939.

{In the summer of 1939 Capa spent twenty days following the 2500 mile Tour de France. Capa followed the race on a motorbike riden by his friend. The resulting photographs were published in Match magazine. From Match magazine 27th July 1939 Tour De France. My source: fansinaflashbulb by erinbarnett}

5. Some images from the ever excellent Big Picture on boston.com: Summer is here

{People cool off from the heat of the day under water sprayed from a fire engine on Independence Day in Philadelphia, Sunday, July 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)}

{With two empty Adirondack chairs next to a fire pit, a rainbow stretches across the sky at Adams Pond in East Derry, New Hampshire on July 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)}

{Youngsters enjoy a swing ride in an Athens amusement park at sunset in Greece on July 6, 2010. (REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis) }

{Cows graze on a snow covered pasture at Tschuggen above Davos, Switzerland on Sunday, June 20, 2010. One day before the astronomical beginning of summer the snow line in Switzerland dropped down to 1,500 meters. (AP Photo/Keystone/Arno Balzarini)}

{A guest swims in the infinity pool of the Skypark that tops the Marina Bay Sands hotel towers in Singapore June 24, 2010.}

5. Some Lovin' from the Spoonful.

The Lovin' Spoonful — Summer in the City

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head

But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright

And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city

Cool town, evening in the city
Dressing so fine and looking so pretty
Cool cat, looking for a kitty
Gonna look in every corner of the city
Till I'm wheezing like a bus stop
Running up the stairs, gonna meet you on the rooftop

But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright

And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head

But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright

And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city