Life, 1929-03-22 · page 21 of 36
Life — March 22, 1929 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a gossip/society column from *Life* magazine's "New York Life" section, accompanied by a satirical illustration of a crowded beach or boardwalk scene. The column consists of brief, snappy observations about 1920s New York City personalities and trends. References include: - Mayor James Walker's social habits - The "Whalen traffic plan" (Police Commissioner Richard Whalen's traffic reforms, dismissed by taxi drivers as ineffective) - A Russian restaurant called the Kretchma - Eddie Darling's orchestra at the Heigh-Ho nightclub - Walter Winchell's fashion commentary about evening wear The illustration depicts a dense, chaotic seaside crowd—suggesting summer leisure culture. The byline "Knickerbocker, Jr." indicates this is society/gossip commentary, likely satirizing the wealthy and fashionable set's activities and pretensions during Prohibition-era New York. The overall tone mocks both the subjects and the vapid nature of society-page reporting itself.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
New York Life swell... . Have you seen the Vibra- tor girl doing her stuff up in the sec- ond story window at the corner of gand St. and Broadway? ... The Theatre Guild Cinema, a movie house on 8th Street which shows no feature pictures... its doors are perfectly lank and if you don’t know the place you'd never be able to find it... . Taxi men agree unanimously that the “Whalen traffic plan” is “de bunk” .. they make much better time but the cops won't let them stop to pick up fares... Lionel Waterbury, the polo player, matching the flower girl at os _ oa Guinan's to see whether he'd pay dou- ble or nothing for her bunch of violets he lost. | Yes, Yes, Go on! Mayor James Walker leaving the Bike races at one o'clock . . . well, | carly to bed, etc.... the man who exercises his beautiful collie dog every night .. . her hind legs are paralyzed so he holds that part of her up... The Russian Kretchma on 2nd Ave- nue—real Russian... the bird who fooled Uncle Sam by sending a bottle of liquor in a mailing tube open at | both ends ...a new, and delicious | mind you, concoction . . . Jamaica rum and Angostura Bitters with Orange and Lemon juice . . . the Heigh-Ho has a new orchestra (Eddie that’s a darb . . . Master Winchell comes forth with | the startling news that white waist- coats with dinner coats are no longer considered good form .. . neither are yellow shoes, Walter. | Knickerbocker, Jr. comicbooks.com