Life, 1929-07-26 · page 23 of 36
Life — July 26, 1929 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine's "New York Life" column satirizes 1920s Manhattan social scenes through casual observation and irony. The content consists of three sections mocking urban pretension: **"Manhattan Madness"** lampoons city attractions as disappointing—expensive taxis, the "Grand Street Follies" lack grandeur, talking movies are "dumb," the "Gay White Way is very sad." **"That Night"** describes dance hall characters: playboys, bored lifeguards, couples in bathing suits, reckless speedboat drivers, and various dancing types—including couples who literally "fall down." **"Manna-About-Town"** catalogs Upper East Side affectations: a French restaurant displaying decorative parachutes with holes, women constantly adjusting hemlines, cocktail recipes, architectural landmarks, and amusement park attractions. The humor relies on deflating Jazz Age glamour through deadpan observation. Rather than celebrating New York excitement, the satirist presents it as absurd, pretentious, or fundamentally disappointing—typical of *Life's* sophisticated social comedy for educated urban readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
New York Life has a whole repertory of fancy dives ...the play-boy who pushes his friends overboard . . . the bored life- guard... the couple that sit there in their bathing suits and never go in... the idiots in speed-boats who swoop in near the dock and get the water oily... the modest little gels who lie on their backs . . . the pre- cious little darlings who play tag... the acrobats who make human pyra- mids . . . the bird who imitates a por- That Night The Dancers... the collegiates who amble down the dance floor side by side... the pappa dancing with his little girl (aged six) . . . the pappa dancing with his little girl (aged twenty)... the alcoholic gent who cuts a great swath on the floor... the couple who stand in front of the orchestra. and converse with the leader... the couple who fall down, Manhattan Madness Taxies with /ow-rate signs are the most expensive... the 34th street crosstown car travels on g2nd street «+. there’s nothing grand about the Grand Street Follies ...the Little Show is a big hit... the talking movies are dumb... the Elevated isn’t very elevating . . . the Gay White Way is very sad these days . . . the Comic strips are very tragic... a Finnish restaurant has just started. Manna-About-Town The French restaurant on 51st street with tables out on the sidewalk ... the facetious host who proudly displays a rack of para- chutes at all his pent-house _ par- ties... said parachutes are full of holes .«. the gels who lie on the beaches in one-piece bathing suits and then keep pulling down their kneelength dresses in the subway... the summer mixture—one- third gin, one-third grape juice, one-third —ginger-ale «+ the beauty of the Stew- art building at Fifth Ave. and 55th . . . the three sail- ors in the “Sketch Book” ... the tune “Junior”... Ben Riley's Arrowhead Inn «..the Taxi-dancers at Roseland ...the “Pay as you renter” gels... the new dog wagon, with the gera- niums in front, on the Post Road in New Rochelle .. trip from New York ... Feltman’s a Coney... the “Cyclone” across the street... Jimmy Du- rante’s one-room, two- room, three-room, four-room gag in “Show Girl”... Lou Clayton’s danc- ing... the book called “Rattling the Sup”... the beer on the Bronx River Parkway. . the air to Boston + also comicbooks.com _