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He pulls a cord
By adamg on Thu, 09/18/2014 - 11:55am
The folks at the Boston City Archives wonder if you can place this photo - and figure out what happens when he pulls the rope. See it larger.
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Comments
I'm betting his mustache
I'm betting his mustache flips up at the sides.
My guess is....
Boylston St. Station and the light above his head goes on......
The lights go out!
Either that, or a ceiling fan comes on.
Only kidding. More seriously, I'm guessing Boylston.
actually....
I believe that is a luminescent balloon
Scollay westbound between 1901 and 1908
when Main Line Elevated trains ran through the Tremont Street Subway.
When he pulls the rope the platform extensions expand to meet the doors of the train. This was necessary due to the curved platform.
Asssuming you're right about the time period
the $100 spitting penalty on the sign under his raised elbow would be $2553.90 in today's dollars.
Hefty fine for spitting
Tuberculosis aka consumption was a pretty big problem back in the day (and influenza, too)
That would explain why the line goes down
Something like that would make a lot more sense than lights, because you can see that the line he's pulling passes through a couple of pulleys and goes down through the post to his left, and whatever it is takes TWO people to do because the guy at the right of the picture is doing the same thing to another line that follows the same path.
I had no idea what it could be, so happy to see someone who appears to have actual knowledge. :-)
Extensions for a curved
Extensions for a curved platform sounds plausible, but doesn't sound like something that would be done with a cord stretching to the ceiling. Some sort of lever or switch at platform level sounds more likely.
Are there (were there) windows or louvers somewhere at Boylston that would have been opened with a cord like that? Well... a window/louver would want more of a rope loop to be able to close it again. Maybe the rope is connected to a switch for an electric fan or some sort of a heater.
His overcoat opens, releasing
His overcoat opens, releasing the bees.
He's actually a cardboard cutout
Designed to prevent people from spitting and stealing bicycles. The rope is holding him upright.
pulling the rope
dumps a bucket of green slime on somebody when a tourist asks directions and the hapless interrogee answers "I don't know."
Maybe...
It opens the portal to Hogwarts?
The Answer!
Thanks for playing folks! This is Haymarket Station on January 8, 1903. The cord was pulled to extend a movable platform to the train door.