Times Square 1943, Smoking camel sign

My second Times Square photo from 1943 by John Vachon, colorized.  
Note the lights left on the second floor. These are the small things that bring a photo to life.

The Camel sign was located on the Claridge Hotel ( Broadway, between 43rd and 44th Streets) until the hotel, which served as a location for the film “Midnight Cowboy” was replaced with an office building.

Another view of the same exact sign.

The Camel sign was designed by Douglas Leigh in 1941.

Here is an original pencil sketch for the sign's design.

1942 New year, new sign.

During WWII, the image switched from soldiers to sailors to airmen

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                                   The sign was puffing out smoke for 25 years.                              

up until 1966.

For this colorizing project I had a lot of photos and videos in color to look at.

I tried my best to stick to the real colors from the historical photos I found.

                                          

                                     

In its early years the sign blow out perfect rings of smoke every 4 second, but it seams like
that feature stopped working shortly there after.

What I found interesting was that the Camel sign changed faces throughout the war.
Featuring service men from all branches of the US military.

1944

V.E day

Note  that the Whisky sign is not up yet as apposed to V. J. day

V.J. day, August 14, 1945

1946

1947

1948

 H. Armstrong Roberts

Photographer Douglas Leigh

1947 New York City Times Square Camel Billboard

1948 

.Photo by willem van de poll.   1948 

1948

1952??

1948

film of smoking camel

                                         

1949

1948

Photographer: Helen Hobbs  May 1948

1949

Walker Evans, Billboards in Times Square, New York, 1952

 April 3rd 1953

1953

Nov 1st 1953

1954

1954 photo by Marvin E. Newman

This photo was taken on August 1 1955

Phil Silvers AKA Sgt. Bilko was featured on the Camel cigarets sign

in 1955

Times Square, 1955

Photo: Frank Paulin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDh5n4RTmms

Phil Silvers as "shrewd sgt. Bilko" on TV guide 

Oct 29th 1955 

1955

1956

 John Wayne Camel Cigarette Smoking Billboard 

1956

1956

1958

Photo by Benn Mitchell

1959 "Lawman" TV show John Russell

Miroslav Sasek, illustrator

 1916-1980 

1959

 1959 Actor CARL BETZ And Wife Lois

1959 (Note that the pepsi battles are gone)

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This is the same location in the 60's

James Burke - High Heels, NYC, 1960

 1961,

Actresses Millette Alexander and Louise King, and nightclub entertainer Ted Lewis, stand 

outside a giant mailbox stamp selling booth in Times Square, New York City, while Assistant 

Postmaster Aquiline F. Weierich dispenses stamps from inside booth. 

The mailbox includes an injunction to use Zone numbers

(the precursor to Zip codes in large cities).

1961

1962

 

1962

Hotel Claridge (1506 Broadway) - 1962. 

New York Yankees Roger Maris in the Times Square Camel sign 

after his record breaking 61st home run was hit October 1, 1961.

A 1962 drive through times square by the Roger Maris camel sign

1964

 35mm restored slide from the collection of Bill Kotter

       

1964

1964

                                                     Photo by Eddie Hausner, NY Times

this specific version is from 1965

                                           .                                          

   

Borje Dorch as photographed by Erik Collin in 1965.

1965

    

     

In this next youtube video you can see the sailor sign smoking

new years eve 1966

1966 The end of the Camel sign.

May 13 1967

Empty sign

1967, after the camel sign was taken off the next ad still used the Con Edison steam.

This time it came out of a riverboat smokestack in an ad for the movie

 "The sand pebbles".

A recreation of the "Camel Smoke" billboard sign in Woody Allen's 1987
"Radio Days" film.

Here is a full look at the Claridge Hotel on the corner of 44th and  Broadway.