Alonzo Biggard photographed S. Fourth Street, looking south from the corner of South Street (no, not confusing at all, Department of Records) in 1936. The most important thing we noticed and wanted to share (besides the fact that Borden’s Malted Milk “with dipper of ice cream” sounds amazing) is that Philly looked a lot dirtier 70 years ago. On the heels of Philly’s Spring Cleanup day and the ongoing Unlitter Us campaign, we have to say modern-day Philadelphians (for all their negative reviews) are doing a great job cleaning up the streets that their Depression-era ilk once trashed.  Now, let’s keep moving in the right direction, Philly!

And for those interested in knowing how to make a killer Franklin Fountain-style vanilla malted milk with a dipper of ice cream, take a page from the 1922 Practical Druggist recipe. We’re still not sure what a dipper is, though.