It’s not terribly hot (or sunny at all) here today, but I found an old photo of my brother and I having a water fight recently, so I’ve been thinking about ways people stay cool in summer!
(Edited to fix links; clicking on any picture should now take you to the full size version of record!)
In (or near) fountains:
Little swimmer. Photo: Gerald R. Massie. Ca. 1955. Missouri State Archives.
Cooling Off In One Of The Fountains Around The Philadelphia Museum Of Art, August 1973. Photo: Dick Swanson for Project DOCUMERICA. US National Archives.
Cooling his head – N.Y. on hot day. Photog unknown; Bain News Service. ca 1910-1915. Library of Congress.
At the Tyler Davidson Fountain, in Fountain Square Downtown Cincinnati’s Popular Public Plaza, a Young Man Listens to the Radio with One Ear, Play of the Water with the Other 08/1973. Photo: Tom Hubbard for Project DOCUMERICA. US National Archives.
With ice:
Halfpenny Ices. From ‘Street Life in London’, 1877, by John Thomson and Adolphe Smith. LSE Library.
Scraped Ice Seller on Hot Day. Photog unknown; Bain News Service. ca. 1910-1915. Library of Congress.
Licking Blocks of Ice on Hot Day. Photog unknown; Bain News Service. ca. 1910-1915. Library of Congress.
Cooling down with an ice block under summer skies in New Zealand. George Silk. June, 1942. Collection of the Australian War Memorial.
And with lots of other water sources:
Two young girls reaching for a toy sailboat, Seattle, Washington. Vern C. Gorst. ca. 1929-1932. University of Washington Libraries. Digital Collections .
Blue gums. Photog unknown. Ca. 1900. Powerhouse Museum Collection.
Public Playground on the Charles River, near Soldiers Field Road 06/1973. Ernst Halberstadt for Project DOCUMERICA. US National Archives.
Toddler playing with a hose in a garden. Fassifern, Queensland, Australia. Ca. 1912. Photog unknown; State Library of Queensland.
Leakey Resident Cooling Her Feet in the Rio Frio, 07/1972. Marc St. Gil for Project DOCUMERICA. US National Archives.
And my favorite, just for how much fun they’re having:
Youngsters Cool Off With Fire Hydrant Water On Chicago’s South Side In The Woodlawn Community, 06/1973. John H. White for Project DOCUMERICA. US National Archives.