Joys of the Public Domain: Beating Summer Heat

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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:

toddler wearing bikini in park fountain
Little swimmer. Photo: Gerald R. Massie. Ca. 1955. Missouri State Archives.

A young woman and two children sit with their feet in a park fountain while the woman dips a baby in the water
Cooling Off In One Of The Fountains Around The Philadelphia Museum Of Art, August 1973. Photo: Dick Swanson for Project DOCUMERICA. US National Archives.

a young man in a suit jacket runs his head under a drinking fountain in a park with two grinning friends looking on
Cooling his head – N.Y. on hot day. Photog unknown; Bain News Service. ca 1910-1915. Library of Congress.

young man in denim shirt and trousers sitting beside a fountain with a large transistor radio on the ground next to him and a headphone in one ear
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:

old silver-tone print showing crowd of children and teens surrounding a wooden cart with a large thick box full of ice on top
Halfpenny Ices. From ‘Street Life in London’, 1877, by John Thomson and Adolphe Smith. LSE Library.

crowd of men and boys before a storefront watch a vendor chipping ice from a large block
Scraped Ice Seller on Hot Day. Photog unknown; Bain News Service. ca. 1910-1915. Library of Congress.

several boys bend at the waist to lick large blocks of ice in the street before a storefront
Licking Blocks of Ice on Hot Day. Photog unknown; Bain News Service. ca. 1910-1915. Library of Congress.

several women sitting outdoors smile for the camera as they hold palm-size chunks of ice to their mouths
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 with their dresses tucked up wade in a deep pond to reach a toy sailboat
Two young girls reaching for a toy sailboat, Seattle, Washington. Vern C. Gorst. ca. 1929-1932. University of Washington Libraries. Digital Collections .

three young girls in white dresses under large trees that are flooded with water. One of the girls sits on a swing while another pushes her over the water
Blue gums. Photog unknown. Ca. 1900. Powerhouse Museum Collection.

Several children stand atop a concrete play structure while others below splash them with water
Public Playground on the Charles River, near Soldiers Field Road 06/1973. Ernst Halberstadt for Project DOCUMERICA. US National Archives.

a toddler in crisp white dress holds a running hose in a garden
Toddler playing with a hose in a garden. Fassifern, Queensland, Australia. Ca. 1912. Photog unknown; State Library of Queensland.

young woman wearing large sunglasses and rolled up pants sits atop a metal culvert dipping her feet in the river running through it
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:

two girls in shorts and shirts carry two other girls piggyback as they all smile in front of a fire hydrant flooding the street
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.

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