Let Freedom Sting

The Northrop F-89D Scorpion, the definitive production variant, was an upgraded model of the first all-weather, twin-engined jet designed from the outset as an interceptor, relying on advanced radar and rocket armament rather than cannons. It served as the primary backbone of the North American Air Defense Command during the early Cold War, designed to intercept Soviet bombers. The Scorpion was a replacement for Northrop's P-61 "Black Widow" that saw limited combat toward the end of World War II but found its place in the Korean War. Above are F-89Ds from the 59th Fighter Squadron stationed at Goose Bay, Canada. 

The Scorpion series entered USAF inventory in 1950. The D-model first flew in 1951, but production was disrupted by the same issues encountered on early models, before full production was resumed during 1953. Because the jet engines were positioned so low to the ground, sucking up debris could be a problem. Scanning the tarmac and runway became standard procedure before take-off. The final variant was the F-89J, converted from 350 F-89Ds, that replaced the standard wingtip's fifty-two "Mighty Mouse" missile pods with 600-gallon fuel tanks and fitted a pylon under each wing for a single MB-1 Genie nuclear rocket, sometimes supplemented by up to four conventional Falcon air-to-air missiles attached to the wing tanks. With the advent of supersonic interceptors, the Scorpions were relegated to Air National Guard units in northern air bases before they were all retired in 1969. The last F-89, a "J" model from Maine's Air National Guard, was transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in July of that year for permanent display. 

The nickname Scorpion arose from its up-swept tail and high-mounted horizontal stabilizer, distinctly accentuated when on the ground.

Twenty-one Years to Build

One Prudential Plaza (formerly known as the Prudential Building) is a 600-foot-tall, 41-story structure in Chicago completed in 1955 by the architectural firm Naess & Murphy, and constructed by the George A. Fuller Co. It is categorized as an International Style building, a response to move away from the ornate architecture of the 19th century. The general public did not warm up to the bland concrete slab style at first. 

The building served as headquarters for Prudential's Mid-America company, and was the tallest structure in the city at the time. It was built on real estate air rights, the area above the Earth's surface, over the vast Illinois Central Railroad yard, eventually paving the way for today's Millennium Park to the south. Offset atop the building was a mast that served as a broadcasting antenna for Chicago's WGN-TV. The building was home to the Chicago Tribune and Tribune Publishing after leaving Tribune Tower in July 2018. The Tribune moved out of One Prudential Plaza and relocated its offices and newsroom to the Freedom Center at the beginning of 2021.

It was the city's first downtown skyscraper in twenty-one years and included a must-see observation deck. It was reported that 1.5 million people visited the deck in its first three years of existence. The building included two restaurants: Stouffer's Gibraltar Room, located off the lobby, and Stouffer's Top of the Rock on the 41st floor. The novelty of viewing four states on a clear day succumbed to taller buildings erected near it, making Lake Michigan the only distant view. The Top of the Rock closed in 1976, and the Gibraltar Room in 1982. 

The original 200-foot Prudential signage was red and used a bold sans-serif font in capital letters. Very easy to read even from some distance. The replacement sign was a blue serif font, including a modernized Gibraltar logo. Being distanced from the building's surface, it cast a confusing drop shadow and is nearly impossible to read on sunny days. The blue signage will eventually be removed by the current owners, Wanxiang America Real Estate Group, for Prudential began moving out of the original building and its newer, 61-story skyscraper in 2024 to smaller confines directly west along the Chicago River.  Not being removed (above) will be the Rock of Gibraltar, a 65-ton, 30-foot-high two-dimensional carving on the west side of the original building, designed by artist Alfonso Iannelli.

A Seersucker in Hollywood

Joseph Haspel (1884-1959) was an American haberdasher in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the inventor of the seersucker suit, a welcomed attire for Southern businessmen. With his brother Harry, he co-founded Haspel Brothers in 1909. The word seersucker is derived from the Persian words “sheer” and “shakkar,” meaning milk and sugar. What makes the fabric so light and airy is the combination of smooth and bumpy (milk and sugar) texture that allows the fabric to lift away from the skin to breathe. Originally, sometimes perceived as lower-end, unpressed suits, with today's wide variety of styles and colors, it is now a fashion symbol for the elite.

Gregory Peck was the first to wear a seersucker suit in a Hollywood film, in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).

Deceptive Appearance

The Convair 990 was one of the most dynamic jet airliners ever designed. It was an update to its slightly older brother, the 880. The design screams speed, and many pilots felt they were in a very special class to command one. Echoing these accolades, it was best showcased in the classic American Airlines scheme above, a carryover from the prop days. It exudes style and excitement. From the fighter-bomber's nose cone to the stovepipe jets to the four anti-shock Whitcomb body pods on the wing's trailing edge, it was truly a unique beauty. The 990 was the fastest subsonic airliner until being surpassed by the Mach 2 Concorde. 

The narrow-body 990 arrived too late to compete with the Boeing 707 or Douglas DC8. It was a failure in America, with fewer than forty being manufactured during its short, ten-year career. With its thirsty J-79 turbojets, the same engines used by the world's first supersonic bomber, Convair's B-58 Hustler, it could not carry enough passengers to justify longer flights. It was more efficient on short hops in many foreign countries, Swissair being the biggest overseas purchaser of the airliner. Though Convair initially called the aircraft the Coronado, only Swissair officially named its planes with that specific name. 

The 990 was a classic example of how outward appearance overshadows many inner flaws. By the same token, one cannot necessarily judge the contents of a book by a beautiful cover.

Cottage Home Service

Hired from Gulf Oil in late 1925 to lead the Pure Oil Company's new marketing construction department, architect Carl A. Peterson was charged with creating a structure distinct and recognizable, utilizing Pure Oil's blue and white corporate livery prominently in his design, making their corporate affiliation obvious from a distance. His goal was to harmonize with residential neighborhoods that opposed flashy and brightly colored industrial structures.

Pure Oil unveiled Peterson's final design in 1927, which he called the "English cottage." It featured a design reminiscent of private homes in an effort to make the stations comfortable for motorists and incorporated many aspects of the popular Tudor Revival architecture of the time. These included homey details such as chimneys, window shutters, and flowerboxes. The brick walls of the building were white, and the roof was covered in an expensive, non-fading, gloss blue tile. 
What now seems quite amusing in self-service times, imagine this service attendant's helpful comment: "This pipe fits behind that little door on the driver's side of your car. It's difficult, pal. That's why I do it for you."

What now seems quite amusing in self-service times, imagine this service attendant's helpful comment: "This pipe fits behind that little door on the driver's side of your car. It's difficult, pal. That's why I do it for you."

Peterson oversaw and designed many variations on his initial design to account for economic, geographic, and other regional differences. The English cottage became an icon for the company, with more constructed into the 1930s. Pure Oil produced popular birdhouses and radios designed to look like their stations. A half-size replica produced for the 1933 World's Fair was a top attraction. With Pure Oil's merger with Union Oil Company of California (Unocal) in 1965,  the English cottage style became a thing of the past. However, many have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

A Capital Idea

Though Capital Airlines has roots dating back to 1926, the Pennsylvania Air Lines and Central Airlines of the 1930s, and later in the decade as Pennsylvania Central Airlines, when this photograph was taken, Capital Airlines was officially just two years old. They received their first Lockheed Constellations (pictured) in 1950. The headquarters were located at Washington National Airport, now Reagan Washington National Airport, where crew training and aircraft overhauls were performed. The airline operated scheduled airline service in the eastern, southern, southeastern, and midwestern United States. 

During their first year, they introduced the "Nighthawk," one of the first coach-class services to compete with the railroads between Chicago and New York City, and with dominant airlines on the route. That same year, they introduced the first television on flights. Capital Airlines was the first U.S. operator of the British-manufactured, four-engine Vickers Viscount turboprop airliner in 1955. Capital was the fifth largest airline behind the "Big Four" of American, United, TWA, and Eastern until its merger with United Airlines in 1961. 

Drawing You In

This Coca-Cola advertisement could only be accomplished by an illustrator in the mid-twentieth century. Today, this scene could be copied through photo-manipulation software or AI. But painting was the go-to medium for the illustrator who understood human anatomy and had the faultless ability to capture everyday life and all that it entails in a composition that draws the viewer into the moment.

George Bernard Whitcomb (1920-48) was an American artist and illustrator from South Bend, Indiana, who earned a full scholarship to the Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis, securing his early promise. He worked as a commercial artist for Grauman Advertising in Chicago, creating some iconic full-page Coca-Cola ads seen in Life magazine and the Saturday Evening Post.

Due to his untimely death at twenty-seven from heart failure, accentuated by damage from childhood rheumatic fever, Whitcomb was buried three days later on his birthday. Understandably, records of his professional work are limited, and most online searches will default to a more famous Whitcomb artist, Jon (1906-1988).