Our Second Edition keepsake calendar is filled with unpublished images of West Park’s fascinating past.

 

The perfect gift for Friends, Neighbors, Family, Business… Yourself.

 

 

The West Park Historical Society is especially proud to feature several beautiful photographs produced by Robert E. Baus, a West Park native and WPHS member.

In the 1930s Bob Baus, now 85, would walk across empty fields from his home on West 150th to the new John Marshall High School. Sometimes he'd carry his Kodak folding camera and take pictures of the neighborhood. Sixty years later the West Park Historical Society selected eight of his photos to appear in the 2008 calendar.

Bob's nighttime shots are striking and we believe they are among the most beautiful ever shown of West Park. Among the photos Bob has contributed for the calendar are snowy scenes of the homes that once lined West 150th, the old New York Central railroad crossing at Chatfield Avenue before the overpass was built, the 1946 Puritas Springs Park dance hall fire, and a John Marshall High football game in 1939. All of Bob's photos display the kind of dramatic light and contrast that jumps off the page.

"I'm still amazed my photos are being published after all these years," says Bob. "I had no idea they would be so appreciated. I always hoped they would be preserved."

Bob is also recording his neighborhood memories for the historical society. "I hope more people my age will think about how important their pictures and experiences can be for local history."