On this block in 1939

On this block in 1939. . , The Public Ledger Building, on the south side of the 600 block of Chestnut Street, was designed by Horace Trumbauer and completed in 1924. The Public Ledger was Philadelphia's leading newspaper during the early 1900's and was absorbed into the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1934. It was owned by Cyrus H.K. Curtis, publisher of several magazines, including The Saturday Evening Post., Trumbauer designed the Benjamin Franklin Hotel and the Central Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. His firm collaborated with Zantzinger, Borie and Medary on the Philadelphia Museum of Art., In 1939 , President: Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) , Mayor: Samuel Davis Wilson (R), George Connell (R) , Population: 1,950,961, Events , January 20 , Hitler proclaimed to German parliament his intention to exterminate all European Jews., March 28 , Philip Barry's "Philadelphia Story," premiered in New York City., April 9 , On Easter Sunday Marian Anderson sang a triumphant outdoor concert at the Lincoln Memorial before a crowd of 75,000 and a radio audience of millions. In early 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution denied the internationally famed contralto from Philadelphia the opportunity to sing at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. because of her race. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was so dismayed by the injustice that she resigned her own D.A.R. membership in protest., September 3 , France, Britain, followed by Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada declared was on Germany two days after Nazi invasion of Poland., September 5 , U.S. declared itself neutral in the war., October 11 , Albert Einstein wrote his famous letter to FDR about the potential of the atomic bomb. Einstein, a long time pacifist, was concerned that the Nazis would get the bomb first. Einstein explained the scientific feasibility of atomic weapons, which led to the development of a U.S. atomic program., October 24 , Nylon stockings were sold publicly for the first time, in Wilmington, DE., "Gone with the Wind" won Oscar for Best Picture., Money Matters ,

Average U.S. salary: $1,368 , Minimum wage: 30¢ / hour , Trolley fare 5¢, bus fare 8¢, 2 tokens 15¢ , Postage stamp: 3¢ , Baby Ruth candy bar: 5¢ , Bread: 9¢ / loaf , Coca Cola: 5¢ / bottle , Milk: 4¢ / quart , Elgin bicycle, top of the line: $28.95