The Forties

The phrase "Best Location in the Nation," seems to have been coined in the 1940s. Still very popular in the 1960s and 1970s, it comes from the fact that Cleveland is 600 miles from 60% of the U.S. (and a good chunk of Canada).

The Boston Yanks were established in1944 and brought pro football back to the city for the first time since the city's previous team left for Washington, D.C. in 1937. In 1945, the team temporarily merged with the Brooklyn Tigers (formerly the Dayton Triangles) for...

Seven years after the departure of the city's team for Washington, Boston got a new pro football team in 1944. For four years the Yanks called the city home and formed quite a rivalry with Philadelphia.

Forest City Beer and Ale brewed beers at their plant on the corner of Union Avenue and E. 69th Street from 1904 until 1948. The brewery was known for producing??a whole slew of pre and post prohibition brews including Select Pilsner Beer, Waldorf, and...

Established in 1942 as W83C, this legendary Chicago radio station changed its call letters several times before becoming WLUP "The Loop 97.9" in 1977. For the next 41 years it was one of the most popular and influential radio station's in America. It is...

Toledo, Ohio was in the International Hockey League’s minor league hockey for nearly four decades from 1947 to 1986. The Toledo Mercurys were the original franchise (1947-1962), followed by the Blades (1963-1970), then the Toledo Hornets (1970-1974) and finally the Goaldiggers (1974-1986). OS16150

The Buffalo Bisons were an American Hockey League ice hockey team that played from 1940 to 1970 in Buffalo, New York, replacing the original Buffalo Bisons hockey team that left in 1936 after its arena collapsed.   OS16149

Jackie Robinson best known for breaking the color barrier in the modern era of baseball, but fans of the sport also recognize his extra ordinary talent. After playing for the Negro American League's Kansas City Monarchs in 1945, he was signed by Brooklyn and...

In 1946, at an industry convention in California, Cincinnati restaurant owner Dave Frisch met Bob Wian who introduced him to a double-decker hamburger called the Big Boy. Dave secured permission to adopt the concept but personalized the Big Boy by dressing it with a...

The Igloo was a diner and drive-in restaurant in Seattle from the late 1940 until 1954. It's unique twin-dome design, which looked like two igloos, was intended to capture the attention of passing motorists at the intersection of Denny Ave. and Aurora Way.

The National Basketball League (NBL) was a professional men's basketball??league that was established in 1937. After the 1948-49 season, the league merged with the Basketball Association of America??(BAA) to create the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Swallen's was a chain of retail stores based in Cincinnati, Ohio that first opened in 1948 and ?? featured a mix of appliances, electronics, hardware, sporting goods and firearms, clothing and more.

The Brooklyn Dodgers football team was a charter member of the??All-America Football Conference (AAFC) starting in 1946. Following the 1948, season, the Dodgers were merged with the crosstown football Yankees to become the Brooklyn-New York Yankees, leaving the league with seven teams. At the...

WCPO TV was the station first signed on the air at noon on July 26, 1949, and first face seen was Big Jim Stacey.??Originally operating on VHF channel 7; it was Cincinnati's third television station.

The Indianapolis ABCs of the Negro National League became The Cleveland Buckeyes in 1927 and halfway through the season changed their name to the Cleveland Hornets. They only lasted one season though. An unrelated Cleveland Buckeyes team joined the Negro American League in 1942.

Waddles Restaurant was opened in 1945 by Gene and Nathan Waddle. A family-style restaurant, it served delicious meals for 60 years. In the early days of the landmark flagship location of Waddles restaurant, it was known as Waddle's Coffee Shop and offered drive-in-style food...

Established in 1942 as W83C, this legendary Chicago radio station changed its call letters several times before becoming WLUP "The Loop 97.9" in 1977. For the next 41 years it was one of the most popular and influential radio station's in America. It is...

The Seattle Totems were a professional ice hockey franchise and was a member of the Pacific Coast Hockey League (renamed the Western Hockey League in 1952) between 1944 and 1974. In their last season of existence, the Totems played in the Central Hockey League in the 1974–75 season. They played their home games in the Civic...

The Columbus Bullies football team was established in 1939. They played in the American Professional Football League a semi-pro circuit bases in the Midwest. In 1940, the joined the third iteration of the American Football League.

In 1946, at an industry convention in California, Cincinnati restaurant owner Dave Frisch met Bob Wian who introduced him to a double-decker hamburger called the ???????????????????????????Big Boy.???????????????????????? Dave secured permission to adopt the concept but personalized the Big Boy by dressing it with a...

In 1946, at an industry convention in California, Cincinnati restaurant owner Dave Frisch met Bob Wian who introduced him to a double-decker hamburger called the ???????????????????????????Big Boy.???????????????????????? Dave secured permission to adopt the concept but personalized the Big Boy by dressing it with a...

"I thought Cincinnati was in Ohio?" The Greater Cincinnati Airport opened in 1947 in Boone County, Kentucky. In the 1990s, the name was changed to the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport. Cincinnati has the distinction of being the only major U.S. city whose main commercial...

Opened in 1945, The Wishing Well became one of the most beloved restaurants in Chicago.

Eliot Ness was a federal agent mostly widely known from the fictionalized portrayals of his life in the TV series the Untouchables??(1959-1963) and the 1987 movie of the same name. He became Safety Director of Cleveland in 1935 and ran unsuccessfully for mayor in...

The Coral Court Motel??opened in 1942 on historic U.S. Route 66??in the St. Louis suburb of Marlborough. In 1989, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places??being cited as a valuable example of Art Deco architecture. OS2770

Totem House was a Seattle, Washington restaurant known for it's fish-and-chips, totem poles, and Northwestern art. It opened in the 1940s and closed in 2021.

The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was founded in 1946 and featured teams such as the Toronto Huskies, New York Knickerbockers, Chicago Stag, and more. Following its third season, 1948-49, the BAA and the National Basketball League (NBL) merged to create the National Basketball...

Shooting Star was the signature roller coaster at Old Coney. Opened in 1937 as the Clipper, it became Shooting Star after a redesign in 1947. It climbed to a height of 88n feet and reached a top speed 43 MPH. It gave it's final...

Tales of man who can shapeshift into a wolf-like creature date back as far as 27 A.D. In modern pop culture, the Wolf Man first appeared in a 1935 film called The Werewolf of London. A more popular film titled simply??The Wolf Man, debuted...

Waddles Restaurant was opened in 1945 by Gene and Nathan Waddle. A family-style restaurant, it served delicious meals for 60 years. In the early days of the landmark flagship location of Waddles restaurant, it was known as Waddle's Coffee Shop and offered drive-in-style food...