july81914

Rhinelander Waldo (May 24, 1877 – August 13, 1927) was appointed the 7th New York City Fire Commissioner by Mayor William Jay Gaynor on January 13, 1910. He resigned on May 23, 1911 (less than two months after the deadly Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire) to accept an appointment as the 8th New York City Police Commissioner. On December 31, 1913, he was dismissed by the outgoing Acting Mayor, Ardolph Kline. Among other achievements in office, Waldo contributed to the motorization of both departments. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinelander_Waldo

His mother was a Rhinelander; she married his father, a Waldo. So Rhinelander Waldo was named for both parents. Jimmy Cagney potrayed him in the movie version of E. L. Doctorow's novel, "Ragtime." From Wikipedia: Waldo was portrayed by James Cagney in the 1981 film, "Ragtime," despite the age difference (Cagney was 81 years old when he filmed this movie; the real Rhinelander Waldo was only 32 at the time in which the movie was set and died at age 50.) However, in E.L. Doctorow's original novel "Ragtime" (published in 1975), Waldo's role is minor while Charles S. Whitman, the real-life Manhattan District Attorney at the time, performs most of the fictional words and deeds that the film based on Doctorow's book would later assign to Waldo.

Thanks so much to both of you for giving us a good picture of this character. We'll fill in the name the next time we update the record. Waldo was also immortalized in a few of the library's political cartoons of the time. Here's one example: www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2009617169/

This photo was likely taken aboard the RMS Olympic on which Mr. and Mrs. Rhinelander Waldo arrived in New York from Southampton on July 8, 1914, — The New York Times

"White Wings," if you don't recognize the uniforms, are street cleaners. (Wystan, I was going to ask how in the world you recognized this as Union Square, until that brick pile appeared in later photographs. Nice landmark)

Related to: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Beresford,_Baroness_Decies

Another Bain photo of a traveling Beresford:

This photo (top) was likely taken aboard the RMS Olympic on which Hon. Seton R. Beresford, brother of Lord Decries, and Dowager Lady Decies arrived in New York from Southampton on July 8, 1914, — The New York Times