1939 photo above, below is one of the traffic signal towers I've been posting, it's from a 1918 photo
photos from http://www.shorpy.com/
1939 photo above, below is one of the traffic signal towers I've been posting, it's from a 1918 photo
photos from http://www.shorpy.com/
The above probably looks nothing like anything you've seen before, but I did post one similar once before: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/03/museum-exhibit-you-wont-want-to-miss-if.html
For closer photos of one of these traffic conductors, look at: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/11/1913-haynes-roadster-and-marvelous.html
Only posting these because of the traffic signal and umbrella to keep the cops dry while directing traffic, and the curiosity of why an elephant was used to pull that car out of that bombed out bldg
I didn't keep track of what Tumbler I found the top one at, but the bottom is from a great idea at http://www.ted.com/ 
From http://www.ted.com/ one amazing bunch of ideas, innovators, and thinkers that have improved on things, and if you find the catagories you are interested in you'll find a lot of great things
Traffic Tower , 5th Ave. and 42nd St. , Looking North, New York City , c. 1920 Postcard Museum of the City of New York , Gift of Dale E. Jenkins
Model of a Traffic Tower for Fifth Avenue , designed by Joseph H. Freedlander, c. 1922 Photograph by Ali Elai Museum of the City of New York
Untitled [Brooklyn Battery Tunnel looking South], c. 1950 Photograph by Andreas Feininger Museum of the City of New York , Gift of the Photographer
Chrysler Building showroom, 1936 Photograph by Samuel H. Gottscho Museum of the City of New York , Gottscho-Schleisner Collection
Crow-Elkhart Motor Company, 1920
Warren Nash Motor Company showroom, Broadway and 58th Street , 1925
Packard Dealership, designed by Albert Kahn, Broadway and Sherman , Manhattan ,
Packard Dealership, rendering, designed by Albert Kahn, 11th Avenue between 54th and 55th Streets, circa 1928
Ford New York Service building, designed by Albert Kahn, 1788-22 Broadway, circa 1917
South and DePeyster Streets (near Wall Street), 1935-39
Columbus Circle with General Motors Building, 1908-09
Park Avenue and 51st Street , 1921
Grand Central Terminal, 1944
Exterior, GM Building, 1939/40 New York World's Fair
National Automobile Show program, 1935
Experimental cars displayed at the General Motors pavilion at the 1964 New York World’s Fair
Experimental car displayed at the General Motors Pavilion at the 1964 New York World’s Fair
US Royal Tires Ferris Wheel at the 1964 New York World’s Fair
UW “The up-way,” designed by Rafael Viñoly, 2009
Via Shorpy. There are two in the photo, click on it for the full size, one is right behind the unbrella holder. Notice the antique 2 bulb stop light as well.
First, the car is one I've never heard of. It seems there were hundreds of car makers that made a short run of cars, and then couldn't make a financial success of it with all the competition. I love the people catcher on the front of the trolley car
2nd, it appears that the car was posed and photographed by the same photographer form 4 directions, and that gives a real good view around the car at what else was happening in the area.
How about the knickers on the cop near the car, and the heavy long coat on the other cop... which brings me to the prominent umbrella the traffic cops were stationed under while they turned the stop sign to direct traffic. No red, yellow and green lights to get traffic slowed down before coming to a stop, nor any time delay between the cross traffic getting into moving through the intersection once the "stop" order was given to traffic moving through the intersection