On this page we will look back at life in the city during the war years. Here we will provide the visitor with the stories making the news, what was happening in sports and entertainment, city politics, the social scene and the prominent people at the time. We will also recount the events occurring in the war on that day. So, check back each day for new editions.

To share your family or neighborhood stories, please email PhillyWWIyears@gmail.com

TODAY IN PHILADELPHIA – MONDAY, JANUARY 10, 1916

Rain is in the forecast for today with slightly warmer temperatures. The high will be around 37° and the low about 24°.

Contrary to what residents expected, the lid was slammed down on the Tenderloin Saturday night. Mayor Smith has imposed a vice quarantine stricter than any handed down by Mayor Blankenburg. Houses of ill-fame are being “guarded” by policemen carrying large clubs to deter visitors. The targeted houses are known to be involved in the illegal liquor and drug trade and also employ women of loose morals. Some men who did not see the police or were oblivious to their purpose and attempted to enter a house were given a warning. They were told that if they went in they would be arrested upon leaving. A spokesman for the Mayor said the quarantine would continue until these houses are closed.

The Philadelphia Auto Show opened today at 10:00am as 2000 people poured into the Convention Center at Broad Street & Allegheny Avenue. Even the rain did not dampen the excitement. Beneath the umbrellas, raincoats and rubbers the men were dressed in their best suits and the women in their most stylish gowns. Row upon row of motor vehicles are on display.

The exhibitors include Ford which is showing its touring cars, runabout, coupelet, landaulet and sedan in open and closed bodies. Studebaker will have its 4 and 6 cylinder roadsters, limousines and coupes. Packard has its 6 passenger “Aristocrat” and 7 passenger “L’Invitation”. Cadillac brought its 8 cylinder “Reliance”. Locomobile is presenting its 6 cylinder cars in a variety of bodies including the gunboat roadster. Pierce-Arrow will have its sports models and its 48 horse power touring car. Other companies exhibiting include Biddle Motor Car, Chandler, Standard, Page, Hudson, Haynes-Saxon, Cole-Grant, National, Peerless and Jackson. It is expected that before the show closes on Saturday 100,000 people will have visited.

In sports, Jack Lapp (shown below) has been released from the Athletics. Lapp broke in with the A’s in 1908 and was a fan favorite because he is a local boy from Frazer, Pa. and also a hard playing catcher. In boxing on Saturday night featherweight champion Johnny Kilbane knocked out the young contender Patsey Cline in the 2^nd round of their match at the National A.C. After knocking Cline unconscious Kilbane rushed to him, picked him up and carried him to his corner for assistance.

WAR NEWS

The last Allied troops left the Gallipoli peninsula on January 9th. Back in April 1915 British, Commonwealth and French forces seized portions of Gallipoli in order to take control of the Dardanelles Strait. From the beginning the effort seemed doomed. The Turks mounted fierce resistance to the invasion. The majority of the Allied troops were removed on December 21-22 ostensibly while the Turks slept. Many thought that any retreat would be met with Turkish attacks and Allied troops being slaughtered on the beaches. But nothing of the kind occurred. The battle of Gallipoli is over.

GET YOUR COPY OF PHILADELPHIA: THE WORLD WAR I YEARS BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW.