In the early 1960s, the City of Minneapolis decided to engage in some urban renewal, which consisted of razing most of the Gateway district, also known as Skid Row.  The area contained many hotels and boarding houses occupied largely by middle aged and older men who were or had been laborers.

One of the accommodations was the Pioneer Hotel, a “cage hotel,” meaning that the individual rooms were made of plywood, with chicken wire serving as the ceiling.  Before the area was torn down, the City of Minneapolis decided to document conditions by taking photographs.  In the process, the Pioneer Hotel became one of the most photographed flophouses in History.

The city photos include the one shown above, taken in 1960, from the collections of the Minnesota Historical Society.   The room was small, but it was this gentleman’s home until the city tore it down.  On the dresser is what appears to be the most valuable possession shown in the room, a radio.  It’s shown zoomed in at the left.  It is a Silvertone model 9280, manufactured for Sears in about 1949 or 1950.

The 5 tube portable (Two 1U4s, a 1R5, and a 3V4, plus selenium rectifier) ran on either AC or batteries. It appears to be plugged in to the single lamp socket near the window, and it’s unlikely that the owner spent much of his money on B batteries.

The ten year old set was probably a pretty good performer, as it contained one RF stage in addition to the normal superhet lineup.  You can see the same model radio playing at the following video: