#12 dec.

Virginia O'Hanlon was assistant principal of P.S. 31, seen here on December 12, 1947. But she is better known for having written, at the age of 8, a letter to the New York Sun asking, "Is There a Santa Claus?"

Workers boarding up a large plaque over the entrance to the Italian building in Rockefeller Center, December 12, 1941. A spokesman for the Center said the work was being done for "obvious reasons," declining further comment.

Bystanders are all agog as NBC engineers operate a new mobile TV broadcasting facility, December 12, 1937. It was used for experimental pickups of outdoor news events. The setup, consisting of two vans carrying equipment, was built by RCA in Camden, N.J., and turned over to NBC at its headquarters in Radio City.

The drive for civilian firemen during wartime targeted those too old to enlist, Wall & Broad Streets, December 12, 1941.

The Rev. Mr. George Bolton, left, a former skid row derelict, speaks to a denizen of the Bowery as another sleeps in the doorway of the Bowery Mission, December 12, 1956. The 77-year-old Bowery Mission, one of several, dispenses soup, soap, and salvation. The Rev. Mr. Bolton often told the men about the "miracle" that lifted him from the gutter.