Hidden Plainfield: Which Twin Has The Toni?

'Toni twin' apartment building 'A'.

'Toni twin' apartment building 'B'.

Today's Hidden Plainfield features twin apartment buildings in a semi-prominent location with startlingly different external treatments, putting me in mind of the legendary 1950s home permanent advertising campaign 'Which Twin Has The Toni?'

Intent on hawking its inexpensive do-it-yourself home permanent to budget-conscious housewives, the Toni Company developed a series of ads featuring real twins. In the photos, one twin had the Toni home perm and the other had an expensive salon perm.

One of the legendary Toni ads.

While the results may look the same, the do-it-yourself perm took eight hours (it was suggested women get together with their girlfriends for a 'Toni party' -- you can see why) and cost $2, while the salon perm was said to cost $15 -- later inflated to $25.

In any event, today's two apartment buildings began life as identical units, part of a larger apartment complex probably built in the 1920s with a Tudor-ish flair.

Twin 'B' has suffered the indignity of 'improvement' by the addition of vinyl siding and replacement windows. Did the Great Recession run this 'improvement project' off its rails and leave only one unit completed?

Do you know where today's properties are?

Answer tomorrow.

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• Toni Ads:  "Home Permanent: Finest wave at any price"
• 1950s:  "Fifties home permanents, hair styles"
• Wikipedia:  "Wikipedia: Perm"

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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