From the category archives:

Postcards

The Drake Motel and Restaurant

March 10, 2010
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If the Crystal Inn Motel didn’t satisfy your thirst for 1960s decor, then perhaps the Drake Motel in Chattanooga will do the trick. Wood paneling, gold wall art, starburst ceiling lamps, and the drapes… outta sight!

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Crystal Inn Motel

March 10, 2010
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Holy smoke, is this the craziest-looking motel ever?! I can just imagine waking up there and running out screaming, fleeing from a ’60s hell. The topmost picture is just weird, and at first I thought the motel was flooded. But the lounge… oh man. On the back in pencil is the notation, “On way from [...]

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Daytona Beach Bandshell

March 9, 2010
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Begun as a WPA project in 1936, the Daytona Beach Bandshell began hosting musical performances and beauty pageants in 1937 (this postcard dates from that year), but fell into disrepair over time. In recent years it has been refurbished, and is again host to various events.

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Daytona Beach

March 9, 2010
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This Curt Teich Co. postcard dates from 1938 and is an overview of Daytona Beach, Florida. On the back:
“Boardwalk and Bandshell – the world’s largest open air theatre of its kind, where more than 7,000 persons can be seated.”

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Sheraton Park Hotel

March 9, 2010
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Opened in 1918 as the Wardman Park Hotel, the 1000 room structure is located in the Woodley Park neighborhood of Washington D.C. It was purchased in 1953 by the Sheraton Corporation and renamed the Sheraton Park Hotel, and renamed yet again in 1998 to the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. This card, an interior view of [...]

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The Washington Hilton

March 8, 2010
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The Washington Hilton, illustrated here in a decidedly “swinging ’60s” style. The postcard probably dates from 1965/66, as the back references the hotel as being new. This was where John Hinckley, Jr. attempted to assassinate President Reagan in March of 1981.

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Boys Town

March 8, 2010
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Founded as an orphanage in 1921, Boys Town was built by Father Edward J. Flanagan, a Roman Catholic priest who sought to provide for at-risk children. The story of Father Flanagan and his boy’s home was told in the 1938 film, Boys Town, starring Spencer Tracy. Nominated for five academy awards, Tracy would earn the [...]

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Forest Manor Motor Lodge

March 7, 2010
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FOREST MANOR MOTOR LODGE
and RESTAURANT
866 Hendersonville Road
3½ Miles South, Highway 25
Asheville, North Carolina 28803
5 Acres Wooded Grounds – Air Conditioned and Electrically Heated Rooms – With or Without Kitchens – Room Phones – Television – Color-set in Lounge. “Food that’s Famous.”
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Kirk
Owners and Managers

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Lockmiller’s Motel

March 7, 2010
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LOCKMILLER’S MOTEL
ON HIGHWAYS U.S. 41 – 11 – 64 & 72
CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE
Located at the west entrance to Lookout Mountain and Rock City.
Owned and operated by Mr. & Mrs. W.C. Lockmiller
Address
2531 Cummings Hwy. – Chattanooga, Tenn. 37419

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Henderson Motel

March 7, 2010
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Probably dating from around 1960, this unmailed postcard has this description on the reverse:
HENDERSON MOTEL
Highways 59 and 43 South
MARSHALL, TEXAS
Phone WE 5-9376 or WE 5-9377
Large Paddock Swimming Pool – Room Phones – T.V. – Radios – Air Conditioned – Vented Heat – A.A.A. – Wall to Wall Carpets – Excellent Restaurant across the street.
Mr. and [...]

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Shamrock Hotel

March 5, 2010
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Opened on St. Patrick’s Day in 1949, the Shamrock was the largest hotel built in the U.S. during the 1940s. It was built on what was then the outskirts of Houston, the 1,100 room structure having been designed by Fort Worth architect Wyatt C. Hedrick. It was demolished in 1987.

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The Glamour Spot of Glamorous Hollywood

March 5, 2010
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You may recall an earlier post about the Earl Carroll Theatre-Restaurant, a very happening Hollywood hangout in the 1940s. This time we have a very different postcard, with free postage, no less.

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Po and Wing

March 5, 2010
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This postcard shows “Po and Wing in China-Town”, and was made by E. C. Kropp Co., a publisher that was active between 1907 and 1956. This card, mailed from Dublin, Texas in October of 1908, dates from a time when the back of postcards was to be used only for writing the address, any correspondence [...]

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River Court Motel

March 4, 2010
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RIVER COURT
Fort Myers, Florida
On U.S. 41 and Florida 80 So.
Telephone 5-6181
“Situated on the banks of the Caloosahatchee River in downtown Fort Myers near restaurants, stores, churches, theaters, fishing and river trips. Large comfortable rooms and suites. Air conditioned units, Panel Ray heat. Roy Acland, Manager.”
OK, I give… what’s “Panel Ray” heat?

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Williamsport, Pennsylvania

March 4, 2010
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This postcard of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, mailed in 1950, was published by the Mebane Greeting Card Co. of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Uncharacteristic for a card from that era, there is no description of the image on the back.

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Ride the Ducks

March 3, 2010
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If these amphibious vehicles look familiar, you’ve probably seen them on the battlefield in old World War II film footage. Still used today for river/lake tours in Wisconsin Dells, these “Ducks” are the very vehicles that were used in Europe, the Pacific, and again later in the Korean War. That’s right, they’re army surplus, and [...]

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Astor Court

March 3, 2010
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Now there’s something you don’t see anymore, a roadside phone booth with a big arrow pointing to it! Probably photographed in the late 1950s, the back of the postcard includes this description:
ASTOR COURT
On U. S. Highways 31W and 41
Nine Miles North of Nashville, Tenn.
Grade A Fourteen Modern Units – Electric Heat – Completely Air Conditioned [...]

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Historic Illinois

March 3, 2010
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Nothing against the great state of Illinois, but is this postcard ugly, or what? Dating from the early 1960s, the back reads:
GREETINGS FROM THE LAND OF LINCOLN
Nearly a century and a half ago, a raw-boned youth planted his feet firmly on Illinois soil for the first time. With the long loose stride of the woodsman, [...]

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