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More Friendly Than The Bates Motel
The Sunset Motel in 1957. Brevard, South Carolina. View full size. Sunset Inn. ... it a "Five-Star Dump." The sign... is amazing! The motel looks so cozy too. I wonder if this place still exists? Just Over ... Carolina. Yes, it's still there. The Sunset Motel - 415 South Broad Street - Brevard, NC? Another review from ... 
 
Posted by BernieSC - 09/20/2011 - 9:31pm -

The Sunset Motel in 1957. Brevard, South Carolina. View full size. Sunset Inn.It exists, but one TripAdvisor reviewer called it a "Five-Star Dump." The sign...is amazing! The motel looks so cozy too. I wonder if this place still exists? Just Over the BorderBrevard is in Transylvania County, North Carolina. Yes, it's still there.The Sunset Motel - 415 South Broad Street - Brevard, NC? Another review from tripadvisor: "The rooms are extremely out dated (the TV might have been older than I am) but clean. The woman who worked in the office was extremely nice and very helpful." It's not the Holiday Inn, it's a small town motel. And, it's still there!! http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g48979-d94016-r20475779-Sunse... From travel.yahoo.com: "Pleasant 60's style motel, well maintained, all ground floor units with windows that open to a cross breeze" and it's only $35/night. I've stayed in small town motels that weren't much more than cardboard boxes (Jordan, MT) and others that were perfectly preserved time capsules from 1950 (somewhere in eastern NM). The Sunset Motel might be "in between". Sunset Motel Brevard NCAccording to my daughter who lives there, It's very much there and open for business. BTW, Brevard and surrounding area is a nice place to visit. Here and Better Than Ever!Some may be glad to hear that I bought this gem in April of 2011 and have restored it to glory. The Sunset Motel is, once again, a respectable community partner and is a very popular lodging choice, even featured in "Our State Magazine" - Oct 2014. If you'd like to see what it looks like today: www.thesunsetmotel.com (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, On the Road)
Termite Motel: 1937
... but I didn't want to confuse people. - Dave] Mouse Motel I'm fairly sure termites aren't so much of a problem way up north, but ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/05/2012 - 7:08pm -

August 1937. "Old house in Tower, Minnesota, former prosperous lumber town." Medium format nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the FSA. View full size. Handyman SpecialThis fixer-upper only needs a for-sale sign out front! Coming Mother!You couldn't build a creepier looking place on a movie set! Looks like Norman Bates's summer cottage! An Iron TownI know a bit about this town not much as being lumberous but it is the oldest town in the Iron Range. The Iron Range is an area with very much iron ore. Termite TerraceYou missed the obvious play on words. [That was actually the original title, but I didn't want to confuse people. - Dave] Mouse MotelI'm fairly sure termites aren't so much of a problem way up north, but mice and other rodents sure are. A little questionSorry if this sounds too dumb to ask, but I've always wondered why those old-style houses were not built at ground level, but rather high. [The floor of a frame house is elevated to keep it from rotting. And in a cold climate, the earth is a heat sink. The house will be much easier to keep warm if the floor isn't sitting on the ground or if it has a basement under it. - Dave] Those meddling kids and their dog Scooby assisted the Globetrotters in ridding this place of spirits back in 1973. Victorian GemWhen this house was new, maybe in the 1870s or '80s, and had a fresh coat of paint in probably three colors, it would have been a sparkling gem. And with a riot of color in the flower garden in front. When they got old and worn out, they were demolished by the millions, like so much trash. You can't build 'em like that any more! Ah, home crap homeI think this was the inspiration for the film "The Money Pit." Potential is in the eye of the beholderI see lots of easy potential with this place! Mow the lawn, re-shingle the roof, give it a fresh coat of paint and it would look hundreds of times better! Of course, a friend once joked with me that I would buy a house with no roof if I thought it had enough potential! (this was after I showed him pictures of a gutted 1948 Chevy I was considering buying as a daily driver) WhoaOk, now I have a new template in my mind for "haunted house." This place looks terrifying during the day, I wonder what it would've looked like under the light of a full moon. Scary, that's what. At least I can rest assured that it's no longer standing. Or is it??? (The Gallery, Russell Lee)
Motel Moderne: 1962
... next to the '58 Chevy is a 1962 Chevrolet. - Dave] Motel? More like school! The architecture closely resembles my high school ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/04/2022 - 12:41pm -

Columbus, Georgia, circa 1962. Our second look at the Martinique Motor Hotel, last seen here from different spatial and seasonal vantages. 4x5 inch acetate negative. View full size. Late 1950s Cars1957 Cadillac; 1959 Ford station wagon; 1960 Ford; ? Lincoln Continental; Chevy Corvair; 1957 Chevy; '58 Mercury station wagon; '58 Chevy; maybe a Cadillac behind the bushes; '56 Oldsmobile; '59 Chevy station wagon. [The Lincoln would be a 1961 or later model; that's a 1959 Mercury wagon; the car next to the '58 Chevy is a 1962 Chevrolet. - Dave] Motel? More like school!The architecture closely resembles my high school (also built in the 60s). The school had a few more windows -- not many, but a few. The upper 48 ?The corner building is apparently a later addition (and explains the differing info on postcards). How much later I guess we can judge by the cars ... who knew "dating assist" was an AAA service ? (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Columbus, Ga., News Photo Archive)
Arizona Motel: 1942
... matter That big suspended ball to the right of the motel sign appears to be a counterweight holding the sign up. Why all that to ... way of holding a sign up, in keeping with style of the motel. If in fact that sign setup is in keeping with the adobe motif. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/11/2022 - 4:09pm -

February 1942. "Tourist court. Phoenix, Arizona." An early example of Desert Neon Noir. Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Business trip ...Or family vacation? Whatever it is, the photograph is great! But what's puzzling me is the scrotum hanging on the crossbar to the right of the sign. Going out on a limbI am loath to reveal such ignorance but where better to be set straight than here? WHAT is that disc-shaped (or spherical) thing hanging to the right of the neon sign? It appears to be inside (or outlined by) a cage-like (for lack of a better term) structure made of woven rope. Is it a nest or hive? It looks vaguely snakelike. And those are all the clues I'm going to give you. [It is the counterweight on a neonized version of an old-school well sweep. - Dave] Once again y'all do not disappoint. I would never in a million years have got that lid off on my own but would you have got it off if I hadn't loosened it for you? Just saying. I mean, just kidding. Beautiful signI love the little detail of the 2 short neon tubes on the bottom of the sign that light up the AAA panel. Sign of a weighty matterThat big suspended ball to the right of the motel sign appears to be a counterweight holding the sign up. Why all that to hold a sign up? Perhaps it was to apply a traditonal abobe-style way of holding a sign up, in keeping with style of the motel. If in fact that sign setup is in keeping with the adobe motif. Balancing Act?I'm betting that's a natural rock or poured concrete round boulder carefully tied and used as a counterweight for the motel sign. Pretty clever and a good use of resources. Look out below!A counterweight to that neon sign, hung from a dead tree branch. I would advise you not to stand (or park your car) underneath it. Introducing the 1941 MercuryHere’s an original dealer training film that details the features of the all-new Mercury line for 1941. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05cUGrerGKs Non-noir versionLet the sunshine in! Still there -- sort ofIt's been remodeled and is now transitional housing. Better than being razed to the ground like so many other things in Phoenix. Nice NeonSuch an evocative photo! If only it could have been in color. "Air Cooled"So is "Air Cooled" could mean airconditioning, a swamp cooler, or even a fan. I wonder which it was? I'm impressedit lasted long enough to be remodeled and remodeling was chosen over demolition. The remodeling is fairly recent; attached is a combined Google Maps photo showing before remodeling and Google Earth photo showing during. It looked to be in pretty bad shape. Click to embiggen. Lit UpIn response to those desiring a colorized look, at the neon sign, my feeble attempt. Glowing PraiseI really like the neon Shorpy! Lone Snag MotelSeen here some 17 years later (both visible cars are 1959 vintage), the sign and counterweight are gone, but the dead tree still stands. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Russell Lee)
One Second Fast: 1943
... tracks was recently torn down. Staying at the Supai Motel and having a mediocre breakfast in the diner down the street is as close ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2024 - 9:58pm -

March 1943. "Seligman, Arizona. Teletype operator in the telegraph office of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. The time here changes from Mountain to Pacific time." Medium-format safety negative by Jack Delano. View full size. Oh....for the InternetI actually ran a Teletype machine in the mid 1960s, pretty much the same as these. One of my first full time jobs. I worked as a timekeeper for a construction site here in Ontario and had to send daily weather reports to the head office in Winnipeg. It was weird because you were always ahead of the machine as you typed, and there was no spell checker either ... shoulders back and sit up straight. Seligman I beg to differ with the caption. I believe that the time in Seligman never changes at all. No more than a wide spot in the road, it had to have been the model for Radiator Springs in Disney's "Cars," bypassed by the interstate and frozen in time. It's like the flippin' Twilight Zone out there. My Rasta roommate and I endured a breakdown 50 miles from Seligman on a trip from Southern California to college in Flagstaff, AZ many years ago. It was circling buzzards (really), and inbred locals (at a remote gas pipeline station), (1) meth-addled trucker, and (2) tow-truck drivers sharing graphic blood and gore stories the whole way to town. Needless to say, Rasta Boy was terrified, and later asked me where I'd learned to "talk Hick." (I'm still not sayin'.) Where's WaldoThere are all sorts of hidden treasures lurking in this picture. I love the visor that is hung behind the Pacific clock. Looks like it's probably chilly outside, too, seeing this young girl's furry-collar coat hanging on the wall. Compared to what?That "One Second Fast" thing intrigues me. What would they be comparing that to? One second faster than what? Had the atomic clock been put into service by that point? Their timekeepingseems to be quite percise, but the filing system (stacked in the window) looks a lot like my office! Teletype Model 15Teletype Model 15. A closeup of the keyboard if you scroll down the page a bit. Back in the early 70s I had one of these machines hooked to my amateur radio and could send and receive teletype messages or "super low resolution" images formed by strategic placement of characters on the printer roll to make an image. Some of them were quite lengthy (banners) and took quite a while to receive or send. (Considerably slower than the slowest dialup connection). Quartz? I don't need no stinkin' quartz.One second? My overpriced Seiko isn't that accurate. Why one second fast? I see her coat hanging by the clocks. So she gets to go home a little early on company time? Next to the tracksNote the bay window so the operator could see down the tracks and hoop up orders to the train crew. That is a railroad car outside. SeligmanI've passed through Seligman on Highway 66 several times in the last 10 years. I was sad to learn that the Harvey House next to the train tracks was recently torn down. Staying at the Supai Motel and having a mediocre breakfast in the diner down the street is as close to time travel as I've experienced. Seligman history: http://www.seligmanhistory.com/index.html SeligmanI've been to Seligman, too. On a drive from Flagstaff to Vegas. It is the land that time forgot. I fully expected Rod Serling to come out with some kind of announcement. However, I did get some cool stuff in some of those shops. Just a secondThe idea was probably to glance at the time on the clock and by the time you typed in the time (about 1 second later) you would be as accurate as possible. Disregarding the question of "faster than what." One Second FastAccurate timekeeping was extremely important to railroads back in the day. Timepieces would be tested once a year, primarily pocket watches used by conductors and station personnel. I assume that the postings on the Seligman clocks were the result of some sort of test and this was used to indicate their accuracy rather than for a 1 second adjustment on train times. CalibrationIt's fairly common practice with delicate equipment to label or note an error, rather than trying to eliminate the error. When you open up the case and start turning screws or wiggling wires, you risk destroying the instrument. As long as the error is linear and predictable, it's less expensive to adjust your mind than to adjust the instrument. KeysThe keyboard of the Teletype seems to have a lot fewer keys that a standard typewriter (or computer). Can any former operators remember what the difference was? The clocksSince the clocks appear to have mercury compensated pendulums, they are probably free running - not slaved to a line master clock. One second no doubt refers to their 24 hour rate - they gain one second in 24 hrs. MaybeMaybe the clocks are one second fast for when the operator has to record the time. By the time she records the time of day, one second has elapsed and the other end of the telegraph line is getting a more accurate reading. RegardlessTimely accuracy not withstanding, those two clocks look like they belong in some fine residence or the lobby of a hotel somewhere. Not the least bit industrial in design! I shudder to think what they'd be worth today or how hard it might be to find one! Clock CalibrationAccording to a photo caption of similar clocks in the book Faces of Railroading, the clocks were calibrated by a daily telegraph signal from the U.S. Naval Observatory. 32 keysThere were 32 keys, 26 letters and some punctuation. A shift key was used for numbers, much like early manual typewriters. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleprinter Old time precision surprisesInteresting, I had not heard of the telegraph time signal. It's the telegraph equivalent of radio station WWVB used by my kitchen clock! Railroad AccuracyAs stated by Texcritic, timekeeping was critical for train operations. For example, a train order might direct one train to "wait at" a particular station until a specific time. This train order would also be directed to an opposing train who choose their meeting location based on this information. Conductors and engineers would be directed to check their watches with a standard clock at the beginning of each duty tour and no watch could be more than 30 seconds off the standard time. The clocks in the stations were checked at least once a day by a telegraphic signal from headquarters. TrainsHow fascinating! When I was a young teenager, one of my uncles was a dispatcher for the Baltimore and Ohio. His little shack, laughingly called a "tower," was about 10 by 10, and I recall his typewriter was all-caps, on which he typed the train orders and tied them in the "hoops" as mentioned elsewhere. There were three sets, and on a couple of occasions he let me hand them up. I had to stand on tiptoe as the steam loco passed and the trainman leaned far out to snag the order. Then, about mid-train, the conductor leaned out and got his, and finally the brakeman on the caboose got his. How long ago and far away! Seth Thomas.Cuando se tomó la fotografía los relojes ya eran bastante antiguos. Conservo, en buen uso, otro Seth Thomas que compró mi bisabuelo, algo menos sofisticado, pero que tiene la misma caja y los mismos adornos. He preparado una foto pero no sé como subirla... Good thinkingWonderful filing system! Can't think of a better place for that fire extinguisher... One Second FastThese signs were on all of the Santa Fe official clocks, if the clock got too far off of official time, the clockman would come in and fix the clock. Nobody but the clockman was allowed to adjust the official clock. LTRS and FIGSThe military still used these teletypes when I was in the Army in the 1970's. If I remember correctly, the "shift" keys operated differently from typewriters. Character codes were shared between letters and numbers/punctuation with preceding LTRS and FIGS codes to shift between them. That is, when the FIGS key was pressed, a FIGS codes was sent and all subsequent character codes were interpreted as numeric characters (figures) until the LTRS key was pressed. That would send a LTRS code and return the unit to alphabetic operation. Standard timeIt's because of railroads that we have time zones. Can you imagine trying to arrange a railway schedule when every town had its own time? VibroplexThat sure looks like a Vibroplex bug sitting on the table just over her right shoulder...a semi-automatic morse code generator. Love the coat hookI love how there is a nail in the wall for the coat hanger under the light switch. I can see her coming in in the morning, turning on the light, removing her coat and hanging it up there under the switch. Then turning it off at night. So practical. Not like today where light switches and coat closets are miles apart! There's a clock like that in SacramentoThere is a similar clock on display at the Calif. State RR Museum in Sacramento. It is a work of art. These would be worth a fortune today. Noisy MachinesIn 1967, I was in school learning how to use these Teletype machines. Talk about noisy! I was a fairly fast typist and the Teletype machine was a slow machine to type on, which was a bit frustrating when your fingers wanted to go faster than the machine did. These are ancient machines now but looking back to'67 I didn't have one thought to how old they were, I just didn't like all the noise and slowness of them. Thank God for progress!! Seth Thomas 19's Standard ClocksBob Wells, Watch & Clock Inspector for Santa Fe, told me back in 1970 about the two 19's in Seligman. It was a unique period for several years that you could purchase Santa Fe clocks; mainly Seth Thomas clocks such as a #19, Gallery, School House,#2 and a few E. Howards. All Santa Fe timepieces were called in and eventually displayed in a warehouse in the San Bernardino yard including the two from Seligman. What a sight that was; there were five #19's side by side for sale and most remained on the wall for a year waiting for a buyer. The #19's with the Montgomery Dials as pictured sold for $3500, a #2 for $350 a School House for $100. Some internet chatter says over 300 of 19's were purchased by Santa Fe. Bob Wells said it was around 15. It took me a year save $3500 to buy a #19 along with the one second sign just prior to Bob's retirement in '73 along with all Santa Fe Watch and Clock Inspectors thus ending an era. It arrived in a box car from Topeka. Bob and I drove his station wagon to the box car and then we drove to my house to set it up. Such service from a very nice man. He loved those 19's but was never able to afford one after retirement. We remained good friends and shop talked clocks until he passed away in the 80ies. Last October a Santa Fe ST 19 went up for auction and sold in the 100K range. I just hope the two in Seliman got their Finials straighten out as they are incorrectly placed. For 100K, you want it perfect. Two timesUntil 1950 Seligman was the west end of the Albuquerque Division and east end of the Arizona Division -- the former ran on Mountain Time and the latter on Pacific. When the west end of the Albuquerque Division moved west to Needles, the time change moved west too. And not just railroad time -- until the beginning of the war, road maps showed the time change at Seligman instead of at the state line as it is now. "1 Second Fast" means the time on the clock is one second ahead of the correct time -- nothing to do with the rate at which the clock gains time. The crews that use the clock to check their watches don't care about that; they just want to know what the correct time is at this moment. (Technology, The Gallery, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Super Chief: 1943
... Just wanted to see some Warbonnets before returning to the motel and my folks then back out West on to THAT road, Route 66 the next a.m. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2024 - 9:58pm -

March 1943. "Santa Fe streamliner Super Chief being serviced at the depot in Albuquerque. Servicing these Diesel streamliners takes five minutes." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano for the OWI. View full size. WowThis is EXACTLY how I want my model railroad to look like! yepI toatally agree execept mine will be built using lego bricks! Super ChiefI rode the El Capitan and the Super Chief back in 1967 it was a wonderful trip and a great way to really see the country. I rode Amtrak's Southwest Chief in 1999 to and from Calif on my honeymoon, my wife enjoyed it too. FuelingThe fact that they're fueling from two tank cars on a siding shows how relatively new this technology was in the area - there wasn't a permanent facility available as there would be for coal fired locomotives. And yet in the Southwest in particular diesels were the perfect engines since they didn't need the scarce water. Wartime TriviaDuring the World War II years, some train headlamp openings were reduced in size to prevent Axis spies from seeing them traveling through the night. The E6 model pictured, built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in May 1941, has the shroud covering the larger headlamp opening. The number board above the cab and on either sides of the nose appear to be dimmed as well. This AT&SF E6 No. 15 was paired with a matching cabless booster unit E6A, and both were retired in June 1968 after several million miles of travel (and no doubt washed many, many times) since this great photograph was taken. Longest stop on a long rideI rode the Super Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles and back in 1970. I remember that, at least westbound, the stop at Albuquerque was long enough that passengers were allowed to get off the train to stretch their legs on the platform, and was the only such stop on the whole trip -- which may explain that large gaggle back by the station. And I remember being impressed, as a youngster, by the Old Spanish architecture of that station, which was like nothing we had in the Midwest. AlbuquerqueGee whiz, I remember getting arrested on the exact spot right below the camera by the AT&SF "Dick" one fine overcast day in July 1970. This was while we were moving out to California when I was 16. "Trespassing" was the charge. Just wanted to see some Warbonnets before returning to the motel and my folks then back out West on to THAT road, Route 66 the next a.m. Somewhat different world these days, huh? The Atchison, Topeka and Santa FeWhat a great photo. Even though I (like most I suspect) have gone all digital, I still believe that the pinnacle of color photography was Kodachrome transparencies. I remember when they doubled the ASA rating to 64, woo-hoo, great color and fast film! Unfortunately, there is little still in existence from this photo. Passenger rail travel is close to extinct, the Santa Fe is now part of a conglomeration that includes at least 3 grand old railroad lines, the Harvey House hotel (upper left behind the station) was torn down, and the beautiful Mission Style station burned in 1993. Ready to JumpPrep the Atavachron, I've decided where I want to go. AlbuquerqueFrom Fritz Lang's "Human Desire" (1954). Oh the Fabulous Memories!When I was 12 years old I got to be the baggage guys' "helper" at the Hutchison, Kansas, stop. The biggest thrill was the night, like every other night, the Santa Fe Chief pulled into the station, and as always I got far enough down the tracks to be where the ABBA units would stop. This one night the engineer, I assume, recognized me as being a "regular" at that spot, opened the cab door, and let me climb up in the EMD F3 engine. He then opened the rear door, and I was looking down the long cabin, at the biggest engines I had ever imagined existed, in the middle, with walkways down both sides. I will never forget the deafening roar the second the engineer opened that door. Every time I see pictures of these EMD F3 setups, I get chills. Beyond a doubt, works of timeless rolling art. Now I am the proud owner of a G scale model RR set, ABA units, that are so realistic, you could almost climb aboard! Texas 1947Look out, here she comes, she's comin', Look out, there she goes, she's gone-- Screamin' straight through Texas like a mad dog cyclone. "Big and red and silver, she don't make no smoke, she's a fast-rollin' streamline come to show the folks. -- Guy Clark, "Texas 1947" Santa Fe / AlbuquerqueYou the Ron Beck I was in the AF with? Don't think so, but it'd sure be wackily weird if you were! My dad worked at a baker at the Harvey House Restaurant in Albuquerque in 1944-45. We lived directly across the street from the Harvey House in some old, cheap hotel. You can get back to me, if you wish, at majskyking@gmail.com Enjoyed your comments. Railroad days were phenomenal!! Let's share some RR stories. LogoThey've chosed the American Flyer over the Lionel paint job for the Santa Fe logo. SquintyNote the wartime shroud on the headlight. Service StopThe four hoses feeding the locomotives are not only providing fuel but also water for the diesel-fired steam heat boilers. See the wisp of steam at the rear of the lead unit. The water fill was located in the side of the carbody forward of the cab ladder. Albuquerque is located on a secondary route mostly used by passenger trains that is no longer owned by Santa Fe successor, BNSF. That railroads still fuels its transcontinental trains in nearby Belen, NM. Harvey HouseYou can still stay at a Harvey House hotel: La Posada, in Winslow, Arizona. My daughter and I did just that, as we drove from LA to Massachusetts a few years back. It was a wonderful stay, we ate at the restaurant and there were complimentary earplugs on our pillows. Necessary, because of the train yard immediately behind the hotel. The hotel was almost torn down, and the story of how it was saved and restored is worth reading. Winslow is an interesting town, and not to be missed if you're out that way. http://www.laposada.org Not the only Harvey House leftThere are still a few of the former Harvey House hotels in operation, one not that far from this photo. The La Fonda in Santa Fe was acquired by the AT&SF in 1925 and promptly leased back to Fred Harvey to run. It operated as a Harvey property until 1968, when changing conditions led to a forced sale, though it remains a locally-owned property to the present day. Where's Shorpy ?Ah, I see what you did there, Dave. Very clever. Keep up the good work ! (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Albuquerque, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Sierra Motel: 1960
... the Google news archives, several stories mention a Sierra Motel in Prescott, Arizona. I'll be staying here they have 24 hour ... at Lileks.com for an hour or so looking at his vintage motel postcard collection. I highly recommend Lileks as a great complementary ... 
 
Posted by rsyung - 08/18/2015 - 11:01am -

From an Ektachrome slide given to me many years ago by friends of my parents. Does anyone know where this is? The date imprint says "Dec60." View full size. Looks like New JerseySpecifically Wildwood, NJ. In Arizona?In the Google news archives, several stories mention a Sierra Motel in Prescott, Arizona. I'll be staying herethey have 24 hour room phone service, that's really something. Let's stop here, Dad!They have free children in the family rooms plus that nifty eye-catching, multicolor, two-way neon sign, free TV, in-room telephones and a pool. What else could we possibly want? Those people checking in at the front office right now could have been us, except that our extra long station wagon always had to have a big Sears luggage carrier clamped to the roof to carry all our worldly possessions as we never packed light. Surely brings back great memories. It's AmazingHow the same two words in different order mean entirely different things: "Children Free" and "Free Children" My guess is somewhere in Connecticut due to the station wagon with wood on the side. That was the CT equivalent of the Soccer Mom Van in 1960. Up in Michigan?The sign is obviously different, but the pitch of the roof and the posts and railings on the upper floor look similar - could it be: http://www.sierramoteltc.com/ I would have posted this earlier but went down the rabbit hole at Lileks.com for an hour or so looking at his vintage motel postcard collection. I highly recommend Lileks as a great complementary site to Shorpy. Fort LauderdaleThe logo matches: Fort Lauderdale1155 North Federal Highway. 1155 North Federal highway, Fort LauderdaleRoom key. Many Mountains (Even in Florida)There were, obviously, quite a few Sierra Motels. Absent a postcard on eBay, I'd say the most convincing evidence that it's the one in Fort Lauderdale is the matching font on the hotel soap shown to us below by Malted Falcon. UPDATE: Kozel finds the postcard! Brand NewThat's a brand-spanking-new '61 Ford Country Squire parked in front. Huge improvement over the '60. Amazing!If ever I have to find something from a photo, I am posting it here. Great job Shorpyites!!!!! We had the Exact Same CarAlso in Wimbledon White with fake wood trim until Dad traded it in to upgrade to the '67 Falcon wagon. We would play with the power rear window until the battery went dead, Dad wasn't happy! (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Motel Life: 1963
Hacienda Motel, Indio, California, 1963. One of many motels and hotels we stayed in ... 
 
Posted by rsyung - 05/22/2015 - 7:07pm -

Hacienda Motel, Indio, California, 1963. One of many motels and hotels we stayed in during a long string of road trips my dad took us on all throughout our childhood. View full size. These photos really bring back memoriesMore, please! (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Key West: 1957
... Garrett Dash Nelson Key West 1957 I wonder what motel this is--they do have a PA speaker up there to the right. Maybe it's ... from 1957! [What if we looked on eBay for Key West motel postcards. - Dave] Those were the days When we content to just ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 1:53pm -

April 1957. "Mom's birthday, Key West, Florida." From Set 3 of found 35mm Kodachrome slides. View full size. No horseplay in the pool, kids! Eve of the Great SocietyThere's something about this picture that just sums up everything in the American climate that led up to the Great Society about ten years from now. It's so eerie. Garrett Dash Nelson Key West 1957I wonder what motel this is--they do have a PA speaker up there to the right. Maybe it's playing the top 40 from 1957! [What if we looked on eBay for Key West motel postcards. - Dave] Those were the daysWhen we content to just go to a motel like this for our holidays and just lie in the sun. I love the way all the chairs are facing that palm tree. Like it's the focal point of their garden. Santa Maria MotelIs what it looks like. (Florida, Kodachromes 3, Travel & Vacation)
Boulevard Motel: 1960
Galveston, Texas - another Kodachrome by my dad, taken in November, 1960. The weather looks ominous. View full size. Beautiful location How cool it would be to swim in that pool while the waves break in close by. I would imagine the rat ... 
 
Posted by rsyung - 09/19/2014 - 7:35pm -

Galveston, Texas - another Kodachrome by my dad, taken in November, 1960. The weather looks ominous. View full size. Beautiful locationHow cool it would be to swim in that pool while the waves break in close by. I would imagine the rates were reasonable, even by the standards of the day. A family could be lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves through an open window. A web search shows many lodging places in Galveston right up by the shore. I wonder what became of this one? I couldn't find a match with the name provided. Did a big storm or hurricane perhaps damage or destroy this place? I'm hoping it is still in business, under a different name. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Gananoque Motel
1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada. Two weeks ago I met the family of the lady who is standing next to the Hillman with the Dutch license plate; the owners of car emigrated to Canada in the fifties, bringing their car with them. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by 4allofyou - 01/02/2015 - 7:47pm -

1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada. Two weeks ago I met the family of the lady who is standing next to the Hillman with the Dutch license plate; the owners of car emigrated to Canada in the fifties, bringing their car with them. View full size. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Good Job Ray: 1961
... -- up at 6, breakfast (blueberry pancakes for me) in the motel dining room, drive until 2 and checking into the next Holiday Inn. We swam every afternoon in the motel pool and then dressed up and drove to the closest firehouse where my ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/13/2022 - 9:26am -

The Columbus, Georgia, Holiday Inn circa 1961. GOOD JOB RAY WRIGHT. This particular Inn had a swimming pool and a trampoline. 4x5 inch acetate negative. View full size. Holiday Inn memoriesMy father was transferred by Shell Oil between NY/NJ and Houston twice in the 60s. With Shell toting the bill we turned each trip into a summer vacation with every night being spent at a Holiday Inn. Each day's routine was the same -- up at 6, breakfast (blueberry pancakes for me) in the motel dining room, drive until 2 and checking into the next Holiday Inn. We swam every afternoon in the motel pool and then dressed up and drove to the closest firehouse where my father asked for dinner recommendations. There were four of us kids packed in the back of our non-air-conditioned Impala and you'd think we would have been miserable but my memories are of the classic Holiday Inn signs that meant "home on the road" and those blueberry pancakes. Structure/Sculptor?What is that thing on the far right in the hotel courtyard below the gent contemplating going out? Looks like some kind of a carousel or something, but made of pretty heavy duty pipe. Potemkin Motelthey just keep moving the same cars from lot-to-lot. '61? it's Georgia, alright -- this is a decoy target built in Tbilisi during the Cold War. More Holiday Inn memoriesCommishbob, your story parallels my own, except for a lot more moving on my part. My dad was on the traveling auditing staff for Shell, so we not only lived in Houston and NY/NJ twice each, but multiple other places--Chicago (twice), St. Louis (three times!), Atlanta, LA, San Francisco, Seattle--almost all before I was in kindergarten. (The usual length of an audit was apparently around three months, and then we'd be off somewhere else.) Thankfully, by the time I hit third grade, we settled in Houston for good. I was the only kid for all but the last move, and I pretty much grew up in the back of a Ford Country Squire station wagon. We lived in many different types of houses and apartments, but our home away from home was always a Holiday Inn. The blinking star atop what writer James Lileks calls "The Great Sign" was a shiny beacon to me; it told me we were "home" for a while. (Mom and Dad are still around, so I'll be sending them this link.) VIPRay must be a very important person -- they even have the ENTRANCE sign pointing directly at him! [Because he's entranced? - Dave] This place is topsI found this postcard on eBay with a date stamp 1961. The address on the card is 3510 Victory Drive, Google Street View below. My parents were among the founding members of the United Methodist Church in which I grew up. Years later, I heard a comedian do a bit about religions. He said "Methodism is the Holiday Inn of religions. You check in. You get comfortable. As long as you pay your bill and don't trash the room, everything is okay." Click to embiggen. Holiday Inn Memories!In the 1960s and '70s my dad (who worked for GM and got an annual two-week vacation) and the rest of the family, Mom and four kids, would go on a road trip and we always stayed in Holiday Inns because Dad could make reservations ahead. The Inns were always the same, and to my delight when the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village (Dearborn, Mi.) renovated their "Automobile and American Life" exhibit in the '90s, they built a Holiday Inn room! EXACTLY like every one I remembered, right down to the blue shag carpet and the little paper hats on the drinking glasses! I sometimes see those chairs in an antique store or secondhand shop and I think "I know where you came from!" Here's a pic of the Museum's exhibit (courtesy Missy S on Pinterest). Dressed up '50 FordOn the far right! Skirts, spinner hubcaps, sun visor on the windshield AND on the side windows. At 11 years old might belong to the help. Fastest car on the lot is probably the '58 Pontiac next to the 1960 Ford, but the '55 Olds 88 on the far left has a Rocket under its hood. Raymond Wright of Columbuswas feted at Macon in September 1961 at the annual meeting of the Home Builders Association of Georgia as the association's retiring president. I suspect the marquee refers to this milestone. His firm, Raymond M. Wright, Inc., is still building homes in Georgia, primarily the Columbus area: http://www.raymwrightinc.com/history.html My guessRay Wright updates the message board. Ray Wright Raymond Michael Wright 1914-1995 Married in Wake County, NC, in 1944. Marriage record lists Army rank as Staff Sergeant. Possibly ended up in Columbus from a tour at Fort Benning. He began as a carpenter and in the early '50s started a contracting business. His obituary lists past president of local and state home builders associations. He was inducted into the National Homebuilders Hall of Fame in 1980. Holiday Inn was pleased with his work. Numbers GameThe address on the postcard posted by Doug Floor Plan, 3510 Victory Drive, has us thrown off a bit, I think. Indeed, that may have once been this motel's address, but I'm pretty certain this Holiday Inn building still stands at 3170 Victory Drive. Built in 1958, the motel was most recently seen in Budgetel livery, but it also did some time as a Days Inn. Did they move the building to a new address? Of course not! It's much more likely that the address was changed, probably for alignment with a new numbering system. [By 1965, the address was 3170. - Dave] No fenceIn the postcard picture the first thing I noticed was the lack of a fence around the pool. It really was a different time in America. [1961, to be specific. - Dave] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Columbus, Ga., News Photo Archive)
Florida Room: 1941
... the room's OK, but cluttered with ugly furniture. Motel Glassford There are 19 others in this set, all very modern and ... too much of the classic park-right-in-front-of-your-door motel (of which I am a great fan, unless the carpet stinks). Like a Jungle! ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/03/2016 - 4:48pm -

March 31, 1941. "Robert Glassford residence in Hobe Sound, Florida. Living room, to window. Alice Morgan Carson, architect; Van der Gracht & Kilham, associated architect." Large-format acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. Except for the ashtrays and the lighter... this room would not be out of place today. C MinusArchitecturally the room's OK, but cluttered with ugly furniture. Motel GlassfordThere are 19 others in this set, all very modern and horizontal. The location is marvellous, and I would certainly have loved to be a guest, but one particular shot, of the "guest communicating porch," reminded me just a little too much of the classic park-right-in-front-of-your-door motel (of which I am a great fan, unless the carpet stinks). Like a Jungle!The many windows brings the lush yard inside, like living in a jungle. This style was extremely modern and futuristic in 1941. It now looks very mid-century. Lights first time every timeThe center item on the coffee table is a Ronson Touch Tip lighter; I have one just like it. There is a little wand that is removed and used to push down the striker to light a wick in the end of the wand. There were a number of models. If you like movies from the 30's & 40's you've seen them in use. ZzzztI can't tell if the spiral-wound post, just outside the window on the right, is a modern sculpture, or the worlds largest bug zapper. AaltoStool and tea trolley by Alvar Aalto The furnitureI wouldn't say the furniture is ugly. Maybe it is in beholders eye. Well, at least the table with wheels (don't know an english word), other wooden tables and the little three-feet tables are designed by Alvar Aalto. Publishing years respectively: 1936, 1933 and 1933. They are absolutely IN nowadays. Prices are 1855 € for the table with wheels, 725 € for a low profile table (down right) and 185 € for each little table. Whew! And these prices are for the new-production furniture. If you need an original one, the prices are 10x. Eye of the BeholderUgly to some, beloved by others. Most of the furniture in the room was designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898-1978), and manufactured by Artek, the Helsinki company he co-founded in 1935. The company still prospers and keeps many of the designs seen here in production, while vintage examples in good condition bring impressively high prices at auctions and in retail galleries devoted to Mid-Century Modern classics. Bug Zapper ThingIt looks like garden-edge fencing which has been fastened to a board vertically. Presumably it's intended to serve as a trellis. HeavenIs what Mid-mod lovers would call the furniture in this room Roll upAnd a cleverly mounted projection screen, perfect for those days of Kodachrome slides and 8mm home movies. Not to mention, if you were as wealthy as the Glassfords might have been, the occasional private screening of a recent cinema release. [Wealthy enough to shoot their home movies in 16mm. -tterrace] Easy chairs by Bruno MathssonA very nice room. The easy chairs with plaited seating are designed by Bruno Mathsson. The chair is called Eva and it was a brand new model in 1941. It is still in production. Today the price is 7850 Swedish crowns, or about 950 dollars. Well worth it for a modern classic. Bug zappers?What are the vertically-stacked circular things outdoors behind the lamp shade on the right? Minimalist FurniturationBalances Maximalist Fenestration. (The Gallery, Florida, Gottscho-Schleisner)
Kenny's Drugs: 1953
... I hope Theisen had another shot of these three. Motel City Based on the number of motel signs, I am guessing that this is either Van Buren Street or Grand ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/26/2013 - 11:49am -

Phoenix in 1953. "Photographs show teenagers, mostly male, participating in the Maricopa County, Arizona, programs for teenage delinquent drivers. Includes boys working at Juvenile Farm; teens attending Attitude School; policeman with boys and their hot rods; teens driving on Phoenix streets." Photo by Earl Theisen for the Look magazine assignment "How to Tame Teenage Drivers." View full size. Back then, There were no racing slicks available. We just found the largest tires he could get and put them on the rear. The REAL "Happy Days"These were the real "Fonzies" of the era, not the bland happy-go-lucky character Henry Winkler played on TV's "Happy Days". They did not wink when crossed, and those boots were not for walking. Teenage Boys?They look much older than any teenage boys I've ever seen. Not a bad-looking hot rod, though. "Attitude School" -- I think we could benefit from some of that today! Sheriff Joe would have approved of Attitude School.These boys would not look good in pink jumpsuits if they were hauled in for drag racing TiresInteresting tread pattern on the rear wheels of that Deuce. The fronts looks fairly smooth. I wonder how it drove; and where it might be now, 60 years later. I hope Theisen had another shot of these three. Motel CityBased on the number of motel signs, I am guessing that this is either Van Buren Street or Grand Avenue. Both gateways to a city that was based on the automobile back in the 1950s. Personalized Weapon?The cop's police .38 has an interesting grip, looks like imitation horn. A bit flashy for police armory issue. Most of those guns came with a polished wooden grip. No more cruising stripsThis appears to be a popular street on which to see and be seen, rev up the gas and peel out, very much like the scenes from "American Graffiti" and since I was a pre-teen, there used to be one in every state in which I have lived or visited until about 20 years ago. They have mostly been restricted now by local police and new laws to keep kids and their souped-up hotrods away and keep them from being an annoyance and hindrance to emergency vehicles and drive through restaurants but they were fun (for young people) while they lasted. We made many enduring friendships and never-to-be forgotten memories by just meeting and greeting from our cars or parked side by side as we waited for the carhops to deliver our sodas. These kids who allegedly need an attitude adjustment look tame and respectful to me compared to the armed gangbangers accosting each other these days. I'm grateful to have lived my youth during the best decades of the 20th century. Flathead Ford V8Was the likely engine in this car. I graduated in 1952 and many of us in that class had experience in tearing them down and rebuilding them. urcunina is correct.The engine in the roadster is a flathead Ford or Merc V8. You can see the coolant hose for the left bank of cylinders routed from the top of the engine down in front to the left water pump. This completely eliminates the radiator and was only done on race cars set up for the 1/4 mile drags. This car would not be driven on the street. The flathead V8s were notorious for overheating, even with proper cooling systems, and would not last more than a few blocks of street driving set up this way. You can see in the pic that there is no grille/radiator in front of the engine. This photo was probably staged for the camera. Pistol strap is wrongThe strap should be over the hammer of the pistol. As it is there is nothing to prevent it from falling or being taken out. Missing that final touchA pack of Luckies rolled up in the shirtsleeve. CruisingMy parents and I lived in Paraguay from 1957 to 1960, and upon our return stateside, drove from New York to Monterey, California, stopping along the way to visit relatives, friends, and the occasional Route 66 reptile zoo and souvenir stand. The night we spent in Phoenix, in whatever the major downtown hotel was called, was an interesting one, especially for a teenage gearhead who'd been deprived of such stimuli for three years. Virtually all night, one could stick one's head out the hotel room window and witness what seemed an endless stream of street rods, custom jobs, and even family sedans parading down the main drag at a stately pace. I guess it was for the benefit of the tourists, because apparently every local resident was driving, not spectating. Unfortunately, my pleas to be allowed to take our steel grey Imperial and join in the spectacle fell on deaf parental ears. Rear TiresThose rear tires look like dirt track tires to me which were popular on the old jalopies of the day. I Sure wish we could get a front view of the car. Cruising CentralThe cruising street of choice until a decade or so ago was Central Avenue from downtown northward. This photo doesn't look like Central as most of the motels back then were along the main highways: Grand Avenue and Van Buren. The officer is wearing the uniform of what is now called Department of Public Safety but was then called Arizona Highway Patrol. They don't normally patrol city streets so I'm guessing this is on the edge of town but would have been on a state or national highway. It is a good thing that rod and its flat head V8 didn't make much horsepower as that Model A spoked wheel was not that strong. And that rear tire looks much more suited to dirt or clay than pavement. I found an obit of someone who had worked at "Kenny's Drugs" but it did not give the location. Love that sidearmMost likely a S&W .38 police special with stag grips. Would love to have that now. What a classic. Sand DragsWith those rear tires, and the other racing-inspired bits, it might be am early sand dragster. What's on tap?What I'd like to know is which beer company is represented on the sign at the top right. I thought it might be A-1, an Arizona regional of the time, but could not confirm any of their signs had that look. Thoughts? There's hot and then there's HOTHaving cooked, I mean lived, in Phoenix for a year, I can guarantee it isn't summer in this photo. Wouldn't be leaning on the car. I had metal door handles and learned the hard way that when parked outside for more than an hour or two, use a potholder to open the door. (Cars, Trucks, Buses, LOOK)
Cool Pool: c.1969
... so maybe the shade is better there. Mardi Gras Motel This was an easy find. 3400 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, looking ... have been preserved, though God knows what looks that motel went through in the '70s and '80s before that final bland one. ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 09/11/2011 - 5:50am -

From a bunch of old family slides a friend is having me scan. Location isn't specified, but is possibly Florida, like many of the others. I do know the black car is a 1963 Lincoln Continental and the white one an AMC Javelin c.1969. 126 Ektachrome. View full size. Pool HoursAre 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. for guests only. Can everyone else swim at midnight? Chillin'I like the lady at the far left, sitting in the parking lot and keeping an eye on those kids in the pool. There doesn't appear to be a fence (strange), so maybe the shade is better there. Mardi Gras MotelThis was an easy find. 3400 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, looking south. Today it's called the Midtown Inn, but it still has that parallelogram pool! [I remember this place from my tothood! Especially the color-bubbles on the stair tower to nowhere -- a motif repeated in the fence around the pool in tterrace's photo. Click below to embiggen. This could be a case study in how to transmogrify fabulous 1950s googie modernism into utterly crapulous banal postmodernism. The Insipid Inn.- Dave] Double wow!Wow, bryharms, good job! Thanks. An wow, Dave! Talk about your small world, degrees of separation and all that stuff. And I agree - today, yecchh. Question!Were those just standard rooms on the top floor and did they actually put steps in the upper part of that 'stair tower to nowhere'? Blow no oilWell we could always back in the cars just in case some guests love the smell of exhaust when they're sunbathing. Cough, cough. 1970 AMC JavelinThat car on the right, pretty rare car these days. Ouch !Now, if I'm not mistaken, those pool lounge chairs are of the ubiquitous (at least in the '50s and '60s) "plastic straps" type. They were sticky, uncomfortable, and they left you with that "grilled on the BBQ" look. Otherwise, I totally agree with you, Dave. That '50s look should have been preserved, though God knows what looks that motel went through in the '70s and '80s before that final bland one. Different times, also. Now a fence and a barrier are required to even the simplest motel. The Summer of Tommy JamesWhat gives this away as being somewhere in Florida are the ages of the patrons. Not a teen or tot in sight. If this had been a more youthful crowd, there would probably be a few portable radios in evidence with "Crystal Blue Persuasion," the ultimate lounge-by-the-pool tune of the summer of '69, blasting out of each one. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
The Martinique: 1961
... the Martinique sign was. "Hotel Service, Motel Convenience ... 198 Rooms - Restaurant - Heated Pool ... FA2-6641" ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/03/2022 - 9:25pm -

Columbus, Georgia, circa 1961. "Martinique Motor Hotel, Fourth Avenue." The New Frontier in Old Dixie. 4x5 inch acetate negative from the Shorpy News Photo Archive. View full size. Only a memoryThe Martinique changed hands many times over the years and expanded its footprint in the process. During the 1980s it got a makeover that introduced a series of gabled roofs that did nothing to help the appearance. This photo was taken just before the demolition of the building. You can still see the square block structure where the Martinique sign was. "Hotel Service, Motel Convenience ...198 Rooms - Restaurant - Heated Pool ... FA2-6641" Recently deceased: ended its days as a Hojo's Gallimaufry of namesAll right there or within a walk: The Martinique Chattahoochee (River) Muscogee (County) Columbus Georgia Bibb City (historic district) Phenix City (twin municipality) Not listedSadly, the Martinique was not listed in the 1960 Green Book. Still driving 'emThis could be Havana today! '56 Chevy in the lot... off the starboard quarter of the paralleled Ford wagon. I downloaded a Greenbook a few years back. The key is a talisman. Two Rare BuicksA nice 1959 Buick station wagon front & center and a 1960 Buick behind the 1958 Mercury two door. 1959 & '60 Buicks are scarce as hens' teeth today! Hip to be SquareUnder the big tree nearest the hotel entrance is a customized second-generation Thunderbird (1958-60), often referred to as "Squarebirds." The one in the photo is most probably a '58. That 1960 Buick... behind the 1958 Mercury looks an awful lot like a Pontiac to me. My first car was a '53 Pontiac. [The car is a 1960 Buick Electra 225, parked next to a 1955 Chevy, next to a 1959 Oldsmobile. There are two Pontiacs (1958, 1960) on the other side of the driveway. - Dave] Behind the Mercury ...I guess it depends on how you interpret the term 'behind'. From the point of view of the camera then it's a Buick behind the Mercury. I was thinking in terms of the Mercury and behind it, on the street, is a Pontiac. [Oh, THAT Pontiac. You are correct! - Dave] Mid-Century ModernI've always had an affinity for Mid-Century Modern, or 'Googie' architecture. I thought it fun and fairly whimsical. I wish there was more of it around nowadays but those structures and road signs are few and far between. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Columbus, Ga., News Photo Archive)
U-Smile Court
... Hwy 40). U-Smile Court, we hardly knew ya. U-Smile Motel I remember the U-Smile Motor Lodge on 40 Highway, near Kaufmann ... is now a Sunset Inn. U-Smile Court was just west of this motel. It was razed in the late 60's when I-435 was built. Another picture ... 
 
Posted by John.Debold - 09/20/2011 - 8:31pm -

U-Smile Court. Kansas City, MO. 1940's? View full size. U Smile, I SmileI smile at U-Smile because of those fabulous cars. What I can't see from this picture is how the cars got into those little carports. There is no driveway leading to them, or curb cut. There must be a way into those alcoves from the rear. That also explains why all the grilles are facing us. One person backs into a parking spot, not everyone. Not U-Smiling Any MoreWow. I tried to find where this place is now, half expecting it to be some run-down dump in the 39th Street area. Alas, U-Smile Court (which was a kind of motor hotel, not a street of residences) is more than gone. It's obliterated! Even the street it was on (Skiles Avenue at 8100 E 40 Highway) is gone! It looks like they built I-435 right on top of it. The nearest existing road is a trailer park at Smalley Terrace (in the 7900 block of Hwy 40). U-Smile Court, we hardly knew ya. U-Smile MotelI remember the U-Smile Motor Lodge on 40 Highway, near Kaufmann Stadium. The building is still there and is now a Sunset Inn. U-Smile Court was just west of this motel. It was razed in the late 60's when I-435 was built. Another picture of U-SmileI'm not sure that photo is actually of the U-Smile motel. Here's another one from a postcard that looks much different. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Lewiston Hill: 1941
... Administration. View full size. Nice view from a motel There is now a motel about where this photo was taken, above the appropriately named Old ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/10/2022 - 11:54am -

July 1941. "Idaho wheat country -- extensive rolling fields. Lewiston Hill, north of Lewiston." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Nice view from a motelThere is now a motel about where this photo was taken, above the appropriately named Old Spiral Highway. That's the Clearwater River in the distance, right before it joins the Snake River just out of frame to the right. Lewiston is a twin city with Clarkston, Washington, on the other side of the Snake and which is home to the Lewis & Clark Discovery Center. Old Spiral Highway indeedNo surprise that US Route 95 has replaced what is now called Old Spiral Highway. Here is what it looks like from above. Click to embiggen. Google Street view from the old highway is grainy, so here is roughly the same angle as the 1941 photo but from US-95. You can see Old Spiral Highway between the guardrail posts. Drove my '63 VW Beetlein 1964 down this hill at night, I think I had to replace my brakes the next day, what a nightmare drive. The Southern Edge of the PalouseA region that attracts photographers from all around the world. When I tell WSU and UI alum that, they look at me like I'm nuts. The Famous, or Infamous, Lewiston GradeIt's not quite so twisty these days. My mother went to nearish-by Washington State College (now University--go Cougs!) in the 1940s and she told me about a classmate, who was a pilot in the war, who wrecked his car going down the grade. He apparently got confused, thought he was in an airplane, and tried to bank the plane around a curve. When I asked how someone could get confused between a car and an airplane, she allowed as to how he might have been a bit tipsy. Good crop of housesHere's another view, from the Lewiston Hill Overlook, that shows the ridge, with the river and bridge in the distance. Someone stuck a house on that ridge. It doesn't look like much wheat is cultivated here lately. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Landscapes, Rural America, Russell Lee)
Your Move: 1922
... [It's mold on the emulsion. - Dave] Boardwalk with a Motel is where you landed, and that'll be $10,000. Early Monopoly prototype? ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/08/2014 - 1:20pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1922. "Traffic court -- George H. Scriven, Otto G. Hauschild." Another moldy oldie from the National Photo vaults. View full size. Weird white figureThere's a diffuse, irregular white circle that looks like damage to the image, but which is strictly contained by the boundary of the tabletop. How is that possible? [It's mold on the emulsion. - Dave] Boardwalk with a Motelis where you landed, and that'll be $10,000. Early Monopoly prototype? Boys and their toysIf I had seen this photo when I was eight years old I'd have known what I wanted be when I grew up. Subpoena the HorseHe saw everything! Pre-ComputersInteresting to see how they handled such graphics problems before the computer. This does look like more fun. Movable pieces! Can anyone recognize the lapel pins these two gents are wearing? DeskDon't look now but your drawers are open! Drat!You sank my battleship! Otto C. Hauschild Washington Post, Mar 4, 1959 Otto Hauschild, Served as Policeman 44 Years Otto C. Hauschild, whose 44 years on the Washington police force were a record in length and service when he retired in 1946, died of a stroke Monday at the Washington Hospital Center. He was 79. When Mr. Hauschild joined the force in 1902, the speed limit was 4 miles an hour and motorists going any faster were trailed by policemen on bicycles. He had beats in the 1st, 5th, 6th and 9th precints. During his longest assignment, from 1919 until retirement, he was an assistant in the Corporation Counsel's Office, preparing trial papers and conducting preliminary hearings in traffic cases. Studying traffic problems, he hit on the idea of reconstructing traffic accidents with toy cars. His system became so successful that it was adopted across the country to clarify complicated collision cases in court. Earning a law degree in 1928 from Georgetown University, he became the first policeman ever admitted to practice before the Supreme Court. Your tax dollars at workThese guys cannot conceal their happiness in getting to play their favorite boyhood game of "cars and trucks" on company time and with those beautifully detailed and crafted vehicles. They may be in their forties but had to have had lots of fun creating the crash in the center of the model town and probably taking dibs on whose child is going to finally receive those marvelous toys. FOB SOSI don't recognize the insignia on his watch fob. Is that a DC police fob? (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Station A: 1912
... Wharf until around 1963. The site is now (what else) a motel. Everything you know is ... This is obviously a primitive ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/13/2024 - 8:03pm -

May 10, 1912. "Gas holder, Station A, Detroit City Gas Company." Yet another gasometer abuilding. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. My gasometer was differentNorth Attleborough, Mass., had a classy brick "gas house." From what I see online, brick structures protected the iron gasometers inside and extended their lives. North Attleborough's gas house survives and has been re-purposed as a home for several small businesses. Coal Gas vs. Natural GasWhen I grew up in the 1950s we lived in cities that used coal gas. When you light a natural gas burner on your stove, it ignites fairly quietly. With coal gas there was a pronounced "POP" when lit. Natural gas has no odour so there is an additive (Mercaptan) to tell if there is a gas leak. Coal gas did not need an additive - it smelled like mothballs. Unburned coal gas was deadly, and some people committed suicide by inhaling it. Your nose told you when you were near a gasworks in your city. Several cities on the South Island of New Zealand still had coal gas generated as late as the 1980s. LocationThis appears to be near the corner of West Jefferson and West Grand Boulevard. Today, just a vacant lot. In all the old familiar placesThis beauty loomed over the heart of Fisherman's Wharf until around 1963. The site is now (what else) a motel. Everything you know is ...This is obviously a primitive astronomical device created by Druids in the late Iron Age. You can see the two sets of 24 counting markers around the periphery, which were used to predict lunar eclipses. Two small four-legged devices (one seen just above the post at the bottom of the picture, the other having long disappeared) are the indicators moved from one marker to the next each year. At the end of 18 years the marker is moved each moonrise along the next 6 markers to account for the fact that the lunar cycle is 18.6 and not 18 years. When the 25th marker is reached a new cycle begins. Also to be seen are the two triangular devices that mark summer and winter solstices, and the central gnomon, which shows the length of each day and the specific time. The site is unique in that it includes a pile of tubes which were obviously intended to be used to create a true henge, left unfinished when the civilization mysteriously disappeared. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Industry & Public Works)
Dead Ox Flat: 1939
... interesting note from Scott Wardlaw in the comments. Motel 6 I believe this humble home may have been the inspiration for the Motel 6 franchise. And as Mrs. Wardlaw used to say, "we'll leave the light on ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2012 - 2:44pm -

October 1939. "Mr. and Mrs. Wardlaw at entrance to their dugout basement home. Dead Ox Flat, Malheur County, Oregon." Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Been thereMy grandparents used to take my brother and me on road trips out into the Oregon desert in the '70s. Can't say I've seen this particular house, but I can say it's spectacular but forbidding land -- what a place to eke out a living in those days! I almost stepped on a rattlesnake curled up on the sunny front porch of a cabin we stayed in. White lightningNote the whiskey jug with the cork in it. More appropriate in this context than, say, a case of Dom Perignon, right? I'd give anything...please tell me you have a photo of the inside of that thing!....Thanks Dave..Um, I hope you didn't take me seriously about the "I'd give anything" bit. [Click here. - Dave] TwinsI guess it's true what they say: the longer you're married the more you start to look alike. StrengthThis is an outstanding photograph. It shows the strength, cheerfulness, and determination of our ancesters that settled this country. Great it is that this photo was taken in 1939. Doug Santo Pasadena, CA Color Their WorldThis is one of those few old-timey pics that would look better in color. It couldn't look worse. Waste not want notEven that worn out tire has been cut up and used for something. banderboy: I almost had an original thought. Optimism neededTo live in a place named like that ... Dead Ox : no explanation needed there Malheur : french word for misfortune or tragedy Oregon : comes from the french word "ouragan" (hurricane) Waste notI wonder what he did with the rest of the old tire behind the milk cans. ps: Geezer- great minds and all that...I swear there were no comments up when I wrote that! Previously on Shorpy ...Also seen here and here. With an interesting note from Scott Wardlaw in the comments. Motel 6I believe this humble home may have been the inspiration for the Motel 6 franchise. And as Mrs. Wardlaw used to say, "we'll leave the light on for you". Small worldAs soon as I saw the caption of this picture I thought, "I wonder if my Internet friend Scott Wardlaw is related to them." And lo ... Glenn WardlawIn the photo in the comments, the boy at the table is the Wardlaw's son, Glenn. There is a 2006 photo of him here: http://www.hereandnow.org/2009/03/looking-at-dorothea-lange/ The DugoutThe photo seems to show an albeit flimsy ground level building or buildings trailing off to the rear. Is there a reason that folks like them would prefer living underground vs fixing up those sheds as living space? [The structure to the rear is the top of the dugout. Pit houses were at one time common in the West and Southwest. - Dave] The rest of the storyThis photo says so much with so little. More here in a comment from Noel Wardlaw. Little House In the PrairieMy father grew up in such a basement house in Indiana in the 1940s and 50s. He had 10 brothers and sisters, so 13 of them lived there. He left the day he turned 18. Oregon OriginFYI, the real origin of the name "Oregon" is unknown. It's first known use was in 1765 - http://www.oregonlink.com/namingoforegon.html , quite some time before French Canadian Trappers were in the area to get the meaning from there. There is some speculation that the word was gotten from Indians living around the mouth of the Columbia River during that time, but if so the tribe and their dialect were gone by the time Lewis and Clark showed up. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression)
House of Panes: 1939
... negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. Motel 6 Without the parking. Cruel Joke It's like these cutting edge ... the 30's got together and said, "I know, let's design the motel of the late 50's and early 60's. They'll love it!" The forerunner ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/30/2015 - 3:22pm -

June 12, 1939. "New York World's Fair, House of Glass. General exterior (rear). Landefeld & Hatch, architect." Our first exterior view of this crystal palace. 5x7 inch Agfa safety negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. Motel 6Without the parking. Cruel JokeIt's like these cutting edge architects back in the 30's got together and said, "I know, let's design the motel of the late 50's and early 60's. They'll love it!" The forerunnerof all the "cookie cutter" look-alikes today, maybe?. Everything is relativeYes it looks kind of anodyne to us, but compared to houses that people were familiar with at the time, it would have been like being taken up in a flying saucer or jumping 100 years forward in a time machine. I expect that the visitors were absolutely dazzled by it. A la Howard RoarkI'm picturing this as Gail Wynand's house in Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead. 2015This picture could have been taken this afternoon - pretty cool that it was 76 years ago (The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, NYC)
The Boomerang: 1963
... is very nice. [Those are new cars! - Dave] Motel Hell . . . o I'll take a two-way ticket in the Lodge-Limo if you don't ... 
 
Posted by seri_art - 12/17/2008 - 6:44pm -

Winter 1962-63 in Aspen, Colorado. Boomerang Lodge, designed by owner Charlie Paterson, a Frank Lloyd Wright-trained architect (and ski instructor). The vehicle on the left is a Cadillac hearse used as a lodge limo! View full size. Heated Pool ... Well, I certainly hope so! IcebikeWhat a dedicated cyclist! VintageNice grouping of old cars--the blue Pontiac by the Ford is very nice. [Those are new cars! - Dave] Motel Hell . . . oI'll take a two-way ticket in the Lodge-Limo if you don't mind. Politically correctI'm no fan of 60's architechiture but even those that are must have to admit how ugly this building truly is. So few structures of this time period have been saved (thankfully) and I'm betting that even in the ever correct Aspen, this one is gone. Better to concentrate on saving the beautiful buildings from earlier in the century that are now threatened. When in AspenI've stayed at the Boomerang many times on business, and it is wonderful. There's a rec room in the basement that has a window looking out into the in-ground pool. Very cool. The newer part of the hotel features gas fireplaces in every room, and private balconies. I think it is a bargain, especially for Aspen. The BoomerangYou can see the rec room window to the pool in another photo in this Aspen winter 62-63 series. Alas, time marches on and Charlie sold the Boomerang and the lot across the street a few years ago. The two sites whose links are below describe the new version that's in progress. It seems to be a condominium leaseback arrangement but I'm not clear about it. The first site says, "To honor Aspen's past, The Boomerang's 'East Wing' will retain its historic charm. Originally sketched by Charlie Paterson while studying at Taliesin West, the breakfast lounge remains as it was - with its walls and fireplace of rustic concrete and windows arranged for maximum openness. Renamed the Paterson Room, it is a tribute to Aspen's past". We'll see... http://www.newboomerang.com (good history section here) http://boomeranglodge.com (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses)
Mother and Child: 1936
... Can contact me at debkroll@hickorytech.net Bates motel revisited All I can think of is Norman and his mother on her last day ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/10/2008 - 11:40am -

December 1936. Woodbury County, Iowa. "Mrs. Mary Kelsheimer and one of her sons on a tenant farm in Miller Township." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. Mary (Walker) & Wallace Kelsheimer her sonThis is my husband's great-grandma & his grandfather William Kelshimer's brother. Can contact me at debkroll@hickorytech.net Bates motel revisitedAll I can think of is Norman and his mother on her last day on earth. (The Gallery, Rural America, Russell Lee)
Room and Bird: 1936
... porch because it was too damn hot to sleep inside. Motel 2 The $2 room is the one overhanging the alleyway with floor about to ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 4:31pm -

January 1936. "New Orleans architecture. Cast-iron grillwork house near Lee Circle on Saint Charles Avenue." Large-format nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. $2I forgot to make reservations this year for the Mardi Gras parades, do you think I can still get the advertised rate? TweetDid anyone else search every square inch of the grillwork looking for the bird? [Hello? They're right in front of your nose. - Dave] Re: TweetI, too, searched for the elusive bird, never thinking to look IN the window. Guess my super-sleuthing abilities are somewhat less than super. Conservative Chimney...It leans to the right. And it's singing . . "I'm only a bird in a gilded cage" Bebop on down to BirdlandNew Orleans. Jazz. SAINT CHARLES. Who needs a gilded cage? Am I Psyhic or PsychoThis image looks to me to be a repeat. The frontal scene and especially the ornate grillwork struck a memory chord. However, I searched Shorpy using various combinations of caption words or phrases (cast-iron, grillwork, ornate, etc.) to no avail. Is this the same of smilar to a posted picture in, say, the past 6 months? (Should I mention that I have been having vivid and interesting dreams of late?) [Did you search for "Orleans"? - Dave] Chez IgnatiusSweet mercy. When I see pictures of the glorious past of New Orleans, my first thought is: How in the living hell did they stand the heat in the summer? Yes, I know. As my mother whose clan is from New Orleans says, they were much tougher folks in those bygone days. I just bet they were. But I guarantee I smell better than any of them after a long, sticky, hot summer night spent in my air conditioned home rather than sprawled out on the front porch because it was too damn hot to sleep inside. Motel 2The $2 room is the one overhanging the alleyway with floor about to give way and wrapped in high-voltage wiring! Lake PontchartrainIn a gentler time, during the New Orleans summer, thousands of people would sleep out on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. (The Gallery, New Orleans, Walker Evans)
Suburban Cowboy: 1963
... It's worse than a warehouse next door. It's a skeezy motel. And it looks like it's been there since the '60s. 2819 Willow Place ... in its one-story days. It may have also been a small motel. We moved to our first home in Diamond Bar, in the eastern part of ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 03/03/2023 - 12:57am -

I just started scanning my sister's photos of her kids from the 1960s. Here's why she was smart to have saved the negatives. Back in 1963, they lived in South Gate, California, in a neighborhood full of classic cars, it seems. My nephew Jimmy in a 2¼-inch square Kodacolor negative. View full size. The clouded crystal ballJimmy (now James) tells me that three years later and a block away from this idyllic scene, there were the Watts riots. Color SaturationI can't help but wonder if most of us who grew up in the middle-class or upper-middle class white America of the 60's and 70's see our childhood memories in lavish Kodacolor. When I was this boy's age, there were the Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy assassinations, coming almost one right after the other. I knew that the grown-ups were very worried, but I wasn't sure just why. Later, I figured out that the only thing that Westchester had in common with Watts was that both names begin with a W. The innocence of childhood is fleeting, indeed. She squealed with delightwhen she saw this photo! Where to begin? The lights integrated with the porch railing are fascinating. Like the house itself, they have a very 1930s art deco flavor. Little Red WagonAlmost everyone can remember having one when they were a kid. I bet this photo makes us all just a little nostalgic. Thank you for sharing all of these great photos with us, tterrace! Blue skiesI see why now people continue to believe in "the good old days." The color saturation, blue skies, happy, smiling kid -- looks like nothing would ever go wrong in this place, doesn't it? Old RedThat Radio Flyer sure brings back memories. Thanks. South Gate StreetviewThe cars were better-looking in 1963. Particularly the Buick next door. View Larger Map Street View! Street View!Can you give an address so we can see how the neighborhood has fared? Ouch!!The beautiful '56 Ford at the left has been tagged but you can see that it did naught but bend the bumper! It didn't disturb the paint! The good old days indeed! Today, that'd be a $3000 repair! Great PictureLove that "Jimmy" has been written on the back of the Radio Flyer! South Gate!I grew up in the neighboring city of Downey and I would LOVE to see more pics of the South Gate area if you would be so kind as to post them! THANKS! Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick?There's another classic Buick in this shot, the white one in the distance, straddling the sidewalk. There's not enough detail for me to tell, but it appears to be a '55 or '56 Roadmaster. I'm sure that if anyone (visiting from the future) had told the owners of these Buicks that GM would be a tottering financial wreck in 2009, they'd never have believed it. Sign of the times...Any idea what the sign posted on your sis's house says? Just so IdealI have to agree with the comments made under the heading Colour Saturation. I recently have been looking at photos of me and my family in our house as I was growing up and you know I don't remember that the carpet was threadbare -- yet it was. I don't remember that we had a broken down car in our backyard -- yet we did. I don't remember that our lounge suite was old and we needed a new one -- but we did. All I remember is that it was a safe, happy and fun place to grow up in and I had a great time. So yeah I think we all of us remember the good and not so much the bad, and isnt that the way it should be. The high, fine, sky of awhile agoIt doesn't happen as much as it seemed to 40 years ago when I was a kid, but every now and then, usually on a quiet Sunday morning or a Tuesday off from work, the sky will have that same tall, bright, look; gently spotted with clouds and a blue turning from light to dark off into space and there will be a slightly warm breeze and everything will seem clean and new and full of possibility. And you can take a deep breath and smell the trees and maybe some creosote from a power pole, and it's 1967 again. A lovely day in this beautywood Love those Mr. Roger's blue tennis shoes. You could buy them at any Alpha Beta grocery store for $1.98. I grew up in a similar Southern California community around the same era. The loppy sidewalks remind me of the joyous hours I spent on roller skates with a skate key on a string around my neck. Were those times so much better or is it that we were just innocent kids? I had a car that was built there!I used to have a '68 Pontiac Bonneville that was built at the South Gate GM plant. It was a great car, very well screwed together. Kodacolor wonderlandDon't you wish you could reprogram your brain to "see" full-time in Kodacolor? The world would be such a cheery place! Was the big warehouse in the current Street View next door in 1963? It seems so out of place. Martini LaneIt's Mad Men! Odd porch lightsThose garden lights were very common in our nearby suburb. They were mostly used along driveways, paths, or planters. This is a most unusual installation. And they are still there. I might give this place a drive-by at lunchtime. American IronI really enjoy the look of these old cars - especially the 1959 Pontiac ahead of the Ford. It's probably a Catalina. Many of these cars had a space age theme to their design. By the hour?It's worse than a warehouse next door. It's a skeezy motel. And it looks like it's been there since the '60s. 2819 Willow PlaceIt looks like the place might be for rent, $895 a month. ColorI think two things contribute to the burst of color. One is that color film is much richer than the digital stuff we have now. And, secondly, the cars WERE much more colorful then than the drab vehicles we see now. Unfortunately, I think some of the color has gone from our lives in many ways since then. P.S. - From the glimpse of the back wheel well in the car in the distance, I can't help but wonder if it might not be an Olds instead. Beautiful streetMy children lived this kind of life on a street like this in the early 1950s in Detroit as hard as that is to believe. You want sunshine-- on a cloudy day? Some readers spoke about the past as always being bright and sunny like this picture. During a bout of temporary insanity many moons ago, I took leave of my senses and purchased yellow-lens prescription glasses. It did make every day sunny and the world brightened when you put them on. Or you can look just look through a colored cellophane candy wrapper and get the same effect. Just trying to be helpful. South Gate street view 1961Here's 2819 Willow Place, along with the ugly building next door, a couple years earlier. Jimmy playing with a neighbor's puppy, and a selection of early-50s cars. Yes, those are different lamps on the railings. The Salmon DeSotoI know what you mean about auto paint being brighter back then. My guess is that paint trends were still built more around primary colors than the more subtle and "nuanced" tints and shades of today. I remember there was a year or two that featured flamingo pink, black, and white as a trio. Knocked your eyes for a loop. Especially on the big fin cars. Dad was looking at one, but ended up going with the pale blue. Too much pink for a man from the Ozarks, I guess, looking back on it. How did Jimmy turn outWhat is he, about 48 years old today? Had I only known..Geez.. had I known I was a branding opportunity, I'd have taken advantage of it a long time ago. I don't think I've been that cool since that day -- red wagon, cowboy, riding a possible Radio Flyer tricycle as well (I'm sure someone will sort out the logo, maybe it was Royce Union). Funny thing about that pic. Those years I only have memories of things in black and white. Maybe I only remember those years from pictures which were mostly black and white, I guess. Obviously there was color. My memories of color start about 1967, yet every television event memory I have was black and white until about 1970. Apparently we got a color TV then? So what the hell happened to Jimmy? Well, without getting too personal and please forgive the third person narrative, here ya go. After leaving Los Angeles in 1971, the family moved to Marin County. Jimmy decided he was going to be a rock and roll star and started a metal rock band in the early 80's. The day Nirvana hit the charts, he knew that the music he was good at was no longer popular, so he joined a Southern rock tribute act and toured the Bay Area for 10 years. He then decided to get back to the original reason why he started playing music in the first place, for fun, and only plays local gigs, usually benefits. During this time he also got married and had two children. He is now a media personality in Wine Country and owns his own web consulting firm. He also writes for several Wine country publications and does "flavorful" wine industry videos. If you're ever in Sonoma Valley, you may even run into him. Though he goes by James now. A note from Jimmy's MomThis part of South Gate was a blue collar area, consisting of single family homes, and "court" apartments. The lots there were fairly deep, and so people would put in two rows of four apartments, usually single story, with the garage or carport at the rear with the laundry room and clotheslines. The "court" was the central walkway between the two buildings where the entrances were, except for the front apartments. Just behind Willow Place was Firestone Boulevard, a heavy industrial area at the time. The big Firestone plant was there, and other manufacturing plants. Often in the evening, strange smells would fill the air. This era was also what I call "between the smogs." They had banned outdoor burning of leaves and trash in the Los Angeles Basin in the late 1950s, and the air was fairly clear most of the time. But with increased population, and the increase of jet travel, the smog was back by 1964. The only real clear air days were when the Santa Ana winds blew. The ugly building next door contained a restaurant as I remember, in its one-story days. It may have also been a small motel. We moved to our first home in Diamond Bar, in the eastern part of the L.A. basin, in 1963. The red wagon makes an appearance there with Jimmy pulling his little sister in Little Red Wagons elsewhere on Shorpy. The South Gate apartment was the inspiration for the Salmon Kitchen, also seen elsewhere on Shorpy. Our landlady developed a blend of paint that she used on all her kitchens. As I remember, it was part peach, part mushroom and some kind of off white. She said it didn't yellow, and when the tenant moved out there wouldn't be any shadows on the walls from where the clock or the calendar had hung. So she would not have to repaint every time, just have the walls washed. Our dad and mom liked this idea, and so was born the salmon kitchen in Larkspur. Jimmy's Mom Just fabulous!Saw this link from Instapundit. What a fabulous photo! I love the comments, too, and the Google maps link. InstacowboyForty-six years later, Jimmy's 15 minutes of fame in the blogosphere have arrived. Now the top link on Instapundit. 9I was 9 years old in another part of California, but I had that tricycle and a similar little red wagon. My parents had a Ford Crown Victoria, my father worked, my mother stayed at home to raise me and the world I grew up in was truly both wonderful and wondrous. Even with the duck-and-cover exercises in school. LampsI believe the lamps were replaced during the time we were there.. Look at those in the background then look at the pic above. I dare say they're different. Status symbolsFor the younger Shorpyites that might not remember the 1960s, most working or middle class families had only one car (if they had one at all). It was a point of pride to park your car either directly in front of your house or prominently displayed in the driveway. The more obvious the better; bright colors helped even more. Take that, you Joneses! Also, you scored big status points with of those gangly omnidirectional TV antennas on your roof as seen in the background. Indoor "rabbit ear" antennas just had no class. Nirvana vs. Marshall TuckerJust my opinion, Real Jimmy, but at least you were paying tribute to music that deserved it. I really hope there won't be any grunge tribute bands in the future. Status SymbolsWe started with one car in 1960 but had to have another since we both worked. Then, we had a teenager and, then, another. Soooo -- 4 cars. Walk? Bicycle? Ha! Not in California. Now, it is a nationwide problem. Thanks for reminding me. Cool Hat, KidLove the photo. I had a had just like that as a kid and think I have photo somewhere of me wearing it while sitting on a pony at a neighborhood birthday party. Takes me back...I think THIS is the turning point. This photo captures the apex of our society. I see the dreams of so many families right here. A house of your own. A clean street. Meticulously maintained homes. The kids free to play in the neighborhood. A perfect blue sky. This photo makes me cry. Grew up nearbyI grew up in the SF Valley in the same era, that photo takes me back. I also watch the TV series "Mad Men" and the cars, furniture, fashion etc. are all things I remember. The easy days of riding your bike up and down the neighborhood with your friends, not a care in the world. Sigh. Pure EvilNo helmet, knee pads or elbow pads denote a neglectful lack of regard for poor Jimmy by his mother. That hat no doubt contains lead-based pigments; clear evidence of child abuse. And what's this?? A toy GUN??? That poor child's evil, troglodyte mother should be thrown in jail for creating another gun-crazed criminal!!!!elevnty1!! (/nanny-state nutjob) Great pic. It reminds me of my own childhood, before childhood was destroyed by the culture of fear we have today. Dang, That Could Have Been ME!Boy, does that look familiar. My grandparents had a house in South Gate, at Tweedy Boulevard and San Luis Street. I was even born about the same time. And I had my trusty steed "Tricycle" and my Mattel Fanner 50! The Melting PotOh yes, I remember the days when all the kids in the suburbs had Anglo names like Will, Paul, and Rosemary. Today we have a much more diverse society. Suburban namesNo, they had names like Jimmy, Mary and Davy. Their Mom Some things aren't so differentMy childhood was like this in northern Illinois. However, there are still some pockets of America like this. In my subdivision outside of Denver, small children play up and down the street just like Jimmy. If you look around, you can provide a life like this for your children Same hereMy mother and I watch Mad Men and love it. But she'll always point things out while we're watching and say "My parents had those! And those, and those!!!" "I remember using that!" Apparently they get everything "down to the t" when it comes to the setting. Re Pure Evil by Random Numbers Random Numbers said: Great pic. It reminds me of my own childhood, before childhood was destroyed by the culture of fear we have today. The irony I see in Random Numbers' remarks is that this kind of negativity sounds just as whiny as today’s “nanny state," and serves the unintentional purpose of proving that life--or at least People--haven't changed much at all since the 1960's--when grumpy old people even then lamented how much better (more real, more sincere, etc.) things were when THEY were children. Anyway, I trust that Random Numbers and his like-minded baby boomer peers are “keeping it real” by not giving in to today’s "culture of fear" paranoia and availing themselves of the myriad medical advancements and pharmaceuticals that have increased well-being and longevity by decades as compared to those fun and free “good old days” when people routinely died in their 60s! (--Wouldn’t want to be a hypocrite.) p.s. tterrace your photos are WONDERFUL! Cowboy Jimmy Honest to Abe, this is one of my favorite pictures of yours! South Gate memoriesMy folks had a house on Kauffman Avenue until 1968, when they bought their house in Downey. It was very close to the old South Gate water tower, near South Gate park. I'm sure you remember the area. I only have vague memories, as I was just a toddler when we lived there. I should see if I can find some of the photos my folks took during the time they lived on Kauffman. I'm sure they look very much like these! "Just a snapshot "As beautiful as any William Eggleston photo I've ever seen, and I consider him a genius in the world of photography. This is just utterly enchanting -- I can't take my eyes off it. (Same is true for the photo you posted a while back of the young man in a sea of blacklight posters.) This is just the best website ever! South Gate kidI grew up in South Gate in the 70's and 80's. This picture looks very much like my grandparents street. They moved to South Gate after WWII ended and lived and worked there for the rest of their lives. It was a wonderful & diverse city at that time. I was wondering what street this picture was on. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Kids, tterrapix)
Migrant Mother II: 1936
... in January of 1979. I know because that night in the motel room we watched the pilot of "Dukes of Hazzard." The family was headed ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/03/2012 - 4:59pm -

August 17, 1936. Blythe, California. "Drought refugees from Oklahoma camping by the roadside. They hope to work in the cotton fields. There are seven in family. The official at the border inspection service said that on this day, 23 carloads and truckloads of migrant families out of the drought counties of Oklahoma and Arkansas had passed through from Arizona entering California." Medium-format negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. A different timeMy first day in California was spent in Blythe in January of 1979. I know because that night in the motel room we watched the pilot of "Dukes of Hazzard." The family was headed for LA and I hated every minute I was in that town. I thought Blythe was a miserable town in January. I can't imagine what it was like sitting on the side of the road in August. This photo almost brought tears to my eyes. Whoa!Ohhhhh. So that's what they're used for. DaddyAnother shot by Dorothea. An Exotic CultureIt's a poignant photograph. By the sensibilities of the time, though, one just didn't show photos of women breastfeeding. Unless, of course, the woman was from an exotic and inferior culture, who's whose nakedness was suitable for display in the pages of National Geographic Magazine. One wonders if Dorothea Lange viewed the Okies this way. Sensibilities of the timeI doubt DL would have lasted five minutes if she had had such a patronizing attitude as to view "Okies" as an inferior culture. What she's saying IMHO is, "you sent me to document the indomitable American spirit and this is what I found." The first thing poverty kills is privacy. Sorority SisterTo me she looks amazingly contemporary. Minus the steely gaze and the nursing baby she could be a college girl.I'm sure she's in her early 20s. Straight out of Steinbeck. What a life. Slouching towards BakersfieldStill no room at the inn. StrengthOne of the most strinking and haunting pictures you've found. 'Powerful' is too weak a word. Thank you. Down but not outLook at the set of her jaw and near glare of her eyes. There was a lot of spirit left in this young woman. Ow. Ow. Ow.This is pure pain. This shot, all shots by Dorothea Lange transend time, simply put, each one is "art". IMO, she was the master of photography. I have so much personal pain viewing this that I cannot even comment. A long sleeved shirt?I'd at least have the sleeves rolled up, if that was my only shirt. Every August in Blythe when I passed through, it was 110 or more. And I didn't have air-conditioning in the VW, so I felt every one of those degrees even in a tank top, shorts, and sandals. You don't see any sweat because it evaporates almost instantly in the low, low humidity. My Ozark relatives would say that looking into those young woman's eyes, she got some spunk in 'er! Those were tough times.I like to relate to the pictures on this web page. 1936 was the year I entered the Henry Ford Trade School and now know how fortunate I was. Would like to know what happened to this young lady. Have read that some of these people or their children did quite well in California. Blythe, CA in Augustis hell on Earth under any conditions. This must have been pure misery. MothersThe child looks a little big to be still nursing which would mean this is the only way mom could feed him, Dad looks hopeless while mom looks strong. One of the strongest photos of motherhood I have ever seen. Those EyesEven though this is a still photograph, I believe she has what they would call an unwavering gaze. Those eyes have seen misery and hardship impossible for most of us to imagine. I wish you well, dear woman. Compelling time periodI am a huge fan of researching this time period the images, such as this one, capture moments of raw human emotion. I did a post recently about The Great Depression, using archive photographs to look at the support systems that are put in place to aid people, like the family member shown here. http://www.collectivepic.com/2009/08/the-great-depression-the-current-re... Nursing momI wish we had a breastfeeding tag here. I've seen other babes nursing. The child is definitely not too old to be nursing. It's only been within in the last century that Americans as a whole have put their babies on artificial baby milk or weaned from the breast way too early. The minimum recommended ranges from 12-24 months--and that's a minimum on the breast, not a maximum. I've come across other nursing mother pictures in old photos. I think that it was likely seen as a normal thing to do. Totally modest, there was no accusation of a lack of discretion--this is simply how infants and toddlers are fed and comforted. Hopefully we can move back toward attitudes such as this. This picture is both beautiful and sorrowful. This ladydefinitely has more femininity, modesty and class than modern American women. True BeautyThat is the face of the most beautiful woman I have seen, such strength, love, character. Antibodies, tooThis lovely mother isn't just providing food and comfort for her toddler. She is also passing on her own antibodies, to help protect him from illness, because his own immune system would have still been developing. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression)
Minneapolis 1908
... and was completely creeped out. And that Gobbler motel - I would pay handsomely to go back in time and spend one night in that ... 
 
Posted by Lileks - 01/01/2009 - 10:54am -

The buildings on the left were razed in the 80s for a ghastly development called “City Center,” which wasn’t as imaginative as its name. The retail portion struggled for decades to fail, and finally succeeded. The sliver of white stone on the right was Donaldson’s, a department store that eventually moved into City Center, where it the brand died in a merger. (The old building was demolished for an attractive Cesar Pelli-designed retail / office complex.) Down the street on the right, it’s the Syndicate Building, later the home of Penney’s. (It was torn down for a retail / office complex.) In the distance, the pointy tower of the remarkably ungainly Minnesota Loan and Trust Building, a 49-foot-wide building that stood until 1920 before it was clawed down for a new Woolworth's. Everything here is gone except for the light-colored building in the middle. It still bears its original name: Andrus. It’s an office complex. No retail. View full size. TodayThe view today: Hi JamesHey James!! It's great to see you here on Shorpy. I can't tell you the number of hours I've spent combing through your website and nearly pi**ing myself reading your captions! KodaksNotice the sign on the left for T.V. Moreau. In addition to eyeglasses they sell "Kodaks." E B MeyrowitzI never realized the scope of E B Meyrowitz, Opticians. I thought they were a local NYC optical store and now I see them in turn of the century (20th Century, that is) Minneapolis. City Center not that successful for retail...In the past five years two of the three levels of retail shops in City Center have been converted to office spaces. It is not longer a major retail presence in downtown Minneapolis. Hitting the high notesWhat dedication it would take to sell piano/organs from a second-floor shop, and then deliver them with a horse and buggy. Re: SuccessMore to come? From Lileks? Holy smoke, is this New Year getting off to a great start! SuccessI meant it succeeded at failing. Minneapolis razed four giant blocks for enclosed multi-level retail, and not one can be called thriving. thxdave - thanks! More to come. 180 degrees & 62 years later. . . Turn around and face the opposite direction, and wait about 62 years, and you'll be able to see Mary Tyler Moore throwing her knitted tam in the air (over and over and over again). Road RulesI guess there were no rules then such as "keep right", etc. Everyone just seems to go where they want and the devil take the hindmost. Those poor ladies standing in the middle would look like easy prey. Jim!We're not worthy! We're not worthy! Seriously, your web site is the only one I know that can reduce me to fits of hysteria - no matter how many times I read it. I was shopping for bread the other night and saw the Sunbeam bread girl on the wrapper, and was completely creeped out. And that Gobbler motel - I would pay handsomely to go back in time and spend one night in that place. WHAT'S THE SITE?A couple of people have talked about Mr. Lileks "site." How can we find it? Sounds interesting. [If only there were some easy, obvious way to find out! - Dave] "City center used to be the center of the scene..."Minneapolis' own Hold Steady have mentioned City Center a few times in their songs, most notably in YOUR LITTLE HOODRAT FRIEND: "She said City Center used to be the center of the scene. / Now city center's over, no one really goes there." Craig Finn, lyricist for the band, has this to say about the mall: "City Center is a lame mall in downtown Minneapolis that is 50 percent vacant with 50 percent low budget gangsters hanging out. The Champs store in this mall is the best place to get the super new school ghetto Twins/Vikings/T-Wolves gear. I mean the non-traditional stuff." MoreauThe Eyeglasses of Dr. Moreau: Half Human, Half Animal, Half Spectacle! Throwing stones in a glass BauhausLileks' comment about the fate of the Donaldson's building is correct. It was torn down (or perhaps to be even more precise, in the middle of being torn down and carted off) when kids trespassed and started the fire that consumed the remains and the Northwestern Bank Building next door. A more complete account of the circumstances of the fire is here. The City Center has been to urban redevelopment what the Metrodome has been to baseball. Lileks! OMGMy wife and I absolutely LOVE your book on the 70's decorating! It is wonderful restroom reading and cracks me up everytime I pick it up! Thanks so much! Love the webpage too. (it was soooo hard to find ;) ) SwoonFirst I stumbled upon Mr. Lileks' site where I found the perfect combination of humor, Minnesota and old things. Then I found Shorpy, a perfect combination of photography, history and blazing photo enhancement. Oh, and yes, blazing wit to boot. To see them together is just too much. Thanks for starting my 2009 off with a smile! Oh, nuts!!!Thanks to Lileks, my day will start even later, now that I have this site to check before heading out! Lileks has poor attention to detail"Minneapolis razed four giant blocks for enclosed multi-level retail, and not one can be called thriving." Nonsense. Retail was just one component of the project, which also included an office tower (initially the Multifoods Tower, now mostly occupied by Target). The office tower is 95% occupied (which, in this economy, can be called thriving), the remaining office space in the complex (where Donaldson's/Carson Pirie Scott was) is 100 percent occupied by Marshall's, an office-supply store and the Minnesota Bar Association, and the Marriott hotel is a thriving concern. A third level of retail failed as did a high-profile restaurant space (Scottie's/Goodfellows), but that was a small chunk of the total development. Hell, he's not even right about Donaldson's. Its store burned down and was cleared before Gaviidae Common -- which was NOT desiged by Pelli; Lileks confuses Gaviidae with the Norwest Tower (now the Wells Fargo Tower) -- was built. The Donaldson's lot sat empty until Gaviidae construction began. Lileks isn't nearly as smart as he thinks he is. [I can't be certain but I think I hear the sound of an ax being ground. Or is it a bone being picked? On the wrong side of a bed in a rubber room. - Dave] Caveat VenditorGiven that Retail is a constant drumbeat among Downtown Resurrectionists, I'd say that Lileks is right on the money. While the office towers are doing well, the retail sections of City Center are looking very poor. Half the retail space on the ground floor is vacant, and the skyway floor is populated by three or four restaurants and a Brooks Brothers. There was a lot of money thrown at that center recently, with the end effect of a long row of empty glass storefronts. Beyond all this drama, the original picture is fascinating. Considering that almost everything is gone, I couldn't tell which street the photo was taken on until James posted the current view in the comments. (Taken on Nicollet, pointing roughly northeast.) A short tripHuzzah! Lileks is the reason I found Shorpy along with Achewood. All three are on on top of my browser. With the wonderful contributions of tterrace and others, I've thought that James was a natural for these pages. Re the attention to detail. Not withstanding the poster's opinions and assertions as to what construe facts, well, we all may be driven to distraction by petty annoyances. For some of us (dear 10:40 poster) it is a much shorter trip. But, still, thanks for your opinion. That is what Shorpy is about along with the incredible images, Dave's incomparable dry humor and, yes, his needling/lampooning of us as required. We're all a bit ADD, but in a Happy WayDr. Lileks, I welcome your additions to Shorpy. Between our good friend Shorpy and your daily multimedia presence, we can all live someplace else for a few minutes. As for our colleague who questions your accuracy, it sounds like he needed a convenient platform. For some odd reason, I smell the faint perfume of James Rouse. Please come back and visit us often. Hey!Looking at this image of Minneapolis 1908, I thought, "James Lileks would be interested in this!" then noticed "Submitted by Lileks." I'm a regular visitor at your wonderful web site, James. Just knew you'd find Shorpy. Can't resist clarifying one pointAs a native Minneapolitan who's a fan of both Shorpy.com and Lileks.com -- and bugged at the tone of the 10:40 reply just enough to do a quick Google search re Gaviidae and Pelli -- I can't resist noting that Gaviidae Common is listed on Pelli's website as one of his projects. Keep up the great posts, Lileks!! Down the Street"Down the street on the right, it’s the Syndicate Building, later the home of Penney’s." Actually, it was home to Power's. Lileks was wrong about that, too. The cult of personality is strong. But if you've worked downtown for 40 years -- as I have -- you know Lileks' description is inaccurate. [If you've ever wondered what effect working 40 years in downtown Minneapolis has on a person, now you know. - Dave] Either Rouse or ... Rocky Rococo! "My nostrils flared at the scent of his perfume: Pyramid Patchouli. There was only one joker in L.A. sensitive enough to wear *that* scent...and I had to find out who he was!" Also: very cool photo, James. Thanks. James, I trust you over 10:40James, Keep up the good work. Obviously, everyone has an opinion about the rise and fall of there particular city. Having never been in Minneapolis I would just have to trust Lileks' perspective. Wha?!?A troll?!? On the interwebs?!? Who ever heard of such a thing? (You, "sir" are holding the "ax" (sic) you hear being ground. Congrats on being the biggest nerd in the ST:TNG's equivalent architecture thread. Bloody good job, that) [Speaking of sic, "ax" is the preferred spelling in most dictionaries. - Dave] State of BlissI am now very happy that, I have been loging in to a site one hundred years of useful service, to the mankind! I heard that Minnesota is a land of 10,000 lakes! Is it so? I will supply the latest photo in the next week! Harmonic Convergence Is Complete; Scattered Chance Of ApocalypseShorpLeks. This? This is gonna be *great*. Thanks, folks. Clarifications.I apologize in advance for the pedantry. Anonymous Tipster quoted the original post: “Minneapolis razed four giant blocks for enclosed multi-level retail, and not one can be called thriving." Anonymous replied: “Nonsense. Retail was just one component of the project, which also included an office tower.“ I was referring mostly to the retail portions of the project – hence the oblique line referring to “the retail portion” - and apologize for not making that more clear. Anonymous notes that “the remaining office space in the complex (where Donaldson's/Carson Pirie Scott was) is 100 percent occupied by Marshall's, an office-supply store and the Minnesota Bar Association.” I’m not sure what he means; it was retail space, not office space, and I wouldn’t call the MBA retail, unless they have a walk-up counter where you can get a smoothie and a will. In any case, I believe these three establishments occupy only half the original space of the departed department store. The rest was carved up into new retail after the department store closed, and those spots had mostly emptied out the last time I strolled through. Anonymous continues: “ . . . the Marriott hotel is a thriving concern. A third level of retail failed as did a high-profile restaurant space (Scottie's/Goodfellows), but that was a small chunk of the total development.” In terms of the total development, yes – if you count the horrid office tower and hotel, it’s a bang-up success, but I was referring to the retail portion of the project, which included a three-story mall crammed with stores and eateries. Most are gone. “Thriving” is a subjective term, perhaps, but the current tenant list is rather thin. Aside from the aforementioned shops, the website lists the following tenants: Brooks Brothers, GNC, Jamba Juice, UPS, Starbucks, a dry cleaners, and Elegant Nails. A far cry from the original list, which I believe was over 60 stores. I covered the opening day of the mall for the U's paper; I worked downtown and went there daily. What it was, it ain't. (BTW, The “high profile restaurant space,” as I’m sure Anon knows, was an exact recreation / restoration of the old Forum cafeteria, which had survived for decades on the spot before it was consumed by City Center; why it succeeded for decades as a low-priced eatery in the middle of a thriving commercial street with theaters, shops, and offices, and failed as a high-end restaurant synthetically inserted into an upscale mall, is one of those mysteries for the ages.) Anon continues: “Hell, he's not even right about Donaldson's. Its store burned down and was cleared before Gaviidae Common (which was NOT desiged by Pelli; Lileks confuses Gaviidae with the Norwest Tower (now the Wells Fargo Tower) -- was built.” Again, I was being maddeningly vague for the sake of brevity. When I wrote “The old building was demolished for an attractive Cesar Pelli-designed retail / office complex” I meant that it was torn down, and something else put in its place. If I gave the impression that Gaviidae Common was constructed before the building on the site was removed and the department store had vacated the premises, I regret the implication. As for confusing Gaviidae with Norwest, well, they’re the same project, and as for identifying Cesar Pelli as the architect of Gaviidae, I made the same mistake you’ll find on the firm’s own website, which also seems to think they designed it. Perhaps I should have said “Cesar Pelli and Associates,” to make it clear that the great man did not personally design the tile or the hue of the restroom stall dividers. In any case: City Center replaced a block of endlessly varied structures with a soul-sucking bunker, and while it’s grand that the tower has high occupancy rates and the hotel is a going concern, it’s a blaring example of the insular, charmless, high-concept projects that cleared away a century of history and gave us blank walls, mirrored glass, and parking ramps. If one finds the site’s modern incarnation preferable, Shorpy must be an aggravating site indeed. Unless one takes comfort in the fact that all that messy old stuff got its comeuppance, of course. Apologies for the length. Re: ClarificationsSeasons changed, calendar pages turned ... and then actual scattered applause was heard in our workspace as people finished reading your comment. Three cheers for civility and good manners. In the interests of historical accuracySaid the original post: “Down the street on the right, it’s the Syndicate Building, later the home of Penney’s." AnonTip said: “Actually, it was home to Power's. Lileks was wrong about that, too. The cult of personality is strong. But if you've worked downtown for 40 years -- as I have -- you know Lileks' description is inaccurate.” Here’s a detail from the original of the picture. The Syndicate Building and the Powers building are two different structures. The Syndicate is in the foreground; the Powers sign (no apostrophe) is fixed to the ornate entrance of the original store. The taller white structure was a later addition. The Battle of ShorpyWell that was exciting. In the midst of our Quaker quilting bee, suddenly it's Cinco de Mayo. Lileks is livin la vida loca, in Minneapolis at least. Trolls with popguns lurk behind every lamppost! How I found Shorpywas through a mention of the site at James Lileks' place. Small world, as I see many of the commenters here have also been there. Speaking of TrollsWhere's that anonymous buffoon who claimed, in a previous episode of The Shorpy Skirmishes, that Dave "makes his comments from the safety of a black box"? Sure looks like Dave's "box" is the same shade of Peach Flesh all the rest of us sew our quilts in! [#F7DFCB if you want to get technical. - Dave] Thanks againHoly mackerel, I had no idea the amount of work that went into some of these images WonderfulThank you Dave for the answer. And double thank you for all the work you do to bring us fantastic images. My daily production is severely limited by the day dreams your photos invoke. [Well thanks. But please note that this photo is the work of Dr. Lileks. - Dave] Mystery objectI have been staring at this photo of Minneapolis for several days now as my desktop wallpaper. I cant get past a mysterious object in this picture. Just to the right of the buggy in the foreground, coming up out of the street is a tall dark thin object that appears to be casting a shadow that appears to have been "removed" from the scene. Also, the photo appears smudged in that area. Any sleuths have any ideas? Or did the cat leave a hairball on my monitor? [It's a crack in the glass negative that got mostly Photoshopped out. - Dave] (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, DPC)
Wigwam Village: 1940
... mom-to-a-kindergartener mind went immediately to Sally's motel in the movie "Cars." We stayed there a few years back And you ... Mesa, AZ used to have its own version of the "Wigwam Motel" along a street naturally named Apache (the old highway). There is ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 10:18pm -

July 1940. "Cabins imitating the Indian teepee for tourists along highway south of Bardstown, Kentucky. (Wigwam Village #2, Cave City)." Medium format negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Please tell me they didn'thave gas attendants wearing feathered headdresses who walked up to your car and said something like "How! Paleface want'um fill-up with regular?" Still there!That is just one of several Wigwam Villages built, and it's still there: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2106 The registration for the official Wigwam Village Web site expired last week (03/04/10), and is awaiting renewal or deletion, according to Network Solutions. There's another one in Holbrook, Arizona, on Route 66: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10294 One starbut you probably would not enjoy your stay. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g39265-d258948-Reviews-Wigwam_Vi... Cozy ConeMy mom-to-a-kindergartener mind went immediately to Sally's motel in the movie "Cars." We stayed there a few years backAnd you still can, too. It's awfully nifty. We took the kids. The big teepee used to be the diner but now it serves as a front desk and gift shop. I believe their website has historic photos and the history of the Wigwam Village national chain. Any roadside history lovin' visitor to Mammoth Cave must stay there at least once. Sleep in a wigwam!One of these motels still existed when our family arrived in Orlando in 1968. It fascinated me then, it still does now, even though it's long gone. Is the cement dry yet?Could these have been built by the concrete tribe, who were thought to have disappeared. I often wondered how these "wigwams" were transported around, must have been some powerful horses. Pretty spiffy looking guy heading to the EAT wigwam. Last of the lineThe last of the Wigwam Motels was Number 7, which was built in 1949. It also still stands on Route 66 in San Bernardino, California. This one gets four stars (Serta Perfect Sleeper beds!) and is rated the most popular of 27 hotels in town. It also has the distinction of having been in two different towns as the postal zones switched back and forth between San Bernardino and Rialto. http://www.wigwammotel.com/about/index.html Get a Wigwam!PDA couples used to hear that a lot in Bardstown. Holy Smokes!Still standing. Incrediblethat it's STILL THERE! Even the original sign still stands, but now only says "Sleep in a Wigwam." The diner in the big one serves grits no more. From the back seatDriving cross-country in the 1950s, my parents and I passed this place. I begged, I bargained, and I whined so that we could stay the night in a tepee. I used every weapon in my six-year-old arsenal. All to no avail. Alas, here's the image of my unfulfilled wish never to be realized. This is such a great place -- what was wrong with parents? Guess a lack of Route 66 taste. Still aroundI think my family drove past this when I was young. View Larger Map Talk about high ceilings!I wonder if the room had a ceiling all the way to the tip top of the teepee, or if the imitation was only skin deep. One of ManyMesa, AZ used to have its own version of the "Wigwam Motel" along a street naturally named Apache (the old highway). There is another in Holbrook on historic Route 66. Apparently these were more popular than we remember. I stayed in those a few years ago!I understand there are only a few of these wigwam hotels remaining; my wife and I stayed in one a few years ago when touring Mammoth Caves. It was very quaint. We also went by one in Arizona when visiting there. True bits of Americana. Here is a picture of what this park looks like today. Still can stay in one of theseThere are a couple left. One for sure in Holbrook, AZ that was the basis for the Pixar movie 'Cars'. Holbrook is worth a stop for a bit of Route 66 flavor like Joe and Aggie's Cafe and the now deserted Bucket of Blood St. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mediahound/473245947/ [I've stopped at the Wigwam in Holbrook, and eaten at the circa 1960 Plainsman restaurant. The town is worth a visit. Lots of googie architecture. - Dave] Texas TeepeesA similar motel, the Tee Pee, is still on old Highway 59 coming into Wharton, Texas (southwest of Houston). It was built in 1941 or 1942, and when I last drove past the place this past Christmas, it did my heart good to see that it was still standing. GoogieThough the style itself is totally familiar to me, Dave's application (in the comment-comment below) of the term "Googie" to this kind of architecture came as news to me, I'm astounded and ashamed to admit. Further research reveals that the origin of the term involves our old friend Julius Shulman. Wigwams in Cave City, KYWe stayed in the Wigwams at Cave City, KY, last year. We loved the adventure of it!! Local HumorPassed this place many years ago going to look at property in the Wharton area. We asked the realtor about it and he said that the joke at the high school was, "A girl is always safe to go to the Wigwam with a boy--she can't get cornered!" Little Girl's MemoryI remember being about 4 or 5 years old and I absolutely loved it when my parents stayed at the Wigwam in Orlando. A memory that is dear to my heart! Tempe TeepeesI went to school at Arizona State University in Tempe in the late 1970s. On the edge of campus along Apache Blvd near the corner of Rural Road there were 5 or 6 cabins just like this. They tore them down about 1979 to build a bank. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Gas Stations, M.P. Wolcott)
Aqua and Orange: 1967
... Greetings from HoJo's I collect tacky motel postcards from the 1950s and '60s, and this reminds me of one. The fine ... vibrant. I see three things you don't see at today's motel pools; slide, diving board and an ashtray! What a fantastic reminder ... 
 
Posted by davisayer - 09/08/2008 - 12:40am -

Poolside at a Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge in Austin, Texas, 1967. 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Hugh Mason Ayer. View full size. Possibly still aroundI believe this is still around -- but the Vintage HoJoness has been remodeled away. If you check Expedia.com and Hotels.com there's some photos, and there's hojoplazaaustin.com Greetings from HoJo'sI collect tacky motel postcards from the 1950s and '60s, and this reminds me of one. The fine action shot of the diver and the gloriously saturated colors put it far above most postcards, though. This is a beautiful image. Out of the WaterAs a former lifeguard, I cringe at this picture. She is just begging for a head/spine injury. If you are of a certain age,If you are of a certain age, those colors and roof design are permanently impressed in your memory. Gallery matesNo doubt about it, this ranks right up there with End of the Road: 1964 for sheer Kodachomeosity. Awesome backflipI can smell the chlorine... BeautifulBeautiful photo--the colors are so vibrant. I see three things you don't see at today's motel pools; slide, diving board and an ashtray! What a fantastic reminder of my own childhood vacation days. Marco.....Polo.....FISH OUT OF WATER!!! HoJo Fried Clam DiggerJust looking at this picture makes the mouth water for some of those great HoJo fried claims. When the last Howard Johnson's closed here in San Diego, it was a sad day for the loss of that one great vacation treat. Like the shot of the gravel truck in the background, sitting and plotting to crack any and all windshields trailing it. Orange and WhiteTheir color scheme made a nice match for the University of Texas school colors there (what with many of the Austin street signs also that way - white on orange). I lived in Austin while attending UT 1966-69. GollyI've lived in Austin for 8 years now...I had no idea we had a Howard Johnson's. Wow!Wow, what a backflip! Slides and diving boardsThis was obviously taken during the era when if you did something idiotic it was YOUR fault...not the fault of the hotel for providing entertainment and counting on you to use it responsibly. That part of the "good old days" I do miss... HoJoHojoboy is right...I am just as old (young?) as he is and when we were little, HoJos were a welcome sight. My brother and I would beg to stay at them because we knew they had the best pools. That is, unless we were camping--then we'd beg for the KOA. A quick scan of the horizon as we drove into any given town let us know if we were going to stay there or keep on driving. Howard Johnson's are still around, but they went all "continental." It's a shame. Thanks again for the memory jog, what a treat. Doesn't seem that long ago that...Hotels looked like this. There was a huge Hojo in Knoxville, TN where I grew up. I'm not exactly old either. As in 31 years old. When we were kids, my Mom would take us down to the Hojo in the summer. For a couple of bucks, they would let you swim in their massive indoor pool- complete with an island, a slide in the middle, and a hot tub. I also recall playing Pac-Man on one of those table consoles with the glass tops. There as also a Tiki bar. The Hojo shut down years ago. Half the hotel including the pool and the orange check-in office was torn down. A developer looks to have tried making the remaining hotel into condos. Motels today are sterile places. I tend to try and stay at old ones if possible. AmericanaMattie, if you love collecting this stuff, this is the best site I've ever been to for all things "Roadside Americana": http://www.lileks.com/motels/index.html Lileks has the best mixture of reverence and humor for the America we all grew up with. Be sure you tour the Institute of Official Cheer! Fried Clam StripsThe origin of HoJo's Tendersweet Fried Clams... HoJo KvilleI remember the HoJo in Knoxville that an earlier poster wrote about. That indoor pool with the island was the bomb-diggity. We used to stop there on our way from Florida to Ohio (and back). I spent lots of time in that pool until it was time for supper or sleep. Great memories! Ice CreamHoJo's ice cream was the best! "A certain age"To heck with all this pussy-footing around how old we are. Sheesh! I'm 48 hotel/motel years old. When I was growing up (come summertime) there was nothing more my Dad wanted to do than Sparkle-Wash our red '65 Chevy Impala wagon (no AC) and head out onto the road. This photo made me do a memory mindflip back to when three kids, Mom and a springer spaniel (along with a Triple-A Triptik) trusted Dad in his wanderlust. We HAD to like like HoJo's because Dad HAD to have every serving of tendersweet fried clams he could digest. Yes, ashtrays were everywhere! You could smoke in a doctor's office. I see a lot of old movies where Doc is lighting up his own fave-filtered brand. Thanks for listening. AustiniteI have lived in Austin most of my life (48). I believe this HJ is at 183 & I-35, NW corner. There was likely one in South Austin as well, but I can't recall where it was. But I know there was one here as mentioned. That was pretty much the North edge of town back then. I love this site, even though it has minimal Texas stuff, I love historical record photography. Bless you for this tremendous preservation record you have created. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Travel & Vacation)
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