The Waldorf Astoria

“The Unofficial Palace of New York”

January 15, 1937

New York, New York

“I hope you are all well. There has been rain every day and visibility is poor but have seen many interesting things. Saw Hudson River and Grant’s Tomb today. Pipe organ playing now in this hotel.”

A.J.R.

Hotel Muscle Shoals

Unused postcard, dated circa 1950. These generically made black and white photocards are intriguing. This one was made by the W. M. Cline Company in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and almost looks like a shot taken shortly after construction was completed.

Muscle Shoals is known to music fans as the location of Fame Studios, where a slew of 60's and 70's soulful rock classics were recorded.

The Beverly Hilton

The Beverly Hilton
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
This world famous new hotel has added a new garage and parking accommodations which now provides parking space for 2,500 cars, largest parking facilities of any hotel in the world.

Wherever you go use CARTE BLANCHE the all-purpose credit card

December 31, 1964
Los Angeles, California

Hi "This is where we are staying- the team is here. Ann came today on the plane with the Governor." Lorayne

Could be Lorayne and Ann were in town for the Rose Bowl.... The Beverly Hilton was constructed in 1955 and owned from 1988-2003 by none other than Merv Griffin. The hotel underwent a $60 million renovation in 2004-05 and is still a hot spot for celebrity activity.

Perfect Pocono Vacation

Water Sports At
MOUNT AIRY LODGE Mt. Pocono, Pennsylvania
For a perfect POCONO vacation or honeymoon, MOUNT AIRY LODGE has everything - Private Lake... Ocean Sandy Beach...Boating...Indoor Sports Palace, 6 Indoor Tennis Courts and Indoor Ice Skating...Indoor and outdoor Swimming Pool...Health Club...Orchestra Nightly at our new CRYSTAL ROOM, ROYAL LOUNGE, CLUB SUZANNE and EMPRESS ROOM...TV...Saddle Horses...4 Outdoor Tennis Courts...Reasonable Rates - Include Delicious meals, sports and entertainment. Write for booklet: MOUNT AIRY LODGE, Mt. Pocono, PA. Tel. 717-839-8811. Open all year. "America's Leading Year 'Round Resort"

July 7, 1976
Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania

Mom & Rosie
"Having a very nice time. The place is very pretty. The food is good. So far the weather is good. We saw a good show. There is a lot to do here. Well I'll say so long. See you when we get home." Allie & Jennie

Mount Airy closed in 2001...

"Notwithstanding its unglamorous demise, many a matron can still blush when recalling nights spent amid floor-to-ceiling mirrors, velvet-swagged canopy beds and shag carpeting so blue and deep, it successfully hid several generations of dirt."

''The food was lousy, but it was a legalized orgy,'' said Mickey Freeman, a comedian who often appeared in the Crystal Room, Mount Airy's 2,000-seat show palace that hosted headliners like Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Connie Francis and Nipsey Russell. ''I used to say, 'If you break the mirror above the ceiling, you'll have seven years of bad sex.' ''

from the New York Times, November 2, 2001

Hotel Delmonico

Delmonico Hotel
Collins Avenue at 64th Miami Beach, Florida Completely Air Conditioned - Open All Year Parking Facilities - Directly on the Ocean

Unused post card, probably from the 1940s. The Delmonico was located at 6393 Collins Avenue in North Miami Beach. I have not found much information on this building, which appears to have been demolished. Nice card, though.

Here's another historic post card view: Historic Miami Beach

The Hotel Cortez, El Paso Texas

El Paso, Texas
The central business area of "The International City," the largest border city to Mexico.

March 1, 1983
Tuscon, Arizona

"Hi Kiddo! I left Beeville quite a while back & went to El Paso - I got an apartment with Robert but we have no phone. Right now I'm in Tuscon for 1 wk & will be in El Paso again thru the end of March. Hope you and Chrissie are well. I have sinus problems and feel yukkie. Take care & I'll keep those postcards coming!" Love, Tina

The message may be 1983, but the photo is early 1960s. The Hotel Cortez is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Touted as a "Castle of Old Spain" upon its debut on September 10, 1926, the ten-story Hotel Cortez stands upon a site previously occupied by two hotels. The design incorporates iconographic detailing on the main façade representative of the region’s Spanish heritage, while throughout the building elements of Spanish Colonial Revival Style predominate. President John F. Kennedy, the hotel’s most famous guest, stayed at the Cortez during his visit to El Paso on June 5, 1963.

Fire Island, New York

LEJA BEACH HOTEL Davis Park - Fire Island, N.Y.
Easily reached by ferry service from Sands Pit Dock, Patchogue, Long Island, N.Y. Ideal for Surfcasting, Swimming, Yachting and Sun Bathing. Tel. GRover 5-0300.

No message on this postcard, but it's a First Day of Issue for a 9 cent Air Mail Stamp, postmarked in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on May 15, 1971. I don't know what amenities constitute a hotel over a motel, but I suspect that a finished wall over the studs is one of them. Somehow I think the yachting crowd from Long Island deserved better.

Hotel Mark Hopkins - San Francisco

The Top of the Mark is located high in the sky on the topmost floor of Hotel Mark Hopkins. The luxury and glamour of this unique room and the breathtaking panorama from its windows combine to make it America's most spectacular cocktail lounge. - Geo. D. Smith, Gen'l Manager

June 22, 1946
Berkeley, California

"I made it." (Written in very shaky fountain pen ink..)

Christian Admiral Hotel, Cape May New Jersey

Christian Admiral Hotel

Showing pool and auditorium located at scenic Cape May, New Jersey

August 29, 1968
Cape May, New Jersey

Dear Mary and Julius,

"I got down here safe and sound. Expect to stay until the 3rd or 4th of September. Having a wonderful time with Virginia Bowers. We went shopping this morning and I bought a pretty pr. of shoes. My friend does everything for me but breathe. I believe that she would do that for me too, if she could. See you next year."

Love, Viola

The building was demolished in February, 1996.

A really good article on the history of the building: Watching History Go Away