Swan Boats, Public Gardens, Boston

SWAN BOATS
Public Gardens, Boston, Mass.
A unique institution are the Swan Boats that cruise around the Public Gardens in the heart of Back Bay.

July 27, 1972
Boston, Massachusetts

Dear Grandma,
"My best friend (maid of honor) came to visit & she's coming back with me to Vernon for a visit. Quality counts more to me than quantity in friendship, but I'm lucky and have both.

Mom needs more help than I can give her, though I cheer her up for short periods. Aunt M.M. was going to take me to Sunken Gardens, but it rained, remember? She sent us a card and brought me a pretty Florida necklace."

Take care, Love Eleanor

Written in very small writing, this is one of those personal cards brimming with sincerity. No innocuous "weather is great...blah blah" here. "Quality" and "Quantity" are underlined in this note.

The Swan Boats have been around since 1877.

Greetings from Baltimore

Baltimore, Maryland
Sixth largest city in the U.S., population 939,000. World-famous port ranks second in foreign trade tonnage. The top view, overlooking Fort McHenry, the birthplace of the Star Spangled Banner, shows the outer harbor from Canton to Sparrows Point. The bottom view pictures the nearby docks in the inner harbor to the heart of the city.

[Postmark unreadable]

"We made the connection with 2 seconds to spare. Landed in S.C. & here a 1/2 hr. Sunny & cold. Will write & thanks so much." Love

Fire Island Pines, New York

May 15, 1971 - Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
FIRST DAY OF ISSUE

This image reminds me of the harbor scene at the beginning of Gilligan's Island.

Moonlight Over Diamond Head

MOONLIGHT OVER DIAMOND HEAD
Waikiki Beach, Hawaii

July 14, 1980
Honolulu, Hawaii

Dear Lud,
"Saw Jim Nabors Show. Polynesian Cultural Center. Moonlite. Sail. Pearl Harbor. Shopped at Sears and Woolworth's. Daddy swims every 6A.M. Cannot stay more than 1/2 hour in Sun."

Hope you are well. Mother & Dad

Handsome Great Buddha

Entire View of Handsome Great Buddha, Kamakura.

U.S. Navy FPO 98761
August 11, 1976

Gram,
"This great statue is only about 10 miles from where we live, made from bronze in 1200 A.D. It stands some 40 ft. high and is really quite impressive. Many Japanese are both Buddhists ans Shintoists, very few are Christians. We climbed up into his head for a really nice view of the city. Will write more later." Love, Quellie

I've often wondered what it's like to get inside the head of a great Buddha....

Kotoku-in

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 Dam is just Huge

This spectacular view of Hoover Dam was taken from near river-level downstream from the huge dam. Here flanked by towering canyon walls, the dam is seen in the distance. Hoover Dam - the highest in the world- was built and is operated by the Bureau of Reclamation of the Department of the Interior.

December 22, 1958
Kingman, Arizona

Dear Everyone:
"We just came through and that is the most beautiful mountain sights I ever expect to see & the dam is just huge. Roads have been good. Sandra had an up set sumach to-day."
Love, Bertha.

At its base, Hoover Dam is 660 feet thick which is 60 feet longer than two football fields laid end-to-end. Combined with its top thickness of 45 feet, there is enough concrete (4.5 million cubic yards) in Hoover Dam to build a two-lane highway from Seattle, Washington to Miami, Florida. Yes, Bertha, that is just huge.

WIKI

Toms River, NJ

Boating at Huddy Park, Toms River, N.J.

August 29, 1966
Toms River, New Jersey

Hi Folks,
"Having a grand time just loafing. Better than working." Love, Mom & Dad


Facts about Toms River (at least according to Wikipedia)

- During the American Revolution, Toms River was home to a strategically important salt works that supplied colonial militias, as well as a base for privateer vessels that plundered British and Tory ships off the coast.
- The 1979 movie, The Amityville Horror, was filmed in Toms River, rather than Amityville, New York" on Long Island. Local police and ambulance workers played extras.
- In 2007, Toms River was ranked by CQ Press as the ninth safest "city" in the United States, of the 378 cities nationwide.

Bucket of Blood Dead Wagon

BUCKET OF BLOOD DEAD WAGON
The Bucket of Blood Dead Wagon is one of the picturesque sights of the days gone by. This hearse was first used in Gold Hill in the 1860's. It was moved to Virginia City in the 70's and was in use until the early part of the 1900's. It is now on display at the Bucket of Blood Saloon, Virginia City, Nevada.

May 18, 1973
Virginia City, Nevada

Hi- "Haven't lost all our money in Nev. Have been playing some blackjack I'm ahead- have accumulated about 100 silver dollars." Harold & Linnea

This place is about as American as it gets. It's the old-timey hey-days at the Bucket of Blood Saloon!

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.

Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco

CAMP FLAG AT
CAMP NO-BE-BO-SCO
North Bergen County Council, Inc. Boy Scouts of America R.D. 2, Blairstown, N.J. 07825

August 8, 1980
Blairstown, New Jersey

Dear Mom and Dad, "Sorry I hav'nt been writing...I lost my notebook with my letters in it. I am having a good time." Love, John

This private camp borders Sand Lake in New Jersey and has provided entertainment to countless Boy Scouts over its history. It is also known to horror film fans as the setting of Camp Crystal Lake in the 1980 film, Friday the 13th. It was established in 1927 and is privately owned by the NNJC Boy Scouts of America. Prior to acquisiton by William Penn in 1715 the campsite can be traced back to the Native American occupation. Tragedy struck the camp on February 22, 1944, when a B-17F Flying Fortress crashed into the nearby Kittatinny Ridge in the midst of World War II, killing all 12 servicemen on board.

Beside the Pancake Man, Soudersburg, PA

Soudersburg Motel Located on U.S. 30 in Soudersburg, Pa. 8 Miles East of Lancaster City Opposite DUTCH HAVEN, beside the PANCAKE MAN Pennsylvania Dutch Vacationland Heated Pool, Bicycles - Quiet and Restful - Bus or Private Guide Tours - Air Conditioning and TV - 3 Restaurants in walking distance - Heated - Open the Year' Round - 30 Modern Units, 1 Kitchenette. Guided Tours - For Reservations write or call: Henry Stauffer, Manager Box No. 1 Soudersburg, PA. 17577 Phone 717 687-6101

November 2, 1970
Hempstead, New York

"What of needle biopsy? Had a lousy vacation. Never got to the Smoky Mts- all pea-soup fog and rain! GOOD NEWS here- I've finally been promoted to FULL PROFESSOR- effective 1/1/71." Love to you and Jane, Elisabeth


A very strange way to begin a postcard greeting, if you ask me. This is an oversized card, measuring 9-1/2" x 3-1/2".