Hollenbeck Hotel, Los Angeles

The Hollenbeck Hotel circa 1912

John Edward Hollenbeck (June 5, 1829 - September 2, 1885) was an American businessman and investor who was involved in the 19th century development of the city of Los Angeles, California.

Hotel Shaw - San Francisco, California - 1942

The Hotel Shaw was built in 1909, originally as a two story office building named the Capitol Building. In 1936, five additional floors were added and it became a first class four star property. In the 1920's to 1940's, the hotel catered to the rich and well to do. It remained the Shaw Hotel up until the late 1970's. The name changed to Miramar Hotel and then the U.N.Plaza Hotel in the 1980's. It is now the Renoir Hotel.

Hotel Coeur D'Alene - Spokane, Washington

Converted from a variety theater into a hotel in 1909 by self-made mining man “Dutch Jake” Goetz and his partner Harry Bauer, this is one of the oldest and best known structures in Spokane. I couldn't find any information regarding the "steamship" on the roof.  Below is a photo of what the hotel looks like today.

J.B. Pound Hotels

A 1940's linen card touting the hotel empire of J.B. Pound.

Surf Auto Hotel - Santa Monica, California

The "awesome" Surf Auto Hotel is no longer there being replaced by the high-end Lowes Santa Monica Beach Hotel...Catalina Island however is still there!

Edison Mazda Lighting

Not particularly "pretty" cards, but I do like the vintage GE logo on the back. The Hotel Potter card shows that it was made by the Detroit Publishing Co. The bottom card looks like it is from the same, but bears no markings.

The Hotel Potter was completed in 1903 and immediately became a landmark on the Santa Barbara coastline. Sadly it burned to the ground only 18 years later. The Hotel Del Monte was opened in 1880 by Charles Crocker (one of the Big Four that developed the Southern Pacific Railroad). The Del Monte was a favorite of the rich and famous. A young William Randolph Hearst practically lived at the Del Monte.

Mazda was a trademarked name registered by General Electric in 1909 (Thomas Edison formed GE in 1892) for incandescent light bulbs.

Anyone know if the light bulbs in the "Lovelight" series were Edison Mazda bulbs??

It's Wonderful at the Whitcomb!

This card makes me feel good! I don’t know if it’s the bright colors, the cartoonish figures or seeing all of the fun that one could have there, but it makes me smile!

The Whitcomb opened its doors to an elite and admiring crowd on May 3, 1928 when the "roaring twenties" were still roaring, and Americans, many of them rich, albeit only on paper, were enjoying unprecedented prosperity. 

 Not surprisingly, the Whitcomb became a gathering place for an A-list of celebrities, among them Joe DiMaggio, Eleanor Roosevelt among others.

 Unfortunately, a combination of factors, including the Depression, WWII and the end of steamship passenger service in the latter part of the 1940s, caused the hotel to hit a downward spiral from which it never fully recovered.

 Beset by hard times, the Whitcomb closed its doors as a hotel for good in November, 1966. The Whitcomb was reopened after extensive renovations as a retirement residence on March 15, 1973. 

Hotel George Washington

Owned by the same folks who brought us the The New Hotel Mayflower...and I thought the ship floating outside that hotel was weird!

The hotel was closed in 1971 and torn down in 1973. Currently, the site is occupied by the new federal court building in downtown Jacksonville.

The New Hotel Mayflower

First and foremost, I love the "Mayflower" ship hovering around it's namesake hotel! Probably has trouble finding a parking space though! As usual, I like to look for some background info on postcards. While I did find out that the Mayflower was originally the Mason and that the hotel was demolished in 1978 (all together now: Awwww), I couldn't find much else, but I did find this obituary:

“Irene Ann Byram, 99, passed away January 16th, 2012. Irene, known as Nonie by her close family and friends, was born on May 22, 1912 in Detroit MI. Irene moved to Jacksonville with her husband and children in 1935 from Wauchula Fl. She was employed by the Mayflower hotel for over 30 years. In 1944 she was sworn in as the first female bartender in the state of Florida by Governor Spessard Holland”

King Tower One-Stop - Tama, Iowa

Gas, Food, Lodging AND a Garage! Just a neat looking linen in my book!

Good News!/Bad News!

The Good: King Tower Cafe is now open for business again!

The Bad: King Tower Cafe has 1-star on Yelp!