Mystery Spot - Santa Cruz California

The Mystery Spot was first discovered by George Prather in 1939. George Prather was an electrician, mechanic, and inventor before he opened the site. The Mystery Spot was one of several roadside attractions that opened after World War II for new automobile owners and was featured on Art Baker's television show "You Asked For It".

Visitors experience demonstrations that appear to defy gravity, on the short but steep uphill walk and inside a wooden building on the site. The Mystery Spot is a popular tourist attraction, and gained recognition as a roadside "gravity box" or "tilted house". At this roadside attraction, the laws of gravity and physics seem to disappear as balls roll uphill and people lean over past their toes without tumbling over.

The Mystery Spot was nominated in July 2014 to be designated as a California Historical landmark and was officially declared as California Historical Landmark #1055 in August 2014. 

Need to know more?  

https://www.mysteryspot.com/what-is-it 

RPPC - The Kalakala Ferry - Puget Sound, Washington

The Kalakala was a ferry that operated on Puget Sound from 1935 until her retirement in 1967. Kalakala was notable for her unique streamlined superstructure, art deco styling, and luxurious amenities. The vessel was a popular attraction for locals and tourists, and was voted second only to the Space Needle in popularity among visitors to Seattle during the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. The ship is known as the world's first streamlined vessel for her unique art deco styling.

After nearly being scrapped, the Kalakala is being restored

On or about January 22nd 2015 the Kalakala will take her final voyage. She will be towed from her moorage in the Hylebos Waterway to the Blair Waterway where she will be scrapped

http://www.kalakala.org/

Ted Larsen Oldsmobile Dealership - Alhambra, California

Shown are 3 RPPCs from the Oldsmobile Dealership of Ted Larsen, I believe that these are from the early to mid 1950's. Alhambra is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, which is approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles.

The Great Flood of 1913: Indianapolis

The 1913 flooding affected Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Lafayette, Terre Haute and most locations along White River, the East Fork of the White, Wabash and Whitewater rivers. Rainfall for the five-day period beginning March 23 ranged from 2 inches in Northwest Indiana to more than 11 inches in the Richmond/east-central Indiana area.

The AZO stamp box dates this RPPC as being anywhere from 1904 to 1918. More info and a short video about the disaster is available here:  

www.indystar.com/article/20130322/NEWS06/303190109/

The Suicide Table and The Sawdust Corner Cafe - Virginia City, Nevada

If you want to see the "Suicide Table" these days you'll need to go to the "Delta Saloon and Cafe" in Virginia City where it is presently on display and protected by a Plexiglas case. No idea why it moved venues but one might assume that suicide may have been involved...

Neither of these RPPCs is postmarked but the stamp box on the "Suicide Table" card dates it as being from the 1950's. "The Sawdust" cards stamp box is not legible.

Long Beach, California Earthquake - 1933

The Long Beach earthquake of 1933 took place on March 10, 1933 with a magnitude of 6.4, causing widespread damage to buildings throughout Southern California. An estimated fifty million dollars' worth of property damage resulted, and 120 lives were lost. Many of these fatalities occurred as people ran out of buildings and were hit by falling debris. 

The earthquake highlighted the need for earthquake-resistant design for structures in California. So many school buildings were damaged, with more than 230 school buildings that either were destroyed, suffered major damage, or were judged unsafe to occupy, that the Field Act was passed by the California State Legislature on April 10, 1933. The Field Act mandated that school buildings must be earthquake-resistant. If the earthquake had occurred during school hours, the death toll would have been much higher.

Tacoma Avenue Auction House - Washington State

The back of the card identifies the auctioneer as Fred Hofstettler who I found was the President and owner of Tacoma Ave. Auction House. The stamp box puts the date anywhere from 1924-1949.

Camp Strongheart - Lake Tomahawk, Wisconsin

Postmarked July 1942,  Lake Tomahawk, Wisconsin.

Couldn't find out much about Camp Strongheart except that they were a boys camp featured in Life Magazine in 1956...and that they owned a nice 1940 Ford Woody!

RPPCs with A Musical Theme

All 3 of the cards shown below were 

published in the 50's by the Los Angeles Photo Post Card Company.

Toenniges Instrument Repair was established in 1953 by instrument maker Paul Toenniges. The shop, now called Benning Violin, houses the talents of three recognized master violin makers: Toenniges' daughter, Nancy Benning, her husband Hans Benning and Eric Benning, a preeminent third-generation violinmaker and luthier who has become widely known for his antiqued reproductions of famous Italian-made master violins from the 16th century.

Founded in 1946 by Lowell C. Kiesel, as the L. C. Kiesel Company (now the Carvin Musical Instrument Co.).  He started by manufacturing aftermarket pickups for steel guitars, then began making a few models of basic lap steel guitars.  In 1949, the name was changed to Carvin (from his two eldest sons, Carson and Gavin; coincidentally, Carson Kiesel was born June 4, 1946 - the same year the Kiesel Company was founded).  Therefore, any instrument or amplifier with a Kiesel badge on it can be dated from 1946-1949; unfortunately, more specific dating is nearly impossible, although there are some clues based on the logos.

Here is a link to the Carvin Museum which houses some of Kiesel's works of art:

www.carvinmuseum.com/playersgallery/kiesel.html

The Pennino Music Co. was founded by Jeanette Pennino Banoczi and husband Jack Banoczi in Los Angeles some time after the end of WWII; It later moved to Westminster California. The were primarily a distributor but they did register their own brands and distribute them. On the back of this card is "special" on Circus Band Harmonicas...10 cents each! I'll take a dollars worth!

1950's RPPC of Tourist

The stamp boxes (SELLO-Papel Kodak) on these real photo "tarjeta postales" identify them to be of Mexican origin, circa 1950...as if the sunglasses weren't proof enough of the date! The interesting part to me, are the ornate iron doors she's looking through. With a little research, I found that they happen to be the entrance doors to the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. The card below gives me the impression that they may have visited the iconic L.A. landmark when it was closed. 

Kenneth Wright - Commercial Art

Another advertising RPPC from the 1950's. Although I am usually successful in googling people and places for additional information, I was not able to find this Kenneth Wright. I love how the drawing looks so much better than the real one!

The General Chef

Ran across another advertising RPPC. Costing around $259.00 in 1951 this little space-saver may be the strangest "major" kitchen appliance I've ever seen.  Found one online today for $250!

Hill's Barber Shop, Los Angeles

Looking more like "Sweeney Todd" than your average barber, owner Jeff T. Hill poses for his RPPC advertising his trade! I'm guessing late 40's, early 50's. The only RPPC I've run across with the photographer in the picture...do you see him in the mirror?

Merry Christmas!

A couple of different Christmas themed postcards. The "Hollywood Christmas Snow" is an advertising card from the 50's while the Macy's Santa card (40's photo?) is a Fotofolio postcard published the 80's. 

Wright and Lieutenant Humphreys in Flight, Oct. 19, 1909

We all know about Wilbur Wright, but what of Lieutenant Humphreys?...Born Frederick Erastus Humphreys, October 1883 in Summit, New Jersey. He attended Pennsylvania Military College and then West Point from which he graduated in1906.

Humphreys volunteered for assignment to the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps and was chosen by the Wright brothers to participate. On October 26, 1909, after three hours of instruction by Wilbur Wright, he became the first Army aviator to solo in a heavier-than-air craft, and thus the first pilot of what was to eventually become the United States Air Force.

Lieutenant Humphreys was inducted into the First Flight Society's shrine in 2009.


https://www.firstflight.org/frederick-e-humphreys/

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

I didn't initially notice the unusual viewpoint of Mount Rushmore in this RPPC. Talk about light at the end of a tunnel! I've blown-up the "end-of-the-tunnel" below.

Here's something about Mount Rushmore that I had never heard, the Hall of Records...Located along the small canyon behind the Mountain Sculpture, the Hall of Records is an unfinished chamber which was intended a repository of the American Story. Construction of the hall took place between July 1938 and July 1939, when a 70-foot tunnel was blasted into the mountain. Work halted in 1939 when Congress directed that construction should be executed only on the faces. With sculptor Borglum’s death in 1941 and American involvement in World War II, all work on the memorial came to a close on October 31, 1941.

This chamber was to hold the documents and artifacts most central to American democratic history. The proposed room was intended to be very large, up to 80 by 100 feet was to be drilled into the north wall of the canyon.

"Feathers" & "Dusty"

Always thought that this was such a interesting and perhaps noble travel adventure story...but according to this old newspaper clipping, I guess "Feathers" and "Dusty" weren't as noble (or as honest!) at paying their bills

The Los Angeles Herald - February 3, 1909

One Cool Car!

One cool pedal-car that is. An awful lot of design elements going on at once here. Even though the card is a divided back, I assume the blank "text-block" on the front is for writing a message too.