Alto Tourist Court - New Orleans, Louisiana

On the back: "New Orleans - America's Most Interesting City"

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 Sanatarium - Long Beach, California

Not much room for any personal correspondence on this card!

Chicago Municipal Airport

In 1926 the city leased the airport and named it Chicago Municipal Airport on December 12, 1927. By 1928, the airport had twelve hangars and four runways, lit for night operations.

In July 1949 the airport was renamed Chicago Midway after the Battle of Midway...If I'm not mistaken, the aircraft is a Douglas DC-3.

The John Ringling Mansion - Sarasota, Florida

Built in the 1920s by John Ringling, of the Ringling Brothers Circus, and his wife, Mable, the Venetian-style mansion (named Cà d'Zan, meaning "House of John" in Venetian dialect), dominates 20 acres of Sarasota waterfront, accompanied by the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Recently restored to its original glory, the Ringling mansion was once left a wreck with a leaky roof.

Despite his great outward success, poor investments coupled with the general downturn of the Depression, left Ringling near penniless at the time of his 1936 death. Some news reports had his bank accounts totaling a mere $311. In an effort to save his beloved home, Ringling willed the property to the state of Florida.

By the late 1990s, the house and grounds were in a state of utter neglect.

Its depressing appearance seems to have inspired some action on the part of Florida, which transferred the property to Florida State University and provided more than $40M toward new building, renovations, and an endowment for the property. In 2002, a six-year renovation commenced, eventually costing upwards of $15M.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey

A couple of linen postcards from Sarasota, Florida - The winter quarters for "The Greatest Show on Earth"

The cards are "Genuine CurtTeich-Chicago" and were postmarked 1949.

The Flying Squadron, Springfield, Massachusetts

In 1906, Springfield received the first fire apparatus built by the Knox Automobile Company that was located in Springfield. By 1909, the department had 5 Knox units in operation. The photograph that was used for this postcard shows 2 chemical and hose cars operated by Squads A and B and 2 cars used by the chief and his assistant. I found this information in the book “Images of America: Springfield Firefighting” by Bert D. Johanson and Nancy B. Johanson; Assisted by Fred Rodriguez.

The first modern and “state-of-the-art” fire engine was built in 1906 by Knox Automobile Company in Springfield, Massachusetts who later became famous for its fire trucks.

This card was printed in Germany and published by the Springfield News Company circa 1909 under the name "Poly Chrome". Their style has been described as "colors so bright and so flat that they almost resemble screen-prints."