Sorting through an old box of ephemera, I discovered a stack of old postcards. Some of these were from my grandmother’s collection, but others were ones that I have found through the years. What made them interesting to me was not only the old colorized artwork, but searching to find if the places were still in existence. Obviously, places like the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz were still around, but what about an old resort in Roswell, NM or the YMCA Hotel in Chicago. Well here is what I discovered.

YMCA Hotel 826 S. Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL

NOW from google–no longer a hotel but businesses

Lea Lake Bottomless Lake State Park, Roswell, NM

Now from TripAdvisor–still existing, but had moved more to and RV and Campsite less elegant but still maintained and visited!

From google–a larger image of the area. I’m definitely curious enough to want to go and check it out.

Love this one!

Sadly Herman’s Seafood is long gone, but was a force for many years serving the “best” seafood in Oklahoma City. It was a family run business started downtown and eventually moved to 16th and Classen where a Mexican restaurant is now housed. I liked its curb view better in its heyday. It’s currently looking a little shoddy.

In San Francisco, CA there are always a treasure trove of old vintage post cards. My mother was born there as was I and my grandmother lived there for years, so I found these next cards in my grandmother’s collection.
The Golden Gate Bridge on which my grandfather working painting the surface.

Google image and awesome shot!

My mother danced at Treasure Island’s Golden Gate International Exposition. The building there were amazing works of art constructed of SF Bay mud and 19 months of construction. The link I provided will show you several of the building which were deconstructed after the fair.
My mother!

This card shows the Temple Camp.

One building remains from the event and that’s the Treasure Island Administration Building which was once adorned with Pacific Unity sculptures numbering 20. The building alone still stands with a few sculptures intact. I find the history of the island really interesting especially when the fair was the event of the time!
From google

From google…

Hotel Herald on Eddy St room rates were quite reasonable at Single with bath $2.00, Double with bath $2.50 and Twins with bath $3.00. Almost funny when you consider what it costs to stay in SF now and you get to pay an additional amount for parking!

From Google

What visit to San Francisco would be complete without seeing Alcatraz Island??

Today from google images

Many of us ride through Bishop, CA everytime we go south on Hwy 395, but I have never see this Deco gem! I searched everywhere and could not find any information on this vintage motel. Too Bad!

Last for this post is a not near as old but still vintage postcard of the Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City. This was my stomping ground when I was 15 and 16 yet mostly able to get into the bars on the Comstock. My mom always wondered where I was all those nights I said I was going to the library. 😉 I got to see some amazing music there, Big Brother and the Holding Co, The Charlatans, and other Family Dog Productions. It was the certainly a great time to be young and daring! I must admit, I did experience being thrown out a time or two, but one of my pals used to let me watch from the kitchen. It was COOL!

From google…the RD now…awwwwwww damn!

One of my favorite sports while moto-traveling is finding old post cards. I have collected a few and gotten many from my grandmother’s collection but it’s always a treat to add another to my collection! It’s like having a time machine into the past. 😉