Here’s another one:
Vintage Postcards: Exhibition Of General Motors Products, Atlantic City Boardwalk, 1920s – Before There Was a Futurama
– Posted on February 20, 2022
-
-
Curbside Classics Archives
Here’s another one:
I have never seen these before – I love these old shots of Atlantic City from before it began its decline.
If you’ve never seen it, check out the film “The King of Marvin Gardens”. The movie itself is average, but it’s loaded with scenes of Atlantic City from early 1972 when it was filmed, interiors as well as the outsides, which was just before all the classic hotels and other buildings were demolished to make way for casinos (which failed to revive Atlantic City). Most of the buildings you see no longer exist.
I have been to Atlantic City on a number of occasions. Seeing lost history is fun.
“Oh, John, I read that GM’s ‘Art and Color’ department has done much for the exhibition. We have to see those racy new lines on the Oakland.”
“Darling, no more Oakland. f we’re to buy that car it will be called a Pontiac.”
“Really!? Well, I wish that you would buy a Buick, anyway. The Simpsons have one and Mrs. Simpson loves it. She said that they go to their favorite speakeasy in it.”
“Let’s go into Fralinger’s and buy some saltwater taffy.”
Our family often vacationed in Atlantic City in the 1950’s and into the ‘60’s. As a child my favorite part was visiting the GM exhibit on the Boardwalk. Dozens of GM’s new offerings were on display, unlocked and available for exploring. I could spend hours there. A favorite childhood memory.
I think it closed sometime in the mid sixties.
Like CPJ (above), our family vacationed in Atlantic City in the 1950s and into the ’60s. The GM car exhibit was located on the Steel Pier and access was included in the price of admission to the pier. Every year, we stopped in to see all the new GM cars. CPJ wrote that the cars were unlocked and that’s true. Everyone could sit in the cars and check ’em out. The old Steel Pier had a lot of attractions and was always a fun place to visit. For what it’s worth, I recall my Dad saying that a Tucker Torpedo – definitely not a GM car – was on display back in the late 1940s at either the Steel Pier or the Million Dollar Pier located about a half-mile south.
Men’s styles rotate in a very small circle. The two hatless guys in the SE corner of the second picture would fit perfectly into a 1950 scene or a 2000 scene. They’d be out of place in 1940 or 1970.
It’s a long way from EXHIBIT OF GENERAL MOTORS PRODUCTS to Stylo-Venti-Sweep-O-Rama. The new GM language was definitely in use around 1935, but not much before.
These postcards and others originally appeared on my flickr site:
https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=31411679%40N08&sort=date-taken-desc&text=Atlantic%20City&view_all=1
“AC” was my parents “honeymoon” destination in 1947.
THANK YOU for these pix and the link ! .
-Nate
My pleasure!