Durango, Colorado.
Geneva, New York.
Santa Ana, California.
Continental Square, York, Pennsylvania.
Indio, California.
Manhattan Beach, California.
Douglas, Wyoming.
Winnemuca, Nevada.
Savannah, Georgia.
Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Roseburg, Oregon.
Fairbanks, Alaska.
Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Ellensburg, Washington.
That is Geneva NY, no East in the name. Looking down Seneca St towards the Hotel Seneca we see a nice looking black Hudson Pacemaker heading uphill ready to turn south onto Main St. The movie theater on the left is most memorable to me when it showed the super wide screen movie Grand Prix. Extra screens were added on the stage on both sides and extra speakers were placed on the side isles and in the back for the multi track sound track. The racing scenes and sounds were really impressive when cars would pass and the sound moved with them. It is telling that I remember only the racing scenes and now when watching it realize there were more romantic scenes than racing.
Thanks, that typo is fixed now.
In the Geneva photo I could not figure out the ‘Norge’ sign – that’s the Scandinavan name for Norway – until I dimly remembered that Norge was a brand of appliances back then.
“Knock on a Norge”!
Based on the movie marquee in Durango, Co, the year photo was taken was 1960. Both “Tall Story” and “Circus Stars” are from that year. Tall Story was the first movie Jane Fonda ever appeared in. The marquee in Fairbanks, Alaska is showing “The Flight of the Phoenix” which came out in December 1965. Photo was probably taken some time in 1966.
And on the left of the Fairbanks view is a “PAA” sign, which would be a Pan American Airlines office – airline ticket offices used to be a fixture in larger towns and cities, now they are extinct, along with many other businesses/brands seen in these streetscapes. Fairbanks was a Pan Am destination at that time, with service from Seattle and Portland via “JET” (probably Boeing 707); the address of the ticket office is 511 2nd Avenue, per a 1966 PA timetable. Round – trip economy fares were about $200.00 or $2000.00 in today’s money; here is the August ’66 PA timetable:
https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/pa66.htm
[ Printed airline timetables – another vestige of a long – gone past! But flying is far cheaper, a quick search shows about $400.00 for a Fairbanks – Seattle/Portland round trip… ]
On the Durango card, “Kiva” theater. Kiva is the name for the Anasazi community gathering structures — circular dug-outs or shelters — a feature of the Mesa Verde architecture. Mesa Verde is 56 driving miles from Durango.
York is interesting. Lots of Plymouth taxis, two Nashes in formation, a bus, and a neatly customized ’52 Studie hardtop.
Anyone know what the very small structure is in that “York PA”, pic? Odd placement.
Apparently it was a bus dispatcher’s kiosk. That wouldn’t have been my first guess (especially with no buses in the photo), but here’s a whole blog post on the Continental Square Kiosk:
https://yorkblog.com/universal/the-kiosk-in-yorks-square-endures/
Amazed to see only one convertible in “Manhattan Beach”.
That postcard frequently comes up on local Facebook groups, so I think it is genuine. Manhattan Avenue is the right width, but has angle parking today. Business lines it from about 8th to 13th streets. Highland is too narrow, Sepulveda is too wide.
The yellow and black colour scheme on the York, Pennsylvania taxi cabs, reminds me very much of the 1970’s fleet colours, for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
Bluegrass was a popular music theme, for a number of these ’70’s Ontario PSAs.
BT in Roseburg
I just about fell out of my Lazy Boy seeing little ol Roseburg in this collection of post cards! We moved here from SoCal eight years ago. We will be doing Roseburg’s annual Graffiti Cruise in July on this very street!
In the Geneva photo I could not figure out the ‘Norge’ sign – that’s the Scandinavian name for Norway – until I dimly remembered that Norge was a brand of appliances back then.
Looks to be an appliance store with a corresponding Maytag sign. Above the entrance is a Westinghouse neon sign.
I inherited an avocado green Westinghouse electric drying when I move into an apartment in 1995. Worked just fine for several years until the motor burnt up one evening.
Dad had a picture of Manhattan Beach around 1900, nothing but wooden oil rigs on the beach then
Thank you for this fascinating look at pre-mall and pre-Walmart America.
Now age 70 I had a front row seat to see much of that world slowly, surely and sadly disappear.
I hope there is at least one drug store where I can still wander in, sit at the counter and order a grilled cheese plate and milk shake.
I used to live in manhattan beach. That picture doesn’t look like manhattan beach.
That postcard frequently comes up on local Facebook groups, so I think it is genuine. Manhattan Avenue is the right width, but has angle parking today. Business lines it from about 8th to 13th streets. Highland is too narrow, Sepulveda is too wide.
Nice postcards, they make the Geezers like me forget those old days weren’t always better .
-Nate
Many of these cities are surrounded by natural beauty. Why send a postcard taken in a generic business district?
Klamath Falls and Roseburg looked a lot more prosperous in the 60s than they do now. Both cites have lots of empty storefronts and run down houses interspersed with patches of prosperity.