One of the many details I enjoy about looking through old images is examining the leisure activities of the past. And as some of you may recall, today’s subject is one that I’ve featured before: that of lodging places showcasing prominently their pool facilities. A trait that, if I were to believe these promotional materials, was the most irresistible of activities back then.
Like a lot of past trends, the concept of these pools at motels and hotels nowadays strikes me as quite amusing. Then again, back in those days they didn’t have cable TV channels by the hundreds, or cell phones to kill time. So who am I to question these?
Just like last time, today’s postcard gallery covers a variety of locales, all with pools, vintage rides, and the occasional glimpse of Googie architecture. We start with our lede photo, taken at the Ocean Park Motel, in Ocean City, MD.
Desert Gem Motel, Gila Bend, AZ.
La Avenida Motel And Cafe, Coronado, CA.
Sahara Motel, Daytona Beach, FL.
Dolphin Motel, St. Petersburg, FL.
El Rancho Parker Motel, Parker, AZ.
Desert Inn Motel, Blythe, CA.
Cardinal Inn Motel, Denison, TX.
Dunes Motel, Ocean City, MD.
Pasadena Travelodge, Pasadena, CA.
Princess Motel, West Palm Beach, FL.
Villa Capri Motel, Keysville, UT.
In the first pic, maybe a Meteor on the right?
Dolphin shows the ’50s dream. Why walk from the room to the pool when you can drive instead!
I wonder how many of these motels featured air conditioning. Lack of a/c would have made the pool really popular.
The photo of the Travelodge in Pasadena caught my eye. On the left parked next to a white `64 Cutlass coupe is a `58 Olds HT (can only guess either a Super 88 or a 98?) painted in “anniversary gold metallic” as `58 was GM’s 50th year! All 5 divisions offered the color on select models.
That’s a value-added comment, Mr. Fox. I would never have noticed or known that. My thanks!
In the last photo the woman on top of the slide is posing directly towards the camera while sitting on a towel.
In that photo, the motel manager in the blue jacket and fedora wandered in to the photo on the right at the last second. Ruined the shot. They didn’t notice him until they printed up the photos back at the studio.
Here’s a 1958 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 I photographed several years ago. The only ’58 GM car I’ve ever seen that may have been painted that “Anniversary Gold Metallic” color.
What’s up the guy in a suit at the pool in Blythe.
I saw that; his companion is in office-attire as well. Based on the poses of the other folks, my surmise is that the whole venue is set up for promo photos.
I wonder how many attempts at photo shoots like these were stymied by rusty, dented, or needing-a-wash cars parked in the lot. Couldn’t just Photoshop them clean back then.
I go to Ocean City, MD (or adjacent beaches) almost annually. The Ocean Park Motel was damaged in a hurricane – Andrew if I recall correctly – and demolished not long after. There’s a big Holiday Inn at that location now. Dunes Motel is still there and little changed. Here’s how it looks now: https://dunescourtoc.com/
Pools are still a big deal today. Especially when traveling with children.
The romance of a small motel! Great memories. Today’s multistory edifices are great but the twenty- to forty-unit motel was cozy. Thanks for these photos.
Polistra they had to bring over all the adult beverages to the pool and try make it not so obvious. Probably had the radio playing hits on the AM.
Well when traveling with kids back then and you stopped at your motel how was one to keep the kids occupied. Leave them all in one room to themselves? No, out to the pool for awhile. I should know being one of those kids on a cross country move. However, one major drawback would be liability today as there was no lifeguard watching. One child drowning is going to wipe out a motel.
At least as of 20 years ago when I still travelled frequently, lifeguards at hotel pools were rare. Common was a sign that said “swim at your own risk”.
Ah, but it is not a get-out-of-jail card.
On a 1965 road trip we were staying at a Chattanooga TN motel and a kid drowned, he had snuck into the pool at night, after closing hours. My folks were kinda freaked out; they made us kids stay in the room so we wouldn’t see the ambulance, etc….
The Jack Tar in Galveston had the best pool I’ve ever seen
Wow, Parker, Arizona! In the early ’70s, my mother was a teacher in tiny Parker. My dad’s fondest recollection of Parker were all the wild boats on the Colorado River. It was the closest he’s ever come to owning a Hemi – He badly wanted to buy a co-worker’s drag boat with a 426 elephant, but decided the whopping $3k asking price was just too for their meager income.
Love the interwoven lawn chairs at the Desert Gem in AZ.
Besides a nice collection of vintage rides and mid century lodging, the standards of the day show how things have changed regarding pool safety, access security, screening, landscaping, and ADA features and compliance. Just drive right up and in less than a minute, a car full of kids can be in the water.
I like the Evinrude 50 hp v4 engine on the green boat in Parker AZ. Friend has a similar unit on a vintage aluminum boat.- it must weigh 200 lbs. Today they can get 300 or more hp out of a similarly physical sized unit.
BTW to moparlee. I still have several of those old fashioned webbed lawn chairs! Learned how to re-web them during my poor-college-student days. Still have a lifetime supply of webbing materials but finding usable aluminum frames is virtually impossible today.
I wonder how many cars inadvertently made their way into an otherwise-unobstructed swimming pool.
A lot of hotel & motel pools have been filled in – upkeep, liability, and fewer people doing outdoor activities have added up to make pools less of an amenity now than they used to be.
The building in Picture #11 (Princess Motel, West Palm Beach, FL) is still standing – now called the Economy Inn. However, the pool has been filled in with dirt and is now a giant planting pot for palm trees:
Back in Denison, Texas (#8) they probably called their motel “The Cardinal Sinn.”
What you might call a “no-tell motel.”
Of course it would have been years after this wholesome photo was taken, once the place had gone to seed.
Kids and water is still a thing, motel pools are still a great way to burn off energy after sitting in the car for hours. As adults we’re more interested in a hot tub to ease our aches. Of course we often stay at older properties where the pool is a period piece from the 70s or 80s.
Great postcards. There is nothing like warm, sunny photos to brighten up a cool late fall day. It is interesting that many of the photos show they did not bother with fencing the pool.
#1 Ocean Park Motel. On the beach. From the looks of it the whole town of Ocean City is on the beach. Starting at the lower left corner working towards the right what looks like a blue ’49-’52 Dodge Wayfarer 2 door sedan, green ’54 Chevrolet Two-Ten 4 door sedan, two ’54 Cadillac’s, a blue over white Series 62 Sedan with an odd license plate, and a white Series 62 or Coupe de Ville, black ’53 or ’54 Ford Crestline Sunliner, maroon over grey ’53 Plymouth 4 door sedan, green over tan ’52 Buick 4 door sedan, two tone blue ’56 Ford Fairlane, perhaps a black VW Type 1 hiding, black over blue ’54 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe, and a black over red ’56 Plymouth. To the left of the pool I can ID a black over blue and white Metropolitan, and a black over white ’57 Ford Fairlane 500 Club Victoria. Several of the license plates are black with white lettering which likely is Maryland issued in ’57.
#2 Desert Gem Motel with Refrigeration, Pool, and TV’s. On the left is a ’53 Buick Estate Wagon, the last woody, and to the right a ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with the lower trunk edge moulding, bumper guards and more than likely a California plate.
#3 La Avenida Motel and Cafe. The building looks to be still there on Orange Ave. now known as the La Avenida Inn. In the foreground is a ’56 Buick Special 2 door Riviera, a two tone green Hillman Minx or one of it’s cousins, and in the background a burnt orange ’49 or ’50 Chevrolet Fleetline.
#4 Sahara Motel with air conditioning, TV, and a swimming pool. It may now be the Atlantic Breeze Inn at 1215 A1A Jimmy Buffet Memorial Highway. From the left a white ’60 Thunderbird, white over light green ’57 or ’58 Chrysler, blue ’60 Ford full size wagon, blue ’59 Chevrolet 4 door sedan, green over white ’60 Pontiac Catalina or Ventura Vista, white ’56 Chevrolet Bel Air, and a sweet looking white ’59 Continental Mark IV Sedan.
#5 Dolphin Motel. There is one of the same name currently on St. Pete Beach but it looks nothing like this building. In the center is a white over red ’58 Plymouth Savoy 2 door hardtop. In the background from the left a three tone ’58 Edsel Citation, black ’58 Ford Fairlane Club Victoria, grey ’58 Cadillac Sixty-Two or Coupe de Ville, white over black ’57 Buick Super or Roadmaster 4 door Riviera.
#6 El Rancho Parker Motel with a swimming pool, kitchenettes, and electric heat. There is an El Rancho Motel at 709 S. California Ave. (Hwy. 95) currently but it too looks different than the photo. A red ’60 Ford Falcon 4 door sedan and a yellow V6 powered ’60 or ’61 GMC Stepside with a camper.
#7 Desert Inn Motel. In the foreground row from the left a light green ’57 Mercury, beige ’62 Cadillac Sixty-Two or de Ville Four Window Sedan, black ’59 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe. In the background from the left a beige ’61 Chevrolet Brookwood or Parkwood wagon, white ’60 Chevrolet Biscayne or Bel Air 4 door sedan, white over pale yellow ’53 or ’54 Chevrolet Bel Air 4 door sedan, blue ’49-’52 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery, white ’59 Lincoln sedan, and a greyish ’60 Chevrolet wagon.
#8 Cardinal Inn Motel and Cafe. It is still there at 1505 S. Austin Ave. From the left a white ’60 Pontiac Bonneville Vista, white over aqua ’58 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe, blue over white ’57 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan, blue over white ’54 Ford Customline Ranch Wagon.
#9 Dunes Motel with a pool and TV. It is still there per la673. On the very left edge is a VW Type 1 parked in the street. Left row front to back a blue ’66 Pontiac Tempest, bronze ’65 or ’66 Mustang, black ’64 Chevrolet Bel Air 4 door sedan, tan ’63 Chrysler Newport 4 door sedan, bronze ’66 Oldsmobile Cutlass Holiday Coupe, black over pale yellow ’66 Thunderbird Landau, black over red ’65 or ’66 Ford Galaxie 500 or 500 XL 2 door hardtop, beyond there too fuzzy. Right row a white ’65 Pontiac Le Mans Hardtop Coupe, tan over beige ’63 Dodge Dart 270 4 door sedan, black C2 Corvette Roadster, and a white over blue ’60 Chevrolet Biscayne or Bel Air 4 door sedan.
#10 Pasadena TraveLodge on Route 66. It has since been replaced with a public storage facility. Interesting suspended cables holding I presume some sort of utility lines. Left lower side a white ’65 Rambler American 330 4 door sedan, white ’64 Oldsmobile Cutlass Holiday Coupe, Anniversary Gold ’58 Oldsmobile Super 88 or Ninety-Eight Holiday Coupe, white ’63 Buick LeSabre 4 door hardtop. Right side a sweet looking white ’64 Plymouth Valiant Signet hardtop, black ’60 Comet 2 door sedan, and a blue ’62 Buick LeSabre 4 door sedan.
#11 Princess Motel with pool, air conditioning, room TV, phones, heater, and credit cards. Left lower corner a white ’64 Chevrolet Impala perhaps a Super Sport with a 327 and wire wheel covers, white over light blue ’55 Oldsmobile Super 88 4 door sedan that may be the company courtesy vehicle, maroon ’65 Impala Sport Coupe, grey ’65 Rambler American 220 2 door sedan, yellow ’65 Pontiac Grand Prix, grey ’61 Cadillac Sixty-Two or de Ville Four Window Sedan, and a pale yellow ’61-’63 Rambler American convertible.
#12 Villa Capri Motel with air conditioning, TV, phones, kitchens, and a pool. A white over beige ’69 Pontiac Executive Safari and a blue ’65 Chevrolet Bel Air wagon.
Thanks for the travels.
That El Rancho Motel is still there in Parker! My band used to play on the Parker Strip at venues such as the RoadRunner, Fox’s and the infamous Sundance Saloon and we always stayed at the El Rancho! Was so cool to see this! Thanks for sharing.
I love looking at these, back then our travels only had camping, motels were for ‘rich folks’ .
-Nate
The motor on the boat is a 1960 Evinrude Lark 75hp. Our dentist when I was a kid bought one new on Canandaigua lake new york.
Wow! Hard to believe car manufactures embraced actual colors at one time.
The antithesis to the monotonous black and white monochromatic of the past decade.
I remember traveling w/ my parents and siblings traveling to Gatlinburg TN. & California many times growing up in the 50’s & 60’s staying in Travel Lodge
& Howard Johnson Motel & Holiday Inn’s & many others. My Dad always had a Galaxie 500 or Lincoln. Life was so much easier then.
I love it! Thanks! I’ve stayed in many motels across the USA (44 states and counting) I often ask about the history of the property.
I’ll sometimes get a result, like a former Thunderbird Motel in CA, or the Continential Motor Inn, Denver
My grandparents were the “hosts” at the Desert Gem Motel in Gila Bend in the late 50s, early 60s, long before Interstate 8 bypassed the little town. All of us grandkids logged many hours in the pool.
The large glassed-in office was rebuilt early on to a single level with small windows, as it was impossible to cool in the Arizona summers.
The motel struggled mightily into the early 2000s before it was eventually torn down. A Circle K now occupies the site of this 1950s treasure.