I've never seen one except in old movies and I do mean old. Apparently, in the early days of motoring, in the 1930s, there were roadside places to eat that were completely open, essentially an open-air lunch counter. I don't know that such places ever actually existed but I doubt they would have shown up in a movie if the didn't. They seem like something more suited to southern climes. They may not have been at all common but I can remember an institution referred to as "tourist cabins," which were exactly what they sound like, about two steps below a run-down motel.
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Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?
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^^^^^^
"Motor courts" were quite common from the early days of personal automobile travel right up to my early years, by which time they had largely been supplanted by the sorts of motels that proliferated during the 1950s and '60s.
Most such "court" type lodgings featured either freestanding cabins or individual rooms separated by covered parking spots. In some of the surviving examples of the latter type, the one-time parking spaces have been filled in and made into additional interior space. I believe that fire codes played a role in those conversions.
"Motor courts" were quite common from the early days of personal automobile travel right up to my early years, by which time they had largely been supplanted by the sorts of motels that proliferated during the 1950s and '60s.
Most such "court" type lodgings featured either freestanding cabins or individual rooms separated by covered parking spots. In some of the surviving examples of the latter type, the one-time parking spaces have been filled in and made into additional interior space. I believe that fire codes played a role in those conversions.
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The ones I'm thinking of that I've actually seen did not call themselves motor courts but merely tourist cabins, even though they may have sported a neon sign to the fact at one time. Nothing approaching a modern motel, of which I mean the kind that had already appeared by the 1950s. Even those places aren't that common now, with the newer ones being built as a regular hotel, only not downtown but somewhere on the beltway where it's more convenient to motorists.
In the same way that Sanders Motel had to evolve when the traffic stopped passing by, some motels and even more recent motor hotels disappeared as a result of either roads being widened or relocated or the area being redeveloped. The older motels tended not to be chains but locally owned and they had no cushion to absorb local changes like that.
In the same way that Sanders Motel had to evolve when the traffic stopped passing by, some motels and even more recent motor hotels disappeared as a result of either roads being widened or relocated or the area being redeveloped. The older motels tended not to be chains but locally owned and they had no cushion to absorb local changes like that.
LizzieMaine
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I spent a night in a "tourist camp" about thirty years ago, and it was spartan to the extreme. Cold running water, a bed, a lamp, a little electric space heater, and a twenty-year-old black and white TV set with tinfoil on the antenna. But it was actually a pleasant experience -- the camp was located in a semi-wooded area, and at night you didn't hear any of the racket you usually hear in a conventional motel or hotel -- no loud couples going at it in the next room, nobody stumbling drunk down the hall to get some ice, no telephones ringing, no rattling air-conditioners. Just a roof over your head and a nice quiet bed to sleep in. I found it very refreshing, and I'd gladly stay there again if it still existed.
As for roadside eating, a very common thing in the North during the 1920s and 1930s was the "hot dog kennel" or "hamburger shack," which was nothing more than a cheap wooden shack with a big open window at the front, covered by a hinged door that would swing up to be locked in place by a hook-and-eye to become a shady roof to stand under while you bought your food. The interior equipment consisted entirely of a grill, a coffee urn, and a soda cooler which doubled as a refrigerator to store the meat. Lighting was usually furnished by bare yellow "bug repeller" bulbs hanging from wires. The shack would covered in signs advertising brands of soft drinks, and there might be one or two stools at the front of the place to sit on while you ate, or a cheap bare-wooden picnic table at the side of the lot.
There were still a few places like this on the back roads when I was growing up, all of them run by sad-eyed middle aged men in greasy aprons, wearing old sailor hats, and always in need of a shave. The one that sticks in my mind had a big, crudely hand-painted sign that said "DOUBLE "H" TAKE OUT -- HAMBERGERS." Despite the spelling, the burgers themselves were succulent.
As for roadside eating, a very common thing in the North during the 1920s and 1930s was the "hot dog kennel" or "hamburger shack," which was nothing more than a cheap wooden shack with a big open window at the front, covered by a hinged door that would swing up to be locked in place by a hook-and-eye to become a shady roof to stand under while you bought your food. The interior equipment consisted entirely of a grill, a coffee urn, and a soda cooler which doubled as a refrigerator to store the meat. Lighting was usually furnished by bare yellow "bug repeller" bulbs hanging from wires. The shack would covered in signs advertising brands of soft drinks, and there might be one or two stools at the front of the place to sit on while you ate, or a cheap bare-wooden picnic table at the side of the lot.
There were still a few places like this on the back roads when I was growing up, all of them run by sad-eyed middle aged men in greasy aprons, wearing old sailor hats, and always in need of a shave. The one that sticks in my mind had a big, crudely hand-painted sign that said "DOUBLE "H" TAKE OUT -- HAMBERGERS." Despite the spelling, the burgers themselves were succulent.
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@LizzieMaine
Sounds good. Showering cold could be borderline to me, but in the end, this would just be some minutes.
Sounds good. Showering cold could be borderline to me, but in the end, this would just be some minutes.
LizzieMaine
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I stayed there in the summer, so it was quite pleasant. I wouldn't stay there in the winer, though -- the cabins had no insulation of any kind. They didn't even have finished interior walls -- just rough planking. But they were sturdily built and didn't leak, which is all that matters.
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I rather doubt that the place I'm thinking of was actually still in business when I first saw it. But your description captures the feeling exactly. The movie "Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss" also captures the mood of travel in the 1950s, especially the place they went to for their summer vacation.
Not to far away from my hometown was a sort of summer recreation center that featured an extra large swimming pool, live entertainment for decades, a few rides, a pond with motorboat rides and cabins for rent. It was owned and operated by the man who owned the "big" hotel in town, which also had a live dance band at times, although I think that practice had ceased by the time I was old enough to start school. There was a fatality on one of the rides and maybe more and the place has been closed since just after I finished high school. But I do remember visiting there a few times, both to hear the entertainment and to swim in the pool.
Not to far away from my hometown was a sort of summer recreation center that featured an extra large swimming pool, live entertainment for decades, a few rides, a pond with motorboat rides and cabins for rent. It was owned and operated by the man who owned the "big" hotel in town, which also had a live dance band at times, although I think that practice had ceased by the time I was old enough to start school. There was a fatality on one of the rides and maybe more and the place has been closed since just after I finished high school. But I do remember visiting there a few times, both to hear the entertainment and to swim in the pool.
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Banks
From the "never made it to the shredder" department, a lovely old check found on a rainy street. Written for four dollars in 1955, it has no routing number, no account number, no machine readable numbers, no embedded watermarks... just a promise to pay from the old Liberty Bank of Buffalo (founded 1882), which became Liberty Bank and Trust Co. in 1961 which became the Liberty National Bank and Trust Co. in 1963 which became the Liberty National Bank in 1982, then the Liberty Norstar Bank in 1985, then Norstar Bank, N.A. in 1986 which became Fleet Bank of New York, N.A. in 1992 which became FleetBank which became...
From the "never made it to the shredder" department, a lovely old check found on a rainy street. Written for four dollars in 1955, it has no routing number, no account number, no machine readable numbers, no embedded watermarks... just a promise to pay from the old Liberty Bank of Buffalo (founded 1882), which became Liberty Bank and Trust Co. in 1961 which became the Liberty National Bank and Trust Co. in 1963 which became the Liberty National Bank in 1982, then the Liberty Norstar Bank in 1985, then Norstar Bank, N.A. in 1986 which became Fleet Bank of New York, N.A. in 1992 which became FleetBank which became...
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⇧ ...which merged with Bank Boston to become Fleet Boston for about an hour (actually, about three years) until it was bought by Bank of America and, only a few years later, it stared into the abyss of the financial crisis, but seems to have come back of late.
Banks were hoovered up into giant banks for over thirty years, then nearly all failed, and now, in theory, are doing well again, but shutting branches.
But you wouldn't know that from the three banks on every corner in NYC. There are banks everywhere in the city; you look inside and they are all but empty, but they don't close. Something has to give...soon. Real estate is too expensive in Manhattan for big swaths of nothing-is-happening-here to survive.
Great find of the old check. Now you don't even get your cancelled check returned, just the image.
Banks were hoovered up into giant banks for over thirty years, then nearly all failed, and now, in theory, are doing well again, but shutting branches.
But you wouldn't know that from the three banks on every corner in NYC. There are banks everywhere in the city; you look inside and they are all but empty, but they don't close. Something has to give...soon. Real estate is too expensive in Manhattan for big swaths of nothing-is-happening-here to survive.
Great find of the old check. Now you don't even get your cancelled check returned, just the image.
Interesting comments. One local bank founded before the Civil War was a holdout for assigning account numbers to their customers. All the merging notwithstanding, there seems to be just as many different banks as ever. Between where I sit and the bank where the company has accounts, there are eight banks, including our bank. I think that what happens is, when there's a major merger, a lot of bankers get laid off and then they get together and start another bank. It is true that some of the banks never seem very busy but banks don't exacly rely on foot traffic.
LizzieMaine
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From the days when banks actually might have a sense of humor -- Manufacturer's Trust in New York, "Everybody's Bank with a branch Just Around The Corner," put out a long-running series of pocket schedules featuring the city's three baseball teams. I'd do business with any bank that commissioned cartoons by the great Williard Mullin.
Do pocket schedules even exist anymore? Everybody used to put them out, but I haven't seen one in years.
Do pocket schedules even exist anymore? Everybody used to put them out, but I haven't seen one in years.
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Yup, in greater Seattle, anyway. They're found at the checkout stands at convenience stores and the like. The skeds (in collector lingo) carry commercial advertising, of course.
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From the days when banks actually might have a sense of humor -- Manufacturer's Trust in New York, "Everybody's Bank with a branch Just Around The Corner," put out a long-running series of pocket schedules featuring the city's three baseball teams. I'd do business with any bank that commissioned cartoons by the great Williard Mullin.
Do pocket schedules even exist anymore? Everybody used to put them out, but I haven't seen one in years.
Awesome illustrations. My guess on the pocket schedules, while still around for some teams based on tonyB's comment, will be another casualty of the internet / smart phone era. I had all but forgotten about them, but used to have several religiously at work and home up until the internet (don't really remember when I stopped getting them).
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Sorta like the phone book, which really was a necessity not so many years ago. Some such directories (none of which were published by telephone service providers) arrived unsolicited at my front stoop in recent years. They went almost immediately into the recycling bin, although I did first remove the refrigerator magnets rubber-cemented to their covers.
I have yet to avail myself of any advertiser appearing on those magnets, by the way, although I suppose they are effective in getting the advertisers' names into the public consciousness.
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Wow, look at those lines! Simply a beautiful design.Real Sports Cars! In the day a car was designated a "Sports Car" because it had that little door next to the rear wheel well. The reason for the door was that's where the "sporty guys" kept their golf clubs. Ergo Sports Car.
Yeah, one of my favorite all time cars, Auburn Speedster , supercharged and first car guaranteed to go exceed 100mph. They had a little brass plate on the dashboard that named the driver (AB Jenkins) with his signature and the speed recorded at the time of the test drive. It's interesting looking at the plates, you'd see 100.50 mph or 101 etc. The truth of the matter is that at the factory the plate was just put on the dash. Except for the initial test drive of the first prototype, AB Jenkins never got near any production models. Goes to show how just as important mystique is in sales.
vitanola
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Actually, the Vauxhall 30-98, which was introduced in 1913, and which was in production until 1927, was guaranteed to lap Brooklands at 100 miles per hour. A substantial number of these cars were actually run at Brooklands to prove this to prospective customers.
I find them more of a sporting proposition than the admittedly streamlined, but bloated Auburn Boat Tail.
For 1930's cars I'd posit that there were no ugly machines sold in the US between 1931 and 1935, but would be hard pressed to find a machine better styled (and better engineered, at leas
HudsonHawk
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Late to the party, but pocket schedules are still common, at least for some teams. The Astros still put one out in both English and Spanish. They also have magnetic schedules that are popular to put on the fridge or on your filing cabinet at the office.
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Are there still fire-hoses made from Canvas?
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