"Famous Chicken Inn" menu from 1939 New York World's Fair

That poor chicken being clasped by a hand does not look happy. It's not clear to me how that somewhat-violent image would make a person excited about eating once-living birds. 

Anyway ... this historic artifact is a menu for the "Famous Chicken Inn" at the 1939 New York World's Fair Amusement Center. We know it's 1939 and not 1964 because of the food and beverage prices, the reference to Bird in Hand restaurant at 711 Seventh Avenue in New York City's Times Square and a tiny piece of attached paper that references the Parachute Jump (I wrote about a postcard involving this attraction in 2016).

The featured item is milk-fed Southern Fried Chicken, with "all the trimmins," consisting of cole slaw, potatoes, rolls and butter. Cost: 65 cents! That's the equivalent of about 15 dollars today, adjusted for inflation. So it seems like a pretty fair price, especially given that prices at fairs tend to be a bit inflated.

Here's a sampling of some other prices from the menu:

• Renault champagne cocktail, 35 cents
• Individual bottle of Renault sauterne or brandy, 50 cents
• Chicken soup with noodles, 15 cents
• Chicken liver with onions (or mushrooms), 50 cents
• Tomato juice, 15 cents
• Ham sandwich, 20 cents
• French fries, 15 cents
• Chicken platter (cold), 75 cents
• Plain cake, 10 cents
• Ice cream, 15 cents
• Coffee with cream, 10 cents (though a red stamp in the margins indicates "iced tea or coffee, 15 cents")
• Edelbrau & Goldenrod beer on draught, 10 cents

Pasted to the back of the menu is a separate typewritten and mimeographed sheet with the Famous Chicken Inn special platters, which cost 35 cents and thus looked like pretty good bargain. They included:

• Fried filet of sole, tartar sauce, carrots and peas, mashed potatoes
• Beef paprika goulash, spaghetti
• Macaroni and ham au gratin, string beans
• Creamed chicken and mushrooms, string beans, mashed potatos
• Chopped tenderloin steak, smothered with onions, carrots and peas, mashed pot.
• Chicken chow mein, rice and noodles
• Chicken giblets, mashed potatos, carrots and peas
• Spaghetti and meat balls
• Vegetable dinner
• Famous chicken salad
• Ham and potatoe salad

And you could finish it off with a slice of chocolate cake for 15 cents!

Related posts (some of which were written before I stopped eating meat)

• Old postcard: "The World's Most Famous Chicken Dish"
• Swift's Premium, Meat power and two fried chicken recipes
• Celebrate Papergreat's 400th post with a gallery of chickens
• Celebrating Papergreat's 600th post with chickens, past and present
• Mystery RPPC: Feeding chickens
• Mystery RPPC: Feeding chickens (Chapter 2)

Fun at the New York World's Fair in 1965, Part 1

This week I'm going to share a few illustrations from inside "Fun at the Fair ... where and how to find it," a 4-inch-by-8-inch staplebound brochure that Bell Telephone Company distributed for the second year of the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair. (For a bunch of past World's Fair posts, click on the label down below.)

A disclaimer on the third page states: "This booklet is distributed free by your Bell Telephone Company. It is not for sale. Rates, schedules, etc., given here are based on the best available information at the time of printing. Naturally no promise of accuracy can be made, since there may very well be unanticipated changes later on. To prevent inconvenience it is suggested that you phone ahead to verify any information that may be important to your plans."

The information number to call 56 years ago was (212) 888-1212. It doesn't appear as if that New York City number is for anything special anymore.

Anyway, here's the first series of illustrations. It shows a very 1960s white American family using telephone technology to plan a family excursion in a snazzy sports car. Note that Dad has a pipe in every illustration. And a bow tie.

My great-grandmother in 1933 and 1988

Here are pictures of my great-grandmother, Greta Miriam Chandler Adams (1894-1988) that were taken 55 years apart.

First up is this tiny picture (less than 2 inches wide) labeled "1933 Century of Progress."

That's Greta on the left. On the right is my grandmother, Helen Chandler Adams Ingham, who would have been about 14 when this photograph was taken. (She has a bit of a Claire Danes look going and what appear to be some snazzy sunglasses.) I wrote a little bit about their trip to the "A Century of Progress International Exposition" aka the 1933 Chicago World's Fair in this 2016 post. I should probably try to dig up some more details. There might even be diary entries.

And now we fast-forward more than a half-century to 1988. This is Greta in her bed at the house on Oak Crest Lane in Wallingford.

Indeed that is Cyrano. Greta and Cyrano were pals, because he liked a quiet bed where no one disturbed him and she found him amusing. (Cyrano was featured on March 11 and March 28 of this year.)

This photo is labeled "Summer 1988." Greta died in December of that year at age 94. So this is certainly one of the last photos we have of her.

50-year-old advertisement for Haggar slacks

This advertisement for Haggar slacks appears on the back cover of the souvenir guidebook for HemisFair '68, an official World's Fair that was held in San Antonio, Texas, from April 6 through October 6, 1968. The fair had as its primary legacy the introduction of the proto-H.R. Pufnstuf, then named Luther. (Which isn't nearly as bad as the 1893 Chicago fair's "legacy" being that H.H. Holmes was working nearby and attended the event with some of his eventual victims.)

While the particular style of slacks in the advertisement has perhaps gone out of style, Haggar has not. It was founded in Dallas, Texas, in 1926 by Lebanese immigrant (as the company website proudly points out) Joseph Marion Haggar Sr., rose to become the top brand of pants in America in 1970, and is still a robust clothing manufacturer today. It also has an eco-friendly line of clothes made from upcycled water bottles, and that certainly makes up for the fact that you can no longer get plaid Haggar slacks at your local Sears Target.

World's Fair advertisement for ancient Japanese Noh masks

This is a full-page advertisement for Toray (Toyo Rayon Company) that appears within the Official Guide New York World's Fair 1964/1965.

That Robert Moses "boondoggle" (as this historian writes) is perhaps the most documented and written about of the World's Fairs. Guides and postcards and pamphlets and advertising are easy to find. (A quick eBay search this morning returned more than 5,400 items, including Heinz pickle pins.) The best place to start delving into the history of the 1964-65 fair, if you want the rabbit hole of all rabbit holes, is www.nywf64.com.

The Official Guide New York World's Fair 1964/1965 is a great book for browsing. It's full of vintage advertisements, futuristic themes, descriptions of the pavilions and all sorts of other goodies. Plus, there's an awkward picture of Moses dining with Jinx Falkenburg, whose name sounds like someone who would appear in a Svarsh Corduroy novel.

Getting back to the masks, the ad copy states: "See ancient Japanese Noh masks at the Toray booth in the Japan Pavilion. Toray is Japan's largest marker of synthetic fibers and the third largest in the world. We hope you'll pay us a visit."

According to Wikipedia, Noh masks are part of a Japanese musical theater tradition that dates to the 14th century and are "carved from blocks of Japanese cypress, and painted with natural pigments on a neutral base of glue and crunched seashell. There are approximately 450 different masks mostly based on sixty types, all of which have distinctive names. Some masks are representative and frequently used in many different plays, while some are very specific and may only be used in one or two plays. Noh masks signify the characters' gender, age, and social ranking, and by wearing masks the actors may portray youngsters, old men, female, or nonhuman (divine, demonic, or animal) characters."

There's your Japanese cultural history lesson for today! I'm planning to delve back into all the great photos and advertisements in this World's Fair guidebook throughout 2018, so stay tuned.

From the readers: Pack-o-Fun, book clubs, Reddy Kilowatt & more

Here's the latest collection of great things sent in by Papergreat's readers...

Plenty of projects in Pack-o-Fun: Deana David found this 2011 post and wrote: "What a fantastic blog. I collect these Pack-O-Fun's and have always wondered about their origins. I don't collect as late as the 1970s — although I think I'll start — so I really appreciate you taking the time to put up something like this with charm and social importance that other people can benefit by — thanks!"

Thank you for the nice note, Deana! It means a lot. When I'm not being silly, I do try frequently to create posts that lay out some of the history behind the items I'm writing about.

1970s Woodsy Owl bookmark: "Give a Hoot! Don't Pollute." Anonymous writes: "There was a boy at MY school, St. Roberts grade school in Shorewood, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, who came up with that exact slogan for a contest several years BEFORE Earth Day 1970. Not sure if it was the same contest."

We are clearly in need of a national commission to investigate the true origins of this slogan.

Stock up cheaply with the Science Fiction Book Club [circa 1971]: Tom from the awesome Garage Sale Finds blog writes: "I joined that club in the 1980s. The initial offer is a good deal, but they start sending you offers every month and if you don't mail back a rejection in time, they ship the books to you, which of course is how they make their money. After accepting a few unwanted shipments, I started marking the packages 'delivery refused' and returned them to the mailbox. After a few times of that, the company sent a letter that said essentially, 'Hey, how about if we just send you books that you request?' Perfect."

Photos: Dilapidated Souvenir Land near Lawtey, Florida: Joan writes: "I love all these photos, but especially the owl, which reminds me of our famous Auction Owl Antique Store Item."

Children of America Stories: 5 awesome vintage covers: Anonymous writes: "I have 6 of her books which were my mother-in-law's. I recently dug them out of her old trunk. Should I sell or hang onto? My kids are teenagers and too old now to enjoy."

There's no right or wrong answer. Hold onto them if they interest you. Keep them for your grandchildren to look at. Sell them to a local dealer. Put them on eBay. (Though I'm not sure they will net a huge return, unless they are pristine.) Donate them to a book sale. Place them in a Little Free Library and let them wander the world.

Colorful gallery of vintage Cinderella stamps: Tom from Garage Sale Finds writes: "'Cinderella Stamps.' I learned a new term today. Thanks! The Christmas seal ones are great."

Reddy Kilowatt & the Tower of Light at the 1964 New York World's Fair: Sandi writes: "My parents attended that fair ... the biggest event I ever remember them attending (since they weren't interested in Woodstock ... crazy!). They brought home gifts for my brother (only boy) and baby sister ... whom ironically enough we nicknamed Reddy Kilowatt because of her deep red hair."

Mystery photo that might have come from an early photo booth: If you've read the post, you know that my lame guess is that the name scrawled on the tiny photo is "Lois Lane." Here are two better guesses:

1. Mom thinks the first word is "love," rather than a name. So perhaps the writing states: "Love, Anne." Or something along those lines.

2. Tom from Garage Sale Finds writes: "It looks like 'Lois Mue' to me. There was a Lois Mue who would have been about the right age (born 1908) who lived in North Carolina in 1940."

These are much more helpful leads than my thought that it was a reporter from The Daily Planet.

Five random old postcards: With regard to the postcard of United Witch Hazel Distillers in Trumbull, Connecticut, Mom writes: "Grandma always had a bottle or 2 of witch hazel in the medicine cabinet, using it for what was described in your blog. We probably tossed some!!!"

Indeed, I can confirm that some witch hazel was tossed during The Great Oak Crest Lane Cleanout.

Order "The World's Last Mysteries" for just $11.97: James Cobalt writes: "I had this book as a little kid. It made me unreasonably anxious about black holes. And yes, I am googling the stuff [listed in the post]."

The (new) oddest stuff I've found tucked inside a book: Matthew writes: "I was just given a few cards of mending wool from an aunt that came from Cynthia Mills that seems to be of great quality. Not sure what I'll do with it though."

Mystery photo: Going on a bus trip: Kate writes: "Love finding old photos and imagining the stories behind them. Wouldn't it be cool if someone did recognize them? Would love to know where they were going!"

Ticket stub from 1933's Century of Progress fair in Chicago

This is my great-grandmother's colorful ticket stub from the "A Century of Progress International Exposition," also known as the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. Color was a big part of the fair; per Wikipedia: "The fair buildings were multi-colored, to create a 'Rainbow City' as opposed to the 'White City' of the World's Columbian Exposition [in 1893]."

The ticket price was 25 cents, the equivalent of about $4.60 today — a decent bargain for admission.

My son Ashar looked at the stub this morning and said, "I thought for a second that said, 'Llama Temple.'"

While I think we can all agree that temple filled with llamas would be an enjoyable attraction, the Century of Progress exhibit was the Lama Temple. It was a full-sized replica of the 1767 Potala temple in Jehol, Manchuria. It was commissioned by American auto and aviation industrialist Vincent Hugo Bendix. Here's an excerpt from the Fair's official guide book:

"It is the resplendent sight of the Golden Pavilion of Jehol, its gold-leaf roof glistening in the sunlight, that transports you to China of the Eighteenth century, with its culture and art that amaze and delight us today. It is placed westward from the Hall of Science, at Sixteenth street, like a jewel in a magnificent tiara.

"The Golden Pavilion, the original of which was built in 1767 at Jehol, summer home of the Manchu emperors from 1714 until the termination of the dynasty twenty years ago, was brought to the 1933 World's Fair and the City of Chicago by Vincent Bendix, exposition trustee. Dr. Sven Hedin, noted Swedish explorer, acting for Mr. Bendix, spent two years in Mongolia before he selected this as the finest existing example of Chinese Lama architecture.

"Exact reproductions of the 28,000 pieces of which the Temple is composed were made and numbered at its original site in China. A Chinese architect was employed to interpret these marks and to direct their assembly on the exposition grounds. Chinese artists painted and decorated the finished structure.

"The Golden Pavilion is 70 feet square and 60 feet high, rising from a 4-foot pedestal. Its double decked roof of copper shingles is covered with $25,000 worth of 23-karat gold leaf. On the exterior, twenty-eight columns in red lacquer, 16 feet high, support the lower deck. Twenty-eight other columns, 30 feet high, form part of the wall. Inside, twelve 37-foot columns support the gilded ceiling and the upper deck.

"Carved grills, in red, blue, yellow and gold, enclose the glass window panes. The cornice beams are gilded and carved with images of dragons, cats, and dogs. Hundreds of pieces of carved wood form the ceiling. ... There is an interesting temple drum, trumpets so long that the player requires the services of an assistant to hold them up, bronze and gilded wooden Buddhas, images of numerous other gods and goddesses, altar pieces, incense burners, trumpets, masks used in sacred dances, silver lamps, temple bells, and rare carpets."

The elaborate exhibit surfaced again at the 1939 New York World's Fair, but it was not as successful, and, depressingly, according to www.1939nyworldsfair.com, "after not getting much attention in 1939, a girlie show was added in 1940."

And after that? The final story (perhaps) of the Bendix Lama Temple is told in this 1998 article by Robert L. Kaiser in the Chicago Tribune.

Reddy Kilowatt & the Tower of Light at the 1964 New York World's Fair

Electricity-generation mascot Reddy Kilowatt made his first appearance on Papergreat more than 254 weeks ago, in a post highlighting the advertisements featured in a 1953 Philadelphia Phillies baseball scorecard.

Today, Mr. Kilowatt — who was "born" way back in 1926 — is shown on a Dexter Color New York postcard for the Tower of Light at the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair.

Here's the text from the back of the postcard:

Reddy Kilowatt says:
"At the New York World's Fair, the Tower of Light is the world's most brilliant welcome light.
"A Total Electric Gold Medallion Home is the world's most modern home — it's as clean as electric light itself. See your local electric utility company for complete information."

(Pay no attention, of course, to the original source of your "clean" electric light.)

But what about this Tower of Light? Here are some fun facts:

• Description from the 1964 official guide to the fair: "The world's most powerful searchlight beam rises from the center of this unusual building, whose exterior walls consist of 600 aluminum prisms fitted together to form an eye-catching pattern."
• The beam of light emanating from the center of the pavilion reportedly had 12-billion candle-power and could be seen for hundreds of miles. Officials stated they were prepared to turn off the light if it affected migrating birds.
• The 25-minute Tower of Light theater show on the wonders of "electrical living" featured Reddy Kilowatt and Light-Bulb Benjamin Franklin.

For literally the entire history of the Tower of the Light, check out Bill Young's nywf64.com website. It has a nine-page article on the Tower of the Light that starts here. Click on the "Topic Content" drop-down menu in the upper-left to get to each section. Information includes brochures, memories and the entire script of the Reddy Kilowatt/Benjamin Franklin presentation.

Postcard: Sundial at sunset at the 1939 New York World's Fair

Here's a peaceful and colorful postcard to mark the end of the traditional work week. This linen postcard show us 80-foot-tall "Time and Fates of Man" sundial at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Also visible, in the background, is the 60-foot statue of George Washington, by James Earle Fraser. But it's the sun dial — lit by a brilliant sunset — that steals the show.

"Time and Fates of Man" was created by American sculptor Paul Manship (1885-1966). The terrific 1939 New York World's Fair website by Paul M. Van Dort offers this description and history of the sundial:

"Manship wrote, 'The Perisphere and Trylon at the World's Fair suggests to me measurements of time and space, so my sundial ... relates to the background of the central motif of the Fair.' His white plaster sculpture was the biggest sundial in the world, standing 80 feet tall.

"The Three Fates, 'The Daughters of Necessity,' sitting under the tree that holds up the sundial's pointer, are characters from Greek mythology. The Goddess of Necessity, Themis, brought forth three lovely daughters, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, known as The Fates. All living things must eventually submit to these divine daughters of Zeus and Themis. Life is woven by Clotho, measured by Lachesis and, finally, in a very literal sense, the thread of life is cut by Atropos."

You can see additional images of Manship's sundial on Van Dort's website.

This postcard, published by the Manhattan Post Card Publishing Co., was glued into a scrapbook, so the back is somewhat damaged. It's still usable, though. If you'd like me to mail it to you, so that it can finally fulfill its intended purpose, drop me a line at chrisottopa (at) gmail.com.

Related posts

• Black-and-white souvenir photos from 1939 New York World's Fair
• Night scene at the 1939 New York World's Fair

Welcome to Jurassic Park — Sinclair Oil style

This illustrated postcard showcases Sinclair Dinoland, which was one of the pavilions at the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair.¹ It was a popular exhibition a half-century ago, seen by millions², because, you know, dinosaurs!

There are plenty of websites devoted to the exhibit and its history, and I'll get to those in a moment. But, first, a little more about this used postcard. It was mailed with a 4-cent Lincoln stamp in June 1964 and mailed from the Church Street Station in Manhattan.

The addressee was:

Plant Wire Chief
Bell Telephone Co.
31 S. Mercer St.
New Castle, Penna.

And the note states:

"Hi!
This was a nice exhibition. We didn't even wait in line. We are enjoying ourselves but we will be glad to be back on the job for a rest.
Pauline & Jerry"

Not to be too harsh, but are Pauline & Jerry the reason that Americans today can't relax or take time off from work? They're at the World's Fair and they can't wait to return to work so they can rest? Maybe those Bell Telephone jobs were a bit too cushy.

Anyway, we're not here to judge. Much. We're here for dinosaurs!

For the basic background on the exhibit, here's an excerpt from one of the Sinclair Oil website's history pages:

"Sinclair decided upon a re-enactment of earth life during the Mesozoic age based upon the work of Dr. Barnum Brown, of the American Museum of Natural History, and Dr. John H. Ostrom, of Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History, for their 1964-65 New York World's Fair exhibit. Nine life-sized fiberglass dinosaurs were designed and constructed by world-renowned wildlife sculptor Louis Paul Jonas. Animals for the exhibit included the fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex, the horned Triceratops, the plated Stegosaurus and of course the ever lovable Apatosaurus.

"Integrating cutting edge animatronics for the day, the beasts took three years to build with a team of paleontologists, engineers and robotics experts. Upon completion, the dinosaurs were barged 125 miles down the Hudson River to the site of New York's World Fair."

And here are some links to articles and videos that will give you additional Dinoland enlightenment:

• nywf64.com — Sinclair Dinoland: This is THE online resource for information about Dinoland. Be sure to click through all 10 pages for an in-depth look at how the dinosaurs were assembled, the pavilion experience, the toys and ephemera of Dinoland, and what happened to the dinosaurs after the Fair. It's an amazing archive.
• Science Leads the Way: Sinclair Dinoland, by Frank J. Leskovitz
• Vintage video: New York World's Fair: "Sinclair at the World's Fair"
• Video: Sinclair Oil Dinoland Pavilion Dinosaur Statue Spotlight

Footnotes
1. Previous posts about this Fair:

• Space-age pictures from a 1964-65 Futurama brochure
• Maps for the General Motors Futurama at 1964-65 World's Fair
• Colorful postcard from 1964-1965 New York World's Fair
• AMF Monorail flyer from the 1964 New York World's Fair

2. Total attendance for the World's Fair, spread out over 12 months in the spring/summer/fall of 1964 and 1965, was 51 million. According to Sinclair Oil, about 10 million fair-goers viewed the Dinoland exhibit.

Night scene at the 1939 New York World's Fair

Back in June 2012 I featured five black-and-white souvenir photos from 1939 New York World's Fair. Here's one more from that same set. (I cropped the white edges from the 4½-inch-wide photograph, so that you could see more of the image. You can also click on the image to see a magnified version.)

This photograph, like the others, was taken by Underwood & Underwood. The caption states: "Night Scene - Constitutional Mall - N.Y.W.F."

Wondering about that huge sculpture in the distance? It's George Washington. The Queens Library's Tumblr page has a color photograph of Constitutional Mall at night, and adds this information:

"The Valley of Ashes in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby had disappeared by 1939 — Robert Moses transformed it into Flushing Meadows Park for the 1939 World’s Fair. This rare color photograph shows what the Constitutional Mall section of that fair looked like, lit up at night, a sculpture of George Washington silhouetted against the Perisphere."

More reading and photos

• The Statues of the Fair: "George Washington," sculpted by James Earle Fraser and John Quincy Ward
• New-York Historical Society blog: Paul Gillespie’s 1939 New York World’s Fair Collection
• The Atlantic: The 1939 New York World's Fair
• Paul M. Van Dort's www.1939nyworldsfair.com
• Wikipedia: 1939 New York World's Fair
• The World of Tomorrow: The 1939 New York World's Fair by Larry Zim, Mel Lerner and Herbert Rolfes

Space-age pictures from a 1964-65 Futurama brochure

This pairs nicely with last month's post about the map for GM's Futurama at the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York.

It's a 9-inch-by-4-inch brochure that was intended for mailing. The inside of the brochure features a collage of scenes from inside Futurama. The futuristic settings remind me a lot of Thunderbirds and the supermarionation of this same time period.

City of Tomorrow

"A dynamic new spirit enlivens the 'City of Tomorrow.' People, vehicles, goods — even some of the sidewalks — are moving. The city, cured of its traffic ills, is reborn as the center of commerce, communication and culture."

Antarctica base

"Man turns ice-clad Antarctica into a global weather center and probes its frozen wastes for resources needed by a growing world population."

Firebird IV

"Firebird IV, latest in a series of turbine-driven experimental cars, promises new heights of comfort and convenience in automatic motoring."

Moon base

"In one of the greatest adventures of all time, man explores the moon aboard multi-wheel crawlers designed to cruise almost any terrain."

Undersea resort

"Resort hotels beneath the sea serve a new vacation playground."

Maps for the General Motors Futurama at 1964-65 World's Fair

"You will see suggestions for future answers to
our ever-growing highway and traffic problems."
The two maps below appear in a tri-fold brochure titled "Your Guide to the General Motors Futurama New York World's Fair 1964-65." There are showcase areas highlighting Buick, Pontiac, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Detroit Diesel, United Delco, AC Spark Plug and more.

Futurama, which followed in the footsteps of the first Futurama (at the 1939 New York World's Fair), was the most popular attraction at the 1964-65 World's Fair. According to nywf64.com, it had a total attendance of more than 29 million visitors, setting a World's Fair record by surpassing the 24.2 million who visited the GM "Highways and Horizons" exhibit in 1939-40.

Here are some excerpts from this brochure:

• "Perhaps the most popular of all three Futurama attractions is the Ride. On an average day, about 70,000 people will take this intriguing quarter-hour trip into tomorrow. The Ride moves continuously and can accommodate 5,500 people an hour. Once aboard, you relax in your individual lounge chair, and, as you are transported on the fifteen-minute tour into the future, you hear a running description of its wonders over your own special stereo sound system."
• "And interesting sidelight is that every bit of the spectacular Ride was built and assembled in Detroit — then disassembled, shipped, and reassembled at the Fair site. More than 1,500 shipping crates were required to hold his Ride material."

For more information, check out nywf64.com's General Motors Pavilion page and the Westland Network's "Showcasing Technology at the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair".

And check out this vintage video, which is a hoot:



Finally, if you want to get a taste of what the 1964-65 New York World's Fair site is like now, I highly recommend "What Remains of the 1964-65 New York World's Fair?" on ImagineeringDisney.com.

If you were one of the 29 million people who went through Futurama, please share your memories in the comments section!

Colorful postcard from 1964-1965 New York World's Fair

This postcard is from the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair and pairs nicely with my May 2012 post about the AMF monorail at that fair. The caption on the back of this Dexter Press postcard states:

NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR 1964-1965
"Peace through Understanding"Left Side: Unisphere® from the Promenade of the Court of Nations; Top Right: Chrysler Corporation's Giant "Autofare"; Bottom Right: Coca-Cola Pavilion.

The Unisphere still resides within Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens.¹ The carillon from the Coca-Cola Pavilion was moved to Stone Mountain, near Atlanta, Georgia.

The reverse side of the postcard isn't terribly interesting. It was mailed to a family in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, in September 1964.² The brief cursive note states: "Hi. Having the most wonderful time. Home soon. Love Elsie & Shrum family." The postmark and the cancellation mark are both specific to the World's Fair. The 5¢ stamp features George Washington.

Finally, I wonder if the woman featured prominently on the front of the postcard ever knew that she was famous?

Footnotes
1. The park was originally built in preparation for the 1939-1940 World's Fair. It was constructed at the site of the ash-, manure- and garbage-filled Corona Ash Dumps, which inspired (if that's the correct word) the "valley of ashes" in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby."
2. Note for Phillies fans: This card was postmarked exactly two weeks before Chico Ruiz stole home.

5 vintage postcards from the central United States

Happy Saturday! Here are five 20th century postcards from the central United States, most of which feature buildings or streetscapes.

1. World's Only Corn Palace

Ever hear of the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota? Here it is, in its blazing evening glory, in this undated postcard.¹

The caption on the back of the postcard states:

"One of the most unusual buildings in the world. Redecorated annually at a cost of over $10,000.00 with natural Colored Corn and Grasses. Open free to visitors."

Some more history, from Wikipedia:

• The original Mitchell Corn Palace (known as "The Corn Belt Exposition") was a wooden "castle" structure built in 1892. The Corn Palace was rebuilt in 1905 and again in 1921. The modern Moorish domes and minarets were added in 1937.
• The exterior corn murals are replaced and redesigned each year with a new theme, and it costs $130,000 annually to decorate the Corn Palace (substantially higher than the figure of $10,000 cited on the postcard).
• The palace hosts basketball games, the local high school prom, trade shows, staged entertainment, a rodeo, a polka festival, and the Shriner's Circus. It is home to the Dakota Wesleyan University Tigers and the Mitchell High School Kernels basketball teams.²

Here's a link to a neat photo of the Corn Palace in 1907. The prominent swastika featured did not, of course, yet have a stigma associated with it.

If you can't get enough of the Corn Palace, it has a live webcam that you can watch all day long.

2. The Stevens Hotel and Michigan Avenue

This postcard itself was mailed and postmarked in 1951, but the black-and-white photograph of Chicago is obviously much older than that, given the look of the vehicles on busy Michigan Avenue.

The Stevens Hotel is now the Hilton Chicago and has a long history filled with numerous ownership changes. According to this 2008 article, the hotel has housed every president of the United States since its opening in 1927.

Some interesting historical tidbits about the hotel:

• Ernest James Stevens, who served as a developer of the hotel, is the father of former Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens.
• When the hotel opened in 1927, it had its own bowling alley, barber shop, rooftop miniature golf course, movie theater, ice cream shop, and drug store.
• The Great Depression ruined the Stevens family, and the hotel went bankrupt.
• In 1942 the U.S. Army purchased the Stevens Hotel for use as barracks and classrooms for the Army Air Force during World War II.
• In Bernard Malamud's novel "The Natural," Harriet Bird shoots Roy Hobbs in a room at the Stevens Hotel.

3. South Burdick Street in Kalamazoo

Here's one you need to magnify on your screen, because there's so much cool stuff to look at in this vintage snapshot of Kalamazoo, Michigan.³

I see signs for Nobil Shoes, Florsheim Shoes, Woolworth's and W.T. Grant.

This postcard was mailed in July 1960 with a 3¢ stamp. It was published by the Water Wonderland Card Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is a Mirro-Krome card by H.S. Crocker Co. of Chicago.

4. Amarillo Texas Pioneers

This unused postcard is a bit of a mystery. The front features the black-and-white photo shown above.

The text on the back simply states: "Amarillo Texas Pioneers - to New York Worlds Fair."

My educated guess is that it refers to 1964 New York World's Fair, and not the 1939 New York World's Fair. The look of the partial vehicle that can be seen on the left clinches it for me.⁴

Here's a closer look at the four people in the center of the photograph...

5. Maple Hill Motel in Cadillac, Michigan

This postcard, which was mailed and postmarked in 1967, has an AAA logo on the back and the following text:

MAPLE HILL MOTEL
Cadillac, Michigan
U.S. 131 SouthNext door to State Police Post.⁵ Within one block of two restaurants and only two blocks from Cadillac Square Shopping Center. 20 ultra modern units - carpeted - ceramic tile showers. T.V. and phone in every room. Individually controlled hot water heat. 250 ft. from highway. Beautifully illuminated fountain. For reservation write or call Area 616 - 775-5267.

Your hosts - Eugene and Marion Schermerhorn⁶

I cannot find any evidence that the Maple Hill Motel or its illuminated fountain still exist. Can anyone in the Cadillac area confirm this or provide more information?

Footnotes
1. The Corn Palace postcard features a photograph by Dorothy Prather, was published by Dan Grigg Enterprises and was printed by Dexter Press of West Nyack, New York.
2. The Kernels is one of the best high school nicknames I've ever heard. And we have some good ones here in southcentral Pennsylvania, including Canners, Steamrollers (Rollers), Polar Bears, Thunderbolts and Shamrocks.
3. Fun fact: The family of New York Yankees all-star Derek Jeter moved to Kalamazoo when he was 4 years old and he is a graduate of Kalamazoo Central High School.
4. Also, there are a number of eBay listings for postcards similar to this one, and those listings all refer to the item as being connected to the 1964 New York World's Fair.
5. It's interesting that you would tout your proximity to State Police in your postcard advertisement.
6. I doubt this photo pictures the same Marion Schermerhorn, but it would be really cool if it was indeed the same woman mentioned on the postcard.

Weekend postcards: French sheep, old structures and people-watching

Here are a trio of vintage postcards from France, home of the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave.

First up is this color postcard of sheep grazing across from Mont Saint-Michel, the towering 8th century monastery and commune located on a tidal island in Normandy, France. (Thematically, it fits in nicely with this March 2011 post, which features cows grazing across the way from Scotland's Linlithgow Palace.)

Next up is this undated, unused postcard showing a street scene along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris.

One neat thing about this postcard, I think, is that the power of modern cropping and magnification allows us to enjoy some people-watching of a Parisian crowd from about a half-century ago.

The first guy we check out seems to be checking out someone else...

And this second guy is checking out someone — or something — else, too...

This guy is also scoping something out, but is trying to be subtle about it...

This guy is looking elsewhere but, more notably, is the most casually attired Frenchman of the bunch. Is that because he's a spy?

This lady is focused, perhaps stressed, and has no time for wandering eyes...

And this lovely lady is reading a book. Is she the one some of the French men are checking out?

This final postcard is the oldest and has the best story. It was mailed at Christmas 1935. It was written from Marie to Fanny, who was residing in Roger Ground, Hawkshead, Ambleside, Westmoreland, England. (And exhale.)

The building on the front of the postcard is the old Palais du Trocadéro, which was first constructed for the Exposition Universelle (World's Fair) of 1867 in Paris. It sat across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower, which itself was constructed for the Exposition Universelle of 1889.

But before yet another exposition was held in Paris in 1937, the old Palais du Trocadéro was demolished and replaced by the Palais de Chaillot.

Marie, in part of her 1935 note to Fanny, laments the razing of the building in a note written around the edges of the postcard's front:

This lovely building is no more too old fashioned! they want something more modern for 1937. it was a perfect vandalism!!!

If you're interested, here's a link to an interesting blog post by John Coulthart with a bit more history of the old Palais du Trocadéro.