I have a sizeable and growing Alabama postcard collection, and this post highlights six that feature motels. I have many others on that topic, as well as hospitals, libraries, etc, to use for future postings. Postcards can be fascinating links to specific times, places and the minutia of life, even more so when they were actually mailed and include a message.
I've already written a number of pieces about specific postcards and used cards as illustrations in many other posts. Some specific ones include:
Ross Chemical Building, Auburn
Wetumpka Penitentiary
Redmont Hotel, Birmingham
Jefferson Hospital, Birmingham
Mentone Springs Hotel
State of Alabama
Hotel Reich, Gadsden
Electrik Maid Bake Shop & Restaurant, Birmingham
Auburn Serum Plant
Forrest Cemetery Chapel, Gadsden
Whew, more than I thought!
Postcards have an interesting history which you can read about on Wikipedia and the Library of Congress web site. Dating postcards is discussed on this Smithsonian page. An entry about the history and evolution of motels can be found on Wikipedia.
Below are two different cards for the Witt Motel in Oneonta, and one each for Bob's Court in Ariton, Town Motel in Birmingham, the Pine Lake Motel south of Montgomery and the Colonial Tourist Court in Troy. More details are between the images.
On the back of this first card we learn that the owner at the time was Joseph Schoolfield Wittmeier, Sr. [1874-1961] a physician who's Find-A-Grave entry tells us was also very active in civic activities in Oneonta and Blount County. He and his wife Mamie are both buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Oneonta.
The "triple A" symbol indicates the motel was approved by the American Automobile Association. The facility is built of native sandstone and each room has a private tiled bath, air conditioning, carpet, etc. A restaurant operates next door. The location is the junction of U.S. 231 and Alabama state highways 25 and 32 in Oneonta.
This card was mailed from Oneonta on February 19, 1954, from a woman to her sister in Illinois. On their way to Florida, "all 4 of us" spent the night here 500 miles from home. Sister Francis was apparently suffering from a cold. The stamp featuring President John Adams was issued in 1938. The MWM Company [Mid West Map Company] of Aurora, Missouri, issued many cards.
You can see a matchbook cover advertising the motel on Pinterest. I found little else about the facility, except a mention on Facebook that it opened in the 1940s and closed "decades later". The site has since been redeveloped.
The handwritten correction on the back of this second Witt Motel card includes a Zip Code, which was not introduced by the U.S. Post Office until 1963. Presumably the couples indicated as owners here took over after Dr. Wittmeier's death. The phone number indicates a more modern system. Note that "television" has been added to the list of room amenities, and the restaurant is still next door, along with the AAA seal of approval.
The owners originally listed on this card are John T. Dransfield [1903-1972) and his wife Beulah [1910-1976], both also buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Oneonta. The "H.J. Malwitz" may be Henry J. Malwitz 1897-1981], buried in Birmingham along with his wife Vesta.
Bob's Court was a small 10-unit motel on US 231 in Ariton. The facility had a guest lounge and a restaurant "in connection" which I guess meant next door. Is the motel in a pecan grove? Note that old, old school phone number: 153R.
This card was produced by one of the prominent postcard companies, E.C. Kropp of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which operated from 1907 to 1956. This particular card is stamped "cabinet sample" presumably at the card company. The other note would seem to indicate a thousand copies printed/available on February 10, 1953. I'm not sure what the other word is following that date.
The Town Motel was on U.S. Highway 11, one mile west of downtown Birmingham. The motel provided soundproof rooms, carpet and other amenities. This card indicates another old school phone number, 53-9293. Owners Charles D. [1910-1980] and Jewel [1920-2000] Mitchell are listed in the 1953 Birmingham City Directory as operating the Town Motel.
Here's another facility with AAA approval. The Pine Lake was 12 miles south of Montgomery at the junction of U.S. Highways 82 and 231. "Free TV in every room" and "Saxon's Delicious Candy and Restaurant" next door. "Eat and Sleep with Us." Phone AM 2-6088.
This postcard was addressed to a couple in Lakeland, Florida, but apparently never mailed unless an envelope was used. The author of the note includes a date, May 16, 1966, as the date left for Winfield, Missouri.
The sign can be seen in a night photo on Facebook from 2021. This card was also issued by the Midwest Map Company.
Colonial Tourist Court was located on U.S 231 South in Troy. The facility boasted air conditioning and "panel ray heat." I found nothing else about this facility. Interestingly the description is on the front of the card and not the back. The card looks pretty old, doesn't it?
The Artvue Postcard Company operated in New York City from 1948 until 1963. I did not find anything else online except postcards.
No comments:
Post a Comment