Knotts In HD

Knotts in HD? OK... Big pics. Of all the amusement park postcards that I have, Knott's Berry Farm postcards are definitely my favorite. It goes way back to the fact that Knott's is the very first amusement park I ever visited, many, many years ago.

Now I know you have all seen a lot of the Knott's postcards before, but maybe not as big as these images are. It is actually hard to scan postcards at a high resolution to get nice and crisp pics since the images themselves are not that sharp or clear to begin with.

So with a little help from Photoshop, here are a few of my all-time favorites from the 1950s and early 1960s. And if you like, I will post some more in the near future. ENJOY!

Knott's Berry Farm and Ghost Town - Stage Coach and Steak House - Photography by Ken Raveill.

Original Berry Stand - This original Berry Stand has been preserved here for all to see and enjoy. Mr. and Mrs. Walter Knott with their four children are continuing the very active management of the Berry Farm.

Main Street, Ghost Town - As the visitor may see it in the wee hours of the morning before the crowds arrive. Fair ladies await the early stage. The prospector ready to leave for the hills. The Sheriff has no duties. The hangman's tree stands patient guard over Main Street.

Knott's Berry Farm and Ghost Town - General Merchandise Store - Color photo by Hubert Lowman.

The Wagon Camp - Each summer evening, visitors gather with a protecting circle of prairie schooners under the stars to rest and relax, watch square dancing, and listen to cowboy music until the campfire burns low.

Turbo Train

The UAC TurboTrain was an early high-speed, Gas turbine train manufactured by United Aircraft Corporation that operated in Canada between 1968 and 1984 and in the United States between 1968 and 1976. It was one of the first gas turbine powered trains to enter service for passenger traffic, and was also one of the first tilting trains to enter service.

During 1971 this United Turbo Train made a tour through the Western United States sponsored by Amtrak and the U.S. Department of Transportation. The three car trainset, shown just south of San Jose, California on the Southern Pacific tracks, will stop next at Oakland for display and then on to Portland, Oregon and return east via Burlington Northern tracks.

Amtrak United Aircraft Turbo Train, Stamford, Connecticut, April 16, 1976 - Photo courtesy of George W. Hamlin - Transportation Specialist.

VIA Rail / Canadian National Railway Turbo Train, en route to Montreal, makes a brief stop for passengers at Kingston, Ontario - August 1976.

Canadian National's United Aircraft Turbo in new VIA colors makes one of the two runs between Montreal and Toronto. Turbo 129 and train passes westbound through Guildwood, Ontario about 1/2 hour out of Union Station, Toronto - September 6, 1977.

Friendly Skies

Mainliners Slice Long Miles from the Vacation Map

United Air Lines - Fly The Friendly Skies.

Bargain Fares Everywhere... Fly the Finest... FLY TWA.

Let TWA's wings work wonders with your vacation

Fly the Finest... FLY TWA.

The world's best airliners are built in America

Convair Division General Dynamics.

All the world's a stage for the luxurious new

Convair 440 Metropolitan.

Country Stores

Dutch Haven Barn and Gift Shop - Intercourse, Pennsylvania - Invites you to enjoy Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking served in the Heart of the Amish Country, Chicken pot pie, pork and sauerkraut, Amish style turkey filling or Black Angus steak can be enjoyed every day of the year at the place that made SHOO-FLY PIE famous.

The Famous Fanny Farmer Candy Fair - Peabody, Massachusetts, near Boston on Route 1 just north of Route 128 - Open Daily and Sunday 9:00 AM to 9:30 PM. Visit Fanny Farmer Candy Fair and see the finest foods from the world's richest markets blended into these delicious candies in our own modern kitchen for your eating pleasure.

Home of Putnam Pantry Candies - On U.S. Route 1, Danvers, Massachusetts - At the Historic Birthplace of General Israel Putnam. This charmingly appointed candy kitchen features delicious hand-dipped chocolates, caramels, fudges and other tempting candies made from treasured old New England recipes. Ninth generation owner-management.

KayDee Country Store, Skunk Hill Road, Hope Valley, Rhode Island - Enjoy the scenery of a delightful & picturesque part of New England when you visit KayDee's lovely gift shop, old fashioned country store and Santa's Sleigh Christmas Shop.

During the Depression, in 1931, Ted Hustead, a young pharmacist, his wife Dorothy and son Billy moved into the back of a small drug store in Wall, South Dakota, a town of 800 people. After a year they realized they could not stay in business because people in Western South Dakota were on hard times.

In desperation Dorothy suggested they advertise free ice water to attract the traveling public. This idea saved the drug store. Because of the Hustead's tenacity, Wall Drug Store slowly grew to be one of the largest drug stores in the world.

One More Time...

ALL AMERICAN GIRLS ALERT !!! Bear with me folks... I will get back to posting much more serious Americana stuff very soon. But right now I am in the process of re-living my earlier days. HA !!! :-) ENJOY !!!

All American Girls

The term pin-up is documented back at least to the 1890s. A pin-up girl, also known as a pin-up model, is a model whose mass produced pictures see wide appeal as popular culture. Pin-ups are intended for informal display. Here are some pin-up postcards from the 1950's and 1960's. ENJOY!

Fun American Style

Long Branch Variety Show Cast - Long Branch Saloon, Boot Hill, Dodge City, Kansas - Miss "Kitty", Star and Long Branch Hostess with The Cast and the Can-Can Girls entertain continuosly all summer in a manner typical of the riotous 1870's for visitors to World Famous Boot Hill and historic Old Front Street.

Railways of America, 3656 Akron - Cleveland Road, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio - Located on Route 8, 4 miles South of Ohio Turnpike Exit #12, and 3 miles North of Akron City Limits. Where you can enjoy the World's Largest Operating 1/4 inch Model Railroad - Dine in Actual Railroad Dining Cars - This card shows the South portion of our huge train display.

Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville, Tennessee - Grand Ole Opry House, where the W.S.M. "Grand Ole Opry" originates every Saturday night.

South of the Border, South Carolina at the North Carolina / South Carolina Border on U.S. Highways 301 & 501 - Pedro's great new pool (it even has its own island)! With the million dollar Sombrero Tower in the background!

Freedomland U.S.A.

Here is a 1960 Freedomland U.S.A., Hallmark pre-opening postcard, from the short lived Bronx, New York amusement park depicting an artist rendering view of the world's largest entertainment center in the shape of the United States. (I believe that this is a little exaggerated - Yah Think!)

Freedomland was conceived by Cornelius Vanderbilt Wood who had previously worked in the planning, construction, and management of Disneyland. Hired by Walt Disney in 1953, Wood was the person who selected the orange grove site in Anaheim, California, where Disneyland was eventually built. (This is according to Wikipedia ???)

Freedomland U.S.A. opened on June 19, 1960 and closed in 1964. This is one of my favorite postcards of a place that I have never been to.

California Motels

Many thanks go out to friend Debbie V. from Indiana for sending me these great California Motel postcards to add to my collection. Thanks again Debbie, you know I appreciate it, Richard.

Ambassador Motel, Oxnard, California. On Coast Highway 101A, south entrance Oxnard. Apartment units available. John Ospital, mgr. Ph: Hunter 3-9893.

Santa Maria Travelodge - In the Valley of the Flowers - 1107 N. Broadway, U.S. Highway 101 - Santa Maria, California - Telephone: Walnut 5-2561 - Heated Pool, Free Television, Room Phones and Close to Town. A member of the world's largest network of fine motels.

Cozy Motel - 1260 Yosemite Park Way - Merced, California - Telephone RAndolph 2-1715 - John H. D'Alonzo, Proprietor - "Rest and Sleep off the Noisy Hiway" - 33 units, individual air conditioning and heating. Kitchenettes available as well as laundry facilities - "At the Gateway to Yosemite"

Chicago Rails - 1962

During the heyday of rail transportation in the first half of the twentieth century, Chicago reigned as the undisputed railroad center of the United States and was served by six intercity train terminals.

With the decline of rail passenger service many of these facilities disappeared. Today only Union Station remains in use in a substantially original form, and is the only one served by Amtrak intercity trains.

The Chicago and North Western Passenger Terminal has been replaced with a newer station and renamed Ogilvie Transportation Center, and LaSalle Street Station has also been replaced with a newer facility.

Millennium Station is on the site of the pre-1893 Illinois Central Railroad Central Depot, used since then only for commuter trains. All four stations are used by Metra commuter service. (Railroad terminals of Chicago)

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF) EMD F3 - Roosevelt Road, Chicago, Illinois, June 06, 1962 - The GRAND CANYON arrives at Dearborn Station behind EMD F3 units late in the afternoon.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF) EMD F3 - Dearborn Station, Chicago, Illinois, June 06, 1962 - EMD F units are ready to lead the GRAND CANYON west from Chicago.

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy EMD E8 - Roosevelt Road, Chicago, Illinois, June 06, 1962 - Two Burlington E8 units power the Northern Pacific's NORTH COAST LIMITED from Union Station. There is a Budd Slumbercoach several cars back. This was the summer of the Seattle World's Fair.

Gulf, Mobile & Ohio EMD E7 - Roosevelt Road, Chicago, Illinois, June 06, 1962 - GM&O E7 units 102A and 102 are backing into Union Station with train 3, the ABRAHAM LINCOLN, for its 5:50 p.m. CDT departure. The Missouri Pacific sleeper was a through car to Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific (Rock Island) EMD E8 - Roosevelt Road, Chicago, Illinois, June 06, 1962 - An E8, E7B and FP7A are teamed up on the Rock Island / Southern Pacific GOLDEN STATE departing LaSalle St. station.

LINK: To see many more great vintage railroad photos, visit Bob Krone on RailPictures.Net - Thank you Bob!

Wildwood By The Sea

Wildwood is a city in Cape May County, New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley as well as the Ocean City Metropolitan Area. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 5,436 during the off-season, but it can swell to 250,000 during the summer months. (Postcards Circa 1960's)

~ World's Finest and Safest Bathing Beach ~

~ Hunt's Pier - Wildwood By The Sea ~

~ Boardwalk Looking North from Playland ~

~ Marine Pier - Wildwood By The Sea ~

~ Jungle Land and Mine Ride - Hunt's Pier ~

Wet Vegas, Nevada

Wilburs Clark's Desert Inn, Las Vegas Nevada - This famous hotel is one of the show places of the West, with one of the nation's most beautiful swimming pools. (Postcard Color Photo by the Union Pacific Railroad)

Hotel Sahara, Las Vegas Nevada - This beautiful Olympic-size pool and the hotel grounds constitute one of the show places of the West. This unique hotel is an oasis of modern luxury and comfort. (Postcard Color Photo by Desert Sea News Bureau)

View of the grounds of the World Famous Fabulous Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas Nevada - The Hotel Flamingo's famous Olympic Pool is one of the nations finest and has been the setting for many of Hollywood's great film and TV Productions. (Postcard by Jupiter Press)