Hot Springs National Park Arkansas Part 1

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The postcards of the day are of the Army and Navy Hospital at the Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas and show the original hospital and the 1930s version. American Indians lived in the area now included in the park boundaries around 3,000 years ago and in 1818, a treaty with the Quapaw Indians conveyed the territory containing the hot springs to the United States. The federal government reserved the hot springs in 1832 and the Quapaw Indians continued to visit and use the baths. In 1922, the Quapaw bathhouse was opened and the Indians were among their customers. The springs include 47 hot springs and their watershed that flow from the southwestern slope of Hot Springs Mountain.
The federal reservation eventually developed into a widely known resort and was often called "The American Spa". It attracted not only the wealthy but also the poor from around the world who came to improve their health. Early wooden structures were a fire hazard and were replaced by a row of stone and masonry bathhouses along Central Avenue in the early 1900s. People have used the hot spring water to treat rheumatism and other aliments for more than 200 hundred years.
The first postcard is a circa 1905 view of the Army and Navy Hospital and will soon be added to my website.
The second postcard is a 1933 view of the new and improved Army and Navy Hospital and will also be added to the website soon.
I will continue this discussion in my next blog but in the meantime be sure to check out my website, MoodysPostcards.

Military Armory Buildings Through the Years

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An armory is a military depot normally used for training of local military and storage of weapons and ammunition. There are many postcards showing the local armory in the early 1900s and they are still seen today for the local National Guard and Reserves. The early 1900 versions often resembled castles complete with turrets but without the moats. The first postcard below shows the state armory, which was built in 1908, in Ionia Michigan and is a formidable sight.

The second postcard shows the armory in Kenton Ohio circa 1912 and it has the true castle appearance.NOTE: All of these postcards are currently available on my website Moodys Postcards.

The third postcard shows a 1940s style armory in Lewiston Maine and it is a whopper with a more modern design.

Pawtuxet Rhode Island Dance Hall Interior

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Back in June I had an article on the High Bridge Kentucky Dance Hall so when I ran across this postcard the other day I knew I had to give you the inside view. Interior views of the early dance halls are harder to find than the exterior views and this is a nice one from Pawtuxet Village Rhode Island. You can see the entrance on the right with a concession stand.One of the signs in the center of the image says "Dancing Every Evening" and another says "Hops every Monday and Saturday nights". You can see built in benches all the way around the huge dance floor and the rafters are covered with garland and a huge variety of lights fixtures.
The message on the back to a young lady in New York NY says "This is such a lovely floor one could die dancing here. Guess we're going down Friday night." I have similar postcards on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Casinos Without Gambling in Maine & Oregon

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Today I wanted to introduce you to casinos without gambling. Newcomers to postcard collecting are often puzzled when they see a postcard from Maine or Oregon with a casino on it since our modern vision of a casino is based on Las Vegas and gambling. In the early 1900s, a Casino was meeting place for the town where people came to meet, socialize, dine, dance and have a good time but gambling, as we know it, was not one of the activities. The first postcard shows the Riverton Casino in Portland Maine with a bridge to the left of the casino and a trolley track running right by the front door. The August 1908 message on the tells of having supper there and then sitting "on the broad Piazza & cooled off before coming home". Similar casino postcards can be found on my website at Moody's Postcards. The second postcard is on the other coast in Portland Oregon and shows the Cape Cottage Casino. Again, similar postcards can be found on my website at Moody's Postcards. Just enter "casino" in the search engine on the website.

Surgery Center at Lake City Florida VA Hospital

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The postcard of the day caught my eye because of the beautiful building and then made the cut for the postcard of the day when I noticed that it was the Surgery building for the Veteran's Hospital in Lake City Florida. This 1940s postcard shows a building designed for Florida and about as far from the normal Veteran's Administration Hospital as I have seen. This postcard is available along with 10,000 additional postcards on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Interior Views of Jewelry Stores on Postcards

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The postcards of the day are two exceptional interior views of a jewelry stores which provide an amazingly detailed view of the store fixtures which provided an exceptional display of the merchandise.
The first store is the O. C. Cobb Jewelry Store in Iowa Falls Iowa as it appeared in 1915. On the counters and in the display cases are Tiffany style lamps and in the left foreground are rows of gold pocket watches neatly displayed. Large silver bowls, picture frames and other fine dining pieces fill the display cabinets along the walls.
The second postcard shows the interior of the C. A. Schnack Jewelry Company at 924 Third Street in Alexandria Louisiana as it appeared in 1931. Fresh flowers and lamps are plentiful on the top of the counters and the case in the center foreground is filled with ladies rings. There is a fancy balcony in the rear of the store and the printed message on the back boasts "Schnack's is Alexandria's oldest retail store of any description, having served Alexandria for more than three quarters of a century.
These postcards are available in my Iowa listings and my Louisiana listings along with more than 10,000 additional postcards available on my website at Moody's Postcards.