A Trip To the Fair

I'm going to jump right back in as if three years haven't passed silently, ok? Ok.

All images © Monika Seitz Vega, 2020 // Thank you for not stealing my work

Goodnight, Half Moon

I read earlier this week that the Half Moon Motel, located on Sepulveda Drive in Culver City, CA since 1955, was recently renovated, renamed, and its captivating neon signs sold for scrap. 

I have no words. What I do have, though, are photographs. Goodbye, Half Moon. 

All photographs and content of this website are copyright Monika Seitz Vega, 2016, and cannot be used without expressed written consent. 

Greetings from Breton Woods, N.J.

The Breton Woods club community sprouted up in the 1930s. The location was desirable because of it's proximity to the Metedeconk River. Originally a Boy Scout camp, Breton Woods was popular because its cabins were affordable for working families and the plot of land was included with the cabin purchase.

In researching the history of Breton Woods, I found this wonderful collection of home movies taken in the 1930s showcasing many of the recreational activities popular there, which included boating, parades, sports, and beauty pageants. Please click HERE to have a look.

the 1917 Santa Maria Inn

Early this summer we received a wedding invitation from two very good friends who were getting married in central California in September. It was exciting to know we'd be able to attend, and also that we'd be visiting a part of our huge state that I hadn't spent time in before. 

I couldn't help but start to look right away for a place to stay near the ceremony location that was up our alley. With a kidney shaped pool, neon sign out front + preferably with "motor lodge" in the name. It didn't take long for the fact that it's not 1940 to kick in + for me to realize that many of the quaint motels of the past are a little less savory these days (no offense, Barstow, but I am looking right at you). 

I left the lodging decision up to my husband, who got us a room at the historic (and likely haunted) Santa Maria Inn. As Santa Maria is about half way between Los Angeles + San Francisco, the Santa Maria Inn, built in 1917, became a well known destination for celebrities traveling back and forth. It was the perfect place for us to stay.

A couple weeks after booking our room at the Santa Maria, I was scanning postcards from a recent haul + I came across the one below. What a coincidence! By the time this postcard was sent in 1958 the Santa Maria Inn was no longer on the main road through town, as it had been rerouted a short distance away to accommodate the increase in travelers through the area. Despite this major impact, the Inn remained a desired destination point.

Nearly 60 years later, the umbrellas may be gone but the pool and nearby gardens remain.

The Santa Maria Inn has long embraced its history, which is a key contributor to its continued success. There is memorabilia from the history of the Inn in the lobby and sitting area, everything from newspaper clippings to room keys and countless photographs. Rooms in the "old" section of the Inn -- as opposed to the "new" tower that was built in the 1980s -- that Hollywood stars were known to stay in have a gold star with their names engraved on the door above the room number. Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, W.R. Hearst and Marion Davies, Katharine Hepburn, Charlie Chaplin, Shirley Temple... the list is endless. We stayed in Clark Gable and Carole Lombard's room, a lovely corner room on the second floor with a wonderful little balcony. It was perfect. I am so glad such a special occasion provided us the chance to have a weekend away at a place I know we'll visit again someday.

(A quick aside for anyone interested in Hollywood history: the spectacular podcast You Must Remember This did a series of episodes about stars during World War II. The Carole Lombard and Clark Gable episode is absolutely not to be missed, click HERE to have a listen) 

anywhere but here

It's late August in southern California.... the point where, every year, I have lost nearly all patience with the heat of summer + I find myself dreaming of being anywhere but here.

This bunch of postcards represents places I'd rather be, those of more forgiving climate and things I've never seen before.

Here's to cooler temperatures soon + more film photographs to share as a result.

"More than 55,000,000 people pass through the portals of the San Francisco Ferry Building each year, where boat connections are made for the East Bay cities and for other rail connections in all directions. The Ferry Building with its clock is one of the landmarks of the city."

"The Niagara River leaves Lake Erie at Buffalo at an elevation of about 600 feet above sea level to run a turbulent course for twenty-seven miles to Lake Ontario. In this journey, it descends over 300 feet, 160 feel of descent is made at the Falls shown in this picture, located about twenty miles from its source."

"Norris Geyser Basin is the first geyser land reached on the Grand Loop trip after leaving Mammoth Hot Springs. Valentine Geyser is distinguished by its crater like deep pit and Ledge Geyser, right near it across the trail, plays from 3 vents. Both are irregular in action."

"After leaving Las Vegas, the railroad winds over slopes to the commanding height of Glorietta Pass (Alt. 7,422 ft.). The downward ride is through Apache Canyon, where, in 1849, noted battles were fought between Kearney's army and the Mexicans, and in 1962 between Federal and Confederate forces."