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."

Balboa Park Turns 100, Part 4

San Diego's Balboa Park turns 100 years old this year, and to celebrate I've been working on a series of Balboa Park-related posts that include both my own photographs and postcards from my collection that are relevant to the Panama-California Exposition. For part 4 I'm going to bend the rules a little to include two items that precede the Exposition because I think they are too fantastic to leave out.

Enjoy!

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Though El Cajon, CA was referred to as "Cajon" for about 30 years in the late 1800s, it was changed back to "El Cajon" in 1905. Correspondent Josie G. didn't use the proper name of the town 9 years after this fact.

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The San Diego County Courthouse was built in 1889 and stood at the corner of Front Street and Broadway. It was demolished in 1959 and replaced by a modern county courthouse. That building was completed in 1961 and was razed to be replaced with a $555M superior court building, now under construction and scheduled to open in 1916.

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I absolutely love this correspondence: "Thurs. morning 9-23-09. Dear Alberta, arrived O.K. stopping at Richelieu 1055 5th St. Mr. + Mrs. Bowles send ___. Taking a street car ride this morning to Coronado this afternoon. Weather fine. Your mother feeling daily good. She joins me in love. Yours, L"

 The Richelieu Hotel was located at 1055 5th Ave. in downtown San Diego. The House of Blues is located on that plot now. This Wells Fargo handbook for travelers from 1915 I found while looking up the Richelieu is very informative and a great artifact from the Exposition, click here to have a look.

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These three postcards were part of the motherlode I mentioned in my last post.

Interested in catching up with the Balboa Park Turns 100 series? Check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

postcards, part 2

A few more postcards from my collection this morning, the last morning of summer.

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back, postmarked April 13, 1908, Syracuse, Indiana

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back, postmarked August 14, 1946, Los Angeles, California

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back, postmarked July 2, 1948, Hastings, Nebraska

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back, postmarked December 27, 1926

In case you missed it, here's postcards, part 1.

postcards, part 1

I've been collecting postcards nearly my entire life. I had family all over the country, and my parents and I traveled quite a bit when I was young. Postcards were (and still are) an inexpensive souvenir from a visit to somewhere new, and convenient for a quick "hello". Since I was a kid I've loved sending postcards to friends, and am excited when I get them in return. 

What began as correspondence between myself and friends + family turned into a enthusiasm for interesting or rare graphics, correspondence between people I've never met, images of places I know from another era, and an overall love of the art of the postcard. A few months ago I conquered the daunting task of organizing my collection. My postcards are now in archival sleeves, labeled when necessary, and easy to access. I'm looking forward to sharing them here, beginning with this iconic block lettering theme. 

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back of postcard, with reference guide

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