1950s American Vacations In Kodachrome

Aquamaids, Cypress Gardens, posing after a show
Cypress Gardens has been operating for 6 years at this point. The skis are very crude, even by the 1950s standards. This is also before the familiar logo that appears on the mid-century models.

Daytona Beach, FL — 1953

Shoot to Kill! — 1950s
4 shots ¢.15. Next door is “Record Smash”. Street fair, Hawaii.

Desert View Lookout Tower, Jacumba, CA – 1959

St. Petersburg, FL – 1958
St. Pete’s famous green benches on Central Avenue. They were removed to improve the city’s image. In 1969, the last 500 were removed.

Disneyland – 1959
Tomorrowland.

Louis Prima at Sho-Bar, New Orleans – 1953

Layover in Waikiki — 1954
This Kodachrome moment captures a young serviceman on the way to Tsuiki Japan. In front of balcony next to Moana Hotel

Jones Beach, NY 1955

Aquamaids in Florida 1952
Cypress Gardens: “Water Ski Capital of the World”!

Marineland of Florida — 1952
Here’s where the Creature from the Black Lagoon was kept in 1954. My favorite scene is where he escapes the pool and gets into the parking lot across US-1.

Hello From the Alligator Farm — 1952
The St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, as it is now called, was established in 1893, making it one of the oldest attractions in Florida.

Ray in His Shop, Sayville, NY — June 1952
Flanagan’s, 21 Main St., Sayville, NY.

Sandpiper Apartments, Reddington Beach, FL — July 1952

Fisherman’s Wharf, Redondo Beach — August 1953

Moccasins, Indian Rugs, Jewelry, Curios – early 1950s
A fanciful totem pole welcomes you to save 3¢ at the Shamrock gas station somewhere near the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. The place next door is Johnnie’s Cafe Inn.
Why the photographer stayed in his or her car is curious, but I like the old hood and ornament in the picture. It adds an “inside-looking-out” feel to the composition.

New Orleans’ Bohemian Outsider “Gypsy Lou” – 1955
Rare photo of this artist/writer/publisher.
Just by chance I put the headline visible in the background into Google and found this.
In 1960, Jon Edgar and Louise “Gypsy Lou” Webb founded Loujon Press on Royal Street in New Orleans’s French Quarter. The small publishing house quickly became a giant. Heralded by the Village Voice and the New York Times as one of the best of its day, the Outsider, the press’s literary review, featured, among others, Charles Bukowski, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Robert Creeley, Denise Levertov, and Walter Lowenfels. Loujon published books by Henry Miller and two early poetry collections by Bukowski.

Poolside at Kit Carson Motel, Las Vegas – 1956

Fremont Street, Las Vegas 1955

Grand View Ship Hotel — 1953

Fireplace on balcony of Desert View Watchtower, 1956

Waikiki Beach 1950
Still thinking about Honolulu & Waikiki — these slides came from a pilot’s collection who toured and photographed various places in the Pacific and Asia. Here, he catches up with what appears to be a miniature Jimmy Buffett while literally on shore-leave at Waikiki beach.

Jack Frost Frozen Custard
Here’s proof that the East Coast is just as much a player in the roadside diner department. Although less flashy than his West Coast competitor (See Buffalo Burgers), the Jack Frost has a style all it’s own. The subtle lettering on the marquee, the aztec brick pattern nod to Deco, and the outdoor seating next to the staircase all create distinctive charm that is “Jack Frost.”
Which is evident as the husband sits safely in the ’41 Ford Type 1 taking pictures while the wife gathers the deserts. Somewhere in Pennsylvania, 1953

Hollywood! 1956
A couple of hip chicks from Illinois strike a pose behind the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and Grauman’s Theater on N. Orange. The mint green 1955 Chevy 210 4-door sedan sets off the girls’ red and blue slacks, and you almost miss the zig-zag alteration on miss blue-pants. She looks like trouble…

Kids of today, I present the Ascot
Larry really looks continental in his ascot with his friend and friend’s wife. Anyone know what happened to the guy on the right? I mean you seldom see this type anymore. Developer, wheeler-dealer, Man-About-Town. The Aqua-Velva man. Super short colorful neck-tie. Foster Grants.

Space Satellite Hotel, Pompano Beach, FL – March 1961
1450 South Ocean Blvd Pompano Beach, FLA
All the news of the Apollo lunar landing of 1969 got me thinking about Florida tourism’s adaptation to the space program. NASA was the pinnacle of the world’s technology, where anything seemed possible, and all new technology was embraced.
In two months after this photo was taken, Astronaut Alan Shepard Jr. became the first American in space as he made a 15-minute suborbital flight in the Freedom 7 Project Mercury capsule launched from Cape Canaveral.
Florida Hotels, especially in and around the Space Coast got in on the act, and this one is no exception.
Although a blurry and red Ektachrome, we can still enjoy the charms of the hotel signage. The Space Satellite Hotel boasts kitchens, Restaurant and Lounge, and of course — the Outer Space Room. We are missing the proper sign however, cut off on the right of the slide. I’m betting it was Outta Site!

Avalon, Catalina Island
Hotel Mac Rae, 409 Crescent Ave.

Miss Catalina 6 – Avalon, Catalina Island
These fast, mahogany speed boats (built around aircraft engines) made several trips daily from Avalon’s Pleasure Pier, zipping along Catalina’s rugged coast in a thrilling 10 or 12 mile ride.

Fire Hose, Fisherman’s Wharf – San Francisco
What happens behind Alioto’s stays behind Alioto’s.
The front can be seen here.

Lido-Beach Casino – Sarasota, Florida – early 50s.
A wonderful, breezy day at the Lido Beach Casino in the early 50s. Designed by famed Sarasota School of Architecture icon Ralph Twitchell in 1938-39 as a WPA project. Of note are the precast concrete seahorses barely seen here on the second story. Structure at end (above green benches) is an “entry tower.” Demolished in 1969 at the request of local politicians and businessmen.