This image features another typical motel of the first generation of such construction in the 1930s and 1940s. The Steven’s Motel was expanded considerably after original construction.
The description states:
Steven’s Motel
On State Hwy. No 37,
One Block South of Hwy. U.S. 16
Mitchell, S.D.
Twenty new, modern units with radiant baseboard heart. Large parking area away from heavy traffic. A.A.A. Recommended. Phone for reservations. 3104. Room Phones.
–This structure no longer exists, but the site appears to be still occupied by another motel, run by the Motel 6 national chain. The card likely dates to the 1940s.
Category: Postcards From Another Millennium
Postcards from various decades of the 20th century.
Log Cabin Courts, Hot Springs, South Dakota
This is an image of typical rustic style accommodations typical of the first generation of motel construction. Such buildings looked quite sharp and impressive when new, but tended to age poorly and deteriorated visibly in a short time, making maintenance an expensive obligation.
There is no description on this card. The cabins still exist, and the Historic Log Cabin website indicates they are still available for rent and updated to modern standards.
This image likely dates from the 1940s.
Left Side Panel, Multipurpose Room, Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota
This is the panel directly opposite the main stage opening from the previous posting. It appears to represent a Native American chief offering a gift of corn to a settler.
The description states:
THE WORLD’S ONLY CORN PALACE
MITCHELL, SOUTH DAKOTA
One of the many panels on the inside of the world’s only Corn Palace. These panels are made from natural colored grains and grasses. The entire building is redecorated annually at a cost of $10,000. The annual festival is held the last week in September, but the building is open FREE the year around. It is one of the most outstanding exhibits of nature’s wonderful colors blended into interesting designs and pictures by local decorators.
–This panel is unusual in that it includes a corner section as part of the design, instead of being completely flat. The image likely dates to the 1940s.
Right Side Panel, Multipurpose Room, Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota
This image features the detail of the right side panel of the multipurpose room shown in the previous post. Careful examination of the full-sized image shows the numerous corn cobs used in the creation of the image.
The description states:
THE WORLD’S ONLY CORN PALACE
MITCHELL, SOUTH DAKOTA
One of the many panels on the inside of the worlds only Corn Palace. These panels are made from natural colored grains and grasses. The entire building is redecorated annually at a cost of $10,000. The annual festival is held the last week in September, but the building is open FRREE the year around. It is one of the most outstanding exhibits of nature’s wonderful colors blended into interesting designs and pictures by local decorators.
–This image appears to depict two hunters in search of their prey. The image likely dates to the 1940s.
Multipurpose Room, Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota
This image is of a large hall constructed for many purposes. The floor is marked to be used as a basketball court, and one wall has an elevated stage for performances and presentations.
The description states:
THE WORLD’S ONLY CORN PALACE
MITCHELL, SOUTH DAKOTA
This view is one of the stage that is housed in the world’s only Corn Palace. It is one of the largest stages in the Midwest. It is on this stage that the annual festival show is held. The big show is held the last week in September, but the building is open FREE the year around.
–The seating in front of the stage is clearly movable for shows where the focus is on the stage.
This image is likely from the 1940s.
Corn Palace Exterior, Mitchell, South Dakota
This image is of another year’s decorations on the front entrance of the Mitchell, South Dakota Corn Palace. Like many such images of this era, this is a colorized version of a black and white original photograph.
The description states:
THE WORLD’S ONLY CORN PALACE
MITCHELL, SOUTH DAKOTA
This building is redecorated annually at a cost of $10,000 in natural colored grains and grasses. The annual festival is held the last week in September but the building is open FREE the year around. It is the most outstanding exhibit of nature’s wonderful colors blended into interesting designs and pictures by skilled decorators.
–The building is currently undergoing considerable remodeling to allow for larger murals and signage. The cars shown in the image indicate this photo is from the 1940s.
1951 Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota
This image begins a series of card featuring the world famous Corn Palace, a building completely covered in decorations made of split corn cobs and other grains.
The description states:
THE WORLD’S ONLY CORN PALACE, MITCHELL, SOUTH DAKOTA, is freshly redecorated each year during Indian Summer. It requirers between two and three thousand bushels of corn, all of which appears in its natural color. The individual cobs, with the corn on, are sawed lengthwise by small power saws, the halves then nailed, flat side in, to wooden panels which are fastened to the brick wall sot he building. The annual festival is held in the last week in September but the building is open FREE the year around.
–The marking on the building and the cars shown in the image both indicate the image is from the year 1951.
Maumee River Bridge, Ohio
This image is of a portion of the Ohio Turnpike, a toll road built between 1949 and 1955. It specifically features the Maumee River Bridge crossing, showing the separation of traffic.
The description states:
OTP-9 — THE MAUMEE RIVER BRIDGE ON OHIO’S 326,000,000 TURNPIKE
This mammoth bridge is 1,394 feet long. Twin bridges carry the roadways wherever the Turnpike crosses over other highways, rivers or railroads, to preserve the minimum separation between the east and west bound lanes.
–This postcard was used and is dated April 27, 1956. The black streaks on the sky are cancellation marks.
Hotel Sinton, Cincinnati, Ohio
This is an artist’s depiction of the large and imposing Hotel Sinton, once a landmark in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. The hotel was built in 1907 and demolished in 1967. It was located on the southeast corner of 4th and Vine Streets.
The description states simply:
700 Rooms HOTEL SINTON 700 Baths
Modern • New • Clean
–This was the hotel where the conspiracy of White Sox baseball players met to organize their effort to lose the World Series, known as the Black Sox scandal.
This card likely dates from the 1940s.
Union Station Interior, Cincinnati, OH
This image proceeds to the interior of Union Station in Cincinnati, Ohio. Shown are the curving walls with several ticket windows, a vendor’s window at the far left, and the remarkable and historic murals above. These windows still exist in this form, though they (and the vendor window) sit locked and unused. The murals are unchanged.
The description states:
The main concourse of the Union Terminal, built at a cost of $41,000,000, is semi-circular in shape, and the right and left hand sides of the dome contain the largest silhouette mosaics in the world, the left hand mural portraying the history of transportation, and the right hand the growth of Cincinnati. It also contains information and ticket windows, retail shops, restaurant facilities, etc.
–This card likely dates from the 1940s.