Tag Archives: 1920s

YMCA Camp, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

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This image shows a young man reading near the buildings which made up the YMCA Camp located near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. It has been redeveloped into the Geneva Lakes Family YMCA.
There is no description on the back of this card.
The fate of this facility is described on the YMCA National History web site, and the relevant information excerpted here:

“The need for a formal school was also felt in the Midwest, with a YMCA Training School housed in the downtown Chicago YMCA opening in 1890 with five students. It ultimately became George Williams College, after merging with the Western Secretarial Institute, a summer training school in Lake Geneva, Wis., in 1892. A century later, George Williams College became part of Aurora University, in Aurora, Ill.”

The facility is thus no longer in existence. The card was used and is dated 21 June 1928.

West Main Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan

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This image is a colored nighttime illustration of what was then West Main Street in the center of Kalamazoo, Michigan.

170 — Pub. by Henry G. Dornbush, Kalamazoo, Mich.


The area is probably very close to the intersection shown in the previous posting, and this section of road has been renamed Michigan Ave. Extensive renovation has removed the buildings seen here.
The ragged white area in the upper left is a hole where the paper is missing, along with associated damage. This card was used and is dated 20 February 1923.

South Burdick St., Kalamazoo, Michigan

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This image shows a typical street scene in Kalamazoo, Michigan in the early 20th Century. The road is identified as South Burdick Street.
There is no description on the back of this card.
Since this is likely the old center of town, the road no longer exists in this state, as the north end of South Burdick St. was completely rebuilt as Kalamazoo Mall.
This postcard was used and is dated 20 February 1923, which is consistent with the automobiles  visible in the image.

Fremont State Bank, Fremont, Michigan

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This illustration shows the substantial building that housed the Fremont State Bank. It is essentially an architect’s elevation drawing with the typical human figures included for scale.
This image, like all the next 13 images, are photos and illustrations printed on blank paper and stamped with the words Post Card, a square to place the stamp, and a divider to indicate where to write the message and where to write the address.
It appears that this building no longer exists. The woman’s clothing style indicates this illustration is from the 1920s.

Chicago Cubs Spring Training Field, Catalina Island, California

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This is an aerial image of the field used by the National League Chicago Cubs for their pre-season training.

Genuine Curteich-Chicago ‘C.T. Photochrom’


There is no description on the back of this card.
This facility was first used by the Cubs in 1921. There is a silent newsreel of the location and the team from 1939 located here.
This image likely dates from the 1920s.

Island Villa, Catalina Island, California

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This image is a colored photo of the camp-like visitors cabins as they looked in the early part of the 20th Century on Catalina Island, off the coast of California near Los Angeles.

Genuine Curteich-Chicago “C.T. American Art”


There is no description on the back of this card. The people in the photo are dressed in styles very typical of the 1920s, both the adults and children.
This postcard was used and is dated 25 July 1925.

Mexicali Beer Garden, Tijuana, Mexico

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This image shows the substantial establishment labelled the Mexicali Beer Garden. It was erected to increase interest in the recently established Mexicali Beer product, still sold today. The actual brewery was in Mexicali, but the Prohibition tourists from San Diego meant that their best selling opportunity was 112 miles closer to San Diego in the small town of Tijuana.
The only inscription on the back of this card is as follows:
Pub. by “The Big Curio Store.”
Lower California Commercial Co., Inc.
Tijuana, Mexico
–The brewing company that produced this beer, and presumably also erected this retail establishment soon after, was founded in 1923, so this image likely dates from shortly after that time. Prohibition was in effect in the U.S. beginning in 1919, and many thousands of thirsty Americans were traveling the short distance from San Diego to Tijuana to drink legally.
The postcard was used, as can be seen by the imprint of the stamp cancellation in the upper left corner, but the stamp was removed long ago, obliterating the postmark, and the card is otherwise undated.

Courthouse, Portland, Indiana

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This image shows the county courthouse in the town of Portland, Indiana. This county and the building is named the John Jay Courthouse after the U. S.  Supreme Court justice of that name.
There is no description on the back of this card The courthouse is still standing and in use as a government building in Portland today.
This card was used and is dated 18 August 1932, but the image likely dates from the 1920s.

Wabash County Hospital, Wabash, Indiana

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This image shows the recently constructed Wabash County Hospital building as it looked in the 1920s. It was located in Wabash, Indiana until demolished and replaced with a more modern facility.

E.C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee, Wis.


There is no description on the back of this card. This was originally a black and white photo that was colorized for use as a post card. The best evidence of this is to the left of the building where the color of the brick has bled over into the sky, giving the building a pink aura.
This postcard was used and is dated 19 June 1929.

Butterfly Dam, Lockport, Illinois

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This image is a colorized photo of the end of the Chicago Drainage Canal 28  miles from Chicago.

Fred Harvey


The description states:
Butterfly Dam at Lockport, the end of the Chicago Drainage Canal is 28 miles from Chicago. The length of the completed main channel is 28 miles. The right of way approximates 6,500 acres and cast nearly $2,500,000.00. The entire cost of the canal was over $30,000,000. By use of the drainage canal the current of the Chicago River is reversed and the pure water of Lake Michigan dilutes with its enormous volume and active flow the sewage of the city of Chicago, and bears it away in harmless form.
–In other words, this is a sewage drain that uses Lake Michigan water to dilute the concentration of the sewage and discharge it into the Des Plaines River. While this is far from a desirable treatment method, it is still in use and continues to direct sewage down the Mississippi watershed.
This card was used and is dated 1926.