Tag Archives: Iowa

Church Welcome Card

Leave a reply

This unusual card is a welcome card sent to recent visitors to the church that sent the cards. They had no description on the back , and were sent to the visiting worshipper by one of the church staff.
As noted there is no description on the back, only the caption on the front:
Welcome Visitor
We are glad you visited us and hope you will come AGAIN!
Come near before the Lord.
…Exodus 16:9
–The exact church that sent the card originally is unknown, however, it was mailed from Arnold’s Park, Iowa, and is dated 17 September 1963.

Tejm Motel, Bettendorf, iowa

Leave a reply

This is an artist’s rendition of the Tejm Motel in Bettendorf, Iowa, a typical mid-century structure with multi-occupancy buildings reminiscent of apartments.

Teknitone Process by E. B Thomas, Rt. 26, Cambridge 39, Mass.


The description states:
TEJM MOTEL
On U. S. Highway 6 — Bettendorf, Iowa
“We Aim to Satisfy”
Conveniently located in Quint-City Area — (Bettendorf and Davenport, Iowa; and Moline, Rock Island and East Moline, Illinois). 26 modern units, especially designed for the comforts of home. Phone: TEJM MOTEL, Davenport Exchange.
–CAbins like these often had apartment style designs, including small kitchenettes and sometimes even laundry services. As motel owners learned that most travelers did not use most of these services for various reasons, they were eliminated for more popular additions such as television, air conditioning and swimming pools.
This image likely dates from the 1940s.

Holiday Inn North, Des Moines, Iowa

Leave a reply

This is an artist’s rendition of an aerial view of the Holiday Inn of Des Moines, Iowa and the grounds inside and out.

Curteich Color 3-D Natural Color Reproduction


The description states:
HOLIDAY INN
OF DES MOINES (NORTH), IOWA
3501 East 14th Street Zip 50316
1 Mile South of Interstate 80 and U. S. 6 on U. S. 69
Cocktail Lounge — 24-hour restaurant
Giant heated swimming pool
Color TV in every room
Complete hotel and convention service
–The small lettering on the sign in the lower left says “The Worlds Innkeeper”
The Holiday Inn chain of motels is one of the largest in the world, and a pioneer in technology and co-branding, including creating a reservation service for travelers to book another Holiday Inn when leaving the current one, and the ability to pay with a Gulf Oil credit card, as Holiday Inn did not otherwise have a credit payment system, and this was before BankAmericard (now VISA) and Mastercharge (now MasterCard).
The Holiday Inn has been demolished and replaced with a Casey’s Service Station. This postcard likely dates from the 1970s.

Voyager Inn, Burlington, Iowa

Leave a reply

This image is a typical promotional postcard view of the Voyager Inn and a view inside one of the rooms in the inset.

Curteich Color 3-D Natural Color Reproduction


The description states:
VOYAGER INN  AHA
BURLINGTON, IOWA
Telephone 754-4681 — TWX: 319-390-1113
U.S. Hwys. 34 and 61
60 Deluxe Rooms with Air-conditioning — TV — Courtesy Coffee — Swimming Pool — Spacious Lawn
A BOSS MOTEL
–Some of the notations in the description are unclear. The AHA may refer to a hotel association of the time. TWX is the Teletypewriter Exchange Service which ran alongside the public telephone service and allowed telegraph like messages to be sent to businesses.
Of particular note from the image are the unusual bed designs. These are beds with mattress covers and bolster pillows intended to provide couch space in the daytime. At night, the bolsters were set aside, the covers removed, and the beds exposed for sleeping. Normal sleeping pillows were stored in closets.
This style of furniture was fashionable for a short time in the 1970s, and this image likely dates from that time.

Shady Lodge Motel, Oscaloosa, Iowa

Leave a reply

This image is an artist’s rendition of the cabins making up the Shady Lodge Motel, with the main office in the left background.

Tichnor Quality Views, Tichnor Bros., Inc., Boston, Mass.


The description states:
Shady Lodge Motel
102 So. 11th St., Highway 63
1/2 Mile South of 92
Telephone 3-7073
Oscaloosa, Iowa
Modern Cottages–Innterspring Mattresses–Steam Heated
“A Home Away From Home”–Hundreds of Shade Trees
Trailer Accommodations
Owned and Operated by Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Benke
–Such elaborate designs were still common in the early years of motel construction, particularly in remote or rural areas, but such buildings proved to be expensive to maintain and were supplanted with more standardized construction.
Google maps shows the site has been completely reconstructed for homes and small businesses. This image likely dates from the 1940s.

Colo Cabin Camp, Colo, Iowa

Leave a reply

This image shows a typical rural motel design from the mid-20th century in Iowa. These cabins are no longer separate or semidetached, but are subdivisions of a single long building.

“Plastichrome” by Colourpicture Publishers, Inc., Boston 15, Mass., U.S.A.


The description states:
COLO CABIN CAMP
Modern Cabins
Colo, Iowa
At the junction of U.S. Highways 65 and 30. A Standard Service Station with 24 hour service and a good place to eat, where friends meet.
— All that remains of the location noted for this establishment is a cemetery next to the highway.
The vehicle partially hidden behind the sign indicates this card likely dates from the 1950s.

McNeal Hi-Way Motels, Des Moines, Iowa

Leave a reply

This image shows three different motels. all located in various places around Des Moines, Iowa.
The description states:
125 beautiful, modern rooms plus a handy coffee shop, cocktail lounge and 4 air-conditioned meeting rooms for 10 to 150 persons. Located in a modern shopping center with 32 stores and offices. For reservations or more information telephone 276-3411.
McNEAL HI-WAY HOTELS-MOTELS
57th and Urbandale
Des Moines, Iowa 50310
— The location now is an apartment complex. This image likely dates from the 1960s based on the automobiles visible in the parking lots.

Gardner Log Cabin, Arnold’s Park, Iowa

Leave a reply

As mentioned in an earlier blog post, this is the cabin of the sole survivor of the Indian attack on a white settlement in Iowa, know as the Spirit Lake Massacre of 1857. The woman standing in front of the cabin is a re-enactor, providing interpretation of the event for visitors.

Only house left of the massacre of 1857 @ Gardner Log Cabin, Arnold’s Park, IA. C801


There is no description on the back of the card.
The cabin was extensively modified over the years once the original owner returned and used it as a tourist site. A new door and window were installed on the first floor, and a whole new second floor was added, as seen here.
Once the house was given to the state of Iowa as a historic site, the conservators decided to return it to the original appearance during the time of the massacre. The completed restoration is visible here.
The image likely dates from the 1930s.

Fat Man’s Misery, Maquoketa Caves State Park, Iowa

Leave a reply

This image shows a cave formed not by underground erosion, but by the movement of two uneven formations toward and against each other, in this case forming a triangular opening which decreases towards the rear. Thus, it is not a proper cave at all.
There is no description on the back of this card.
Curiously, a search on the web shows that this is a popular description for narrow caves throughout the United States. Perhaps instead of cave this should be better labeled a rock shelter.
This image likely dates from the 1940’s.

Balanced Rock, Maquoketa Caves State Park, Iowa

Leave a reply

This image shows a large formation which has the look of a constructed feature. The large boulder, deposited here and then extensively eroded, is not part of the formation it sits upon.
There is no description on the back of the card.
The large sign affixed near the top of the boulder reads “Balanced Rock  –  Hands Off”. It is not clear what human hands alone could do to affect the boulder, so it can be presumed the hope is to discourage souvenir hunters from chipping away pieces with hammers and such.
This image likely dates from the 1940s.