Penny Postcards
December 19, 2004 1:56 PM   Subscribe

OK, Seattleites, see the American flag here ? On the sidewalk below is where your 3rd & Pine McDonalds now sits. Man, I can see five buildings here that are still standing, but that red brick one at the lower right got replaced early. Now here's the Northern Life Tower. Note how the bricks lighten towards the top, so as to make it look taller from below--very subtle, that. It's one of Seattle's two Art Deco buildings, the other being the Exchange Building. You can cut through that one, coming off the ferry at First Avenue and take the elevator to walk out on Second Ave rather than climb that steep hill, you know.
     And consider on what playground equipment our grandparents got to play. Lucky stiffs--you can't even find a decent 50s era swing set in a park in this town anymore. Penny Postcards From King County, from Penny Postcards of Washington, from Penny Postcards. Man, I loves me some vintage postcards. And if you do, too, check that last link--it's got all 50 states.
posted by y2karl (17 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Greetings from Historic Over There!
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:07 PM on December 19, 2004


(Seriously, this is cool.)
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:10 PM on December 19, 2004


Hmm, now I see soundsofsuburbia mentioned Penny Postcards previously in a comment. All the way from Stockholm, Sweden, at that.
posted by y2karl at 2:14 PM on December 19, 2004


Yes I miss that vintage playground equipment, but do admit I always feared getting ground up in one of the old merry-go-rounds
posted by dancingbaptist at 2:18 PM on December 19, 2004


In the future, Bostonians will all have airships of various sorts. Those who don't ride the suspended trolley cars, anyway.
posted by dougb at 2:19 PM on December 19, 2004


Then there is the If you don't like the way I drive, stay off the sidewalk! factor with that red car.
posted by y2karl at 2:28 PM on December 19, 2004


This still exists. It's now known as Walter Payton's Roundhouse and it now looks like this.

Great find!
posted by SisterHavana at 3:11 PM on December 19, 2004


Awesome! I want to go and buy all these postcards now. When I lived in Palm Beach and NYC I collected vintage postcards that I matte'd and framed.
posted by astruc at 3:30 PM on December 19, 2004


what a beautiful site! Thanks y2karl
posted by seawallrunner at 3:53 PM on December 19, 2004


This still exists. It's now known as Walter Payton's Roundhouse and it now looks like this.

Burlington Northern still runs one of the few working roundhouses left in the United States at its Interbay yards--not that you can readily tell, as it's added on and clad in beige colored metal siding now--that's it right there beside by the water tower. It evidently used to look like this.

A bike path goes through that yard--from riding through on it, I have found that some of the switch engines are operated by remote control in the yard. Now there's a dream job for a toy train buff.

I live a few blocks away from those yards. There's nothing as soothing as listening to boxcars bumping through all of a hot summer's night.
posted by y2karl at 4:03 PM on December 19, 2004


Thanks for the link - I was getting bored with this city...
posted by iamck at 4:07 PM on December 19, 2004


Yes I miss that vintage playground equipment, but do admit I always feared getting ground up in one of the old merry-go-rounds.

Where I went to grade school, we had one even bigger than that one, made of three inch pipes and planks, probably built in the 40s at the latest. Man, when we were little, the big kids used to stand in a relay and whip that thing around so fast while we little kids hung on for dear life. Dangerous as hell by today's standards but was it fun . Ya'd think they could at least spare the old high swing sets, but no-o-o-o, they have to replace them with these wussy little kid swings with the bucket seats.
posted by y2karl at 4:10 PM on December 19, 2004


Baltimore hasn't changed much. Nothing is that colorful, but I recognize most of the buildings as unchanged. Pretty cool.
posted by Grod at 5:39 PM on December 19, 2004


Wonderful links!!! Thanks y2karl for the post.
posted by Jumpin Jack Flash at 7:13 PM on December 19, 2004


I wonder whatever happened to this place. I googled and found nothing. It looks like it would have been fun!
posted by SisterHavana at 10:57 PM on December 19, 2004


The playground equipment on that postcard is insanely dangerous and I would have loved it as a kid. The super tall fireman's pole looks scary and the innovative two sided double pipe slide undoubtedly claimed many victims. [this is good]
posted by roboto at 6:44 AM on December 20, 2004


Ahhh. Route 50. Know it well.
posted by Dick Paris at 4:56 AM on December 22, 2004


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