Caption: "S. S. Grand View Point. A Steamer in the Allegany Mts. Elv. 2624 ft. 17 m. W. of Bedford, Pa. U.S. 30. 4-CEG-32."

Signs and banners: "Grand View Point Hotel. Post Cards. Souvenirs. See 3 States and 7 Counties. Visitors Welcome. Free Telescope." "Restaurant. Rooms." "S.S. Grand View Point....Open for Business."

This image of the famous Ship Hotel, which was a popular roadside attraction along the Lincoln Highway (U.S. Route 30) in western Pennsylvania until it burned to the ground in 2001, is a real photo postcard by Charles Elmer Gerkins (indicated by the initials "CEG" in the caption) that's dated April 1932 ("4-32").

In The Ship Hotel: A Grand View along the Lincoln Highway (Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 2010), author Brian Butko quotes a 1930s WPA guide to explain the reason that the building was shaped like a ship: "The S.S. Grand View Point Hotel was remodeled in 1931 to give the impression of an ocean liner, because the owner saw a resemblance between early morning mists rising from the valley and billowing ocean waves."

After enlarging the image, I discovered that two of the banners on the building (including the one hanging on the railing just above "3 States") indicate that the "S.S. Grand View Point" is "Open for Business." Since the building was remodeled to look like a ship sometime in 1931 (the smokestacks, deck, and bow-shaped front of the building were added at that time), I wonder if this photo from April 1932 shows the building just after it reopened.

See also two linen postcards that illustrate the 63-Mile View from the hotel and the Approach to the Hotel.

Originally posted on Ipernity: Grand View Ship Hotel: A Steamer in the Allegheny Mountains, 1932.

Tags:   ephemera postcards real photo postcards rppc photos photographs found photos advertising advertisements ads Ship Hotel Grand View Grand View Point Grand View Point Lookout Grand View Point Hotel S.S. Grand View Point Hotel S.S. Grand View Point S.S. Grand View Grand View Ship Hotel Ship of the Alleghenies Alleghenies Allegheny Mountains Allegany Mountains hotels restaurants lookouts overlooks views scenic overlooks buildings programmatic architecture novelty architecture architecture ships steamships steamers boats funnels smokestacks roadside attractions roadside highways routes Lincoln Highway Route 30 U.S. Route 30 autos automobiles cars flags banners signs mountains Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians Ridge and Valley ridges valleys telescopes visitors open opening men women Bedford Pa. Bedford County Pennsylvania Central City Somerset County antique old vintage Charles Elmer Gerkins C. E. Gerkins CEG

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"Grand View Point Hotel. See 3 states and 7 counties. Pa., Md., W. Va, 63 mile view from Grand View--Ship Hotel on Lincoln Highway, U.S. 30, 17 miles west of Bedford, Pa., looking into 3 states and 7 counties, 80 miles east of Pittsburgh, Pa. 4A-H1905."

Printed on back: "Distributed by H. Paulson, Grand View-Ship Hotel, Central City, Pa."

Originally posted on Ipernity: Grand View Ship Hotel, 63-Mile View, Lincoln Highway, West of Bedford, Pa.

Tags:   ephemera postcards linen postcards linens advertising advertisements ads paper printed Ship Hotel Grand View Grand View Point Grand View Point Lookout Grand View Point Hotel S.S. Grand View Point Hotel S.S. Grand View Grand View Ship Hotel Ship of the Alleghenies Alleghenies Paulson Herbert Paulson H. Paulson hotels restaurants lookouts overlooks views scenic overlooks buildings programmatic architecture novelty architecture ships steamships boats funnels smokestacks roadside highways routes Lincoln Highway Route 30 U.S. Route 30 autos automobiles cars flags banners signs mountains green blue grey gray white yellow Bedford Pa. Bedford County Pennsylvania Central City Somerset County Maryland West Virginia old vintage Curteich Curt Teich & Co. Chicago IL Ill. Illinois printers publishers postcard publishers

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"Grand View Point Hotel. Approaching S.S. Grand View Point Hotel on the Lincoln Highway, 17 miles west of Bedford, Pa. Elevation 2,464 feet. 3A-H421."

Printed on back: "Grand View Point Hotel at the most beautiful spot in U.S. Summit of Allegheny Mts., 17 miles west of Bedford, Pa., on Historic Lincoln Highway, overlooking 3 states and 7 counties. Elevation 2,464 feet. Distributed by H. Paulson, Grand View-Ship Hotel, Central City, Pa."

Originally posted on Ipernity: Grand View Ship Hotel, Approach to the Hotel, Lincoln Highway, West of Bedford, Pa.

Tags:   ephemera postcards linen postcards linens advertising advertisements ads paper printed Ship Hotel Grand View Grand View Point Grand View Point Lookout Grand View Point Hotel S.S. Grand View Point Hotel S.S. Grand View Grand View Ship Hotel Ship of the Alleghenies Alleghenies Allegheny Mountains Paulson Herbert Paulson H. Paulson hotels restaurants lookouts overlooks views scenic overlooks buildings programmatic architecture novelty architecture ships steamships boats funnels smokestacks roadside highways routes Lincoln Highway Route 30 U.S. Route 30 approaches autos automobiles cars flags banners signs mountains green blue grey gray white yellow Bedford Pa. Bedford County Pennsylvania Central City Somerset County old vintage Curteich Curt Teich & Co. Chicago IL Ill. Illinois printers publishers postcard publishers

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"Lyndhurst Electric Farm, Geo. J. Hoopes, owner."

The Lyndhurst Electric Farm was located along the Lincoln Highway in Caln Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, somewhere between the towns of Coatesville and Downingtown.

The "Electric Farm" name came about in an obvious way sometime in the early twentieth century: "Township manager Sam Moore, a lifelong resident, remembers the excitement when one farm had its barn wired for electricity. Local residents immediately christened it 'The Electric Farm'" (see Jeff Gammage, "Caln Highway: Extension of History's Path," philly.com, Nov. 1, 1987 [original link no longer working; see archived copy]).

Brian Butko, in his book, The Lincoln Highway: Pennsylvania Traveler's Guide, 2nd ed. (Stackpole Books, 2002), p. 76, mentions that "Lyndhurst was a farm and tourist home operated by George J. Hoopes," but I haven't been able to uncover any additional information regarding the Lyndhurst Electric Farm or its owner.

Originally posted on Ipernity: Lyndhurst Electric Farm, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Tags:   ephemera postcards real photo postcards rppc photos photographs found photos Lyndhurst Lyndhurst Electric Farm electric Electric Farm Geo. J. Hoopes Hoopes George J. Hoopes owners George Hoopes men electricity electrical farms farmsteads farmers buildings barns bank barns banked barns Pennsylvania barns houses tourist homes architecture fences lightning rods telephone poles utility poles roadside attractions roadside highways routes Lincoln Highway Route 30 U.S. Route 30 autos automobiles cars trucks Caln Township Caln Chester County Pennsylvania Pa. antique old vintage

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Snapshot of an oversized covered wagon (or prairie schooner) and concrete oxen located along the Lincoln Highway in Kearney, Nebraska.

For more recent images, see the Giant Vehicles page (scroll down to the "Covered Wagon, Kearney, NE" section) on RoadsideArchitecture com and a Google Maps Street View of the location.

Originally posted on Ipernity: Giant Covered Wagon and Oxen, Lincoln Highway, Kearney, Nebraska.

Tags:   ephemera photographs photos souvenir photos souvenirs found photos snapshots portraits women clothes clothing dresses covered wagons wagons prairie schooners oxen ox horns yokes animals concrete statues roadside attractions roadside highways routes Lincoln Highway Route 30 U.S. Route 30 serrated edges borders Kearney NE Nebr. Nebraska antique old vintage

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