RetroLisa
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RetroLisa
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car travel During the war, gasoline and rubber were rationed and new car production came to a halt. Car travel diminished during this time. If you were lucky enough to have a car in working condition, you saved it for the trips that were really important.
This all changed when the war was over. Automakers returned to regular production and the booming economy made it possible for more people to own a car. Automobile travel became more popular, ushering in the car culture of the 1950s.
gasoline filling stations By the 1940s, gas stations had abandoned the cottage look in favor of the oblong box. These rectangular structures were made of concrete block and featured plate glass windows, canopies, restrooms, porcelain exteriors and service bays.
Brand competition was fierce among the many oil companies in existence during this decade. Repair services, motor oil sales, free road maps and spotless restrooms were all viewed as important ways to stand out from the crowd. In the 1940s, Texaco advertised their Registered Restrooms, which were maintained and inspected by the White Patrol. Phillips 66 stations had Certified Restrooms, which were maintained by a group of registered nurses known as Highway Hostesses.
- Esso
- Phillips 66
- Flying A
- Mobilgas
- Sinclair
- Texaco
- Pure Oil
- Skelly
- D-X
- Gulf
Old Gas Station Collectibles 1940s State Highway Markers Pennsylvania Turnpike Bring On The Highway Hostesses
turnpikes The first superhighways were the tollways, or turnpikes, that were built in the eastern United States in the 1940s and early 1950s. The granddaddy of them all was the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which opened in 1940.
Driving at high speeds on multi-lane roads was a new concept for Americans in the 1940s. At the 1939-1940 World's Fair, visitors could view a model of the multi-lane highways of the future, which they assumed would not become a reality for at least 20 years. The turnpikes proved that the future was already being built.
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Click here for more sights from the open road!
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RetroLisa
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all aboard! Many railroad buffs consider the 1940s to be the "glory days" of train travel. It's easy to see why....with commercial air travel still in its infancy, and with car travel restricted because of gas rationing, trains were the preferred method of long-distance travel.
The trains were glamorous and streamlined, with fancy names like the Super Chief, the El Capitan, the Night Diamond and the 20th Century Limited. They had sleeper cars, dining cars and lounge cars made by the Pullman Company. They were staffed by courteous and efficient African American porters, bartenders and waiters.
In the 1940s, steam locomotives were being replaced by modern diesel locomotives. This would be the last decade in which we would hear that familiar, lonesome sound of a train whistle in the night.
Pullman Porter Museum Santa Fe Super Chief Childhood Memories Of Steam Named Trains Passing Through Buffalo, 1944 Railroad Timetables & Ads
For a carefree vacation....go by train!
trolleys & streetcars 45 percent of urban households didn't have a car in 1942. For many people, gas and rubber rationing during the war made owning a car a hassle. These factors made public transportation very important.
To get around town, urban residents rode buses, streetcars and trackless trolleys. Streetcars were powered by an overhead cable or electrified track. Trackless trolleys, also known as trolleybuses, used an overhead cable but didn't require tracks. Philadelphia introduced the first trackless trolleys in 1923. They were at the peak of their popularity the 1940s and 1950s.
Tom's Trolleybus Pix Trackless Trolleys & Trolleybuses Philadelphia Trolley Tracks
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Inside a Pullman sleeping car
All the comforts of home!
Electric interurbans took you to nearby cities or to suburbs on the edge of town.
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RetroLisa
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still to come!
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RetroLisa
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hotels For well-to-do travelers in the 1940s, fancy city hotels provided luxurious overnight accomodations. More than that, they provided entertainment and a chance to see and be seen.
These high-class establishments really had it all....restaurants, cocktail lounges, room service, switchboard operators, ballrooms, bellhops, elevator operators, nightly entertainment and dancing.
The rooms had phones, cocktail bars, modern bathrooms and music piped in from the nightclub. Truly the good life!
Rainbow Tourist Court
motels tourist courts cabins
At the other end of the spectrum, we had simple motels and cabins for the average traveler. The luxuries were few....your room might have a radio, but it probably didn't have a phone. There were no swimming pools or fancy restaurants either, but there might be a cafe or a soda machine nearby.
On Route 66, the Blue Swallow Court opened in 1940, and the Coral Court opened in 1942.
Motel Americana History Of The Motel Blue Swallow Court Coral Court Sanders Court & Cafe
camping The late 1910s gave us the first campgrounds for automobile tourists, and the 1930s gave us the first travel trailers.
By the 1940s, campgrounds were also known as trailer parks. They were a very popular and economical alternative to hotels and motels.
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Hollywood's Town Motel.... art deco styling on the west coast
Click here for more places to spend the night!
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RetroLisa
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Coney Island This was not your grandmother's Coney Island! Ride the Wonder Wheel or the Cyclone....have a hot dog at Nathan's Famous....see the circus sideshows....this was Coney Island in the 1940s.
When the 1940s began, Coney Island consisted of two amusement parks and many individual attractions. Luna Park was partially destroyed by fire in 1944, never to reopen. The property was sold in 1946 and was zoned for residential development in 1949.
Of the four big parks that once dominated Coney Island, Steeplechase Park was the sole survivor. Visitors still enjoyed the mechanical horse race and the indoor pavilion and funhouse. In 1941, the park acquired the Parachute Jump from the 1939-1940 World's Fair.
Coney Island's one million light bulbs could be seen for many miles out to sea. During the war, coastal dim-out regulations replaced these bright lights with blue and purple lamps, creating a surreal effect.
On July 3, 1947, an air show and fireworks display attracted over two million visitors, the largest crowd to date. Attendance plummeted in 1949 when a polio epidemic kept people away from public beaches and swimming pools.
Coney Island History Coney Island Museum The American Experience: Coney Island
other amusement parks The nation's amusement parks experienced a difficult time in the 1930s and 1940s. The hard times caused by the Depression and war didn't leave people with very much in the way of money or morale, and many parks closed. The parks that managed to stay in business focused on entertainment by hosting revues and big bands in their dance halls and pavilions.
In the late 1940s, the burgeoning baby boom inspired some parks to install kiddielands, with rides and attractions designed especially for young children.
1939-1940 New York World's Fair Sandwiched in between the Depression and World War II, the World's Fair gave us renewed hope....confidence that the World Of Tomorrow would be better than today.
1939-1940 New York World's Fair World's Fair Memorabilia
Atlantic City In the 1850s, the construction of a new rail line transformed the quiet village of Absecon into the bustling tourist mecca of Atlantic City. The first boardwalk was constructed in 1870, and the first amusement piers and wicker rolling chairs appeared in the 1880s. In the 1940s, Atlantic City was the home of the steel pier, diving horses, saltwater taffy and Miss America.
Atlantic City Atlantic City Historical Museum Mount Rushmore
see the U.S.A. The vacation industry declined in the 1930s. For many families, a vacation was the last thing they could afford.
Americans returned to the roads when the economy improved, but their frugal habits stayed with them. As a result, many travelers chose inexpensive campgrounds and state parks instead of costly resorts. 1940 was a banner year for the park system, when visits to our national parks hit record levels and the Great Smokey Mountains National Park broke an attendance record set way back in 1929. Organized camping increased 53 percent between 1939 and 1940.
Attendance at our national landmarks declined when the war came, but they still remained popular vacation destinations. Yellowstone National Park, Niagara Falls, Pike's Peak and Shenandoah National Park were the top choices. Mount Rushmore, which was completed in 1941 after 14 years of construction, was also a tourist favorite.
new vacation trends In the old days, getting out of the city was the goal of most vacations. For this, a simple cottage on the lake was sufficient. Tourist areas were built around natural attractions, such as oceans, beaches, lakes, rivers and scenic mountain ranges.
After the war, Americans were affluent, sophisticated and full of modern ideas. A new type of vacation spot began to emerge, one that was just as likely to be in the city as in the country. We were in search of excitement and new experiences, and we found them in larger amusement parks, nightclubs, casinos, world class entertainment, modern hotels and tropical ambiance. These new tourist areas were built around man-made pleasures.
We also began to favor car travel over trains, which created the need for more roadside motels.
These trends were beginning to render the old summer cottages obsolete. During this time, many cottages were fitted with central heating and insulation and were converted into year-round residences.
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Luna Park
Kennywood was one of the first parks to install a kiddieland
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