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Car Dealers on Postcards
Advertising on postcards was always a popular topic and auto dealers jumped on the bandwagon. Here are a few Fort Lauderdale dealers from my collection along with newspaper ads the dealerships ran back in the day. Click on any image for a larger view. PACKARD ~ HUDSON ~ STUDEBAKER ~ MERCEDES-BENZ This postcard shows Trammell…
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The Hotel Champ Carr and The Riverside Hotel on Postcards
It sounds like a bit of a tall fish tale; but it isn’t. Once upon a time two wealthy brothers from Winnetka, a village north of downtown Chicago, came to Fort Lauderdale, became winter residents, fished a lot, befriended a young mate from the charter boat “Caliban”, in 1934 bought The Las Olas Hotel a…
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Restaurants and Bars on Postcards – Part 1
Advertising restaurants and bars on postcards has been a popular category for a very long time and here are ten long gone Fort Lauderdale institutions from my collection along with newspaper ads that they ran to drum up business. Click below to jump directly to the restaurant…. BROWNS THE DECK ORANGE BLOSSOM CAFE JOE’S DUTCH MILL…
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Early Fort Lauderdale Schools on Postcards
The First Schoolhouse Long before the first L’s took flight and long before any OSHA safety concerns, with just six families in town, Fort Lauderdale got its first school building in 1899. A 20 x 25 pine schoolhouse built by Ed King and a group of volunteers. Its first teacher was 18 year-old Ivy Cromartie,…
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Las Olas Beach Casino on Postcards
The very first Las Olas Beach Casino didn’t have slot machines, roulette wheels or even an all you can eat buffet. Not even a pool. Opened in 1915 it was a “casino” in an older sense of the word; a summerhouse, or social club. It had changing rooms and a boardwalk to the ocean and…
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The Elbo Room on Postcards
The intersection of Las Olas and Atlantic Blvd at the ocean has long been considered by many to be the heart of Fort Lauderdale Beach with The Elbo Room being its de facto headquarters for tourists, Spring Breakers, locals, hippies, beatniks, rioters, movie makers and all manner of see-and-be-seen life. The filming of the 1960…
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The Governors’ Club Hotel on Postcards
Before the Florida real estate bubble burst, before devastating hurricanes passed over and around Fort Lauderdale, its first mayor had grand plans. William Marshall, former mayor and prominent resident promoted what was to be the tallest building in town along with a bit of namesake promotion as well… The Wil-Mar Hotel But then the bubble…
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The Sweet Building on Postcards
Why was this pioneer Fort Lauderdale skyscraper named Sweet? Perhaps it was an early example of naming a building after oneself. The November 9, 1929 edition of the Fort Lauderdale News reported that William L. Sweet, the new owner of the building and President of the Sweet Building Corporation officially announced the name change. He…
Fort Lauderdale Postcards 