We discovered these 22 amazing old pictures of some of the most gorgeous historical hotel lobbies from across the US. Have a scroll and step back in time with us to a more elegant era!
travel
See vintage California postcards from the 1930s and ’40s that captured the state’s growing appeal to tourists during the rise of American car travel.
Explore antique car accessories from 1913, when clocks, vases and “Speed Imps” were all part of the motoring experience.
By the middle of the 20th century, Florida had fully stepped into its role as the country’s go-to vacationland. Bright brochures and tourism ads promised
Amelia Earhart’s daring 1937 world flight ended in mystery. Explore her life, her last journey and the historic search that followed.
Take a look back at 80s cruises and see how Americans vacationed with Carnival, Princess and more, from buffets to cabins to exotic ports of call.
As you can see from these vintage Coney Island photos & postcards, This beach area just outside New York City was one of the most popular resorts in the United States.
See how Hawaii was promoted to travelers in the 1950s through vintage tourism ads, brochures and photos from before it became the 50th state.
Over 100 years have passed since the shocking Titanic tragedy in 1912. Here we’ve assembled some essential Titanic facts and stats about the ship, as well as those who traveled on her doomed maiden voyage.
See how 1960s vacation homes were designed for easy living, affordability and style, from simple A-frames to cozy beach cabins and mid-century ranches.
Join us as we journey through futurism history, exploring predictions made about the future by those from the past!
Nestled between the spectacular Maui coastline and the rolling green hills of a lush pineapple plantation was Maui’s luxurious original Kapalua Bay Hotel and Bay Villas. Take a look back!
The charm of a New York City summer vacation — the ideal place for a summer resort? — lies in the unrivaled transportation facilities of the great seaport.
Take a look at these modest old-fashioned swimsuits for men and women, seen on real beachgoers and early movie actresses, with many high-quality and colorized vintage photos!
These old ads make it clear that these vintage 1970s Winnebago motor homes – both big and small – were more than just a mode of transport. They could be your home away from home – or your home instead of a house.
Take a look back at the delicious history of airline food, from the humble beginnings of in-flight meals, to the gourmet dinners that graced the skies in vintage advertisements.
Hop in the time machine for a whirlwind tour of 20th-century hotel rooms that are like stepping into a living history book!
They weren’t all that safe (most proved to fail crash tests), but these retro baby car seats from the 1960s, 70s and 80s were among the first on the market with child passenger safety in mind.
Sometimes the basics are all one needs for memorable adventures. Take a look at some vintage tents that were available in the last century!
In 1976, Marriott’s Great America theme parks were born from a simple yet ambitious idea: give families an unforgettable, one-of-a-kind experience. Here, see the parks in California & Illinois in the 70s & 80s!
See what it looked like inside the Titanic – the interiors of fancy lounges, dining rooms, first-class cabins and other luxurious delights – before the ship sunk to the ocean floor on her maiden voyage in 1912.
Find out the fascinating story behind the 1953 MGM film ‘The Long, Long Trailer,’ starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz – and see inside the real-life motorhome trailer they bought at the time!
Take a trip down memory lane, in the style of vintage RVs! Here’s a look back to the finest accommodations on the road during the 1970s and 1980s.
Fasten your seatbelts and recline your seats as we transport you to the golden age of air travel! Join us as we navigate through the fascinating history of vintage first class flights in photos.
Vintage 40s diners were descendants of the railroad dining car, and often sported shiny metal on the outside and a long counter with stools on the inside. Take a ride back in time to see 40 examples of roadside diners!
New York City’s luxurious old Waldorf-Astoria hotel was among America’s first big hotels. When it was built during the Victorian era, it was considered the finest hotel in the world – and soon became the most famous, too.
Look back at Hawaii in the 60s. The huge tourist boom of the era helped thousands fall in love with the state – but also forever changed the islands’ landscape.
The A-frame house design is a tried and true style, and was especially popular for second homes and vacation cabins in the ’60s. See several retro A-frames here!
Disneyland in the 1980s was one of the ultimate vacation destinations for people of all ages. See some of the maps and materials they were using to promote their attractions — old and new!
First flying in the 1960s, the famous Boeing 747 airplane was not only bigger and more powerful than any other plane, but was a major technological marvel. See the jets inside and out, and how they looked during construction!
Lithographed vintage travel posters like those shown here are now sometimes sold at auction for tens of thousands of dollars, but they began as ads for a burgeoning industry.
What was 1950s train travel like, back when riding the railroad was more affordable – and sometimes more luxurious – than airplane travel? Here’s a look back at the fine dining, sleeper cars, a pub and more.
What did the Titanic ship look like inside? Check out several different Titanic cross-section views, and get an idea of the size and the layout of the doomed vessel.
These idyllic scenes from old Atlantic City show the fancy hotels, beautiful boardwalk, busy beaches, and fashionable crowds – all part of why the city and the Jersey shore used to be one of the east coast’s top vacation destinations.
Weddings have changed a lot in the past century – and so have the parties for the bride-to-be! Here’s a look back at some sweet old-fashioned bridal shower ideas from the first decades of the 20th century.
What did Carowinds theme park look like back in the 1980s? Here’s a look at the vintage Hanna-Barbera-affiliated amusement park that straddled the line between two states.
From the sixties: You will be delighted at the wide variety of things to do and see all year ’round in Outdoor Mississippi. Hundreds of lakes and rivers, five huge reservoir playgrounds, fourteen state parks and, of course, the glamorous and famous Gulf Coast.
Antique travel trunks like these were like super-extra suitcases that offered more than just space for clothing that helped people easily pack and organize entire outfits, right down to the accessories. Here’s a peek!
When the infamous zeppelin airship Hindenburg caught fire and crashed as it was landing in New Jersey back in 1937, the spectacular disaster was caught on film and audio. Here’s how it went down.
In Hawaii in the ’70s, Waikiki was more than a beach. It’s a vibrant, exciting, cosmopolitan resort city on Oahu, only a few miles from bustling downtown Honolulu.
Look back to the ’70s and ’80s at vintage Sea World San Diego, when Shamu the Killer Whale was the ocean-themed amusement park’s star attraction.
With vintage beauty cases and old-fashioned train cases like these, women could be sure their hair was in order, their noses were powdered, and lipstick was in place – all to maintain a ‘proper’ look when traveling.
Imagine, up above the clouds enjoying a cheeseburger from McDonald’s for lunch or dinner. McDonaldland cookies for dessert. That’s what United Airlines’ McDonald’s Friendly Skies Meals offered kids in the 1990s!
Antique scrapbooks have been made for generations – each era having their own creative styles as well as unique subject matter. Here’s a look back at how and what people were scrapping long ago.
One of the most beautiful – and most imaginative – passenger centers in the world was unveiled when Trans World Airlines opened its iconic sixties modernist masterpiece – the TWA Terminal at JFK airport in New York. See it being built here, and how it looked in the early days.
Trans World Airlines, better known as TWA, was one of the major US airlines, moving millions of people to destinations around the globe. Find out the history of TWA, and see this collection of vintage ads to see how exciting flying used to be.
In the 1960s, Douglas was one of the biggest airplane manufacturers in America. Their DC-9, which first flew in 1965, was built to service both large and small airports, setting it apart from other planes of the era.
Through this rare collection of photographs and other ephemera, see what New York’s classically elegant old Ritz-Carlton Hotel was like once upon a time, starting when it opened in 1911.
What’s a Nauga? In the 1960s, the people behind Naugahyde vinyl upholstery found the unlikely answer. It turns out that the Nauga was an adorable monster-like mascot who made furniture a lot more fun.
Here, see two articles from the twenties about old-fashioned train & travel etiquette from the 1920s. They as much tell people what to do as what not to do when traveling the country by railroad.
Onboard these old Deluxe Overland Limited trains, every hotel luxury could be found – including a barber shop, valet service, a library, buffet meals, a mens’ clubroom, and a cafe dining car. Take a look!
Originally envisioned as a beer garden, this Florida destination has grown and grown. Here, see what the famous vintage Busch Gardens amusement park was like from the 1950s right through to the 1990s.
Check out some of the vintage Cessna propeller planes you could buy back in the fifties, sixties and seventies. They were popular for business use, but were also owned by celebrities and hobbyists.
Here are some of the vintage Beechcraft propeller airplanes some people were buying back in the sixties and seventies. As these ads reflect, these small planes were most commonly used by corporate executives,
This little airplane safety card pamphlet was given to passengers on board Pan Am’s double-decker Strato clipper propeller plane (Boeing 377, aka Stratocruiser) in case of an emergency.
First entering service with Eastern Air Lines in 1959, the Lockheed L-188 Electra was a leap forward in airline technology when it appeared. But the planes had a fatal flaw.
Look back at the experience passengers in the thirties, forties, fifties and sixties could expect when they sailed the high seas in high style on these fabulous old cruise ships.
The 1967 Mercury was said to be ‘for men who like their action big! You sense this the moment you take the wheel. It’s a Ford Mercury. This is the Man’s Car with a heritage of performance! Cyclone!’
The HMS Queen Mary ship was a luxurious vintage vessel that, after many years taking travelers around the globe, was permanently docked in Californiaand turned into a tourist attraction and hotel.
Take a trip back to the past – go sightseeing and learn more about what Washington DC was like in the 1950s! The classic tour is here, from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial to the White House.
From desert sands, to mist-enshrouded rain forests, and snow-mantled mountain peaks to miles of beaches, in the ’60s, you could set your own pace when you visited Washington state.
American Airlines was one of the first companies to offer passenger flights in the US. The industry’s biggest success came after WWII. Here’s a look at the history of the airline’s first decades!
See over 20 historic southern mansions — some tied to slavery, others to politics or education — and how they reflect the South’s changing history.
Here are eight beautiful views of Yellowstone National Park from more than a hundred years ago, as seen by artist Thomas Moran and published in 1875.
Journey back to the turn of the century… to another time and another place. The Grand Floridian Beach Resort. An oasis of elegance that’s the first of its kind since the golden age of pleasure travel.
1960s California & Los Angeles were a popular vacation destination for folks who wanted sunshine, beaches, and fun — and perhaps a brush with celebrity.
Here, take a look back at old Lake Tahoe – the big, beautiful lake that has been a popular vacation spot for generations.
Here’s a look back to the days before handheld blow dryers were common, when you needed fancy salon-style vintage hair dryers to get your look just right!
Besides reporting the news on CBS News, Walter Cronkite selected and edited film, and was often his own crew so he could cover fast-breaking news stories on the spot.
Scroll down and take a stroll into the iconic orange-roofed ice cream restaurants – vintage Howard Johnson’s – that were so popular in the fifties & sixties.
Located in Beverly Hills, the Beverly Hilton hotel was opened in the 1950s, and boasted 450 air-conditioned rooms, private balconies, sunken swimming pool cabanas, shops and parking for 1000 cars.
The Wright Brothers made history with a 12-second flight in 1903. See how their breakthrough launched the modern age of aviation.
United Airlines flights in the ’50s offered a whole different kind of experience compared to now. Here, see what the travel industry hoped to provide to passengers!
The mystery of Pan Am Flight 7, flying between San Francisco to Honolulu, crashed mysteriously midway between the two cities. The cause has yet to be determined.
In a case study of terrible timing, the huge Habana Hilton hotel in Havana, Cuba, wasn’t even open for a year when it was taken over. Find out more here!
The most dramatic and best-known story of railroading in the United States is the connecting of the Atlantic and the Pacific by railroad in 1869, tying of the oceans together by rail across the heart of the United States
A look back at some of the most famous historic hotels in Florida — the most magnificent resort hotels of the Victorian era, and where they stand now.
See scenes from the San Diego’s World’s Fair – a venue with gorgeous scenic beauty in a matchless climate – that took place from 1915 to 1917.
After World War II, when the railroad companies had to transport troops around the country, they upgraded the service. Here’s a look back at some of what the railroads were offering to entice passengers back in the late 1940s.
Take a little 60-year leap back in time, and see how San Francisco looked back in 1955 in this video homage to the city by the bay.
The 1957 Ford station wagon gives you more of what you want in a wagon… and for less money. The nine-passenger Country Sedan measures over 17 feet long.
Pacific Southwest Airlines executives ‘appreciate beauty and grace in women and, what’s most important, they don’t mind admitting that we are the ones who make them look good.’ Yep, it was the ’60s.
California – particularly Los Angeles – is notorious for having awful traffic, but as this video and these photos from the 1950s prove, that bumper-to-bumper freeway crawl is nothing new.
Owney, the world’s most popular dog has traveled almost around the globe. He made the journey around the world all alone and with only a tag about his neck — and found friends everywhere. Here’s the story!
The Dorothy Dot “Around the World” paper doll series ran in newspapers (such as the Los Angeles Herald and Salt Lake Tribune) in 1909. As much as some
Vintage Los Angeles in the 1950s Take a retro peek back at the Los Angeles area of yesteryear! In addition to the huge cars (plus
The old steamship City of Chester sank just inside the Golden Gate in the San Francisco Bay – but she was rediscovered more than 100 years later.
As incredible as it is, the first-person account below, written by polar explorer Ernest Shackleton, is really just the beginning of his story. In 1914,
On a clear, unseasonably hot morning on September 25, 1978, residents of San Diego’s North Park neighborhood were getting their days underway — not realizing they
In the fifties, flying on a passenger airplane was a big deal. You would receive farewell cards, dress up to travel, and once you were
