Tallest Building in the West -- Smith Tower

From our collection of old postcards, Seattle's Smith Tower ...

Tallest building on West Coast
when this card was published.

From Wikipedia:  "Smith Tower is a skyscraper in Pioneer Square in Seattle, Washington. Completed in 1914, the 38-story, 149 m (489 ft) tower is the oldest skyscraper in the city and was the tallest office building west of the Mississippi River until the Kansas City Power & Light Building was built in 1931. It remained the tallest building on the West Coast until the Space Needle overtook it in 1962."

Here are some of our own pics of the Smith Tower ...

Atop Smith Tower ... the Observation Deck ...

Clearly, they do not want you to jump off the Smith Tower!

View from Observation Deck
Space Needle across the city.

The Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound
as seen from the Smith Tower

On July 19, 2013, we posted about our visit to the 73rd floor of the tallest building in Seattle, Columbia Tower ...

And included this picture of Smith Tower from above ...

July 19, 2013, Post

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Travel Near, Travel Far ...

Travel near or travel far -- You'll find no prettier Dining Car ...

When you collect old postcards you may find one, like this card, that leaves you wondering ... To us, it looks like a possible newer "reprint" of a vintage card. Reasons we are skeptical ... The back of the card is printed a bit haphazardly ... not squared up with the paper ... The italic font in the description does not seem like one commonly seen during the time corresponding to the image -- 1910 to about mid 1920s ... and the printer carelessly left a "paragraph" marker before the last sentence of the description. As with any collectible item, people will try to copy it and sell it as if though it was authentic. Buyer beware, as they say.

If authentic, this card would have been published by the Northern Pacific Railroad. They were, indeed, well known for their dining car accomodations. We have seen the image in the Railroad's other publications, such as advertising brochures.

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

New Steel Train -- Over New Steel Trail [1912]

From our collection of old postcards ... The Olympian, New Steel Train -- Over the New Steel Trail. If you are not into railroad history, when you think of an olympian, you probably think of someone who participates in the international sporting event known as the Olympic Games. But back in 1909 America's third northern transcontinental railroad inagurated passenger service between Chicago and Seattle, and the railroad had to come up with a name for their premier train. They settled on "The Olympian" after the range of mountains near the western end of the line ... the Olympics.

This card was published in celebration of the new train called The Olympian
Service was between Chicago and Seattle/Tacoma
Paper surface showing its age.

Postmarked April 27, 1912

Good news: Letter with check arrived O.K.
Hope chicks and kittens are well.

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Take a Spin [1914]

This old card doesn't fit into the main categories of our collection of old postcards, but we liked the image despite the solemn correspondence. Mailed in May, 1914, just over 100 years ago.

How about it ... Can you imagine getting an invitation for your first ride in one of the first automobiles?

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Great Northern's Greatest Train [1964]

From our collection of old travel memorabilia, an advertising brochure featuring the Empire Builder, a transcontinental train serving passengers between Chicago and Seattle. We believe this was published in 1964.

A few enlargements follow ...

Remember those "movie" cameras from the 60s?

John loves steaks so this looks pretty good to him.

Do you enjoy travelling this much?

A "sleeper" is great for overnight trips!

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Art of Winold Reiss -- Wades-In-The-Water

From our collection of old postcards, another in a series of cards published by the Great Northern Railway featuring Native Americans. This card is Winold Reiss's portrait of Wades-In-The-Water, Blackfoot Indian Chieftain. 

Previous posts in this series ...

Introduction and card featuring Angry Bull

Julia-Wades-In-The-Water

Mountain Flower

Middle Rider

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Union Pacific -- Cattle Country

From our old postcard collection here is a card published by the Union Pacific Railroad, number 9 of a series featuring each state served by the railroad. This card features Montana, and, although uncertain, we think it was published in the 1940s. We do not know the name of the artist or the total number of cards in the series.

Cowboy, Cattle, Train, and Mountains

No. 9 in a series featuring states served by the railroad.

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.