Another photo of a mystery place. Thatched roofs..Model T's or Model A's..?? Discreet bathing attire. Chairs and rocking chairs outside to enjoy the evening air.
To make it even more confusing, this is what is on the back. Was the photo just used as a note card for information..or was Hiram McDonald in the photo? Possibly a 1920's photo? Why is it that some of these photos just bring up more questions than they answer?
Thanks for stopping by, do come again:)
Update: Thanks to some great detective work by Iggy we now know that this was Coronado Tent City in California. The photo was taken before 1923, because that was the year that the thatched roofs were removed. Up until 1923 it was only a summer resort where you could rent a tent by the day or by the week. It must have been a really cool place to stay! Here is a link to some old postcards and photos..Shellbelle's Tiki Hut.
July 22, 2010 Shellbelles Tiki Hut has a few more old photos of this summer place! Here is the link!
This photo is amazing with all that can be seen. I love those little cottages.
ReplyDeleteWell, there is a 112 PENOBSCOT DR, MARION (or Howell) MI, 48843 but I don't see the reason for the cottages or much in the way of lakes there.
ReplyDeleteIntense Guy, There is a Penobscot County in Maine..but no town. I wonder if this is foreign? :)
ReplyDeleteI tried to do a little research on the phone number yesterday. Unfortunately, early phone systems were subscriber based and private, so the phone numbers could be any format the company wanted. Generally the letter stood for a locality or center where the exchange was located and the number stood for the subscriber number. That's about all I could find out. In both London and the US the letters preceded the numbers.
ReplyDeleteI think if this was a resort the phone number would have been via the central switchboard.
ReplyDeleteI think see safari hats on some of the people and I think the girl on the left is "dark". I cannot tell if the crease in the photo is the edge of a mountain or just a crease. The thatched roof platform tents might mean this is a safari camp or "lodge" in the central Africa sense. But then the "crowds", electrical wires, telephones,and "modern cars" would make me skeptical this was Kenya or Mount Kilimanjaro expedition areas of the 1920s.
Perhaps this is in the south pacific? The men look "Aussie" to me... :) (whatever looking Aussie means..) Or perhaps Belize or central America...
Ah ha!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.shellbellestikihut.com/2009/07/vintage-beach-photos-tent-city-19001939.html
Notice this picture with the sandy street and striped tent walls with thatched roofs...and an old car... :)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vxRm2fVdkg4/Sm3P2YYLKnI/AAAAAAAAAnI/nZnSw1enb6A/s1600-h/tentcity3.jpg
I'm giggling -- can't help it
ReplyDeleteMy father in law was in the habit of using the back of old photos as places to jot down names and addresses or horses he fancied in the 3.15 at Haydock Park. Makes trying to work out who the photographs are of especially difficult.
ReplyDeleteGreat Job Iggy..you are a great detective!! :)
ReplyDeleteNow to figure out who Hiram was... LOL!
ReplyDeleteI did learn that there is a Penobscot Building in Detroit, Michigan, so 112 Penobscot might even be a room number and not an address.
I was trying to see if the tent city had "street names" and wasn't able to find a map of San Diego from the 1920-30's (yet).
Well this was certainly fun! I posted about this discovery on my blog today, along with another photo from Tent City Coronado that confirms that this photo was indeed taken there. Of the numerous tent cities that existed in that time period, Coronado is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the photo with me and to Iggy for pulling all the pieces together.
Based on one of Shellbelle's photos, I think 486J might have been the tent number. If they had a main exchange at the desk and phones in some of the tents, that might have been the way to reach Hiram. The photo of the tent with the couple in front, which shellbelle posted, has a sign above the door with some numbers and I think a letter...? Regardless, it's so very exciting!
ReplyDeleteIt is so amazing what the computer has done to help us learn about the history of this world. I think it is neat that you can actually date it closely to the exact year.
ReplyDeleteGreat fun! Photos are a path in time and your blog looks like a great meander.
ReplyDelete