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Monday, February 6, 2012

Hotel Stationary - Fine establishments of the 40's Courtesy of "Soft Soap Andy"

Some of us are born to collect and others have it thrust upon us. This collection of Hotel stationary came from a box of mail someone saved, and then bought in a lot, and then held it prisoner in their basement until I came along. I enjoy looking at the artistic representations of the buildings, the printing process is certainly refined from the turn of the century as in this post and this post.


Now known as the Grand Hyatt, The Commodore was built by the railroad empire of Cornelius Vanderbilt and named for him as he was "The Commodore."  His statute may still be there as is the Grand Central terminal and the other hotels that were part of this massive complex. The idea was to surround one of the major transportation hubs with hotels to entice the weary traveler...or soap collector.


Hotel Sir Francis Drake, better known as "The Drake" is still one of San Francisco's finest. Built in from the dust of the 1906 earthquake it boasted many amenities others did not. Obviously, fine soap was one of them...


Built by Portland philanthropist and business man Simon Benson in 1913 it was one of many great contributions he made to this city. He leaves behind one of my new favorite quotes, "No one has the right to die and not leave something to the public and for the public good." Damn straight. Oh and by the way, "the Benson" never did burn down.
The Davenport may be Spokane's only AAA 4-Star hotel, but in the 40's the soap was "Very Dull." Finished in 1914 it is now on the Nation Register of Historic places, as is "The Benson."  A little soap goes a long way I guess. 

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