Vintage Ads...
Bettie Page
One more old Denver ’50s burlesque ad…. and just because it will be the only time I get to post something Bettie Page-related on The Eye.
Unless you’ve been under a rock for the last 25 years, you will recognize the famous risque model Bettie Page. But what a disappointment it must of have been for the traveling businessman to visit Denver, see this ad and head over the Chez Paree and find out that Bettie Page doesn’t dance there and never danced there.
Bettie Page was a photography model, not a traveling dancer likes the ladies in yesterday’s ad. The Chez Paree must have ‘borrowed’ one of the (now) famous Bunny Yeager jungle photos of Bettie for this advert. And this is 1958, one year before she retired from the business.
I believe the Chez Paree location is still there, I think it is the building on the corner of Court Place and Broadway, to the right of the old Duffy’s Shamrock, near the Brown Palace!
(sorry if this offends, back to historical architecture tomorrow!)
December 13th, 2011 / 3 Comments » / by Tom Lundin
All star burlesque lineup
Since I have my drawing up of The Tropics, I thought I would post another ad, this time with an all-star name-dropping of famous burlesque dancers, Tempest Storm, Blaze Starr and Lily St. Cyr. These were all big names in 1962 when this ad came out and today are all easily “Google-able”.
The Girl In the Gilded Cage was none other than club owner Warren St. Thomas‘ own wife, dancer Tiger Lily!
It’s astonishing to me that ads like this were commonplace in the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post back then, but this ad actually comes from an issue of the Hotel Greeters Guide and Denver Daily Doings weekly magazine.
(Hope this does not offend, I am posting another one tomorrow!)
December 12th, 2011 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
Troutdale
Troutdale In The Pines ad from 1958.
Troutdale was a three story hotel, built in 1920 with 6,000 wagonloads of local rock. A 4th story was added in 1927. The hotel had a large lounge, a dining room that seated 250 and a dancing pavilion called the Rainbow Ballroom (which you can see in the ad hanging over the lake.)
The first floor had private dining rooms, a billiard room, a bar, a barber shop, a drug store, kitchens and a bakery, guest rooms were on the 2nd, 3rd & 4th floors.
I am guessing, but I would assume the architect was J. B. Benedict, who designed many similar stone based buildings in the Front Range.
Famous guests included Teddy Roosevelt, Greta Garbo, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Mary Pickford and the Marx Brothers!
December 11th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Tropics ad
An ad for Warren St. Thomas’ famous Denver night club, The Tropics. Most of the
building is still there on Morrison Road.
This ad is from a 1959 issue of the Hotel Greeter’s Guide and Denver Daily Doings.
The And Everything Else Too website posted a bunch of ads from a 1962 issue just
today: andeverythingelsetoo.
December 2nd, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Twistin’ Halloween
A night of Halloween twisting at the Paramount Theater in the early ’60s.
Super-Gruesome 11:00 PM show for the older ghouls.
October 31st, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Garden of the Gods and Princess Moonbeam
1950’s-era Garden of the Gods brochure.
Princess Moonbeam was a mummy kept on display at the Garden of the Gods
Totem Pole Trading Post from the 1930s through at least the 1950s. Exploitation of
Native American remains formally ended with the Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act in 1990.
(Images borrowed from the historical website And Everything Else Too)
October 4th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
The Mad Doctor of Mt. Falcon
If you look out toward Red Rocks and see this white spot on Mt. Falcon, you are looking at mysterious Falcon’s Wing Estate of Dr. Charles Musès (aka Musaios), a fascinating local figure and a scientist whom I would suggest, was completely mad as hatters.
Dr. Muses certainly was a scientist, an author, a publisher, an archaeologist (arrested in Egypt for stealing artifacts in 1957) and a teacher of astrology, numerology and Egyptology.
In 1954, he built the 2 and a half story, 6,500 sq. ft. Falcon’s Wing Egyptian mystery school on a beautiful 640 acre lot on Mt. Falcon with possibly thee best view of Denver. He supposedly designed the structure on the convergence of seven “ley lines” and according to ancient sacred geometry, with each room designed to resonate different harmonics for different purposes. The walls were made of 8″ cement block with reinforced steel, not because these were inexpensive materials, but because concrete walls facilitated his idea that “human anatomy could be rearranged or altered by reaching a high spiritual state of consciousness, creating the body to resonate at a higher vibration, thereby allowing a human being to pass through the walls.” That said, Falcon’s Wing did have doors as well.
From the description when it went on sale years ago:
“6 bedrooms, 3 libraries. 3 fireplaces, a huge two story master suite, and a 22′ by 25′ ascension room with 18′ rounded ceiling and a cathedral window overlooking the Denver city lights. The living room is 20′ by 30′ and has natural woodwork and wood ceiling beams. The first floor living areas, including the kitchen, have oak floors.”
While he was running this mystery school, he also started a publishing company called Falcon’s Wing Press based out of Indian Hills, which published many esoteric books such as The Septuagint Bible, Prismatic Voices-Wings of Myrahi, and Esoteric Teachings of the Tibetan Tantra.
1959 Denver Post ad for Falcon’s Wing Press
He moved out of the school around 1961, but it continued as a mystery school for decades after. After leaving the school, the mad Dr. Muses went on to develop the concept of Hypernumbers (which you can boggle your mind by following this link), Chronotopology (where you learn to measure the “qualitative multidimensional structure of time waves”) and he developed a Shamanistic movement called The Lion Path, which still has it’s adherents today.
Maybe he wasn’t mad, maybe it’s just my limitations that keep me from being able to understand such high concepts. Here is a sample of complex papers and articles that this man wrote so you can decide: The Geometry of Equi-Infinitesimals, Inherently Solution Seeking Processes Irrespective of Initial Value, The topology of the zeroth dimension, Hyperspheres and dimensionality, The concept and calculus of an operational continuum, An explicit formulation for the value of a fractional factorial, A concept of integration capable of integrating the Heaviside unit function, Systemic stability and cybernetic control: an introduction to the cybernetics of higher integrated behavior, The noetic relevance of psychoactive molecules, Altering states of consciousness by mathematics, Fractional dimensions and their experiential meaning, Communication of Consciousness Necessitates the Vacuum as Transducer, Psychotronic Quantum Theory: A proposal for understanding mass/spacetime/consciousness transductions in terms of extended quantum theory, The use of infinite numbers to make explicit the poles of the factorial function.
July 25th, 2011 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
Sherman-Plaza apartments
The International-style Sherman-Plaza Apartments on Sherman.
Ad from 1959.
July 1st, 2011 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
Court House Square render
Nice render of Court House Square, just a little mangled by the pagefolds of the
publication it came out in in 1959. Still no Hilton yet in this illustration. (Click to enlarge)
It is interesting to contrast the difference between this illustration and the true building in
the Alan Gass photo below. They did seem to get the hyperbolic paraboloid right, though.
This outstanding piece of engineering was the widest concrete shell in the country at 132
feet by 113 feet.
June 13th, 2011 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
Mead & Mount Construction
Mead & Mount Construction ad from 1959.
Top left: 1959 State Services Building
G. Meridith Musick and Temple Buell, Architects
Earl C. Morris and Roland L. Linder, Architects
Top right: 1958 First National Bank
Raymond Harry Ervin, Architect
Middle: 1936 Albany Hotel
Burnham Hoyt, Architect
Temple H. Buell, Architect
(The 1936 date was when it was reclad. The hotel was first built in 1885.
Sadly, it has been demolished)
Bottom right: 1954 Denver Club Building
Raymond Harry Ervin, Architect
June 2nd, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
The Big One!
From Elvis’ first visit in 1956. He made $4,000 after selling 16,000 tickets.
Francis Melrose of the Rocky Mountain News gets the controversy flowing. I love how she put ‘Singer’ in quotes! I bet she wasn’t ready for the backlash of letters she received.
The rage begins:
There are so many great quotes in these letter columns: “Johnny Ray with St. Vitus Dance”, “He’d get up on stage a take a fit, and those crazy dames in the front row would take a fit right along with him”, “I think you’re jealous, or else you’re working for Faron Young“.
Aside from Faron Young, also on the bill were the killer Jimmy & Johnny duo and Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson!
May 16th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Pilk’s Flaming Pit
Die-cut matchbook from Pilk’s Flaming Pit, run by Pilk Pilkington during the late-1950s
and ’60s. That drink ’strikes’ me as a bit dangerous!
This desirable block of Cherry Creek (175 Detroit) is now all newer construction.
(Scan borrowed from And Everything Else Too.)
May 12th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Design Center ad
Ad from 1959. I think this is the building that the Ginny Williams art gallery is in now.
May 11th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Happy Logan ad
Rickenbacker guitar in a Happy Logan ad from 1966.
April 15th, 2011 / 2 Comments » / by Tom Lundin
The Matchless
The Matchless restaurant with it’s distinctive barrel-shaped roof, part
of I.M. Pei’s original Mile High Center.
While portions of the Mile High Center survive, the site of The Matchless
is now part of the Wells Fargo Center (One United Bank Center by Philip Johnson)
April 14th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Denver Bears
Denver Bears ad from 1959, when they would play Bears Stadium (later Mile High)
March 30th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
George Manley’s
1959 ad for boxer George Manley’s Steak House on S. Colorado.
March 29th, 2011 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
Webb & Knapp ad
1959 Webb & Knapp ad from the state centennial insert in the Denver Post.
All I.M. Pei related Denver developments. From the top, Mile High Center,
The Hilton Hotel and Zeckendorf Plaza.
March 23rd, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Melody Lounge
1959 ad.
March 22nd, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
KCDO-TV Channel 3
___________________________________
Hello readers, please note that this is just a blog about Denver. To reach KCDO, the following address was added in the comments:
“Please, send your comments and suggestions here:”
CHANNEL 3 TV COMPANY LLC
Greg Armstrong
3001 S. Jamaica Ct.
Suite 210
Aurora, CO 80014
Phone: 303-925-0303
E-Mail: garmstrong@ch3tv.com
______________________________
Here in Denver, we have been lucky to get the KCDO channel, a relatively new station located on Channel 3. Watching KCDO is like stepping into a time machine. They have been broadcasting old TV shows from the Retro Television Network (along with their own programming, plus great local TV commercials). These days, reruns of great classic TV shows are hard to come by.
I haven’t quite figured out their schedule yet, but I have have seen Beverly Hillbillies, McHales Navy, Hogan’s Heroes, The Munsters, Star Trek, Hawaii Five-0 & Mission Impossible.
Sure, you can buy DVDs of these old shows (often with the music changed to stock music due to copyrights), but most of us wouldn’t buy them or wouldn’t make the effort to pop one in to sit down and watch. But, if you can just turn on your TV at a random hour and there is a good chance of great 1950s-60s-70s television, you can’t help but to stop changing channels and sit and enjoy. And, they seem to zero in on the choice classic episodes. Thanks KCDO!
December 28th, 2010 / 23 Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Dr. Jekyl & His Weird Show
HEY MAN! DIG THIS CRAZY SHOW! A REAL GONE THRILLER
One last bit of vintage-ad fun this week, a 1959 haunted house advertisement
for the Dr. Jeckl & His Weird Show at the Denver Theatre, which was at
16th & Glenarm.
The Denver was one of the many old downtown theaters that are now all gone,
with the exception of the Paramount.
So many great tag lines: Direct from the nut house, Beauties at mercy of
inhuman monsters, Hideous apparitions roam the theater and Monsters grab
girls from the audience!
(click to enlarge)
November 5th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Scopitones
In 1964, 500 Scopitones were installed in bars across the United States. One
of them landed at the infamous Sid King’s Crazy Horse Bar on E. Colfax.
(Photo by Joe Mabel)
A Scopitone was a music jukebox that played synchronized films specifically
made for the Scopitone. This type of jukebox started in France and many of
the available films were a little racy, which is why the Scopitone was an
obvious choice for Sid King’s strip club!
The following Scopitone films are hilarious examples of the racy content
you would catch at on the Scopitone at Sid King’s in 1965:
November 4th, 2010 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
All-Star Wrestling
Pro-wrestling was a variety of local promotional “territories” until 1948 when they combined
under the name NWA (National Wrestling Alliance), unifying the promotions under the
World Heavyweight Champion title usually held by wrestler Lou Thesz. (Thesz had
invented such moves as the powerbomb and the belly-to-back waistlock suplex).
In 1960, some breakaway promotions formed a rival organization headed by popular TV-friendly wrestler Verne Gagne called the AWA (American Wrestling Association). The AWA was based out of Minnesota and their promotional territories extended all over the mid-west including Denver. All-Star Wrestling was the television show that tied all the territories together. It was broadcast here in Denver at 7:00 PM, Saturday nights on Channel 2.
The Crusher (known for his devastating full-nelson)
The Denver Auditorium Arena, where this event was held, was demolished in 1990 and remodeled into today’s current Temple Buell Theater, part of the Denver Performing
Arts Complex (the second largest performing arts center in the world).
And aside from the AWA and NWA wrestling events, the Auditorium Arena was also
where you went to see Roller Derby.
November 3rd, 2010 / 3 Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Tempest Storm
Crowds flocking to Warren St. Thomas’ night club, The Tropics on W. Mississippi, 1959.
Red haired Tempest Storm was a nationally-known, highly-in-demand exotic-dancer,
with a strong following in Denver at The Tropics. She called Las Vegas home where
she dated Elvis in that same year 1959, right before Elvis headed into the army.
Today, Tempest is retired and still living in Las Vegas.
(Click here for a related story about Tempest visiting Boulder.)
November 2nd, 2010 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
Whisky a Go Go
Denver’s own Whisky ‘a Go Go, July 1965.
(Now PT’s Showclub)
October 31st, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
