Vintage Ads...
Vista-Dome
1953 advertisement for the Vista-Dome railroad car.
The Vista-Dome California Zephyr trains went into service in 1949.
I think all of these cars have been preserved!
July 23rd, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Denver monorail design
Otto Kuhler was one of the world’s most famous industrial designers, well known for his Streamline Modern locomotives from the 1930s.
In 1967 he illustrated plans for a monorail system for Denver that was never built.
In most places the monorail would be suspended above existing rail lines, though it is riding through downtown in this drawing. (That seems to be I.M. Pei’s Mile High Tower in the background, though the Brown Palace across the street, seems to have been left out.)
Kuhler seems to have retained much of his 1930s/40s Streamline design in these 1967 illustrations. (I believe that is supposed to be Cherry Creek in the drawing above)
July 18th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Davidson Chevrolet
Ad from 1959
July 13th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Erick Roorda
The Saint’s Tropics
1950’s era pictures of The Tropics nightclub on Morrison Road.
Great description from a comment on a related site:
“The sign said The Saint’s Tropics… inside there were hourly thunder storm sounds. Front doors were hand-carved wood to look like tiki faces.
The upper eating areas were around the outside of the main dance floor… take 2 small steps up to the eating area that had hollow banisters in front… and hidden water tub supplied water… and it would fall into the hallow banisters with lights flashing at the ends, so you could see the water coming down and the thunder sounds.
A very large tree branch was on the ceiling with moss on it and little twinkling white lights hidden here and there. The dancer’s floor was hydraulic and could be lifted up for shows. A big bird cage came down out of the ceiling above the dance floor for special shows and persons.
There were tiki masks on the back walls that had black lights on them. There was a small lighted alligator pit in one back corner of the club. (-ed!)
The chairs had animal skin prints on them. And the girls that worked there had animal-skin print-bikini suits with one shoulder strap.
Many, many headliners in music, comedy and dancers…etc.
It was a Very Cool Place and a bit ahead of it’s time inside and out…!”
Comment by Wasthere — May 31, 2009 @ 5:32 pm
Photos from an article in the Rocky Mountain Tiki Newsletter by Michelle Baldwin.
(Thanks to Zulu for the ok!)
July 2nd, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
The RUG-ged Room
The RUG-ged Room, one of the big mid-1960s teen nightclubs in the Denver area, was actually in the basement of a pool hall across the parking lot from Roller City West and across the street from Villa Italia. These days this location is the McDonalds across the street from Bel-Mar in Lakewood.
June 27th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Bowl-ero ad
Bowl-ero Bowling Center ad from 1959!
June 25th, 2010 / 1 Comment » / by Erick Roorda
Stapleton Airport
Stapleton Airport 1963… “one of America’s busiest and most modern air fields”
May 28th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Erick Roorda
Denver Jazz and nightlife
Time for some more vintage Denver ads. Once again, I am repostiing these from my other website, as they make more sense posted here. Soon I will be posting new ones.
Denver’s 1st Summer Jazz Festival in 1959. Some big names: Ahmad Jamal, Dakota Staton and the great Shelly Manne and his Men featuring Richie Kamuca and Joe Gordon.
George Shearing at the Band Box in ‘63. Today it is Annie’s Cafe.
Count Basie and his Orchestra playing Verne Byer’s Academy Ballroom in 1963. Tickets available at the Bowl-ero, among other places!
Dizzy Gillespie at the Rainbow Ballroom at 5th and Broadway, 1959.
Saxman and big band leader Georgie Auld at the Melody Lounge, the Denver jazz hot spot in ‘59.
One of Denver’s greatest contribution’s to jazz, the late, great Phil Urso at the Rainbow Ballroom in 1959. He is featured on some of the best Chet Baker lps!
Another Verne Byer’s place, the Robin’s Nest on Lookout Mountain. Verne co-ran this place with bassist Ray Iverson, where they had famous Sunday jam sessions. This ad is from 1964.
Some ads for Effie The Blonde Tigress at Vic Hawkin’s Senate Lounge on Colfax, a cocktail jazz act backed by Paul Warburton and Vince Limberg in the late 1950s and early ’60s.
The Four Breezes, featuring local greats Beatty Hobbs, Shelly Rhym, Leon Ragsdale and Ed Wright from 1959. Sugie’s Lounge, I believe became the Satire Lounge?
Here is Shelly Rhym and his pals again, this time backing up Denver jazz great, Ron Washington in 1959! Roxy’s Lounge was out on S. Sante Fe in Englewood.
Rose Murphy at the Melody Lounge in ‘59. What is great about this ad is her backing band featuring Slam Stewart of the famous scat-vocalese jazz duo Slim and Slam.
Vic Hawkin’s took over the Band Box on Colfax and renamed it Hawk’s in 1964. This ad is for music comedienne Peggy Lord, backed by local jazzmen Neil Bridge, Chuck Roberts and Jo-Jo Williams.
The Mel-Dawn Duo at Sammy Sugarman’s place, The Gaslite in the Alameda Inn in 1964. I am sure this place was toast after the famous Platte River flood a year later.
Jazz out on West Colfax, Lakewood Gardens became the Lemon Tree and is now called Sharks.
At lastly, some ads for the Queen City Jazz Band, a Dixieland outfit who held court at Mon-Vue Village from 1957 to 1967 (at least). They released many locally pressed lps. The Mon-Vue is still there and is currently Paradise Cove.
May 15th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Usonian church – Calvary Temple
Calvary Temple, a grand Usonian-style church on University Blvd. Designed 1958
(or possibly as early as 1954), by Ralph Peterson.
April 14th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Paul Schutt
Sears in Cherry Creek
Cherry Creek Sears, circa 1959.
April 13th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Denver mid-century nightlife
* Once again, I am rerunning these ads from my other site ModMidMod,
as this seems a better location for these types of things. Once I get
caught up, I will be posting many more new scans. *
First up, Sid King’s Crazy Horse Bar, famous as the coolest
location in Clint Eastwood’s monkey movie Every Which
Way But Loose. Ad is from 1963.
Everyone misses Celebrity Sports Center, one of the two
Disney related entries into Colorado entertainment.
Pogo Poge! This famous Denver radio DJ pogoed on a pogo stick
from Boulder to Denver.
Hadda Brooks, a ’40s-era jump-blues belter who transformed into a
chanteuse by the time of this show at the Melody Lounge in 1959.
Denver Drumstick, known for having model railroads circulating
around the ceiling interior. This is why they had the railroad theme
with the Box Car of Burgers shown above, from 1963.
Taylor’s Supper Club on West Colfax. The Taylors were
Denver’s equivalant to Martin & Lewis!
The Taylor’s Supper Club building is now Lakewood Endoscopy Center.
Chez Paree, a block or so south from the Brown Palace.
One of the premiere strip clubs of old Denver in 1963.
Bob Hansen put out an obscure comedy lp in 1962. The repellant casual bigotry on this record makes you very aware of what passed as acceptable in those days.
The Cooper Theatre designed by Richard Crowther. This Denver architect also designed two sister Cinerama theaters in Omaha and Minneapolis. Crowther designed much of the Art Deco at Lakeside Amusement Park.
Anita O’ Day is one of the all-time top jazz female vocalists.
This picture is advertising her Melody Lounge show in ‘59.
By the time Anita O’Day visited in 1963, the Bandbox was the hot spot for jazz. Today this is Annie’s Cafe.
Denver’s Oldest Bar at 17th & Market!
The tropical Acapulco Lounge with a jazz quartet fronted by Joe Lucero.
Lakeside Amusement Park, admission for adults: 10 cents, children
under twelve: 5 cents! That was ‘63, today this is up to $2.00!
Lakeside Speedway 1959! Jumping new Fords over other new cars!
Crashing cars and motorcycles! This historical, unused track is still there!
CDR! Continental Divide Raceway near Castle Rock on the 85. The lines of the track are still faintly visible on Google Maps. Ad from 1964.
Big Al’s Gashouse was not a strip joint, but they told racy jokes,
hence the 21 and over.
Apparently Big Al, Diamond Lil, and clarinetist Punky Cadwell were all humongous!
April 5th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Denver nightlife 1959
The Matchless restaurant and lounge, under the hyperbolic arch in the pavilion which was originally part of I.M. Pei’s Mile High Center. You have to love that it included a trout pool and a fountain!
The arch and restaurant are gone now, swallowed up by Norwest Plaza.
Pei’s Mile High Tower still peaks out of the plaza.
The Senate Lounge, across the street from the Capitol building, in the Argonaut Hotel. Is the cartoon a depiction of a typical 1959 state senator? The Argonaut still stands!
Senate Lounge act, Effie the Blond Tigress, backed by Denver Cool Jazz greats Bud Poindexter, Vince Limberg and Paul Warburton. I don’t know who the cat on vibes is in the upper pic!
It’s zero hour for the 1959 opening of Elitch’s Gardens. This is, of course, the original location of the amusement park. Elitch’s Theatre still stands at this old location.
Top of the Park room in the Park Lane Hotel, at the north end of Washington Park, “Denver’s Smartest Rendezvous”.
There are four apartment buildings in that spot now, and I don’t think they look like this, so I assume this building is gone.
Top of The Park engagement for cocktail-comedian/pianist Nino Nanni
The King Cole Showbar, a strip club located where Club Vinyl is today. There used to be some ghost-signage on the side of the building with the words King Cole and an arrow pointing down, but much of the original building collapsed under heavy snow, maybe 8 years ago. Bob and Sylvia released a fun Hee Haw styled comedy lp a few years later.
The Melody Lounge, “Denver’s Birdland”. These are all top-talent jazz
stars for 1959.
I am not sure, but I think this is where the Alpine Hotel is now.
Johnny Griffin at the Melody Lounge! “The Little Giant” was well-known in jazz circles for the breakneck speed at which he played!
Vaudeville revival at the Beacon Supper Club. Even the cashier sang!
“Denver has gone Lakeside“. This ad list the Sunday night stock car races and the indoor swimming pool.
Warren St. Thomas’ famous strip club, The Tropics! You got dinner, a comedian, a stripper and an indoor tropical storm! This is now the nightclub, Stone. Last time I checked, the hydraulics to raise and lower dancers from the floor and ceiling were still there!
Tura Satana is a well-known cult film star for her role in the 1966 Russ Meyer film Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
By the way, if you have additional information on The Tropics, or photos or other memorabilia, I would love to see it! Please email me! (http://www.modmidmod.com/about/)
March 1st, 2010 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
Cherry Creek Shopping Center 1959
Cherry Creek Shopping Center advertisement from 1959, ten years after construction started. The land was owned and developed by architect Temple Buell.
Here you can see the original design with the shops grouped around an open central courtyard.
February 8th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Broadway Plaza Motel
Ad for the International-style Broadway Plaza Motel on Broadway, brand spankin’ new in 1959!
January 8th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Tovoli Beer ad 1959
November 20th, 2009 / No Comments » / by Paul Schutt
