I used to buy random boxes of vintage slides, and I never knew what I'd find inside. Among the usual photos of the Grand Canyon, or babies, or graduations, a photo of an unknown town would pop up, and it always piqued my interest! "Can I figure out where this place is?", and "What does it look like today?".
There were two slides from 1972 that turned out to be from the same town, and it didn't really take that long to solve the mystery of their location. The most visible clue is the Cosgriff Motor Hotel, which places us at "the intersection of of US 40 and State Highway 789 (aka East Victory Way) in downtown Craig, Colorado" (according to the text on the back of a postcard). Craig is in the upper west corner of Colorado, about 120 miles west of Boulder (as the crow flies).
Another landmark is the WEST Theater, which opened on April 8, 1939 with the film "Never Say Die" starring Bob Hope. It was originally a 500-seat theater, but has since been modified into a twin.
This Google Street View shows the approximate area as it looks today. As is often the case, the "today" view is lacking something, even though Craig looks like a pleasant place to live.
Here's that postcard showing the Cosgriff Motor Hotel; An attractive, well-managed 80 room air-cooled motor hotel with every convenience. Inside there was a painting of some note (apparently), “The Passing of the Old West” by Gerard Curtis Delano. I'd hoped to find an image of this painting on Google, but had no luck (I'm sure I could have dived deeper).
Continuing westward, we get a closer look at a few landmarks that you could see in the first photo, including the Conoco station (which is still there), and that building by the red Jeep with the angled roof, which is a furniture and mattress store today.
There's the furniture store to our left... the big tree just beyond it blocks the view of the Conoco station.
Vintage postcards! We love vintage postcards.
And another...
I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Craig, Colorado.
Recon! Vintage postcards are a great way to go back in time, especially now with googie maps. Thank you Major!
ReplyDeleteMajor-
ReplyDeleteThe Cosgriff Motor Hotel certainly seems like a 'hot-and-happening place', especially with their cocktail lounge encased in glass block-! I'm uncertain, however, just how cool their guests would feel while sleeping during the warm summer months with mere 'air cooling'... (I know, I know - with all that nice, "dry" mountain air-!)
Thanks, Major.
I gotta chuckle. I’ll be at “The Office.” Creative. It reminds me of another bar I saw, a couple months back—next to a river dam….called “The Dam Bar.”
ReplyDeleteA little taxidermy shop squeezed in between the barber shop and bar. Cute town, thanks, Major, for the road trip.
So, the "Cosgriff Motor Hotel" sign told you where this was? I woulda thought the "GAS" sign next to it would've clinched the location. :-D (Or the "CAFE" sign.)
ReplyDeleteI see from the postcard that a barbershop is part of the Motel complex. Or maybe it's a candy shop with a twirling candy cane out front. ;-)
In the 4th picture, it seems odd to have a taxidermy shop right in the midst of their main street. But I suppose there were a lot of hunters in this area, then and now. I can't tell from the sign if it's the Bates Taxidermy shop, or not.
As you noted in today's post, and many others, the old views (in postcards and old slides) always show the town a lot more lively and interesting than the present day images. It must be entropy that causes this. And the entropy is caused by a massive black hole near our solar system. And the black hole is governed by a giant cloud of black energy. Scientists will verify this in a few years. Until then, you just have to take my word for it.
Thanks for the trip, Major.
I bet that cafe has a great Saturday morning breakfast special - I’ll grab a couple seats for us. See you there!
ReplyDeleteJB, if you’re looking at the same image that I’m looking at (fourth one), that shop could possibly be a barber-taxidermy-combo shop, seeing the placement of that barbershop pole. “We’ll stuff your dead raccoon while you wait and get a haircut and shave.”
ReplyDeleteSue, I was thinking that the barbershop (or candy shop) is probably 'stuffed' with taxidermied animals hanging on the walls.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, in my first comment, I meant "a giant cloud of dark energy". One has to be accurate when making these predictions. (I'm sleepy.)
JB….well, it says “Studio,” too — which could mean lots of things, so you could be right.
ReplyDeleteGet some shut-eye and we’ll see, in the morning, what the other Jr. Gorillas think it might be…..night!
Interesting little side trip to a place I’d never heard of before. Craig, Colorado is on US 40, which is just 10 miles north of my house. I could make a left turn and, factoring in gas and food stops, could be in Craig in about 18 hours. Too bad I have an appointment to have my hair set this afternoon or I’d be hitting the road.
ReplyDeleteIf you compare the photos over the years, it looks like the Cosgrove expanded on its property over the years, embiggening its name from “Cosgrove Hotel” to “Cosgrove Motor Hotel.”
I wasn’t able to find a picture of “The Passing of the West,” either, but you can get a feel for Gerard Curtis Delano’s style HERE. He apparently studied under N.C. Wyeth and Harvey Dunn and did a series of Indian paintings for the Santa Fe. He passed away in 1972, the same year as your slides. You can read more about him HERE.
In the third photo, the Craig Sports sign is probably marketing the fact that they sell film and hunting equipment or possibly the existence of another taxidermy business downtown, but when I first saw the top two elements my initial, incredulous reaction was “are they advertising stag films?”
Thanks, Major!
Sue & JB, the barbershop where I got my hair cut as a young kid in downtown Fairfield, CA, was full of red leather chairs and accents, steer horns, a taxidermied armadillo and maybe a rattlesnake. They had war comics in a pile in the corner for kids, and the barber always gave me a piece of Bazooka bubble gum and a smile when we were done. I think he may have even called me “pardner.” Reckon I hadn’t thought of that for a fur piece.
ReplyDeleteHmmm…I may be reading a bit too much Zane Grey of late…
Major, this is a wonderful post. I Enjoy these random postcard visits to places I’ve never heard of and will probably never visit. I wish I had a taxidermy raccoon.
ReplyDeleteI’m with Nanook, the Cosgrove cocktail lounge must have been a hot spot with all that glass block. I bet the interior featured red leather upholstery, stainless steel accents, neon tubes and waitresses that called you “sugar”.
Notice the Cosgrove’s prominent tall chimney stack, what powered that furnace? Logs? Autumn leaves? Buffalo chips?
The today photos do have more trees, which is a plus, but markedly less energy otherwise.
Chuck, thanks for the artist links! Major, thanks for this post!
JG
I think the Cosgriff art display was not a single painting, but a presentation of many paintings -- and was given that catchy name by the motel...
ReplyDelete"See 'The Passing of the Old West' original paintings by Gerard Curtis Delano."
https://www.cardcow.com/240910/craig-colorado-cosgriff-motor-hotel/
Must've been quite a cool thing to see, as it impressed the future director of The Museum of Northwest Colorado...
"The museum also presents Western art from Frederic Remington to such local artists as Gerard Curtis Delano of Kremmling, Colo. Delano’s Passing of the Old West made an early impression on future museum director Davidson."
https://historynet.com/museum-northwest-colorado-showcases-cowboys-outlaws/
Now I want to know all about Kremming, Colorado!
Nice pics of an old town typical of so many. Hmmm, makes me wonder why the original Main Street USA didn't have a taxidermist sponsor!
Ha, LTL! I do recall, back in the 60s, someone bringing me back a taxidermied baby alligator from Florida. Maybe a foot long, with its stomach all stitched up, and sharp nails, etc. I kept it in my toy box. Very strange, now that I think about it. (I’m surprised my mom didn’t toss it out.) But they were common, back then. So I do agree with you that it’s surprising that early DL Main Street didn’t have a taxidermy shop (that maybe sold taxidermied mice?? — JK). :op
ReplyDeletewalterworld, I love vintage postcards, and they really are a great way to see a place the way it looked 50, 60, or 70 years ago.
ReplyDeleteNanook, I like glass blocks, though perhaps they are not cool anymore. Used properly, I think they still look pretty neat! I assumed that “air cooling” was another phrase for “air conditioning”… but maybe not?
Lou and Sue, there’s a bar in downtown San Luis Obispo called “The Library”. SLO is full of Cal Poly students, so they can truthfully tell people that they spent all night at The Library!
JB, I could explain my detecting ways, but it is too complicated. I’m assuming that hunting was a popular local activity, and who doesn’t want that antelope, bobcat, or elk preserved for all time? Those glassy eyes staring forever. I thought “entropy” was a kind of ethnic food. Possibly spicy.
Lou and Sue, now I want a nice breakfast from a cafe!
Lou and Sue, my family used to go to a lodge up in the Sierras, and the main building was two stories high - one wall was nothing but heads of antelope, deer, etc. There was even a polar bear! After years away, we went back, only to find all of those animals were gone - the place had burned down and was then rebuilt.
JB, I would not be surprised if there was an animal head or two in the barbershop. There’s nothing more manly than a taxidermied critter!
Lou and Sue, I was wondering why there were so many comments today, and now I know!
Chuck, let me know how that 18-hour drive goes! I’ve always wondered if some places considered the word “motel” to be kind of icky, which is why they went with “motor hotel”? I found other Gerard Curtis Delano pieces, but for some reason his masterpiece escaped me. Studying under N.C. Wyeth… no pressure! I wonder if N.C. was a patient teacher? He’s (IMO) one of the greatest illustrators of all time. What’s wrong with stag films? I watched a whole documentary about deer on Disney+!
Chuck, I didn’t have a regular barbershop as a kid (we moved too often), but I still remember going to one in Huntington Beach. As I wait for my turn, I picked up a magazine to leaf through. Hey, it’s full of pictures of naked ladies! I’m sure the proprietor had a laugh watching this seven year-old look at a Playboy magazine (I assume it was face-down on the stack of magazines). Ah, the 70s.
JG, I really like finding slides of cities and medium-sized towns (or even small towns), in every case, the photos from half a century ago look so appealing and lively, while modern street views look sterile and kind of dead. It really shows how things have changed in the US. I don’t go to a lot of bars, but I don’t recall ever going to one with red leather upholstery. I do remember going into a bar when I was a kid (with my dad, I am not sure why we were there, but it wasn’t for long), and I liked this Michelob sign with bouncing spots of light. I see those signs on eBay, and am very tempted to buy one for myself!
LTL, ah, good eye, the postcard does say “paintings”… so definitely more than one. Don’t get too excited, the director of The Museum of Northwest Colorado also liked the Thomas Kinkade paintings! All those little cottages.
Lou and Sue, the Mysterious Benefactor discovered that, for a brief time, baby alligators were sold at Disneyland. Live ones! That couldn’t have lasted for long.
”Lou and Sue, the Mysterious Benefactor discovered that, for a brief time, baby alligators were sold at Disneyland. Live ones!”
ReplyDeleteMajor, that’s probably because no one sponsored a taxidermy shoppe on Main Street! BTW, if you’re not joking (and I’m thinking you are), I would love for you or the MB to chime in, here, and give us more details. I still think you’re pulling ‘our legs.’
Fun post, today.
Lou and Sue, I know it sounds like a joke, but I seem to remember the MB actually having a poor-quality photo of a little pond (or pool?) with baby gators. Did guests carry their new pets around for the rest of the day? Were they supposed to come and get them before they went home?
ReplyDelete........it seems odd to have a taxidermy shop right in the midst of their main street. But I suppose there were a lot of hunters in this area, then and now.
ReplyDeleteJB, there was a very large taxidermy shop on Harbor Blvd. in Fullerton, only about 4 miles north of Disneyland. I'm not sure when they closed, but A.I. tells me there is a record of it being there at least up until 1999. They had large plate glass windows across the front of the store with large animals displayed in them. I wish I could find an opening year for the store. If it went back far enough, maybe Walt D. used them for the animals in the Grand Canyon Diorama, and maybe Bud Hurlbut used them for his animals in the Log Ride at Knott's. I think the story goes that Bud's uncle killed all of the animals in the Log Ride, but who stuffed them? They certainly didn't stuff themselves!
.....the barbershop where I got my hair cut as a young kid in downtown Fairfield, CA, was full of red leather chairs and accents, steer horns, a taxidermied armadillo and maybe a rattlesnake.
Chuck, my childhood barber had a deer's head on the wall. (BAMBI!!!!!) The barber shop is still there....I'm not sure how many times it has changed hands since I was a kid. One day I did stop to peek in the window (they were closed), and the deer head was gone.
Hmmm, makes me wonder why the original Main Street USA didn't have a taxidermist sponsor!
LTL, they may not have had a taxidermy sponsor or shop, but the Bekins locker building had deer head mounted above the entrance. Now I'm wondering if it was real? If it was, I would think that the elements would be hard on it.....especially rain. Maybe it was an early animatronic version of "Max," from Country Bear Jamboree? Maybe it acted as a "Barker Deer," telling people to "Come on in and rent your very own locker for the day!" Okay, maybe not.
I know I always say this, BUT.......I love these kind of vintage and current-day comparison shots! Thank you, Major!
I just recalled something from around 1970…I purchased a real fur (rabbit fur?) stuffed, tiny (life sized) gray mouse in the Magic shop on Main Street…it was sitting up and holding a piece of corn IIRC. I still have it somewhere. My “taxidermied” mouse souvenir!
ReplyDeleteMy “taxidermied” mouse souvenir!
ReplyDeleteSue, just like in the movie, "Dinner For Schmucks"! :-)
Note the incredibly wide street. Probably an actual Highway in the Olde Days, before freeways diverted most of the through traffic (see "Cars"). I'm sure local merchants have a pipe dream of turning it into a pedestrian-friendly Main Street, with two lanes sufficient for traffic and lots of brick sidewalk, angled parking spaces, center dividers with trees and old-timey streetlamps with vertical banners promoting the weekly Farmer's Market and Craft Faire. If it works, expect yuppified eateries and boutiques as traditional local businesses either close or move to the New Shopping Center (still called that 20 years after opening) in the middle of the bedroom communities catching the latest suburban overflow.
ReplyDeleteIn California, pre-freeway 101 ran straight through the center of small towns and for long stretches was a narrow country road without stoplights, much less exits and onramps. I was in high school (class of 73) when there was finally a real freeway to get you north or south, bypassing the bottleneck "Blood Alley". I know it's a real freeway because of all the fast food and big box signs mounted on really high poles.