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Streetcar Postcards
During the heyday of the picture postcard, streetcars appeared in
many urban street scenes. Some transit facilities were considered
noteworthy enough to merit use as subjects in themselves. Here's a more
or less random sample, based on what I've found in postcard boxes at
stamp shows. I tend to favor Ohio (my home state) and the Carolinas.
- Ashtabula, Ohio
- Barranquilla, Colombia
- Berlin, Germany
- Boston, Massachusetts
-
East Boston Tunnel (1907) Shown here as a streetcar tunnel, it was
later converted to rapid-transit operation and is now used by the
Blue Line.
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Chicago, Illinois
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Columbus, Ohio
- Dayton, Ohio
- Dubuque, Iowa
- Duluth, Minnesota
- East Liverpool, Ohio
- Goffstown, New Hampshire
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Greenville, South Carolina
-
Air View (1947) shows the Piedmont & Northern electric
interurban terminal at the lower left.
- Kaleva, Michigan
-
A fantasy scene (1912). This town was far too small to have a local
streetcar line. No interurbans were built in this area. An aerial view
on Mapquest.com shows nothing resembling this built-up downtown street.
If you recognize it, please tell me!
- Karlsruhe, Germany
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania
- New York, New York
- Palm Beach, Florida
- Portland, Maine
- Rock Hill, South Carolina
-
Mule-powered streetcar (1905) I'm not sure whether this is a joke
or not, considering the inscription on the card.
- Rochester, New York
-
Electricity versus Steam (c. 1905) A race between an interurban car
of the Rochestern & Eastern Rapid Railroad and a steam train of the
New York Central.
- Sioux City, Iowa
- Worcester, Massachusetts
- Youngstown, Ohio
This page was last updated on 9 September 2008.
Presbyterian College
> Academic Web Server
> Jon Bell
> Transit
> Postcards
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