Tram Tuesday - Salford, England

If you were standing here today in Salford near Manchester, you would be in the middle of the motorway. But back when this photo was taken, Cross Lane was a vibrant street with trams, shops, and the Ship Hotel and its famous Ship Pub. The Ship Hotel was built in 1888 and demolished in 1973 after many colorful years and many visits by foreign sailors and locals alike.

On this postcard you can see The Ship on the left-hand side. Jessie was staying just down the street from The Ship where you see the X.

At the time this postcard was published, circa 1910,  Greater Manchester had an extensive tram system. According to Wikipedia, the tram system provided 200 million passenger journeys per year by 1915 on 662 vehicles. At that time it was the most popular form of transportation. The tram system recovered quickly from damage during World War I, but was closed for a time in 1918 to stop the spread of the Spanish Flu.

In the 1940s,  tracks were pulled up to provide steel for the war effort. As in many places, the trend was to abandon trams for buses. Salford tram service ended in 1947, with Manchester service ending just two years later.

Here's the back of the card, with Jessie's message:

Dear Leon

Where I have put that cross is the place Street I am staying in I often ride on the street car to town lovingly Jessie

Does the fact that she refers to the street car instead of a tram indicate that she was perhaps visiting from the United States?

You can view a video of Salford history and The Ship at Salford Online.

Weird Postcards

By no means boring, but all a little strange...

Mexicali

The Owl Bar (El Tecolote) in Baja California, Mexico, was a popular destination for U.S. residents even before Prohibition. The Owl featured a casino, dance hall, a brothel, and of course lots of alcohol. Cocaine and opium were also commonly available. Mexicali was one of a number of the centers for vice tourism just across the Mexican border from the United States. Even before Prohibition, efforts to abate prostitution in California sent some of the red-light business across the border.

Not surprisingly, many of the most interesting stories relate to the brothel and its 104 rooms. Andrew Grant Wood wrote about Mexicali and El Tecolote/ The Owl in his book, On the Border: Society and Culture between the United States and Mexico. According to Wood, the prostitutes represented a variety of ethnicities and races, but the customers were segregated by race. There was a section for white customers and a separate section for non-white customers. It would also appear that once the prostitutes were there, they were not free to leave. A number of newspapers in the United States covered the story of the 1920 fire that ravaged The Owl and sent scantily-clad prostitutes fleeing from the building. The prostitutes dispersed after that.

A federal mandate forced the closure of The Owl in 1922, however an $80,000 donation to Mexican General Rodriguez allowed for an extension of their gambling permits, under the new name, The ABW Club. The operation closed completely in 1936.

The card below shows two of Mexicali's breweries. You can read more about Cerveceria de Mexicali on The Real Tijuana Blog and about Cervezeria Azteca, which moved to the United States and became Aztec Brewing.

Here are the backs of the cards in the same order.