Over the years, when the mood hits me at a swap meet or flea market, I’ll stop what I’m doing and sift through a stack of vintage postcards. If there’s a Buick somewhere in the shot, I buy it (so long as the price is reasonable). Only later do I sit back and really look at the image – inadvertently, it becomes a good car spotting test.

The image above, I admit, is of questionable quality, but it’s still a representation of the Fifties when chain hotels were few and far between. In this case, the Sahara Motel looks somewhat quaint. Postmarked from 1956, the reverse side lists an address of 530 Weber Avenue in Fresno, California. For giggles, I went searching for it online and discovered that the hotel is still there, although a lot less inviting (for instance, the swimming pool has been filled in). As for the pre-1956 shot, I love the massive TV antennas on the roof. Care to take a stab at what’s in the parking lot?

A better image to be sure, this was Mill Street in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, either in, or just prior to, 1955. There’s a little bit more detail to go by when trying to identify the cars. As for the backdrop, on the left is the Post Office, opposite the River Inn Hotel (the view is looking north, incidentally). More accurately, this section of town is better known as South Mill Street today, and both buildings still stand, significantly unaltered in appearance  – the address for the hotel (which now appears to contain small businesses rather than room and board) is 133 South Mill Street.