Lisa's Nostalgia Cafe--Travel in the 1940s


more 1940s topics Nostalgia Cafe main page Nostalgia Cafe site map	Travel in the 1940s ============================================================ ============================================================ ============================================================


car travel Gasoline and rubber were rationed during the war years, and new car production was halted when auto manufacturers used their factories for war work. Car travel diminished during this time. If you were lucky enough to have a car in working condition, you saved it for the trips that were really important. This all changed when the war was over. Not only did the automakers return to regular production, but the booming economy made it possible for more people to own a car. Automobile travel became more popular, ushering in the "car culture" of the 1950s.	-----	gasoline filling stations Esso Phillips 66 Fire Chief Flying A Mobilgas Sinclair Texaco Pure Oil Gulf Old Gas Station Collectibles
turnpikes The first super highways were the tollways, or turnpikes, that were built in the eastern United States in the 1940s and early 1950s. The granddaddy of them all was the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which opened in 1940. Driving at high speeds on multi-lane roads was a new concept for Americans in the 1940s. At the 1939-40 World's Fair, visitors saw a model of the multi-lane highways of the future, which they assumed would not become a reality for at least 20 years. The turnpikes proved that the future was already being built.		1940s State Highway Markers The Pennsylvania Turnpike Click here for more sights from the open road!

Hotels

For well-to-do travelers in the 1940s, there were fancy city hotels. They provided luxurious overnight accomodations, but more than that, they provided entertainment and a chance to see and be seen.

These high-class establishments really had it all....restaurants, cocktail lounges, room service, switchboard operators, ballrooms, bellhops, elevator operators, nightly entertainment and dancing.

The rooms had phones, cocktail bars, modern bathrooms and music piped in from the nightclub. Truly the good life!

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Stopping For The Night

On Route 66, the Blue Swallow Motel opened in 1939, and the Coral Court opened in 1942.

motels
tourist courts
cabins

At the other end of the spectrum, we had simple motels and cabins for the average traveler. The luxuries were few....your room might have a radio, but it probably didn't have a phone. There were no swimming pools or fancy restaurants either, but there might be a cafe or a soda machine nearby.

Motel Americana
History Of The Motel
Blue Swallow Motel
Coral Court
Sanders Court & Cafe

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Hollywood's Town Motel....
art deco styling on the West Coast

Rainbow Tourist Court

Click here to see more places to spend the night!


	-----	camping The 1920s gave us the first campgrounds for automobile tourists, and the 1930s gave us the first travel trailers. By the 1940s, campgrounds were also known as trailer parks, and they were a very popular and economical alternative to hotels and motels.