Vintage

49 American places that never existed, painted the way the country looked between about 1946 and 1958. No such town, no such motel, no such diner.

Everything else on these cards is real. Each one is dated by what is in the picture and carries the history of that thing: why the barn is red, why the motel used neon, why the bridge has a roof on it, and why every town suddenly grew antennas in the same year.

Oakridge Main Street 1948 Sunset Bay Boardwalk 1954 Pinecrest Lodge 1951 Red Rock Junction 1953 Bluewater Harbor 1947 Magnolia Square 1950 Desert Star Motel 1956 Prairie Wind Farmstead 1949 Golden Fairgrounds 1952 Lakeview Cabins 1946 Riverton 1955 Lakeview 1950 Juniper Springs 1948 Crescent Bay 1957 Willow Market 1949 Summit Pass 1952 Palm Grove 1955 Red Barn Orchard 1951 Harbor Light 1947 Prairie Fair 1953 Cedar Falls 1946 Pine Ridge Lake 1954 Canyon Vista 1950 Bluewater Harbor 1948 Golden Grove 1956 Summit Village 1951 Maple Glen 1949 Silver Mesa Motel 1958 Prairie Wind Farmstead 1947 Sunset Bay Boardwalk 1953 Maple Square 1950 Harbor Light Village 1946 Route 9 Diner 1955 Golden Valley Farmstand 1952 Lakeview Landing 1948 Glacier Peak Lodge 1954 Sunset Cove Boardwalk 1957 Cedar Creek Covered Bridge 1946 Willow Creek 1951 Cedar Junction 1949 Harbor Point 1955 Pine Hollow Lodge 1950 Desert Star Mesa 1958 Azalea Square 1952 Rolling Acres Fairgrounds 1953 Silver Peak Pass 1947 Palm Vista Beach 1956 Autumn Hill Farm 1949 Canyon Trail Trading Post 1951