Originally spotted this at /r/historyporn, but the original source is from Shorpy. Some interesting comments from both sites:
Shorpy commenter Evado recognized the church just barely visible in the upper-right of the photo.
redditor 170lbsApe provided a street view of the lot they were playing on here.
This is an ad for the Astor from the 1956 The Negro Travelers’ Green Book, according to Vonderbees.
William Lafferty posted: ”The hotel’s ad in the 1956 Green Book puts it at “US 1 and US 23 North” in Jacksonville. The street address appears to have been 1111 Cleveland.”
I’m now suddenly struck with the thought that many old motel signs I’ve seen that seem to advertise COLOR TV excessively prominently (though no doubt that was a nice amenity when it first appeared) may have been advertising color of a different sort a few years previously and were simply saving money on the cost of sign alterations.
Not sure if this is the case or not – most of these signs seem to be custom-crafted to advertise RCA:
But it’s an interesting thought just the same.
I’ve posted about the phenomenon of segregated facilities several times before. It makes my head throb every time I think about this unhappy period of American history.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
