Holiday Isles – Madeira Beach

Wednesday, June 4, 2014 0 No tags Permalink

Vintage Postcard – Holiday Isles – Madeira Beach Florida

holiday isles

HOLIDAY ISLES MOTEL
14711 Gulf Boulevard
Madeira Beach, Florida 33708
Comfortably furnished hotel rooms, efficiencies and bedroom apartments. Heated and air-conditioned. Completely equipped kitchenettes. Tiled baths. Wall-to-wall carpeting. Color T.V. Daily maid service. Heated pool. Shuffleboard. Game and recreation room. 200 feet to beach.
Martin and Dorothea Loos, Owner-Managers
Phone: St Petersburg 391-9461  391-5088

Post card by Ward Beckett & Co. Clearwater Fla.
114186

This lovely vintage postcard is unused. However, I can tell that it spend a good deal of time in one of those old adhesive photo albums from the markings on the back. I love the image itself…everything is very colorful. The towels. The trunks on the kid on the diving board. Love it!

My coworker pointed out that all my postcards have white folks only in the pool scenes. I thought a little about the dates of these cards, and the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 banned segregation in the workplace and public accommodations. There’s a good chance that, given the mid-century dates of the cards, these motels would have been less than welcoming to a large number of citizens. 

Guess what! The Holiday Isles is still in business and still has the pool:

Photo Courtesy http://www.holiday-isles.com/

Photo Courtesy http://www.holiday-isles.com/

At the Holiday Isles, the pool is heated, pets are welcome and “Clean and Affordable!”  is their motto. They have a turtle pond (the turtles enjoy watching the guests, too) and they offer 4 pm checkout with a two night minimum stay. Seriously, it’s a great website and looks like a nice little motel. If you’re in the area, check it out…and send me a picture!

The Capital Gazette from September 27, 2001 had owner-manager Martin Loos’ obituary:

Martin Anthony Loos, 87, a two-year resident of Severna Park, died Sept. 22 of multiple causes at Anne Arundel Medical Center. A long-time resident of Florida, Mr. Loos had an adventurous life that began July 28, 1914, in the slums of Paterson, N.J., and took him to California, Florida and finally to Maryland. He survived tuberculosis at age 20. Attaining an eighth-grade education, he later owned several businesses, including a motel and a successful Amway Distributorship for 50 years. He served as president of the Optimist Club of St. Petersburg, Fla., and on the City Council of Madeira Beach, Fla. He enjoyed travel, gardening, and boating. Preceded in death by his wife, Dorothea Loos, Mr. Loos is survived by two sons, Marc Loos of Stillwater, Minn., and Adam Loos of Severna Park; two daughters, Dr. Fern Beu and Dyan Brassington, both of Severna Park; and five grandchildren.

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