Vintage Postcard – Silver Lining Motel

Look for the
Silver Lining Motel
on U.S. #1, 1/2 mile south of Vero Beach, Fla. and 1 mile north of McKee Jungle Gardens. Heated – Air-Conditioned – TV in Rooms – 10 Motel Rooms back from Highway on Spacious Landscaped Grounds. Phone J.O. 2-4666.

Pub. by Florida Motel Industry Printing Services, P.O. Box 1032, Orlando, Florida.

Made by Dexter West Nyack N.Y.

This lovely vintage postcard for the Silver Lining Motel has the AAA logo. It was mailed using a 3 cent purple liberty stamp from Fort Pierce, Florida on Oct 25, 1961. It was mailed to Mr. Jack Perkins, Wayne, Maine.

Now, I’ll pause here before I share the message on the back. And I am not going to be writing the full message out on this one. Two sentences are so racially objectionable that they will not be included. In today’s world, it seems absolutely shocking that someone would have written these things on the back of a postcard, not only for the recipient but also the mail carrier and postal workers and rest of the world to see.

Dear Jack,

Do you like keeping house? How is Bobby cut? [?] I hear it is cold there. Went to Daytona Beach this am are nowhere tan here. [sentences removed] Temperature here was 80 to-day. Must be nice in winter months. I am wearing sleeveless dresses Dixie gets so hot but it is real good. Going to Miami tomorrow. Stay here tonite. The surf is beautiful. As ever, Jen & Vance (Rush!) Keep water in furnace half full thanks.

McKee Botanical Garden is still open for business. I’ve been up and down the street (digitally) using both Google Maps and Google Earth. Google Earth allows for historical images as well, and shows a building at this location as late as 2004. It could be the location (the dirt lot across the street from Sewell Hardware):

Note the half-moon shape of the little island out in front, where the old neon could have been.

But wait…what’s this? Bonus! Here’s a second Silver Lining postcard, this time a daytime shot! Woot! Can you believe your luck?

Look for the
Silver Lining Motel
on U.S. #1, 1/2 mile south of Vero Beach, Fla. and 1 mile north of McKee Jungle Gardens. Heated – Air-Conditioned – TV in Rooms – Connecting Rooms. Back from Highway on Spacious landscaped grounds.
Phone 562-9813
JACK & JOYCE SMITH, Owner-Management

Pub. by O’Brien Color Studios, Daytona Beach, Florida
#1380

So this card is a little newer. Expanded phone number. Description slightly changed (also some capitalization changed). The addition of the owners/managers. Slight detail changes in the motel, too…notice the new electric poles? The old awning over the front is gone, too. On the main sign, “heated” has been replaced with “air conditioned.”

If you like this post, check out this one:

Dolphin Motel, another Vero Beach beauty