Vintage Postcard – Tamiami Motel – Bradenton, Florida

TAMIAMI MOTEL
Howard and Dorothy Weidman (813) 745-5511
Business Route 41 — 1715 14th Street West
Bradenton, Florida 33505
Motel Rooms, Air Conditioned — T.V. — Jiffy Coffee
Furnished One and Two Bedroom Apartments, Air Conditioned and T.V. Near Churches, Shopping Centers, Restaurants, Gulf Beaches. Master Charge — BankAmericard — Diners Club Honored.

Color & Pub. by Paul Patterson, Bradenton, Florida 33505
#R10823

This lovely vintage postcard, featuring the Recommended Dominion Automotive Association and Recommended Mobil Travel Guide logos was mailed using both an 8-cent purple Eisenhower USA stamp and a 2-cent blue Frank Lloyd Wright stamp. The cancellation is unclear. The Eisenhower stamp was issued 1971 – 1974, and first-class rates for mail were 10 cents. Postcard rate didn’t go up to 10 cents until 1978, but the stamp would likely not have been used at that point. Who knows. Anyhow, it was mailed to Mr & Mrs. How. Mersino, 941 Lake Drive, Oxford, Mich 48051 and reads:

Hi: stayed here over nite, best at your moms now. Having a nice time, my suitcase got lost on the fees [?], so I’m wearing man’s clothes, washed my feet in the gulf last nite Love Mom.

Ok, how can you not LOVE that message. Mom lost her suitcase and is wearing men’s clothing now. But she is still having a nice time!

I have a card with another motel called the Tamiami, but not from Bradenton. Wikipedia notes: “the Tamiami Trail is the southernmost 275 miles (443 km) of U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) from Florida State Road 60 (SR 60) in Tampa to US 1 in Miami.” Bradenton is on the west coast, the north/south portion of the Tamiami.

In May 2016, the Bradenton Herald published an article that included “A developer has qualified for tax credits through the Florida Housing Assistance Corp. to possibly to turn more than 3 vacant acres along 14th Street West into housing for senior citizens. The 3.61 acres at 1715 14th St. W. is adjacent to the United Way and has long been vacant and a hub of homeless activity. According to plans, the developer wants to build a 72-unit facility called the Grand Palms.” Who knows how long ago the motel was torn down.

It looks like Howard Mersino passed away in 2002. The house at 941 Lake Drive, where this postcard was delivered, still stands (Google Street View):