My Favorite Postcards

Suurhusen

Kirche aus dem fruhen 13.  Jahrhundert mit dem "schiefsten" Turm der Welt.
Der Uberhang betragt 2 Meter und 47 Zentimeter.

The sender wrote:
The Steeple of the Suurhusen Church, inclined at an angle of 5.19 degrees (or 2.47 metre) at a  height of 27.37 metres and is the most leaning tower in the world.  The settlement was first mention in the downments from 1255 (early 13th century).

This was postmarked from Germany in 2009 .

The Largest Workboot ever witnessed by the civilized public!

The World's Largest Boot

Redwing Shoes
A Fantastic Modern Engineering Wonder of Human Invention!

A bewildering 2,300 pounds of sheer gargantuan bulk!
At 20 feet long and 16 feet tall it's a colossal curiosity
Fit for a 12 Story Human Giant!

In 2005, as part of Red Wing Shoe Company's Centennial.
The World's Largest Boot was created to celebrate generations of shoe-making craftsmen whose labor and dedication built the company and its world-wide reputation for quality.

This postcard is postmarked in 2015.

The sender writes:
I am in Minnesota today and stopped to see the giant red wing boot AGAIN.  Because, once is never enough. :D

Monument de la Revolution (Monument to the Revolution)
Vista Panoramic (Panoramic View)
Mexico, D.F.  (see below)

This vintage postcard is unused.

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The Monument to the Revolution is a landmark and monument commemorating the Mexican Revolution. It is located in Plaza de la República  in downtown Mexico City. It is considered the tallest triumphal arch in the world, it stands 67 metres (220 ft) in height.

The structure also functions as a mausoleum for the heroes of the Mexican Revolution of 1910, Francisco "Pancho" Villa, Francisco I. Madero, Plutarco Elías Calles, Venustiano Carranza, and Lázaro Cárdenas. Revolutionary general Emiliano Zapata is not buried in the monument, but in Cuautla, Morelos.

Mexican Revolution Day is celebrated on November 20th.

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Mexico City is officially known as México, D. F. or simply D. F. Distrito Federal (Federal District).

Fenelon Place Elevator
Dubuque, Iowa
(The Forth Street Elevator)
World's steepest, shortest Scenic Railway. Erected in 1882, 296 feet in length, elevating passengers 189 feet from Fourth Street to Fenelon Place.  Magnificent view of business district, Mississippi River and three states.

Photo by: Paul Swartzel

This postcard is unused. 

Tennessee Aquarium
Chattanooga

Aquarium from Market Street
The Aquarium's $30 million Ocean Journey building, opened in 2005, is an expansion of the popular Gulf of Mexico exhibit and adds 700,000 gallons of saltwater exhibits to what is currently the world's largest freshwater aquarium.

This is postmarked in 2015 with a machine printed stamp. 

The World's Largest Walleye at the Entrance to Lake Kabetogama, Ray, Minnesota 

Photo-Chrome by W.A. Fisher Co., Virginia, Minnesota

This is an unused real photo postcard of a woman riding a walleye fish statue like a horse.  She even has her cowboy hat up in the air!

I have seen other images of people riding this statue, but none with floral reins. 

Hartland Bridge
New Brunswick

The Hartland Bridge is the longest covered bridge in the world at 1,282 ft.

This is postmarked in 2011 with a Canada fox stamp.

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Before the bridge, the only way to cross the Saint John River was by ferry.

The bridge was constructed in 1901.  The bridge was not originally built covered.

A fire in 1907 burnt some of the structure and nearly destroyed the toll house.

On April 6, 1920, two spans of the bridge collapsed due to river ice. The bridge reopened in 1922 after construction to repair the structure, at which time the bridge was also covered.

A pedestrian walkway was added to the bridge in 1945.

The bridge was declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1980, and a Provincial Historic Site in 1999.

In 1982, the bridge was again closed for repairs after a car struck a steel beam, causing part of the bridge to drop. The bridge was reopened to traffic on February 10, 1983.

In the winter of 2007, the bridge was closed due to the central beam splitting down the middle. It has since been reopened after repairs were carried out.

World's Largest Holstein
at New Salem, North Dakota

38 feet high - 50 feet long
Weights 12,000 pounds

Constructed of reinforced plastic fiberglass this giant reproduction of a Holstein cow is located on a hill at New Salem, North Dakota and is visible for miles to ravelers on Interstate 94.

The sender wrote that the cows name is "Salem Sue".

This postcard is postmarked in 2014 with a USA stamp.

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Salem Sue was built in 1974 for $40,000. The project was sponsored by the New Salem Lions Club in honor of the local dairy farming industry.

Uyuni, Bolivia

Salar de Uyuni
Potosi - Bolivia

Foto: Federico Arispe R.
This postcard is unused and from 2013.

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Salar de Uyuni (or Salar de Tunupa) is the world's largest salt flat at 10,582 square kilometers (4,086 sq mi). It is located in the Potosí and Oruro departments in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes.

Hong Kong skyline with amazing symphony of lights
Photography by Edmond Chan

This is postmarked in 2013 with two Hong Kong stamps.

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A Symphony of Lights is a synchronised building exterior decorative light and laser multimedia display, featuring 44 buildings on both sides of the Victoria Harbour of Hong Kong accompanied by music. The technology was developed at a cost of approximately 44 million HK dollars and has attracted over 4 million visitors and locals so far.   It is held every night for ten minutes.

Guinness World Records has named A Symphony of Lights the world's largest permanent light and sound show.
 

Aerial Tramway
Palm Springs, California

Looking down the cables towards Chino Canyon and the Valley Station (Elevation 2,643 ft.) some two and a half miles away.  This $8,000,000 project is an engineering marvel and opens the door to the rugged wilderness area of Mt. San Jacinto.  Mt. Station elevation is 8,516 ft.

This postcard is postmarked in 1965 with a 4 cent Lincoln stamp.

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The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway in Palm Springs, California, is the largest rotating aerial tramway in the world. It was opened in September 1963 as a way of getting from the floor of the Coachella Valley to relatively near the top of San Jacinto Peak and was constructed in the rugged Chino Canyon. Before its construction, the only way to the top of the mountain was to hike a number of hours from Idyllwild.
California
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

The World's Largest Rotating Tramway cars travel from the 2,643 ft. Valley Station to the 8,516 ft. Mountain Station high atop Mt. San Jacinto.  In less than 15 minutes the Tram car travels through four botanical and geographical life zones.  Similar to a trip from Sonora, Mexico to Anchorage, Alaska.

This postcard is postmarked in 2002 with a 21 cent bison / buffalo stamp.

 
Germany
Ulm an der Donau
600 Jahre (600 Years) Ulmer Munster (In 1377 the corner stone of this church was laid)

Salar De Uyuni
Potosi - Bolivia
Foto: Frderico Arispe R.

This unused postcard features Jeeps, Motorcycles, A Rabbit, and Llamas.  It was bought in 2013.

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Salar de Uyuni (or Salar de Tunupa) is the world's largest salt flat at 10,582 square kilometers (4,086 sq mi). It is located in the Potosí and Oruro departments in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes Mountains and is at an elevation of 3,656 meters (11,995 ft) above mean sea level.

At the bottom right is a picture of Isla Incahuasi, Inkawasi or Inka Wasi (Inca house).  It is a hilly and rocky outcrop of land found in the middle of the Salar de Uyuni Salt Flat.

Dubai - New Year Celebration at Burj Khalifa

postmarked in 2013 with three United Arab Emirates stamps

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Burj Khalifa known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m (2,722 ft).

Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010.

In March 2009, Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chairman of the project's developer, estimated the total cost for the project to be about US$1.5 billion.

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To wash the 24,348 windows, totaling 120,000 m2 (1,290,000 sq ft) of glass, a horizontal track has been installed on the exterior of Burj Khalifa at levels 40, 73, and 109. Each track holds a 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) bucket machine which moves horizontally and then vertically using heavy cables. Above level 109, up to tier 27 traditional cradles from davits are used. The top of the spire, however, is reserved for specialist window cleaners, who brave the heights and high winds dangling by ropes to clean and inspect the top of the pinnacle. Under normal conditions, when all building maintenance units will be operational, it will take 36 workers three to four months to clean the entire exterior façade.

Unmanned machines will clean the top 27 additional tiers and the glass spire. The cleaning system was developed in Melbourne, Australia at a cost of $8 million.

L'aéroplane Wilbur Wright. La rentree au hangar apres un vol.
(The airplane Wilbur Wright. Returned to the hangar after a flight.)


The back has an advertisement in the space where you write:
N'achetez pas sans voir les dernieres creations des Corsets forme droite, hanches enveloppantes  models speciaux de A. Simon (Breveté S.G. D.G.)
Madame LeMarie, Successeur, 43 Rue du Commerce - Paris

This translates in google translator to:
Do not buy without seeing the latest creations of Corsets shape right hip wrap special models of A. Simon (Proprietor S.G. D.G.)
Madame LEMARIE, Successor, 43 Rue du Commerce - Paris

This historic aviation postcard is postmarked in 1914

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On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright piloted the first powered airplane 120 feet (37m) in 12 seconds, at a speed of only 6.8 miles per hour (10.9 km/h) in North Carolina.  Three more flights were made that day with Wilbur piloting the record flight lasting 59 seconds over a distance of 825 feet.

The last time the world record was broken was on July 28, 1976 by Captain Eldon Joersz and Major George Morgan going 2,193.2 miles per hour in a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.  I have postcards about that HERE.

World's Largest Saguaro

The largest known Saguaro at Saguaro National Monument in southern Arizona is this huge specimen which grows near the Madrona Ranger Station.  It is over 50 feet high and has 52 arms.  Its weight is estimated to be 14 tons!

From Kodachrome original by Hubert Lowman

unused
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Here is one more example of a Saguaro

Saguaros attain many fantastic shapes during their long reign of life.

unused

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The saguaro is a large, tree-sized cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea, which can grow to be over 20 meter (~70 ft) tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in the U.S. state of Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, and some areas of California.  Some specimens may live for more than 150 years.

Narrandera N.S.W. Australia

Home of the world's largest playable guitar.
5.820m X 2.019m.
1991 at the Visitors Centre in Narrandera Park.

postmarked in 2008 with an Australia '1.35 Grose River Gorge New South Wales' stamp

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The Big Guitar has its place in the 1991 edition of the Guinness Book of Records as the 'Worlds Largest Playable Guitar'.

 Skydeck Ledge - I Was Here

The Ledge transforms how visitors experience Chicago.  At 1,353 feet up, The Ledge's glass balconies extend out 4.3 feet from the skyscraper's Skydeck on the 103rd floor.  The Ledge provides never-before-seen views of the city, from the tallest building in the western hemisphere.

This is postmarked in 2012 with a 32 cent Aloha stamp.

The sender writes:
I was here alright, but I was the person too scared to step onto the glass.  These ledges can be retracted into the building when wether turns nasty.  This is The Willis Towers, used to be the Sears Building.
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 Sears Tower (now named the Willis Tower) - Chicago
This aerial view of Sears Tower beautifully reveals the dominance of the world's tallest building in Chicago's skyline.  Flanked by the John Hancock and Standard Oil Building in the background, this view features three of the world's seven tallest buildings. (at the time of printing, this is no longer true)
Photo by Phil Valdez

This one is postmarked in 1989 with 15 cent Buffalo Bill Cody stamp.