Guess the City 137: Historic Edition 2

[Super Amputee Cat]

 

[mendelman]

Hollywood, FL?

 

[Rumpy Tunanator]

Atlantic City, NJ before the casinos?

 

[Seabishop]

Galveston, TX?

 

[michaelskis]

Panama Beach FL?

 

[DecaturHawk]

Definitely not Galveston...they built a huge seawall after the devastating hurricane at the beginning of the 1900's.

I'm guessing Ocean City, MD

 

[boiker]

Yankton, SD

Myrtle Beach, SC?

 

[Super Amputee Cat]

None of the guesses are right so far:

Here's a more recent view:

 

[Seabishop]

Definitely not Galveston...they built a huge seawall after the devastating hurricane at the beginning of the 1900's.

I'm very certain of it. This picture was taken back in 1949 when the residents took down the seawall in order to trick people into thinking it wasn't Galveston in "Guess the City" contests. I cannot be wrong - I've got big money riding on this.

New wild guess: Virginia Beach?

 

[boiker]

i'm still getting a mid-atlantic vibe.. although i've never been within 400 miles of any east cost state...


Kill devil hills, NC?

 

[Rumpy Tunanator]

Bethany Beach, DE?

 

[DecaturHawk]

I can't escape the mid-Atlantic feeling--how about Rehoboth Beach, DE?

 

[SGB]

Miami Beach, FL?

 

[JNA]

Ocean City, NJ ?

It is Not Long Beach Island, NJ

 

[Super Amputee Cat]

New wild guess: Virginia Beach?

And we have a winner! Lucky wild guess, Bish.

Hard to believe the city ever looked like it did in the early photos. My memory of it when I last visited in 1979 was all high rise hotels. I wonder how many of those old cottages are still standing.

 

[Plannerbabs]

Ooh, ooh, I know, I know!
Seaside! :-D

 

[michaelskis]

This is going to sound way messed up, but I don’t understand the fascination with living next to the ocean. I hear people mention but the view is so amazing… IT’S NOTHING BUT WATER PEOPLE! &@!$#… It would be one thing if it where a lake. With a lake you can put out a dock, the waves will not knock down your house, and no chance of sharks or undertows (ok with the exception of the Great Lakes, they do have undertows at times.) I grew up a few blocks from Lake Michigan, and it was good enough for me. Now I live about a half an hour away, and I am just as happy.

I am not utopian, I swear.

 

[Chet]

I'm going to guess Cape May New Jersey.

 

[Super Amputee Cat]

I'm going to guess Cape May New Jersey.

The correct answer was given in an earlier thread. See above.

 

[Chet]

The correct answer was given in an earlier thread. See above.

DOAH! The perils of avoiding too much cyburbia at work!

 

[The Irish One]

I don’t understand the fascination with living next to the ocean.

The smell of salt water and sound of white wash and in the summer the view really is amazing! Sunsets are nice too.

 

[Rem]

... but I don’t understand the fascination with living next to the ocean ....

As well as what TIO said, the ocean provides a more temperate microclimate in most places. An afternoon seabreeze in summer as the land heats up and creates a lower pressure cell - around where I live it can mean a sticky 38C day is a pleasant 28C a few kilometres away.

If your really lucky you can live in an environement where you can have a beautiful big lake and be on the ocean. Where could such a place occur?

 

[JNA]

I don’t understand the fascination with living next to the ocean.

I grew up next to ocean and always look forward to my summer trip home.

 

[boiker]

i grew up surrounded by an ocean of corn, but I don't like going back.

the smell.. eeeehh the view.. eeeehh.. the pollen (allergies).. eeeehhh

The ocean was neat to visit once, but to me, it just looked like a salty Lake Michigan.

 

[Chet]

The ocean was neat to visit once, but to me, it just looked like a salty Lake Michigan.

I can see where you get that unless you're a swimmer. You cant possibly compare Lake Michigan's west coast with Florida's west coast!

EDIT: For starters, you're not swimming in poop water in Naples....

 

[JNL]

Re living near the ocean

The desire to live near the beach is quite interesting. I am one of those who feels the pull of the ocean, but so do my parents and they have always tried to live within walking distance (but not necessarily sight) of the beach. I always find a visit to the beach calming. I read something somewhere about how humans are fascinated with water. I wonder if it could have an evolutionary component. The sea and the beach are a huge part of the New Zealand culture. Everyone has childhood memories of spending summers at the beach, and I find it kind of weird when I am far from the sea.

 

[boiker]

I can see where you get that unless you're a swimmer. You cant possibly compare Lake Michigan's west coast with Florida's west coast!

EDIT: For starters, you're not swimming in poop water in Naples....

'

i havnt experienced the left cost or the gulf in my life.. only the pacific in newport beach, ca. it was cold, salty, and water. looked neat but nothing i feel compelled to visit or live near.

 

[SkeLeton]

I at least like the sea, not because I like swimming in it (not at all), thanks to the Humboldt Current our sea is colder than normal, so there's no way I'm swimming there...
I just like the walks on the beach, the sould of the waves and the view (specially sunset) and besides, it's just 10 miles away, ok... it'll be farther when I go to Santiago, but what the heck...still no more than 60-70 miles away.

 

[JNL]

I guess I'm spoiled with beautiful beaches all round my country's coast. Many are small, sheltered, unpolluted bays that are good for swimming. Sand ranges from white to golden to pink to black. The small and sheltered scale is the complete opposite of that in SAC's pictures. Maybe I should find some photos. Basically, they are beautiful, and a privilege to live near.

 

[Cardinal]

I guess I'm spoiled with beautiful beaches all round my country's coast. Many are small, sheltered, unpolluted bays that are good for swimming. Sand ranges from white to golden to pink to black. The small and sheltered scale is the complete opposite of that in SAC's pictures. Maybe I should find some photos. Basically, they are beautiful, and a privilege to live near.

Go ahead, post those pictures. But don't go complaining when a steady flow of Cyburbians begins knocking on your door looking for a place to stay. Homestly, the more I learn of New Zealand, the more I want to visit. It sounds waaaaay better than that big island south of you.

 

[benk928]

Blast!

I look away for a day or two, and sure enough, the ONE time the Guess the City is my hometown, I miss it. Blast. Umm...the red building in the foreground on one of the pictures is the old Coast Guard Lifesaving Station (still there)...the road is Atlantic Ave/US 60, aaand the beach is about twice as wide now thanks to replenishment efforts. Any further questions? ;-)

-Ben

 

[Super Amputee Cat]

I look away for a day or two, and sure enough, the ONE time the Guess the City is my hometown, I miss it. Blast. Umm...the red building in the foreground on one of the pictures is the old Coast Guard Lifesaving Station (still there)...the road is Atlantic Ave/US 60, aaand the beach is about twice as wide now thanks to replenishment efforts. Any further questions? ;-)

-Ben

How many of these buildings are still standing?

I suspect a fair number of them, especially those on the east side of the road, have been replaced by high-rises and McMansions, blocking everyone else's view of the sunrises.

 

[Rem]

Homestly, the more I learn of New Zealand, the more I want to visit. It sounds waaaaay better than that big island south of you.

Your judgement is obviously very poor - oh, and buy a compass. ;-)

 

[Rem]

....Maybe I should find some photos. Basically, they are beautiful, and a privilege to live near.

Without playing into Cardinal's hands - I have to agree NZ has some extremely beautiful beaches. One of my favourite beaches anywhere is Cathedral Cove on The Coromandel - I've visited twice and would never pass up the opportunity to visit again.

 

[benk928]

How many of these buildings are still standing?

Well, I can't tell just by looking which street it is (Virginia Beach's numbered streets run low to high, south to north), so a definitive answer is tricky. Judging by the bend in the road in the background, it MIGHT be up on the North End, around 86th street...if that's the case, then there might be a handful of houses like that still there. For the most part, though, you're right: high-rises have generally obscured the view between 1st and 86th or so. In the last year or two, City Council upped the height limit, allowing taller hotels to cast even LONGER shadows. Of course, for someone like me, this allows for some nice shade on the beach in summer evenings.

One notable exception, though, is the red-roofed lighthousey building in this picture, which I think I mentioned before is the Old Coast Guard Station.

From here they would launch small boats to rescue shipwreck survivors in the early part of the 20th century. Now it's a museum, flanked by (you guessed it), two high rise hotels and (i think) a very popular Dairy Queen.

I tried to find a more recent picture with a similar viewpoint but I couldn't. Hopefully this answered your question.

-Ben