Thursday, March 28, 2013

Giant Coffee Pots




One of my favorite postcard collecting topics is ""Big Things" or "Giant Roadside Attractions." Here are some postcards showing big and VERY BIG coffee pots. The first postcard above is circa 1959 and shows The Big Coffee Pot in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that was already more than 100 years old. It was originally erected as the sign of a tinsmith and is now a city landmark. It is 7 feet 3 inches tall with a volume of 740 gallons.

Several towns have water towers decorated to look like coffee pots. The one on the next postcard is in Stanton, Iowa and was erected in 1971. This 120-ft. "Swedish-style" pot is painted with decorative hearts and flowers. The pot is 35-ft. high and is on top of a 90 ft. tower. It holds 40,000 gallons. Stanton is also the home of similarly decorated coffee cup water tower holding 150,000 gallons that was erected in 2000.



The next postcard shows an information booth on Washington Island, Door County, Wisconsin.  This giant coffee pot was made of galvanized steel in 1941 and is painted with a Norwegian Rosemaling design. It has a door and two windows. It was originally used as a store and then as a tourist information booth, but now is just a local landmark.



The next two images are modern postcards (published about 20-30 years ago). The yellow (colorized and undated) building is now painted differently and known as Bob's Java Jive. There is a Lite Beer sign visible in one of the windows. This building is in Tacoma, Washington and was built in 1927 as the Coffee Pot Restaurant. (postcard photograph by Roger Lantaff, Island Photo-Graphics)



The last postcard is titled EAT and is a 1939 photograph by Frank Navara (postcard by Fotofolio). This building is no longer standing. It was the Coffee Pot Restaurant in Bremen, Indiana. The building was a wooden silo that was turned into the 18-foot-diameter restaurant in 1932. (information source quoted by several sites from Bremen and North Central Indiana by Acadia Publishing, 2001).



For More Vintage Images


27 comments:

  1. Love these, I have never seen anything quite like them! I especially like the one with the water tower!

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  2. What great finds to go with this week's theme.

    We had a drive-in coffee place that was shaped like a cup. But it's no longer in business. Wish I could find the cup and put it in my yard. What a great conversation piece that would make.
    Nancy

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  3. These are fabulous...giant roadside attractions made into post cards, with the coffee pot theme. Lovely collection.

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  4. Extraordinary collection - I wouldn't have thought that there would be so many giant coffee pots, let alone that one person would have postcards of them all.

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  5. We have a giant coffee pot in nearby Bedford, PA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Coffee_Pot_(Bedford,_Pennsylvania) I do have a postcard featuring it, but I had no idea there were so many others like it!

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  6. A clever postcard post. This kind of folk art used to be more common and added that special local attraction that could persuade travelers to stop.

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  7. I have seen the big banana, big Pineapple, big Mandarin, but never big coffee pots, or even coffee pots restaurants; excellent post.

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  8. An amazing collection. I have never seen a giant coffee pot before. I have seen a giant crayfish however.

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  9. I have never seen anything like these over here. Our town planners would have a fit! Great and an interesting collection.

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  10. I was going to say that I've never seen anything like this before ... but looking at the previous comments it seems I'm not alone. These are truly extraordinary.

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  11. It seems you've managed to surprise us all! I'm used to your giant fruit and vegetables but giant coffee pots are something else. It makes me feel like Alice in Wonderland. Even Bruno would be overwhelmed by pots as big as these I think.

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  12. Amazing that you have so many of them! We have alot of 'big' things in Australia but I have never seen a big tea pot before.

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  13. Wonderfully inventive treatment of the theme. Some fascinating cards, another thoroughly enjoyable post.

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  14. Oh, excellent, excellent. What a fine collection.

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  15. Cool! We have at least two in Washington: in Zillah (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/1418?offset=5) and Tacoma (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2977)

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  16. Oh what fun! Now you've made me remember the very interesting rock formation in Sedona, Arizona, that looks like a coffee pot. In fact, it's called Coffee Pot Rock.

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  17. A great idea for a collection. Enjoyed your big coffee pots. I'll be looking forward to more "big things" from you.

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  18. Very clever interpretation of the theme. Fabulous pots.

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  19. Great photos and a quirky take on the topic.

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  20. What a cool post! I've never seen anything like these, but they remind me of a little tavern in Junction City, Oregon that is small and made to look like "a little brown jug".

    Kathy M.

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  21. These are wonderful! Have you seen the book "California Crazy & Beyond" which is all about buildings built in shapes of objects? I don't think I have any cards like these. You've got such a great collection.

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  22. Houses made in the shape of coffee mugs, wow. That sounds cool!

    Thanks for this wonderful article. It has so much of creativity!

    Regards,
    Finn Felton
    Kopi Luwak

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  23. If this was a contest,
    I'd vote for Iowa.
    But that restaurant in Bremen
    was quite a sight.
    Pity it is now gone...
    Great post!!
    :)~
    HUGZ

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  24. You know I completely LOVE this, and have thought about going around just my state for some water towers... we have some cool ones that would go great with your collection here. We have a huge teapot !!!

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  25. And I showed one recently in the shape of a milk bottle.
    If we keep this up, we'll have a full set!!!
    :)~
    HUGZ

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  26. I think we need one of these in Melbourne, the coffee capital of Australia.
    PS Each week I'm amazed at the postcards you have in your collection.

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