Thermae Palace Oostende Postcard

The postcard shows the Thermae Palace Hotel Oostende. Thermae Palace was the former royal residence and casino, and was built in 1933. It is traditonal in style with an art deco feeling to it. The hotel offers a total of 153 rooms and 6 suites.

Thermae Palace Oostende Postcard

NOTE: OPERATIONAL
Koningin Astridlaan 7, B-840 Oostende
Tel.: 0032 (59) 80 66 44

SOURCE:
Thermae Palace Homepage

UPDATE: Parian Gate Postcard

I was browsing a forum about Intramuros when I came across an old postcard of the Puerta del Parian (which I blogged last June 30th). The forum gave the names of the churches that can be seen behind the gate. It states:

Puerta del Parian: the old San Juan de Dios chapel had a nice dome to complement the nearby square cupola atop San Francisco Church.

Parian Gate Postcard

So the dome is that of San Juan de Dios chapel and cupola of the San Francisco Church, first built in 1602 and damaged in the 1645 earthquake; rebuilt from 1739 until 1750 and destroyed during World War II. This is the only church then with no Bell Tower. Enshrine here is the Nuestra Senyora de los Angeles (Our Lady of the Angels).

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Parian Gate Postcard

Park Hotel Hong Kong Postcard

The postcard shows the Park Hotel in Hong Kong. The Park Hotel was established in 1961 and renovated several times since (although hardly noticeable). It is a 16-storey high rise hotel with 430 rooms. The back of the postcard reads:

The largest and most modern hotel in Hong Kong with 450 air-conditioned rooms.

Park Hotel Hong Kong Postcard

Park Hotel's prime location in Tsimshatsui provides unlimited opportunities for bargain-hunting and gives rapid and convenient access to all points of importance in business and pleasure. The MTR (Subway) is just at 5 minutes walking distance, and the Star Ferry Pier to Hong Kong Island and the China Ferry Terminal to major coastal ports is just a short walk away. Furthermore, it only takes you 10 minutes from the Kowloon Station (Airport Express Trains).

NOTE: OPERATIONAL
61-65 Chatham Road South, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel.:(852) 2731 2100

SOURCE:
Park Hotel Homepage

New Washington Hotel, Seattle Postcard

The postcard shows the New Washington Hotel. Built in 1890 as the 100-room Denny Hotel atop Denny Hill in Seattle, the hotel never opened it's doors. James Moore bought the hotel in 1903 and renamed it The Washington. In May of 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt visited Seattle and was given keys as the first guest of The Washington. The hotel was razed in 1906-07 when the hill was graded flat. In 1908 Thomas Moore built a 300 room hotel on Second Avenue & Stewart St. and called it the New Washington Hotel. From 1959 to 1964 it was known as the Doric New Washington Hotel.

New Washington Hotel Postcard

In 1963 New Washington Hotel was purchased by the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle as a retirement residence for Catholics. Later, it was acquired by Josephinum Associates, a limited partnership in which an affiliate of Catholic Charities of Western Washington is a general partner. Josephinum was opened up to all low-income citizens in January 1990, and is valued at about $7 million. It has been designated as a national historic building.

NOTE: RENAMED JOSEPHINUM (SERVES AS A LOW-INCOME HOUSING)
Located at 2nd Avenue and Stewart Street, Seattle, WA

SOURCES:
New Washington Hotel
The Josephinium Acquiring Modern Look (An Article)
82-Year-Old Hotel To Be Renovated City Helps Church Rescue Josephinum (An Article)

Update on Saint Joseph Parish Church Postcard

Last May 31, 2008, I showed my Saint Joseph Parish Church postcard, with not that much information regarding the church. I was checking my books when I came across an architectural description of the church.

Saint Joseph Parish Church Postcard

Architectural Description:

It is a melting pot of Ilocos Church features - S-curves on the facade, bricks as main building material, absence of a transept, the presence of exterior stairway, and the facade at the western end.
Horizontal grooves, portraying Neo-Mudejar touches, are knitted at the upper part of the facade. Faint vestiges of stucco design, however are still discernible. It is evident from traces left on the rear side of the west front, that at various times there were at least two roofs of varying pitches, perhaps representing a couple of different facades.

Rectangular piers were employed as fulcrum for the framework of the main facade-a noticeable common feature of churches south of Laoag River. A retable type main altar and two side altars staffed with twin columns fill the chapel sides. And paired columns with composite capitals adorn the walls of the nave with intervals.

SOURCE: Ilocos Review, Volume 3, Number 1 & 2, January-December 1971. Churches in Ilokandia, p. 262

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Saint Joseph Parish Church Postcard