AOL Travel Ideas

Cleveland Classics: Five Stylishly Repurposed Buildings (PHOTOS)

Sophia Dembling — 2013-03-07T14:23:00+00:00

Like most of the Rust Belt, Cleveland's economy has taken a lot of hits in recent decades. As the city's fortunes declined, businesses shuttered, leaving empty shells of buildings behind-some imposing and centrally located. But many of these old buildings are being stylishly repurposed into interesting new spaces, hanging on to history while the keeping the city's colorful neighborhoods vital.

Check out five of them in the slideshow below.

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The World's Most Intriguing Lost Cities (PHOTOS)

Lonely Planet — 2011-08-07T08:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Historic Sites

joeri-c/Flickr

War, weather, cosmic intervention or simply a case of purpose served...nothing lasts forever.

War, weather, cosmic intervention or simply a case of purpose served...nothing lasts forever.

Here the good folks at Lonely Planet goes digging for some of the world's most intriguing lost cities.

Not yet satisfied? Check out these 17 lost cities that you can still visit.

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11 Bizarre and Mysterious Historical Sites (PHOTOS)

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-07-19T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Historic Sites

macha.cl/Flickr

Alien conspiracies, unexplained ancient objects and mysterious disappearances; there's no need to look to fiction for your fix of mystery when real life has it all.
Alien conspiracies, unexplained ancient objects and mysterious disappearances; there's no need to look to fiction for your fix of mystery when real life has it all.

We may have figured out the play by play of some of the greatest battles of all time and unearthed the most mundane details of famous leaders' lives, but there are still some facts that remain tantalizingly out of reach.

From the slightly strange to the downright baffling, our friends at history travel website Historvius are taking us on a tour of some of the best mysteries of times gone by and the places to visit to immerse yourself in them.

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Machu Picchu 100 Years After Hiram Bingham: She's Still Got It.

Andrew Burmon — 2011-07-08T08:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Adventure Travel, Arts & Culture, Historic Sites

paukrus/Flickr

Travel writers who made the trek to Peru for the 100th anniversary celebration of Hiram Bingham's arrival at Machu Picchu are facing a dilemma, whether or not to put the word discovery in quotes. As more than a few scribblers have rightly observed, the American merely followed native guides to the abandoned city: His revelation was their constitutional.

Writers are hedging their bets so far. The Los Angeles Times is simply running 100 facts about the site while The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal broached the topic through Mark Adams, whose new book Turn Right at Machu Picchu retraces Bingham's steps.

The one voice that has never leaned towards ambivalence in discussing Bingham's achievement is that of the Peruvian government, which has skipped the hand-wringing and headed straight for the party. The light show begins Thursday night.

In bypassing the symposium on the morals of archeology, government officials sent the clear message that it is more pleased that Machu Picchu falls within its border than it is concerned about the Incan legacy. They can join the club.

Of the 657,000 visitors that make their way to Machu Picchu annually, only a handful are, as Bingham was, expert in South American history. Fewer still are archeologists or researchers. Visitors to Machu Picchu are normal people who wish to spend a day or two in the thrall of an amazing place.

In 1922 Bingham, peering around his Harvard PhD, presaged the mountain city's inevitable future, writing: "Whoever they were, whatever name be finally assigned to this site by future historians, of this I feel sure that few romances can ever surpass that of the granite citadel on top of the beetling precipices of Machu Picchu, the crown of Inca Land."

Bingham understood that details would only obscure the view. Discovered, "discovered," or re-discovered, the crucial thing to know about Machu Picchu is that its beautiful.

The Peruvian government is still hosting journalists from around the world, so there will be a few more Machu Picchu stories popping up in your news source of choice. If these stories don't compel you to go, the romantic vistas pictured below should do the trick.

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UNESCO World Heritage Adds 25 New Sites To Its List (PHOTOS)

Rebecca Dolan — 2011-06-29T14:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Arts & Culture, Historic Sites

Ensie & Matthias, flickr

Twenty-five new cultural landmarks around the world have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List, marking them for preservation for future generations (and travelers) to enjoy.

Twenty-five new cultural landmarks around the world have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List, marking them for preservation for future generations (and travelers) to enjoy.

Each year, among other duties, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) reviews the state of natural and cultural world landmarks. Those that are added to the World Heritage List display significant cultural importance, and can be afforded a degree of protection or preservation funding.

Before the meeting, the list comprised 911 sites on the list -- 704 cultural, 180 natural and 27 mixed in 151 countries. Now, there are 936. Here are the new inductees to the list:

(Not pictured: Citadel of the Ho Dynasty, Vietnam; Petroglyphs Complexes of the Mongolian Altai, Mongolia; Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps, Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia; Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans, Ukraine)

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NYU Professor Studies Subway Maps, Shows They Were Evil All Along

Andrew Burmon — 2011-06-09T11:00:00+00:00

Filed under: News, Tips & Tricks, Arts & Culture, Holidays, Historic Sites

Dominic Sayers/Flickr Harry Beck Tube Mural

Anyone who has ever tried to explore a new city, domestic or foreign, has likely had the pleasure of gaping at a public transport map, trying desperately to untangle that knot of colored string.

As if the bewilderment wasn't bad enough, according to a new study out of New York University travelers are actually being misdirected by the schematic subway maps popular all over the world.

England's Daily Mail reports that N.Y.U. Transport Professor Zhan Guo has demonstrated how public transport riders are far more influenced by maps than they are by distance and are, therefore, spending a lot of needless time going from point A to point B through points C,D, and J.

But it wasn't always thus.

Let's go back in time for a second: It is 1933 and no one in London can figure out how to get anywhere because the sprawling, medieval city has a sprawling, incomprehensible subway system. Enter Harry Beck, who offers a very simple solution by throwing geography out the window. His tube map (yes, that one) becomes famous and nearly synonymous with London.

Other cities start to use Beck's model. Even artists imitate it. Pretty soon travelers all over the world are studying maps that have nothing to do with the landscape around them.

There are exceptions of course. Cities like San Francisco, on its peninsula, and New York, on its island, use roughly geographical maps. But Beck's model is dominant in Europe, where Paris, Rome, Madrid, Berlin, and Dublin jump on board, so to speak.

The problem is that these maps can have even the most experienced travelers chasing their tails. As Bill Bryson memorably pointed out in "Notes From a Small Island," a tourist in London can ride the tube from Bank Station to Mansion House, board a different train to Liverpool Street, climb aboard a different line, take it back to Mansion House and emerge blinking only to find themselves a stone's throw from where they first started.

So it's not just you.

In fact, Professor Guo found that the London Tube map was roughly two times more influential on passengers' decisions than, well, reality. This leads to what scholars describe as a higher elasticity of travel time and what the rest of us call sitting in tunnels for 15 percent more time.

The effects are even stronger on older travelers because they are more likely to care about convenience than efficiency. So roughly 30% of London's subway riders are taking the wrong routes.

For those of us without a PhD in cartography, the best prescription for this particular problem is to use new technologies. iPhone apps like HopStop or even Google Maps base their suggestions on actual geography and train times rather than graph-paper friendly maps.

Or we could just walk.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: 5 Places to Vacation like Captain Jack Sparrow

Rebecca Dolan — 2011-05-19T07:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Adventure Travel, Disney, Historic Sites

Associated Press

The fourth installment of Disney's Pirates franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, will hit theaters May 20. Although Captain Jack Sparrow and company draw their roots to a theme park ride, real pirates of yore did haunt the Caribbean and beyond. But, it wasn't all adventure and plank walking on the high seas.

These ocean outlaws needed somewhere on land to which they could retreat.

So what if Jack Sparrow, Barbossa and the rest really existed? Where would swashbuckling travel writer Jack Sparrow send his cohorts?

Filled with pirate essentials such as treasure chests, bottles of rum and wenches aplenty, these historic pirate playgrounds cater to the inner Sparrow (or Blackbeard) in us all.

some_images!, flickr

Port Royal, Jamaica
Captain Jack certainly knew of Port Royal--his pal Elizabeth Swann's father was the governor of the fictionalized version of this real life Jamaican city. This late 17th century shipping hub proved attractive to pirates as they could easily access and hunt main shipping routes.

Pirates weren't turned away from Port Royal by the island's English lords as they were enlisted as a defense against French or Spanish takeover attempts. In return, pirate celebs like Blackbeard and Henry Morgan could be spotted in this so-called "wickedest city in the world," where there was one pub for every 10 residents. A pirate never needed to ask "where's all the rum gone?"

Though much of the town was destroyed by an earthquake, modern visitors can get a glimpse of the glory days at historic Fort Charles and its museum. Lodging options are abundant in nearby Kingston, or visitors can rent a room or dock their vessels in Port Royal proper at the Morgan's Harbour Hotel and Marina.

Nick Hobgood, flickr

Tortuga, Haiti
The real Tortuga might have been just like Captain Jack found it in Pirates. Located off the northern coast of what is now Haiti, Tortuga had been a pirate stronghold since the early 17th century. Pirates based out of the island took to calling themselves "Brethren of the Coast" and initiated a pirate code of conduct. Meanwhile, Jean Le Vasseur, one time governor of the island, sought to make Tortuga the pirating capital of the Caribbean.

Nevertheless, the French, English and Spanish tried to stamp out pirate activity. One curious tactic involved bringing more than 1,000 prostitutes to the island to encourage the unruly men to settle down. Not sure how that wouldn't actually attract more, but whatever floats your boat.

Most visitors today will have to approach the island just like their pirate predecessors: by boat. But with lack of government presence and infrastructure, this might be a trip for only the most stalwart adventurers.

bryce_edwards, flickr

New Providence, Bahamas
Being located in the path of many shipping routes, the Bahamas were a popular hangout for buccaneers when not out pillaging on the high seas. In the late 1600s and early 1700s, the island of New Providence was especially teeming with pirates. Jack Sparrow could have rubbed elbows with the likes of Blackbeard, Henry Morgan, Calico Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, all of whom called it their playground.

The geography of the Bahamas made an excellent hunting ground for pirates. First, there were plenty of natural resources to support the crews. Additionally, the numerous islands, shallow waters, reefs and complex narrow channels made perfect grounds to snare prey.

These also provide the perfect environment for modern day pirates to sunbathe, snorkel, or set sail on one of those newfangled cruise ships. Or, after forking over a bit more booty, visitors can stay at the famous Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island just over the bridge from New Providence.

dougtone, flickr

Newport, Rhode Island
It's not often that pirates are envisioned frolicking about the New England coast, but Newport was a regular pirate playground in the late 17th and early 18th century for the likes of William Kidd, Henry Every and Thomas Tew. With the colonies' foreign trade restricted, pirates and their goods were welcomed as a way of boosting the local economy.

But, all good things must come to an end, and the tides of public opinion turned against the pirates. The colony saw an influx of honest merchant vessels in the early 1700s, and piracy was thought to hurt more than it helped.

To follow in the footsteps of pirates, visitors to Newport can take a Pirates and Scoundrels Walking Tour. For even more history, check out famous mansions like Rosecliff where scenes from The Great Gatsby were filmed. Follow that with a stay at the turn of the century Hotel Viking.

DanMcLean, flickr

Bath Town, North Carolina
The coast of North Carolina was once a pirate hotspot, with ports like Ocracoke, Beaufort and Bath being popular hangouts. Bath was a particular favorite of Edward Teach, or Blackbeard, who once made his home there.

Jack Sparrow and company might have enjoyed the fratty atmosphere at one of the many wild parties Blackbeard threw. But, this is also solemn ground, as Blackbeard was murdered off the coast. So, visitors should be sure to pour out a shot of rum for their departed brethren.

Visitors to the area can make a stop at Plum Point where the foundation ruins of a historic house are rumored to have belonged to Blackbeard. And, they can see real artifacts from his shipwreck at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort. The ruins of his ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, lie just off the coast of Fort Macon in 20 feet of water. Lodging can be found in historic quarters at Beaufort's B&Bs like the Langdon House, which dates back to the 1730s.

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Historic Amusement Parks: 6 Places Combining Nostalgia with Modern Thrills

Rebecca Dolan — 2011-05-07T07:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Family, Historic Sites

Associated Press

With the warm weather arriving and people emerging from a snow-induced hibernation, it's time again to start enjoying outdoor activities. And, not much screams summer more than a trip to the amusement park. While there are the obvious options, not all parks are sprawling complexes laid end to end with steel monster coasters.

The U.S. has a long history of amusement parks; unfortunately many have shut down. But in the northeast in particular, some have managed to hold on - and even grow. To get a taste of classic, old-fashioned family parks while still satisfying a thrill craving, here are a few historic amusement parks to try.

Have a favorite old-school amusement park? Give it a shout out in the comments below.

Getty Images

Coney Island, New York

Back in the day, New York's Coney Island had three competing amusement parks: Luna Park, Dreamland and Steeplechase Park. Though the parks have long since closed, Coney Island has witnessed a resurgence. In 2010, a new Luna Park opened with new thrill rides like the Brooklyn Flyer, Electro Spin and the Tickler. Of course, the iconic Coney Island Cyclone roller coaster is still there to make guests regret their Nathan's Hot Dogs. And, at the nearby Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, another Coney Island icon, the original Wonder Wheel Ferris wheel still turns amid other old-school rides.
Wonder Wheel: On the Boardwalk at 12th St; 718-372-2592
Open: April-October
Admission: Priced per ride
Luna Park: 1000 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, NY; 718-373-5862
Open: June-August plus weekends in April, May, September, and October
Admission: Luna Cards from $26

saeru, flickr

Kennywood, Pennsylvania

One of the country's oldest amusement parks, Kennywood opened in 1898 as a trolley park. These parks of yore were small recreation and amusement outside big cities at the end of their trolley lines. Kennywood, outside Pittsburgh, was a product of Andrew Mellon's Monongahela Street Railway Company. Its first coaster, Figure 8, was built by Fred Ingersoll and opened in 1902. Now, visitors can ride coasters like Steel Phantom, Exterminator and Phantom's Revenge. Or, for a more classic experience, there's the Whip, Paddle Boats, Auto Race and Olde Kennywood Railroad.
4800 Kennywood Blvd., West Mifflin, PA; 412.461.0500
Open: Late May-August plus weekends in September and October
Admission: Child: $23.99; Adult: $26.99; Senior: $17.99

tizzie, flickr

Steel Pier, New Jersey

Steel Pier opened in Atlantic City in 1898 and was known for showcasing the coolest in entertainment of the day: W. C. Fields, Benny Goodman, Mae West, Charlie Chaplin, Frank Sinatra, and of course the Human Cannonball and the High Diving Hawaiians. However, popularity waned and the pier closed in 1976 and was further devastated in a 1982 fire. Enter the Donald, whose Taj Mahal hotel rebuilt the icon in 1993. Of course there are classic rides for visitors of all stripes like the Ferris wheel, Tilt a Whirl and Bumper Cars. But, daredevils will be more interested in The Rocket, voted New Jersey's most extreme ride from 2001-2006.
1000 Boardwalk Atlantic City, NJ; 609-345-4893
Open: Weekends beginning April 16; Daily beginning June 17
Admission: Single ride tickets from $1

photos for fun, flickr

Idlewild, Pennsylvania

Another Mellon family production, Idlewild sprang up outside Pittsburgh in 1878 along the Ligonier Valley Railroad. However, the park wasn't really developed until 1931 when rides like the 1920s Philadelphia Toboggan Co. merry-go-round. Major improvements and additions were again made in the 1980s when the Kennywood corporation took over. A number of the parks old-fashioned rides can be found in Olde Idlewild, like the Whip, Skooters, Rollo Coaster and Merry-go-Round from the 1930s. [Overgrown] children will particularly enjoy a ride on the trolley through the more recent Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood of Make Believe.
2582 U.S. 30, Ligonier, PA; 724-238-3666
Open: June-August plus weekends in October
Admission: Regular: $31.99; Senior: $23.99

NYCArthur, flickr

Playland, New York

On this location once stood "bawdy hotels and rowdy amusement areas, attracting unsavory crowds," or at least that's what the locals had to say in the late 19th /early 20th century. In response, they moved to demolish two theme parks on Long Island Sound and Playland opened in their place in 1928. More recently, its art deco theme landed it on the National Register of Historic Places. Seven of the original rides still in operation at Playland date to before the 1930s: the Whip, Dragon Coaster, Old Mill, Carousel, Derby Racer, Kiddy Coaster and Kiddy Carousel. Meanwhile, the Log Flume, Super Flight, Double Shot and Playland Plunge cater to the 21st century crowd.
Playland Parkway, Rye, NY; 914-813-7010
Open: June-August plus weekends in May and September
Admission: All Rides: $30; Kiddyland: $20; Spectator: $10

milst1, flickr

Lake Compounce, Connecticut

Connecticut's Lake Compounce is the oldest continually-operating amusement park in North America. In the mid 19th century, the park had humble beginnings as a waterside picnic park, featuring at first a revolving swing, pool tables and bowling alleys. The first electric roller coaster was added in 1914. The park prospered until the 1990s when it was almost forced to close. But, the Kennywood company saved the park in 1996 and over the next few years almost $50 million was invested and 20 major new rides like Zoomerang and Thunder N' Lightning were added. These accompany classics like the 1927 Wildcat coaster, or Trolley and Carousel circa 1911.
271 Enterprise Dr., Bristol, CT; 860-583-3300
Open: June-August plus weekends in May, September and October
Admission: Child: $25.99; Adult: $35.99; Senior: $17.99

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Historic American Hotels: 8 Timeless Seaside Retreats

Rebecca Dolan — 2011-04-27T07:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Beach, Historic Sites

jpwbee, flickr

It seemed to take forever this year, but spring has finally arrived. Warm weather and bright days can only mean one thing: beach season is coming. So, in between downing celery sticks and logging major treadmill time to be bathing suit ready, it's time to plan a seaside escape. This year, instead of staying at the same condo that hasn't seen an interior designer since the days of disco, think about staying at an even more historic locale.

It seemed to take forever this year, but spring has finally started to arrive. Warm weather and sunshiney days can only mean one thing: beach season is coming! So, in between downing celery sticks and logging major treadmill time to be bathing suit ready, it's time to plan a seaside escape. This year, instead of staying at the same condo that hasn't seen an interior designer since the days of disco, think about staying at an even more historic locale.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many grand beach retreats were built along America's coasts. Often they existed to provide wealthy tycoons with a place to escape the big city.

Here are just eight such resorts where historic elegance still exists.

Have a favorite historic seaside hotel? Let us know in the comments below.

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Lost In The Amazon: Searching For The Real Indiana Jones (VIDEO)

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-04-15T08:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Adventure Travel, Video, Historic Sites

Peter Von Puttkamer

Ever wondered what it would be like to search for a lost city? To get lost in the Amazon Jungle hunting for clues and relics that could lead you to a groundbreaking discovery? Read on to find out what happened to Col. Percy Fawcett, the real Indiana Jones.

Filmmaker Peter Von Puttkamer knows. Puttkamer is the producer and director of "Lost in the Amazon", part of the PBS series "Secrets of the Dead".

In this AOL Travel exclusive interview, Puttkamer takes us inside the Amazon as he and adventurer Niall McCann search for the original Indiana Jones, famed adventurer Col. Percy Fawcett. The legendary Fawcett disappeared in in the depths of the Amazon while searching for a lost city Fawcett named "Z".

Inspired to strike out and hunt for a lost city? It might not be as difficult as one might imagine...

Peter Von Puttkamer tells AOL Travel that "Ancient religious sites or geoglyph sites, are a part of a 160 sq mile city state emerging from the Amazon jungle. It's between 800 and 2000 years old. No one knows exact meaning and function of this geometric sites - earthworks (some 20 ft deep) spread out across the land, once in the jungle now emerging as farming continues to pull back the forest canopy."

Von Puttkamer says that amateur armchair adventurers can input specific coordinates into Google Earth and actually see the earthworks being discovered if zoomed in far enough.

Cruzeirinho
Located about 6km east from Boca do Acre city Airport.
Coordinates: S 08 50' 38", W 67 15' 11"

Geoglyph site Mustafa One
250m wide quadrangular structure, crossed by a 12m wide NE-SW oriented road.
Coordinates: S 08 52' 32", W 67 14' 42"

Mustafa Two
Coordinates: S 08 53' 15",W67 14' 42"

Mustafa Three
It is a 100m wide square, with a road leaving it in the south direction, vanishing after 120m.
Coordinates: S 08 53' 11",W67 10' 19"

Boca do Acre One
Located 16km north-east of the Cruzeirinho site Coordinates: S 8 43' 13",W67 10' 34 Another example was located at Ranch Paran´a on the east side of the BR-317 road in the state of Acre, not very far away from a tributary of the Iquiri River, but clearly in terra firme S 09 47' 13.5",W67 20' 35.2"

Coordinates provided courtesy of the discovering scientists Denise Schaan, Alceu Ranzi and Martti Parssinen who are working on the site.

"Lost in the Amazon" airs on PBS' "Secrets of the Dead" series on April 20, 2011 at 8pm.

Want to step it up a notch and get out there and dig around? Check out these Archaeological Dig Vacations.

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Vintage Airline Ads: Remembering the Good Old Days Of Flying

Rebecca Dolan — 2011-04-11T14:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, Video, Historic Sites

Screenshot; GeorgeVreelandHill, YouTube

Once upon a time, flight attendants sported high fashion, meals were practically restaurant quality and legroom was included in the price of a basic ticket. Those ideas might seem foreign today, but they used to be front and center in airline advertising. For a taste of the good old days - and a killer time warp - here are five airline commercials from the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Pan American Airlines, 1954
Join Pan Am on Flight 1000 as it travels through the vast "Atlantic air ocean" to London. The Boeing 707 jet clipper featured here - en route from New York's Idlewild airport - is billed as the first American commercial jet capable of economical transatlantic service. Don't miss the in-flight hors d'oeuvres served on a silver tray, and dinner selection off a silver cart.

United Airlines, 1960s
From the looks of this United spot, men had all the high flying fun in the 60s. But, to incentivize the fellas to bring their lovely ladies along for the ride, United offered one-third off her fare. And, it could be charged on an United credit card! The troupe of singing wives definitely approved.

United Airlines, 1971
It's never been easier to fly the friendly skies than with United's Friendship Room. A feature on the company's DC-10 aircraft, the Friendship Room was where coach passengers could kick back and relax at 30,000 feet.

Trans World Airlines, 1977
TWA flight attendant Bonnie shows of the company's Wide Bodied 1011 aircraft. Sure, it is done up in soothing gold and orange hues, but get a load of all that legroom. It gets even better when attendant Stephanie appears, promising steak dinners in coach on all flights with meals.

Continental Airlines, 1970s
A chorus of Continental flight attendants, pilots and staff sing their promises to really move their tails for travelers. If the snazzy orange uniforms sported by the flight attendants weren't awesome enough, check out the in-flight meal - salad tossed tray-side and fresh carved prime rib.

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15 Historical Sites from the Movies

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-04-09T08:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Best Of, Historic Sites

pablo.sanchez/Flickr

Scandal, mystery, adventure and action, history has provided us with real-life dramas that rival even the most imaginative of fiction writers. What's more, Hollywood has been quick to capitalize on this, creating a wealth of blockbusting movies about the people, events and myths of the past.

Everyone knows their celebrity casts, their most memorable lines and how they fared at the box office, but for a real behind-the-scenes look, there's no substitute for visiting the places that truly inspired them.

With the list of historical feature films seemingly epic itself, historical travel website Historvius.com has picked out just a selection of places where history has turned into Hollywood.

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Flight Attendant Hall of Fame: From Steven Slater to the 'Queen of the Sky'

Elizabeth Brady — 2011-03-16T00:05:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, Celebrity, Historic Sites

Mary Altaffer, AP

Over the years, the job description and public perception of flight attendant staff on commercial airlines has changed enormously. A role once filled only by women who needed to be registered nurses aged 25 or younger, the "sky girls" of yesteryear have certainly taken on a new role. Today's flight attendants are responsible for, among many tasks, passenger comfort and safety. And, during intense moments of rescue or inappropriateness, the amount of scrutiny or media coverage that is generated can make them instant household names. Over the years, the job description and public perception of flight attendant staff on commercial airlines has changed enormously. A role once filled only by women who needed to be registered nurses aged 25 or younger, the "sky girls" of yesteryear have certainly taken on a new role. Today's flight attendants are responsible for, among many tasks, passenger comfort and safety. And, during intense moments of rescue or inappropriateness, the amount of scrutiny or media coverage that is generated can make them instant household names.

After some very publicized moments of heroism, outrageous behavior and scandal, the visibility of flight attendants and cabin crew has certainly increased. We'd like to salute some of the most memorable flight attendants from commercial airlines. Whether hard working, pioneering, fed up or courageous, these names should sound familiar. We welcome them to the Flight Attendant Hall of Fame.

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What's your favorite flight attendant story? Share in the comments below.

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Five Lost Disneyland Rides: Flying Saucers Anyone? (VIDEO)

Rebecca Dolan — 2011-03-16T00:03:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, Disney, Historic Sites

ScottSchrantz, Flickr

Opened in 1955, Disneyland in Anaheim, California has delighted visitors for decades with its eight themed "lands" of rides, shows and attractions. It just isn't possible to forget a first spin on Dumbo, rocketing through darkness on Space Mountain or singing along with those musical pirates before Johnny Depp stole their fame. The skallywag! But with the park constantly updating through the years, some of those classic rides exist only as memories today.

We've rounded up a few of our favorite lost Disneyland rides, to remind us all of the good old days, before animatronic Mickey Mouse heads, and back when you had to walk "five miles through the snow to get to an amusement park!" With no shoes. Or socks.

Take a nostalgic look at the Skyway, Flying Saucers and more. Or for the young'uns out there, check out what you missed out on.

Submarine Voyage [thru liquid space], Tomorrowland
Submarine Voyage invited riders to take a journey under the sea in a mock Navy submarine. And it was, in a word, awesome. Taking a cue from the actual mission of the USS Nautilus (the world's first nuclear submarine), much of the ride simulated a trip under the polar ice cap, or at least attempted to with a lot of plastic. There weren't many changes made to the ride over the years, save a yellow paint job and new names for each vessel in the 80's. And, a troupe of synchronized swimming mermaids did inhabit the ride from 1965-1967. Submarine Voyage was active from 1959 to 1998, and remained empty until 2007 when a new aquatic attraction opened: Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

Flying Saucers, Tomorrowland
Dubbed "the bumper cars of the future" the Flying Saucers opened in 1961. The ride worked much like a giant air hockey table. Riders would sit in individual cars that hovered over a flat metal surface thanks to bursts of air from below. The Flying Saucers did not last long as they were difficult to maintain and couldn't accommodate many riders. The ride closed in 1966 and Space Mountain now occupies that space. But, new riders will soon be able to get a taste of the old saucers at Luigi's Flying Tires, part of the new Cars Land opening in 2012.

Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland, Frontierland
Before there was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, there was the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland (which was itself an upgrade to the Rainbow Caverns Mine train, 1956-1959.) Inspired by Disney's True-Life Adventures series from the 50's, he train took riders on a trip through Bear Country, Beaver Valley, the Living Desert, and Rainbow Caverns. Not much is left from the old mine train ride, which closed in 1977. (Fast forward to 0:50).

Skyway, Tomorrowland/Fantasyland
Known in Fantasyland as Skyway to Tomorrowland, and vice versa, Disneyland's Skyway opened in 1956. The cable car ride served as a method of transportation between the lands of Tomorrow and Fantasy, offering riders a bird's eye view of the attractions below. After the Matterhorn opened in 1959, the Skyway passed right through the mountain. There are several explanations as to why the Skyway closed, ranging from lack of passengers to stress cracks in the Matterhorn's supports. Whatever the reason, the ride closed in 1994.

Rocket Rods, Tomorrowland
Part of the "new" Tomorrowland, Rocket Rods opened in 1998, occupying the tracks that held the PeopleMover until 1995. Rocket Rods also incorporated the old Circle-Vision 360 theater as part of its line, providing entertainment for those waiting. The ride was envisioned as a high-speed race around Tomorrowland, with the unique 5-seat cars zooming past and through other rides in the land. Unfortunately, due to inadequate finding, Disney could not make necessary modifications to the track. Chiefly, it could not bank turns in the track, requiring that vehicles suddenly decelerate to make turns. Rocket Rods, notorious for breaking down, finally closed down in 2000.

What was your favorite Disneyland ride?

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Disneyland in Pictures: Then and Now

Jason Cochran — 2011-03-01T10:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Disney, Historic Sites

Disney

Although many of us picture Disneyland, Walt Disney's original dream park in Anaheim, Calif., as a frozen crystallization of childhood, it's actually an evolving playground. Although the basics of Disneyland are essentially what they were during its 1955 opening and the buildings years that came after, with the passing of time have come some dramatic shifts. "Disneyland is something that will never be finished," promised Mr. Disney. And he was right.

Although Disney may sometimes shuck outdated attractions (older Southern Californians remember Indian Village, where Native Americans dance and fired arrows for theme park goers until 1971), just as often, it recycles them (the creatures from "America Sings," which departed the 'Land in 1988, now populate Splash Mountain).

When Six Flags shutters a ride, people shrug, but departed Disney attraction Adventure Thru Inner Space (1967-1985) still has fans who maintain a Web-based vigil for their lost favorite, and fans of Doom Buggies and Tell No Tales monitor every minor change at the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Take a little tour of some of the ways Walt's kingdom has been passed down through the years:

1960: Orange County Archives, Flickr | Now: Disney

When Disneyland opened in 1955 (Ronald Reagan was one of the emcees of the live national TV broadcast that promoted it), the main entrance ingloriously fronted a parking lot. In an effort to become a multi-day destination for vacationers, the resort built Disney's California Adventure (2001) where the asphalt was and shuffled the cars to a new parking structure farther away, creating the more pleasant, but less nostalgic, brick plaza that exists between the two parks now.

Disney

When comparing Adventureland's entrance off the Hub in 1956 and today, on the surface, not a lot seems to have changed. Adventureland was actually built to capitalize on Disney's True-Life Adventure Series, which were largely documentary (and often somewhat staged) nature films that were an important part of the company's strategy in the 1950s. Back then, the Safari Shooting Gallery used real pellet guns instead of the lasers that are standard today. The Swiss Family Robinson Tree, now Tarzan's treehouse home, didn't go up until 1962.

An aerial shots of Disneyland's Town Square, at the foot of Main Street, also compares well to today's vista, which aside from some air conditioning machinery and a restyled Mickey Mouse head on the railway berm, is largely intact. Note the juvenile trees in the 1956 view; the park was opened on former orange groves just a year before. In those days, the view down Main Street and to the Castle was mostly unobstructed, which would have been cooler - but the park itself, exposed to the sun, was hotter.

We don't think of Sleeping Beauty Castle, the smallest of the Disney castles, as having changed much, but here it is in 1959 with a footbridge that's no longer there, opening up the view of the moat, which was expanded. This was the same year the Matterhorn, seen in the background, was opened to the public. It was built around a support tower for the Skyway gondola ride, which was closed in 1994. Its passage through the Matterhorn mountain was sealed up. Even many die-hard Disney fans often don't realize that there's no 's on the name Sleeping Beauty Castle.

The late, lamented Skyway station in Fantasyland is seen (without visible gondolas) in the background of this 1957 image (left), behind the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride. The original, surprisingly skeletal Dumbo attraction was dismantled in 1990 and replaced with a updated one that not only had more elephants, but also the shallow pool beneath, which is the standard for Dumbo rides at Disney parks around the world. One of the original Dumbo cars is now on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. The Orlando park, Walt Disney World, will receive two new twin Dumbo rides in 2013, when its Fantasyland expansion is complete.

Tomorrowland expanded in 1956, after the bulk of the park. Seen here in 1962, the year John Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth, it remains a literal depiction of the exciting work NASA was doing in the real-world realm of space travel. Past the "Avenue of Flags," the Clock of the World would tell the time anywhere, the Circarama cinema showed 360-degree short films, and the Moonliner Rocket, at 76 feet, was taller than even Sleeping Beauty Castle. It was removed the same year this was taken. Change was typical for Tomorrowland, which has been revised more than any other land. In 1967, the area got a massive overhaul.

These days, Disney keeps ahead of the futuristic theme of "tomorrow" by designing things that are unlikely to date. The creation of the Disneyland Paris park in 1992 yielded new Tomorrowland designs loosely based on the 19th-century visions of French science fiction writer Jules Verne, and some elements now appear in Tomorrowland as emblems of the future that will hopefully prove more timeless (and save money in renovations). The Astro Orbiton revolving ride takes center stage in today's Tomorrowland, with the spires of Space Mountain in the background.

Flying Saucers: Drive-In Mike, Flickr Captain EO: Beaster725, Flickr

Shown in the 1960s, the Flying Saucers were individual buggies that coasted, like air hockey pucks, on a puff of air. The bumper car-style attraction was slow to load and lasted just five years before being removed in 1966. Behind them you can see the Moonliner and the Skyway, also lost. The concept looks similar to Aquatopia, a water-based ride that is in Tokyo DisneySea park now. The Magic Eye Theater, currently home to the revival of the Michael Jackson 3-D spectacular Captain EO, is on that land now.

Executive Editor Jason Cochran is online at JasonCochran.com and Facebook, and on Twitter as @bastable.

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Airline Safety Videos: From Safe to Sexy

Patrick Batu — 2011-03-01T00:20:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, Video, Historic Sites

Screencapture from Delta Airlines Video

When it comes to flying in the modern era, our focus of attention gravitates to airport security, body scanners, being groped by TSA agents and potential terrorist threats. The in-flight safety videos and demonstrations that flight attendants go through prior to takeoff tend to be an afterthought. Next time you fly, take a look around and see how many individuals are actually paying attention to the safety video and/or demonstration versus checking their phones, tweeting, texting, or reading.

However, can you really blame travelers for turning a deaf ear and a blind eye while these events happen? If you've flown once and seen one before, you've seen them all. Every safety video goes through the usual drab list of what's prohibited, where the exits are and how to buckle your safety belt. Been there and done that. Airlines have caught on to this nonchalant attitude towards flight safety and have decided to modernize, and in some cases sexualize their videos. Here's a run down of in-flight safety videos starting with the late 80's and early 90's to the modern day sexy safety videos that include "Deltalina" and naked body paint.

Trans World Airlines (TWA) Safety Video on the Boeing 747

This was one of the oldest safety videos I could find on the web and it screams 80's all over it. The big hair, the polyester looking uniforms, betamax looking video quality and the fact that they still allow smoking on the plane give it away.

What's Hot? Nothing, unless you're into teased hair and 80's sitcom intro music.
What's Not? Same reasons listed above

Northwest Airlines 757 Safety Demo Video 1987

The next in our line of vintage safety videos is from Northwest Airlines, circa 1987. This video is complete with 80's introduction music, psychedelic seat fabric and completely conservative clothing on both the flight attendants and passengers.

What's Hot? The narrator lets loose by taking off her...hat.
What's Not? The full video (includes additional promos) is eight minutes long and the outfits are just unflattering.

American Airlines Boeing 767 Safety Video from the 1990s

American Airlines gets down to business right from the start of the video. No pretty female host to try and get your attention, just a nice shiny Boeing 767.

What's Hot? The Christina Applegate look-alike circa 1991 from "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead".
What's Not? The vast array of colorful outfits that the passengers wear. See if you can spot the woman dressed like Grimace.

Delta 767ER Safety Video

Delta's video starts off in typical fashion, an attractive female host to guide you through the key points of safety. However, they take a different approach by using animation. Is it cutting edge for that time, yes. However, does it do the job of keeping your attention? Not so much.

What's Hot? It's a fresh take on safety videos, from the animation to the heavily tanned, ethnic looking host.
What's Not? The animation reminds me of Saturday Morning cartoons from the early 90's.

United Airlines Safety Video A320 Domestic

We now enter the 21st century with United Airline's safety video. Right from the start you get the feeling of a higher produced and modern video from the intro slate, video graphics, women in pant suits and the diverse casting of narrators. What's interesting is that Delta decided to use a different crew for their Boeing 777 and Boeing 747 safety videos.

What's Hot? The use of computer graphics and green screen effects.
What's Not? The piano bar background music.

Malev Hungarian Airlines B767-200ER Safety Video

I can't say I've ever heard of this airline before but their take on the in-flight safety video is definitely unique. The use of computer animation looks to capture that "Second Life" virtual reality feel. What I don't quite understand is how they can pony up the money for the computer animation but start the video with some really cheap looking graphics.

What's Hot? They seemed to have accentuated the curves of the adult female passengers to make sure you know they are female.
What's Not? The closing slate has an ad for the video production company. Lame.

Delta Airlines In-flight Safety Video

Ah the introduction of HD video and to "Deltalina". This celebrity of the skies captivates you with her southern drawl and fiery red hair. The crisp, clean imagery paired with some lounge music captivates you from the start. They also take a new approach, bringing the pilot into the video to let you know that the whole crew is behind you when it comes to safety.

What's Hot? HD video. Deltalina sans neck scarf. The plunging neckline of her uniform.
What's Not? Deltalina's mouth reminds me of Justin Bieber's.

Thomson Airways Safety Video

A fresh new approach to capture travelers' attentions is taken by Thomson Airways by introducing a much younger narration crew. If you love kids, you will think this has got to be one of the cutest safety videos ever produced. Kids with accents make it that much cooler.

What's Hot? The airplane drawing of the exit doors. Keeps to the theme.
What's Not? The music in the background reminds me of an old black and white movie.

"Bare Essentials of Safety" from Air New Zealand

The final video on our list has to also be the most watched safety video of all time. With almost six million views on YouTube alone, the "Bare Essentials of Safety" by Air New Zealand takes the in-flight safety video to a whole new level. Not only is it sexy with its crew sporting body painted uniforms but the music is catchy and high-energy. You can't help but bob your head as you watch with full attention.

What's Hot? Pretty obvious, the painted body suits. Even hotter, the walking away shot at the end.
What's Not? The precise placement of various props to cover the flight attendants' "private" parts.

Find me on Twitter at @patrickObatu and share your thoughts, potential videos for our Video of the Day series and more.

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Potentially Offensive Travel Ads

Jason Cochran — 2011-03-01T00:09:00+00:00

Filed under: Best Of, Historic Sites

Spirit Air

Forget their pretty imagery and seductive phrasing. A travel ad has a single purpose: to get you to spend your money. Sometimes, in their desperation to drum up business or create a buzzy campaign, advertisers fumble and manage to tick off lots of customers.

Spirit Airlines, which charges passengers extra if they so much as carry on a bag, was already the most tone-deaf of the U.S. airlines, but this ad, placed last June (left), repulsed even its hardened frequent fliers. In it, Spirit plugged its flights by making light of the BP oil spill. As dead wildlife and ribbons of crude washed up on Gulf Coast beaches, fouling an entire sea, Spirit launched this smug promotion of the East Coast, Cancun, and Puerto Rico, untouched by the disaster.

It was not only cruel to the many Americans whose lives were devastated by the spill. It was also a cheap shot. Making a buck off a calamity of unprecedented proportions? When it was suggested the ads might be insensitive, Spirit defended them in a statement: "The only oil you'll find when traveling to our beaches is sun tan oil."

You stay classy, Spirit.

Air Asia

Air Asia

Dirty phonetics! Air Asia, a counter-culture low-cost carrier run by a protege of Virgin's Richard Branson, put out this one. Say it aloud to get the joke, but not in front of kids. Thailand's Phuket is one of the most popular beach destinations in Southeast Asia. The potty-mouthed potential to offend is pretty obvious here. But it also insults the reader, because it lampoons a popular and vital resort destination by reducing the Thai language to something that might make an English speaker titter. Would Bolivia advertise Lake Titicaca this way? Besides, Air Asia's pronunciation gag isn't even accurate: As one English-speaking resident noted, there's no F sound in Thai. Phuket is actually pronounced with hard P. If you're really being accurate, it sounds more like "Bukit." So Air Asia's ad also assumes Westerners are idiots who can't pronounce foreign words. Offense all around.

Avianova

Avianova

Just what is a customer supposed to expect from an airline if this is what inspires them to book a ticket? You can bet that they're not going for a crowd that prefers clean things. Advertising things with beauties is nothing new, but in this case, bare skin is all a customer can clearly see. It's not even possible to make out the name of the airline so it can make a sale. (We know: It's Avianova, a Russian low-cost airline based in Moscow -- which isn't a city known for its bikini usage.) Not even knowing what's being advertised is something that should offend Madison Avenue, too.

Bermuda

vintage-ads.com

This ad (right) is so hard to look at it that it's a wonder that anyone could ever think it could be an enticing image. But, being a vintage ad, it keys up an unpleasant history lesson about how things used to be for travelers. For a century after emancipation, African-Americans were often relegated to service roles, particularly in the travel industry, such as railway porters and bellboys. The first porters on Pullman train cars were freed slaves, and by the early 20th century, Pullman employed 20,000 people, the largest group of black men in the country. White travelers, and those with money, came to accept the existence of a servant class that largely consisted of black men and women, and in fact, as with the Pullman porters, black workers often had a reputation for meticulous and attentive service. So, as subservient as the imagery is today, for people of the time this ad strummed the notion of a black man as a warm and hospitable helper who cared only for the pleasure of his white employers.

The stooped posture and exaggerated skin tone of the porter comes from another aspect of accepted racism in that era: minstrel shows and Jim Crow acts. The false stereotype of a black man who's only too happy to serve his white masters didn't die with slavery. It endured as one of the most popular archetypes of popular entertainment, and was carried out by both black and white performers. The image of a kindly black servant would have been familiar and comforting to many white consumers of the day. Now its dehumanizing quality it just makes us queasy. This ad sold Bermuda, a British territory, to Americans by calling on symbols there were likely to find quaint and comforting.

First Hotels

First Hotels

Every red-blooded heterosexual American man knows about the implied sexual promise of the famous French maid's outfit. Given that innuendo, how else can a person take this ad? If you're a frequent guest at our hotels, we'll let you sleep with our staff? First Hotels may not be leading with an accurate depiction of its amenities, and it's probably alienating most of its potential female guests, but it gets bonus creepster points for grafting elements of the Sexy Librarian on the tried-and-true French Maid look.

National Airlines

National Airlines

When the photographer took "Cheryl"'s photo for this ad, did she know that National was going to write that little monologue for her? Probably: Although we'd never tolerate it now, National's "Fly me" campaign, which took off on the then-louche reputation of the flight attendant world, was controversial even in the early 1970s, and the airline even gave its aircraft female names to justify the innuendo of the promotion. Like the First Hotels' French Maid, this vintage ad uses an attractive woman as sexual bait. It's one thing to put a pretty person on an ad to catch the eye. It's another to coyly suggest that if you purchase the product, you'll be allowed to mate with her. The airline was folded into Pan Am in 1980 and is no more.

Jet Airways

Jet Airways

You would think that an Indian airline such as Jet Airways would be cognizant of the fact that the bindi (forehead decoration) has its origins in mysticism and spirituality and in some circles, it traditionally denotes marriage and prosperity. In India, it's common for priests to mark visitors to their temple with a dot. Yes, over time the bindi has become more of a fashion accessory, and there are few modern Indians who would take offense to this, which is maybe why the airline thought it could get away with sticking one on an American icon, even if she's already wearing a sari. But does this mean the Statue of Liberty is married?

Asia and Mexico

Boston Public Library / Mexican Tourist Association

When marketing a foreign culture to Americans, an advertiser must accept their potential customers probably know very little about the destination. It's all too easy to fall into oversimplified stereotypes of what your customers think they're going to find when they get there. Forget the obsolete verbiage ("Orient") of the ad on the left. It's the faceless mass of yellow people, armless as geishas, that calls up unwanted stereotypes of what Westerners assume Asia is like. The deco stylization of that one may get it off the hook for being truly offensive, but the Mexican depicted as a sombrero-wearing, poncho-flourishing, guitar-toting desert cactus discards everything cosmopolitan and modern about our Southern neighbor. Then again, the Mexican poster is a product of the country's official tourist office. Some of us, though, would rather have a richer understanding of the realistic picture of vacation destinations than what we'd find in an Epcot pavilion.

American Airlines

American Airlines

Does she remind you of your mother? American Airlines' ad promotes this woman's "maternal instincts," but her shapely legs and bedroom eyes suggest that if she's like anyone's mom, it's Oedipus's. Modern flight attendants are now considered the front line for flight safety (and add-on fee collection) and to the relief of airline staff everywhere, no longer marketed as sex objects. It's unlikely we'd see such a questionably suggestive ad today. Unless your mom charged you extra for tuck-ins and food.

Sure, you can't please people all of the time, and there's always going to be someone who objects to a daring ad campaign, even if it's done tongue-in-cheek. But whether you're offended by these ads or not, it's debatable how well they serve the travel product being advertised, and there's little question that few of them would pass without comment today.

Executive Editor Jason Cochran is online at JasonCochran.com and Facebook, and on Twitter as @bastable.

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Travel Then and Now Through Photos

Jason Cochran — 2011-03-01T00:08:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, Cruise, Hotel, Historic Sites

EverythingPanAm.com / Getty

In the early days of world travel, we felt lucky to be going anywhere, and our system reflected it. It was an era when getting there truly was half the fun, and even the common traveler could experience the ease and the expectation of comfort that we now forget even existed.

An AOL Travel survey found that Americans are decidedly disenchanted with the state of travel today. Fully 59% of respondents said that travel is more frustrating that it's even been before, and 57% said it's a lot less fun. That's a landslide, and the dissatisfaction stings even more when you learn that more than half the people who answered have at least two decades of traveling experience under their belts.

Just what happened to travel in America?

Hors d'oeuvres on an airplane trip? Wicker airline seats? Sure, in some ways, our luxuries have improved, but there's something about the novelty of early long-distance journeys that makes us realize just how jaded we've gotten about them today. Sometimes, a picture tells the whole story. Here's the way we went:

In-Flight Meals

EverythingPanAm.com / Alamy

Sure, this old shot was staged by Pan Am in 1958 to make its new 707 look luxurious and to sell airplane tickets - remember, they had to convince people that they weren't going to fall out of the sky - but, as the pearls and bowties attest, in those days, we really did dress up to travel. We also got more interesting food (served hostess-style), and apparently, seat belts were optional as long as you didn't spill your sherry. One sartorial choice hasn't changed: Flight attendants are still forced to put on ridiculous uniforms.

In-Flight Entertainment

E. Bacon/ Getty Images / Mike Clarke, AFP/ Getty Images

In aviation's early days, some long-haul flights used an actual film projector to entertain passengers. Given the grim decor, it's hard to believe these guys (on a German airline in 1925) aren't being flown to a prison somewhere, but the lightweight seats and overhead netting reminds us that before jets came in and propeller planes were the standard, we had an obsession with airborne weight restrictions straight from the military origins of the air industry. Today, the better airlines have individual seatback screens with live satellite TV signals for our amusement, but the worn-out foam cushions under our behinds can be just as penal.

In-Flight Comfort

EverythingPanAm.com / Alamy

Rail passengers could abandon their seats and enjoy the dignified retreat of the dining car, but space and economics meant that social graces didn't fly for long on aircraft. These passengers from 1935 (left) are on Pan Am's Martin M130 China Clipper, which pioneered the transpacific route from San Francisco to Manila and Hong Kong. Now we're hemmed like livestock into our ever-shrinking personal space, staring at the back of another seat instead of into the eyes of a charming dinner companion. No more "Pass the sugar." Now, your only exchange with your seatmates is likely to be an announcement of your bodily functions as you struggle to wriggle out for the lavatory.

Airport Security

MPI/ Getty Images / David McNew/ Getty Images

There was a time that even an evildoer would be terrified to risk boarding a newfangled airplane, so passengers just lined up to board this American Airlines Curtiss Condor in the 1920s they same way they did on oceangoing ships. We all know how that turned out. On the bright side, the invention of the jetway means we're much less likely to get rained on.

Camping

Getty Images / Winnebago

Although old-fashioned canvas tents still exist as an option for the intrepid, a growing number of Americans chose to leave home by essentially taking everything at home with them (here, in a Winnebago, which produced its first motor home in 1966). The recreational vehicle industry boomed along with the Interstate road network and the proliferation of cheap gas. Ever-rising fuel prices, though, are making that tent look better every year.

Cruise Ship Activities

Reg Speller, Fox Photos/ Getty Images / Royal Caribbean

In olden days, when oceangoing was synonymous with romance between B-level 1950s stars and Charo was a household name, deckside shuffleboard was the first amusement most of us thought of when we considered taking a cruise. In 2008, Royal Caribbean installed the first ice rink at sea, and now, most guests spend so much time at the on-board shopping mall and Johnny Rockets that many don't even realize they've been at sea until they get back home. Among the shipboard pursuits today: water coasters (Disney Dream), rappelling (Norwegian Epic), zip-lining (Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas), FlowRider (above right, on the Freedom of the Seas), body boarding and rock climbing walls (Royal Caribbean ships), and planetariums (Queen Mary 2).

Road Trips

FSA/ LOC / Alamy

The first transcontinental road on the planet, the Lincoln Highway, opened in 1923. By 1930, one in five Americans owned a car, and these pleasant meandering highways grew fast, adding the Dixie Highway, the William Penn, and others. One of the country's spines was Route 66 (left, near El Reno, Oklahoma in the 1930s), which exposed generations of vacationing Americans to new cultures, topographies, and roadside amusements. In 1947, California had only 19 miles of freeways. But by the 1950s, Dwight Eisenhower set bulldozers of the modern Interstate Highway system in motion, impatiently plowing through neighborhoods and giving roadside America the homogenized blandness we blearily traverse today. On the right, cars plod along I-75 in Atlanta. They're still sitting there now.

Hotels

Francis Benjamin Johnston/ LOC / Marriott

Back in the day, hotel lobbies were social centers. They had to be, since travel took much longer and guests stayed longer, making hotels true homes away from home. The one in the New Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, (seen here in 1901), was so active that favor-seekers regularly petitioned the government's power players there, which some historians claim gave rise to the modern term lobbyist. Hotel lobbies were furnished with deep leather chairs suitable for lounging and cigar-puffing, and many installed features that became city landmarks, such as the San Francisco's St. Francis, which was famous for its central clock. To the right is the Marriott Marquis in San Francisco today, where the only thing power players petition for is room upgrades.

Hotel Rooms

Theodor Horydczak Collection/ LOC / Alamy

Although the room at the left (from Hot Springs National Park's Arlington Hotel circa 1920) would barely measure up to one in a spinster-run B&B today, consider that at the time, American life was much less elaborate, labor was more intense, and back at home not everyone had running water or electricity. A room like this, with its expensive and hard-to-clean white linens and soft carpeting, would have been considered luxurious and romantic (even if its chaste single-bed sleeping arrangements, by our standards, are less so). The corporate room on the right could be any room anywhere, and that comforting effect is just the way the chain hotels like it. Headboards have been jettisoned (they get damaged, or they damage guests) and the risk of in-room fireplaces is an anathema. This room is an industrial design triumph of viewpoint-free furnishings and beige and olive colors, since industrial hoteliers now strive simply to be as non-offensive and durable as possible.

Long-Distance Train Travel

Detroit Publishing Company/ LOC / Amtrak

This is a standard Pullman car on an overland train in 1914. The standards were decidedly 19th-century. In fact, at the time of this photograph, Robert Todd Lincoln (Abe's son) was its CEO - and believe it or not, this carriage was considered deluxe. Today, the most deluxe a standard American train gets is the Acela Express service linking Boston and Washington, DC, via New York and Philadelphia. It has free Wi-Fi and you can plug your laptop in beside your seat. Although America unwisely dismantled its comprehensive rail network in the mid 1900s, forcing us to go back and re-create what already existed in order to reverse gridlock on the roads, at least the on-board service has improved.

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Travel Posters: Gorgeous Ads for Places We Don't Go Anymore

Jason Cochran — 2011-03-01T00:05:00+00:00

Filed under: Best Of, Historic Sites

It's a shifting world, and travel habits shift with it. When political or social winds change, they carry tourists with them, so places that are trendy today may be abandoned tomorrow. The cycle works the other way, too: If you told your great-grandfather you were headed to Las Vegas or Orlando, he'd wonder why you wanted to bother visiting a desert or a swamp. But these gorgeous posters for obsolete tourist destinations are eye-popping artifacts of the way we went when the getting was still good.

Travel posters are a lost art. As the influence of travel agents wanes and airports become more interested in selling wall space to corporate advertising partners, there aren't many places left where a destination or a transportation company can sell their wares through fantasy-inducing imagery. Click the link below each poster if they catch your eye, because many of them are sold on the collector's market.

Steel Pier of Atlantic City | Algeria

Before Las Vegas, there was Atlantic City, and its centerpiece was the Steel Pier (left, on a brochure cover), where four theaters, a high-diving horse, and the Miss America pageant dazzled summertime visitors. Crowds of 80,000 weren't unusual on some holidays. It burned down in 1982, long after Atlantic City declined into disrepair, and today's concrete version is a modern replacement.

The poster on the right touts the North African countries of Algeria and Tunisia. Algeria descended into terrorism and factionalism in 1962 after it declared independence from France. It remained under a state of emergency for 19 years, which ended on February 24, 2011 in an effort to appease protesters and stave off revolution. Tunisia, another former French colony with strong Italian ties, remains a popular destination for some Europeans. Its recent, relatively peaceful revolution inspired Egypt to do the same, but Americans aren't partial to it.

London to Baghdad by Train | Palestine

Some places aren't popular anymore because they're so war-torn. The antiquities of Baghdad, Iraq, were once connected to London a part of a grand train tour that included the famous Orient-Express to Istanbul.

Today, many Americans think of Palestine for its troubles, but before the establishment of the current state of Israel in 1948, it was the name given to the greater region that we commonly call the Holy Land, which is why this travel poster for the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is not labeled for Israel.

Cleveland | Odessa

The premise of escaping to Cleveland now seems like such a joke that there's even a Betty White sitcom based on it. But at the turn of the last century, there was a belt of American cities that had profited mightily off the flow of goods from the East Coast. Chicago, for example, rose from that golden age. The cities of St. Louis, Detroit, Buffalo, and Cleveland might be punchlines to some people today, but in that era, they were showplaces of American wealth and pluck. This ad (left) basks in those accomplishments; the Union Terminal (now Tower City Center) was then the tallest American building outside of New York City.

Odessa, too, had its heyday as a Black Sea seaport city for the Soviet Union. Today, it's a somewhat industrial city in Ukraine, and it still attracts Eastern Europeans, if mostly for its accessibility than its sterling amenities.

Cuba | Soviet Union

If there's one thing that scared mid-century Americans, it was communism. That's how Cuba went from the setting of a lighthearted romantic scene in the movie Guys and Dolls (1955) to the mortal enemy and perpetual Boogeyman of the nation (with the Fidel Castro-backed takeover in 1959). Considering Europeans vacation at its resorts already, it's only a matter of time before Americans are allowed to go there freely again.

The poster on the right dates from the optimistic days when Russia emerged from its dark Tsarist days as a new union. Americans who were familiar with the bloody Russian Revolution would no doubt have been heartened to see how the country appeared to be successfully rebuilding itself and its industries. But soon, circumstances darkened and turned it into a Cold War enemy.

Kashmir | Victoria Fall, Zimbabwe

When the British left India in the late 1940s, conflicts exploded. Now, three countries (India, Pakistan, and China) each lay claim to portions of the northern region of Kashmir, which floats between periods of relative peace and unpredictable insurgency. Despite the indisputable beauty of its location on the fringe of the Himalayas, most tourists are afraid to go now.

The same goes for Victoria Falls, an African World Heritage Site that straddles the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The volatile regime of Robert Mugabe has made travel in Zimbabwe a risky and disreputable undertaking for mass tourists. People still visit Zambia to peer over one edge of the falls (this poster depicts the Eastern Cataract, on the Zambian side), but considering that most of the best views are on the Zimbabwe side, and the Zambezi River that flows from it serves as a border between the two countries, the viability of the Falls as a world-class tourism location is on hold until Mugabe falls, and possibly longer.

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Travel's Glory Days: 10 Survivors From the Past

Jason Cochran — 2011-03-01T00:04:00+00:00

Filed under: Arts & Culture, Historic Sites

Los Angeles World Airports

In the late 1800s and early 20th century, the history of the world was drastically changed when the average person was given a new option: long-distance travel. Before then, most people lived and died within a few miles of their homes, but with the advent of trains, ocean liners, and air travel, the world opened up.

Our ancestors knew what a miraculous gift it was to be able to travel safely far from home, and they built fabulous monuments that proudly declared this new possibility and boasted about the technological prowess that made it happen. Anything was possible.

Today, a few of those glorious monuments remain, although sometimes they have been repurposed into less optimistic uses. Here are a few survivors from the glory days of travel have withstood the test of time to be with us today:

Victoria Terminus, Mumbai

Sven Lindner, Flickr

Opened in Bombay in 1887 on the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's ascension, the Victoria Terminus train station was an over-the top Gothic statement about the supremacy of the British Empire. That ended soon enough, but the station, now known as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, is still a landmark in the city, itself renamed Mumbai. Many Americans have been in it, at least via film: The climax of 2008's Best Picture, Slumdog Millionaire, was filmed here.

Cunard Building, Manhattan

Terrica M. Gibson

Back when the only way across the Atlantic Ocean was over its waves, the great Cunard Line, in business since 1838, had its terrestrial flagship in New York, which was then the busiest port in the world. Its booking hall at 25 Broadway (1919) dazzled with an interior of vaulted ceilings inspired by Roman baths, and walls encrusted with starfish, sea creatures, and the ships of Columbus. Cunard still sails today, but its American headquarters has moved to the San Fernando valley and its prestigious Manhattan booking hall is now a desultory U.S. Post Office - ghostly murals depicting the line's transatlantic routes loom over the postal clerks.

The Overseas Railroad, Florida Keys

Elkman, Wikipedia

The Overseas Railway was built in 1912 to link Key West, an isolated island of salvagers and Cuban emigrées, with the rest of Florida, 128 miles away. The feat of engineering, which hopscotched the Florida Keys, took seven years and was hailed as "The Eighth Wonder of the World." But a deadly 1935 hurricane ruined the tracks, and in 1938 they were converted to the sole road unifying the Keys. Until the 1980s, if you wanted to drive to the "Conch Republic" of Key West, you had to squeeze uncomfortably amidst two-way traffic on infrastructure intended for a single train car - but you got to traverse the world-famous "Seven-Mile Bridge," a man-man viaduct over the longest stretch of water, west of Marathon. Modern highways do that job now on the road we now call A1A. Chunks of the obsolete rail-turned-road linger, attracting anglers.

The Theme Building, Los Angeles

Los Angeles World Airports

Officially known as the Theme Building, this Los Angeles International Airport icon turns 50 this year. It was opened in 1961 as a declaration that Los Angeles was now in the "Jet Age" and a roost for the then-novel pursuit of planespotting. Its cocky midcentury "flying saucer" statement proved impractical, however, and its flawed design recently required three years of expensive renovations and earthquake proofing. Since 1997, this now-landmarked emblem of the city has been Encounter, a bar (outside the security zone) offering 360-degree views of the airport and - what else? -California cuisine. The observation deck atop the restaurant closed after 2001 but began opening intermittently in 2010.

Marine Air Terminal, LaGuardia International Airport

Alamy

LaGuardia Airport's Marine Air Terminal in New York City is the only active airport terminal that dates to the first age of American passenger air travel. Erected in 1940 as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's audacious Works Progress Administration plan to hoist the country out of the Great Depression through enduring infrastructure, the Art Deco building is still used for charter flights and some commuter routes. The mural by James Brooks, "Flight," is 12 feet high, 237 feet long, and boasts of the history of air travel up to that time. That state was still primitive: the first flight to depart the Marine Air Terminal, a Yankee Clipper to Lisbon, Portugal, carried just nine passengers and had a journey time of 18 hours and 30 minutes.

The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California

Carol Cochrane

From 1936 to 1967, Cunard's Queen Mary's speed and luxury made her the preeminent liner on the crossing between New York City and Southampton, England. Cary Grant met one of his wives on a voyage, Bob Hope practiced his golf drives from her upper decks, and Greta Garbo would slip past the media by disembarking in a stewardess' uniform. In 1955, the first relic of the Buddha to be displayed in America (a piece of bone as big as a mustard seed), made the crossing with a monk. The city of Long Beach, California, paid $3.4 million for the ship, and she's now a hotel and tourist attraction. Most of her Art Deco fittings were auctioned to the likes of Lucille Ball and Frank Sinatra, but her fate was nobler than her sister ship, the Queen Elizabeth, which caught fire and sank in Hong Kong Harbour. Both ships received modern replacements in the past seven years.

Union Station, Los Angeles

Los Angeles Metro

Union Station in downtown Los Angeles is smaller than most other American terminals that united various railway lines, and it came later, too: in 1939. But while other cities such as New York and Washington built pompous stone cathedrals to railways, LA's Union Station is a moody, woody Art Deco jewel that proclaims the California ethic. It was also the setting for many cross-country rail journeys in the heyday of Hollywood. Rail travel waned in the 1950s, but the station, now on the National Register of Historic Places, is still used as a growing hub for bus, subway, commuter rail, and Amtrak services. A proposed high-speed rail project would connect it to downtown San Francisco in just two hours and 38 minutes.

TWA Flight Center, JFK International Airport

Port Authority of NY & NJ

With curved roof spans outstretched like a bird's wings in flight, Eero Saarinen's swooping 1962 TWA Flight Center terminal at New York City's JFK airport (called Idlewild when it opened) is the world's most iconic airport terminal, yet it's been closed for a decade. While the government decreed the tubular corridors and soaring walkways of this masterpiece inadequate for the security and traffic demands of modern aircraft, the Saarinen terminal still represents our highest aesthetic ideals for international travel. So it sits, landmarked and in mothballs, in front of JetBlue's custom-built Terminal 5, which opened in 2008. The old T5 building could become a museum, a restaurant, or the new check-in hall for JetBlue, and its Jet Age tube corridors, visible in Catch Me if You Can, could again lead travelers to unfolding world journeys.

Wigwam Village, Holbrook, Arizona

AOL

In the early days of long-distance car travel, modern-style motels were unheard of. Instead, travelers usually rented free-standing rooms, like little cottages, which were typically called "motor courts." In 1937, not long after private vehicles had become ubiquitous and road surfaces made smooth, an architect named Frank Redford capitalized on the booming road trip trend by throwing an ersatz American West gimmick onto the thriving motor court style. His "Wigwam Village" in Cave City, Kentucky, was licensed and others were built across America until the 1950s. In payment, Redford got every dime that guests inserted in their coin-operated bedside radios. Of the seven original Wigwam Villages, three survive: The Cave City original, one in Holbrook, Ariz., and one in Rialto, Calif. With rising land values, individual sleeping cabins became impractical, and the term motor court can now signify any type of motel.

The George Inn, London

Jon's pics, Flickr

Perhaps the oldest surviving piece of tourist infrastructure in the Western World, the George Inn, in London's Southwark area, dates from medieval times - it's mentioned on the first known map of the area, from 1543. Known as a "coaching inn," it's where travelers from the south would stop for the night before crossing the river into London or where people leaving London would catch one of the many horse-drawn coaches heading to southern England. William Shakespeare was a patron (the Globe, Swan, and Rose theatres were nearby), and Charles Dickens wrote about it in Little Dorrit. The street it's on was once the primary route into the city. In fact, the Tabard Inn, from which Chaucer's pilgrims set out on his Canterbury Tales, was a neighbor until 1873. Once U-shaped, with a pub and rooms surrounding a galleried courtyard from three sides, today a single line of wooden buildings survives, but it's a popular pub and is carefully tended by the National Trust. The Shard of London, under construction and slated to be the tallest building in Europe, is now towering above the ancient carriage yard.

Executive Editor Jason Cochran is online at JasonCochran.com and Facebook, and on Twitter as @bastable.

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