The Germans (Nazis) developed the VW, created the first cruise line and built the first ships designed exclusively for cruising. The first cruise line… The Germans operated the first steamship line with ships exclusively devoted to cruising. The Kdf – Kroft durch Freude (Strength through Joy) leisure organization, a part ... Read More »

Raymond Lowey’s basic design philosophy was behind the creation of the interiors for Matson’s luxury liner Lurline and modern ticket office in downtown Los Angeles. These were the ultimate in mid-century design for California’s famous steamship line. Raymond Loewy, whose modern concept of everything from fountain pens to airplanes, ships, ... Read More »

More than a century after the Titanic sank in April 1912; few new stories surface from the wreck. When documentary filmmaker Arthur Jones and his team started work on “The Six” — their film about the ship’s six Chinese survivors — in 2012, they kept expecting to find that someone ... Read More »

“Elvis who?” On the threshold of fame, Elvis took the train. Photographer Alfred Wertheimer recalls uttering that very question in early 1956. A publicist from RCA Victor Records had contacted him, asking if he was available to photograph a young singer named Elvis Presley. “I’d never heard of the man,” ... Read More »

Enjoy the complete video presentation of the award-winning University of North Carolina recreation of the stage version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s OKLAHOMA! as it premiered on Broadway in 1943. The famous hit musical is for all ages and a quick excursion back to a simpler time. Watch free – no ... Read More »

Those masculine women and feminine men! The name “Frank Harris” is used for Kaufman on this recording made on January 29, 1926. Effimenant Men Masculine Women from Panda Hollywood Ltd on Vimeo. Lyrics are by Edgar Leslie, music by James V. Monaco. The tenor Irving Kaufman (8 February 1890 – ... Read More »

Along with The Daily Kos, I was party to a significant decision for bloggers and free speech rights. The 2007 U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) found that political blogs and bloggers are media for the purposes of U.S. Electoral Law. Suddenly blogs were media and for the past thirteen years, ... Read More »

California grand movie palaces escaped the wrecking ball and are thriving throughout the Golden State, including San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Los Angeles, Fresno, Stockton, and many other cities. See them all in our New Video Our New Video: Featuring the 14 California Movie Palaces with theatre organ heard playing: ... Read More »

One of the great hotels of the world. Berlin was a port of call by train in 1929 — after sailing from New York to Germany aboard the SS BREMEN. Upon arrival, tourists enjoyed a quick train ride from Hamburg to Berlin and then accommodations at the world famous Adlon ... Read More »

Known as the “Queen of Sea,” the Merchants and Miners Transportation Company Steamship Line operated one of the finest fleets of passenger steamers on the Atlantic Coast and ranked foremost as one of America’s top tourist routes. It was said to be the only line plying between Baltimore, Savannah, and ... Read More »