We are living in a time when the American values forged on the World War II home front feel more relevant than ever, and a must-see film that captures those values with heart and honesty is Since You Went Away. This sweeping 1944 drama is one of the definitive portraits ... Read More »

The headlines out of West Hollywood have been dominated by violence. Two recent shootings and a stabbing have rightfully earned the city its troubling designation as one of the 10 most dangerous cities in California. But for the residents who remain—many of them elderly or high-end professionals who can still ... Read More »

The Southern Pacific’s Streamliner Coast Daylight was the West’s finest train in the 1940s, 50s, and early 1960s. It hugged the Pacific Ocean with great views. Linking Los Angeles and San Francisco on a glorious daylight trip, streaking along the edge of the Pacific Ocean for more than a hundred ... Read More »

T.E.V. Princess Patricia on her first Princess Cruise – docked in Vancouver – heading south to Los Angeles.  Exploring the origin of Princess Cruises and naming the “Princess” ships.  Where did the name of each of their “Love Boat” cruise ships originate? Princess Cruises and the SS Princess Patricia was the ... Read More »

The Panama Limited was a first class passenger train operated by the Illinois Central Railroad between Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. It operated from 1911 to 1971. Offering the best in American railway deluxe services. The Panama Limited took its name from the Panama Canal, then under construction and ... Read More »

In the 1957 musical film Pal Joey, Frank Sinatra gets off a Southern Pacific train and then heads across the bay to San Francisco aboard one of the SP Ferry Boats. Oakland Long Wharf was the western terminus of the Southern Pacific Railroad. From there, ferries carried both commuters and ... Read More »

Star of Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO, Janet Leigh is ready to board the famous SUPER CHIEF and Virginia Leith, star of A KISS BEFORE DYING shows us the all-Pullman train during the 1950s in a promotional film. Even the characters from TV’s MAD MEN may have been aboard the train all ... Read More »

The Klondike gold rush galvanized the Union Steamship Company to begin operations in Alaska. The company was founded in 1889 by John Darling, the director of a New Zealand shipping company who recognized a great need for a scheduled service that would transport supplies and work crews to various northern ... 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 »

Los Angeles used to have a public transit system that covered about 25 percent more track mileage than New York City’s current subway system. In its eco-heyday in 1945, LA had more than 900 hydro-electric Pacific Electric “Red Cars” that covered more than 1,100 miles, from Pasadena to downtown LA, ... Read More »

Onboard the Ward Line’s SS MORRO CASTLE, in the early morning hours of September 7, 1934, a deadly fire erupted in two places on the cruise/liner en route from Havana Cuba to New York City. After wonderful days at sea and a wonderful time in Havana, the cruise turned into ... Read More »

Imagine you’re planning a cruise to the South Pacific during the 1960s. Last Ocean Liners provides all the information of scheduling your trip along with the cost. A great way to cruise the past. MARIPOSA and MONTEREY Matson Line’s Mariposa and Monterey carried only First class guests and promised regal ... Read More »