FOR SALE

THE AGE OF ELEGANCE
BETHLEHEM, NH BICENTENNIAL – 1799-1999
POSTER WITH HOTEL HERITAGE AND IMAGES

Issued for the 200th Anniversary of Bethlehem, New Hampshire
Measures 19 inches by 25 inches

and one close up

This poster has 8 postcard images of this early and famous
summer resort. Included are: Maplewood Train Depot – Maplewood
Hill Rd – 1881 to present (abandoned); Maplewood Hotel – Main St. –
1876-1963 – destroyed by fire – parking lot on site; Sinclair Hotel –
Main St – 1865-1978 – destroyed by fire – flea markets held on site –
Alpine House – Main St. – 1877 to 1991 – destroyed by fire –
Site vacant – foundation remnants remain; Highland House – Main St. –
1880 to present – abandoned; Howard House – Main St. –
1878 to 1958 – Demolished – town tennis courts on site;
Uplands Terrace – Main St. – 1877 to 1990 – destroyed by fire –
site vacant – foundation remnants remain; Bethlehem Train Depot –
Birchmere Ave. – 1881 to present – now a private home.

From the Town of Bethlehem’s website – More than 30 luxury hotels and boarding houses catered to summer guests.  Magnificent private cottages adorned the hillsides.  Vacationers crowded the wooden sidewalks.  In the evenings, a stroll on Main Street was a delight to the senses with tantalizing aromas from the hotel kitchens.  Music from the dance bands carried through the air.  Men and women in formal dress filled the streets with color.

And, from the Star of the White Mountains website – By the mid 1870s, Bethlehem had evolved into a booming tourist town. The summers bustled with activity. Seven trains arrived daily, bringing guests from Boston, New York, and points beyond. Some 30 resort hotels were filled with tourists eager to experience the scenic beauty and breathe the clean mountain air. Many wealthy families built summer “cottages” of grandiose proportions.

The annual Coaching Parade, begun in 1887, endured for almost 50 years. People traveled great distances to see the lavishly decorated horse drawn coaches compete for prizes. About 1911, decorated automobiles began to appear in the parade… a harbinger of things to come. The horizons for tourists were vastly expanding. No longer did they have to limit their travels to the confines of railroad tracks. The tourist was liberated to explore new destinations and many of the old guests stopped coming to Bethlehem. Fortunately, beginning around 1916, a few Jewish families became summer visitors seeking relief from their hay fever symptoms. As a matter of fact, the National Hay Fever Relief Association was founded in Bethlehem a few years later. By the mid-1920s, the Jewish community grew significantly, helping to keep hotel rooms full. Although in much fewer numbers, Chassidic Jews can still be seen today, traditionally dressed, taking a summer stroll on Main Street.

New, stored flat since new, mailing will be in rolled tube
for maximum protection
PRICE $15 – (Order Number eb1112)

Shipping –  $5.00 packaged in cardboard tube
and with tracking