This post is for Rhonda over at Shellbelle's Tikki Hut. If you want to feel the breeze rolling of the Gulf of Mexico coast, or would like to see some beautiful flowers and sea shells... then head on over to her place!
The reason I'm writing this one is because Rhonda has been doing a series of posts on vintage beach photos, and a while back I received an e-mail forward I thought she'd be interested in. I have no idea where this e-mail started out from (the problem with forwards), but here's the text which I've translated (from Spanish). The photos apparently did have a website associated with them so at least they get credit.
I hope Rhonda won't be the only one to enjoy this! ;o)
Image: George Eastman House
Although it resembles the palazzo of an eccentric vizier on the coast of the Indian Ocean, the building you see in the photo was built towards the end of the 19th century on the beach of La Concha in San Sebasti�n (Spain) and remained there several years for the enjoyment of King Alfonso XIII, who became one of the oddest swimmers in history.
Image: George Eastman House
The palace, built in wood, could move along two rails that split the beach in two. Thanks to the power of a steam engine, the apparatus transported the monarch and his entourage from the sand to the water, where they could bathe protected from curious glances.
Image: George Eastman House
As the author of Prunsed explains, the existence of these "bath houses" fits into the Victorian morals of the times, which considered bathing in public or being seen in a bathing suit to be of poor taste. Competing with the Spas, the so-called "wave baths" became quite the fashion thanks to these "rolling houses", where ladies and gentlemen could enter and exit the water discreetly.
Image: George Eastman House
Image: skyscrapercity.com
The more aristocratic beaches, like those of San Sebasti�n and Santander, soon filled up with these contraptions, that moved to and from the front lines depending on the tides. The donostiarra Siro Alcain numbers 242 bath houses in the Concha beach by the end of the century, to which you need to add Alfonso XIII's enormous construction which you can admire in these postcards. According to the tale, the palace was built in 1894 and was regularly used until 1911 when a stone building was built in the beach.
Image: numisjoya.com
Image: numisjoya.com
The reason I'm writing this one is because Rhonda has been doing a series of posts on vintage beach photos, and a while back I received an e-mail forward I thought she'd be interested in. I have no idea where this e-mail started out from (the problem with forwards), but here's the text which I've translated (from Spanish). The photos apparently did have a website associated with them so at least they get credit.
I hope Rhonda won't be the only one to enjoy this! ;o)
A PALACE ON RAILS FOR THE ROYAL BATH
Image: George Eastman HouseAlthough it resembles the palazzo of an eccentric vizier on the coast of the Indian Ocean, the building you see in the photo was built towards the end of the 19th century on the beach of La Concha in San Sebasti�n (Spain) and remained there several years for the enjoyment of King Alfonso XIII, who became one of the oddest swimmers in history.
Image: George Eastman HouseThe palace, built in wood, could move along two rails that split the beach in two. Thanks to the power of a steam engine, the apparatus transported the monarch and his entourage from the sand to the water, where they could bathe protected from curious glances.
Image: George Eastman HouseAs the author of Prunsed explains, the existence of these "bath houses" fits into the Victorian morals of the times, which considered bathing in public or being seen in a bathing suit to be of poor taste. Competing with the Spas, the so-called "wave baths" became quite the fashion thanks to these "rolling houses", where ladies and gentlemen could enter and exit the water discreetly.
Image: George Eastman House
Image: skyscrapercity.comThe more aristocratic beaches, like those of San Sebasti�n and Santander, soon filled up with these contraptions, that moved to and from the front lines depending on the tides. The donostiarra Siro Alcain numbers 242 bath houses in the Concha beach by the end of the century, to which you need to add Alfonso XIII's enormous construction which you can admire in these postcards. According to the tale, the palace was built in 1894 and was regularly used until 1911 when a stone building was built in the beach.
Image: numisjoya.com
Image: numisjoya.com
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