Beautiful Snoqualmie Falls and Lodge Postcard by Smith-Western Co. Inc. – P66666

I love finding vintage postcards of Snoqualmie Falls with Mid-Century inspired designs. This one from Smith-Western, Co. Inc. features the majestic and sacred 268-foot waterfall and the former Snoqualmie Falls Lodge known today as Salish Lodge & Spa.

BEAUTIFUL SNOQUALMIE FALLS AND LODGE POSTCARD – SMITH-WESTERN Co. Inc. – P66666

The beautiful Snoqualmie Falls and Lodge is the subject of this Mid-Century inspired postcard. Built in 1916, the Snoqualmie Falls Lodge began as a one-floor restaurant. Long before Interstate 90 was constructed, this location served as popular halfway spot between Seattle and Snoqualmie Pass.

In the 1980s, Puget Power (known today as Puget Sound Energy) decided not to renew the lease on the restaurant well known for hearty breakfasts and their “Honey from Heaven” service where servers poured honey on biscuits from high above dining room tables (a tradition continued today).

By 1988, the Lodge had been remodeled as a 91-luxury room hotel and renamed as The Salish Lodge. In 1996, it was renamed again to The Salish Lodge and Spa after a world-class spa was added. The hotel’s exterior would serve as The Great Northern in Twin Peaks with the sacred Snoqualmie Falls renamed as White Tail Falls in the show.

I’m guessing the card may have been produced in the early 1960s, yet I’ve been unable to locate one with a postmark.

The back of the card, with card number P66666, contains the following inscription:

SNOQUALMIE FALLS AND LODGE, WASHINGTON
This magnificent view shows one of the exciting tourist attractions of the Evergreen State. Located 26 miles east of Seattle it is well worth the few minutes to enjoy the tranquility and solitude that the area provides.

The card was distributed only by Smith-Western, Co. Inc., the nation’s premiere supplier for the tourist and attraction industry. After World War II, Kyle Smith (1917-2014) founded his postcard and tourist merchandise company in 1947. He began by selling postcards adorned with images of towns and landmarks found in the Washington and Oregon from the trunk of his car. In 2000, his son Skip would assume leadership of the company which is still in business today.

According to a postcard collecting website, Colourpicture Publishers, Inc. was a “prominent publisher and printer of linen view cards in the United States. From 1938 to 1969, the company was based in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts. In the 1950s, it expanded its offerings to include photochromes and small spiral-bound picture booklets under the trade name Plastichrome.”

The card lists “Color by Pat O’Malley” who, according to Doug Palmer in the Seattle Vintage 1.0 Facebook group, was a colorist known for vibrant coloring.

“The photograph was used on a Smith-Western post card. It still doesn’t credit the photographer, but says ‘Color by Pat O’Malley’. Pat O’Malley was a colorist who specialized in creating the vibrant, almost photographic style of coloring for postcards, particularly those depicting the Puget Sound region. These postcards are often identified as being produced by Smith-Western Co. and using the Plastichrome process, a method of color reproduction that was popular in the mid-20th century.”

Despite exhaustive searches, I found nothing about Mr. O’Malley but CardCow.com shows he worked on postcards featuring many Washington State icons.

Download high-resolution images of this postcard on my Flickr account – https://www.flickr.com/photos/aloha75/albums/72177720314797263/