Revere Beach, Massachusetts, was home to one of the largest roller coasters in the US, from 1925 to 1969, called The Cyclone. It was a wooden coaster, saw speeds of up to 50 miles per hour and had peaks of up to 100 feet high.

Known as “America’s First Public Beach”, Revere Beach is located about five miles north of Boston. This area was originally settled in 1630 as a farming village known as Rumney Marsh.

From 1900 until 1988, Revere Beach was well known for its Big Band music and dance pavilions. In addition, the area had several rides, movie theaters, hotels, restaurants and special attractions. Visitors would come from all over the world.

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My featured postcard is of “The Shelter”, Revere Beach, Mass. I am unsure of the publisher but there is a number listed in the top left corner of the front side: S 54 and this postcard was printed in Germany.

This card was postmarked in 1909 from Revere, Mass., and was sent to Aunt Etta (Mrs. William Hooper) in Franklin, Mass. It was signed by “Maybel”, which I believe would be Mabel (Dollof) James, wife of William James (brother to Aunt Etta), they resided on Cleveland St., in the Hyde Park section of Boston.

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The message on the postcard reads:

Dear Brother and Sister,
Alice and I are at the beach to day and having a fine time. With Love, Maybel

Since I know that William and Mabel had a daughter named Alice, I would think that the message is referring to said daughter. Once again, in future blogs I hope to explore this family further.

As for Revere Beach, it is still a public beach with restaurants, high-rise condo’s and single family homes. All the ride attractions have long since been removed.

Until next time…

Reference Material

Website: Reverebeach.com; Accessed 05 March 2019.