Vintage Ambridge Christmas postcard, circa 1918

"Christmas Greeting From Ambridge"
unposted vintage postcard
circa 1918
personal collection

In the left bottom corner of this card it says, "Christmas Greeting from Ambridge."

Shown on the card with photos' captions:

Left, top: St. Veronica's Church; bottom: Office Building American Bridge Co.

Right, top: First Presbyterian Church; bottom: City Hall, Red Cross Headquarters

Center: Legionville Hollow

Because the other four photos show notable Ambridge buildings, the choice of a scene showing three women strolling in a wooded Legionville Hollow lane as the larger center photo seems to me like an unusual choice. Maybe the scene held some special importance. Or maybe it was simply pretty. Or maybe it just fit better in the vertical space.

The American flag and bible verse at the top seem surprising for a Christmas card: "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." (Rev. 2nd - 10). So merry. But I don't claim any expertise in vintage Christmas postcards, so maybe those are typical for the time.

This divided back postcard, now faded on the right side, was unmailed and had nothing written on the back. I based the "circa 1918" date, in part, on the photo of the First Presbyterian Church showing the church's "auditorium" that was dedicated in December 1917, after it was added to the right side of the earlier "chapel."

The flag, bible verse, and the "City Hall" (Ambridge's first Municipal Building) being described as the Red Cross Headquarters added to my thinking that this postcard might date from one of the U.S.'s WWI years (1917 - 1918), but I can't say with certainty. As do the dresses worn by the women in the Legionville Hollow photo.

Ambridge's Hayes Flower Shop

Hayes Flower Shop
624 Merchant St.
ad
Daily Citizen
August 10, 1929

The Hayes Flower Shop was a long-time Ambridge business. I don't know when the shop opened, but it had an ad, shown below, in Old Economy's 1924 Centennial book, Economy of Old and Ambridge of Today. At that time it was located at 455 Merchant St., an address that no longer exists.

Hayes' Flower Shop ad
Economy of Old and Ambridge of Today
June 1924

The flower shop later moved to a storefront at 624 Merchant in the Prince Theatre building. That new location was the only storefront in the Prince building to the right of the theater's entrance. I don't know when the flower shop moved into that space. That address also no longer exists.

I know the shop was still in business in 1937 because it placed the ad below in the St. Veronica High School Senior Class play program. But I don't know when it closed.

Hayes Flower Shop ad
St. Veronica High School
Senior Class play program
May 24, 1937
courtesy St. Luke Parish Valley archives

If I find out when the flower shop opened, moved from one location to the other, or closed, I'll update this post.
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If you have any additional information about the Hayes Flower Shop, or any businesses which later occupied that storefront, perhaps with a different building number, please post a comment. Or let me know via email or on the blog's Facebook page.

I still don't know when the Prince Theatre's former entrance and storefronts were razed. Based on the information in the blog's post about the history of the Prince Theatre, maybe in the 1980s? I'd appreciate any information.