Antique & Vintage Postcards

A jewel of the Prohibition-era pleasure district rises in vivid linen color — the ornate Carranza Beacon and Chimes tower at the legendary Agua Caliente resort in Tijuana soars above manicured hedgerows and swaying palms, its Moorish-Spanish Revival tiers capped in red tile and glazed polychrome faïence, small balconies with striped canopies jutting like stage props from a Hollywood fantasy. Built in the late 1920s as part of the Agua Caliente casino-resort complex that drew celebrities, gamblers, and thrill-seekers fleeing American Prohibition, the tower stood as the resort's signature beacon and carillon, visible for miles. The resort attracted screen legends and sports figures throughout the early 1930s until Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas shuttered gambling operations in 1935. Published by Western Publishing & Novelty Co. of Los Angeles, this bright linen-era card captures the tower at its glamorous peak.