Antique & Vintage Postcards

Gleaming white against a warm evening sky, the ornate Carranza Beacon and Chimes tower at the legendary Agua Caliente resort in Tijuana rises in Spanish Colonial Revival splendor — its tiled upper stories, open belfry, and yellow-striped awnings a monument to the glamorous gambling and spa resort that attracted Hollywood celebrities throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Published by Western Publishing & Novelty Co. of Los Angeles, this linen-era card (catalogue X.45, print no. 123382) captures the iconic tower that stood as the centerpiece of the Agua Caliente complex, which opened in 1928 and drew stars including Jean Harlow, Charlie Chaplin, and Clark Gable before Prohibition's repeal and Mexican anti-gambling laws shuttered it. The tower itself survived and remains a Tijuana landmark. This unused example is a fine record of one of Baja California's most storied destinations.