I Visited Portsmouth in 1950
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Sarah Long decal detailSeacoastNH.com Presents 
Historic Portsmouth #461  

One of the hardest things about promoting tourism is coming up with simple clear slogans and strong iconic images. Portsmouth has often called itself "The City of the Open Door," but that phrase may not resonate as strongly today as it did during the Colonial Revival. (continued below) 

 

This colorful post-World War II era souvenir decal offers a mixture of architecture old and new from three key sites that were in the public eye at mid-century. The Sarah Mildred Long Bridge, now back in the news, was brand new in 1940. The Portsmouth Harbor Light, then as now, was a source of maritime pride. And the 1715 Warner House, almost torn down and replaced by a gas station in the 1920s, had been saved from destruction by a Boston couple with Portsmouth ancestral ties. To our collective credit, all three of these structures are still with us today. If we were to recreate this sticker today, what  images would we use?  (Courtesy SeacoastNH.com Collection)    

461 vintage Portsmouth Decal

BONUS DETAIL

Portsmouth souvenir decal