From collection Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company Collection
Presidential View Cabin, Twin Mountain, N.H. 33K
Image of a roadside refreshment and gasoline stop in a rural setting. This image is part of a series made by one of the three Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company photographers assigned to cover New England or upstate New York. The glass plates would be sent back to Belfast, Maine, and processed into postcards at the printing plant on High Street. "Stop at Presidential View Cabin / Refreshments" reads the sign atop this modest ramshackle roadside stand offering snacks, cigars, and gas to the motoring public touring the base of the Presidential Range in the scenic White Mountains. A mutitude of variously sized signs scattered around the building's porch advertise: "...stop here for Chelmsford Gingr Ale/ Famously Good, ...Cigars/ Soda/ Sandwiches/ Turner xxx Ice Cream/ Balsam Pillows & Maple Sugar" amongst potted plants, fluttering American flags, and pennants. A single gas pump stands at the left, closer to the road. In an image conveying the early commercialization of a wild and scenic region, we see the precursor to the American gas stop offering fast food and refreshment on the road, starting as a business model catering particularly to the tourist trade. The Eastern photographers took note of such attractions along the way, however basic and scrappy. Located in the unincorporated community of Twin Mountain, near the base of Mount Washington, the highest of the Whites, this unassuming place presumably looked out on an unspoiled, spectacular view.
