Ultra Swank - Retro Adventures

Roadtrip • travel • stores

Scenes from Stockholm Central Station in the 1950s

The main train station in Stockholm, Sweden or simply, Stockholm Central Station opened during Victorian times in 1871. Modified and rebuilt in stages during the years, it now welcomes over 200,000 travelers who pass through it during a day. Back in the 1950s, it was all quite different. Let’s explore further. The station was built in only four years with architect Adolf W. Edelsvärd at the helm....

Before There Were Video Games There Was the Wonderland Arcade

Nowadays we are used to having games available right in the palm of our hands at any given time. But before we had the smartphone – we ventured to the arcade – were the latest and greatest video games were on display like electromagnetic rainbows. But, what kind of fun was available for kids growing up in the 1950s and 1960s? Enter the Wonderland arcade....

Vintage Las Vegas – The Original Cloud Cuckoo Land

Elvis, showgirls, crooners and the Rat Pack may be a thing of Las Vegas history. But their memories live on. Come and take a trip with us as we explore some Vintage Las Vegas history. Famed neon signs from casinos such as Stardust, Caesars Palace and El Rancho, glittering and sparkling like stars in the Nevada desert, lured people from all over the continent. Las...

Stylish Mid-Century Shopping Malls

I’ve always been a sucker for shopping malls, even as a kid I thoroughly enjoyed going to the mall with the folks. Nowadays most shoppings centers are just loud, generic and boring. Where’s that sense of soul and character? Well fear not, Ultra Swank takes you back to take a look at some of the mid-century gems. Every mid-century mall needs three things; a water...

Video

Let’s hop on the Japan express and head off to Tokyo for a weekend getaway in 1959. We will be flying with a Britannia airliner from London Heathrow airport to Tokyo and back. We will also make pit-stops in Bombay and Bangkok to take in the sights. Look at Life was a regular British series of short documentary films of which over 500 were produced...

Avenue of Light – The Lost Underground Shopping Mall of Barcelona

The historically and culturally rich city Barcelona in Spain dates back to Roman times and holds many secrets, but even this one was new for me. Having lived here for quite a few years I thought I knew about most of the well known places from the past, but this lost underground shopping mall just appeared out of the depths one night. Knowing that Barcelona...

Fly Me Friendly – What Air Travel Used to Be

To travel the skies today is as innate as sipping on a chai latte. Jetting across the world upon a chair suspended 30,000 feet above the ground, all while enjoying a dry Martini, has become the norm. Once reserved to describe the rich and famous, the words ‘jet set’ have entered our common jargon. However, air travel hasn’t always been painless and unstrained. Once upon...

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