Hilton Hawaiian Village - Vacate a place.

This ad was found in a 1962 issue of Holiday magazine. That was when air travel was still glamorous and exciting, and had not yet become a corporate indulgence in personal degradation. Simpler times.

For the young, here's an eye-opener. Once upon a time, going to the airport to board a plane and fly somewhere was pretty fancy. At the airport, you were treated - I hope you're sitting down - not only like a human, but like a grownup human. You could not expect to be ordered to undress yourself by a dead-eyed high school dropout in the middle of the terminal, and treated like a criminal for having the audacity to wish to bring a bag with you on your trip. The other passengers could be expected to dress like they were in a nice restaurant, and not be wearing sweat pants and an pit-stained undershirt. Also, it would have been unthinkable to see someone with their bare feet on top of the seat in front of them, or to have a random animal of their choice on their lap because they are a nutcase who needs their bogus "service animal" with them at all times in every aspect of life.

This was all still several decades away. In 1962, air travel still enjoyed a shred of human dignity.

Speaking of human dignity, Conrad Hilton, listed at the bottom of this ad as president of the Hilton corporation, died in 1979. Here's what he did with his considerable fortune, according to Wikipedia:

He left $500,000 to each of his two surviving siblings, $100,000 to his daughter Francesca, and $10,000 to each of his nieces and nephews. The bulk of his estate was left to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, which he established in 1944.

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation was established in 1944 by Conrad N. Hilton. Its mission is the alleviation of human suffering worldwide.

How bout that? He seems like a quite a guy.

Still on the topic of human dignity, or rather not having it, Conrad's great granddaughter is, you guessed it, useless waste of space Paris Hilton. I wonder what she'll do with most of her fortune.

Anyway, the real reason to look at this ad is the terrific art, which perfectly embodies the graphic style of the early sixties. You could use these drawings for lots of things, if only some Conrad Hilton-level benefactor would only do some work to make them more reuseable. PAG Graphic Blandishment and Photoshoppery Brigade, get in here, on the double! Hop to it!

We at GO! Tower hereby bequeath these clip arts to you, to do whatever the hell you want with, now and forever. Each of these is a grayscale JPEG at 1000 px wide. What a legacy. You're welcome!

UPDATE: Looks like Hilton Hawaiian Village is still there. Same building and everything. Look at those pictures. God damn, I need a vacation and an umbrella drink. But for now, two beers and some Thunderbirds DVDs will have to do.

Click for 1000 px.

Click for 1000 px.

Click for 1000 px.