Mr. Charles Ackerman lived in Baltimore, the lovely city on the Chesapeake Bay and the commercial, cultural, and transportation hub of central Maryland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore

The Ackermans lived in northwest Baltimore, a neighborhood that is now outside the beltway.

The current townhouse at this address was built in 1920 – I have not found an image of the home in which the Ackermans lived.

In November of 1908, Charles received a postcard from his friend, Mr. H. F. Montgomery.

The postcard was mailed from New York City, although we can not be sure that Mr. Montgomery lived there.

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The face of the postcard is a hand-colored photograph of “The River Front”, Providence, Rhode Island.

The beautiful city of Providence straddles the Providence River where it flows into Narraganset Bay and was a center of shipping since the 17^th century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Providence,_Rhode_Island

Today, the city is served by busy rail lines between New York and Boston.

(In years past, I had occasion to make dozens of trips to Providence by train.)

Although famed as a university town, Providence has always had significant local industry.

https://navigator.rihs.org/subject/steamboats/?view_mode=demo-1&perpage=50&paged=1&order=ASC&orderby=date&fetch_only=thumbnail%2Ccreation_date%2Ctitle%2Cdescription&fetch_only_meta=

It is not clear if Mr. Montgomery lives in Providence and was visiting New York, or if he lived in Gotham and did business elsewhere in New England.

In the photograph, we see steamboats and sailing vessels moored on the river.

The sign on one large brick warehouse identifies it as a Coal Company.

I do not recognize the stylized initial on the reverse, but I believe that the postcard was published in the United States.

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On the reverse, Mr. Ackerman is greeted as “My Dear Friend”.

Mr. Montgomery assures his friend that “I have not forgotten you” and promises “will write letter soon.”

 The writer hopes that “this finds you and Mrs. A. in good health and doing OK.”

The message concludes with “best wishes”.

The postcard scene was preserved in good condition for more than a century.

One hopes that Mr. Montgomery fulfilled his promise to send a letter, and that the friends maintained a regular correspondence for many years.