For those of you who saw the posts about the Disneyland home movies taken in 1956, only a year after the park opened will most likely appreciate that the author of those videos have found another treasure from his grandparents home movie archive, San Francisco in 1958. The movie guides us around a few urban scenes, trolley cars and the Golden Gate bridge among many other things. The scene from inside the trolley car reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock's movie Vertigo made in the same year. Let's hope that he next time finds a home movie from New York around the same period. Mad Men anyone?
The JFK Trans World Airlines (TWA) terminal was designed by the great Eero Saarinen. Built in a very modernist and expressionistic style it was finished in 1962 and set the standard for how modern jet travel was perceived back in its glory days. The Museum of the City of New York had a exhibition about Mr. Saarinens works back in November and December 2009, which I was not aware of. Maybe someone reading this experienced it though? How was it? Do tell. (Via)
Wednesday inspiration. The Stahl House, also known as Case Study House #22 was finished in 1959 and is most likely the most famous house from the CSH program with help from famed photographer Julius Schulman.
This documentary about the life of famed photographer Julius Schulman looks very appealing to me. If you have been reading my earlier architecture posts you will immediately know who I am referring to. [Thanks Cam]
This is Los Angeles International Airport (Jetport), it was built in the late 1950s and was at the time one of the biggest airports in America. They first envisioned it to be even bigger in the anticipation of the "jet age" with lots of terminals and buildings connected through a huge steel-and-glass dome building but the plan was deemed unrealistic and scrapped. Instead the famous LAX landmark "Theme Building" was built. It was designed by architecture firm Pereira & Luckman who made it resemble a UFO that had landed in the middle of the parking lot. The building still stands there today and with its Googie designed look it should attract anyone with a interest in retro futuristic design. It also features a restaurant called "Encounter" which opened in 1997. At one time the roof of the building was open for spectators but it was closed due to security concerns after the 9/11 attacks. More postcards after the jump.
If you ever wondered how it was like living in the old communist eastern Europe but were unable to do so before the wall fell? Here is your chance. In the heart of the former eastern side of Berlin lies a quite ordinary looking concrete apartment building that once was home to dozens of people, but today houses the quite unusual DDR-designed and inspired hostel (Ostel). Once inside, you have a selection that ranges from tastefully designed single or double rooms that let you travel back in time to relive the style of the 1960s and 1970s in Europe. If you are traveling in a bigger group you can get your own apartment that houses up to six people. Prices start at a very reasonable 9 euros per night and if you are traveling without a set of wheels, the Ostel also offers bicycle renting – and wireless Internet access for all of you who are not quite ready to let go. For more information and bookings, visit the Ostel website.
I am strangely fascinated by the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California. Built in 1955 along with the park it was actually not operated by the Walt Disney Company until 1988 due to the building of the park had tapped Walt Disney for most of his financial resources. The Hotel has obviously been rebuilt, added to and updated over the decades but it still features the original space-age styled monorail from the 1960s (with updated trains). For anyone who want to know more about the construction, design and architecture of the hotel I highly recommend that you dig into the The Disneyland Hotel book which features photos, scans of brochures and lots of other swanky ephemera from yesteryear Anaheim. Has anyone of you stayed at the resort back in the 1960s and 1970s? Do tell us about it.
Since we all love kitschy postcards, I thought this would be a great way to start off the week. Below are a small sample of postcards from Synthetrix postcard collection of yesteryear California. Including motels, restaurants, diners, bowling alleys and everything between that all shares the Googie styled design and architecture that became popular on the West Coast of the US in the 1950s and 1960s. The style took its influence from futurist architecture, the new exciting car culture boom and the space age living mentality from those decades of course. To define the style as simple as possible, think The Flintstones meets The Jetsons. Straight lines meeting curvy, a wide range of colors, heavy use of plastic, starburst symbols, outdoor elements such as rocks, water and foliage incorporated indoors and big neon signs set with script typefaces. For more postcards and photos from the forgotten visit Synthetrix's website.
Ultra Swank takes you back in time into the kitsch, chic and swank living of the 50s to the 70s. We mainly focus on the design, architecture and the lifestyle of the happy-go-lucky and space-age-living mentality from that era - but also on the mood music that takes you back to happier times. Ultra Swank is run by Chris who resides in Sweden. More | Contact
And you thought baked beans and sausage weren’t the least bit French? Betty & I have paired up to prove you wrong. Behold Betty Crocker’s Baked Bean & Sausage Casserole aka Middle Income French Cooking! This casserole is, per Betty, an “…appetizing adaptation of the French cassoulet.” Put that in your Pyrex, Julie & Julia! [...]
I found some more photos of my favorite shopping mall in southern Sweden – Väla Centrum. It was built in 1974 outside of Helsingborg and took its inspiration from American shopping malls at the time – meaning that it didn’t look very Scandinavian or traditional, which I really love. It even had a birdcage with [...]
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