In 1964 my father accepted a job as Press Secretary for Senator Carl Hayden of Arizona, so my family left the Arizona desert outside of Phoenix for the foothills of the great Blue Ridge Mountains of Fairfax, Virginia, approximately thirty miles from Washington D.C. and approximately thirty miles from the newly emerging Dulles International Airport that straddled Fairfax and Loudoun Counties. Northern Virginia was in...
A mecca for all things mid-century modern, Palm Springs once again showcases its world-famous modern design, architecture, and culture with the 11-day festival know as Modernism Week. Modernism was a popular design aesthetic originating in the 1950s and ’60s, which typified clean, simple lines with elegant informality. It came to define desert modernism as a sought-after architectural genre. Modernism Week has become one of the...
The Accidental Sea is a 6-minute short film filmed and narrated by Ransom Riggs that briefly discusses the history of the Salton Sea area in California and also depicts the desolation of it since the area’s abandonment over the decades. ...
“Shopping” is one of the first interior shopping center ever built. This mid-century gem is hidden away in the cold northern parts of Sweden. Designed and conceptualized by famed British-Swedish architect Ralph Erskine and completed in 1955. After visiting an open-air shopping mall in Canada with harsh weather conditions, Erskine wanted to create a place that would be enjoyable for everyone all year round, not...
What better epitomizes the visionary futuristic-utopia of the 20th century than the Jetsons? Created in 1962 the prime-time animated sitcom took place in 2062… looking 100 years into the future. Besides the futuristic gadgets and gizmos-surely ahead of their time-the architectural influence is clearly that of Googie design. Including “upswept roofs, curvaceous, geometric shapes, and bold use of glass, steel and neon, Googie was also...
A trip to yesteryear London in 1957, about a decade before the height of “Swinging London” with its youth oriented fashion, music, art and culture scenes. Places depicted are among others Cambridge Circus, Palace Pier and Trafalgar Square. What do you prefer, London in 1957 or 2011? Photos by Kai Krog Halse...
Charles Schridde’s illustrations from the early 1960s for Motorola is a great example of the future that never was. The ads were often featured in Life Magazine and depicted a lush, comfy and elegant future, conveniently centered around various Motorola products. I for one, wouldn’t mind living in a pad like the ones Mr. Schridde envisioned. I guess the closest thing would be Disney’s House...
