Ultra Swank - Retro Adventures

1960s

Shopping Spree – Part 4
Written by Christopher in Stores

Shopping Spree – Part 4

Time again to visit the yesteryear’s shopping experience. Here are some fresh assorted postcards from two different shopping centers in Sweden, one from Stockholm and the other one from Gothenburg. I have only visited the latter a couple of times, and it is still there – but it looks slightly different today (as many other things from the past)....

The Crown Prince of Malmö – Copenhagen Visible from the Top

Malmö’s first skyscraper (and one of Sweden’s earliest) was built in 1964 and namned Kronprinsen (The Crown Prince). It stands 27 floors tall and features 700 apartments which can house as many as 3 000 people. The cost of building it was a staggering 90 million SEK (approx. $12 000 000). Standing at the top of the building, on the visitors terrace, one could see...

Hugo Montenegro – Lady in Cement (1968)

Time for another album share here at Ultra Swank, this time featuring the groovy beats and melodies of Hugo Montenegro. This is the original soundtrack to the movie Lady in Cement starring Frank Sinatra as a private eye working in the swank (and not so swank) settings of Miami, Florida in the late 1960s. The movie is pretty nice, not a very original story –...

Shopping Spree – Part 3
Written by Christopher in Stores

Shopping Spree – Part 3

Shopping in Luleå in the northern parts of Sweden was the first indoor shopping mall in Europe. Built in 1955 and designed by the famous architect Ralph Erskine, who wanted to create a mall for people to enjoy and socialize – even with the cold winter climate of northern Sweden. Apparently he got the idea while visiting a outdoor shopping mall in Canada, during the...

Swedish Googie design
Written by Christopher in Architecture

Swedish Googie design

I recently discovered a Swedish website that featured abandoned and disused places, buildings and what not. One of the locations was one of those old motel / restaurant / bar establishment thingies that was a common sight along the Swedish highways up to the 1980s. The interesting thing about this place is the design. It looks like nothing I have seen before, at least not...

Movie Recommendations – Part 1
Written by Christopher in Film

Movie Recommendations – Part 1

I have a keen movie interest (don’t we all?). As we all know some of the best and most memorable movies were made in around the 50s, 60s and 70s. I like to watch movies that make me feel good, movies that has a certain feel to them. And that is all that counts. So without further ado, here goes. The Best of Everything Very...

Shopping Spree – Part 1
Written by Christopher in Stores

Shopping Spree – Part 1

Postcards from various shopping centers, malls and department stores in Sweden from the 1960s and 1970s. Pay attention to the plethora of plants, swanky architecture and earthy colours....

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