The city of Los Angeles, late 1940s. A place of glamour, fame, and wealth, but also where crime, vice, and corruption are rife. Film noir and neo noir movies such as Sunset Boulevard, L.A. Confidential and Double Indemnity help to set stark contrasts. However, here is some old stock footage that was shot in color and still holds up very well. It is rare to...

The Shopping Spree article series continues with part 11. As usual we head back 50 years or so to visit the stylish, kitschy and sometimes strange looking malls and shopping centers of the past. This time we take a look at Montgomery Ward, Woolco, Randhurst Mall and Colonial Plaza in Orlando. Like most of us retro lovers know, time stands still in photographs, but progress...

According to Wikipedia, a roadside attraction is a feature along the side of a road, that is frequently advertised with billboards to attract tourists. In general, these are places one might stop on the way to somewhere else, rather than being a final or primary destination in and of themselves. The modern tourist-oriented highway attraction originated as a U.S. and Western Canadian phenomenon in the...

Nostalgic, classic, vintage and timeless yet again. So vivid, futuristic and warm but also gloomy and grey at the same time. Postwar suburban America was certainly a time of change – a time when the automobile was the spotlight of modern living. You could go anywhere in your Oldsmobile, Chrysler, Chevrolet or Cadillac. How about a trip to S.S. Kresge to pick up new sofa?...

“We choose to go to the moon, not because it is easy, but because it is hard!” John F. Kennedy, Sept. 12, 1962. Rice University, Texas. Huh! What did he say? President Kennedy’s speech, kicking off the Space Race, was inspired words. But everyone knows the real reason we went to the moon. We went because it was COOL! What showed us how cool it really was...

Nostalgic, classic, vintage and timeless. These are words that comes to mind when I look at postcards depicting roadside American attractions such as motels, diners, drive-in theaters, bowling alleys and outdoor shopping centers. It is definitely an era gone-by now and I am sad never to never really have experienced it. I am sure many of you have fond (or maybe not so fond) memories...

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...