Mid Century Style Magazine

Mid-Century Travel Trailers – the next big thing?

mfmain — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:28:27 +0000

A trend that’s sweeping the mid-century net is the love of Retro Travel Trailers – they’re hip, they’re cool and they’re out there waiting to be gutted remodeled and enjoyed!

Photo Brian - Shasta Louise

The first blog I knew about was the 1964 restoration project of the “Shasta Louise” – which I found through the happy owner’s blog “Atomic Addiction” - according to their Facebook page “”Louise” is our Shasta’s nickname. “Louise” is a 1964 Shasta 16 SC travel trailer owned by Molly and Brian. “She” is currently being restored.”

We’ve really enjoyed watching this project and the blog is chock full of camper links, restoration links and campground links!

Also from 1964 is the Travco Motorhome “Myrtle” – this was posted on our Facebook group and it’s another fantastic restoration! Again “The blog chronicles the restoration process and offers resources and tips to other travco owners.”

Feeling the urge to start watching Craiglist yet?

Photo courtesy of Capri, Myrtle's Owner

Myrtle is so cool (adore the star clock on the wall of the interior!) that she’s featured in “My Cool Campervan” which reveals a world beyond the stereotype, of vintage vans from another era, still loved and still on the road, of forgotten rarities, of beautifully restored mass-produced models.

There’s even a Facebook group to buy and sell your cool vintage camper-van!

So, for you huge retro camper fans – any other links for the just starting to look to buy and restore?

Mid-Century Photo Friday: Arapahoe Acres (psst, this ones for sale)

mfmain — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:47:32 +0000

More Arapahoe Acres:And this ones for sale!

Modern Moore House in Palos Verdes Estates demolished

mfmain — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:14:35 +0000

The Lloyd Wright-designed Moore House in Palos Verdes Estates, a well known example of modern architecture, has been demolished.

Stephen Russo

The gorgeous house (pictured here – and you can take a tour of it here, was built in 1959.

The current owner bought it in 2004 and says he never even knew who Wright was – he’s the son of Frank Lloyd Wright and an accomplished modern architect.

According to the Los Angeles Conservancy, the house is located at 504 Paseo del Mar in Palos Verdes Estates, the Moore House was a striking example of modernism in a city dominated by Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean Revival inspired homes.

To read more about what it might be replaced with, read this article in LA Curbed.

Mid-Century Photo Friday: Arapahoe Acres

mfmain — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Took some cool pictures around Arapahoe Acres – love this house color!

Post a link to your picture in the comments if you want to participate! Mid-Century fans would love to see your photos!

New to us motels! The Highlander on Route 66 and the Fabulous Sunset Motel in NC

mfmain — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:48:47 +0000

I love getting to add new motels to the directory and the listings have been coming in fast and furious and so I’m behind, so brace yourselves for a lot of fabulous new motel listings! Please keep our directory bookmarked for more fabulous motels and hotels as we are trying to add them daily!

First, this motel caught my eye through the fabulous pictures they posted on Flickr! Staying true to the period, we have the wonderful Sunset Motel at 415 South Broad Street in Brevard North Carolina!

This quaint, retro motel, reminiscent of the 50′s is a must-see when passing through Brevard, North Carolina. When you first drive in you are transported back in time and expect the staff to be sporting beehive hairdos and all the fixin’s. Lori, the new owner, has made some major improvements and will be continuing to update the charming motel throughout the season. The Sunset Motel celebrates the best of the classic roadside motel experience. They’re the real deal: clean, comfortable rooms, friendly hometown staff, chairs right outside your door so you can visit with neighbors, and an ice maker just around the corner. And yes, for all you city folks, we do have free wi-fi in the all the rooms! The Sunset Motel is conveniently located within walking distance of downtown Brevard and minutes away from Pisgah National Forest and multitudes of other natural attractions.

Our Fabulous second motel is a Route 66 treasure: the Highlander Motel in Williams Arizona!

Alan & Sandra, are excited to bring you a completely refurbished and convenient lodging experience all while maintaining the historical character of this Route 66 Motel. The motel features a huge selection of amenities like free local calls, convenient location, refrigerators, and Internet access. Next time you want a great night’s sleep, amazing service, and money still in your pocket, come vacation with us at Highlander Motel. The Highlander Motel along the Route 66 was originally built by Mr. Marchall Duncan in the year 1950. The Duncan’s had the motel for 46 years, from 1950 till 1996. The son of Marchall Duncan is still living in Williams, where he runs a real estate business. It was owned by several families through the years until 2011, when the Highlander Motel was sold to Alain Aernoudt & Sandra Driesse from Belgium. They hope to welcome you to the historic Route 66 Highlander Motel on your stay in beautiful Williams, Arizona Gateway to the Grand Canyon.

Mid-Century Motel Monday – fan us on Facebook

mfmain — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:32:43 +0000

In order to give Mid-Century Motels a bit more breathing room, we’ve launched a separate page on Facebook – we’d love it if you’d give us some love over there!

Rand McNally error is corrected thanks the Route 66 Online community

mfmain — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:12:35 +0000

Thanks to to Frank Gifford at Route 66 Pix for setting Rand McNally right! Rand McNally misplaced Route 66 for a large section that stretches across 60 miles of Oklahoma and Missouri, and deleted the Kansas section entirely.

The mistake appears on first releases of Missouri maps in the 2012 “Road Atlas Large Scale,” “Road Atlas Deluxe Midsize” and “Road Atlas Midsize.”

The error is pretty clear on Frank’s great illustration here:

Courtesy Frank Gifford "Route 66 Pix"

Rand McNally incorrectly shows Route 66 following US 60 northeast from Afton OK toward Neosho MO, then implies it follows US 71 north to Carthage MO.

The actual routing from Afton is to Miami and Commerce OK, Baxter Springs and Galena KS, then Joplin and Carthage MO. Route 66 has never followed the path Rand McNally shows, and the divergence is up to 25 miles

Rand McNally’s error is bound to confuse many first-time and casual travelers. The unmarked section in northeast OK is a separate but related problem. Together, they add to the already-strong case for National Historic Trail status for Route 66, and the consistent uniform signage this would bring.

Unfortunately Rand McNally didn’t respond very quickly to Gifford’s requests to look into it and only after an a blog post appeared in Route 66 News did the director of Retail Sales at Rand McNally post in their comments section:

Yes, Dan, we have our “web filters on” here at Rand McNally, and we’ve heard you loud and clear!

In fact, we had captured this information in February when Frank contacted us, but we did not close the loop with him to confirm that, and we apologize.

As noted above, the mistakenly placed shield appears on the non-subject part of Oklahoma on the Missouri map. The route is shown correctly on the Kansas and Oklahoma maps.

The map in question has been updated, and the change will appear in future reprints of our U.S. road atlases.

In the future, we will have a special online area where everyone can reach our Cartography/GIS team directly: randmcnally.com/tellrand will route feedback like this for immediate investigation and response.

Thanks to Route 66 News for your post on this matter!

All’s well that ends well and since it’s been resolved you might want to snap up old copies as collector’s editions!

Collectors weekly features “Mad Men” essentials in a Mod showcase

mfmain — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 10:00:00 +0000

If you haven’t found “Collector’s Weekly” – then you’re missing a lot!

Courtesy "Collector's Weekly"

They tout themselves as “a resource for people who love antique and vintage stuff. Our aim is to build a great place to explore and learn, and experience the passion and knowledge of collectors everywhere.”

So, as a tribute to the return of “Mad Men” on Sunday, they’ve put together a showcase of some fabulous top 10 Mod essentials, “circa 1966-ish, to smarten up your workday and make you feel worthy of Roger Sterling’s approval.” – go check the rest of the fabulous pictures out here on their site!

I particularly LOVE the Go-go boots and lava lamp! I wonder how many of these items will make it into day to day life with the Mad Men clan – I’m sure you can at least count on Sally Draper to go full out Mod – don’t you think? And wouldn’t that dress look great on Joan?

Courtesy "Collector's Weekly"

No related posts.

Mid-Century Photo Friday – Women’s Day 50′s interior

mfmain — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:25:54 +0000

Welcome to Mid-Century Photo Friday – if you’ve never found it before, this is a great time to join!

My post is a follow up to last week’s post about a $7600 3 bedroom house featured in this 1958 issue of Women’s Day – and here (drum-roll please) is the interior:
I adore the chairs and the colors are great – your favorite part?

Now here’s the fun! I’ve searched forever to find a way we can all share our Mid-Century photos, please click on the links below and add your Mid-Century Photo Friday so we can all share the Mid-Century awesomeness!

50′s Preservation has it’s challenges

mfmain — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 22:07:25 +0000

Photo by Butterbean Man - via Flickr

Arapahoe Acres is the first Post World-War II residential subdivision listed as a historic district in the Nation Register of Historic Places.

But according to a March 5th article in the Denver Post “Last summer, Arapahoe Acres was named an “At-Risk Landscape” by the Cultural Landscapes Foundation of Washington, D.C., because of an increasing number of botched renovations, from removal of classic carports to covering original brick facades with stucco.” (Read more: Englewood’s Arapahoe Acres is beloved for its historic look, but not by all newcomers – The Denver Post )

So, when does Preservation cross the line into personal expression?