The Historic Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba MO

If you find yourself in the middle of Missouri – you’re going to want to make sure that Cuba Missouri is a stop on your trip! With it’s retro murals and almost Disneylike feel, Cuba is Americana at it’s finest. And it’s here that you find one of the best kept motels along Route 66. […]

Newton Iowa, a midcentury historic downtown

The Newton Downtown Historic District has been entered in to the National Register of Historic Places, effective September 22, 2014. In 2009, the Newton Historic preservation committee looked within the proposed district of 87 properties. Fred Chabot, chairman of the historic preservation committee, said they began by researching the history of those buildings for the required […]

Raising Retro Kids: Pedal Cars

Pedal car history goes back to the 1890’s when toy makers took their cue from real cars on the road. At the turn of the century, the cost meant  that these cars were playthings for only wealthy families especially with many families reeling from the financial devastation of The Great Depression. No pedal cars were […]

Pasadena Heritage presents Pasadena 1940 Forward

This spring, Pasadena Heritage will offer unique programs in a Getty-initiated celebration of the city’s modern architectural heritage through exhibitions and programs at cultural institutions in and around L.A. A leading historic preservation organization founded in 1977, Pasadena Heritage will host a three-part lecture and panel discussion on May 16 and an architectural tour of […]

Mid-Century Motel Review: The Canyon Motel and RV Park

Continuing our spring break tour, we were excited to hit Williams, Arizona and especially happy to check in to the Canyon Motel and RV Park! This historic motel was slated to be torn down and replaced with townhouses. It would be gone today if not for Kevin and Shirley Young, a couple of California transplants, who […]

New Mexico Mid Century Motels?

We’re in the throws of planning a trip to New Mexico over spring break – mainly to see the Trinity Site (which is only open 2x a year). So, we’ll be staying in Socorro and Santa Fe. I already have a cool Mid Century Motel booked in Alamogordo – anyone have suggestions for Socorro and/or […]

Do you have questions about the "Mad Men" set design?

I have been hardly able to contain myself for the last month (I’ve been waiting for the new sets to be finished), but in the next couple of weeks, I will be interviewing one of the wonderful people who design the sets on the series “Mad Men”! (insert hysterical screaming here). If you’re into mid-century […]

Don't replace your windows – it's not green or saving green!

I went to a great presentation by our local utility company (rather a guy they hire) who talks about how to save money and help preserve the environment. Great talk! I might email him and see if I can link to his powerpoint on my blog (stay tuned for that). But one point that came […]