Jim Heimann

"At the beginning of the automobile age, in that most car crazy of places, Southern California, roadways were dotted with eye-catching beacons for travelers. Diners shaped like chili bowls, pigs, and coffee pots; hotels and theaters in Aztec and Mayan motifs; and all manner of oddly shaped buildings were part of the Western architectural landscape - a trend that spread across the country. California Crazy & Beyond: Roadside Venacular Architecture is the most thorough documentation of this ususual architectural style, and a greatly enhanced, fully revised version of the classic book that first explored the movement."--BOOK JACKET.

Documenting and celebrating America's lasting love affair with eating out, May I Take Your Order? presents 250 color reproductions of classic menus from the 1920s through the 1960s. In addition to their unique graphic appeal, restaurant menus reflect the styles and attitudes - not to mention eating habits and prices - of their times.

From the early 1920s to the late 1950s, the American drive-in restaurant was the social arena for the young and old alike. Swinging ponytails, shiny new automobiles, and the aroma of French fries drifting through unrolled car windows heralded a new freedom for American consumers. Since the original Texas Pig Stand of 1921, the drive-in has become an all-American icon. A fascinating cultural and historical commentary on the first half of the twentieth century, Car Hops and Curb Service documents the drive-in's unique architectural contribution to the American landscape - and serves up a delicious look back at a vital period filled with verve and style.

228 pages : 26 cm