
When green means stop: the impact of classic neon lighting in the wireless era, from West Virginia with love.
If a good sign is worth more than its weight in canvas, plastic, fiberglass, cardboard, or whatever material helped birth it, a good old sign earns even more accolades, as multiplied by the number of years it has done its job. (Weight of the material multiplied by its age?) The perseverance of a good sign

A new spin on the wheels of an old ghost bike, along Indy’s Madison Avenue.
My latest article just went up at Urban Indy. It’s a familiar subject to those who know this blog well: another ghost bike, this time in the largely suburban, automobile dependent streets of the south side of Indianapolis. Unlike my very recent article on a ghost bike in Albuquerque, this one almost certainly signifies a

Gateway Travel Plaza: keeping Breezewood, PA (America’s gas station town) from running on empty.
Breezewood. It sounds like it could be the name of a stereotypical suburb to a major Midwest city (Chicago definitely comes to mind); it also sounds sufficiently generic that one might expect a dozen towns scattered across the country with the name. Negative on both counts. There’s only one Breezewood, and it’s not a suburb

A median too far: planting Arlington Public Schools activism where it’s most (or least) accessible.
Loathe as I am to wade into a subject this topical, the spatial ramifications of it are just as interesting than the content itself—probably more. So, here goes nothing: That small, seemingly innocuous orange and purple sign makes an urgent plea, the context of which should be obvious: the public schools in question are closed

Branding the boundary-line: when one side of the border crossing builds a landmark…and absorbs all the monumentality.
Author’s Note: This article on a landmark was originally intended for Urban Indy, but technical problems at that site prevent its publishing. I will link this article to the intended source once we are able to address those problems. The City of Indianapolis deploys the word “monument” far more than most American cities, and not

Catering to canines: Love’s Travel Stop shows its love for man’s best friend through complimentary dog parks.
The lumpy landscape of eastern Ohio, near the small city of Zanesville, doesn’t offer much in the way of urbanization, certainly not compared to the far more industrialized, flat, western half of the state. So motorists traveling along Interstate 70 must be strategic about where they go to tank up, both their car and their

Chipotle bucks the struggling restaurant trend, by predicting the future. What’s so tricky about that?!
A year ago, the prevailing wisdom among urban analysts was that restaurants would serve as the lodestar for any further downtown revitalization. I shared this sentiment, particularly in recognizing the recent, fashionable emergence of the food hall–a smattering of diverse small-kitchen eateries under one roof. The reality seemed, then as now, that most other retail—certainly

Cannabis amnesty: a green box at the airport has nothing to do depositing cash.
Though not a frequent flyer under normal conditions, I have, as of the date of this article, been a passenger on exactly eleven flights, including layovers, since much of the nation underwent varying degrees of lockdowns in response to the pandemic. I suspect this places my flight activity above average in terms of overall frequency,

Dubious digital pricing: revisiting a malfunctioning sign at a Baltimore gas station.
I can’t help myself: with the newly designed blog, I have an array of options available that previously didn’t exist, and this includes media. In the previous article, I posted my first video clip. And now, I offer a revival of an article from a couple years ago—a sign for a gas station in Baltimore,

The Supreme Court Building as a public forum: three recent vignettes place political fractiousness on full display. (MONTAGE)
For the last three years I have lived within a twenty minute walk of the Supreme Court of the United States. I can’t say it’s quite as banal as a city trash can, but it’s hardly something special at this point, when one lives this close. I’ve walked, run, or biked (and sometimes driven) past
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When green means stop: the impact of classic neon lighting in the wireless era, from West Virginia with love.
If a good sign is worth more than its weight in canvas, plastic, fiberglass, cardboard, or whatever material helped birth it, a good old sign earns even more accolades, as multiplied by the

A new spin on the wheels of an old ghost bike, along Indy’s Madison Avenue.
My latest article just went up at Urban Indy. It’s a familiar subject to those who know this blog well: another ghost bike, this time in the largely suburban, automobile dependent streets of

Gateway Travel Plaza: keeping Breezewood, PA (America’s gas station town) from running on empty.
Breezewood. It sounds like it could be the name of a stereotypical suburb to a major Midwest city (Chicago definitely comes to mind); it also sounds sufficiently generic that one might expect a

A median too far: planting Arlington Public Schools activism where it’s most (or least) accessible.
Loathe as I am to wade into a subject this topical, the spatial ramifications of it are just as interesting than the content itself—probably more. So, here goes nothing: That small, seemingly innocuous

Branding the boundary-line: when one side of the border crossing builds a landmark…and absorbs all the monumentality.
Author’s Note: This article on a landmark was originally intended for Urban Indy, but technical problems at that site prevent its publishing. I will link this article to the intended source once we

Catering to canines: Love’s Travel Stop shows its love for man’s best friend through complimentary dog parks.
The lumpy landscape of eastern Ohio, near the small city of Zanesville, doesn’t offer much in the way of urbanization, certainly not compared to the far more industrialized, flat, western half of the

Chipotle bucks the struggling restaurant trend, by predicting the future. What’s so tricky about that?!
A year ago, the prevailing wisdom among urban analysts was that restaurants would serve as the lodestar for any further downtown revitalization. I shared this sentiment, particularly in recognizing the recent, fashionable emergence

Cannabis amnesty: a green box at the airport has nothing to do depositing cash.
Though not a frequent flyer under normal conditions, I have, as of the date of this article, been a passenger on exactly eleven flights, including layovers, since much of the nation underwent varying

Dubious digital pricing: revisiting a malfunctioning sign at a Baltimore gas station.
I can’t help myself: with the newly designed blog, I have an array of options available that previously didn’t exist, and this includes media. In the previous article, I posted my first video

The Supreme Court Building as a public forum: three recent vignettes place political fractiousness on full display. (MONTAGE)
For the last three years I have lived within a twenty minute walk of the Supreme Court of the United States. I can’t say it’s quite as banal as a city trash can,
Recent Comments
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- Anonymous on Reviving the vintage advertising banners: a nostalgia gimmick or a rediscovered commodity?: “The Everedy Bottle Capper Mural was painted in 1988 by William Cochran of Frederick, Maryland. Together with Cochran, Mark Oatis…” Jan 25, 18:49
- AmericanDirt on A new spin on the wheels of an old ghost bike, along Indy’s Madison Avenue.: “I did a pretty thorough search as well, Chris. A funeral service was held for a person with the same…” Jan 23, 18:13
- Chris B on A new spin on the wheels of an old ghost bike, along Indy’s Madison Avenue.: “I googled the name, and it is also the name of a prominent Burmese actor/director, a general, and several former…” Jan 22, 10:42
- AmericanDirt on A new spin on the wheels of an old ghost bike, along Indy’s Madison Avenue.: “No worries where you decide to write. I’ll respond either way. I consolidate social media comments onto the blog, so…” Jan 21, 11:31
- Alex Pline on A new spin on the wheels of an old ghost bike, along Indy’s Madison Avenue.: “So much to say on this one. Something that is really telling is a google search brought no news of…” Jan 20, 20:30
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