For the second time in almost as many months, I’ve found a quirk in subdivision design, nestled deep within a metro that, for the last few decades, has been cranking out subdivisions the way Henry Ford was rolling out the Model T a century ago. But Las Vegas, which has doubled its population multiple times
Few people truly appreciated it until it was (nearly) gone. And now it celebrates its centennial. Across nearly 2,450 miles, Route 66 linked two of the nation’s largest cities, allowing uninterrupted automobile travel across the nation’s sparsely populated western interior for the first time ever. Prior to April 30, 1926, the date the American Association
I normally offer a disclaimer whenever I write an article about a timely or currently relevant subject. Essentially, these disclaimers all offer the same warning: don’t expect this to become a routine. And, even though my last hot-off-the-press article wasn’t that long ago and generated considerable response, I still won’t get into the habit because,
The influence of pop-culture sociology has helped to impart an almost malicious intent onto most ethnic enclaves in the United States. After all, many academics presume, if a district of profound cultural difference exists in hyper concentration while surrounded by a much larger district reflective of the homogenous cultural majority, the only reasonable explanation for
A few years ago, I explored what Arlington County (Virginia) was telling me was a bona fide bike boulevard. I mean, it had to be: all the street signs in the area used the words “BIKE BOULEVARD” in white and green underneath the traditional street name. Fine and good for the small set of advocates
It’s not my custom to feature two articles in a row with a short video, but what can I say? With these two, I can think of no better way to capture a scenario defined by motion. And, far removed from the desert metropolis of my previous animated article, this one teleports the reader to
Even in some of the most remote and austere nooks of the nation, it’s possible to find overt demonstrations on hot-button global issues. And why not? All it takes is one person with a megaphone, a can of spray paint, or whatever the instrument of choice may be to impart an inflammatory message. Nonetheless, I
I’ve professed my love for mid-century signage multiple times on this blog. Whether it’s understated modernism, lingering neon, or the overt space-age wonderland of Googie, it all evokes the dawn of the motor era—that point in time, shortly after World War II, when almost every household either owned a vehicle or had easy access to
On an otherwise run-of-the-mill middle-class street, in the altogether run-of-the-mill and middle-class Washington DC suburb of Springfield, Virginia, a tiny sign indicates an on-street parking restriction, under certain terms that need a textual explanation. The notion isn’t strange that a sign can order drivers not park on this side of a quiet, residential, local road;
Most chain restaurants focus their branding on a few key visual elements: logo, font, colors. Take Starbucks, for example. It started in old-school, urban commercial storefronts like Seattle’s Pike Place Market, expanded to other big-city milieus, then went suburban into freestanding structures with parking lots and drive-thru windows. It adapted the interior model to shopping
For the second time in almost as many months, I’ve found a quirk in subdivision design, nestled deep within a metro that, for the last few decades, has been cranking out subdivisions the
Few people truly appreciated it until it was (nearly) gone. And now it celebrates its centennial. Across nearly 2,450 miles, Route 66 linked two of the nation’s largest cities, allowing uninterrupted automobile travel
I normally offer a disclaimer whenever I write an article about a timely or currently relevant subject. Essentially, these disclaimers all offer the same warning: don’t expect this to become a routine. And,
The influence of pop-culture sociology has helped to impart an almost malicious intent onto most ethnic enclaves in the United States. After all, many academics presume, if a district of profound cultural difference
A few years ago, I explored what Arlington County (Virginia) was telling me was a bona fide bike boulevard. I mean, it had to be: all the street signs in the area used
It’s not my custom to feature two articles in a row with a short video, but what can I say? With these two, I can think of no better way to capture a
Even in some of the most remote and austere nooks of the nation, it’s possible to find overt demonstrations on hot-button global issues. And why not? All it takes is one person with
I’ve professed my love for mid-century signage multiple times on this blog. Whether it’s understated modernism, lingering neon, or the overt space-age wonderland of Googie, it all evokes the dawn of the motor
On an otherwise run-of-the-mill middle-class street, in the altogether run-of-the-mill and middle-class Washington DC suburb of Springfield, Virginia, a tiny sign indicates an on-street parking restriction, under certain terms that need a textual
Most chain restaurants focus their branding on a few key visual elements: logo, font, colors. Take Starbucks, for example. It started in old-school, urban commercial storefronts like Seattle’s Pike Place Market, expanded to