Remembering Roadside America: Preserving the Past as Landscape and Place

Contents

CONTENTS Preface xv Acknowledgments xxiii 1. The Journey Begins 1 2. Observing Roadside America 29 3. Learning from Roadside America 61 4. Preserving Roads and Roadsides 95 5. Historical Museums and Roadside America 133 6. Experiencing the Past as Landscape and Place 171 7. The Road Continues 209 Appendix 233 Notes 237 Index 273 This page intentionally left blank. ILLUSTRATIONS 1.1. Header for “The Great American Roadside” 2 1.2. U.S. 30 at Breezewood, PA, 1988 3 1.3. Dodge Road near 108th Street, Omaha, NE, 1992 5 1.4. Dodge Road near 108th Street, Omaha, 1999 6 1.5. Pavement on the Former Lincoln Highway, West of Omaha, 1989 7 1.6. Vacant Roadside Businesses, Williamstown, KY, 1996 13 1.7. Gasoline Sign, Commerce, GA, 2007 14 1.8. Vacant Gasoline Station, Santa Rosa, NM, 2008 15 1.9. Derelict Highway Cafe, Cecil, OH, 1999 16 1.10. New Restaurant under Construction, Champaign, IL, 1995 17 1.11. West Street, Annapolis, MD, 2006 18 2.1. Rural Road in Illinois, 1915 34 2.2. Postcard View of Lincoln Highway, West of Laurel Mountain in Pennsylvania, c. 1915 35 2.3. Hardware Store with Gasoline Pump at Dewart, PA, c. 1915 37 2.4. Main Street Business District, Wadena, MN, c. 1925 38 2.5. Eighth Street, Coffeyville, KS, c. 1925 39 2.6. Highway U.S. 50, East of Laurel Mountain in West Virginia, c. 1925 39 2.7. Gilmore Family Gas Station, Leroy, IL, 1940 41 2.8. Gilmore Family 42 2.9. Mid-Continental Petroleum Company Roadmap, c. 1940 44 2.10. Advertising Blotter, Dixie Tourist Camp, Kingstree, SC, c. 1925 45 2.11. Advertising Postcard, Trumbull Motel, Troy, MO, c. 1950 46 2.12. Advertising Postcard, B. Lloyd’s Pecan Service Stations, c. 1947 47 2.13. Cartoon Parodying Highway Advertising Signs 49 2.14. National Old Trails Highway, West of Troy, IL, c. 1928 50 2.15. U.S. 80 Strip at Gila Bend, AZ, c. 1938 52 2.16. State Route 4 at Edge of Pittsburg, CA, c. 1935 53 2.17. Colorado Avenue, Pasadena, CA, c. 1949 55 2.18. Interstate 70 East of Kansas City, MO, c. 1970 56 2.19. Roadmap Panels, Cities Service Oil Company, c. 1960 and 1965 59 3.1. Cartoon Panels Illustrating Commercial Strip Evolution 64 3.2. Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV, Large Signs, 1983 71 3.3. Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV, Small-Scale Businesses 72 3.4. Modeling the Evolution of a Suburban Strip Corridor 75 3.5. Commercial Land Use Along Previously Residential Thoroughfare, Champaign and Urbana, IL, 1919–89 76 3.6. Changing Land Use along I-474, Bloomington, MN, 1953–76 79 3.7. Shell Gasoline Station, Winston-Salem, NC, 1981 81 3.8. Gasoline Station Building Types Predominant in the United States, 1910–90 83 3.9. A “House with Canopy” Gas Station, Constantine, MI, 1978 84 3.10. An “Oblong Box” Gas Station, Champaign, IL, 1976 85 3.11. A “Canopy with Booth” Gas Station, Chicago, IL, 1992 85 3.12. Vintage Motel 66 on Former Route 66, Tulsa, OK, 1985 86 3.13. Abandoned motel property on U.S. 19, Perry, FL, 2004 87 3.14. Vacant Shopping Center, Dallas, TX, 1989 88 3.15. Westheimer Road near Post Oaks Center, Houston, Texas, 1996 89 3.16. Approach to New York, New York Casino, Las Vegas, NV, 2002 90 3.17. Las Vegas Boulevard, 2002 91 3.18. Golden Gate Casino and Hotel, Las Vegas, 2002 94 4.1. Postcard Rhapsodizing about Sightseeing Bus at Lookout Mountain, TN 96 4.2. Hot ’n Now, Kalamazoo, MI, 2009 97 4.3. Main Street, Old Salem, Winston-Salem, NC, 1973 105 4.4. The Old Coffee Pot, Winston-Salem, NC, 2005 106 4.5. Esso Standard Gasoline Station, Meeting Street, Charleston, SC, 1977 107 4.6. Interior, Historic Charleston Foundation’s Architectural Interpretation Center, 1996 108 4.7. Bay Street Construction Site, Charleston, SC, 2000 109 4.8. Meramec River Bridge Deck, Former U.S. 66, Times Beach, MO, 2003 112 4.9. Meramec River Bridge Supports, Former U.S. 66, Times Beach, MO, 2003 113 4.10. Arroyo Seco, Los Angeles, CA, 1968 114 4.11. George Washington Parkway, South of Alexandria, VA, 1968 115 4.12. H. P. Sears Service...