Home - Mid-Century Style Magazine

From Flame to Flicker: Inside a Working Neon Shop

You walk into a neon shop expecting nostalgia. You leave thinking about chemistry, electricity, municipal zoning codes, and 1940s craftsmanship. That’s what happened when I toured Morry’s Neon, a family business opened in 1985 by Morry and his son Glen, a business built on a neon legacy that began in 1946 when Morry first started bending glass. Established the same year America decided diners, drive-ins, and optimism were perfectly reasonable things to mass-produce, Morry’s has

Route 66 at 100: Why the Centennial Is Igniting a New Era of Retro Road Trips

As the Route 66 Centennial approaches, something interesting is happening. This isn’t just an anniversary tour or a nostalgia lap. It’s a full-scale reawakening of interest in the American road trip—one rooted in history, preservation, and the lived experience of the road itself. The centennial is acting like a spotlight, illuminating not just the highway, but the stories, architecture, roadside culture, and communities that grew up along it. And people are paying attention. Travelers want

Los Angeles Potteries: A Whimsical Walk Through Mid-Century Ceramic Dreams

From our retro coffee table to yours comes a great book – an awesome gift or something to pour over in our own home! Suppose you’ve ever spotted a cookie jar shaped like a hamburger or a canister set with tropical fruit motifs and thought, “I remember that design!” or “I have to have that design!”. In that case, you’ll want to get your hands on Los Angeles Potteries: A Collector’s Journey through Artistry, Craft,

El Cortez Hotel: Where Vintage Vegas Still Lives

Opened in 1941, the El Cortez Hotel & Casino is one of Las Vegas’s oldest operating casinos — and one of its most authentic. In a city obsessed with reinvention, the El Cortez is a rare survivor, maintaining its vintage spirit while still feeling alive and relevant. Preservation That Matters In 2013, the El Cortez earned its place on the National Register of Historic Places, and it’s easy to see why. The building’s Spanish Colonial

Lighting

Most of us love Mid-Century Lamps – Mid-Century had some great styles, but it was practical too! Taken from the “Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book” Copyright 1956, we thought we’d turn Mid-Century Photo Friday into a learning experience. As usual you can leave a link to your Mid-Century Photo Friday in the comments.

Preserving a Piece of American History: Inside Las Vegas’ Mob Museum

Tucked away in downtown Las Vegas, The Mob Museum—formerly known as the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement—offers more than just a glimpse into criminal history. It’s also a powerful example of historic preservation done right. Housed in a striking 1933 neoclassical courthouse (originally a U.S. Post Office and Federal Courthouse), the building is a rare survivor from an era when clean lines, bold function, and civic pride defined public architecture. Its marble

Best renovation strategies – or how to start a controversy

Based on this article which ran a while ago (although it was published in February so it’s even older than that) – this makes for a fantastic discussion among re-modelers and preservationists. If you read the article in the link, they did research and then tried to make the remodel look progressive. In preservation, we’ve certainly run into a lot of this on the road with mid-century motels where they have to keep it looking

Preserving the iconic gas station in your area

There is almost nothing as iconic as the Mid-Century Gas station. Once placed obviously along the road to attract weary travelers and to feed the gas to move along the road, now quite a few of the most wonderful architecturally stand empty and deserted. This particular gas station in my area got me thinking about preservation of these great structures! This former Phillips 66 gas station, displays the quintessential stylized box design. Its space age