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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

Furniture arranging

This week we see how to arrange furniture in a 1950’s home. Do you take into account traffic patterns? Or do you deal with scale and balance and a center of interest in your room? 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.

Remodeling? I found a few cool resources.

We haven’t been doing much remodeling lately, and I’ve been neglecting this catagory. However, I recently ran across these fabulous tiles from Clayhaus Ceramics. I wish I’d known abou them when we picked out bathroom tile for our remodel. I’m sure most of you know Pam, Retro Renovation – she’s a fanatstic resource for Mid-Century remodeling manufacturers. And our friends at Crestview doors just got a wonderful write up in Eichler Network.

Save the Fuller House in Forth Worth Texas!

Known as the Andrew Fuller House and designed by modernist A. Quincy Jones in Fort Worth Texas, the house isn’t selling, so they’re tearing it down. The December 1950 issue of the magazine Architectural Forum featured a “Builder’s House of the Year” designed by A. Quincy Jones. The same issue also awarded the innovative Palo Alto building magnate Joseph Eichler “Subdivision of the Year”. Eichler then invited Jones to tour the Palo Alto development he

Updating and renovating? Purist?

I was thinking about renovating this morning – mainly because we’re at a lull on projects until we have some money drop in our lap! 🙂 But I was looking at some real estate ads in Palm Springs (pretty much the mid-century capital) and one mentioned that the kitchen had been “ruined” in an update. There weren’t any pictures, but it got me to thinking about a house we have down the street who ripped