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

Fabulous acrylic Modern Christmas Trees

Matt Bliss, has been selling acrylic Modern Christmas Trees based on his grandfather Bud’s mid-1960s design since 2011. The trees feature a sleek design and fabulous reflective decorative elements. They are a great holiday decorative element for people who live in modern homes or sleek apartments or who simply want something different and with a creative sleek look. Modern Christmas Tree designer, architect, and engineer Lawrence “Bud” Stoecker spent the majority of his professional life

What an awesome idea!

Isn’t this fantastic! What a wonderful idea! I found this on Manly Vintage and it makes me want to suggest it to anyone with radiators in their home. Run, don’t walk to get one!

A Route 66 Preservation Project needs help

From the “Save the Boots Motel Facebook page” The National Park Service, Route 66 Corridor Grant Program awarded the historic Boots Motel owners in Carthage, MO. a matching grant in 2012 to remove the 1978 roof addition and restore the structure to it’s original appearance, and qualify this venerable Route 66 Icon’s placement on the National Register of Historical Places. The “Raze the Roof” fundraising effort is underway and the Volunteer event to remove the

Newton Iowa, a midcentury historic downtown

The Newton Downtown Historic District has been entered in to the National Register of Historic Places, effective September 22, 2014. In 2009, the Newton Historic preservation committee looked within the proposed district of 87 properties. Fred Chabot, chairman of the historic preservation committee, said they began by researching the history of those buildings for the required site inventory forms. The committee’s research showed the best way to move forward was to pitch downtown’s mid-century architectural aesthetic,