I am re-posting this piece, as more and more of my work addresses this not so distant period of time.
Well I guess it had to happen. Sooner or later your past catches up with you. I was born in the height of the craze for modernism and now I'm making part of my living by documenting it.
All of those ranch homes, and odd shaped bank buildings, and strip shopping centers that sprang up after World War II are now more than 50 years old, which means they are old enough to be considered for most community and state historic registers, as well as the National Register of Historic Places.
So much concrete, so many prefabricated aggregate panels, so much steel. Modernism was everywhere--even in our National Parks as part of their Mission 66 program, which funded the largest building program in the National Parks from 1956 to 1966. Modernism in our rustic parks? Well yes. Think about the round, concrete visitor center at Mesa Verde National Park, which has recently been vacated for new digs. Even the venerable Grand Canyon National Park encouraged modernist style buildings, like the Thunderbird and Kachina Lodges that are tucked in near the venerable El Tovar.
Everything in those days touted all of our modern conveniences and most particularly our cars.
We Americans were crazy about the automobile. Our lives revolved around our cars. We constructed huge parking lots and oriented our lives, our businesses and our buildings to the street curb. We loved drive-thrus of all kinds--banks, fast food, and in New Mexico we even had drive up pay phones. Now that's an anachronistic concept. I can't imagine ever seeing a millennial sitting in a car or using a pay phone.
So I see the need to document and celebrate a piece of our history that revered technology and seemed so distant from the natural world. But I'm glad that time is now past.
If you want to know more about my work, scroll through this blog or check my site at Linked In
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