I have always been drawn to the ’50s and ’60s roadside architecture intended to provoke memorable emotions to the new class of traveler on America’s Interstate Highway System.
Sitting in the middle of the backseat of my parents1954, two-tone, green Buick with my two brothers on either side was a formula for conflict. The long boring trip from Oklahoma to California without air conditioning — the heat proved to be unbearable. All we had to do was find and collect all 48 state license plates and stare into the landscape. With only the classic license game to entertain us, our mother was in charge of discipline and navigation as Dad concentrated on driving. We sympathized in a small way with the Joad family in The Grapes of Wrath after being evicted from their farm in Oklahoma then setting out west in search of a post-Dust Bowl life.
If this all sounds familiar, I don’t have to tell you the trip was endless and boring for all of us. The one highlight was discovering the inventive and unique buildings of highway commerce. The spectacle of these one-of-a-kind structures strike a wonderful contrast to the everyday repetitive buildings that now dot our roadways. Conceptually the idea was to be distinctive, often humorous or colorful, but always American and memorable.
Sometimes these are called “novelty architecture.” The buildings’ unusual shapes create landmarks and serve as advertising. The edifices occasionally sought to be counterpoints to the monumental scale of the highways. They were designed and completed starting in the 1930s. Sighting the unusual forms adjacent to the highways became a very effective method of attracting motorists — to a diner, coffee shop or roadside attraction.
The Mother of the Interstates (2,448 miles) was Route 66, which started in Chicago and ended in Los Angeles. It was popularized by the hit song (“get your kicks on Route 66”).
One of my favorite businesses still operating is Johnny’s Beef on North Avenue in Elmwood Park. This legendary stand is architecturally striking, along with a number of other shops in this area. First the form, with a mansard roof is twisted off the street grid, contrasting with the adjacent buildings and roads. The parking is placed in the rear and sides, exposing the glassy front full of customers queued-up, spilling outside, providing evidence of Johnny’s popularity.
The charcoal grill is always fired-up and roasting the Italian sausage with the smoke billowing out into the neighborhood. A minimalist menu of Italian beef and sausage, along with hot dogs and fries, is powerfully marketed through a compelling smoke screen. They say our sense of smell is our most primal, the one that can hit us the hardest, because it comes from the deepest part of the brain. I love Johnny’s for its historic authenticity, delicious food and simplicity.
This area is home to a number of shops that focus on our streets of which I have included a sampling. Also, I added some examples we found this summer on a road trip to the Four Corners area where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah meet. Only this time we drove a new air-conditioned 530 horsepower supercharged Range Rover which almost drove itself — fun!
Garret Eakin, is an architect, Oak Park Plan Commission member and adjunct professor at the School of the Art Institute.