California Crazy

At the dawn of the automobile age, Americans favored wanderlust, which inspired a new generation of innovative entrepreneurs to build roadside buildings. These buildings, often dismissed as "monstrosities," thrived, especially along the Sunbelt and in Southern California, where proprietors indulged their creative impulses with giant, eccentric constructions. Over the past 40 years, these architectural anomalies have regained their integrity and are now celebrated in California Crazy, a revised compendium featuring the best examples of this architectural genre. The concept is expanded to include domestic architecture, eccentric signage, and the automobile as a fanciful object.

Format: Hardback
Length: 324 pages
Publication date: 22 April 2020
Publisher: Taschen GmbH

At the dawn of the automobile age, a surge of innovative entrepreneurs emerged to meet the growing demand for travel and exploration among Americans. This led to the construction of a new breed of roadside buildings, designed to captivate passing drivers with their unique and eye-catching designs. These structures, often referred to as "monstrosities" by the architectural establishment of the day, thrived, particularly along the Sunbelt region of America, particularly in Southern California.

Proprietors of these buildings indulged their creative impulses, constructing enormous and eccentric structures made from a variety of materials, including owls, dolls, pigs, ships, coffee pots, and fruit. While their symbolic intent was pure, these buildings were often marginalized by history. However, over the past 40 years, California's architectural anomalies have regained their integrity and are now celebrated in this freshly revised compendium, California Crazy.

California Crazy features the best examples of this architectural genre, along with essays exploring the influences that fostered the nascent architectural movement. It also identifies the unconventional landscapes and attitudes found on the roadsides of Los Angeles and Hollywood, which allowed these buildings to flourish in profusion. In addition, the book includes David Gebhards definitive essay, which defined this vernacular movement almost forty years ago.

The California Crazy concept is expanded to include domestic architecture, eccentric signage, and the automobile as a fanciful object. These roadside buildings serve as a testament to the creativity and ingenuity of the American people, and their impact on the landscape of the country is undeniable. Whether you are a history buff, an architecture enthusiast, or simply a lover of unique and eye-catching designs, California Crazy is a must-read for anyone interested in the history and culture of roadside architecture.

Weight: 1870g
Dimension: 291 x 217 x 32 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783836572835