California Crazy. American Pop Architecture. 45th Ed.

€29.90

This book celebrates the eccentric roadside architecture that blossomed in America during the automobile age, especially in Southern California from the 1920s onward. While critics dismissed these giant, whimsical buildings—shaped like owls, pigs, ships, or coffee pots—as “monstrosities,” they became beloved landmarks for travelers seeking food, souvenirs, or entertainment.

Over the past 40 years, these quirky structures have been reappraised as cultural icons. California Crazy gathers the best examples, with essays tracing the movement’s roots, the roadside landscapes that nurtured it, and its expansion into domestic design, signage, and even fanciful cars. Featuring David Gebhard’s classic essay and a wealth of illustrations, it’s both a compendium and a tribute to America’s most imaginative roadside creations.

Author: Jim Heimann
Manufacturer: Taschen GmbH
Language: Angļu valoda
ISBN code: 9783754400180
Cover type: Hard cover
Year of publication:2025
Number of pages:480

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Product description

At the dawn of the automobile age, Americans’ predilection for wanderlust prompted a new wave of inventive entrepreneurs to cater to this new mode of transportation. Starting in the 1920s, attention-grabbing buildings began to appear that would draw in passing drivers for snacks, provisions, souvenirs, or a quick meal. The architectural establishment of the day dismissed these roadside buildings as “monstrosities”.

Yet, they flourished, especially along America’s Sunbelt, and in particular, in Southern California, as proprietors indulged their creative impulses in the form of giant, eccentric constructions — from owls, dolls, pigs, and ships, to coffee pots and fruit. Their symbolic intent was guileless, yet they were marginalized by history. But, over the past 40 years, California’s architectural anomalies have regained their integrity, and are now being celebrated in this freshly revised compendium of buildings, California Crazy.

Brimming with the best examples of this architectural genre, California Crazy includes essays exploring the influences that fostered the nascent architectural movement, as well as identifying the unconventional landscapes and attitudes found on Los Angeles and Hollywood roadsides which allowed these buildings to flourish in profusion.

In addition, California Crazy features David Gebhard’s 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.

MEDIA REVIEWS

“Heimann’s bible of oddball buildings has opened many eyes to the fascinating catalysts behind an architectural subculture that is widely ignored by traditional academics.” - anothermag.com