One sunny morning in July, I took a lomo field trip down to Carson Street in Torrance, where a couple of projects had caught my eye previously on a quick drive-by. On route via Crenshaw Boulevard, I passed a couple of minor landmarks from the 1960s fast-food boom. This improbably well preserved Baskin-Robbins ice cream […] «Read more»
Editor’s Note: Today’s essay is the second contribution to the Lower Modernisms project by Russ Holthouse – his first post was on the topic of Popular Modernism. Russ and I visited the GVCA together on October 30, 2011, and share credit for the photography. I consider the GVCA to be a tremendous find (and please […] «Read more»
American fast food restaurant chains hit their major growth spurt in the middle of the century and were a building type intrinsically suited to the Lower Modernist mode. A playful architectural style that was inexpensive, easily replicated and recognizable matched the needs of these restaurants trying to establish the familiarity of their brands and implant […] «Read more»
Today’s featured project is the Baldwin Hills Motor Inn, a fine and well preserved specimen of a Lomo style that we shall call The Gourmet Mansardic, located at 3020 South La Brea Avenue near Jefferson Boulevard in Los Angeles. According to the assessor’s records, The B.H.M.I. was built in 1948 with a major addition in […] «Read more»
