Photography exhibition explores how artists were shaped by the open road
Pittsburgh, 1943. Esther Bubley, Saint Louis Art Museum
From the St. Louis Art Museum: ST. LOUIS — The camera and the car revolutionized modern life in America and have been intertwined since the very beginning. A spring 2025 photography exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum displays work by artists shaped mainly by car travel in the 20th and early 21st centuries, exploring how the automobile and the road mediated what the photographers discovered.
“In Search of America: Photography and the Road Trip” features more than 100 works, with roughly half coming from SLAM’s collection. The free exhibition opens May 2 at SLAM and remains on view through Oct. 19 in Gallery 235 and Sidney S. and Sadie M. Cohen Gallery 234.
New Museum of Idaho exhibit gives patrons a nostalgic look at old street and storefront signs
This was the original sign for one of Idaho Falls’ first cinema theaters. Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
From EastIdahoNews.com: IDAHO FALLS – The Museum of Idaho is giving patrons a glimpse of the “Signs of the Times.”
That’s the name of a new exhibit exploring the design, culture, and stories behind the signs that have shaped the landscape of eastern Idaho. It opened on Saturday in the Masonic Gallery and will be open through February.
The exhibit features a wide range of signs and related artifacts, including the old Bonneville Hotel sign and storefront signs from old businesses in downtown Idaho Falls.
Museum of Boulder unveils visual history with nostalgic placards in “Signs of the Times”
A neon-lit clock from the Radio Exchange, a Boulder business established in 1924, highlights the rise of illuminated signage in commercial advertising. (Savannah Snody/Courtesy photo)
From the Colorado Hometown Weekly: It’s roughly the shape of a cowboy boot, the paint is chipped, and the lettering — faint, but still legible — reads “Repairing.” Once, it likely swung above a Boulder cobbler’s shop, catching the eyes of passersby in need of new soles or stitched heels. Now, this boot-shaped wooden sign is one of the many artifacts anchoring “Signs of the Times,” the newest exhibit at the Museum of Boulder.
Housed in the museum’s Lodge Gallery, “Signs of the Times” — on view through June 29 — offers a walk through Boulder’s past, told in neon, enamel and hand-carved wood. Drawn entirely from the museum’s collection, the exhibit has gathered some of the city’s most recognizable, eccentric and memory-laden signs, offering a nostalgic look at how we’ve tried to catch each other’s attention over the decades.
New life for iconic sign
Mark Craig, along with his son Dalton, work to restore the 45 Outdoor drive-in movie theater sign, which will be placed on the Thresheree grounds in Symco. Emily Doud Photo
From the Waupaca County News: MANAWA, WI – The 45 Outdoor theater in New London opened its doors on July 1, 1953 and closed August 24, 1986. Its classic road sign, a relic of the beloved pastime of going to drive-in movies, is now getting a much needed makeover and a new home.
Randy Genske bought the land that held the outdoor movie theater in 1989 and used the sign to advertise his storage units, when they redid the highway the county took the sign down and it was never put back up.
With the sign in storage for a number of years, Genske eventually decided to donate the sign and the large letters for the marquee to the Thresheree Grounds.
Diner from 1930s America now resides in a small town in the Netherlands.
S Kroon / Atlas Obscura User
From Atlas Obscura: The Gateway Diner was a classic, all American restaurant established in 1939 in Philipsburg, New Jersey. After being toured around Germany, the diner found its final resting place in 2010, in the small town of Almere in the Netherlands. The town was founded in 1976, easily making it the oldest building in town.
Life at Phoenix’s Green Parrot Motel during the Great Depression
Green Parrot Motel featured “30 fully modern, very nicely furnished, air-cooled units with electrical heat, showers and carports at reasonable rates” in 1953. Provided by Phoenix Public Library
From the Arizona Republic: Almost a century ago, the Green Parrot Auto Court opened at 2360 E. Van Buren St. in Phoenix. It was one of many accommodations on the road designated as U.S. Highways 60, 70, and 80, the main route for motorists heading to southern California. The Green Parrot featured 30 individual units separated by carports, which surrounded a central court.
Six years later, in 1934, 1-year-old Bill Baker and his family moved in. “We call them motels now, but they were called auto courts back then,” the 92-year-old Baker says. “The Green Parrot had two sections: the front had nice cabins with toilets and covered parking for overnight visitors, while the back area was for people like us with limited funds.”