Hand Painted
By Tom Palazzolo
Self-published, 2024
Softcover, 100 pages, $25
Reviewed by William Swislow
The golden age of roadside neon is, of course, long past, but at least the surviving signs are increasingly recognized as local, even national, treasures. Another once ubiquitous roadside art form, the hand-painted shop sign, has received much less recognition despite its even more precipitous decline.
The Great American RETRO Road Trip: A Celebration of Roadside Americana
By Rolando Pujol
Artisan Publishers, 2025
Hardcover, 320, $35
Reviewed by Heather David
WANDERLUST. I have it. Chances are, you do too. Every place has a story to tell, and this narrative can be experienced through its history, cultural artifacts, and customs. Rolando Pujol’s new book, The Great American RETRO Road Trip, is a tome that is sure to help satisfy your wanderlust. In what once seemed like an impossible task to me, Pujol has produced an encyclopedia of “Roadside Americana,” one book that covers hundreds of unique attractions across the country, from coast to coast.
Screen Towers: The Drive-In Theater in America
By Steve Fitch, with an introduction by Katherine Ware (photography curator and artist)
Hardcover, 136 pages, $45
Reviewed by Steve Spiegel
I’ve been obsessed with drive-in movie theaters for as long as I can remember. The first movie I ever watched at a drive-in was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 1968 at a long-forgotten theater in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was five and watching that film from the comfort of our family’s Chevy station wagon, backed in with the rear door flipped open, which let me lie down with my blanket and pillow. This was the beginning of my love affair with drive-in theaters. I’ve been so obsessed that when eBay was a brand-new site, my very first purchase was a vintage drive-in movie speaker! (Yes, I still have it.)