Lakewood photographer’s love of Route 66 coming to U.S. postage stamps
Eight photographs captured by Schwartz comprise the collection of stamps celebrating 100 years of Route 66. David J. Schwartz / United States Postal Service
From WYSO: If life is a highway, then David J. Schwartz is certainly enjoying the ride – usually in a Mustang convertible chasing sunrises along the miles of Route 66.
The Lakewood, Ohio-based photographer has made 42 trips over 22 years to visit the Mother Road, documenting the people and places that keep this beloved stretch of highway on the map.
“I always just was in love with it, passionate about it,” Schwartz said. “I would spend all my money on vacation to go travel Route 66 and make photos, come back and work hard and then go do it again.”
When he’s not getting his kicks out west, Schwartz manages his own photography studio and exhibits art prints around Cleveland and on the road. He’s also the lead editorial photographer for Route Magazine, a publication that spotlights the culture and heritage found along U.S. highways.
Take a look at the American Sign Museum
Before Route 66: how the National Road carried America west
A bridge in Ohio along the National Road. (Credit: Historic American Buildings Survey / Library of Congress)
From NewsChannel9: WASHINGTON, D.C. — Long before Route 66 and the interstate system stitched the country together, one singular road carried America to the west.
Initiated by Congress in 1806 under President Thomas Jefferson, the National Road, also known as the National Pike, was the first major federally funded highway in the United States.
At the time, the young republic had a big problem: Farmers, merchants, soldiers and settlers all needed a reliable route through the Appalachian Mountains.
New Orleans historic landmarks on South Rampart back on the market. Again.
A mural of jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden watches over the corner of South Rampart Street near City Hall, where the future of one of New Orleans’ most historically significant blocks remains uncertain. (Photo by Gus Bennett | The Lens)
From The Lens: The future is again uncertain for the 400 block of South Rampart Street, and its hallowed jazz history landmarks.
Recently, a real-estate ad marked the unceremonious end to the high-profile, seven-year effort of developer GBX Group “to return the 400 block of South Rampart Street to its jazz roots,” as CEO Drew Sparacia has said. The company would like to sell the Little Gem Saloon building at the corner of Poydras, and wants to rent out much of the remaining block: the Iroquois Theater, a reconstructed version of the Karnofsky building, and several adjacent surface parking lots.
The block’s crown jewel, the Eagle Saloon, is also going up for sale. Owned not by GBX but a nonprofit called the New Orleans Music Hall of Fame, in the next month or two it will be listed on the open market for the first time in roughly a century.
Spot a Ghost Sign for NYC’s Lost Automat
Untapped New York by Robyn Roth-Moise
From Untapped New York: At the peak of Horn & Hardart’s automat empire, there were more than 40 locations throughout New York City. You won’t find any today. What you will find are subtle reminders of the popular chain’s presence from decades ago, like this fading ghost sign painted on the side of a building on West 38th Street in Manhattan.
Towering over a parking garage at the center of the block between Broadway and Seventh Avenue, the sign directs hungry passersby to a Horn & Hardart Automat Cafeteria, “on Broadway corner in this building.” That building at 1385 Broadway, also known as the Bricken Broadway Building, is an Art Deco office tower built in 1926.
The Hillbilly Head Restored: How This Piece Of Ozarks History Was Rescued (And Almost Lost)
From LakeExpo: It’s fair to say Cody West is obsessed with old things.
Last year, for his wife Emilee’s 40th birthday, they and a small group of friends dressed up in 40s (that is, 1940s) attire and lit up the town. If you had seen them, you would have thought they were the best-dressed people you’d seen in awhile. People dressed better in those days, and that’s one of the many reasons Cody loves old things. They seem richer, better, full of character, full of beauty, and full of stories.
That passion is what led Cody to restore one of the Lake area’s most famous roadside signs, preserving a legend that would have been lost to the weathering forces of time.
Cody had loved the Davis Baskets billboard since he was a teenager. After graduating from Camdenton High School, he moved to Dallas County, Missouri, and drove a lengthy commute to his job at the outlet mall. He recalls how much he loved seeing those famous billboards on Highway 54 pointing drivers to one of the most iconic and quirky retail shops the Lake has ever known.
Holland roofer donates massive artifact collection to preserve local history
Alina Hauter/FOX 17
From Fox 17: HOLLAND, Mich. — From neon signs to antiques older than many, a massive collection of Holland history has found a permanent home thanks to one local collector’s passion for preserving the past.
Decades of roofing work in Holland opened Art Tolsma’s eyes to the city’s disappearing history. Now, his collection of around 5,000 artifacts will be housed at the Holland Armory as part of “The Artifacts Project” through a partnership with the Holland Museum.
“I never fashioned myself much of a collector, but here we are. I got a big collection,” Tolsma said. “Then I started lighting them back up again. I found a neon guy to get the neon back going again, and now I have quite a collection of all things big and small.”