A Nostalgic (if Isolating) Road Trip Along Route 66
The Globetrotter Lodge in Holbrook, Ariz.
From the New York Times: Growing up in suburban Virginia, I only experienced the romance of the American West on the occasional family vacation, or on Boy Scout camping excursions. But what I felt on those trips left long-lasting impressions. The big sky stretching out over endless prairies made me feel minuscule, even as a beefy teenager. The enchanting rock formations and rusty windmills seemed to transport me back in time to the days when the Western United States was (in my imagination, at least) still wild and untamed.
Davenport Family donates iconic Gas Station to El Paso County Historical Society
Former Texaco Service Station located at 2871 Grant Avenue. Photo courtesy El Paso County Historical Society
From the El Paso Herald-Post: Mrs. Rod Davenport and the Davenport family have donated the 101-year-old, former Texaco Service Station located at 2871 Grant Avenue to the El Paso County Historical Society (EPCHS).
The station, restored by Mr. Davenport in 2009, was built in 1919 and later served as the site of the Radio TV Hospital.
In 2007, Mr. Davenport purchased the service station and spent the next year and a half restoring it. As decoration around its exterior, he added from his product line four reproduction gas pumps in the style of the 1930’s. He also purchased two streetlights dating to the 1920s that once lit Texas Avenue. The streetlights were placed in the pocket park next to the building.
Davenport, whose father operated a gas station at Richmond and Piedras during the 1930s, stated in 2009 that the renovation was “a work of love.” Mr. Davenport passed away in 2019. In January, his wife, Chris, and the Davenport family, donated the building and a reproduction gas pump to EPCHS. Mr. Will Harvey has donated another pump.
THEN AND NOW: How Chick-fil-A has changed through the years
The first Chick-fil-A mall location opened in the Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1967. Chick-fil-A
From Business Insider: It’s the third-largest fast food chain in America, it was named America’s favorite fast-food chain, and it’s home of the original chicken sandwich — that’s right, we’re talking about Chick-fil-A.
In the course of nearly three-quarters of a century, Chick-fil-A grew from a small roadside diner to one of the biggest and most influential chains in the US. During that time, the chain introduced a number of new menu items, experienced leadership changes, and responded to criticism over the brand’s “Christian values” and donation practices.
Drive-through construction is surging because people don’t want to dine in during a pandemic
A 1960s-era McDonald’s on Route 11 in Birmingham, Alabama, captured by noted roadside architecture documentarian John Margolies. Library of Congress Flickr
From The Architect’s Newspaper: According to CNBC, major fast-food chains Chipotle, McDonald’s, Shake Shack, Wendy’s, and Starbucks are doubling down on drive-through construction to boost sales during what promises to be a long period of social distancing.
CNBC reported that Shake Shake, the East Coast In-N-Out, is unveiling a 2020 version of the drive-through that prioritizes online order pickup. Managers of some locations intend to build walk-up windows (presumably like Black Plague–era wine windows in Italy) and lanes devoted solely to online order pickups.
Six hours south of Boston, the year 1963 is a thriving vacation destination
The Caribbean Motel and the Bel-Air Motel in Wildwood, N.J. The town is known for its abundance of midcentury architecture. CHRISTOPHER MUTHER/GLOBE STAFF
From the Boston Globe: WILDWOOD, N.J. — The motel room looked like a place where Rob and Laura Petrie would have come for a weekend escape, assuming Millie would be able to watch little Ritchie. The table lamps were straight out of the Atomic Age, and the bathroom was tiled in green and outfitted with salmon pink fixtures.
But the best part of this time capsule room at the Caribbean Motel — aside from the lime green ceiling — was the nondescript knob on the wood-paneled wall. I had no idea what the knob did, so naturally I turned it. Like magic, Dionne Warwick’s voice descended from a speaker in the green ceiling, inquiring if I knew the way to San Jose. Sweet Barbara Eden in a bottle! I had found midcentury paradise.