Roadside ’88. From somewhere to nowhere.

Black Orchid Research. More to the story.

Roadside ’88. From somewhere to nowhere.

Context

John Margolies was an architectural critic, photographer, and author who was noted for celebrating vernacular and novelty architecture in the United States, particularly those designed as roadside attractions. Starting from the mid-1970s, he began to photograph sites during long road trips, since he was concerned these sites would be displaced by the growing modernist trend. He was credited with shaping postmodern architecture and recognizing buildings that would be added to the National Register of Historic Places through his documentary work. Starting in 2007, the Library of Congress began to acquire his photographs, and created the public domain John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive in 2016, consisting of 11,710 scans of color slides taken by Margolies.

John Margolies was a critic, photographer, and author known for celebrating novelty architecture in the United States, particularly those designed as roadside attractions. Starting in 2007, the Library of Congress began to acquire his photographs, and created the public domain John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive in 2016, consisting of 11,710 scans of color slides taken by Margolies.

Concept

I found these scans online thanks to the Library of Congress, and Flickr. With all these golden nuggets of nostalgia just waiting to be discovered, I figured this would make for a fun little website. The goal is to make it feel as if you were in the 70s or 80s as you take in the slides and read about the background.