Vintage Roadside

Last week was the National Trust Preservation Conference in Nashville, Tennessee and it had me thinking a lot about my experience the previous year when it was in Tulsa. Vintage Roadside was a company that had a booth in the exhibit hall at the conference and I actually stumbled across them on Twitter this week. The owners are a really nice couple who were inspired to build their company after exploring roadside attractions in central New York.

Vintage Roadside is essentially an online gift shop, specializing in t-shirts with images of advertisements from businesses and roadside attractions across the country during the 1930′s to early 1960′s. They have spent the past decade traveling, chronicling everything they came across from mid-century architecture, to neon signage to giant statues. Out of all their pictures taken, they pick the best ones and reproduce the images onto t-shirts. It is so much more than your garden variety custom-made American Apparel shirt though because they actually work with local citizens and groups to get as much information as they can about the places that they are highlighting.

The concept behind Vintage Roadside is a special one, roadside attractions and businesses are no longer a significant piece of American culture, a memory of a distant time when the American highway system was just coming into being and was nothing like what we have today. At the time, highways were locally focused, normally one or two lanes in each direction and the main thoroughfare for travelers of all kinds. As such mom and pop businesses sprang up along the side of the road and thrived. Vintage Roadside focuses on five categories, each of these filling a unique role in American life between the 1930′s and early 1960′s: Roadside Attractions; Diners and Drive-Ins; Motor Lodges and Motels; Skating Rinks; Bowling Alleys. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 passed during the Eisenhower administration signaled the end of mom and pop businesses along highways as the federal government put an unprecedented amount of energy and money into building a limited access interstate system that we know now as the American superhighway. Those local highways got fewer and fewer travelers and in the end those small businesses could no longer survive and were forced to close up shop.

Indio Bowl

The remnants of this era have been all but forgotten as travel is streamlined and tourists no longer have the patience to travel along local highways. With that in mind Vintage Roadside provides something really ordinary and at the same time unique; given the popularity of apparel with vintage graphics, i.e. clothes from Urban Outfitters and similar stores, there is a glut of comparable clothing out there, but none have a true and strong link with the past. With each purchase a small card is attached detailing the history and significance of the place on the image. Vintage Roadside has also chosen to donate a portion of their proceeds to the National Trust for Historic Preservation as well as provide an option for all customers to get a free membership to the National Trust with any purchase. While these may be small gestures they are important and a nice reminder of an unique era in American history.

P.S. Vintage Roadside: If you guys end up finding this, come visit Minnesota

More than anything this NY Times story shows the many faces of preservation. In Tokyo, a battle has been waged not to protect a neighborhood or even a building, but to save a viewshed that means a great deal to many people. Not only is Mount Fuji is a national landmark; but the mountain is also important to the Shinto faith. Given the city’s fast paced post-war development it has become shrouded by buildings that have risen up, blocking views of the mountain from all but one of Mount Fuji’s 16 slopes (previously) visible from central Tokyo.

With the destruction caused during World War II, Tokyo was rebuilt without much consideration given to preserving what remained of the city. As the city has grown both up and out, the Nippori neighborhood has become boxed in and no longer is Mt. Fuji the ever present presence for the people there. Roughly ten years ago, developers began building a 14 story condominium building that directly blocked the view of the mountain.

The groups advocating for the change went to the developers of the building and local politicians first, asking for a change in the

View After Construction (Citizens Alliance to Save the Fuji-View)

design to lessen the height of the building. Needless to say the developer wanted nothing to do with their proposal and the politicians were unwilling and unable to do much about it because of the weakness of the historic preservation laws on the books. The condominium building has since been completed and as was believed has significantly impaired the view; so advocates have now had to turn toward the future and protecting what remains.

In order to truly protect the viewshed there would need to be a significant change in zoning in that neighborhood, effectively an area three miles long and at its widest point 1,000 feet wide in a high density neighborhood. To make matters more difficult the viewing point is in a different district than that of the buildings now threatening the viewshed, so there is a great divide in the interests of those two groups.

Preservation is all too often thought about in terms of protecting old buildings just because they are old, essentially historic preservation for historic preservation’s sake. Clearly, preservation is so much more than that though. In my mind it comes down to places of cultural and historic significance; whether that be a building, a neighborhoood, an archaeological site or a viewshed. What matters is that it means something to people. Hopefully the hardwork put in by the Citizens Alliance to Save the Fuji View and other local groups will be enough to convince Tokyo to think before they allow unconstrained construction in this area to permanently close up the viewsheds from the central city to Mount Fuji, one of the most treasured sites in all of Japan.

Nice Ride has begun an intense advertising campaign in the Twin Cities
to create awareness and excitement about their arrival

Bixi Bike Kisok (via solyunafamilia @ flickr)

in the Spring of 2010. If you’ve been to Paris in recent years you have seen the possibilities of bike sharing in metropolitan areas. I’m not willing to proclaim that Nice Ride will be as successful in the United States but I do believe that bike sharing has the ability to transform transportation for many people in urban areas.

Bike sharing has already seen some success in a couple of markets: The Yellow Bike Project has sustained initial results in Austin, Texas; although it must be added that in most every other city that attempted it, the project fell apart within a few years due to huge incidents of vandalism and theft.  SmartBike DC was the first major subscription system to be successful in the US, started in 2008 as a public-private venture between the local government and Clear Channel Outdoor. Unfortunately it is that same degree of success that has shown the fundamental flaws in the model as currently operated. Essentially, they envisioned the DC system to have 10 bike stations and no more and will do the minimum necessary to keep their contract. This is no way to run a bike sharing program in a major metropolitan area and that is why the arrival of Nice Ride provides so much hope.

Nice Ride is structured to incentivize short trips (30 minutes or less) and allows for people to buy day ($5), week ($15), and year ($60) long subscriptions to the program. This program takes its lead from the Vélib bike system in Paris as well as the Bixi system in Montreal. Predicated on the belief that short trips allow more bikes to stay in circulation and to create less opportunity for theft and that density will create more riders. Bike sharing as a form of transportation has such a wide variety of benefits including reduction of pollution and traffic, and the one that can not be understated is the effect that Nice Ride could have on the public health of Minnesotans. The potential for that is such that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota gave a grant of $1 million to help get the program off the ground. Combined with federal bike-walk money and advertising revenue Nice Ride should have enough money to create an impressive bike sharing system with 80 kiosks with roughly 1,000 bikes across Minneapolis. Phase 1 would allow for bike kiosks ranging from Uptown to downtown to the U of M and everything between those points.

I am hopeful that Nice Ride and bike sharing in general should have a really positive impact on the community. In addition to making it easier for people to travel without using cars, it is also reasonable to think that such a move would actually help local businesses as well because people are more likely to stop while on their bikes rather than in their cars. These bikes are not meant purely for the commuter, but for people to be able to do errands and well pretty much anything else they want. They may not be the prettiest bikes out on the road, in fact they are basically ugly, but they will be sturdy and should allow for a lot of different uses. I never once took out a BikeShare bike in DC but that was more a product of where I lived and so in many respects it wasn’t meant for me. If Nice Ride fulfills the promises it has made in terms of kiosk location and availability then I think it is safe to say that I will become a subscriber of their system because it makes so much sense in Minneapolis.

Pronto Pup

my love of food and in general the Midwest. I am from the East Coast, a land completely devoid of state fairs and for the most part even lacking county fairs. But the Minnesota State Fair was like nothing I have ever seen before. It was a spectacle of the grandest form and function, hundreds of thousands of people roaming a massive complex of buildings, barns and food stands. I had been warned about some of the “foods” and just the general crush of people, but I can honestly say that the warnings did not and could not possibly do the fair proper justice.

I guess that the best way to tell the story of my two-day visit to the Minnesota State Fair is to go chronologically through the weekend. Given that we got there at breakfast time and I was not prepared to eat breakfast and then go into the Birthing Center, we actually made that the first stop of the weekend. Although I will admit that the Birthing Center will probably not be at the top of my list for subsequent visits one of the most interesting for me was actually exploring the agriculture barns and the 4-H Building. Seeing the thousands of kids and how invested they were in their animals was really amazing. They handle absolutely everything in those buildings, all things that I could never imagine dealing with now, let alone at that age.

Now for the food, obviously the most important part of the State Fair.  Going into the weekend, I did my best to make a list of all the foods that I had heard about and were generally considered must-haves. We began the day with amazing breakfast burritos from Tejas; it was pretty much the perfect food to get the system going for the rest of the day and not so filling that I couldn’t bask in the glory of all the food on a stick, deep fried or still dripping with fat. As we spent the day roaming the fairgrounds there were much needed pit stops for refueling along the way. I don’t know if I’ve ever really had a weekend of eating like that and I come from a family that knows how to eat.

While it is easier to just list the disgusting amount and individual items that I ate at the Fair, I do think that it is necessary to mention the best and worst of my weekend.  I really do not have a sweet tooth and the only time I eat candy is purely for the sugar when I am tired.  But I have to admit that the Mini Donuts were probably the best of the Fair food; I don’t think I ever tasted a donut that was so warm and moist on the inside that it actually melted in my mouth.  I get hungry just thinking about them. On the other hand was my attempt at eating a Deep Fried Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. There was no doubt in my mind that I was not meant to like it and had really left that as the line that I just would not be able to cross. When my friend ordered one I decided that I would kind of regret it if I didn’t try it and I can honestly say that I still feel that way.  It was worth the attempt although it basically sent me running for some water and I in no way can imagine trying to eat some of the other candy bars they had listed (3 Musketeers and Snickers, my mind has blanked out the other ones).

Possibly the most remarkable thing about the Minnesota State Fair is the obsession with food on a stick. I was sort of prepared to see everything deep fried, but I was pretty shocked by the sheer number of foods that are on a stick, and a lot of them were deep fried on top of that. You can get anything from a Texas Steak Dinner to Hot Dish (Casserole) to Deep Fried Ostrich on a stick. I hate to admit it but half the spectacle of the Fair is people watching and seeing the number of people who have managed to get food all over themselves and continue to walk around with something entirely different in their mouth. It’s pretty frightening/remarkable.

When I finally arrived home at the end of the weekend, all I could think about was how full I was and how tired I was. It was a really strange feeling, normally when you walk around that much you can work off what you’ve eaten over the course of the day but I could have walked another 10 miles and I don’t think it would have made a difference. There is just no way that your body can deal with all the food you consume at the State Fair, not even dealing with the general unhealthiness of it all. Putting all of that aside this was definitely one of the coolest things I have done in Minnesota and will be going every year. The fact that nearly 2 million people attend the State Fair each year is just remarkable and it is just another example of why I really love the Midwest.

Just for fun, what I ate (to the best of my recollection):

- Deep Fried Risotto Poppers

- Lingonberry Ice Cream

- Pronto Pup

- Turkey Sandwich

- Beergarita

- Cheese Curds

- Pizza on a Stick

- Corn on the Cob

- Deep Fried Reeses Peanut Butter Cup

- French Fries

- Mini Donuts

The Uptown Bar and Cafe (Weston Miller)

While I can not in good conscience say that I will miss The Uptown Bar & Cafe I can see why many people around Minneapolis are distraught.  Obviously, I am new to the area and have none of the emotional memories attached to this place.  In fact, in my mind I associate The Uptown with the hipsters crowding the door on Friday and Saturday nights surrounded by their usual cloud of smoke with the sounds of local musicians floating outside. Not that that is a bad thing, it just tends not to be my scene per se. I have only eaten there once and it was at lunch time on a weekday but the food was perfect bar food and how can you not want to save any establishment that actually serves poutine. This is no regular thing.

The Uptown Bar is a reminder of what some consider the hey-day of Uptown before the suburbs came to the city and the big boogey man of gentrification took hold in the neighborhood.  It’s got a very diverse crowd and a much different feel from your typical Calhoun Square establishment, but people take it easy here. This is not the end of the world, in fact this is what occurs in cities every day across the world, businesses will come and go and while this particular instance is disappointing, to suggest that this is just another example of Uptown falling apart is pretty unfair. Every time an independent business goes under or closes up shop you start hearing the complaints, and in some cases I will admit I am one of them, but this is not one of those times and it’s not because I’m not a regular patron of The Uptown.

I think the first thing that people need to remember is that this is not a greedy developer coming in to Uptown trying to gentrify the neighborhood. It was the niece of the owner, Mr. Toonen, who approached the developer of the construction project next door to see if they would be interested in the Uptown Bar.  No evil market forces at work, only a man in high late 80′s who has no one in his family that would like to continue running the establishment. This is the way business works so please stop talking about how Uptown has lost its soul.  It is a lame argument and one that is totally objective and more often than not based on the fact that life is not now as you remember it, or so it seems.

It would be great if The Uptown can be moved to another location, there seems to be a lot of talk about a couple of sites in Lyn-Lake and I truly hope that one of these will work out. If not that, then there were also people mentioning the possibility of repurposing the iconic sign in whatever building comes to stand in its place.  While they may seem like token measures, I think that sometimes it is those little things that make a world of difference in maintaining some of the character of neighborhoods and it would be a good show of faith on the part of the developer.

I hope I didn’t come as being too in favor of this project, because when it comes down to it, I would much rather The Uptown stay right where it is than become another retail establishment.  If it is moved, it will be harder to gain the zoning necessary to keep the bar afloat because they would most likely fall into a new category, but this is something that could be worked out with the city.  I really am hopeful that it gets moved to Lyn-Lake for two main reasons; one, it would save The Uptown from destruction and the places that are being suggested are currently properties with nothing there and anytime you can have open establishments (especially in this economy) it improves the neighborhood just a little bit.  This would be good for Lyn-Lake and if nothing else, reassuring for Uptown, that they won’t have entirely lost the bar that is clearly very important to a lot of people.

Exterior of Penn Station, circa 1911

In my time working with historic preservationists, it was as if the words Penn Station fell under the category of names that dare not be spoken.  Just the sound was enough to make those in the field cringe and slowly lower their head in shame. While the case is now often made that the public failure to realize what was taking place led directly to the creation of the New York City Landmarks Law in 1965, which in part instituted the Landmarks Preservation Commission.  That is of very little solace when considering what was lost in the process.

As iconic as Union Station in Washington, DC and Grand Central Station in New York City may be, there is no comparison when Penn Station is brought into the equation.  In 1910, the train station was first opened to the public for a total cost of 114 million dollars and it was seen from its very inception to be a one of a kind place.  Borrowing design elements from the Baths of Caracalla and the Brandenburg Gate, Penn Station was one of the largest and most elaborate buildings in the United States.  Unfortunately, the beauty of the building was not enough to stave off the Madison Square Garden project all on its own.

Main Concourse - April 1962 (Cervin Robinson)

In October of 1963 the demolition began despite public opinion which had since grown very negative about the project as more details were released.  To see such a famous and important building to the social fabric of the city be replaced by an office complex and the fourth version of Madison Square Garden was too much for most New Yorker’s to stomach.  While MSG is world famous in its own right the comparison between the original Penn Station and what is left of it is just a sad reminder of the potential for poor development to irreparably scar the history of a city.

Renowned architect Philip Johnson (The Glass House and IDS Tower once stated “If you have to, as you will in the future when they tear it down, come out of the Pennsylvania Station as if you were in a subway station, how degrading for the entrance of what we think of as the greatest city in the world.”  I kind of laughed this statement off at first, but the more I thought about it the more I was convinced that this is a legitimate argument against what occurred.  Growing up in Connecticut, I have taken the train down to New York City a few times and the beauty and scope of that building never ceases to amaze me.  There is something about Grand Central and I can only imagine there was at the time something about Penn Station. That when you came up to street level and began to look around, that you would know in that very moment that you were in the greatest city in the world.

Main Concourse, circa 1911

These things happen all too often especially in urban centers, the prospect of increased revenue through demolition and redevelopment is hard to hold off. With the economic downturn preservationists are fighting an increasingly uphill battle, as more municipalities are willing to waive guidelines and ignore common sense just at the prospect of finding an investor.  The other part of this is that there is less money to go toward preservation of buildings and neighborhoods now.  Michigan Central Depot is a perfect example of this, an abandoned building that the city of Detroit had continued to view as vital to the redevelopment of their city, and yet this April the City Council actually voted to demolish the building in the hope that an investor might be willing to try his luck with a blank slate.  I included this last quote, not because I agree with it entirely, but because it is worth the pause to think about some of the things that have been lost and what went on to replace them.  I will never be a preservationists who advocates saving anything and everything, but in my mind it is the character that is most important when looking at projects.  The demolition of Penn Station failed that test with great big fireworks.

“Any city gets what it admires, will pay for, and, ultimately, deserves. Even when we had Penn Station, we couldn’t afford to keep it clean. We want and deserve tin-can architecture in a tinhorn culture. And we will probably be judged not by the monuments we build but by those we have destroyed.”

- “Farewell to Penn Station,” New York Times editorial, October 30, 1963

Last month, I moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota and as part of my attempt to ingrain myself with the community I have been exploring and trying to get involved in any way I can. Since I began this process I’ve been getting that desire to give the blogging thing another try.

This will hopefully be updated weekly or so, maybe more if I’m feeling particularly ambitious. For the time being I’m planning on writing about things going on in the Twin Cities; as well as larger scale issues related to urban planning, transportation and historic preservation.  Obviously, I also know that sports will end up being a frequent topic because well I love sports and in particular my Boston Red Sox. So you’ve been warned