California Crazy: The Valley Version - presented by Jim Heimann

Thursday, January 26th at 7:00 p.m. - at New Life Church of the Nazarene

Starting in the 1920s, Americans’ sense of wanderlust prompted a new wave of inventive entrepreneurs to create attention-grabbing buildings that would draw in passing drivers for snacks, provisions, souvenirs, or a quick meal. The architectural establishment dismissed these roadside buildings as “monstrosities."

Yet, they flourished in Southern California as proprietors built giant, eccentric constructions which included everything from owls, dolls, pigs, and ships, to coffee pots and fruit. Their symbolic intent was guileless, yet they were marginalized by history. Our speaker will show some of the best local examples of this architectural style, and discuss the influences that fostered the architectural movement, and the attitudes which allowed these buildings to flourish. California Crazy: American Pop Architecture includes fantastic architecture, eccentric signage, and the automobile as a fanciful object.

Jim Heimann is a native Angeleno who has been a graphic designer, illustrator, educator, and author of over 45 books including California Crazy: American Pop Architecture. He serves as the executive editor of Taschen Publishing America LLC based in Cologne, Germany.

California Crazy: American Pop Architecture Purchase Here