Word: neon
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Twenty years ago, it was simple enough to define an architectural landmark. American beauties like Monticello, the Smithsonian Institution "Castle" and Grand Central Terminal came to mind. These days, however, the definitions are becoming a little trickier -- and a little tackier. Supermarkets, drive-ins, car washes, neon signs and other exuberant examples of Pop architecture, mostly from the 1950s, are being touted for preservation, and some have already been set aside as historic landmarks by local and state agencies. "Many of the things that were taken for granted in the 19th century -- factories, mills, neighborhoods -- people now want to save...
...sooner the better, some might think. The '50s and '60s landscape was one of atomic optimism on the go, of Sputnik-like motels and space-race tail fins. The style captured an attitude of innocent adventure in a TV fantasy of stucco and neon. Could Wally and the Beaver come to serious harm in a drive-in with a giant ice-cream cone for a roof? George Jetson, it seems, could have been the master architect of the whole doo-wop decade. Granted, one thing to be said for those stylistic oddities is that they extended a warmer welcome than...
Supermarkets, drive-ins, car washes, neon signs and other exuberant examples of the postwar building boom are being touted for preservation. Some have already been set aside as, yes, historic landmarks, touching off a debate among the experts over what is worth saving and what deserves only to be targeted for the wrecker's ball...
...removed all the reminders of how it was until very recently. On the route to Friedrichstrasse, a main Berlin crossing point, the subway train glides through two empty stations bricked up since 1961, when the Wall rose. The platforms are bare, eerily lighted by a few dusty neon tubes. East German border guards have learned to replace their studied sullenness of old with the occasional smile, but West Germans and others still must file through cattle-chute-like passport control points, and are made to exchange 25 deutsche marks ($13.50) for East German marks, at the usurious rate...
...traditional look has recently faltered -- though it will never die out because of the Japanese partiality for neat and tailored clothes. Interest in American sportswear is strong, and the California influence is evident everywhere. Last summer many teens were captivated by the surfer look, with shirts and shorts in neon lime and fluorescent orange. The University of California, Los Angeles, through its own licensees in Japan, sells annually some $16 million worth of T shirts, warm-up suits and jackets, all bold with the authentic UCLA logo...