California Crazy. American Pop Architecture. 45th Ed.

At the dawn of the automobile age, Americans' predilection for wanderlust prompted a

new wave of inventive entrepreneurs

to cater to this new mode of transportation. Starting in the 1920s,

attention-grabbing buildings

began to appear that would draw in passing drivers for snacks, provisions, souvenirs, or a quick meal. The architectural establishment of the day dismissed these roadside buildings as "monstrosities".

Yet, they flourished, especially along America's Sunbelt, and in particular, in Southern California, as proprietors

indulged their creative impulses

in the form of giant, eccentric constructions - from owls, dolls, pigs, and ships, to coffee pots and fruit. Their symbolic intent was guileless, yet they were marginalized by history. But, over the past 40 years, California's architectural anomalies have regained their integrity, and are now being celebrated in this freshly revised compendium of buildings,

California Craz

y.

Brimming with the

best examples of this architectural genre

,

California Crazy

includes essays exploring the influences that fostered the nascent architectural movement, as well as identifying the

unconventional landscapes and attitudes found on Los Angeles and Hollywood roadsides

which allowed these buildings to flourish in profusion.

In addition,

California Crazy

features

David Gebhard's definitive essay

, which defined this vernacular movement almost forty years ago. The

California Crazy

concept is expanded to include domestic architecture, eccentric signage, and the automobile as a fanciful object.