I love a good old-fashioned slice of retro Americana, whether it’s a wonderful Art Deco-styled apartment building in the heart of Miami’s South Beach or a white elephant of a beach hotel in Kennebunkport, Maine. So you could imagine that I practically saw stars, marshmallows and leprechauns when Taschen’s new coffee table book, Roadside America, hit my desk.
Fabulous, bizarre and downright delicious statuary that populates American roadways? Holy moly, this book is a treasure trove of pop culture fabulosity! And it’s all gorgeously photographed, with just enough history on each location to keep me from falling asleep. And for all you polyglots out there, the book is written in English but also translated into French and German. Now that’s kooky.
But what’s really kooky are the roadside finds themselves:
Amongst my favorite is the giant chest of drawers in High Point, North Carolina. I have actually stood in front of this chest, with its “socks” spilling from an open drawer, and gaped in wonderment.
Another sight is the Chatty Belle cow that stands in black-and-white splendor in the charming burg of Neillsville, Wisconsin. Apparently, Belle actually speaks when a coin is inserted into a slot at the edge of the sidewalk.
And I adore the fiberglass-crafted Donut Hole that rises high above La Puente, California (you can drive your car through the donut hole—now that could be a life-altering affair) and the massive banana water slide in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Plus, there are apes, massive pecans, oversized peaches, igloos, gators and so much more that apparently populate our fair country’s byways. If you want to take a raucous ride down memory lane American-style or simply savor some kitsch-filled armchair travel, Roadside America might just be the perfect tome for you.