Host of the Highway: The Rise and Fade of Howard Johnson’s, America’s Orange‑Roofed Icon (1925-2022).
FEATURE Image: Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge and Restaurant Myrtle Beach, SC. Howard Johnson’s reshaped the American roadside, turning a patchwork of unpredictable stops into a network of bright, dependable landmarks. Its orange roofs, neon signs, and motor lodges became part of the visual grammar of mid‑century travel, signaling consistency in an era when the open…
A Taste of Milwaukee Nostalgia: Leon’s (1942), Happy Days (1974), and an Enduring American Tradition.
FEATURE image: Late afternoon at Leon’s Frozen Custard in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. June 2017. Author’s photograph. (4.53mb, DSC_0728). Leon’s Frozen Custard is more than a beloved Milwaukee drive-in. Its remarkable continuity since 1942 and its influence on the creation of Arnold’s Drive-In in television’s Happy Days make it a living link between mid-century Americana, local business…
RAY KROC’S VERY FIRST MCDONALD’S FRANCHISE RESTAURANT started in 1955 in Des Plaines, Illinois, is slated to meet the wrecking ball.
FEATURE image: McDonald’s, 1967. “Toledo, McDonald’s 1967” by DBduo Photography is marked with CC BY-SA 2.0. The planned demolition of the replica standing on the original site of Ray Kroc’s first McDonald’s franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois represents the potential loss of an important piece of American business, labor, automotive, and cultural history. What began as a single franchise…
