‘A leading Russian Constructivist artist, graphic, and costume and set designer Varvara Stepanova was best known for her textile and clothing designs and, like her husband Alexander Rodchenko and Vladimir Tatlin, became committed to utilitarian designs geared to social needs and economic mass production.
‘After studying at the School of Fine Arts in Kazan from 1910 to 1911 she moved to Moscow where she studied at the Stroganoff School of Applied Art from 1913 to 1914. After working with avant‐garde abstract forms she was, from 1920, an active member of Inhuk (the Institute of Artistic Culture) which had been established in 1920. In the following year, with her husband Rodchenko and others, she became involved with Productivism—the mass‐production of industrial and applied art.
‘She designed utilitarian workers’ clothing, strongly coloured, geometrically patterned sportswear, and theatre costumes and sets, such as that for The Death of Tarelkin produced by Meyerhold in Moscow in 1922. She also taught at the Moscow Vkhutemas and, in the mid‐1920s, produced many designs for mass‐produced cotton textiles often characterized by flat, coloured abstract patterns.
‘In the same period she contributed to a number of avant‐garde periodicals such as LEF (1923–5) and Novy LEF (1927) and increasingly devoted her attention to book and periodical design, often in conjunction with her husband Rodchenko, with whom she collaborated closely on photographic albums in the 1930s. After the Second World War she worked on the periodical the Soviet Woman (1945–6). She died in Moscow in 1958.’ — collaged
_______________________ Dangerous Art: From Varvara Stepanova to Pussy Riot
_____________________ Program of the First Working Group of Constructivists (Excerpt) Varvara Stepanova & Alexander Rodchenko
The Group of Constructivists has set itself the task of finding the communistic expression of material structures.
In approaching its task the group insists on the need to synthesize the ideological aspect with the formal for the real transference of laboratory work on to the rails of practical activity.
Therefore, at the time of its establishment, the group’s program in its ideological aspect pointed out that:
1) Our sole ideology is scientific communism based on the theory of historical materialism.
2) The theoretical interpretation and assimilation of the experience of Soviet construction must impel the group to turn away from experimental activity `removed from life’ towards real experimentation.
3) In order to master the creation of practical structures in a really scientific and disciplined way the Constructivists have established three disciplines: Tectonics, Faktura and Construction.
A) Tectonics or the tectonic style is tempered and formed on the one hand from the properties of communism and on the other from the expedient use of industrial material.
B) Faktura is the organic state of the worked material or the resulting new state of its organism. Therefore, the group considers that faktura is material consciously worked and expediently used, without hampering the construction or restricting the tectonics.
C) Construction should be understood as the organizational function of Constructivism.
If tectonics comprises the relationship between the ideological and the formal which gives unity to the practical design, and faktura is the material, the Construction reveals the very process of that structuring.
In this way the third discipline is the discipline of the realization of the design through the use of the worked material.
The Material. The material as substance or matter. Its investigation and industrial application, properties and significance. Furthermore, time, space, volume, plane, color , line and light are also material for the Constructivists, without which they cannot construct material structures.
The Immediate Tasks Of The Group
1) In the ideological sphere:
To prove theoretically and practically the incompatibility of aesthetic activity with the functions of intellectual and material production. The real participation of intellectual and material production as an equal element in the creation of communist culture.
2) In the practical sphere:
• To publish a statement. To publish a weekly paper, VIP [Vestnik Intellektual’nogo Proizvodstva; The Herald of Intellectual Production].
• To print brochures and leaflets on questions relating to the activities of the group.
• To construct designs. To organize exhibitions. To establish links with all the Production
Boards and Centres of that unified Soviet machine which in fact practically shapes and produces the emergent forms of the communist way of life.
3) In the agitational sphere:
i) The Group declares uncompromising war on art.
ii) It asserts that the artistic culture of the past is unacceptable for the communistic forms of Constructivist structures.
__________ Graphic Design
‘Though too often under-represented in its history, women were central to Constructivism in Russia. Varvara Stepanova designed some of the period’s most arresting graphics for posters and publications, working alongside her husband, Alexander Rodchenko. Collage played a key role in the development of the movement’s style, allowing for a mix of clean typography, active figures and engaging faces cut from photos, and thrusting geometric forms emblematic of the relentless march of Communism. Even in non-propaganda work, Stepanova’s shrewd ability to evoke motion on a static page shines.’— NC A&T;
________ Sound Painting
Rtny Khomle (1918)
_____ Textiles
‘Stepanova carried out her ideal of engaging with industrial production in 1922 when she, with Lyubov Popova, became designer of textiles at the Tsindel (the First State Textile Factory) near Moscow, and in 1924 became professor of textile design at the Vkhutemas (Higher Technical Artistic Studios) while continuing typography, book design and contributing to the magazine LEF. As a constructivist, Stepanova not only transposed bold graphic designs onto her fabrics, but also focused heavily on their production. Stepanova only worked a little over a year at The First Textile Printing Factory, but she designed more than 150 fabric designs in 1924. Although she was inspired to develop new types of fabric, the current technology restricted her to printed patterns on monotone surfaces. By her own artistic choice, she also limited her color palette to one or two dyes. Although she only used triangles, circles, squares, and lines, Stepanova superimposed these geometric forms onto one another to create a dynamic, multi-dimensional design.’— collaged
______ Clothing
‘In 1921, Stepanova moved almost exclusively into the realm of production, in which she felt her designs could achieve their broadest impact in aiding the development of the Soviet society. Russian Constructivist clothing represented the destabilization of the oppressive, elite aesthetics of the past and, instead, reflected utilitarian functionality and production. Gender and class distinctions gave way to functional, geometric clothing. In line with this objective, Stepanova sought to free the body in her designs, emphasizing clothing’s functional rather than decorative qualities. Stepanova deeply believed clothing must be looked at in action. Unlike the aristocratic clothing that she felt sacrificed physical freedom for aesthetics, Stepanova dedicated herself to designing clothing for particular fields and occupational settings in such a way that the object’s construction evinced its function. In addition, she sought to develop expedient means of clothing production through simple designs and strategic, economic use of fabrics.’— collaged
_________ Gaust Chaba
‘Stepanova spent the 1910s studying at various art schools and working as a bookkeeper and secretary to make a living, all the while experimenting with abstract art forms. Her earliest notable body of work is her zaum’ (“transrational”) poetry, an approach spearheaded by the Futurist poets. Gaust Chaba, considered the masterpiece of Stepanova’s Visual Poetry series, is book of collaged paper and colored crayon and gouache text on found newspaper leaves.’— collaged
*
p.s. Hey. ** jay, The United States’ mastery of the roadside attraction is something it can be proud of. If you try Paper Mario, start with The Thousand-Year Door. It’s the greatest one, and it’s just been rebooted for Switch. No, I’m actually sad the Olympics is over. It ended up being nothing but fun to live in its madcap proximity. ** David Ehrenstein, That sounds quite haunting. Oh, no doubt I would have liked Pasolini, no doubt. Awesome dude by all accounts. ** _Black_Acrylic, I would think so. Okay, that’s a start: the Leeds tie. My memory of being very into the Dodgers is that a long, stressful but exciting time of it is kind of the ultimate goal. ** Jack Skelley, Oh, wow, you did the Dennis the Menace place. That’s cool. Yeah, that extant Flintstones place by the Grand Canyon manages to be wack and disappointing simultaneously. No surprise about the Myth Lab launch. I told you, dude. Love, me. ** Mark, Hi, Mark! I can’t encourage you strongly enough to make dead theme parks a zine topic. Damn, I’m going to miss all off those zine fairs. But I’ll try to see Kid Congo here in the hood if I can. Thanks, buddy. ** Nika Mavrody, I read somewhere that they’re trying to restore and reopen Spreepark, but it’s hard to believe. ** Uday, I so am, indeed. As plainly as the nose on my face. I’ll try that forehead peck thing. I think it will startle though. I’m sure you’ll reassure your friend and maintain equilibrium with your sister. Oh, once Zac is back, we fully intend to manifest our anger at the producer in hopefully its full and final incarnation. It dropped ten degrees here today, so I’m essentially high. Thanks. ** Lucas, Hm, good question. I’d have to really think about that. Hm. Tsai Ming-Liang is great. Has the blog had a post about him? Hold on. Yes, d.l. Bill made one. Here. So happy you’re bouncing back and writing and zine-ing. Phantasialand! Of course I’m going to urge you to try Taron again, but I trust your judgement. I used to go roller skating a lot as a kid. My best friend’s dad owned this kind of legendary roller skating rink, Moonlight Rollerway, so I got in for free. It was fun. If you ever see old movies where characters roller-skate, they’re almost always doing it at Moonlight Rollerway. Do they still make skaters do the ‘Hokey Pokey’? That was my least favorite part. Yesterday was like living in the slums of hell, it was so hot, but today seems okay, and I continue to live. Thank you seeming to wish that I live. ** Jacob, Hi! I haven’t delved too deeply into Roblox yet mostly because of the recent heatwave’s slouchy effect, but I’m jonesing and chomping at the bit and drooling to and etc. I think ‘Sausage of Soul AKA Grasslands’ is highest on my agenda now. I remember mostly playing through Epic Mickey’s levels so I could get to the next cut scene part. My impression is that the war between formalists and free versists is ongoing but the free versists seem to be somewhat resigned to the fact that the formalists are going to more than likely get the academic positions that they want. They never instituted the pass thing because people were too pissed off, and France is well aware of what having pissed off French people can lead to. The stadiums and environs are still blocked off in anticipation of the Paralympics, but it’s okay. ** Misanthrope, Wii, wow, oldish school, nice. I do have an accent actually, or so I’m told. The LA accent is subtle but apparently there’s something in our phrasing and rhythm that gives us away. Speaking of old people, did you ever watch ‘Get Smart’? I guess it would have been in reruns in your case. If so, do you remember ‘The Craw’? ** Diesel Clementine, Oh, gosh, thanks! Wow, listening to some gabber sounds delicious. I’m going to re-delve therein. I’m honored by your reading my stuff in those unexpected locations while also being saddened that my stuff was a party to the crime of your heatstroke. You have excellent powers of concentration clearly. Oops! Some wonderful starving stranger probably enjoyed them? ** Steve, Among the listed dead attractions, I went to Yosemite Firefall, The Wawona Drive-Through Tree, Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour, and Dinosaur Land. The dead theme parks of note that I recall having gone to are P.O.P. (Pacific Ocean Park) on the Venice Pier in CA — one of the greatest parks of all time — the Busch Gardens in the San Fernando Valley, Japanese Village (Orange County), and Marineland (San Pedro, CA). Bette Midler was actually considered very cool and hip in her earliest years. I saw her live a few times. All the cool kids were into her at first. I got physically knocked down to the ground accidentally by Sylvester at one of her gigs because he was dancing up a mad storm. ** Matthew Doyle, Hi there, Matt! Well, all those places are defunct, so don’t get too excited. I have not seen that video but, as you can imagine, I am very excited to watch it. Jeez, thank you. Yeah, all my LA friends were semi-freaking out about that quake on social media for a good hour. Yes, the film is in its latest, never ending crisis, but what else is new. Hit me up. Great to see you! ** Bill, The Chutes boggled my mind, thinking of it existing there, wild. I mean, you make that book sound plenty interesting. And the last chapter sounds like a must in and of itself. Thank you, sir. ** Harper, So sorry about your less than stellar weekend. Yeah, I guess eyes on the unfortunately still distant prize of Sept, 23rd, or potentially prize-like. This rut will feel like it lasted a minute in the future, but that’s no help. Sorry, pal. ** Darby🫠, Covering your bases, job-wise, wise. Yesterday I was scalding, it was so fucking hot. Today is supposed to be okay. So far, it seems like the entrance to okayness. Otto Dix is cool, yeah. Moving stresses me out, and I hate the hassle of it, but it has always lead to a kind of fairytale newness quality entering my life. Getting away from crazy people and drugs is a no brainer, although most interesting locations have those things in abundance too. But at least you won’t necessarily know where to find them at first. ** Justin D, Thanks. Yes, haha. I was actually really amazed to see that there had been a full-fledged theme park in Portland at one time. I know Enchanted Forest. It’s actually made an appearance here in a post or two, I think. Both ‘Death in Venice’ the novella and ‘DiV’ the film are great, in my opinion, so one or the other or both. Monday it was unbearably, monstrously hot here, so the day was a total wash. And yours? Or, wait, your Tuesday? ** Thomas H, My pleasure. Yes, I do know about Crinkley Bottom! Someone here did a post a long time ago about Mr. Blobby, and I got to gaze upon images and videos of that dreamy, weird looking park or rather those parks. Gotcha, yeah, I count my lucky stars eternally that I don’t seem to have ADHD. I have my own stuff, but it seems to be stuff that makes me work obsessively. Nice about your solid sleep. It was brutally hot here all night, so I’m the opposite. Bleary. ** Okay. I decided to restore this old post and give you another chance to get to know the goings on of Varvara Stepanova. See you tomorrow.
___________ The Wooz, Vacaville, CA The Wooz (“Wild Original Object Zoom”) was a small amusement park in Vacaville some years ago that featured a large maze as its main attraction. Human labyrinths were all the rage in Japan, so some Japanese investors bought some real estate in Vacaville next to a fledgling development of factory outlet stores which was built from the outset to become the largest retail center for factory outlets in the world. (And it still is.) The Wooz figured people would be coming from other states to shop in Vacaville and get lost in this fantastic maze, so they even built a large hotel on a plot of land sitting between the Wooz and the stores. Traffic at the initial weekend of the Wooz’s grand opening was strong but, within a month, word of mouth had spread that it was incredibly boring. The Wooz tried to get first-comers to come back by changing the maze every couple of weeks, but no one was buying it. The Wooz is now Toyota of Vacaville.
____________ Tex Randall Statue Canyon, TX Slouching at 47 feet as he peered down Highway 60, Tex Randall became the tallest Texan when a high school shop teacher assembled him in 1959. He was originally an adornment for a Western shop, meant to beckon customers from the road. The store went out of business years ago and Tex nearly fell to pieces before being refurbished in 2016. Until he was destroyed by a tornado in 2023, he stood alone, supported by metal bars and a billboard for First United Bank celebrating the “Spirit of West Texas,” upon which Tex rested one boot.
____________ Weeki Wachee Springs Hernando County, FL In 1947, champion swimmer Newton Perry opened Weeki Wachee Springs to the public. To lure tourists to his attraction, Perry constructed an Underwater Theater where tourists could sit and view women, trained to stay underwater for long periods of time, with the help of an underwater tubing system used for breathing.
____________ The CCP’s nationwide campaign to eradicate statues of Buddhist deities is uncontrollably spreading across China, even sacred places are not spared. An over-10-meter-tall statue of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, located inside the county’s Junlongquan Cemetery, was covered twice. The first time, it was concealed with galvanized iron sheets. But local officials decided that it wasn’t enough, and the person in charge of the cemetery was forced to surround the Buddhist statue with marble slabs.
____________ The Chutes, Haight Street, San Francisco (1895-1911)
____________ Igloo City Cantwell, Alaska This tourist attraction never actually opened for business. The four-story, concrete hotel, (circa 1970) remains unfinished to this day because it failed to meet building codes.
____________ Never Never Land, Tacoma, WA The last remaining vestiges from Point Defiance Park’s Never Never Land – the Old Woman’s Shoe and the stack of giant books – are coming down this week. Demolition will take place today and Friday on the wood and stucco structures near Fort Nisqually in the park, according to Metro Parks spokeswoman Nancy Johnson. The four-decade-old structures are deteriorating and moldy to the point that they were deemed unsafe, Johnson said. “There’s nothing that’s even recyclable or reusable,” Johnson said. The family attraction, which featured playhouses and figurines based on fairy tales, has fallen into disrepair over the years. It opened in 1964 as a private concession within the park according to the park district’s history of the site. Metro Parks bought the attraction and reopened it in 1986, after the original owner was unable to make a go of it. In 2001, the district removed the figurines and in the meantime has removed the remaining rotting wooden structures.
____________ Mayan Adventure, Sandy, UT (2008 – 2011) I can’t really say that I’m mourning the loss of The Mayan Adventure; my last review of the Sandy theme-park restaurant at Jordan Commons included descriptions such as “vile” (the faux jungle ambiance), “mediocre” (the food), “annoying” (the earsplitting noise) and “bewildering” (the confusing layout). So, I’m not sorry to see the Mayan close. I do feel, though, for the 150 employees of The Mayan Adventure who were unceremoniously put out of work when the restaurants both closed on Halloween, giving the employees no advance notice; the media were informed of the closings before many of the employees. The Mayan was a 700-seat restaurant that featured cliff divers, fire dancers and a robotic talking toucan.
___________ Grouse Mouse/Mountain Coaster, North Vancouver, BC Canada (1970’s-1980’s) ‘It launched in 1978. There were 12 or 13 incidents of people breaking their legs, the insurance rates skyrocketed and the coaster was taken out.’
___________ Legend City, Tempe, AZ Originally conceived as an Old West theme park in the mold of Disneyland by Phoenix artist and advertising agency owner Louis E. Crandall, Legend City endured a series of closings, bankruptcies and ownership changes throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and was never a significant financial success. Legend City opened to much public fanfare on June 29, 1963, but rapidly fell into financial difficulty and fell into bankruptcy after only six months. Crandall departed as president, and the first of several ownership changes then ensued. The property was purchased by Sam Shoen of U-Haul and opened as a theme park. U-Haul’s private advertising agency A&M; associates handled the ‘rebirth’ to a theme park for children. This was probably the park’s most successful period. Mr Shoen lost interest in the park and it was eventually sold to the Mitsubisi Corporation out of Japan as a show park where the company’s amusement rides could be featured to prospective buyers. The park was deserted by the Japanese owners and left to ruin. The Capell family, who had been in the carnival business for many years, then bought the property but were unable to restore Legend City to its former glory. The land was eventually purchased in 1982 by the Salt River Project, which closed the park permanently after the 1983 season. Legend City was then dismantled and razed to the ground to make way for new corporate offices for SRP.
___________ Yosemite Firefall The Yosemite Firefall was a summer time event that began in 1872 and continued for almost a century, in which burning hot embers were spilled from the top of Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park to the valley 3,000 feet below. From a distance it appeared as a glowing waterfall. Firefall ended in January 1968, when the National Park Service ordered it to stop because the overwhelming number of visitors that it attracted trampled meadows to see it, and because it was not a natural event.
___________ Dead Dolly Lane Alpine, CA Dead Dolly Lane was actually a private driveway in Alpine, California. If dolls without bodies, and body parts without heads, weren’t wacky enough, some of these dolls had face and body piercings. While a lot of the “dead” dollies were ugly, broken, and creepy in an obvious way, some of the most unsettling dolls were the ones like the undamaged Barbie who seemed to either be frolicking through the field of doll bodies, or perhaps running from it. Signs in various languages such as Spanish, Scots Gaelic, Italian, and Latin contained creepy and ominous messages that mention a broken nose, being watched by the eyes of a witch, etc. Unfortunately, Dead Dolly Lane was destroyed by a freak flash flood in March 2024.
___________ The Wawona Drive-Through Tree, Yosemite, CA The Wawona Tree, also known as the Wawona Tunnel Tree, was a famous giant sequoia that stood in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, California, USA, until 1969. It had a height of 227 feet (69 m) and was 26 feet (7.9 m) in diameter at the base. A tunnel was cut through the tree in 1881, enlarging an existing fire scar. Two men, the Scribner brothers, were paid $75 for the job ($1,833 in inflation-adjusted terms). The tree had a slight lean, which increased when the tunnel was completed. Hired by the Yosemite Stage and Turnpike Company to create a tourist attraction, this human-made tunnel became immensely popular. Visitors were often photographed driving through or standing in the tunnel. The Wawona Tree fell in 1969 under a heavy load of snow on its crown. The giant sequoia is estimated to have been 2,300 years old.
___________ The Thing, between Barstow & Baker, CA The Thing (1950 – 1969) was a California roadside attraction. A large number of billboards enticed travelers to stop, just to find out what the mysterious Thing might be. The object is believed to have been made by a creator of exhibits for sideshows named Homer Tate. To get to the thing, the clerk instructed visitors to proceed through the cave-like entrance and follow the yellow footprints. The footprints lead the curious down a sidewalk and through three sheds, each filled with artifacts of questionable merit. The first shed featured modes of transportation–a 1921 Graham Page (made by the then largest truck manufacturer and later acquired by the Dodge brothers), a predecessor to today’s recreation vehicles (an 1849 Conestoga wagon), and a 1937 Rolls Royce which is proclaimed to be Hitler’s…maybe. The displays turned gruesome as the yellow footsteps pass a torture chamber filled with figures carved out of wood. The Thing resided in a coffin protected by a glass topped concrete block case, and looked after by a bizarre two legged horse like creature wearing a crown. Finally, the yellow footprints lead to the third shed where, just inside the door, one came face to face with The Thing. It was laid to rest in a coffin sitting inside a glass topped concrete block case.
___________ Pixieland, Otis Junction, OR Pixieland was an amusement park near Otis Junction, Oregon, United States located about three miles (5 km) north of Lincoln City. Opened in 1969, it operated for only four years. The park opened on June 28, 1969 with a dedication from Governor Tom McCall to the “families of Oregon”. More than $800,000 was invested, including two public stock offerings. Pixieland hired two former Disneyland employees: the director of music and director of special promotions. Rides included a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge[3] train called Little Toot (later renamed Little Pixie) and a log flume. Entertainment was found at the Blue Bell Opera House where melodramas were performed. Other buildings and attractions included the Main Street Arcade, the Print Shop, The Shootout, and the Darigold Cheese Barn. Eating places included Fisher Scones and Franz Bread Rest Hut. A 1975 headline in the Oregon Journal declared “Pixieland Dream Goes ‘Poof!’: Dreams of a multimillion dollar fantasy world shattered into a fiscal nightmare.” After the park closed, the rides were sold and the buildings demolished.
__________ Miles Mahan’s Half Acre Hulaville, Hesperia, CA Mahan’s Half Acre (Hulaville) was an outdoor folk art environment of wine and beer bottle tree sculptures and desert sandblasted painted wooden signs. Miles Mahan (1896-1997) lived in the middle of this splendid squatter’s jumble, in a pickup truck camper without the pickup truck. It was the only folk art environment with a boot hill and a driving range. By 1995 Miles was off his Half Acre and in a convalescent home, and passed away on April 15, 1997. By summer of that same year, Mahan’s Half Acre had been quietly scraped off the high desert along I-15, as witnessed on a drive-by on our way to Exotic World. A self-storage facility sat where once the highway shoulder poet would regale all with his sun-baked tales of the 1920s.
____________ Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, Hayward, WI
___________ Jungle Island, Buena Park, CA Jungle Island, home of the Woodniks, could be reached by presenting a “C” ticket from the Super Bonanza Book at the Knotts Berry Farm amusement park or purchasing a ticket from the booth at one end of a covered bridge for admission across a shallow moat to a forested hill where children found adventure and played hide-and-seek games all day. Woodniks were “creatures” made from strange shapes of wood with glowing googly eyes and nearby speakers to give them voice. Kids could ride a pair of Woodniks at the water’s edge like a teeter-totter, which activated splashing effects. Another woodnik nearby was ridden like a rocking horse to spray a stream of water out over the moat. There were paths up the terraced hill which led to more woodniks and activities. Jungle Island and the adjoining Burro Trail were raised and the land incorporated into Knotts Berry Farm’s private picnic grounds in the 1990s.
___________ Haunted Gold Mine, San Francisco, CA (1979-1998) An old, robotic prospector with a long gray beard would taunt passersby from his post at 145 Jefferson St. as he sang “Oh My Darling, Clementine” in a raspy voice. Above the animatronic figure, a wooden sign with lopsided letters beckoned people to the attraction within: the Haunted Gold Mine. Once you were inside, he’d come up the mine shaft and tell the story of how the mine had been closed for 150 years, but those ghosts just won’t leave a body to rest. If you could grab the treasure, it was yours to take.
___________ Fossil Cabin, Como Bluff (Medicine Bow), WY The walls of this starter home were built out of 5,796 mortared-together dinosaur bones, which were dug out of a nearby ridge known as Como Bluff. The Boylan family — Thomas, wife Grace, and son Edward — completed the building in 1933, as a way to draw attention to their gas station. Thomas Boylan said that he designed it to be roughly the size of a giant Diplodocus. It was dubbed “Oldest Cabin in the World” in 1938 by Robert Ripley, and an exterior sign still reads, “Believe It Or Not!.” Another sign reads, “Fossil Cabin.” Boylan advertised his creation on postcards as, “the building that used to walk.” Manager Ethel Nash is dead now, and the house is closed.
___________ The Leaning Tower of Dallas Dallas, TX The Leaning Tower of Dallas was the core of an 11-story building in Dallas, Texas that unexpectedly remained standing and slightly leaning after the demolition of the building it was part of. On February 16, 2020, Lloyd D. Nabors Demolition company dynamited the building to make way for a $2.5 billion mixed-use project. The core remained standing until it was demolished via wrecking ball on March 3. The building quickly became an internet meme and a social media hotspot for selfies. People traveled to Dallas from across Texas to take photos with the core akin to tourist photos taken with the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
___________ Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour, 130 locations nationwide at their peak (1963-1990) Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour was started in Portland, Oregon, by Bob Farrell and Ken McCarthy in 1963. The parlors had an 1890s theme, with employees wearing period dress and straw boater hats, and each location featured a player piano. The menu was printed as a tabloid-style newspaper. It featured appetizers, sandwiches, burgers, and dozens of different sundaes, as well as malts, shakes, sodas, and floats. Unusual offerings included a glass of soda water for 2 cents, and the traditional free sundae for customers celebrating a birthday. Some of the sundaes were huge and intended for a group to share. The largest, the “Zoo” sundae, was delivered with great fanfare by multiple employees carrying it wildly around the restaurant on a stretcher accompanied by the sound of ambulance sirens. In the mid-70s, sales dropped and most of the parlors were sold off in the 1980s. In 1982, Marriott sold the chain to a group of private investors. By 1990 all Farrell’s locations had closed.
___________ Hangman’s Tree Historic Spot Saloon, Placerville, CA (1961 – 2014)
___________ Dinosaur Land, Alpine, CA (1962-1964) On August 5, 1962 Dinosaur Land opened in downtown Alpine to a large crowd. According to Beatrice La Force, “Dinosaur Land was going to be a pre-history museum and an entertainment park.” There were ten full scale dinosaurs and a restaurant decorated like a cave. The restaurant is now the home of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Silver, owners of the Alpine Mobile Home Estates Park. Mrs. Silver told me when they first bought the property in 1975 they renovated the house. Inside the walls they discovered remnants of materials that looked like a cave. Unfortunately, after only two years in operation Dinosaur Land closed. People were stopping in Alpine for gas and food but not enough people were visiting Dinosaur Land. Some of the dinosaurs were removed and some were left behind. Due to the weather the dinosaurs that were left behind deteriorated. This last dinosaur had a real problem. His head fell off and his body was in very bad shape. Mrs. Silver’s son, Adrian Kruso, came to his rescue. With his brother and his good friend Effrum they reconstructed the dinosaur. He is the only remaining dinosaur.
____________ Dennis The Menace Playground, Monterey, CA This unique and creative play space opened in 1956. It was a playscape like no other. What set it apart was the customized equipment and Arch Garner’s design. Like its namesake it had a bit of an edge – let’s call it that Dennis je ne sais quoi factor. If someone were looking for a blueprint for an extreme playground, this one, in its original state, would have been a good model. The adrenalin charged ‘helicopter’ ride spun around on an axis as fast as the big kids could make it go. To catch a ride, you had to be able to jump up way high & grab a metal bar of some kind while ducking the numerous arms, legs, heads, & various other body parts (mostly still attached) of successful riders holding on for dear life. There were other pieces of equipment – like the roller slide – that might have looked more at home on a factory production line. Daniel, is one of tens of thousands who have fond and vibrant memories of the Dennis the Menace playground that was. He laments the fact that kids today don’t have the same kind of opportunities for play. “I learned so much about my limits from that park. I was just as scared of getting hurt as anyone. I didn’t feel invincible or anything. It seems now that there is a lot of litigiousness in our society with parents suing over things that are just life.
___________ Council Crest Amusement Park, Portland, OR (1907-1929) If you are familiar with Portland, you know what incredible views are afforded atop Council Crest. From Council Crest (on a clear day) you can see five snow-capped peaks and 3,000 square miles of land and rivers that connect them together. But unless you were here early in the 20th century, you might not know that an amusement park once ruled the Crest. Council Crest Park opened on Memorial Day in 1907 and itwas in operation until Labor Day in 1929. Council Crest was heralded as “The Dreamland of the Northwest.” Pittmon’s Guide for 1915 described the trip on the Portland Heights streetcar line to Council Crest as “One of the most beautiful trolley rides in the world, taking you in 20 minutes from the heart of the business district to the height of 1073 feet, unfolding before you a scenic panorama for grandeur unexcelled. The hustling city in the foreground nestling on both banks of the Willamette (wil-lamb-met) River is 12 miles from its confluence with the Columbia River.” As the nation headed into the Great Depression, the Park couldn’t sustain another money-losing season and Council Crest Amusement Park closed for good on Labor Day 1929. The observatory was dismantled in 1940. Even after the amusement park was gone, Council Crest trolleys made regular trips to the Park until 1949 to make the breathtaking views available to all.
___________ Caverns of Mystery/Dinosaur Caves, Shell Beach, CA (1948-1950’s?) A tourist attraction perched here briefly in 1948, but locals freaked when the owner started to build a huge concrete dinosaur, and it was removed by 1950. There were natural sea caves below the cliffs, and an eroded hole up top into the caves. The attraction hyped the caves as “The Caverns of Mystery” and decorated them accordingly. Visitors could scale down through the eroded hole and experience the mysterious caverns. The “Cavern of Mystery” collapsed in the 1950s, destroying the entrance building perched on top.
___________ Bedrock City, Kelowna, BC, Canada (19??-1998) The Flintstone park in Kelowna did exist at one time. We went on a trip across BC in 1998 and, being a huge Flintstones fan, we went to Kelowna and I was very excited to go to the Park there. We drove around for hours but couldn’t seem to find it. Relatives had been there less than a month ago and had seen it, so we knew it existed. We eventually went to a tourism office only to discover that they had begun tearing it down just the week before. We actually have pictures of some of the demolition in progress and I can tell you that it was a very sad sight indeed.
___________ World’s Largest Ball of Paint Alexandria, IN Once upon a time this had been just a normal baseball, but more than four decades and 29,078 coats of paint later, and added to every day by visitors, it became a whopping 10,230-pound ball of paint—and the world’s largest at that. It hung from a hook in its own custom-built home.
___________ Kellogg’s Cereal City USA, Battle Creek, MI (1998 – 2007) Kellogg’s Cereal City USA, a $22 million breakfast food funhouse, opened in downtown Battle Creek, Michigan in 1998. We toured Cereal City just after we had seen the American Museum of Magic, an attraction built by one man who ate peanut butter sandwiches and went without a car so that he could fund it. Cereal City was not built by people who had to eat peanut butter sandwiches. Slick and corporate, it was an attraction-by-committee that leased space to non-cereal advertisers, such as Lego blocks and Kellogg’s Eggo Waffles. And then forgets to make any sort of Lego My Eggo joke. Battle Creek itself had representations of its Red Onion Cafe and Bijou Theater built into this place’s bendy-twisty, ToonTownish decor. Imagine a Disney Store that charges admission, with a few video theaters and other diversions thrown in, and you’ll have Cereal City. Kellogg’s Cereal City USA was a faint echo of a lost time, an attraction geared to getting Americans used to the idea of NOT seeing things being made. Now that the factories have been outsourced to Mexico and China, we’re being taught to redirect our consumer love toward the marketing, not the manufacturing. The kids don’t know any differently. Cereal fans — who long ago stopped eating what the monkey eats — will just have to get used to it.
_____________ Stewart’s Petrified Wood Holbrook, AZ
________________ Rosie’s Diner, Grand Rapids Rosie’s Diner looks like it was a collection of at least 3 old diners turned into separate-but-connected restaurant, ice cream shop and bar. All abandoned, shuttered and overgrown. We peeked inside and saw classic, attractive interiors. Out back was a huge and elaborate Mini Golf course with supersized diner food sculptures. We found a flier and postcard in the grass that were dated 2011. It’s amazing how fast a place can decay. The main roadsign was gone — probably was a deluxe neon sign. Other nice neon signs remained. We noticed how the high-quality diners had amateurish signage painted on their windows. And how the deluxe putt-putt course also had lame and sloppy painted signs. And how there were cornball printouts taped into windows — not a very tempting way to get people to order food. According to the PR material we found that the place tried to be a major draw for the Klassic Kar krowd. They charged fees to have photos of cars taken in front.
_________________ Frank’s Hog Stand, San Antonio, TX This big pig digs was once a hog stand. Located on South Saint Marys Street near intersection with Pereida Street in the parking lot of the China Garden restaurant.
_________________ Bastille Elephant, Paris When the Bastille was stormed and fell on 14 July 1789 at the start of the French Revolution, there was some debate as to what should replace it, or indeed if it should remain as a monument to the past. The building was demolished and the dimension stones being reused for the construction of the Pont de la Concorde. In 1792 the area was turned into the Place de la Bastille with only traces of the fortress that had once dominated the area remaining. In 1808 Napoleon planned many urban regeneration projects for Paris and was particularly fond of monuments to his victories. He wanted to create a significant triumphal structure to demonstrate his military prowess and began the process of designing a 24 m (78 ft) bronze elephant. In the Imperial decree of 24 February 1811, he specified that the colossal bronze elephant be cast from the guns captured at the Battle of Friedland. A stairway would allow visitors to ascend one of the elephant’s legs to an observation platform on its back. Work began in 1810 on the ground works, with the vaults, underground pipes and the main pool completed by 1812. Realising the need to show how the finished work would look, a full-size model using plaster over a wooden frame was built at the site of the Bastille and completed in 1814, the model was protected by a guard named Levasseur who lived in one of the elephant’s legs. The Elephant of the Bastille construction work stopped in 1815 after the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. Nearby residents began to complain that rats were inhabiting the elephant and searching for food in their homes, petitioning for demolition from the late 1820s. The model elephant was not removed until 1846 by which time it showed considerable wear. and although part of the original construction remains, the elephant itself was replaced a few years later by the July Column (1835-40) constructed on the same spot.
_____________ Land of Giants Unger, WV ‘A seven-acre parcel of farmland in Unger, West Virginia, was home to a small army of giants. Displayed around the property were more than 20 enormous fiberglass figures designed in the 1960s for roadside advertising. Although not all the figures are male (or even human), these “colossi” are known generically as “Muffler Men.” The figures were owned and displayed by George and Pam Farnham, who live on the property. Their bucolic homestead is called “Farnham’s Fantasy Farm.” In the early 1980s, George left a legal career in Washington, D.C., moved to rural Morgan County, West Virginia, and acquired room to spread out. Collectors by nature, the Farnhams’ hobby assumed gargantuan proportions when they acquired their first giant—a 25-foot-tall Muffler Man—from a Midas Muffler Shop in California. Land of Giants closed during the pandemic and never reopened.
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p.s. Hey. ** Thomas H, Hi. I don’t know the Drew Hayden Taylor, but I’ll look into it. Thanks. Okay, understood, about the go-getter thing. I think I have this pragmatic side that tells me, okay, I don’t want to do this, but, if I do, it could facilitate new things I will enjoy, and then I can usually buckle down. Oh, thanks for the link to comic! I’ll go and pore over it once the p.s. is in my rearview. ** Dominik, Hi!!! Oh, shit, about the blog whatevering your comment. Sorry on its behalf. Parents galore. Gosh, try to have the best time with them and not with them when they’re approximate but elsewhere. Love definitely knows what I need, please thank him, or I guess I can do that during my turn of exploiting him. Love making what’s going to be a brutally hot day today teach me something I don’t already know, G. ** David Ehrenstein, Thank you for your Hellman thoughts and wisdom. I’ve never seen ‘Che Cosa Sono Nuovole?’ I keep waiting to find the film of his that makes me more than distantly admire his films, and maybe that’ll be it. ** jay, I’ll find it: ‘Raw’. Uh, given my too long vacation from gaming, I think the last game I played with inordinate pleasure and addiction was the last Paper Mario game. I love that franchise. You’re right, I did use that text in ‘Zac’s Drug Binge’! I totally spaced on that. Man, eagle eye. Aw, thanks a lot about that story. I’d give you a hug but it’s upper 90s degree F here today and I’m all sweaty. ** New Juche, Thank you, Joe! It was a privilege, it was a gift that will forever keep on giving. xo, me. ** Misanthrope, For some reason that term chickenfeed still emits from my mouth on occasion whilst most its contemporaries have long since been trampled by younger terms. Welcome to perhaps your best year ever? Or hopefully temporarily so. I would kill for cake and ice cream and then videogames. Happy birthday redux! ** Bill, HI. ‘Two Lane Blacktop’ is free viewing on soap2day if you want to go that route. So, ‘The Traumatic Surreal’ is really good? Like I should score it for sure really good? ** Steve, All credit to the Juche! ‘Scarecrow …’ has gotten restored or something? Zac returns sometime this week and problem solving or at least the intent will begin in earnest. Never been to Finland. When Zac and I did our lengthy Scandinavian amusement park hunting trip, we skipped Finland to save time because it only really has one seemingly great park. But I want to go too. ** nat, I don’t think I’ve seen that. Oh, wait, now I can, thanks to you! Everyone, Weekend related gift from nat. He’ll explain: ‘hellman, hellman… god monte hellman. have you ever seen that one intro he did for a tv airing of a fistful of dollars? for two sublime minutes, you get some incredible shadow work, slanted angles and tension build up, practically to hide the fact it’s a double, atmopherically though? amazing.’ Here. I question your dom’s ability to judge literary criticism. Happy you like the Mackey. Oh, yeah it’s definitely comical frequently. Writing hits slumps, for sure. I’m in one, it seems. Bleah. ** _Black_Acrylic, Yes! ** Uday, Hi. Weird, I never look back at my older work, so it’s surprising to read such an old sentence of mine. Of course I think, ‘Ah, I could have done better’, but thank you. No, really! There are photos of me with dyed black punk era hair. I think I’ve conveniently misplaced any photos of me in my Glam get-up. Not a good look. I bet you could follow choreography if the choreography was brilliant enough. Weekend was no big, it was fine. It’s funny because over here French kiss means giving/getting a peck on each cheek of your friends when you first see them. I think the tongue stuff is just considered your basic kissing over here. ** Lucas, I think maybe my favorite English language word is infuriate. In any case, that what the producer inspires. You were disappointed with ‘Memoria’ too. That’s kind of a relief. I get why he wanted to try to do something totally different, but I thought it really just dragged along pretty listlessly. I knew I was in trouble from the first shot where Swinton is looking at a window and gets up walks over to it. She can’t even do that with overacting. Anyway, yeah, I’m with you. Today’s our 38 degree day, but, if I can survive, it’s supposed to drop ten degrees tomorrow. Logic says this must be the last heatwave, but logic is rather untrustworthy these days. Great week to you, pal! ** Justin D, Hi. I’m just saying if you really want to do Truffaut, I’d go there. My weekend involved a fair amount of walking around and enjoying the last days that my neighborhood is packed to the rafters with Olympics people. I’m weirdly going to miss that, I think. I’m happy you liked ‘Fallen Leaves’. So beautiful, right? I hope it’s not his last film, but I think it probably will be. Rock solid Monday to you! ** Nicholas., Me either. Basically the same with me. I tend to trust people too quickly, and sometimes I get really betrayed, so I guess I am vulnerable in that sense. Otherwise, I think I’m fairly thick skinned. I think I have a fairly good understanding of my faults and virtues maybe? Beautiful, mysterious description of that separation. Thank you. Not a ton up with me. Mostly just waiting for people to return from their summer vacations and the consequent restarting of things I want to proceed with. Song: Probably some kind of complicated but concise noise composition disguised as a song based on ‘Period’, I think. Nice question. Is there a song you think is absolutely perfect, and, if not, what would your perfect song sound like? ** Right. Today you get a slew of defunct tourist attractions intended to cause you to daydream retroactively or something, I guess. See you tomorrow.
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