Tower Theater - Los Angeles, California

802 South Broadway - The Tower Theater opened in 1927 in downtown LA and was designed by S. Charles Lee.  Check out their website for a little more info.

Main Theatre / Main Street MEDCenter - Columbus, Ohio

1336 East Main Street - This 1937 building was originally the Main Theatre and has since lived its life associated with medical businesses.

 

Tramway Gas Station - Palm Springs, California

2901 North Palm Canyon Drive - Once a gas station, now the Palm Springs Visitors Center, eternally fabulous.

Spreckels Theatre - San Diego, California

121 Broadway - For some reason I only took pictures of the sign for this theatre.  A little of the decorative elements of the building are visible above and just to the sides of the sign.

Villa Capri - Coronado, California

1417 Orange Avenue - While on the island of Coronado the Villa Capri sign instantly caught my attention.  I love the scripted letters as decoration.  Unfortunately, I somehow missed their other sign which you can see the edge of  at the right corner of the building.  The sign features a neon diving lady similar to some other motel signs of the era which I have seen.  You can catch a view of it at the Villa Capri website http://www.villacapribythesea.com/6.html along with a history of the motel.

Department of Transportation - Tifton, Georgia

710 West 2nd Street - This Georgia Department of Transportation building has some interesting elements.  Most notable is the fact that until you get up close to the building you wouldn't realize that from the street your seeing the second floor.  The lower level is hidden behind shrubbery and under a cantilever projecting from the base of the second floor.  Also of note is the deep overhang from the roof and the wonderful metal screens shielding the windows of the upper level from the harsh rays of the sun.

Sign - Lakeland, Florida

941 East Main Street - This star rose over a car dealership.  I remember passing by it all the time as a kid.

Southside Cleaners - Lakeland, Florida

901 South Florida Avenue - A fun sign from Southside Cleaners.

The Haven - Winter Haven, Florida

235 6th Street NW - The Haven Hotel, which opened in 1924, was used to house prospective land buyers during the land rush of the 20's.  I have lots of memories of this building from when I was a kid.  I often played at a friend's house on nearby Lake Howard and on one particular day as a storm was rolling in from behind the building the clouds seemed to swirl around it in a menacing manner reminicent of Ghostbusters.  During those days the building was in a poor state of repair adding to the eerie aura it posessed.  The building was restored and remodeled in the late 80's I believe and became condos.

The front porch of The Haven was originally open and used for relaxing on rocking chairs while socializing and enjoying a cool beverage.

House - Winter Haven, Florida

2309 Avenue C SW - There's a lot of potential in this cute little Spanish Colonial Revival home from 1928.  Slap on a fresh coat of paint, rip out that ridiculous chain link fence, add a little landscaping and voila!

Houses - Springfield, Ohio

South Fountain Avenue - This street has some lovely Victorian era homes located on it and here are a few examples.

These four houses were constructed between 1869 and 1886.

circa 1869

circa 1881

circa 1866

Townhouse Motor Lodge - Springfield, Ohio

2850 East Main Street - There's not much that is significant about this 1956 motel except for the super-mod wall pictured below.  When I took these pictures back in 2006 the place was in an awful state of disrepair.

Broad Street Christian Church - Columbus, Ohio

1049 East Broad Street - Built in 1903, this church is in the Olde Towne East neighborhood of Columbus just east of downtown.

Sandy Springs Health Center - Sandy Springs, Georgia

330 Johnson Ferry Road NE - This little gem sits just a few blocks from my house and I had driven past it probably a hundred times and never seen it.  This is not entirely my fault since it's situated back off the road nestled between some retirement towers and a shopping center on a one way street virtually invisible unless you look back in the other direction after you've passed it.  Brad spotted it while we were out a couple of weeks ago.  It's so cute (a word I despise and hate to use) that I would love to make it into a house.  I love the horizontality of the building, the large picture window, the dual support poles for the entry and the trio of windows located there which slant inward when open.  Built in 1948 and designed by McDonald and Company Architects.

Coca Cola Bottling Company - Los Angeles, California

1334 South Central Avenue - This wonderful ship-like structure sailed into port sometime between 1936 and 1939.  The building was designed by Robert V. Derrah.  Unfortunately I only got this one picture as we breezed by one day in the car.

 

 

Lake Region Hotel - Winter Haven, Florida

137 5th Street NW - Located on Central Park in downtown Winter Haven, this building was originally the Lake Region Hotel but these days serves as an office building.  Luckily this structure has retained most of its exterior decorative elements.  I've included an old postcard of the Lake Region Hotel that I found online.

Lan-Fair Federal Credit Union - Pickerington, Ohio

35 West Columbus Street - Just a nice little mod bank from 1961.

Metra Station Entrance - Chicago, Illinois

Michigan Avenue - I love this Metra Station entrance for the Van Buren Street Station.  The Art Nouveau-style Paris Metro entrance was a gift to Chicago from the city of Paris in 2001.