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Mid-century brutalist buildings/plaza Comprised of three stunning Brutalist buildings and an inspired outdoor space, the Financial Plaza of the Pacific was originally conceived by Victor Gruen Associates in the mid 1960s as part of a four block revitalization project to make downtown Honolulu more pedestrian friendly. Only one block was fully realized – opened in 1968 – and consists of the 6-story Read more...
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Mid-century/brutalist buildings The tallest building at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus is also it’s most interesting. Built by modernist architects Walter Zick & Harris Sharp in 1970, and named for popular State Assembly woman Flora Dungan, the Humanities Building at UNLV is a unique example of combining the International Style with brutalism and desert modernism; a clean facade, lots Read more...
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Mid-century popular culture Las Vegas in the 1960s wouldn’t have been the same without Frank Sinatra and his legendary Summit performances with the Rat Pack. Today, imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, and all, there are a few options to relive those retro days… ♣ The Rat Pack is Back have been entertaining Las Vegas audiences since 1998 and features a Read more...
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Mid-century bank buildings Dotting south Palm Canyon Drive between Baristo and Camino Parocela stand a handful of elegant mid-century buildings that, in their day, represented the majesty of finance and inspired post-war optimism and consumer confidence. Some still serve the residents of the Coachella Valley as banks, while others have been restored and repurposed. All still inspire… corresponding photos are Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings In a city that often overlooks its history in favor of the next big thing it’s rare to find a mid-century modern building that still functions as it was originally intended to. Such is the case with the Edward A. Greer Education Center on East Flamingo Rd; still operating as an office building for the Clark County School District. Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses Located northeast of the Palm Springs International Airport, the El Rancho Vista Estates was the first tract of homes developed by noted modernist architect Donald Wexler and is a really nice example of your typical late 1950s mid-century modern neighborhood. Wexler and his partner Rick Harrison used inventive desert-modern finishes on the homes which included decorative concrete block walls, clerestory Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses Designed for singer, actress and television personality Dinah Shore by noted modernist architect Donald Wexler in 1964, this Old Las Palmas home may not reveal much from the street, but behind its discrete facade the 1.3 acre property defines timeless mid-century modern design, even today (especially today!). Walls of expansive floor to ceiling glass embrace its environment Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings With no less than a dozen mid-century modern buildings (including casinos, listed separately ) in the downtown area, modernists will feel like they’ve hit the jackpot. All are within easy walking distance of each other and we’ve listed them from north to south (more or less)… click on addresses below for Google Map locations. Old City Hall Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern buildings Designed by noted desert modernist architect William F. Cody in 1947, for which he received the American Institute of Architects Design award, the Del Marcos Hotel was lovingly restored in 2012 and has since received Historic Landmark status. The 17 room mid-century property is a dream come true for adult-only guests who want to get away from Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses Once home to an apricot orchard and a dude ranch, this area was subdivided in 1952 to make way for the Deepwell Estates, a new subdivision that would be comprised of large ranch and mid-century modern-style homes custom designed by noted ‘starchitects’ such as Howard Lapham and Barry Berkus. The stylish neighborhood with its lushly landscaped grounds and Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings As demand for office space increased in Honolulu during the booming 1950s, low-rise buildings gave way to mid-rise construction before the high-rise boom of the 1960s. The Continental building is a marvelous example of modernism at this time, and executed to perfection. Designed by Edwin Bauer and built in 1955, this 6-story office mid-rise exudes a tropical modernist Read more...
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Desert modernist buildings Located in the Coachella Valley‘s central community of Palm Desert, the College of the Desert is well worth the 30 minute (or less) drive from Palm Springs for a chance to see desert modernism at its best. Designed in the late 1950s by noted architect John Carl Warnecke (the Hawaii State Capital building) in a unique collaboration Read more...
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Modernist comfort stations Located at dozens of beaches and parks throughout Oahu, the majority of Hawaii’s “comfort stations” – aka restrooms, changing rooms, toilets etc. – were built during the post war boom years of the 1950s & 60s which gave local architects an opportunity to incorporate the period’s predominantly modernist esthetic into what would otherwise be overlooked utilitarian structures. Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern buildings It could be said that Palm Springs was ground zero for the rapid emergence of mid-century modern civic architecture in the post-war years. In few places was the inventive manner in which new building materials and construction techniques put to such extensive use, and by such an accomplished group of architects, as it was on the Palm Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Within a few blocks of the magnificent Hawaii State Capital building are a handful of other mid-century modern structures that are magnificent in their own right. Listed in no particular order with corresponding photos above… click on addresses below for Google Map locations. Hawaii State Capital Building (415 South Beretania St.) – Designed by Belt, Lemmon & Lo, with John Carl Read more...
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Mid-century popular culture For years organized crime got no respect, but lately Las Vegas has been embracing the mob’s role in the city’s evolution with places like The Mob Museum and The Mob Bar doing brisk business. If you believe the local lore – that mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was a visionary and driving force behind the genesis of what would become Read more...
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Mid-century architecture museums One of our favorite buildings, The Palm Springs Art Museum‘s Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion, started off as a bank in 1961; the Santa Fe Federal Savings & Loan to be exact, designed by noted modernist architect E. Stewart Williams. After years of disuse, The Palm Springs Art Museum purchased the vacant property in 2011 and mounted a Read more...
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Mid-century vintage bars Located just a few blocks east of the Fremont East Entertainment District, downtown, Atomic Liquors is the oldest free-standing bar in Las Vegas, dating back to the end of the Second World War when it opened as Virginia’s Café. The 1950s cold war era brought nuclear bomb testing to the Nevada desert just outside the city, and with Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings The Pawa’a neighborhood was one of Honolulu’s most modernized districts back in the 1960s and although one could easily spend hours taking in the entire area’s Tropical Modernist offerings we like Amana Street and its immediate vicinity as a great place to start. Corresponding photos are above… click on building names below for Google Map locations. Walking Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern buildings The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway was called the “eighth wonder of the world” when it opened in 1963, a major feat of engineering which took nearly 15 years from design to completion and later was designated an historical civil engineering landmark. Preeminent modernist architects Albert Frey & Robson C. Chambers and John Porter Clark were enlisted to Read more...
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Tiki Culture/Polynesian Pop For Tiki Culture enthusiasts this is a pilgrimage you’ll want to consider. One of the original two giant Maoi statues that graced the entrance to the Stardust Hotel & Casino’s Aku Aku Polynesian-themed restaurant back in the 1960s and 70s was relocated to Sunset Park in Henderson, just a few miles south of The Strip. Built by Read more...