Lakeland Screen Wall Modern

Lakeland Screen Wall Modern
Originally uploaded by johnnyapollo

More images from my recent trip to Lakeland, Ft Mead and WInter Haven Florida. Love the screening applied tot he front of this flat-roofed modern.

Across for Walmart on Chamblee Tucker and Peachtree Industrial

From the Street
Originally uploaded by johnnyapollo

Unusual manufacturer or distributor building for Besser Vibrapac - interesting use of concrete - upclose it feels more like an Aztec ruin than anything - the building has been abandoned for a while - click on the image to see the full set of photos including detail shots.

Photos taken 2009.08.06

-- John

Southgate Shopping Center - Right Side

Southgate Shopping Center - Right Side
Originally uploaded by johnnyapollo

Visited some friends down in Florida. We did a flyby to the Lakeland Southgate Shopping Center - if this looks familiar it was restored as part of the location shoot for Edward Sissorhands - I got quite lucky with the lighting as it was right after dusk and the sky had some incredible colors going on. This image is of the right side - there are two additional photos as part of the flickr set.

Roxy Theater - Clarksville, Tennessee 2008

It's been a while so I thought I would publish some images I took last year to get caught up. First off are some images I took of the Roxy Theater in downtown Clarksville, Tennessee. I remember going to this theater as a child - the balcony was a prime spot from which to hurl popcorn. Growing up the theater was run-down but I've heard some restoration has been started (and done?), especially since the tornado that hit downtown shook things up a bit. I hope this theater never goes away - as is evident it's still in use and ranks right up there with the best in Americana and Deco with its classic styling. I have a special love affair with the cinema and this theater brings back much of the magic missing from most mega-complexes.

-- John

Frank Lloyd Wright's Auldbrass

I posted about my visit to Auldbrass in my ModusModern blog:
http://modusmodern.blogspot.com/2007/11/visit-to-frank-lloyd-wrights-auldbrass.html

-- John

Ellijay Elementary School

Since I'm on the subject of cantilevered rooflines/covers, I thought I'd share these photos. I took them up at Ellijay during their annual Apple Festival. The school was probably build in the 60's - the front was in shadow so I couldn't get a good photo but there's one on the official school site here: http://www.gilmerschools.com/education/school/school.php?sectionid=16 The front leans towards the post-modern with a semi-circular front with vertical pilasters between windows. I was "wowed" by the back - many of the schools built in Georgia during the 50s-70s were basic box affairs, frequently from red brick with some window detailing - the designers would go nuts on the entryways and in this case, the bus loading/unloading area. I love the streamline effect of the cantilevered supports - very aeronautic, not to mention efficient.

-- John

Highway Rest Area I16 taken 2007.11.02

I used to work for a record label which involved a lot of travel - so I'm more than familiar with Highway rest stops - one thing that often gets overlooked is the architecture - often these rest areas were built post war and fit right into the mid-century modern period. Alas many of the classic stops have been bulldozed and replaced with post-modern ugliness or pasted over with yucco, but there are still a few gems around. I've always liked these cantilevered, butterfly concrete picnic areas shade-providers (can't really call them umbrellas - there's probably a good term for them but at least mine describes their function pretty well).

I spotted these on the way to Beaufort SC for the Auldbrass tour (more on that in another post). These were at about the half-way point between Macon and Savannah. At one time these were very ubiquitous, now only about a third of the rest stops in the south still have them - they're probably too expensive to upkeep once the weather starts tearing down the concrete. The building itself was probably built late-70's-ish and has a mansard roof, with ceilings in the bathrooms that go to the high-roofline (windows up there but blocked off with blinds, probably due to the intense heat of the summer son). The building was rather unspectacular so I passed at taking some snaps.

There are still some rather wonderful structures on I24 from Chattanooga to Nashville (right at Nickajack Lake) that I hope to shoot during my next visit northward - besides the interesting structures, the setting on the lake is simply gorgeous.


-- John