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If I ever did I would probably have to wear sunglasses so I don't get a seizure from all the blinking slot machines and casino lights. Actually I wouldn't mind visiting for a couple days, but I would never want to live there that's for sure. Not even for all the money in Vegas. I would go out of my mind.
I often admire hand-painted advertising on the sides of old buildings (like the prosaic Coke ads, as well as ads for the building and its features--STEAM HEAT, RUNNING WATER IN ALL ROOMS etc.) and am definitely a fan of neon signs. Even the old McDonald's and other examples of mid-century Googie design are now old enough to seem pretty charming. I'm not sure if the mansard-roofed 1970s McDonald's will ever fall into that category (I'm hoping not) but there's nothing like time and a little sentiment to make an eyesore into a classic.
I admire the old Americana retro stuff as well. We actually used to have a unique visual style and identity in this country that we could call our own. Too bad we decided to toss it all in the trash and replace it with the bland ugly sh*t that we see everywhere today.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katiana
That's a pretty old McDonald's. Is it perhaps the first one? Been a long time since a burger was 15c.
Those old retro buildings are actually kind of cool looking. Even though its surrounded by asphalt, the building itself seems to be a visual improvement over the typical throw-away fast food places we see today that are about as visually pleasing as a cardboard box.
Overseas, McDonalds can never get away with what they do in the states. If you go to a typical McDonalds in Europe and some Asian countries it feels like stepping into a real restaurant. Its hard to believe you're at a Mickey D's. Not super high end or anything but still far and above what we typically see in the states.
How come we have such low standards in the US?
Last edited by cisco kid; 06-01-2011 at 01:45 AM..
I admire the old Americana retro stuff as well. We actually used to have a unique visual style and identity in this country that we could call our own. Too bad we decided to toss it all in the trash and replace it with the bland ugly sh*t that we see everywhere today.
Those old retro buildings are actually kind of cool looking. Even though its surrounded by asphalt, the building itself seems to be a visual improvement over the typical throw-away fast food places we see today that are about as visually pleasing as a cardboard box.
Overseas, McDonalds can never get away with what they do in the states. If you go to a typical McDonalds in Europe and some Asian countries it feels like stepping into a real restaurant. Its hard to believe you're at a Mickey D's. Not super high end or anything but still far and above what we typically see in the states.
How come we have such low standards in the US?
I went to a McDonald's in Rome, near the Pantheon, and was amazed at the interior: marble floors and walls, fountains, etc.
Looking at the cities I see alot of signs compared to the burbs. In fact the best burbs have much more control over even how busienses present themselves. Mnay cities look like neon vegas really and ceertainly the cleanilness isn't up to parr with the burbs;IMO.Where I live and in many others I have seen even Wal-mart landscapes their stores to local requirements.They also pay for the parking for their stores. But then a citiy store has much higher taxes to deal with for those services bu we all know that coities rarely spend the money for that service of parking.
I really don't like how much of America looks the same and is filled with lots of cheap looking architecture, plastic signs, and vast amounts of parking. I do not think America will go away from such things until the values of America and Americans change, which I hope will happen soon.
I still think that NYC is the opposite of that, but still Times Square is but a small fraction of the city so while they are neon signs everywhere most of the city I think is more like a Jane Jacobs type of neighborhood rather than commercialized paradise. There needs to be more of those types of neighborhoods instead of endless strip malls and parking lots. NYC may have large billboards and such, but there are still a lot of neighborhood community, local businesses, and Jane Jacobs type neighborhoods to offset that.
The difference is rooted in culture. America is inward oriented; the inside of American homes (even average ones) are nearly palatial compared to their European counterparts. That's because we value privacy, home life and spend most of our spare time there. We lavish our time and energies on our personal little worlds and care little for what lies outside our property line.
Europe in contrast is outward oriented; a house is a place to sleep and most spare time/socializing is spent/done in public. Cultural pride is high, the mentality of the group prevails over the individual and public buildings are used a celebrations of culture, not just places to do business. Therefore more effort is put into public space than private...
...Which is ultimately why European style planning isn't gonna work in America unless American culture itself changes.
That's a mighty selective "we." It applies mostly to the mid to late 20th century, when social engineers taught us that family was all-important, and anyone who wanted a simple life without a family and a home in the suburbs was obviously a deviant. American cities were, and in some cases still are, just as outward-oriented as their European counterparts, because the outdoors of cities are worth experiencing in person, whereas the outdoors in the suburbs is generally only worth driving through. It wasn't true in rural America any more than urban America--a farmer spent their time working and often recreating outdoors. The farmhouse was a place of shelter, not the totality of life. Americans used to be a far more social people than we are today, for various social and cultural reasons, but in many ways we are encouraged to remain alienated because the resulting longing for belonging and contact makes it easier to sell us crap we don't need.
Part of the differences in materials of American retail establishments vs. their European counterparts is the built-in assumption of impermanence. European cities are assumed to be somewhat static, so things people built are constructed with the assumption that they will be there for centuries. Meanwhile, American suburbs are a disposable consumer product, built as cheaply as possible because in a couple of decades the people worth impressing will have moved on. As the outward growth of American cities becomes more and more untenable, one hopes that we'll figure out that maintaining (rather than demolishing) our built environment is a better long-term economic and social strategy--as is building our cities to be permanent rather than disposable.
We're already seeing a cultural shift away from the suburban social engineers and back to cities.
That's a mighty selective "we." It applies mostly to the mid to late 20th century, when social engineers taught us that family was all-important, and anyone who wanted a simple life without a family and a home in the suburbs was obviously a deviant. American cities were, and in some cases still are, just as outward-oriented as their European counterparts, because the outdoors of cities are worth experiencing in person, whereas the outdoors in the suburbs is generally only worth driving through. It wasn't true in rural America any more than urban America--a farmer spent their time working and often recreating outdoors. The farmhouse was a place of shelter, not the totality of life. Americans used to be a far more social people than we are today, for various social and cultural reasons, but in many ways we are encouraged to remain alienated because the resulting longing for belonging and contact makes it easier to sell us crap we don't need.
Part of the differences in materials of American retail establishments vs. their European counterparts is the built-in assumption of impermanence. European cities are assumed to be somewhat static, so things people built are constructed with the assumption that they will be there for centuries. Meanwhile, American suburbs are a disposable consumer product, built as cheaply as possible because in a couple of decades the people worth impressing will have moved on. As the outward growth of American cities becomes more and more untenable, one hopes that we'll figure out that maintaining (rather than demolishing) our built environment is a better long-term economic and social strategy--as is building our cities to be permanent rather than disposable.
We're already seeing a cultural shift away from the suburban social engineers and back to cities.
There's truth to that...from a 100+ year perspective. The modern suburban way of life would have seemed incredibly alien to turn of the century folks.
I'm too busy to look for stats, but I'm pretty sure there are far more suburban Americans than urbanites. Nothing is 100%, but the majority clearly embraced the plan of those evil suburban social engineers.
I do hope there is a shift to something more like it was a century ago, but we will never go back. Things will evolve into something new and hopefully better. That "new thing" will have to include elements of both sububan and urban ideals to succeed.
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