My Earliest Memory Of “Jetson” Architecture
Goodness knows I’d never heard the term “modernism†when I was 5 years old. But even when I was 5 I was crazy about a bank building out in a Columbus suburb called Reynoldsburg, Ohio. It looked like a space ship. There was nothing else like it. It was across the street from the roller rink, and next door to city hall. We’d watch July 4 Fireworks from the parking lot.
I asked my brother Ken, who still lives in Columbus to go see if it was still there. He took some pictures, and except for the drive-thru ATM awning that was added sometime in the last 30 years, it’s exactly as I remember it in 1960.
Of course now I know it’s part of the vast collection of America’s love affair with modernist or “googie†architecture from the 1950’s and 1960’s. The classic Las Vegas that we know and love is a result of it. One of our many goals in the next year is to save as much of it as possible. We’ve shown several examples in the past from here in Las Vegas. There was a pretty good discussion and demonstration during or Midnight Bus Tour Of Mid-Century Modern Las Vegas.
Fortunately, there’s a lot of other people interested in what we now call “mid-century modernismâ€. We belong to 2 local groups who share that mission. The Atomic Age Alliance celebrates all things “modernâ€. Classic Las Vegas celebrates all things historic. I invite you to come out and play with us in the next year.
