![]() ![]() The objects in this archive are from Library of Congress - the nation’s first established cultural institution and the largest library in the world, with millions of items including books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in its collections. While environmental context is only occasionally provided, Margolies' eye was often drawn to signage or other graphic elements of buildings that expressed the ingenuity or eccentricity of their makers. Given the breadth of his subject matter, common typologies and motifs in vernacular architecture can be identified through their repetition. These structures were usually isolated in the frame and photographed head-on or at an oblique angle to provide descriptive details. In his photography, Margolies utilized a straightforward, unsentimental approach that emphasized the form of the buildings. Margolies' work was influential in the addition of roadside buildings to the National Register of Historic Places beginning in the late 1970s. ![]() Yet, in many instances, the only remaining record of these buildings is on Margolies' film, because tourist architecture was endangered by the expansion of the interstate system and changing travel desires. Emerging with the prosperity of the post-WWII era, roadside and commercial structures spread with the boom of suburbanization and the expansion of paved roads across the United States. Margolies' Roadside America work chronicled a period of American history defined by the automobile and the ease of travel it allowed. These holdings form the core of what Margolies considered the exemplary images of his subject matter. Approximately half of the slides show sites in California, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, and Texas, but all 48 contiguous states are represented.The Library of Congress began to acquire portions of the archive in 2007, with the bulk of the materials arriving in 2015. Frequent subjects include restaurants, gas stations, movie theaters, motels, signage, miniature golf courses, and beach and mountain vacation resorts. Photographed over a span of forty years (1969-2008) by architectural critic and curator John Margolies (1940-2016), the collection consists of 11,710 color slides (35mm film transparencies). Plus, it has a state of the art projection system allowing it to show the most up-to-date movies.The John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive is one of the most comprehensive documentary studies of vernacular commercial structures along main streets, byways, and highways throughout the United States in the twentieth century. She herself has played a hands on part in the preservation of the Washoe. She gave us a personal tour and history of the theatre. We'd like to give a bit shoutout to a very nice staff member named Dianne. The love that has gone into restoring and maintaining it is evident everywhere. The Washoe is one of the theatres that set the standard for the theatres of my youth. Plexiglass windows outside the theatre displayed movie placards with scenes from the movie. The movie title on the marquee was bordered with incandescent bulbs. The overhead marque announced the theatre name with neon lettering. The ticket booth was outside under the marquee. Ushers with flashlights helped you find a seat in the dark. Seats were velvet covered (or sometime leather). It was a time when movie theatres were ornately decorated auditoriums with billowy red curtains that pulled aside to reveal the main screen. For me, it was an opportunity to step back in time to the movie theatres of my youth. During our summer road trip my wife and I made a special side trip to Anaconda just to experience this theatre.
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