If you’ve been following The Retrologist on Tumblr for years, first of all, thank you! Second...
When Arby’s opened at 400 Knollwood St. in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1968, it was a big deal. The chain of fast-food restaurants, specializing in roast beef rather than burgers or fried...
On August 6, 1980, an estimated 150,000 people jammed into the Galleria mall in White Plains, New York, just north of New York City. It was the opening day of an 865,000-square-foot behemoth in t...
Where’s the beef? That wasn’t always a slogan for Wendy’s around here. From 1945 to 1977, the site of this Wendy’s in Sunnyside, Queens, was home to the Sunnyside Garden Arena, where th...
My latest newsletter is out – link in bio – and it’s jam-packed with roadside Americana news. I discuss the closure of the iconic Neil’s Coffee Shop on Manhatan’s Upper East Side and sh...
With its stepped-gabled roofline that seems more Flemish than Florida, its candy-cane poles supporting the simple portico, and its gigantic neon sign featuring a chicken and a chick that has a pr...
My latest Retrologist newsletter is out — find it at the link in my bio and sign up — and it’s full of vintage goodness! Among the stories I have for you: the owner of the reopened Arthur T...
In New York City, where I live, there hasn’t been enough snow this wretchedly warm winter to make a snowman or even a “Snoboy.” But at least I can remember my visit last year to Minneapolis...
It’s not every day I get to share good news like this: The Arthur Treacher’s restaurant in Garfield Heights, Ohio, has reopened, two years after shuttering amid the pandemic. This is big news...
Architectural Digest is lovin’ this McDonald’s. The magazine declared it one of the most beautiful McDonald’s in the world. In my latest newsletter – find it and sign up at the link in ...
Happy Sunday! It’s always a thrill when my photos inspire art. So I was so happy to see these two works created by @homefront_design. First up is White Manna Hamburgers in Hackensack, New Jerse...
Wendy’s sunroom. Those two words pack a lot of nostalgic punch. Along with Wendy’s newspaper tables and salad bars, the sunroom holds a special place in the firmament of fast-food restaurant ...
Blink and you’ll miss it. I photographed this right before the blink. This is one of my favorite photos, mainly because it shows such a rare thing – the sign for this long-defunct bagel shop ...
In my latest newsletter, which you can subscribe to at the link in my bio, I share news about the demolition of a classic @arbys that dated to the 1960s in Richmond, Virginia. But the sign appear...
My latest newsletter is out (link in bio!), and I’ve got some Christmas treats for everyone! On my road trip through the South this past week, I visited so many interesting places, including so...
Hello from the road! I’m filing this from Florence, South Carolina, as I explore the Southeast in a pre-Christmas adventure. If I’d been traveling, let’s say, back in the 1970s, the orange ...
In my latest newsletter (easily subscribe at the link in the bio) I share the sad news that one of the nicest old-school Krispy Kreme stores left in America has closed, apparently for good. The...
Hi friends! In my latest newsletter, I’m making it a Blockbuster weekend. There’s a Blockbuster Video pop-up bar in Los Angeles that’s making news, and, down in Florida, a bar that plays on...
This time of year was the Sears time of year. I can remember the cheery commercials from the 1980s, promising a shopping experience that equated Sears with Santa himself. The jingle went, “Th...
With the holiday shopping season upon us, I’m looking back on the much-missed places where we used to shop. On Black Friday, I shared some of my pictures and the stories of Ames, Kmart, Bradl...