Author Archive
February 20, 2014 by tomdalzell
Tip-Top Ice Cream (New Zealand)
Tip-Top Ice Cream, New Zealand, came into being in 1936. There are many, many images available. Here are a tip-top few: In their promotions, Tip-Top goes all-out in an embrace of American popular culture: That final photo kills me. Love it. When talk turns to ice cream, I can tell you […]
February 16, 2014 by tomdalzell
Cody’s Paperback Ads
We take the paperback for granted. Yet, in the 1950s and early 1960s the paperback revolution was, well, revolutionary. The spinner rack was once the domain of comics. But then came paperbacks. Floods of paperbacks. And a new use for the spinner rack. Paperbacks brought great literature to the masses. Dangerous! Democratic! And Cody’s was […]
February 16, 2014 by tomdalzell
Suburban Square, Ardmore PA
Haverford is just east of Bryn Mawr. Admore is just east of Haverford. Admore is only a few miles from Bryn Mawr, maybe even contiguous at spots. I would get off the train in Admore on my way home from school on the Pennsylvania Railroad to get my hair cut at Troncelliti’s Barber Shop, to […]
February 15, 2014 by tomdalzell
Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs have never featured in my life. I didn’t become obsessed with them as a boy, and as far as I can remember not many boys of my generation did. I have four children and none of them were ever obsessed with dinosaurs. If this were truly all about me we’d quit now. But it […]
February 15, 2014 by tomdalzell
Giant Dinosaurs (Only Quirky Need Apply)
Can there be any doubt about the theme song for this page? I thought not. Bedrock City! When it comes to giant dinosaurs, Roadside Architecture and Weird California both have excellent giant dinosaur photo collections. Click the logos to see what they have. They are two great websites. The net they cast for giant dinosaurs is […]
February 11, 2014 by tomdalzell
Beatles Mural
photo– Karen McClintock artist–Michael BonitThe John Lennon graf mural along the railroad tracks sent me off in search of other Beatle murals. I was in 7th grade – First Form (I Form) – when the Beatles first appeared on Ed Sullivan on February 9, 1964. The television that my family watched together then was: Friday night: […]
February 10, 2014 by tomdalzell
Major Quirky No. 21: 22 Tunnel Road and Oakridge Path
As you walk up Tunnel Road, across the street from the Claremont Hotel, you might notice a hint of well-executed artistic quirk. Intriguing, but not major. And then you walk up Tunnel Road, turn right on Oakridge Road, wind up to the top of the hill and turn down Oakridge Path. Not too far down […]
February 8, 2014 by tomdalzell
Tacoma Public Library Image Archive Photos
Curtis Parkinson has been reading my mail. The image archives at the Tacoma Public Library became the next rabbit hole in my life, the next dragon to chase. They depict a different time and place. A different country, almost or even. There was a time when a city had character. It had its own businesses, […]
February 8, 2014 by tomdalzell
Giant Coffee Pots and Tea Pots
That’s a nice giant coffee pot in Tacoma. By now it should be pretty obvious that this is simply a temptation I cannot resist. I immersed myself in the destructive element for a couple hours on a Thursday early morning and found these photos of mostly old and all quirky giant coffee pots and, with […]
February 6, 2014 by tomdalzell