California Crazy and Beyond: Roadside Vernacular Architecture

by Jim Heimann

In 1980, Los Angeles historian Jim Heimann wrote a book about the oddball roadside architecture that has dotted the American landscape since the advent of the auto. Published by Chronicle Books as California Crazy, it stayed in print for nearly 20 years. Finally, here is the greatly expanded new edition of that sought-after classic. California Crazy and Beyond is packed with madcap restaurants, motels, service stations, and many other businesses shaped like hot dogs, animals, airplanes, pianos, and other architectural anomalies. Over the years, Heimann's continued research has uncovered a multitude of new pictures and forgotten buildings. With over 380 photographs and an illuminating text that tracks the subject well beyond the bounds of the West Coast, California Crazy and Beyond is an authoritative document of a style born in America and spread to all corners of the world.

Genres: Architecture, Travel, Art, History

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

- Very good collection of photos. I think I’ve been a little spoiled by how most of these pictures are now easily available on the Internet. Well, in 2001 when this book was published, they weren’t. In fact, a lot of the photos in this book are credited as being from the author’s personal collection, which means that any copies of them online are probably scans from this book.
- Now that most of these photos are available online, what I’d really like to see in a book like this is some in-depth discussion of how the original locations of some of these buildings were identified. It’s tantalizingly alluded to in the foreword, but that’s about it. I suspect it wouldn’t always make for gripping reading.
- I’d be interested in reading the newest edition of this book, 2018’s “California Crazy: American Pop Architecture,” and seeing how it differs from this edition.

[Craig Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must own for architecture buffs.

[Michele Kites · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable book Wish I could have seen these places before they were torn down!

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

1980’s California Crazy was one of the early gospels for roadside art enthusiasts, documenting dozens of the state's wonderful theme buildings of the early 20th century, from giant donuts to miniature sphinxes. Author Jim Heimann updated the book in 2001 with California Crazy and Beyond. The old version was presented as a logbook, and in some cases the images are larger. The new volume is redesigned as a more conventional picture book, with lots of additional pictures and a great deal more writing. Both are well worth having.

[David Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A neat book about roadside vernacular architecture, particularly structures that resemble what they sell. The vintage photos are often pretty amazing. For my tastes the text is too long and scholarly and would have been read better if paired with individual photos; as it is, you'll do some flipping around to find photos of what the text is describing. David Gebhard's intro, which treats the topic even more seriously, is a snooze.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. It was so great to see all the places that my mom talked about. She grew up in LA and it was fun to see her old hang out 'The Witch Stand' featured in this book.

[Zedder · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive book on roadside vernacular architecture. Read this at LMU in the summer of 1998. Everyone who is inclined to slug through "Learning from Las Vegas" should just read this instead.