Library of Congress releases 11,700 freely usable photos of “roadside America,” taken by John Margolies
Almost all of Margolies’ work was done in the interest of preserving images of what would otherwise be lost to time. Even his first book, published in 1981, was elegiacally called The End of the Road: Vanishing Highway Architecture in America. From the start, Margolies knew the quirky motels, miniature golf courses, diners, billboards, and gas stations were being endangered by franchising and changing fashions — not to mention changing patterns of automobile traffic. (For decades now, most drivers have, of course, opted for the high speed-limits of superhighways and the convenience of service areas, leaving the old local highways in the lurch.)
John Margolies’ Photographs of Roadside America [Public Domain Review] John Margolies [Library of Congress] Roadside America [Library of Congress/Flickr Commons] (Thanks, @ridetheory!)