Blog – Page 7 – Grasshopper Hill Design

05/18/2013

Simply Marvelous: Phoenix’s Mid-Century Commercial Architecture

Published by the Phoenix Historic Preservation Office in January 2011 (and now in its second printing), the coffee table book “Midcentury Marvels: Commercial Architecture of Phoenix, 1945 – 1975” is features a great collection of photographs and details about the history of mid-century commercial architecture in Phoenix. It also profiles the architects who shaped modern Phoenix — Frank Lloyd Wright, Ralph Haver, Al Beadle, and Bennie Gonzales among them. In some cases, photographs (and the memory of long-time locals) are all that’s left of these architectural desert jewels. But despite some lamentable tear-downs, the Phoenix area still boasts some fine examples of high-style Modern and Googie architecture in everything from banks and offices to restaurants and hotels. This book covers just commercial structures, so we’re hoping a companion book on Phoenix’s residential mid-century marvels will come out some day. Meanwhile, this book is a must-have for anyone fascinated by the Valley of the Sun’s mid-century modern architecture like we are.

05/10/201306/15/2017

Happy Mother’s Day from the Desert Gang

Desert Gang Mothers Day
Above is a brand new illustration in my Desert Gang series celebrating Mother’s Day desert style.

04/29/2013

A whimsical example of Modern cartooning: Destination Earth

Petroleum industry and anti-communist propaganda aside, the 1956 industrial cartoon Destination Earth produced by John Sutherland is a whimsical example of Mid-Century Modern cartooning and space age illustrative stylings. Directed by Carl Urbano and designed by Tom Oreb and Victor Haboush, this 13-minute clip is a fascinating view of the future from the past, gushing with irony and humor like oil from a Texas drill rig.

04/22/201306/15/2017

Celebrating Earth Day with The Desert Gang

Desert Gang Earth Day
What are you doing for Earth Day? What can you do every day to be a little kinder to the planet? Here’s a little inspiration from the Desert Gang.

04/18/201312/20/2013

Modern Phoenix Week 2013

Above are advertisements for new homes from an old Arizona Republic newspaper dated Nov. 9, 1969. The yellowed newspaper was stuffed behind an old medicine cabinet we were replacing at home. What a find!

For more cool Mid-Century modern finds in Phoenix, the place to turn is the Modern Phoenix website — the go-to source for Mid-Century Modern architecture in the Valley of the Sun, and the group’s annual Modern Phoenix Week is happening right now. Check out this lineup of events for the big Modern Phoenix Expo taking place Saturday, April 21, at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts:

A Bus Tour of Scottsdale’s ‘Most Western’ Mid Century Gems
A Private Tour of Paolo Soleri’s Cosanti Foundation
An Ultimate Tour of the Hotel Valley Ho
Research your Midcentury Modern Home Using Primary Sources
Phoenix’s Street of Dreams: The Visual Extravaganza That Was Van Buren
A Modern Castle in the Sky: The David & Gladys Wright Residence
Creating Places of Peace in Modern Environments
Door Prize Drawings (+ a chance to win the last 2 tickets for Sunday’s Home Tour!)
Paolo Soleri: Beyond Form

04/04/201306/12/2013

Spies Vacation in Acapulco (The Ambushers)

The Ambushers is a 1967 spy comedy flick that is so bad it’s fantastic. Filmed in Acapulco and starring Dean Martin, Senta Berger and Janice Rule, it is loosely based upon the novel of the same title by Donald Hamilton. The film was the third in a series of four produced in the late 1960s starring Dino as secret agent Matt Helm. Dino both spoofs James Bond and plays up his own wisecracking playboy persona with plenty of references to two of his favorite pastimes — singing and boozing. The Matt Helm series was reportedly Mike Myers’ inspiration for “Austin Powers.”

With a flying saucer, a bevy of beauties, a fight sequence inside a giant vat of beer, and a return to Acapulco in its glory days, The Ambushers is cinematic “queso dip” at its finest. Get a little taste of it in the intro song performed by Boyce and Hart:

03/21/201308/22/2013

Tropical and Space Age at the Same Time

The above original illustrations are from my Mid-Century Modern Entertainment series. These particular designs were inspired by a scene from the 1964 movie “Campeón del Barrio” (Neighborhood Champion) starring Sonia Lopez. This popular Mexican singer of the 1960s was famous for her tropical-themed songs. Below is a clip of the floor show scene from the movie in which Ms. Lopez sings “Castigo” accompanied by fancifully costumed dancers that look both tropical and space age at the same time!