130 Items Tagged

Americana

The famous Mickey's Diner was once called "Mickey's Dining Car."

Why So Many Diners Look Like Train Cars

Often, they traveled by rail and were built that way too.

Anne Ewbank August 3, 2018

Elvis Presley collection.

Roscoe, Illinois

Historic Auto Attractions

This deceivingly ordinary warehouse hides an enormous collection of pop culture treasures.

Stardust Motel sign.

Stardust Motel Sign

This old abandoned sign flickers to announce a motel that isn't even there.

Livingston, Illinois

Pink Elephant Antique Mall

Oversized statues are just the tip of this nostalgic Americana roadside attraction.

Fool's Gold Loaf

Elvis Presley once flew across the country to eat this decadent Denver sandwich.

St. Paul Sandwich

Don't think too hard about the name.

Five Hormel Girls on an Austin, Minnesota factory tour.

The Rise and Fall of the Hormel Girls, Who Sold America on SPAM

The Spamettes sang and danced and glamorized canned meat.

Anne Ewbank April 17, 2018

Poke Cake

In the 1970s, housewives stabbed their cakes and filled the holes with Jell-O.

Lompoc Valley Drive-In Theatre.

Lompoc, California

Lompoc Valley Drive-In

With its peeling paint and faded sign, this theater-turned-recycling plant is a nostalgic relic of 1950s Americana.

Chinese Parlor in the House of Henry Francis du Pont.

Wilmington, Delaware

Winterthur

A blend of art, antiquities, and Americana fill this museum, surrounded by whimsical, enchanting gardens.

A woodcut used for William Harrison's campaign. In front of a log cabin, Harrison welcomes a soldier, inviting him to rest and drink hard cider.

The Election That Defined What 'Real Americans' Ate and Drank

Large, drunken rallies touted a populist who drank hard cider.

Bruce Kraig January 15, 2018

In 1929, naturalization test-prep guidebooks flew off drugstore shelves.

A Glimpse of American History Through the Process of Becoming a Citizen

Personal stories of naturalization from the collection of the New-York Historical Society.

Jessica Leigh Hester December 18, 2017

Cows graze in a field of kudzu in 1949.

America's Tumultuous Love Affair With Kudzu

Before the plant was considered a scourge, it was used for decoration, as livestock fodder, and to fight erosion.

Cara Giaimo December 11, 2017

A 19th-century coconut dipper: It's pure Americana.

Why 19th-Century Americans Drank From Coconut Shells

A different kind of coconut water craze.

Atlas Obscura December 4, 2017

The American Museum of Western Art—The Anschutz Collection.

Denver, Colorado

American Museum of Western Art

The huge collection of paintings of the American West is one of Denver's best-kept secrets.

A classy-looking sweet potato casserole.

The Savvy Marketing That Put Marshmallows on Your Sweet Potato Casserole

"I’ll have it with my Roast … and again for dessert."

Natasha Frost November 20, 2017

Maine Red Snappers hanging at Bean's Meats.

Red Snappers

The reddest of the red meat.

Tennille, Georgia

Pig Monument

An odd and heartwarming stone marker enshrines the moment a community saved a farmer's pig that fell in a well.