California Crazy & Beyond:
Roadside Vernacular Architecture

By Jim Heimann, 180 pages, softcover, 2001. Price: $18.95. Published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA. Available from Chronicle Books at (800) 722-6657 toll-free; (415) 537-3730 or by visiting www.chroniclebooks.com

"Diners shaped like dogs. Gas Stations fashioned after airplanes. Realty offices built to look like the Great Sphnix of Egypt. ... California Crazy & Beyond is a journey through the audacious and innovative landscape of eccentric buildings."
- from the back cover

Over 20 years ago Jim Heimann, graphic designer, historian, and instructor at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design, wrote California Crazy, the classic book examining "programmatic" architecture, or what most of us know as the whimsical buildings in the shape of a lemon, a hamburger or a flower pot. There are new images in this updated edition, many of which, Heimann writes, "reveal yet another layer of this architectural style." Though these buildings proliferated in Southern California, many dotted the landscape in other states as well. In addition to examining these California and out-of-state architectural oddities, the book also takes a look at signs, statues and cars which were created in the spirit of the California Crazy concept.

Including the original volume's introduction by the late David Gebhard, former director of the University of California Art Museum, Santa Barbara, California Crazy & Beyond illuminates the inspiration and the history behind programmatic architecture. Whether you're a student or instructor looking for invaluable information on roadside vernacular architecture or a lover of roadside attractions, this beautifully illustrated softcover edition is sure to please.