History Through Your Lens
A Snapshot of Preservation Magazine's Reader-Submitted Photos of Historic Places
Since 2017, every issue of Preservation magazine has printed a photo from a different Instagram user with a sharp eye for print-worthy old places. From iPhone photographers to amateur preservationists, those who tagged their photo with #SavingPlaces or #TellTheFullStory had a chance to spotlight a meaningful historic place on the last page of the magazine. With the Fall 2024 issue, we’ll debut a different format for the back page, so we wanted to look back on some of the photos you’ve shared with us over the past couple years.
Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, 1927
From Preservation’s Fall 2022 issue. Photo posted on Instagram by Manuel Urbina (@manuel_urbina_official) on May 28, 2022.
WHY THIS PLACE? I was at the Memorial Auditorium for the high school graduation of one of my daughters. The auditorium means a lot to the community. It has sentimental value because thousands of graduates from regional high schools have their commencements there [almost] every year.
The building closed in [the 1980s] for a seismic retrofit issue, and there was a lot of concern [about it]. It’s more than just a cool-looking place; it’s also a memorial to soldiers and other people who sacrificed for the country. The city of Sacramento restored it, and it reopened in 1997.
They just don’t make buildings like this anymore. My favorite part about the exterior is the masonry. Once you go inside, you see a beamed ceiling and tilework on the stairs. I probably like the cast-iron light fixtures the most. It’s hard to pick any one thing.
Even the water fountains are kind of cute—they’re these old porcelain water fountains. There’s a lot to love about it.
photo by: Manuel Urbina
The Sacramento Memorial Auditorium first opened in 1927, and then again in 1997 after a city-led restoration.
photo by: Melanie Kaminski
The Cucamonga Service Station can be found off Route 66 in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
Cucamonga Service Station, Rancho Cucamonga, California, 1915
From Preservation’s Winter 2023 issue. Photo posted on Instagram by Melanie Kaminski (@laxplorer) on September 30, 2022.
WHY THIS PLACE? I have family who live in the area [surrounding the National Register–listed Cucamonga Service Station]. I love Route 66, which runs through their town. So when I go visit them, I like to drive down that stretch. There are major freeways that run parallel to it, and I think it’s worth getting off them to see California as it was 60, 70 years ago.
On this particular visit, I was driving by the station [which is no longer a working service station] and it was open. I love roadside architecture. So I quickly pulled over and went inside. They have a cute gift shop and a little itty-bitty museum. I grabbed the shot because I had never actually stopped before.
The whole area on my way there is very modern, there’s not a whole lot of variety. [The station] just jumps out at you. You’re driving along and everything’s the same, and then this bright yellow-and-blue blast from the past shows up.
The Kessler Theater, Dallas, 1942
From Preservation’s Spring 2023 issue. Photo posted on Instagram by Steve Spiegel (@colorbyspiegel) on December 8, 2022.
photo by: Steve Spiegel
The Kessler Theater in Dallas, Texas, is still a thriving live music venue.
WHY THIS PLACE? Through Instagram, I’ve found so many people all across the country who have the same obsession as I do with midcentury signs, diners, and historic architecture. We try to plan trips to see these places. I love to plan and put a bunch of icons on my list, but the happy surprises are also super fun.
I was flying to Savannah, Georgia, from Los Angeles with a change of planes in Dallas. There was a mechanical problem with the [second] plane, so the airline canceled my flight, and I was stuck for a half-day. I knew someone in Dallas from Instagram, Deana Mason [@wanderingcowgirl], and we did an impromptu morning sign hunt. She took me on a tour of amazing buildings, signs, and theaters.
The Kessler Theater, built in 1942, was the highlight. I love the Art Deco building, [especially] the marquee and the covered entryway, which has doors with half-moon mirrored glass. Deana told me it’s the coolest place in town to see live music.
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Bottleworks Hotel, Indianapolis, 1931
From Preservation’s Summer 2023 issue. Photo posted on Instagram by Dean Kessler (@dkpreservationgeek) on April 15, 2023.
WHY THIS PLACE? I work for the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission as an architectural reviewer. We received a private tour from the developer [of the Bottleworks Hotel] so we could see how this historic Coca-Cola bottling plant had been adaptively reused. That room, everything in there was original. The flooring, the walls—it was all restored. If anything was missing or damaged beyond repair, it was re-created.
The room was at one time used to show the bottling process, so you would see the actual assembly. And then it was later turned into a tasting room where people could come in and taste all the different flavors of Coca-Cola. At that angle, just the way the light was coming in, how it features the tile, that brass door … I think [my photograph] captures the feeling of the room, the history of the room.
photo by: Dean Kessler
The restored and adaptively reused Bottleworks Hotel used to serve as a Coca-Cola bottling plant.
photo by: David Herszenson
You can't miss Van Briggle Pottery Company's bright blue sign in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Van Briggle Pottery Company, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1908
From Preservation’s Fall 2023 issue. Photo posted on Instagram by David Herszenson (@herszensonguiding) on June 20, 2023.
WHY THIS PLACE? I moved to the Bronx in 2020, and I happened to move into a building in the Grand Concourse Historic District. That opened a whole new world to me in terms of historic preservation.
When I travel now, I try to look ahead to see what kinds of interesting historic sites there are so I can take pictures. The people I was visiting in Colorado Springs went to Colorado College, which now owns this building.
[Pottery co-founder Artus] Van Briggle died before that place was built, but he had come up with this really neat matte glaze and become very popular for his Art Nouveau pottery.
When I came back to New York, I was with my parents at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And sure enough, I saw there were a couple pieces [of pottery] with a blue glaze, and I looked them up and they were by Van Briggle. So that was a special moment.
photo by: Chris Wadsworth
Murphy's Tavern recently restored its mid-century neon sign.
Murphy’s Tavern, Colorado Springs, Colorado
From Preservation’s Spring 2024 issue. Photo posted on Instagram by Chris Wadsworth (@bigsignhunter) on January 3, 2024.
WHY THIS PLACE? I started this Instagram page several years ago because I’ve always had a love of these old commercial signs and storefronts. I don’t just post a picture; I try to find out something about the history. The earliest newspaper reference to Murphy’s that I found was from the late 1960s, but I believe the building itself is much older. I found the date of 1924 on a property record site.
I called the tavern and spoke with an employee who said Murphy’s had opened in 1954. It closed right before the pandemic and then it was sold to new owners who did some refurbishing and reopened in November 2021.
A September 2023 post on the Murphy’s Tavern Facebook page says that the neon sign was temporarily turned off to be refurbished. They turned it back on about a month later. I thought that was nice, because so often you see these old signs falling into disrepair.
Hans Herr House and 1719 Museum, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1719
From Preservation’s Winter 2024 issue. Photo posted on Instagram by Adam Zurn (@unchartedlancaster) on September 22, 2023.
photo by: Adam Zurn
The Hans Herr House is the oldest extant structure in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
WHY THIS PLACE? The Hans Herr House is significant here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, because it’s the oldest still-standing structure in the county, built in 1719. That makes it 10 years older than the creation of Lancaster County. Hans Herr and his family were Swiss Anabaptists whom William Penn inspired to come to Lancaster. The Herr family built this house that still stands today. It was also a Mennonite meetinghouse, making it the oldest extant one in America.
Few modern upgrades were ever made to the house, so when you go and visit, you’re really able to step back in time to 1719 and see what life was like. The site includes other buildings and is now called the 1719 Museum, instead of just the Hans Herr House, in an effort to highlight not just the men but also the women involved in that history, as well as other cultures, such as the Indigenous peoples in the area.
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