My favorite chairs on Route 66

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Each room at the Blue Swallow Inn on old Route 66 in Tucamcari, New Mexico has a pair of these classic metal chairs on the sidewalk. I began photographing chairs like these when I was a teenager, when I began photographing the pair of them that sat beside my grandparents' house. They always seem to come in pairs, like a contented couple.

The owners of the motel told me that these chairs are new ones. There are still a couple of companies making them today in the United States. Walmart even sold them one summer a few years ago! I have a collection of old ones that I bought inexpensively at garage sales. Antique stores charge high prices for old ones, and the new ones are quite expensive too. A beautiful classic design that has remained popular for decades!

 

[muser53]

Hi Chris, This is a very cool piece of recent Americana...love the blue wall with the sea shell like impression between the windows.

 

[Bill58]

We used to have some chairs like that on our front porch in Dallas. I must've painted them 10 times. They were made in the USA too, unlike Wal-Mart's.

Thanks for the memories.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

We used to have some chairs like that on our front porch in Dallas. I must've painted them 10 times. They were made in the USA too, unlike Wal-Mart's.

Thanks for the memories.

The ones my grandparents had also changed colors many times. Red most of my childhood, green for a while then yellow with lots of rust.

 

[paulfish4570]

this is my favorite of your route 66 shots so far; works very well in color ...

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

this is my favorite of your route 66 shots so far; works very well in color ...

Thanks Paul. I think so too, though the restricted color palate gives it a somewhat monochromatic, yet colorful look.

 

[seanathan]

Nice shot. You must be taking a road trip? I'm jealous; so much opportunity to shoot! And especially with those landscapes in the southwest!

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Nice shot. You must be taking a road trip? I'm jealous; so much opportunity to shoot! And especially with those landscapes in the southwest!

I spent a couple of weeks driving from Fort Wayne, Indiana through Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. I drove from Ft. Wayne to Santa Fe, then took side trips to Albuquerque, Roswell, and Carlsbad before going back to Santa fe, then retracing my route home to Indiana. I shot 43 rolls of film, 40 of them color transparency film in my Hasselblad, 3 black and white in my Leica.

The trip had a purpose other than photography. I had left 300 books with a friend when I moved back to Indiana after a couple yrs in Santa Fe. It took me nearly 4 yrs to find the money to go back for them. I took my son with me so we did some fun stuff he wanted to do also.

It was a great trip, but I am broke now, so hopefully I'll sell some of these photos! When I lived in Santa Fe, I made the trip to Indiana several times to see my son, and the photos I took on those trips have sold well and continue to do so. Eventually, the trip will pay for itself.

I'm back home now, my son had to be back by the 22 of August for school.

 

[robert blu]

A very nice photo with strong colors. I like the graphic composition in this photo, with the shadows enhancing the white chairs. I'm as well a little jealous of your road trip and thank you for posting these images which allow me to travel with my phantasy...
robert