On my daily walk/bike ride to school, I pass the abandoned Waterville High School. I am always drawn to the lonely shark attached to a giant spring that protects the school like a lion statue at a McMansion in North Jersey. I frequently stop to play with the shark in my ADD, Blackberry-induced hypnotic state and lose track of time.
I imagine this shark is from the late 40's or early 50's. It reminds me of the illustrations on the side of of a B-17 in the Pacific Theater. Notice the worn paint and rust on the foot peg and side of the pectoral fins.
I love the jerking motion of the spring.
A small block of cement anchors the shark into the ground. As you can see in this self portrait the concrete pops out with ease. If the Gametime, Inc. shark still guards the entrance to this abandoned high school when I graduate, I plan on taking it with me as a souvenir of my time spent in central Maine. I imagine it gracing the living room of my first dojo like an Eames Lounge Chair.
Originally built with surplus aluminum (from WWII plane wings) and a 4' by 8' piece of plywood, the teardrop trailer is light, small and easy to tow. They gained popularity during the 1940's, as G.I.'s, returning from the war, wanted an easy and inexpensive way travel America. A teardrop trailer has a main sleeping quarters with either a full or a queen size bed and an external kitchen with a stove and a cooler (as pictured above). Their light and minimalist design allowed for a relatively inexperienced driver with a small car safely to tow a teardrop on single lane roads.
As cars' horsepower increased and the quality of roads improved, the teardrop trailer gave way to larger, heavier trailers like the Airstream, limiting their reign as king of the road to just two decades.
Today Teardrop Trailers are the prized possesions of forties and fifties car enthusiasts, who make the car show circuit in proper 1950's style. I saw my first Teardop over ten years ago at a car show in Portland Oregon. Their inherent minimalism and liberating ability captured my imagination.
Few things are more appealing than letting out to the territories with the hope of finding adventure and greener pasture. A "tent on wheels," as teardrop trailers are often called, would be awesome way to see the world and a great addition to any restless lifestyle.
These photos are of a Sundance Teardrop Trailer available through the Sundance Catalog for $24,000. They come complete with a Colemen stove and cooler, Formica counter tops, maple cabinets and efficient LED lighting.
If you are sufficiently inspired, here is a how to video for building a Teardrop Trailer.
Classic circa 1950's kitchen complete with Coleman camping gear. I imagine that plenty of babies were boomed in small living quarters of teardrops in the decade following WWII. Teardrop trailers democratized travel and enabled 20th century manifest destiny; they are American as Apple Pie.
My blog documents my interests and how I keep myself occupied. Currently I obsess over clothes, photography and American lifestyles. I am more interested in the ideas, stories, and philosophy behind clothes than the fabrics and cuts themselves. Feel free to email me at foster.huntington@ gmail.com.
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