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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Thirty Eight: The camera as time machine: linking the past to the present > Cruiser’s Café, Williams, Arizona, 2006
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12-JUL-2006

Cruiser’s Café, Williams, Arizona, 2006

In stark contrast to the café in the previous picture, this US Route 66 cafe is very much in the present, yet it also draws heavily on the past for its meaning. In 1984, Williams became the last town to be bypassed by the US Interstate highway system. Cruiser’s Cafe sits alongside of what once was Route 66. It is now Williams' Main Street. The huge mural pays homage to the legendary automobiles that once made the long run from Chicago to LA -- and passed right through the heart of Williams. The foreground layer of this image, which consists of the tables, chairs and umbrellas of the café itself, seamlessly blend into the background layer of the mural. We view the past here in present day terms -- my image is as much about the diners who will soon fill those tables, as it is about the romance of a defunct highway.

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Phil Douglis19-Jul-2006 23:35
Thanks, Celia, for extending the past into the present here. I saw the blending effect caused by light and color too, and the cafe's designers probably did as well. The whole point of Williams these days is to blend the present with the past. Is that not what all of history is meant to do?
Cecilia Lim19-Jul-2006 14:57
I love how the past and the present become one in this image. The chairs and umbrellas of this cafe are similarly lit as the way the objects on the mural are, and are similar in tones as well, thus blending the cafe into its background. This image speaks to me about the making of history. It is the present that will become the past. The people on the wall and Route 66 were once the "present" but is now embedded into the past. And so will this cafe and the people who visit it. These too will someday merge into the past.
Phil Douglis18-Jul-2006 18:52
You are on target here, Christine -- Route 66 exists today as commercial venture appealing to the nostalgic urges of a certain demographic -- the generations that came of age in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. These generations now command the largest share of buying power in the marketplace. I am sure that when you are in your 50s and 60s and 70s, you will find that your nostalgic memories of the music and events of the early 21st century will keep you eternally young. And you will be pay handsomely for that privilege.
Christine P. Newman18-Jul-2006 16:53
This is business based on nostalgia of a certain generation, the same as "oldies" (songs) programs we hear sometimes.
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