Groovy & Grimy: Abandoned ’70s Home In Bon Air

Range on the Home

Too late for flapjacks? There surely was a time when an All-American Mom would have prepared wholesome and abundant meals on this formerly state-of-the-culinary-art Kenmore stove and range. Those times, not unlike Kenmore’s brand-owner (Sears), have wafted away like smoke from yet another stovetop disaster.

Kitsch Kitchen

Note the faux-digital oven clock, hailing from an era before the advent of LCD screens and evoking the dreaded clock radio scene from the 1993 film Groundhog Day. Indeed, the only thing that would make this surreal tableau more terrifying would be the tinny tones of Sonny & Cher oozing out from a cheap monophonic speaker, each and every morning, for the Rest. Of. Your. Life.

Color My World

Trashed and trashy as it appears in Handwerk’s finely focused photos, this home must have been quite the stylish trend-setter back in the day. Dig those groovy stained glass windows, harmonizing with the rainbow reflections refracted by the remaining panes of a faux-Tiffany hanging lamp. Who needs bad acid when you can take a trip to Bon Air?

Mellow Yellow Hello

We look back at the Seventies through a filter of Harvest Gold and Avocado Green but truth be told, the Me Decade was awash with dayglo colors… uncomplimentary clashing colors but still. This particular residential relic of the Malaise Era sports walls painted in hues apparently inspired by a vintage Edsel, not that there’s everything wrong with that. As for getting away from the gritty city, the passage of time sure has caused those tables to turn. (all images © 2019 Joel Handwerk)