Architect Zaha Hadid’s designs are graceful and sinuous, imbued with dance-like movement, and the new Heydar Aliyev Center in Azerbaijan is no exception. This landmark structure, which will host the former soviet nation’s cultural programs, swoops over itself in glossy white ribbons, looking as if it were stretched and pulled into place by human  hands.

This malleability and the organic forms that inspired it forms a stark contrast to the traditional, historical Soviet architecture of the city of Baku. While not so well-known in the United States, this city stands at the forefront of architectural innovation as the Azerbaijan government spends an estimated $6 billion per year on new buildings. Other notable works of modern architecture in the city include the Flame Towers.

Hadid’s design is a modern interpretation of Islamic architecture as a composition of rows, grids, or sequences of columns that collectively form a non-hierarchal space. An architectural skin flows from the plaza up onto the roof of the first floor, and then rises several stories to form a shell-like canopy.

The clean, curving lines of the roof structure are already inviting passersby to ascend the roof, and it’s probably only a matter of time before skateboarders turn it into one big exhilarating playground.

Drive-in movie theaters stand for the great American auto-centric suburban dream, though as time goes by fewer and fewer of the outdoor screens remain standing.

Driven Out

(image via: WebUrbanist)

On June 6th, 1933, as many as 400 New Jersey motorists looking to escape the harsh realities of the Great Depression for a while enjoyed Wives Beware, starring Adolphe Menjou, from the comfort of their automobiles. Though the 40 by 50 ft screen at Park-In Theaters in Camden is long gone (it operated for only three years), other relics of the Drive-In Theater Age still stand, if just barely.

The Drive-In Project

(images via: Gadling and Ego-TV)

According to travel photographer Craig Deman, “approximately 90 percent of drive-ins are closed from their peak in the late 1950s.” Deman is somewhat of an expert on the topic, having authored the hauntingly illustrated The Drive-In Project which documents the current state of abandoned drive-in movie theaters from coast to coast.

After The Last Picture Show

(images via: Debra Jane Seltzer, robert e weston jr and Paul A. Valentine)

They say “Life Is Sweet In Texas” but since the Midway Drive-In Theatre in Sweetwater, Texas closed things just haven’t been the same. The 230-car capacity drive-in was opened in the 1950s and like many drive-ins of the era, provided a large playground for kids and an outdoor seating area for families in front of the screen.

(image via: Nicholas Henderson)

The jagged faux mountain range painted in bold Indian red & forest green on the back of the Midway Drive-In Theatre‘s screen make it an easily identified landmark, even from far across the windswept plains of north-central Texas. Flickr user Nicholas Henderson captured the screen-back backdrop’s eerie essence above, looking little the worse for wear, on a bright summer’s day in 2011.

Lake Woe Begone

(images via: Darren Snow and Lowand77)

There’s not much left of Mt. Orab, Ohio’s Lake Drive-In besides its inimitable Fabulous Fifties main sign and the moldering wooden ticket shack. Indeed, the theater’s Happy Days indeed have long since faded though Richie, Potsie, Ralph and the Fonz still likely have fond memories of many a moonlit night… hey Arthur, don’t you think it’s about time you let those guys out of the trunk?

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Trouble Feature 10 Abandoned Drive In Movie Theaters

From vintage to retro, these movie posters pulled people to the theaters.  Some are mysterious, others provocative, but they all served their purpose of putting eyes on the silver screen.  As we revisit these creative cinema advertisements from the past, we are drawn back in.

Early Cinema

(images via: cliff1066, Posterwire)

Before movies had sound or color, Charlie Chaplin was captivating audiences with his own special brand of humor.  The caricature of a sad clown announced his 55th film, Chaplin as Count, in 1916.  Then in 1931, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde scared the daylights out of audiences by splitting a man’s personality into two characters – good and evil.  In 1939, The Wizard of Oz became an instant classic as viewers traveled down the yellow brick road into the world of colorized movies.

Attracting Moviegoers of the 1940s

(images via: cliff1066, SanFranAnnie)

In 1942, Warner Bros.  produced Yankee Doodle Dandy, which was a musical portrait of composer, singer and dancer George M. Cohan.  Cohan was a child-star in a vaudeville troupe and made his comeback with this patriotic film.  By 1946, Notorious!, an Alfred Hitchcock film starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman was thrilling audiences.  If the star-power of the film was not enough, the poster advertising the film was racy enough to draw viewers in to see the show.  Reign of Terror opened in theaters in 1949, suggesting some violence in its advertisement.

America Falls in Love with Hollywood Movies

(images via: Randy Son of Robert, johnnycorduroy, piH9, the_toe_stubber, NY Post)

By the 1950s, going to the movies had become a favorite American pastime.  Alfred Hitchcock was still terrifying and Norma Jean had become Marilyn Monroe, superstar.  Westerns and horror films, which are humorous by today’s standards, were all the rage.  Hollywood was glamorized and people flocked to the theaters to catch all the action.

Pushing the Envelope

(images via: reccaphoenix, revjim5000, piH9, whorange)

The provocative Mrs. Robinson thrilled audiences in 1967, making The Graduate an instant cult classic.  During the 1960s and 1970s, movie posters became more colorful and edgy.  More movies were produced, more Hollywood superstars were born and the competition for viewers heated up.

The 1980s:  A Decade of Blockbusters

(images via: g-ec2, bucklava, nickslide, Manicdote, Ugo, Dan Diemer, piH9 )

The 1980s brought us a decade of blockbuster hits and plenty of new, realistic special effects.  All genres stepped up their game, both with the films themselves and advertising.  Movie posters were suddenly larger, bolder and incredibly striking.  The birth of movie merchandising also served to propel films at the box office and beyond, when they were marketed in the VHS format.

Unprepared for the Movies of the 1990s

(images via: Nick Slide, Roddy’s Rockin Reviews, Welltuncares, Ning)

Ready or not, the 1990s brought bold and shocking movies we will never forget.  In 1994, Pulp Fiction assaulted our sense of reality with its unique timeline presentation and graphic brutality.  We hardly had time to recover before Fight Club hit the big screen in 1999 and taught us all a lesson about mischief, mayhem and making soap.