About RoadsideArchitecture.com

email: roadarch@outlook.com

About this Website & Me

(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)

Welcome to my website! I'm Debra Jane Seltzer. There are two great passions in my life: my dogs and roadside architecture (buildings, signs & statues from the 1920s-1970s). The roadside part of my website is the biggie with more than 2,800 webpages and over 70,000 photos at this point. If you want to admire my wonderful dogs, that section is much smaller. See the link above in the yellow bar. You might also enjoy my blog where I chronicle my photo-gathering roadtrips. I also upload some photos from each trip to Flickr and Instagram. I hope you enjoy poking around!

FINDING YOUR WAY
Most of my sections are organized by state which should make it easy to find things that are near you or that are in areas you might be traveling to. Other sections are organized by theme (some of the signs pages, the statues, food sections, etc.). Many signs appear in other sections when they belong with their noteworthy buildings (eateries, gas stations, Art Deco, Mid-Century Modern, etc.). Many Art Deco and Mid-Century buildings are located in the gas stations, eateries, theatres, and other sections. So, you will find lots of great stuff by exploring beyond the scope of a particular state or section.
If you are looking for a particular thing or place, try the white search box at the top of every page. If you're still having trouble finding something, just send me an email.
For the latest additions to my site and upcoming trips, click on the "What's New" button in the yellow bar above.

home in Ventura, CA [2013 photo thanks Geoff Minger]

home in Ventura, CA [2021 photos thanks Harper Point Photography]

THE WEBSITE & ME
I have been crazy about commercial buildings and roadside-related things all my life. I grew up in California but moved to New York City in my early twenties. I lived there for 32 years and then moved back to California in 2012. I started this website in 2000 simply as a way to organize my photos for myself. Since then, it has grown into an obsession. I have traveled all over the country documenting buildings, signs, and statues. I also spend a tremendous amount of time researching, writing, and updating the descriptions at my site which accompany these photos.
I go skimpy on descriptions when there are already other websites that cover the subjects well. Instead, I provide links to other websites so that you can easily find more info and vintage/night photos. It's nearly impossible keeping up with these external links since websites come and go and change urls daily. However, I methodically go through all these links every winter to fix them. At the same time, I also look at the maps for each description to see if anything has changed with the building, sign, or statue (removed, repainted, etc.).
You may have noticed that my site is advertising-free. I've never liked the look of all that junk in the margins and I hope you appreciate its absence as well. If you'd like to make a contribution towards my efforts and travel expenses, that'd be much appreciated! You can make a donation to Paypal.com through my email address: roadarch@outlook.com.

THE PHOTOS
Sometimes I am stuck taking photos in poor light or bad weather conditions. When that happens, I'd rather get what I can and reshoot again later. You never know how long these roadside treasures will be around. For me, it's more important to shoot 100 things per day for the website than just 20 in perfect light. You'll find a range in the quality of photos at this site. Some things were shot more than a dozen years and three cameras ago. You'll find an even distribution of photos from all over the country. However, there's no Alaska or Hawaii. I don't travel by plane since I never go anywhere without my four dogs.
Many of my photos are larger than your screen and your computer will automatically reduce the size. To fix this, just click on the photo or look for a floating magnifying glass icon by hovering your mouse over the image and click on that icon to get the photo's full size. Some browsers allow you to click a second time for an even larger image.
WHEN WAS THAT PHOTO TAKEN?
I began coding the file names of my photos in 2005. The name reflects the year and month the photo was taken. For example, a photo named "roadarch.com/06/10/..." means that the photo was taken in October 2006.