Roadside Attraction: Selections from the Photographic Archive of John Margolies

September 2 – November 7, 2025

John Margolies (1940 – 2016) was an American photographer best known for documenting roadside Americana—the quirky, colorful, and often overlooked vernacular architecture and signage along U.S. highways. His work primarily focused on roadside businesses, like diners, gas stations, motels, mini-golf courses, and drive-in theaters; novelty architecture, such as buildings shaped like animals or giant objects; vintage signs; and main street storefronts. Margolies began photographing these structures in the 1970s, just as many of them were falling into disrepair or being demolished. 

With the advent of the new interstate highway system, roadtrippers’ preferences began to change. They were no longer taking the old highways, instead favoring the speed of the interstates and the reliability of franchises now easily accessible right off the exit ramps. Recognizing that Margolies’ work preserves a visual record of an era when car culture reshaped the American landscape, the Library of Congress started acquiring his collection in 2007. Pepperdine Libraries is pleased to showcase a selection from this archive, offering a vibrant survey of the more than 11,000 photographs in the collection.