Peter Moruzzi's Mid-Century

I’m selling 10 new copies of my 2012 book “Classic Dining: Discovering America’s Finest Midcentury Restaurants” that I discovered in storage.    This out-of-print book currently sells for $95+ on Amazon, but I’m offering it for $30, it’s original cover price, plus the cost of priority shipping.  I can also dedicate and/or sign it.  Use the “Leave a Reply” comment section at the bottom of this post.  Pay via PayPal.

Journey to America’s finest mid-century restaurants – continental style fine dining establishments, historic steakhouses, lounge restaurants and Polynesian palaces – that persevere in U.S. cities large and small. Through exclusive new and vintage photography, “Classic Dining” celebrates culinary pioneers and multi-generation restaurateurs, uncovers authentic gems, and debunks the predicted demise of the white tablecloth restaurant. Includes a current directory of over 200 classic restaurants in cities from all 50 states.

In 1964, the Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) proposed this gigantic atomic age “Rotating Spectacular (Three -Sided)” in Las Vegas for I.W. Harper Kentucky Bourbon.

Among YESCO’s most celebrated earlier Vegas signs were Vegas Vic (1951), Sands (1952), Mint (1955), Stardust (1958), and, most famously, the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign (1959).  Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that this towering beauty was ever erected.

I am excited to announce that my latest pictorial history “Greetings from Las Vegas” will be available this September.  Humorous and informative, the book visually celebrates Las Vegas’ evolution from a dusty railroad town to the world’s entertainment capital.

Here’s a link to pre-order from the publisher.

In the 1920s, Fremont Street was Las Vegas’ modest commercial center.  After gambling’s legalization in 1931, its several blocks exploded with increasingly elaborate neon displays that would forever cement downtown’s identity as Glitter Gulch.  The book also examines the fascinating blend of myth and fact surrounding the creation of the fabulous Las Vegas Strip.

Las Vegas’ initial branding embraced the Old West, transitioning to sleek modernism in the 1950s, then to the exaggerated themed environments of the Strip so familiar today.  All are explored in the book.

Spectacular nightlife has been as essential as gambling in the rise of Las Vegas.  The book documents the invention of the lounge act, dazzling stage productions, gorgeous showgirls, legendary entertainers, and the antics of the Rat Pack.”

Chapter titles include Frontier Town, Glitter Gulch, Birth of the Strip, Boomtown, Vegas Modern, Tiki Vegas, Motel Paradise, Vegas and the Mob, the Rat Pack, Breaking the Color Barrier, and Swinging ‘60s and Beyond.  Numerous amateur photos show the fun average folks had both day and night.

More information about the book will be forthcoming.