Main Street to Miracle Mile: American Roadside Architecture. By Chester H. Liebs. (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985).  

            In this excellent portrayal of America’s roadside architecture, Chester Liebs shares his knowledge of the automobile’s impact on our country over the past century. With the impressive history of the John Hopkins University Press in mind, one can study Liebs’s work, confident that his research has met the standards of one of the more renowned publishers in America. Through the use of dozens of primary and secondary sources ranging from advertisements to periodicals, the author creates an extensive depiction of  “one of the more neglected areas of American architecture and culture.”

            Liebs’s argument focuses on the effects of the automobile on not only architecture, but also the American society we live in today. Extending the work previously completed by authors such as Steven Izenour and Warren Belasco, Main Street to Miracle Mile focuses individually on numerous aspects of roadside architecture including everything from gas stations to drive-in movie theatres showing how each came to be and where it stands today. As “this subject has usually been treated either very broadly or in small segments,” Liebs provides his readers with the most in depth depiction of the subject matter ever devised.

            Throughout his book, Liebs provides a well organized description of the physical environment not only through the use of words, but the application of numerous photographs which help one envision the ideas being presented. Although these snapshots are delivered in black and white, they still play a vital role in the overall effect of the work. In fact, one may argue that Liebs’ research could have been more valuable had additional photography been included.

            Although the flaws in Liebs’ work are limited, Main street to Miracle Mile suffers somewhat as many portions seem rushed while the author struggles to explain over one hundred years of history in the span of a few paragraphs. In order to combat this downfall the author may have been better suited to separate his research over multiple books in order to cover each idea in a more detailed manner.

            Despite the authors admission that “errors of judgment, fact, omission, and interpretation are almost surely to be discovered” in his work, Liebs ultimately succeeds in his goal to provide readers with an extensive introduction to an area in history previously overlooked by most Americans. With this, Main Street to Miracle Mile would make a great addition to any historian’s library.