In the 1920s and 1930s, as automobile travel expanded across California and the Southwest, a particular genre of roadside architecture emerged that historians would eventually label “programmatic” or “mimetic” — buildings shaped like the thing they sold. Hot dog stands shaped like hot dogs. Donut shops shaped like donuts. And, most prolifically along the California end of Route 66, orange juice stands shaped like giant oranges.
The Giant Orange chain, if that’s not too grand a word for what it was, consisted of independent stands that licensed the orange shape and dispensed freshly squeezed California juice to travelers who’d driven across the desert and were desperate for something cold. They were painted a specific shade of orange that was visible from a considerable distance and impossible to mistake for anything else.
Most of them are gone now. A few photographs survive. One or two structures remain, converted to other purposes, the orange paint faded or painted over.
What they represented was the end of the road’s western arc — the California side, where citrus grew in groves that stretched to the horizon, where the climate softened and the air smelled different, where the journey that had started in Chicago or Oklahoma City finally arrived somewhere that felt like an answer.
The orange juice itself was the point, but the orange building was the announcement: you made it. The desert is behind you. Something fresh and sweet is waiting.
Every road needs an end worth driving toward. For a long time, the Giant Orange was exactly that.
We are offering licences for ROUTE 66® Beer in specific territories. An invitation to others to become part of this story. To carry a piece of the road with them and to contribute to the story. We will share a percentage of royalties with Route 66 associations to keep the story alive.
The journey continues. This story is brought to you by ROUTE 66® BEER. Find us at ROUTE66BEER.COM
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